Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

Give us caring hearts, O Lord, to love and seek the lost. Overcome our fears, and grant us courage to share the hope of salvation with those who have no hope. Make us faithful in our daily lives so that all we say and do may glorify you as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of this world. Amen.

Picture a friend, maybe your best friend. More than likely, you’ve talked with this friend about your family, your job, or that there is no good football on TV to watch anymore. But, have you ever talked with that friend about your faith in Jesus? Have you asked if he or she is a Christian believer? Have you ever given that person a direct invitation to come and worship with you at church?

I think I can give you a good reason for talking to your friend about these things. Listen to this striking poem, entitled "A Voice from Eternity."

You lived in my community for years. We shared our dreams, our joys, our tears,

A friend to me you were indeed – A friend who helped in time of need.

My faith in you was strong and sure We had such trust as should endure,

No spats between us ever rose Our friends were alike, and also our foes.

What sadness, then, my friend, to find That after all, you weren’t so kind.

The day my life on earth did end I found you weren’t a faithful friend…

For all those years we spent together You never talked of the Great Here-after,

You never spoke of my lost soul And of the Christ Who died to make me whole,

So I plead today from hell’s cruel fire And tell you now my last desire,

You cannot do a thing for me, No words today my chains will free.

But do not err, my friend, again, Do all you can for the souls of men,

Tell them Christ has set them free Or they, too, will die eternally.

This rather haunting poem reminds us that our words and actions can affect others not only in the here and now, but for all eternity. All of us want friends. We work hard to build friendships with others as we talk, play, and even work together. But, for how long do we want these people to remain our friends? During our childhood? A few years? A lifetime? How about if we work at building friendships that last forever?

Our sermon text gives us an easy two-step process to follow in building friendships that last forever. Today we focus on being Epiphany Christians as we appreciate our mission of sharing our faith with our friends and family members. First, point them to Jesus, the Lamb of God. Then, bring them to meet Jesus one-on-one.

Why is sharing your faith with someone so important? Jesus tells us: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16) That means that whoever does not believe in Jesus cannot be saved. Putting it very frankly, these unbelievers will go to hell. Evangelism is therefore extremely important. Evangelism is important, that is why we have an evangelism committee, go door canvassing, and have Vacation Bible Schools. All of these are attempts to bring more people into Christ’s kingdom.

However, statistically speaking, these programs are nowhere near as effective as Christians bringing their friends or family members to know Jesus Christ. In a recent survey, four thousand new Christians were asked, who, humanly speaking, was responsible for bringing them to know Christ. Obviously, only the Holy Spirit can convert human hearts from unbelief to faith. But how were these people introduced to faith in Christ? In the survey, only about 10% said that a trained professional like a pastor was the first person who told them about Jesus. 80% said that it was a friend or relative that introduced them to the Savior.

With this information, suddenly every friendship and relationship is placed in the spotlight. This is known as Friendship Evangelism – sharing our faith with our friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors. If you look closely at the stained glass windows or other donated items in the church, you will notice that many of them were given by extended family members. People shared their faith with their family. Well over half of the people who have joined our church in the last year came to Epiphany because of connection to our church through family or friends. Friendship Evangelism is still the most effective way to share our faith with others.

Friendship Evangelism is as old as the Christian Church. Think of the friendships mentioned in today’s Gospel lesson. "The next day John (the Baptist) was there again (on the banks of the Jordan River) with two of his disciples (Andrew and probably John, the writer of this Gospel). When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’" Just the day before, John the Baptist pointed out Jesus to the crowds and said: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Now, it is the next day, and John repeats the same simple message of Jesus to those near and dear to him.

And what about Jesus? Why was he at the Jordan River for a second day in a row? Maybe he was there disciple-hunting. But perhaps Jesus was there for no other reason than to give John the opportunity to witness about him. Have you ever noticed how Jesus does that in our lives? How he uses tremendous or tragic events in people’s lives to get us to share the good news of salvation with them? How about a career change or a job loss? Maybe it is the birth of a child or the death of a family member? How many people have gone looking for a church because their baby needed baptism? When Red Fell, Arlene’s husband was dying of cancer, that gave Red’s family the opportunity to witness their faith to him. The tsunami has given Christians the opportunity to reach out with monetary, physical and spiritual aid to people in desperate need. All of these are opportunities that God gives, for possibly no other reason, than for us to point our friends to Jesus for comfort and salvation. The question is: Will we take advantage of these opportunities?

John the Baptist didn’t miss his opportunity. He pointed to Jesus as the "Lamb of God." Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. He was put to death to pay for our sins. His blood was shed so that death would pass over us. He was the only sacrifice that would appease God’s wrath. He died so that we might be forgiven of our sins.

When you see an advertisement for a car, often times you believe that the ad is too good to be true. For example, if the car ad claims it burns no oil, it really means that it all leaks out. If it claims it is a desirable classic, it really means nobody wants it. If it claims it is a rare classic, it really means that even when it was new, nobody wanted it. And if the ad claims that the car is in rough condition, it really means that it is too bad to lie about.

When you point your friends and family members to Jesus, they may be skeptical. They may think that what you are telling them is too good to be true. They may think that when you are telling them about a Savior from sins, it really means that their lifestyle isn’t good enough for you. They may think that when you invite them to your church, it really means that you are looking for new members to help pay the bills. They may think that when you are pointing them to Jesus, it really means that you intolerant of other religions.

You know what? It doesn’t matter what others may think of what you tell them about Jesus. Jesus just wants us to tell others about him. "Go and make disciples…" "You are my witnesses…" "Go into all the world…" Jesus never once tells us that we should be concerned about what others do with the message we tell them. We are just to tell them. And then let the Holy Spirit do the work.

Some of you may be concerned that if you start talking to others about Jesus, then you may lose a friend. But what kind of friend are you if you aren’t concerned about another person’s soul? Some of you may be worried that you will turn others off from Jesus. What’s going to happen? Are they going to be sent to a deeper part of hell?

John wasn’t worried about what others thought of him or how well he presented the truths of Jesus. Those two disciples who heard John immediately followed the Savior in hopes of learning more. And they weren’t disappointed. "Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’ ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him." Thanks to John’s friendly witness, those two men were introduced to Jesus on that day.

It is God’s powerful Word that draws people to Jesus, not how well we present it. We are just told to plant the seed of the gospel, the Holy Spirit will bring about the harvest. We are to cast the nets, the Holy Spirit will bring about a miraculous catch. We are to point our friends to Jesus, the Holy Spirit will cause them to follow him.

Appreciating our mission by building friendships that last forever means nothing more and nothing less than sharing with others what we know about Jesus. All we do is point our friends to the Lamb. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives power to our words. But we can do more than point. We can also do what Andrew did after John pointed him to the Lamb. "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’" Andrew was excited that he had found the Savior, the Messiah. He couldn’t keep that great news to himself. He had to tell others about Jesus.

This last week there were supposedly a lot of people who were offended: Mental Health officials offended by a Vermont Teddy Bear that is wearing a straightjacket and professes a "crazy" love for someone; the English that Prince Harry wore a Nazi swastika to a costume party; Packer fans offended by Randy Moss pretending to moon the fans at Lambeau Field. People may also say they are offended when you try to share your Savior with them. But nothing is more offensive than keeping God’s Good News of a Savior to yourself. True love means sharing something important and vital with other people. What is of more importance than the message of eternal salvation?!?

Perhaps even more important than what Andrew said is what he did. "And he brought him to Jesus…"

The Bible says: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21) In Jesus a great exchange has taken place. Jesus exchanged our sins for his righteousness. He exchanged our death for his life. He suffered hell so that we might be given heaven.

Like Andrew, our hearts are filled with Jesus and what he has done to save us. That news is too good to keep to ourselves. We share with our family and friends great deals that save money like the best cell phone service. We share exciting details of a great hunting or fishing or shopping location. Can’t we share what is most important to us – Jesus – with those who are near and dear to us?

Every one of us knows someone who doesn’t know Jesus or who doesn’t go to church as much as they could and should. Maybe it is a spouse, a brother or sister, a son or daughter, a friend or neighbor – someone who is bound for hell because he or she is living without the knowledge that Jesus is Savior. Or maybe you know someone who goes to another church that teaches false doctrine. We in the WELS believe that God has blessed us with the wonderful truth of the Scriptures. We have God’s truth to rescue people from the devil’s lies. You and I have what these people need. And because God has put them in our life, we also have the opportunity to share what we have been given.

There is nothing worse than meeting with people at the hospital or the funeral home as they are questioning their loved one’s eternal resting place. Believe me, you don’t want to end up in that position. Tell your loved ones about Jesus – now! Don’t wait until it is too late. Do it, no matter what. Besides, you have an extra three hours every weekend now since there is no good football on TV anymore.

Take the simple message about Jesus to the person or people I have you thinking about today. Point them to the Lamb and then do more than that. Take your friends by the hand and bring them to meet Jesus. Bring them not out of fear that their voices will one day haunt you from hell if you don’t. No, bring them to meet a Savior whose love is so wonderful and whose forgiveness is so complete that no sin or guilt is left to haunt anyone. Bring them because we want to enjoy their company here on earth, but more importantly we want to enjoy their company in heaven. Thanks to Jesus, our friendships really can last forever. This is your mission. Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, be with you. Amen.