Welcome to this joyful worship celebration of God's love!  I can't adequately describe how it feels to stand before a new congregation, one that didn't exist only a year ago.  One year ago last Thursday, Epiphany Day, God led me to place a phone call to a Lutheran couple I'd heard wanted to start another Lutheran congregation in Castle Rock.  We met a few days later and very quickly the Lord brought together a leadership group that formed the basis for what is now called Epiphany Evangelical Lutheran Church of Castle Rock.

          I can without any doubt state it was the Lord who formed this church and made it grow, not pastor or people, and not a synod.  The best laid plans of men could never have duplicated what God did in bringing together over 100 committed adults and children in just ten months.  I have spoken to several pastors of mission churches and most of them said they didn't reach 100 people for several years.  One mission that is 8 years old still today has only 30-40 each Sunday.  Yet today, God has gathered so many of His children to sign our Charter.

          Our God is a God of the grand design as well as the details.  He plans better than we because He knows where He wants His church to go.  St. Paul, nearing the end of his ministry, exhorted one of his favorite churches, the Philippians, to be a light in the world of darkness.  He told them, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold forth the word of life."

          Today the church needs shining lights, because our world lives mostly in darkness.  Today is Epiphany Sunday, recalling the Wise Men who followed the star to see the Christchild.  The Bible tells us the star guided them right to the house where the newborn babe and his mother were staying in Bethlehem.  Wise men and women of all ages still follow the star to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Light of the World.  Jesus once told His followers, "You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:14,16)

          Many of you know a star shines every night over the city of Castle Rock, placed there 65 years ago to celebrate Christmas.  The remarkable thing is that it's still there and was never removed.  It continues every night to be a light to all who live in or drive by this little town, in a rapidly growing area whose residents struggle with the inevitable growth of all the people coming to his lovely part of America.

          Epiphany Church is here because of that growth.  We're here to show forth the love of God in Christ Jesus.  We are not here to proselytize other church members or to make a political statement.  We're here because we believe God wants all His people to be bright shining lights in a world of darkness.  People are moving here by the thousands, and we must provide more churches where God's Word is proclaimed and the sacraments are made available to all.

          Epiphany's five purposes are on our banner:  Joyful Worship, Faithful Service, Positive Outreach, Loving Fellowship and Biblical Nurture.  Our mission is much like that of the Philippians Christians.  They lived in a pagan society among a worldly people.  Their culture had made truth relative and depravity was everywhere.  Public sentiment was not in favor of the Christian faith.  They knew that unless they shared the light of faith, the world around them would perish.

          Thus St. Paul is speaking to us, a "millennium congregation," as He says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold forth the Word of Life."

          His first words are particularly important.  Besides shining like the stars, he tells us to "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure..."  It's a sign of our times that the church fusses and fights within itself.  If there is one thing a pastor would want in a new church, it's that it does its work in peace and harmony.  The world has enough to fight about without having it inside the church as well.  Our world needs to see Christians that get along.  We must share God's love with each other and seek the welfare of others before our own.  Oh, that it may always be said of Epiphany people, "Behold, how they love one another!"

          Our God is a God of the grand design as well as the details.  His plans are better because He knows where His Church is going.  Epiphany needed a worship site and God provided it better than we could have hoped for.  We needed funding and God generously provided it through members and friends.  We needed an identity and God provided it through the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  We thought Epiphany would mostly be composed of Castle Rock people, but God brought them from all over.  Whenever we've had a need, He has come through with a better solution.  Ours is a God of the grand design as well as the details.

          I learned of this true store only this past week.  It was going to be a bleak Christmas 1998 for an otherwise active and happy family.  Their home had no tree and few indications of the season other than a few bits of holiday decor.  But then why be happy?  Their six year old boy had died only months before.  The young mother didn't want to be cheered, and felt empty, so wishing that someone understood how she felt.  As Christmas approached, she prayed, "God I know You know how I feel.  You lost a son, but it's different, because You're God.  It must be easier for You to accept than us mortals.  I just wish I could meet someone who knows exactly the loss I feel..."

          Late one evening she decided to go to the Southglenn Mall and take her other kids to see Santa.  While she normally hated the mall at Christmas, she felt drawn there, and thought maybe it would cheer them all up.  The place was jammed as she and her husband walked in, their baby and four year old boy in tow.  People and children were everywhere, and immediately she felt it was a mistake to have come.  She left her family on a bench and went into her son's favorite toy store, browsing its aisles, tears streaming down her face, wishing he were there to tear the place up as he'd often done.

          As they left the store and approached the Mall Center, she realized she'd shopped too long.  The sign said, "Sorry, you just missed Santa."  But her husband saw him walking down the hall.  "Hey Santa," he yelled, "you have one more kid to see here."  And Santa turned and came back, even though it was after nine in the evening.

          He opened the gate and kindly sat their son on his lap.  "Thank you for your time, Santa," she said.  "Our son is having a hard time this year because he just lost his brother three months ago."  Santa looked, not at the boy, but at her and gently said, "I'm so sorry, I know exactly how you feel."  Such a comment normally might have brought an abrupt response, "No you don't -- you have no idea how I feel."  But instead she quietly said, "Thank you."  "You see," he said, "I lost my son three years ago."  In that moment an instant bond developed between them known only by those who have experienced the deepest pain possible.  "How old was he?" she asked.  "Fourteen."  "And what did he die of?"  "A heart condition."

          Now the mother was intrigued.  "Really?  What kind of heart condition?"  To ask about a deceased child lets a parent know he is not forgotten.  "Well, his heart just kept getting bigger and bigger..."  She gasped, "Dilated Cardiomyopathy?"  "Why ... yes," he said in amazement.  Their sons had died of the exact same rare childhood illness.  "Where did he die?" she continued.  "Did he die at the hospital?"  "Yes, Children's Hospital, third floor."  The young mother almost couldn't breathe.  "Which room?" she asked.  "Room 319."  An overwhelming sense of God's love swept over her, as she realized both their sons had died of the same disease in the same room of the same hospital.

          Ours is a God of detail.  He knows our very thoughts and feelings, and He knew this mother's deepest prayer.  Right there, through the complete antithesis of Christmas, the shopping mall Santa, God strengthened her faith in one of the deepest ways she had ever known.  If the Sovereign Lord cared enough about her in such tiny detail, to find someone who truly knew how she felt, then He could also take care of her in life.  And He was already taking better care of her son than she ever could have.  You see, God is the only one who can love our children more than we do.

          He is God of the grand design as well as the details.  He knows our pains and hurts.  He loves us and our loved ones even more than we do.  He gave His only Son to die, that all might come to Him and not feel empty or desolate, at least not for long.  He gives us people to love and people who love us.  He fills our emptiness, heals our wounds, and shows us the right path.  And now He wants us to shine like stars in a dull and perverse world.

          God doesn't seek perfection from us.  He knows that will never happen, and that's why He sent His only Son to live a perfect life in our stead.  He doesn't condemn us because of our sins, but wants to save us through His Son.  There is nothing you and I can do to earn His love.  He loves us just as we are, because we are His children.  And no one can love children better than God.

          But He does seek willing hearts and helping hands to do His work.  When you and I realize we are living in a world stumbling around in darkness, we cannot withdraw into the safety of cocoons, clutching our pure faith, and being slaves to man-made policies.  We must step out of our comfort zones and shine like stars.  Like the Wise Men, the world needs to kneel in devotion at the cradle of God's Son.  And if they don't see the Gospel in us, how will they know it is true?

          Thank you all for being with us on our Charter Sunday.  To have seen God's gracious provision in such wonderful ways over the past year has been a real faith-builder.  May God give us all grace to shine like the stars.  And may we ever be guided by the Light of the World to worship Him and love His people in all we do.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.