August 2-4, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:18-26 “MONEY: FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL!"

 

PENTECOST 8

August 2-4, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:18-26

 

“MONEY: FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL

 

          Money. It certainly has the potential to bring out the worst in people, including people like us. Money issues have been one of the leading causes of divorce in our country for decades. Infidelity does not even come close. Is there a lasting division in a family between siblings? Chances are money, inheritance, who gets the family cabin, probably has something to do with it. I recall the time when the man most Packers fans love to hate, Randy Moon Man Moss, was the first player in the NFL to sign a contract over $100 million. Two weeks later Minnesotans were mad at him. Why? The lottery jackpot had climbed to the hundreds of millions and a gas station owner tattled on poor little Randy for buying $20,000 worth of tickets. Didn’t he have enough? Why was he ruining other people’s chances to get more money? Money issues are a leading cause of stress and unhappiness in our country.

          Now we aren’t stuck with observations of American society to conclude that money can cause a lot of trouble. The Bible which God has provided for all people of all time tell us the same. Jesus spoke a lot about money, warning against greed. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” the Apostle Paul warned in his first letter to Timothy.

          And then there is this Bible Book called Ecclesiastes. Even though the writer of Ecclesiastes never blatantly declares who he is, there is common agreement, and all internal evidence points to Solomon, son of David. He is widely regarded as the wealthiest man that ever lived. His annual gold-based income would be the equivalent of 1.6 billion dollars today. And that was just the gold. Sadly, the Bible tells us that Solomon, who started his reign with humble reliance on God, did not stay that way. He strayed from God, grew proud and indulged every sinful desire he could think of to try to find happiness. Ecclesiastes seems to be his last-ditch effort to come clean. We pray that he died with faith. We don’t know though. But God used Solomon to teach.

          What’s his lesson for us? Meaningless!!!  "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?...22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.” Well, that’s depressing…and true. Solomon lets us have a peek at his life and heart. Just from what the Bible records we know he was shrewd in business and building. Beautiful palaces, gardens and other buildings. He had trading fleets, built up an impressive army. He had accumulated hordes of gold, silver and bronze. Certainly, his mind was not resting, always thinking about what he was going to do next. People back then marveled at him and what he accomplished. I’m guessing most people envied Solomon, wishing they had half of what he had. And yet what was life like on the inside for Solomon? Meaningless. Empty. Hollow.  No matter what he built, accomplished or owned, he felt meaningless. Kids, you know how it is when a new video game comes out and you have to have it? You get it and play it for hours and then, meaningless. It’s not fun anymore. Big kids, also known as adults, same thing with many of the things we buy: new clothes or tech or big people toys. We want. We get. We move on. Meaningless. And then wise Solomon let his restless mind go further. What is my heir going to do with all my stuff? Will he use it wisely or waste it? It will be out of my control! Meaningless!

          Boy, with all this depressing meaninglessness maybe the solution to happiness is to give away everything and just become a hermit. Actually, no. Hermits can be just as unhappy as billionaires. What’s the solution? There is something Solomon wrote that gives us some hope for his eternity and some help in avoiding a life where money is meaningless.  “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”  Did you catch it? Did you see the key to going from meaningless to meaningful? “Without him, without God, who can eat or find enjoyment?” Solomon’s life and wealth had not always been meaningless. At one time it was very meaningful. He used the wealth his father David amassed to build the great Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple, when used as God said, helped the people see the need for a Savior and kept their hearts humbly waiting for Him to come. It taught the seriousness of sin and only the Lamb of God who could take them away. That was meaningful, affecting the eternity of millions of people. He also used his wealth to set up orderly government and a justice system to benefit His people. That was meaningful. People marveled at the wise ways Solomon did things and owned things. At one time he had a meaningful life. Now it was meaningless. What happened?

          Without God. Once Solomon sacrificed his faith in the Savior God everything became meaningless. Without God everything was meaningless. But that points us to some Good News. With God our life is meaningful. Every part of it. Whether we eat, drink or whatever we do we can do it for the glory of God and be meaningful, even money. So that money for us can be meaningful instead of meaningless, we need to remember a few things. We are all already rich. Jesus has taken care of that. We are heirs of heaven. Heaven is so wonderful that what we consider wealth here on earth will be, well, meaningless in heaven.  The fact that God gave Jesus for us gives us confidence for our earthly needs too. He who did not spare his only Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things! Secondly we are stewards, caretakers, managers of the wealth that God places into our hands. I really don’t have anything. It’s all God’s. But I am in charge of handling some of God’s things. What an honor and what a privilege that the almighty, holy and wise God trusts me with some of His things!

          Money is one of God’s things. And with God, money goes from meaningless to meaningful. There is nothing bad about money itself. It is a thing. A tool. It helps us get things done. Money is a gift from God. When we view it that way there is great meaning. Every bit of money you are in charge of and I am in charge of is a gift, a blessing. Whether that comes from a job where an employer pays me, a social security check or retirement savings or inheritance, God is the one who gave it to us. Meaningful when you look at it that way. Fills your heart with thanksgiving and gives you purpose. I want God to be proud of the way I handle His money. Like any other tool God has given as a blessing, Satan will try to get us to use money as a curse. But he doesn’t get to win. God does. Use God’s money in ways God’s wants, and you will feel that sense of satisfaction, the conscience’s pat on the back. Meaningful! Use some of God’s money to provide a place to live. Buy food that not just nourishes but tastes good. Enjoy it with an attitude of gratitude! Meaningful. Pay the taxes God wants us to in order to have a government that takes care of its people. Meaningful. If they waste it, that’s on them, not you. You want to experience money in a super meaningful way? Ask God for the gift of generosity. Anyone can give money to a charity or to support the spread of the Gospel. Only a generous person has fun doing it. So if your giving to church or charity is fun for you, thank God for his gift of generosity. If not, something to pray for. If God made you good at making money, make lots of it, and have fun doing with it what God wants you to do. You will find that to be very meaningful. If you are struggling, ask what God wants you to learn. That too is meaningful.

          For without God who can eat and find enjoyment? Meaningless! But with God... Brothers and sisters you go with God, or more accurately, God goes with you. He loves you. He has chosen you to be His own. He gave His one and only Son for you. He adopted you into His family at your Baptism. He feeds your faith through word and sacrament. And He blesses you with a thing called money. While it has the potential to bring about the worst in people, with God it can be used for the best. Meaningless becomes meaningful! Amen.

July 12-14, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Ruth 1:1-19a “LOYAL LOVE”

 PENTECOST 8

July 12-14, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Ruth 1:1-19a

 

“LOYAL LOVE”

1.     Received

2.     Reflected

3.     Rewarded

 

CHESED. It’s a Hebrew word. Say it with me. CHESED. In your Bibles it gets translated many different ways. Love. Kindness. Faithfulness. Mercy. Lovingkindness. Faithful love. The reason for this is the simple Hebrew word has much more meaning to it than just one American English word can communicate. And the reason it is so hard is because it first and foremost is the word used to describe God’s love for people. That love is so far above what you and I can legitimately and consistently show to other people. It’s not Toyota love, based off of their old commercials, “I love what you do for me.” That is a reasonable type of love that flows from sinful people and is really selfishness. I’ll love you as long as you are doing what pleases me. It’s not the butterfly feeling that attracts guys to girls and girls to guys so they describe themselves as being in love. It’s God’s kind of love. It shows in His commitment to people even though they disobey Him, let Him down, think of Him last and themselves first. God’s love gives. It gives what people need. It’s an unconditional love and that’s what makes it so hard for people to emulate. Hard. But not impossible. So my best rendition of CHESED is loyal love. A commitment to a person and their needs that you keep doing because you are loyal and faithful and that they will see as kindness or mercy. All of the words of God that we have listened to so far pointed us to this love. The Good Samaritan. Seriously. Who does that? That is clearly a picture of our God’s love. The reading from Galatians highlighted the sinful nature/Holy Spirit battles we all know too well. Do I use my free forgiveness to build relationships on my selfishness or God’s kind of love? Then the reading from Ruth. It did not hide the hurt that God allows His people to deal with or the difficulties they may face in relationships. More importantly, it shows God’s people can show loyal love.

The book of Ruth starts out with trouble for and by God’s people. There was a famine. No food. A man named Elimelech took his wife Naomi and sons, Mahlon and Killion to Moab. Bad choice. God had told His people to avoid the idol worshipping neighbors. More trouble. Naomi’s husband Elimelech died. Now her two sons would need to provide for her. But they married Moabite women, again, forbidden by God because idol worshipping wives generally led to idol worshipping Israelites. More trouble. Both sons die. Big trouble. Back then property and means of income generally was attached to the husbands and son. Widows who did not have sons to inherit or support then were at great risk, most likely destined to be beggars.

But in all of this, God’s loyal love was at work! Naomi was a recipient of God’s loyal love. A famine was something God regularly used to call His Old Testament people to repentance when they strayed. Loyal love. Naomi and her husband had disobeyed God and put the entire family’s faith at risk by moving out of the Promised Land and intermarrying with Moabites. But God did not treat her as her sins deserved, instead He preserved her and worked in her life to get her back home. Loyal love.

And then Naomi reflected that loyal love. Back then she had every legal right to make her son’s widows stay with her and support her. Just the way it was back then. But Naomi does not do that.” But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back. Both of you return to your mother’s house. May the Lord show you kindness as you have shown kindness to the dead and to me. ⁹May the Lord grant that each of you finds security in the house of a husband.” Loyal love. The daughters in law want to stick with Naomi. But Naomi thought of the needs of her daughters in law. The most likely outcome if these women went with Naomi would be they would be beggars supporting Naomi until they died and no self respecting Jewish man would want to marry them. So Naomi set them free. As a recipient of God’s loyal love Naomi reflected loyal love.

One daughter in law, Orpah, with tears agreed. The other named Ruth did not. “But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to abandon you or to turn back from following you. Because wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you make your home, I will make my home. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely and double it if anything but death separates me from you.” Ruth, a recipient of loyal love reflected it herself. But did you notice whose loyal love Ruth had received? Naomi’s yes, but also the Lord’s! God had used the sinful decision of moving out of Israel and marrying non Israelite women for the good. Ruth knows and believes in the Savior God, the God of loyal love.

I think we’re starting to see how this works. Those who receive God’s loyal love reflect that to others. You and I are recipients of God’s loyal love. Think back in your life. Have you made any bad choices that put your faith in Christ at risk? Any times you can think of where you trusted in yourself with all your heart and leaned not on God’s understanding instead of they way it’s supposed to be? Think of how we can easily think of worship as something we have to do, a chore. What slap in God’s face! But how does He respond? Loyal love. Knowing full well what you and I would do with His grace God gave Jesus anyway. Each day His mercy is new, He keeps forgiving, keeps providing, keeps preserving, keeps working all things for good. We are recipients of CHESED, God’s loyal love.

That enables us to reflect it to others. And we won’t have to look hard for these opportunities. God will place them before us. Every relationship you have with other people is an opportunity to show loyal love, love that seeks to give to the needs of others. It may not be as dramatic as putting your future means of support at risk like Naomi did or leaving everyone and everything you know behind like Ruth did, but you will have opportunities to meet the needs of other people God places in your life. Probably the hardest ones are the closest relationships. The closer the relationship the more it hurts when we sin against each other and let each other down. And when we are hurting it is hard to show loyal love. Hard, but not impossible. God takes care of that.

I don’t know if you realized it or not but when God tells you to do something hard He gives you what you need to do it. One of the ways He helps us is to bless our efforts. I use the word reward but you need to understand it. A reward is something someone gives you for doing what you should do anyway. It highlights the generosity of the giver, not the action of the recipient. So for instance, if your dog runs away, I find it and return it to you I have done nothing special. It is what every person should do. If you give me a reward for that, you are special. God is special and He rewards loyal love. Just look at Naomi and Ruth. “When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. ¹⁹Then the two of them traveled until they arrived at Bethlehem.”

Bethlehem. Know anything about that little town? You’re right. It’s where Jesus was born. If you read the rest of the book of Ruth you will find out that God rewarded these ladies’ loyal love by placing them into the ancestry of our Savior Jesus. They are both grandma greats to Jesus! Now obviously since Jesus has already been born, none of us are going to get that honor. But we can set aside our fears that we will be taken advantage of, used or not appreciated when we strive to show loyal love. God will bless it!

Just as He has done your whole life, showing you CHESED, a love so loyal that it takes half the dictionary to describe. You have it. Reflect it. And God will take care of the reward. Amen.

 

June 21-23, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 2 Timothy 1:3-9 “EVERYONE A MISSIONARY!”

 

PENTECOST 2

June 21-23, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 2 Timothy 1:3-9

 

“EVERYONE A MISSIONARY!”

 

          It’s probably not that way for young people now. There are so many stories and exciting things that grab their attention. When I was a young boy with little to no screen time, the stories you heard at school or church got your imagination running. That was normally the case when you heard about or read about missionaries, Christians who went off to far off lands. With slow travel and no electronic communication, they were cut off from their families. They would eat strange foods, go to remote locations, have to learn foreign languages. Why would they do such things? For the love of Christ and the love of lost souls. As my mind raced to put pictures to what my ears heard or my eyes read, being a missionary seemed both scary and exciting at the same time. It also seemed so noble. St. Jacobi has a strong connection to world missions. Our sister, Kaye Eckert, who recently got to go to heaven, was the executive assistant to the Administrator for WELS World Missions for many years. Deb Koeller’s parents, missionaries in Thailand. As we saw on the WELS Connection, the Doebler’s son and family, world missionaries, now in Australia. Our teacher Lisa Terek was born in Africa. Why? Parents there as missionaries. Our new teacher Becky Birkholz and her husband, also world missionaries. Tom Strackbein spent his youth in Puerto Rico. You guessed it, missionary family. It’s almost like everyone around here is a missionary!

          And that is exactly the point that the word of God we have listened to today had made clear. In the reading from Isaiah, God said to all His people, “You are my witnesses.” In the Gospel lesson we heard how the Lord Jesus healed a man who had been tortured by demons and then sent him off as a missionary, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” And then in the second lesson we are spending our time on the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest Christian missionary who ever lived, made the same point. For those privileged to know and believe in Jesus Christ, everyone’s a missionary!

          When the Apostle Paul wrote this letter he was in prison at Rome, chained. But the power of God was not chained. “I thank God, whom I serve with a clean conscience as my ancestors did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.” Paul did not whine or complain about the circumstances God let him be in. Instead, he used the power of prayer as he prayed for Timothy. At this time Timothy was a pastor in the city of Ephesus. These were not easy times for Bible believing, Christ professing Christians whether they were in prison or not. Certainly the temptation for Timothy was there to avoid Paul’s fate, to keep quiet about Christ. But he couldn’t. Paul encouraged him. “For this reason I am reminding you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God did not give us a timid spirit, but a spirit of power and love and sound judgment. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Instead, join with me in suffering for the gospel while relying on the power of God.”  Paul reminded Timothy of who he was, a missionary.

          But he wasn’t the only one Paul mentioned. “I remember your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it also lives in you.” How did it happen that Timothy, who had a Gentile, probably unbeliever father, had the gift of faith? Missionaries had taught him God’s truth. Missionaries named Lois and Eunice. Influencers in his live who filled the role of grandma and mom but understood they were missionaries, sent on a mission by the Lord Jesus to raise young Timothy in the way of the Lord and most likely without any idea of how God would multiply their efforts to spread the Good news of free forgiveness in Christ to many, many people. Back then everyone was a missionary.

          And nothing has changed. Today every believer in Christ is a missionary for Christ, just not all in the same way. Let me give you an example from my life. Wally and Susie Ebert. Both enjoying heaven right now. They were dairy farmers with a farm a couple of miles outside of Watertown. Through our church and school at St. Marks they had made a connection with my family and hired my older brothers and then me to help occasionally with farm chores but especially to help stack hay bales in the mow for each cutting. It was not the way it is now with large round bales or big rectangles handled by farm equipment. These were 50-60 pound bales that had to be stacked by hand. It was hard work. Sweaty work. Dirty work. But fun work. Each season we would find friends from Northwestern Prep or College to help each haying season. They paid us well. The going rate in the early 80s for farm work was $2 per hour. (Chris hates it when I tell this story because she only got $2-3 a day!) They paid us $4 an hour. We were happy and grateful. One day after the hay was up and Susie came out with the checkbook to pay us, Wally and Susie sat us down. Wally said, “Boys the Lord has given us the job of taking care of the cows. We love them and love it. But we don’t get off the farm much. You boys are studying to be pastors and teachers. We want you to tell people about Jesus for us. From now on we will pay you $10 an hour. Pay for your schooling. Preach Jesus for us.” If the inflation calculator I used is to be believed, in today’s dollars they were paying us $40 an hour to bale hay. Of the guys who worked on that crew over the years 7 are currently serving as pastors, 3 as teachers and 2 graduated Northwestern and realized God had made them good at doing other things. Each has served several terms as congregation and Board of Elders chairmen. The Eberts realized that God had made them good at dairy farming and God’s cows needed care and God’s people needed milk, but they never forgot that all people need Jesus to be saved, and they found a way to be missionaries as well as dairy farmers.

          And that, brothers and sisters, is the question and challenge I have for you. Do you see yourselves as what you are? Missionaries. And do you understand how and to whom the Lord has sent you? Is there a Timothy or Timothette in your life that you have influence on as an Aunt or Uncle, Mom or Dad, Grandpa or Grandma? Can you be Wally and Suzy Ebert and rack up treasures in heaven, souls saved, through others as you do your needed and necessary jobs that serve God and help His people all the time fully understanding that you are also a missionary? And in the words of the great mission hymn, “Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying” Let none hear you idly saying there is nothing I can do. Paul was in chains and in prison and he was busy, praying. Some of you may feel imprisoned in a body that is not working well so you are stuck having to worship online, cut off from the full worship experience of church. Is there really nothing you can do? Will you pray for me, the pastors and teachers, your church, your synod? Would you like a copy of the LWMS missionary prayer calendar to guide your specific prayers? We’ll get one for you. You are a missionary.

          Like with the Apostle Paul, Satan may try to keep you on the sidelines. But for most of us the prison and chains that Satan uses to try to stop us is not made of brick and mortar but Affluence and Apathy. Affluence. We are so blessed. So many toys and fun things to attract our attention and time. Great blessings that Satan tries to use to get us to forget our first love, Jesus Christ, and our first calling, missionaries. Apathy. Do you believe that souls who reject Jesus, who die in unbelief, go to Hell, or do you think God was just kidding and He let His Son be brutalized, hang on a cross and be forsaken for show? You know the truth. Souls without Christ are dying souls. Our mission from Jesus is to tell them the great things God has done for us. Everyone’s a missionary, somehow, someway.

          It’s summer time, a good time to make sure your fans are working. Not just the ones that keep us cool, but also the faith fans. Fan into flames the gifts God has given you. Your pastors and teachers are constantly checking ourselves. Are we majoring in Major? Are the things we are first concerned about as we seek to have a first class congregation and school first and foremost about properly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ and are we in the word daily? How about you? If you haven’t before considered yourself a missionary, make sure that faith fan is working, pray for the Spirit’s guidance and then enjoy, the sometimes hard but eternally rewarding work of being a missionary. That is what you are! Amen.

May 31-June 2, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 17:20-26 “JESUS PRAYS FOR YOU!”

 

EASTER 7           May 31-June 2, 2025                Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 17:20-26

 

“JESUS PRAYS FOR YOU!”

 

          This past Thursday we once again celebrated the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. In one sense it seems to be an odd thing to celebrate…Jesus visibly leaving. But when you understand that Jesus ascended because His saving mission was completed and to continue to serve us as Savior King you understand why it’s something to celebrate. It would be like if one or Jacobi’s own went to Washington to be President only greater. One of the ways the Bible says Jesus serves us is as our intercessor. He prays for us. As one verse of the great Easter hymn “I know that my Redeemer lives” puts it, “He lives to plead for me above.” That leads to a question. What does Jesus pray for? There’s a better question. Who does Jesus pray for? He prays for you!

The portion of God’s Word we are looking at comes from what is known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. It’s part of the extended prayer He prayed in the Upper Room with His disciples the night He was betrayed. We get to listen in as Jesus prays to our Heavenly Father for us and the first thing He prays that we have is the blessing of unity. “I am praying not only for them, but also for those who believe in me through their message. ²¹ May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. ²² I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one: ²³ I in them, and you in me. May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

 Unity! What a blessing. We all know the peace we feel when there is unity in the family, unity in the congregation. We all know and dislike the angst that comes with disunity. Our country is experiencing discord and disunity at a high level. There is a reason for this. Satan. The Devil knows the strategy of divide and conquer. He knows that the sinful nature of man can easily be led down the road to hatred when there are disagreements. Sadly, because we are Americans, we can fall into the Devil’s traps and this division and discord can lead to disunity in our families and our churches. I remember as a kid watching the “Battle of the Sexes” pitting teams of male and female celebrities against each other in obstacle courses and other activities. It was mildly amusing. Now our country pits men and women against each other in a power struggle that rejects the beauty of the team God set up where men and women are to work together with divinely designed roles for the good of all and to the glory of God. Despite many well-intentioned efforts to break down divisions and discord caused by focusing on skin tone those divisions seem to be magnified, not minimized. Economic or social status divisions aren’t any better either. And division by political leaning? Oi! All efforts made to improve these issues fail because they do not take into account the inherent evil of mankind and that evolution is a lie. People are not evolving into higher life forms. Something is missing. Jesus is. And without Christ the trend goes down. Good news for you the people of God! Jesus prays for you. That you have unity. Christ brings us together. In Christ we know that who God made me, male or female, or what place God has put me in, well off or poor, or the lightness or darkness of my skin tone aren’t what’s important. Serving the Lord is. And so because of Christ we get to notice we are all different, agree that those differences don’t matter so that together we serve him better. In Christ, when the hurts come, as they will when sinners interact with sinners, we have the power to forgive as we have been forgiven. What Jesus prays for you to have we can do because of Him. “May they be one as we are one.” Jesus prays for the blessing of unity.

          Jesus also prays that you have the blessing of glory. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am so that they may see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.”

 There are different types of glory, some that fades and some that does not. There is glory in standing with your team as it holds up the trophy after winning the state championship. There is glory in performing a difficult musical piece well and hearing the ovation of the crowd. One of my favorite Civil War movies has the title, Glory. If you haven’t seen it and military history intrigues you, watch it. You will see a different kind of glory, the glory of struggle and sacrifice for the good of others. Jesus has both kinds of glory. He did not appear very glorious while He was visibly on earth. But His struggle and sacrifice for us and all people was. If we could see Him now….oh the obvious glory. Jesus prays for you. He said He has given us His glory and we have it and will have it. So sometimes our faithful following of Christ will not look or feel glorious. When you stay faithful to Christ’s teaching and get ridiculed or shunned or marginalized it will not feel very glorious. When your efforts to win over for Christ a family member, coworker or neighbor fails (as far as you can tell) it will not look or feel glorious. If the visible and faithful church in our country continues its numerical decline despite all our efforts it won’t feel like we are holding up the championship trophy. But the glory that Christ has given us is there and just wait! My dad had many sayings. One oft repeated one that has stuck with me is “Work first, then play.” He was teaching us priorities and responsibility. Do the work, the hard part first. Then have fun. Jesus’ prayer reminds us of the same. Have the glory of struggle and battle, then the glory that is obvious and unending. Live in the sin messed world for a short time and then have glory forever. Jesus prays for you to have it and so you do and will.

          And Jesus also prays for you to have love. “Righteous Father, the world did not know you, but I knew you, and these men knew that you sent me. ²⁶ I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and that I may be in them.”

  Jesus prays for the love of the Father to be in us. This is not what passes for love for so many people which is “I will like you as long as you are pleasing me or giving me what I want.” That is thinly disguised selfishness. Nor is it the kind of love that says, “If I am doing or thinking something God says is wrong, tell me it’s OK, I’m right. Tell God He is wrong.” That is arrogance and rejection. It’s the Father’s love. A commitment love. A caring for the needs of others love and doing something about if we can. Like the Father did when we needed saving and so He gave us His Son. It’s important that we have it and show it. Not only did Jesus say that if we hold to his teachings we are really his disciples. He also said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Listen to what He had the Apostle John write in his first epistle. “ 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love. 9 This is how God’s love for us was revealed: God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.” Look for those ways to care for another’s needs, to forgive, to sacrifice. That’s the love of the Father. And it is what Jesus prays for you to have.

          Good thing He ascended! Unity, Glory, Love. Because our Lord Jesus prays for us we can have these wonderful blessings right now. Because we are sinners living with sinners, we won’t have perfectly, here. But we will have them perfectly some day, on that great day when Jesus says, “Behold, I am making everything new!” Until then let’s do what we can to be an answer to what Jesus prays for. Amen.

 

May 10-12, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 10:22-30 (EHV) GOOD NEWS FROM THE GOOD SHEPHERD!

 

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

May 10-12, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 10:22-30 (EHV)

 

GOOD NEWS FROM THE GOOD SHEPHERD!

1.     Those who aren’t, don’t.

2.     Those who are, do.

3.     Those who do are blessed!

 

          The word picture and painted pictures of Jesus as the Good Shepherd have comforted Christians for 2000 years. Many of us remember a picture like this from the Bible Story books our parents and grandparents read to us. Many have had a picture like this hanging in their room or house. To know that it is the Lord Jesus leading you, carrying you when you are young, weak, hurt or tired is such a comfort. With the many different uses the Bible makes of our Savior caring for us like a shepherd, Psalm 23, and Jesus own statement earlier in John 10, “I am the Good Shepherd,” it’s no surprise that the Church on earth has regularly celebrated a Good Shepherd Sunday in its church year. As we do so today, we rejoice in the Good news we hear from the Good Shepherd.

          The first is that those who don’t, aren’t. Those who don’t what? Those who don’t listen when Jesus speaks are not His sheep. ^“Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around Jesus, asking, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I am doing in my Father’s name testify about me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep, as I said to you.” The Jews mentioned here are the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They had what sounded like a reasonable and heartfelt request. If you are the Christ, the Messiah we have all been waiting for, tell us plainly. Sounds good but it wasn’t sincere. Jesus told them the truth. He had spoken plainly many times. The miracles He did that were signs of the Messiah spoke plainly. Every time Jesus said “I Am,” He spoke plainly. Why didn’t they listen? They were not Jesus’ sheep. So the words Jesus said were meaningless. It was like, for instance, if a husband discovered his wife had kept the love letters from all the guys she didn’t marry and read them. They would be meaningless. Not meant for him. So too, it was true of the unbelieving Jews. Those who aren’t Jesus’ sheep don’t listen to His voice.

          So also it is true today and this is Good News for those who are Jesus’ sheep. How? Those who aren’t Jesus’ sheep aren’t listening to His voice and won’t. So you and I don’t have to get our undies in a bundle when we hear our fellow Americans spouting foolishness. Nor do we need to feel like it is our responsibility to change minds. It isn’t and we can’t. Here are some examples. Ask any one of Jesus’ sheep to define a woman and they will first look at you incredulously and then easily define a woman as a female, easily identified by body parts and chromosomes. Those who aren’t Jesus’ sheep will stutter and stammer because they are not his sheep. Jesus’ truth means nothing to them. No one who is a sheep of Jesus would dream of changing the day our nation observes today from Mothers’ Day to inseminated persons’ day. To reduce mothers to inseminated persons is insane, ridiculous, demeaning and inaccurate. The same voice of the Good Shepherd that tells us in the Bible that God made only male and female tells us that those who have children are mothers. So here is the Good News from the Good Shepherd. You are neither crazy, nor old fashioned, nor close minded, nor whatever other disparaging label people want to put on you. You are one of Jesus’ sheep. There is nothing wrong with you and everything wrong with them. They are not Jesus’ sheep and that is why they can’t handle Jesus’ truth.  And if anyone is listening and wants to roll their eyes at such narrow minded thinking I have some bad news for you. There is a reason Bible truth is not true to you. You are not one of Jesus’ sheep. I am sad for your eternity. Jesus tells us plainly. Those who aren’t, don’t!

          And those who are, do!” My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Nothing difficult here. Jesus does not speak in mays, mights or wills. He speaks in the present. Those who are, do. Those who are Jesus’ sheep, those who belong to Him, hear His voice and follow. Look at the beautiful picture this gives us. When someone belongs to you they know your voice. Children growing in the wombs of their mothers hear their mother’s voice. They know it. Good reason for those who are pregnant to read aloud to their in womb children. And while you are at it, read to them about their Good Shepherd. As little children are tied to their mothers and know their voice so also Jesus’ sheep. Hear and follow. Do you understand, now, fellow sheep, why our enemy the Devil, the ultimate big bad wolf, is working so hard in your life and my life to get us to give up hearing Jesus’ voice in His word? He wants us to stray so He can devour us. What I see today is not so much a defiant refusal to listen to Jesus’ voice as much as a distracted delinquency. All the kids’ activities and parents’ activities get scheduled in before hearing the voice of the Shepherd. Don’t let that be you. Those who are, do. Those who are the sheep of Jesus listen to His voice. Each one of us needs to evaluate how well we are doing at that.

          It’s for our own good, because those who do are blessed! “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” Look at some of the many blessings of being one of Jesus’ sheep. “I know them,” says Jesus. There are times in all of our lives that we will feel like no one understands what we are going through. That sense of loneliness can feel overwhelming. There are things about us that we don’t want anyone to know. That’s why we hide them. Hear the Good News from the Good Shepherd. He knows you. He knows your heart hurts, heartaches and great joys. He shepherds you through them. You are never alone. All those things you try to keep hidden about yourself from other people because you are afraid of what they will think about you, your struggles, your failings, your secret sins? Jesus knows you. He loves you anyway. That’s why the Good Shepherd lay down His life for you. Your sin He has taken away so He will give you eternal life. Roll that around in your heart for a bit. Jesus gives you eternal life. You have it. Heaven. It’s your fatherland. It’s your home. Right now. Don’t have to earn it. Sins are forgiven and won’t keep you out of it. Jesus has given it to you. And no one can take it away. People can’t. Satan can’t. Demons can’t. No one can take on the Father and the Son and win. Those who do listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice are His sheep and they are blessed.

          Let’s go back to our picture, a beautiful picture, a comforting picture. Look at that little lamb. Safe in Jesus’ hands. No one can pluck that lamb away from Jesus. There are going to come times in all or our lives that we will realize how much we are like that lamb. Helpless. Afraid. In need of care. The next time that happens for you, remember this picture, the Savior it points you to and His promises of protection. More Good News from the Good Shepherd! Amen. 

 

ASTER! April 20/21, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 16:1-8 “THE EMPTY TOMB—A PLACE OF LIFE!”

 

EASTER!   April 20/21, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 16:1-8

 

“THE EMPTY TOMB—A PLACE OF LIFE!”

1.     Jesus is alive!

2.     Angels are alive!

3.     We have new life!

 

Mark 16:1-8 (EHV) “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint Jesus. ² Very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ They were saying to each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb for us?” ⁴ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ⁶ He said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” ⁸ They went out and hurried away from the tomb, trembling and perplexed. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”

 

          Cemeteries are not normally known as places of life. Graves are there. Tombs and crypts are there. Put it crassly, dead people are there. To overcome that stigma, most cemeteries choose names that make you think of something else. Memorial Garden. Resting Place. Second Home. Forest Home. I know of none called place of death. I also know of none named place of life. And yet that is exactly what the cemetery or tomb of Jesus should be named. Jesus’ Empty Tomb, place of life!

          It was the place that Jesus came alive. In case you missed Good Friday’s services let me catch you up to speed. Ever since sin came into the world the plan for Jesus to die went into action. Sin is rebellion against God. Every sin is a terrible crime and just like human justice demands that there be payment for crime, God’s justice does too. But unlike human justice that believes that penalty for crime can be made up in time served or fines paid, crimes against God has a more severe penalty. Death. The death penalty for every sin. But don’t just think of death as the ending of earthly life. When the Bible uses the word death, it means separation and the death penalty for sin is separation from God for good. You really can’t pay that. You suffer it. But God’s love for all people is so great He came up with a plan to maintain justice and spare sinners. He would send His Son Jesus to be the substitute for people. The holy and perfect Son of God would take the place of sinners and be separated from God. Justice. Those who believe in Him would be free from the awful eternity they earned and receive the gift of eternal life instead. Love. If you were here for Good Friday, you heard again that everything went according to God’s plan. Jesus, true God and true man was truly separated from the Father and paid for the sins of all people in full. He died physically too. His body was buried. Jewish Sabbath which forbids any extra work goes from our Friday at 6 PM until Saturday at 5:59 PM. Because of that Jesus’ followers were not able to prepare His body for burial as was proper. Their first daylight opportunity was Sunday morning.

          “Very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ They were saying to each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb for us?” A practical question. The last these women had seen was Jesus’ dead body placed in a tomb that was sealed with a large stone. Similar to this. PICTURE Too much for them to handle, as long as Jesus was dead. But He wasn’t. “When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ⁶ He said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Jesus’ Tomb was empty! It had become a place of life. In so many ways. The empty tomb of Jesus is God’s standing proof that Jesus lives. Thousands of Jews were crucified by the Romans at the time of Jesus. Thousands of bodies were tossed in pits or buried in tombs. All stayed there. Except Jesus. He is risen! And look at what this means. He died to pay for sin. He rose because payment was over. The living Jesus is God’s proof that you are forgiven in full. No death penalty for you. And because Jesus lives every single one of your loved ones who has died in the Lord lives with Him too. Jesus promised that. Everyone of us who has experienced the death of a loved one and especially you who have had that experience most recently know that there is a sting to death. It hurts. It brings tears to our eyes. By living, Jesus pulled that stinger out of us. Does it still hurt? Yes. But the venom, the poison of death, does not last! Jesus took it out of us and because Jesus lives I can guarantee a new and best chapter of your life with your loved ones is on the way.

          But before we go further, just how did that big stone get rolled away? Angels did it. Here we find more life at the empty tomb of Jesus. Angels are alive. Really. We need to hear this because most, if not all of us, come from a culture that pays lip service to this truth. Yes, the Bible says angels are real. But then when something happens that can’t be explained naturally, we will run through every possible rational explanation before grudgingly accepting the obvious. Angels are alive and God sends them to help us. So the next time you hear of some miraculous rescue where the kind soul who stopped to help is later nowhere to be found, praise God for His living angels. When something urges you to check that fire again or look one more time before you cross don’t thank your lucky stars, thank your loving Lord for sending angels to watch over, to roll your stones away just like they did for the women at the empty tomb of Jesus, a place that shows us angels are alive.

          And a place of new life for you and me. How much do you suppose one second is worth? Seriously. What would you pay for one second? How about 233,000 dollars? That’s how much one second of advertising cost in the Super Bowl this year. There are over 86,000 seconds in each day. How could one second become so valuable? It’s just a second. But when it has a purpose, when the message proclaimed is considered important, all of the sudden it’s super valuable. Jesus’ empty tomb gave new life to some women and made them super valuable. He said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” See Jesus great love for His people. Imagine being one of Jesus disciples. Last time Jesus saw you, you turned tail and ran while He was arrested. How close were you to His cross? Imagine being Peter. Can you imagine how he felt? Jesus knew how they felt and what they needed. He singles out Peter and gives the women new life. Jesus lives! A message they needed to hear. A message, which if true, Peter would gladly have paid more than $233,000 a second to hear. And it was true.

          It is true. Jesus has made you super valuable. Like the Easter morning women going to anoint Jesus dead body for burial we too can often think Jesus needs us to serve Him some way and He makes us more valuable than we can imagine. You may think Jesus wants you to serve by being a kind and reliable CNA or other health care worker, by helping your neighbor with their trash can or mail, or giving a ride to someone without a car, or helping an aging parent. Literally everything we do in life can be service to the Lord. But watch for those opportunities the Lord gives you to be super valuable and tell hurting hearts what they need to hear. Jesus lives. So there is hope. There is no unfaithfulness to Jesus, no denial He didn’t die to pay for. And now He lives. There is no problem that is hopeless that will not be resolved in this life or the next. He lives. And you get to tell people that. I get to tell people that. Jesus knows what they need to hear and when they need to hear.        

Now, I don’t know that God did or worked in your life to bring you here today or have you tune in. Maybe he used a family member or friend. Maybe you got a postcard in the mail. Maybe you remember it was something you used to do as a kid and it felt good. Don’t know. Doesn’t matter. Here is what I do know and does matter. God loves you. He cares for you. He knows what you are going through. He knows what you need. He will take care of it in the right way and right time. How do we know? Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen.

 

MAUNDY THURSDAY

April 17, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 14:12-26 (EHV)

 

THE LAST SUPPER—A PLACE OF REST

1. Rest from having to have it all figured out.

2. Rest from the sting of betrayal.

3. Rest for souls weighed down by sin.

 

          For our special services in Lent and Holy Week we have been pausing at places of the Passion. Today we go back to where we started over 40 days ago, the Upper Room. When we paused there the first time our focus was on service. Tonight, it is rest. Everybody needs rest. In the perfect world God blessed Adam and Eve with rest. As God ceased His creation on the 6^th day He blessed the 7^th day and made it holy. A day of rest. When sin ruined the world there came the need for more rest. People don’t just get physically tired, they get emotionally tired and spiritually tired. Jesus is the one who said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” As we join Jesus and His disciples in the Upper Room see how He fulfills that gracious promise in several ways.

          “On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and there a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house that the Teacher says, ‘Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” ¹⁶ His disciples left and went into the city and found things just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.”

          It was the week that all of God’s people celebrated the Passover meal. Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of extra people, were in Jerusalem for this special meal. It was a very practical question the disciples asked. “Where are we going to eat our Passover meal?” Practical, but unnecessary. Jesus had it all figured out. Find some random guy carrying a water jar and he will lead you to the house where the owner will gladly bump you to the front of the line for large upper rooms already prepared for the Passover. Yeah, right. Yeah right! Jesus had it all figured out and here, brothers and sisters, is the first blessing of rest you get because you have Jesus as your Savior. You don’t have to have it all figured out. That is not a burden you need to carry. It is true that the Lord does want us doing planning and preparing for things under our control. Yes, students, you do need to do your homework. You do need to prioritize time so you can study and do chores before your fun. But for the big things in life, rest. You don’t have to have it all figured out. What will my life be like? Where will I live? What about this family problem? What about this health issue I can’t control? Let it go! Concern yourselves only with those things the Lord has placed in your control. For all the rest, rest. Jesus has it figured out.

          There’s more. “When it was evening, he arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸ While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Amen I tell you: One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and said to him one by one, “Surely not I?”²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread with me in the dish. ²¹ Indeed, the Son of Man is going to go just as it has been written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

          Betrayal. Emotionally it does not get much worse. Someone you have every reason to expect loyalty from is disloyal. What do you suppose happened when Jesus said, “One of you who is eating with me will betray me?” Did Judas’ face flush? Or was his control that good that he should have been playing on some world poker tour? We don’t know what Judas did other than join the others in saying, “Surely not I?” But Judas is not important here. Jesus is. How does He handle the hurt of betrayal? He cares for the betrayer! He warns. He prays. He does not stop him. He does not punish him. He trusts His Father’s plan and by doing so He gives us rest. We are sinners living among a bunch of sinners. The chances that we will not have to deal with some kind of betrayal are nil. Learn from Christ to rest. To keep loving, to keep praying, and to let it go like Jesus let Judas go.

          And go to Christ regularly for more rest in His Supper! “While they were eating, Jesus took bread. When he had blessed it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take it. This is my body.” ²³ Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them. They all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Amen I tell you: I will certainly not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ After they sang a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” The Lord’s Supper. You know what it is. Jesus tells you exactly. He took bread. “This is my body.”  Not a representation, symbol or picture. Is means is. A miracle. He took the cup filled with grape wine. “This is my blood.” Not a representation, symbol or picture. Is means is. But wait there’s more. It is the blood of the new testament or covenant. This is the covenant God has made with us, to forgive us our sin and remember them no more. Here is rest! Rest for souls that struggle with guilt, that fear God is treating them as their sins deserve. Rest for souls that struggle to fight sin and feel keen disappointment when they fail again. “Here,” says Jesus, “here is the proof you need, something you can see, taste, touch to prove to you again, you are fully forgiven. Rest guilty soul. Rest worried soul. Rest disappointed soul. You have my forgiveness.”  

The Upper Room is a place of rest. Jesus said He eagerly desired to be there with His disciples. He eagerly desired us to be here too. Jesus keeps His promises. All of them and He has promised rest. But our journey is not over. We still need to visit the cross and the empty tomb tomorrow and Sunda. Even then our journey will not be over. Jesus said He would not drink of the cup until that day when he drinks again in the kingdom of God. Look ahead! Feasting is coming. Banqueting, When we finally get to be with Jesus our journey will be over and we will be blessed with eternal rest! Amen.