Written Sermon 9/25/2022

CWC - Pentecost 16 (proper18)- Gospel Lesson -  K B Kuschel

Luke 14:25 - 33

 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Why wouldn’t anybody follow Jesus? Following Jesus is great.

Once you follow Jesus, you never have any problems.  

Everything is wonderful, peaceful.    No? 

Jesus never said that is what following Him would be like

.

Today He reminds us what FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS.

It means I. Hating

II. Committing

III. Fighting

(Luke 14:25) “ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: {26}"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.”  Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers & sisters, even your own life!?  That sounds like the opposite of what Jesus usually taught.  He usually taught us to love our lives because life is a gift from God.  He usually taught us to love our family members because when we do that we are reflecting His attitude toward us.

   What does he mean here?  Notice what the topic is.  "If anyone comes to me.”  A little later - “he cannot be my disciple.”  Jesus is telling us what it takes to be a follower, a disciple of His.  {27} “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  A cross is any difficulty which comes into a person’s life here on this earth because that person is connected with Jesus.  It would include physical persecution, verbal ridicule, economic intimidation, or social isolation.  Jesus is saying a person has to be able to put up with these things if that person is going to be a follower, a disciple of His.  All of these things potentially hinder us from following Jesus.

   It is in that setting, when that is being discussed, that He says: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple.”  If people in our lives contradict our desire to follow Jesus, we are to hate them.  If people in our lives hinder us from following Jesus, we are to hate them.  If people in our lives try to prevent us from following Jesus, we are to hate them.  Even if the people are father, mother, wife children, brothers or sisters, we are to hate them.  We are to renounce our normal affections for them and hate them because of what they are doing to our attempt to follow Jesus. 

   {26}"If anyone comes to me and does not hate even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.”  If my lifestyle hinders me from following Jesus, I am to hate it.  If my life’s work contradicts my desire to follow Jesus, I am to hate it.  If my life’s holdings hinder me from following Jesus, I am to hate it.  Even if my life -  and that includes my lifestyle, life’s work, and life’s holdings - is  a gift from God, I am to hate it because of what it is doing to my attempt to follow Jesus.

  B1 Let’s make an attempt at coming up with an example. Even though it is three months away, let’s use Christmas as an example.  You get along well with your family.  You are required by the pressure of the family to be at the gathering of the clan for Christmas Eve.  It is entirely a secular event.  Jesus is not the focus of the gathering.  It conflicts with your ability to worship your Savior with your brothers and sisters in the faith on Christmas Eve and makes it impossible for you to worship your Savior on Christmas Day.  If you don’t attend the gathering, you are verbally attacked and socially isolated by your own family members.  It is proper for you to renounce your normal affections for them and hate what they are doing to you as you attempt to follow Jesus. Jesus says so.

    Another attempt at an example.  I love my home.  It is beautiful, comfortable, practical and in a good location.  But it requires a lot of money.  In addition to the time that it takes to earn the money that is needed, it takes a lot of time to keep it looking beautiful. It also takes a lot of time to keep everything working properly so that it remains comfortable.  Very often I find myself not having enough time to be growing spiritually in my relationship with Jesus, not having enough time to carry out my role of spiritual shepherd by leading my family closer to Jesus.  It is proper for you to renounce your love for your lifestyle, life’s work and life’s holdings and hate your life for what it is doing to you as you attempt to follow Jesus.  Jesus says so.   

“ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:   {28}"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? {29}For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, {30}saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'  Jesus doesn’t tell us why the person wanted to build the tower.  It doesn’t matter.  Jesus’ point is it took a huge amount of wealth to build a tower.  Maybe everything this person owned.  He had to decide whether he wanted to make such a commitment.

     How was he going to make such a decision?  He had to try to figure out ahead of time whether he could accomplish building a tower with the assets he had.  If he did not do that, he could commit all of his wealth to the project, start the project, run out of assets, and still not have a tower.  If he tried to figure it out ahead of time, and came to the conclusion that he did not have enough assets, he would not start the project.

   Jesus punchline is the last verse: {33} “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”  So, the meaning of this paragraph must be: Following Jesus means making a complete long-term commitment. That commitment over the long term will cost you.  People need to be aware of that.   

    Let’s look at some chronology.  I am brought to faith as a little one through the waters of Baptism.  No cost there.  I spend my early years in a loving Christian family.  Everybody believes that Jesus is the Savior.  No cost there.  I am educated in a Christian congregation where I publicly confess that Jesus died to wipe away my sins, Jesus lived to cover me with his righteousness, and Jesus rose so I will live forever with Him.  No cost there.  I am also educated in a system which makes me feel foolish for believing what I believe.  I can either be not so open about it or get shunned.  There’s a cost there.  I pursue vigorously a profession in which it is very difficult to do things God’s way.  I can either not do things God’s way or not do as well as I might.  There’s a cost there.  I am given the ability to experience many things in this life with the people who have become my friends.  Some of it is not pleasing to God.  I can either go along with what they are doing or not be as closely connected with them.  There’s a cost there.  Jesus point is - we need to know that over the course of time  a long-term commitment to following Jesus will involve some cost.    

Let’s look at the goal.  I want to be a follower of Jesus until the Lord calls me out of this life so that I might spend eternity with Jesus.  My faith in Jesus when I was a little child won’t affect my eternity if I have lost my faith during the course of my life.  My godliness when I was surrounded by a Christian support system at certain points in my life won’t counterbalance my impenitence and rejection of Jesus’ forgiveness for my godless lifestyle if that is where I am when the Lord calls me out of this life.  Jesus’ point is -   following Him means a lifelong commitment.  

   Let’s be honest.  I don’t like it when something costs me something.  I don’t want to lose my friends because I follow Jesus.  I don’t want to lose my success because I follow Jesus.  I don’t want to lose out on anything because I follow Jesus.  I don’t want to make this kind of a commitment.  And even if I do, I know I won’t be able to keep it.  That is a correct evaluation of me, a sinful human being.

    But I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.  Jesus is my best friend.  What greater success is there than having a eternal relationship with God.  What better experience can there be than an eternity with the Lord.  Jesus makes us aware of the cost of being a disciple..  Jesus makes us aware of the commitment involved in following Him. But Jesus makes us able to do all things by giving us the strength to do even those  things that we wouldn’t want to do on our own.

“ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:   {31}"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? {32}If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.   A lot of evaluation has to happen before someone goes into a war.  The king Jesus describes evaluates his troop strength.  He is outnumbered two to one.  Would his position make it a fair fight?  Would his better equipment make it a fair fight?  

      If he sees that there is no way that he will be able to conquer the enemy, he will not go into the battle.  On the basis of his evaluation he determined he would lose his army and his kingdom.  That was not what he wanted. So, he would take his chances on the agreements made in a peace treaty.   

    Becoming a follower of Jesus is the easiest thing in the world.  It takes no effort on our part.  Eternal life is a gift. God gives it to us freely.  He forgives our sins because Jesus died on the cross.  He gives us the holiness which Jesus lived in our place.  He exempts us from punishment because Jesus suffered it for us.  He gives us unending life because Jesus rose from the dead.  He gives us faith by sending the Holy Spirit into our lives.  It’s all a gift.  Free.  What could be easier than that!?

     Following Jesus is the hardest thing in the world.  That is because we are immediately in a war.  The devil hates it that we have become followers of Jesus.  He uses every tactic He can to disengage us from our relationship with Jesus.  He tries to convince us that we are going to be missing too much if we follow Jesus.  He tries to convince us that we are good enough to live forever on our own and we shouldn’t need a crutch like Jesus.  Jesus wants us to be like the king who knew ahead of time what the fight was going to be like.

    Following Jesus is the hardest thing in the world.  It means we have to be constantly fighting.  The people around us are going to be influencing our attitudes just by exercising their approach to life.  Since their approach to life isn’t God’s approach to life, we have to be fighting it otherwise it will overwhelm us.  If we aren’t aware of the need to be fighting, we are going to become just like everybody else and we won’t even notice it.  Jesus wants us to be like the king who knew ahead of time what the fight was going to be like.

    Following Jesus is the hardest thing in the world.  It means there is a civil war going on inside each of us every day.  The old sinful self which remains a part of us as long as we are in this world insists that self has to come first otherwise we will be overwhelmed by all the other selfish people in the world.  Sinful pride keeps insisting that we are better than most of the scum in the world around us and God ought to be satisfied with our best efforts.  Since this is an inside lobbying job, we don’t even notice when love for others and trust in Jesus is fading out of the picture.  Jesus wants us to be like the king who knew ahead of time what the fight was going to be like.

    The devil, the overwhelming numbers of the people around me, my own sinful self.  Too many enemies.  I am outnumbered.  I can’t win this war on my own.  I need some help.  That is exactly where Jesus wants to lead us with this little story.  Remember the punchline.   {33}In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.  One of the things we give up as followers of Jesus is our self-reliance. We rely on Jesus.  

     What gets us through the fighting?  Jesus doesn’t allow anyone to pluck us out of His hands.  Jesus gives us real abundance in life. Jesus convinces us that is it is a privilege to be the salt of the earth.  Jesus love for us compels us to love others.  Jesus makes it possible for us to be humble.  

Lord help us to continue to hate what is necessary, commit what is necessary, and fight what is necessary so that we might continue to  follow Jesus.

Written Sermon 9/18/2022

CWC- Pentecost 15 (proper 17)- Old Testament Lesson  - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

                                Proverbs 25:6,7

.6 “Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; 7 it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.” 

What is something worth?

Why is something worth what it is worth?  

WHAT ARE YOU WORTH?

On your own?

In Christ?

What are you worth?  How do people determine what they are worth? Sometimes on the basis of what is going on in life right now.  I get good grades in school.  Whom am I worth a lot to?  People who need help with their schoolwork.  I work very hard at my job. Whom am I worth a lot to? My company.  I have a job. Whom am I worth a lot to?  My family.  

    What are you worth?  Sometimes people answer that question on the basis of their skills.  I can pass a football better than anybody else in my high school. Whom am I worth a lot to? The team.   I can play the organ.  Whom am I worth a lot to?  The congregation.  I can hit over .300 in the major leagues.  Whom am I worth a lot to?   I am worth several million a year to myself.   

    What are you worth?  Sometimes people answer that question on the basis of their involvement.  I volunteer at the soup kitchen.  Whom am I worth a lot to? Needy people.  I coach basketball on the grade school level. Whom am I worth a lot to? The players.  I handle easily all my household chores. Whom am I worth a lot to? My parents.   I help my friends say “No” to godlessness.  Whom am I worth a lot to? My friends. 

   King Solomon warns us about taking our self worth from any of the above.  Why?  Because comparisons are always relative.  You are doing well at school.  Comparison?  There is probably somebody doing better.  I started at quarterback as a senior.  Comparison?  The starter the next year was better.   I volunteer two hours a week.  Comparison?  Somebody else volunteers three. 

    Then what happens? .6 “Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; 7 it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.”   Somebody evaluates your worth differently from how you evaluate it.  You are humiliated.

   What are you worth?  There is a more important question than, “What are you worth to yourself?”  Or “What are you worth to others?”  What are you worth to God?  God has given us a standard to measure ourselves with to determine what we are worth to Him.  What is that standard called?  God’s law.  It says, {Lev 19:2}“Be holy because I the LORD your God am holy.”  If we are going to be worth anything in God’s sight, we have to be able to keep the Law.  

    There is a problem.  None of us perfectly keeps God first in our lives.  None of us makes use of every opportunity to talk about Jesus with others.   None of us always gladly goes to Bible class.  None of us always verbally respects our teachers.  None of us perfectly takes care of his or her body.  All of us would like to have sex with that attractive person in our life who is not our marriage partner.  None of us joyfully pays our taxes.  All of us verbally trash our rotten neighbors.  All of us want something God says we can’t have.  On the basis of God’s Law we are worth nothing to God.  On our own we have no worth.  

   When the LORD leads me to acknowledge that, it makes me truly humble.   Humility is the first step in repentance.  Humility says, “In spite of what I think of myself, and in spite of what others might think of me, on my own I am not worth anything to God.  Because of my sins, I am in a terrible mess.  I need help.    

If we don’t have any worth to God on our own, what should be our attitude about ourselves?  Hinduism and Buddhism teach that the correct way to think of oneself is to try to forget about one’s individuality and press on toward the ultimate goal of Moksha or Nirvana where the individual is absorbed into the supreme universal reality.   

    The Bible, however, does not teach that the opposite of self-worth is no individuality at all.  The Bible teaches us that we as individuals are very valuable.  God values each of us.  It tells us that our uniqueness as individuals will never be lost.  Jesus didn’t just die for the world.  He went seeking the one lost sheep.  God isn’t just the caretaker of the universe.  He cares for each of us individually.  

  B1 How does God’s care for us as individuals show itself?  He thought we were so valuable to Him, that He didn’t want us to be cut off from Him now and forever.  He wanted us to be a part of His family now and forever.  He committed Himself to do whatever was necessary to accomplish our rescue from the punishment of death and hell that we deserve.

   2 How much are we worth?  To God we are worth enough that He had Jesus take our guilt on Himself.  If God had not removed our guilt from us and put it on Jesus, God would have had to punish us.  Instead, Jesus our Substitute was punished.  He suffered the death and hell we deserve because of our sin, so that we might escape from that.  If we weren’t worth anything to God,  He wouldn’t have had Jesus do all that for us. 

   3 How much are we worth?  To God we are worth enough that He had Jesus live an entire life cycle for us here on this earth.  If Jesus hadn’t lived as our Substitute and never sinned, there would be no source of holiness for us.  Holiness is demanded by God if we are going to be part of God’s family forever.  If we weren’t worth anything to God, He wouldn’t have had Jesus do all that for us.  

   4 What are we worth?  Because of Jesus we are worth a lot to God.  We are holy, acceptable to Him.  His people.  Members of His family.  His servants who do His will.  If that is God’s view of us, shouldn’t it be our view of ourselves?  In Jesus Christ, valuable.  Functional.  Worth a lot.  Because of Jesus we are going to be able to hold our heads high on Judgment Day.  Because of Jesus I can hold my head nigh now while I am waiting for Jesus.  Because of Jesus I am a child of God.  

  C1 That doesn’t sound very humble.   But it’s OK.  Listen to Jeremiah.  (9:24) “Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.”  Listen to St Paul: (2 Cor 12:9) “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power my rest on me.”  Or in 1 Cor 1:31: “Let him who boasts, boast in the LORD.” 

   2 You are worth something because of Jesus.  Life is worth something because of Jesus.  Your skills are valuable because they are gifts from Jesus.  Your tasks are valuable because Jesus wants you to accomplish something.  Your relationships are valuable because through them you can bring Jesus to people. Your words are important because they tell others about Jesus.  

   Conc: Human beings on our own 

                   worthless.  

             Human beings in Christ 

                   - priceless.    

Written Sermon 9/11/2022

Pentecost 14  

Kieth Bernard Kuschel

Luke 13:22-30

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don't know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” 

May God the Holy Spirit lead you through the narrow door.  Amen.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,” Jesus said.  Think of a door that is two inches narrower than you are, standing sideways. The door is also two inches shorter than you are. .  The only way you can get through this door is if you have absolutely nothing attached to you.  No motorcycle helmet. No back pack.  No elegant or bulky clothing.  Just you.  

    When we are discussing spiritual matters, we have to acknowledge that we human beings are always wearing a bunch of stuff.   We have this motorcycle helmet on called selfish pride, or the big head, if you would rather call it that.  God says that is sin.  We have our back pack stuffed with things we don’t want to give up even though we know they are against God’s will.  God says they are sinful words and actions.  We are wearing what we think are elegant clothes, things that other people have complimented us for doing, but which we know were done in our own selfish best interest.  God says that attitude is sin.  If we are going to get through the narrow door, all of this stuff has to be removed.

  How does all of this stuff get removed?   Try as we might we won’t get rid of any of it on our own.  We need some outside help.  Jesus provided this outside help for us.  He took our selfish pride, our sinful words and actions, and even our selfish attitudes on Himself and removed them from us.  Or to use another Bible picture - He washed away all of the guilt of these things in His blood.  So we aren’t wearing any of this stuff that we continue to produce as sinners. So we fit through the narrow door. 

    How do we know that is what Jesus was thinking of when He said: “Make every effort to enter though the narrow door.?”  Listen to Jesus in John 10: 7 - “I am the gate for the sheep.”  9 - “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” How about John 14:6 -  “I am the way;.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”   Jesus didn’t say, “In order to be saved you must be spiritual.” No. He wasn’t abstract, nebulous, generic, general or imprecise.  Why?  Because He loves us.  He wanted us to know the answer to the question, (23)“Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”  Jesus is the door.  The only door.  

“Are only a few people going to be saved?”  Your answer needs to be precise.  The guilt of my sin makes it impossible for me to fit through the narrow door.  Jesus’ blood washes away the guilt of my selfishness, my loveless actions and words, and my self-oriented attitudes.  Only if that guilt is removed will I fit through the narrow door. 

 “Are only a few people going to be saved?”  Your answer needs to be precise.  Jesus says only holy people fit through the narrow door.  Since I don’t produce holiness, I couldn’t get past the reception desk on my own.  Jesus gives me the holiness that I can’t produce for myself.  Holiness that He lived as a real human being.   He covers me with it.  When I stop at the reception desk of the kingdom of God, what do we tell the receptionist?  We say, “Jesus is my Savior. What does God see?  When He is looking at a believer, He sees Jesus.  And Jesus is holy.  So He says to us, “Come on in the door is open.”    

 “Are only a few people going to be saved?”  Your answer needs to be precise. You see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”   I doesn’t matter what ethnic background you come from.  It doesn’t matter where in the world you live.  It doesn’t matter if you live right after the Creation of the world or right before Judgment Day.  Jesus is the Savior of every person who has ever lived or will ever live in this world.  He is the only one through whom anyone can enter into the feast that is going to last forever with the LORD.  Jesus is the Door.  The only door.  If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that.  

I Jesus very clearly in this discussion indicates that there is another side to this issue.  {24}“Many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”  What keeps people from being able to fit through the narrow door?  If all the attachments are not removed, a person won’t fit.  When a person refuses to allow the blood of Jesus to wash off his sins, he won’t fit.  That can happen for two reasons.  He might not acknowledge what he is doing is sin, and therefore doesn’t repent and seek forgiveness.  Or he might not believe that what Jesus did has any significance for his relationship with God.  Lack of repentance. Rejecting Jesus the Savior.  Both keep people out of the narrow door.   If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that 

   There is another reason people don’t fit. They insist. {26}“We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” “We hung out with you Lord, while we were living on earth.  We were Your people.  Look at our lives.  Don’t they prove we were Your people?”  Jesus quote is:

“I don’t know you or where you come from.  Away from me, all you evildoers!”    When someone insists on getting through the narrow door on the basis of his own credentials, he must pay for his own sins.  That would take an eternity of punishment.   Second.  He must produce perfection.  That is impossible for any selfish human.   No human being on his own can make himself fit through the narrow door.  If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that. 

   Everybody wants to fit through the door.  So the comment, “I don’t know you or where you come from,” gets an argument.  But an argument doesn’t change the verdict.  God doesn’t change the standards in the middle of the game.  Either you produce perfection, or you don’t.  Either you have no sinful selfish baggage, or you do.  Notice the statement is the same before and after the argument.  “I don’t know you or where you come from.”

      When it is time for a person to go through the narrow door, or be kept outside it, or to state it as we usually do, when it is time for the Lord to end a person’s life on this earth, it is too late to argue about your status.  The person who dies or on Judgment Day enters the courtroom of the Lord has no possibility of repenting then.  It is too late.  You can’t go back and fix things then.  Jesus puts it this way: 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’”  God’s verdict at the time of death and on Judgment day is final.  If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that. 

   For those outside the door, the picture isn’t very pleasant.  {28}Weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Weeping is a sign of sorrow, pain, anguish, loss, failure.  Gnashing of teeth I think is the same as gritting or grinding your teeth.  You do that because the pain is so bad, because the anger, frustration, sorrow is so bad. Yes. God loves all people.  He wants all people to be saved.  But He also sends unrepentant people who don’t believe in Jesus to an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that. 

   Jesus notes that those {30}who are first will be last.  Those who heard Jesus preaching first and rejected Him.  Those who insist that they are first on God’s priority list because of their own personal piety will find themselves last. They will be outside the narrow door throughout eternity. If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that. 

Jesus clearly teaches here that there are two places one can spend eternity.  Either with the Lord or apart from the Lord.  In spite of many attempts to blunt that message by saying a loving God would never push anyone away from Him forever, it is obvious from Jesus’ picture that He very clearly teaches us that the narrow door lets some in and keeps some out. If we love people, we are going to tell them precisely that. 

Written Sermon 8/28/2022

CWC - Alt Epistle Pentecost 12  - KBKuschel

                     Revelation 3:1-6

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches

Foretell the future???? See into the future?????

IA 1 How many of you like or liked to play hide and seek?  What made the game fun?  Actually finding place where you couldn’t be found.  With whom is it impossible to play hide and seek successfully?  Jesus.  Why?  Because He knows exactly where we are in life at all time.   Jesus says that to the people in Sardis and to us in the words before us today. {1} I know your deeds.   

    2 Let’s consider some deeds of the people in Sardis and of us. People gather regularly to hear the Word of God.  People celebrate the Lord’s Supper together weekly.  When asked, the members of the congregation indicate they believe that Jesus is their Savior.  What Jesus taught is taught in the classrooms to children and adults.  The members talk to God frequently.  The people live moral lives, doing what is right for the people around them. What is your evaluation of this group, which could be us?  Good Christian group.  Or the evaluation could be a sentence from the verses before us today: Jesus says: {1}“you have a reputation of being alive.” 

   3 These same people have no desire to get closer to Jesus and to hold onto His blessings of forgiveness, holiness and eternal life more tightly.  They don’t really trust in Jesus as their Savior. They don’t bother to participate in the classrooms where Jesus’ teachings are taught.  Their minds are not engaged when they talk to God.  Their morality has no connection with what Jesus did for them.  What is your evaluation of them now? Jesus says:{1} “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”  

  4 That is a very strong statement.  Did you notice there is no mention of specific or general immorality?  There is no mention of specific or general false teaching.   So what had happened to bring about their spiritual death?  Apathy and indifference.   “I don’t think the words that I am hearing are important.  I don’t think the bread and wine that I am drinking are special.  I don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.  If I have time sometime, I will listen to Jesus intently.  When I have some needs, I will talk to Jesus earnestly.  Living a moral life is obligatory if this world is going to be a good place to live in.”  Jesus says:{2}  “I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”   They looked complete on the outside.  They were not complete. Jesus is missing.  Spiritually dead. 

  5 Apathy has another result.  Jesus says: {3}But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.  “I don’t think what Jesus says is important.  I don’t really believe what Jesus says.  I forget about His promise to return on Judgment Day. His return happens.  It is a shock to me that He has returned.”

  B1 What is Jesus’ response to apathy?  He shouts out. {2} “Wake up.”“Repent.” He wants all to be saved.  He doesn’t want people sliding away from Him.  What stops the slide? 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard.  We have the truth.  Jesus died to wash away our sins. Jesus lived to cover us with His holiness.  Jesus rose so we can live forever.  Being reminded of those blessings on a regular basis is the only thing that will convince us that Jesus is important and that what He says is worth listening to. Jesus says, “Hold onto it.” {3}“Hold it fast.”

   2 What is Jesus’ response to apathy? {1}“To the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  Jesus responds to apathy by communicating with us through His written Word.  In that written word we are reminded that He holds each congregation and its pastor in his hand.  In other words He has personal concern for all of us.  He loves us.  He isn’t apathetic toward us.    

.    3 What is God’s response to apathy? “To the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  Jesus responds to apathy by dispensing the Holy Spirit with His seven gifts into our lives through His written Word.  With the Spirit active in our lives, we are reminded of Jesus’ love and His actions for our salvation.  That destroys apathy.  

Lord Jesus, as I look ahead, I see that apathy is very possible for me.  Please continue to make me aware of the danger of losing what I have.   Through Your Word and Spirit empower me to actively hold onto Your truth. 

IIA1 What do you see when you look in the mirror?   (Put in your own details) I see a 72 yr old male. 6 ft 1 inches. 175 pounds.  White beard. Thinning hair.   Weathered face.  

     2 What do you see when you look into another mirror? God’s Law.  I see a person who doesn’t do a very good job of keeping God first in my life.  I see a person who doesn’t use God’s name properly all the time.  I see a person who doesn’t use God’s word properly all the time.  I see a person who doesn’t like to be told what to do by authority figures.  I see a person who always doesn’t appreciate God’s gift of life as much as I should.  I see a person who often views my sexuality selfishly.   I see a person who doesn’t use his money to love others as much as I could.  I see a person who lashes out with words.  I see a person who sometimes is driven by wants.  

    3 What do you see when you look at yourselves through the eyes of Jesus?   A person whose sins have been washed away in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for the whole world.  A person covered with the holiness which Jesus, really God,  lived as a real human being for the very purpose of providing it for the whole human race.  

   4 What do you see when you look at yourselves through the eyes of Jesus? A person who is living out life as a companion with Jesus.  A person, who because of the attached holiness of Jesus, is worthy to be part of the family of Jesus.   How do I know that is what Jesus sees?  He says so. {4} “They .... walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”  

   5 What do you see when you look at yourselves through the eyes of Jesus?  I see someone who hasn’t become a victim of apathy and indifference. Somebody who is excited about worshiping Jesus every week.  Somebody who is awed by the reception of Jesus’ body and blood. Somebody who eagerly studies the Bible with brothers and sisters at Bible classes.  Somebody who actively benefits other people as Jesus has loved them.    How do I know that is what Jesus sees?  He says so.    “4 Yet you have ......people....who have not soiled their clothes.”       

 B1 What do you see when you look ahead?  I see somebody whom God has empowered to conquer Satan’s temptation to only look at the present.  I see somebody whom God has empowered to conquer unbelievers’ temptation to only look at the things around me.  I see somebody whom God has empowered to conquer my own selfishness.  That is what Jesus sees too.  How do I know?  He says so. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. 

   2 What do you see when you look ahead?  I see somebody who is going to be a part of God’s family forever.  I see somebody who, even after the physical body has died and decayed once, is going to live forever both body and soul.  That is what Jesus sees too.  How do I know?  He says so.{5} I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life,

    3 What do you see when you look ahead?  I see somebody whose body is going to be reconstituted on Judgment Day.  I see somebody who is going to be made complete again on Judgment Day with both a body and a soul.  I see somebody standing before God’s judgment throne.  I hear God saying, “Come you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world..”  Is that a correct vision of the future?  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.  How do I know?  Jesus says so. {5} I will acknowledge you before my Father and his angels.

6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.   LORD Jesus, keep my ears open and listening to what the Holy Your Spirit says to me through the Bible so that I keep seeing what You see when You look ahead: me with You in perfection forever.  

What do you see when you look ahead?

I. Short term: We will be actively holding on to the truth. 

  A. Danger: lose what we have

      1. God knows what is going on in our lives (Hide and seek)

      2. Outward actions

      3. Not based on relationship with Jesus

      3. Apathy leads to spiritual death  

      4. Apathy makes Jesus’ return unexpected   

   B. Solution: Return to the Word

        1. We have the truth

        2. Jesus gives personal message of care and concern (holds 7 stars)

        3. Jesus dispenses Spirit (7 spirits)

II. Long term: We will be with the LORD in perfection

   A. Present situation

       1. Look in mirror of God’s Law

       2. Covered with Jesus’ holiness

       3. Worthy to be part of God’s family

       4. Not soiled with apathy

   B. Future

       1. Overcome

       2. Names written in book of life

       3. Acknowledged by God on Judgement Day    

Written Sermon 8/21/2022

CWC - Pentecost 11 - Gospel Lesson   - KBKuschel

                            Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” 

What do you want more than anything else?

IA1 Jesus had just finished teaching the people about hypocrisy, God’s care for people, our need to tell others about Him, and the Holy Spirit’s help in giving us the right gifts at the right time.  One person in the crowd concluded that Jesus was an expert in all areas of life. 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

   2 What was the problem?  Maybe he was a younger brother and the older brother who was in charge of distributing the inheritance refused to give him his part.   Maybe he was dissatisfied with the Old Testament law’s distribution system.  In that system the older brother got a double portion of the inheritance to help him maintain the farm or vineyard.  Everybody else got one portion.   

  3 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”  What did Jesus see as the underlying problem behind this request?  Greed.  

  B1 In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread.”  We were reminded by Martin Luther that the concept “daily bread” includes “everything that we need for our bodily well being.”  How can Jesus teach us to ask Him for daily bread and also teach us that greed is a sin because life does not consist in the abundance of possessions? 

  2 The first thing we need to remember is that possessions are not sinful. Through His created universe God gives us everything that we need for our bodily well-being.  If God created the production mechanisms for the things we need for our bodily well-being, and if God is therefore the source of these things, then these things are not sinful.  Notice Jesus never says in the words before us today that possessions are sinful.  

  C1 But greed is.  Greed is an attitude.  Can somebody give me a definition of greed?  Dictionary says: “Excessive desire for getting or having.”  “Desire for more than one needs or deserves.”  Greed is a symptom of a spiritual problem.  Anybody know what the spiritual problem is?  The spiritual problem is that the greedy person believes that he or she must take care of him or herself.  Greed is fueled by a lack of trust that God will keep His promises to use the created world around us to provide us with the things that we need.  

  2 What is the opposite of greed?  Contentment. Thankfulness.  God blesses some people in this world with lots of possessions and others with very few possessions.   People in either situation can be filled with thankfulness to the LORD for what the LORD has given them.  People in either situation in life can be content with the amount of possessions the LORD has given them.  Or, people in either situation in life can have an excessive desire to have more than one needs.  Human life is supported by our possessions.  Jesus teaches us to ask the LORD to bless us with those possessions.  But greed is sin.  

15 Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.  

IIA1 Next Jesus told a little story.  “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. God was blessing this person with an abundance of possessions.

   2 What was the man’s attitude?  “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”  What did this man think the purpose of his possessions was? To indulge himself. To do whatever he wanted.  Totally selfish approach to life.  

  B1 For what purpose does God give us our possessions?  “Love your neighbor as yourself”(Matt 22:39).  We are to work hard, earn money, manage it well so that we have the food, clothing, shelter, education, and instruction in God’s word, which we need for the well-being of our bodies and our souls.  If we fail to love ourselves, act to take care of ourselves, we are telling God that His gift of our bodies and lives are not valuable enough to spend any effort on maintaining.  We are to use our possessions to take care of ourselves.  Not indulge ourselves.       2 For what purpose does God give us our possessions? “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”(ITim 5:8) If God has given us people who are dependent on us, we are to use our possessions to provide them with food, clothing, shelter, education, and instruction in God’s word which they need for the well-being of their bodies and their souls. To love others.  Not to indulge ourselves.  

   3 For what purpose does God give us our possessions? “Love your neighbor as  yourself”(Matt 22:39).  If people are not capable of providing themselves with food, clothing, shelter, education, and instruction in God’s word, which they need for the well-being of their bodies and our souls, God wants us to shoulder that responsibility.  That is loving others.  Not indulging ourselves.

   4 For what purpose does God give us our possessions? “Love your neighbor as yourself”(Matt 22:39).  If you really want to benefit your neighbor, you tell your neighbor about Jesus. The Holy Spirit uses that to bring people to trust that Jesus died to wash away their sins, lived to cover them with His holiness and rose so that they might live forever.  When we use a percentage of our money to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, we are using our money to love those people.  Not to indulge ourselves.  

   5 For what purpose does God give us our possessions?  “If you owe taxes, pay taxes.” (Rom 13:7) When our possessions are used to support the government, which provides people with peace and safety, we are using our possessions to love others.  Not to indulge ourselves. 

 C1 Look around when you get home.  You have your storage spaces full.  The basement is full.  The attic is full. The garage is full.  The closets are full.  God is blessing us with an abundance of possessions. What do we do?  I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones 

   2 Nothing wrong so far.  But remember we are discussing attitudes here.  Attitude #1.  “The more possessions  I have the more freedom I have to indulge myself in personally satisfying non-necessities of life.”  “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Attitude #2.   “The more possessions I have the more people I can benefit.”    Life does not consist in personal gratification.  

IIIA1 God responded.  ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  Then Jesus’ comment after the little story.  21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”  Evidently the man in the little story was not rich toward God.  

   2 Why does God call this very successful man a fool?  Because this man stored up things for himself.  But since human life is not permanent, the things would go to somebody else.  Because the man focused totally on impermanent things for himself, he had no time for a relationship with God.  He was not rich toward God.

  B1 What does being rich toward God mean?  It means that our lives are filled up with God’s salvation.  God’s rescue of us from the guilt of our sins.  Jesus took our sins to the cross, shed His blood.  Washes them away.  That means we are rescued from death and hell as punishment for our sins.  

  2 What does being rich toward God mean?  It means that our lives are filled up with God’s holiness.  Jesus lived in this world, really God and really human, and never sinned.  He covers us with His holiness.  We are holy in God’s sight.  Qualified to be members of God’s family.  The Holy Spirit motivates us with the Gospel to reflect the holiness of Jesus with which we are covered.  Completely opposite of the selfishness we produce on our own.  

  3 What does being rich toward God mean?  It means that our lives are filled up with God’s gift of eternal life.  Life that doesn’t stop.  Jesus rose from the dead so that He might give us a relationship with God that never ends.  The problem with the rich man in Jesus’ story was he focused on the wrong things.  He focused on what was temporary.  

  4 In this world we get possessions by working hard for them.  We earn them.  That could make us rich.  We don’t become rich toward God by working hard or earning God’s riches.  We can’t. We are not perfect as God demands.  So, God gives us salvation because of Jesus’ death.  He gives us holiness because of Jesus’ life.  He gives us eternal life because of Jesus’ resurrection.  God gives us what is necessary to make us rich toward Him. 

  C1 Being rich toward God is totally separate from having an abundance of possessions.  There are four possible combinations.  A person can be rich toward God and have abundant possessions.  A person can be rich toward God and not have abundant possessions.  A person can be poor toward God and have abundant possessions.  A person can be poor toward God and not have abundant possessions.  Being rich toward God is not mutually exclusive of having abundant possessions or vice versa.  

  2 Remember it is all about attitude and focus. When the Holy Spirit has led us to set our hearts on things above, then our goal in life is to be rich toward God.  It doesn’t matter whether we have abundant possessions or not.  Life consists of being rich toward God.  

Written Sermon 8/14/2022

Your Father Gives a Yes Guarantee

Luke 11:1-13 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ”

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 

8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Friends in Christ, my family just moved to a house after two years of living in an apartment complex, and three times during those two years we got a knock on the door quite late at night. The first was a kind neighbor letting us know our van door hadn’t closed and was sitting open. She didn’t want our battery to die or anything to crawl in there, so thank you! The second time, a kind neighbor let us know we had left our keys in the lock, dangling in view of the everyone in the hallway. She didn’t want anyone to walk off with them—thanks! The third time a kind neighbor realized a package on her step was misdelivered and it was actually ours, so she knocked loudly to make sure we got it. In each case, the loud knock on the door after 9 at night set our hearts beating fast, and our minds racing with a flurry of possibilities: Is someone going to barge in and rob us? Is this person crazy—do they not know how rude this is? Or wait…do they know it’s rude, but whatever they have to say can’t wait until morning. Of course, that last thought was correct in all three cases.

I’m sure not everyone here would dare open their door to a stranger that late at night, at least unarmed, but Jesus describes this happening at back-to-back houses in his story illustrating prayer here. First friends show up at your house in the middle of the night, then you hustle over to knock on your neighbor’s door even later in the middle of the night.

I love when Jesus tells us a story to get his point across to us listeners. Nothing draws you in like a story, especially if it gets a little silly and exaggerated…you want to see how it ends. Probably over half of his stories are totally relatable even now—they’re about parents and kids or plants or animals. Other parables make us imagine back to the days of kings and servants, and we can picture that. But a few stories include details from the culture at that time that would just be lost on us if we didn’t get other hints about what people in that culture acted and—most importantly here—what was polite.

Before phones, before GPS, before Holiday Inns at every exit, people got where they were going whenever they got there. And there was a standing agreement that towns would cover for travelers passing through, even if it imposes on you: Our town will host guests. And that’s that. You might entertain them one night, I might the next, but together, it’s our responsibility—not theirs—ours—to make sure everyone has a place to stay. Our town’s reputation depends on it.

Obviously we live in very different times. We never know who’s passing through, and we don’t think it’s our problem if they don’t have a place to stay. They can go find a hotel or Air B&B. But when your whole town was ten houses, all connected, or a few dozen families all around a town square, or inside the city walls, it was different. Common decency meant opening your home, offering not just a slice of toast but a full meal and going through motions of being a generous host, even if you’d rather be sleeping.

I’m guessing nobody wants a knock on their door here, and certainly not in FL, where that’s illegal in most neighborhoods. But in parts of the world, what Jesus describes is still the norm. I heard in the news that the census takers in Saudi Arabia are barely making progress because everyone invites them into their home for coffee and conversation, to be polite, so the government had to tell people to stop doing that--just let them take their survey and move on!

Jesus tells this parable, because the desperate person in his story is you. The man with extra bread to spare is God, your Father in Heaven. And you know it might be rude, you know it’s asking a lot, but what other options do you have? Your only hope for daily bread and forgiveness hangs on that man in his house with all that bread. You depend on him being generous, understanding your need, and answering his door. And if even a grouchy, tired curmudgeon like the guy in Jesus’ story will eventually get up and give you as much as you need—his point is, don’t you think God your Father will be much quicker than that, and give to you much more generously?

Ask, then. Seek out good things where you know you’ll find them. Knock and knock, even if it’s rude, even if it’s late at night, and even if it’s the thousandth or ten-thousandth time you’ve come to your Father in Heaven, desperate, hoping he can help you out in a pinch. Of course he will answer the door. He’s not hard to wake up, and he won’t hold it against you in the morning. In fact he loves to give you good things.

Best of all the good things he loves to give is his Holy Spirit. The Father gives the Spirit through the Son. You pray to your Father asking for strength to live an upright life, to make it to heaven, and not to lose the grace you’ve been given—of course he’ll say yes to that prayer, and he’ll answer your prayer by steering you to the word of Christ, the marvelous work of Jesus for you, in you, over you, through you. The Father gives the Spirit through the Son.

When you ask those famous Lord’s Prayer requests that Jesus taught a few verses earlier, what in there could God possibly say “no” to? His kingdom won’t come? He’ll withhold your bread or forgiveness? All of a sudden he will start leading you into temptation? Of course not. God himself guarantees you that his answer to all of these prayers is always going to be ‘yes.’

So don’t hesitate to pray because you feel you’re on the outs with God right now, or your request would be too big or too annoying or too impossible or too selfish—no, knock all that off and look at Jesus. The Son of God came to earth, was a guest in homes, taught us to pray, then went to Calvary, and on that cross answered our biggest, craziest, rudest prayer, which is: “Lord, don’t treat me like my sins deserve.” And clearly your Father’s answer, through Jesus is, “Yes. Because of what my Son is paying on that cross, Yes. I guarantee you I have forgotten your sins. I will treat you as my child—I want you to be a guest in my house forever. And you can talk to me about anything you want at any time, and it’s not rude. In fact, I would be the rude one if I did not get up and answer your prayer—my reputation depends on it.”

We love those guaranteed yes requests of the Lord’s Prayer, so we pray it often and love it. And even as expand off of that model prayer and pray to our Father about all sorts of other things on our minds, we always ask for it (1) in Jesus’ name (because he’s the only reason we have access to the Father) and (2) we pray according to God’s will. So your requests always sound like, “Lord, please give me or give my friend this thing that I want…or…something better if you can think of anything.” Ask, seek, knock that way, and again God’s answer will always be yes. He’ll either give you exactly what you’re asking for, or something that he can see is going to be even better for you

I want you to go through this week reassured by Jesus’ teaching here, Pray! It’s never rude. Again, he would consider it rude of himself not to answer you. So take him up on that. An answer is guaranteed, and it’s guaranteed to be as good as or better than you were expecting. Be a frequent guest knocking on your Father’s door this week, and those prayers of yours will get things done. Like James 5:16 says, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Thank you, Lord, for declaring us to be your righteous people, and for making our rude requests such a priority for you. Amen.

------

Activities:

1. Are you too timid or too bold in your prayers to God? (Is it possible to be either?)

1.  Commit to “ask…seek…knock” bravely and boldly before God’s throne this week about an issue that’s been bugging you.

1.  Your Father loves to give you his Holy Spirit through his Word and sacrament. Do you have a solid personal Bible-reading or devotion routine, or is it time to start a new one?

Written Sermon 8/7/2022

CWC- Pentecost 9 - Old Testament - KB Kuschel  

                                      Genesis 18:1-14 

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” 7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.  9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said. 10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 

When was the last time you laughed about something?

When it is bad to laugh about something? 

Humiliate someone 

When was the last time you laughed at God?   Why?

IA1 18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.  “Hey guys,” God said to two angels, “I am kind of bored.  Let’s go for a walk this noon.”  God took on appearances at very times in history.  Do you think He did that because He was bored? 

   2 From the rest of the verses before us today, why did God do that?  He had some things He wanted to talk about with Abraham.   He wanted to talk with Abraham about his son.  He also wanted to talk with Abraham about what was going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah, since Abraham’s nephew Lot was living there.  

   3 How did Abraham respond to the presence of the three visitors?  2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” 7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.    Abraham did a lot of preparing for this conversation with these strangers.  

  4 Question.  When do you think Abraham figured out that this was the LORD?   Either when this person started talking about Sarah having a child, or if not then, when this person knew Sarah who wasn’t present had laughed.  It’s a little humorous, isn’t it?  You can see Abraham doing a double take and asking, “You are predicting a baby for us?”  Or, “You can tell me what Sarah is doing even though you can’t see her?”.

   B1 When was the last time the LORD appeared at your house?  I think most of us would say, “He hasn’t ever taken on a visual appearance and showed up at my house.”  Although He is still capable of doing what He did in our text, He doesn’t seem to do that all that often these days.  

    2 However, God still wants to do with us what He wanted to do by showing up at Abrahams’ place.  He wants to talk to us.   How do we know He wants to talk to us?  He has given us a book through which He wants to talk to us.  Is God talking to us through the Bible?  

St Paul says He is.  “All Scripture is God-breathed.”  The words of the Bible are the same as words breathed out over vocal cords.  

   3 When does God show up in our lives and talk to us?   Most of us have some set times.  When we worship together with our congregational family.  When we use the Scripture in some fashion with our family members.  When we read, listen to or watch some Scripture-based communication by ourselves. 

  4 Abraham went through lots of preparation for his conversation with the LORD.  What preparation do we do? There are two areas of preparation.  One is physical.  I need to be able to focus on the words of the LORD.  What do I need to do ahead of time, so that I am physically able to focus on the words of the LORD.  Have any practical suggestions?  

The other area of preparation is attitudinal.  “Wow. I get to go and help a bunch of people stay close to Jesus.”  “Wow! I get to go to this gathering in which some people might be led for the very first time to believe that Jesus lived and died and rose for them.”  “Wow! We get to hear God talk to us right here at home.”  “Wow!  Isn’t it awesome that God actually talks to me through the Bible!”  LORD Jesus, please help us do whatever it takes to get ready to listen to You. 

IIA1 As the LORD talked to Abraham, he posed several questions.  In spite of the fact that the first question is the first thing recorded for us in the conversation between God and Abraham, I think the conversation had gone on for at least a little while before the LORD started approaching important topics.  The first question is: 9 “Where is your wife Sarah?”  The LORD knows all things.  He knew where Sarah was.  He asked the question to open the discussion to get to the topic He wanted to discuss. 

    2 The second question was:  “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’  This time the answer to the question was pretty obvious.  She laughed because 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. The LORD asked the question, not for information, but to indicate to Abraham that He knew exactly what was going on in people’s minds.  The question tells us a characteristic of the questioner. 

   3 The third question was triggered by the reason for Sarah’s laughter.  14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?  This question was intended to get Abraham and Sarah to think about their personal beliefs about their God. It was also intended to get them to think about the consequences their personal beliefs about God had on their day to day existence. 

   B1 One of the questions God asks each of us is, “Where is Sarah?”  As we sit down and listen to the LORD talk to us through His Word, He asks us, “Where are the people whose souls I have entrusted to you?”   That is a question that we need to be thinking about as we audition various people who might be our marriage partners.  Will this person be willing to sit down with me together with my congregation and at home and listen to God talk to us through His Word?  That is a question that we need to be thinking about all the time.   Are my family members willing to sit down with me together with my congregation and at home and listen to God talk to us through His Word?  What can I do to help them get physically able to focus on the truth of God?  What can I do to help them have the attitude of excitement about listening to God that we discussed earlier.  “Where is Sarah?”

2 The LORD also asks us, “Why did you laugh?”  We need to be reminded regularly that the LORD knows what we are thinking. That’s because we often are really good at denying what we are thinking.  All of us have doubts.  Doubts about our abilities.  Doubts about our direction in life.  But we act as if we are the most confident people in the world.  The LORD knows what we are really thinking.  All of us have fears.  Fears about the future.  Fears about relationships.  But we act as if we are fearless.  The LORD knows what we are really thinking.  All of us battle sin.  On the surface it often looks as if we are not phased at all by temptations.  The LORD knows what we are really thinking.  “Why did you laugh?”  

   3 The LORD also asks us, “  14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?   You might not think you are able to accomplish something.  But the LORD can.  You might not know what direction to take, but the LORD does.  You might be afraid of the future, but the LORD knows exactly what is going to happen.  You might be afraid of what might happen to a relationship, but the LORD can fix it.  You might think it is impossible to overcome temptations, but the LORD can give you the strength to do so.  14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? LORD Jesus, thank You for asking us tough questions.

IIIA1 As the LORD talked with Abraham, he made a promise  10  “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”  When God called Abram and Sarai to leave Ur, they had no children. Just a nephew Lot.  When they arrived in Canaan, God promised, “To your offspring I will give this land.”  Slight problem. No offspring.  After he and Lot parted ways, God promised “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.”  Slight problem.  No offspring. After Abraham wanted to make one of his servants his heir, God promised, “A son coming from your own body will be your heir.”  Slight problem.  No offspring. When Sarai determined that a child from her maidservant could be an offspring,  God promised “I will give you a son by Sarah.”    Slight problem. No offspring. 

   2 Now remember 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.  So this wasn’t just the promise of a son.  It was the promise of a miracle. 

   3 Why all this repetition?  Because the longer they were without a son, the harder it was for them to believe the promise.  So, God promised it again and again and again.   

  B1 God had also promised us a Son.  Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, God had promised that a real human being, who would also be really God, would come into the world to restore the relationship between God and humans that had been lost when Adam and Eve sinned.  This person was called offspring of a woman.  Really a son.   This person was also called Son of the Most High.  Really God.  

   2 This was an even bigger miracle than the one promised to Abraham and Sarah. In Abraham and Sarah’s case it was the miracle of making something inactive active again.  In the case of the Savior it was the miracle of a Virgin giving birth to a Son as well as the miracle of a person who is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, everywhere and unchanging at the same time having all the limitations of a human being. 

  3 From Adam to John the Baptist that promise of the Son who was a miracle was repeated.  Four thousand to ten thousand years maybe of repetition.  Why?  Same reason as for Abraham and Sarah.  The longer the promise wasn’t kept, the harder it was to keep on believing that it would be kept.  So, God promised it again and again and again.  

  C1 God has made some other promises to us.  He has promised to wash away our sins in the blood of the Savior.  Jesus of Nazareth took our sins to the cross.  Shed His blood.  Washes those sins away.  The Holy Spirit delivers that forgiveness to us through the Word and the Word attached to the Water and the Supper.  God has promised to declare us to be holy in His sight.  Jesus of Nazareth took our place.  Lived our life.  Never sinned.  Gives us His holiness.  The Holy Spirit covers us with that holiness as He works in our lives through the Word and the Word attached to the Water and the Supper.  God has promised that we will live forever.  Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.  He offers us unending life with the LORD.  The Holy Spirit delivers that life to us through the Word and the Word attached to the Water and the Supper.  

    2 God promises to protect our bodies for as long as we need them to live on this earth.  He promises to protect our relationship with Him so we stay members of His family. He promises to implement that protection by taking up residence in us and by being right next to us at all times.  He carries out those promises every time we use His Word and His Word attached to the Supper.

  3 As we listen to the LORD talk to us through His Word, he repeats those promises again and again and again.  Why?  Because as sinners it is hard for us to believe that our sins are gone, it is hard for us to believe that we are holy in His sight, it is hard for us to believe that we will live forever.  So God repeats His promises again and again and again.

LORD Jesus, lead us to be ready when You want to talk to us so we get to hear the questions and promises 

Written Sermon 7/31/2022

Preacher: Pastor Tim Redfield

Date: July 31, 2022

Text: Colossians 1:1-14

Theme: Worship Gives You the Strength You Need

I have noticed a trend during my ministry. It probably started before my first year as a pastor but I have noticed it more and more in the last few years. There are many more groups doing mission trips. Lakeside Lutheran High School has Operation Go. Luther Prep School has Project Timothy. Many churches have their own mission trips. I have even started looking into the possibility of a mission trip for our church. I have also heard some pastors say that they would rather take a group of teens on a mission trip than to the Youth Rally. It just made me ponder, is one better than the other? Is a Mission Trip better than a Youth Rally? Ultimately I would say that they both serve a purpose and they are both good. This text before us made me think of the specific purposes of a mission trip or a Youth Rally. Mission Trips and Youth Rallies seem more fun than our regular lives of faith but they mirror what we should be doing throughout our lives. We’ll come back to those ideas as we see that Worship Gives us the Strength we Need.

Part 1: You are not here to serve

As Paul begins this letter to the Colossians, you can clearly see the joy he has about this congregation. Beginning in verse 3, he has a long sentence about their faith. He says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you” (Colossians 1:3-6).

He is thankful for their faith and he can see their love springing forth. He praises them for the faith that the Holy Spirit has produced in them. Having just come back from the Youth Rally in Tennessee, I echo some of Paul’s thoughts. I am very thankful for the faith that I saw in all the people who attended the Rally and especially in the teenagers. It is a great joy to see their Christian love being displayed in many ways. I pray for all of them that God continue to bless them and keep them strong in their faith.

Because of all the details that Paul packs into this section, each sentence gives us a lot to think about. This section is full of Gospel encouragement. Starting in verse 9, it says, “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

There are many things we could look at in those words. For our meditation this morning I will only mention a few. Paul mentioned that he wanted the Colossians to be “filled with knowledge.” He also wants them to “live a life worthy of the Lord” and part of that is “bearing fruit in every good work.” Those do tie together with the Mission Trips and Youth Rallies that I brought up. There is definitely overlap but a Youth Rally is probably a little more focused on being filled with knowledge through worship, workshops and other events. The Mission Trip has more of a hands on service emphasis so there is more of a focus on bearing fruits of faith.

Those are two key aspects of our faith. We are supposed to be growing in biblical knowledge and we should be serving others as a fruit of faith. Those activities are not just for Youth Rallies or Mission Trips. We are all to do those things. But at the same time, it is easy to have a misplaced focus on those activities. If we look at them in the wrong way, we can lose our gospel focus. That happened to Martha when Jesus came to visit.

Jesus coming to visit the home of Mary and Martha is a well-known account. Martha was stressed out because Jesus was visiting and she was keeping herself busy getting things ready for a meal for Jesus. She got frustrated that she was doing all the work and her sister wasn’t helping her. But that wasn’t the time for her service. Jesus was there to serve Mary and Martha. Jesus was there to give them the gospel. While it is not wrong for Martha to serve others, this was not the time for her to serve. When Jesus wants to serve us, it is good for us to let him serve us with his gospel.

When we think about growing in knowledge, we need to remember that our faith is more than just knowledge. Sometimes people are mistaken and think that they know about Jesus and they know about the cross, therefore they know enough and they don’t need to worship more to hear the same old message. But that isn’t a knowledge that is growing. That is a knowledge that is standing still. It is a form of arrogance to think that we know enough. I am a pastor and I still grow in my biblical knowledge every day.

Another mistake we can make is thinking that our service to Jesus is somehow superior to our time here in worship. It is kind of like saying, “I already know this, now let me get out there and do something to help people.” In a way that is like what Martha was doing. While I want every one of you to have an interest in serving others, you also need your time here in worship. It is not that we have to pick one or the other. We value both worship and service. We need our time to be built up by Jesus. When we are built up by Jesus, we are able to serve others in the best way.

Part 2: You are here to be served by Jesus

It really is about the cliché of “Not putting the cart before the horse.” It is good to follow the proper order. It is good to be strengthened by the gospel so that we serve as a fruit of faith. If we put our service before the gospel, it has the danger of becoming a religion of works and we do not want that. There can be a danger of spending too much time growing in knowledge before serving. We don’t want to spend so much time growing in knowledge and then never actually get around to serving others. It is good that we have a very comprehensive system for growing in our knowledge. I went to 22 years of Lutheran Biblical education before I became a pastor. That is a lot of knowledge. And like I already mentioned, I still grow in my knowledge. But there also comes a time to use that knowledge to live our faith and serve others. It is a cycle. We grow and then we serve. After we serve, we need to grow again through worship. This helps us to serve. It keeps going round and round.

I think about how I need that sweet message of the gospel. When I am downtrodden because of the problems in my life and the sins I have committed, I need to return again to the gospel. When I am worn out because I have served many people, I need to listen to Jesus and hear his encouragement. When I serve and serve and serve, I sometimes feel like my fuel tank is running on empty. I need that time in devotion and worship so that Jesus can fill me up with gospel energy. The last two verses of this section are wonderful gospel. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

Jesus redemption gives us strength. He saved us even though we didn’t deserve it. I love those mountain top experiences of worship. I find them to be rejuvenating. For me that is one of the main benefits of a Youth Rally. You are worshipping with 2000 fellow Christians. You are hearing about the love of Jesus and you are shoulder to shoulder with many people who believe the same thing. It is uplifting and encouraging. Coming back from a Youth Rally makes me feel ready to serve. God has blessed me with the gospel.

Mary and Martha had the chance to sit at the feet of Jesus. Did they realize the significance of it right away or did it sink in more after the resurrection? It seems like Mary might have thought about it right away. And yet, I would have to think that it took on greater significance after the resurrection. They sat at the feet of Jesus. They sat face to face with the creator of the universe. We have to wait until eternal life to see Jesus face to face.

When we come to worship, we are with Jesus. He is here to serve us. I would say that it is different for me when I am leading worship compared to when I am sitting in the pew. The reason I say that is because at this moment I have an active role in serving God’s People. I pray that God is using me to help you to be strengthened. After serving others through worship, I am tired. I love Sunday afternoon naps. The only downside to football season is that I sometimes don’t get a Sunday afternoon nap. After serving others, I understand how Jesus could fall asleep in a boat. So as a pastor, I need to find personal time to be strengthened by Jesus. I need my personal devotion and my bible reading so that Jesus can give me encouragement.

God blesses your time here. It is not about what you are doing. It is not about your singing or your praying. While God wants you to participate in those activities, God mainly wants to serve you. He wants to strengthen you through his law and gospel. In worship we receive blessings from Jesus in many ways. We are reminded over and over of our forgiveness and the love that Jesus has for us. The wonderful thing about worship at the youth rally is that the messages are powerful and very applicable to the teens. The songs are uplifting and help us think about the purpose that God has given us through Christ. Because we are redeemed children of God, we have a purpose. Our purpose is to share Jesus.

Conclusion

I think Youth Rallies and Mission Trips both serve a good purpose. Youth Rallies are probably more similar to worship and Mission Trips are more about service but there can certainly be overlap. I think these activities are great for those who have the opportunity to attend. We need our time with gospel encouragement so that we can live a life of Christian service. In worship God gives us gospel strength so that we can endure in this life. If we are worn out by everything we experience in this world, God comes to us through his gospel and comforts us with our forgives and eternal life that Jesus won for us. May God continue to build us up with this wonderful gospel.

Written Sermon 7/24/2022

7th Sunday after Pentecost A Labor of Love

Luke 10:1-9,16-24, July 24, 2022

Introduction If you're into bumper-sticker philosophy, you've probably seen the axiom, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." For a vast portion of the workforce, that's the best reason they can muster for going to the job each day. According to a recent study, 71% percent of American office workers are unhappy with their jobs. The vast majority of people are looking for new jobs or what like a new job. In Japan, the figure is much worse; roughly 10% say they are satisfied with their job. Does that describe you? If we play the percentages, good chance that does describe you. In the first century, Christian slaves had even less reason to be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a glimpse of glory amid the grind. He wanted them to "adorn the doctrine of God," that is, to show the beauty of their faith in Christ by how they work (Ti. 2:10).

A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God is in our everyday tasks. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote, "The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays -- not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship." We can serve God by working hard in our everyday tasks. We can also serve God by heeding his commission, the great commission, of going out and making disciples of all nations. And if we don’t do that, well then we can pray for more workers to do sort of work; for the time is now, the clock is ticking, when all this labor and work will be in vain, it won’t matter anymore. When Jesus returns, the work will be finished; and for many, it will be too late.

Context Vs. 1 Jesus sent people ahead to prepare for his arrival.” If you’ve been with us the last few weeks, we have heard Jesus discuss what discipleship is all about. Three weeks ago he mentioned that if you want to follow him, you’ll have a cross to carry. You don’t have to die on it, you just have to pick yours up and carry it. Last week we heard Jesus talked about his followers having 100% commitment to the cause of saving the lost of the world with the message of God’s love and forgiveness. Now today, we see Jesus was successful in calling 72 workers for his kingdom.

Context Before their sent out for the Lord, Jesus offers some advice, starting at verse 2: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Can you imagine the 72 workers all together in a group, pumped up, ready to go out for the Lord. Jesus assures them their job security, there is work to be done. And then Jesus illustrates for them what their job would be like – it’s going to be like lambs among wolves. Do you think Jesus took the wind out of their sails with that statement? Was this supposed to be a pep talk? Jesus is saying they will be ministering to people who hate them, who want to destroy them, like savage wolves. The people of this world are still the same. Many people in this world do not love Jesus and his message, and thus they have little to no time for Jesus’ followers. Many consider the message of the cross to be foolishness and “stumbling block” as Paul says in 1 Corinthians. It’s a saving message we have in Jesus that all need to hear, but not everyone wants to hear it.

Context So the job description remains the same, there is still job security, but now we have a few more details regarding the job – Jesus tells the 72 in verse 4: 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. Jesus is now telling the chosen 72 – don’t bring anything. Wow! What a test of faith and trust in Jesus. Can you imagine being sent somewhere, not knowing exactly where you were going or what you were doing, and now you were go on this mission trip empty-handed?!? An outsider might see this and wonder – is this a divine mission, or a suicide mission?!?!

It does sound irrational, I can admit it. But people do irrational things, especially if their emotions take over. If you’re really angry and upset, your words and actions can run wild, damaging and hurting the people we supposedly love the most. When people are sad or depressed, sometimes that’s all they see: their pain, their hurt, their feelings, and they don’t give much thought or attention to anything else or anyone else. They are living irrationally. Or what about love – love can have people do some crazy things. It can force a young man to get a haircut or go to the ladies section of a store to buy their special someone a special something. Love can force a person to check their phone every other minute to see if he or she has texted. I’ve heard that love is hard to pinpoint, it’s hard to explain, and you may not be able to tell someone what love is, you can tell them what love does. Love is patient, love is kind; love protects, trusts, hopes, and always perseveres.

Cure For unbelievers it may seem irrational or irresponsible to use our time, talents, and treasures for the church; but they don’t understand or fully appreciate what we in Jesus. In Jesus, we have a never-ending reservoir of love, in Jesus we see what love does. In Jesus we have the greatest worry of life taken care of and solved: we’re at peace with God, not b/c of us, but b/c of Jesus. In Jesus we have the greatest favor done our behalf, a divine intervention: his life for ours. And in Jesus, we have more than just a temporary life gifted to us; we have an eternal life awaiting us when this life is ended. So the people of the world may not understand why we donate our time, talents, and treasures to God. But I think the shock can go the other way: How do you not want to live for a higher power that controls the winds and the waves. How do you not want to thank the God of this world who showed the world how much he loves it by offering his only Son as a sacrifice it!?!?! How do you not want to live for a higher power, who controls all things, but when the time had fully come decided to make you make you and your sins his top priority?!?! Sure, our love for Jesus may seem irrational, but it’s not as irrational has his love for us: people who regularly whine and complain; disobey and go our own way: but he loves us anyway.

Virtue It’s this love that fuels our living, how can it not?!?! You can be fueled by fear, by sadness, by anger, or by resentment; or you can be fueled by an emotion that overpowers them all – love. The greatest virtue Paul says for a follower of Jesus is love. He was compelled by Christ’s love to reach as many as possible with this amazing, divine love that is meant for all. You have the same love inside of you if have faith in Jesus. Is your response like a Paul or the 72 here in Luke? The harvest is plentiful, but that doesn’t mean the crop is full. If a farmer has acres of corn but no equipment or workers to extract the vegetable, the harvest is great, but it’s a wasted harvest. God needs harvesters for his kingdom! He needs you and me! He needs workers in his field. We see it in our Synod, and we see it in other Christian church bodies as well: too few workers for an ever-growing world that continues to grow farther away from the only one that can help and save them. We need the young people to consider serving the Lord as a pastor, teacher, staff minister. We need older people to encourage young people who are considering serving the Lord in this way. We need to continue to faithfully give our offerings, which a portion goes to Synod to help the training of future pastors. And we need prayers. Isn’t that what Jesus said – if you can’t be a public minister, then “ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Everyone here can pray and ask the Lord for things; ask the Lord send workers into the world, so it’s not a wasted harvest.

One of the job perks of working for Jesus is that there is job security. There is always work to be done. And you don’t necessarily need training for this work. Because this work requires little to-no-work if your passionate about the cause. Would you say Jesus is important? Then his cause has to be right up there. There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something." "Well, what is it? I don't know that I can explain anything to a preacher." "What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all." Macready's answer was this: "This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction." We possess the truth! We’re on the side of truth! Jesus is the truth. This isn’t something to be unsure of or wonder about, this isn’t something to be ashamed of – God has spoken to us, and revealed to us the way, truth, and life. This is something to get excited about and always cherish!

Conclusion Working for Jesus, there is job security, but there is also job satisfaction. What can be more rewarding than living for your Savior, who lived perfectly for you? What can be more comforting than dying in the faith of the one who died for you? Working for Jesus isn’t really work; no after everything he has done for us and currently does for us; it’s a labor of love.

Written Sermon 7/17/2022

CWC- Gospel Lesson - Pentecost 6 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

Luke 9:51-62

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village. 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

IA1 A man came up to Jesus and said, {57}“I will follow you wherever you go.” Let’s assume that he had been led by Jesus’ teaching to believe that he was a sinner who deserved God’s punishment and that Jesus was his Savior who gave him forgiveness, holiness and eternal life.” That’s what led him to want to follow Jesus.

2 Jesus’ response wasn’t, “Good. Follow me,” or “No. You can’t do that.” Instead he said, {58}“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus was saying, “If you want to follow me, you need to know what it will be like. I don’t own a home. I don’t have a regular place to stay. I travel a lot. Many of the places I go to reject me. Following me won’t mean success and wealth. In fact following me might mean the loss of your source of income and thus your ability to have a place to live.”

B1 We know from history that people lost everything because they were Christians. In the Roman Empire before Christianity was legalized, Christians were shunned. If you ran a business, nobody bought anything from you or used your services. You lost your job and you lost your home.

2 We know that happens today all around the world. If you are a native of an Islamic country and you become a Christian, you are shunned. You are driven out of business, or not given the opportunity to have a job, or not allowed to purchase a home, or sometimes even to own a home. That is why all the Christians are leaving places like Iran and Iraq and Pakistan and Afghanistan.

C1 Isn’t it nice that we in the United States are not subjected to loss of livelihood because we are Christians? Please consider three different situations. A young man was at a major United States University in its PhD program. He had reached the point in the program where he had to be interviewed and be linked with his mentor who would shepherd him through the master’s and PhD process. The mentor found out that the young man was a Christian who believed the Bible is the source of absolute truth. The young man was dropped from the PhD program because Christians who believe in absolute truth are too close-minded to be leaders in a world of academic freedom. Following Jesus cost that young man his ability to get the kind of job that he wanted and was qualified for. Following Jesus might cost us our jobs. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

2 A couple had a bed and breakfast. Very small. Just two bedrooms. It was very nice. They always had their rooms full. They made a decent living. They were Christians. They never let any couples who weren’t married rent their bedrooms. One pair of people who were refused the right to rent their bedroom sued them for discrimination. They lost. They lost their business. Following Jesus might cost us our jobs. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

3 In the spring of 2013, US Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley was condemned by the Joints Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and relieved of teaching duties at Joint Forces Staff College for teaching a course entitled, Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism, which indicated that radical Islam and jihad were dangerous to the United States. Following Jesus might cost us our jobs. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

IIA1 The second contact is the opposite of the first. The first man went up to Jesus and said, “I want to follow you.” In the second instance Jesus went up to different man and said, “Follow me.” He wanted to follow Jesus, so we can conclude that he also believed that Jesus was the One who had come into the world to live and die and rise to give him forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life.

2 This man had the opposite problem from the first man. The first man wanted to jump into something without realizing what he was getting into. The second man had some relational issues that he felt had to be taken care of before he could follow Jesus.

B1 Jesus’ answer sounds harsh and extreme. But notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Go ahead and bury your father and then later come and follow me.” He also didn’t say, “Don’t go bury your Father.”

2 Jesus said, {60}“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Dead people can’t bury their own dead. They can’t do anything. What was Jesus’ point? His point was: Relational expectations shouldn’t take over our lives so much that we can’t do our job: Proclaiming the kingdom of God, sharing Jesus’ gifts of forgiveness, holiness and eternal which He won by His life, death and resurrection.

C1 The young man had a wonderful girl friend all the way through high school. He went into the work force after high school. His girl friend went away to college. They maintained their relationship in spite of the distance. When she was within a year of graduating, they both started talking seriously about getting married, something that they had talked about often before, but not seriously. The young man was a Christian. The young lady was not. As they talked more and more in detail about what their vision was for their future together, it became obvious that Jesus would only be a part of the young man’s life. He wouldn’t be able to proclaim the kingdom of God inoffensively to his marriage partner. He backed out of the relationship as graciously as he could. Following Jesus might cost us our relationships. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

2 The young man had a brilliant intellect. He excelled at everything logical. He was on top of his class all the way through college. He had been a Christian from childhood on. Somewhere along the line he decided that Christianity was not for him, since it contained so many logical failures. He told his parents that their faith was no longer his. They continued to openly express their relationship with Jesus, knowing that their son denigrated it. They were still his parents. But the relationship was never the same. Following Jesus might cost us our relationships. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

3 You had been friends your whole life. Your friend lately got into another religion. The friend became very pushy with the new beliefs. An ultimatum was given that if you didn’t at least attend one of that religion’s gatherings, you could no longer be friends. In the nicest way possible, you indicated that you believed your Bible-believing Christianity was all you needed and that you would not participate with this other group. The friend carried through on the ultimatum and dropped you. Following Jesus might cost us our relationships. How would you handle that if it happened to you? Lord Jesus, please don’t let that happen to me.

IIIA1 The third man approached Jesus as the first man had. So again, this is a person who had been led by law and gospel to acknowledge that Jesus was His Savior. He wanted the unchangeable LORD of love and forgiveness to fill His life with His blessings.

2 This man, however, had an up-front qualification that he had to fulfill before he could carry out his desire to follow Jesus. It seemed ordinary and usual. {61} “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.”

B1 Jesus did not respond by saying, “ Sure, go home and say good-bye. I will wait for you. Then come and follow me.” He also didn’t say, “No. You can’t go home and say good-bye to your family.” He said, {62}“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

2 This is really a humorous picture that Jesus paints with his words. Remember plows were one bottom hand held. They were pulled by oxen. The point of the plow was pushed into the ground and held in line by the man holding onto the plow. He kept it in a straight line by following the edge of the field in a parallel line and then lining up the next furrow with the first. Or, by looking straight ahead at a point and aiming straight for that point. If you looked back, the furrow was crooked, and started crisscrossing other ones.

3 What was Jesus’ point here? “You can’t be a believer and keep on hanging on to your old way of life or the people in your old way of life. You can’t be serving the LORD and be constantly thinking back maybe longingly to what you used to be. You can’t be a believer and be hanging on to things which are going to cause you to sin. It is necessary to cut your ties with your former life and its people.”

C1 The successful man had always totally indulged himself. He had lots of money. He just used it to do things and to get things as fast as he earned it. He ran with a crowd of people who took the same approach to life. He had always been someone who believed that Jesus lived and died and rose to give him forgiveness, holiness and eternal life. Lately he had been paying more attention to all of Jesus’ directives to love other people. He became convinced by reading the New Testament letters that God had blessed him with wealth to use to love other people. He started using his resources to do what God says: take care of people dependent on him, take care of needy people, preach the gospel, and provide protection for people by supporting the government with his taxes. He stopped doing many of the things he used to do. He didn’t spend as much time with the people with whom he used to spend a lot of time. Following Jesus might cost us our connection to our past.

2 The successful woman had always been very shrewd. She could always figure out the right angles to close a deal or to get the best deal. They weren’t always the best for others. Often other people were taken advantage of. Sometimes the activity was questionable, bordering on the illegal. She had always considered herself a child of God whose Savior is Jesus. Lately she had been paying more attention to all of Jesus’ directives to love other people. She became convinced by reading the New Testament letters that taking advantage of others is not appropriate. She didn’t always work the angles to get the best deals anymore. She wasn’t as successful as before. She lost some of her former status because of that. Following Jesus might cost us our connection to our past.

LORD JESUS, I want to follow You even if it means losing my job, losing some relationships, and losing some connections with my past. I need your help to do that.

Prayer

Written Sermon 7/10/2022

Zechariah 13:7-9

St. Paul’s – Manistee, MI

July 10, 2022

Text:

Awake, sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is close to me!”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“Strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered,

and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

In the whole land,” declares the Lord,

“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;

yet one-third will be left in it.

This third I will put into the fire;

I will refine them like silver

and test them like gold.

They will call on my name

and I will answer them;

I will say, ‘They are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’

The Lord is our God

1) he struck the Good Shepherd for us

2) he refines us in the fire

It sometimes happens when little kids get together that they start trying to figure out whose dad is the best at something. One child might say that his dad can lift this heavy object, while another child interjects to say that her dad can lift an even heavier object, until another child says that his dad can lift an even heavier object. And so they go, each child adding more to the conversation to say that their dad is the strongest. Really, what they’re doing is bragging about their dad.

As we consider everything that God has done for us in our lives, we, too, are moved to brag about him. We are moved to declare to all people that the Lord is our God. As we look at a prophecy from Zechariah, we will see two reasons for which we declare that the Lord is our God. 1) He struck the Good Shepherd for us, and 2) he refines us in the fire.

I

Zechariah is a post-exilic prophet, which means that he conducted his ministry in the time period following the Babylonian captivity. You might remember how God’s people were taken captive by the Babylonians and carted off to Babylon. They lived in exile in Babylon for 70 years, and it’s likely that Zechariah was born in Babylon. Once the Persians took over the Babylonians, the Persian king allowed God’s people to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city. This was the setting of Zechariah’s prophecy. He encouraged them in their building project, and he also saw to their spiritual well-being.

Zechariah also offers several Messianic prophecies, those prophecies which point ahead to the Savior, Jesus. For example, Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The words before us today make up another Messianic prophecy. Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. Here we see Zechariah prophesying what will happen to Jesus. Jesus is our Shepherd, our Good Shepherd, and God is promising to strike down that Good Shepherd. And, as he does so, his sheep will be scattered.

This all happened during Jesus’ passion. During Holy Week. As he was struck for us. As he was abandoned by his disciples, those sheep who scattered and left the Good Shepherd all alone.

Yes, God struck the Good Shepherd for us. Why? So that he didn’t have to strike us. So that he didn’t have to take out his just and holy wrath on us because if he had done that we would have been eternally lost. If God had taken out his just and holy wrath on us, which he could have, we would be condemned to an eternity in hell. That’s the true punishment for our sins. Just think of all the sins in our lives. All those times when we just ignore his Word in our lives and do our own thing. Our own sinful thing. Just because it makes us feel good. Just because it satisfies our fleshly appetites. Yes, we deserve eternal condemnation because of those sins. And not just the sins we commit, but we also deserve eternal condemnation because of our sinful state. We are born in sin, which means that even the good that we do is tainted by sin. Yes, because of that, too, we deserve to be stricken by God and sent to the fires of hell.

But, God didn’t do that. Instead, he did it to Jesus. He sent Jesus to this earth to endure the fires of hell for us. He sent Jesus to earth, so that he could take out his just and holy wrath on him. As Jesus went to that old, rugged cross, he bore every one of our sins. Again, think of the sins in our lives. Jesus went to hell for those sins, dear friends. He was stricken by God for those sins. Yes, he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted for us. He had his flesh ripped from his body. He was forced to wear that humiliating crown of thorns. He was forsaken by God and experienced hell. He felt the pain of the fire that is not quenched and the worm that does not die. He felt the pain of an eternity of suffering, which moved him to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But this was all part of the plan. This was all part of the plan for Jesus came willingly to this earth. God didn’t drag him, kicking and screaming, to the cross. He went to that cross willingly, knowing that, by doing so, he would rescue an entire history book of sinners. A book that includes sinners like you and me. On that old rugged cross, Jesus took our sins and removed them forever. He washed them away with his blood. He saved us!

And now our Savior calls for us to follow him. To pick up our cross and follow him. And, though our sins have been forgiven, we will struggle with sin in our lives. And, we still live in this fallen world, which will throw its worst at us. So God promises to use these things to refine us because, as his children, we need refinement on occasion.

II

Through the prophet Zechariah, God says this: In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. Sadly, the Jewish people, those to whom God originally gave this prophesy, abandoned their God. Generally speaking, the Jews did not believe in Jesus as their Savior, and they scattered from the God who called them to be his special people. But, there was always a remnant of believers among the people. A remnant of people who did not abandon their God.

To help keep this remnant in the faith, God promised this to them: This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ God would refine his remnant. He would allow things to happen in their lives which would shape and mold them to be his people, his faithful people.

My family and I recently went to a place called Old World Wisconsin as a birthday adventure for one of our kids. A highlight of this place is spending time in the blacksmith shop, where a man wearing old-time blacksmith clothes demonstrates how to form and shape metal. He puts iron into an incredibly hot fire and then he hammers it, doing this repeatedly, until he turns that iron into something beautiful and/or useful for daily life. And, if the iron could talk during this ordeal, it would probably express its pain in the fire and under the hammer. But, when the iron worker is done, he has a beautiful piece of iron.

Yes, that’s what God does to his people, too. He continues to test and refine his remnant of believers today, too. That’s the cross that Jesus mentioned in our Gospel reading. Jesus tells us that we should expect crosses in our lives. Things that might be heavy and painful. Like a cross. God might allow painful experiences in our lives. God might throw challenges before us. God might drop an obstacle before us.

And, when he does that, what is the question that we always ask? Why? Why are you doing this, God? Why have you brought this cross into my life?

Through Zechariah, he answers us. He does it to refine us. To make us like gold and silver. Those are precious metals, dear friends. Things that have great value. That’s what God promises to make us. Things that are precious and valuable to him.

He does it so that we might call on his name. When crosses come into our lives, the temptation is to carry it on our own. So, God allows these crosses in our lives to teach us a complete and utter reliance on him. So that we come to him in all things. Maybe even crawling to him at times. But God wants us to call on his name and ask for his help. To call on him in the day of trouble, and, dear friends, he promises to deliver us.

God also tests and refines us, allows crosses in our lives, so that we might brag about him. Yes, God wants his children to brag about their heavenly Father. God wants his children to proudly say: The Lord is our God. When the fire of testing comes into our lives, we will be able to say, “The Lord is our God.” When our faith is tested by a cross in our lives, we will be able to proudly say, “The Lord is our God.” When people ask how we’re able to stand under such a heavy cross, we can boldly declare, “The Lord is our God.” When the storms of life rage without and within, we won’t be cowering in a hole somewhere, but, instead, we’ll be standing up and telling the world, “The Lord is our God.”

Yes, as God allows crosses into our lives, may we embrace them. May we view them as blessings. Things that are meant for our spiritual and eternal good. May we carry our crosses gladly, knowing what God is accomplishing with that cross.

As children brag about their dads, they might have to start making things up in order to keep up with bragging. As they were trying to figure out whose dad was the strongest, one child may have felt the need to go big in their bragging and say, “Well, my dad is so strong that he can carry the moon.” Obviously, that’s not true.

But, as Christians, when speaking of our heavenly Father, it is true. When we brag about our God, it’s not a made-up story. When we declare to the world that the Lord is our God, we mean it. We offer our praises to him for striking the Good Shepherd for us to rescue our souls. And, we thank him for the crosses that he allows in our lives. With our eyes firmly fixed on the cross of Jesus, let us carry our crosses, praising God for the refinement that will happen as a result, letting everyone know that, truly, the Lord is our God. Amen.

Written Sermon 7/3/2022

Proverbs 14:34   Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin brings shame to a people. (EHV)

Want to do Something for your Country?

1. Recognize the problem

2. Remember the solution

Name someone who helped make our country what it is.

George Washington Thomas Jefferson Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas Paine Alexander Hamilton Thomas Edison

John Henry Benjamin Franklin Abraham Lincoln

Henry Ford Franklin Roosevelt Martin Luther King

Ronald Reagan Albert Einstein Walt Disney

Rosa Parks The Wright Brothers Neil Armstrong

Did any of you list your parents, or even yourself?  Probably not.  After all, our names are not mentioned in any American History Books in our schools.  We did not make the top 25 famous Americans determined by a national poll published in some magazine or on the internet.

But doesn’t God want his children to be a blessing to the country in which they sojourn here on earth?  Doesn’t God even promise to bless a community, city, and even a nation because of the believers in it?

Take for example the account of Joseph and how the Lord bless Potiphar’s home, later where Joseph was imprisoned, or even Egypt itself all because of the faithful service of Jacob’s son who remained faithful to the Lord and serve him by serving others.

Or think about earlier in Genesis with the account of Sodom and Gomorrah and how the Lord would not send destruction on those cities for the sake of only 10 believers.

Certainly, there are many other examples as well.  It is clear that Christians make a tremendous difference in the country in which they live.  Although God certainly can and has used unbelieving countries to chastise his own people as evidenced throughout the pages of Scripture, He has also determined to bless nations because of his believers.

He tells his children to let our light shine so that others can see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.  So, on this Sunday, 2022, the day before the celebration or our nation’s Independence Day, lets heed the words of King Solomon recorded in Proverbs 14;34.   Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin brings shame to a people. So do you want to do something for your country?  Then recognize the problem in America.

Something is wrong in America the beautiful.  You know it.  You see it.  You hear about it.  Thinking citizens can’t help feeling and wondering where it all will end.  Look at the crime and the divorce rates.  Kids are being abused more than ever.  The elderly are being disrespected and neglected.  Marriage is being redefined. Drunkenness, drug addiction, suicide, self-mutilation, pornography, and other sins are on the increase.  Tax cheating, public lying, and blaming others are our national pastimes so it seems.  Living together out of wedlock, affairs, and babies born to single moms continue to rise.  There is something rotten, not in Denmark, but America.

What can we glean from these front-page stories and the statistics?  America is more and more turning it’s back on what made it great.  There is growing disregard for authority of any kind, including the highest authority of God and his Word.  There is disregard for marriage, human life inside and outside the womb, our own and our neighbor’s welfare – the very fabric of life and society.

We live in a “ME” society – a self-centered syndrome that measures everything by what does it mean for me or gives me or pleases me.  America, for the most part, has lost its way.  It has denied its Creator and Redeemer.  It has, as Solomon puts it, become a disgrace and shame to the people because of SIN.  When we do things our way and not God’s way, it can only bring shame– individually and nationally.  

God was not bluffing or exaggerating when he used Solomon to give the timeless advice that sin brings shame to a people.   That means our sin as individuals and our sins as a nation.  Sin is rebellion against God.  Sin closes the ears of the Lord.  Isaiah writes in chapter 59, Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt.  Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 

Sin can only bring shame. It produces disgrace.  It was true from the moment sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s disobedience to this very day.  When a nation forsakes God and forgets, ignores, or declares God and his ways, finally it can expect only disgrace, decrease, and destruction – utter shame.

Many of us remember JFK’s speech, “Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what you can do for your country.” Want to do something for your country?  Let’s begin by recognizing the real problem in America – sin!  Instead of ignoring it, denying it, or trying to explain it away, confess it.  Begin with your own sin.  Consider how you have missed God’s mark.  Take the plank out of your own eye before trying to remove the speck in your neighbor’s eye.  Instead of contributing to the problem in America, let’s be part of the solution.

As believers we hold in our hands the only solution for America.  Only God’s Word with its central, compelling message of God’s righteousness can exalt a nation.  Laws do not change hearts.  Congress can make all the laws they want to have Americans do the “right” thing, but it doesn’t make anyone Christian.  Prohibition did not make America godlier.  It actually produced more drunks and crime than ever before.  

Only the great news of Jesus Christ and his perfect righteousness can change hearts.  Yes, we need God’s law to show our sins.  We need God’s law to restrain us from sin because of fear of punishment.  And yes, we need God’s law as His redeemed children to know how we might please him and be a blessing to others. But is only Christ’s love for us that only motivates us to do it.  His love, and his love alone, compels us to live our lives to his glory.

It’s only by recognizing Jesus’ payment for sin that we can truly serve the Lord without fear.  God has pardoned us completely and empowered us for lives of service to him, our neighbors, and our nation.  Redeemed by Jesus’ blood, covered by his robe of righteousness, heirs of God’s eternal kingdom, we willingly and joyfully walk in his ways.  

This is what we have to share with our country.  As Solomon says so well, Righteousness lifts up a nation.  This is what America needs.  Even if our leaders don’t lead by example.  Even if our fellow Americans deny it.  God has decreed it.  He, and he alone raises nations and destroys nations.  

Never underestimate your role in society.  It begins in your heart.  It overflows into your home.  From there it flows throughout your neighborhood, in your city, state, and nation.  Want to do something for your country?  Then grow in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior.  Confess your sins.  Trust in Jesus as your Savior.  Live a life worthy of a child of God.  Pray for your neighbors and your leaders.  Let your light shine before others.  In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Do you want to do something for your country?    Recognize the problem of sin and confess it.  Then remember the solution of forgiveness, peace, joy, and eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Don’t be part of the problem in our nation, be part of the solution.  AMEN.

Gloria Dei

Pastor Dennis Himm

Written Sermon 6/26/2022

It was completely heartbreaking. In late 2009, my wife and I were in Mahahual, Mexico when suddenly a pickup stopped right in front of the local clinic. In the back of the truck was a young man lying motionless. 20 minutes or so earlier he fallen out of the back of a pickup truck onto the road. As the truck stopped, the driver got out and sprinted to get a doctor. The doctor came running out to the truck and performed CPR for a while until he finally shook his head, stopped and then walked back into the clinic. A few minutes later, a woman drove up. She walked up to that young man, shook him and started shouting in Spanish, “Wake up, my son, wake up!” Then she gave up, broke down on the ground and began crying. Her son had died.

What would you do if you were standing there watching this situation? Would your heart go out in compassion to that mother? Would you go touch the pickup truck where the man was lying? Would you tell the mother “stop crying?” Would you tell the dead man to get up? 

I can tell you what I did. A woman standing there said, “You’re a pastor.  Go say something.” So I walked over, said the Lord’s prayer to her and read Psalm 23, and left. The mother calmed down a little, but the sadness, crying, pain and death remained.

This morning, we are going to see Jesus in a similar situation, and he is going to handle things like only he can, because he’s God. And as we do that, we’re not really going to focus on how we ought to react in such situations, because we’re not God. Rather, we are going to awe and marvel at Jesus and watch and listen as Jesus intervenes. Through this inspired account of Luke, we are going to see that when Jesus intervenes: life defeats death and joy replaces horror.

Our lesson for today deals with the highest level of human pain. Listen to how our lesson begins, Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. Do you see how the Scriptures pile on the pain and despair of the situation? A dead person, only son of his mother, widow. This woman had already experienced the death of her husband, now her only son was dead as well. A large crowd of grief followed as well. The Scriptures paint an overwhelmingly sad and desperate situation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the word of God is able to deal with the most desperate, sad and crushing moments of life. As a matter of fact, it was written to deal with the largest questions and pains that life can give. It deals with family breakdowns. It deals with economic issues, and the love of money. It deals with war and violence. But the word of God also teaches us that our biggest issue right now is not inflation nor high gas prices, not political unrest, not the war in Ukraine, nor threat of war with other countries, even though these are big issues. Our biggest issue is that unless Christ comes back first, we are going to die. Romans 6:23 tells us The wages of sin is death. Death is a terrible intrusion into our world, that causes grief, pain and despair for those who have been intimately touched by it. And behind the emotional pain that it brings, is the bigger issue of sin and God’s judgment that awaits all those who die.

So, how does Jesus deal with this issue? Our lesson tells us, When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her, and he said, “Don’t cry.” The Lord’s heart went out to her. If you were to translate that word literally, it would be “his insides were poured out.” If you’ve ever seen a commercial for starving children, or seen a very painful situation and felt it in your stomach, you've began to feel this. This is compassion. Jesus is full of compassion for the hurting, the suffering. It is a common theme of Luke and throughout all of the gospels: Jesus’ compassion moves him to act.

So, what does Jesus, full of compassion, do? He first of all tells the woman, Don’t cry. At first glance, these words of Jesus can seem a little confusing. After all, even Jesus cried at the grave of Lazarus. Second of all, isn’t it normal to cry? Aren’t we to weep with those who weep? As a pastor, I wouldn’t tell someone at a funeral, Don’t cry. Death is a painful separation from those that we love. How could I ask them to ignore the obvious? But I am not Jesus. Jesus can do what no one else can. Jesus did the only thing that could turn this woman’s sorrow into joy. He touched the bier (like a stretcher), and those carrying it stood still. He said, young man, I say to you get up! The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Imagine the joy that mother must have felt! She had her son alive again in her arms! Jesus had done the only thing that could have filled that mother’s heart with joy. Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus can come into the pain, the sadness and the horror of the worst situations, and tell you those gentle words, Don’t cry. But you might say, “Pastor, my mother died even though we prayed. But Pastor I still struggle with this huge problem and Jesus hasn’t intervened.” Of course, I could point out all of the times Jesus has answered your prayers, or the prayers of other people and delivered them in their darkest moments. And yet, isn’t it true that Jesus doesn’t always intervene as he did in this way?  Jesus can still tell you, “Don’t cry.” He can tell you this because he is the son of God. He can tell you this because later on the day came where his dead body was carried off the cross. It was carried to the tomb, and this time God did not intervene as His Son was carried to the tomb, but let his lifeless body be placed dead in the tomb.

Because the body of Jesus Christ hung lifeless on the cross, and was placed into the tomb, all of your sin is paid- all of your misplaced priorities, all of your faithless worrying, all of your harsh words, all of your guilt, all of your shame was placed in the tomb with Christ. And so Jesus tells you, “Don’t cry. Your sin is forgiven.” Because of the death of the Son of God, your sin has been taken away, and peace is yours.

When Jesus intervenes, life defeats death, and joy replaces horror. Jesus not only raised this man from the dead, but Jesus himself rose from the dead. He proved to the world that He is the Son of God, and that all sins were really paid for as he victoriously rose from the dead. Death could not defeat Christ, and so he rose, never to die again.

As baptized children of God, death cannot defeat us. In our lesson, Jesus spoke and the young man came back to life. In our Baptism, Jesus speaks eternal life into our bodies and souls. 1 Peter 3:21 tells us, Baptism now saves you…by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Romans 6:3-5 tells us Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of our own resurrection. The goal of the Christian faith is not just that when we die our souls go to heaven, but it is the fact that on the last day, Jesus will raise up our bodies to live with him physically in the new heavens and the new earth. Our bodies that are baptized, are the same bodies that will be raised to live eternally with Jesus Christ!

This news is one that can fill us with the same reaction that the people had in our lesson: All the people were filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” Of course, Jesus was more than a prophet- he was the promised Messiah. But the people were filled with awe because they had seen something awesome! Brothers and sisters in Christ, this same awe is ours! Think about what we confess in our creeds: I believe in the forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. In those words alone, we have more than enough to fill us with joy even on the worst of days. We have forgiveness- a clean conscience! We have the promise of a physical resurrection of these bodies- without the effects of sin! We have the promise of the perfect life that will never end. How awesome are the gifts that Jesus promises us!

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, when Jesus intervenes, life defeats death, and joy replaces horror. I would have loved to see Jesus speak and raise up that dead man in Mexico, just as he raised that young man from Nain. But even if I would have, that would not have cured the biggest issue that this family had. You see, even that young man from Nain would one day die again. But Jesus offers us something even greater if we just think about it. Jesus justifies us- forgives us by his death. He guarantees our own resurrection by his own resurrection. He baptizes us into life everlasting. And so we say and confess with confidence, I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Death cannot defeat us! Amen.

Written Sermon 6/19/2022

The Second Sunday After Pentecost 

June 19, 2022 

Luke 7:1-10 

“Faith Trusts God’s Almighty Authority”

A gentile centurion trusts Jesus’ almighty authority.

After Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people who were listening, he went into Capernaum. A centurion’s servant, who was valuable to him, was sick and about to die. 3When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, because he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us.”

Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, because I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, he was amazed at him. He turned to the crowd that was following him and said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” And when the men who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.“Faith Trusts God’s Almighty Authority”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Dear Christians,

It was a few years ago. My family had just moved up to northern Wisconsin. It was finally summertime. I wanted to get outside. My wife wanted to get outside. We wanted our kids to go play outside, but there was a big problem with the outside.

There were mosquitoes. Swarms of mosquitoes. It took less than 5 minutes for us to retreat. We used bug spray. Not enough. We used maximum strength bug spray. Not enough. We tried going for a bike ride, thinking the speed would help. Not at all. It just meant you had less hands available for swatting. What finally pushed me over the edge was going out to the mudroom to get shoes on our kids. Casually looking out the window, I could see a cloud of swarming mosquitoes hovering right above the sand and water activity table where we had planned on having our kids play. We didn’t even get outside.

Now, there were signs, all over, advertising for the Mosquito Squad and the Mosquito Police and half a dozen other mosquito abatement professionals. One sign claimed 95% mosquito reduction, guaranteed. I didn’t really believe it. I was certain there was fine print somewhere that said, “Results not typical,” or, “Under ideal conditions in a laboratory.” But I was desperate. Nothing else was working. Might as well at least give it a try.

Trust can be hard to come by. It is so much easier to think of reasons not to trust a product or a company or a person. There’s huge billboard with bright red letters making a huge promise that graduates from their college have 100% guaranteed job placement. Do they really have the ability to make that happen? The robust voice on the radio says that this bank always puts the customer first and will treat you like their very own mother. Would they really? Does the little amount of money you would put into their bank really get that much attention? The infomercial with smiling, fit, healthy people zooming across the water on jet skis says that this system can help you lose the weight for good. Is that really the most likely outcome if you try it, or will you end up like most people who drop out long before any results come?

We can come up with so many reasons not to trust, and we don’t turn off that switch when it comes to the huge promises of God. God has promised you that he will raise you from the dead. Doubts come quickly. Could God really do it? I’ve never seen it happen. Would God really do something like that for me? I’ve done some disgusting things. Is that really the most likely outcome? Or does it seems like dead people stay dead?

And if we can crank out doubts like a vehicle assembly line about things God had definitively promised us – there’s no question that God said he will raise you and all believers on the Last Day – then what about those things God has not promised us, but we simply yearn for? Will this sickness get better? Will my congregation remain?

A delegation of synagogue elders came to Jesus and begged him for help. They had come on behalf of a Roman centurion, which already made the situation surprising. Jews who were willing to help out an occupying Roman soldier were hard to find, especially prominent ones. But they thought very well him, and he had a problem. One of his servants was sick, very sick, about to die. We’re not told, but I assume he had tried everything. Brought any doctor he thought could help. Tried whatever folk remedies were suggested. Nothing worked. Things were desperate. It was going to take a miracle. Fortunately, Jesus was around, who could do that.

The delegation of Jewish elders begged Jesus to help the centurion and pointed out that he was a convert to the Jewish faith, was presumably very fair and just in dealing with Jews and keeping the soldiers under his command in line, and he had even sponsored the building of the local synagogue. In the estimation of the Jewish elders, they said, “He is worthy of having you do this for him.” Wow! That’s how well they thought of the character of this Roman.

Jesus agreed to go with them to help. When they got close to the house, someone had probably run ahead with the good news that Jesus was on his way, but that prompted the centurion to send another delegation, this time of some friends, with a second message. The friends reported the centurion’s words, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, because I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I am also a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Jesus was amazed at his strong faith. We have to be amazed, too. The centurion knew all the reasons to doubt that this would work. He knew what the most likely outcome was. When people get this sick, they usually die. When the doctors don’t have anything left to try, it’s just a matter of time. Why bother God about it? Just accept it. Make arrangements. He knew, for certain, he was not worthy, even if the Jewish elders that he was. This centurion even understood it would be only the grace of God just to stand in Jesus’ presence and have Jesus come under his roof, regardless of any healing that might happen. He didn’t send a delegation because he felt too important to summon Jesus, but just the opposite. Who was he, this centurion, even to have an audience with Jesus to plead his case? If he wasn’t worthy of that, why would even think he was worthy to have his servant healed? And if everything else he tried had failed, why would this work? Why would Jesus say yes? Would Jesus even be up for doing miracles right now? Even if Jesus had healed many others, did that mean he could really heal anyone of anything?

The centurion knew all reasons not to trust, but he also knew the one reason to trust against all odds, a reason that made every doubt irrelevant. He knew who he was asking for help.

Maybe he didn’t know everything, but he knew what he needed to know. He knew that Jesus wielded the power of God and that Jesus was filled with the compassion of God. That meant he could be utterly confident even though confronted by human frailty as his servant lay dying because the centurion trusted the almighty authority of God. This impossible to stop sickness that had his servant on death’s door, compared to the power of God, was a pawn on a chess board that would move according to God’s will and at God’s command. He knew, for sure, that Jesus could simply speak the word from wherever he was and the sickness had to listen to Jesus and his servant would be healed.

When we face sickness in our own bodies, or sickness strikes our family or congregation, we can manufacture all on our own every reason not to trust God. From an earthly perspective, we might know the most likely outcome, and why should God help us anyway? Could even God help us now? We clear away the doubts by focusing on the one we are asking for help from.

We’re asking God. Nothing that we can ask for is beyond his ability. He can make the sun stand still in the sky. He can calm violent wind and raging waves with a word. He can shout to Lazarus in his grave, “Come out,” and have a man who was buried four days ago, come out, alive and well. If anything, we might be asking for too little. Nothing we’ve done is beyond his gracious ability to forgive, and he has forgiven us. If he loved us so much give his Son for us to forgive us back when we were his enemies, how could he love us any less or want to help us any less now that he has brought us back to himself in faith, redeemed, restored, and forgiven?

When you look to the future of this congregation, of which God has certainly not made a specific promise about what form the ministry done here will take or what outward success there may be, I’m certain you can come up with all the reasons to doubt all on your own. But I also know that you are praying to God to bless your ministry. You’re asking God for help and that opens up every possibility. God has the power to do more than you ask. God has the desire to bless you more than you can imagine. God’s Word, which is preached and sung and studied among you, will not return to him empty. And when you do face death, whenever it comes, and your body is laid in a grave or reduced to ashes and packed in an urn, remember that the delegation of Jewish elders got back to the house and found the servant well. Jesus absolutely has the desire to bless you and absolutely has the power to bless you. The troubles in our lives that overwhelm us and are way beyond our control are a dollhouse in the hands of our God, that’s why the servant was alive and well and that’s why you will be raised, alive and well and glorified for all eternity, because God has almighty authority. Amen.

May the LORD our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers. May he never leave us or abandon us.

May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways. (1 Kings 8:57-58a)

Written Sermon 6/12/2022

CWC- Gospel Lesson - Festival of the Holy Trinity

John 16:12-15

(12) "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. {13} But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. {14} He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. {15} All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Word Trinity Symbols of Trinity

IA1 Open your hymnals to page 132. What do you learn about the Father from the Athanasian Creed? Uncreated. Infinite. Eternal. Almighty. God. Lord. Neither made nor created nor begotten. Only one Father.

2 Open your hymnals to page 19. What do you learn about the Father? Almighty. Maker of heaven and earth. Open to page 18. Same thing.

B1 Jesus says in the verses before us today: {15} “All that belongs to the Father is mine.” What belongs to the Father? According to the creeds the heaven and earth belong to Him because He made them. We know that the Father keeps the heaven and earth, which belong to Him, operating so that we are able to continue to live.

2 From the creeds it would seem the Father doesn’t have much to do with the spiritual side of life. He just handles the physical side of life through the created heavens and earth. Is that true?

3 Listen to Peter on Pentecost to help us answer that question: (Acts 2:2223) "Jesus of Nazareth was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” What did the God the Father, and that is most likely what is meant with the title God in the passage, since God is distinguished from Jesus, have to do with Jesus’ crucifixion? He planned it and ordered it. Why? Jesus was crucified to wash away our sins. It was for our salvation.

4 Listen to a description of Jesus in Revelation 13:8 to help us answer that question: (Rev 13:8) “The Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” We know Jesus was crucified in Palestine in about 30 AD. What does this passage mean? It means Jesus crucifixion was just as good as done when the world was created. Why? It was God’s plan. He ordered it. Why did He order it? To wash away our sins. God decreed it for our salvation.

5 Listen to Paul writing to Titus: (1:2) eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. God not only planned eternal life for us before the beginning of time, but he also promised it.

6 Listen to Paul writing to Christians in Corinth: (1 Cor 2:7) We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” Before time began God had a plan that was hidden, not fully disclosed, that would result in our glory - when God says to us “You are my children. You are holy in my sight covered with the righteousness of Jesus. Come and spend eternity with me.”

C The Father does take care of our physical lives through His created world. But the Father also planned that Christ’s death would give us forgiveness. He planned that from eternity. He decreed it would be accomplished through God the Son, Jesus of Nazareth. So, our salvation is a work of God the Father.

IIA1 Open your hymnals to page 132. What do you learn about the Son from the Athanasian Creed? Uncreated. Infinite. Eternal. Almighty. God. Lord. Neither made nor created but begotten. Only one Son. Took on human flesh. Both God and man. Suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead. Ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God, will come to judge.

2 Open your hymnals to page 19. What additional things do you learn about the Son? Conceived by the Holy Spirit. Born of a virgin. Suffered under Pontius Pilate. Open to page 18. What additional things do you learn about the Son? By Him all things were made. His kingdom will have no end.

B1 {15} All that belongs to the Father is mine...... the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (12) "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” Remember it was Thursday night. The next day Jesus would die. The disciples would run away in just a few hours. If Jesus would try to make it all make sense right now, they wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

2 After Jesus died and rose again, the disciples would be able to understand Jesus’ answers to their WHY questions much better than now before it all happened. We know Jesus spent forty days answering His disciples questions after He rose. But notice He promises even more help than that. {13} But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. {14} He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

C1 What belongs to Jesus that will be made known to us? Eternal life. Something the Son of God has inherently which He gives to humans because of His resurrection. Forgiveness of sins. Something He can dispense because He won it by taking the punishment of death and hell we deserve on Himself. Holiness. Something He lived as our Substitute so He can give it to us to make us right with God. Love. All the actions He did and does in order to bring all His blessings into our lives.

2 When the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and makes it know to us, He isn’t calling attention to Himself, but to Jesus. The result is - we glorify Jesus. Jesus said that is the way it works: {14} The Holy Spirit will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

D Our salvation was accomplished by God the Son. He died for our sins. He lived to give me His holiness. He rose so I could live forever. We always say that because we know that. Trinity Sunday reminds us that God the Son isn’t the only person of the Holy Trinity involved in our salvation.

IIIA1 Open your hymnals to page 132. What do you learn about the Holy Spirit from the Athanasian Creed? Uncreated. Infinite. Eternal. Almighty. God. Lord. Neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeds from the Father and the Son. Only one Holy Spirit.

2 Open your hymnals to page 19. What additional things do you learn about the Holy Spirit? Nothing. Open to page 18. What additional things do you learn about the Holy Spirit? Gives life. Spoken through the prophets.

B1 Jesus says: {13} But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. {14} He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. When the Holy Spirit makes known to us that Jesus lived and died and rose for us so that we might have forgiveness, holiness and eternal life, He is guiding us into the truth. When He explains and applies the truth which Jesus brought and taught, He is guiding us into the truth.

2 Once Jesus had successfully lived and died and risen for us all, the disciples could handle all of the truth. So, the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth. We, who live after Jesus successfully lived and died and rose to provide us with forgiveness, holiness and eternal life, can handle all of the truth. So, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

3 Where does the Holy Spirit get the truth? {13} “He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears.” {15}the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known.” The Holy Spirit speaks the plans He heard the Father and the Son discussing. He speaks the truth of God which He had heard from eternity. He takes the forgiveness Jesus won on the cross, the holiness Jesus lived for us, and the eternal life He won by His resurrection, and makes it known to us. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make anything up on His own.

4 Jesus specially mentions: “The Holy Spirit will tell you what is yet to come.” The future is always scary. The Holy Spirit will remind us what Jesus taught about the future. He reminds us that God is in charge in spite of how it looks and feels. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God will accomplish His purposes in spite of the hostility from the devil and the unbelievers and even from our own sinfulness. We need the Holy Spirit to remind us of these things so we can go on in life.

C1 Because we are spiritually dead on our own, we would not be aware of the truth about God’s plans for our salvation or Jesus’ accomplishment of our salvation, nor would we believe it. That’s where the Holy Spirit fits in. He has to make these truths known to us. And in doing so, He leads us to trust in Jesus as our Savior. So, it is again pretty obvious that our salvation is also a work of the Holy Spirit.

2 We will never be able to logically comprehend the Holy Trinity as presented in the Bible until we get to heaven. That is why we call God incomprehensible in the Athanasian Creed. But, it is obvious that the work of the Triune God in the past, in the present and in the future is done for our salvation.

Trinity Word & Symbol

OUR SALVATION IS A WORK OF THE TRIUNE GOD

I. Decreed by the Father

A. Creeds about Father

1. Athanasian

2. Apostles and Nicene

B. What belongs to Father

1. Owns heaven and earth

2. Seemingly not connected with spiritual

3. God planned salvation

4. Planned from eternity

5. Promised eternal life

6. Intended for our glory

C. Salvation is work of Father

II. Accomplished by the Son

A. Creeds about Son

1. Athanasian

2. Apostles and Nicene

B. Jesus promise to make known

1. Not good time on Thursday night

2. Better time after resurrection

C. What belongs to the Son

1. Eternal life, forgiveness, holiness, love

2. HS brings glory to Jesus

D. Salvation is not work of only the Son

III. Made known by the Spirit

A. A. Creeds about HS

1. Athanasian

2. Apostles and Nicene

B. Spirit’s work

1. Guides into truth

2. All truth

3. Not on His own

4. What is to come

C. Salvation

1. Also work of HS

2. Trinity - incomprehensible,

But all for our salvation

Written Sermon 6/5/2022

CWC (Historic) O T Lesson - Pentecost-   KBKuschel

                         Ezekiel 36:25-27

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

IA1 God’s Old Testament people had abandoned their LORD.  They didn’t insist that the I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the only true God.  They began to be less exclusive.  They blended in with everybody else.  They worshiped all the gods of the other people in their region, sometimes along with the LORD, sometimes instead of the LORD.  Instead of relying on the LORD for protection for their nation, they got all intertwined with political intrigues with the foreign powers around them.  

   2 God’s Old Testament people had abandoned God’s way of doing things.  Instead of loving people, they used people for their own advantage.  Instead of using God’s blessings to accomplish God’s purposes, they used their resources for their own gratification.  Instead of maintaining stable families, they dissolved family units on a regular basis. 

  B1 God’s promise is: {25} I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.  The Old Testament people were constantly reminded how God did that.  Every time an animal was sacrificed and blood was poured out to God, it reminded them that God washes away sins with the blood of a sacrifice.  To the Old Testament people it was a sacrifice that was still going to happen in the future.  The sacrifice of the Messiah on the cross.  

  2 The verse starts: 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. When the Old Testament people approached God, they had to go through a ceremonial washing.  It was a reminder that no human being can stand in the presence of God on his own.  Sin makes that impossible.  Sin has to be washed away as dirt is washed away with water. 

   C1 I would venture to say that none of you here today can remember a time in your life when you worshiped Baal, Asherah, Zeus, Aphrodite, Allah, or Buddha.  That is a good thing to never have been in the same situation into which the Old Testament people of God had sunk. 

   2 On the other hand I know for sure that your lives have been filled with impurities from the time that you were born.  I know that from the Bible.  It teaches us that we are all sinful from the time we were conceived in our mother’s womb.  When we started acting and speaking and thinking on our own, we produced sinful, selfish thoughts, words and actions.  So in that sense we are all exactly like the Old Testament people of God.  

  D1 God’s promise is:  I will cleanse you from all your impurities.  He does that for us in exactly the same way He did it for His Old Testament people.  He takes the blood of Jesus the Messiah and washes away our sins.   Interestingly enough there is a New Testament equivalent of the statement:  25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.  Through the waters of Baptism, to which God’s Word was attached, the forgiveness of Jesus was delivered into your lives, for most of you for the very first time in your lives when you were infants.  I would like you, if possible, to contact your parents today and say to them: Thank you for having me baptized.  

    2 How could washing with water connected with the Word of God deliver Jesus’ forgiveness and the other connected blessings of salvation and eternal life?  Because the Word of God and the Word of God connected with the water of Baptism are tools which the Holy Spirit uses to deliver the blessings of Jesus.  The promise of God underlying the promise: “I will cleanse you”  is:{27} “I will put my Spirit in you.”   He has kept His promise to you. 

Hymn 181:2

IIA1 Do you know anyone who has an attitude?  All human beings on our own have an attitude.  We filter our attitude about our selves through our self-orientation.  We insist that we are wonderful human beings.  We insist that any problems which arise in relationships are always the other person’s fault.  We are extremely pleased that we aren’t bad like a lot of people around us are.  

   2 We also have an attitude about God.  We conclude that any God, who demands perfection from humans who can’t produce it, is an intolerant tyrant. We decide that any God, who punishes people who aren’t perfect, is a bully.  We surmise that any God, who insists that the only way humans can have a relationship with Him is by being totally dependent on Him, is a control freak.  And we would much rather rely on ourselves, thank you very much.  So we determine God must not be like that. Or, if He is, we don’t want anything to do with Him.

   3 We also have an attitude about the way we live.  We know for sure that we know what is best for us.  We know for sure that we will always try do what is best for us and the people around us.  We know for sure that we don’t need any advice from anybody including God. 

  B1 I have in my hand a stone.  In the other hand I have a stick pin.   I am going to stick the stick pin into the stone.  It doesn’t work.  The pin just bends.   

    2 In these verses before us today God says we have a heart of stone.  What do you think that means?  It means that our hearts are so hard that they are almost impenetrable.  Our attitudes are so set, that almost nothing can change them.  

   C1 And yet in spite of the fact that all humans are like that, you confess that you are not a wonderful person, who has no faults, but are bad just like everybody else.   What happened to you?  God the Holy Spirit through the Law over the course of your life has convinced you that you are sinners and made you willing to admit that.  God has kept His promise to you: 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. The promise of God underlying that promise is: “I will put my Spirit in you.” God has kept His promise to you.

  2 In spite of the attitude other humans have, you confess that God is not an intolerant tyrant and control freak who bullies people.  What happened to you?  God the Holy Spirit through the Gospel over the course of your life has convinced you that God loved you so much that Jesus lived and died and rose to give you forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life and because of that you want Jesus to invade every corner of your life.  God has kept His promise to you: 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. The promise of God underlying that promise is: “I will put my Spirit in you.” God has kept His promise to you. 

  3 In spite of the attitude of other humans,  you confess that you don’t have all the right answers and don’t always make the right decisions in life.  That’s why you look to God’s Word the Bible for answers and directions in life.    What happened to you?  God the Holy Spirit through the Gospel over the course of your life has convinced you that, if God loved you so much to give you Jesus, when He gives directions and advice, they are based on His love for you and His knowledge of what is best for you. God has kept His promise to you: 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. The promise of God underlying that promise is: “I will put my Spirit in you.” God has kept His promise to you. 

Hymn 181:3

IIIA1 There is a third promise in this text: {27}“You will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  We spend a lot of time studying God’s decrees and laws.  You will keep God’s laws.  You will respect your parents so that the God’s blessings of everything you need for your physical and spiritual well-being will continue to flow into your lives through them.  You will respect your teachers so that God’s blessing of education will continue to flow into your lives through them.  You will respect those who teach you God’s Word so that forgiveness, holiness and eternal life will continue to flow into your lives through God’s word through them. You will respect your government so that God’s blessings of peace and order will continue to flow into your lives through it. 

   2 You will take good care of your bodies. You will refuse to do things that will damage your bodies so that God’s gift of your health won’t be burdened by your bad decisions.   You will help other people to do the same.

  3 You will use your sexuality to cement a life-long relationship with your marriage partner, so that you marriage can be a nest to nurture each other and to nurture the next generation of witnesses for Jesus Christ.  

  4 You will use your money to take care of yourself and your dependents, to preach the Gospel, to support the needy and to pay your taxes so that you can experience the rich full life on this earth that God intends for you to have.  

  5 You will use your words to share Jesus with people and to build and maintain good relationships with others 

  6 You will talk to God and about God a lot to express your relationship with Him and to offer to others a relationship with Him

 7 You will have good priorities in life realizing that your relationship with God is the most important one you can have and that God has provided you with a relationship that will last forever because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

  B1 None of that is going to happen in your life without help.  God offers help.  27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  God the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus.  That leads us to want to thank Him for what He did for us.  God the Holy Spirit points us to the Law.  When He leads us to live the way God wants us to live, we are thanking Jesus for what He did for us.   

  2 The Holy Spirit does His work tied to tools.  The tools are the Word of God and the Lord’s Supper.  The Holy Spirit can only keep us connected with Jesus and motivated to live godly lives if we are using those tools.   

  3 Remember the promise all of you adults made at one point in your life? 

Finally, do you intend to shape your life with God’s Word, to hear the Word of God proclaimed every week, to use the Lord’s Supper whenever it is offered, & to study the Word with your fellow Christians in this congregation at every opportunity., 

Lord God Holy Spirit, lead us all to keep this promise that we made so that You can keep Your promise to be in us the rest of our lives.                                                                           

Hymn 181:4

I will put my Spirit in You

I. You will be clean

 A. Text situation

   1. OT people had abandoned God

   2. OT people had become impure 

  B. OT cleansing

   1. God had to remove sins(cleanse you) - sacrifices of animals etc

   2. Ceremonial washing with water

 C. Humans all of us

   1. Never worshiped false god 

   2 . Were impure at birth

 D. Cleansing

1. Washing of baptism 

2. Washing of baptism - thanks to Holy Spirit

II. You will have a new heart

 A. Human beings on our own

   1. View of self- wonderful person

   2. View of god - intolerant tyrant

   3. View of lifestyle- my way is best

 B. Heart of stone

   1. Stick pin and stone  

   2. Hearts that won’t change

 C. New hearts

   1. Admit sinfulness - HS through Law

   2. Want Jesus in life - HS through Gospel 

   3. God’s way is beast - HS through Gospel

III. You will keep my laws

 A. List commandments

   1. Respect authorities so blessings flow

   2. Take care of bodies so life isn’t such a struggle

   3. Use your sexuality to lock into a lifelong partner

   4. Use your money to have the good life

   5. Use your words to share Jesus and have good relationships

   6. Talk to God a lot 

   7. Keep your relationship with God first

 B. Contingent on Holy Spirit’s activity

   1. HS motivate to keep God’s Law by pointing to Jesus

   2. HS only active in us when we use Word and supper

   3. Confirmation promise

Written Sermon 5/29/2022

Ascension Day - Psalm Kieth Bernard Kuschel

Psalm 110

The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 7 He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high

IA1 Why is Jesus our Savior? Because He took on Himself our sins. He went to the cross. He died the death we deserve. He rescued us from death as punishment for sin. He rose from the dead, so that we also will rise from the dead. He lived a perfectly holy life so He could give us His holiness and make us acceptable to Him. He did all this so that we could have an unending relationship with Him called eternal life. When did all this happen? In the past.

2 Part of the work Jesus did as our Savior was the work of a Priest. A priest sacrificed animals as a pointer to the real sacrifice: Jesus sacrifice of Himself to pay for our sins. A priest came out after the sacrifice and blessed people by telling them their sins were forgiven. In Gen 14 the priest of Salem(which means peace) named Melchizedek, which means King of Righteousness, came out and blessed Abraham. Verse 4 of our Psalm says Jesus, the one sitting at God’s right hand, is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus comes into our lives and blesses us with forgiveness, covers us with His righteousness and gives us peace.

B1 The verse also says to Jesus, “You are a priest forever.” That means He continues to do His priest job. How? Well it can’t mean He re-sacrifices Himself on a regular basis to wash away our sins. Why can’t it mean that? Because the Bible is very clear. Jesus’ one sacrifice was worth enough to pay for the sins of the world for all time. Hebr 9:28 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins. Heb 10:10 We have been made holy through the sacrificee of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebr 10:14 By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. So, Jesus doesn’t re-sacrifice Himself on a regular basis.

2 So, how is He a priest forever? The other job of the Old Testament priest was to be the intercessor, go-between, mediator. He took the sins of the people to God in the Most Holy Place at the temple. He brought the blood of the Lamb as a payment for the sins of himself and the people pointing ahead to the blood of Jesus. Then he brought out to the people the forgiveness that God announced in view of the life of the Anointed One to be given as payment. Jesus goes to the Heavenly Father with His own blood. Points to it as evidence that our sins are washed away and elicits from the Judge a “Not Guilty” verdict for us. Jesus the Intercessor, the Mediator, the Go-between, Our Defense Lawyer. That’s the part of the priest’s job that Jesus does forever.

C1 Knowing that makes us able to get up in the morning. When I wake up in the morning, I think, “Another day just like yesterday. Yesterday when I really failed to do my job to the best of my ability and still got paid. Yesterday, when I really badgered my friend at school, maybe I should say bullied, to get my own way. Yesterday, when I wasted way too many resources on things that aren’t necessary for my or others’ physical or spiritual well-being.”

2 But I know Jesus went to the Judge last night and said, “Judge. My blood washed away those sins of stealing, bullying and wastefulness. Besides that when I was on the earth I always perfectly carried out all my responsibility, I always loved people perfectly, and I always used everything given to me to accomplish what You wanted. I have covered humans with my holiness. Sins gone, covered with holiness. Judge: You have no reason to be angry. Sinner: You can make a new start each morning.” Because of Jesus’ work as priest for me, I can get up each morning and face each new day.

3 This sounds too good to be true. Will God continue to do this?. Is there a limit? Verse 4 says: “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” LORD Jesus. Thank You for still working for me now. Thank you for still being my priest throughout my life. Thank You for still working for humans as our Intercessor-Mediator-Defense Lawyer until Judgement Day. Thank You for ascending into heaven and repositioning yourself at God’s right hand so You can do that.

IIA1 {2}“Rule in the midst of your enemies,” the LORD says to the One sitting at His right hand. That is a different directive from what comes later. Later it is {5 & 6}“crush, judge, heap up the dead.” Now it is “rule” Be a ruler. Be in charge. Take control. Be an overseer.

2 What is the instrument of rule? {2} The scepter extended from Zion. Zion is the hill on which the temple was built. Zion is the place where God’s people gathered to exercise their relationship with their Creator-Savior God. Zion came to mean the people who gathered on that hill to exercise their relationship with God. The LORD wants the rule of the One sitting at His right hand over the people of Zion to be extended out beyond Zion. How does that happen? When the Word of God, the Law and the Gospel, are used. Then Jesus’ rule in the hearts of people gets extended beyond Zion, the people who are believers now.

B1 How does the rule of the One sitting at the right hand of God get extended? His troops do the work. His troops are {3}“arrayed in holy splendor.” These troops are covered with the holiness of the Messiah. That’s what qualifies them to be His troops.

2 His troops are described as {3}“young men who will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.” As the dew seems to be born from the morning, from above, so are all those who are the Messiah’s troops. They have been born from above, born of God. Listen to a quote from Luther: “The birth of the troops of the One sitting on the right hand of God happens similarly to the dew which on spring mornings we see on the grass. Though we see it every morning, no one can say where it came from or how it came about. So is every one who is born by the Holy Spirit. No one can explain how it happened. It is a miracle. Every believer is truly born of God. Regeneration is a real birth, which gives new life to him who experiences it. It is a birth from above. Every member of Christ’s people has experienced such a birth.”

3 His troops are described as {3}“willing on the your day of battle.” The troops of the One sitting on the right hand of God are willing to go to battle for their leader. This is a volunteer army. Because they have been covered with the holiness of their LORD, because they have been born into His group as a gift from their leader, they are so thankful that they volunteer to get into the battle of extending His rule.

C1 God wants Jesus’ rule extended. He wants more and more people to join Zion. He wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He is not willing that anyone should perish, but wants all to come to repentance. He wants all people to become followers of Jesus. He wants the message about Jesus to be spread into all the world.

2 His troops are supposed to do that. Who are His troops? We are. We are arrayed in the splendor of Jesus’ holiness. We have been born of God when the Holy Spirit brought us to trust that Jesus is our Savior. That leads us to want to give other people the privilege we have - being in the army of God. That’s why we get up in the morning. We have a purpose. LORD Jesus. thank You for giving me a job. Thank You for qualifying me for the job by arraying me in holy splendor and causing me to be born anew like dew. Thank You for equipping me for the job by placing into my hands the Scepter of Your Word. Thank You for ascending into heaven and repositioning Yourself at God’s right hand so that You can extend Your rule through me.

IIIA1 {1}The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand.” In the New Testament Jesus indicated in a conversation with the Pharisees that the “my lord” in this Psalm referred to the Messiah, the Christ. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. So the LORD is talking to God the Son the Messiah in the first verse.

2 Now look at verse 5 The Lord is at your right hand. The One sitting at the right hand of the LORD in verse one is addressed. He is told the LORD is at his right hand. The right hand position is the position of power and authority. So we have the Messiah at the right hand of the Lord. And we have the LORD at the right hand of the Messiah.

3 The point is pretty easy. Christ always has the Father and the Holy Spirit at His side working right along with Him. The Father and the Holy Spirit always have Jesus the Christ at their side working right along with them. In verse 2 the Son, the Messiah, the Christ was invited to sit at the right hand of God because during His life on this earth, although He never gave up His position as Lord of all, He didn’t exercise His power to do that. After God the Son was finished with His work of living, dying, and rising for us, the LORD invited Him to take up the oversight position and use His power again when He said, “Sit at my right hand.”

B1 The Lord says to my lord: {1}“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” In effect God was saying to the Christ, “I need you to be exercising Your rule over all things on the earth until all my enemies are conquered. If you don’t do that, life on the earth will be largely impossible for my people since my enemies, the devil and the unbelieving world are going to be very active.”

2 The word until is very important. When all God’s enemies are defeated, then the Messiah won’t need to be exercising His rule over all things to protect His people, since they won’t need to be protected for anything anymore. We know all of God’s enemies, who are also our enemies, will be totally defeated and put under the Messiah’s feet on Judgment Day. That is the reference at the end of this Psalm. he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 7 He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

C1 Sometimes it is hard to get up in the morning. Today is going to be just like yesterday. I don’t feel very well. I am not doing very well at school. There is too much pressure at work. I can’t pay my bills. I am not getting along very well with my siblings.

2 Sometimes it is hard to get up in the morning. Today is going to be just like yesterday. The devil tries to convince me that I am sick because God doesn’t care about me. My sinful self tries to convince me that the demands at school and work are unreasonable and I should just give up. My friends tell me that trying to make relationships work is silly. Just look out for yourself.

3 But I know that one day all the hardships will be gone. One day all the enemies will be crushed so they can’t attack me any more. Knowing that, looking forward to that future makes it possible for me to get up in the morning. LORD Jesus. thank You for giving me a look a the future.. Thank You for reminding me that You will crush all Your and my enemies on the Last Day. Thank You for using that reminder to motivate me to go on with life amidst its hardships and attacks. Thank You for ascending into heaven and repositioning Yourself at God’s right hand so that You will on Judgment Day be the winner and so will we.

The One sitting at the LORD’s right hand

I. Is still working for us (priest)

A. Jesus work for us

1. Lived and died and rose(past)

2. Like Melchizedek

B. What ongoing work?

1. Not re-sacrifice

2. Other priest job = intercessor

C. We can get up in the morning

1. Messed up again

2. Jesus goes to God

3. Never going to change mind

II. Has a job for us (Zion)

A. Jesus work for others

1. Rule in midst of enemies

2. Scepter from Zion

B. Rule carried out through troops

1. Arrayed in holiness

2. Like dew from morning

3. Are willing volunteers

C. We should get up in the morning

1. Jesus wants His rule extended

2. He does that through us

III. Will be the Winner

A. Jesus Interconnection

1. Beginning of Psalm

2. Here

3. Point

B. Future

1. Messiah sitting at right hand until JD

2. JD no more need to rule over world vs enemies

C. We can get up in the morning

1. Hardships

2. Enemies

3. Victory is ours eventually

Written Sermon 5/22/2022

Cwc Easter 6 - OT Lesson - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

I Kings 6:14-17

14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 6 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

IA1 Can somebody tell me something about Elijah? Taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. Elisha took over the prophet’s job after Elijah. I think God chose two people with such similar names just to confuse us. Elisha lived about 850 years before Jesus was born.

2 The King of Syria, called Aram back then, sent raiding parties into Israel on a pretty regular basis. They attacked a town, stole everything they could use, and then burned it down. Suddenly the King of Syria ran into a problem. Every time he would go to attack a town, it was already fortified by some of Israel’s soldiers. He thought one of his officers was tipping Israel off ahead of time. Not true.

3 King Jehoram of Israel knew which town the King of Syria was about to attack because Elisha had been told by the LORD ahead of time. Elisha informed King Jehoram. The King of Syria found out what Elisha was doing and decided to go to capture him. That brings us to verse 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

4 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. That is probably how we all would have reacted. They were in danger. There was a need. He saw no solution to the need. “What are we doing to do!!!!!”

B1 What needs do we have in our lives? Some are regular daily needs. Food. Clothing. Shelter from the elements. Health so we can work. Jobs so we can earn money to take care of our needs. Some are special needs. More resources to handle a natural disaster. Emotional help and encouragement to handle a difficult problem. Sometimes the daily regular needs or the special needs seem like such a big mountain that we say with Elisha’s servant, “What are we going to do!!!!”

2 Sometimes we need protection. We need protection from natural occurrences like lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We need protection from traffic accidents, industrial accidents, and accidents which occur in our own homes. We need protection from criminals who would be trying to take advantage of us in some way that would bring some damage into our lives. We need protection from the armies of enemy countries, just as Elisha and his servant did. When we realize all the things we need to be protected from, we say with Elisha’s servant, “What are we going to do!!!!”

3 We always need protection from spiritual enemies and spiritual attacks. “You don’t need Jesus. Jesus is for losers who can’t handle life on their own,” the devil says. “I know what God’s Word says is the right thing to do in this situation. But I don’t think that is the best thing for me right now,” the sinful self in all of us says on a regular basis. “If you want to survive in the world we live in, you have to operate the way the everybody else operates. Trying to be morally correct just won’t make it,” the worldly-wise people around us say. And on our own we mimic Elisha’s servant, “What are we going to do!!!!”

IIA1 “What are we going to do!!!!” Elisha knew the LORD was protecting him. He knew the LORD promised to be with him, no matter what happened. He also knew that God uses His holy angels to protect his people. So, Elisha said, “6 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

2 Then Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened so that he could see things which are usually not apparent to human’s eyes. 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The heavenly host of angels surrounding Elisha and his servant were taking the form of fiery chariots and horses as they had done when they took Elijah to heaven.

B1 We know what Elisha knew. God protects us. He is with us no matter what. He uses His holy angels to protect us. How do we know that? God has told us that. You all know these words of God. Many of you have them memorized. Ps 34:6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. Psalm 91: 9 If you say, ““The Lord is my refuge,””and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

2 “What are we going to do!!!!” Elisha’s answer to us is: The angel of the Lord encamps around you. The LORD delivers you. The LORD sees to it that you lack nothing. The LORD will not let harm or disaster overwhelm you. The Lord will send His angels to guard you in all your ways. The angels serve God’s people. Elisha’s answer is: “What are we going to do!!!!" isn’t the right question. “What is God going to do?” is the right question.

C1 Those promises of God are pretty inclusive, aren’t they? Guard you in all your ways. God Himself and through His angels is protecting us from starvation, nakedness, and homelessness. God Himself and through His angels is protecting our health, and our wealth, and our emotional well-being. God Himself and through His angels is protecting us from criminal activity, accidents, dangerous situations, and national enemies. Only when it is in the best interest of our relationship with Him does he withdraw any of those protections.

2 Serve those who will inherit salvation. That’s us. People who believe that Jesus died to wash away our sins, lived to cover us with His holiness, and rose to give us eternal life. We will inherit rescue from the punishment we deserve because of our sins. The angels serve us in our position as believers. They protect us against the devil who insists that we are too bad to be children of God or so good that we don’t need Jesus. They protect us from our own selfish, spiritually destructive thinking. They protect us from the people who insist that God’s ways are foolish. And we know from Jesus that at the end of our lives they will “carry us to Abraham’s side” where we won’t need protection anymore.

IIIA1 Since Elisha knew that the angels were present protecting him, he could say to his servant, “Don’t be afraid.” He knew God could get them out of this situation. He was not overwhelmed with fear and worry. He could be at peace in the midst of a very stressful situation.

2 Elisha’s trust was not misplaced. From the verses that follow we learn that the LORD struck the Syrian raiding party with blindness and then Elisha led them away to Samaria where the King of Israel was with his army. Thus the threat ended.

B1 We know what Elisha knew. We can be at peace as Elisha was. Even in stressful situations. We don’t have to worry saying, “What shall we eat” or “What shall we drink” or “What shall we wear?” We can seek Jesus’ kingdom and His righteousness. We can be at peace. We can be confident that we won’t strike our foot against a stone. We can be at peace. We know we are never alone. We can be at peace.

2 God’s promises don’t give us the right to do anything foolish. Like quit our jobs. Or go lie down in the middle of US 31. Or put ourselves into crime scenes. But His promises do give us the right to be confident that He is going to do all things for the benefit of our relationship with Him. So, we can be at peace.

C1 We know what Elisha knew. We can be at peace as Elisha was. Our sins have been washed away in the blood of Christ. We are covered with the holiness of Jesus. We are going to live forever because of the resurrection of Jesus. We can be confident that the angels are going to serve us in our position as believers by protecting our relationship with Jesus. So, we don’t have to seclude ourselves from the world, terrified that our relationship with Jesus is at risk. We can be at peace. We can carry out our role as witnesses for Jesus by intermingling with the unbelievers in our world as salt and light for the world.

2 God’s promises don’t give us the right to do anything foolish. Like not using the Bible in our homes. Like not worshiping Jesus weekly. Like not going to Bible class. Like sinning because we know Jesus has forgiven us. But His promises do give us the right be confident that He is going to protect our relationship with Him for as long as He allows us to live in this world.

We can be at peace.

D We also know what Jesus knew. The angels will carry us to Abraham’s side. And so we can look forward to a peaceful sleep and a peaceful awakening and sing, “Lord, let at last Thine angels come, to Abram’s bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing; And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep Until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My Savior and my Fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, My prayer attend, my prayer attend, And I will praise Thee without end.”

Written Sermon 5/15/2022

CW-C Easter 5 - Gospel Lesson –- Kieth Bernard Kuschel

John 13:31-35

 (31)  When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. {32} If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. {33} "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. {34} "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. {35} By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Soon people are leaving college and coming home.  

People leave for the weekend each summer.

People leave for several weeks for vacation. 

People come back from summer and then some leave for college.  Today

Let’s Talk about Leaving

1. Everybody is doing it

2. People still need to be loved

  3. God still needs to be Glorified

Leaving

Let’s Talk about Leaving

I. Everybody is doing it

 A. Jesus’ Situation

   1. Upper Room

   2. Physical separations near

   3. Disciples can’t come

   4. Concern for them

 B. Our spiritual family

   1. Headed for death

   2. Concerned about left behind

 C. Our earthly family

   1. Parents are leaving

   2. Children left behind

II. People will need to be Loved

 A. Jesus’ loving actions

   1. Taught truth

   2. Taken care of needs

   3. Willing to give up life

   4. Wants us to love as He loves us

  B. Our families

    1. We train by loving others

    2. Parents train children

    3. Lovers direct people to Jesus

III. God needs to be Glorified

 A. Jesus glorification of God

   1. Successful result of work

   2. Father declared praise of Son  

   3.  God is praised because of Jesus

   4.  Disciples knew Jesus glorified God

 B. Our glorification of God

    1. Use of Word glorifies God

    2. Lifestyle glorifies God

    3. Leads others to glorify God

Recap

I.A.1. It was Thursday evening.  Jesus and His disciples were in the upper room.   Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.  He told His disciples that they ought to humbly serve others as He had just done.   Judas left.

    2. “My children,”  Jesus then said, “I will be with you only a little longer.”{33}  In a few hours He was taken captive.  Several hours after that He died.  For a few days He wasn’t physically with them at all.  Then He rose.  Forty days later He physically left this earth.  He was right.  He would truly only be with them for a little while.  

    3. “You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”  He had said these same things to the religious leaders of society.  Now he told the disciples they couldn’t come.  At least not until they would die.  In one sense then He was saying “You can’t come to where I am going yet.” But in another sense He was saying, “You will never be able to come where I am going.”  They could never go through suffering, death, and resurrection as Substitute and Savior.”

    4. Why was Jesus reminding them that He was only going to be with them a little longer and that they wouldn’t be able to come where He was going?  Because He was leaving.  They had to be ready for it.   He wanted their relationship with Him to be as strong as it needed to be so it would last through the time when they would be apart.

  B.1. It is Sunday morning and we are here with our spiritual family.  We feed on the Word of the Lord.  We encourage each other to remain believers in Jesus the Savior.  We encourage each other to live our lives to the Lord.  We know of the constant threat that people will fall away from the Lord.  We know that we won’t be here forever. Even if we don’t know the day of our death as Jesus did, we will die unless the Lord returns first.  That will separate us from what we are experiencing now.  It is all certain.

    2. We know we are going to leave some people behind as Jesus did.  Although we will be perfectly arrayed in the white robes of Jesus’ holiness, although we will have perfect fellowship with God, and although there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain, we know the people left behind us will have to still struggle with all the things with which we have had to struggle in a sinful world.  We are rightfully concerned about their well-being.  Rightfully concerned about their ongoing relationship with the Lord. Rightfully concerned enough that we talk to each other about the time when we will no longer be here, as Jesus did with His disciples.

  C.1. Everything which I just said is true of our earthly families.  Children, whether we are 12 years old or 71 years old, can’t fathom life without our parents because we have never known life without our parents.  They have always been there.  As we are getting older, they are getting older.  In the ordinary course of events, they will be leaving this earth first.  We ought to be open about their leaving.  That’s the way for them to be ready for it.

    2. Parents, no matter how young or old you are, you most likely will be leaving first.  We need to admit that inside ourselves.  But we ought to be open about it to our children.  And we ought to be concerned.  Concerned that our children will be able to handle life without us.  Concerned that they will continue their relationship with the Lord until the time that the Lord allows them to join us.  We ought to be open about our leaving.  That’s the way for them to be ready for it.

IIA1 Jesus was talking about leaving.  To those who would be left behind He said: {34}“A new command I give you: love one another.”  How are we to do that?  Jesus’ answer is: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  How had Jesus loved His disciples up to this point?  By speaking to them God’s truth. He taught them (and by the way He teaches us through them) God’s Law so they and we know that we are sinful human beings.  He taught them (and us through them) that God provides salvation through His love so that we might escape the punishment we deserve.  Love is the attitude which drives someone to act for the benefit of someone else.  Jesus loved His disciples & us.  That was obvious from his teaching activity.

    2. How had Jesus loved His disciples?  He had taken care of all their needs.  He provided them with forgiveness of sins to rescue them from the punishment they deserved because of their sins.  He provided them with righteousness to cover them so they might be acceptable to God.  He provided them with eternal life so they could continue to live even after they physically died.  He provided them with what they needed to live on while they were on earth.  He provided  them with protection.  He provided for them through miracles when necessary.  Those are all actions that benefit.  Jesus loved His disciples.

   3. How had Jesus loved His disciples? He was willing to give Himself up for them.  He was willing to give up the exercise of His power and glory as God, so He might live as our Substitute, be subject to the demands of the Law, keep it for us so he might give us His holiness.  He was willing to give up His life as a payment to God for our sins, so that He might take away our guilt and provide us with forgiveness of sins and rescue from punishment.  He was willing to give up His life so that He might conquer death and give us eternal life. All actions which benefit.  Jesus loved His disciples.     

     4 To those who would be left behind He said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”   He wants us to love each other as He has loved us.  He wants us to love each other by teaching each other God’s truth for the benefit of our souls.  He wants us to take care of each other’s needs while we are on this earth.  Why?  Because He is leaving and He won’t be here to do those things for us so, we have to do them for each other.  That’s not what He says.  He says {35}“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

  B1. When we talk about leaving, what to do we talk about? How about the fact that there will be others to love.  Are we training the people whom we are leaving behind to love others?  How  do we do that? By loving them as Jesus loved us.  Will those whom we leave behind know the truth about themselves and the truth about Jesus Christ because we loved them enough to teach them those things?  Will those whom we leave behind be able to recall that we were willing to do whatever was necessary to provide for their physical and spiritual needs while we were on this earth?

     2. Will they then in turn love each other by doing the same things for each other that we did for them before we left?  Children learn from their parents.  Little girls & boys  learn how to take care of babies by watching Mom.  Little children learn how to love others by observing Mom and Dad love each other.  Little children learn how to love others by observing how Mom and Dad love them.

    3. Why  do we want our children to love each other.  Because we want them to mutually benefit each other.  But there is another reason.  We want people to know that they are Jesus’ disciples.  We want people in the next generation to know Jesus so they can be with us in heaven with the Lord.  We want those left behind when we leave to love others so we through them might love others by leading them to Jesus.

IIIA1 How could Jesus say in the first paragraph, {31}“Now is the Son of man glorified, “ when He knew that He was about to be crucified, die and be buried.  That was very humbling and lowly.  The problem is our perception.  Jesus looked at the entire process of His work and always focused on the result.  Jesus could say, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” because now the process was about to start that would result in the successful completion of His work.

    2 The result of His sufferings-death-resurrection-ascension activity was the Son of Man was glorified by the Father.  Because of Jesus’ success up to this point in his life, and because of Jesus’ willingness to go ahead with the difficult work ahead of Him, the Father glorified Jesus.  He was willing to say because of Jesus’ intentions to be crucified and rise, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus says here, “That is about to happen again.”

   3. But Jesus also says, “The Father is glorified in me.”  Because Jesus carried out the Father’s plan, it is correct to say, “God is great and good for having this plan and sending Jesus to carry it out.”  That is glorification of the Father.  It is done because Jesus successfully completed His work.  That is why Jesus said, “Now is the Father gloried in the Son.”  The greatest work on account of which we praise God is - the work of Jesus, the work He was about to start and the work that would reach its climax in the resurrection.

   4. What did Jesus talk about with those whom He would  leave  behind?  Glorification of God.  The disciples always knew that Jesus was doing what He was doing because He was doing the Father’s will.  That meant the Father and His will were important to Jesus.  That is what glorification is, isn’t it.  Saying with your mouth and with your life - God is great and God is good.  He is worth everything to me.

 B1 What do we communicate to those whom we are leaving behind? Glorification of God.   When people watch us, what do they see?  Praising the Father and the Son?  When our children observe us in our homes, do they see us talk to the Lord and listen to Him talk to us in His word.  Does that say to them, “God is important to us?”  When our children watch us take time out every week to worship with our brothers and sisters in the faith, does that say to them: “God is great and God is good.  He is worth everything to me.”  When our children watch us study the Word with brothers and sisters in the faith, does that say to them: “God is valuable.  I need to know as much about Him as possible.”  If we are not listening to God talk to us on a regular basis, won’t they conclude that God isn’t really very important? Are we then glorifying God?

   2 When our children and others watch us, do they see us saying “God is great and God is good" by the way we live our lives?  When they hear us talk, and when they watch us live, do they learn that we are doing what we are doing in the way that we are doing it because God wants us to speak and live that way?  That is giving glory to God, isn’t it.  That’s saying, “God is so important to me that I want to do everything his way because He has given me forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life.”  If that is not what our actions are saying, then we aren’t glorifying God.

   3. Children in the neighborhood seldom know the adults in the neighborhood.  They judge the parents by the children.  If my child is a good friend and a decent human being in the eyes of the other children, I am judged to be OK.  If my child is a jerk in the eyes of the other children, I also am a jerk.  How can we expect the people who are learning from us to think the heavenly Father is great and good? How can we expect those whom we are going to leave behind to live their lives to the glory of God, if they learned from me that God isn’t important or worthy of my praise?  Let’s remember that love for somebody means we lead them to live their lives to glory of God.

Let’s talk about leaving.  Everybody is doing it.  But there will always be people here to love.  And God will always need to be glorified.

Written Sermon 5/8/2022

CWC- Gospel Lesson Easter 4 - Good Shepherd Sun Kieth Bernard Kuschel

John 10: 22-30

22Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ,[c] tell us plainly." 25Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[d]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."

Explain how Shepherd’s crook is used

IA “My sheep,” Jesus said. That implies that He considers Himself our Shepherd. He does. He said that on other occasions. A shepherd in Jesus’ day had several important jobs. One was to find pasture and water in a part of the world where there wasn’t a lot of either. Second, he had to guide them to the pasture and water. That means on narrow paths, along steep precipices, around marshes, hooking them and pulling them with the end of the crook when necessary. Third, he had to guard his sheep. The shepherd carried a club, like a night stick to beat off attacking animals and two legged animals intending to steal the sheep.

B1 Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He provides food and water for us. He does that by keeping the universe working in the way that He created it to work. But He also provides food and water for our souls. He comes into our lives through His Word. He keeps us trusting that He lived and died and rose so that we might have forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life. If He did not give us spiritual food and drink, our souls would die spiritually, cut off from the LORD.

2 Through that same word He guides us. He gives us directions for our lives. He shows us how to live so that we can experience a rich, full life on this earth. He shows us how to live to benefit the people around us in life. He shows us which attitudes are good for us. He shows us which attitudes are good for the people around us. He shows us how to live so that His blessings can continue to get through to us.

3 And He guards us. He keep us from evil. He keeps evil from us. He makes evil work out for our good. He sends His angels to guard us. Again through the Word He keeps our faith strong so that we withstand doubts and the attacks of the unbelieving world. He keeps us strong so that we withstand the temptations to do sinful things that seem expedient and advantageous for us.

C1 We know our Good Shepherd feeds, guides, and guards us. What do you think we ought to do in response? Listen to Him. That’s exactly what Jesus says. 27 “My sheep listen to my voice.” Every time the Bible is used and we are present, we are listening to Jesus. When the Bible is preached, no matter how good or bad we think the preacher is, we are listening to Jesus. When the Bible is read, we are listening to Jesus. When the Bible is studied, no matter how good or bad we think the Bible study leader is, we are listening to Jesus. When the Bible is watched, we are listening to Jesus.

2 Because Jesus knows us, we are His sheep. Because we know Jesus is our Good Shepherd, we follow Him. Following Him means we trust that He will continue to feed, guide and guard us. Following Him means we trust that we are safe in His hands. And that too is what Jesus says, 28 “No one can snatch them out of my hand.”

IIA The shepherd could be the best one in the world. He could always find pasture and water, but the sheep would still grow old, or get diseases and die. He could carefully guide them. But, if they insisted on going off a precipice, or going through a marsh, they would still get killed. He could intensely guard them. But he couldn’t be present everywhere all the time. So, some sheep are going to be killed by animals. Some, stolen by humans.

B There are some similarities between sheep and us. We live in a land that has abundant food and water. Yet, we grow old, or get sick and die. We live in a land that guarantees our freedoms. We make decisions that hurt us and sometimes kill us. We have the ability to try life on our own. And when we try it, the pressure of the unbelievers around us and the power of Satan overwhelm us and we revert to spiritual death.

C1 Even though we have the Good Shepherd, the Best Shepherd, the Perfect Shepherd, that doesn’t exempt us from problems, attacks and death. However our Good Shepherd says to us: 28: “I give them eternal life.” How can He give that to us? Because our Good Shepherd is the One who took our guilt on Himself and removed it from us. Our Good Shepherd is the One who took our punishment of death and hell on Himself to rescue us from those punishments for sin. Our Good Shepherd is the One who lived without sin so He could give us His holiness. Our Good Shepherd is the One who rose from death so He might make us able to conquer death. “I give them eternal life,” our Good Shepherd says to us.

2 He also says, 28 “No one can snatch them out of my hand.” Jesus says to us: “Even though things happen in life that hurt you, that won’t push you out of my hand. Even though you will be attacked while on this earth, I promise to keep you in my hand. Even though you physically die, that won’t snatch you out of my hand.”

3 And He says, “and they shall never perish.” Jesus says, “When everything around you in this life seems to be disintegrating and disappearing, you won’t, because I don’t. When you have caved into the devil’s temptations and he tells you that you deserve to perish eternally, you won’t, because I am in charge. When you die, you don’t come to an end. You come into My eternal presence.” We are safe in Jesus’ hand. How do we know? Because He gives us eternal life.

IIIA1 It was the feast of dedication. The Jews were commemorating Judas Maccabeus’ deliverance from the blasphemous oppression of a foreign ruler named Antiochus Epiphanes. Was Jesus going to be a Messiah like Judas Maccabeus? So, they asked Jesus, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

2 Jesus answer was: “I did tell you, but you do not believe me.” They didn’t believe Jesus’ words. Jesus had another answer for them. “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe.” The miraculous activity that Jesus did indicated that He was sent from God and wielded the power of God. That was additional proof that He was the Messiah. They didn’t believe Jesus’ works.

3 Jesus says they didn’t believe His words or His works, “because you do not belong to my flock.” People who aren’t Jesus’ sheep don’t believe what He says and don’t believe what He does. That is what all of us would be like on our own. If someone stepped up in front here today and claimed to be God, as Jesus did, we wouldn’t believe him. If someone claimed to do a miracle, or maybe even did a miracle in our presence, we wouldn’t believe him. We would insist that it was a fake.

B1 Their failure to believe Jesus’ words and works and our natural failure to believe Jesus’ words and works don’t negate Jesus’ claims. In fact, in view of their failure to believe Jesus’ words and works, Jesus repeats His claims. He says, “No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 “No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” Jesus claims to be God.

2 Jesus is God. That’s why He could live and cover the entire human population with His holiness. That’s why He could take everybody’s place and be worth enough to pay for all of our sins. That’s why He could conquer death and the devil so we can too. He couldn’t do any of this for us if He were not God. But He says He is God. “I and the Father are one.”

3 Jesus is God. That’s why He can carry out His promise to not allow any of the hardships, difficulties, mistakes, misdirection, sufferings and death in our lives to separate us from Him. Jesus is God. That’s why He is able to not allow physical death, a collapsing society, or sinfulness to cause us to perish. We are safe in Jesus’ hand. How do we know? Because He and the Father are One. Jesus is God.

Conc: It is a great feeling when you slide into home plate and you are called safe. It’s an infinitely greater feeling to be told: “Jesus is Your Good Shepherd. He gives you eternal life. He and the Father are One. So, you are safe in His hand.”

Shepherd’s Crook

We are safe in Jesus’ hand

I. He is our Good Shepherd

A. Shepherd’s Jobs

B. Jesus our Good Shepherd

1. Jesus provides

2. Jesus guides

3. Jesus guards

C. We respond

1. We listen

2. We follow

II. He gives us eternal life

A. Sheep die anyway

B.We die anyway

C. Jesus gives eternal life

1. Because of His work

2. So noone can snatch

3. So we won’t perish

III. He and the Father are one

A. Jesus’ claim

1. People wanted Maccabeus

2. Jesus said and did = God

3. People don’t baelieve

B. Jesus still makes claim

1. Repeats it

2. Can do Savior’s work

3 Can carry out promises

Called safe