Sermon Texts

February 20, 2019                                                        Text:  1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Years ago George A. Buttrick wrote:  “When he does die, the undertaker strives to make it appear that he has not died:  he dresses him in a (suit), and lays him in a narrow box as if he were asleep, even though a man does not usually sleep in a (suit) in a narrow box.  There is a funeral, for, unfortunately for our evasions, the man has died:  ‘Too bad about So-and-so.  But let’s not think about it!’  So we run to our familiar hiding place in the sensate world.  And the cynic calls religion an ‘escape!’” . . .

            That is our starting point for this morning.  We are going to die.  The fact is we are dying.  A sportscaster on ESPN used to say of an injured player, “He is day-to-day but aren’t we all.”  We are.  We don’t know when it’s coming just that it is coming and we can’t escape it.  That we would be a fearful statement if it weren’t for what Christ has done for us.  He is resurrected.  He has been raised.  He is alive.  He has given us who will fall asleep in Christ . . .

“THE GREATEST VICTORY”

            What is your greatest victory?  What makes your top 5?  Family?  Work?  A game?  I’ve been blessed to make game winning free throws with no time on the clock, a game-winning shot that got us into the district championship against Greg Sheley and his Lincoln Jr. High teammates; I’ve had the pleasure of watching victories by Karson and Holden, but “The Greatest Victory” is not a movie title or TV show it is what Christ Jesus has done for you and for me.  Why do we need “The Greatest Victory?”  Listen carefully to this:

            “The world today is trying to get into the Church in a way different from that of former times.  The radio is a most wonderful invention, and by it the pure Gospel is brought to thousands who otherwise would not hear it; but by the same means false teachers are admitted into the homes of many who otherwise would not hear them.  The automobile and good roads have shortened distances and made travel more convenient; however, the automobile is not only used to bring people to churches, but also to take them away from it.  The moving picture is a most valuable educational means; but it is largely used in the service of sin…The rapid growth of our cities is making it possible for our Church to reach more people than ever…but at the same time it is, for various reasons making the work of the church more difficult and is destroying home life.  The elimination of much hard work by labor-saving devices is not conducive towards emphasizing the dignity of toil and has a tendency to make people think that hard work in unworthy of a gentleman or lady.

            “We are living in a restless and restive age.  Life today is much more strenuous and nerve-wracking.  People, especially the young, are impatient of control and hard to keep in check.”

            Those words were penned by Lutheran Professor Dr. John H.C. Fritz and penned in 1932.  Eighty-seven years ago!  So, what’s new?  Nothing.  Your parents and grandparents lived in a restless and nerve-wracking time.  Everyone does this side of the grave.  O death, where is your victory?

            Everything hinges on the resurrection.  That is Paul’s argument in our text.  People can argue and debate Jesus and His words all they want but the Resurrection confronts the world with the greatest, most colossal event ever.  Complete victory over the grave.  Your eternal life rests on it!  My eternal life rests on it!

            If He was not raised from the dead we are to be pitied.  But we are here because we are resurrection people.  We proclaim the greatest victory every Lord’s Day.  We celebrate the greatest event that ever came to this earth:  Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection to overcome sin, death, and hell for those who believe.  And Paul instantly drags us from the roots we drive into this world, drags us past the headstones and states the case without question:  “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (v. 20)

            I still like the words of Alexander MacLaren here:  “I believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, (among) other reasons, because I do not understand how it was possible for the Church to exist for a week after the crucifixion, unless Jesus Christ rose again.  Why was it that they did not all scatter?  Why was it the spirit of despondency and the tendency to separation, which were beginning to creep over them…did not happen?  How came it that these people, with their Master taken away from the midst of them, and the bond of union between them removed, and all their hopes crushed did not say:  ‘We have made a mistake, let us go back to…our fishing again, and try and forget our bright allusions’?  That is what John the Baptist’s followers did when he died.  Why did not Christ’s followers do the same?  Because Christ rose again and re-knit them together.”

            Christ has done that for us – re-knit us together.  The broken pieces of our life re-assembled.  The defeats conquered.  “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:56-57)  Because He lives we will live.  Enjoy . . .  The Greatest Victory!

                        Amen.   

February 10, 2019 Text: Luke 5:1-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

What are things that you find hard to do, especially on a daily basis? For me I have two and they occur within the first few moments of my day. I find it hard to get out of bed, I like my sleep and I find it hard to get out of the shower. If it were socially acceptable a half hour shower would be the norm. What do you find hard to do?

For the Apostle Peter what he found hard to do on daily basis was to not be so reactionary. He reacted to Jesus saying he was going to be betrayed by telling him it would never happen. The Lord had to tell him “he had in mind the things of men not of God.” Peter reacted to Jesus’ betrayal by cutting off the servant’s ear. Peter reacted to Jesus’ trial by denying him three times. Poor Peter. But Jesus also used this wonderful evangelist in many and various ways. He built his church upon Peter – the rock. Peter is the first called disciple. Peter gave the great sermon in Acts. Like us Peter is a dichotomy. He’s human with all the twists and turns, ups and down, sinner and saint.

Like Isaiah being called in our Old Testament Reading this morning is about the calling of the first disciples. We will weave the story through the title . . .

“PETER OUT”

Where do we derive the etymology for the phrase “Peter Out?” Most dictionaries relate it to the mining profession and its association with saltpeter – potassium nitrate. As the miners would get tired they would “peter out.”

The disciple Peter could “peter out” on Jesus at times. Remember when he tried to walk on water? As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine, once he took his eyes away from the Savior – he sank. Sometimes following Jesus was hard for Peter and the other disciples so they would “peter out,” lose their trust and lose their confidence. Is he really the Lord?

Do we ever “peter out?” Do we lose trust and confidence in Jesus our Savior? Once the waves and storms come at us do we become distracted? Do we begin to doubt God’s guidance and wisdom in our lives? During pain and loss, do we doubt whether He really cares? Our confidence wanes, we peter out.

We need a rescue. This is where the phrase “peter out” takes a turn. While Peter had his faults, he also possessed a wonderful faith. When Jesus called it was Peter, out, as he immediately joined the army of the King of Kings. He left behind his livelihood in order to follow the Messiah. Out of the boat, into the mission. But how did it happen?

Peter is in his boat fishing. Along comes Jesus and he starts giving fishing instructions. Ever do this with someone who is an expert on something? For us, it usually does not go well. But Peter knows a little bit about this guy giving the advice. This fella had changed water into wine. This interloper in the boat had healed Peter’s mother-in-law. This was no stranger. The men will listen. Jesus speaks – they obey. The catch is so great that Red Lobster and the Filet-O-Fish will be in abundance for days. There is joy, but also fear. Peter realizes whom he is in the presence of and he says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” It could be Peter out, Peter away, but it is not. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” Peter is out of the boat and following Him.

In our sin, in the presence of God, which is always, we want to find a way out. We fear the wrath of our past and our future. But the Lord tells us not to fear. I am not angry. I did not come to condemn you. I’ll take care of your sin. I’ll make a way for you to be alive and live with me forever. The Lord allows us to have a healthy fear of Him. He tells you and I that He is nothing to be afraid of. Look, here is my Son, crucified for you. We leap out of our boat in joy.

Just like Peter and Isaiah the prophet, the Lord calls us out. He sends us to proclaim His Gospel message and to be of service to others. In the midst of our uncertainty and doubt and those times we “peter out,” we only need to remember that we are not alone in our journey. We have the Trinity the Three-In-One walking with us. The Father of all grace and mercy, The Son who redeemed us from our sins, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and keeps us in the faith. So keep walking in His strength. Keep proclaiming with His voice. Keep trusting that God is with you every step of the way. Peter Out? I don’t think so. Even the Apostle knew that. He kept the faith until the end. May we do the same as the Lord leads.

Amen.

November 11, 2018                                                              Text:  1 Kings 17:8-16

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

What are some things in your life that you would never want to be empty?  If you had your way they would be perpetually full.  How about your bank account and gas tank?  How many of you would like your energy to always be full?  What about your faith?  Victories in your favorite teams win column?  Your coffee or hot chocolate cup?  Love you have to give, love you can receive.

Has any of this actually happened?  None of us drive with the tank always full.  Who has endless energy?  Our bank accounts aren’t empty, but we still get nervous, don’t we?  Even with free refills the cup does not always runneth over.  Our teams lose.  Experience shows us that eventually things run out.  We live day in and day out with the cold reality that there never seems to be enough.  As you sit in the pew today what are you thinking when it comes to . . .

“ARE YOU FULL?”

The widow from Zarephath in our text would have an easy time answering that one.  Full?  She was barely hanging on.  The food available to her and her son was about to be empty.  Enter the prophet Elijah.

Elijah had been sent by God to pronounce judgment on King Ahab and his land.  This led Elijah to go into hiding and to have his every need met miraculously by the Lord.  He now comes to the widow and her son, whom God had instructed to feed him.

He finds the widow gathering sticks.  He asks for water and a morsel of bread.  She responds with, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug.” (v. 12)  Here we learn the gravity of her situation.  She has little to offer.  She is living in a land of scarcity.  She is preparing a final meal for herself and her son “that we may eat it and die.” (v. 12)  She is miles away from being full.  She is hanging by a thread.

Logic tells us that if you are down to your last supper, you don’t give it away.  Like the widow we can be guilty of a little hyperbole when it comes to being full.  We think that God understands our scarcity.  Yes, he does.  The problem isn’t with him; it’s with us.

We want to protect and preserve.  That is what logic tells us to do.  It is easier to feed the poor when the cupboards are full.  Tithing can be more comfortable when the account is overflowing.  When things are full, life is good.  When the unexpected happens, what are we going to do?  When you reach the year of both kids in college and one of those kids has a two-day hospital stay to begin the school year are you feeling full?  When the job you were hoping for or the relationship you didn’t see ending enters your life, do you feel empty?  When you deal with the same problems over and over and over do you feel like life is hanging by a thread?  Are you literally down to a last meal spiritually and emotionally?

These are all questions we ask ourselves because we trust in our own abundance.  If we do this then we miss the movement of God in our lives.  Logic is good but if it gets in the way of what God is trying to teach us then we lose out.

In our text God uses scarcity as a doorway to trust.  Trust in the Lord and his provision is the only way this account makes sense.  A widow obeys, she feeds Elijah and she and her household ate for many days.

God has been using scarcity to lead his people to trust for a long time.  He provided manna in the desert.  He brought water from a rock.  He fed large groups of people with the scarcest of provisions.  Then there were leftovers.  With Jesus there is always enough.  A lesson we struggle to learn but one that time and time again points us to the cross.

Jesus emptied himself on the cross to fulfill the full price of our sin.  His mission was not about multiplying food to fill our stomachs but about ransom and restoration to free our souls and fill us to overflowing with grace and forgiveness.  The writer to Hebrews reminds us that Christ came so we might be full of salvation:  “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Are you full?  Sure you are.  We are the fullest, blessed people on earth.  I know a little about the family with the college kids and the hospitalization.  We felt challenged but never empty.  We were blessed by God’s provision.  We still have half a year to go but we know the sufficiency of Christ is enough.  I pray you see it the same.  You have been crowned with Christ’s glory.  You are loved with a never-ending love.

As God’s redeemed children, we need not fear scarcity because our Father is a God of rich abundance.  When we put our trust in the Lord, when we put our trust in Jesus, we can be sure, no matter the circumstances, there is always enough.  We are full.

Amen.

October 14, 2018                                                                       Text:  Hebrews 3:12-19

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In our Adult Bible Class we are studying the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  They endured slavery, plagues, Passover, the parting of the Red Sea and wandering for forty years.  Led by Moses they were on the way to the Promised Land.  Along the way many of them lost the faith – fiery serpents and a bronze snake lifted on a pole.  They turned their back on the God who could rescue them.

As we look forward to our Promised Land – heaven – we too are on a journey.  Like the Israelites we endure setbacks, tragedies, and messes of our own making.  We need the Lord’s help to sustain us to the end.  In your daily struggles do you ever question . . .

“IS MY CONFIDENCE WAVERING?”

That is not such a crazy question because we all know people who sat in these pews over the years that in their wandering walked away from the faith.  Was it the influence of the world?  Did their priorities change?  Did they just get lazy?  Did they turn to some other god?  This is the warning this morning, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (v. 12)

The people of Israel were partakers of the blessings that God gave.  When they grumbled against Moses they were grumbling against God.  Many died in the wilderness, short of the promised rest.  Had they remained faithful they would have seen God’s deliverance.  They would have seen God raise Joshua, in the Greek – Heseus – Jesus.  In Joshua, the guarantee of God came to its fulfillment; Joshua led the people of God to be partakers of, sharers in, the long-promised land of rest.

Are you remaining faithful?  Is your confidence wavering?  As people of all stripes question Christ and the Christian faith do you find yourselves wondering?  As society turns its back on many of things that Christianity stands for do you teeter on the edge?  As the Law of God is dismissed as ancient or not conducive to this new world thinking do you ever want to go along to get along?

The Israelites instead of encouraging one another in the promised joy that awaited them, inflamed one another in sinful passions, self-gratification, and various sins of wickedness and unbelief.  “Their bodies fell in the wilderness” (v. 17) and “we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (v. 19)  St. Paul recounts the sad example they left for us, admonishing us, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” (1 Cor. 10:6)

Hopefully we see them as examples this morning of what we don’t want to be and where we don’t want to go.  We look to Christ but not merely as example.  He is not the occupant of the house, He is the builder.  “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (Jn. 2:19)  “On this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18), and again, “I go to prepare a place for you.” (Jn. 14:2)  Christ is the builder of the house.  He is the righteous substitute who endured all things in order that the promise would be guaranteed.  As the Son He is faithful over God’s house.  He is our confidence and hope as the Holy Spirit helps us to hold to the promise.  So heed the warning of our text, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (v. 15)

This is our encouragement so that our faith does not waver.  “For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (v. 14)  The Holy Spirit is working tirelessly to bring all that is Christ’s and give it to us.  Christ took all the sin and bondage that is ours, the faith that wavers on the brink, and hung with it on a tree in our place and overcame it and paid for it.  He has given us all the riches and inheritance that are His, that we might be sharers, part-owners, in Him, according to the mercies of God.  Joshua means God saves so Jesus means God saves.  Christ has delivered you from the bonds of greater Egypt and leads you through this world’s wilderness.  He is the bread of heaven and the spring of living water that you need to be sustained.  He keeps the promise.

Do you ever just sit and think about that Promised Land that awaits you?  Could it be forty years?  Could it be tomorrow or next week or next year?  You wander and have your ups and downs but you have a hope.  You have a confidence that does not waver because the Lord has made that promise.  He is faithful and through your consistent worship and prayers and Scripture study the promise will not be taken away.  “Thus the Lord gave to Israel all that the land that he swore to give to their fathers.  And they took possession of it, and they settled there.  And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers…Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43-45)

Amen.

October 7, 2018                                                                          Text:  Genesis 2:18-25

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

We are living in a time of crisis.  At the core our present difficulty is a radically new understanding of sexuality, marriage, and humanity, with profound implications for our society, as well as our church.  Many of our young people have been led astray.  Sheep and shepherds are confused and afraid.  To those who are still apathetic, Erick Erickson and Bill Blankschaen have famously warned, “You will be made to care.”

It is the Gnostic view that human beings – living members of the human species – are not necessarily persons.  Having a human body does not define you as human.  This makes it easier to justify abortion, euthanasia and the use of human embryos.  If we are not fully human beings we can then define our own existence.  We must play along or get punished.  Sherif Girgis writes, “For the New Gnostic, then, a just society cannot live and let live, when it comes to sex.  Sooner or later, the common good – respect for people as self-defining subjects – will require social approval of their self-definition and approval.”  Whether the emperor is wearing no clothes or a dress, we must nod and smile – or else.

Make no mistake about it – the Holy Scriptures reveal God’s plan for the human family.  Marriage and family are not a social construct, something we dreamed up.  We don’t get to define them as we choose.  In our text for today marriage wasn’t Adam’s idea it was God’s.  He created the woman to be the helper for the man, so he would not be alone.  God brought Eve to Adam and he received her as a gift.  As people mess with this gift and screw it all up, it’s good to ask . . .

“WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A RIB?”

For God, the price of a rib is the start of the human family.  “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” says Adam.  This is the Lord’s plan.  Male and female, man and woman, given to each other.  When the two become one the Lord blesses the union with more gifts – children.  We heard it in our Introit:  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.”

The Lord reminds us today of this crown of His creation.  Listen to these words from our Epistle lesson:  “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.”  Crowned with glory and honor.  If sinful man can get us to deny God’s wonderful creation and where man should be then the next step is to kill a child or old person while saving an owl or salamander.  If we mess with God’s creation, that beating heart in the womb is not a person.  Young and old forgo commitment and live together.  Divorce escalates because “happiness” is more important than God’s Word.  And the most dangerous of all – when we – in our own churches give tacit approval to some or all of this under a satanic twisting of our Lord’s words, “Judge not”?  What is going on?

All God-given relationships have been ripped apart by sin.  Satan’s angle has always been to have us fight, argue, disagree to those in whom we are the closest.  Adam and Eve against God.  Adam and Eve against each other.  Cain and his brother Abel.  Just in Genesis alone we have Noah and Ham, Abram and Lot, Sarai and Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers.

The most intimate relationship is that of husband and wife.  The only human relationship described as “one flesh.”  The price of a rib today is the sucker punch of Satan and his minions who want us all to turn on our back on this “one flesh union.”

The Lord saw this coming.  From that first rib came all of humanity until a Savior came in human flesh.  As God put Adam to sleep and took from his side that which he made the woman, so our Lord Jesus sleeps in death on his cross and his tender heart is pierced.  Then from that heart flows a fountain of blood and water.  In the church that is a picture of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, by which the Holy Spirit creates the Bride of Christ, the Church, and brings her to the Bridegroom.

And that Bridegroom, Jesus is faithful to you.  Jesus is faithful even when you have been faithless to Him.  He is not giving up on us but His patience goes only so far.  We need the Spirit’s help to turn from life choices outside the bounds of His creation.  We need the Spirit’s help to turn from rib-rocking cohabitation to the sociological bedrock of society – marriage between a man and a woman.  It was important to the Lord in our Gospel.  It is so needed now.  We need the Spirit’s guidance when we want to throw our hands up with “what else can I do?”

This is where our faith in the Lord of creation is such a blessing.  All of this, you see, is pictured in the way God – not we, not Adam, not society – long ago designed the institution of marriage and family.  God established marriage and family to be an image of His own unfailing commitment to you, his people.

Therefore, if there is anything in this sad world that can bring hope and a future to counter the mess we’ve made of trying to do marriage and family on our own terms, thinking we know better than God, it is the open heart of Jesus.  His patience and kindness is upon us.  He sends you forth forgiven and renewed to mirror in your families and neighborhoods the divine love of the Bridegroom, Jesus.  The price of a rib was His life.  Let us live for Him who has become one with you forever.

Amen.

September 30, 2018                                                                        Text:  Mark 9:42-50

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

I can’t tell you who said it, but the quotation is this:  “…the doctrine of hell should be preached in all its terribleness.  It is no kindness to spread a pretty covering of leafy branches over a pit into which many have fallen and broken their necks.  That may be the cunning hunter’s business, as it is the business of him who hunts the world for souls.  But it is not the business of preachers to ruin people’s souls in order to spare their feelings.”

It is not the business of preachers to ruin people’s souls in order to spare their feelings.  If you have been at Good Shepherd for any length of time I am sure I have said something from this pulpit that offended you, caused you to want to crawl under the pew and left you naked in your feelings.  Law and Gospel preaching does that.  The gospel divides, you know that.  You see it in your families; you see it among your friends.  But we don’t want to spare a soul’s eternity over hurt feelings.  The Lord could be brutally honest in His teaching and today’s text is one of those.

“SALTED WITH FIRE”

This first part of our text could be called, “Your Attention, Please.”  Causing children to sin.  Cutting off hand or foot.  Tearing out an eye because of sin.  Jesus then repeats the consequences three times:  “hell – the unquenchable fire…into hell…thrown into hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”  People who think that hell is on earth need to revaluate their thoughts.

How are we going to deal with this?  We are in big trouble.  At face value we all leave here blind and limbless.  What is Jesus saying?  He is talking about those things that compel us to such sinful action.  Jesus is warning against running after evil and being unrepentant.

Martin Luther said:  “The world is like a drunken peasant.  If you lift him into the saddle on one side, he will fall off on the other side.  One can’t help him, no matter how one tries.  He wants to be the devil’s.”  How, then, could the world’s ways and thinking be of such important to us?  Where do our hands and feet and eyes take us?  How do we live out our lives as God’s Redeemed?

This stings.  This is upsetting.  Reflect on that opening quotation:  “It is no kindness to spread a pretty covering of leafy branches over a pit into which many have fallen.”

So we come to our theme:  “Salted With Fire.”  From our text:  “For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?” (v. vs. 49-50a)

Throughout history man has known the importance of salt.  The Lewis and Clark expedition was in danger because they were running out of salt.  It is one of the reasons Clark exclaimed, “Ocean in view!  Oh, the joy!”  In the Old Testament sacrifices were first salted before being offered.

Salt can lose its saltiness.  Humidity, sun, heat, and constant contact with the earth can dissolved sodium chloride leaving behind only impurities.  We too can lose our “salt” as the world pours it heat down on us.  We can be proud and disobedient, ungrateful and heartless.  We become flavorless, going through the motions, without faith.  We lose our saltiness if we refuse to stand against evil.  Salt must purify, it must preserve.

“Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (v. 50)  That is still Jesus’ word to you – even though you can lose your saltiness.  Because, you see, Jesus wouldn’t talk about losing saltiness unless you have salt, unless he’d in fact given you salt.  You are the salt of the earth, Jesus says.  And it’s true.  You have been purified, salted with salt, just like those Old Testament sacrifices.  Jesus was your salted sacrifice.  He was the One who purified you.  By His death on the cross, he accomplished what all those salted sacrifices of the Old Testament promised:  Forgiveness of all sins.  Now by God’s Word and Sacraments, that forgiveness, that purity, is given to us.  We are filled with the Holy Spirit.  We have salt in ourselves.

Salted with this fire by the Holy Spirit then compels us.  When we look around our neighborhoods at those who may or may not know Jesus…when we look at those with whom we work or play…when we let our minds examine the faces of family and friends without the Savior…aren’t we compelled?  Does it really make any difference how much we’ve prayed for them, or invited them, or encouraged them?  Does it really make any difference how often they have excused themselves from hearing the Good News about Jesus Christ?  We can’t stop.  Because, after all, the hell fire that has been forever quenched for us through the blood of Jesus burns hot for those without Him!

As we heard at the beginning it does no good to spare feelings when the eternal pit is the trap.  You are salted with fire.  You can flavor the world with your witness.  As Christ preserves you He can preserve others.  Loved, blessed, and forgiven by God now and forever through Jesus Christ.

Amen.