All Things Are Possible With God

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Pastor Jeremy Husby delivers a sermon entitled “All Things Are Possible With God” based on Mark 10:17-27 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Sunday, October 14, 2018

The young man had been doing well for himself.  He had climbed the proverbial corporate ladder.  He was in charge of others and was, already at a young age, accomplished in his career.  And, yet, he still found himself lacking.

In the context of the Scriptures, hearing this particular reading, in this building, on a day that you have come to worship your God, the answer to this man’s problem isn’t all that difficult to see or surmise.

Whether this was the first time or the four hundredth time you have heard this reading, did you find yourself wanting to shake this man silly?  He was talking to Jesus!  How could he have missed the point of what Jesus told him?  Even if it was difficult to actually and practically accomplish, why didn’t this man just do what Jesus told him to do?

In the context of the Scriptures, hearing this particular reading, in this building, on a day that you have come to worship your God, it all sounds and seems so simple, especially for someone who was so determined to follow the Commandments God had set out for him.

It seems and sounds so simple in this context, but what about if you were to change the context?  What if, instead looking at this man in Mark chapter 10, you applied the same mandate from Jesus to the man or woman in the mirror?

Have the excuses already started pouring through your mind?

Too bad this doesn’t apply to me.  I’m not rich.

Too bad this doesn’t apply to me.  I’m not young.

Too bad this doesn’t apply to me.  I’m not a man.

It’s good and fine to play hypothetical games, but the truth of the matter is that context does matter.  Jesus said these words to this man at that time and hasn’t said them to me, so this doesn’t apply to me.

I know Jesus didn’t really care about the actual action of selling possessions, but he was getting at the man’s heart.  Jesus already has my heart, so this doesn’t apply to me.

Jesus said these words to a man who wanted to inherit eternal life.  I already have eternal life, so this doesn’t apply to me.

The reason why those thoughts, or something somewhat similar, may have come to your mind is the same that caused this man’s face to fall and to go away sad.  And that reason might become a little clearer if you know a little bit more about the very word that described this man’s reaction to Jesus’ loving statement.

The translation in your bulletin is a good one when it says that the man’s face fell.  It is easy to picture in your mind’s eye.  You can probably recall a time when you have seen someone else’s face fall and that really does convey the emotional impact of Jesus’ words to this man and why he went away sad. But, there is a little something lost in this translation that might explain why he experienced this reaction.

This word is used in the Greek language to describe a change in human demeanor, but it is also used, at times, to describe a change in nature, particularly in the sky.

When a sunny day turns to overcast and eventually into a stormy day, the Greeks would say that the sky, itself, fell.  It became cloudy.  The warmth and energy of the sun became blocked.  The sun became difficult to see and feel because of the clouds.

It wouldn’t be a very readable translation, but you could say that the reason this man went away sad was because he became cloudy.  It wouldn’t be very readable, but you would be able to understand what it means to be cloudy.

Now, look again in the mirror.  Would it be all that foreign to you to say that the reason that those defenses came to your mind was because you became cloudy?  You know what it’s like to have clouded judgment, don’t you?  And, you know what so often clouds your judgment, don’t you?

The answer, of course, is sin.  It might be the sin of greed.  It could be pride.  It may be selfishness or self-centeredness.  Ultimately though, no matter how it might manifest itself in your thoughts, words, or actions, the clouds all appear and have their source in the same place:  your sinful nature.

That sinful nature will do whatever it can to convince you to murder, commit adultery, steal, give false testimony, defraud, and dishonor your father and mother by doing exactly what this rich, young man’s sinful nature did to him.  It worked against him and it works against you to disobey the very First Commandment.

This man knew that he was lacking in something, but he didn’t know what it was.  Brothers and sisters, he lacked faith.  He didn’t fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  And, when things become cloudy for you, that is exactly what your sinful nature wants you to lack as well.

Your sinful nature connives to convince you to put your fear, love, and trust in anything and everything but your God.  Whether it is a difficult financial situation, a hiccup in your health, a rift in your relationships, a dip into the dangerous waters of addiction, or, like the rich, young man, a question about where you will spend all of eternity, the sin inside of you seeks a solution outside of that which your God has provided for you in his Word.

 

You aren’t going to find the strength to overcome your particular issues in your wallet, a clean bill of health, your loving and well-meaning spouse, or that bottle of booze.  Though it sounds right, and may even, at times, feel right, with your man-made solutions, this is impossible.  But not with God; all things are possible with God.

Jesus said it was impossible for this rich, young man to inherit eternal life because he was cloudy.  His cloudiness caused him to ask the wrong question.  Did you catch it?  What must I do to inherit eternal life?  What must I do?  Sin clouded his judgment.  Sin caused him to think that his eternal life rested its destiny in his own hands.  And, if eternity did rest its destiny in the hands of human beings, it would be impossible for anyone to inherit eternal life.  But not with God; all things are possible with God.

God took salvation out of the hands of humanity and accomplished it himself.  He finished it with words wailed from a cursed man on a cross.  It is not a question of what you must do or must not do, but, rather, what has been done for you.  The gift God gave in the perfect life of his Son, substituted in place of yours, and the death he died, enduring the wrath your sins deserved is what was done for you to inherit eternal life.

Faith, given through his powerful Word and sacraments and worked by the Holy Spirit in your heart, fears, loves, and trusts in Jesus’ work above any and all man-made solutions to sin’s consequences.

And, to paraphrase King David, when you have faith, you shall not lack anything.  That doesn’t mean that when you have faith your bank account blossoms with a few extra zeros at the end, that cancer is eradicated, that your wife will love you unconditionally, or that you’ll stop desiring to see the bottom of that bottle.  But, the reason you will not be lacking is because your faith will clear the clouds away from your judgment.

You will see clearly how money is not the answer to your problems, but a gift that God gives for you to manage appropriately.  You will endure pain and sickness from the perspective of a temporary traveler on this earth who looks forward to the immortality that awaits you.  You will find not only the strength, but even the desire to show love to those who surround you, whether they deserve it or not, whether it is reciprocated or not, because of the unconditional love that you receive from your Savior.

When your face falls, feed your faith with Word, water, wafer, and wine and watch as he clears the clouds and shows you his Son, shining for you.  Amen.

 

 

 

The Marks of True Discipleship

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Guest Pastor Donn Dobberstein delivers a sermon entitled “The Marks of True Discipleship” based on John 13:31-34 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Synod Sunday, October 7, 2018

“The Marks of True Discipleship”

  • Love that glorifies God
  • Love that serves others

Dear disciples of Christ to whom Jesus instructed, “If you want to be my disciples, then deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me”,

Every year, Instagram releases its list of most followed people. For any person here NOT sure what this is all about (and I apologize to all social-media savvy retirees )… this is the way our young/younger people communicate with each.  They share their life story online by means of most-liked posts, top hashtags, and most-used filters from the past year. The top 3 most followed people are:

  • a singer named Ariana Grande (118 mil),
  • a Portuguese soccer stud named Renaldo (123 mil), and the most followed person in the world…
  • Selena Gomez – 135 million followers.

A disciple is a follower.  But when Jesus said, “Come, follow me”, I don’t think he was inviting millions to like his Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram accounts!  But he was inviting the likes of Peter, James, and John and others to “be with” him.  That’s what a follower does.  They follow.  The disciples were constantly together with Jesus.  They traveled together, shared meals, experienced mutual hardship.  They spent every waking, eating, teaching moment with him.  They witnessed his resurrection from the dead.  They believed and put their trust in him. If you went through the gospel accounts and compiled the amount of time Jesus spent with the crowds and the amount of time Jesus spent with his disciples, 17x we find Jesus with the crowds, 46x we see him with his disciples.  It’s been estimated Jesus spent up to 90% of his time with the Twelve.  To them Jesus said, “Now, go make more disciples of all nation.  With the Holy Spirit’s power and Christ’s presence in their hearts, they made other disciples of Jesus. Today, 2.3 billion people on the planet claim to be Christian.  According to a 2014 Pew Center survey, 71% of Americans identified as Christian.

But is there a difference between identifying as a follower and being a follower of Christ?    Believing in Jesus without having to really follow him in how we live … that’s the challenge of discipleship.  Discipleship is both believing AND following.  It’s about growing in faith.  For a church to be growing, it doesn’t just need more members.  It needs all her members to be spiritually growing and healthy.  Healthy followers of Jesus are those who are fed and exercised. Your body needs food and exercise.  Your faith needs food and it needs to be exercised.  Faith will be lacking if you aren’t in God’s Word.  The avg. person spends 20 minutes every day on Facebook- posting, liking/commenting other people’s posts.  If that is a mark of discipleship, evaluate the time you spend “following” others and your daily time following Jesus.

On this Sunday meant to encourage the discipleship of Peace, Hartford, what are the marks of true discipleship?   What do they look like in a healthy church?  In a healthy “you”?

To find out, we return to the Upper Room where Jesus is eating his last Passover meal with his 12 disciples.

  • Jesus washes his disciples’ feet … before he tells them, he first shows them what humble service looks as his followers.
  • Jesus is troubled in spirit.  “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”  They stared at each other in disbelief.  They can’t imagine anyone would betray him.  Peter motions to John who is closest to Jesus, “Ask him who he means?”  John leans back and asks, “Lord, who is it?”  Jesus dips a piece of bread and gives it to Judas.  Judas took the bread … and didn’t argue!  He left the room. Jesus knew exactly what he was about to do.
    • He knew he would meet the Jews, tell him where to find him later that night in the Garden Gethsemane where he would pray. He planned the kiss to betray him to know whom to arrest.
    • Jesus knew the pain of betrayal, the fists, the scorn the mocking.  The spit. The pain of the crown of thorns.  The pain of the whip that would shred his back. He heard the shouts of the people, “Crucify him!”  The nails pounded in just hours.
    • He knew the suffering and agony of hell as he took on the sins of the world.
    • He knew the abandonment of God himself.  He would see his own mother’s heart shattered.

Knowing all that would happen as Judas was leaving the room, you would think Jesus would yell, “Stop!!!”   Instead he quietly says, “Get to it quickly.”

After Judas’ shadow departed out the doorway, Jesus turns to his disciples, “Now the Son of Man is glorified.”  Jesus has a different idea of glory than we do.

  • We glory when “I’m right and they were wrong.”
  • We glory when we receive credit for what we’ve done.
  • We’ve glory for the caring person people tells us we are.
  • We love to hear praise and good things sung about our name:  Kind.  Compassion.  Loving.  Giving.  Serving, sacrificing person we think we are.
  • We measure glory by followers and likes not by how many people follow us around every day because they want to be more like the kind of Christian person we are. But how many people will see a picture or message we share that shows more and more about ourselves?

The world is a hot mess, but is it going to be made better if people hear more about us?

  • Are you the example of Christian love that others will follow so they see more of Christ?
  • Are they going to see someone who listens when someone is talking to them and gives full attention with a full heart because “what you are saying is important to me”?  Or, “Whatever you had on your mind was more obviously more important than what I was saying to you.”
  • Are you the example of patience that others should copy?
  • Are you the example of a gentle response to a harsh word that prevents a heated argument, or do you help get the thing going?
  • Are you an example of accepting the bad that happens in life together with the good without complaining?
  • Are you the example of being content?  Are you the example of someone who knows this life and our time on earth is not to do as we please but it’s the Lord’s life for his purpose and for him alone and lived for his glory?

Are you an example?  Then I’m not either.

Our idea of glory has so often to do with who we think we are and what we want others to be convinced we are.  Not who we know Jesus is.  Our sinful nature is so resilient/reliable we can say, “I know, I don’t love others as Christ has loved me … this is true.”  AND IT DOESN’T CHANGE A THING WE DO.  Actions speak louder than words.  When we don’t show love in Christ in our daily lives in our words and actions, we HIDE the glory of Christ and miss the marks of discipleship.  That’s not a small “oops.”  It’s a shameful sin that grieves the Holy Spirit and hurts the ones we love, and it doesn’t show anyone how much Jesus loves us and how much Jesus loves them.

“A new command I give you” (v34).  New … not because they’ve never heard it but new because of the new motivation that Jesus would give his disciples to actually do it.  To say love is one thing.  To show love is to show the mark of discipleship:  “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (34-35).

A man gets down on one knee, takes the hand of his sweetheart and says, “Sweetie, I love you and I want to marry you.  I’ll take good care of you and provide for you.  I’ll be a good father to our children.  All I ask is that you allow me one day a year for another woman.”  Is that an acceptable?  Is that true love?

How God must feel when we get down on our knees and fold our hands in prayer and pray, “Father, I love you and I want you to be part of my life.  I’ll try my best to be a good person, a good parent, a hard worker, and good spouse.  All I ask is that every once in a while, you give me some moments away from you so I can satisfy myself apart from you.”  Is that acceptable?   Is that true love?

Or is that the default mode of our human hearts that argues we are living moral enough lives and are loving others as ourselves just enough to satisfy God?  Is that true love or love that is only lip service to Jesus?  Ask yourself, “Why do I fail in my following of God?  Why am I living so selfishly?”  The problem we have keeping 9 commandments has everything to do when we keep breaking the first one.  Love. God. Above. All. Else. 

That’s love that glorifies God.  That’s love that serves others.  Paul gives concrete illustrations what it’s going to look like and sound like:  “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.  (1 Cor. 13)

But we do.

  • When the gas tank is empty, will love fill it?
  • You can love your country, but it didn’t stop Hurricane Florence from hitting the Carolinas,
  • You can love your kids like crazy, but it won’t stop tragedy from striking, will it?

It all testifies to the brokenness of the world we live in and the ripple effect of sin in our lives.  You can love all you want to, but love doesn’t seem to change anything.  Now do you understand why Jesus told his disciples, “My children I will be with you only a little while …. Where I’m going you cannot come.”  Jesus the only true God/true Man went where we could not go:

  • To give his life for every time we were impatient, unkind, rude!
  • For how many times we were self-seeking, for how often we were easily angered and kept a mental record of wrong for so long … .
  • Jesus went to where we could not go when he descended to hell to proclaim over the devil leaving the devil and all those with him behind conquered in the fight.
  • Jesus went where we could not go when he burst forth from the tomb alive and triumphant over the power of death and the grave.
  • Jesus went where we could not go when he ascended into heaven before the throne of God and said, “My Father, I’ve given my perfect life as a substitute for him and for her.  You’ve shown the world you’ve accepted my payment as full by resurrection to life now welcome them as redeemed sinners as my brothers and sisters to our home in heaven.

JESUS CALLS THAT GLORY!  The marks of true discipleship are his love and his life given to rescue sinners like you/me.  That’s love that glorifies God!  It’s just that Jesus wants all people to be saved.  That’s why he needs us to show less of ourselves to others and more of him and we do that by showing love to one another.  That’s the mark of true discipleship in us which glorifies God.

I’m convinced:

  • every congregation that senses a turnaround,
  • every person yearning for the will-power to change,
  • every family in desperate need of help,
  • every marriage in need of renewed motivation,
  • every breaking heart in need of a glimmer of hope,

… will find it in a room where a King wore an apron to wash feet and calls us to follow his example.  Why?  Because his love changes everything.  Because we know that God works through his Word to change human hearts … like he’s done in ours(!) and he can in others.  He changed hearts so husbands love their wives and wives love their husbands and display Christ to each other.   And parents love their children and children love their parent and display Christ to each other.  As we show the love of Christ to others they are going to see Christ and hear what he has done for us and what he’s done for them.  He wants us to live in the peace and harmony and the blessings of that love for others to see that glory.

Martin Luther commented: “Although faith alone makes one righteous before God … where Christian love does NOT follow faith, that is conclusive evidence that such faith is dead or that love is lacking … ” (Sermons, epistles pg. 105).   Because love is the marker of saving faith.  And when a believer receives the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, they leave with the mark of his forgiving love and with the power to SHOW love.

A NEW COMMAND for a new day!  Behind Jesus’ command is a change of heart:  to show the love of Christ to others because you know how much Christ loves you and you know how much Christ loves them.  Healthy churches are filled with the marks of this love!  So is a healthy you!  Know this, God will help and God is able to teach old sinners new love.  I’m sure of this: “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6).  God grant this!  Amen.

 

 

 

https://vimeo.com/292757174

God is Delivering His People

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Pastor Seminarian Martin Loescher delivers a sermon entitled “God is Delivering His People” based on Numbers 11, various verses at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Sunday, September 30, 2018

When we go to church, does our enjoyment of the service depend on how much we like the people involved? The Word of God gladdens our hearts, for sure, but our personal feelings for the preacher, musicians, or people we sit next to, taints our listening; we don’t appreciate the message as much if we don’t appreciate the people. But not so with the apostle Paul in our first lesson. Paul writes that certain men were actually trying to cause trouble for him, and elevate themselves over him, by preaching while he was stuck in prison. But do you remember Paul’s reaction? “What does it matter? The important things is, Christ is being preached! And for this I rejoice!” If only the apostle John, in our Gospel, could have kept the same attitude. Instead, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” What was with John? Couldn’t he tell the man driving out demons was on his side? The reason why John made him stop, is that he lost sight of the big picture. God was delivering people through that man’s work! But jealousy blinded John; jealousy blinded Joshua in our sermon text too, and finally, jealousy blinds us. But God has a way of directing our eyes back to the big picture and we rejoice when we see it: God is among us, delivering his people.

Now how is it possible for us not see that? Well, think about how Joshua and Moses lost sight of this in our lesson. The people of Israel had just been complaining (again) about the hardships of traveling through the desert, and God rained down holy fire to teach them about complaining. But not long after, the Israelites found something else to complain about—manna. Manna was a sweet-tasting kind of bread that God had been giving them to eat.  But after years of eating manna, they were sick of it. Every family wailed at the entrance of their tents, “We have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! We want meat!” And God burned with anger.

Moses could see, things were not looking good, and according to his prayer, he seemed to have convinced himself that Israel’s fate rested on his shoulders. Where am I going to get meat for them? I cannot carry all these people by myself. If this is how it’s going to be, why don’t you just kill me—so I don’t have to face my own ruin.”

Wow—Moses had the gall to say before God that he was carrying all these people by himself? And Moses despaired so much that he asked God to kill him?

But God answered Moses with surprising mercy. God told Moses to gather 70 elders around the tent of meeting, (the tabernacle), and then God placed his Holy Spirit on each elder and enabled them to prophesy (speak God’s words.) In effect God stamped his divine approval on these elders and equipped them to help Moses lead the wayward people. Even two elders who didn’t come to the tabernacle, Eldad and Medad, joined in. We’re not sure why they didn’t gather with the rest of the elders, either Moses didn’t choose them, or they just failed to show up. Either way, the Holy Spirit apparently didn’t care, and enabled them to prophesy inside the camp.

And what a reaction from Joshua! “Moses, stop Eldad and Medad!” The Bible says he was Moses’ loyal aide since he was a kid. He felt jealous on behalf of Moses’ because of the unauthorized prophesying of Eldad and Medad, and possibly for his own sake too. But then he tells Moses to stop them? What was Moses going to do, bind and gag Eldad and Medad, and tell the Holy Spirit to cut it out?  Joshua was too jealous to see the big picture. The Holy Spirit was with them, intervening and delivering his people.

But if we put ourselves in Joshua’s sandals, could we have seen any better? Jealousy blinds us too. When someone we know starts talking about their faith on social media, or in person, we get a little smug, “Really? Do we all need another personal testimonial from this lady? She thinks she’s so spiritual but her actions don’t show it. Not like mine. And as if this guy is expounding some deep truths I don’t already know! I could have said it better. He doesn’t deserve a voice, not until he knows his Bible as well as I do.” Other times we cast a jealous eye upon a church musician, or pastor, or another leader in the congregation: just look at him, walking around like he’s the best thing that ever happened to this church. Why should I listen to him? I don’t even like the guy. How come no one ever recognizes my gifts? No one ever thanks me, most of the people here don’t even know how much I do for this church.” This jealousy we feel is not just a little problem of ours, it’s an offence to God.

Moses of course is, the other extreme. Remember how he grew tired of the spotlight, and went so far as asking God to kill him? His prayer shocks us, but, ironically, we don’t sound different. God, I’m done! Do you expect me to carry this family, these school-children, these church members all by myself? How am I supposed to pay the bills this month? How do you expect me to keep my actions and my thoughts so clean, all the time? This isn’t fair, it’s too heavy for me. I’ve had enough. Again, this isn’t just a character flaw we’re talking about, it’s a sin against God. It’s a sin that blinds us, and makes us and lose sight of the big picture.

Thank God, for redirecting our vision to the bigger picture. If we take one more look at our sermon text, we’ll see how he did just that with Moses.

So Moses complains that his burden is too heavy for him, and asks the LORD to kill him, but God has a spectacular answer, full of grace. God has Moses gather 70 elders of the people, and he makes them stand around the tabernacle. Now picture these 70 aged men, facing outward towards every corner of the camp, waiting silently. Down comes God, shrouded in mist. You can’t quite make out what God is saying to Moses in the mist, but all of a sudden you see the 70 elders, one by one, just erupt! Their bearded mouths fly open, and out spews divine, heavenly words, comforting words, words spoken with a wisdom that is not of this world. And even old Eldad and Medad inside the camp begin to prophesy, thundering like the mouthpieces of God. Can you imagine the weight that has just been lifted from Moses’ shoulders? There Moses stands, beaming, while every wailing tent sits in astonished silence.

I wonder what he’s thinking. “I’m not really carrying these people, am I, LORD? You bore them out of Egypt on eagles’ wings, and these people had rejected you and were ready to turn back to Egypt (probably kill me too) but you spoke to them through the elders. You saw what we needed and you came to help.”

But then Joshua interrupts Moses’ thoughts–“Moses, stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying!” “Are you jealous for my sake?” Moses answers. “I wish all two million of the LORD’s people were prophets, this is exactly what we need!” Moses can’t help but rejoice, he finally sees the big picture—through the elders, including Eldad and Medad, God is delivering his people from their folly.

In fact, God is delivering us at that moment. Let’s say God let the Israelites turn back to Egypt. Let’s say they don’t make it to Canaan as planned. Abraham’s descendants die in the desert, or die in Egypt, and there never is a land of Israel. There would be no Bethlehem, no light to dawn on those living in the land of the shadow of death. There would be no Jesus, and no Roman cross to hang him on. There would be no payment for our sins.

But God would not let the Israelites turn back. He does not lead like Moses or like us. He did not grow tired of the Israelites’ stupid refusal to trust him. It was not a burden too heavy to bear.

When the Israelites shook their fists at God, and Moses begged for death, God loved Moses and the rest of his people. For no explicable reason, God at that moment in history so loved the world, that he could not let his plan of salvation die in the desert. God endured the Israelites, and gave them more leaders to bring them to the Promised Land, because all the while, he loved us. He knew about us, that we would come to church today carrying the burden of sins we can’t count, sins of jealousy, self-obsession, despair. He knew about us and he wanted us to meet his Son, so that he could wash all of those sins away. Everything that God did in our lesson, coming down in a pillar of cloud to speak with his weary servant Moses, placing his Holy Spirit on the 70 elders and causing them to prophesy, even enabling Eldad and Medad to prophesy, he did because he ordained that we would be saved by a descendant of Abraham, from Bethlehem in Judea. And he decreed that this man, Jesus, would take away the penalty for our sins of jealousy and despair.

Now we see the big picture, don’t we? God has delivered us! Nor did he leave it at that; he still delivers us, by giving each of us a share of the Holy Spirit. Just as God placed his Spirit on the 70 elders and enabled them to prophesy, and to lead, so God has given his Holy Spirit to our pastors, our teachers, our lay leaders, and to every person here who calls Jesus his Lord. Maybe we can’t prophesy like those 70 elders did, but the Holy Spirit has given us gifts of wisdom, knowledge, hospitality, kindness, gentleness, steadfastness—all these gifts God has given so that we might receive support and encouragement from one another in life’s harsh desert. Is this not a spectacular answer to our personal weaknesses and burdens? Does this not eliminate all reason to be jealous of someone else’s gifts?

Let’s not hold on to our burdens like Moses. God can carry them for us, and he often does so through the help of other believers.  Let’s not compete with others like John, or be jealous of someone else’s honor like Joshua. God has given gifts to help you, because he plans on you making it your home in heaven, with him. So, let’s be like Paul, and like Moses at the end of the lesson. Let’s rejoice every time Christ is preached, no matter whose mouth it comes out of, or who gets to look good. God has delivered us from sin, and that’s all that matters. And he continues to deliver us from this world by giving us his Holy Spirit so that we do not lose faith, and so that we have leaders and companions on our long road to heaven. Amen.

 

https://vimeo.com/291496764

The Greatest

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Pastor Paul Waldschmidt delivers a sermon entitled “The Greatest” based on Mark 9:30-37 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Sunday, September 23, 2018

I had spent many nights dreaming about it, psyching myself up. I was only in 3rd grade at the time, but something about the annual Grade School Cross Country Meet lit the competitive fires within me. And now finally it was the first year that I was old enough to compete. In my head, the night before the race, I could picture how it was going to go quite clearly. My competitors and I would start off evenly, but my torrid, steady pace would propel me to the front of the pack, and I would win the mile long race going away.

That’s how it played out in my dreams. My “cross country” brain however was writing checks that my “football” body could not cash. The day of the meet I learned two things: First: never wear jeans for a cross country race. Second: I learned if I was ever going to succeed in any athletic competition, it was not going to be as a cross-country runner. I had dreams of coming in first, but when all was said and done, I finished….well, assuredly NOT in first.

And that was hard. Cuz no matter what we do in life we want to place high. The high school senior sets his sights on being Top 10 academically in his class. The bride planning her big day wants to have the wedding that her friends and relatives talk about for years to come. And middle aged dude? He wants his lawn to be the greenest and the thickest, the envy of all his neighbors. No matter how old you are, how matter what area of life you’re talking about, nobody is going to turn down a place on the medal stand.

All that having been said, it’s still pretty hard for the disciples to come out looking good when we see them jockeying for position and ranking themselves 1-12 in our text. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. It’s particularly a bad look for them when you consider the context. In the verses immediately before Jesus had just announced that it was time for him to walk toward Calvary, where his every thought would be utter sacrifice, his every action utter selflessness. While those somber and solemn words are still hanging in the air, the disciples move on to much more important matters. “Let’s decide once and for all. Which one of us is the smartest? Which one is the hardest worker? Who was the first one to come into the fold? Who’s the most eloquent? Who’s the most passionate?”

Can you imagine being so obtuse? So oblivious? That even confronted with someone in deep need of love and support, you can only talk about yourself? Actually…you probably can imagine that. We’re picking on the disciples because they’re easy targets in our text. But we spend so much of lives staking our claim to being the greatest. Think back to the last argument you had.  You probably didn’t use the exact words, but I bet it had something to do with who was the greatest. I clean the toilets, because apparently I’m the only one around here who cares what this house looks like. (In other words…I’m the greatest.)  You spend money like a sailor on leave and I’ve got to be the mature one who makes sure all the bills actually get paid. (In other words…I’m the greatest.)  Did you forget to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer? Now I’ve got nothing to wear! (I would never forget to do that, so I must be the greatest.)

Subconsciously we spend our days in the never ending quest to convince ourselves or convince the people around us how great we are. Even when it comes to the student with his grades, the bride-to-be with her wedding and the middle aged dude with his lawn, there is a razor thin line between using God’s gifts with gratitude on the one hand AND ego boosting, identity defining, grandstanding “I am the greatest” thoughts on the other hand.  It’s the line between being humbly thankful for what you have and being arrogantly prideful about what you have. It’s the line between seeking to glorify God and seeking to glorify me.

Like the disciples, we spend our days veering wildly over the line and back, over that line and back. Can you see why that’s so messed up? We’re trying to determine our worth by where we rank among their our. That number, whatever it may be, is subjective. (It depends on who you talk to) It’s arbitrary (it can vary from day to day). And it’s subject to flawed human reason. (What you might think is great might not be what God thinks is great).

Funny thing is, the disciples were going round and round on the road about who was greatest, when the answer was obvious. All they had to do was stop looking at one another and start looking at the guy who was walking on ahead of them. It’s understood, but it still feels pretty good to say—Isn’t Jesus the greatest?!

Consider that he knew what they were talking about on the road, he knew they were going to jostle for position in the most glory grabbing ways at the worst possible times. He knew that before he chose them as disciples, before they were even born and yet he chose them any way! Because Jesus is the greatest.

Jesus is the greatest because he’s bottomless patience with the slowest on spiritual uptake. That’s you and me. Because his blood splattered a cross as payment for the most vile, the most repulsive, the most stubbornly rebellious. That’s you and me.

Jesus is the greatest because he finds the most insignificant, the most plain, the most rejected, the last place finisher and he says, “You have value. You matter to me no matter what anybody says about you. They will all go away. But I will never change how I feel, I will never leave, I will never go away.”

Jesus is the greatest because at your baptism he repeated what he did in our text. You were the child he took in his arms and he said, “I welcome this one—poor, insignificant, unworthy though he is. I will cover her with my perfection. I will give her eternal life. And that will make this little one truly great.” That’s you and me.

Jesus is the greatest. The key to greatness is found in being like him.  It’s not a ranking or even a respect given to you by your peers. It’s not the number of likes on your most recent Instagram post. That’s not what greatness is all about. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

That’s exactly what he did! For a servant puts the needs of another ahead of his own needs. And that’s what Jesus did when he went to the cross. That’s another thing that makes him the greatest. He became the servant of all.

To illustrate the “all” for us he used an object lesson. 36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” It’s not just about being nice to little kids. It’s about seeing people as Jesus sees them. It’s about giving the kids’ table as much attention as you give the head table. It’s about seeing the seeing seedy one and the scruffy one with the same eyes that you see the CEO. It’s being willing to unclog the hair from the shower drain, it’s scraping the caked on food off the dishes, it’s about putting the new roll of toilet paper in the holder instead of leaving lonely bare cardboard there for the next person to deal with.  Imitating Jesus is not just about serving the insignificant ones—it’s about doing the insignificant things—and doing them for no other reason than the fact that you want to be like Jesus. He is the greatest and imitating his humility and service—that is the path to true greatness. Amen.

 

The Good Kind of Pain

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Pastor Aaron Steinbrenner delivers a sermon entitled “The Good Kind of Pain” based on 1 Peter 4:12-19 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Sunday, September 16, 2018

Pain is bad.  Ask someone who lives with severe arthritis and they’ll tell you.  Or someone who has dealt with kidney stones or migraine headaches.  Pain is bad.  We go through life trying to get rid of and reduce and avoid pain.  But is all pain bad all of the time?

In his book, Where Is God When It Hurts, Philip Yancey talks about the research that was done among people suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy).  There’s a misconception that fingers and toes just start falling off.  But in reality, those who suffer from leprosy often experience nerve damage and lack of sensation in their hands and feet and faces.  The result:  they can no longer feel pain.  Their damaged nerves don’t send out warning signals – “Hey, that surface is too hot…pull away.”  “That metal edge is sharp…don’t grab hold of it.”  Without that sensation of pain, they risk greater injury and danger.

So pain isn’t always bad.  Some pain can be a blessing.  Some pains, while uncomfortable, can steer us away from bigger dangers.  Today Peter takes on the issue of pain.  He addresses the “painful trials” we might face.  But here he’s talking about not a physical pain but the discomfort that is unique to people who believe in Jesus.  You and I would call it persecution.  Jesus in the Gospel for today calls it a cross.

What does it look like and feel like?  For Stephen, one of the faithful deacons in the early Christian church, his persecution was physical.  Because of his faith in Jesus, he was stoned.  For Christian living in North Korea, they could be arrested, sent to a labor camp or killed.  Again…physical persecution.  For you and me, the pressures are different.

Do you ever feel like you’re part of this small, shrinking group that still believes….

…in God’s 6-day creation

…that human life is precious (even and especially the unborn)

…that there are two genders

…that sex is for marriage and marriage is for life

…that there really is a hell and really is a heaven

…that church is for sinners who need Jesus because he’s the only one who saves?

What kind of world do we live in?  Well, it’s not illegal to be a Bible-believing Christian, but it’s not popular either.  According to a recent Gallop poll, only 24% of Americans believe the Bible is the true, literal Word of God.  What that means is, not everyone out there in the world shares your same beliefs about God…your same standard of right and wrong…your same values.  In fact, most people don’t.  So you may not get arrested or thrown into a labor camp, but you will face some pressures…some painful trials…some oppositions to your faith in Jesus….from strangers maybe…from co-workers maybe…even from friends and relatives who make it clear they think our faith in Jesus is foolish.

When that happens, don’t be surprised:  “Do not be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice…”

Did I hear that correctly?  If and when we are persecuted…looked at funny…ridiculed…shunned…we aren’t supposed to fight back….we’re not supposed to seek vengeance…we’re not even supposed to be shocked.  Instead, we are to be filled with joy?  Yes.  Because not all pan is bad, remember.  Some pain can actually be a blessing.  And Peter is going to tell us why the pain of persecution…the pain and discomfort of not fitting in with this sinful world is actually a good kind of pain.

  1. Any pain you have now…any suffering you endure as a result of your faith in Jesus will only heighten your anticipation for heaven. “Rejoice…so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 

Robin Graham was a 16 year-old who attempted to sail around the world…alone.  In 1965 he set out.  It took him five years.  As you would imagine, he had near-death scenarios and storms upon storms.  Repairs to his boat.  More repairs to his boat.  Once, being so fatigued and depressed, he doused his boat deck with gasoline, lit a match, and hopped overboard.  He reconsidered, climbed back up, put out the fire, and kept trudging alone.  After five years he sailed into a Los Angeles harbor.  He had completed his journey.  A crowd had gathered.  Cars honked their horns.  Boats blew their whistles.  People cheered.  That moment for him was awesome.  The depths of his agony made that welcome so, so sweet.  His agonizing journey was now over and it was capped with an over-the-top welcome home.

Could it be like that for us when we go to heaven?  Does God allow the conditions of this world to be so degenerate and depressing that we realize we don’t belong here…that we sometimes want to light a match to it all…but that we also realize that at the end of our journey, he’ll bring us into a safe harbor…an over-the-top welcome home harbor.  Keep sailing, because the pain and agony will soon take a drastic, wonderful turn.  It will be worth it.

  1. Any pain you have now…any suffering you endure as a result of your faith in Jesus is a vivid reminder to you that you belong to Him! “Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ…If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”

Praise God that you bear that name.  When you suffer pain…when you carry a cross…it is a little gospel sermon…a vivid reminder that you belong to the One who carried THE cross.  The One who looked upon a sinful world and he didn’t sit idly by.  He went “all in” and took on your flesh and blood and took up your sins and carried those sins to THE cross.  Your suffering today makes it clear that you don’t fit in with a world that hates Jesus and despises his Word….you fit in with Jesus…you are on the right side…you are bearing the name that really matters…the name of Christ.

  1. We know what it looked like when Jesus carried our cross…when Jesus was committed to us. What does it look like for us to be committed to him?  “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

You’re in good company.  The world hated Jesus too.  So don’t be surprised when the world hates you too.   Don’t take it personally.  Instead, take refuge in the hands of your Creator. Take comfort in his faithfulness.  Amen.

 

Jesus Fulfils Prophecy Perfectly

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Pastor Jeremy Husby delivers a sermon entitled “Jesus Fulfils Prophecy Perfectly” based on Mark 7:31-37 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered on Sunday, September 9, 2018

If the world was perfect, would we still have to do laundry?  The innocence and wonder of a nine year old girl came up with that question earlier this week.  Of all the deficiencies and inconsistencies in this world; all of the pains and reasons for sadness; all the obstacles that stand in the way of true joy and happiness, she was worried about putting dirty laundry in a machine that washes your clothes for you.

Most of you are not nine year old girls and, unfortunately, no matter how much you may let your minds wander, you do not live in a perfect world.  You know that there are worse things in the world than having to do the wash. You also know that the reason those challenges exist is because of the sin that was brought into the Garden of Eden.

Immediately after that Fall into Sin, God explained how the sin of Eve and Adam would affect their daily lives.  Thorns and thistles.  Pain in childbirth.  And, of course, their bodies would decay and turn back to dust after death.

As generations have come and gone in this world, sin’s effects have become greater and more invasive on the human experience.  Hatred and violence.  Sickness and disease.  Selfishness, loneliness, depression, and so many different kinds of natural disasters.

In the Gospel today, there is an example of just such a defect that came as a result of sin in this world.  Some people brought to [Jesus] a man who was deaf and could hardly talk.

This deaf mute lived a silent life.  Even with today’s advances in a standardized sign language, interpreters, speech therapists, cochlear implants, and closed captions, those who are deaf or have a speech impediment have struggles that other members of modern society can’t even imagine.

This man, though, didn’t have those advances. He didn’t even know what he was missing out on most of the time.  He was likely isolated much of the time, especially because the prevailing belief in those days was that being deaf was not simply a consequence of life in a sinful world, but a consequence of some particular sin that the deaf person committed, himself.

Can you imagine studying your life, day in and day out, trying to figure exactly what it is that you did that caused you the suffering that you are enduring?  Or, maybe you don’t have to imagine.  Maybe you know exactly what that is like.

Some of you may struggle with your ears or have some difficulty articulating just what you want to say.  Those are real problems and, like the man in the Gospel account today, Jesus is concerned with your suffering.  There may come a time, here on this earth, when he gets rid of your ailment either through miracle or by working through advances in science and medicine.

However, there is also a sort of deaf and dumbness that each and every one of you have experienced in the past and which tries its best to make a recurrence at every turn.

Even before you were born, sin stripped you of your ability to hear the truth of the Gospel and to claim Jesus as your Savior.  And, like the deaf mute, you suffered the unfortunate consequence of not even knowing what you were missing out on.  Left to yourself, without someone bringing you to Jesus to be healed, you would have suffered a fate far worse than loneliness or, even, decaying into dust.  You would have been forced to endure eternal separation and decomposition in the fires of hell.

Jesus, both as true God and as true man, knew the deficiency sin caused and didn’t care for it.  What did he do right before he healed the man in the Gospel account for today?  He sighed.

Like a nine year old who is told to carry the hamper down to the laundry room, Jesus doesn’t care for the effects sin has on this world.  If only the world was still perfect.  If only there was a way to change things.  If only there was a way for this man to be able to hear and, then, to speak clearly—to get rid of the silence.

Say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.  The will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

In good conscience and still following the fifth commandment faithfully, Jesus hates the consequences of sin, both physical and spiritual.  So, after sighing, he did something about it.  He came with divine retribution to save his people.

Did you notice how personally he dealt with the deaf mute?  He took him away from the crowd to have his full attention.  He then worked in a way that would be completely transparent to a man who could not hear.  He worked visually and tangibly.  He touched the untouchable man.  He showed him how he understood his defect by putting his fingers in the man ear and touching the man’s tongue.

He then looked up to heaven.  Why?  To show this man just what was sung about in our Psalm for today.  I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where shall come my help?  My help shall come from the one who has made the heavens and the earth. (Pilgrim’s Song – Psalm 121).

Then, in what may be both surprising and, at the same time, expected, Jesus did away with outward signs and gestures and healed the man with the most powerful means in the world.  Ephphatha.  He spoke.  Be opened! he said, and at this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

The Word of God is more powerful than any effect sin can have on anyone.  Yes, it can open deaf ears and loosen dumb tongues.  But, more importantly, it creates faith and applies forgiveness to those who could not and would not be able to hear about it on their own.

Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.

For you, Jesus worked visually and tangibly as well.  As he put the sign of the cross on your head and heart to mark you as a redeemed child of God and then, with a tender touch and such a small amount of water, he baptized you.  The pastor’s hand and the water, itself, had no healing properties.  But when you were baptized, faith was deposited in your heart and your sins were washed away because the person who baptized you used the powerful means of God’s grace.  They spoke the Words of Jesus.

And, of course, the only reason why those words work faith in you and forgiveness for you is because of what else Jesus said while he was on this earth.

Nailed to a cross and ready to sigh his last breath over the effect and punishment of the world’s sin hanging heavy upon him, Jesus spoke.  It is finished, he said.

With those words, Jesus removed the defects and effects of sin for you for all of eternity.  He finished the work of your salvation and gave you the healing that you needed the most.  Because of Jesus’ words, in the eyes of God, you have been restored to the perfection in which humanity was created.

Whether clothes would have eventually made their way into a perfect world or not is a question that, while it might be fun to speculate about, doesn’t really have an answer.

Instead, you have to continue to live in a sinful world, surrounded by its consequences on a daily basis.  But, friends, you won’t always.  A time is coming when divine retribution will again come to save those who are fearful.  When Jesus fulfils his final prophecy and judges the world, he will see your open ears and your loosened tongue.  He will hear you speak plainly the faith he placed in your heart and take you with him to the place where sin can no longer reach you.

With hearts filled of faith, be overwhelmed with amazement at everything he has done well for you.  Keep talking about it and wait patiently for the day when Jesus fulfils his final prophecy perfectly as well.  Amen.