"Given Name" -- Sermon from January 20, 2024

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Podcast

What is the story behind your name? Parents often are very deliberate in choosing a name, because names matter! That name is not the only one we are given. As we go through life we might acquire other names: sibling, spouse, or parent. Then there are names we are called. Too often these names are negative, especially those we call ourselves: fat, stupid, or unlovable. These same names are used by others as weapons to make themselves feel superior. Too rarely others give us names that build us up, typically as recognition for our accomplishments. There is one name we are called that builds us up without any effort on our part: beloved child of God! In our baptism we are claimed by God and given this name, the name that matters most! It is a name that cannot be taken away from us and is a name that contradicts all those negative names we are given or give ourselves.