Sermon Texts

October 20, 2024 Text: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

During my years of growing up in Argenta, there were those trying to keep up with their neighbor. We lived on the south side of town where most of the older homes were. The north side of town had the newer homes. One year the folks up there all had to have a boat. One person buys one, then another, then another. Eventually my friend and his family buy a boat. Everyone was trying to keep up. Having that possession, a boat, was that important to how they looked to the fellow neighbors.
The things of this world can be alluring and tempting as tangible proof that our lives have meaning. But is that true? Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes calls it “vanity.” If we exclude God all of our life is meaningless. But when He is present . . .
“YOUR LOT IN LIFE AND YOUR TOIL ARE GOD’S GIFTS”
Our culture certainly holds material success up as a panacea to conflict. If we have enough, we can insulate ourselves. But our culture daily proves that wrong. Millions play the lottery, but most of the winners have more conflict because people want to get to them and their money. Gambling, especially sports gambling is huge. You can make a bet on what a guy had for breakfast or if he is going to tie his shoes in the 2nd quarter. We are so vain about it that every commercial for this type of gambling tells you where to go to get help. Hello! We are not immune. The boys move out of our house, and we still struggle to have enough closet space for all our stuff. Can you relate?
This week was part of Bloomington’s bi-annual bulk pick-up. Toni and I set things out both Tuesday and Wednesday. By morning everything was gone, so that by Thursday the city had one old dehumidifier to pile on to the truck. This happens every year. Somebody likes “our junk.” It is a great study of our world. People love things. But it is never enough, and that is the warning.
So, what is the blessing? We can all relate to the first part of our text, but let’s focus on the last two verses. “Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil – this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” (vs. 19-20)
All that we have is gifted from God. Good things should be enjoyed. We confess, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Our lot in life is that God is at peace with us. Not bought with gold or silver, but with the blood of Jesus.
Items we have will perish. Our soul is eternal. Our eternal soul is bound to an eternal God. God loves you and has bound your life story to that of His own Son. In Baptism, you were bound to the Son of God.
The life of Jesus was not lived in luxury. If Jesus had an estate, what was in it? I’ll tell you. His only possession at death was the garment on his body and that became the prize for a game of lots played by the soldiers who crucified him. Jesus left not a trail of selfish gain, but of sacrificial giving of Himself to the poor, the needy, the hurting, the afflicted.
When we were bound to Christ in baptism his righteousness replaced our unrighteousness. The shedding of His blood frees you and I from a world caught up in the great accumulation. Even his lifeless body was placed in a tomb he did not own. That tomb could not hold him. Those words of Easter morning were our inheritance: “He is not here. He has risen!” This is your story, your lot in life, your victory. You toil for an inheritance that will not spoil or perish, kept in heaven for you.
You do not have to go looking for the treasure that is Jesus. He searches and finds you. No matter who you are, how confused your priorities might be, or how much you have trusted in your possessions and substituted them for God as the object of your love – He is even now, this moment, coming to you. He engulfs you with baptismal water. He speaks the sweetest words a sinful human can hear: “Your sins are forgiven.” He invites you to a meal that brings his own marriage feast to you right where you are as He gives you his body and blood.
These are God’s gifts, and they have great meaning. You are the eternal recipient. Toil in joy, live a blessed lot in life, but remember what’s in the will. Heaven . . . forever.
Amen.

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.

September 29, 2024 – St. Michael and All Angels Text:  Revelation 12:7-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

Satan that sneaky little devil is quite the liar.  He has way of convincing people in our world that he is not real.  If he doesn’t exist, he can work his evil schemes more effectively under the radar.  

The Scriptures reveal Satan for who he truly is.  From his fruit tree trickery in the Garden to his boastful tempting in the desert with Jesus.  It is the work of Jesus in overcoming Satan and the forces of evil that come to a climax in our text.  The joyous message is that this great accuser of mankind, Satan, is no longer in heaven to bring accusations against us.  This text unveils the truth . . . 

“CONQUERED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB”

As a competitor one line I never like hearing is:  “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, only how you play the game.”  Then why am I out there?  That line is much easier to swallow if you are the victor.  If we lose, we don’t like it.  We may give our best and still walk away with head down.  “It is just not fair.”  We may be right.

The struggle for many is that the battles they fight so often are battles they must fight alone.  Even the people of God feel this way at times.  The power of the enemy can be so strong, we can be so weak.  Victory often goes to those who oppose God and His truth.

Look at the world around you.  What do you see?  You see sin, death, and Satan seeming to win battle after battle.  We have unending conflicts between countries.  Hatred and violence toward others.  Political upheaval.  The Lord mocked and ridiculed by many voices.  No sense of right and wrong.  The sound of a broken world is deafening.

Let’s break through the noise.  Satan’s rebellion and removal from heaven is one of those mysteries that God tells us very little.  We do know Satan led a substantial rebellion of angels after creation and before the fall of Adam and Eve.  Our text is a place where this becomes clearer.  Revelation makes it clear that after Satan’s fall he still had access to the presence of God for some time.  His primary activity was to bring accusations before God as our text states, “The accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” (v. 10)  Not a pretty scene.  Satan reminding God of the sins of mankind day and night.

The good news trumpeted by our text is that this kind of Satanic activity is no longer effective.  Satan has been defeated, cast out of heaven, thrown down to earth.  “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.  And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (v. 7-9)  Alrighty then, let’s cheer.  Michael and the good angels defeated this wily serpent and his minions.  We win!  We win!  Yes!

Who should get the credit for this conquering victory?  The text is clear:  “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb.” (v. 11a)  Jesus the unblemished, perfect sacrifice whose blood makes payment for all sins of mankind.  Christ as Advocate interceded for us.  Paul writes:  “Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Rom. 8:34)  The source of this victory in heaven, then, is the blood of the Lamb.

We all know people who like to pump iron.  They lift weights to build up muscle in their bodies.  They want to be stronger than the next person.  Was this Michael’s secret?  Did the archangel pump more iron in heaven than Satan had in hell?

No.  The key battle in the war against Satan was not one angel, Michael, confronting another angel, Satan.  It was the Lord Jesus Christ confronting Satan and all the forces of evil as the sacrificial Lamb whose blood was pumped out on the cross as payment for our sin.  Michael and his angels are not an independent militia who had pumped more iron in the gym than Satan and the evil angels.  They are the army of the Lamb enforcing the victory of the Lamb by casting Satan out of heaven.

We do not fight alone.  The great evil has been overcome.  Thank God for this victory in heaven, won by Christ on the cross and carried out by Michael and the angelic hosts.  Feels good to win, doesn’t it?  Conquered by the Blood of the Lamb.

Amen.

September 22, 2024   Text:  Jeremiah 11:18-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

To what are you committed?  What commitments have you made in life?  

Dr. Paul Farmer grew up impoverished in an old bus his father, mother and four siblings lived in.  Paul was intelligent with a photographic memory.  He graduated from Duke and then Harvard with a medical degree and PhD.

His accomplishments are numerous.  He dedicated his career to find ways to combat major health problems among the poorest of the poor.  He started his work in Haiti, but it soon stretched around the globe.  He became a world-renowned expert on the subject and by his mid-forties a best-selling book was written about him.

In February of 2022, Dr. Farmer died of a heart attack while working on a health project in Rwanda.  He was 62.  The public health community said they had lost a “giant.”  Farmer spent his whole career committed to the cause of improving healthcare for the poor around the world.  He was all in for the cause.

The prophet Jeremiah is committed to the cause of which God has called him.  He is to make known the Word of God to the people of Judah.  He is to call Judah to repent of their idolatry.   Can we be like Jeremiah . . .

“COMMITTED TO THE LORD’S CAUSE”

Jeremiah is the weeping prophet.  He cries a lot because his family and hometown are plotting against him.  He will suffer hardship and persecution.  Jeremiah gets just a taste of the betrayal that would happen to Jesus.  Like the Lord God, Jeremiah was trying to bring salvation to the people, yet the more he did so, the more infuriated toward him they became.

Have you ever been betrayed by family or friends.  Are there those who pull away from you because you are trying to share the Gospel with them?  Do you have a certain challenge currently that you are up against?

God knew the scheming of the people before Jeremiah did.  He revealed it directly to Jeremiah.  God knows the troubles and challenges we face, even before we do.  We can feel like Jeremiah, lost and confused; a lamb led to the slaughter. 

Jeremiah was not married and had no direct descendants.  The people still wanted him annihilated, “his name be remembered no more.”  They hated Jeremiah, but their real hatred was toward God.   Everything about God had to be eliminated.  It looks overwhelming to Jeremiah, so he takes it to the Lord.  

Things don’t look good for this prophet.  But he does not waver in his commitment.  I understand that.  I have been called a “commitment-phobe” in my life.  I got that from my parents.  You say you are going to do something, you do it.  At times it does not make life easy.  How do you see yourselves?  Committed like Jeremiah or a little more wishy-washy about what you should be doing?  Being committed means sacrifice.  Being committed can mean suffering.  In being committed you need to see the difference it is going to make.

Jeremiah saw that.  He trusts in the righteousness of the Lord of hosts.  God cared about Jeremiah.  God cares about what is happening in our world and what is happening in our individual lives.  Jeremiah saw people becoming angrier and angrier.  We see that same tone around us.  People can lose it over the silliest things.  

The townspeople of Anathoth, the hometown of Jeremiah are losing it.  They are plotting to kill the guy, and Jeremiah still wants to work to save these people.  That is commitment.  I have been reading a book of Christian martyrs over the years and their commitment to the Gospel always stands out.  I appreciate the groundwork they have laid.  But I also tend to notice that maybe there was a better avenue not as dangerous.  A way to stay alive and continue the work.  

That is Jeremiah’s story.  The Lord brought justice.  The vengeance of the Lord was a fair retribution against those who had fallen away from God.  Jeremiah put his trust in the lasting and final justice God would provide in the coming Messiah, the Savior, who would take away the sin of the world.  We can have that same trust in the perfect life, atoning death, and victorious rising again of Jesus Christ.  Like Jeremiah, we can commit our cause to the way of the Lord.  We know that the Lord is our strength and shield.  It gives us confidence just like Jeremiah.

Jeremiah would cover the reigns of the last five kings of Judah.  He would continue to stay committed by denouncing the policies and idolatries of his nation.  Can we do the same?  Remember this:  God is faithful, God is just, God is caring.  It strengthens us to stay committed to the Lord’s cause.

Amen.     

Sept. 15, 2024 Text:  James 3:1-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

Hello.  You have heard a lot about them.  Here they are.  My headphones.  These help me survive in public places.  Ball games – I wore them to the Illinois football game last weekend.  Grocery store.  Airports and airplanes – needed going to and from Germany.  Will be on my head this Tuesday and Friday, flying to and from my trip to see my friend.

Why are they needed?  Because the world cannot control the tongue.  I see more and more people doing what I have been doing for five years.  Verbally we have reached what one commentator calls a sad state of “hyperinflation” in our verbal tools of outrage.  One can no longer say anything shocking enough to grab anyone’s attention.  We might rightly ask, “How did we ever arrive here?”

The tongue as a means of destruction is as old as the Bible.  James under timeless truth given from the Holy Spirit says the tongue “is a fire.”  

“CAN YOU SMELL THE SMOKE?”

Our speech is burning our decorum and kindness down to a mere ember.  Like the western wildfires that gave us a haze in the Midwest, the smoke of our language makes its way throughout our country.  

Our tongues set “fires.”  A small bit can direct a horse, a tiny rudder can direct a massive ship.  A tiny fire can engulf a forest.  The language we use matters.  We have been in the gutter for quite some time.  

The path or course of human existence is engulfed; the source of the devastating flames is hell itself.  Hurtful words do damage not only to the one who speaks them; the hearts and mouths of those who hear such sin-soaked speech are set ablaze as well.  Sin multiplies sin.  James observes that for one and all the tongue influences the course of life – and seemingly not vice versa.

We are told in verse 7 that every living creature can be tamed by man.  To control the tongue is the faithful Christian’s constant quest, never finished, always under God’s grace.  The goal is so near and yet so far.  The best way to control one’s sinful tongue is simply to keep thy mouth shut before damaging words and hurtful thoughts emerge.  No human being since the fall has completely succeeded in this straightforward task.  This is why we must turn to Christ and His Gospel constantly for the healing balm of the forgiveness of our sins.

The last warning James gives is the pitiful irony of our sin.  This same mouth can curse and bless.  James says that a tongue on fire, creating a lot of smoke is like freshwater and salt water.  You mix the two and the saltwater is going to overtake the freshwater.  Our society is the pro facia case of the salted tongue making all of us a bit salty.  We are trying to be freshwater in our words, but it’s tough.  Even Christians use forms of the word “God” in their speech.  I learned in confirmation that this breaks the 2^nd commandment.  Knock it off with God’s help.

I don’t buy the argument that the tongue cannot be tamed.  I know from my own history it can.  I also recently saw it played out in a very public place.  A football team.  Name – Chicago Bears.  They were on a TV series called “Hard Knocks.”  A behind the scenes look at their day-to-day operation.  There was no profanity.  Do you know why?  Out of respect for the McCaskey family who owns the Bears.  Amazing.  If ballplayers and coaches can do it there is hope.

We need restoration.  We need someone to clear the smoke.  Control the fire, the bit, the rudder.  Jesus has restored our tongues to his great good by enduring the fire of God’s wrath against all our sins – including the sins of the tongue – in our place.  He undoes the chaotic damage that has been done.  He suffered scorn and abuse, physical and verbal, on the cross.  His death there has effectively extinguished the fiery danger of God’s judgment into hell for all who use their tongues to confess his name.

He has undone the damage by preaching the healing, life-giving, divine Word that sets all things right where all has gone terribly wrong.  Such preaching continues today – for our forgiveness, for our life, and for our salvation.

Let us continue, through the strength of the Holy Spirit to train and use our tongues as instruments that able to accomplish good.  May our blessings be stronger than our curses.  May our compliments be more numerous than our complaints.  May our tongues show the non-Christian and struggling Christian that words make a difference.  The cleansing, pure fountain of the Gospel can spring forth so that it changes hearts, puts out fires and diminishes all the smoke around us.

Amen.