Written Sermon January 28, 2024

Teaching We Can Trust

By Pastor John Eich Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Alma, MI

Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28 21 Then they went  into Capernaum. On the next  Sabbath day, Jesus went into the  synagogue and began to  teach. 22 They were amazed at his  teaching, because he was  teaching them as one who has  authority and not as the experts  in the law. 23 Just then there was a  man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue. It cried out, 24 “What do we have to do  with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the  Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked the spirit, saying, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”  26 The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and after crying out with a loud  voice, it came out of him. 27 Everyone was so amazed that they began to discuss this  with each other. They said, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even  commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” 28News about him spread quickly  through all the region of Galilee. 

Grace and mercy which brings peace to from God our Father and our Lord and Savior,  Jesus Christ. 

In our modern world – or as some would say, our postmodern world – today’s gospel  reading must seem old-fashioned and hopelessly irrelevant. Jesus rebuking unclean  spirits? We don’t believe in unclean spirits anymore, do we? Exorcisms are for the movies,  not for real life. 

How about Jesus teaching with authority? In our postmodern world, nobody can teach  with true authority anymore, can they? Everybody’s thinking is right for them. There is  no authority of right and wrong. We’re taught from a young age to question authority,  

and not to trust everything we see or read. And with good reason! Because not  everything that we see or read is true! Advertisers stretch the truth. Politicians twist the  truth. And the news media all seem to share different versions of the truth. We have  good reason to question authority, and any claim to the truth. 

But here we are, with an old-fashioned reading that I is more important than ever.  Because in the midst of a world without any clear and certain truth, Jesus continues to  offer a clear teaching, with authority – eternal truths that we can trust and believe, and  even build our lives upon. And then, Jesus helps us to live these truths, by driving away  anything that would prevent us from living as he teaches. 

Jesus has come to Galilee, proclaiming the good news. He has called his first disciples to  follow him. Now, on the sabbath day, Jesus enters the synagogue and begins to teach.  We find out quickly in Jesus’ ministry that teaching is crucial to Jesus’ mission. He didn’t  come just to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Or simply to call disciples to follow him. Or 

Teaching We Can Trust January 28. 2024 

merely to heal the sick. Or even to die on a cross for the sins of the world. He came to do  all those things, of course. But he also came to teach. 

There are clearly some important truths about this world that Jesus wants us to learn.  But he is not going to teach in the same way that everybody else does. He is not going to  quote one person, and then another – some say, others say … – he’s not going to “beat  around the bush.” No, he is going to teach with authority. Not as the scribes. Not as the  other teachers of his day. Why can Jesus do this? Very simply, because he is the Son of  God. That is the source of his authority. And the reason that he can teach in this way. And  only he can teach in this way! 

The Teacher Who Is the Son of God 

If Jesus was not the Son of God, then his teaching would be just like any other teaching,  mere opinion. We would be left wondering whether it can be believed. We would be  right back at square one. That is why it is so important to realize who this teacher is,  and why we can believe him. 

As Christians, we accept Jesus’s teachings not because we like them, or even agree with  them; not because he is a great teacher, or because he makes a great point. We accept  his teachings, all of them, whether we wish he hadn’t said it or not, simply because he is  the Son of God. That’s why he can teach with authority, and that’s why we can believe  him without hesitation. 

C.S. Lewis, in his famous book, Mere Christianity, speaks directly to those people who  claim that Jesus is a great teacher, but nothing more. In a very famous passage, Lewis  puts it this way: 

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often  say about [Jesus]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t  accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was  merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral  teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with a man who says he is a  poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you  can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any  patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that  open to us. He did not intend to. 

Jesus is, quite simply, the Son of God. Or everything that we have built our lives upon is a  waste of time. Jesus is the Son of God, or everything he said came the mouth of a  madman and can’t be trusted.  

But he is true God. He proves it. Even the demons had to obey his commands. No mere  human, no good teacher, no wonderful example has that kind of power. Only God. 

Teaching We Can Trust January 28. 2024 

Because Jesus isthe Son of God, there is no teaching that is more important for us to pay  attention to, and to trust, than his. 

So, what exactly does Jesus teach? Well, we have a lifetime to discover that, don’t we?!  But a good place to start might be the one sentence sermon that he preached when he  first came to Galilee: 

The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good  news. MARK 1:15 

Jesus teaches us, as clearly as he can, that when he comes into this world, the kingdom  of God comes into this world. Now we are invited to repent and believe this good news.  The Son of God came into this world to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8).  

Satan brought sin and death into our lives. He continually hounds our heels, nipping and  biting and prodding us to sin. But Jesus proved his power over the demons by expelling  them. That display showed that he had the power to overcome the devil’s work, which  he did on the cross of Calvary. There Jesus offered himself as full payment for the  world’s sins. There Jesus took the full weight of our sin’s penalties upon himself. There  on that tree Jesus suffered the total anger of God against our lawlessness. And by doing  that, he crushed that ancient serpent’s head. Sin was paid for. The debt was cancelled.  

Through faith that victory becomes yours personally. In the waters of baptism satan is  chased from your soul and you became God’s holy and precious child. The new birth is  the sovereign work of God in which he turns the light on in our heart so that we see  things the way he does. We see God as awesome in holiness, sin as horrible in ugliness,  and Christ as a beautiful Savior. We bow before God in worship, we confess and turn  from sin, and we embrace Christ as our hope. 

We are invited, in other words, to change the way that we look at the world, to turn from  our selfish ways, and to embrace the good news that Jesus came to teach and proclaim.  And then, we are invited to follow him. 

But what if we struggle to accept Jesus’ teaching? What if we doubt? What if we find it  difficult to repent and believe this good news? What then? The truth is that if Jesus only  taught with authority, we would not have much reason to hope. But he not  only taught with authority. He also consistently acted with mercy. His life, death, and  resurrection shows us that he not only came to teach us, but also to help us to live by his  teaching. 

Go back to today’s reading. Jesus is busy in the synagogue, teaching with authority,  when a man with an unclean spirit comes in and starts shouting: 

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 

Jesus immediately sends this unclean spirit out of the man. The crowd is stunned. Jesus  not only has the authority to teach us. He also has authority over the unclean spirits.

Teaching We Can Trust January 28. 2024 

Now, putting aside what it means that this man had a demonic spirit for a moment, think  of what Jesus did, and who he did it for. This man did nothing to earn Jesus’ favor. He  came into the synagogue, and totally disrupted what Jesus was doing. He didn’t ask  Jesus to heal him. In fact, through the unclean spirit, he accused Jesus of coming to  destroy him. This man clearly could not “repent and believe the good news,” as Jesus  was teaching, because he was being controlled by this unclean spirit. So how did Jesus  respond? By immediately rebuking the unclean spirit, and healing this man. 

Do you see? Jesus is going to do whatever it takes, to help people live by his teaching, to  repent and believe the good news. And what Jesus did for that man with the unclean  spirit, he would eventually do for all the world, when he went to the cross and died for  our sins. Not because we asked him to. Not because we deserved it. But simply because  he chose to. He went to the cross to set us free from our captivity to sin. That is why we  can live by Jesus’s teaching. 

This makes me think of one of my favorite parts of the Rite of Holy Baptism, which is  probably the most old-fashioned and “irrelevant” part of all: It is the renunciations. Do  you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? Do you renounce the powers of  this world that rebel against God? Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from  God? 

And only then are we asked: Do you believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior? 

Then as the water and the power of God’s word are splashed over our heads, those  baptismal waters fill our soul and the devil drowns under that flood of God’s grace. And  that water, like the water powering a hydroelectric dam, powers our lives to follow  Jesus’ teaching. 

Now, we can turn away from all the dead-ends in our lives, in other words, and turn back  to Jesus, because Jesus sets us free to. We can fight against evil and injustice in our  world, because Jesus helps us to. We can live our lives without fear, because Jesus died  to give us the promise of eternal life.  

This is what Jesus teaches us today, and offers us: The power to say no to sin, death, and  evil in our world. And the ability to repent and to believe the good news that he came to  teach us. In this postmodern, sophisticated world of ours, we are reminded that this is all  that will ever save us – What Jesus teaches us, and what he died to give us.  

We can believe this, and trust this, because Jesus is not just a teacher, but is, now and  always, God’s beloved Son.  

Thanks be to God. Amen

Written Sermon January 21, 2024

By Pastor John Eich Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Alma, MI

Luke 5:1-11 

One time, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of  God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. 2He saw two boats there along the  lakeshore. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3Jesus got into  one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the  shore. He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. 4When he had  finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your  nets for a catch.”  

5Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught  nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they  caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. 7They signaled  their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both  boats, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’  knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9For Peter and all  those with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught, 10and so were  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  

Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.”  11After they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.  

In churches all across America, there’s been a long slow decline in membership over  several decades, since the end of the Baby Boom, really. 

On top of that, we’re fighting the culture. Whereas church membership and church  attendance used to be commonplace back in the Fifties and early Sixties, that ship has  sailed long ago. 

Everybody wants the church to grow, there’s no dispute about that. But “Here’s the  Catch”: How? How should the church grow? Well, today Jesus–who, after all, is the  Lord of the church–today our Lord gives us direction on how he wants his church to  grow. 

Here’s the Catch: He calls us. 

Jesus’ first disciples Simon-Peter, James, and John, are fishermen. That is their trade  and profession: to catch fish. They have boats and nets and business partners. They  have loads of experience. And while it is true that they caught nothing all night, still,  they are pros who know what they’re doing.

But to be Jesus’ disciples and to catch people. That they weren’t equipped to do. No  training. No experience.  

When we talk about evangelism, witnessing your faith serving as a leader in the church,  is your first inclination to react like Peter, “Lord, I’ve been doing what I’m good at for  years. Now you want me to talk to others about God’s kingdom? Seriously, I’m not  the one you want to talk to.” 

Here’s the catch. It doesn’t depend on us.  

Now Jesus impresses a lasting lesson on his disciples by way of a fishing expedition.  Jesus was not a fisherman, but he tells Simon Peter to take his boat and “Put out into  the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Can you imagine that? Here is this  itinerant rabbi, the son of a carpenter, and he’s giving advice to experienced  commercial fishermen on how to work their own lake! They ought to laugh him off! 

At first it sounds like Simon might do just that: “Master, we toiled all night and took  nothing!” A reasonable objection. The fishermen used all their skill and techniques,  their best practices, all night long and came up empty. And now Jesus wants them to go  out and drop their nets again in the wrong place at the wrong time of day. It doesn’t  make any sense. 

But Jesus’ word overrides Simon’s objection. “But at your word I will let down the  nets.” 

So that’s what they do. And of course you know what happens: Nets full to breaking,  full of fish. So many fish the boats are on the verge of sinking. Fish in abundance. 

What is Jesus teaching his disciples, soon to be apostles, about how his church will  grow? The application is clear: The church will grow, not by human skill or effort or  technique, but by the word of Jesus. We may think we have all the knowledge and tips  and the latest surefire techniques but here’s the catch: Jesus would have his church  trust in Him and his word to do the job.  

Here’s the catch. We are sinful and weak. 

Simon Peter realizes that he, the experienced fisherman, had absolutely nothing to do  with this great catch of fish.  

Like Isaiah in today’s OT text, when he is brought into the presence of God, and like all  of us, gathered before Him at confession of sins this morning, the presence of the Holy 

One of God causes Peter to become keenly aware of how unholy and powerless he really  is. Peter says who he is: a sinful man, for whom God’s presence is not safe. So it would  be best for everyone if Jesus went somewhere else. He confesses: “Depart from me, for  I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 

Can we say that too? Oh, yes. We doubt God’s word, don’t trust His promises, ignore  His commands and rely on ourselves more than him. Like Peter, we are sinful people.  Who am I that the Lord should use me to catch his fish? YET,  

Here’s the Catch: Jesus Still Calls Us 

Jesus says to Peter, and he says to us: “from now on you will be catching men.” Jesus  has just given them the biggest success in their fishing careers. Never, in all of their  whole lives, have they caught as many fish at one time. This was the money-making  chance of a life time. Their boat had finally come in. And now, Jesus says to them,  “Leave it. From now on you will catch men.” He says, “You think this is a big success?  It’s a bigger success to catch men. You think catching a boatload of fish is exciting.  Reeling a human life into the kingdom of God is even more exciting.” 

Obedience to Christ’s commands always results in divine blessing. For these fisherman  it was a huge number of fish. 

When God tells you to do something, do it, even if it doesn’t make sense. God told Noah  to build an ark because a flood was coming when nobody had ever even heard of rain.  And Noah did it. God called Abraham to pack up his possessions and start walking.  And Abraham did it, even though he didn’t know where he was going. God told the  people of Israel to march around Jericho for seven days if they wanted the walls to fall  down, and they did it. 

God wants to work through you. God wants to bless you. But you have to be like Simon  who says, “That doesn’t make sense, but nevertheless, at your word, I will obey.”  Disciples obey Jesus even when it doesn’t make sense.  

We are in the fishing business. We are called to fish for people today. Your worldly  profession may be homemaker, or contractor, factory worker, or businessman, but that  is just something to put food on the table. Your real profession is to be a fisher of men.  And you can catch people wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. Fishing for  people begins with telling others about why faith matters in our lives. You may say,  “Oh Pastor, I know I am supposed to be a catcher of men, but I don’t know how! I get  scared. I don’t know what to say. I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer their questions.”

Guess what? That is okay. Everybody feels that way. But do you want to know how to  overcome it? Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” You become  a fisher of men by following Jesus.  

We are answering that call to a degree. Our congregation provides a generous mission  offering to our synod and supports both Michigan Lutheran Seminary and a student  training to be a pastor. That is truly wonderful as we work to cast the net of God’s  church wide. We have garnered a world wide following of our live stream. But this  catch of fish in the deep waters of the world wide audience, isn’t our doing. It’s Gods.  

But what about casting our nets closer to home, in our community, our neighborhood,  our family? Have we even been telling others about Jesus? Have we shown any zeal in  reaching out to our neighbors with the gospel? This too we should repent of. 

God invites You to receive his forgiveness and love and saving grace. Don’t be afraid.  Our Lord knows how sinful we are, but he does not strike us down. forgives all his  fearful disciples because of the holy innocent blood he shed for us on the cross. His  resurrection didn’t make any sense, but it brought Him new life. Ouir resurrection  through His blood makes no sense, but brings us new life to be His witnesses. 

So here’s the catch: It’s all about Jesus, and it’s all up to Jesus. It’s not our techniques  or programs or education or smooth delivery that will produce true growth. Rather, it is  the word of the Lord. 

And so here is the catch: The catch of people that Jesus promised is right here, sitting  all around you, watching from somewhere out there. We are the catch of fish that the  church has caught in her net. 

And the net result (pun intended)? The gospel, the word of Jesus, gives us life and  rescues us from death and the devil. Christ Jesus gives us eternal life as a free gift by  his word of forgiveness, the forgiveness he won for you on the cross.  

Keep your fishing pole handy. Talk with friends and neighbors, tell them about how  God is active in your life. Invite them to come to hear God’s word with you.  

And it is that word, that will reel them in.


December 17, 2023

Sermon for 12.17.2023 Advent 03 

Isaiah 61:1-3,10,11 

The Spirit of the LORD God is  upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the  afflicted. He sent me to bind up  the brokenhearted, to proclaim  freedom for the captives and  release for those who are  bound, to proclaim the year of  the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who  mourn,3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of  beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise  instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a  planting of the LORD to display his beauty. I will rejoice greatly in the LORD. My  soul will celebrate because of my God, for he has clothed me in garments of  salvation. With a robe of righteousness he covered me, like a bridegroom who  wears a beautiful headdress like a priest, and like a bride who adorns herself  with her jewelry. 11 For as the earth produces its growth, and as a garden causes  what has been sown to sprout up, so God the LORD will cause righteousness  and praise to sprout up in the presence of all the nations. 

The Christmas songs are blaring. Aside from the occasional religious carol,  which usually is only the tune not the words, and the occasional kids’ song,  have you listened to many of the themes? “All I want for Christmas is my  two Front teeth.” “All I want for Christmas is You.” “It’ll be a Blue  Christmas Without You.” “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The list  could go on, but I think you see the reoccurring theme. It’s what I want for  Christmas. The way Christmas is promoted and thought of is that it is a  time of joy based on getting what you want. Most people have a long list of  what they want -toys, clothes, cars, a happy family gathering and the like.  And if they don’t get it? Or get the wrong color, size, or style? Well, it’s gonna be a blue Christmas. 

God promised a Savior King who would come and the people filled out  their wish lists of what they wanted this king to do for them. But was God’s  plan what they wanted? Is it what you want? 

In Isaiah’s day the people had their idea of what would bring them joy.  Freedom from the Babylonian invasion. A return to the glory of David’s  kingdom. So when they heard Isaiah’s message, which had nothing to do  with their wish lists, their response was “So what? That’s not what wewant.” 700 years later, the people of Israel hadn’t changed their list much,  except the Babylonians were replaced with the Romans. And their response  to Jesus was the same.  

This section is quoted by Jesus both in the synagogue of Nazareth and  when he answered John the Baptist’s disciples. When John the Baptizer was  put into prison, he sent a few of his disciples to ask Jesus whether or not he  truly was one who was to come, or whether they should wait for someone  else. John had preached about the coming Messiah using the Old  Testament pictures of his coming judgment saying that the Messiah would  clear his threshing floor and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. John  had his expectations of what Jesus would do. But that wasn’t happening.  Jesus told those disciples, “Go and tell John what you see and hear. Then he  gives a clear reference to Isaiah 61.  

The people of Isaiah’s day missed it. The people of Jesus’ day missed it. John  missed it. Can we be in danger of missing it? 

You may be someone who agrees with the Christmas song: "It's the most  wonderful time of the year!" But I've been a pastor long enough to know  that this season isn't always the most wonderful time of year for many.  They, maybe even you, wouldn’t use the word joy to describe this time of  year at all. You might use the word dread. Or grief. Or stress. Unhappy  memories are brought to the surface and toxic relatives are seated next to us  at the table. An untold number of Americans will wash down their  antidepressants with eggnog this Christmas. 

So many problems throw a big bucket of water on the yule log. Death,  divorce, children spending Christmas without a parent, mom or dad  spending Christmas without their kids. That’s Christmas in the real world,  ripped out of the Hallmark movies where everything works out in the end.  It’s Christmas in a corrupted and fallen creation where heartache and grief  don’t take time off for the holidays.  

Sometimes, just like John the Baptist, we miss the joy in knowing that Jesus  is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world because we are  wrapped up in what we think he should be doing. It is amazing how many  don’t want a Savior from sin. They want a Savior from their earthly  problems.  

Perhaps part of the mistake we make is forgetting that the first Christmas,  started out as the worst of times. Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem  because the Roman overlords had forced them to undertake this journey to  pay their taxes when no pregnant woman should be on the road. No warm, sanitized room awaited them after their trip. When this young mother went  into labor, where was she supposed to lay down to give birth? On rough hay  littered with cow manure? It’s a wonder both mother and child didn’t die  that night. This is not the way any baby, least of all Jesus, should have been  born. 

And yet in the dark, the cold, in the mess God was born. It’s a story that  gives meaning and hope to our own dark, cold, messy stories of  Christmases that seem anything but joyful. For it was on this night that  God began to teach us that we don’t need to have a Hallmark Christmas to  find peace and joy. 

Shepherds were out in the fields doing their shepherd thing that night,  when an angel of the Lord shows up to bring a message from God: “Fear  not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the  people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is  Christ the Lord.” 

If the sentence, “A Savior has been born to you,” is no longer a life-changing  sentence, if it no longer causes you joy, than it’s time for each of us to take a  moment with ourselves and remember the facts. 

Fact 1) I am a sinner. You are a sinner. It’s a short painful sentence, but it  cuts through a whole bunch of the devil’s lies spooking around in your  head, like these: “I’m not that bad, not any worse than anybody else, in fact,  probably even a little bit better.” Recognize what you are by looking into  God’s holy law! You are a sinner, from the souls of your feet to the hair on  your head, in total need of saving or you will die forever. You need saving. 

Fact 2) A Savior has been born! There’s hardly ever been a more  theologically packed sentence. God saw of world of you’s and me’s, who  were going to die because of their sin, and though deeply hurt by a world  lashing out against him, he didn’t lash back! Instead, his heart was moved  to give. His heart was moved to save, and he gave a Savior. And not just  some measly pawn as a sacrifice in the game, but the King of it all, his Son,  all the fullness of God in bodily form.  

Fact 3) A Savior has been born to you! It’s time to get your pointer finger out  and lay it softly on your heart (come on, let’s do it together), and say these  words: “For Me, a Savior is born for me. The Savior I didn’t even always  want, but the one I would die without. He came for me. He left heaven for  me. He suffered hell for me. He saved me.” Let those truths sink in until  your heart melts.

When the angels sang of the Savior's birth, God was bringing His  Christmas present to this world. When Jesus defeated the devil in the  desert of temptation, he was proclaiming victory to those afflicted by  temptation. When the Son of God healed the sick and spoke words of  forgiveness to the repentant, He was binding up the brokenhearted. When  Jesus cried out on the cross, "It is finished" he was proclaiming freedom for  all held captive by sin. And when He rose from the dead, overcoming every  obstacle that would try to steal away hope and joy, He was proclaiming the  eternal year of the Lord’s favor. 

Christmas is a delightful disruption of the way things normally go. Christmas is not about what I want or what you want. It’s about what we  need. It’s about God taking on our flesh and blood, being born as one of us,  to share our griefs, to bear our sorrows, and to unite us to himself. You do  not have a Savior unable to sympathize with your weaknesses, but one who  has experienced them all, so that no matter what your hurt is, he redeems  it, and carries you through it. Joy is not the absence of suffering but the  presence of God. And born for you is “Emmanuel” God with us. God with  you -ever, always.  

Maybe for you this is the happiest time of year. Rejoice, God’s joy is for you.  Joy is your enjoyment of God and the good things that come from God. 

But even if it isn’t a happy time for you, God's joy for you still holds. You are  right with Him and He will bring you perfect joy in a glory that  overshadows all trouble. Count on it. With His living Word as comfort for  your heart right now and with the assurance that all will be well one day  with Him in eternity, Jesus gives you the strength and the faith to hope for  holiday joy. 

For unto you is born a Savior who brings a joy that lasts past Christmas and  in all circumstances.  

I pray that all of us will keep him at the top of our Christmas lists.  Amen.


September 3, 2023

Today's sermon was based on the Gospel reading today. Who do people say the Son of Man is? That question is as applicable today as it was in Matthew’s Gospel. The question remains, “Who is Jesus?” As the disciples rattled off the popular misconceptions, one is struck by how illustrious that list actually was. There were no slouches in that group. But they didn’t even begin to compare with the truth. Many people today give similar answers: they call Jesus a teacher, a philosopher, the founder of a religion, an agent of change. Their answers miss the mark as widely as the answers of the people in the Gospel. Only disciples of Jesus, through the work of the Spirit of God, can confess him as he truly is. Could Peter’s answer be any better? You are the Anointed One, the one set apart by God and prophesied by Scripture, the Promised Seed who would save us from sin. But even more than that, Peter showed that the disciples confessed him to be the Son of the living God. You, Jesus of Nazareth, are the Son of the God who is life and who gives life. This living God is the hope of every sinful man ever since Adam in the face of death named his wife “Life,” because through her womb would come the Seed who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Now here, in the flesh, stood the Son of the living God whose mission was to restore life to this world of death. This truth is the rock on which the Church stands. Because it stands on the rock and not on the pebbles of men who serve it, the Church will stand forever: its message is changeless; the ramifications of its work are eternal.

August 20, 2023

Preacher: Pastor Tim Redfield

Text: 1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Theme: Godly Giving is Contagious 


Are you truly satisfied? Do you have enough to be happy? I suppose you might be thinking, “Well, that depends on what you are talking about.” In many situations in life, we convince ourselves that we need a little bit more in order to be happy. Even if a person has thousands of dollars in the bank, they want a little bit more. There is always something else that they can buy. Money doesn’t buy happiness because there is always a desire for more. Think about time. We feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get our tasks done. We want just a little more time. But then we would just find more projects to fill that time. We even wish that we had more energy to get our tasks done. We grab that extra cup of coffee to get a little boost of energy. What about relationships? If we have more friends will we feel more loved? 

In so many areas of our life, we feel like we’re just a little bit short. It seems to be our default human condition. We’re never quite satisfied. We want a little bit more. Part of the problem is the focus on ourselves. By looking at the example of David and the Israelites today, we see that a focus on Godly Giving is a path to true satisfaction and happiness. When we give back to God with our time, talents and treasures and when we have a joyful attitude, it can be contagious in the family of God. 

Part 1: Watch your heart for the proper attitude 

It is interesting to think about the amount of money that David and the Israelites gave in this section. According to the information in my study Bible, it says that between David and the Israelite leaders, they gave 270 metric tons of gold. By the conversion numbers I found on a quick internet search, that came to around 18 billion dollars of gold. That is a huge amount of money. That is 3 times more than the amount of money that was spent to build SoFi Stadium in California for the LA Rams and LA Chargers. While you will find different estimates when you search for the cost of the temple, the point is that it was a large amount of wealth that the people put into that building. They wanted to give to the Lord. 

We look at that huge amount of money and think that we could never give that much. We sometimes think that our resources aren’t enough or our wealth is scarce. That is not the way that King David thought. David wanted to give to the work of the Lord. He said, “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God… in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple” (1 Chronicles 29:2,3). He then urged the people to give. He said, “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” (1 Chronicles 29). The first response to his words is that the other leaders gave willingly to the project. 

The temptation the devil puts in front of us is to make us think that we are not able to give. We look at those big gifts and we know that we can’t do something like that. We live in a culture which tries to push us to keep striving for more and more and therefore it is hard to be content with the blessings that we do have. We feel like we never have enough. First we feel like we don’t have enough money. Then we feel like we don’t even have enough time or ability to help with the work of the Lord. Our culture makes us extremely busy. We’re running to this event and that event. We struggle with many things going on. We are searching for one more thing to make us happy. We need more time to work to get the money to make that happen. Then next temptation is that God is getting in the way. “How am I supposed to give him an hour a week for worship when I need that time for work or other important events?”

The thought is that it hurts us to give to the Lord or to others. Generosity seems to be painful. This is when giving loses its joy. Is this thought tempting us? Ask yourself: how hard is it for you to give your money away? If it is hard and painful to give your money away – to anyone – you are living with an attitude of scarcity. We think we need a little bit more. We need that extra ten dollars for this or that. The devil has convinced us that we are a little bit short. 

God wants to completely change our mindset. He wants to free us from the attitude of always being short.  In our second lesson today it said, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). We can see this idea in business. Sometimes you have to take a big risk to get a big reward. There are times when an investor backs a company or product without knowing for sure if it will be successful. Then when it becomes a huge success, they get a huge return on their investment. That takes trust on the part of the investor. God says that it is the same with him. He who gives, receives, He who sows generously, will reap generously.

Getting out of that scarcity mentality comes down to trust. Is God good for it? Can I count on him? 2 Corinthians 9:8 said, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” The devil wants us to have the “just a little bit more” disease. In contrast, think about how many times Paul uses the word “all” or “every”. “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” We don’t have a God of “just a little bit more.” We have a God who gives us “all.” God is not a God of scarcity. He is a God of abundance. 

God’s abundance starts with grace. When we hear grace, we think about Jesus. God’s grace is his undeserved love for us in Jesus. How much of that love is there? God describes it like a flood – it’s abounding and overflowing. Romans 8:32 says, “Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also graciously give us all these things along with him?” God’s grace helps us to get past the “I need a little more” mentality.

With God, we don’t need a little bit more. We have it all! In chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.” Everyone who goes through life thinking that they don’t have enough is missing the big picture. Jesus has died for you. Jesus has forgiven you. Jesus saved you. Jesus loves you. You are rich – right now!  We have a God of abundance!

Being rich isn’t about a number. You can have all the money in the world, but still be poor. Being rich is an attitude. It is the gift of God’s grace. You have something that the richest people in the world don’t have. You have God’s peace in your heart. Your worth isn’t determined by your bank account. It’s determined by Jesus blood. Your freedom isn’t a result of your constant struggling. It is the result of Jesus’ forgiveness. You are rich! You will leave church today without a single dollar more in your pocket. You’ll leave without a single hour more in your day. But you are not short. You have what you need the most. You are overflowing with the love of God!

Part 2: Through Jesus we give willingly and with joy

Sometimes people talk about different perspectives in life. The old question goes: are you a glass half-empty or glass half-full kind of person? When it comes to our faith, neither option is the right one. Our glass is full! When the scarcity ideas comes into our mind, we think about our God. He is able to make grace overflow to you. Because of him, I am rich. God has blessed us with abundance.

God’s abundance doesn’t stop with us. God has given us these blessings because he has a purpose for us. He wants to make us a blessing to others. The blessings don’t end when they get to us. God’s blessings are not meant to come to you and stop. He’s got a much bigger purpose for you than that! Isn’t that what we want to hear? We want a purpose in our lives. God gives that to us. You exist to be a blessing for others. God wants his abundance to flow through you. 

Have you ever heard of “seed money”? It’s money that is used to start something bigger. You might put “seed money” into your child’s college account – and hope it grows. God’s blessings to us are like “seed money.” The money and time and possessions and talents that God has given you are seed money to sow generously. He doesn’t want us to keep our blessings to ourselves any more than a farmer keeps his seeds to himself. He gives us blessings to plant them so that they grow and flourish and bless even more people with God’s abundance. 

Think about our attitude. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Giving is connected to our heart. It is a decision that reflects faith in Jesus. This is why we don’t tell you a specific amount to give. As you decide, ask yourself: Do I have a God of abundance or scarcity? Do I have a God who leaves me a little short or gives me all?

The people of Israel were encouraged by their leaders. 1 Chronicles 29:9 said, “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.” They could see that their leaders had been blessed by God and were giving back to the Lord. We don’t personally proclaim the amount we give to the Lord but as a group, we can see when we accomplish a big financial goal. We can see that in our budget and in our special projects. It shows that God has blessed us when we accomplish those projects. 

Jesus accomplished more than anyone in the history of the world. But even with all those things that Jesus did, look at how he carries himself. He finds time for it all. He is not too busy to help others. He finds time for prayer and meditation and even naps. He had the same 24 hour days that we have. He only lived 33 years. But he had enough time. We are not living in scarcity. God has given us exactly the right amount of time to serve him. God has given us exactly the right amount of money to serve him. God has given us exactly the right amount of talents to serve him. Don’t wish for more. Rejoice in what he has given you. 

Conclusion

Even though it might seem like we always need more for ourselves in order to be happy, that is not the best way of thinking. Even though it might feel like we need more money or time or energy or love, we already have an abundance from our God. True happiness is not found in having a little bit more. True happiness is found in the fact that we have been satisfied through Jesus and his cross. We have enough. We don’t need more. This abundance of blessing makes us generous. Our generosity is motivated by the greatest love. Jesus gave us the greatest blessing. His love overflows to us. He has forgiven all of our sins. We are all forgiven. We gather together and praise our Savior. This generosity motivated by God’s grace is contagious among us. 

July 23, 2023

6th Sunday after Pentecost                It’s God’s Way or the Highway 

Isaiah 55:6-11, July 13/16/23, 2023           1) Listen 2) Marvel 

Introduction I remember when I was 10 years old walking through a public marketplace in Tijuana, Mexico, on vacation with my family. Vendors were set up right next to one another, all crammed together. The owners of the mini shops weren’t sitting in the back room; they were in front of the store attempting to get the attention of any passer-by. They were loud and pushy. They were even willing to barter with their customers, willing to negotiate the price of their goods. With the help of my mom, I was able to buy a marble elephant at a pretty decent price. You could tell that the owners were desperate to sell their merchandise. Not to enrich American tourists, but to enrich themselves. In the end, they were after our money. For the most part, salespeople try to make a sale in order to make money. They are all about making money. There’s a reason why Americans are skeptical opening their doors to solicitors, a reason why “no soliciting” signs are posted on doors – we are tired of being sold items or programs. We know it’s only going to cost us money in the end. In a way, it’s too bad we’re so skeptical of people coming to our door - ask our elder teams, work is much more challenging.  

Context The nation God had chosen wasn’t much interested in spiritual matters. There were other influences, other voices, various distractions that made God’s message through Isaiah secondary in nature to the nation of Judah. Not much has changed today. There are still various distractions and voices that drowned out God’s voice. Or, people in general are so turned off by corporate religion and people trying to sell them the next best thing to slice bread, they are completely disinterested and hardened to what God has to share with them in the Word. 

God isn’t trying to sell us anything. He’s not looking for your money or your favors; he’s not looking to take anything from you. If anything he’s trying to sell you on the point that he has something to offer you that will not cost you anything, while at the same time, offer you everything. He actually openly invites all to partake of the riches he offers in verse 6, Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. You can sense the urgency in God’s message. There is only a limited amount of time before we can call on God. And the other truth of the matter is – the unbeliever will not turn to God in unbelief. They do not have the natural ability to turn to God on their own. They need the gospel. In the gospel, God comes near.

Illustration If you’re a fan of board games, you know how important directions are. If you don’t have directions to a game, how are you going to know what to do in the game. Therefore, before the game is played, directions need to be read and shared. Some directions are simple; some are a bit more complicated. I read about the game called “The Campaign for North Africa”, which is considered the most complicated board game ever created. It’s a war game that involves a lot of strategy. The average time to complete the game is 1500 hours, and you need roughly 10 players to play. Why would anyone ever want to play this complicated game, that never seems to end?! For such a complicated game, directions are key. The directions to this game are written in a clear and entertaining way, with numerous notes to make it a worthwhile experience. In the end, b/c of the complexity, the game still received a lukewarm reception. People are lukewarm about this life at times. At times, the days seem long, as well as the weeks and months – like a complicated, never-ending game. Life at times can be overly complicated where the good and the righteous seem to suffer, while the wicked are flourishing. At times it’s hard to make sense of this life with all of it’s problems, with all the problems we have to face. It gets to the point where we are tempted to shake our fist at God and excuse him of poorly ruling this world and our lives. 

Cure Hopefully if you ever feel overwhelmed, you don’t blow your top, but you “be still” it says in Psalm 46 and know who God is. In order to know who God is, in order for your nerves to be calmed and your fears to change to confidence, you need God to speak to you in his Word. Listen to what God has to say to you this day in Isaiah 55:8,9, 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God reminds us he is in control; he’s in charge. He created the world; he set the laws of nature in motion; he put the stars in the sky and the animals on the dry ground. Better than that though; God laid out for mankind his gracious plan to save the world from sin, death, and the devil. His son would see to it, by his perfect life and innocent dying and glorious rising, Jesus took care of the business of making us right with God. Thus, as Isaiah says in verse 7, we can freely turn to our God for mercy, for pardon. 

Virtue God encourages us to acquire his gracious blessings, and he suggests an unexpected method for securing them: “Listen, listen to me.” It’s not a moment of listening to God tell us what to do, rather God wants us to listen to what he has done. He’s done it all, free of charge. Not only is that clearly communicated in the Bible; we’re told today it’s a unique message have the source being God Almighty. His message is so special no other sacred book or religion talks about a Savior God. Left alone and without God’s Word, no human can imagine that God would send a Savior to die for unworthy sinners. God’s grace remains a mystery to human intelligence and research. Mankind doesn’t possess the natural ability to devise such a message. God can and did. And in this special message of God’s holy Word where he tells us it’s all been done for us, despite us; we’re also told that it works results in people’s lives. God’s Word works. 

Sometimes directions to board games take some patience before we completely understand the concept of the game. We may not understand it right away, but we can trust the manufacturers of the game knew what they were doing when they put together the game. God no doubt knows what he is doing. He tells us how to successfully navigate this life all the way to the next life – follow Jesus through the hearing and reading of God’s Word. We may not always understand the ways of the Lord, but we can trust his way is best. We can trust that his Word is true and will do what it says. 

Context To help us have a better understanding of how God works through the Word, he explains it in his Word. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Sometimes we feel that the rain or snow can be an inconvenience. We forget the rain and snow is more than an insignificant nuisance – the water enriches and beautifies our planet. It plays a major role in our ecosystem, aiding in the growth of crops and plants. In a miraculous and mysterious way, water helps germinate the seed.

God works like a seed – miraculously and mysteriously. We see proof of God’s miracles in the Bible, out in nature, and in our lives. We see proof of how God works mysteriously, in the Bible out in nature, and in our lives. Maybe you’ve even heard the common phrase - “God works in mysterious ways.” The Bible talks this way, yet you are not going to find the passage with the exact phrasing – God works in mysterious ways – because the phrase comes from a poem by William Cowper (who lived 1731–1800), whose first stanza reads, “God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm.” 

God is mysterious, and there is much we cannot comprehend about him and his ways; his ways are much higher, loftier than ours he tells us. At times he can make his presence felt; and other times he is a bit more discreet. In those moments it’s tempting to want to yell at God for not making his presence known in a more meaningful way; for not being there or helping us the way we want. Job had that issue for a while. Job suffered a whole lot, more than anyone else here knows. In his suffering, he felt justified in questioning God’s ways and criticizing his way of governing. Yet, in the final chapters of Job, we see God peppering Job with many questions which can all be summed up with the one question: does the creature have the right to sit on judgment against the Creator? The Bibles says no; in Romans 9:20,21, “20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?


Conclusion It’s God’s way or the highway. This shouldn’t be a point of contention, but a source of joy and comfort. God’s way is always best. All that God does is good and right because he’s God! He, after all, made it possible for you to live in this great world he created. He makes it possible for you to know his goodness and mercy through Jesus. He makes it possible for you to be comforted with a peace that the world cannot give. It’s all found here, in the Word. The Word that lasts…the grass withers and the flowers fall, kingdoms rise and go, people are born and then die, but the Word of God lasts forever. Thank God for the Word, listen and marvel at it. Amen.