What Will Convince You? - September 25, 2022 - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21) - Text: Luke 16:19-31

This week Jesus continues His message to the people. Unfortunately, for us, that message is divided up into many “sound bytes” of which we hear only one each Sunday. The people who were listening to Jesus were able to hear the message in its entirety, all at once. Perhaps that in itself is a message to us to be in the Word, to go home and read the message for ourselves in its entirety. Anyway, to get us up to speed, Jesus has laid out the facts and these are the facts. Two weeks ago we were reminded through the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin that it is not we who go looking for the Lord, rather it is the Lord who comes looking for us. God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to seek and to save the lost. Jesus came to find us, to redeem us, to forgive us, to call us to faith and to a purpose. Last week we were reminded through the parable of the Shrewd Manager that one of our purpose is to live our lives as lives of faith. Our purpose is, as Matthew tells us in His Gospel, that as we are going, as we are living our lives, we have God’s authority and promise to be with us as we share the Gospel message, the good news of salvation, the story of Jesus Christ and His love for us to others. And we are to do this sharing using our influence and using all the resources of this world which are available to us.
 

Last week we ended with Jesus’ words of warning that we cannot serve two masters, but we must serve only one, either God or money. And we had His word of warning to not be like the Pharisees who attempted to hide their love for money by justifying their lack of charity. This week Jesus gives us the extremes of what a person is like who serves money and what a person is like who serves God. Keep in mind that these two characters are the extremes and most of us are probably somewhere in the middle, not that this is any better, because we still must serve either one or the other, not both.
 

This morning we hear Jesus tell the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus begins, “19There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.” (v. 19-21). You may have noticed right away that the rich man has no name. His name is not written in the book of heaven, so he needed no name. You may have also noticed his pompous attitude. He was not concerned about tomorrow, especially not about his eternal life, rather he was living for himself, he was living for the moment, he was living for today. The other character in our account is Lazarus. His name means “trust in God.” He does have a name, because his name, as we will see when he dies, is written in the book of heaven. He was covered with sores. He was hungry. The dogs were his companions. Also, understand that this Lazarus is not the Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead. This Lazarus is a character in Jesus’ parable.
 

The parable continues, “22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried” (v. 22). First, we are told that the beggar died, but there is more to his death, he died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. This designation of Abraham’s side was a familiar Jewish way of speaking about the fact that he went to heaven. We are also told that the rich man also died and was buried (period). Notice that there is no fanfare for this rich man. Nothing more needs to be said about him. We do not need to know his name and all we need to know is that he died and was buried, that is it. Jesus could stop here and give us quite a bit of commentary on life and death. You see, it is our faith which sustains us while we are here on this earth and it is our faith in Jesus Christ which gains our access to eternal life. And yet, the parable continues.
 

Jesus says, “23and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and l saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” (v. 23-24). First, again, we hear from the rich man. We are told that he looks up and sees Abraham and finally, yes finally he notices Lazarus. The whole while he was on earth Lazarus was sitting right under his nose (so to speak) begging at his gate and he did not notice him, but here, now that he was in torment in hell, he notices and he asks for Abraham to send Lazarus to comfort him.
 

Our text continues, “25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us’” (v. 25-26). Abraham explains the situation, not meaning that either earned their place, simply that each was receiving the reverse of what he had on earth. And besides there is a chasm fixed so that they cannot cross between the two places. Here Jesus assures us that not only is there a heaven, but that this place where we live is not hell and He assures us of the fact that there is a hell. Also, here we have an indication of the eternity of heaven and the eternity of hell.
 

Jesus continues, “27And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’” (v. 27-28). Here it looks like the rich man finally thinks of someone besides himself and yet, in so doing he subtly accuses God for his being in hell, after all, if only he had known about heaven and hell  things would have been different. In his revelation, John tells us the same thing, that on the last day all people will bow before Jesus and acknowledge Him as the Son of God and those who are doomed to eternal death will also try to blame their eternal death on God. But that does not work with God.
 

Jesus continues, 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’” (v. 29). Abraham explains that it is the means of grace, especially the Word of God, the Law and the prophets which have power to convert. Yes, Abraham is talking to us, today. It is God who converts, it is God who gives faith and He does so through the means He has given us, the Word and the Sacraments. Abraham’s not so subtle message to us today is that we need to be in the Word and that we need to be sharing that word with others, so they too might have a share in the kingdom of God. And yet, the rich man persisted, “30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (v. 30-31). The rich man does not stop, but persists and finally Abraham explains why the rich man is wrong and why we are wrong today to think the same way, that our seeing something with our eyes will make us believe. Did you listen carefully to Abraham’s words, they are rather prophetic words. The person about whom he is speaking, the person rising from the dead is Jesus. You see, Jesus did die. Jesus was born and lived perfectly. He took all our sins upon Himself. He suffered and died for the sins of the rich man in the parable. He suffered and died for the sins of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were listening to Him. He suffered and He died for your sins and for mine. Jesus died. He was buried. And He rose from the dead, yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law still would not believe Him. So, too, today, too many people still do not believe and consequently are condemned.
 

So, I ask the question, “Who will you serve?” and “What will convince you?” How often it is that we put more stock in this world and the things of this world, the business of this world and the things of this world and we forget that this world is merely a temporary place. Too often we invest too much of our time, talents and treasures in this world instead of, as Jesus reminded us last week, being shrewd and using our influence and the resources which our Lord has given us in this world for the purpose of extending God’s Kingdom. Here I am reminded how, each year millions of people watch the Super Bowl. I am one who particularly likes to watch, not so much for who is playing, but to see what new commercial ads are being shown. These ads costs the companies millions of dollars just for a minute or a half a minute and each year the cost is higher, yet their ad is seen by millions of people. So, millions of people are introduced to a new beer commercial, a new Coke or Pepsi commercial, a new e-service commercial and the like. I always sit and wonder, as I watch these millions of dollars being shown before my eyes, what would happen, what could happen if we would take those millions of dollars and use them to spread the message of salvation to the world. How many people could be saved? Because I am sure that a great number of those millions who are watching do not know Jesus.
 

Perhaps our problem is our weakness of faith. Oh, we have faith sure enough, but our faith is un-stretched, our faith is untested, our faith is still being fed with milk instead of the meat and potatoes of the Word of God. Perhaps there are times that we think that seeing a miracle would cause us to believe, or to be strengthened in our faith. Do not be fooled. I am here to encourage you and to tell you, be in the Word, read your Bible, remember your Baptism, come, confess your sins and hear God’s words of forgiveness, make regular and diligent use of the Lord’s Supper, because in so doing the Lord will strengthen and keep you in faith until He comes again.
 

Remember God’s great love for us is show in this, that while we were sinners, Christ died for us so that we might have salvation. The Father created us, the Son redeemed (bought us back) us, and the Holy Spirit, working through the means of grace, brings us to faith and keeps us in faith. How precious we are to Him and His Word and Sacraments are to us.
 

Here again today, the three lessons work well together. The Old Testament Lesson reminds us of the complacency of the children of Israel and their neglect in carrying out their God given mission of sharing the Word of God to the world. Paul, writing young pastor Timothy in the Epistle lesson reminds us of our need to be content with the gifts that God gives us, and the need to use those gifts for the extending of His kingdom, not just for our own pleasure. And here in our text we are reminded that we are responsible for our making use of the gifts and blessings our Lord gives, so that we are to use them for the extending of His kingdom and to the praise and glory of His Holy Name.
 

What will convince us? The events of fairly recent history, September 11, the devastation of hurricanes, the terrorist attacks around the world, the events of our present history, people dying and being killed, all remind us that our lives in this world are temporary and that there are many people who do not know Jesus Christ and who are and who will be condemned to eternal death. September 11, 2001 brought a temporary change in the behavior of many people. People were nice, for a while. Perhaps you have noticed how things and people in our world quickly “got back to normal” and have gotten even worse. People went back to being rude. Road rage returned. People flying on air planes went back to being rude. Yes, things have “gotten back to normal.” Why? Because only God can change our hearts. The events of this world can cause our attitudes and even our behavior to change for a while, but only God can change our hearts and only if our hearts are changed will life be different. Jesus came and lived perfectly for us in our place, because we are not able to live so. Jesus gave His life for ours so that we might have forgiveness and so that we might start over every day and with His help try to live God pleasing lives. And yet, it is only God who can change our hearts and He does that through means, the Word and the Sacraments, thus there is work to do and God has called us to do His work. So, what will we do? By the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us, we will live our lives in such a way that they show forth the faith that is in our hearts, even if we do so imperfectly; we will share the good news of salvation to all who do not know Him; we will give comfort and strength, inviting people to our church to hear the message of salvation; we will make regular and diligent use of the means of grace so that we are strengthened and kept in faith and we will work to extend the kingdom of God in this place. We will be given the gifts of the Lord, so that we might say, to Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Serving Two Masters - September 18, 2022 - Fifteenth Sunday after the Pentecost (Proper 20) - Text: Luke 16:1-15

Our text for today is one of those text that may be difficult to understand. So, as we begin we want to remind ourselves that even though we could go many different ways with this text it is important that we look for the one main point of the text, that we let Scripture interpret Scripture and that we keep it in its proper context. With that said, let us begin by putting this text into its proper context and setting. Last week we heard the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. We skipped the parable of the Lost Son, or the Prodigal son and this week we have the parable of the Shrewd Manager. Last week Jesus was speaking specifically to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. This week Jesus turns to speak specifically to His disciples, and that is not to say that the Pharisees were not listening. Please keep this in mind, that Jesus is speaking to His disciples, His close Christian friends, which puts this in the area of sanctification, that is, responding to God, what we do because we are saved, not what we must do in order to be saved.
 

Getting into the account of the dishonest or shrewd manager, we begin at verse one, “1[Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (v. 1-8).
 

The parable begins with the rich man who does not keep an account of his own goods, but hires someone to do it for him. He has heard some rumors that his accountant, his steward, I guess today we would say his CPA, is not being honest so he calls him in and confronts him, asking him to give an account of his business. Today we might say he was being audited.
 

Fearing the loss of his job, the loss of income, and the loss of a good retirement, the steward begins to devise a shrewd plan. Now, a person can look at this plan in two ways, but both ways lead down the same road and have the same meaning. First, it could be that the steward reduced the amount each debtor owed knowing that they would then owe him for this discount. He could later get some of this money back even if he had to blackmail the other debtors. Or it could be that he was merely reducing each debtors debt by the amount of interest which he overcharged in the first place. Either way of looking at what the steward did, the outcome is that he did whatever he believed he had to do in order to secure for himself a good income after he was fired.
 

After he devised his plan, he called in the debtors and put his plan to work. And it was such a good plan that even the master commended the dishonest steward because he had acted so shrewdly. And please keep in mind, it was not that the master was praising the steward for his dishonesty, rather he was praising him because of his resourcefulness, even if it may have been dishonest resourcefulness.
 

Jesus tells the disciples the parable and to make sure they are not confused, that they do not misunderstand, and to make sure we are not confused and so that we do not misunderstand, Jesus then goes on to give the interpretation of the parable. We pick up the account at nine, Jesus says, “9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (v. 9-13).
 

Verse nine is an interesting verse, but let us not misunderstand it. Again, we want to remind ourselves that this is a parable that is talking about sanctification, that is, what we do as a response to what God has first done for us, not what we do in order to gain something from God. Remember, Jesus is speaking to His already converted disciples. Verse nine does not tell us that worldly wealth should be an end in and of itself, rather Jesus is telling us that we should use the gifts of this world that God has given us in order to help others. More specifically, Christians should use worldly wealth in order to increase Christian charity. One more way of saying that is to say that as Christians we are to use our worldly wealth responsibly, to help those in need, understanding that the wealth of this world comes from outside ourselves, from the Lord, and so we are to use it in service to Him and His Kingdom.
 

Are we here as a church in this community to have the community serve us? Are we here as God’s people in this place to have the community bring in their monies to support us, through services provided at a charge, through fund-raisers and the like? or, are we here in the community as God’s people in this place to serve this community? If we are here to serve the community then than means serving the community and not asking the community to pay for services rendered. What wonderful opportunities our Lord has set before us, that He has blessed us and will continue to bless us so that we might be a blessing to the people of this community, reaching out to them and serving them so that they too may come to know Him as their Savior and be a part of His Kingdom as well. And we certainly can trust the fact that as the Lord has provided in the past, He will continue to provide as we go about doing His work in this place.
 

Jesus also talks about the faith factor. Let me paraphrase what He says. He says, “I give little and much to whomever I wish so that whoever can be trusted with the very little that I give to them, can also be trusted with the very much that I give to them, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, if you have not been trustworthy in the faith which I have given you, how can I trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, namely with all that I have given to you and entrusted to you to use while you are living on this earth, how can I give you property of your own, property in heaven?”
 

And all this culminates in the fact that we cannot serve two masters. How important it is that we take a sober look at who or what is our master, at who or what is our God. Is our master this world and the things of this world, or is our master our Lord Jesus? Are we like the Pharisees as our text concludes, “14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (v. 14, 15)? Do we hide our love of money by justifying how we spend what we believe is our money and our lack of charity before others? Or, do we respond with our first fruits and tithes to our Lord, returning a portion as He has first given all to us?
 

What we are talking about is not new. In our Old Testament Lesson for today we read about how the children of Israel were not trustworthy in handling God’s promise of salvation through the Israelites, thus the Good News and the message of salvation is now for the Gentiles.
 

In our Epistle Lesson for today we are reminded to pray for our government and for those in authority over us. I thought it was interesting that this Epistle is included with this text which talks about being honest and trustworthy, but I believe that we need to be in constant prayer to our Lord that He will help those in authority as well as help us to be honest, trustworthy and good stewards of all that He has to give to us.
 

So, What does this mean? This means that we should fear and love God so that we recognize and admit, not just with our lips, but with our hearts and with our actions that all things, even our own salvation comes from outside of us. It is God who gives everything to us. Until we move from mere lip service, saying to ourselves, “yeah, everything is a gift from God,” and thinking in our brains, “I earned it all myself,” until we move from lip service to heart service we will never change. We must first admit with our vary being that everything we have is a gift from God. Then, we are to be good stewards of all that He has given to us.
 

As we are good stewards with the little that He gives to us,  so He will make us stewards of much. So, what are we to be stewards of? We are to be stewards of the gifts of the mysteries of God. We are to be stewards of the faith that He has given to us at our Baptism and through His Word. As we use the faith He has given us, He continually increases that faith. We are to be stewards of the forgiveness of sins He has earned for us and given to us. As we are given the forgiveness that He has to give to us through His death on the cross and as we share that forgiveness with others, He is there always giving us more forgiveness. We are to be stewards of the gifts of Word and Sacrament. As we are given the gifts of His Word and His Sacraments, He gives us even more gifts through them. We are to be stewards of His gifts of salvation and everlasting life. As we are given these gifts from Him and share them with others He strengthens us in them. As we are stewards with little, so He entrusts us with much.
 

For some reason, perhaps it is because we are conceived and born in sin, perhaps it is because we daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness, for some reason we do not always see things as Jesus sees things. We have a tendency to rely on ourselves or to at least think that we must rely on ourselves. We have a tendency to forget that the Lord has provided us with all that we need and that we can trust that He will continue to provide for us all that we need. Thanks be to God that He continually points us to see how this is true. When we enter this sanctuary the focus of our attention is on the cross. It was on the cross that Christ earned our salvation. After His death, He rose and showed Himself beyond a doubt to be alive. Before He ascended into heaven He promised to send the Holy Spirit and that He would return. Now, by the power of the Holy Spirit and with Him working in and through us, we are encouraged to use every means, which He supplies, to share the Good News of salvation.
 

Our response is to serve Him, not the things of this world. We serve Him by coming to be given the gifts that He has to give to us especially through Divine Service and Bible Class. We serve Him by acknowledging that everything we have is a gift from Him. We serve Him by not refusing the Holy Spirit, but by letting Him work in us so that we can serve Him.
 

We have an amazing God. We have a God who gives us each and every day and He is always there ready to forgive us and help us to start over. He is there, ready always to give us all His gifts.
 

How can I say this? We have a God who has so much that He wants to give to us. As our text for today reminds us, if He can trust us with a little, He can trust us with a lot. Ladies and gentlemen, I implore you, simply to be given the gifts that God has to give to you. For Jesus’ sake. And to Him be the glory. Amen.

Forgiven and Forgiving - September 11, 2022 - Fourteenth Sunday after the Pentecost (Proper 19) - Text: Luke 15:1-10

Finally, after a couple of weeks of “questionable” Gospel readings this morning we can truly say, “This is the Gospel of the Lord!”
 

I remember back in the 60's there was a campaign going on in which there were these bumper stickers which touted, “I found it.” The idea behind this statement is that the person was saying that they (he or she) had found the Lord. My first response to a statement like that, and please understand that this is coming from my Lutheran background, is that “I did not know He was missing.” I am also reminded of what we confess in the explanation to the third article of the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him.” So, although the idea of a bumper sticker to get out the message of salvation might be a good idea, it is not we who are out looking for the Lord, but it is He who is out looking for us and it is He who has found us and I believe that is most important any way.
 

We live in a fast paced society. We are constantly running here, there and everywhere. And we are constantly forgetting and losing things. I lost my wallet. Where was I last, before I lost it? Where have I been since I lost it? We trace our steps looking for our wallet. But we do not always lose things instantly, like our wallet. Some things we lose over time. If you are a musical person and neglect to practice playing your instrument, you get rusty, you forget some of the notes. If you are a person who enjoys exercise and you forget to workout for a while, it is difficult to start back up again. If you have been following my progression here and you listened to the Gospel lesson then you will not be surprised when I remind you that if you neglect being in God’s Word, if you neglect Divine Service and Bible class attendance, personal and family devotions and the like, then not only does your faith get rusty, but you can also lose your faith.
 

That last statement presumes that you have faith, because you cannot lose what you do not have. If you do not have faith then you cannot lose it. We never hear about sailors losing their sheep, because, typically, sailors do not have sheep. Bringing that closer to home, we are reminded that we are born spiritually blind, spiritually dead and enemies of God. We are born without faith. It is through baptism that God instills faith in us. At our Baptism our Lord washes us. He places His name on us. He creates faith in our hearts. He claims us as His children. He makes us His. And even though God does this, we have a tendency to stray and fall away. Isaiah (53:6) says it this way, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have each gone our own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
 

You cannot lose what you do not have, but you can lose what you do not use. From God’s point of view that comes out like this. He loses us when we no longer follow and serve Him, when we neglect to be in His Word, in Bible Class, Divine Service, and private reading of the Word. When we absent ourselves from confession and absolution and from His Holy Supper. When we forget our Baptism. In our text for today we are compared to being sheep and to being a lost coin. When we stray, when we are lost, God loses us. And we might also rightly say that this is what we mean when we speak about gift refusal. We refuse the gifts God has to give when we fail to make use of the means through which He comes to us to give us all His good gifts and blessings. Every Sunday morning we see that over two thirds of our congregation refuses the gifts God has to give by making something other than Divine Service attendance a priority and absenting themselves. This is a spiritual problem!
 

From our point of view it comes out like this. We lose when we no longer follow and serve Him. We refuse and lose the gifts that He has to give to us. We refuse and lose the gift of forgiveness. We refuse and lose the gift of salvation. We can even refuse and lose the gift of faith.
 

From both points of view: God gave us His holiness when He recreated us at our baptism. We lost our holiness by our sin. A good way to think of sins is to think of sin as losing something. The person who lies loses honesty. The person who steals loses integrity. The person who hates loses love. The person who misuses sex loses a two-become-one relationship. The person who condemns others loses forgiveness. The person who curses loses the opportunity to give blessings.
 

One of the difficulties about being lost is that you cannot find yourself. A sheep that is lost, does not know it is lost and does not go looking for its shepherd. A coin that is lost does not know it is lost and it does not flip back to its owner. People that are lost do not know they are lost and do not “Find themselves.” People who are lost spiritually do not realize they have a spiritual problem and do not seek to return to the gifts of God.
 

Way back in Genesis God created Adam and Eve. When they sinned they did not go looking for God. Instead, they were ashamed and hid themselves. God had to came looking for them. In our world today we are no different. When we sin we do not go looking for God, rather we go looking for excuses, or we go looking for someone to tell us that what we did was okay. We go running as far away from God as possible, even trying to hide from Him. When we put the things of this world in first place in our lives instead of God, (remember our Bible reading a few weeks ago, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”) when this happens we go looking for friends with lots of things to make us feel like we fit in, that we are okay, that we have not done anything wrong. Everyone else is doing it and we like to think that makes it okay for us to do it too. When we curse and swear using God’s name we go looking for others that will accept this behavior as normal. When we neglect to be in Divine Service and Bible class, as well as when we neglect to live out God’s Word, we look for others who will make us think we are saved because we are just as good a Christian as they are.
 

When we cheat the government, when we speed, when we disobey those in authority over us, we look for friends who will help us find excuses for our sinful behavior. When we say hateful and hurtful things, killing our neighbor, we look for someone to tell us we were justified in what we did. When we get pregnant or move in with another person without the benefit of marriage we use the excuse, “we’re living in the twenty-first century” as if God’s Word has changed and now it’s okay. When we think we would do almost anything to get something, we look to others who might help us in our stealing. When we speak evil about others behind their backs, we look for someone to tell us that we were justified in our gossiping.
 

Simply stated, we do not find ourselves by looking inside ourselves. All that we find inside ourselves is sin. For us to be found, God must come looking for us. God comes from outside us and finds us. In our text we see our loving Savior who receives us and welcomes us as Luke begins, “1Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:1-2). Listen to the parable again and notice who is doing what, “3So he told them this parable: 4‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’” (Luke 15:3-7). Jesus as the Good Shepherd who comes looking for the lost sheep.  Also, listen again to the second parable and notice, again, who is doing what, “8Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10). We see Jesus as the woman sweeping the house looking for the lost coin. The exciting thing about it is that Jesus comes looking for us because of His great love for us. And it is not that Jesus loves the one sheep more than the 99, nor that He loves the one coin more than the other 9. The exciting part about it is that He loves the 99 and the 9 just as much as He loves the one that is lost. Jesus loves each one of us as we are the only person He has to love and yet He loves each one of us with that same intensity of love. He loves each one of us so much that He gave His very life for each one of us. That may not be rational and logical, but that is how much God loves us and how great His love is for us.
 

Which brings us to the celebration. The celebration which is a come as you are party. As sinners we might struggle with the question, does God love me even though I am a sinner? We might think, in order for God to love me I must first do something, like repent or something. The best analogy I can give you is to ask if you get cleaned up before you take a bath? Of course not, the reason you take a bath is because you are dirty. God loves you while you are in the dirtiness of your sin and it is His love and forgiveness which clean you up.
 

This celebration is a come as you are party, but it is not a stay as you were party, as if we  would want to stay as we were. In other words, once Jesus has found us. Once we have been washed, once we have been forgiven, we will want to change. And here Jesus helps us to change as well. With the power of the Holy Spirit working in our heart we will do great things for the Lord, but it is not we, rather it is the Lord working though us so we say, Praise the Lord.
 

The third parable, the parable of the Lost Son is not a part of this text, yet it brings the message even closer to us, because we are no longer talking about 100 sheep or ten coins, but about people, about you and me.
 

When we look at these parables together we come to realize that very often we are the ones who are lost. We are born in sin and daily we add to our sin. For His part, God’s love is such that His will is that all people are saved and as such, He has come to seek and to save those who are lost. Yes, sometimes, we are among the saved, that is we are among those who are safe and sound and when we are not lost we know that He loves us. There are also those who are lost in this world, lost because of their own sinfulness and straying and sometimes we are counted among those who are lost.
 

God cares about those who are safe and those who are lost. He has shown His love and care by sending His Son, Jesus, to seek and to save the lost. Jesus came into our world as one of us, one with us, one like us except without sin. Jesus came and lived perfectly for us. He did everything that we are unable to do. And, He took all our sins upon Himself and He suffered and died. He paid the price, the eternal death penalty of hell for us, in our place. He gave His life for ours. He died for all people.
 

And so, when someone is found by Jesus, when someone is convicted and converted by the Word of God, there is much rejoicing over the finding of that lost person.
 

In the Old Testament lesson for today we were told that “11Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out” (Ez. 34:11). That is good news to us, because we are His people and when we are lost and in our sin, we do not know to go looking for our Lord. In the Epistle lesson for today, Paul writes to young Timothy, “ Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15b). Those words might well be our words, because, being born in sin and daily adding to our sin, we are the worst sinners. Finally, in our Gospel reading we hear these sweet words, from the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” Luke 15:2b). What wonderful news, what great words to hear, because we are the ones He receives and with whom He eats. Thanks be to God that He has sent Jesus to seek and to save us, to welcome and eat with us, to bring us into His eternal kingdom. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Doctrine and Practice - John 12:20-26

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I have said before in having the opening devotion, I do not know what our presenter plans to present, so I do not know if I will, but I pray my devotion will neither step on his toes nor steal his thunder. Of course, as I look at the presenters topics for each section I stand in fear and trembling as I may do both, but such is the burden of the opening preacher.
 

A rhetorical question is one asked without needing an answer or that the answer is presumed in the question. The rhetoric of a building or building space is the unspoken statement of the meaning of that space. In other words, when one walks by or into a building, does the building, the furnishings, etc. suggests the usage of that building?
 

“We practice what we preach” means that doctrine and practice go hand in hand; doctrine informs practice and practice teaches doctrine. Thus, the practice and doctrine of a church building go hand in hand as well, which means that the rhetoric of a church building should, in an unspoken way, make a statement concerning what is believed, taught, and confessed. In other words, the building should express the confession of those who worship in the building.
 

With the understanding that doctrine and practice go hand in hand, what does this statement mean in reference to church planting? As our church body, the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and especially our own Texas District have in recent years been stressing the importance of church planting. And contrary to what those of the previous movements in our church body, the church growth movement, the missional movement and now the church planting movement, or as I think I have heard it stated, the glocal movement might suggest, which is that some of us are more concerned about our doctrine than about saving souls, I would posit that we might suggest the same, that is whenever you are not concerned about doctrine you cannot be concerned about souls.
 

When I am asked if I believe it is more important to be a Christian or to be Lutheran I will say it is more important for me to be Lutheran and a Lutheran Christian, because for me to simply say I am a Christian does not do justice to what I actually believe.
 

I have the privilege of working with several different groups of people, American Heritage Girls as their Shepherd, Trail Life USA as their chaplain, our homeschool group as well as my own congregation. Most of the people in those groups have heard me state time and again that “We get it right when we point to Jesus.” That statement I believe summarizes our doctrine and should be whole heartedly seen in our practice.
 

So, how do doctrine and practice go hand in hand when it comes to church planting and especially in pointing to Jesus? That is hopefully the question we are here to answer this weekend.
 

A few years back when I was the program committee chairman for this group I did a series of meetings, having speakers speak on the topics of doctrine and practice. We listened to one speaker talk about what it means to build a distinctively Lutheran church building, one that points to Jesus. Another talked about a distinctively Lutheran way to educate, one that points to Jesus. Another talked about a distinctively Lutheran way to have divine service, one that points to Jesus. Another talked about a distinctively Lutheran way to preach, one that points to Jesus. Another talked about a distinctively Lutheran way to do evangelism, that points to Jesus.
 

As an example of what I am saying, I would like to tell you about our church building and our Divine Service and how it teaches what we confess and points us to Jesus.
 

When we walk into St. Matthew Lutheran Church, the first thing we see is the cross. To the left in the chancel area is the Baptismal font. The building and the font point us to Jesus. When we begin our Divine Service we do so with the invocation, a reminder of our Baptism and entrance into the Church, Jesus putting His name on us with the voice of the called Pastor and water with his hands. Jesus comes to us through Holy Baptism. Our church building and our Divine Service point us to Jesus.
 

As we look down to the front of the chancel area we see the altar railing where our pastors kneel for confession then rise and through the mouth of the sinful pastor God speaks and does what He speaks, He forgives our sins. We are again instructed through our building and Divine Service, Jesus comes to us through Holy Absolution. We are pointed to Jesus.
 

Next, our eyes move to the right of the chancel area where we see the pulpit, from which the called and Ordained Pastor reads God’s Word to us as if God Himself were speaking His Word to us. And then, from the pulpit we hear him preach and expound in Law and Gospel those very words. Jesus comes to us through the Word of God. And notice it is the Divinely Called Pastor who has been called to read and speak to us the Word of God and point us to Jesus. As disciples of Jesus we are called to come to the Divine Service and be given to so that we might read, learn and take to heart these very words of Jesus read and spoken to us by the Pastor. Our church building and our Divine Service point us to Jesus.
 

Next our attention is drawn to the center of the chancel area where we see the altar where in Jesus comes to us to give us His body and blood in His Holy Supper for the forgiveness of our sins. As the pastor speaks the words of God so the gifts God gives are given to us. God gives and we are given to.  Our church building and our Divine Service point us to Jesus.
 

Finally you will notice in our church that nothing is in the way of the cross, the pulpit, the altar, the font. Nothing draws our attention away to the side or in front of the cross. Nothing points us to ourselves, to our emotions, to our experience, to us. We are pointed to Jesus. Our building, our Lutheran doctrine and practice put our focus where we desire it to be, on Jesus.
 

Please notice how there is no confusion in the chancel area as there is nothing secular to confuse the laity of this part of the church. There are no musical instruments nor screens to distract one’s attention away from where it should be, on Jesus, on the cross of Christ, nor to confuse someone into thinking this may be a building for entertainment. There is simply the things of God for usage in presenting the Means for Grace through which the Holy Spirit gives and distributes the gifts of God.
 

Finally we conclude the service with the Aaronic Benediction and another reminder of God’s name being put on us as we go out into the world strengthened through the means of grace and the gifts God has give us through those very means. Indeed, as we participate in the divine service we will notice that all of what we are doing is saying back to God the very words He has given us to say which reminds us that we worship best when we say back to God the Words He has given us to say. We refrain from pithy man made responseries, creed and substitutes for the Lord’s Prayer insisting that God’s Word is first and foremost.
 

When we change our practices the unintended consequence is that we change our doctrine, just look at the history of the church by the time Luther began the reformation. Little changes crept in little by little until the people were no longer pointed to Jesus. Today, those who fail to be about holding on to the doctrine of the Church have moved the attention of people away from Jesus and to themselves, to their emotion, to their experience, thus, indeed failing in their desire to reach out with the good news. So, I will reiterated, unless you are concerned about doctrine you truly have no concern for souls.
 

I would contend that because doctrine and practice go hand in hand that our practice does instruct in our doctrine and that our doctrine has informed our practice so that they are both consistent and are the best God given way to reach the lost and disciple the saved. Indeed, it is this teaching process that is a hallmark of the Lutheran Church and which empowers and enables every Christian to be a better evangelist always being ready to give an answer to those who ask about our hope in Jesus Christ our Lord.
 

I give thanks to God for being able to serve in a congregation that is concerned about doctrine so that we might always point others to Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.
 

Finally, after doing all that we can do, we rejoice in the Holy Spirit working when and where He pleases to give, strengthen and keep in faith.
 

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Thanks be to God and to Him be the glory. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

We Wish to See Jesus - September 4, 2022 - Installation of Robert LeBlanc - Text: John 12:20-26 (esp. v. 21)

Our text for this afternoon is John 12:20-26, especially verse 21b: “20Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” This is our text.
 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.
    What a privilege to be invited here for this wonderful occasion. Thank you so very much. Although I know I am speaking to a wonderful gathering of Christian brothers and sisters, I want to begin my remarks to you as I do to the various other groups I am privileged to work with and speak too, namely my daughters American Heritage Girls troop and my sons Trail Life USA troop. I get to serve as chaplain and shepherd at the Baptist Church and the Catholic Church. Little do they know that I am attempting to make Lutherans out of them all.
 

Our text for this afternoon speaks well of the remarks with which I always begin, namely, “We wish to see Jesus.” So, I ask, and I am asking rhetorically, “To whom or what does the term B.C. on a time line refer or point?” “To whom or what does the term A.D. on a time line refer or point?” “To whom or what does the term Old Testament refer or point?” And “to whom or what does the term New Testament refer or point?” And of course the answer to all of these questions is that they all point us to Jesus. So, I conclude, we get it right when we point to Jesus. In our text, Philip got it right. He pointed the Greeks to Jesus.
 

One of the difficulties we have in our world today is that we would rather not point to Jesus. We would rather point to ourselves. We would rather elevate our own reason above what God says in His Word, that is rather than point to Jesus we would rather point to ourselves. One example and perhaps you have heard it said before are the statements, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Notice my sticking myself and my reason and belief or mis-belief in the equation “I believe it.” Actually, God said it and that settles it. Point to Jesus.
 

Why do you suppose we have so many different religions and denominations in the world. Because we do not like what God says and would rather believe what we want to believe. We want to impose ourselves, our human, that is our fallible, sinful human reason on what God says. We want to see something other than Jesus. We would rather something block our view of Jesus.
 

This afternoon we are installing a man, a sinful man, into the Office of Holy Ministry here in this place. I know Pastor LeBlanc is a sinful man because I am a sinful man and we were in high school youth group together. Interestingly enough, and I say this tongue in cheek as it were, this is the third installation service for him that I have attended. I pray this one sticks. A little humor there. Anyway, we are installing a sinful man into the Office of Holy Ministry. Which makes me sometimes wonder if God knows what He is doing. Of course, what other choice does God have because we are all sinful human beings? Yes, we are installing a sinful man into the Office because God has called him through you to point you to Jesus. God has called him through you to rightly preach the Gospel, rightly administer the Sacraments, to forgive and retain sins, to visit the sick and the shut-in, to point you to Jesus so that by your being filled with Jesus, so that as you are going about living your life in your various vocations you will be ready so that when you are asked you will be able to give others an answer, a defense, of your faith in Jesus. And you will be able to do that because God has given you the authority to speak for Him, He has given you the promise to be with you and to give to you the very words you will need to give an answer. We get it right when we point to Jesus.
 

I love being Lutheran. Really, I do. For the past number of years I have had the opportunity and privilege to present a sectional at the Higher Things Youth Gathering on Why I am Lutheran and I get to extol the virtues of being Lutheran. It is great to be Lutheran because we get it right because we point to Jesus and we never let anything get in our way of pointing to Jesus. Lutheran doctrine, that is what we believe, teach and confess is always clear in Lutheran practice, that is in the way we live as Lutherans. So, our lives begin in the Divine Service which teaches our faith and our faith informs our Divine Service. Even our church building is built according to our Lutheran faith. And it too points to Jesus.
 

When we walk into this facility, this church building the first thing we see is the cross. The building points us to Jesus. When we begin our Divine Service we do so with the invocation, a reminder of our Baptism and entrance into the Church, Jesus putting His name on us with the voice of the called Pastor and water with his hands. We look and we see the Baptismal font, Jesus comes to us through Holy Baptism. Our church building and our Divine Service are Lutheran, they point us to Jesus.
 

Next, in our Divine Service, we confess our sins and we hear the most beautiful words we can hear. Yes, through the mouth of the sinful pastor God speaks and does what He speaks, He forgives our sins. And because it is God’s Word we know that His words does what it says and gives the gifts He speaks, we know our sins are forgiven. We are pointed to Jesus.
 

As the service continues we hear the very word of God read by our called and Ordained Pastor, as if God Himself were speaking His Word to us. And then, from the pulpit we hear him preach and expound in Law and Gospel those very words. Jesus comes to us through the Word of God. And notice it is the Divinely Called Pastor who has been called to read and speak to us the Word of God and point us to Jesus. As disciples of Jesus we are called to come to the Divine Service and be given to so that we might read, learn and take to heart these very words of Jesus read and spoken to us by the Pastor. We are pointed to Jesus.
 

And the Jesus we are pointed to is the Jesus who is glorified in His death and resurrection. The price for sin was set in the Garden of Eden, death, hell. God’s command to be perfect was never rescinded. The only way to heaven is perfection and we cannot be perfect. So, God took care of that for us as well. The fullness of the Gospel is not simply Jesus’ death and resurrection but the fact that He lived the perfect life demanded of us for us in our place because we cannot. Jesus perfectly obeyed all God’s commands and promises, then of His own free will He took our sins upon Himself and allowed Himself to be crucified. No one took His life, He gave it freely for us because of His great love for us. Jesus paid the price for our sins, all of our sins and He gives that forgiveness to us. We are pointed to Jesus.
 

Following our hearing the Word of God, after we have had an opportunity to respond to the gifts of God through our prayers, our offerings, and our hymns our attention is drawn to the altar where in Jesus comes to us to give us His body and blood in His Holy Supper for the forgiveness of our sins. As the pastor speaks the words of God so the gifts God gives are given to us. God gives and we are given to. We are pointed once again to Jesus.
 

Finally, our Divine Service concludes with a benediction, the Aaronic threefold putting of God’s name on us benediction. God using the mouth of the pastor speaks His word of blessing on us. We are pointed to Jesus. And notice, nothing is in the way of the cross, the pulpit, the altar, the font. Nothing draws our attention away to the side or in front of the cross. Nothing points us to ourselves, to our emotions, to our experience, to us. We are pointed to Jesus. Our Lutheran doctrine and practice put our focus where we desire it to be, as the Greeks said, “We wish to see Jesus.” Because it is only as we see Jesus that we are prepared to go out into the world and live as priests in the priesthood of all believers, living our lives as living sacrifices always being ready to give an answer for the hope that we have. I tell you, it is awesome being a Lutheran.
 

“20Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’” This afternoon we rejoice in the wonderful gifts God gives to us His people, His sinful people. We rejoice in the wonderful doctrine of the Lutheran Church which is on display in the Divine Service and in the lives of God’s people. We rejoice in the answer we have for the hope in Jesus we have, an answer given to us, spoken through us, and used by God to give, strengthen and keep in faith. And especially this afternoon we rejoice in God’s gifts of a new pastor, sinful though he is, through which God will come to speak to us, to point us to Jesus, to give us the gifts He has to give to us, to fill us to the point of overflowing and as our cup overflows, as we go out into the world, in our various vocations we cannot help but spill out the good news to others, as they ask of the hope that we have. And invite our family and friends to come to this place and see Jesus.
 

Pastor Wolfmueller, members of St. Paul Lutheran Church, and family and friends in this community, God has richly blessed you with two fine pastors who will indeed, point you to Jesus. Indeed, what a great God we have, what a loving God we have, what a gift giving God we have. God gives and we are given to. God does and we are done to. And we can be confident that God gets it right. Thanks be to God and to Him alone be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On Giving up Everything - September 4, 2022 - Thirteenth Sunday after the Pentecost (Proper 18) - Text: Luke 14:25-35

There is the old story about a chicken and a pig who lived on a farm. The farmer was not doing well financially and so the chicken and the pig thought about how each might contribute to help the farmer. The chicken suggested that they provide the morning meal for the farmer to which the pig pointed out to the chicken that her suggestion showed the difference between volunteering to make a contribution, that is that she would lay the egg, and making a total commitment, for to provide the ham, bacon or sausage, meant the pig’s life. Our text for today is not for the squeamish. Our text is another one of those Gospel readings about which we read and question, “This is the Gospel of the Lord?”
 

Our text begins with Jesus’ words of warning, we begin at verse twenty-five, “25Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’” (v. 25-27). As Jesus moved from place to place, the crowds followed Him. Some were looking to witness a miracle or to be part of a miracle. Some were looking to be feed. Most were looking from something for themselves. At one point, Jesus stops, turns and addresses the crowd. His words are hard words. The cost of true discipleship is great indeed.
 

Jesus speaks words which might at first hearing sound rather harsh, that is that one must “hate” one’s own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even one’s own life or he or she cannot be His disciples. And here is one of those instances in the Bible where we might be puzzled and think that the Bible contradicts itself, because we are told in other places that we are to love others. So if we are thinking this is some contradiction then the problem is not with the Word of God, but with us and our understanding, or misunderstanding. Always remember, the Bible never contradicts itself, so if we think there is a contradiction, then we need to look deeper to find our misunderstanding. So, let us look a little deeper. And as we look deeper we see that this word “hate” is a word which means “not love more than,” in other words, we are to not love our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even our own life, more than we love Jesus. Of course, this is what we confess in the explanation to the first commandment, that we “fear, love and trust in God above all things.” One must be willing to love Jesus more than one’s own family, even more than one’s own life. We can only be a true disciples of Jesus by putting Him first in our lives.
 

The ultimate challenge of true discipleship is showing one’s love for Jesus so much that one must be willing to die for Jesus, which, incidentally is what we promise at our confirmation and when we joined this congregation, that is that we will “remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death.” Similar to the hen and the pig providing breakfast for the farmer, true discipleship is more than simply volunteering to make a contribution, true discipleship is a total commitment.
 

Jesus continues by giving two illustrations to help the people and to help us to understand what He means, we pick up at verse twenty-eight, “28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace” (v. 28-32).
 

Notice how Jesus builds His illustrations. First, one does not build a tower without first setting down and counting the cost of building a tower. Here we are reminded of the very foundation of our own Christian faith life. The foundation of our own Christian faith is that of the means of Grace, the Word, the Bible and the Sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and of course, confession and absolution. Through the means of the Word of God and Holy Baptism our Lord brought us to faith and made us a part of His Kingdom. Now, through our Divine Service and Bible study and through our private reading and devotions, we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, work to build on that foundation.
 

It is only after we have set a firm foundation that we count ourselves worthy to go to war for the Lord and so, we then count the cost of war. We do not go to war by ourselves thinking that we might be able, by ourselves to defeat the enemy, that is the Devil, for he is far too superior to us, rather we go to war only as our Lord leads us into battle.
 

The final step in being a disciple of Jesus, after building a firm foundation and after being made ready for battle is a fight against one’s own sinful flesh and renouncing oneself, we read the last verse of our text, verse thirty-three, “33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (v. 33). Many of you know that I like to put things into context and perspective and in particular into an eternal perspective. So, let me remind you of the eternal perspective of discipleship. What we are born with and what we take with us when we die is what is truly ours. So, basically, nothing is really ours. The “preacher” in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that all is vanity and that what wealth one spends a lifetime of accumulating, their heirs will quickly be rid of, spending it without thought to how much effort was put into accumulating it. Jesus’ warning is that we not let the things (and this is what they are, things) of this world get in the way of our discipleship and unfortunately, that is too often what we do, we let the things of this world cloud our minds and keep us from discipleship.
 

Perhaps, if we are looking to a “bottom line” for this text, the bottom line is that Jesus came to give His complete self, to give His life and so He demands complete allegiance from us. Which brings us back to the question, “This is the Gospel of the Lord?”
 

So, if this is the Gospel of the Lord, What does this mean? Jesus is speaking to a group of people with a mind set, not unlike ours today. Today, we live in a country which believes that there is nothing free in life. And everything that is said to be free, we are told that there are strings attached. So, when we hear these words from Jesus we might first declare, “See, I told you so, there are strings attached to being a Christian.” Well, let us see if that is really true, or if there is more to this than meets the ears.
 

First, we might remind ourselves that we are saved by grace, that is we are saved, we have the gift and promise, we have the hope and certainty of eternal life only because Jesus gave His all, even His life for ours. Jesus did not simply contribute something to save us, He gave His all to save us. As we were reminded last week and the week before, and many times, Jesus is God and as God, He was enjoying all that glory that was His in heaven, and yet, He gave up the glory that He was enjoying. Because of His commitment to us, His children, the commitment He made back in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned, He gave up all the glory that was His in order to take on human flesh and blood, becoming one with us, one like us except without sin. He humbled Himself, being born of a woman, being born and placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. He humbled Himself, coming, not to be served, but to serve. He came to give His life as a ransom for all. He lived perfectly, for us, in our place, because we cannot. He took our sins upon Himself and suffered and died to pay the price for our sins. He rose from the dead, showing Himself beyond a doubt to be alive, and He promised to send the Holy Spirit. He also promised that He would come again. He ascended into heaven from where He came and now, along with being everywhere present, He is also in heaven watching over us, ruling over us and interceding for us.
 

Jesus came to give His all and He did. And He continues to give to us. Now He gives to us all His good gifts and blessings: faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. And He gives us these blessings through His means of grace, His Word and Sacraments. Jesus gives, and we are given to, no strings attached. But what about our text and its demands on discipleship?
 

Again, let me say that Jesus demands nothing from us and yet, while Jesus demands nothing from us, He instructs us in appropriate ways in which He directs us to respond to all that He has done for us and given to us. Our response of faith, not our way of working for salvation, not our way of paying off what He has done for us, which we could never do, but our response of faith is, with His help and only with His help and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live lives of faithful discipleship, imperfect though that may be as we are and continue to be sinners as well as saints. We are not our own, we were bought with a price, the price of Jesus’ life. Jesus loves us with a complete love. He counted the cost and He paid the price. And His offer to us is to work in and through us through His means of grace so that we might be His disciples.
 

If you have not figured it out by now, one of the reasons the world despises Christians and the Christian faith is because the Christian faith is an exclusive faith. There is only one way to heaven and that way is through Jesus and faith in Him, alone. This means that we are not sure and confident of our eternal well-being simply by being associated with a church or a family of Christians. We may be confident only as the Lord gives us faith, strengthens and keeps us in faith through His Word and Sacraments, reminding us of the importance of making regular and diligent use of these means.
 

Whenever I sit down to look at a text in order to preach on it, one of the first things I do is to look at the text and in one sentence say what the text means. As I looked at this text, the sentence I used to state the main idea of this text was this, “Although there may be many who would associate with a Christian church today, simply for social reasons and the like, Jesus continues to warn that true discipleship costs one’s life, that is that one is willing to give their life to follow Him, as He has given His life for us.” My prayer for each one of you is that the Lord would continue to work in your life, through His means of grace, as you make regular and diligent use of the means, to give you, strengthen you and keep you in such faith until Christ comes again, at which time we will gather with all the saints and say, “to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake,” Amen.