October 13, 2024 Text: Mark 10:17-22Dear Friends in Christ, About 15 years ago I was here before church on Christmas Day. As I was in the narthex, a little sports car drove up and a nice dressed lady got out. She was carrying a box. She was heading to the front door of the church. Before I got there she had laid the box down. I opened the door and asked if she needed anything. I looked at the box and it was a Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler box. Odd, but maybe she was dropping something off. She was. She proceeded to tell me she had caught a mouse that morning, put it in the box and brought it to church. I’m thinking, “What?” She then said, “Well, you know the story about the church mouse.” Mice, I am afraid of. Thankfully this one had escaped and ran off. I just stood there dumbfounded. This lady had completely missed the point of what a church is. A place for dropping off mice. I don’t think so, my friend. People miss the point all the time. Nothing was different in the days of Jesus. The Bible is always relevant. Let’s evaluate . . . “MISSING THE POINT” We begin with the first verse of our text, “As (Jesus) was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” (v. 17) Life always gets down to this. What is going to happen to me after I die. This fella wanted to know how to have eternal life. He was you might say, anxious. Do we ever get anxious about that question? Someday death will arrive, and we want to know we have eternal life. My friend and I were just talking about this the other day. For the first time in our lives one of us heard from a doctor the words “tumor” and “biopsy.” It is my friend. We talked about life and death and the things that swirl in the mind. Some of you have been through this and understand the anxiety. “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (v. 18) Jesus lets it stand: He is God. So, God through Christ is going to give the answer. Please note the man’s wording, “what must I do?” It is not, “What can God do to help me a poor, miserable sinner?” Jesus answers, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (v. 19) This is where the man’s thinking becomes less than honest. “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” (v. 20) This has been man’s thinking for thousands of years, “But, I’ve been a good person?” Really? Jesus drives him back with his thinking that his accomplishments will get him eternal life. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (v. 21-22) What should he have done? Something we all should do, fall to our knees and cry out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” No, not this one. He wanted to earn heaven. He is Missing The Point. Does life ever find us Missing The Point? “Lord, I have done a lot of good things, and I am really good on commandments 2, 3, 5 and 7.” Can’t we help this eternal life business along? I want to participate with my stellar human record. Look it up, Lord, I’m one of the good ones. We come here to the Lord’s House to rid ourselves of those thoughts. We should be walking in the doors with sincere repentance ready to stand before Calvary’s Cross where the Lord forgives and reconciles us with God. The point is: He takes our sin away not because we are wonderful and momma’s favorite. He does it because He loves you and me. He knew and He knows we need a Savior. A little Wisconsin town on the shores of Lake Superior has an annual dog sled derby for young people. A mile course marked out on the ice. One year they had large boys with large dogs competing with one little fellow with a little sled and little dog. As the race began the big boys outdistanced the little shaver by quite a large distance. Then it happened. The sled in 2nd was trying to pass the sled in 1st. There was a melee. Each subsequent rider and dog got caught up in the mess, until all the dogs were fighting. That is – all but the little fellow with the little dog and the little sled. He was the only one to finish the race. We have a clear course marked out for us. The course won for us by the blood of Jesus. We exist as a congregation for this reason: to share Christ’s love with others. No matter how difficult and messed up things look in front of us, we know the course. Just keep going. Christ the Leader. Eternal life the destination. We haven’t missed the point, have we? Amen

October 6, 2024 – LWML Sunday Text: Luke 1:38

Dear Friends in Christ, The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed by Congress on September 16, 1940. It required all men between the ages of 21 and 64 to register with the Selective Service. Then on December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor happened. Congress then amended the act to require all able-bodied men ages 18 to 64 to register with their local draft board for the duration of World War II. In practice, only men from 18 to 45 were drafted. Thirty days after the Pearl Harbor attack, 134,000 Americans enlisted in the military. More than 16 million served during the War. Of the over 16 million service members, 6 million of them were volunteers. You may remember the famous recruiting poster with Uncle Sam pointing at you and saying, “I Want You for U.S. Army.” Today in our text God points his finger at Mary and says, “I want you.” God calls on Mary and in faith and trust she is . . .“READY TO SERVE” Every time we make confession in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds, we remember the Virgin Mary. Mary would have been around 15, a virgin, living in Nazareth, and engaged to Joseph. Then she was brought a message that would change her life. Gabriel, a messenger of God delivers Mary’s job description: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31). This sinner, Mary, was not worthy of God’s grace, but God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. God was going to fulfill his promise. His Son Jesus would be sent on a mission to save the world. God’s Son was going to pay the debt of sin for you and me and all people. After years of waiting, it was going to happen. Mary, of all people, was about to be the mother of the Messiah. Now Mary was a little perplexed and we are not surprised. Things just don’t add up. “How will this be, since I am a virgin,” (Luke 1:34) Mary asks. An answer is received. This child would have no human father. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). This child was not conceived and born in sin. This is God’s Son. He is sinless and our Savior. Mary responds in faith. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38a). Mary was ready to go. Ready to accept the angel’s message. Ready to serve. Why was she ready to serve? She trusted and believed God’s Word. It was all going to work out according to the Word of the Lord. Mary came to serve. Her son Jesus came to serve. The task of Jesus was even bigger. He explained it to the disciples: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He taught and healed people, then went to the cross and rose from the grave to bring us salvation. He was a true servant. Jesus made the impossible possible. He opened up eternal life to all who believe in Him. Jesus accomplished His mission on that first Easter morning. Death and sin and devil had been conquered. He provided the greatest service the world has ever seen. Mary served. Jesus served. What about us? Do we trust the Word? Can God count on you to work in his Kingdom for His mission? God has redeemed us for this very purpose. Paul wrote it this way: “(Jesus) died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (1 Cor. 5:15). We stand ready to serve with joy. Today we are celebrating Lutheran Women in Mission, the LWML. Their motto: “Serve the Lord with gladness.” Since 1942 the LWML has encouraged and equipped women to serve. They are active in mission ministries, and they support global missions. With their mite box offerings, they have a goal from 2023-2025 to receive $2.35 million dollars to fund mission projects in the U.S. and around the world. You can go to lwml.org and look at these impressive missions that they support. God called Mary and she was ready to serve as she spoke to Gabriel, “I am the servant of the Lord.” God sent His Son to serve, and He gave his life for us. May our response as baptized children of God be one of service as Martin Luther expressed it: “that I may be his own and live under him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” Amen.