Prove him wrong! by Pastor Zarling

Prove him wrong!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be terrified before them, because the LORD your God is going with you. He will not abandon you and he will not forsake you.”

The Navy recruit stood on the beach. The surf coming in that day was about 8 feet high. The recruit was training to become a Navy SEAL – one of the hardest things to do in the military.

The SEAL instructor stood 6 foot 2. He towered over the recruit who stood 5 foot 4. The instructor looked at the recruit and said quietly, “Do you really want to be a SEAL?” The sailor stood straight, with a look of defiance in his eyes. He shouted, “Yes, sir, I do!” The instructor said loudly for all the other recruits to hear, “You’re a tiny, little man! Those waves could break you in half. You should think about quitting now before you get hurt.”

The sailor shouted over the breaking waves, “I won’t quit!” Then the instructor leaned in and whispered something into the student’s ear. He said, “Prove me wrong!” … And he did! (adapted from “Make My Bed.”)

Graduates, Satan is coming at you hard! He is working overtime to make you quit. But at the same time, Jesus whispers in your ear, “I know you can do it. Satan thinks you can’t. Prove him wrong.”

I want you to remember seven lessons today. Seven lessons are hard to remember, so, I wrote them down for you. Go ahead and reach under your seat. You’ll find a card taped for you to keep and remember. If you find any gum under there, you can keep that, too.

1. Make your bed. How many of you make your bed every morning? Very soon, you will be moving out of your parents’ home. That means you won’t be able to count on mom to make your bed, do your laundry, or make your meals. You won’t always have dad available to fix your car, help with your finances, or give you advice. You’ll be on your own. It can be chaotic.

The devil lives in chaos. He wants you to be too busy, overburdened, and overwhelmed. He wants you to be driven solely by emotions. He wants you to be filled with fear and anger and turmoil.

Your God, though, is a God of order. There is order in the days of creation. Followed by the order of creating man and then woman. There is order in how God planned everything so that at just the right time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.

Life will be chaotic. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It provides a sense of structure. You accomplish one task, then another and then another. Making your bed reinforces the fact that little things matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

Satan wants you to live in chaos. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him wrong. Cut the chaos. Add order. Make your bed.”

2. Shower daily. As high school seniors, I don’t think I need to tell you to shower daily. But that wasn’t that way in middle school. Back then there were signs in the hallway like this that read, “Stop ignoring your two best friends!” It showed a picture of a shower and deodorant. The sign continued, “The rest of us will be very appreciative!” After a hard day at work or before a full day of classes, I’m sure your fellow students and workmates will appreciate you taking a shower.

The devil doesn’t really care about your physical hygiene or your smell. He wants you to get dirty every day with sin. Your sinful nature loves the dirt and filth of this world. Dirty words. Filthy images. Vulgar lyrics. Impure thoughts. Hurtful actions. Indifferent inactions.

Pray daily with King David, “Be gracious to me, God, according to your mercy. Erase my acts of rebellion according to the greatness of your compassion. Scrub me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2). You wash yourself by confessing your sin. Begging for God’s mercy. Then letting the forgiveness Jesus won on the bloody cross and the open tomb wash over you. Remembering your baptism.

The devil wants you to remain filthy with sin. He doesn’t think you want to be clean. Jesus whispers to you, “Prove him wrong. Shower daily in baptismal waters.”

3. Stretch. You’re young enough that with a little bit of stretching you’re ready to go. When you get to be your parents’ and grandparents’ age, it seems like no matter how much stretching you do, you will always be stiff. But you need to keep stretching to prevent injury.

As you age, you will be tempted to become sedentary. To doom scroll on your phone. To binge-watch Netflix while eating Cheetos. To play video games. To watch life on a screen instead of experiencing life in the real world.

Jesus wants you to get up and stretch. Not just stretching your physical muscles, but also stretching your spiritual muscles. Bow your head in humility. Fold your hands for concentration. Kneel beside your bed for prayer. Open your mouth for praise. While in church, stand to confess your sins and confess your faith. Sit to hear God’s Word in the Scripture lessons and sermon. Walk forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. Then go home and go into your workplace, move around, and put God’s Word into action.

The devil thinks he can make you sedentary. Isolated. Lonely. Lazy. Jesus whispers, “Prove him wrong. Stretch. Exercise your body and exercise your faith.”

4. Be present. Over the years I’ve had dads ask for advice. They have an opportunity for a promotion. It will mean more money, but it will also mean more time away from the family. Every one of those dads chose more time fishing, hunting, coaching, and hanging out with their family over the promotion. Moms have talked to me about remaining in their career while putting their kids in daycare or staying home to raise their children. Those who chose to be stay-at-home moms never regretted it.

Satan wants you to believe you can have it all. Career and family. To believe that quality time is equal to quantity of time. They are both lies. You must prioritize. You must sacrifice. When God blesses you with marriage followed with the blessing of children, your kids will need mom to nurture them and dad to train them. No one else will be able to know, care, and love your children like you will.

Satan wants you to be absent from your family. God the Father reminds you that he is present every day in your life. Quantity and quality of time. “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15). The Almighty God is your Father, Abba – Aramaic for Daddy. The only-begotten Son is your Savior and your Brother. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter and Counselor. Your Triune God is present every day in your life. Your graduation verse reminds you, “the Lord your God is going with you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Satan thinks you will forsake your family for your career. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him

wrong. Your heavenly Father is present with you. Be a great father and mother and be present in your kids’ lives.”

5. Stand up to bullies. Bullies are the worst. On the playground. In the locker room. In the workplace. On social media. You’ll have bullies with atheist professors demeaning your Christian beliefs. You’ll have bullies as coworkers badgering you for your Christian conscience. You’ll have bullies on social media cancelling and doxing you for believing what Christians have always believed.

Graduates, when your grandparents were your age, Christianity was promoted. When your parents were your age, Christianity was tolerated. Today, our culture is antagonistic toward your Christian faith. This world hates you, hates what you believe, and hates who you believe in.

The biggest bully of all is the devil. Like any bully, the devil intimidates and insults. Like any bully, the devil has a gang that assists him in his dirty work.

Stand up to the bully of the devil and his demonic gang. Confront their lies with the truth of God’s Word. Swing the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:7). Bullies back down when challenged. You have One more powerful than the devil, his demons, and this sinful world. You have the King of Kings and the Commander of the angelic army on your side. Jesus has already seen Satan fall like lightening from the sky. Confront the devil by reminding him he’s already beaten.

The devil is a bully thinking he can intimidate you. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him wrong. Stand up to the bully.”

6. Don’t quit. The devil wants you to quit when you struggle. To give up when life becomes hard. To give in when the pressure is on.

The devil did everything he could to make Jesus quit. Mockery and shame. Piercing and flogging. Hell and wrath. But Jesus endured it all for you. Jesus didn’t give up on you. He did everything to save you. Now he is with you to make sure you do not give up your faith in him.

You may struggle. You may suffer. But nothing can defeat you. Nothing can keep you away from the eternal victory Jesus Christ won for you.” I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

The devil thinks he can make you quit. Jesus whispers. “Prove him wrong. My victory is your victory.”

7. Have courage. Everything I’ve said today is going to be tough. But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I would often tell my four daughters, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” God has called you to do something difficult, something unique, something special. To be his child. To be forgiven. To carry a cross. To love your enemies. To pray for those who persecute you. To speak God’s truth in a culture of lies.

Not everyone can do that. You can. God gives you the strength and courage to do it. Nobody and nothing can stand in your way. With courage, you can accomplish the goals God sets for you. With courage, the demons cower, and the devil cringes.

As you stand strong with courage, it isn’t just for you. It’s for your classmates, family, friends,

co-workers, fellow soldiers, and neighbors. It’s for those who come after you – your family, your nation, and those in the next 50 years at Shoreland.

The devil thinks you will cower in fear. Jesus whispers, “Prove him wrong. I will give you courage.”

Your graduation verse sums up these thoughts very well. God was sending Joshua and the Israelites into the Promised Land filled with bullies, who hated God’s people, who wanted them to quit. Yet God told them the same thing he tells you today, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be terrified before them, because the LORD your God is going with you. He will not abandon you and he will not forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

The devil is throwing you into a world that threatens to break you in half. He thinks you’ll quit. Stand straight, with courage, with defiance in your eyes, and listen to Jesus whisper in your ear, “I’m here with you every moment of every day. I know you can do it. I’ll help you do it. Prove Satan wrong.” Amen.

Be Faithful to the Point of Death by Pastor Klusmeyer

Be Faithful to the Point of Death

The Bible is a record of God’s faithfulness: from the very beginning when God promised Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior to the promise that Christ will return in glory. God is perfectly faithful and keeps his promises. But God has also given us some promises that cause us to struggle: the promise that we will face opposition and hatred for our faith in Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus warns us of this quite clearly, “You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” This has been the truth for God’s faithful people ever since the fall into sin. Wherever the truth of God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity there has been opposition. Satan, the world and our own sinful natures despise being reminded of their wickedness and rebellion. People respond with anger when they hear that they are sinners and Jesus is the only way to salvation. We see this anger and rage demonstrated in the story of Stephen.

The story of Stephen gives us a powerful example of what it means to remain faithful to Christ in the face of persecution and even death. We will face hatred and persecution for our faith. We will be tried and tested. We will be hard-pressed on every side. But our Savior has also promised that our struggle is not in vain. Our victory is assured by his death and resurrection. We boldly confess his name because we trust his promise, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

In the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, we hear about the rapid growth of the Christian church. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had come on the disciples, and they began boldly confessing that Jesus Christ had died and risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders fiercely opposed the preaching of the disciples. They had arrested the disciples several times and commanded them to stop preaching, but the disciples continued their bold confession even in the face of mounting opposition.

The Holy Spirit worked through preaching the Gospel, and many people now believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. But there was a problem in the church. There were so many people that some of the day-to-day ministries of the church were being overlooked, especially the daily distribution of food to the widows. To deal with this problem the congregation chose seven men who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom to assist the Apostles in the ministry of the church. One of these men was Stephen.

Stephen was filled with zeal for the Gospel of the Lord. He wanted others to know that by his perfect life, Christ had fulfilled all the requirements of the law. His death had been the ultimate sacrifice that paid for the sins of the whole world. But the bold proclamation of Stephen sparked fierce opposition. Many of the Jews in Jerusalem were deeply offended by the message of Stephen because he was speaking against their culture. They didn’t understand that he was proclaiming that the Law of God had been fulfilled in Christ or that God had freed us from the burden of sin and guilt by the death of his Son.

These men were not able to directly refute the message that Stephen was speaking so they began to lie and make false accusations against him. Satan still uses this attack against Christians today. The world claims that Christians are foolish if they believe that the entire Bible is God’s true inspired word. After all, science has proven that the world came into existence through evolution. Satan slanders Christians by claiming that Christians are hateful and bigoted when they preach the truth of God’s Word. He claims that it is unloving to preach the Law and show people their sins. After all, if God were truly a God of love he would not send anyone to hell. Satan also tries to undermine the truth that the only way to salvation is through Christ alone. Surely a loving God would provide many paths to salvation especially if someone is doing their best. Anyone who teaches that Jesus is the only way to salvation is clearly hateful and unloving.

What do we do in the face of these false accusations dear friends? I think all too often we stay quiet. We don’t want to be labeled as hateful, bigoted, or ignorant so we don’t confess our faith. We don’t want to be thought of as weird or strange, so we don’t talk about our savior. We are far too willing to make compromises with the world. Instead of talking about Jesus, we go along with the crowd. Instead of honoring God’s institution of marriage, we laugh or tell dirty jokes to fit in. Instead of honoring God’s name, we curse and swear so that others will accept us. Instead of defending our neighbor’s reputation, we join in when others are gossiping and making fun of others. Jesus says of his people, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” And yet far too often there is very little that distinguishes us from the world.

How did Stephen respond to these false accusations? He was dragged before the ruling council, the same council that had condemned Jesus to death, and made a bold confession. He proclaimed God’s law to them. He reminded them how their ancestors had killed God’s prophets and how they had done the exact same thing to Christ! “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.”

Put yourself in Stephen’s place. Imagine that you are in a room filled with people who hate you and hate everything you stand for. People who want nothing more than to silence you at any cost even if that means killing you. Would you be able to boldly proclaim the message of God’s law? Would you be able to confess your faith even to the point of death? That situation seems farfetched in our day and age and yet this has been the reality for God’s church since the fall into sin. We will face opposition to our faith. We will be hated and persecuted for the truth we confess. But like Stephen will make a bold confession because we know the glorious victory that is ours in Christ.

            The leaders of the Sanhedrin were filled with murderous rage at Stephen’s words. They were even more enraged as Stephen confessed his faith. Stephen gazed into heaven and received a vision of Christ. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Stephen was confessing before the very group that had murdered Jesus that he now sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen knew and believed the message of the Gospel. He knew that Christ was both true God and true man. That he had offered his life as a sacrifice to make full and complete payment for the sins of the entire world. Stephen knew that he had been washed clean of all his sins by the blood of Christ.

            This is the promise that is ours as well. Your sins have been washed away with the blood. Your debt has been paid and you have been declared not guilty of all your sins by God. All of this has been given to you as a gift of God’s grace through your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Stephen knew this truth. Stephen also knew that by the resurrection of Jesus death no longer had any power over him. Even if he was killed for his bold confession he knew that he would receive the crown of life. This is why Stephen could confidently pray at the moment of his death, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” This is the certain hope that we have through faith. We are faithful to our Lord because he was faithful to us. God has kept all his promises, and he will keep his promise to give the victor’s crown of eternal life to us as well.

     The story of Stephen seems like a story of defeat and not victory. Stephen was killed for his confession. But it is truly amazing how God uses things that look like defeat to the world to prove his victory. The Jewish leaders did not win that day. They killed Stephen, but he received his eternal reward. The congregation in Jerusalem was scattered, but that allowed the message of the Gospel to spread out from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth. And we also see the impact that the death of Stephen had on another person. There was a young man named Saul who stood and gave approval to Stephen’s death. That young man would become the Apostle Paul whom God would soon use to be his champion proclaiming the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles. God will use our confession as well to impact the lives of others. We are God’s messengers and witnesses, and we know that we do not need to fear the attacks of Satan or the world because we cling to the promise of Christ, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You Will be My Witnesses by Pastor Klusmeyer

You Will be My Witnesses

What does it mean to be a witness? Perhaps you think of someone who is called on to testify in a court of law. They are someone who either saw or had firsthand knowledge of a crime or an event. They may be someone who has unique and advanced knowledge in a particular area and can offer expert testimony on a particular issue. In a court of law, a witness is evaluated based on the trustworthiness of their testimony. Did they personally see an event, or did they only hear about it later from someone else? Are they someone who is known for their reliability? All these things factor in whether or not a witness is believed.

Jesus appointed his disciples to be his reliable witnesses. They were eyewitnesses of his resurrection and had learned the Word of God directly from him. After he ascended into heaven, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and give them power to testify about his death and resurrection. They would spread this glorious message of hope as they went out from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and then to the very ends of the earth.

Jesus has called us to be his witnesses as well. We are not eyewitnesses to his resurrection, but we have experienced his love and grace. Our faith is built on the reliable testimony of his very Word. The Word he revealed to his Apostles and Prophets. His Word that he preserved through the centuries in its truth and purity. In his Word, we see God's gracious plan of salvation. He promised that a Savior would come to free the world from the sins of Adam and Eve. Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises of God. He is the promised Savior who was true God and true man.

In his previous book, Luke recorded all the words and works of Jesus. He wrote how Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life fulfilling all the requirements of God’s holy law. We are shown the power of Christ as he performed miracle after miracle. And then we are told of the amazing love of Christ who offered his life as a holy sacrifice to pay for the sins of the whole world. After three days he rose again victorious from the grave and shattered the power of sin, death, and hell once and for all. He freed the world from sin and gave eternal life to all who believe in his name. This is the glorious message of the Gospel the disciples were to proclaim to the ends of the earth. And this is the message that has been entrusted to us as we follow the command of Christ, “You will be my witnesses.”

In the opening chapter of Luke’s second book, we are told about the last day of Jesus’s ministry on this earth. Jesus took his disciples outside the city of Jerusalem and gave them his final instructions. He reminded them of the things he had taught them and opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Jesus was preparing them for their ministry as his witnesses. He knew the suffering and hardship that was in store for them as they began spreading the message of the Gospel into a dark and hostile world. He knew that most of them would eventually be killed for their faith in him. The Greek word for witness is martus which we get the English word martyr. Jesus wanted to thoroughly equip his disciples as they began the work of his kingdom. This is one of the reasons that we can have certainty in the resurrection of our Savior; the disciples were willing to suffer and die for their testimony about the resurrection of Jesus.

Satan wants us to doubt that Jesus rose from the dead. Satan knows that if he can undermine the truth of the resurrection, he can destroy our faith. Just as the Apostle Paul warns in 1 Cor 15, “For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” This is why Satan worked so hard to destroy the credibility of the witnesses of the resurrection. This is why Jesus appeared so many times to his followers so there could be no doubt whatsoever that he had indeed risen from the dead. Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days and gave them many convincing proofs of his resurrection.

Our Savior knows the constant attacks his people endure. After all, he suffered and was tempted in every way that we are. He knows that Satan is constantly seeking to undermine our trust in his promises. He knows how Satan tries to convince us that the trouble and suffering in our lives are proof that God doesn’t really love us or care about us. This is why God has given us the testimony of his witnesses. They show us how God has kept every promise he made to his people.

As followers of Christ, we cling to the promises of God. We believe that our sins have been forgiven in Christ. We know that we are sinners and deserve only the wrath and punishment of God. We know that we can

do nothing to earn God’s grace or forgiveness. We cling to the certain knowledge that by his death Christ has made full and complete payment for all our sins. And we cling to the testimony of his witnesses that our Savior rose from the grave and defeated the power of death.

We also believe the testimony of those same witnesses who saw our Savior ascend into heaven in all his glory. The disciples were eyewitnesses to the coronation of our Savior as our glorious King of kings and Lord of Lords. Christ ascended into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. As we face trial, hardship, and even persecution in this life we don’t need to be afraid because we know with absolute certainty that our Savior is ruling over all things for the good of his church. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes about the glorious power and majesty of our ascended Lord, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

As the disciples watched their Lord ascend a cloud hid him from their sight. Two angels appeared and gave them a wonderful promise. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The people of God have been waiting almost 2,000 years for the fulfillment of this promise. Christ will again return in all his power and glory to judge the living and the dead. On that Last Great Day, all people dead and living will be gathered together. Those who believe in Christ will join him in the glory of the new heaven and new earth where there will be no more weeping or crying or pain. But those who have rejected the Son of God will be condemned to the eternal fires of hell.

This is why Jesus has called us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. The return of the King is near at hand as Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” There are so very many who have not heard the message of the Gospel. They are ignorant of God’s will and foolishly believe that there is no punishment for their unbelief.

We have been given the very words of eternal life in the Gospel. We can be faithful witnesses of our Savior as we share that message with others. We can do this in so many ways as well. We can let our light and faith shine by showing kindness to others and reflecting the love of Christ in this sinful world. We can tell others of our faith as they see its impact in our lives. We can use our offerings to support the church as it trains and equips others for service as witnesses to the ends of the earth.

We know the amazing love the Father has lavished on us. We know the peace that we have in Christ because we are free from guilt and shame. We know that glory that awaits us in the life to come. We cannot help but tell others about the glorious message of the Gospel because we love to tell the story of how our Savior died and rose for us. Amen

Jesus chose to call you his friend! by Pastor Zarling

Jesus chose to call you his friend!

John 15:9-17 “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love. 10If you hold on to my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have held on to my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that my joy would continue to be in you and that your joy would be complete.

12“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another.”

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). Amen.

Nezamuddin “Nezam” Nezami was an Afghani soldier who fought alongside American troops. After what the New York Post called the American administration’s “botched evacuation” of American troops from Afghanistan, Nezam was trapped. The Taliban knew all about Nezam, who was now a marked man.

Nezam did the only thing he could do. … He texted Scott Mann. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Man is a highly decorated Green Beret who had fought alongside Nezam in Afghanistan. But now he was retired and living 8000 miles away in Tampa Bay, FL.

Mann called in favors and contracted a crack crew of military experts from the special operations community – some retired and some active. Together, they hatched a plan to bring Mann’s old friend to safety. As soldiers, they knew what “I have your back” means. It means they will do whatever is necessary to protect and provide for their soldiers. No one is left behind!

Mann vowed this would be one mission for one man.

Nezam could not travel with papers identifying himself. Nezam was known to be a hunter of Taliban. So, if the Taliban found him and could identify him by his papers, he would be executed on the spot.

So, to get Nezam inside Kabul Airport – which was chaotic with crowds – an American officer provided a randomly chosen code word for Nezam to use. He said, “Tell him to shout, ‘Pineapple’ and we’ll know it’s him!”

It worked! Nezam was saved! Four days later, Nezam’s family was also saved from certain death.

The setting of today’s Gospel has Jesus in the upper room with his disciples on Holy Thursday. Jesus was on a rescue mission. It wasn’t a mission to save one person. It was a rescue mission to save all humanity … to also save you.

Today, from Jesus’ words recorded in John 15, we see that Jesus chose to call you his friend.

Many non-Lutherans have this choosing wrong. They mistakenly believe you are to say a certain prayer, ask Jesus into your heart, and make your decision for Christ. They put the action on you. You are to actively choose Jesus.

But Scripture clearly teaches that you are by nature an enemy of God. The Bible teaches, “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). Our sinful flesh is an enemy of God. The Bible also teaches that “While we were still sinners (enemies), Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

You did not choose Jesus. You cannot choose Jesus. You wouldn’t want to choose Jesus. As an enemy of God, you hate what God loves. You love what God hates. You hide from God when you sin, just like Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden when they sinned.

Scott Mann went out of his way to save a friend. Jesus went from heaven to earth to save his enemies.

Jesus is the One who is active in choosing us. We have no choice in our faith except to say “no” to what Jesus offers. We sang a few minutes ago, “Lord, ‘tis not that I did choose you; that, I know, could never be, for this heart would still refuse you, had your grace not chosen me” (CW 581). You learned in Catechism class what Martin Luther wrote in his explanation of the Third Article: “I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”

Jesus teaches, “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love” (John 15:9). God the Father loved you and sent his Son on a rescue mission.

When America abandoned Afghanistan, our administration and military leaders did not create an effective plan to rescue American soldiers and those Afghani people who were loyal to our cause. God had an effective plan from the very beginning. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, God promised the Enemy, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The Seed of woman and the only-begotten Son of God came to crush the Enemy’s head under his bloody heal. Jesus – who is divine nature and human nature in One – laid down his life for those who are enemies by their inborn sinful nature.

Today is the confirmation of six of our youth. As teens, they have sins specific to their age – lazy, indifferent, gossipy, and vengeful. They roll their eyes. Talk back. Don’t listen. Parents, you know what I’m talking about. But for the rest of you, you have sins specific to your age, too. You are lazy, indifferent, gossipy, and vengeful. You roll your eyes. You talk back. You don’t listen.

Jesus makes it clear, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16). There’s a reason Scott Mann chose to save Nezam. Love. There is only one reason Jesus chose to save people like you with your specific sins. Love.

There has been a concept throughout the ages that it is not manly to love. Men – young men, older men – that’s totally wrong! There is nothing more manly than love! Loving your friends so much you will not leave them behind to die. Loving your children so much you put yourself between them and the danger that threatens them. Loving your wife so much you will lay down your life for her.

Men and women, boys and girls, you love other people. Hopefully all those people you love also love you back. Jesus loved the world so much he laid down his life for the whole world – for many people who reject his love and refuse to love him back.

Out of all the billions of people that Jesus chose to love … Jesus chose you to love him back.

Jesus chose you in Baptism. When the pastor poured water over your head and spoke God’s Word into your ears, the Holy Spirt put saving faith into your heart. The Holy Spirit ripped you out of the devil’s hands at the font and placed you into the nail-scarred hands of your Savior.

In a few moments, our confirmands will be standing in front of the Lord’s altar. They will be making the same promises many of you made years ago. They will be promising to be faithful to the One who is faithful to them. They will promise to be faithful even to the point of death rather than fall away from their baptismal faith they are confirming today.

Then they will kneel to receive the Lord’s Supper for the first time. Jesus’ broken body with the bread and Jesus’ shed blood with the wine. They will taste and see that the Lord’s forgiveness is good.

Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Does Mayor Mason know you? Does Governor Evers know who you are? Does President Biden know your name?

The King of Kings knows you. The Lord of Lords knows who you are. The Commander of the angelic host knows your name. The Ruler of the Universe knows everything about you. And he’s working everything out here to get you to be with him there.

Jesus says you aren’t a servant in his house. You aren’t merely a soldier in his army. Jesus calls you his friend. He has taken you who were born his enemy and he has made you reborn through Word and Sacrament into his friend.

Don’t overlook that! Don’t ever forget that! The Son of God calls you his friend! As your friend, he talks to you in his Word. He invites you to talk to him in your prayers. Have a daily conversation with your Best Friend. Call upon him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. Lay your burdens on him. Give him your sins. He’ll give you his righteousness.

Jesus is the Best Friend you’ll ever have. He’ll never abandon you. He’ll never forget you. He has your back. No one is left behind. That’s why he went on a rescue mission to save you.

Jesus demonstrated his manly love for you by laying down his life for you. His love motivates you to love others. As your divine Friend loves you, now you are to reflect his love in your love for others.

Jesus didn’t take your sin so you could keep on sinning. The blood of God shed at Calvary is not divine permission to love whatever – or whomever – you want. It is forgiveness from God himself. Jesus put an end to sin. It’s dead, buried, never to be raised again by him. So as his baptized, forgiven, and bloodied people, we live lives of repentance. This is not a fun or pleasant life. It is a life of self-denial. A life of carrying a cross. A life of putting our family first. A life of loving our enemies. A life of being loved by Jesus. A life that flees from sin and flees to Jesus for forgiveness when we fall into that sin. The world hates this kind of love. But this is the kind of love that Jesus loves. That’s because you’re showing the same kind of love for others that Jesus showed in loving you.

Jesus teaches, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:12, 13). Decades later, Jesus’ disciple, John writes to disciples, “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.” (1 John 4:10, 11).

Operation Pineapple became a great success. It was designed to be one mission to save one man. But it became so much more. Sometimes it was too successful. It became an obsession for those involved, eating up family time, impinging on jobs. They put businesses on hold, one guy quit his job, another cashed in his kid’s college fund to pay for a safehouse. Operation Pineapple saved 700 to 1000 people who were in danger of being killed by the Taliban. It all started while Scott Mann was 8000 miles away so he could save his friend Nazam via texts.

Whatever the distance is between heaven and earth, that’s the distance Jesus traveled to save you while you were still enemies. It was the Father’s divine obsession from eternity to send his Son on a rescue mission. Jesus came to save humanity through his blood, sweat, tears, wounds, a bloody cross, and a dark tomb.

Though that rescue mission was to save everyone, it was also a rescue mission to save one. … You. Don’t ever forget that Jesus chose to call you his friend. Amen.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19). Amen.

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.