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Sermon – September 20, 2020 – Pentecost 16

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Pastor Clark  ~  Romans 13:1-10  ~  September 20, 2020  ~  Pentecost 16

When in Rome, don’t do as the Romans do…PAY WHAT YOU OWE

1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are so blessed as a nation. I did some research. Americans are worth about 17 trillion dollars, a total greater than any citizenry in the world. Unfortunately, we also have staggering debt. Our citizenry owes 13.86 trillion dollars. I realize those are numbers way too large to comprehend, so let’s break it down a little. The average American household owes about $137k. The average student debt is about $30K. And the average credit card debt for Americans is about $16k.

In other words, we have a lot, but we also owe a lot. If you have heard of Dave Ramsey, he offers what he calls “7 baby steps,” to take control of your money. The second of the baby steps is “pay off all of your debt” (except maybe your mortgage).

This may be a hard time to do that. The 3.6% unemployment in January is now 14.7%.

People in Rome owed money, too. God wanted them to take responsibility for their debts just he wants us to be responsible for ours. But God wanted them to know they had other debts they might not always recognize or appreciate. Nothing has changed between then and now. So that’s why we say, “Don’t do as the Romans do,” PAY WHAT YOU OWE.

  1. We owe a debt of respect. (verses 1-7)

What is this other debt? 1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Have you seen what people say about people in authority, especially politicians? I have seen the commercials, too. The word the Bible uses for such people is, “God’s servant.” The word means someone who “works for the people.” It is the same exact word we use to describe our worship service, “liturgy.” We don’t sit passively in church. You actively participate. It’s a work of the people

Serving people is what government does. You can argue how well they are doing that. You can talk about whether you like what they are doing. But we don’t speak about it the way others do. Why? Because God says we owe them. We pay what we owe them through submission. We show that submission by paying taxes or revenue, respecting them, and honoring them as his servants.

We owe them because we owe God, not that we can ever adequately pay him back. Over and over again we commit the sin of Adam and Eve. When someone says something we don’t like, it is easy to think that we don’t have to listen to them, and we do what we want, not what the authority wants. We justify that by pointing out that those authorities are just as fallible and as human as we are. Which although true, is not the point at all. Just like Moms and Dads, they have been placed in their positions by God. Moms and Dads are also fallible, but we still owe them a debt of respect.

The greatest example of this is Jesus.  He was the perfect son, and yet, he respected his father and mother. One of the seven words Jesus uttered on the cross was taking care of his mother. He also showed us what that obedience and submission to earthly authorities looks like. Despite being the God of all creation and perfect, when he stood before earthly authorities like Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas, & Herod, he always showed respect for them in every way. When asked to pay taxes, he proclaimed about the coins with Caesar’s image imprinted on them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

This same Lord submitted himself as a servant for you and me. Brothers and sisters, don’t do as the Romans do. Pay your debt of respect.

  1. We owe a debt of love. (verses 8-10)

Another difference between what the Romans do and what we do is the reason we respect. The Romans respected, but they did it because a sword was held over their heads. That is not why or how we pay our debts. St. Paul says, 8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The point of Paul’s words was to make clear that their motivation for paying what they owe was not fear. It was love; love for God and love for others. That same love was the fulfillment of all the commandments. Sometimes people in our culture mistake this love as a deeper level of the word, “like.” And certainly love can be an emotion, but that’s not what Paul means at all. The word for love is primarily an action. It’s not how you feel towards your spouse and children, it’s how you act towards them. You may not always like your spouse or your children, but you still love them. It shows in your actions.

Our God in heaven didn’t just have a warm fuzzy feeling in his heart toward us. He didn’t send an angel to be our Savior because it was not a strong enough or effective enough action. He sent his Son because only his Son could accomplish what needed to be accomplished, the payment for every act of rebellion and willfulness that all the people of the world commit. That is love.

That is also far different than anything this world knows or understands. Don’t do as the Romans do. Pay your debt of love. Amen.

Sermon – September 13, 2020 – Pentecost 15

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Pastor Jacobson  ~  Pentecost 15  ~ September 13, 2020  ~  Romans 12:1-8

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

 

WHEN IN ROME DON’T DO AS THE ROMANS DO (Week Two)

 

GOD LIKES COMPLETE &

COMPLEMENTARY SERVICE

When you are watching those videos on the YouTube channel, what causes you to click like or dislike? And what causes you to go “MEH” to neither like the video nor dislike the video?  What’s the criterion? Is it based on the level of helpfulness of the video? If it helps, Like. If it doesn’t help, Dislike. If it kind of, sort of helps, MEH. Is it based on the level of entertainment? If it makes you laugh, Like. If it makes you groan, Dislike. If it does neither, MEH.

What if God were to turn the camera on you? Would God like or dislike what he sees and hears from you? MEH is not an option for God. God has strong feelings. Would God see your service as helpful? Does your worship cause God to smile? Is your service made of the kind of quality where God would actually make a comment like, “Well done, good and faithful servant” or might God type in all CAPS, “YOU WICKED, LAZY SERVANT”?

  1. Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

In keeping with our sermon series, “When in Rome don’t do as the Romans do,” my eyes immediately look for the “dos” and the “do nots” of our text. And in our text the “do nots” immediately jump out. In verse 2 Paul writes, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” To conform is to comply, to behave in a manner that is set by others. The ‘others’ in this verse is the pattern of this world. The pattern of this world ever since the fall into sin has been rebellion. And admittedly, sometimes, our rebellion is outright rebellion. If I don’t care for the person in charge or what I’m being told to do, then my sinful nature doesn’t care to do what is said. Sometimes our rebellion is outright rebellion. Other times our rebellion is aided by a carrot. “If you eat this fruit, you will be like God knowing good and evil.” Does that sound familiar? How about, “So they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver?”

What carrot aids your rebellion? Does a desire to keep up with the Joneses foster a coveting desire for material possession that are not yours? Does a suggestive movie scene or internet image stir up lustful desires for a person who is not your spouse? Does someone’s harsh words kindle resentment in you? The carrot method still works, doesn’t it? And so does the bully method. The bully method forces you to do what you don’t want to do. I may not even be speeding in my car. I might be 5 miles below the speed limit, but if I see a policeman with his radar gun, I instinctively slow down. The force of the law works; it gets results in our nation. The force of the law gets results in the church, too. Do you come to worship to worship or do you come to worship to be seen? Do you help out at home to be helpful or do you help out at home so you don’t get in trouble. When we serve like we are supposed to only because we think someone is watching us like a bully, we are not serving like we are supposed to. King David realized these motivations brought out by the bully method were wrong. In his Psalms he wrote, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.…Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar” (Psalm 51:17 & 19).

The Apostle Paul tells us in God’s Word, “To offer your bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” God only likes our singing voices when our hearts love to sing as well, and God only likes our help at home when our minds are thinking about how great it is to be helpful at home. This complete service of body and soul cannot be conformed or forced. We can’t be peer-pressured to love God. We can’t be disciplined to want the best for all people. The complete service God likes can only be caused by God.

Paul writes, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Whenever pastors preach on Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration and on Romans 12:2 they are obligated to talk about metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is the Greek Word for transformation. Metamorphosis is what happens when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Metamorphosis, or transformation, is also what happens when unbelievers are changed into believers. God and only God causes transformation. The tools God uses for transformation are the means of Grace. The means of grace are God’s Word and sacraments. Through baptism sinners are reborn into saints. Through the Lord’s Supper, God’s children are strengthened to be more like their heavenly father and their ascended brother. The means of grace put us into the view of God’s mercy, not the radar gun of God’s law. In view of God’s mercy we see Jesus born in Bethlehem to save us, and in view of God’s mercy we see Jesus die on Calvary’s cross to take away our sins. When God works faith in our hearts through the means of grace, the Gospel in Word and sacrament, not only are we going to grow up to be helpful sons and daughters, responsible moms and dads, obedient citizens and hard workers; we also are going to want to be those people and more. When God works his Gospel in us, we want to tell our coworkers and classmates about what we learned in church on Sunday, and when God works the Gospel in us, we want to take our allowances and our paychecks and think about how much we can give to the Lord. God likes complete service. God likes it when we do what is good because we want to do what is good. God also likes complementary service.

  1. Each member belongs to all the others.

Complement with an “e” is different from compliment with an “i”. If I compliment you on your shirt, that probably means we ate spaghetti together, and you didn’t splatter sauce on it. You might compliment me on my multi-colored shirt. But if your pants complement your shirt, that means your pants either learned how to talk and said something nice about your shirt, or more likely, that your shirt is of a color and style that coordinates well with your pants. God likes complementary (with an ‘e’) service. God likes when my service is well coordinated with your service. In order for that to happen, Paul teaches us what not to do. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” What gives Paul the right to talk like that to us? Paul says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”

Paul first received grace when God struck him blind on the way to Damascus. Paul, who was then known as Saul, was intending to persecute the Christians who lived in that city. Paul didn’t believe Jesus was true God and so Saul felt that it was his God-given duty to exterminate the world of Christians. God corrected Paul’s faith and his vision. Then God commissioned Paul to preach the good news of Jesus as an Apostle. Later in his ministry Paul received a similar measure of grace. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul describes a moment when God allowed Paul to experience the paradise in heaven, but as a result of that experience God didn’t want Paul to become conceited, so God allowed Paul to suffer what Paul called ‘a thorn in his flesh’. Paul prayed three times to have this ‘thorn in the flesh’ removed so that Paul could carry out his ministry in a more productive way. Finally, God answered Paul’s prayer and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12).

Paul with God’s help did not think of himself more highly than he ought. Paul with God’s help wanted to help the Romans, too. Paul illustrates complementary service with the human body, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body and each member belongs to all the others.”

Your heart pumps blood, but the blood would have nowhere to go if it were not for the arteries and veins. Your eyes see, but those images would mean nothing to you if it wasn’t for the optic nerve telling your brain what those images mean. Every member of your body complements all the other members of your body. Even seemingly insignificant parts have a role to play. Do you really want fingers without fingernails? I don’t think so.

In the same way the body of Christ is made up of many Christians, and the body of Christ works best when Christians complement each other. In verses 6 to 8 Paul says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

All of us have these seven gifts to a certain extent. You can’t tell your spouse, “I don’t have the gift of encouragement,” or your sibling, “I don’t have the gift of showing mercy,” or your church “I don’t have the gift of giving.” We all have these gifts, but we all have these gifts in different amounts. Who has made a difference in your life with these gifts? Which gift or gifts do you have? These two questions would be a good topic of discussion with your family and friends, wouldn’t they? As God’s people we want to use our gifts to complement the gifts of others. And that makes sense because God has made himself to be complementary. God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is God, but God also had to become man in order to save us from our sins. And God who is all-in-all, lovingly chose to be the head of the church only because he wants us to serve with him as his body. God likes complete and complementary service, and when we see that is exactly how God has served us, we like to serve God with complete and complementary service, too. Amen.

Sermon – September 6, 2020 – Pentecost 14

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Pastor Clark  ~  Romans 11:33-36  ~  September 6, 2020  ~  Pentecost 14

When in Rome, don’t do as the Romans…

GIVE GOD THE GLORY

33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 36For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

 

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’ll be you are familiar with this 4th Century quote from an early Church father, Saint Ambrose. (Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi), “If you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there.” You know it better as, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.”

The point is that the way they do it “back home,” loses its luster when you are no longer “back home.” I learned this firsthand! I grew up in Michigan but when at school in Wisconsin, I learned a drink of water came from a bubbler. I moved to Texas and learned it wasn’t just someone who played for the American League New York baseball team that was called a Yankee. Oh, and boots are not just for wearing in snow – they are a lifestyle.

As part of a new job in South America, one member told me he was invited to a house party. They showed up on time at 7:00 PM and found their hosts hadn’t even dressed for the party. No one there shows up until two hours after the time on the invitation.

The whole point of, “When in Rome” is to fit in. When we go somewhere else and don’t fit in, we come off as anything from ignorant to disrespectful.

St. Paul wanted Roman Christians to be good citizens, to fit in. This was a bridge building opportunity. But there were times to draw the line, times when Roman culture was contrary to faith. Starting today we’re going to examine godly direction Paul gives or WHEN IN ROME DON’T DO AS THE ROMANS DO.

  1. For his unsearchable wisdom (verses 33-34)

33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”

Those are very happy words from St. Paul, a “doxology,” a song of praise, which the rest of Rome would not have understood. In God’s unsearchable wisdom Paul made clear that no amount of hard work, or sacrifice, or piety, or genealogy was going to please God. God was so inclusive that purely through his grace, anyone could become a child of God, no matter how they had grown up, no matter who their parents were, no matter how sinful a life they had lived. Jesus came for them. In God’s unsearchable wisdom all can be saved.

That just wouldn’t make sense to most people. If you gave large amounts of money, or you lived a socially acceptable life or if you didn’t cheat anyone in business, that would make sense. But simply through faith? That made no sense at all.

You and I have seen the same thing. Do people feel it’s narrow minded when you say only one way to heaven through Jesus? When you tell people that innocent little children are born in sin, what reaction do you get? Point out something as clear as you shall not commit adultery or you shall not bear false witness, and people who don’t deny that outright become lawyers describing exactly what that means.

Don’t do as the Romans do! That’s not easy. So what happens in your heart when you see the loss of life in a natural disaster? What do you do when a child dies in a car accident? Our flesh wants repentance to be nothing more than saying you are sorry, so we can have everything go back to the way it was before we committed that obvious sin. Folks, repentance is not an act. It’s a lifestyle.

Do as Christians do. Our God is a God of love. He is a God of inclusivity. He died and rose for all! All who believe in Jesus are saved, something that costs you nothing. But treat it as if it costs nothing, refuse to nurture it, treat your spiritual life as something that should be scheduled around you, and you will go to hell. Don’t do as the Romans do.

Having a hard time seeing God’s wisdom? Perhaps it’s because you aren’t looking in the right place. I was at the Grand Canyon recently. I’ve been there before. I have pictures of it. But seeing it with my own two eyes, made me realize how much more there is in person. In his wisdom God has made his Word and the fellowship of his church more magnificent and more beautiful than the Grand Canyon. Don’t rely on your memory. Don’t do as the Romans do.

  1. For his abundant gifts (verses 35-36)

35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 36For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans weren’t very good at being thankful. Roman society could be harsh and with no guarantees. The government was corrupt. People who lived in Rome complained about the unfairness of it all.

Even if it seemed unfair, Paul wanted Christians to look beyond all of that to a God who gave them guarantees. They had no reason to complain because they had Christ on their side. Their faith was a deposit, a guarantee of a reserved place where there was no corruption, no unfairness, and no reason to complain. That doesn’t even touch on all the earthly blessings God showers upon us.

We have elements of our society dedicated to pointing out “corruption” and “unfairness.” It is easy to see the bad in the world. Our political system has gone off the rails and the rights we treasure most as Americans can seem selectively applied.

But that is not our focus. Don’t do as the Romans do. You have the warm embrace of a loving God who has forgiven your sins. You are loved and embraced (virtually) by your congregation of believers. We all have our different paths, abilities, and material wealth, but we share God’s love equally. Don’t do as the Romans do. Do as Christ did. Give glory to God. Amen.

 

Sermon – August 30, 2020 – Pentecost 13

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Pastor Mark Jacobson  ~  Pentecost 13  ~  August 30, 2020  ~  Matthew 15:21-28

 

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

 

JESUS HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

 

It was her little girl. She gave birth to her. Nursed her. Watched her grow. She was there for all her firsts – her first step, her first word, and her first day of school. She had been sick before, but nothing like this. She screams and hollers constantly. You can’t put new clothes on her because she’ll tear them right off. She used to have a nice ponytail, but now it’s almost all pulled out at the roots. She’s not herself. She is possessed by a demon. It’s a helpless feeling.

  1. Crumbs of grace for the searching soul

Then Jesus withdrew into her region. The region of Tyre and Sidon are a long way from Galilee, but news about Jesus has traveled fast and far before. After Jesus was born, the good news was not only communicated to nearby shepherds by angels, but also to faraway wise men or Magi by the means of a star. We don’t know how this Canaanite woman learned of Jesus, but she most definitely learn of him. She addressed Jesus as, “Lord, Son of David.” While many of the Jews still addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” or “Teacher,” she addresses him as “Lord, Son of David.” This title was used in Old Testament times to refer to the promised Savior. 

Not only did this woman live in a faraway land, but she also had a Canaanite background. Way back in Genesis, Noah cursed the Canaanites as the “lowest of slaves” (Genesis 9:25). The entire Bible book of Joshua tells the bloody saga of how Israel took over the promised land of Canaan. Most Canaanites were still worshipping idols, but not her. 

Not only was her geography and her family history working against her, but Jesus appears to have been working against her, too. Initially, Jesus doesn’t even respond to her cry for mercy, and when Jesus does respond to her, his response kind of makes us wish he hadn’t said anything at all. Jesus says to her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Instead of taking offence, this faraway Canaanite woman takes an opportunity. Respectfully, she agrees with Jesus. A more happy translation is, “Yes, Lord, it’s not right to take away the children’s food and give it to pet dogs.” It’s not right to take God’s grace from Israel and give it to the Canaanites, but just as pet dogs will eagerly eat whatever falls to the floor so also, she will eagerly accept whatever she can from God. And then Jesus who had never lost a debate with anyone, loses the debate with this faraway Canaanite woman. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have a great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.”

Jesus has something for everybody. Maybe you feel like God has discriminated against you. Some sinners were baptized as infants like me, but maybe you have yet to be baptized or were baptized as an adult. Some Christians were brought to church as a child and raised in a Christian home like me, but maybe you never had seen the inside of a Bible until you were much older. Some adults have these Christian circles where all the people they know are Christians like me, but maybe the only Christian circle you can draw is the one around yourself. You might fit the comparison of a pet dog under the kitchen table as far as your Christian instruction is concerned, but, ah, a crumb of grace is enough for the searching soul. This woman received grace in the message she heard about Jesus. And when she had that opportunity to ask for mercy, she did not let go, and she did not go home disappointed. And neither will any of you here today, even if today is the only day you had ever heard about Jesus, you will not be disappointed. He will take care of all of your needs. Hold onto him and never let go.  

  1. An example of faith for the still learning disciples

Jesus has something for everybody. Crumbs of grace for the searching soul and an example of faith for his still learning disciples. It’s painfully clear this journey to the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon was not a mission trip. Ignoring people and insulting people are not good strategies for mission work, but this wasn’t a mission trip. It was a discipleship retreat. It was a time for Jesus and his disciples to rest up and to be rejuvenated for their home stretch. A successful business is first built on returning business. It doesn’t pay to get new business if all your current customers stop buying your product.

Were the disciples of Jesus really going to go and make disciples of all nations? Were the disciples of Jesus really going to be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth? Last time we were in church together, Jesus was telling his Apostle Peter on the water, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus wanted his still-learning disciples to be strengthened in their faith. They needed encouragement. They needed to learn what faith was all about, and this Canaanite woman was bothering them. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When the disciples said to Jesus, “Send her away,” we should interpret those words to mean “Lord, heal her daughter and be done with her,” but Jesus would not just heal her daughter and be done with her.

Jesus had his reasons as he always does, and one of those reasons was so the disciples could witness what great faith looks like. What does great faith look like? It looks like this Canaanite woman. She is the one to whom Jesus told, “You have a great faith.” She had these disadvantages – a faraway land, a Canaanite background, an ailing daughter, and testing from Jesus, yet she held onto Jesus for all that He would give her.

Some churches can be so devoted to outreach in the community they neglect in-reach to their congregation. Some churches are so concerned about conversions and baptisms, they don’t reflect so much on Communion and Bible study attendance. Like Jesus devoted so much time and attention to his disciples, so also our Pastors and Elders need to direct their time and our attention to the members of Grace. We want all of our members to grow in their faith and ultimately make it to heaven.  

And yet what a gift it can be to witness someone who was not baptized as a baby, who was not taught and trained in God’s Word as a child, hear the Word of God as an adult, and never let it go. Like this Canaanite woman, these adult converts have to wrestle with what they have been taught all their life, and with the help if the Holy Spirit, come to the conclusion that God’s Word is right. The Triune God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the only true God. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is the way, the truth, and the life; the world’s only Savior. There is nothing better in all the world than to believe in Jesus and walk in his ways.

Brothers and sisters, God does have mercy on us, but God does extend his mercy in different ways. The Christian Church is a gift to this world. We have the gospel message of Jesus Christ that can save souls. Jesus died for the sins of the world, and those who believe in him will have eternal life. And yet those who do come to faith in spite of great obstacles can put our lifelong faith to shame. God does not want to put us lifelong believers to shame, but God does want us to examine what we believe and repent of our lack of faith. God wants his Word and the examples of those who have overcome great obstacles to refresh us and rejuvenate us to live for our Savior Jesus and never let him go. Amen.

Sermon – August 16, 2020 – Pentecost 11

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Printable PDF:  8-16-2020 Pentecost 11 Sermon

David R. Clark  ~  Matthew 14:13-21  ~  August 16, 2020  ~  Pentecost 11

OUR CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO GREAT DIFFICULTIES

13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18“Bring them here to me,” he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Perhaps Jesus was a little tired. He had taught crowds of people and healed many people with hopeless medical conditions. Perhaps he was sad. He had been rejected in his own home church. His cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod. You can call it time away or a vacation, but Jesus decided to sail across the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, who still had much to learn. And when he got to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, there was a crowd of people waiting for him.

Ever get a business call while hiking or fishing or on vacation? How’d that go?

  1. Show great compassion. (verses 13-17)

14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

Jesus’ reaction is very interesting. He had compassion on them. The word describes a “churning in the pit of your stomach.” We might say, “His heart really went out to them,” or “It really touched him.” So Jesus healed and taught.

The disciples showed some compassion, too, or at least, they thought they were. As the day went on they urged Jesus to send people home so they could find something to eat! When Jesus told them they should feed them, their only solution was sharing a little boy’s lunch with thousands.

Please don’t feel that this is a suggestion to take business calls when you shouldn’t. Your family needs your time as much or more than your place of business does. But there is a legitimate question here. Do you have compassion? And when we say that, let’s not include the stranger scamming people on the corner with a homemade sign.

Do you have compassion for the people you know? Our lockdown focuses us on ourselves. What about showing compassion to your neighbors?

My mother taught me this lesson when I was young. We had older neighbors. I not only shoveled our snow, I shoveled theirs. I not only took down our garbage cans, I took down theirs. Despite the fact that we were poor, I was not allowed to receive money for this. I didn’t love doing this, but I learned compassion.

To do this today we need to know a little something about our neighbors. The shutdown of our society has done great damage to our economy and health. It has built even higher walls between us. We are living in a time when everyone needs encouragement and a helping hand. You are uniquely qualified to do this because you have received it yourself from Jesus. He was compassionate enough to pay for your sins, even when you didn’t ask for it or deserve it. Your neighbors won’t ask for it. You will need to offer it. But just like Jesus, we have a unique opportunity to stop focusing on deaths and infection rates, but instead, showing those who don’t know Jesus the kind of compassion we all enjoy and need in Jesus.

  1. Celebrate great solutions. (verses 18-21)

If there was ever people who should have known Jesus was the solution, it was the disciples. 18“Bring them here to me,” he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This was so significant it is recorded in all four of the gospels. Jesus’ birth isn’t even recorded in all four gospels. A brown bag lunch fed thousands with basketfuls left over. A little compassion led to a great solution. What an event to celebrate!

Brothers and sisters, God has given us resources and wisdom to solve the most basic problems in life. He expects us to be good managers of such things. But when the problem is too big, sometimes we throw up our hands in frustration or fear or worry…or we can place it in Jesus’ hands. If it is his will, he could stamp out COVID in the next minute. The Creator of heaven and earth can do that. This trouble is no more a test for you and me than feeding thousands of hungry people was for the disciples.

So may I suggest two things: 1) With all of the confusing and contradictory information flooding into our lives, how about if we start relying on the sure thing and do what the disciples were too short-sighted to do – ask Jesus for help. And I don’t mean once. I mean pound on the door of heaven with both hands and ask him to shorten the time for his solution and thus shorten the lesson we need to learn, not only for COVID, but for all of our troubles. That replaces frustration and fear with confidence when it is in Jesus’ hands. 2) When the “all clear” sounds, let’s celebrate Christ’s solution. It’s much bigger than feeding thousands.

As long as Satan is in this world and we have a sinful nature, problems are going to frustrate us. We can react with hand-wringing, finger-pointing, denial, and doubt. Or…we can look to Jesus knowing it has always been in his hands. You and I are wrapped in God’s compassion like a cool drink of water on a stifling hot day. Until that celebration comes, let’s share that water with a few others. Amen.

Sermon – August 9, 2020 – Pent10 – Family Ministry Sunday

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Printable PDF:  8-9-2020 Pentecost 10 – Family Ministry Sunday

Pastor Mark R Jacobson  ~  Family Ministry Sunday  ~  August 9, 2020

 

1Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. 5It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, 6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done….16Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. 18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. – Deuteronomy 11:1-7, 18-21

 

PARENTS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS

 

Let’s say you are a husband and a father. Some of you fit that criteria. And let’s say you have five kids! You need to have five children for the statistic I will share later. And let’s say, today, you are taking your family for a fun day of river rafting. It’s a good time until it isn’t. Without warning, the river current picks up speed and sweeps your group down the river. You try to hide your growing fear. You wonder why others didn’t warn you of this danger. You struggle to keep watch over everybody and then the raging river tosses everyone overboard. It’s survival mode now. You pray everyone makes it. Your spouse is next to you. You see two of your kids stumbling onto shore, but what about the other three? They’re nowhere to be found. They don’t make it.

Such a tragedy would certainly make local and maybe even national news. You would serve as a warning for others who are thinking about making that river rafting trip. There would be a tremendous level of support for you and your wife and your two surviving children. Thankfully, tragedies like this are rare, but the application to our little story is the national average, three out of five.

According to a study done by the Barna research group three out of five spiritually active teens will hang up their Christianity during their twenties. Another study puts this number at 70%. These spiritually active teens – these are the children of parents who brought them to church and sent them to Sunday school or to a Lutheran Elementary School and High School. What happened? And fathers and mothers who serve as the spiritual head of their household, what’s going to happen to your children? Will they keep the faith or are you in danger of experiencing what we might call a “faith funeral”?

 

  1. To Teach God’s Word

It’d be nice to go back in time and get some help, and that is exactly what we are going to do this morning. Moses had a hard time raising believers. Moses delivered the Israelites from the mighty Egyptians through the Red Sea, but the Israelites said they would have been better as slaves in Egypt. Moses was going to lead the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan, but the Israelites rebelled because they didn’t believe they could defeat the Canaanites. Time and again that adult generation had a faith funeral, and finally all adults of 20 years of age had real funerals outside the promised land of Canaan, except for Joshua son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

In the book of Deuteronomy, at 120 years of age, Moses addresses the next generation of adults, the children who were under the age of 20 years when they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. And in our section today Moses addresses the parents of that generation to teach God’s Word. Moses doesn’t address the priests. Moses doesn’t address the political leaders. Moses addresses the parents. Parents are essential workers to teach God’s Word. Moses wrote, “Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God.” … “But it was your eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.”

The Mindset List was created at Beloit College in 1998. The Mindset List appears every August as American first-year students enter college. The Mindset List reminds educators of the worldview of their students. For 18 year olds, 9/11 is an historical event. For them, the primary use of a phone has always been to take pictures. The nation’s mantra has always been: “If you see something, say something.” In their life, Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has never had a moustache. The Mindset List has 60 different statements like this. The Israelite children born in the promised land of Canaan needed to be taught God had delivered their ancestors from Egypt. They also needed to be taught how God disciplines his people, like Dathan and Abiram, who rebel against God and his Word. Otherwise they would never have known, and they can never learn. The children of your family need to be taught Jesus has delivered them from their sins. The children of your family need to be warned about the consequences of rebellion against God. Otherwise they will never know they can never learn. Anyone can teach your children, but no one can teach your children like you can. Parents are essential workers to teach God’s Word because no one can model discipleship to their children like parents can.

 

  1. To Model Discipleship

When worship is over, you can cross that off your list today. Jesus delivered you from your sin and Jesus warns you about sinning. Check it off. You’ve got the message. But you can never cross discipleship off your list of things to do. Discipleship is following Jesus, and following Jesus is 24/7/365. Your discipleship is not done when the final Amen is sung and when your Bible class is over. Bringing your family to church and sending your children to a Christian school won’t cut it! This church service is a blessing. No doubt about it. Our Lutheran Elementary School and our Sunday School are a pair of helpful arms in raising Christians. I love them both. And yet our church services and our Christian schools are poor substitutes for parents reading their Bibles with their children, talking about what it means, and taking their concerns to God in prayer.

To parents, God says through Moses, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.” Let the Word of God be the filter for your heart and mind. You know how a filter works. Water filters. Air filters. Filters help rid your air and water of impurities. If you believe, you believe worship is enough for your children, and God says “Teach them to your children,” you should definitely talk about the church service on the way home. If you think Sunday is the Lord’s Day and the rest of your week is yours to do as you please, you better rethink what “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” really means.

24/7/365. Need a reminder? “Tie them (God’s Word) as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” “20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Reminders are a good thing. Every Monday morning, I am reminded the garbage container needs to get to the curb. My reminder comes when I hear the garbage truck at about 5:30 in the morning. I don’t enjoy stepping on stones in my bare feet. I don’t think the garbage truck driver enjoys seeing the clothes I slept in last night either. What are your reminders to follow Jesus as a disciple? Do you have a baptismal certificate framed by the light switch in your bedroom to remind you that you are dearly loved child of God? Do you have a cross in your house or around your neck to remind you of the heavy price Christ paid for your forgiveness? Do you have Bible passages displayed in your house to remind you to serve the Lord and to “O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good”? And does your family have a reminder to at least sometime this week if not every day to read a Bible verse together, to talk about what it means and pray about what is going on in your lives?

How long has it been since your family has done those three things? Fathers and mothers who are the spiritual head of their household, I don’t mean to take you on a guilt trip, at least not on your own. My preaching of God’s Word with my family present is not discipleship parenting. This is just me doing my job. It’s only discipleship parenting when I talk about what was preached at home. If you’re on a guilt trip with me, let’s take that trip to the baptismal font and to the cross.

Our baptisms wash away parenting discipleship guilt. On the cross hangs all our discipleship shortcomings. Today is a new day. And today, we have some third grade parents coming in front of church to give their third grade children a Bible. What a reminder for them and for all of us, to give our children what Jesus called, “The one thing needful.” And today, we also have Bible class sign-ups. This fall we are tweaking our Sunday offerings. We start our Sunday Bible classes after Labor Day, we are trying something a little different. We’re not separating our parents and children during our Sunday Bible classes. Parents and their children can sit together in the fellowship hall (and learn together under the leadership of a pastor) or parents and their children can come to the sanctuary, and parents will become further equipped to lead their own Bible study with their children. Singles, married couples without children, all family units, whatever they might be, will benefit from either of these Bible studies.

We’ll see how it goes. It’s not going to be perfect. If we aim for perfect, I don’t think we will pull the trigger. The goal is for our family units to read the Word of God together, talk about what it means to each other and pray. We don’t want to lose 60% of our children when they become adults. We don’t want to lose anyone. We want a Deuteronomy 11 ministry, “Talk about God’s Word at home when you lie down and get up, along the road.” We want an Ephesians 4 & 6 ministry equipping parents, especially the father, to train their children in the Lord. And ultimately we want a Luke 18 ministry where we have parents bringing their children to Jesus. That’s the ministry we want, and we ask God to bless it. Amen.

 

 

Sermon – August 2, 2020 – Pentecost 9

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David R. Clark  ~  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43  ~  August 2, 2020  ~  Pentecost 9

WHAT ABOUT THE WEEDS?

24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”…

36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

 

Dear friends in Christ,

It’s been months since we’ve had a good rain, so it may be hard to remember, but we had a very wet winter. How wet was it? We had weeds everywhere at a time when we never have them! The problem was widespread. My yard, which is mostly rock, looked like a pasture! Do I mow them? Dig them? Wait for the heat? What do I do?

This parable is about the problem with weeds, but Jesus wasn’t teaching us about our yards. Jesus uses parables and metaphors from his agricultural culture to teach us. He was addressing a frustration every Christian has with the influence of Satan. It includes seeking to destroy Christianity in this world of unbelievers who passively go on their way to destruction. So what are we to do? WHAT ABOUT THE WEEDS?

  1. They are planted by the enemy. (verses 24-25)

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

In Jesus’ time no one gave bad online reviews or sent computer viruses. In an agricultural society, enemies could make themselves a nuisance by attacking the food supply. They would take seeds of a certain plant which looked just like wheat as it was growing and throw them out into the field. The weeds robbed moisture and nutrients from the wheat, and the entire crop suffers.

God sent Jesus into the world so that everyone would believe and be saved. God wanted his entire field, the world, to be only a good harvest. He wants everyone to end up in paradise. But our enemy, Satan, lures and confuses with his lies.

This is who we struggle against in this world, against Satan. Our enemy is not a politician, a virus, or people who do not like us. It is Satan. He is the source of all evil and trouble in this life, especially the evil of unbelief which keeps people from paradise.

  1. They are hard to distinguish. (verses 26-27)

How does he confuse and frustrate? When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’”

The word used for the weeds here is for a plant that looks just like wheat until it is full grown. It was a nuisance because it could also be poisonous. At best these weeds caused trouble. At worst, they could cause illness or death.

That’s how Satan works. Jesus warns us to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul says messengers of Satan disguise themselves as angels of light. No false prophet today wears a sign that proclaims himself to be a messenger of Satan. We should expect no less today from the father of lies. The confusion he causes led Jesus to rebuke one of his disciples, “Get behind me, Satan!” Satan makes it hard for us.

It could be the next door neighbor who faithfully watches your house while you are on vacation or the family member who encourages you when you are down. It could be the best boss you ever had, who gave you regular raises and treasured you as an employee. But if it was someone who was not motivated by Christ, isn’t there a strong temptation to see that you don’t have to be a Christian to be a “good person.” But that is being a weed. They are the last people we would like to see in this way.

  1. They will be destroyed. (verses 28-30)

So what should we do? “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters:  First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

They have to let them grow. They will then be harvested, separated from the wheat and thrown into a fire and burned. That’s the only time they can easily be distinguished and the only time uprooting them does not also cause problems for the wheat.

That day of harvest is the last day. Although we struggle with the difference between believers and unbelievers, Jesus doesn’t. Only believers in Jesus will be taken to heaven. The rest will be burned in the fire. Jesus will make it clear on Judgment Day.

Christians throughout history have felt they could judge the difference. The Inquisition was one. Having a “Christians-only society” was another. God’s strategy is to be patient. Understand what is happening and know Judgment Day is coming. Until then focus on being wheat. In an unbelieving world, grow and be fruitful as Christians. Repent of your failures to distinguish Satan’s temptations. And until Jesus makes everything clear, be a witness. God will change some of those weeds into wheat.

Brothers and sisters, the weeds are a huge problem! Be patient and don’t lose heart. Jesus is the solution for the weeds. Amen.

Sermon – July 26, 2020 – Pentecost 8

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Printable PDF:  7-26-2020 Pentecost 8 Sermon

Vicar Lindemann  ~  Pentecost 8  ~  July 26, 2020  ~  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9Whoever has ears, let them hear.”… 18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

 

Jesus sows his Word on your heart

 In this past year, I have learned all kinds of lessons from all kinds of different people. You have all come with your unique lessons for me, like you were sprinkling and sowing all different kinds of seeds on my soil for me to learn. Things you said, things you didn’t say, the way we had to maneuver through a global pandemic, the way you acted, the way you show your love to each other and to me. Consider all those lessons planted in me. God willing, I can take all those lessons with me for the rest of my life when I’m a pastor some day. I’ll never forget the amazing year I had with you here. In our parable for today, we have a different kind of seed sown on a different kind of field. Instead of many seeds sown in one spot, Jesus shows us one sower who sows his one kind of good seed onto many different places. The sower is Jesus, who sows his Word on your heart. Don’t let anyone take it, but hear it and believe it.

  1. Don’t let anyone take it. (verses 3-7 and 19-22)

This is the first of Jesus’ parables that we find in the Bible. Remember that a parable is a simple story that Jesus tells to teach the truth of God’s Word. In this parable, Jesus shows us a sower who takes his good seed out of his pouch and throws it everywhere on the ground. Jesus is the sower. The good news of his Word is the good seed. He gives his Word out to everyone! He sows his Word to people in the same way that we heard in the Old Testament lesson today, like rains that water the earth. Everywhere! Like this sower he gives the good news of his Gospel to everyone.

The good seed lands on the ground. The good news comes to people. The good news comes to hearts. In Jesus’ parable, the interaction between the seed and the ground is the same interaction between his Word and our hearts. The examples of the different kinds of soil are not for us to try to classify people according to which soil you might think a person is. The example of these different interactions between his Word and our hearts is a warning for each of us:  Don’t let anyone take his word away from you.

Because many try to snatch it up, the first interaction between hearts and the Word that Jesus describes is the seed that falls on the path. The sower sows his seed and some of it lands on the path. The seed stays out of the ground that is too hard, and so the birds come and snatch it away. When God’s Word comes to a heart that doesn’t believe it, the devil snatches up the Word. 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.

In the next interaction, the sower sows some seed into the rocky places, like the rock beds next to the sidewalk. Some of the seed can find some soil to spring up quickly after a rain, but then when the sun beats on it, it shrivels up and dies quickly. This is when God’s Word lands on a heart, but when the scorching sun of troubles come, faith does not last. 20The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 

The final warning is when the sower sows the seed into the thorns. The seed takes root, it grows up, but it is not a healthy plant because the thorns choke it out, and the weeds stop it from growing. This is what happens when a heart receives God’s Word, it grows faith, but anything in the world holds that faith back. And it can really be anything – anything from something distressing to something comforting. Those thorns that choke out faith could be worries or pleasures – whatever takes your eyes off Jesus. 22The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

When you consider these different ways that hearts interact with the Word, we don’t want any one of them to be us. But the truth is, our hearts have been each one of those unreceptive kinds of ground. By the sinful nature that we inherited from our parents at the beginning of each one of our lives, we were dead in sin. Our hearts were like that hard path that would not take in the Word of God, and the devil would take it away. Our hearts have also been like those rocky places. We say good things with our lips, but as soon as trouble comes we are tempted to give up quickly on our faith. When pressure comes against us to fall away from faith in Jesus, it seems like a very little chance that our hearts survive the heat. And our hearts have also been like the thorns. It is too easy to become distracted by the world. Even when our faith has been strong for a while, the world always has new ways to distract us. We get worried about disease or the sanity of our nation, and our faith is held back. Or we take comfort in the things we have and put confidence in ourselves, and it chokes out our faith.

Jesus gives us these examples so that we don’t let anyone take his Word away from us. How can we do that? We have already seen that if it’s up to us, something will come to take it away. The way to hold on to his word is to hear God’s Word and repent. Repentance keeps the dangers away. When you notice the Word of God slipping from your grasp, repent! When one of those dangers comes into your life, repent! And keep your eyes on Jesus. Let his word work in you to awaken you to those dangers and to heal your heart with the Gospel.

Jesus sows his Word on your heart. Don’t let anyone take his good word away from you. Those three warnings remind us of that. The final type of ground that Jesus uses to teach us in this parable is not a warning, but an encouragement – an encouragement planted in the Gospel that has come to each one of you. Jesus sows his Word on your heart. Hear it and believe it!

  1. Hear it and believe it! (verses 8-9, 23)

The final type of ground is the good soil. This is the ground that will receive the seed like it was designed, the seed will take root and grow and grow until it is a strong and healthy crop, way bigger than it started. And Jesus says that it describes this heart:  23But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Can we all count ourselves here? Have we always heard and understood God’s Word? The beautiful thing about understanding Jesus, is that you don’t have to know everything to understand him. Who can know everything about eternity, about the Trinity, and about the mind of God? That’s not what Jesus is talking about. But you hear the word and understand it when you believe in him, when you trust in Jesus, when you have faith in him. We understand God’s Word by faith. You don’t have to be as smart as God to believe Jesus’ words. So hear God’s Word! Believe it!

And when Jesus sows his word on your heart and you hear it and believe it, the Gospel works wonders on you. When warnings from God cut us to the heart, and Jesus shows us the ways that our hearts have been hard, he leads us to repent. And then he lifts us up and heals us. He forgives your sins. He has forgiven you for every hard-hearted action and suffered for it on the cross. And he rose again to change your heart. Your hearts are not hard paths or rocky places or thorny weeds because Jesus changes your heart to be like that good soil. The one who encourages you to hear his word and believe it has given you the faith to do it. The good news that Jesus loves you and forgives you plants itself in your heart and has produced amazing saving faith in you. He has sown his word on your heart and it is producing an overflowing crop of faith.

9Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Is that you? Do you have ears? Use them. Use them to hear and believe God’s Word. Here is Jesus sowing his Word on your hearts through your eyes and ears. Here are the secrets to the kingdom of God. Here is the Gospel that heals and saves your soul. It will not fall on deaf ears, but rather ears that love to hear and receive the wonders of God.

And God’s Word will not just produce a little bit in you, but as you keep on using your ears to hear and believe, he will produce in you a crop 30 or 60 or 100 times over. Keep on hearing and believing after your vicar leaves. Keep on hearing and believing as the world changes and people come in and out of your lives. Keep on believing even after you can’t hear anymore. And God will work his Word in you and in me, and make our faith grow and grow until he reunites us all again in heaven, gathered around his powerful Word.

I will never forget the lessons you have given me and the love you have shown to me. But even more important than that is that Jesus sows his Word on your heart. Don’t let anyone take it away. Many will try throughout the rest of your life, but keep your eyes on Jesus, always following his word to repentance. Hear and believe his Word. He has given you the great news of the Gospel. He has forgiven all your sins and has paradise ready for us to enjoy together. Amen.

Sermon – July 19, 2020 – Pentecost 7

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Printable PDF:  7-12-2020 Pentecost 7

Pastor Mark R Jacobson      ~       Pentecost 7 (July 19, 2020)             ~               Matthew 11:25-30

25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 IT’S TIME TO YOKE UP!

“At that time” is how the Apostle Matthew starts the Gospel appointed for today and the rest of our Sunday Gospel is a quote from Jesus. It’s always good to quote Jesus and Matthew quotes one of the most comforting statements our Lord Jesus has ever said. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” What a beautiful text! Yet when Matthew himself writes, “At that time,” Matthew is also communicating that context is important. So what is the context of these beautiful and comforting words of Jesus? The context is what happened earlier in chapter 11. In chapter 11 John the Baptist is in King Herod’s prison because of his faithful preaching of God’s Word to Herod and the disciples of John the Baptist had come to Jesus and asked, “Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?” (11:3). The context wasn’t good for John the Baptist and his disciples and the context wasn’t really good for Jesus and his disciples either. Matthew reports later in chapter 11, “Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent” (20).

Like Our Father and His Son

“At that time” the context wasn’t good. I know we have read what Jesus said, but given the context, what might you have said if you were Jesus? Might you have said, “I’m just done! I’m not doing this anymore.” Might you have complained, “What’s wrong with those people? Or “Why did I get this job?”” Of course Jesus didn’t shrink and Jesus didn’t pout. “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” and the reason for his praise, “because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.’” “These things” are the Gospel truths. You can find these Gospel truths all kinds of children’s songs like “Away in a Manger” or “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” or “I am Jesus’ little Lamb.” Little children know all about these gospel truths, but the wise and learned do not.

Allow me to show off my wisdom and learning. I haven’t exactly been on vacation four straight weeks. One of those weeks I was fine-tuning my Greek with 10 other Lutheran Pastors and a Professor from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. One technical point I was reminded of was to be aware of the presence or the absence of the Greek definite article. The definite article in English is the word “the.” If I say, “The dogs are friendly,” the definite article “the” points to a SPECIFIC set of dogs that are friendly. If I don’t have the definite article, “the,” and just says, “Dogs are friendly,” then I am no longer talking about any specific set of dogs, but about a general characteristic of all dogs. Dogs are friendly. They bark. They wag their tail. Sniff and slobber on you.

Jesus doesn’t speak with a Greek definite article so he’s not speaking about any specific wise and learned people or any specific little children. He’s emphasizing a quality. The dominant quality of the wise and learned person is he knows everything or at least thinks he knows everything. In this context that quality is meant to teach that gospel truths are hidden from those who think they know more than Jesus. The dominant quality of little children is trust. Little children trust they and their needs will be taken care of. Trust is also the quality of a disciple of Jesus. Disciples of Jesus trust in Jesus and in everything Jesus says.

Discipleship is rocket science or brain surgery. Not everyone can build rockets or perform brain surgery, but everyone has believed like a little child and everyone can believe in God’s plan of salvation. God the Father and God the Son were perfectly united in this plan. It brought them pleasure and praise.  God the Father and God the Son would not feel defeated in the least by those who stubbornly rejected this plan because they think they are smarter than God. Instead God the Father through God the Son would continue to minister to those who did trust in Jesus even as they endure the difficulties of the evil around them.

To our Lord Jesus Christ

At that time, in that difficult context, Jesus said those beautiful and comforting words, 28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” What would Jesus say at this time? What would Jesus tell us in the context of this year, 2020? Are you weary and burdened? How could you not be? Covid-19 has been exhausting. The multiple divisions in our country has been exhausting. And thinking what our Christian response should be to these challenges has been exhausting. What would Jesus say to us who are weary and burdened by these issues?

Wouldn’t Jesus say what he already has said? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus and he will give you rest. Come to Jesus and he will tell you the reason for the unrest. Jesus will remind you of a more deadly virus and an even greater division. The greater division is between you and God. The more deadly virus is sin. That’s why Jesus had come into our world and why Jesus had died on our cross. And through his life had death Jesus has healed us from the sin virus and Jesus has removed the division that existed between God and man.

“Come to me,” Jesus said, “and I will give you rest.” Rest feels good. Rest comes when the work is done. On the seventh day God rested from his creating work because there was no more creating work to do. One reason Jesus ascended into heaven because his redeeming work was finished. There is no more redeeming work to do. God is at rest with us and our sins and as we come to Jesus in his Word we are reminded that Jesus has in fact given us rest. Our issue with God has been settled through Jesus and through Jesus we have help for what is all going on at this time of 2020.

With those who are weary and burdened

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The yoke Jesus speaks of was not the middle of an egg, but a heavy piece of farming equipment. The yoke was attached to a pair of oxen. Together the oxen were called to carry that heavy yoke to plow a field.  The yoke was heavy and when people talked about carry a heavy burden they talked about carrying a yoke. In the Bible slavery is described as a yoke and the law is described as a yoke, but here Jesus speaks of his own yoke, but his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

What is the yoke of Jesus? What is his burden? Jesus doesn’t exactly spell this out for us, but I wonder if he isn’t give us a strong hint when he says, “take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” Humility is thinking of others before you think of yourself. Gentleness is about trying to help people without trying to hurt them. Gentleness is what wins the egg toss at the church picture. Gentleness is what you want from a dentist. You don’t want to see a sledgehammer in the dent’s office.

At this time, in our context, I think we all could benefit from people who are humble and gentle like Jesus. At this time, I think a lot people could benefit from us being humble and gentle like Jesus. It’s time to yoke up like our Father and his Son. They were perfectly united in their plan of salvation. It’s time to yoke up with our Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us rest from our sins and help for our life. It’s time to yoke up with the weary and burdened. Be humble with others and gentle, especially with those who have don’t see things the same way as you. Nobody really knows what is going at this time and in our context, but when we yoke up with others with humility and gentles we too like Jesus can give people some rest and we can find rest for our souls too. Amen.

Sermon – July 12, 2020 – Pentecost 6

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Printable PDF:  7-12-2020 Pentecost 6

Vicar Jason Lindemann  ~  July 12, 2020  ~  Pentecost 6  ~  Matthew 10:34-42

Matthew 10:34-42: 34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law- 36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

40“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

 

What does Jesus mean to you?

 What does Jesus mean to you? How would you answer that? What would everyone say if we gathered around in a circle and answered? If you were 6th or 7th in the circle, what answers do you think the other Christians would give that you would say, “Hey, you took mine!” What does Jesus mean to you? “Jesus means everything to me.” “Jesus is my God.” Alright, those are good ones. “Jesus is my friend.” “Jesus helped me out of a really dark place.” Your turn is getting closer. “Jesus died for me so I want to live for him.” “Jesus forgave me all of my sins and that means I get to go to heaven with him.”  Oh man, that’s what I was going to say. Those are good answers to that question, and are necessary answers to understand when we hear the answer that our lesson gives us today. What does Jesus mean to you? Jesus means so much to me that I see him in every single part of my life. I would rather lose anything or anyone than have them without Jesus. See him in private and in public.

  1. See him in private

If we are going to talk about seeing Jesus in private, we have to start at our most private place – home. In your most personal and private relationships, it is important to see Jesus. But seeing Jesus there could have some scary results. Jesus says that he turns parents against sons and daughters. That’s shocking. Doesn’t Jesus teach “honor your father and mother?” How could Jesus cause parent and son and daughter to turn on each other? I suppose it would be just as shocking as receiving an email and phone call from Grace Lutheran Church which says “Everyone stop coming to church!” But that happened too, didn’t it?

When we see these seemingly strange instructions, it’s usually because the first commandment fills Jesus’ words, “You shall have no other God. We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.” We stopped coming to church back in March because that was the best way to fear, love and trust in God above all things. And in this situation, when a son or daughter turns against their parent, it is because of the first commandment too. That’s what Jesus means when he says, Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. When you consider what Jesus means to you, it can bring a sword even between the most private relationships.

What does Jesus mean to you? Don’t answer this question too quickly! Jesus wants us to think about what it means to have the number one place in your heart.  Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. I love my mom and dad a whole lot! They raised me, they loved me, they still love me, I would do anything for them! And Jesus says, I get that, I want you to love them. But, in your private relationships I want you to see me.

In this sinful world, not everyone loves Jesus the way you do – including some of our closest, private relationships. For many people, Jesus is not #1. And so what will you do at the fork in the road, when Jesus leads you down the hard road that brings you closer to him, and your private relationship leads you down the easy road that leads you away from Jesus? Well can’t I just love them equally and hope that fork in the road never comes? Then our answer to the question “What does Jesus mean to you?” changes. No longer is he #1, but he’s tied for first, or maybe a close second, to that meaningful private life. And if anyone takes Jesus number one spot, the first commandment is broken, and we are not worthy of Jesus.

That’s the sword that Jesus is talking about. At the moment of truth, who is your #1? If the answer is Jesus, a painful sword might have to come to sever that closest, favorite, private relationship – even a sword between a Christian and their straying parent or son or daughter.

It’s a painful process. Jesus calls it a cross. 38Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. There is risk in seeing Jesus in private. It separates you. Follow Jesus or follow along into breaking a commandment? Follow God’s will of how we speak and how we view marriage, or quietly entertain attitudes that go against God’s will? And most importantly, when you see Jesus in private, it makes you concerned about the souls of those people closest to you. You want him to mean something to them. Seeing Jesus compels us to talk about our faith in him.

Sometimes that other person does listen to you, or respects your decisions, but often, the consequences of Jesus entering a private relationship are hard. It’s painful when you can’t join another person because of Jesus. It hurts when siding with God’s word offends someone you care about. It is so sad when faith and unbelief damage a private relationship. Sometimes those broken relationships are the crosses we bear.

Carrying that cross is painful, and those hardships tempt us to live like the rest of the world, without Jesus as #1. But that kind of life that the world loves, will not last. 39Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Anyone who has that seemingly pleasant life without Jesus in it will lose eternal life in heaven. Don’t find your life on earth. What does Jesus mean to you? So much that you love him even more than your favorite, private life. It would be better to lose your whole life for Jesus’ sake, because Jesus is worth more than everything. He gave up his life for us. He showed you the most love, he loves you the best and he wants what is absolutely best for you. Jesus won you eternal life in heaven with a perfect relationship with your heavenly Father. Find your life in Jesus.

We love Jesus so much that we fear love and trust in him above all things, even above those we also love. When we see Jesus in private, we can lose a lot, but he makes sure we don’t lose eternal life with him. But loving Jesus isn’t just about losing. Jesus promises that there will be also others who love Jesus as much as we do. Jesus gives amazing blessings when we not only see him in private, but see him in public.

  1. See him in public

How can I use my public life to answer the question of what Jesus means to me? How can I best serve my Lord with what I do for the world to see day by day? The answer is different for everyone. Some answer by training for the public ministry, to serve the public with the words of God. But you don’t have to be in the public ministry to see Jesus in public in your life. When you want to see Jesus in public, you let your light shine in words and actions. It makes people see what Jesus means to you, especially, other Christians who do the same thing. Jesus draws people together. He creates new relationships. Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  When people strive to make Jesus a part of their public life, they work together to do that. This church is a gathering of people who very publicly see Jesus, and support and promote the public ministry so that we can serve the public with the word of God. Your relationship with every single person here and anyone you tell about your church and your relationship with your God is centered on seeing Jesus in public.

These efforts that you make are not worthless. Jesus takes note of everything you do. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. When you support and promote the spreading of God’s Word, there will be people who believe it and cherish it. When you see Jesus in public and serve Jesus with your life, there will be people who recognize that you follow Jesus. You just don’t know when that will be. But Jesus takes note of everything you do, 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” He even takes note of a small, insignificant act of love for the sake of Jesus.

Jesus knows what he means to you, and he will give you great rewards. He gives you great rewards because of what he has done for you. He trades your shortcomings for his righteousness so that you are a righteous person before God. And the people who have Jesus’ righteousness get the reward of heaven. And he gives you rewards even on top of heaven. He gives you blessings because you show Jesus what he means to you. He strengthens your faith to see him clearer. He works through the efforts you make. He doesn’t forget a single thing you have done for him, and he will richly reward you for every single one in heaven.

What does Jesus mean to you? Jesus means so much to me that I see him in every single part of my life. I would rather lose anything or anyone than have them without Jesus. We see him in private. Even when it puts strain on a relationship and it feels like a heavy cross, he means so much to us that we carry that cross to follow him. We see him in public. We let everyone see Jesus in how we act and how we promote his message with this church. And Jesus blesses and rewards us far beyond we deserve with his love for us. Amen.