Categories
Reaching Out

Our Child is Lost

SCENE #1: Several years ago, we visited a large church to attend Sunday morning worship service. They seemed to be well organized, and even had child care set up in the large building, which we took advantage for our three-year-old daughter. When the service was over, we went to pick up our daughter, and THEY COULD NOT FIND HER. For a few minutes we were in shock with the realization that OUR CHILD IS LOST.

Fear raced through our hearts as we imagined some unscrupulous criminal snatching a child – our child – from a church nursery, of all places. Then they found her; she was in another room in this large complex, and we were relieved to have our child back with us, safe and sound.

SCENE #2: Our daughter just crossed the stage at her university graduation ceremony, and we were to meet her at the reception following the ceremony. We waited patiently, and waited patiently, and waited patiently, and began to worry. What had happened to our daughter? The thought crossed our minds – OUR CHILD IS LOST. Finally, after waiting over 20 minutes, she showed up. It was a large reception, and she was in another section, also waiting and WORRYING ABOUT LOSING US.

SCENE #3 – A Glimpse into the Future: Much time has gone by, and the time has finally come for you to pass through the veil of death and step into eternity. As you walk through the pearly gates, you receive a warm welcome from family and friends who have gone before you, and especially by the radiant Jesus Christ, who declares: “Welcome good and faithful servant.” Your spouse who came before you embraces you tightly and you are experiencing joy you never could have imagined.

But when you ask your spouse about your child who died in a car accident, he/she replies with sadness: “OUR CHILD IS LOST.” Although the Word says there is no sorrow or sadness in heaven, we can imagine a deep and sharp pain penetrating your heart for a moment as you realize YOUR CHILD IS LOST – FOREVER.

What you did not anticipate was that Christ was right there with you, and you could tell that He too experienced a deep and sharp pain in His heart as He knew that He too had lost a loved one – your loved one – to the Lake of Fire. So He too, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, said with great sorrow “OUR CHILD IS LOST”.

This could apply to your child, your spouse or other loved one, or a friend. And it will happen to many Christians when we reach our eternal home, only to discover that our loved one did not make it; THEY WERE LOST – FOREVER.

WHAT CAN WE DO when we know our loved one does not know the Lord?

· The most important thing we can do is to draw close to our Lord, seeking His forgiveness, grace, love, and guidance. If we don’t spend time with our Lord in His Word and prayer (where our minds become transformed), we will have nothing supernatural to share with those we love and others our Lord brings across our path. We will be like a dry well that has no living water to share with others.

· PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY SOME MORE. Ask our Lord how we are to relate to our loved ones, for He knows them better than we ever will and knows what they need to continue on their spiritual journey. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man [or woman] avails much.” James 5:16

· He will even give us the words to say: “Do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11

· As the Holy Spirit leads you, engage them in spiritual conversations, sharing the love and truth of Christ, the truth that can set us free. And love them like God loves them – with agape (unconditional) love, for He loves each of us more than we can imagine. Make your love – the love of God flowing through you, so compelling they will be drawn to our Lord, the source of life, truth, meaning, and purpose.

So let us go forth with the truth and love of Christ to reach those around us and all whom our Lord brings across our path, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
To God be the glory

Categories
Sermon

Sermon for 08.06.23 “Grace not Law”

Pentecost 10 (Proper 13), August 6, 2023
Text: Romans 9:1–5 (6–13)
Theme: Grace not Law
Other Lessons: Isaiah 55:1–5; Psalm 136:1–9 (23–26); Matthew 14:13–21

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Epistle 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:
Loving God, in the spirit of compassion that Jesus embodied as He
ministered to the crowd, even in His own sorrow, we gather here today.
You see our needs even before we speak them, and You feed us with both
physical bread and the Bread of Life.
Lord, we are awed by Your capacity to take what seems scarce and turn it
into abundance.
Lord, sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the needs around us and within us,
just like the disciples who saw only five loaves and two fish to feed a
multitude.
In these times, remind us of Your infinite grace and power, which
multiplies and blesses our humble offerings.
God, as we open our hearts to Your Word today, take our “loaves and fish,”
our small efforts, and multiply them in ways that we cannot imagine.
Help us to trust in Your provision and to participate in Your miraculous
work of feeding and healing the world.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus, who demonstrated Your love for us in
the breaking of bread and in every act of compassion.
In the Name of the Father…we pray. Amen.

Introduction

A. Rick and Ted, two sheep, are having a conversation concerning what Paul
had to say in our Epistle lesson for this morning:

1. Not only are our lives to be lives of prayer, we also live by the law.
2. We rely on the “rule of law” to have an ordered society.
3. We play by the rules, and we call out the cheaters.
4. We believe in cause and effect because that’s how the world works.
5. We look for principles and laws that allow us to understand, predict,
and to some measure gain control over things.
6. We expect to find them too.
B. The law keeps things together and in line.
1. Without the periodic table of the elements, there is no chemistry.
2. Without Newton’s laws, there is no physics.
3. Without the universal constants, there is no universe.
4. And as we’ve discovered in most recent times, without laws and the
enforcement of those laws, there is no ordered society.
5. The law is so much a part of our lives that the Gospel:
6. the good news of God’s grace in Christ, which is:
A. undeserved,
B. unmerited forgiveness,
C. love to the loveless,
D. grace to the undeserving
7. This grace is a strange foreign language.
8. You can’t run a business, a family, a corporation, a society on grace.
9. Old Adam will take advantage of it each and every time.
3. Israel rejected its Messiah because not all Israel is Israel.
A. The problem comes in when we take the horizontal rules of the road and
try to run them vertically.
1. God doesn’t deal with us by the same set of rules that we use to deal
with one another.
2. The Law works horizontally:
a) That is, before men, coram hominibus.
3. But the Law does not work vertically:
a) That is, coram Deo, before God.
4. That was the problem with Israel.
a) Israel tried to live by the law before God rather than by grace through
faith in the promise.
5. So what happened?
a) When the promise God made to Israel came true, when Israel’s Messiah,
Jesus Christ, came, most of the Jewish people rejected him.
b) Here was pure grace in the flesh, and Israel instead continued to cling
to the law.
B. For the apostle Paul, the issue is deeply personal.
1. It likely involved his own family.
2. He speaks of:
a) his great distress,
b) his anguish of heart,
c) his sorrow over his fellow Israelites,
d) his brothers according to the flesh.
3. In terms of religion, they had it all:
a) the Torah,
b) the prophets,
c) the promises,
d) the covenants,
e) the worship,
f) the status as God’s favored nation, his chosen people, the apple of his
eye.
4. And yet they did not believe.
a) Paul was willing to be damned in their place if that were possible:
Romans 9:3 (NASB95)
For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the
sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,
1) But that’s not possible.
2) Or necessary.
3) Christ has already done that for all of us.
C. It appears as though the Word of God had failed to deliver the goods.
1. The seed had failed to sprout.
a) The Word returned empty.
b) The Gospel, which Paul called the power of God to salvation to both Jew
and Greek, seemed to fail in the synagogue.
2. But that’s simply not the case.
a) Faith is not hereditary.
b) Most of you know that through experience. Christian parents don’t
necessarily bring up Christian children.
c) Yes, we bring them to Baptism,
d) we bring them to church, often against the protests of the old Adam.
e) We teach them the Word and the Catechism.
f) And yet many don’t stay with it.
3. Like the Israelites of old, they had gifts, but faith didn’t appear to
take hold, or, if it did, it withered like the seedling in shallow soil or
was choked by the weeds of this world.
4. Paul’s way of expressing this is revealing:
Romans 9:6 (NASB95)
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all
Israel who are descended from Israel;
5. Taking an test from ancestry.com and tracing your family history back to
Abraham doesn’t make you an Israelite.
2.True Israel is of faith (grace) not works (Law).
A. To underscore this, Paul reminds us of Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and
Isaac.
1. Ishmael was the legal firstborn by Hagar, Sarah’s servant.
a) He was entitled to the inheritance of the firstborn.
b) The law said so.
c) But Ishmael was conceived out of unbelief, Abraham instead trusting in
the law of fertility over the outrageous promise of God that a barren woman
in her nineties could conceive and bear a son.
2. The promised Seed of salvation did not fall upon Ishmael but Isaac, the
son of the promise, the son born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.
3. God throws out the rule book and runs things by grace:
a) faith in the promise, not the laws of biology.
B. The same holds for our Lord in his incarnation.
1. A virgin named Mary conceived and bore a son.
a) That violates everything you learned about the facts of life.
b) But God doesn’t save by the law.
2. God doesn’t even act according to the law.
a) He throws out the law and does his own Gospel thing where old women and
virgins conceive by the Word and sinners are justified for the sake of
Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross and his resurrection from the
grave.
b) Ishmael and Isaac remind us that salvation is not hereditary;
c) we must be the second born in order to be children of the promise.
C. Another example: Jacob and Esau.
1. Rebekah was carrying twins, and no one knew it except the Lord.
2. Before the twins were born, though, before they had a chance to do
anything either good or bad, in order that the world would understand that
God operates by grace and not by the law, God revealed to Rebekah that he
had chosen Jacob over Esau, the second born over the firstborn.
Romans 9:13 (NASB95)
Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
a) This was before Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, or before
Jacob tricked his blind father into blessing him as the firstborn.
b) Why?
Romans 9:11 (NASB95)
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or
bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because
of works but because of Him who calls,
c) In a word, grace.
D. Does this mean that Jacob was saved and Esau damned?
1. Does this mean that God elects some to be saved and others to be damned?
a) No! That reeks of double predestination!
2. Christ came to be the Savior of the whole world, not select portions of
the world.
a) This is where our love for rules and principles betrays us.
b) We read these verses in Romans in terms of eternal election to
salvation, whereas Paul is actually speaking of temporal selection in
salvation history.
c) It’s like a play where everyone gets assigned a part.
d) Some play the good guys, some play the villains, some are background
actors, but they are all essential to the plot.
e) Esau is as important to salvation history as is Jacob.
f) Ishmael is as important as Isaac.
g) And even if Ishmael and Esau weren’t the sons born of the promise, or
didn’t have the roles in salvation history to be in the line of Christ, if
they believed the promise, they were just as surely saved.
3. Esau and Ishmael are reminders that God works through grace and not law
and that salvation is not about what you do but about what God does in
Christ.
E. Jacob and Esau remind us that God’s election is all grace, pure gift,
without any merit or worthiness in us.
1. And again, to be treated as firstborn, we must be born again:
a) born from above by water and Spirit, as Jesus tells Nicodemus in John
3:3–8.
1.God has chosen us in Christ by grace, too, through faith.

A. What role in salvation history do you wish to play when the casting call
comes?
1. Do you want the part of Ishmael or Isaac?
2. Perhaps Esau or Jacob?
3. Maybe Pharaoh or Moses?
4. What about Adam or Christ?
5. Do you want your life to be an example that encourages others to
believe, or one that’s a warning to others of the perils of resisting God’s
grace?
B. That you and I are here this morning:
1. alive,
2. upright,
3. breathing,
4. taking in food and water,
5. gathered in God’s name,
6. hearing the Word,
7. and receiving the gifts of Christ,
8. All of this is entirely gift.
9. It’s called grace.
10. You were destined to be here just as you were destined in Christ for
salvation before the foundations of the world.
11. You can no more boast of being here and believing than clay can boast
of becoming a vase or a cup.
12. The Potter did this, not the clay.
C. So what about Israel, which brought Paul so much anguish of heart?
1. Consider it a work in progress.
2. A majority were hardened and did not believe, but a remnant did believe.
3. That’s how it went with Old Testament Israel.
4. The same is true today in the Church.
a) When times get tough, as they are becoming now, many are hardened and
fall away, but there always is a faithful remnant.
5. And God uses even unbelief for His own good and gracious purpose to
save.
a) The hardening of Israel meant a place for the Gentiles in Abraham’s
family tree.
b) And if a wild branch can be grafted onto Israelite rootstock, how much
easier to restore native wood?
c) God isn’t done yet.
6. Watch and see what He does in our day.
a) He’s calling,
b) He’s gathering,
c) He’s enlightening,
d) He’s sanctifying,
e) He’s keeping,
f) He’s doing His master potter thing, forming our clay into the image of
his Son.
D. He calls “Not My People” His people.
1. He loves the unloved and the unlovable.
2. He embraces the whole world in the death of His Son.
3. The rule of law works fine in this world, but the rule of law cannot
bring you the kingdom of God.
4. That is entirely by grace through faith in Jesus, who bore the sin of
the world on the cross, the sins of Ishmael, Esau, Pharaoh, you, and me.

Conclusion

A. It’s become a popular trend and fascination to trace one’s ancestry
through genetic analysis.
1. Companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe provide detailed genetic
analysis of your connection to the past.
2. Knowing your connection to your fraternal and maternal ancestors can
give a sense of meaning and purpose to your life.
3. It can also alert you to inherited medical issues.
4. Sin is an inherited condition.
5. It doesn’t lie in our genetics but in the spiritual core of our beings,
our “hearts” in a spiritual sense.
6. Faith, however, is not inherited.
7. Faith is given to us as gift!
8. We must be born again “from above” into faith through Baptism as Jesus
declares to Nicodemus in John 3:3.
B. The Israelites of Paul’s day took pride and comfort in their ancestry as
blood descendants of Abraham.
1. But Abraham had two sons:
A. Ishmael and Isaac.
B. Only one was an Israelite.
2. Isaac had twin sons:
A. Jacob and Esau
B. But only one was the forerunner of the Christ and the son of the promise.
C. In God’s eyes, a true Israelite, a true child of Abraham, is not one by
natural birth but by faith in the promise of Christ (Romans 9:6–8).
1. You can’t prove that with a genetic test.
2. You can only trust your Baptism, which tells you who your spiritual
Daddy is.
D. Salvation Is through Faith in the Promise of Christ, Not in Works of the
Law.
E. “You are my beloved Son,” the Father said at Jesus’ Baptism.
1. You are my beloved child, said the Lord to you in your Baptism.
A. Joined to Christ in baptismal faith, you are born into the “right side
of salvation history.”
B. That is, the side of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus.
C. Amen.
F. Let us pray:
LSB 580:1,6 The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace,
Who sent His Son to save our race,
Proclaims how Jesus lived and died
That we might thus be justified.

May we in faith its message learn
Nor thanklessly its blessings spurn;
May we in faith its truth confess
And praise the Lord, our righteousness.
Text: Public domain
G. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
H. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

Categories
Reaching Out

Spiritual Conversations – How to Talk About Your Faith

Most of us struggle with how we can talk about our faith without being embarrassed or offending people. The Spiritual Conversation Curve, developed by Lutheran Hour Ministries, sheds light on this important topic. It shows that the path a person takes toward faith in Christ is a process with several steps (and may take place over a period of time). The following scenario describes what this might look like:

Source of Image: Lutheran Hour Ministries
CHAT: You are in the waiting room at an auto repair shop, waiting for your car to be serviced (or in your doctor’s waiting room or on an airplane) and you start visiting with the person next to you. You just talk about ordinary things. You mention how hot it is outside, you ask if they have noticed how prices of everything have gone up, or if they were impacted by the tornado that came through town a few weeks ago.

RELATE: At some point, you ask: “What is your name? My name is _________” and you give your name, and probably shake their hand. You will probably see their countenance brighten, as you have uttered the most precious words in the world to them – THEIR NAME. And you have now entered into their world by asking who they are; you have expressed an interest in HEARING THEIR STORY.

ASK AND SHARE: You continue the conversation, asking what they do or work, if they are in school (if younger), or if they are retired (if older), and where they are from originally. You are inviting them to tell you THEIR STORY OF WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM. Of course you share your story as well. You might ask if they still have family back home, and if they have family here. Then you ask: “What was your religious background?” This usually is the beginning of A SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION with the other person, starting with a non-threatening question.
A spiritual conversation, which can take place anytime, anywhere, with anyone, is a conversation about spiritual matters – God, faith, doubt, heaven, hell, Muhammad, or Buddha. Two atheists in a bar talking about how naive Christians are, are having a spiritual conversation.

CONNECT: A good second question is: “Are you still involved in that church (or religion or belief system)?” If they say no, you can ask where are they now in this regard, and you can then (briefly) tell them the story of your spiritual journey and where you are now on that journey. You share how you see our Lord working in your life.

EXPLORE AND CLARIFY: You have launched a SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION, and you can explore questions they have and clarify the good news – the love and truth of Jesus Christ, Who came to set us free from sin and the fear of death.

Key Points

· BE CURIOUS and interested in who they are as a person and their life experiences. You can learn things from them that you never knew, and they don’t care how much you know if they don’t know how much you care.

· BE OPEN and be willing to share about your own life and life experiences. You have nothing to hide, nothing to fear, and nothing to prove in this conversation.

· REALIZE that they might even become a friend of yours, and you a friend to them. True friends warm you with their presence, trust you with their secrets, and remember you in their prayers.

· BE TOTALLY NON-JUDGMENTAL – it is not our job to judge others (that’s God’s job), and if we are judgmental, they will clam up, and the conversation is over (or worse – we get into an argument). Instead, be sympathetic; everyone we meet has lost something, loves something, and has a hope or fear.

· LISTEN ACTIVELY, asking questions to learn more about what they have experienced in life and what they now think and believe. The more we know about who they are, what they have experienced, and what they now think and believe, the better able will we be to relate to them as a person and their soul.

· PRAY SILENTLY, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in this conversation, to give you the words to say to this person. And remember that there are always three persons in a spiritual conversation – you, the other person, and the Holy Spirit.

Every day we encounter souls who are lost and would welcome a SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION. So let us go forth to converse with them with the love and truth of Christ as if God sent us, BECAUSE HE HAS.

To God be the glory

Categories
Reaching Out

Spiritual But Not Religious

Some old friends mention that they are “spiritual but not religious”. This is a great opening for a SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION. It is also time to ask questions, because we can’t relate to people if we don’t know where they are on their spiritual journey.

Start by Asking Them What They Mean by “Religious”
Common responses:

· They see no need for “organized religion”, which means churches, denominations, doctrine, or other religions; i.e. any system that impinges on their personal freedom and asks something of them.

· They may see Christian doctrine as paternalistic, authoritarian, and oppressive, in contrast to true spirituality and freedom.

RESPONSE:

· Be sure to listen and ask questions to clarify issues they raise in a non-judgmental manner. When you start judging them, THE SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION IS OVER.

· You might ask them if they have had bad experiences in churches to learn more about their religious viewpoints.

· State that you are not defending Christianity as an organized, historic religion, because it has a lot of baggage (much of which contradicts Christ’s teaching), but a personal relationship with the sovereign, living God of the universe.

· You might share with them that:

o If they expect churches to be places where perfect, loving people gather (rather than a hospital for sinners), they will be disappointed.

o You have found attending a church to be liberating, as you set aside a special time devoted to the Lord, your relationship with the Lord deepens, and you enjoy fellowship with other believers.

Then Ask Them What They Mean by “Spiritual”
Our Lord created us with a spirit and desire to have a relationship with Him, so we shouldn’t be surprised if someone says they are spiritual. However imperfectly, they are expressing that desire. Typically they are not referring to the God of the Bible, but to one of two religious worldviews.

Worldview #1: God is a God of Love and Everyone is Going to Heaven
This is similar to Christianity, but departs from historical Christian beliefs in saying that everyone is going to heaven, regardless of beliefs or behavior. They see different religions as different paths to heaven. THIS IS UNIVERSALISM. In contrast, Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

RESPONSE:

· This denies the holiness, justice, and mercy of God – the God who has revealed Himself through the prophets, Christ, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, saints throughout history, and fulfilled prophecies.

· They are rejecting the necessity for Christ to die on the cross, because everyone is going to heaven anyway.

· It also means there is no ultimate justice in life, with Hitler, Mao, and other mass murderers – all unrepentant, evil people going to heaven, paying no price and suffering no consequence for their evil deeds. Is that the kind of world you want to live in?

Worldview #2: We Are All One and We Are All Spiritual
The second world view sees you, and me, and them, and the entire universe as sacred, holy, and spiritual (i.e. we are all GOD). It acknowledges that there is something transcendent about the material universe, and claims we can experience this divine reality and live a transcendent life of connectedness with all that is. And when we die, we become one with all that is – the ultimate Oneness. THIS IS PANTHEISM.

RESPONSE:

· How can we develop a personal relationship with an impersonal God-that-is-all-that-is? And then in death in pantheism, like a drop of rain that falls into the ocean, we lose our identity forever.

· In contrast, when we repent and receive Christ as our Savior, we become indwelt by the Holy Spirit and develop a personal relationship with the God who created us in His image and seeks to have a loving relationship with us into eternity.

· Although God has revealed Himself in nature which He created, He is separate and distinct from it, just as we are separate and distinct from some work of art that we create. We see that in the first verse of the Bible:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

In summary, while being spiritual but not religious sounds liberating, it rejects historic, Biblical Christianity that has been proven by multiple fulfilled prophecies and provided meaning, purpose, and joy for millions of people in their lives and into eternity. It also leads to lives that are devoid of a personal relationship with our Lord, that worship a false god, and are on the broad path that leads to the Lake of Fire forever and ever. They may be in touch with the spirit world, but it is not the Holy Spirit.

So let us go forth to reach people with the love and truth of Christ, for time is short, eternity is a very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism

Categories
Fellowship

August First Sunday Fellowship Lunch

Join us on Sunday, August 6th, 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

BBQ Chicken Legs and Sausage

Cole Slaw

Potato Salad

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

Spiritual Conversations

When Christ came to live among us, he fed and healed people’s bodies, he cast out demons, he taught, and he had SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS. Research from the Barna Group that shows that people talk less about spiritual matters than they used to, but we all can become more intentional in our outreach and actually enjoy sharing Jesus with others when we do.

Christian researcher George Barna painted a picture of the Eager Conversationalist – a person who had conversations about faith more than ten times a year. Looking at these individuals – these eager conversationalists, five common characteristics emerged, depicted in this EAGER Profile:

The EAGER Profile

Eager conversationalists are people who:

· EMBRACE THE GOSPEL. They have a clear and certain understanding that salvation comes from belief in Jesus Christ alone and forgiveness of sins comes only through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

· APPLY SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES. Not only do they say faith is very important in their everyday lives, but they actively seek to grow their faith through prayer, reading the Bible, and attending worship regularly.

· GRASP THE CALLING. These individuals know that are part of the “priesthood of all believers”. They accept a personal responsibility to share their faith other people.

· EXPECT SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS. While some actively seek opportunities to share, many say spiritual conversations happen unexpectedly. This group is ready and willing to participate when they happen.

· RESPOND CONFIDENTLY. Overall, these individuals feel qualified to share their faith and are glad when they do. They feel peace and joy; they laugh; they aren’t afraid even though they know these conversations are sometimes difficult.

Source: Lutheran Hour Ministries – lhm.org
Key Insights

· TIME: This process may take place over a period of weeks, or in just an hour or two with the person next to you on an airplane.

· RELATIONSHIPS: It’s all about developing a relationship with that person. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

· COMPASSION is key; Jesus had compassion on people, so He reached out and ministered to them.

· SURPRISE OR PLANNED: Spiritual conversations may happen unexpectedly, but they may be in fact divine appointments in which our Lord arranged for us to meet a particular person at a particular time and place. (In a divine appointment, three people are present – you, the other person, and the Holy Spirit.)

· A DIVINE APPOINTMENT may be you having lunch with a friend, talking with the plumber who comes to your house, or a brief conversation with the person holding a sign and asking for help at the street intersection.

· DON’T WORRY: We are not to worry about what to say; the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. It’s about being ready to respond when the opportunity presents itself. And sometimes we just plant seeds.

· SLOW DOWN: When we slow down from our busy schedules and take a few moments to smile and relate to the people who come across our paths, it can be a totally different experience.

· OPEN THE DOOR: Everyone has some religious experience, often with a church. So we can ask them where they are from, what was their religious background, and if they are still involved in that church (as we share our background as well). This can open the door to a spiritual conversation.

· RELIGION HURT: Many people have had hurtful experiences with churches or other religions. We need to be aware of that, and minister to them with the love of Christ.

Everyone has a story, is broken, and needs our Lord. So let us reach out and engage them in spiritual conversations with the love and truth of Christ, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

To God be the glory

Categories
Reaching Out

GUILT – OUR WORST ENEMY OR OUR BEST FRIEND

How to Get Rid of Guilt

“If you have guilt in your life, just get rid of it so you can get on with your life,” stated a vice president of a midwestern state university, giving a pep talk to faculty about life and careers. Although this high-ranking official recognized how detrimental guilt can be in our lives, she did not mention repentance as a way to get rid of it.

None of us like to feel guilty – the realization or belief that we have done something wrong, and the feeling that we will suffer consequences for our actions. And yet we will all experience guilt in our lives because of our fallen, sinful nature – our propensity to sin and our inability to keep the law perfectly. Thanks to Jesus, we can become free of guilt, but we must be able to distinguish between TRUE GUILT and FALSE GUILT.

We experience TRUE GUILT when we commit true sin, because the Holy Spirit convicts us of that sin – an offense against God and probably our fellow man. When we repent, we are forgiven, and restored to a right relationship with our Lord. Our Lord then wipes that sin off of the books, for He is merciful and loving:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy… He does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor punish us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8-12

Of course there may be temporal consequences to our sin. If we rob a bank, even if we repent, we may go to prison. (Our governmental legal system is not as forgiving as our gracious Lord.)

We experience FALSE GUILT when we feel badly because someone – perhaps a loved one, a friend, our boss, or the culture, wants us to do something that is unnecessary or even wrong. Perhaps they claim you need to purchase a new car, a bigger house, a fancy vacation, etc. because your neighbors (the Joneses) have one, and that you are A BAD AND UNCARING PERSON if you do not comply with their wishes.

Another example of false guilt is the notion that white people should feel guilty of racism because four hundred years ago white people enslaved black people in this nation. Although we should try to make amends for past atrocities and injustices, we cannot be guilty of something we did not do.

Guilt Can Become Our Worst Enemy When:

· FALSE GUILT – We feel pressure from others to do certain things that are unnecessary or wrong, but do not have the discernment and courage to reject it because it is false and often a manipulation. So we give in to their wishes, or resist and live a life of guilt, condemned by their (Godless) value system.

· TRUE GUILT – We experience true guilt, but are unwilling to repent to get rid of the sin in our lives (which would eliminate the guilt).

Guilt Can Become Our Best Friend When:

· We know the difference between true guilt and false guilt and just dismiss false guilt, for it is fake, and a reflection on our loved one, friend, boss, or culture.

· We realize true guilt is like a flashing warning sign that we are about to step off the narrow path that leads to Heaven, onto the wide path that leads to the Lake of Fire. So we repent, make things right, and get back on the narrow path. If we ignore the warning signs, or can’t distinguish between true guilt and false guilt, we will be on the wrong path, headed for perdition.

Not sure if what you are experiencing is true or false guilt? Hold it up to our Lord: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Given how our culture has become increasingly post-Christian, pressures will increase on Christians to conform to a godless culture. Therefore, it is critical that we spend time with our Lord each day so that we will be discerning and able to cope with true and false guilt.

Everyone we meet has to deal with guilt, and are doing so with varying degrees of success. So let us help them with their struggle to discern and dismiss false guilt, and repent of true guilt, so they may be free from the shackles of sin and experience the joy and love of our Lord.

To God be the glory

Categories
Sermon

Sermon for 07.09.23 “Prisoners of hope”

Pentecost 6 (Proper 9), July 9, 2023
Text: Zechariah 9:9–12
Theme: Prisoners of hope
Other Lessons: Psalm 145:1–14; Romans 7:14–25a; Matthew 11:25–30

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Old Testament 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:
King Jesus, accept our joyful shouts of praise for Your saving work. Rule
in our lives, now and always. Amen.

Introduction

A. Have you noticed that things aren’t how they should be?
1. There’s selfishness, tragedy, heartbreak, pain, evil, and injustice all
over.
A. And that is just on the outside!
2. All that is inside each of us too.
A. Even St. Paul cries out in today’s Epistle:
Romans 7:19 (NASB95)
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I
do not want.
B. There’s not a night where we can put our head on the pillow and say,
“Thank you, God, for enabling me to live a perfect day.”
3. Every day, sin afflicts us.
A. Every day we fail even those we love.
B. Every day, others fail us too.
C. We’re a mess.
D. Not just a mess, but a hot mess.
4. Indeed, we deserve nothing but God’s punishment now and forever.
A. How we need an even more powerful and compassionate rescuer to take over!
B. Thankfully, the Lord announces to us through Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9 (NASB95)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with
salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.
C. King Jesus Comes to Bring You under His Reign of Peace, Freedom, and
Hope.
1. Jesus restores God as your king.
A. When the Lord brought his people out of Egypt, he wasn’t just their God;
he was also their King.
1. But God’s people weren’t content having God as their King.
2. Other nations had earthly kings.
3. Israel wanted one too.
4. God warned them through the prophet Samuel:
a. a king will tax you,
b. send your sons to war,
c. take your daughters to himself,
d. and will ultimately fail you.
e. But Israel insisted on having a king.
5. Yahweh gave them the desires of their hearts in the form of a king,
Saul, and yes, he did indeed fail them terribly.
a. After David was anointed as king, the Lord promised that one of David’s
descendants would rule on his throne forever.
B. Even David failed.
1. He murdered a loyal soldier to hide his adultery and steal his wife.
2. Solomon, David’s son, was given great wisdom, yet he failed, being led
by his 700 wives and 300 concubines into allowing the worship of false
gods.
3. After Solomon, the kingdom was divided and grew weaker.
4. King after king couldn’t measure up to Israel’s true King, the maker of
heaven and earth.
5. Eventually, the last king, Zedekiah, was taken to Babylon in chains.
6. He died in captivity, alone.
C. By Zechariah’s time in 520 BC, it looked as though God’s promise had
failed.
1. The Jews had no king.
2. They had been in exile for seventy years.
3. They’d now returned, and the temple was being rebuilt, but Jerusalem was
still in ruins.
4. Yet, Zechariah was given this powerful promise by the Lord:
Zechariah 9:9 (NASB95)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with
salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.
D. A king is coming, and he is the Lord himself coming to save us!
1. He is a righteous, faithful, good king.
2. He will sit on David’s throne.
3. He has salvation.
4. All things that have gone wrong are going to be set right.
5. Zechariah’s words are filled with:
a. joy
b. Peace
c. freedom
d. and hope.
6. These words are a breath of fresh air for God’s people.
7. They only had to wait five hundred-plus years until these words were
fulfilled on Palm Sunday as Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem.
8. Jesus was coming to be King and Savior for all, to restore God as our
King.
2. Jesus is a humble king.
A. Your king, though he is almighty God, doesn’t mount a horse or chariot
to ride into battle with impressive flair.
1. Jesus is a humble king.
2. He rides a donkey into Jerusalem as he chooses to serve you in humility:
Zechariah 9:9 (NASB95)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with
salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.
3. Your King doesn’t tax His people but freely gives forgiveness and mercy
to them.
4. Your King doesn’t send you or your sons into battle first.
5. No, first he makes himself an army of one to defeat sin, death, and
Satan by humbly bearing the sins of the world and their deserved punishment
and damnation.
6. Then He enlists us to follow Him in His eternal victory.
7. Your righteous King perfectly fulfills all that is demanded of you and
credits that righteousness to you as you receive Him:
a. in His Holy Word,
b. Holy Baptism,
c. and His holy body and blood.
8. Your King doesn’t force subjects to bow down to Him.
9. Instead, He graciously serves you with His word of forgiveness and
peace, which causes us to rejoice in His abundant mercy and eagerly receive
Him in reverence and joy.
B. Your King looks so utterly gentle and lowly as He first reigns on the
cross, but there He establishes a kingdom that will never fail.
1. Though humble, He is powerful.
2. Though He seems weak, He alone defends us, cutting off the chariots and
warhorses and battle bows.
3. He destroys death from the inside so that it is only an empty shell of
itself.
4. He is a powerful warrior!
5. He is able to set us free!
3. Jesus offers the peace of His kingdom to all.
A. So Zechariah rejoices:
Zechariah 9:10 (NASB95)
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And
the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And
His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the
earth.
B. The word for “nations” here is the word for Gentile nations.
1. King Jesus is king for all people.
2. He is King for you, whoever you are.
3. Jesus offers peace to all.
4. Oddly enough, Israel wanted a king so they could be like all the
nations, but now in Christ Jesus, God gave His people a king who is for all
nations.
5. The one whom all the nations desperately need.
C. Zechariah 9:10 (NASB95)
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And
the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And
His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the
earth.
1. King Jesus doesn’t just speak peace.
2. He delivers peace—that is, peace with God.
3. He doesn’t give some sort of peaceful feeling.
4. Nor is His peace the mere absence of warfare.
5. But it is a rich peace of harmony, wholeness, and blessedness.
6. Through His saving death and resurrection, right now Jesus speaks peace
to you:
a. Forgiveness–restoration as his dearly beloved brothers and sisters.
b. He also guarantees that the day of resurrection is coming when, as you
remain in Him, all illness, weakness, and pain will be banished and you
will be set free from sin forever, basking in His eternal peace.
D. And already today Jesus comes humbly right into our midst.
1. Today Jesus speaks peace in his word of absolution, cleansing our sin
from us, and in:
Zechariah 9:11 (NASB95)
As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set
your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
2. He rides in on bread and wine, His very body and His blood of the new
covenant—the new testament—the blood-bought promise of God himself.
3. From the world’s point of view, the Lord’s Supper isn’t a powerful
event.
a. It appears to be a very small, little meal.
b. But you know from the words of King Jesus what’s actually happening.
c. Heaven invades earth right here.
d. Jesus comes to all in His body and blood.
e. Make no mistake about it: He is a powerful King coming into our midst, a
King who can destroy and condemn eternally.
f. But thankfully, to you who repent of your sins and trust Jesus’ saving
work, He comes gently:
1) to touch you,
2) to cleanse you from the inside out.
3) He forgives you.
4) He strengthens you.
5) He meets you,
6) He dines with you,
7) and He encourages you.
8) He gathers you at the table with his Father and the Holy Spirit.
E. King Jesus sets you right again with the Father.

1. Your mighty King, He defends you from Satan’s attacks.
2. He cuts off the chariots, warhorses, and battle bows and keeps you safe
in his peace.
3. As Martin Luther wrote to encourage Christians to the Sacrament of the
Altar as a defense against Satan, the world, and our sinful nature:
a. “If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment
aimed at you [Ephesians 6:16], you would be glad to come to the Sacrament
as often as possible. But there is no reason why we walk about so securely
and carelessly, except that we neither think nor believe that we are in the
flesh and in this wicked world or in the devil’s kingdom” (LC V 82).
Psalm 91:1 (NASB95)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of
the Almighty.
b. How does that happen?
1) By letting Jesus defend you and fight for you in His saving body and
blood.
4. Jesus’ reign has room for you.
A. The Lord urges us through Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:12 (NASB95)
Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am
declaring that I will restore double to you.
B. Zechariah started his book with these words:
Zechariah 1:3 (NASB95)
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,”
declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of
hosts.
C. To return to the Lord is:
1. to repent of our sin,
2. That is, to turn away from our sin,
3. to turn from trying to save ourselves,
4. to turn from despair and hopelessness,
5. to come home again trusting our gracious Father, who longs to greet us.
6. In a sense, every time we’re gathering around our Lord’s Word, we’re
returning home.
7. We confess our failure,
8. rejoice in our Lord’s mercy,
9. and turn back to the only one who can rescue and deliver us.
10. We come out of exile into the joyful liberty of God’s holy people.
D. Admittedly, we cannot see the reign of Jesus.
1. All we can see is a cosmos in chaos.
2. We are heartbroken by sin and what sin has destroyed.
3. But our Lord’s Word does not fail us.
4. He keeps His promises.
5. He is reigning.
6. He will visibly return to set His faithful forever free.
7. And Jesus’ reign has room for you.
8. In King Jesus, you will live a full life forever.
E. In the meantime, we’re “prisoners of hope.”

1. That is, we have hope.
2. Not the vague wish for a better future.
3. We have the certain, joyful confidence of what is coming in Christ.
4. Our certain hope is that Jesus will:
a. visibly return,
b. the dead will rise,
c. and we will be changed;
d. that sin will be no more;
e. that death will no more burden us;
f. that pain, heartbreak, and trial will be over;
g. that we will sin, disappoint, and fail no more.
h. The clock is not ticking down to our end but to the fullness of the
reign of our eternal King.
i. Our King has come and continues to come for us.
5. This hope in Christ:
a. holds us,
b. keeps us,
c. guards us in protective custody until our hope becomes sight.
F. Thanks be to God, King Jesus comes to bring you under His reign of
peace, freedom, and hope.

Conclusion

A. The Isenheim Altarpiece is the masterwork of a German artist named
Matthias Grünewald, painted in the 1500s for a monastery in northeastern
France.
1. Look for the picture of it on the last page of the bulletin.
2. It features Jesus’ crucifixion.
3. Jesus’ hands are wrenched upward:
A. showing both his agony and his trust toward his Father.
4. One of the unique features is the marks on Jesus’ body.
A. These depict the stripes inflicted by the Roman army’s experts in
cruelty.
B. But the scars look like the marks of the deadly, infectious disease that
many suffered at that time there in Isenheim.
C. The monks ran a hospital to help the ill.
D. In other words, if you had that terrible disease, you could see Jesus
bearing your griefs and carrying your sorrows, or if you were treating
those with this disease, you could see Jesus bearing its ugliness too.
B. So imagine how this sinful world must have appeared to Jesus’ divine
senses.
1. In His coming to us as our Brother, what did Jesus see, feel, and smell?
2. And how great the challenge to turn all of this around?
3. But He rode right into it.
4. He came not holding his divine nose but coming humbly, speaking peace.
5. Remember the opening words of our sermon text:
Zechariah 9:9–10 (NASB95)
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with
salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of
the earth.
6. He:
A. drove out demons,
B. healed every manner of illness and disease,
C. blew away the stench of death,
D. and replaced broken hearts with hearts of flesh.
C. So how do we live under Jesus’ reign?
1. We gather to celebrate His reign over us and to receive him.
2. We rejoice and shout aloud encouraging one another by our Lord’s song of
victory.
3. We generously forgive those who sin against us, knowing the fullness of
Jesus’ forgiveness for us.
4. We live as those confident of our joyful future:
A. every burden,
B. heartbreak, trouble,
C. and pain will not last, but our life under King Jesus’ reign will
flourish.
5. Like our King, we long for all to live with us under His reign.
6. And we wait in joyful, confident hope.
7. Our King has come, still comes to us today, and will come again to set
us free. Amen.
D. Let us pray:
Dearest Jesus, I praise You that when we are yoked to You, no burden is too
heavy. Amen.
E. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
F. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

Categories
Reaching Out

Two Quarts Low

“I checked your oil, and you are two quarts low.” Those of us who are chronologically blessed (are older), remember taking our cars to service stations where when we pull up to the gas pump, a service attendant would come out, and we tell him (usually a him): “fill ‘er up and check the oil”. This was before self-service gas stations. The attendant would then wash our windshield, fill up our gas tank, and check our oil, antifreeze, and tires, all without expecting a tip. And we all knew that if our car was two quarts of oil low, this was serious. It needed the oil level to be filled, as the engine was getting dangerously low on oil. No oil and the engine freezes up and we are stuck on the highway.

There is even a story about oil in the New Testament. It is a parable told by Jesus and is known the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:1-13

This parable has obvious implications for all of us – when Jesus comes (or when our time is up on earth and it is time to stand before the Lord in heaven), we better be SPIRITUALLY READY – spiritually clean by repenting of our sins, forgiving others, and walking with our Lord on a daily basis. If we are not, if we are like the Laodiceans described in Revelation 3, who are comfortable in the world and enjoying its pleasures, but LUKEWARM toward Christ – our heavenly bridegroom, then He will vomit us out of His mouth. He will have no part of us, and we will have no part in Him. And the door to eternity in heaven will be closed to us.

There is another dimension of this parable that relates to us. What is the oil that we are to have in our lamps? The oil would be the peace, joy, and love of God that dwells within us. But we can only get that oil by spending time with our Lord in His Word, repenting of our sins, forgiving others, and seeking His will for our lives, which includes meeting the divine appointments He has for us each day.

We need to go to the Holy Spirit and say: “Fill ‘er up and check the oil”. And when we are filled with the oil (the anointing) of the Holy Spirit, we need to light it on fire, so we can be on fire for the Lord, like the apostles after Pentecost, or Moses when he came down off the mountain.

If we don’t take time to spend with our Lord each day, our lamps might be full of worldly stuff, but they will not shine with the light of Christ, and we will have nothing supernatural – the peace, love, and joy of the Lord – to share with others. And then when we are called upon to share this light with others, we will be unable to do so. We will have failed to respond to His calling on our lives.

None of us know when our Lord is coming back for us, nor do we know when our time is up here on earth. But we do know that He is coming, and that one day our time here is up. So let us fill our lamps with oil from the Holy Spirit and share the light of Christ with all who come across our path, for time is short, eternity is forever, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

To God be the glory

Categories
Reaching Out

Take the Short Worship Quiz

Worship is:

a) * Going to church every Sunday

b) * Just how we feel about God

c) * Available to anyone – Christians, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews, and even pagans, and it all counts

d) * Vastly overrated – why bother; I have gone to church for 30

years and nothing has ever changed in my life

e) * Vastly underrated – most of us just go through the motions

and don’t take it seriously

f) * A service where we encounter the living God of the universe through prayer, confession, singing hymns, hearing the Word of God and inspired preaching

g) * Available to anyone, but it only connects with our Lord when we repent of our sins, forgive others, and surrender to the Lord.

h) * All about God, not us.

Answers
The World says: a through d
The Word of God says: e through h

“Why did Christ come? Why was He conceived? Why did He rise again? Why is He now at the right hand of the Father? The answer to all of these questions is in order that He might make worshipers out of rebels.’ A.W. Tozer

Famous author and statistician George Barna stated: ‘Virtually every church in the nation provides opportunities for worship, yet we rarely worship God. Most Christians admit they seldom feel like they have connected with Him.’ So how can we connect with our Lord through worship?

Worship is the single most important thing a Christian can do, because it means a divine encounter with God. The Greek word for worship is “proskuneo”, which means to bow down, fall down, adore, show absolute reverence, homage, or submission. It means to prostrate oneself or touch one’s nose to the ground. Throughout Scripture we see how the saints always fell on their faces, bowed down, or prostrated themselves before the Lord when they worshiped. [THEY HIT THE DIRT WHEN THEY ENCOUNTERED THE DIVINE, HOLY PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD.]
Proskuneo is something that is done on the “inside” – in our spirit, defined by Jesus in John 4:23-24: ‘…the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.’ It’s asking nothing of Him, but losing ourselves in adoration, reverence, and homage.

Worship expresses our realization of the holiness of God, manifests our relationship towards God, and makes everything else secondary. It is not merely an act of our will, but an all-consuming yearning in our spirit, and an overflowing of our gratitude and love. Worship communicates to our Lord that WE ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS BEING THAN HIS GIFTS.

Jesus wants us to become so lost in our love for Him that we’re able to experience His presence even in the midst of difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves. Experiencing His presence is what will bring us unfathomable joy, and restores the thrill of our salvation. ‘Only in His presence is fullness of joy.’ Psalm 16:11

The Lord wants us to be so consumed in the fire of His love that we are able to withstand anything that He allows in our lives. We must be passionately in love with the Lord.”*

1) How many of us come into His presence on a daily basis, fall down on our faces, and worship the Lord in our prayer closets – our secret place of the Most High?

2) How many of us have caught fire with the love of God and are being absolutely consumed by it?

3) How many of us are walking around exceedingly joyful (regardless of our circumstances) simply because we are in the presence of the Lord?

4) How many of us come to church on Sunday, spiritually clean of all sins, hungry for the Word and Sacrament, and looking forward to an encounter with the sovereign, living God of the universe?

Most people we encounter do not have an intimate relationship with our Lord; they do not worship Him in spirit and truth. But our Lord invites us all to a close relationship with Him so that we may experience the joy of the Lord, and His wisdom that will take us through the challenges of this life into eternity. So let us reach out to them with the love and truth of Christ, for time is short, eternity is a very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

*Excerpts from “Private Worship – the Key to Joy” by Nancy Missler
To God be the glory