Categories
Reaching Out

Thoughts on Stewardship

1. Truths to remember

• The Diversity of Gifts
○ Matthew 24:14 (NASB95)
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
• Stewards, not Owners
○ Luke 19:13 (NASB95)
“And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them,
‘Do business with this until I come back.’
• Faithfulness Required
○ 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NASB95)
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found
trustworthy.
• Life a precious gift
1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB95)
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
• A Sacred Treasure To be Kept
○ 1 Timothy 6:20 (NASB95)
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty
chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—
○ 2 Timothy 1:14 (NASB95)
Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has
been entrusted to you.
• Ministering as Stewards
○ 1 Peter 4:10–11 (NASB95)
10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one
another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of
God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which
God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
• Stewardship is personal
○ Proverbs 9:12 (NASB95)
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone
will bear it.
○ Ezekiel 18:20 (NASB95)
20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for
the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the
son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself,
and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
○ Galatians 6:3–9 (NASB95)
3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives
himself.
4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for
boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
5 For each one will bear his own load.
6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one
who teaches him.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he
will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life.
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we
do not grow weary.

2. Accountability

○ Matthew 12:36 (NASB95)
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give
an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
○ Matthew 18:23 (NASB95)
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his slaves.
○ Luke 12:20 (NASB95)
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of
you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
○ Luke 12:42–48 (NASB95)
42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom
his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations
at the proper time?
43 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
44 “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his
possessions.
45 “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in
coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and
drink and get drunk;
46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him
and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him
a place with the unbelievers.
47 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act
in accord with his will, will receive many lashes,
48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a
flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much
will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all
the more.
○ Luke 19:15–17 (NASB95)
15 “When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these
slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might
know what business they had done.
16 “The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas
more.’
17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been
faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten
cities.’
○ Romans 14:12 (NASB95)
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
○ 1 Peter 4:1–6 (NASB95)
1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also
with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased
from sin,
2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts
of men, but for the will of God.
3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the
desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts,
drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the
same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and
the dead.
6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are
dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the
spirit according to the will of God.

3. Stewardship of the Gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ)
• 1 Corinthians 9:17 (NASB95)
For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I
have a stewardship entrusted to me.
• Galatians 1:6–7 (NASB95)
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the
grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you
and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
• Colossians 1:25 (NASB95)
Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God
bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the
preaching of the word of God,
• 1 Thessalonians 1:2–5 (NASB95)
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our
prayers;
3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and
steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God
and Father,
4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;
5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in
the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men
we proved to be among you for your sake.
• 1 Timothy 1:6–11 (NASB95)
6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless
discussion,
7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand
either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident
assertions.
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for
those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the
unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for
murderers
10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers,
and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have
been entrusted.
• Titus 1:1–4 (NASB95)
1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith
of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to
godliness,
2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long
ages ago,
3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation
with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Categories
Sermon

Sermon for 06.25.23 “The Son of Man comes to us”

Pentecost 4 (Proper 7), June 25, 2023
Text: Matthew 10:5a, 21–33
Theme: The Son of Man comes to us
Other Lessons: Jeremiah 20:7–13; Psalm 91:1–10 (11–16); Romans 6:12–23

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for today.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
LSB 659:1-2 Lord of Our Life
Lord of our life and God of our salvation,
Star of our night and hope of ev’ry nation:
Hear and receive Your Church’s supplication,
Lord God Almighty.

See round Your ark the hungry billows curling;
See how Your foes their banners are unfurling
And with great spite their fiery darts are hurling,
O Lord, preserve us.

Introduction

A. A Lutheran pastor had a second full-time job outside the church—as a
painter at an auto body shop.
1. This is what is called being a worker-priest.
2. One of his fellow employees, also a Christian but not Lutheran, was a
funny guy who almost on a daily basis would yell at the pastor, “Look busy!
Jesus is coming!”
3. This, of course, meant to compare Jesus with a boss who would punish an
employee for being lazy.
B. Sometimes, the pastor would jokingly yell back things to the other guy
to have a good laugh but also to teach him.
1. One time, the pastor might say, “Oh, Jesus already came. Didn’t you meet
him?”
2. Another time, the pastor would yell, “If Jesus is coming, you’re in big
trouble!”
3. Once, the pastor said, very seriously, “Jesus comes to our church every
Sunday.
A. He speaks to us through the Word,
B. He forgives us,
C. and He gives us heavenly food to eat and drink in his presence.
D. Would you like to join us?”
E. That pastor was right.
F. Jesus is always coming to us in the Divine Service through his Word and
Sacraments for our forgiveness, eternal life, and communion with God
(Matthew 10:5).
C. But it rather difficult to know exactly what Jesus meant in our text by
the phrase “the Son of Man comes.”
1. He told the disciples that they would not complete going through all of
the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes (verse 23).
2. Hadn’t he already come with his incarnation when he was conceived in the
womb of the Virgin Mary?
3. Hadn’t he already come when he was born?
4. Hadn’t he already come when he was baptized by John in the Jordan River?
5. Hadn’t he already come in his public ministry?
A. The answer to all these questions is: Yes!
6. What then does he mean by “the Son of Man comes”?
D. What are the possibilities surrounding this phrase: the Son of Man
comes?
1. Perhaps Jesus was looking ahead to his coming at His glorious
transfiguration.
2. Or He was talking about His coming on Palm Sunday when He rode
triumphantly into Jerusalem—
A. only to be betrayed,
B. tried,
C. suffer,
D. die,
E. rise again,
F. and then ascend back into heaven.
3. Another option is that He was talking about His coming to judge the
world on the Last Day.
E. These comings all did or would happen.
F. What if we might add one more option.
1. What if Jesus comes to us even now?
G. Pastors, Bible scholars, and students of the Holy Scriptures have
struggled for centuries with interpreting just what Jesus means when he
says “the Son of Man comes,” but let’s look at the possibilities
1. The Son of Man came at his incarnation.
A. The incarnation happened when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the
Virgin Mary.
Luke 1:30–35 (NASB95)
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor
with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall name Him Jesus.
32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will
have no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the
holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
B. Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Man because of the incarnation.
1. Jesus was born into the world as both God and man, fully divine and
fully human.
Matthew 1:21–23 (NASB95)
21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will
save His people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet:
23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY
SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
2. Jesus lived a perfect life as God and man for us under God’s Law to
fulfill it on our behalf.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NASB95)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich,
yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might
become rich.
3. Jesus ministered as both God and man, preaching, healing, and serving
for our salvation and eternal life.
Luke 4:18–19 (NASB95)
18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE
GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND
RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
2. The Son of Man came to redeem us.
A. Jesus’ redeeming acts intensified after he rode into Jerusalem on Palm
Sunday and began to be rejected by the people later that day.
1. On the same night that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, Thursday of
Holy Week, he was betrayed by one of his own disciples.
Matthew 26:14–16 (NASB95)
14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And
they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.
16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.
Matthew 26:21–25 (NASB95)
21 As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will
betray Me.”
22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I,
Lord?”
23 And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one
who will betray Me.
24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that
man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that
man if he had not been born.”
25 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”
Matthew 26:47–50 (NASB95)
47 While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up
accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief
priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss,
He is the one; seize Him.”
49 Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they
came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.
2. All of this led to his trial, beating, and being crowned with thorns:
Matthew 27:27–29 (NASB95)
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and
gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.
28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head,
and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked
Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
A. This then led to Jesus suffering and dying on the cross according to
God’s plan to atone for the sins of the world.
Matthew 27:33–35 (NASB95)
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a
Skull,
34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He
was unwilling to drink.
35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among
themselves by casting lots.
B. After Jesus rested in the tomb to fulfill the Sabbath law, he was
gloriously resurrected on the third day.
1. The Son of Man came back to life!
Matthew 20:18–19 (NASB95)
18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be
delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to
death,
19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify
Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
2. So now he offers eternal life to all and gives it to everyone who
believes in him.
John 11:25–26 (NASB95)
25 Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life; he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe
this?”
C. Forty days later, Jesus ascended into heaven and was enthroned at the
right hand of God to prepare a place there with him for all who believe in
him as their Redeemer.
Luke 24:50–53 (NASB95)
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and
blessed them.
51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into
heaven.
52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
3. The Son of Man will come again in glory.
A. Just as Jesus ascended into heaven on the clouds of glory, so he will
come again on the clouds of glory on the Last Day.
1. Everyone who has died will be raised in their bodies from their graves
and will stand before him.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NASB95)
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive
and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have
fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the
Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
2. All who are still alive when he comes will be changed, their bodies made
ready for eternity, and will fly up into the air to meet him.
1 Corinthians 15:51–52 (NASB95)
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will
be changed.
B. Jesus will judge all who have ever lived.
1. He will put the believers on his right (the sheep) and the unbelievers
(the goats) on his left.
Matthew 25:33–34, 40 (NASB95)
33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the
extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of
them, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25:41, 45-46 (NASB95)
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed
ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his
angels;
Matthew 25:45–46 (NASB95)
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you
did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life.”
2. Those who believed in him he will judge as righteous, and their works
will give evidence;
A. unbelievers will have nothing good to show.
1. Their “good works” seen as “filthy rags”.
3. All will be assigned to their eternal dwellings, either in heaven or in
hell.
4. The Son of Man comes now to save us.
A. Jesus instituted the apostolic and holy ministry and empowered his
pastors by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to carry on his own ministry until
the Last Day.
1. Jesus commanded his holy ministers to:
A. preach the Holy Word purely
B. and to administer rightly the Sacraments of Holy Baptism, and Holy
Communion.
2. By these means, the Holy Spirit creates and sustains in people faith to
receive forgiveness and eternal life through Christ’s gifts.
A. Explanation to the Third Article of the Creed:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength 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. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my
sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to
me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
B. In this way, Jesus himself comes to us now in the Divine Service.
1. He is really, truly present with us through his Word and Sacraments.
2. He himself:
A. purifies us of our sins,
B. sanctifies us to share in God’s holiness,
C. and blesses us in our relationship with God and one another.
Conclusion

A. We may not be able to discern exactly what Jesus meant when he used the
phrase “the Son of Man comes,”:
1. We do know and believe that he came with his incarnation when he was
conceived in the womb of Mary to be born, live, and minister to us.
2. We do know and believe that He came to redeem us:
A. by his suffering,
B. his death on the cross,
C. his resurrection from the dead,
D. and his ascension back into heaven.
3. We do know and believe that He will come again in glory on the Last Day
to judge the world.
4. And we do know and believe that He comes to us now through His Holy Word
and Holy Sacraments in the Divine Service to bring us heavenly forgiveness
and eternal life.
A. Therefore we rejoice that the Son of Man has come to us this day and is
present with us now in this place. Amen!
B. Let us pray:
LSB 659:3-4 Lord of Our Life
Lord, be our light when worldly darkness veils us;
Lord, be our shield when earthly armor fails us;
And in the day when hell itself assails us,
Grant us Your peace, Lord:

Peace in our hearts, where sinful thoughts are raging,
Peace in Your Church, our troubled souls assuaging,
Peace when the world its endless war is waging,
Peace in Your heaven.
Text: Public domain
C. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
D. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

Categories
Fellowship

July First Sunday Fellowship Lunch

Join us on Sunday, July 2nd, for fellowship and lunch immediately following the 10:30am worship service.

Members and guests are welcome and this event is free! All you need to bring is an appetite and some good conversation.

Menu

Grilled Chicken

Summer Salads

Dessert

We appreciate and accept free-will donations that benefit our Fellowship Committee that allow our church to continue to offer free meals.

Categories
Reaching Out

Michelangelo’s Gift

Michelangelo’s Gift

Source of image: Holyart.com
Michelangelo Buonarroti’s Pietà, depicting Christ in the arms of His mother Mary, is one of the most famous works of art of all time and one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, it is almost impossible to view this sculpture without feeling deeply touched by it, awakening feelings deep within our souls. The Pietà has inspired millions of people who have seen it, moved by the compassion of Mary and the sacrifice of our Savior.
One of the most celebrated artists of all time Michelangelo, was an absolute genius and created the Pietà in his early twenties. After the statue was commissioned by a group of cardinals in 1497, Michelangelo personally visited the Carrara marble quarries to choose the block of marble from which he would free his statue.

Clearly, Michaelangelo was gifted with his hands. But he also had the gift of vision. Florence’s Accademia Gallery hosts Michaelangelo’s David sculpture, as well as many of his half-finished sculptures. It is well known that when Michelangelo looked at a slab of marble, he saw a figure hiding inside who wanted to be set free. His philosophy was to chip away the marble to uncover that hidden figure. “Every block of stone has a statue inside it,” Michaelangelo said, “and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

In similar fashion, when God looks at us, He sees us as we are (like a block of marble), but also a figure hiding inside who wants to be set free of the bondage of sin and fear of death. He can see our inner potential that nobody else can yet see. And like a brilliant sculptor who chips away stone, if we will allow Him – if we repent of our sins and receive Christ as Savior, he will remove all the dross of our flesh – our sin that gets in the way of our life in the Spirit.

He then calls us to a higher calling and purpose in our lives:
· a love for us to experience that can transform us,
· a battle for us to engage in that is worth fighting, and
· a story for us to live in that is far bigger and better than we have known.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9

So if we trust His hand and vision, He’ll transform us into something more beautiful than we ever dared to imagine, and we can inspire others as the Pietà does to those who encounter it. And then, just as people look at the Pietà and see Jesus, so they will look at us and see Jesus as well.

How about you – are you responding to His call on your life? Are you willing to allow Him to chip away every part of your life that gets in the way of a life in the Spirit? If we are not – if we resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we will be like one of Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures, that people briefly notice and wonder what we really could have become. And when we stand before the Lord on Judgement Day, He will say: “Depart from Me; I never knew you.”

Each individual we encounter in our lives – family, friends, acquaintances, or strangers, are like Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures; called but still not fully shaped and polished into the image of God. So let us go forth and witness to them with the love and truth of Christ, that they can become transformed, free of the bondage of sin and the fear of death, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

To God be the glory

Categories
Reaching Out

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

PART I – A Hidden Treasure
It started out like any other day in 1987, but Jan Benes did not realize that his life was about to change forever. A few months earlier, a friend showed him medicinal ginseng roots and how to find them. While walking in the woods near his home in Melnik, Czechoslovakia, he ran across some ginseng. He immediately started to dig, only to find a small treasure chest. Thoughts raced through his mind – could this be the lost, hidden treasure he had only heard about?

Excited, he decided to acquire it, whatever the cost. He learned the landowner would sell, at a very high price. So Jan sold all his possessions – his small house, furniture, and even his car to raise money. Purchasing the land, he knew that he possessed something very special, that would change his life forever.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44

PART II – Several Centuries Earlier
A father and son dwelled on a very high place, where they could look down on the low lands and see all that was going on. Receiving reports of increasing violence and crime, the father sent his son to investigate, telling him: “Son, I am sending you down to check out the situation, and take action as you see fit. I know you will do the right thing.”

As the son got close to the scene, he could hear the sounds of wild parties, gunshots, and the wailing of those who lost love ones. He saw people ensnared by the deceitfulness of sin and riches that promise happiness, but deliver misery, heartache, and despair. It broke his heart to see such suffering, as well as evil having its way with so many people. But He discovered a very great treasure – the souls of men and women, created in His image, enslaved by sin and the fear of death.

And so Jesus (you guessed it) fed their bodies with food and their souls with spiritual truth. But He realized they were still enslaved. So in an act of great compassion and love, Jesus sold all that He had – His very life, as a ransom to pay the price for their sin – our sin, that they and we would be freed from the slavery of sin and death.

PART III – The Rest of the Story
Back in the year 1948, Czechoslovakia was a communist state ruled by an evil regime. The state banned all church services, declared that guns, drugs and bibles were illegal, and imprisoned anyone caught with them. Tomas Benes realized his life was in danger, but he would not destroy his bible – the family bible that had been handed down from his father and grandfather.

So he placed it in a treasure chest with some gold coins and buried it in a nearby wilderness area. Unfortunately, he was called up for military service and died before he could tell the location to his family. His family suffered under communism for many years. Bibles were very rare, and people tried to remember passages that meant something to them.

So now you know the rest of the story – that Tomas Benes’ grandson Jan found the hidden treasure – the family Bible that contained his grandfather’s reflections, and rare golden coins that covered the cost of purchasing the land and then some. He finally had possession of the Word of God – the truth that could truly set him free and shed light into the endarkened culture.

PART IV – The Call
If it was necessary, would you be willing to sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor to receive Christ and come into the Kingdom of God? That’s what Christ instructed the rich young ruler to do (and he was sorrowful, because he loved his riches). We who have sold all for our Lord – confessed our sins, surrendered our lives, and received Christ as our Savior, are the beneficiaries of Christ’s ultimate payment. We can live more freely, knowing that we have become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, that He has gone to make a place there for us, and He even sent the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, comfort, and love us.

You and I know people who don’t know the Lord and don’t realize we are the great treasure for whom Jesus paid the ultimate price. Our Lord is calling each of us to reach out to them with the love and truth of Christ, to invite them on an incredible spiritual journey that leads to heaven. Will you take the call?
Based in part on true events
To God be the glory

Categories
Sermon

Sermon for 06.11.23 “Eating at the table with Jesus”

Pentecost 2 (Proper 5), June 11, 2023
Text: Matthew 9:9–13
Theme: Eating at the table with Jesus
Other Lessons: Hosea 5:15–6:6; Psalm 119:65–72; Romans 4:13–25

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
Psalm 119:65–72 (NASB95)
65You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word.
66Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your
commandments.
67Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.
68You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
69The arrogant have forged a lie against me; With all my heart I will
observe Your precepts.
70Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Your law.
71It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.
72The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver
pieces. Amen.

Introduction

A. I want you to think back to when you were a young kid and you and your
family gathered around the dining room table for a big meal, whether it was
Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.
1. The adults got to sit at the “big” table.
2. You, on the other hand, got to sit at the “little” table, as known as
the “kids table” and it was set off to the side, away from the big table.
3. Sitting at the kids table is like…
a) you were being banished
1. what did I do to deserve this?
b) you were a person, but not old enough to sit with the adults.
1. You had not yet earned the right to eat with the adults nor did you
deserve to be there.
B. In a sense, Matthew is sitting at the “kids” table not eating food but
instead collecting taxes.
1. Matthew is not well liked.
2. He could be overcharging people on their taxes.
3. He could be taking advantage of his countrymen.
4. He’s working for the hated Roman government collecting these taxes.
5. He has compromised himself by cooperating with them.
C. Along comes Jesus and He says, “Follow me.”
1. Amazingly, Matthew packs up his things to follow Jesus.
2. They end up at Matthew’s house, having a meal.
3. Along the way, Matthew has invited other tax collectors and “sinners.”
4. They’re having something to eat with Jesus.
5. However, the Pharisees stand off to the side, complaining, “Why does he
eat with sinners?”
D. Jesus’ answer?
1. It is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy.
2. He says he wants mercy shown, not mere religious ceremonies.

1. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus? The answer: We shouldn’t be.
A. So who is eating with Jesus?
1. Who would be under this umbrella term “sinners”?
B. The tax collectors are there.
1. What sin had they committed?
A. We could call it greed.
B. It could be they held onto money too tightly or money had too tight a
hold on them.
C. Their lives revolved around getting and keeping money, then buying stuff.
C. But who else is at the table?
1. You and I are at the table as well.
A. We’ve all seen how the rapidly rising inflation cuts into your income.
B. You know the damage the rising gas prices have done to your budget.
C. The volatility of the stock market makes you worry about investments or
retirement accounts.
D. Money isn’t going as far as it once did.
E. Your anxiety grows.
F. “Am I going to have enough?”
G. When your mind goes there, you begin to hold on to the money too tightly
or it takes hold of you ever more tightly.
2. So when our Lord calls for giving, generosity, and taking care of
others, we end up mostly taking care of ourselves.
A. It ought to remind us of what Paul says in Romans:
Romans 3:23 (NASB95)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
B. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus? We shouldn’t be.
D. Another group that gets lumped under the word “sinners” is prostitutes.
1. Now, we know that this sin involves selling one’s body for money or
acceptance or drugs or whatever.
2. But more is going on with this than just sexual immorality.
3. Underneath prostitution, you find the loss of the sanctity of sexuality
and nudity instead of where it is to be properly expressed in the marital
relationship.
4. Sex sells and buys instead of being a sacred gift for a husband and wife.
E. Do we fall under this umbrella of sinners too?
1. Perhaps not as prostitutes, but we live at a time when sexuality and
nudity are exploited, exposed, and explicit for us to see every day of our
lives.
2. How difficult it is to keep:
A. our desires,
B. our urges,
C. our eyes,
D. our minds,
E. and our hearts pure.
3. We are led to dress a certain way, to look a certain way.
4. Sites on a computer invite us to click on a link that will show us a
movie star wearing a slinky red dress or see-through top.
5. Movies routinely show couples in various stages of nudity and sexual
activity.
6. Television shows and commercials tempt viewers to keep on looking, even
fantasizing, about what counts as beauty and what we should look for or how
to act to get satisfaction.
7. We are bombarded with these:
A. images,
B. pictures,
C. seductions,
D. expectations throughout the day,
8. And they in turn infect
A. our desires,
B. our urges,
C. our thoughts,
D. our actions.
E. We, too, are sinners. Paul says:
F. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
9. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus?
A. We shouldn’t be.
F. What other sinners are at the table with Jesus?
1. Those who can’t keep the Law with their mouths like they should—or won’t
keep the Law.
2. Imagine the language used by some of these people at the table with
Jesus.
A. Filthy words.
B. Coarse talk.
C. Profanity.
G. It is no different today.
1. Same kind of foul language flows into our ears and perhaps out of our
mouths.
2. What do we say in anger when we lose our temper?
3. How quickly we lash out with:
A. mean words,
B. hateful words,
C. words that God never wants us to speak.
4. Hurtful words that appear on Facebook or some other social media about a
politician, someone who is different from us, someone who riles us up.
5. Paul says:
A. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
6. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus? We shouldn’t be.
H. What about other sinners?
1. Those who worry too much.
2. Those filled with anxiety about what’s going on.
3. The war in the Ukraine.
A. And the idea that we as a country are the ones to blame!
4. Streets that aren’t safe.
5. Cars being broken into.
6. Not enough police.
7. Afraid of what will happen in a parking lot.
I. Our Lord calls for us to trust, but we are so deep into worry that:
1. we fail to pray,
2. we fail to seek peace in his promises despite the dangers we live with
every day.
3. Paul says:
A. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
4. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus?
A. We shouldn’t be.
J. Then look over there.
1. The Pharisees are standing off to the side, feeling pretty good about
themselves rather than those lousy sinners and tax collectors.
2. They are looking down at those who are eating with Jesus.
A. A condescending attitude leads to comparing themselves to those people
at the table.
K. That’s a temptation too.
1. The homeless man or woman sleeping out on the front porch.
2. The woman holding a sign at the busy intersection.
3. The awkward co-worker or student who is just not “right”.
4. The public figure who made a mistake and is now being forced to resign.
5. Someone from a different race or nationality.
6. We:
A. too easily judge,
B. too easily stand off to the side like the Pharisees,
C. too easily compare ourselves with them to make us feel better about
ourselves.
7. A pearl of great wisdom:
A. “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all”
8. Paul says:
A. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
9. Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus?
A. We shouldn’t be.
L. The Disney movie Encanto has a scene in it that touches the heart.
1. The movie’s characters include a matriarch, children, and grandchildren.
2. Mirabel is the young girl who saves a magical house.
3. But one family member doesn’t live with the family.
4. That family member is Bruno and he lives behind the walls of the house.
5. He has a special gift, but a troubling one.
6. He has a vision of what is to happen, and the vision seems dark,
foreboding.
7. So he withdraws from the family.
8. The rest of the family won’t talk about Bruno or even talk with him.
9. Yet he can see through a crack in the wall into the family dining room.
10. He can listen to the family laughing and eating together on nice plates
with good food.
11. They are at the table, but he is not.
12. Except, behind the wall, he’s made a little wood table for himself with
a chalk circle for a plate.
13. Under the plate, he has written his name, “Bruno.”
14. That image of Bruno eating by himself, walled off from his family,
looking in from the outside, can break your heart.
M. Sitting at the “kids” table.
1. That’s where I should sit.
2. That’s where you should sit.
3. Not at the adult table with Jesus.
4. Not eating with him.
5. We should be on the outside looking in.
2. Yet Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them.
A. Yes, Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them!
1. He has invited us to eat with him!
B. Now eating at Matthew’s house in our text wasn’t like eating at the food
court at a mall, where you’re with your family but you don’t know anyone
else.
1. The tables there are separated from one another, and you walk out after
a quick meal without interacting with anybody around.
2. This is also not like a formal meal, like a wedding reception, where
people are seated by how important they are or whether they are special
guests.
3. You may have a polite conversation, but where you get to sit tells
everyone who you are.
C. No, this meal is one that brings people together.
1. The tax collectors probably knew one another, and possibly the other
sinners did too.
2. Good food was had, but also laughter and hearty conversation.
3. This table didn’t reserve spots for those more important, nor did it
leave out those who didn’t fit in.
4. Everyone was welcome.
5. Anyone could sit at this table with Jesus with equal need and equal
inclusion.
6. When Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them, everything changes.
7. The table becomes a place of warm fellowship, where no one is better or
worse, and the invitation includes everyone.
D. Something else has happened at Matthew’s house.
1. It may be Matthew’s table.
2. He may have invited the tax collectors and sinners to be there.
3. But he is not at the head of the table.
4. Jesus is.
5. Jesus has become the host.
6. He is the one everyone defers to.
7. He speaks, and everyone else listens.
8. The Pharisees do not accuse Matthew of anything.
9. Instead, they question what Jesus is doing at this table.
10. And Jesus has taken charge.
11. He has welcomed sinners to sit at the table and eat with him.
E. Why has Jesus done this?
1. Why is this welcome to the sinners?
2. They need him, of course.
3. They need Him for His mercy.
4. He desires mercy from the people, not mere religious going through the
motions.
5. Yet he also knows that mercy needs to come first from Him if there is to
be mercy shown by his people.
6. And His mercy flows freely from His sacrifice of Himself.
F. Earlier in the sermon I repeated a number of times the apostle Paul’s
words:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
G. The sentence doesn’t stop there.
H. Paul goes on to say:
Romans 3:24 (NASB95)
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus.
I. Think about another meal Jesus hosted.
1. This one happened on the night he was betrayed, when he was eating with
his closest disciples.
2. Even though he knew:
A. Judas would betray him,
B. Peter would deny him,
C. and the rest would run away,
D. he still welcomed them to the table.
3. He ate with them.
4. They were sinners just like you and me.
J. Then He heads to the table of the cross.
1. He is at the lonely table off to the side of Jerusalem.
2. He is abandoned.
3. Left alone.
4. He is sitting on the outside looking in at Jerusalem, the Holy City.
5. What is he doing there?
6. He is showing mercy by sacrificing Himself.
7. All the sinful flesh has to offer:
A. the greed,
B. the lust,
C. the fear,
D. the anger,
E. the worry,
F. the condescension,
G. all of it!
1. He has taken it on Himself.
2. Out of this sacrifice comes the mercy of His forgiveness.
3. Like the good physician who knows just what the sick need, Jesus
welcomes us in His merciful forgiveness.
K. Three days later, He rises from the dead.
1. Some days later, he has another meal.
2. Peter, John, James, Nathanael, Thomas, and a couple other disciples
decide to go fishing.
3. They don’t catch anything.
4. From the shore, Jesus calls out to them and tells them to throw their
nets on the right side of the boat.
5. Whoa! 153 large fish in the nets.
6. John says:
A. “It’s the Lord.”
7. Peter plunges into the water and sloshes as fast as he can go to the
shore to be with Jesus.
8. When everyone else is out of the boat, what is waiting for them?
9. A meal.
10. Breakfast is served.
11. When the meal is over, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him.
A. Three times Peter had denied him.
B. Three times he needed to hear Jesus restore him.
C. He is welcomed back into the family, back to the table of Christ’s mercy
for all eternity.
L. Who is eating with Jesus?
1. Sinners.
2. Sinners like you and me.
3. All because Jesus is at the head of the table.
4. All because He is the host.
5. All of us are included.
6. All of us are welcome.
7. All of us are forgiven.
M. What table is being talked about here?
1. It’s this table, the altar.
2. When you approach this altar, what do you hear me tell you?
A. Welcome to the Lord’s Table!
3. Here Jesus is the host. not us.
4. Here Jesus welcomes us with His very body and blood given and shed on
the cross for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.
5. Here we receive the risen Christ, who welcomes us once again.
6. We receive mercy from him.
N. We leave from this table, following Him.
1. We leave from this table and what happens?:
A. that greed becomes more and more a spirit of generosity and giving.
B. the lust and desires become more and more a commitment for that gift of
sexuality to be kept sacred in the marital relationship.
C. the worry and fear become more and more a peace that surpasses all
understanding.
D. the anger becomes more and more patience and compassion, using our words
to encourage (that is, to bring courage to) someone.
E. we more and more respect another person no matter what his or her place
or status is in life.
F. and follow Jesus by showing mercy not just on Sunday or when we find it
convenient, but on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday!
Conclusion
A. Back to the movie Encanto.
1. Near the end of the movie, Bruno has helped Mirabel see what she needs
to do to save the family.
2. But the magical house still collapses.
3. All seems to be lost until Mirabel brings reconciliation with the
family’s matriarch.
4. The house is rebuilt, with the help of people from a nearby town.
5. Mirabel inserts a special doorknob that brings the house back to life
again.
6. Even more important, Bruno is welcomed back into the family.
7. The whole family gathers together for a picture.
8. Everyone is smiling, and right in the center of that picture is Bruno.
9. He is no longer an outcast, behind the walls, left out.
10. Imagine, after the picture is taken, this family going into the house
and having a big meal together.
11. Bruno has his place with everyone.
12. You hear laughter and warm conversation as good food is eaten.
13. Love flows freely around that table, as we hear in verse 10 of our text
for this morning:
Matthew 9:10 (NASB95)
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house,
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and
His disciples.
B. Picture that moment here today.
1. Brothers and sisters in Christ, Gathering Together at This Table:
A. in Joy,
B. in Closeness,
C. in Love,
D. in Forgiveness
E. Why? All because of Jesus’ Sacrifice and Mercy.
2. Remember, Jesus is the host, and he says to you:
A. “Welcome to my table.” Amen.
C. Let us pray:
Lord, teach us to love Your Word. Show us Your steadfast mercy in every
verse. Give us the faith to believe that all You have said is true and that
all Your promises will be fulfilled in Christ. Let us seek You with our
whole heart and find You in Your Word. Amen.
D. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

Categories
Reaching Out

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

One of the most famous and compelling allegories (parables) in the history of philosophy is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Plato was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC, at the height of the golden age of Greece. Plato describes a cave that contains prisoners who have lived their entire lives chained inside it. Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners are people carrying puppets or other objects that cast shadows on the opposite wall. The prisoners watch these shadows, believing this to be their reality as they’ve known nothing else.

One prisoner gets free of his shackles, and discovers a path to the outside where he encounters a whole new world – the sun and natural beauty he had never even imagined. When he realizes that the shadows in the cave are fake, he desires to return to the cave to tell his friends about his amazing discovery, that they too may become free and experience this new reality that is true, not just shadows on a wall.
When he returns, he is blinded because his eyes are not accustomed to actual sunlight. The chained prisoners see this blindness and believe they will be harmed if they try to leave the cave. So they refuse to leave, embracing the world they know, rather than accepting as true his claims that were so extraordinary they were obviously false.
There is a parallel with our life in Christ. Many people devote much of their lives to shadows on the wall of their own cave, known as television, movies, computer screens, i-pads, and smart phones. What they are watching is not real, but shadows of something real.

We can take it one step further. Born into the Kingdom of Man, we live in three-dimensional space and time on the earth (our own cave). Many people (atheists) believe that that is all there is, and then when we die, it’s all over. But there is another world – the Kingdom of God, that is just as real, but exists in a different dimension, beyond our three-dimensional world of space and time.

When we receive Christ (the Son of God who sheds spiritual light on earth), we become citizens of this Kingdom of God. And when we come out of the cave of the world, the flesh, and the devil (the Kingdom of Man) into the Kingdom of God, we discover that the material universe is like shadows on the wall because it is not the ultimate reality.
Furthermore, when we pass through the veil of death and step into eternity, we will discover that heaven is even more beautiful, and that the love we experience from saints that have gone before us, from angels, and from the sovereign, living God of the universe is more extraordinary than we could ever have imagined.
You and I know people who are in the cave (the Kingdom of Man) and will perish for eternity unless they receive the Son – Jesus Christ. They may even be Christians (see Revelation 3 – the Laodiceans who are perfectly comfortable in the world and its ways, and see no reason to change, no passion for God).

So let us go into the cave, reach out to them, and show them the way out of the cave – the narrow path that leads to heaven. Otherwise they will perish in the cave and fall into the Lake of Fire. That is why we are here. It is our mission – the Great Commission. So let us go forth with the love and truth of the Christ, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” I Peter 2:9

To God be the glory

Categories
Reaching Out

WE ARE AT WAR

We are at war. It is a war for the souls of our loved ones, our friends, and people we have never met. And it is a war for the future of our nation. Our King – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is calling us up, to serve Him on the frontlines of the battle. It is called The Great Commission, and He is commanding us to put on our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6), pray fervently, and have SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS with those He brings across our path, because their eternal destiny is at stake. So the question facing you (and me) is: Will you answer the call, or would you rather just sit on the bench and watch from the sidelines? (And we all know who owns the bench.)

We are very fortunate to have access to terrific materials called Spiritual Conversations. Developed by Lutheran Hour Ministries, they give us valuable insights and tools to make it much easier and more natural to have conversations about Jesus with family, friends, and strangers. So we are hosting a series of Spiritual Conversation workshops, starting THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, and followed by workshops on May 14 and 21. The workshops will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; feel free to bring your own food at 6 p.m. (The May 7 workshop will be in the church office building because of the rummage sale in the Luther Building).

We would be delighted if you can join us for these workshops. If you can, please register on-line on our website firstlutheranlr.com and go to “Upcoming Events”, find “Spiritual Conversations Workshops, scroll down, and click on “Confirm Attendance”. Or just let our church office you will be coming. This is a terrific opportunity to learn vital insights to help us carry out the Great Commission, so you won’t want to miss it.

Yours in Christ,
Mark Peterson
Board of Evangelism

Categories
Services

Trinity Sunday 6-4-2023

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Categories
Sermon

Sermon for 06.04.23 “Beyond us, with us, in us”

The Holy Trinity, June 4, 2023
Text: Matthew 28:16–20
Theme: Beyond us, with us, in us
Other Lessons: Genesis 1:1–2:4a; Psalm 8; Acts 2:14a, 22–36

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

B. The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.

C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
LSB 507:1 Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

Introduction

A. I draw your attention to the graphic in the bulletin that helps to
explain the Trinity:
1. “The Father is God”
2. “The Son is God”
3. “The Holy Spirit is God”
4. “God is the Father”
5. “God is the Son”
6. “God is the Holy Spirit”
7. “The Father is not the Son”
8. “The Father is not the Holy Spirit”
9. “The Son is not the Father”
10. “The Son is not the Holy Spirit”
11. “The Holy Spirit is not the Father”
12. “The Holy Spirit is not the Son”
From <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_of_the_Trinity>
B. Three distinct persons.
1. One God.
2. And it’s right here in our text from Matthew 28.
3. Jesus says:
Matthew 28:18–19 (NASB95)
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
4. Got all that? Do you understand the Holy Trinity?
1. God is beyond us.
A. The Trinity is far beyond our comprehension.

B. Oh, we can say the words.
C. We can picture it.

D. We can confess it.
E. But on this side of heaven, we can’t fully grasp the mystery of three in
one.

F. We can’t get our heads around the essence and relationships involved in
our God as the Trinity.
G. But that doesn’t mean we won’t try.
1. One illustration is water.
A) Water can be a liquid.
B) It can be frozen as ice.
C) It can be heated to become steam.
2. Yet in each state, it is still H2O, it is still water.
A) Three in one.
B) However, the analogy, helpful in some ways, fails in one crucial way.
C) You can’t have ice, steam, and liquid all at the same time.
D) You have either steam or ice or liquid.
3. But the Father is always God;
A) never is there a time he is not God.
4. The Son is always God;
A) never a time he was not.
5. The Holy Spirit is always God;
A) never a time he was not.
6. All three persons are always and fully God at the same time.
H. Another illustration: an apple.
1. You have:
A) the outer peel,
B) the inner core,
C) and the meaty center.
2. One apple and three parts.
3. Again, comparing the Trinity to an apple is helpful in some ways but
fails in one crucial way.
A) The peel is only part of the apple.
B) The core is only part of the apple.
C) Same for the tasty part inside.
I. But the Father is completely God all the time,
1. not just part of God,
2. not just a third of God.
J. The Son is completely God all the time.
K. The Holy Spirit is completely God all the time.
L. Are you beginning to see how even our best attempts to grasp the mystery
of the Trinity fall far short?
1. That’s only the start of it.
2. Go back to the Old Testament Reading for today.
3. It’s the account of God creating everything.
4. Did you catch the possible reference to the Trinity in verse 26?
Genesis 1:26 (NASB95)
26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky
and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
5. “Let us make man in Our image.”
A) Now consider how impossible it is to comprehend our God in all his power
and immensity and majesty.
M. A third illustration: to better understand the universe we live in,
astronomers have programmed the Hubble telescope to send back pictures of
the universe beyond our planet that boggle the mind.
1. We can see far distant galaxies, and now astronomers estimate the
observable universe contains two trillion galaxies.
2. Remember from science class that light travels 186,000 miles per second
or about six trillion miles in a year.
3. It would take over 158,000 light-years to reach even one of the closest
galaxies.
4. The universe is about 96 billion light-years in diameter, and expanding
even farther and farther every minute we’re in church (“How Many Galaxies
Are There in the Universe?” The Nine Planets,
nineplanets.org/questions/how-many-galaxies-are-there-in-the-universe/
).
N. Very simply, our triune God is so far beyond us that we’ve just barely
scratched the surface of who he is and what he can do.
1. But he has revealed himself to us as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. Three in One.
3. The Trinity.
4. We believe this.
5. We confess this.
6. Even if he is far beyond our comprehension.
7. And that’s okay!
2. God is with us.
A. But, thankfully, our triune God is not only beyond us. He is also with
us.
B. The very last promise Jesus gives us in Matthew, the last words of our
text:
Matthew 28:20 (NASB95)
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.”
C. With that promise, everything changes.
1. He is no longer merely the distant, too-big-to-know God.
2. We know him as the God who comes to us, is with us, and always will be
with us.
D. Let’s go back to the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, to chapter 1.
1. An angel appears to Joseph in a dream to tell him he must not divorce
Mary, even though she is with child.
2. Rather, Joseph is to give the baby a special name, Jesus, for this child
will grow up to save his people from their sins.
3. Then the angel reveals to Joseph that with Jesus a prophecy will be
fulfilled:
Matthew 1:23 (NASB95)
“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY
SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
4. God in all power and immensity and majesty becomes one of us, fully
human.
5. The Father sends his Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and the small
child in Mary’s arms is now God with us in fulfillment of that prophecy.
E. Now jump ahead thirty years.
1. Jesus appears at the Jordan River.
2. John is baptizing the people who have come to him in repentance.
3. He looks up and sees Jesus wading into the water.
4. He resists baptizing Jesus:
Matthew 3:14 (NASB95)
But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You,
and do You come to me?”
5. But Jesus insists.
6. He says he needs to fulfill all righteousness.
7. So John scoops up the water, and the Father’s voice booms from heaven:
Matthew 3:17 (NASB95)
and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well-pleased.”
8. The Holy Spirit lands on Jesus in the form of a dove.
9. See the Trinity there? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
F. Yet what is Jesus doing in the water?
1. Why is he baptized?
2. He does not need to be.
3. He does so because He is taking his stand with us.
4. He will not be separate from us but is already standing alongside us.
5. His righteousness, his sinless life and the purity of his mission to
save us, will be accomplished as he begins his public ministry to live up
to his name.
6. Jesus, right from the start, is saving his people from their sins.
G. Now it’s three years later still, and Jesus hangs on a cross.
1. He is taking on himself anything and everything that would keep us at a
distance from our God.
2. He takes our punishment:
A) the agony of our sins,
B) the sorrows of death,
C) and even the horrors of hell, which is the complete separation from God.
3. In a mystery beyond our understanding, Jesus, the Son of God, goes
through that hellish abandonment when he cries out:
Matthew 27:46 (NASB95)
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI,
LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
A) What we deserve, Jesus serves, and we are promised an eternal life that
is always with our triune God.
H. What happens next once again boggles the mind.
1. Jesus rises from the dead on Easter morning.
2. He is victorious over death.
3. He has conquered the sin that leads to the grave.
4. He has crushed all the powers of hell.
5. Never again will those evil forces make any claim on him.
6. He is given all authority.
7. So He will never leave or forsake us.
8. He will always be close to us.
9. As the apostle Peter says in his sermon from the reading in Acts:
Acts 2:32–33 (NASB95)
32“This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
33“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having
received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured
forth this which you both see and hear.
I. This we believe because we have been baptized into the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus told the apostles to
do in our text.
1. When the water was scooped up and poured over me, over you, when those
precious words were spoken along with our name, we were brought into the
eternal presence of the triune God. Sin forgiven.
2. Jesus living up to his name as we are saved from our sins.
3. The prophecy fulfilled once again in our own lives, for Jesus, our
Immanuel, is with us.
4. The God who is beyond us is now the God who is with us always:
A) forgiving our sins,
B) saving us from death and the devil,
C) raising us up to life eternal.
J. The apostle Paul says it this way:
Romans 6:3–4 (NASB95)
3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
have been baptized into His death?
4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that
as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life.
3. God is in us.
A. Beyond us:
1. yes.
B. With us:
1. definitely.
C. In us too.
1. Thanks be to God!
D. Jesus speaks about making disciples by baptizing and by teaching all
that he has commanded:
Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)
19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.”
1. So, just as we turned baptizing in his name into being baptized into his
name, so here we turn the teaching into learning all that he has commanded.
E. How does that happen?
1. By the power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word.
2. Whether in a Bible class or sermon or devotion or conversation or
podcast or radio message or wherever else God’s Word is purely taught, the
Holy Spirit works in us to teach us what Jesus has said and done.
F. For example, in Psalm 8, King David looks at the heavens, the moon, the
stars and asks:
Psalm 8:4 (NASB95)
What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care
for him?
1. David sees the enormity of God.
2. He knows the majesty of God.
3. Yet he believes that God is mindful of him.
4. He trusts that God will care for him.
5. And so he praises this God of creation who is with him.
G. Like David, we are able to praise God:
1. The beauty of His creation.
2. The gift of life.
3. Family and friends that surround us
4. The purpose of work to which we have been called.
5. All the other “daily bread” with which the Lord has blessed us.
6. In a way, we hallow the Lord’s name, the name into which we have been
baptized.
7. Who brings this all to my mind, to my lips, from within me?
A) The Holy Spirit does this as He works in us to:
1) teach us,
2) shape us,
3) form us,
4) nurture us,
5) transform us into disciples who have learned what Jesus has spoken to
his disciples.
H. The creation that once was so immense and beyond us has now become a
moment of praise:
1. for the Father who creates such a world of beauty,
2. for the Son, who is with us always,
3. and for the Holy Spirit, who teaches us what Jesus has said and done for
us.
Conclusion

A. We will not grasp the mystery of the Trinity on this side of heaven,
even though we confess it with whatever creed we use in our worship.
1. We will not comprehend just how majestic and immense our God is, but we
are to believe He is always with us as the living Lord of all.
2. We will not understand how He is three persons yet only one God, but we
learn what He has done for us and praise Him for it all.
B. While the Mystery of the Trinity Is beyond Us, Our Creator God Is Always
Present with Us through the Exaltation of His Son and in Us by the
Sanctifying Gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

C. Let us pray:
LSB 507:4 Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!
Text: Public domain
D. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.