Sermon Texts

October 20, 2019                                                                         Text:  Genesis 32:22-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Let’s get ready to rumble!  In this corner we have Jacob (though by the end of this match he will have a new name), son of Isaac, brother of Esau, ancestor of Christ, father of Joseph.  In the other corner is the Supreme Being, Creator of the World, goes by the one-word moniker “God.”

            This match is a little different than most wrestling matches you might catch on TV.  Usually there is a bad guy and a good guy.  One adored, one spit at.  Good versus evil.  As this match begins things are not quite so clear.  Let’s clear away the fuzziness and answer the question . . .

“IS THE WRESTLER FRIEND OR FOE?”

            We know the location of the match – along the ford of the Jabbok, which is a stream.  Jacob is facing a confrontation with his brother Esau and he doesn’t know if he is friend or foe.  Jacob tries his own solution, which is going to be presenting gifts in the form of many animals to Esau.  You know, buy him off, then he won’t be a foe, right?

            Well, right before this happened God had promised Jacob to be with him and bless him.  But instead of trusting God, Jacob goes looking for his own way to appease his brother.  I’m thinking bad move, what about you?

            It’s easy looking outside in, isn’t it?  Why doesn’t Jacob just put his faith in His Creator?  What about us when we are on the inside looking out.  If we sense confrontation, we gird for battle.  Our Lord has promised to take care of us, but we don’t always trust Him.  We think we have to fight our own battle and when we do we are actually wrestling against God.  We have a hard time figuring out who is our friend and who is our foe.  I’m a baptized child of God, but is He really on my side?

            Is Jacob’s mystery attacker – friend or foe?  He has got to be a foe because he just put Jacob’s hip socket out of joint.  Hold it, stop the timer.  Look at this would you; the attacker asks injured Jacob to let him go.  No longer relying on his own craftiness, Jacob by faith realizes his attacker is a friend not a foe.  He then asks the attacker for a blessing and his wrestling nemesis God blesses him.

            So is God our friend or foe?  Being sinful, we sometimes see him as our enemy.  How could he allow me to be in this financial mess?  My wife doesn’t love me and God doesn’t love me.  How could a loving Savior let me lose my job?  I’ve been praying every day and where is the man upstairs, doesn’t He promise to answer? 

            God’s Word encourages diligence in prayer.  God’s Word teaches us that God is our friend and is there to help us in difficult times.  God’s Word teaches us that God sent Jesus to die to deliver us from our foes – sin, death, and the devil.

            Because of Jesus we have prevailed.  Jacob being humbled makes all the difference.  God changes his name to Israel.  God affirms the promise of the Messiah.  Jacob’s sins of self-reliance and lying and cheating are forgiven.  Jacob will no longer fear meeting Esau and Jacob has complete trust in God to be with him.

            God grants us deliverance when He humbles us.  You’ve been there, haven’t you?  So low, wrestling with God in your mind, wrestling with the devil in your heart, all you can do is surrender to the Lord’s will.  We have a new name – no longer children of wrath but children of God.  Our struggles with sin and doubt and uncertainty in the dark nights of our lives are forgiven in the Messiah – Jesus Christ and His Cross.

            The Lord comes to us not to engage in a wrestling match, but to give us grace and mercy in Baptism, in the Word, in the Lord’s Supper.  With faith strengthened and sin forgiven we are able to walk into each new day knowing God is our friend, not our foe.  Someday we will stand in that heavenly circle and the Lord will raise our hand as the eternal victor.

            Let’s stop wrestling with God.  You know who is going to win.  He is the ultimate wrestler who has got your back.  He fights for you, as your friend, and nothing can stand against him.  He has pinned Satan and sin and death so get out of the ring because He has done it all for you.

                                                                                    Amen.  

October 13, 2019                                                                  Text:  2 Timothy 2:8-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Do you remember the story about the roly-poly pigs?  If you’ve never heard it, here it is:  “A farmer had a herd of swine that was highly admired by other farmers.  They were sleek and roly-poly.  When it came time for feeding, the farmer would go to the edge of the pasture and knock sharply with a stick on the trough that was filled with grain.  Scattered throughout the pasture the pigs, hearing the farmer’s knock, would lift their snouts and then run in the direction of the sound, squealing all the way.  This went on for some time.  All was well until some woodpeckers began to make their homes in the dead trees scattered all over the pasture.  The pigs mistook the pecking on the dead trees for the farmer’s knock on the trough.  They would run, squealing all the way, from one dead tree to another.  Soon, the roly-poly pigs became weak and scrawny.”

            You are wondering, where is he going with this?  He’s not calling us pigs, is he?  No, but we can act like the pigs.  Our spiritual lives can be weak and scrawny as we chase after things or deal with things.  A serious illness, the death of a loved one, a threatening national or international catastrophe, a marriage upheaval, and family dysfunction can all test our spiritual health.  This morning then . . .

“ALL SQUEALING ASIDE”

            The text begins, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.” (v. 8)  Paul says, “Remember Jesus Christ.”  Some might say, “How could we forget?”  Friends, there is along line of people who have become or are becoming, so distracted that Jesus and what He gives fades. 

            The only people who can fall away from the faith are those who were in the faith in the first place.  Many who identify as atheist or agnostic today were people who at one time were part of the Christian faith.  Oh, how the devil works.  Remember Jesus.  We need this each and every day.  We need constantly the reminder that God did and does everything for us in Christ while we were and still are sinners.

            We spend a lot of time squealing for our wants and desires.  We have our moments as weak and scrawny Christians.  “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.”  It needs to be a constant in our lives.  A reminder of guilt removed, love that died for us and the promise of eternal life.

            Look where Paul is writing this from, “I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.  But the word of God is not bound!” (v. 9)  Paul is not under house arrest like he was in the Book of Acts.  He is in a dungeon, shackled, movement restricted.

            Paul suffered for the gospel.  How far will you go in your suffering?  American Christians will suffer up to a point.  We read the books and see the movies but we can’t really relate to the martyred Christians in other nations.  We may be heading to being homeless in our home sweet home.  Could it happen to us?  History says it could be coming. 

            The streets were lined with crowds, cheering the marching troops about to leave for overseas.  A recruit, who had watched the crowd for some time, asked, “Why are all these people cheering?”  A veteran standing next to him replied, “They are the people who are not going.”

            We are not cheerleaders for Jesus, brothers and sisters.  We are part of His army.  You know, “Like a mighty army, moves the church of God.”  Not an army to spill blood, but the army proclaiming the love of God in Christ to a world headed for eternal darkness.  The moment is now.  Paul goes on to say . . .

            “The saying is trustworthy, for:  If we have died with him, we will also love with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” (v. 11-13)

            Biblical commentator P.E. Kretzmann wrote this:  “If we are faithful to the Lord, even unto death…then we shall also become partakers of the reward of mercy which he has reserved for us in heaven…if we are faithless, if we are not true to him…if we lose the faith of our hearts by neglecting the Word and Sacraments, God will be faithful to His threat of punishment, for He cannot be untrue to His essence; He is the Eternal, Immutable (that is, without change).”

            Salvation is ours.  We suffer the consequences of bad decisions, hasty words and actions with little thought of the outcome and a lot of squealing about nothing of importance.  Yet, Jesus has paid for our debt of sin on the Cross.  Removes our guilt.  Forgives and loves us.  Quells our squealing and shepherds us to eternity.

            As God’s forgiven children, the Holy Spirit lets us love others regardless of how they see us or understand us – regardless of their hatred of God’s Word.  We’ve spent much of our lives running and squealing for this world’s trough of grain.  It’s passing away.  God help us.  All squealing aside!

                                                                                    Amen.

October 6, 2019                                                                                       Text:  Luke 17:6

Dear Friends in Christ,

            We hear a lot of talk these days how difficult it is to be a Christian, but is it?  Many in our world would laugh at our idea of difficult.  Was it hard to come to worship?  To pray?  To do devotions?  It may be a little harder to share the faith, but that is always a challenge.  I still see respect for the office of Pastor in our community.  Why do people say it is harder today to be a follower of Christ?

            Much of it comes from biblical principles that are being challenged in all walks of life.  Values and practices that we hold sacred because “thus saith the Lord” are not held on to as tightly as they once were.

            This was happening with Jesus and His disciples in Luke 17.  Jesus was always teaching about everyday values and practices.  Here He is telling the disciples they need to forgive others even up to seven times a day.  If they were wronged they need to confront another with the sin and voice forgiveness.  This is the stuff of everyday relationships.

            But oh it can be hard to forgive at times, can’t it?  Bitter feelings run deep like the roots of the mulberry tree – stubborn, strong.  We can understand the disciples reaction to this challenge of Jesus – “Increase our faith.”  Jesus the great teacher doesn’t say, “Uh, ok . . . you have greater faith.”  He does say, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (v. 6)  On this LWML Sunday let’s see what can be done about . . .

“MOVING MULBERRY TREES”

            Now Jesus doesn’t really explain what He says, but you have to admit it is quite the image.  With just a little faith – faith you have right now – Jesus is saying you can uproot a twenty-five foot mulberry tree and plant it at the bottom of the sea.  Have you ever tried that?  Well, let’s go take a stab at it, anyone ready to follow?  Maybe we need a little more teaching from the Savior.

            One thing Jesus is saying is that it is not helpful to quantify our faith.  This was what the disciples were asking.  Give us heroic faith.  We want a faith that will stand up to hard things and hard times.  But quantifying that does not help us.  Yet we still do it, don’t we?  “If I only believed enough.”  “If my faith were stronger I wouldn’t be curled up in my pity.”  The weight of these statements is upon us.  Do we believe enough?  Do we trust enough?

            So if we don’t quantify faith, then how do we understand the words of Jesus?  How can faith send mulberry trees flying into the sea?  “Faith like a grain of mustard seed” is simply trust in Him.  A faith that trusts and abides in Him.  A faith that lives every day in Him.  It is only in Christ that we move mulberry trees, even the deep ones like bitterness or a lack of forgiveness.  It is possible only as Christ lives in us.

            Latin has two words for faith.  The first is fides, a faith that says certain things are true like “I believe…that God created the world…that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead…that the Holy Spirit keeps me in the true faith.”  Our creeds are examples of fides.  The other Latin word for faith is fiducia.  This is relational faith.  It is trust in the Lord, being rooted in the power of God.  This was Luther’s preferred word for faith.  Fiducia is at work in Paul’s words of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me.

            So this faith says that I can forgive not so much because I have enough faith to do it but rather because I live and make decisions inside a strong relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have Christ or better, Christ has me!  The One who came and died for me.  The One who broke through death and came to life for me.  The One who called me in Baptism and made me His own.  I can move mulberry trees because of this One – Jesus my Savior.

            In Christ, then, we can confront the person who has wronged us and offer forgiveness.  When can share our faith when it is not easy or convenient.  We can drop our coins and dollars in our mite boxes because we know they make a difference.  We can hold the hand of someone in the hospital we might not be that warm with.  We can reach out to that friend who has drifted from our life.

            Our community is not the enemy, it is our mission field.  You hear mulberry trees moving – hard things, impossible things, happening because Christ lives within me, because Christ lives within us!

            Since 1942 the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League has lived mustard seed faith.  Little gifts, small coins and dollar bills put in mite boxes, combined across our synod, make things happen.  Big things.  Mulberry trees are being moved

            Don’t believe the hype that we have such a difficult road in front of us.  What appears to be hard may just be what we each need as we live with Christ day-in-day-out.  Because Christ abides in us, the difficult thing can be done with joy.  May it be said of us, “Those were the days when Christians moved mulberry trees!”

                                                                                                                                    Amen.       

September 29, 2019 – St. Michael and All Angels                  Text:  Matthew 18:1-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

            I was blessed to have a step-grandfather for 27 years after my grandma had been widowed for 16 years.  Many of you know he lived to 102.  He was a faithful Christian.  When he was around 90 he still liked to drive.  My grandparents lived in a trailer on a busy four-lane highway in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  My grandpa Dan figured he could pull out in traffic and they could stop for him.

            One afternoon grandpa Dan, two of his son-in-laws, and myself went golfing west of Kenosha.  We had to take a two-lane highway to the course.  Grandpa Dan was all over the road on the way.  Without even looking at me, one his son-in-law’s, who was sitting in the front asked, “Chad, do you believe in angels?”  I answered, “Yes.”  I asked him if he believed in angels and he replied without missing a beat, “I sure do today!”

            We think of angels when we travel and at various other times but what do we know about them?  Can you relate?  As you go about your daily routine . . .

“WHO IS YOUR GUARDIAN?”

            Before we get to our verse about angels in our text, we first have some in-your-face teaching from Jesus about personal greatness.  The disciples want to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  This question had caused quite a stir among these men.  It was a bad question that they had argued about long enough.  Let’s take the question to Jesus. 

            This question of greatness is today’s question of success and power and glory.  Who is successful?  Who has more power?  Who gets the glory?  Some have been pushed since childhood toward these endeavors.  Maybe you are in the midst of a power struggle right now at work or at home or with a spouse or a child.

            In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller has an entire chapter on the idols of power and glory.  He takes it back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve didn’t like the limits God put on their power.  Keller writes:  “We gave in to this temptation and now it is part of our nature.  Rather than accept our finitude and dependence on God, we desperately seek ways to assure ourselves that we still have power over our own lives.  But this is an illusion.”

            So the athletic hulk bullies the wimpy student at school.  Two execs enjoy a cocktail after another round of downsizing with little compassion for those who didn’t make it.  They feel the power.

            Power and success will ultimately disappoint.  I am no fan of Tom Brady, the star quarterback for the New England Patriots, who has won numerous Super Bowls and awards.  He said this on 60 Minutes in 2007:  “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me?  There’s gotta be more than this.”  The interviewer then asked, “What’s the answer?”  Brady replied, “I wish I knew.  I wish I knew.”

            When Jesus answers the disciples question He puts an object lesson in front of them – a child.  This is an example of true greatness.  A child is dependent upon parents for care and nurture.  A child is humble.

            It is the great reversal.  Instead of looking up a ladder to see how great we can become we look down to see how little we must become.  The power and glory belong to God.  We are dependent upon Him.  Who is your guardian?

            Jesus became like a “little one.”  He humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross.  In humility, he leaned on his Father in prayer.  As he died for the sins of the whole world, he whispered a traditional bedtime prayer from Ps. 31:5, “Into your hand I commit my spirit.”  Faith calls us to trust God for our eternal life – that in grace he has provided everything for our salvation. 

            Jesus says in verse 10, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones.  For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”  Jesus’ is saying we shouldn’t be deceived by the littleness of little ones.  These little ones have attending them mighty angels who come from the very presence of their heavenly Father.

            On this St. Michael and All Angels Day, we remember the victory of archangel Michael and the good angels over Satan in Revelation 12, our Epistle Reading this morning.  We remember the angel Gabriel in Luke 1 carrying the news to Mary that she would give birth to the Savior of the world.  We also celebrate the work of angels who guard and protect God’s people just like that day on the way to the golf course.  The angels also ministered to Jesus in his time of temptation.

            So, who is your guardian?  It is our Lord and His Holy Angels.  Because Jesus, the servant of God, trumps our desire for power and glory by pointing us to a child and to the angels.  Do you believe?  I pray you can say, “I sure do today!”

                                                                                                                        Amen.   

September 22, 2019                                                                         Text:  Luke 16:1-15

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Money can be a temptress.  It gives you freedom but it also paralyzes you.  When you have it you think you can relax and enjoy it.  But it calls the shots.

            The manager in our parable this morning understood this better than most.  He had been cooking the books, skimming some funds, breaking the 7^th Commandment.  He worked to justify it – overworked and underpaid.  He needs it more than his master.  It is going to help him solve his dilemma.  Or is it?  It is a good question to ask ourselves . . .

“DO YOU TRUST THE MOOLAH OR THE MASTER?”

            You can’t trust false gods and money is a false god.  It doesn’t care about you or love you.  It will leave you.  This is what happens to the manager.  His money is abandoning him and so what now?  He has to find something else to put his trust in.  What will it be?

            This manager is desperate.  He’s stuck.  “I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to beg.”  He worked a lifetime, even if crooked to get to this point.  Even if you haven’t been in his position, you understand this could be you by tomorrow morning or by this time next year.

            The manger gets fired.  No longer legally authorized to conduct business.  Notice something here; the master does not throw him in jail.  He could have but he doesn’t.  This guy could have been escorted out the door by security like in today’s world.  Instead the manager meanders back and gets the books.

            This generosity by the master gives him a little time.  He has choices at his disposal.  The best option – bank on the master’s reputation for being exceedingly generous.  Trusting in the master’s money is gone.  He must now trust the master, the one thing he should have trusted in all along.

            He calls in the master’s clients.  They don’t know he’s been fired.  With each person in debt he cancels about eighteen months of wages.  But did you notice he has them change the amount?  It happens in their handwriting, not his.  This is important because when he returns the books to the master, the master will notice two things:  first, the debts have been lowered, and second, his debtors know about it, because it is their handwriting.  Genius.

            The master sits back in his chair and figures he is going to win businessman of the year.  He is the most generous landowner in the county.  Facebook and Twitter are on fire with the news of this swell fella.

            What will a normal landlord do?  He will walk into the celebration party and announce, “I didn’t authorize this.  This man is a crook.  I will be expecting your regular payments at the beginning of the month.”  Most creditors would do this.  It is what you would do, right?  But this master doesn’t do this and the manager’s plan doesn’t collapse.  This master is generous.  It is part of who he is.

            He commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.  Well-played Harris.  When the ship was sinking he knew where to jump.  He used the master’s generosity to his advantage proving that “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”

            What is the moral of the story for us?  What point is Jesus making?  “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings.” (v. 9)  You’ve got money.  Many of us have significant amounts.  Use it wisely, Jesus says, for the work of His Kingdom so that more souls can go to heaven.  There will be people in heaven who are there to thank you and welcome you because God used your offering and the work of the Holy Spirit to get them there.  He made it so your money would have eternal returns.

            We don’t labor under a master who is hard and cruel.  We labor under a generous master.  Whether you have been faithful in your use of money or have wasted it, your Master is still good.  He loves you and sees you through.  You will be saved and have your eternal reward because of the generosity of your Master.

            Your Master?  Jesus Christ.  He loves and forgives sinners.  We receive more than earthly wealth and goods.  He gives you His body and blood on the cross to save you.  You don’t have to make back payments to receive this bounty.  You don’t need to do anything; you don’t even need to be wise.  You just need to know which way to jump when your ship is sinking.  You jump and let the grace of God in Jesus catch you.

            If your stuck and don’t know what to do or where to go – too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg – don’t trust your moolah but turn to the Master.  Grab hold of the generosity of your Father in heaven.  Truly shrewd stewards are Christians who trust in the generosity of the Lord.  Plead the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, his death and resurrection, and it’s yours.

            You are going to be okay.  You are going to make it, dear Christian.  Your Master loves you, indeed.

                                                Amen.   

September 15, 2019                                                                              Text:  Luke 15:1-7

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Fred Rogers – also known as Mr. Rogers had a program on Public Television for a number of years called, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.”  “Won’t you be my neighbor.”  I read that someone was blaming Mr. Rogers for the selfishness of a generation because he told children “they were special.”  The thought being that the world owes them something because they are “special.”

            The reruns of the show still show up on PBS.  I find the show, just like watching Bob Ross paint quite relaxing.  It is a stretch to blame Mr. Rogers for selfishness.  It is easier to point at Mr. and Mrs. Parent, but that theory also has holes.  The simple reality is this, we are sinful, which shows itself in our selfishness and blaming everybody for the way I am.

            You can rant and rave about this world all you want.  Heartburn today.  Heart attack tomorrow.  Subject to change without notice.  You can get mad.  You can deny it.  But one thing you can’t do . . .

“YOU CAN’T BLAME MR. ROGERS FOR WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE”

            We always point to the Scriptures when discussing these themes because it applies to everyone.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)  “No one living is righteous before you,” writes the Psalmist. (Ps. 143:2b) 

            Everybody has the same two choices.  They are quite clear in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  We can either see ourselves as more wonderful and less sinful than others or we can get on our knees, look up to heaven and say, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

            Which are you?  Where do you stand?  Self-righteous or a sinner in his or her sin?  Who do you blame for . . . well . . . whatever has brought guilt and inner conflict in your life?

            “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus.  And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (v. 1-2)

            You can’t read the Gospels and not see that Jesus is reaching into the lives of those with a sense of guilt and sin.  He is there for those dealing with discouragement and death, suffering and pain.  Jesus said this:  “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Lk. 19:10)

            Stan Mooneyham years ago was walking a trail in East Africa with some friends when he became aware of a wonderful odor.  “He looked up in the trees and around at the bushes in an effort to discover where it was coming from.  Then his friends told him to look down at the small blue flower growing along the path.  Each time they crushed the tiny blossoms under their feet, more of its sweet perfume was released into the air.  Then his friends said, ‘We call it the forgiveness flower.’

            “This forgiveness flower does not wait until we ask forgiveness for crushing it.  It does not release its fragrance in measured doses or hold us to a reciprocal arrangement…it merely lives up to its name and forgives – freely, fully, richly.”

            I find that an illustration of Christ’s love for us.  “He receives sinners and eats with them.”  The people that marched Him to Calvary are welcomed.  We – whose sins crushed Him – are forgiven and embraced by God forever.  Here in His Word and at the Holy Supper and at the baptismal font.  We come with the unworthy and undeserving and He grants forgiveness of all our sin and He has secured a place for each of us in eternity.

            “So he told them this parable:  ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’” (v. 3-7)

            Ever think of heaven rejoicing over you when God brought you into His fold?  Christianity isn’t some psycho-babble to help us get comfortable with the world.  Its repentance, friends.  It’s daily repentance.  It is also a struggle sometimes we forget that.  In the struggle we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

            Ancient Greek poetry tells of a warrior, the hero of Troy, dressed in all his military armor, stretching out his arms to embrace his son before going into battle.  His child was frightened as he looked at the helmet and full military dress, and instead of falling into his father’s arms he screamed in terror.  However, under all the battle array was hidden a heart of fatherly love.  The warrior threw off his armor, gathered his little boy in his arms, and held him tightly against his chest where he could hear the beating of his father’s heart, as if saying, “I love you, I love you.”

            That is how God revealed himself to us in the person and work of Jesus.  He still does in Word, water, bread, wine.  Christ rejoices over us.  When things don’t go the way you want, or thought, or expected – don’t blame Mr. Rogers.   Be thankful you belong to God through faith in Christ.           Amen.