May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:4b-11)

In Christ's name and to his glory, dear friends: One way we Lutherans strive to keep our focus on Jesus our Savior the whole year round is to travel through the church year annually. The church year calendar developed over the first few centuries after Jesus ascended. Each Sunday of the year has a name and focuses on some aspect of Jesus' life and what his life, death and resurrection gives to us. The titles of these days are familiar to you if you've been Lutheran for a few years-Advent 1-4, Christmas Eve & Day; Epiphany 1-7, the Sundays in Lent, the Sundays of Easter, Pentecost, etc. All these days land on Sundays (except for Christmas days and Ascension), and we call them "major festivals." Scattered through the church year are also "minor festivals," fixed days that often do not land on Sundays, so we don't hear much of them. Most of the minor festivals bear the names of the people of the New Testament Bible-the Apostles like Matthew, Mary, Joseph, the Evangelists like Luke. The date chosen was often the date on which the person was believed to have died. The Christians celebrated the death of these famous Christians seeing their death as their great birthday into heaven. Well, June 29^th is the minor festival of Paul and Peter, the Apostles. Tradition says that these two pillars of Christ's church died on the same day in Rome, both martyred because of their Christian faith. Since the minor festival lands on Sunday this year I thought we could focus on these two Apostles on his day. We've already heard the wonderful confession of Peter. We will hear more of him in Bible Class today. Now let's look at one the many wonderful portions of God's word that our Lord inspired the Apostle Paul to write. We go to Philippians 3:4ff. Here Paul is a wonderful example of what the Lord can re-create us to be. May our motto be that of Paul's when he says: I WANT TO KNOW CHRIST.

Opposite and Contradictory. "I want to know Christ." Paul did not always feel that way. Before it had been "I hate Christ and I want exterminate his followers." He held the coats of those who were pelting Stephen with stones. The book of Acts tells us that Saul (his name then) was "giving his approval of what was happening."

Why this hatred of Christ? It was because Jesus was a threat to Paul's self-chosen way to heaven. Jesus told Paul and the other Pharisees that it didn't matter who they were or what they did, they would never be able to please God and earn heaven. They were still slaves of sin and captives of the devil and were destined to be damned with him because of their sins that no effort could erase. Later, after God had given Paul the wisdom of salvation he compared the natural sinful state as blind to God, hostile to him, and dead in sin in spite of our very best efforts.

And what about you and I? Maybe we don't remember the days when, but we were like Paul, all of us, at one time. Oh, don't kid yourself thinking "well, I was just neutral-I wasn't against God; I just wasn't for him." Jesus tells us he who is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30). There is no neutrality when it comes to the Lord. Either one is perfect, without sin and a child of God; or one is enslaved by sin, a captive of the devil, and on his way to hell. Was there ever a time we were perfect? Then we were what Paul was. And God's command to love him and neighbor would be and still is as impossible as scratching out the interstate system of our land using only a spoon for a tool.

Incredible and Amazing. But now listen to Paul. Isn't it amazing, incredible, a miracle! What he used to put his stock in, what was his hope-who he was and what he did-now he realizes is useless before God. So he calls it rubbish, actually uses the word for manure. Instead Paul says all that really matters is that he knows Christ. "I want to know Christ."

How did this happen? Well, it was nothing in Paul. We just heard him say who he was and what he did was rubbish. Then what was it? It was Jesus Christ, the Savior! Christ came to Paul when he was running the other way. He came to him on the road to Damascus and hell. Christ cracked open that dead heart and planted repentance and faith there. Jesus took that rebellious spirit of Paul's, killed it, and replaced it with his own Spirit. Jesus made himself known to Paul so that Paul could see what Jesus had done for him-given him a righteousness, a sinlessness, that guaranteed to Paul what Paul could not obtain by his own efforts-heaven with Jesus forever.

And what about you and I? Yes, Jesus has come to us too. It may have been more subtle but just as effective. He came and comes by water, word, bread and wine. And his effect hasn't altered one bit. He makes us say too "I want to know Christ." Not know him like I know George Washington or Betsey Ross-just some person from the past. No, this knowing is more than that. It's clinging. It's trusting. It's putting our hope for heaven in him. His righteousness is my sure defense against sin and damnation. In Christ God has swiped my sin like we swipe words on the computer screen and dragged them over to his Son and now my slate is clean. I am justified. I want this Christ and what he has done for me!

On Fire and Unstoppable. All this knowing of Christ has a ripple effect. We can no more say I know Christ and then just sit than a pond can remain calm if someone throws a big rock into it. Paul's knowing rippled out in all directions. He was on fire and unstoppable. He crisscrossed his world on three different missionary journeys. He may have even gotten to Spain, the frontier of his world. He clung to Christ in good times and bad for he knew what he had when he had Christ.

And what about you and I? It will be no different. It won't due for us to say, I know Christ. We need our spouse and children and all we love to say it too. We want them in heaven with us, and we know Christ is the only way. So we won't let up or give up. And we run into lots of people in the 80 or so years God gives. And there are countless opportunities to talk about more than the weather and the stock market, so when the time it right, we'll invite someone to come and see the Jesus we know. And we'll do our part to make sure this church, this school and our high school remain solvent and useful tools for our Lord's kingdom work. We want the nameless people of distant places to share our joy. We cannot go there, but we're going to be a part of a greater effort to put Jesus in their way so they cannot miss him any more than Paul or we could ignore him. So we'll pay attention to that "Mission" slot on the envelope and use it so that workers are trained and sent. It's all a part of knowing Christ. And we know him.   Amen.