Glorify the Father Through Your Fruit by Pastor Zarling

Glorify the Father through your fruit

John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I am going to remain in you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Likewise, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth (1 John 3:18). Amen.

Have any of you read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”? I believe it was God’s timing that I finished listening to the book last week because the story of the titular character Tom ties in so powerfully with Jesus’ words in our Gospel that he is the Vine and we are the branches. We are to be branches who glorify the Father through our fruit.

I’m going to give you some spoilers. But since the book was published 172 years ago … you've had plenty of time to read it.

In the beginning of the book, Tom is a slave owned by Mr. and Mrs. Shelby in Kentucky. The Shelbys are Christian people who treat Tom and the other slaves like family. In fact, as a boy, young George Shelby will sit on Uncle Tom’s lap in Tom’s cabin.

Mr. Shelby gets himself into debt, so he sells Tom to settle that debt. The book tells the story of Tom and other slaves in the South who were bought, sold, treated well, and treated awfully.

At the end of the book, Tom has been purchased by a vicious plantation owner named Simon Legree in rural Louisiana. Legree sees talent in Tom and wants to train him to be the head of the other slaves on his plantation. Tom is commanded by Legree to whip a female slave for being too slow in picking cotton. Tom refuses. He says to Legree, “I’m willin’ to work, night and day, and work while there’s life and breath in me, but this yer thing I can’t feel right to do – and, Mas’r, I never shall do it, - never!”

Legree replies in anger as he gives Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot, “Didn’t I pay twelve hundred dollars, cash for you … An’t yer mine, now body and soul?”

From the ground, with blood and tears that flow down his face, Tom exclaims, “No! No! No! My soul an’t yours, Mas’r! You haven’t bought it, - ye can’t buy it! It’s been bought and paid for, by one that is able to keep it – no matter, no matter, you can’t harm me!”

So Legree has two large slaves beat Tom savagely, attempting to harm him.

A while later, two female slaves escape Legree’s plantation. Legree knows Tom knows something. Legree decides he will either break Tom’s will or kill Tom’s body. He has the two slaves beat Tom mercilessly. Just before he faints from the beating, Tom looks up at Legree and says, “I forgive ye with all my soul!”

Just as Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

The two slaves take Tom to a building. His wondrous words and pious prayers have convicted the hearts of the two slaves who had brutalized him so. They lay Tom on a bed of cotton and clean his wounds and give him a drink of Legree’s brandy. One slave confesses, “O Tom, we’s been awful wicked to ye!” Tom replies faintly, “I forgive ye, with all my heart!”

The other slave asks, “O Tom, do tell us who is Jesus, anyhow? Jesus, that’s been standin’ by you so, all this night?” With fainting but powerful words, Tom tells these slaves about the One who had set them free through his life, death, and everlasting presence.

The two men weep. One cries, “Why didn’t I never hear this before? But I do believe! I can’t help it!” Then the two confess together, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!”

The Holy Spirit converted these two men. Just as he converted the repentant thief on the cross who prayed to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Just as he converted the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross who confessed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Tom was a branch connected to the Vine of Jesus. In life … and with his dying breaths, he bore the fruits of that connection to his Savior. Through those fruits, he glorified his heavenly Father.

Jesus teaches, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit” (John 15:1, 2). Jesus is talking to believers – people who are connected to him by faith. But he also warns about cutting ourselves off from him. When we cut ourselves off from Jesus – that’s when we sin and can lose our faith.

One of the greatest evils in American history is slavery. Today, we may not hurt other people with whips, but our tongues can be whips that hurt people with our words. We can lash out at others with anger and unforgiveness. We can abuse others as we fill up our minds with all kinds of vengeful thoughts.

In theological terms, these are signs of commission. The sins we commit against God and our neighbors.

In theological terms, we also commit sins of omission. These are the sins that come from the good and godly things we omit doing.

In her concluding remarks in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” author Harriet Beecher Stowe calls out Christians in both the South and the North for their sins of omission. She calls out the Christian slave owners in the South because even though they treated their slaves like servants or even family, they did not speak up or stand up to stop the horrible practice of slavery. Stowe calls out the Christians in the North who blindly said they were submitting to the government and returned escaped slaves back to their slave owners in the South.

Our sinful omission can be when we are apathetic and indifferent to others who are struggling and suffering. We can be impatient and unsympathetic toward those who are weak and hurting. We may not say a kind word, offer a smile, or lend a helping hand to someone for whom it could change their day.

These sins of commission and sins of omission happen when we cut ourselves off from the Vine of Jesus. And what happens then? Jesus warns, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

That sounds terrifying!

How do we prevent that burning in eternal hellfire? We stay connected to Jesus. And why Jesus? Because the Son of God left his heavenly throne to be born of human flesh and laid in a manger. He came to be connected to us because we cannot connect ourselves to him.

Because of his connection to us, Jesus allowed himself to be cut off from his Father. He was forsaken so we would not be forsaken. He was abandoned so we would not be abandoned. He endured the eternal hellfire during his hours on the cross so we might never have to fear one moment of those hellish flames.

For all your sins of commission, Jesus committed to do everything perfectly in your place. For all your sins of omission, Jesus never once omitted anything. On top of that, Jesus suffered, bled, died, and rose to pay for your past, present, and future sins of commission and omission.

The Holy Spirit has connected you to the Vine through his Means of Grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. As branches, you are well-watered through the Waters of Baptism. You are well-nourished through the Lord’s Supper. You are well-fertilized through God’s Word. These are the Means of Grace the Holy Spirit uses to connect you and keep you connected as branches to the Vine of Jesus.

St. John writes about the fruits of faith, “This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). You’ll probably never push anybody out of the way from a speeding bus. But maybe you help your elderly neighbor clean his gutters. Or you help your neighbor who is a single mother by cutting her grass. Or you help your widowed neighbor across the street by bringing her a casserole and some conversation.

Jesus showed his big way of loving you by laying down his life for you. These are little ways of saying “I love you” back to Jesus. They are also little ways of saying “I love you” to your neighbors. These little things are like grapes on the vine. They are beautiful to look at. They are sweet to the taste. They bring joy to your neighbor. They bring joy to you. They bring joy to Jesus. … And they glorify your heavenly Father.

Jesus teaches, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. … My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).

In listening to the 45 chapters of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” I was wondering why the author gave it that title. Tom’s cabin is only mentioned in the beginning of the book. But then, on the very last page, I finally understood the title.

The years have passed, and George Shelby is now a young man. He searches the South to find Tom. He finally finds him … on his deathbed of cotton. George hears Tom’s final words of resurrection faith. He buries Tom and returns home to Kentucky.

When he arrives home, George gathers his mother and the slaves together. He tells them of Tom’s faith, his final words, and his death. George then writes papers of freedom for all the Shelby’s slaves. Amazingly, the slaves beg not to be freed and sent away. The Shelbys have been good to them. They already feel free in their home.

George hands them the papers and insists they are now free. Free to go … or free to stay. If they stay, he will pay them and give them a home to live in.

Then George tells everyone, “It was on his grave, my friends, that I resolved, before God, that I would never own another slave, while it is possible to free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see Uncle Tom’s cabin; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was.”

By God’s grace, Tom was a man connected to his Savior. By God’s grace, we are men and women and children connected to our Savior. Every time the freed slaves would look upon Uncle Tom’s cabin, they were to glorify the Father for their freedom. Every time we look upon the bloodied cross and open tomb of Jesus, we remember our freedom from the slavery of sin, death, and the devil. We bear the fruits of our faith shown in “love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth” (1 John 3:18). In these fruits of faith, we glorify our Father. Amen.

This is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us (1 John 3:18). Amen.

The Shepherd Who Died for His Sheep by Pastor Klusmeyer

Text: John 10:11-18 Easter 4b

SN: 0049 04/21/24

The Shepherd Who Died for His Sheep

What would you be willing to die for? There are many different ways to answer that question. Perhaps you would be willing to die for a cause like freedom, or maybe you would be willing to die in defense of your country. Some would be willing to die to save a loved one: a parent dying for their child or a husband dying to save his wife. Some might even be willing to sacrifice their life for a complete stranger in an act of selfless sacrifice. But would you die to save the life of your dog or cat?

That’s a little more difficult because we can have love and affection for our animals, we also know that they are not the same as people. But maybe you would be willing to make a great sacrifice for your pet. But what about a cow…or a sheep? Would you be willing to die for them? A shepherd loves and cares for his sheep because they are important to him. They are his livelihood and source of wealth. They provide him with wool to sell and to make into clothing. They give him meat and milk. He is willing to go to great lengths to keep them safe and healthy. But to die for them? That doesn’t seem to make much sense.

But this is the picture that Jesus wants us to have in mind when we think about our relationship with him. We are sheep and he is our Good Shepherd. He loves us dearly. We see the love of our Savior in the painting above the altar. We see the love, devotion, and selflessness our Savior has in the picture on the screen. Many good shepherds would risk their lives to save their sheep. King David described how he fought off a lion and a bear to save his flock. Our Good Shepherd did something far greater than just risk his life for us; our Good Shepherd died to save his sheep.

The Bible often uses the imagery of sheep and shepherds to describe God’s relationship with his people. On the one hand, it shows us the love and devotion of our God and our willingness to follow wherever he leads us. But the imagery of us as sheep is not always a flattering description. Sheep have the reputation of being docile, harmless, and rather stupid animals. In storms they have been known to pile up in the corner of their pasture, actually smothering one another to death. If a sheep stumbles and falls into a ravine and rolls over on its back, the poor animal is helpless to right itself and stand up again. Sheep often make very foolish and self-destructive decisions.

Isn’t that a perfect picture of what we do so often in our lives? We know that sin is wrong and not good for us. And yet what do we foolishly do over and over again? We jump right back into the same sins of habit. We know the good we should do, but we don’t do it, and the evil we know we shouldn’t do is what we keep on doing. We ignore the warnings of God’s Word and do things that are destructive to our faith and harm our relationships with others. We have the truth of God’s Word before us, the very voice of our Good Shepherd, and instead of listening to that voice we listen to the voice of the false shepherds of this world. We foolishly wander into temptation and forget that there is a ravening wolf who is waiting for an opportunity to destroy our souls.

This is why we need a Good Shepherd who knows us, loves us, and wants to save us. Jesus assures us “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me (just as the Father knows me and I know the Father). And I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus knows us intimately. David describes this knowledge of our Lord in Psalm 139, “LORD, you have investigated me, and you know. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You understand my thoughts from far off. You keep track of when I travel and when I stay, and you are familiar with all my ways. Before there is a word on my tongue, you, LORD, already know it completely.” That is both a comforting and terrifying thought. Jesus knows all of our sins. He knows the sins we do when we are alone and no one else is watching. He knows the secret sins of our dark and terrible thoughts. Jesus knows how very sinful we are in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus knows every sin that we have ever committed; he knows exactly what kind of wretched unworthy sheep we are. And yet our Good Shepherd loved us so much that he was willing to die for us.

Now if a normal human shepherd lays dies for his sheep this may not necessarily save them because he is no longer there to save them from the hungry wolves. But the death of our Good Shepherd saved us because his death fulfilled the promises of God and destroyed the power of our enemies.

Our Shepherd is more than just a good shepherd. He is the perfect Shepherd who was loved by the Father. Jesus tells us that the Father loved him because he was willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus is describing the perfect unity between the Father and the Son. The death of Jesus was able to pay for our sins because he was able to do something that we could not. He lived a life free from sin and in perfect obedience to

the will of the Father. Jesus never jumped right back into sins of habit. He never wandered foolishly into temptation, but instead lived a perfect life in our place. He was completely obedient to God’s will. He kept all of God’s commandments. Christ offered this holy life as a perfect sacrifice to make full and complete payment for your sins. Christ willingly died to save his sheep, sheep who did not deserve this sacrifice. No one forced Jesus to suffer and endure the torments of death and hell. No one took his life from him, but he died willingly to save his beloved sheep. “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

Our Good Shepherd laid down his life by his own authority and he took it up again by his own authority. A human shepherd can die for his sheep, but only the Shepherd who is true God and take his life back up and rise from the dead. By his resurrection, Jesus proved beyond any doubt that he had crushed the head of Satan. He removed our guilt and shame and paid for our sins in full. Christ destroyed the power of death. With this authority, Christ gives us victory over the grave as well. Our Good Shepherd has removed the sting of death and given his sheep the victory of eternal life; we will live in the house of the Lord forever. The death of our Good Shepherd saved his flock and defeated the power of all our enemies.

As sheep, we are powerless to do anything to save ourselves. We can do nothing to earn our salvation or fight off the attack of the wolves. We needed a Shepherd who would die to save us. By faith in Jesus Christ, we have been made part of his flock. As faithful sheep, we want to remain part of that flock. We want to listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow where he leads us. We know that his commands are for our good. That he will lead us to green pastures and beside quiet waters.

We do this by remaining faithful to his word. We pray and study God’s Word so that we can test the spirits. We regularly gather with the other sheep of the Lord’s flock to grow in our faith and encourage one another. We regularly refresh ourselves with the body and blood that was shed for our salvation. We support the work of our church and our Synod so that faithful pastors and teachers can be trained in God’s Word to continue proclaiming God’s Word in its truth and purity. We want to follow the command of our Savior to go out into the world and bring other sheep into his sheep pen. Our Good Shepherd gives us a glorious vision of the Last Day when all the scattered flock will be gathered together before our loving Shepherd and there will be one flock and one Shepherd.

What an amazing gift we have in our Good Shepherd. We see the love and compassion of our Savior depicted in the relationship of the shepherd with his sheep. We have a Savior who loved us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us. We have a God who knows intimately. Who knows every flaw and sin and yet loved us so much that he died for us. We have a Good Shepherd who by his authority has defeated the power of death and hell and given us victory over the grave. And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil for he is always with us. Amen.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Peace Be With You by Pastor Zarling

Peace be with you

Luke 24:36–49 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37But they were terrified and frightened and thought they were looking at a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While they still did not believe it (because of their joy), and while they were still wondering, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

42They gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43He took it and ate in front of them. 44He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46He said to them, “This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49Look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

If we walk in the light, just as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Amen.

We were in the hospital room of my mother-in-law, Sue. We were told by the doctor that she was dying. The pneumonia had taken over.

The whole family was there. My wife, Shelley, her dad, Jerry, her sister, Becky, her brother Patrick, their spouses, and all the grandchildren. Everyone had tears streaming down their cheeks. I led the family in prayer and a reading of resurrection comfort from God’s Word.

After Sue had been called home to heaven, we went to the funeral home. Sue’s eternal home had been prepared for her by Jesus. Now Jerry had to make preparations for Sue’s Christian funeral.

We sat in the office at the funeral home where the funeral director asked for information for the obituary. Jerry, Shelley, Patrick, and Becky sat in silence. They were still in shock. They couldn’t think. They couldn’t speak. I finally spoke up and volunteered to write the obituary. I told the funeral director that I’m a pastor so I kind of write for a living.

The shock and silence didn’t end with the funeral. Sue would fill their house with Christmas decorations. Jerry puts up an undecorated Christmas tree. It took Shelley a long time to be able to concentrate to read novels again. The grandchildren miss their grandmother terribly.

Almost every one of you has felt grief like this. Death robbed you of someone close to you. The pain is raw and fresh. A well-intentioned word can bring you to tears. A hymn can cause you to choke up. A picture can feel like a punch in the gut. A memory can feel like someone is clawing at your heart.

You miss talking to your sibling whom you shared a room with growing up as kids.

You lost your mom whom you used to pour your heart out to.

You miss doing projects with your dad.

You grieve the death of your child because there is nothing much worse in our world than burying a child.

You miss the smile, the smell, the soft snoring at night from your spouse with whom who shared a bed for decades.

Satan loves all this!

Satan uses his close ally of Death to throw our lives into turmoil.

Satan uses your grief to rob you of the peace that Christ’s resurrection brings. He wants your tears to be so heavy that you cannot see the open tomb in front of you. He desires your mind to be so clouded that you do not notice the dead Christ defeating death for you. He enjoys seeing you so overwrought with sorrow over what you lost that you cannot think about what Christ has gained for you.

Satan needs for you to be so consumed with anger that you are enraged at God for what he has allowed to be taken from you. Your anger leads you to question how God could call himself loving when he was so unloving in taking away this precious child of yours. If God really cared about you, he would have let you hang out longer with your sibling. If God was merciful, he would have shown mercy healing your spouse from their disease or mercy allowing your parents to wake up from their sleep.

Satan craves for your guilt to overwhelm you. What could you have done differently? What did you say in anger that became the last thing your loved one heard? How could you have rescheduled your job so that you could have spent more time with your spouse, parent, or child? You learned the hard way that there will always be another meeting, but there may never be another time to sit down together at the dinner table or play catch in the backyard or just say, “I love you.”

This grief, anger, and guilt can wreck your marriage. They can destroy your relationships with your family and friends. They can create a barrier between you and your Christian brothers and sisters. They can drive you away from your faith in God as being a merciful Father in heaven.

Satan delights in all of that!

Satan uses death to fill our lives with darkness. We heard St. John tell us today that God wants us to live in the light. “God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. … If we walk in the light, just as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5, 7).

When you are feeling the darkness threaten to overwhelm you, know that Jesus was born in the darkness to be the Light of the world. Jesus died in unnatural darkness on Good Friday to bring light and salvation into the world. As light was beginning to dawn on Easter morning, Jesus was alive and walked out of the dark tomb. The light of Jesus shines into the darkness of Death and the Devil.

After Jesus’ death, the disciples were filled with doubt, fear, and confusion. When we have a loved one die, we, too, are often filled with doubt, fear, and confusion. Christ’s resurrection from the grave changes everything! Faith replaces doubt. Trust replaces fear. And confidence replaces confusion. All because the Son of God who died is now alive! Because he lives, we will live, too!

This is a promise we need to hear again and again. This was a promise Jesus had told his disciples. But they needed to hear it again.

That’s exactly what Jesus was doing in the locked room on Easter evening when he appeared to his frightened disciples who were hiding from the Jews. They were discussing how the women, Peter, Mary Magdalene, and the Emmaus disciples, had all seen Jesus alive. They were undoubtedly feeling grief that their Rabbi and Messiah had been killed. They were feeling guilt because they had all run away from Jesus when he was arrested in Gethsemane. They were feeling confusion because they were wondering how God could love his Son and yet allow him to die such a brutal death.

Amid all this fear, guilt, and confusion, Jesus is standing among them and gives them what they need most. He says, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36). He gives them a solid place to stand in front of the judgment seat of the Almighty God. The crucified Christ has made the atoning sacrifice for their sins. The death and resurrection of the Son of God had always been a part of God’s salvation story from the very beginning. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).

Luke explains, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). I imagine Jesus doing a Bible study with his disciples. He leads his learners through Old Testament passages that pointed to his suffering and death. He could have reminded them of Psalm 22 where David wrote about Jesus’ crucifixion with these words: “They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them. For my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:16-18). Or Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant. “We thought it was because of God that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4, 5).

Then Jesus could have pointed them to Psalm 16 that prophesied his resurrection. “You will not let your favored one see decay” (Psalm 16:10). Again, in Psalm 22, the Suffering Savior prays for deliverance “from the lion’s mouth” (a metaphor for Satan). This prayer is followed by a hymn of praise where the Messiah thanks God for hearing his prayer and delivering him. “Save me from the mouth of the lion. From the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me. I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation I will praise you” (Psalm 22:21, 22).

After the Bible study is over, Jesus shows the disciples his hands and feet. “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:39). These marks of his passion are the certainty of the resurrection of the flesh on the Last Day.

After the disciples received Jesus’ peace, Jesus wanted them to share that peace with others. He told them, “You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48).

After you have received Jesus’ resurrection peace, Jesus wants you to share that peace with others. Jesus says to you, “You are witnesses of these things, too.”

You can lead people who are hurting, grieving, or broken in a Bible study.

For the parents grieving their infant dying in baptismal grace you can remind the parents their daughter has been spared this world’s present evil. “No one understands that the righteous one is being spared from evil” (Isaiah 57:1).

For the believing child who died in his sleep after a long bout with leukemia, you can remind the parents that their son woke up in his own room in the mansion of heaven. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

For the friend grieving the loss of a sibling, you can remind your friend that their Christian sibling has been gathered to God’s people. It was said of both Abraham and Ishmael, “When he breathed his last and died, he was gathered to his people” (Genesis 25:8, 17).

For the friend whose spouse has died and misses him or her terribly, you can remind your friend that their Christian spouse is seated at the banquet feast of Christ in heaven. The psalmist declares, “You set a table for me in the presence of my foes” (Psalm 23:5).

For the family who watched their parent suffer with dementia or struggle with cancer, you can remind the family that their believing parent has departed and is now at peace with God. We can say with aged Simeon, “Lord, you now dismiss your servant in peace” (Luke 2:29).

Satan wants to use your grief and guilt to turn you away from God. He wants to drive a wedge between you and your heavenly Father. God wants to use your grief, so you come to him for comfort. He wants to remove your guilt and replace it with his precious words of forgiveness. He wants to calm your anger at him and teach you that everything he has done has been for the eternal benefit of your loved ones (Romans 8:28).

You may not understand that now, but by the grace of God, your loved one in heaven is appreciating that eternal benefit right now.

This is the peace that the resurrected Christ gives to you. He is with you, speaking to you in his words, showing you the wounds of his passion, bringing you this much needed resurrection comfort. During the season of Easter. In the hospital. At the cemetery.

Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Amen.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Amen

We want to see Jesus by Pastor Zarling

We want to see Jesus

John 12:20-33 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew came with Philip and told Jesus.

23Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

27“Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, this is the reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!”

A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.”

29The crowd standing there heard it and said it thundered. Others said an angel talked to him. 30Jesus answered, “This voice was not for my sake but for yours.

31“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate what kind of death he was going to die.

The Lord promises, “Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Amen.

Last week, four Shoreland seniors – Abigail, Belle, Kaliska, and Tayven – their orchestra teacher, Ms. Lawson, Shelley, and I were on a mission trip to Hood River and The Dalles, Oregon.

The week before we arrived, Pastor Lawson and members of Concordia and Bethany Lutheran Churches placed flyers on one thousand homes to let them know we would be coming on certain dates to collect food for the local food pantry.

We divided into teams of two to knock on doors. After we introduced ourselves, we told people we were from the church collecting food. Then we asked, “What advice would you give a church who is trying to reach out into the neighborhood.” We received lots of great responses. Most people said, “This! What you’re doing right here in collecting food.” Others said, “People are lonely so more community involvement would be great.” “Host events for the community in a park or at the church.”

We asked people a follow-up question. “What do you think people want to see and hear in a church?” One lady answered that question, “I want Jesus to be like me. A Jesus who smokes weed.” (We were near Portland, after all.)

What this lady said was no different from how most people view God or talk about Jesus. Instead of worshiping the Creator, they create their own kind of god. Instead of believing in Jesus as their Savior from sin, they create a make-believe Jesus who is accepting of sin.

Non-Christians do this all the time. Sadly, even we Christians do this, too. We can learn a lesson today from the Greeks who approached Philip saying, “We want to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Then Jesus tells the crowd about the kind of death he was going to die (John 12:33). This is important because we want to see the real Jesus, not our made-up versions of him.

Jerusalem was packed with out-of-towners for the Passover Festival. Jesus had just entered the city on a donkey and was greeted as a triumphant king to the shouts of “Hosanna.” Then he had gone into the temple to worship, but discovered the chaos caused by all the sacrificial animals

being sold and the money being exchanged in the temple courtyard area, so he chased away the animals and overturned the moneychangers’ tables.

Some Greeks, either Jews who lived in Greece or Greek converts to Judaism, were in town for the Passover celebration. They had heard about this Jesus who performed miracles and taught with authority, and they wanted to meet him. And now, after everything that happened on that Palm Sunday, they really wanted to meet him. So, these Greeks find the disciple with the Greek name, Philip, and request, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip isn’t sure what to do, so he goes to Andrew, and the two of them go to Jesus.

Jesus gives what at first appears to be a strange answer. He doesn’t say anything about setting up an appointment. Instead, he says, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). In other words, Jesus tells them that the time has come for him to be lifted upon the cross, just as Moses had lifted up a bronze serpent in the wilderness. This will be the hour of Jesus’ greatest glory. For Jesus did not come into the world to be the object of attention, a handshaking politician, or a smiling celebrity. He came to be the Savior who will bear our sins in his body, dying to give us life.

It is this Jesus we need to see. It was this Jesus that the Greeks came hundreds of miles to see. They left their homes to travel to the temple in Jerusalem to offer up their sacrificial animals at the Passover.

Another lady we met during our canvassing said that churches should be less confrontational and more like Jesus. He was never judgmental.

This is a common refrain from unbelievers. They’ll say that Jesus hung out with prostitutes and drunkards. He didn’t judge people. Those who make these claims conveniently ignore that Jesus met a woman caught in adultery. Then he told her, “Leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). He met tax collectors and sinners. But then he told them, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus didn’t “hang out” with drunkards and prostitutes. He ministered to them. Afterwards, by God’s grace, they weren’t prostitutes and drunkards anymore. Jesus came to transform people, not indulge them.

Jesus did not come to be accepting, be our buddy, or smoke weed. He came to call us to repentance. To bring us out of our life of sin. To suffer and die to pay the price for our sin. So that we might believe and be saved.

Even as Christians we fall into the trap of creating our own gods by loving the wrong things and denying the right things. We adore the wrong things and defile the right things. We love sex and defile the marriage bed. We love a pleasurable life and deny life to children. We love a fun time and avoid our vocational responsibilities. We love money but not our neighbor. We hide in the shadows and love the darkness. We reject rebuke and covet flattery. We justify our sin and refuse our Savior. Because of our sinful nature, we don’t want to see Jesus. He’s going to ruin all the fun our inborn nature wants to have.

By God’s grace, Jesus sought us out when we were not seeking him. The Holy Spirit has called us to faith so we can be like these Greeks who now do want to see Jesus. But it is a dangerous thing to find Jesus, to follow Jesus.

Jesus used a farming illustration to teach us, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24). The kernel of wheat is going to die and be buried. There is a harvest that’s coming. That harvest begins with Jesus. He is the firstfruits of the great harvest from the dead. Jesus must die and then

rise again. As Christians, those who believe and follow Jesus, we must die with Jesus to then rise at the great harvest.

Jesus continues, “Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:25. 26).

When we are creating false gods of our own making, when we are loving the wrong things, when we are denying ourselves the right things, we lose the eternal things. Therefore, we must lose the wrong things, surrender our sins, give up the gods of our imagination, repent, and then receive eternal life.

This eternal life is a gift. This gift is free to those who believe, but it is not free from cost. Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday morning, he rode in as the Lamb of God. While those in Jerusalem were selecting their lambs for the Passover celebration on Thursday, Jesus would be laying down his life on the altar of the cross during the Passover. He was sacrificing himself for the sins of the world.

This is the real Jesus. He isn’t accepting of our sins. He’s suffering for our sins. He doesn’t hang out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and drunkards. He dies for these sinners. He doesn’t allow us to mold him into the kind of god we want. He enters the gates of Jerusalem on Sunday so he can die outside the city gates on Friday and then rise again on Sunday to be the God-Man we need.

The gift of eternal life is free to all who believe in the real Jesus. But we and everyone else need to know that this gift was not free for Jesus. The gift is covered in blood – the divinely human blood of the God-Man – Jesus the Son of God the Father and the Son of Mary. This bloody gift gives eternal life to all who accept the real Jesus and believe in him as the Savior from their sin. Those who accept this eternal life then accept living this life for Jesus.

A life of living for Jesus means a life of repentance. That means loving the right things and hating the wrong things. There is such a thing as godly hate – hate for sin and death and the devil. Hate the things that lead you away from Christ, outside of his Church, and far from his voice. Hate your sin and repent. Sin separates, hurts, and harms us and our neighbors, and it grieves the Holy Spirit. Sin leads to death and eternal death if un-repented. So, love the right things and hate the wrong things. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

Jesus admitted, “Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, this is the reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27, 28)! Of course, Jesus’ heart is troubled. He knows the kind of death he was going to die (John 12:33). He also knew he would be glorifying his heavenly Father through this humiliating death. God the Father answered from heaven, “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:28).

Jesus then said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). The Romans weren’t the only people who used crucifixion as a punishment, but they perfected it. The Roman writer Cicero called it the most cruel and hideous of all tortures. Sometimes bodies would be left hanging on crosses for days so that everyone could see them rot. The Romans used crucifixion to force social conformity. The public display was meant to send a message: commit a crime, and the same thing could happen to you.

Jesus was no criminal and had done nothing wrong. But he was crucified publicly for everyone to see. There was no doubt that he was lifted up, nailed by his hands and his feet to a cross. There was no doubt that he died while hanging on a cross.

Jesus knew that was the kind of death he was going to die. But he didn’t mind it being public. In fact, he wanted everyone to know about it because his death was for everyone. Jesus took the punishment of death and hell for all people, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.

Jesus draws all people to himself through faith without regard for nationality, ethnic affiliation, status, age, or gender. No matter what has happened in your life, no matter how good or bad it’s been, Jesus draws you to him. Jesus draws you to him whether you’ve been in the church your whole life or started coming today because someone recently invited you.

The Romans meant death on the cross to be shameful. But there’s no need for you to feel ashamed of Jesus Christ. He was lifted up so that you would be drawn to him as your Savior.

This is the real Jesus. By God’s grace, we want to keep on seeing this real Jesus. Amen.

The Lord promises, “You are precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you” (Isaiah 43:4). Amen.

How Much Should I Give? by Pastor Klusmeyer

Text: 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Lent 3B

SN: 0044 03/03/24

How Much Should I Give?

There is a joke in our household. If our kids have a question about history, literature, or religion homework, they ask me. If they have a question about math they go and ask Mom. Understanding math has never been one of my strong suits. I can do enough to get by, but it is definitely not one of my favorite things, especially algebra and geometry. In our lesson this morning the Apostle Paul gives us a relatively simple math formula for what Christian giving looks like. Paul writes, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to set something aside in keeping with whatever he gains.”

That seems simple and straightforward. Paul is talking about proportional giving. We are to set aside a portion of our income each week as an offering to the Lord. But that still leaves us with the question of how much should I give. By nature, we all have a little lawyer in us who wants to know what the amount we need to give is to make God happy with us. We’re entering tax season right now and might wonder if is Paul talking about a portion of my net income or my gross income. But that’s not what Paul means at all. Paul is encouraging each of us to make up our own minds on how much we want to give to God. As Christians, we know that everything we have in life is a gift from God. We know that God asks us to be faithful stewards with those gifts and use a portion of them to support the work of his church.

In the Old Testament God was clear. He commanded his people to offer 10 percent of their income to support the work of the temple and his priests. As Christians, we are no longer bound by the law of tithing because Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of the law for us. We are free to bring whatever gifts we choose to the Lord. The purpose of these 10 for 10 stewardship Sundays is not to mandate that everyone in the congregation must give 10 percent of their income for 10 weeks. That would be placing our consciences back under the burden of the law. They are meant to encourage us to think about our giving habits. Tithing is one way we can give and it can be a beneficial blessing in our lives, but it is not required by God. We are free to give as we determine. This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one should give as he has determined in his heart, not reluctantly or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about proportional giving. Proportional giving is going to look different for different people. It is also going to look different at different times in our lives. There will be times when we are greatly blessed by the Lord and can give generously. There are going to be times when we face times of trial and hardship. We may have numerous financial burdens like medical bills or raising a family. During those times we may not be able to give as much. We may need to reduce the portion of income that we give to the Lord for a time so that we can care for and support our families. This is good and God-pleasing. God has called us both to use our gifts to serve his church, and he has called us to our vocations as husband, wife, mother, or father. God has called us to serve him in a variety of different ways with a variety of different gifts. The purpose of these stewardship Sundays is to allow us to evaluate our giving and see if we are using the gifts God has given us to his glory.

In the Luther quote I shared on the last page of the service folder this morning Martin Luther gives us some good advice on the relationship between contentment and giving. He echoes the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians that we should give out of the abundance of what we have. God does not want us to give in a way that causes us to be a burden to others or financially burdens our family. We are to give out of our abundance. But Luther also cautions us not to think about our abundance as the world does. Luther urges us to be satisfied with our daily bread and not seek to have more. I think that sometimes when we hear that we should be satisfied with our daily bread this means that we should be content to survive on the bare minimum to keep us alive. In his explanation of the Lord’s Prayer

Luther says, “Daily bread includes everything that we need for our bodily welfare, such as food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, land and cattle, money and goods, a godly spouse, godly children, godly workers, godly and faithful leaders, good government, good weather, peace and order, health, a good name, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”

As we think about that list of everything that is included in our “daily bread,” we realize that we have indeed been greatly blessed by the Lord. As we consider all the blessings, he has given us it is good to occasionally evaluate how well we are being stewards of those blessings. If we are honest, we must admit that we aren’t always good stewards of the gifts we have been given. We spend too much time pursuing leisure activities. We spend more time interacting with screens than we do with our own families. We foolishly believe that our money and possessions will bring us happiness. We are not content with the abundance of blessings that the Lord has given us and listen to the foolish message of the world that we need to find joy in having the next newest thing. Because of this discontentment, we are reluctant to set aside a portion of our income for the service of the Lord. We take care of our own needs first and give God whatever is left over.

Dear friends, this is something we all struggle with. None of us, including me are perfectly faithful stewards of the abundant blessings God has showered on us. None of us is perfectly thankful for all that God has done. We have all fallen far short of giving God the glory that he is due. No amount of offerings and no amount of tithing can ever make up for the sins that we have committed. We cannot earn God’s favor on our own. We needed a Savior.

Jesus is more than just an example of how to live a generous life. He is our perfect substitute. As we heard in our Gospel lesson this morning Jesus was filled with perfect zeal for the Lord’s house. He supported the work of the Lord every moment of his life. He helped the poor and needy. He showed compassion for the oppressed and the destitute. He showed perfect love to all people. He did this because he did what we could not. He was able to perfectly keep all of God’s commands. As we heard the 10 Commandments this morning, we know that Christ kept all of them perfectly for us.

Think of the perfect generosity of our Lord. He gave up the perfection and splendor of heaven to be clothed in human flesh and make his dwelling among us. He willingly lived in humility so that he could help and serve others. He willingly offered his perfect life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the entire world. He died so that we might live.

All this Christ did so that he could give you a gift that is far more valuable than gold or silver, emeralds, or rubies. Christ has given to you the forgiveness of sins. He has given you the right to be called children of God. By his resurrection, he has given the eternal riches of heaven that are not even worth comparing to the riches of this world that will be destroyed on the last day. All of this Christ gives to you as a free and gracious gift that is ours by faith.

In thankfulness for all that our Lord has done for us, we serve him joyfully with our time, talents, and treasures. Because we have been freed from the burden of the law by Christ, we are free to choose what we offer to the Lord in thankfulness. Paul and Luther both suggest giving out of the abundance we have after seeing our daily needs. This is going to change at different times and circumstances in our lives. Sometimes we will be able to joyfully give the Lord 10 percent of our income, sometimes we may be able to give far more than that. At other times we may not have that much to give to the Lord.

There may be times when we need to rely on the generosity of others just to get by. This is the blessing that we have in the fellowship of the church. God blesses us in different ways in our lives. Sometimes we have the blessing of being able to use our wealth to help others and sometimes we are a blessing by being the opportunity for someone else to serve. Dear friends God wants us to serve him faithfully in whatever circumstances we may be in. Sometimes this means being able to generously

support the work of the church, other times it means earning enough to provide the daily bread for your family.

My theme for this sermon was “How much should I give,” because I think this is a question that we want a short easy answer to. However, it is not an easy answer. God wants us to give in a way that is proportionate to how we have been blessed. Have we been blessed much, then let us give much. Have we been blessed with little, then let us give what we can and know that we are not doing wrong by making sure that we have enough for our daily bread. God blesses us in different ways at different times of our lives. Each one of us is different and unique. So let us serve the Lord with gladness and use all that we have to his glory. Amen.

We Pledge to Bring the Firstfruits by Pastor Zarling

We Pledge to Bring the Firstfruits

Nehemiah 10:35-39 We pledge to bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of every kind of fruit tree to the house of our God for ourselves. 36We also will bring the firstborn of our sons and our animals, as is written in the Law, and we will bring the firstborn of our cattle and flocks to the house of our God for the priests who serve in the house of our God, 37and we will bring the first of our dough and our contributions and the fruit of every tree. We will bring new wine and olive oil to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God, and we will bring the tithe from our land to the Levites. It is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the cities where we work. 38A priest, a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites when the Levites collect the tithes. The Levites will bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasury, 39because the Israelites and the sons of Levi are to bring the contribution from the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the vessels of the sanctuary are kept, where the priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers serve. In this way we will not abandon the house of our God.

Jesus challenges, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Amen.

The nation of Israel had pledged numerous times throughout their history to be faithful to the one true God. They broke their pledge numerous times and worshiped false gods.

To discipline his unfaithful children, God allowed the nation of Israel to be captured by the Babylonian Empire. They were taken from their homeland and forced to live in exile for 70 years in Babylon.

After the Medo-Persian Empire defeated the Babylonian Empire, King Cyrus – the Persian King – allowed Ezra to return with exiles to Israel to rebuild the temple in 457 BC. Nehemiah was allowed to return to Israel with more exiles twelve years later to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which had been in ruins for over one hundred years. Nehemiah joined with Ezra in the more important spiritual rebuilding of Israel.

The work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and the rebuilding of the temple was tough … but now everything was finished. As part of the rededication of the wall and the temple, the people gathered together. Listen to what they said. “We pledge to bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of every kind of fruit tree to the house of our God for ourselves. We also will bring the firstborn of our sons and our animals, as is written in the Law, and we will bring the firstborn of our cattle and flocks to the house of our God for the priests who serve in the house of our God, and we will bring the first of our dough and our contributions and the fruit of every tree. We will bring new wine and olive oil to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God, and we will bring the tithe from our land to the Levites” (Nehemiah 10:35-37a).

The people of Israel want to fulfill Solomon’s wise proverbial words, “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits from your entire harvest. Then your barns will be filled to capacity, and your wine vats will overflow with fresh wine” (Proverbs 3:9, 10). They pledged to God the firstfruits of their vegetables, fruit, grain, wine, oil, bread, herds, cattle, and even the firstborn of their sons. They pledged to give God the firstfruits of basically everything.

Firstfruits are the first of your harvest or the best of your flock. If you grow tomatoes, peppers, or snap peas in your garden, you pick the first of your harvest and give that to God trusting you’ll

receive more tomatoes, peppers, and snap peas later. You God the first and best. Then you live on the leftovers.

But what do we often do? We keep the best for ourselves. Then we give God the leftovers. We earn our income and then use it to pay bills, put gas in our vehicle, buy groceries, and spend some on entertainment. After we have taken care of ourselves, then we decide what we want to give to God in our offerings.

Do you see how backward that is?!

The children of Israel tried that during the time of Malachi – who is around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Listen to what God says about their backwards giving practices. “When you bring a blind animal as a sacrifice, isn’t that evil? When you bring something lame and sick, isn’t that evil? Try bringing that to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Would he receive you with favor? This is what the LORD of Armies says” (Malachi 1:8).

The people are bringing God the second-bests and leftovers – the blind, the sick, and lame animals. And God is ticked! He asks if their governor would be pleased with those kinds of sick sacrifices. Yet they tried with their God. He calls it “evil.”

These are strong words. Strong words meant not only for the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Strong words also for us today in the Christian Church in 2024. God is ticked when we cheat him out of the first and best! He is the God of the Universe. Our Creator. Redeemer. Sanctifier. King of kings. Lord of lords. He doesn’t deserve leftovers. He doesn’t desire second-bests.

Do you get the point? When you set aside your firstfruits for God – your first and best – and live on the rest, two things happen. First, you show God that he really is number one in your life, worthy of more than the occasional leftover, but worthy of top billing. Second, you can expect that a delighted God who receives blessing from you will bless you in return with physical and spiritual blessing. He promises that later in Malachi. “Bring the complete tithe to the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Just test me in this, says the LORD of Armies. See whether I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour down blessing on you, until there is more than enough” (Malachi 3:10).

The people of Israel made a pledge that day. They made a commitment to bring God their firstfruits.

It’s OK for us as Christians to make pledges, too. We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. We pledge in our confirmation vows to be faithful even to the point of death rather than fall away from our Christian faith. We can make a pledge to give God our best and live off the rest.

The people of Israel also pledged to support their church. They knew one of the reasons they were commanded to give was so their church – their temple, priests, and Levites – would be provided for. They pledged to no longer neglect the house of God. “In this way we will not abandon the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39b).

There are a lot of ways to destroy something. Do you know one of the easiest ways? Neglect it. How do you destroy a garden that was once productive and thriving? What do you do? Nothing! Just neglect it. Don’t water it. Don’t fertilize it. Just let the weeds take over.

How do you destroy a car? How can you ruin it? Do nothing! Just neglect it. Don’t change the oil. Don’t replace the filters. Don’t wash off the salt or dirt.

What about a church? How does a once growing and thriving church die? The same way. God’s people neglect it. They don’t pray for it. Aren’t involved in its ministries. Don’t worship in it. Don’t invite others to worship in it. Don’t financially support it. Over time it will happen. It happens to about 4500 churches annually in America.

The paint fades. The wood cracks. The people age and die. There aren’t new members, babies, or baptisms. The pews are empty. The people in the community wonder, “What happened over there? It used to be a great church. What did they do?” The answer will be … nothing. They didn’t do anything.

The people in Nehemiah’s time decided they had been down that road before and didn’t want to do it again. So they made a pledge, “We will not let this happen again.” They each made a commitment saying, “I will not neglect the house of God.”

In these 10 for 10 sermons, Bible studies, and cottage meetings, we are challenging you. We want each of you to make a pledge to God saying, “I will not neglect Water of Life. I will support my church with my offerings.” This pledge will be private between you and the Lord of the Church. But we want you to hear God’s challenge and then accept that challenge. Hear God’s Word. Discuss it at home. Pray about it. Then make your pledge to God.

Years ago, in the time between the World Wars, there was a very special Christian school in England.

Staffed by teachers from around the world, the students were blessed to find out how others lived. One year an instructor shared his experiences when he worked in India as a private tutor. The children were especially moved when they heard about the children who were part of India’s “untouchable” caste. The children decided to reach out to those untouchables at Christmastime.

The English children gave brand new toys to the Indian children. Dolls for the girls in the village. The boys received boy toys. The giving and receiving of the gifts pleased both groups of children.

Then one year a medical missionary helped distribute the gifts in the Indian village. He told the children about another place where the boys and girls had never heard about Jesus or the salvation he won for the world. The doctor suggested that maybe the untouchable children would like to give them some of their old toys. That would give him, he explained, the opportunity to talk about God's great gift of Jesus.

The children liked the idea.

A week later the doctor returned to collect the gifts. He was shocked by what happened. One by one the children filed by and gave the doctor a doll or toy. Amazingly, the children gave their new toys, not the old ones. When the doctor asked, “Why?” a little girl spoke for the rest when she said, “Doctor, think what Jesus did for us. He gave us his best. Can we do anything less?”

The girl had it right. Jesus always gave his best.

Jesus left the mansions of heaven to be born in a barn. Throughout his ministry, the foxes had holes and the birds had nests, but the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. Jesus was tempted

by Satan to cut corners. He was tempted by his good friend, Peter not to go to the cross. Jesus declined all luxuries. He resisted all temptations. He always gave his best.

While we were still enemies, Jesus reconciled us with his holy, heavenly Father. Jesus justified us by his divinely human blood. He saved us from God’s divine wrath that we justly deserved (Romans 5:9, 10). While we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). The Son of God died to help us so we might become the sons and daughters of God. Jesus suffered hell so we might be given heaven. He reconciled us from God’s enemies so we might be claimed as God’s children. He drank every drop from the cup of his Father’s wrath so we might enjoy eating and drinking at the Father’s banquet feast.

Jesus always gave his best and in so doing won forgiveness and salvation for us. Now he challenges all those who have been saved to respond with a grateful heart.

And how will we respond? The answer is simple: we do what Jesus did. He carried a cross for us. We carry a cross for him. He gave us his best. We give him our best. He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). That means he is the first and best of the resurrection. The rest of the harvest of the resurrection will follow on the Last Day. He is the firstfruits, so we pledge to give him our firstfruits. Amen.

Jesus challenges, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:35). Amen.

Wait for God’s therapeutic Work by Pastor Laitinen

Wait for God’s therapeutic Work.

I Peter 5, 6-11

It gets ugly when people try to overthrow government. David saw this with his son Absalom. Absalom rallied an army against David. As they marched toward Jerusalem, David and his officials evacuated the city.

They marched east toward the wilderness. Many citizens supported them. But one man named Shimei stood on a ridge along the road and showered rocks and dirt on David’s entourage. Shimei basically said, “Yeah, you’d better run! You’re getting what you deserve, David.” One of David’s nobles asked permission to go kill Shimei. David said no: Perhaps the LORD will look on my misery and will return something good to me in exchange for his cursing this day.

You’ve been there. Maybe you’ve felt strained relations with a child like David did. Maybe it sounds like you to think of David questioning his career choice. Perhaps you can relate to David seeing his authority get undermined or public humiliation or even feeling rejected by God?

All of that and more, we call anxiety. Today’s epistle offered the solution for anxiety. Peter wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”

Simon Peter knew about anxiety and casting it on God. Today’s Gospel said: “They left the synagogue and went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever. Without delay they told Jesus about her.” Simon Peter knew about stress. He was married. Marriage is wonderful, but it takes lots of work. It’s worth it, but it’s also stressful.

Plus, Peter had a sick mother-in-law. Do you know that powerless feeling when you have a sick loved-one? Or perhaps he had secret feelings of resentment. This sick woman took up his and his wife’s time. He could’ve also carried guilt about those resentful feelings.

That same Peter later wrote this letter, which said: “Cast all your anxiety on him.” Peter could’ve known anxiety from sitting in prison, from swinging a sword in the olive grove, from watching Jesus sleep in a boat during a storm, or from thinking he saw a ghost when Jesus walked on the water. But maybe Peter wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on him” while thinking about the time his mother-in-law was sick.

It said, “Without delay they told Jesus about her.” Peter showed how to cast anxiety on God. If you want that too, then without delay: tell Jesus about your stress. Yes, he already knows it. But what happened when Peter approached Jesus? “He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.”

Peter’s mother-in-law hardly sounds like a manipulative old nag. She took care of people. Peter could say: “God cares for me. He gave me this wonderful family. I threw my anguish on him and he fixed it.”

I get to teach Shoreland students this letter from Peter. Talking through it with them has helped me better understand what it means to: Cast all your anxiety on him. I illustrate that in class by holding up my briefcase. I ask them to imagine their backpacks the same way. Each of you could picture your own version of a book bag, some item for organizing your life; a cluttered desk, a smart phone, a marker board calendar in your kitchen. Whatever your item, it should represent all your work; appointments, projects, people contacting you.

For me, it’s that briefcase I hold up in class. Then, I do my best impression of a track-and-field discus thrower and chuck it to the opposite side of the room. That’s what God asks you to do with all your stress in life.

Now one sharp young lady this year asked: “So, God’s asking us to throw away our homework?” That’s an important item in their backpacks and a major source of stress for them. You might say the same about all your appointments or your inbox or voicemail messages. You could reduce anxiety by ignoring tasks, right?

Notice that Peter writes: “Cast all your anxiety on him.” He does not say: Cast all your responsibility or all your efforts on him. What’s the difference? There’s a mental place that humans like to go where our brains are active, but they aren’t creating anything or solving any problem. Let’s call it the “ruminating space.”

It works like this: Pretend your family has regular reunions at a campsite on a lake up north. Everyone pitches in to pay expenses. But, for several years, a few people keep suggesting everyone meet at a resort in the Dells. It’s not in your price range. You’re going to see one of those relatives at Thanksgiving. On top of all the other stress during the holidays, you start thinking about that family member pressuring you to get on board with the Dells resort plan. That’s a ruminating space. Your brain isn’t working on solutions for handling that discussion. It’s stuck in a negative loop surrounding something you can’t control, someone else’s comments.

When Peter talks about “anxiety,” he doesn’t mean your adrenaline when your car slides on an icy road. “Cast all your anxiety on him” doesn’t mean: suppress your emotions if your child goes missing and you need to call the police. Casting off anxiety does not mean avoiding work because it’s less stressful to let other people do it. Cast all your anxiety on him means: kick yourself out of that ruminating space. Slam the door on thoughts that you can take no action on. Slap down mental problems that no one asked you to solve.

Wouldn’t you admit: it’s pretty arrogant of you to think it’s your job to fix your passive-aggressive in-laws? It’s thinking way too much of yourself to imagine you can stop every bigot from being racist. I’d have an overinflated opinion of myself, if I think it depends on me to stop all election fraud or expose corrupt media or to undo the downfall of the environment? Peter wrote in verse six. “Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time.”

If you want to cast anxiety on God, first recognize your own limitations. “Humble yourselves” does not mean degrade yourself. When I talk bad about myself, I’m still discussing my favorite topic: “me.” Degrading yourself is not humility. Humility means you think more about other people instead of yourself.

Another student this year made a great comment about that. He said: So, humility means thinking more about other people and that’s also how I cast off my anxiety; but what if my anxiety already comes from thinking about other people? What if I’m already too worried about their reactions or what they might say?

When Peter said “humble yourselves,” he did not mean: imagine how others might evaluate you. He meant: imagine what life is like for that person. Try walking in their shoes. Take an educated guess about how that person feels right now.

A funny thing happens when you do this. Let’s try it here. Think of two or three things that stress you out most. Now, take a good look around the room, even behind you and across the aisle. Pick one face that you saw and guess what kinds of things might be on that person’s stress list. Maybe you could ask the person if you guessed right or ask what their anxiety is or even try just doing something nice for that person based on your guess. That probably didn’t make your list go away, but it took you out of your ruminating space while you considered the worries of that other person. Humbling yourself actually lightened your anxiety load.

This is what God wants for us. Grace means you do less work, not more. Jesus already did the hardest job of redeeming you. Even with suffering on this earth, God promises it won’t last forever. You don’t have to save

yourself by your suffering. And, if bad things happen to you, he promises to fix and reinforce you better than before. Jesus promised this most vividly by rising from the dead. He guarantees, even if your body dies, he will put it back together on the last day in the new creation. Peter wrote: “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”

Absolute Authority by Pastor Klusmeyer

Text: Mark 1:21-28 Epiphany 4B

SN: 0041 01/28/24

Absolute Authority

Authority. We’re not always fans of that word, especially when it is connected to the word absolute. We have an innate suspicion of those who have or seek to have absolute authority. Books and movies are filled with villains seeking absolute authority: Thanos, Lex Luthar, and the Emperor from Star Wars as just a few examples. On the other hand, our culture holds up as heroes those who challenged what they saw as absolute and abusive authority. Think of John Hancock writing his name as large as he could on the Declaration of Independence as a direct challenge to the authority of King George, Nathan Hale courageously declaring that his only regret was that he had but one life to give for his country, or King Leonidas and his 300 brave Spartans challenging the absolute authority of King Xerxes.

We don’t like the idea of being told what to do, especially if we have absolutely no say in the matter. We have a natural tendency to resist despotic authority. We value our freedom and want to be able to make our own choices. This attitude translates into our spiritual life as well. Our sinful nature doesn’t like to be told what to do. It chafes under what it sees as the oppressive authority of God’s law. As Christians, we are engaged in a constant spiritual battle. There is a struggle between our new man who desires to willingly submit to God’s law and our old man who wants to rebel against God’s authority. Our enemy, Satan, is raging with all his might to destroy our faith and lead us away from God. Our Gospel lesson this morning reminds us that absolute authority has been given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But unlike every human with authority, Christ uses his absolute authority only for our good. By his absolute authority, he has forgiven our sins and destroyed the power of death and hell.

The authority of Jesus is the same authority as God the Father. At the beginning of all things, God created the heavens and the earth. Because he is the creator of all things God has authority over all things. Everything that exists is subject to the will of God. At some point after creation, Satan challenged the authority of God and was cast out of heaven. Satan in his anger and rage then destroyed the perfect world that God created. He tempted Adam and Eve to sin and destroyed their relationship with God. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, all people are born spiritually dead and hostile to God. We view God as our enemy. Our sinful natures chafe under the absolute authority of God’s law. Just like when a parent tells a small child not to touch a hot stove and the first thought of the child is to touch that stove, so we too desire to do the things God tells us not to do.

But God demands absolute obedience to his will. Our sinful natures hate this. We do not want to be told what to do. We think we know better than God does. We don’t think it's fair that we should be condemned to eternal death because of the few small sins that we have committed. We want to challenge God’s absolute authority and determine for ourselves what’s right and wrong. We don’t want to listen when God says that it's wrong to neglect his word, it's wrong to have lustful thoughts about others, it's wrong to gossip and lie, or it's wrong to be selfish with the blessings we have been given. We want to be a law for ourselves. This is sinful rebellion. This is challenging God’s authority and putting our own authority in its place. Every time we sin, we are breaking the First Commandment and putting our desires in the place of God.

How foolish! How foolish to think that we could in any way challenge the power and authority of the Creator. This is the same foolishness we see from the demon in our Gospel lesson. Did the demon really think it could win a confrontation with the Son of God? Did Satan think that he could undermine the work of Christ by telling people who he was? The actions of the demon seem foolish and self-destructive. And yet isn’t that what all sin is? Sin harms our bodies and destroys our relationships with others. We know that sin is bad for us, and yet we find ourselves falling into the same sins again and again. We know that there will be consequences and yet we foolishly think that this time it will be different. Satan and our own sinful natures are constantly trying to lead us to sin.

Satan is a very real and powerful threat. His only goal is to destroy our souls and lead us away from God. On our own, we are powerless to defeat him, but thankfully we do not need to fight our ancient enemy. His power has been destroyed by the absolute power and authority of Christ. This is why the Son of God appeared: to destroy the works of the Devil.

This is the authority that we see on full display in our lesson. Mark the Evangelist does not tell us exactly what Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, but we can assume it’s the same message Mark records in verse 15, “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus was able to proclaim the message of the gospel with absolute authority because he was the Word of God incarnate. Christ had come to fulfill the promises of God and bring salvation. As true God Christ had absolute power and authority. He could have ruled over every nation on earth, and no one would have been able to stand against him. But that’s not how our Savior appeared. He came to serve, not to be served. He clothed himself with humility and placed himself under the requirement of God’s law for us.

Just think, Jesus did not need to go to the synagogue to hear the Word of God, he was the Word made flesh. But he went to keep God’s Word and honor the Sabbath Day. Jesus lived among sinners and shared with them the message of the Gospel. He was able to teach God’s Word with authority because his will was perfectly aligned with the will of the Father. When he was confronted by the demon-possessed man he used his authority to rebuke the demon. The demon was forced to flee because Jesus was the Son of God.

Jesus had the absolute power and authority of God, and yet what did he do with that authority? He willingly allowed himself to be tortured and nailed to a cross. He took the sins of the entire world upon himself and paid for them with his life. God died on the cross so that we might live. By his death and resurrection, he destroyed the power of Satan. By his absolute obedience, he freed us from our slavery to sin and restored our relationship with God. He suffered the torments of hell in our place. He paid for our sins with his life.

We receive the benefits of his death and resurrection through faith. We have been washed in the waters of baptism. We daily drown our sinful natures and cling to the promises of God. We repent of our sins and believe the gospel message of our Savior. We receive the forgiveness of sins as we taste of his body and blood. We no longer fear the power of the devil because we know that he has been defeated. We no longer fear the sting of death because we look forward to the resurrection and eternal life that has been won for us in Christ.

Dear friends, all of our sins of rebellion have been washed away with the blood of Christ. By Christ's absolute obedience, we have been made God’s dearly beloved children. As children of God, we willingly submit to the authority of our Lord. We don’t view the commands of our God as burdensome because we know that they are for our good. We are amazed by the message of the Gospel because we know our sins and continually marvel at the height and depth of width of God’s love for us.

As his people, we seek to proclaim his Word in its truth and purity. We dare not compromise God’s Word because it is his absolute truth and we do not have the authority to change a single word. As his people, we have been given his authority to proclaim his message of salvation to the world. We baptize and forgive sins in his name. We serve one another in love. We offer him the very best of our time, talents, and treasure. We spur one another to love and do good deeds. We work doing all things to the best of our ability because we seek to serve him first in everything we do.

Dear friends, we do not despise the absolute authority of Christ because we know that he is using that authority for our good. We have this promise from our Savior, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” Our Savior is with us. He has used his authority to destroy the power of the devil and free us from our sins. He uses his absolute authority to work all things out for the good of his church. On the last day, he will return with all his power, glory, and authority and he will take us to be with him to live in the eternal presence of his glory forever. Amen.

Called to Call Others by Pastor Zarling

Called to call others

Mark 1:14-20 After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. 15“The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

16As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 17Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 18Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat mending the nets. 20Immediately Jesus called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

All these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18) Amen.

John and Andrew took the day off from fishing with their brothers to go out into the wilderness to see this new preacher they had heard so much about. He was like the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament. He preached a fiery message of repentance and forgiveness. He also baptized a lot of people. John and Andrew became followers of John the Baptizer.

Then one day, John the Baptizer pointed to a man walking by and exclaimed, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Luke 1:29)! John and Andrew left John and began following Jesus. They were so excited about meeting Jesus that they had to tell their brothers. Andrew told Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41)! John told his brother James.

Jesus went to Galilee – the region in the north where these four men lived – preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus then went to meet Philip and Nathanael and called them to follow him. He took his new followers with him to a wedding in Cana where he changed water into wine. His new disciples saw him clear the temple courts during the Passover. He talked to Nicodemus, preached throughout the Judean countryside, and then preached in Samaria (John 1-4).

Peter and Andrew, James and John were Jesus’ part-time disciples. In that time, they had seen and heard a lot from Jesus before he walked up to them along the Sea of Galilee. They were busy mending and fishing with their nets. Jesus walked up to them and said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (John 1:17). Immediately both sets of brothers left their fishing businesses to follow Jesus full-time (John 1:18). The disciples followed Jesus for three years of on-the-job Seminary training. Jesus called them to call others.

Jesus called you to faith when the pastor poured God’s Word and water over your head at the baptismal font when you were an infant. Or Jesus called you to faith when you heard God’s Word read to you by your parent or grandparent sitting on their lap as a child. Or Jesus called you to faith as a close friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend – someone who cared deeply about you and your soul – shared the Savior in conversations with you.

Jesus called you to faith. Now he calls you to put that faith into action by calling others to be fishers of men and women.

Jesus calls each of us individually to do this work of calling others. But by his gracious plan and providence, Jesus also allows us to call others to assist us in this calling. We call men and women to serve us and others with the gospel in the public ministry as pastors, teachers, and missionaries. So, today, we are going to talk about the call into the public ministry.

You’ve heard this plea, we need more pastors and teachers in our church body. God is blessing us with tremendous growth in our Lutheran grade schools and Lutheran high schools, and with planning to start ten new churches every year for the next ten years. We need more called workers to go out in Jesus’ name and on our behalf to call others to faith with God’s Word and Sacraments.

I recall how God directed my life to become a pastor. I was with my mom registering for freshman classes at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School. We were in a classroom with Pastor Mehlberg who would be my advisor. Pastor Mehlberg told my mom, “Michael is a very smart young man.” I was thinking, “Yes, I am.” Then he said, “Michael could be a doctor or a lawyer.” I thought, “Yes, I can.” He said, “A lot of medical and legal terms are in Latin, so Michael should take Latin classes.” I thought, “I can do that.”

So, I took four years of Latin and two years of German … not realizing the Latin track was also the pastor track – not the lawyer or doctor track.

The Lord of the Church is blessing us right now at Water of Life with many students whom God is directing to consider serving him and you in the public ministry. One of our members recently graduated from Martin Luther College and accepted a call to be a Lutheran high school teacher. One is a current student at MLC. By God’s grace, we have two high school students considering becoming pastors and possibly six to eight who are considering becoming teachers.

What can we as a congregation, as parents, and as fellow Christians do to encourage these and other young people to consider the call into the public ministry?

One thing we can do is to repent, to confess our sins, and crucify our sinful nature.

What does that mean?

It costs money to educate pastors and teachers. We have scholarships in our church budget for MLC and WLC students. We have our CMO – Congregational Mission Offerings – for support of the WELS as part of our budget. Admit it, we can be stingy with our money. We can be content to give God our leftovers instead of our firstfruits. We can complain when we see how expensive it is to conduct ministry in our church and in our synod.

Young people may not desire the public ministry if they see their pastors and teachers being treated poorly. Parents badgering their children’s teacher. Members complaining about their pastor. Churches and schools overworking and underpaying their pastors and teachers.

So we – pastors and people, teachers, parents, and students – need to hear and put Jesus’ words into action, “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

We repent of our lack of financial support of the Lord’s ministries. We repent of our lack of verbal support of our current or past pastors and teachers. We repent of our lack of spiritual support of the Lord’s ministries and ministers with our prayers and involvement in our church and church body.

Then after we repent, by God’s grace and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we believe the good news. We thank God that Jesus gave up everything to cover over our stinginess of giving up a little. Jesus prayed for us and his future apostles because we neglect to pray for our called workers. Jesus was always passionate about saving souls to make up for our apathy and indifference to the plight of lost souls.

By his grace, Jesus called you to faith with water and the Word. He made you heirs of his salvation. He covered your sinful clothes with the white robe of his righteousness. He invited

you to stand before his altar to make your vow of faithfulness at your confirmation – to follow Jesus even to the point of death. Jesus forgives your sins and unites you to him and each other in his sacrament of Holy Communion. He announces the good news that your sins are removed as far as the east is from the west.

God also involves you in his ministry. God could have chosen to just tap people on the shoulder to call them to faith. Or he could have tasked his angels with making disciples of all nations. But he didn’t. Instead, he calls you to call others. He has chosen you to follow him and then uses you to make more followers through his Means of Grace of Word and Sacrament. He equips you for service in his Kingdom with his Word that comforts, encourages, and empowers, so that he can then comfort, encourage, and empower others.

This isn’t a call to sit in the pews or watch on your computer. It isn’t a call to remain comfortable wherever you are in your life. It is a call to action. A call to be fishers of men and women and children. A call to invite others into Christ’s kingdom.

God certainly calls each of you to receive forgiveness to then announce that forgiveness to others. To study the Bible to invite others to Bible study with you. To worship Jesus and invite others to worship Jesus with you.

As Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John to be his called workers serving in his name, Jesus also calls men to be pastors and missionaries, and men and women to be teachers in his name. What can we do to encourage our young people to consider calls into the public ministry in Jesus’ name … and in our name?

We support future called workers with our offerings. I take our young men who want to be pastors with me to visit shut-ins and then take them out to eat to talk about the pastoral ministry. We want to create a workshop for our students who desire to be teachers so they can talk to the dedicated grade school and high school teachers we have as members at Water of Life. But we have to feed them. They are teenagers, after all. That costs money. So, we support current and future called workers with increased financial support.

Support these young men and women with your prayers. There is often a petition in the Prayer of the Church for ministers of the gospel. Pray for your pastors and teachers, as well as our Synod’s called workers, in your personal prayers, too.

Speak well of your pastors and teachers. Young people are smart. They pick up on how you treat your pastors and teachers. Personally, I think that’s one reason why so many of our young people are considering the ministry. They see the way you treat your pastors and teachers – how much fun we have in the ministry together – and they like it. They want to be a part of it.

Talk to our young people – grade school, high school, and college students. They can all certainly follow your lead of being faithful servants as lay people. But some may also be willing to be public servants, serving you and others one day in the gospel ministry. They have heard and now want to share Jesus’ message, “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

Wherever we are – pastors in the pulpit, teachers in the classroom, or people in the pew – we are all called by Jesus to call others. Amen.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Amen.

The Call Out of Skepticism by Pastor Zarling

The call out of skepticism

John 1:43-51 The next day, Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” “Come and see!” Philip told him. 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” 51Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

You are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and faith in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Amen.

Philip ran through town looking for his friend. It was after work, and he knew that Nathanael liked to sit by himself under a fig tree to pray and meditate on the Scriptures he knew so well.

Philip skidded to a stop when he finally found Nathanael. After he caught his breath, he blurted, “He’s here! The Messiah is here! We found the one Moses and the Prophets wrote about. The Messiah is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth” (John 1:45)!

Nathanael is excited! … And also skeptical. Like every Jewish person, he has been waiting expectantly for the long-promised Messiah to arrive. Nathanael knows very well what the Old Testament Scriptures say about the Messiah. He knows that Moses and the Prophets don’t mention Nazareth. Nazareth is just a little town in the backwater area of Galilee. The Messiah is supposed to be great and glorious. He is great David’s greater Son. All nations will bow before him. He’s supposed to be born in David’s hometown of Bethlehem and then reign on David’s throne eternally in Jerusalem. … But nothing about Nazareth.

So, Nathanael asks, “Can anything good come from Nazareth” (John 1:46)?

Philip doesn’t coerce. He doesn’t debate. He simply and wisely invites, “Come and see” (John 1:46).

Nathanael accepts Philip’s invitation and goes to see Jesus of Nazareth.

As they are approaching, Jesus demonstrates his divinity by announcing what’s located in Nathanael’s heart and his previous location. “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. … Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:47-48).

Nathanael’s skepticism is gone. He believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. He declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).

Yes, Jesus performed a miracle, but Jesus assures Nathanael he will see greater miracles than that. He declares, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:50-51).

Jesus is recalling the time in the Old Testament when Jacob deceived his elderly blind father and stole his younger brother Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27). Jacob fled from Esau’s murderous threats with nothing but that blessing.

Jacob slept that first night in the wilderness. He must have been exhausted because he used a rock for a pillow. God gave him a dream of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it (Genesis 28:12).

Jesus is claiming he is that stairway to heaven.

Nathanael had been skeptical. Jesus called him out of that skepticism. He called him to faith in the Messiah who was standing in front of him and then called Nathanael to follow him.

We can also be skeptical about Jesus. Our Messiah calls us out of our skepticism to faith and following him.

The young parents are worried as they sit in Children’s Hospital with their sick child.

The married couple has gone to bed again with their backs to each other because of another argument.

The teenage daughter is in her room frustrated that her parents don’t understand her. The parents are in the living room frustrated that their daughter doesn’t understand them.

The father of four is concerned about the economy.

The mother of one is scared she’ll never have more children but only miscarriages.

The single man feels defeated by his addiction.

The single lady feels nervous she’ll never find the right man.

The older couple are tired of taking care of their elderly parents.

The aged saint is wondering when she’ll die.

All these people are skeptical. By God’s grace, all of them have saving faith in Christ. But each of them also has doubts, concerns, worries, frustrations, and emotions that weigh heavily upon their faith.

They are skeptical. They are skeptical of where Jesus is. Skeptical of when God will step in. Skeptical of why God is letting all this happen. Skeptical of how any of this can be for their good.

Perhaps you find yourself sitting with them and with Nathanael under the fig tree. You are all skeptical together.

The devil is waging war on you. He wants you to give up. The world is tempting you. It wants you to give in. Your sinful nature is weak. It wants you to give out.

Pray for the Lord to send you someone like Philip to remind you, “The Messiah is here! Come and see him!” The Lord is here and you can see him in his house of worship.

Pray for the Lord to whisper in your ear like he did with young Samuel, waking you out of your spiritual slumber, calling you by name, inviting you to come to him (1 Samuel 3:10). He has important things to tell you in his Word.

Pray for Jesus to reveal himself to you like he did to Philip and Nathanael.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus did many things to remove skepticism. He proved over and over again that he really is the Son of God. We might think that Jesus has to prove himself to us by keeping us healthy, making our business successful, and providing peace in our family. But those

are things we want. They are earthly desires. Jesus displays his divine glory not in providing physical blessings, but in providing spiritual blessings.

Jesus proved he was the Messiah as he fulfilled the promises made to the patriarchs, the sacrifices under the Law of Moses, and the prophecies made through Israel’s prophets.

Nathanael was impressed that Jesus could read his heart and tell him he had been sitting under the fig tree. Jesus assured Nathanael he would see greater things than that.

As a disciple of Jesus, Nathanael definitely witnessed greater things than that over the next three years. He saw Jesus feed thousands, walk on water, calm the storm, heal the sick, make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the leprous cleansed, the demons dispossessed, and even the dead undead.

Nathanael was with the other disciples when they saw the crucified but now very much alive Messiah standing in the locked room on Easter evening. Forty days later they saw Jesus ascend from the mountain into heaven.

With the eyes of faith, the Holy Spirit has allowed us to see those great things, too.

We are also blessed to see greater things as Jesus works through his humble Means of Grace of Word and Sacraments. The Holy Spirit whispers his Word into our ears to convict our stubborn heads of sin and comfort our guilty hearts with forgiveness. God the Father blesses the water poured over Bryan and Jackie today at the font to wash their sins away and mark them as his redeemed children. Jesus comes in the bread and wine that carries his body and blood so we can taste his forgiveness and see that he is good.

The Lord of the Church is also visibly blessing us with great things in what he is accomplishing in this corner of his Kingdom we call Water of Life. By his grace and to his glory, this past year we have confirmed 8 youth, confirmed 8 adults, baptized 9 children, and baptized 2 adults. We have also grown with 15 other adults and teens joining our congregation.

These are the kinds of numbers that happen in brand-new mission churches, not a church with a combined history of over 140 years. But maybe our newly merged church is more like a mission church. Lord willing, we’ll see even greater things than this next year.

With each of these newly baptized and confirmed members, Jesus comes to them and calls them individually. Just like he does with you. He calls you out of your skepticism.

He calls to the parents with the sick young child or the adults with their aging sick parents and assures them, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29).

He calls to the married couple who fight out of pride and says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

He calls to the teenager and her parents, “My plans are not your plans, and your ways are not my ways, but I’ll help you see each other’s plans and understand each other’s ways” (Isaiah 55:8).

He calls to the addicted soul, reminding him to say to the devil, “Get behind me, Satan! I am baptized into Christ!”

He calls to those worried about finances or love life or miscarriages, “I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

He calls to the aged saint in hospice care, “Someday soon, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Because of the strength of the devil, the persistence of the world, and the weakness of our sinful nature, we will continually find ourselves under Nathanael’s fig tree feeling skeptical again and again.

Then the Holy Spirit whispers in our ears to remind us that Jesus is the stairway to heaven. He perfects our imperfect prayers before they reach the ears of the Father on his throne. He purifies our tainted works so our Father approves of them and hangs them on his heavenly refrigerator like works of art. The Messiah comes down to us in the Means of Grace of Word and Sacraments. It is through these Means that the Holy Spirit called you to faith. It’s through these Means Jesus calls you to put that faith into action by following him. By the greater things of his perfect life, redemptive death, and glorious resurrection, Jesus has opened heaven to us. We walk up the stairway to heaven on the Last Day.

Jesus finds us whenever we are sitting under the fig tree. He calls us out of our skepticism. He calls us to see greater things than we’ve already seen. Amen.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17). Amen.