Sermon Texts

July 16, 2023 Text:  Isaiah 55:10-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

This little gem of a news story is over 35 years old.  “Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin reported to the Senate that the Department of Transportation had squandered $225,000 (a pittance by today’s dollars) on a study forecasting the transportation needs in 2025.  Proxmire pointed out this study took the entire federal tax payments of more than 120 of his Wisconsin constituents.  And for what?  To produce findings like these:  1). If there is a new Ice Age, a lot of people will have to move to the South or Southwest; 2). If people start having a lot of kids again, there will be increased demand for transportation services for them.  (What an Einstein to figure that out).

Human wisdom?  Things have only gotten worse since then.  When you think of human reasoning is it any wonder how mixed-up critics who twist and distort historical fact to demean the Word of God are?

Aren’t we glad for the strength and clarity of God’s Word?

“NOW A WORD FROM THE WORD”

Communication is always a problem.  Do you think there are more problems with the way we say things or the way we hear them?  Listening to me is the bigger problem.  We don’t concentrate enough to be interested.  We tune out.  I’ve talked with many politicians in my day and many of them, not all, have this way of conversing with you, but I always feel their mind is elsewhere when you talk to them.  God’s Word is clear.  His words are always right.  It is our Creator speaking to us:

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water to the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (v. 10-11)

Scripture takes us to the very Word Himself – Jesus.  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (Jn. 1:1 & 14). The Word bled and died for all human sin – rose from the grave – secured our Heaven.  In the Word, God communicates His love and mercy to us.

Haven’t we seen the power of rain in the last few weeks?  I was out in the country the other night and there were tassels on the corn!  Those stalks just took off with the recent rain.  That is what God’s Word does.  It causes growth.  When we are in the Word our Christian faith can take off, we sprout, we grow.  

The Word can also convict us of sin.  It keeps us in check, so we don’t become self-righteous.  Michael Green tells a story that illustrates the convicting power of the Word:

“In a frontier settlement in the west the people were engaged in the lumber business.  The town wanted a church, so they built one and called a minister.  The preacher was well received until one day he saw some of his parishioners out at the river pulling in some logs from another village upstream.  Each log was marked with the owner’s stamp on one end.  To his distress, the Pastor saw his member sawing off the end where the telltale stamp appeared.

“The next Sunday, he prepared a forceful sermon on the text, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’  At the close of the service, the people lined up and thanked him for a wonderful message.  However, that next week he continued to see his parishioners stealing the logs.  He was bothered.  So, he went home and worked on a sermon for the following Sunday.  The topic was ‘Thou shalt not cut off the end of thy neighbor’s logs.’  When he got through, the church membership ran him out of town.”

The Word either convicts to repentance or to eternal damnation.  People today still walk away when the Word is properly applied.  The Word is not just there to make us feel bad.  Its purpose is to confront us with our weaknesses and bad decisions.  It jolts us from our spiritual lethargy and points us to Jesus as the One who has paid the price for our wrongs.  We need this each and every day.

The Word is full of hope and promises.  You know the spiritually uplifting words, “it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.”  What is God’s purpose for us?  “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions…and remembers your sins no more.”  (Is. 43:25).  Or listen to this:  “For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear, I will help you.” (Is. 41:13)

“The Cynics Guide to Life” did a spoof on familiar cliches concerning life.  “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows…and a foundation leaks and a ball game get rained out.”  “Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead.  Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow…Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone”

They express how we feel at times and the “just leave me alone” most of all.  But listen, the Word of God has a wonderful way of lifting the heart from the pit of upset, despair, and uncertainty.  It directs us to Christ, and He draws us to the love of God; to comfort and guide now and to give joy someday when we have eternal life.  

It is always uplifting to have A WORD FROM THE WORD.

Amen.        

July 9, 2023     Text:  Matthew 11:25-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

Remember back to when you were in preschool or kindergarten?  You got to enjoy nap time.  You got to rest from filmstrips and finger painting.  Did we really need to rest from that?  Still, it was nice to close your eyes and just relax.  

It is still a joy to just close the eyes and relax.  To rest.  But what are we resting from?  Physical exertion?  Mental gymnastics?  Stress?  Do you ever rest from your sin?  Do you ever just lay down and think, “Lord, what am I doing?”  

We are going to take a few minute respite to hear the Lord’s Word.  

“DO YOU NEED A REST?”

Both inside and outside the church we view the Christian faith as primarily about doing the right thing or acting the right way.  The truth is Christianity does have a lot of rules.  The Bible has whole books just on how to live or not live.  Because we know these rules, we live with the knowledge that we need to live up to them.  But we know the truth about ourselves – we don’t live up to them.  The Apostle Paul struggled with the same thing in our Epistle for this morning.

We come here Sunday after Sunday concealing our worst.  We would be outcasts, if people really knew the truth about us.  If we start to believe this way, then our Christian life becomes little more than an exercise in hiding our sin so we can keep up the good appearance.  Then we perpetuate the lie that being a good Christian is primarily about being “a good person.”

So, we try harder.  This time we are serious.  We will live the way we should.  Maybe it works for a few seconds, a few minutes but then we fall, and we are right back there needing some rest.  The people of Israel did this over and over again in the Bible. 

In the 1970’s lab rats were used for psychological tests.  In one experiment, the floor of their cage was electrified in different spots.  They would jump to spots with no electric shock.  But then the entire floor was electrified, and they soon learned there was nowhere to go to evade the shock.  So, they settled down to be being shocked.  They learned they were helpless.  Later on escape routes were offered, but the rats had already learned there was no point in trying and failing.  They refused to move.

Like the rat, we find ourselves helpless.  We do things we know we shouldn’t.  We can’t stop the cycle, so we just accept the shock.  Oh, we need rest from our sin.  We are broken.

Into this reality, Jesus speaks, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (vs. 28 & 30).  The Christian life is not about being a better person, and it never has been.  The Latin phrase simul justus et peccator, means “at the same time just and a sinner.”  We are both.  There is great freedom in recognizing and owning that reality.  We don’t have to pretend anymore.

We are real, honest sinners with a real, true Savior.  The rest we need is given by Jesus Christ.  Pull out your mat, lie down, relax and listen to this.  Christ carries the burden of our shortfall.  Christ is obedient when we are in the vicious cycle of disobedience.  Christ took the sin of everyone and died for it on the cross.  Christ has carried the load.  Wow, this burden is so much lighter.  I can rest easy tonight knowing that Christ is in control.

We come to this sanctuary on a regular basis because the world makes us forget who we are.  We will leave today with Christ words, and we will know His love, but some of us will continue to live as if it all depends on how we act or how hard we try.  That is why the Lord is continually in our ear.  In case you have forgotten…this is who you are; you are beloved.

Stop the pretending.  We have all faked sleep, right?  To our teacher, to our spouse, to our parent who had a job for us to do.  The rest of Jesus is real.  You can’t fake sleep Him.  He is the provider of the rest.  You are beloved because you are a creation of the God of the heavens who has marked you with water and Word in your baptism, and who invites you to come rest from sin by partaking of His body and blood at His Holy Altar.  You are beloved, not because you try harder and might get it right every so often.  You are loved because of what Christ has already done for you.  He has died your death.  You have eternal rest because of His rest in the tomb and then His rising again.

Put your mats away.  It’s time to play “duck, duck, goose.”

Amen.              

July 2, 2023         Text:  Matthew 10:34-42

Dear Friends in Christ,

You and I are walking dichotomies.  There is division within our souls.  Most of us do not like conflict, but we can’t avoid it, especially in today’s culture.  Or the opposite is true, we like a little game of conflict, maybe we want to see how someone is going to act.

By now, most of you know, I do not like conflict because I had enough of it in my growing up years.  At the same time, I am a truth teller, and well…that causes conflict.  Recently, I tried to avoid a conflict situation by walking away.  The person wouldn’t let me go and I told them it was a bad time to talk with me.  In the heat of those moments, we are bound to say something we will regret.  I finally extricated myself before the situation got worse.

Where do you come down?  Are you a peace giver or a sword carrier?  Can you be both?  The Lord tells us in the text that in the right context both can be true at the same time.  But sometimes it involves . . .

“RATTLING THE CAGE”

We celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace a little over six months ago.  We like peace even false peace, because it is comfortable.  No one likes to go to a house where there is constant tension or a workplace where everyone is walking on eggshells.  So, we ignore the obvious.  Peace is safety.  Change unsettles us.  Why do people stay in abusive relationships?  Because they are familiar and safe in their own way.  If they don’t rattle the cage, then what exists may kill them.

Ever been at a family meal where everyone knows the problem, but no one will talk about it?  It’s brutal, isn’t it?  If you pretend it’s not there, you live in fear.  Things covered are eventually uncovered, but while waiting, they own us.  Fake peace always comes with a cost.  Fake peace even brings death.  If we live just pursuing the appearance of peace, we live a lie.  If friendships are just getting along and not a mature discussion of mutual respect, they are mere shadows of what they could be.  As long as our relationship with God is primarily about concealing our sin from Him, from others, from ourselves, we can’t find peace.

Jesus came not to bring peace, but a sword.  He rattled some cages.  He rattled every cage.  He got people angry and upset.  Jesus also brought shalom.  Shalon is about restored relationships – in our mind, in our relationships with others, and in our relationship with God.  The Lord knows shalom begins by dealing with the broken relationships that divide us from Him and isolate us from one another.  He brings a sword to cut through the false peace and the lies.

Speaking the truth will bring you into conflict with the lies our world embraces.  Try this and see if you don’t rattle some cages:  Say that life is precious and sacred from conception to natural death…Say that human sexuality is a gift from God to be enjoyed in marriage between a man and woman…Proclaim that there are absolute right and wrong ways to go about things…get ready for the blowback.  The world is comfortable in their lies.  For peace to happen, the lies must be challenged and revealed for what they are.

That sword, that type of conflict, brings shalom – true peace.  When we confront ourselves, rattle our own cage, we can confess the things we shouldn’t have done, the things we shouldn’t have said, acting when we shouldn’t have, keeping quiet when we should have spoken up.  How can God love someone as broken as I?  Therein is the greatest lie.  That we have pushed so far away from God’s standards that there is no way there can be peace.  There is truth in that.  We can’t make peace with God.  We fall short if we settle for a false peace.

God loves you and I too much to leave us with a false peace.  Instead, God makes real peace with us.  He sent his Son into this world of conflict and broken relationships not just to bring a sword and cut through the false peace, but to establish real shalom with us.  Jesus rattled the cages of the status quo.  He did what no one expected Him to do.

Christ Jesus fell on the sword.  He took the nails, the spear, the death of the cross.  He took it upon Himself so that we might have real shalom…everlasting peace with our Creator… God the Father.  

This shalom provider now calls us by name in Baptism, week after week he feeds us with his body and blood broken and poured out for us.  We do not have to be good enough or worthy enough or able to make peace with God, because God has already made peace with us.

With the Holy Spirit’s help, you can be both peace giver and sword carrier.  It is ok to rattle some cages and confront the lies.  When we lovingly deal with the things we are brushing aside and hiding from, everyone involved is set free.  We exchange a false peace for the true shalom that Christ gives.

Amen.        

June 25, 2023         Text:  Jeremiah 20:7-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

Come on, Jeremiah, it can’t be this bad.  Do you hear what he says about the Lord?  The Lord has “deceived me.”  Wow.  Really?

OK, Jeremiah, maybe you are having a tough time in the ministry.  It happens to all of us.  People who misunderstand.  Criticize without knowing all the facts.  It comes with being a Pastor to saints who are still sinners.  

Maybe you need some time off, brother Jeremiah.  Get away from all this.  Concordia Health Plans has some great resources.  If you need some inspiration before throwing in the towel, try expastors.com for some encouraging articles.  They take seriously the burdens of pastoral ministry in our world and culture today.  

Yes, it’s true Jeremiah, we didn’t prepare you for all of this at the seminary.  You have to experience it.  It can be rough out there.  We get it.  We hear you.  It can be lonely.  But . . .

“IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?”

You have a calling.  You did the only thing you can do.  You turn to the Lord and not to some power within yourself.  It is His ministry, not yours, not ours, not mine.  He sends you out with His Word and it will not come back empty.  You will be vindicated in the end.  

But Jeremiah, my brother, you should have held off with the words that follow where the lectionary stopped.  You are cursing the day you were born.  You wonder why you had to come out of the womb to see toil and sorrow and spend your days in shame.  (Jer. 20:14, 18)  How can you talk to God that way?  Is it really that bad?  You have stood up to the opposition.  You have proclaimed God’s judgment.  You have proclaimed God’s restoration with conviction.  Do you really feel like you should not have been born?  How can you talk to God that way?

Well, because you have free will and can talk to God that way.  So can we.  It is OK.  At times the ministry can be rough.  Share it with God, let it out.  He called us into this . . . and He will hear the pleas.  He is always there for us, even when we think it is that bad.

When preaching and teaching a countercultural message, the arrows can come our way.  For Jeremiah, he was preaching during the last days of the monarchy of King David.  His people had escaped the Assyrian bullet, but there would be no escaping the Babylonians.  This is going to finish off Judah and the Davidic kingship.  The final judgment is upon them.  No changes are coming.  In biblical terms.  It is a matter of death and life.

In the message we preach we know that we have already died.  We have died to sin.  We are participants in a new creation, after death, after judgment.  

The burdens of the ministry can be difficult.  But Christ shares them.  More than that, He has borne them.  He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  When we think the non-believer is winning, the God haters are triumphing, the progressives are moving their ball toward the goal line, the Lord reminds us we have already died.  They can’t kill us now.  We live a life that cannot be taken away.  They can kill the body, but not baptismal life.  

This is the Word of God active in our lives.  We proclaim not our good efforts or even our failures.  The Word of God is always burning and cannot be put out by the opposition.  This Word must be let out, sent out, proclaimed to all the world.  In the end, it is only about the Word of God in Christ and His promises.

Jeremiah does find occasion for this, the last verse of our text:  “Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!  For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.” (v. 13)

Dear friends in Christ, we are not alone.  Things are not that bad.  As someone in Jeremiah’s shoes I can tell you that the blessings far outweigh the curses.  In Christ’s death and resurrection, he has shared our burdens.  We are not alone, you and I.  We go forth surrounded by the apostles and prophets.  We find inspiration and encouragement from those in our day, who take a stand and don’t wilt under the politically correct pressure.  We forever look to those who have suffered death for the name of Jesus.  Who saw the bad, but triumphed in the good.  Those who, like us, actually did seek first the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is ours now and forever in Jesus, the Christ.

Amen.        

July 18, 2023 Text:  Exodus 19:2-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the early years of my ministry and even the first few years of service here at Good Shepherd, on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day I would give sermons on mothers and fathers.  That changed when attending a Pastor’s Conference and the speaker reminded us how painful a Mother’s Day message can be for the Christian woman who is not able to bear children.  A great point was made.  Around this same time Karson and Holden were young and I was navigating fatherhood.  The danger was the Father’s Day sermon could drift off to stories about me being a father instead of where the Christian sermon needs to be:  On Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen.  Since then, on those days the sermon is on one of the readings and it points us to our Lord and Savior.  

Today then is the challenge.  It shouldn’t be about me being a dad, it will touch on the sociological data on the importance of fathers, but the real goal is to point us to God our Father.  That in turn leads us to Christ and the cross.  The Old Testament Lesson is the text and Moses is a type of Christ.  May the Holy Spirit give heed to the words.

“BECAUSE OF THE FATHER – SPIRITUAL FATHERS”

Let’s talk sociological data.  You know it, but we can all use a reminder.  Fathers make a difference.  For daughters they are less likely to have children out of wedlock if their father is a part of their life.  For sons they are less likely to have behavior problems and be in prison if dad engages in their life.  Then the biggie:  both son and daughter are much more likely to be a worshipping member of Christ’s church if dad goes to worship and Bible Class.  These are the facts, and they are indisputable.

Martin Luther in the Large Catechism when teaching on the 4th Commandment – honoring father and mother – said there are four types of fathers:  those by blood or the biological father, the father of the household, the father of a nation and then again the biggie:  a spiritual father.  Luther writes, “For the name of spiritual father belongs only to those who govern and guide us by the Word of God.”

That is Moses in our text.  He is a spiritual father because he is speaking the Word of God to the people.  Moses is the mouthpiece for God.  God has given him this authority.

That is the duty of the spiritual father.  God has placed him with a great responsibility.  “As the head of the family should teach them in simple way to his household.”  A spiritual father is always teaching.  People including his children notice how he treats his wife, others notice the interaction with his children, we all see the spiritual father with his family in worship.  The spiritual father leads the family in devotions and prayers.  He reminds those around him of his love.  He points people to Christ in his words.  “The Lord has blessed us.”  “God has a plan for you.”  “In Christ you are forgiven.”  But this spiritual father is who he is because of THE FATHER.

Moses experienced this in his life.  For his safety he was given up as a child.  We don’t know of a spiritual father figure in his life.  But the Lord certainly was.  God THE FATHER spoke to Moses personally many, many, times.  He speaks to him in our text, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (v. 4). 

God THE FATHER brough the Israelites to Mount Sinai.  God THE FATHER not only saved the people from Pharaoh and slavery; he also brought them to himself to enjoy his gracious presence at the holy mountain and later in the Divine Service in the tabernacle.  In the same way, Christ has saved us from Pharaoh Satan’s slavery because of our sin and has brought us to himself and his gracious presence in the Divine Service in his Church.

God THE FATHER again through the Holy Spirit speaks in our text.  “So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.” (v. 7)  Another duty of the spiritual father:  deliver the message of God to the people.  Moses is a type of Christ, interceding between God and man.  Moses spoke all of God’s Word to the people.  He told them when they failed.  He spoke to them when they disobeyed.  He chastised them for their constant complaining.  The Israelites acted like . . . well, children.  

But this spiritual father also lifted them up.  This spiritual father forgave them through God.  This spiritual father realized his own weaknesses and met the people at their level.  This spiritual father always kept the promise at the forefront.  Moses is the Old Testament figure most spoken about in the New Testament like this from Hebrews:  “Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.  And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

God THE FATHER makes His will known through Jesus the Son.  Jesus knows the will of the Father and speaks with His full authority.  With Jesus the Son, we are heirs of God THE FATHER.  As heirs we receive forgiveness, we receive life, we receive salvation.  God THE FATHER grants us grace as spiritual fathers, spiritual mothers, Christians who listen to God’s Word and through the Holy Spirit put it into practice.  It is as simple as that.  Everything we do flows from Christ.  Look to Him . . . always look to HIM.        Amen.       

June 11, 2023 Text:  Matthew 9:9-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

What do you do around your table?  We all eat at a table.  How many family discussions happen there?  At the Lueck house we’ve discussed college decisions, family vacations, finances, funeral arrangements and what color to paint a room.  What is on the agenda at your family table?

Today you are invited to join a table.  You can even recline.  Kick back, relax, you are eating with Jesus today.  Sounds good, but we still wonder . . .

“WHO’S AT THE TABLE?”

This table in the house of a man called Matthew.  Matthew has a nice job.  He probably bid for his job with Herod and since money talks, he was assigned as a tax collector.  This meant he could levy a high tax and pocket some of the money.  He is not well-liked because everyone knows what is going on.  Do you want to enter his house and still sit at the table?

Jesus does.  The people are not sitting.  We might call it lounging.  The table is short, and the people are gathered and reclining on their left side.  If you have ever eaten with someone from the Middle East, then you know that the meal is communal and laid back.  The food might just be dumped in a big pile, and you eat with your fingers.  There is a lot of fellowship and visiting.  Their customs have not changed in thousands of years.  Pull up a pillow and enjoy.

But can you enjoy a meal with a tax collector?  These people are greedy.  Pocketing money, buying stuff, dishonest.  But you join.  Inflation, especially the cost of groceries, is cutting into your income.  You are concerned about your investments.  Are taxes going up again?  You get anxious.  So, when the Lord calls for giving and generosity, you think mostly of yourself.  Open the tightened fist, because it’s really not your money.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23). Who shouldn’t be reclining with Jesus?  We shouldn’t be.

Another group at the table are the “sinners.”  Let’s narrow that down to prostitutes.  They sell their body for money or drugs.  The sanctity of sexuality is lost.  Sex sells instead of being a sacred gift for husband and wife.  Are we under this umbrella?  Things are exploited, exposed, explicit.  It is difficult to turn away.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus?  We shouldn’t be.

What other sinners are at the table?  Those who can’t control their mouths.  Filthy words.  Coarse talk.  Do we ever find this at our table?  Lashing out with hateful words.  Posting something about someone that isn’t true.  Not calling out the profanity you hear.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Who shouldn’t be in the same room with Jesus?  We shouldn’t be.

Standing off to the side are the Pharisees with their questions.  Condescending as they compare themselves with those at the table.  We too stand off to the side and make judgments.  We get things wrong because we are lazy and don’t take the time to know the truth.  We compare ourselves with others to feel better.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Waiter, get me out of here, I shouldn’t be eating with Jesus.

And yet there is a welcome from this Jesus.  He has invited me?  Really?  This meal brought people together.  No reservations.  No prime spots around the table.  When Jesus welcomes sinners, everything changes.  This table is a time of warm fellowship, and the invitation includes everyone.

It may be the house of Matthew, but the host is Jesus.  He speaks and everyone listens.  The Pharisees go after Jesus, not Matthew.  Why is Jesus doing this?  Why be so hospitable to these sinful people?  Because they need Jesus.  They need his mercy.  His mercy flows from the sacrifice of himself.  Let’s finish the sentence I’ve been repeating from Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus left a table the night he was betrayed.  He heads to the table of the cross.  He leaves the Holy City and on the cross he shows his mercy.  He shows mercy by sacrificing himself.  All the greed, all the lust, all the worry, all the condescension – all of it, he has taken on himself.  His sacrifice brings his mercy of forgiveness.  Jesus welcomes us with this forgiveness.

He would rise three days later from the dead.  Not long after he would be at another meal.  This one at the shoreline.  With the disciples.  Jesus provides the meal with 153 fish.  After finishing the meal, at a literal table where things get solved, Jesus restores Peter who had denied him.  He welcomed him back into the family, back to the table of Christ’s mercy for all eternity.

You are welcomed at a table.  We call it an altar.  Jesus is the host.  Jesus welcomes us with his body and blood given and shed on the cross for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.  We receive mercy.  We receive sacrifice.  We fellowship.  We leave the table, following him.  Our greed is transformed to generosity.  We use the gift of sexuality rightly within marriage.  We use our words to encourage not tear down.  We respect others and lift them up.  We show mercy.

The table is ready.  The host, Jesus our Savior, welcomes you.

Amen.