Be Ready to Give an Answer - November 8, 2026 - (Trinity Lutheran Church, Dime Box) Mission Sunday - Texts: Ephesians 2:8-10, Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 3:15, Matthew 10:17-19

Thank you for inviting me to be your mission speaker and to represent Lutheran Heritage Foundation. This morning I want to encourage you in your mission efforts and yet, I do not only mean foreign mission efforts, but your mission efforts right here in this place. Some would suggest that means evangelism and yes, mission is evangelism and evangelism is mission. My own journey and interest in evangelism began in college and continues with my work with Lutheran Heritage Foundation and my own Lutheran Vocational Evangelism Witness Workshops. The work of Lutheran Heritage Foundation in translating Lutheran Christian materials into other languages makes it possible to evangelize and do mission work around the world and here at home.
 

We all like to quote Ephesians two eight through nine touting our salvation by faith apart from good works, but too often we fail in going on to verse ten, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Indeed, God has created us to love us and He has redeemed so that we may do the good works which He has created for us to do, even though we continually do them imperfectly and those good works include living our lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers, serving God by our service to others and especially always being ready to give an answer for the hope we have in our salvation in Jesus.
 

Most mission sermons begin with dragging out the old Great Commission as we have been told to call it. I am here to help you understand that Jesus’ Words are not really a great co-mission. Let me remind you what Jesus actually said. What He said is translated as, “19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)). Now before we look at these words, let us back up three verses and begin at verse sixteen, “16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:16-19). I find it interesting that we are told that these faithful disciples of Jesus, these eleven who have been with Him for three years watching and witnessing healings, miracles, demons cast out, crowds fed, water changed into wine, and even Jesus’ resurrection, these faithful eleven still have doubts. That fact alone makes me feel pretty good when I struggle as well. Anyway, Jesus tells them that He has all authority and I would suggest He is implying that He is giving this authority to His disciples and even to us today. So, when someone asks, “Who gives you the right to talk about God?” we can answer, “Jesus does.” So, first of all this passage is a passage of the giving of authority.
 

Second, Jesus’ words are not an imperative. His words are an aorist, passive. In other words He is not saying “Go!” He is saying, “As you are going.” His words indicate a natural event and a continuing action. As you are going, as you are living your life; as you are living in your various vocations; He says make disciples or better said, make people excited about hearing the Gospel, the good news. And how do we make disciples? He gives the answer as by baptizing and teaching. And at the end, not only are we given Jesus authority, we are given His great promise, “I am with you always.”
 

So, back to this authority and our mission. Before His ascension Jesus tells His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 (ESV)). Here again Jesus gives His authority and He tells us of our mission field. For the disciples it began in Jerusalem because that is where they were. For us today it is here in Dime Box, Lee county, in Texas, in the United States of America and to the ends of the earth.
 

So, how does this natural approach to evangelism work? I call it vocational because our mission, our good works, our evangelism begins in our daily lives with people with whom we have contact on a daily basis. Peter instructs us in our vocations as he tells us, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)). Peter encourages us to always be ready to give a defense. The word he uses is an apology. Not only are we to be ready to speak of what we believe, but why we believe. I believe this ability to speak of why we believe what we believe may be some of our downfall today. I believe we do need more education in this apologetics. Anyway, we are encouraged to make a defense of our faith which is usually our natural reaction. It is natural or should be natural to defend Christ who puts Himself in our hearts. And we should be ready any time and anywhere.
 

Now, to answer the question of what to say? How are we to prepare to always be ready to give an answer for our faith and hope. Let me begin by easing your mind a bit. Jesus tells us, “17Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Matthew 10:17-19 (ESV)). Did you notice another promise from God. When the time comes what you are to say will be given to you.
 

Okay, so the words will be given to us, but where do we get what is given? We get what is given in the same way God gives us all the good gifts and blessings He has to give, through means and through the Means of Grace in particular.
 

At our Baptism we are given faith. As we remember our baptism we are strengthened in faith. Every Sunday morning the first thing that happens in the Divine Service is a reminder of our faith in the Trinitarian Invocation. Every morning when we wake up and splash water on our face we should be reminded of our baptism. Personally I read my Portals of Prayer in the morning and I am reminded of my baptism. And as I continually remind myself, it is not that I was baptized, but I am, present tense, baptized.
 

The second thing we do in Divine Service is we confess our sins and we hear the most beautiful words we can ever hear, that our sins are forgiven. It is this forgiveness which brings us peace, true peace not simply a few hours of calm and relaxation. It is this forgiveness that removes all doubt and fear. Indeed, through God’s Holy Absolution we are given forgiveness and strengthening of faith.
 

Next in the Divine Service we hear God’s Word, and actually that is the joy of the Divine Service as it is permeated with God’s Word. And as one of my professors always said, “We worship best when we say back to God the very words He has given us to say.” Indeed, my words are often inefficient, but God’s Word is powerful. As I always like to say, God’s Word is efficacious, that is it does what He says. When God speaks His Word it happens. Just look at creation. As we hear God’s Word read and proclaimed we are given and strengthened in faith.
 

Then we move into the part of the Divine Service wherein we participate in the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we are physically connected with Jesus as we eat His true body and drink His true blood so that He actually becomes a physical part of us, so that His life becomes our life, His suffering and death become our suffering and death and His resurrection becomes our resurrection. Indeed, through this very means we are given forgiveness and strengthening in faith.
 

The Divine Service then concludes with the called and ordained pastor placing the Trinitarian Aaronic Benediction on us so that we are prepared to go in peace as we are strengthened to live lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers, serving God by our service to others and always being ready to give an answer for our faith and hope in Jesus alone.
 

So we see the importance of regular and diligent use of the Means of Grace, of being not only in Divine Service, but also in Bible Class, in other Bible Studies, in reading our Bibles at home, in having person and family devotions, because these opportunities to be filled with God’s Word are what the Holy Spirit draws on to help us give an answer. Indeed, how can we share if we are not filled with something to share. I like to think of it as God has a pitcher full of gifts and blessings He pours out on us. We have a cup which we bring for Him to fill. Every time we come to Him, read our Bible, come to Divine Service, attend a Bible Class, have a devotion, our Lord pours His gifts and blessings into our cup. Now, if we stayed away, the contents of our cup would eventually evaporate and disappear reminding us of the need to make regular and diligent use of these means. On the other hand it is not until our cup is full and begins to over flow that we will be able and excited about giving an answer for our faith.
 

Lutheran Heritage Foundation comes in with materials for us to use and give away to help us give an answer for our hope and faith. Certainly we all have neighbors, or know people who do not have English as their native language. Would it not be great to be able to offer them a book in their native language so they can read of God’s great gifts? I know here in Texas we have a lot of Spanish speaking people so perhaps the church might want to keep some Spanish Luther’s Small Catechisms available to give out. My neighbor across the street is Vietnamese so I brought him a copy of the Children’s Book of Garden Stories in Vietnamese. 
 

Today we celebrate our Mission Festival, Mission Sunday, but what does that mean, or does it actually mean anything or change anything? Years ago there seemed to be the unspoken idea that we give to missions so we do not have to do any work, because, after all, the mission field is out there somewhere, not here. But today we must admit, the mission field is right here in our own back yard, as the saying goes. So we see the importance of being ready and hopefully that is what we have been hearing about this morning, being ready.
 

To review, first and foremost we rejoice and acknowledge that God gives and we are given to. God created us to love us. God gives life at conception; new life, even eternal life at Baptism; gifts, talents, and abilities to work a job or career; and He even gives us good works to do which He has prepared in advance for us to do, so that we serve Him by serving others in our vocation. God gives us His authority to speak His Word. He gives us His promise that He will give us the words to speak as well as the opportunities to speak His Word. And He promises that He is with us always even to the end of the world. He reminds us that our opportunities begin right in our own homes, towns, cities, communities, counties, state, country and world.
 

God gives and we are given too, and as I always like to point out, when it comes to sanctification and our response of faith, He gives that to us as well. Indeed, a thankful response is not something that comes natural to sinful people, but is motivated in us, and worked in and through us by the Holy Spirit meaning we give Him thanks for our giving thanks. And especially knowing that any response from us is always an imperfect response.
 

What a great God we have. What a gift giving God we have. What a loving God we have. Thanks be to God and to Him be all the glory. Amen.

Blessed - November 1, 2026 - All Saints’ Day - Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day. This does not mean that we give undue credit or glory to those faithful family members and friends who have fallen asleep in faith, but it does mean that we place their lives before us as an example of how we are to live the Christian faith. As we remember the saints who have gone on before us we remember that they too were at the same time sinner and saint, just like us. We also take the time to be reminded that by faith in Jesus Christ we are all saints. As we go around the room we might call each other by our sainted name, Saint Shirley, Saint Pat, Saint Jon, Saint (place your name here) and that would continue for each one of us. As saints, then, heaven is not just something we look forward to, it is a present reality. By faith in Jesus, His life, suffering, death on the cross and resurrection, we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Heaven is ours now, it is just that we will have to wait until we fall asleep in faith from this life until we will awaken in our heavenly home.
 

This morning our text is what we call the Beatitudes, or the statements of blessing from Jesus. Before we get to these statements of Jesus let us take a few minutes to remind ourselves what is the world’s idea of being blessed. And I will use what may be the world’s term for blessed as success. I hope we have all at least heard about these various items from time to time. Being blessed or successful according to the standards of this world means having riches. Wealth and money is a sign of worldly success. The more money one has, the more successful they appear to be, at least in the eyes of the world.
 

Another indicator of success in our world is power. Power is a sign of worldly success. The more powerful one is, or the more powerful they seem to the world, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in they eyes of the world.
 

A third indicator of success in our world is fame. Being famous is a sign of worldly success. The more famous one is, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in the eyes of the world.
 

Yet, as we have been reminded time and again, these worldly signs of success are not necessarily indicative that a person is successful, because, as we know, as we have heard stated and read about, some of the most wealthy, most powerful and most famous people are also some of the most depressed. Jesus has a different idea and understanding of being successful and that is where we now turn our attention.
 

Beginning at verse three, Jesus’ idea of being blessed begins with admitting our weak faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). Jesus is not talking about simply being poor in spirit, or weak in faith, but admitting that we are in a constant need of having our faith strengthened. Here we might remind ourselves that confirmation was not graduation and that there is always more that we do not know about God than we do know about Him and so we have a constant need to be in His Word, to read our Bible, to be not only in Divine Service, but also in Bible Class so that we might be strengthened in our faith.
 

Continuing on at verse four, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being ashamed of and mourning our weak faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (v. 4). Jesus is not talking simply about some outward speaking of our weak faith, you know the line, “I know I should be in Bible Class, I know I should read my Bible every day, I know I should be in church every Sunday,” and so forth. No, Jesus is talking about a yearning which comes from the heart, a yearning so deep that it moves us to do something about our weak faith. In other words, we simply cannot help but be where the gifts are given and distributed.
 

In verse five, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes meekly acknowledging one’s part in Jesus’ crucifixion. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (v. 5). Blessed are those who are not arrogant, but who bow their heads in grief because of their sin and their part in Jesus’ death, that Jesus had to die for their sins. This confession means that each one of us confesses, for ourselves, that it was because of my sins that Jesus had to shed His blood and die on the cross. For if we cannot and do not acknowledge our part in Jesus’ death on the cross, then we have no part in Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life. It is this acknowledgment, when it is a faithful and true acknowledgment which gains for us an inheritance in heaven and which leads us into action as we read in verse six.
 

In verse six, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes craving, hungering and thirsting after doing the right thing. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (v. 6). Those who are blessed are those who hunger and thirst after the Word of God, those who truly hunger and thirst after the Lord’s righteousness, and those who strive, with the Lord’s help, for an eternal righteousness and a piety of life. Again, this is something that is so powerful we simply cannot help but want to be where God’s gifts are distributed and given out.
 

So far Jesus has been pointing to us as individuals. We are blessed when we confess and grieve our sins, confess our need to be in His Word, and then hunger and thirst for His word and righteousness. Our confession brings forgiveness, but even more. Here we are reminded that our faith does, or at least should, make a difference in our lives, the way we live, how we speak, what we do and so forth. There is more to our Christian lives than just showing up for church and Bible Class on Sunday morning.
 

In verse seven our attention focuses on our outlook toward others. Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes showing mercy to others even if that mercy is not show back. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (v. 7). Blessed are those who have a deep and sincere concern for the temporal and spiritual needs of their neighbor. Here we might be reminded of the opportunities which the Lord gives to us to be merciful to others, specifically to our guest who come to Divine Service with us and especially those who have no home church.
 

In verse eight, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being pure in heart, thinking pure thoughts. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (v. 8). This action is the opposite of hypocrisy which is acting like a Christian, but not believing. Are our thoughts on ourselves or on those who have not yet heard the message of Jesus and salvation? Are our thoughts continually on this world and our lives in this world, or on the world to come and our being ready for the world to come and getting others ready?
 

In verse nine, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes seeking to bring peace among ourselves and others. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (v. 9). This is not a peace which comes from compromising one’s faith and beliefs, but a peace which has at its center Jesus Christ. Maybe you have seen the sign or the bumper sticker, “No (N-O) Jesus, No (N-O)Peace, Know (K-N-O-W) Jesus, Know (K-N-O-W) Peace.” Apart from Jesus and apart from faith in Him we cannot know or have true peace. Remember, true peace comes only from sins forgiven so without Jesus there is no forgiveness and no true peace.
 

In verse ten, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering persecution because of our faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10). It is our spiritual righteousness, our moral character, our exclusive claim that there is one way and only one way to eternal life, which makes us Christians stand out and “look” aloof to the world and thus that is why we are hated by the world. When we make the Lord’s righteousness ours and when we adopt our Lord’s intolerant attitude toward sin then we can no longer be accepted by our unrighteous and, ironically enough by our, so called, tolerant society. Do you want to know if you are really a Christian or not? Check to see if you are loved or hated by the world.
 

Finally in verse eleven, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering, being insulted, falsely accused and spoken against. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (v. 11). Here Jesus names a few forms of hatred which will be bestowed on “practicing” Christians. It is our honor and distinction to suffer in His interest and because of His name. As Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (v. 12). As Christians we still have an irrepressible joy, because no matter how much the world might hate us, no matter how much the world might persecute us, this hatred and persecution is nothing compared to the glory which is ours in heaven.
 

This morning we see a stark difference in our focus and in the focus of the world. The world’s focus is on the here and now. For those who are in the world and of the world, this world is all there is and so life must be lived for the here and now. “You have to grab for all the gusto you can.”
 

Whereas God’s focus is on the now and the not yet, the future, eternity. Our life on this earth is short, from conception and birth to a hundred years or so and then it is over, compared to our life in heaven which is forever and ever and ever, without end. As Christians our focus is not so much on the here and now as on the now and the hereafter. That is why we see the importance of confessing our sins and being given forgiveness, that we confess our weak faith, that we hunger and thirst after the Word of the Lord and His righteousness, that we show mercy and seek ways to share the love of Jesus and His Gospel message with others, so they too might be a part of His kingdom.
 

As we celebrate All Saints Day we celebrate that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, faith and grace given to us, we are a part of God’s Kingdom and that we have a hope and a certainty for now and for the future. We celebrate the example of all the saints who have gone on before us because they showed their faith in Jesus alone for their salvation, because they hungered and thirsted after righteousness and because their lives are an example to us to be about the business of Jesus in spreading His love and Gospel message to all the world.
 

I like the words of one of the songs we used to sing when I was serving with a group that did weekends for church youth groups while in college, it went, “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, heaven is a wonderful place, I want to go there.” I pray that this song might be your song as well so that when our last hour on this earth has come we might all together with all the saints stand before the Lord’s throne and proclaim, “to Him be the glory,” for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Give to God What Is God’s - October 18, 2026 - Pentecost 21/Proper 24 - Text: Matthew 22:15-22

If you have been following along through the Gospel of Matthew you will see how our drama continues to unfold this morning. Previously in the Gospel of Matthew the Pharisees and teachers of the Law had questioned Jesus concerning His authority to do the things He was doing, after which Jesus “put them in their place” by showing that they are the ones who are not doing as God would have them to do (remember the parable of the two sons, the one son who said he would go out and work but did not go and work and the second son who refused to go and work, but later repented and did go and work). Jesus, then, showed them that they are guilty of killing the prophets and will be guilty of killing God’s Son (remember the parable of the vineyard and the tenants and the killing of the servants who went to collect the rent, and the killing of the son with the intent of gaining the vineyard). Jesus then showed them how they are not a part of God’s wedding banquet as they think they are (remember last week’s Gospel lesson, the parable of the wedding banquet). As we approach our text for this morning we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees licking their wounds trying to find another way to get back at Jesus. They are bent out of shape about Jesus’ accusations and now they are really out to get Him, again.
 

This time instead of approaching Jesus themselves, they decide to send some undercover spies, some people that Jesus does not know or recognize, at least that is what they are attempting. They know they will get no where if they try to trick Him, so they recruit some of their disciples to approach Jesus to trick Him. But, of course, Jesus is on to them. (Hey, He is Jesus. He is all knowing.) Their idea is to present Jesus with a question of such a nature that if He answers one way He will set Himself at odds with the government officials and make them suspicious of Him, and if He answers another way He will offend another, His own people. In their own opinion, either way, Jesus is trapped into getting Himself in trouble and that will take care of Him for them.
 

These recruited disciples begin with flattery, certainly an attempt to build up Jesus’ ego so that He might be caught off guard and trapped. They begin with, “Teacher, we know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think” (v. 16).  Notice several things about this flattery. First they call Him “Teacher” because He does teach others, yet, notice their sarcasm as they do not like what He is teaching. It is rather ironic that the words they use are words of truth, yet they are not words which they believe. “We know that you are true” and we know that you “teach the way of God truthfully.” Neither of these might be said of those who are asking the question. Second, there is irony in the words “you do not care about anyone’s opinion” and here I would emphasis the word opinion. I would suggest that there may have been a note of sarcasm in their expression when saying these words, especially since they believed that Jesus did not care about their “opinion,” which really bugged them. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law expected others to give them certain privileges and respect because of who they are and they do not like the fact that Jesus does not understand that He is supposed to respect them too. Finally, notice that they do not ask Him to tell them the truth in the matter they are going to present, but they are only asking for His “opinion.” As if this matters to them as we will see.
 

And now comes the loaded question. The question they ask is this, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (V. 17). It is almost as if they are asking, “have you ever been caught cheating on your taxes?” “Have you ever been caught beating your children?” “Have you ever been caught beating your spouse?” The thought behind their question is this: If Jesus answers that they should not be paying taxes to Caesar, the people will love Him, but they can then turn Him over to the Romans as a traitor. If He answers that, yes, they should be paying taxes to Caesar, then the Romans will have no problems with Him, but the people will turn against Him because they do not like paying taxes to Caesar. What a dilemma they believe they have set for Him. You can just see them wringing their hands together an smiling a smirk, thinking, “We’ve got him now.”
 

Jesus, being God, being all knowing, sees right through their plan. “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax” (v. 18b, 19a). “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (v. 20).  Jesus calls them what they are, hypocrites. The word means “actor.” They are acting like they want Jesus “opinion.” But Jesus, rather than run from their question, and their trap, meets them head on. Show me a coin He says.
 

They find a coin and they answer His questions. On the coin is the image of Caesar and the inscription is also an inscription giving evidence that it is a coin of Caesar and the Roman empire. There is no mistake, it is a coin belonging to the Roman government. We could look at one of our own coins. We have images of past presidents as well as buildings, memorials, and the like on our own monies. The inscriptions we have are also inscriptions having to do with the things of our country.
 

Jesus’ answer to their question then is, “Therefor render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21). Simple enough. If it has Caesar’s name on it, it must be his, give it to him. If it has God’s name on it, give it to God, it must be His.
 

Our account this morning reminds us of several important facts. One fact of which we are reminded is that we should never underestimate God or in this case, His Son, Jesus. He is all knowing and all seeing. He knows what is in our hearts and on our minds, even before we speak or ask.
 

More implied than directly stated in this parable is the fact that God gives. He gives all things. He gives faith, forgiveness, life, and salvation. He gives families. He gives food and drink. He gives house and home, monies and goods. He gives good governments. He gives all things and we are the ones to whom He gives. And He gives without expecting anything in return. As a matter of fact, He even goes so far as to give us His son and the life of His Son for ours.
 

Here and in other places in the Bible we are reminded that God gives government. Certainly we would agree that not all governments are Christian governments, but all governments are from God because the main purpose of all governments is to bring order to the land, which brings peace to the people. Without governments there would be only anarchy and chaos, thus no peace. Thus, governments are given for the sake of law and order and peace in the land.
 

Here and in other places in the Bible we are reminded that we are to support our government. We are to pay our taxes to keep our government going. Again, government is a gift from God for the keeping of good order and peace in the land. Yes, we are to pay our taxes. We are still to give to the government the things that belong to the government (just look on a coin) and we are to give to God the things that are God’s.
 

I do not want to sound like a broken record, or should I say, CD, or whatever device is used today, but God gives to us all that we need. Here I would refer you to the Apostles’ Creed and the explanations to the articles of the Creed. In the explanation to the first article we list God’s gifts as “clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.” In the second article we list the fact that we believe that it is Jesus “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” And finally, in the third article we confess that we believe that “the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” And all this He does because of His great love for us.
 

No, today is not “Stewardship Sunday,” and I am not one for preaching stewardship sermons. I believe that if I preach the Gospel, you will be motivated, by that Gospel, to give. I also believe in preaching the text and this text does speak about stewardship, that is it speaks about how we are to be good stewards of all that God gives to us. With this text it is only fitting and proper that we should come to some understanding from this account that we will want to return our first fruits to the Lord according to what He has first given to us. That is what is meant by “giving to God the things that are God’s.”
 

Have you ever been caught stealing from God? That is not the type of question we like to hear. And we might think that question is a loaded question and we would rather not answer it. The task that is before us, according to this account is: Do we recognize the gifts that God gives? And if we do, how do we respond? Do we respond begrudgingly? Do we respond joyfully? Do we respond according to whether or not we like the pastor and what he is preaching or doing? Do we respond to how we are treated in church or in the world? Do we respond just by giving our leftovers, our change, or our collection? Or, do we respond with our lives, living lives of faith, as priests serving God by serving others?
 

We get it right when we start with God. God gives and we are given to. God gives faith, forgiveness and eternal life.  And God motivates in us a response of faith. Because we are conceived and born in sin, our first response to what God gives is usually a response of sin, to sin in thought, word and deed, to sin sins of commission, doing what we should not be doing and sins of omission, failing to do what we should be doing, like living lives as priest, serving God by serving others. And so, God’s response to our sin was to give the life of His Son. Jesus came to live perfectly for us in our place because we cannot be perfect. Jesus came to take our sins and pay the price of our sin because we cannot. Jesus died and rose for our forgiveness and eternal life. So now, moved by God, our response to God’s gifts, is to give our lives and I do not necessarily mean in death, but that we give ourselves while we live to Him. Only as we give ourselves to Him will we be able to share with Him anything else of which He has first given to us. Again, it all begins with God, He first gives to us and stirs in us. Yet, once we have given ourselves to Him, which we do only with His help, then we will be able to joyfully give of our first fruits, our tithes and our offerings, while at the same time, giving to the government the taxes that we owe. Thus, as we fail to joyfully give of our first fruits, tithes and offerings, it shows that we have failed to give ourselves to the Lord and that we are instead refusing and rejecting the gifts God has to give.
 

God is the Author and Perfector of our faith and lives, and He continues weekly and daily to give to us, to stir in us, to move us to be the people He would have us to be. And He does this moving, stirring and working in us through the very means He has given us to do this work, His means of grace. As we make regular and diligent us of His means of grace, as we do every Sunday at divine service, He gives to us, pours out on us and lavishes us with all His good gifts and blessings and stirs in us to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. And in so doing we will be witnessing our faith and our lives will be saying, to God be the glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Tenant or Son? - October 4, 2026 - Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22) - Text: Matthew 21:33-46

I want first to remind you that the events of Jesus’ life are not random, haphazard events, but are events which happened for a purpose. Through the events of Jesus’ life as given to us through the accounts of the Gospels we have a better understanding of Jesus, who He is and what is His mission. So, this morning, the mission continues. Our text for this morning comes after Jesus has ridden triumphantly into Jerusalem, that is after what we call Palm Sunday. The crowds cheered. They threw down their coats or palm branches, or whatever they had available, as a “red” carpet. So, Jesus was seen to be very popular, especially by those trying to kill Him, which upset them. He then proceeded to cleanse the temple, casting out the money changers and making the statement that the temple was His Father’s house and was to be a house of prayer, not a “den of robbers.” Then comes that thing, that account about the fig tree, which we do not know what to do with, so we skip past it. If you want to talk about it in Bible Class, we can do that. Anyway, next, as we read at the beginning of our Gospel reading for last week, Jesus is questioned as to His authority, which He does not answer, but instead directs their attention to the authority of John the Baptist. And last week we also heard as Jesus told the parable of the two sons to get across the idea of who is a part of God’s Kingdom. Finally, this week and the parable following this parable, next week’s Gospel reading, the parable of the Wedding Banquet, are more “accusations” against the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. I know that is a lot and tha is why we need to be in Divine Service every Sunday, so we do nto miss out. So, let us look at our text for today.
 

If you listened really close to the Old Testament reading and to the Gospel reading you may have noticed that they sounded a lot alike. God, through the prophets in the Old Testament and Jesus here in the New Testament, uses the imagery of the vineyard and the vineyard owner to help the people understand the relationship of God to His people. We are told that the landowner planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. This wall is the wall of the Law. The children of Israel were different from all the other nations and peoples around them. They had a God who was a personal God, who cared for them, who was personally involved with them and their lives. Their God was one who gave them the Ten Commandments, a set of Laws to help them to be better people in this world. Actually, God gave them three types of law, the civil law, or what we might call the law of government; the moral law, which is the Ten Commandments; and the ceremonial law, which were the laws governing sacrifices and temple worship. And which pointed to Jesus. Now to those who today would suggest that we are no longer under the Old Testament laws, that statement is only partially true. We are no longer under the ceremonial law, but we continue to live under the moral law of the Ten Commandments and in this country we continue to be under the civil law which protects us as citizens in this country.
 

Now, as we look at this parable I would ask that you put yourselves in the shoes of the children of Israel, which is right to do, especially as we understand that the Children of Israel were Old Testament Christians, people saved by faith in the promised Christ, promised back in the Garden of Eden, just as we are New Testament Christians, saved by faith in the Christ, namely Jesus who is our Savior. If you want to put yourselves in the shoes of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, that is up to you, but at least put yourself in the shoes of the Children of Israel. Today we can see ourselves as being set apart. As Christians we are different from the people of the rest of the world. We are different from the people around us. Or at least we should be. The comments of the media and our society in general remind us of our differences. Above all is the difference that we have the Word of God. We have God’s Word which is our handbook and our guide to life. Like the Children of Israel, we are different. And please understand that the reason God gives us His Word, His Law and His Gospel is because we need it. Just as children need rules to set boundaries, and let me tell you that although they may test those boundaries, they are glad they are there, because those boundaries make them feel safe. In much the same way, we like God’s Word which sets boundaries for us which make us feel safe. And it gives us the comfort of knowing our sins are forgiven when we trespass those boundaries.
 

Getting back to our text, we are told that the landowner even went so far as to put a vine-press in his vineyard. A vine-press is what is used only after the fruit is ripe and harvested. If there is no fruit, the vine-press is useless. In other words, the landowner is expecting that there will be a harvest of fruit. God, speaking through the prophets, expected that the Children of Israel would be different than those around them. He expected that they would bear the fruit of faith, that they would show themselves to be different. What about us? God expects fruits from us as well. He gives us His Word. He gives us His Holy Spirit. He works through the Word to give us faith, forgiveness and life and He expects that we will show forth the faith that is in our hearts. It is kind of like that old “campfire” song, They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love. They will know we are Christians because we are different.
 

And to insure that there is a crop, the landowner builds a watchtower over his vineyard. The wall and the watchtower are ways of protecting the vineyard from stray animals that might trample over it as well as from stray people who might try to come in and rob the vineyard. The watchtower was often manned by the prophets and priests of the Children of Israel. They watched over the people, bringing God’s words of justice and judgement as well as His words of grace and mercy. In the same way God watches over us. He gives us His Word, the Bible, as well as Pastors to instruct us in the ways in which He would have us to go. He gives us His sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. He gives us confession and absolution. Through these means He gives us forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He gave His Son and the life of His Son so that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
 

Notice that there is no statement on production, on how much fruit was raised, rather there is simply the statement of the coming to collect the rent. God did expect a harvest. He did expect His people, the Children of Israel to be different and to live differently than those around them, instead of blending in and being like the idol worshipers who were there. Likewise, God expects fruits from us. He expects us to be different. He expects that we act differently, that we speak differently, that we stand out and be different in this world.
 

When it was harvest time, the landowner sent his servants to collect the rent. Unfortunately, the servants who went to collect the rent were killed. This act is the killing of the prophets and priests of old. As I have said before, if you do not like what is being said, kill the messenger. At least we are a little more refined in our “killing the servants” today. If you do not like what the Bible says, either rewrite the Bible, or discount it as not being applicable to today. Sure, the Bible tells us the world was created in six literal days. Sure, the Bible tells us of the first man and the first woman and their fall into sin which corrupted the rest of the world. Sure, the Bible says we should not kill, even the unborn. Sure, the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin. Sure, the Bible says that women should not be pastors. Sure, the Bible tells us that there is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Jesus, alone. Sure, the Bible says that the Lord’s Supper is His meal and should be administered with special care. Sure, the Bible says a lot of politically incorrect things. But what do we do. If we do not like what the Bible says, we change it or discount it as being not applicable or we call it a cultural thing and ignore it. Perhaps we try to fit the culture of today into the Bible and give it a new interpretation. In these ways we continue to kill the servants even today.
 

Ultimately the vineyard owner sent his son and the renters killed him as well. Of course, we know the rest of this story. We know that the vineyard owner is the Lord. We know that the Son is Jesus Himself. We know that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law plotted and brought about the killing of the Son of God. But, lest we put all the blame on them, we might remind ourselves that we too are involved in the death of the Son of God. We are conceived and born in sin and we daily add to that sin through our own sins of thought, word and deed, as we confessed at that beginning of this service. The renters in the parable are judged by the members of the Sanhedrin to eternal judgement and in their judgement they had judged themselves. Thanks be to God that there is a difference for us and that difference is what we just said, that we do confess our sins and are given God’s forgiveness earned for us by the death of His Son.
 

Yes, very often in life we are just as guilty as the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. We are even guilty as the Children of Israel for their lack of faith. But again, thanks be to God that He has given His Son and the life of His Son for our forgiveness.
 

Jesus continues by telling us the words of Holy Scripture. “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.” The rejected stone, the killed Son is be the foundation on which the Church is built. Our hope and our faith is built on the crucified Son, because He did not stay dead, but He rose from the dead. Death and the grave have no hold on Him. But, how do we reject the Son, You ask? We reject Him every time we try to rely on ourselves for salvation. Every time we think we are good enough by ourselves to get to heaven. Every time we think that we have not sinned enough to earn hell. This thinking more highly of ourselves is how we reject the Son.
 

Salvation is for all who believe. Salvation is for us. It is ours and although it is ours without a cost to us, it is not without a cost to Christ. Our salvation cost the life of the Son, God’s Son. Because of His great love for us, He freely gave His life that we might have life.
 

I suppose that if Jesus told this parable today He might remind us of all that God has done for us. He might remind us of the fact that we live in a very wealthy country and that we have all that we need as well as more than we need. Very often we have all that we want as well. He might remind us that we have the freedom, not from worship or from religion as seems to be the case in our country, but we have freedom to worship as we wish. He might also remind us that He has given us the means of grace through which He has given us faith and forgiveness of sins and through which He comes to strengthen us in our faith. Through these means of grace He will also remind us of the gift of His Son and the life of His Son, the shedding of Jesus’ blood for our sins. And finally, He may remind us that He expects fruits of faith from us as well. He did not give us faith and salvation for nothing, but so that we might do the good works which He has prepared beforehand for us to do even today. And finally, He might remind us that He also stirs in our hearts and gives us the ability to do the good works which He would have us to do, to the praise and glory of His Holy Name. Yes, He would also point us to Jesus, just Jesus. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.