October 29th, 2017 Matthew 22:1-14 Pastor Waldschmidt

Matthew 22:1-14                                          

                                           A Hall Full Of Guest

                                                                   I.  Each One Invited By Grace

II.                  A Hall With No Room For Those Who Can’t Make Room For Jesus.

In the name of the King calling us to His Wedding Banquet, dear children of God,

     The earliest Sunday school lesson I can remember was the story of the crowded house where Jesus was teaching.  The house was so crowded that when some men came with their paralyzed friend they could not get close to Jesus.  So the friends went up on the roof and broke open a whole to lower the man down in front of Jesus.  Shortly thereafter there was the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 where Jesus did the miracle of feeding them all with a few fish and scraps of bread.  Or the crowds pressing around Jesus when the woman who had been sick for years just touched the edge of his garment and was healed.  When I think of crowds around Jesus I think of the crowds of saints and angels singing Jesus’ praise in heaven in John’s revelation vision.  I occurs to me that as good as Jesus is one on one sitting with Nicodemus at night or sitting and listening to my rambling fragmented prayers that Jesus loves a crowd of people.  Today in God’s word he pictures for us a crowd of people in a wedding hall-A Hall Full of Guests!  I.  Each one invited by grace.  II.  A hall with no room for those who can’t make room for Jesus.

     Jesus is speaking these words on the Tuesday before he would suffer and die on the cross.  The rumble of his enemies has now turned into a roar against him.  The Pharisees want to know from Jesus "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"  They were talking about the authority to do the things only God can do, like forgive sins and invite to heaven.   Jesus answers their sassy question with a parable about a King who wanted a hall full of guests.  ““The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.”   What a happy time!  While the way that we do weddings today might bring a little bit of stress they are a fun and happy time.  Here’s a king who wants to share the joy of his son getting married with all of his friends.  He wants to have a hall full of guests to share his happy day with. The invitations are sent out.  “3He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come.”  Now remember this is the king who is inviting.  No one who is invited is on his level.  They are invited by the goodness of the king.

        God’s amazing  love and man’s sinful stupidity don’t fit our way of thinking, so the parables Jesus tells about the Kingdom of God take some stunning turns sometimes.  Think of the Father receiving back the prodigal son or the group of numb skulled tenants who though that if they killed the heir that the inheritance would belong to them.  Imagine this, those invited don’t want anything to do with the king and his wedding.  That would be like getting an invitation to a royal wedding and declining it because you are going to use that time to mow the yard.   The gracious king still wants a hall full of guests.  4“Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’ But now those invited really make clear that they didn’t deserved the invitation. 5“But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them.”

     The King wanted a hall full of his friends to share his joy but those invited showed that that were not the king’s friends that they did not deserved his initial invitation nor his repeat invitation.  Jesus was looking the Pharisees in the eye, calling to them, urging them to come to the Wedding Banquet the King of heaven and earth had prepared.  He had made the preparations.  He wanted a hall full of guests.  But Jesus’ enemies threw aside God’s invitation.  They made clear they were not worthy of the invitation. 

      In the second half of our Psalm for today, Psalm 23, God tells us that the Shepherd King invites to a dinner.  He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  But remember the words of Scripture, “We all like sheep have gone astray.”  Before we look down our noses at the Pharisees we recognize our own unworthiness.  One of my daughters (I won’t say which one, but her name starts with B) was home this week for teachers’ Conference.  Her car had a terrible odor in it.  After some of my fatherly badgering she admitted that she had forgotten a gallon of milk in the back last week when it was so warm and it had sort of exploded with a stinky, curdly mess all over the back of the car.  That stinky curdly mess is like even the very best of our actions.  “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” the Bible tells us.  That sin stink shows itself in our lives all too often, the words we say even to those close to us- the thoughts we think that we would never want anyone to see- the things we do when we think no one is watching.  On top of this we act like there is no smell at all to our sin.  We think we don’t we need Jesus too much.  We push the King our out of life because we are too busy with other things.                But the King wanted a hall full of guests.  The King wanted you and me there.  The King came himself.  The King poured out his life so that we might have enjoy life-eternal life in heaven.  He washed away the stench of sin.  He did all that not because we deserved it.  The king did it all because by grace-undeserved love.  You and I have a place in the hall because of God’s grace.  

     Some of the other places Jesus used this parable put more emphasis on the shallow excuses the miserable invitees gave, but with Jesus’ enemies standing right there with their threatening chins sticking out the emphasis is more on how final and awful the rejection of the King’s invitation is. Listen. “7As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.”  Sounds pretty final and awful!  The King wants a hall full of guests.  But there is no room here for anyone who doesn’t have room in his heart or life for the King.

     “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

     In Jesus’ day most people did not have a closet full of clothes nor a store nearby to pick out something nice to wear for the wedding.  So it was pretty common practice to send wedding clothes along with the wedding invitation.  Apparently there was one man in the crowd who felt he didn’t need the wedding clothes-that his old dirty clothes were just fine.  His arrogance stood in stark contrast to the King’s graciousness.  Again bringing home the finality of rejecting Jesus, the King throws him out of the Wedding.  Lord keep me from that kind of arrogance!  Keep that arrogance that thinks I don’t need Jesus far away.  Keep that sinful stupidity that pushes Jesus out of our lives.  The King wants a hall full of guests.  But the truth is that there is no room for  anyone there for whom there is no room for Jesus in there lives.  By his grace the Lord has given us eternal life.  Now would be a good time to re evaluate our lives.  Now would be the time to check to see if the King and his kingdom have there proper place in our lives.  Now would be the time to get rid of the things that are crowding the king out of our lives. 

     The King wants a hall full of guests!  One of the children’s bulletins for today has a drawing of the King with the table and hall all prepared.  There are all kinds of people in the street walking by.  There are all kinds of people in the streets walking by today too.  The king wants a hall full of guests.  Let’s tell them.  Let’s gather them.  Let’s bring them.  Amen.

October 21-23, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Isaiah 5:1-7 “LISTEN TO A SAD SONG!”

PENTECOST 20

October 21-23, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Isaiah 5:1-7

“LISTEN TO A SAD SONG!”

1.     Old Testament Israel made it that way.

2.     It didn’t have to be that way.

3.     We can change the tune!

Isaiah 5:1-7 (NIV 1984) “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. ²He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. ³“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. ⁴What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? ⁵Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. ⁶I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” ⁷The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.”

          Many of those who grew up in Wisconsin are familiar with the Gordon Lightfoot ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Are you? It’s a sad song with a mournful melody that recounts the loss at sea of the iron ore freighter the Edmund Fitgerald. Twenty nine men died in the cold waters of Lake Superior or “gitche gumee” on a fateful night in November of 1975. It’s one of those songs that I find hard to get out of my head and my heart. It’s such a sad song. Kind of like the song Isaiah sings in God’s Word today. It too is a sad song.

          Listen again to some of the sad lyrics. “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. ²He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Isaiah sings a song for the one he loves. It’s a song to God. It’s a song about a vineyard. The vineyard owner obviously loves his vineyard. He placed it on a fertile hillside. He removed all the stones and if you have ever studied the topography and geology of Israel you know what a mammoth task that would be, so much hard work. The vines planted were not the leftovers from Menards at the end of the season sale. He puts in the choicest of vines. He puts a watchtower in it to watch over it and joyfully put in a winepress anticipating all the grapes that would be produced by a vineyard that had been given everything with no expenses spared. So far the song sounds good. But then it turns sad. “Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. ⁵Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. ⁶I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it” How sad and disappointing. The vineyard that received so much love and care yielded only bad fruit. It would have to be destroyed.

Now I know we are used to parables in the Bible being told by Jesus but here is one in the Old Testament too. We don’t have to guess at its meaning. “The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.” God has Isaiah talking about Old Testament Israel, the nation, the people. God was expecting Christian living from them, fruits of faith. He expected to see people that protected the innocent and punished the guilty, people that cared for each other’s needs. He was looking for love, gentleness, humility, reverence for God. What he saw was selfishness, perversion, greed, gluttony and mocking of God. Because of their rejection of God. They too were rejected. God took away their protection. He took away the rain of His Word. Those who deserted the Lord became a desert. It’s a sad song.

It’s even more sad because it could have been prevented. That’s the definition of a tragedy, a great loss that didn’t have to happen. In the middle of the song God asks, “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. ⁴What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?” Two questions. First God asks, “What more could I have done?” That has an obvious answer. Nothing. God graciously gave those people everything they needed. His word. Prophets to point them to truth. Special protection. Everything they needed and more. Question two. Why? Why did it yield bad fruit? This didn’t have to happen. Why did it? Why did those who had been given everything reject?

Now that’s an important question for the people gathered here today. Think about it. Could a wreck like that of the Edmund Fitzgerald happen again? Today radar is so much better, storm prediction so much better. Anyone who would go out on Lake Superior when the gales of November come early would be foolish today. So would Christians who give up their faith in Jesus. Honestly haven’t we been given more by God than Old Testament Israel? We have the whole Bible. We have the dots connected to Jesus. We have more history to learn from. Why would we yield bad fruit? Are we taking God’s word for granted? Are we letting it get crowded out of our lives? I watch trends. I’m a watchman for you the people of God. It seems that for those Christians who grew up in the Silent or Mature generation and most of those called baby boomers weekly worship was and is a given. Only the hospital will you keep you away. Generation X, mine, as well as Y (millennials) and Z have a different approach. Once a month, twice a month is good enough. Worship must fit into my schedule and be convenient for me. Says who? The Lord or sinful man. Satan’s most successful attacks on the saved do not come through head on assaults but subtly through apathy. Maybe I’m preaching to the choir. But you can take this message to your children or your children’s children. When God does everything for you and your bear no fruit you will be deserted and left to yourself in the desolate wasteland of Hell. A sad song.

Brothers, sisters, we can change the tune! The opposite of apathy is caring and we can do that. We are God’s vineyard today. Look at all He’s done for us. He gave His Son Jesus into death for us. He has made us his own in Baptism. He puts a hedge around us gathering us into his church. He gives us pastors as watchtowers to guard and warn. He puts us in the fertile soil of having his word and sacrament readily available in print, multiple worship service times, in digital format, literally at our fingertips every day. He comes every day to us and looks for fruit. We can respond to God’s grace and write a happy song with a happy tune. Imagine. I will sing a song for the Lord, that I love. He planted a vineyard called St. Jacobi and blessed the people there with word and Sacrament, wisdom and knowledge, a church and school, pastors and teachers. When I looked for good fruit I found holy reverence. These people love my word. They wouldn’t miss worship for the world. They are kind to each other and care. They appreciate how much I have forgiven them and they forgive each other too. They have adopted my priorities. They pray to me daily. They work together to spread my word. They have not turned to the false gods of entertainment or sports or things or sleep. They have hearts only for me. When they sin the feel shame and they run to me with sorrow and remorse. I forgive them gladly. They go around with happy hearts because they feel so blessed by me. Husbands and wives work at showing love for each other. Parents are teaching their children about me. They have integrity in their workplaces and do their work with me as their boss. Therefore I will bless and protect them and their children. Though the rest of their country turn against me these are my delight. I will bring them safely to me in heaven. That’s a beautiful song, a happy song.

Brothers and sisters I am certain that if Earnest Michael McSorely was given another chance he would have kept the Edmund Fitzgerald in port. I am certain that the people of Judah and Israel now suffering in Hell would have taken the blessing of God’s words seriously. But you get no second chances when you are dead. But you do when you are living. This word of God calls us to examine our ways. To repent of sins that we’ve allowed into our lives, to rejoice that we have forgiveness in Jesus to dedicate ourselves to faithful use of word and sacrament and to write for God a happy song with lives that are filled with the fruit He  is looking for. Amen.

September 2-4, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Colossians 3:22-4:1 “YOU GOTTA KNOW…”

PENTECOST 13/LABOR DAY

September 2-4, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Colossians 3:22-4:1

“YOU GOTTA KNOW…”

1.     When to work.

2.     When to rest.

Colossians 3:22-4:1 (NIV 1984) “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. ¹Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”

          This weekend our nation pauses to observe Labor Day. For over 100 years Labor Day has been a national holiday designed to recognize the contributions of the American worker to prosperity of our nation. When I was a boy I always wondered why on Labor Day nobody worked. Seemed odd at the time but now I get it. Workers also need rest. Our nation’s observance then is an opportunity for us believers to recognize that both work and rest come as blessings from God. Even if you are not a country music fan you probably have heard the Kenny Rogers song about cards, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.” Whether your favorite is sheepshead or euchre or bridge or poker you know that knowing when to do what is very important. And the same is true for God’s gift of work and rest. Let’s look at God’s word today asking the Holy Spirit to help know when to work and know when to rest.

          Paul wrote these words to the Christian church in Colosse. “Slaves.” Oop. Stop right there. We are going to have get past this slave issue so we can hear what God says. It shocks many Americans to find out that in the Bible God never prohibited slavery. What He does do is regulate it with the law of love. That’s what’s going on here. Since we live in a country that thankfully does not have slavery it’s best if we think about this word of God as it applies to workers and bosses, employees and employers. I’ll read it that way.

          “Workers, obey your earthly bosses in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Bossess, provide your workers with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a BOSS in heaven.”

          The first thing for us to take from this, brothers and sisters, is that work is a blessing from God. Do you remember at the Creation of the world when everything was perfect how God gave Adam and Eve work to do in tending the Garden of Eden? That’s because it was a blessing! Having something useful to do the benefits others is a blessing. You know in Confirmation Class I tell the kids that if we lived in the Garden of Eden one of the most fun things to do would be homework. Can you imagine the conversations? “Why don’t you take a break from the studying and play a video game? Aww, Mom. I’m doing math facts. Can I play later. Please!” You think that’s funny but it’s true. Work, doing something useful that benefits others, scrubbing toilets, doing laundry, keeping citizens safe and healthy, keeping numbers and bank accounts straight, fixing broken cars, painting houses, homework, teaching all of it is a blessing. To be useful in God’s creation honors Him. That’s why you get satisfaction in a job well done. It’s your conscience saying, “Good job. God is pleased!” It’s also a blessing because God hides behind our jobs to provide for our needs and to let some of us retire so we can do work without getting paid.

          But work doesn’t always feel like a blessing, does it? You know why. Sin ruined it. One of the consequences of sin is that blessing of work has thorns and weeds even when you aren’t in the garden. Lousy bosses. Workplace politics. Not enough pay. Injuries. Failure. Frustration. All traced back to sin. Worse. We tend to look at the gift of work as a curse, not a blessing. That’s what Paul was addressing to the Colossians. Work is a blessing. But to be a blessing work has to be tied back to the one who came up with work, God. God wanted the Garden of Eden tended. God wants clean houses. God wants garbage collected. God wants the sick cared for. God wants godly citizens protected. God wants honest banking and accounting. God wants his gift of electricity used safely. It goes on and on. So Christian you gotta know when to work and who your boss is. You clean the house for the Lord, not the kids. You do your best at your job not to get a promotion or to keep from getting fired but to honor God who gave you that job as a way of providing for you. Your earthly boss may be a jerk but the Lord isn’t. He’s your real boss and He deserves your best. And if you happen to be a boss remember as you carry that work out that the Boss is watching how you treat others and will show no favoritism. You gotta know when to work. When you are at a task or a job whether for pay or volunteer we do our best for the Lord.

          But all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That 17^th century proverb almost has it right. What God actually blessed us with is rest. In the perfect world before sin God gave a day of rest. How much more important to get rest in a world messed up by sin. God designed our bodies to be blessed by rest. Sleep, good sleep is the way God reboots our brains. He uses rest to rebuild parts of our bodies that get damaged or strained at work. You gotta know when to work and you gotta know when to rest. Here is where Americans fall down. We are known as the most sleep deprived nation on earth. Many don’t take vacations and when they do they take their work with them on vacation. Parents can let their own and their kids schedules get so packed with the extras there is little or no time for rest. But God wants us blessed with rest. The concept of a Labor day where workers don’t labor but rest is actually a good one. In the Bible God commanded His Old Testament people to give rest to their workers, to their animals, even to their field and grapevines. All were to be given a chance to rest regularly. Are you getting your rest? Is there something you can cut out of your schedule? You gotta know when to rest.

          Now the word of God we’ve been looking at has really just dealt with physical work and physical rest. But it tied our attitudes towards work and rest to our relationship with the Lord. And it is in our relationship with the Lord that we also need to know when to work and when to rest. When Jesus gave the invitation to the weary and burdened to come for rest He was not talking about an afternoon nap or one day a week to sleep in. He was talking about spiritual rest, rest for the souls of people who had been taught they had to do works of righteousness to be loved by God. The religious leaders and teachers of the law made it clear to the people in Jesus’ day that they needed to do more and be better. Those that cared worked very hard at living righteous lives. And failed. Just like we fail. Perfection is not attainable. When it comes to your status with God, your place as a member in His family, you gotta know when to work. Not at all. There is nothing you have to do or can do to be right with God. You gotta know when to rest and where to rest. In the loving arms of Jesus. He worked for you. He lived perfectly. He signed your name on the time card. You get the credit. You gotta know where to rest your sins. On the cross. There Jesus paid for them in full. None of this making sure I get to church before the job interview or when mom is sick. Rest. You can’t make God love you anymore than He already does. He is your loving Father. Trust his decisions for you and your loved ones. Then the works that you do will flow from love because you know the real work is done.

          You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Kenny crooned. And every card player who hears that knows they will still make bad plays, they won’t always get it right. You gotta know when to work and when to rest in your relationship with God and every Christian knows, we’ll mess that up to. Thankfully it does not matter. Because of Jesus we we’ve already won. Amen.

August 12-14, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 THE DOXOLOGY

THE LORD’S PRAYER DOXOLOGY

August 12-14, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13

THE DOXOLOGY

1.     A reminder to check motives.

2.     A boost of confidence.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (NIV 1984) “David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. ¹¹Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. ¹²Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. ¹³Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”

          It’s called the Doxology. The end of the Lord’s Prayer where we pray, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.” In general a doxology is a hymn or statement of praise to God. You might think of the hymn “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” That’s known as the Common Doxology. There is some disagreement about how the Doxology got added to the Lord’s Prayer as it does not appear in Matthew’s Gospel account in the earliest manuscripts that we have. There is no disagreement that it’s been used by Christians for as long as anyone can tell and that it is a fitting ending to the Lord’s Prayer.

          It’s a fitting ending to the Lord’s Prayer because whether it’s the things we pray about or the decisions we are making on a daily basis motive is important. Motive answers the question “Why?” Why are we doing the things that we do? What’s our goal? What’s our purpose? What are we about? More specifically who are we about. In our Bible reading our brother in faith, King David, had it right. I don’t know if the Doxology of David served as the basis for the Lord’s Prayer doxology but it sure sounds like it could have.  “David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. ¹¹Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.” Here’s how this happened. David was near the end of his life. Some of you know of the ups and downs of his life how he could at times demonstrate great faith like when he went against the giant Goliath and great weakness with his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. But this David was a man after the Lord’s own heart. He repented of his sins and was forgiven by God. In thankfulness King David had wanted to build a Temple for the Lord, a great Temple that would honor God. God said No. His son Solomon would build it. David was allowed to gather materials for the Temple. He gave freely from the wealth he had. The people gave freely. In today’s values about 4 billion dollars worth of gold and silver had been collected. Then as you heard, King David doxed. He praised. He acknowledged the truth. Since God is God He is to get the glory. His people were to live for His glory. Not their own.

          Just like the Doxology of the Lord’s Prayer reminds us. “Yours is the glory.” God’s, not mine, not ours, the Lord’s. As we pray that prayer daily let the Doxology be a good reminder for each of us to check our motives. We need to, daily.  Have you ever noticed how painfully easy it is to be about yourself? To live for yourself, to take everything you hear, every decision to be made through the filter of “How does this affect me?” But self-centered selfish living is not pretty in a 3 year old, 33 year old or 93 year old. Me and Mine don’t have to be taught they come naturally. It is the default setting of our sinful nature. But like David you and I have been rescued from the slavery to self centeredness. We have been freed to live for God’s glory and God’s kingdom. When David desired to build a temple to worship God his motive was thanks and God’s glory. But God had so much bigger plans in mind. The Temple worship pointed to the work Jesus Christ would do. Sacrifices for sin were pictures of what Jesus would do on the cross. A High Priest would picture Jesus as the substitute and mediator. The Temple Court would proclaim salvation is for everyone, Jew and Gentile. Whether he realized it or not by living for God’s glory David did work that would last forever and ever.

We get to as well. Let’s think about our existence as a congregation. In just a few years we will be 150 years old. That’s a long time. Wow! Isn’t St. Jacobi great? No. God is great. For all these years God’s people have been gathering to worship Him regularly and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. And God has used our past, is using our present and will use our future to bring and keep people in His kingdom. Today as a new school year is just around the corner and we install new teachers our thoughts turn to the school we operate. Why? For our good? So we can say we have a private school or our kids go to a private school?  No! For God’s glory. To carry out His work. For our new teachers, why did you agree to teach in our school? For your honor? To get a paycheck? Of course not! To give glory to God. Whether we eat, drink, have a school, teach or learn, use God’s gift of Baptism, whatever it be, do it all for the glory of God. And brothers and sisters, something very neat happens when we switch from our natural born it’s all about me life to our Spirit born it’s all about Thee life. We find we are part of something much bigger than our own puny selves. We take our place in the kingdom of God that will last forever. We get to be part of the greatest work there is, the saving of souls. God’s is the kingdom and the glory.

          And the power. That’s another way praying the Doxology helps us. It gives us a boost of confidence. David expressed that in his doxology too. “Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. ¹³Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” In God’s hands are strength and power. God can do anything. When we pray on a daily basis we can ask God for anything. The Doxology reminds us that God has the power to do anything. But why should He? Why should He when we sin against Him daily? Why should He when sometimes selfishness appears even in our prayers? Why should you new teachers be able to count on God’s help as you take up your work?

          The Doxology tells us why. God has the glory and the power. It is to the glory of God to save sinners, to forgive those who don’t deserve it. God combined his glory with his power on the cross in the miracle of Jesus substitutionary payment for sin. Yes we are sinners who don’t deserve God’s help. But we are forgiven sinners that He loves to help. He has all power and you can count on Him to use that power for you in the way that is best. There are days that you feel like you just don’t want to go on. Maybe you have a stressful job situation or you find yourself always surrounded by sin and evil and you just want to walk away from it all. There are times when the family and extended family that God gave you to be a blessing are just draining and exhausting and you wish you could ignore it all. Kids, with school starting soon, you may have some worries or anxiety about how it’s going to go especially if you will be at a new school. And teaching, even in a Christian school is not always easy. You have sinful teachers teaching sinful students who have sinful parents guided by sinful pastors. We’re not always going to get it right. But God has all power. Let your daily praying of the Lord’s Prayer provide you that boost of confidence that while you may not always get it right God does and in the big picture we are really along for the ride as He takes to our heavenly home. God’s almighty power provides a boost of confidence.

          That’s why we say “Amen” you know. While for some Amen may signal the end of a prayer, hymn or sermon that’s not what it means. Amen comes from a Hebrew word that our brothers and sisters in the past used to express confidence. You could translate it, “Yes, so shall it be” or the Lutheran “This is most certainly true.” Or let it stand as its own word. Its purpose is for God’s people to let others know they have confidence in Him. And while in my church it is not our custom to call for a “Hallelujah!” or try to get an “Amen!”  it is appropriate that when we say that word we say it like we mean it letting all know we trust the one true God whose is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Can I get an Amen? Amen.

July 22-24, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 7:36-50 “THE FIFTH PETITION: LOOK TO JESUS!”

THE LORD’S PRAYER: 5^TH PETITION

July 22-24, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 7:36-50

“THE FIFTH PETITION: LOOK TO JESUS!”

1.     Who has forgiven you.

2.     Who has forgiven others.

3.     To help you forgive others.

Luke 7:36-50 (NIV 1984) “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. ³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. ⁴¹“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. ⁴⁶You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. ⁴⁷Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

          “Grow up!” Have you ever said that to someone in your life? Has it ever been said to you? It’s a phrase that sometimes comes out in frustration when you notice someone who is not acting their age, or is acting immaturely. It seems to me that in the prayer Jesus gave us, the Lord’s Prayer, he is helping us to grow up as Christians, to be more mature in what we are praying for and then how we live. So he has us focusing on spiritual matters first, then needs and not wants. He has pray that prayer that takes a miracle to mean, “Your will be done.” And then we come to the 5^th Petition. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Hey, wait a minute here. Do I really want God forgiving me the way I forgive others? Humor me for a moment. You have my permission to close your eyes during the sermon. Now I want you to picture the face of someone who has hurt you, who keeps hurting you, whose words and actions just keep getting your goat. OK, what kind of feelings did you have? I’m guessing negative ones. Hurt. Anger. Resentment. Maybe a desire to see them pay. Now I ask again, do you really want God to forgive you the way you forgive others? Do you remember when Peter asked Jesus how many times he had to forgive someone and Jesus told the parable of the Unmerciful Servant who refused to forgive after he had been forgiven? Do you remember how it ended with that servant cast away and then Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from the heart.” And we are to pray “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us?” Yes. We are. We can. We can mean it as we daily look to Jesus.

          Look to Jesus who has forgiven your sins. That’s the lesson a man named Simon needed to learn. He was one of the Pharisees. From the way he acted toward Jesus it does not sound like he was being nice in his dinner invitation to Jesus but rather wanted to criticize him. He displays the characteristics of a typical Pharisee. He was better at seeing the sins of others than his own. He was more bothered by the sins of others than his own. All of the sudden an uninvited guest came in. A sinful woman. A woman who had lived a sinful life. No other details are given. Perhaps she had turned to prostitution to feed her family when her husband died. Perhaps her reasons were less noble. She had lived a sinful life. But now she was forgiven. Jesus said so. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven.” And she knew it. That’s why she came uninvited. That’s why she spent a lot of money so others could see she was thankful to Jesus. If only Simon could know how much he had been forgiven!

          That’s why Jesus told the parable.  “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.” Now when Simon heard this parable which debtor do you think he would identify with? More importantly when it comes to the Fifth petition which debtor do you identify with? This is the key to practicing forgiveness. You need to see that Jesus has forgiven you, a lot. Like Simon we can also be better at seeing and being more bothered by the sins of others. Like the sinful woman we need to be better at acknowledging our own. We are bothered by others sexual sins like unfaithfulness. God is bothered when we are unfaithful to Him, when something or someone else has first place in our hearts. Seriously how often each day are we really thinking of God first? We deplore the murders and shootings that are happening on a daily basis in our city but we don’t hesitate to murder others with our words and shoot arrows at their character, wisdom and reputation. How big is your debt? It’s zero. Look to Jesus. He has forgiven you. Everything. Even what you haven’t done yet.

          He’s also forgiven others. What do you think Simon felt when he heard Jesus say the sinful woman was forgiven? What would you think if you heard the now famous “Ladies of the Daylight” the prostitutes propositioning our pastors on the southside were forgiven? Would it help if you found out they were forced into prostitution by their pimp who hooked them on heroin and used that to control them? What if they’d gotten in willingly? Does it make a difference? Sin is sin. And forgiveness is forgiveness. What about that person you thought of before? You know the one that has hurt you? Look to Jesus. When he was on the cross He was punished for their sins too. Paid in full does not just apply to you and me, good people, like Simon. Ooh, maybe we don’t want to be included with him. Come to think of it, if we had to be like someone in this account, we’d rather be the sinful woman because she was actually the forgiven woman.

          That’s what moved her to show love for Jesus even though it was hard and it cost her. And that’s what enables us to forgive others too, even though it’s hard and costs us. When you forgive others you are not saying what they did was right. When you forgive others your pain and hurt and memories don’t automatically go away. When you forgive others it’s not always one and done. You may have to keep forgiving them in your mind because you remember. When you forgive others you are not giving them permission to sin against you again any more than Jesus’ forgiveness of us is permission to keep on sinning. When you forgive you are letting go of your desire to see them pay. When you forgive you give the matter over to God to take care of. Hopefully people who sin against us will apologize just like hopefully we are apologizing to others. But even if they don’t we can forgive. Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus who forgave the men who crucified Him. Ask His help. He’s helped others. He helped Joseph. Think of the years of hurt in slavery and prison that those brothers put Joseph through. He was able to forgive. He trusted God who worked it for good. He helped Stephen who forgave the men who were stoning Him. Look to Jesus. The forgiven can forgive and in the way that Jesus always works obedience is blessed. When we forgive others the hurt and resentment that rolls around in our hearts when we don’t forgive and holds us back from following Christ and having peace disappear.

          Brothers and sisters, it was love for Jesus and thankfulness for her forgiveness that moved this sinful woman to do something hard. Go into that room with all those men looking at her with those judging eyes. But she had been forgiven much and so she loved Jesus much. Love and thankfulness for Jesus will help us sinful men and woman to do hard things, things we may not want to like forgiving those who have hurt us. Can we pray “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” and not be scared and really mean it. Yes we can. Look to Jesus. Amen.

July 15-17, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 12:13-21 THE FOURTH PETITION: A Prayer of Daily Trust and Thanksgiving

THE LORD’S PRAYER: 4^TH PETITION

July 15-17, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 12:13-21

THE FOURTH PETITION: A Prayer of Daily Trust and Thanksgiving

Luke 12:13-21 (NIV 1984) “Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ ¹⁸“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I’ll say to my soul, “Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

          When we began our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer we started with the Address. We pray to Our Father in heaven. It reminded us of the picture God wants us to keep in mind that He is our loving Father in heaven and we are his children. All of us here were children at one point. Some would still be considered children. I have a question for all children here today. How many times did you ask parents if you could please have a meal to eat? I’m not thinking about the times you may have used the hyperbolic “I’m starving! When are we going to eat?!!” I mean when you actually asked your parents for the privilege of a meal. The reality is that most of the time children simply expect that their parents will feed them. They think it’s their right. They take it for granted. To be sure I know of no moms who would even think of not feeding their children and most if not all feel it is a privilege to feed their babies. But if you just take the first sixteen years of childhood and 3 meals a day each of us would have had 17,520 times to say please give me my daily breakfast, lunch or supper. Now the reason I bring this up is because when Jesus taught us to pray He included in that prayer the 4^th Petition. “Give us today our daily bread.” Why does Jesus have us praying for daily bread when God just seems to give it anyway? Pastor Luther picked up on that in his explanation to it when he said, “God surely gives daily bread without our asking, even to all the wicked.” That’s true. Just like parents feed their children even though babies can’t politely ask and other children don’t God continues to provide food for man and animal alike. And yes, the wicked, the evil, the god haters and people hurters they get to eat too. So what’s this petition all about?  It’s about living each day with trust and thanksgiving.

          Jesus taught that lesson quite clearly when he told the parable that’s known as the parable of the Rich Fool even though from the outside he looks kind of wise.  Jesus was teaching the crowds, warning them about the importance of faith in Him as Savior when a man in the crowd spoke up. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But settling inheritance laws was not why Jesus came. “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus came to save and so he warned against the sin of greed, of setting our hearts on things.

          Then he told the parable of the rich fool but pardon me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the guy seem kind of wise? “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ ¹⁸“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I’ll say to my soul, “Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” OK, so this wealthy farmer found himself harvesting an abundant crop. Now we all know and most farmers know that they are God dependent for good crops. We all also know and most farmers know that they have to put a lot of hard work in as well to get a good crop. This has to be a hardworking landowner who knows what he’s doing. That sounds wise to me. He’s also a planner. His barns are too small. So he plans on building bigger ones. That sounds wise. He’s even doing retirement planning. He knows his upcoming expenses. He knows his assets. He plans it out and says I can retire, not work so hard, enjoy life. Now if that’s a foolish thing to do I’m looking at a few fools and I’m planning on being one. Financial advisers and retirement planners say it’s wise to save. Healthcare professionals encourage taking it easy later in life and finding enjoyment after employment. Sounds wise to me.

          But not to God. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” When God calls someone a fool everyone needs to pay attention. What makes this man who looks so wise on the outside a fool? It’s what’s going on on the inside. He was not rich toward God. Now you might think that his problem was his giving, that he wasn’t giving an honorable amount of his possessions to God. Now it’s true that stingy giving, living in luxury while pitching pennies in to the offering basket is wrong and sinful that’s not what rich towards God means. Rich toward God means giving to God what He really wants, our hearts. Hearts that are filled with thanksgiving and trust. Remember Jesus told this parable as a follow up to his warning against greed. Greed, always wanting more, never having enough betrays a lack of trust in God to provide daily bread. Greed, hoarding for yourself without generosity towards others betrays a lack of thankfulness to God. This is mine. I earned it because I’m so good and smart, not because God is so kind and giving. That’s why this man is a fool. Not because he planned and saved. He did it without a heart that trusted and thanked God.

          That brings us back to the Fourth Petition. Give us today our daily bread. Jesus included that prayer to help us, the children of God remain thankful and trusting, rich toward God. He has us pray for daily bread, not weekly, monthly or yearly so that on a daily basis we will remember who is really taking care of us. It is God who causes food to grow. It is God who gives us the ability to work. It is God who provides us with jobs or other means of income when needed. It is God who established the government that provides assistance when needed. All of those areas are masks that God hides behind to provide but expects the children of God to peek behind those masks and to know He is the real provider. And then to respond with thanksgiving. Not acting like little children who take meals for granted or consider it their right but with turning to God each day with a heartfelt thank you for my daily bread. The 4^th Petition also helps us express daily trust in the Lord. It’s easy to trust when the fridge and pantry are full and when income is covering expenses. It’s harder when you are in a drought and ravens are bringing you food like with Elijah or when a job unexpectedly ends. Praying the 4^th Petition daily points us to the God who provides, the God who did not spare his only Son but gave Him up for us all. Of course He will take care of us. It might not be the way we would want or expect (ravens delivering groceries!) but the Father will provide.

And let’s never forget the daily bread we have in Jesus, the bread of life. Through faith in Him God sees us as perfectly thankful and perfectly trusting children. In Him our own greed, arrogance and lack of gratefulness have been washed away. In Him we can be more like Him, like grown up children. Have you had that happen where the kids grow up, live on their own then come back and ask for that home cooked meal and say Thank you to boot? Brothers and sisters, praying the 4^th Petition helps us to be the grown up children of God who realize how good we have it and why, Because God is good. He deserves our daily trust and our daily thanksgiving. Amen.

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Colossians 3:15-17 “YOUR KINGDOM COME!”

THE LORD’S PRAYER 2^ND PETITION

July 1-3, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Colossians 3:15-17

“YOUR KINGDOM COME!”

1.     To us.

2.     To others

Colossians 3:14-17 (NIV 1984) “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

          This is what is recorded in Acts 1:6 right before Jesus ascended to heaven: “So when they met together the disciples asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  Now, let’s get the timeline straight here. These are the men who had spent three years being discipled by Jesus. They had heard Him say many times that he had come to save sinners and that would happen when he would go to Jerusalem, be handed over to the chief priests, killed and then come back to life. 40 days before this Jesus had done just that. For forty days after His resurrection Jesus met on many occasions with his disciples proving he was alive focusing them on carrying out his work. So last question you ask Jesus before he visibly leaves is about setting up a kingdom on earth? Why don’t they get it? Actually this isn’t anything new. God’s people through the ages have gotten sidetracked on what the kingdom of God is all about. We always seem to get tricked into being more concerned about earthly kingdoms than God’s kingdom. Think of the Jewish people before Christ trying to throw off the Roman empire not realizing how God was using that Empire to advance His kingdom, providing safe travel and good roads and how He would use the Roman persecution to spread Christianity. Think of the crusades. A lot of killing in the name of Christ to control a piece of land. Closer to home as we celebrate our nation’s birthday we think of how it was founded by many Christians fleeing religious persecution and then trying to set up a nation based on Christian principles. We’ve enjoyed that influence in our country for a long time but now as it has changed have you noticed how easy it is to think our job as a church or as Christians is to get those laws back that we like? But our good old USA is not the kingdom of God. Modern day Israel isn’t either. Neither was Israel at the time Jesus was here. So just what is the kingdom of God? What does this petition teach us to pray about and be concerned with?

          Nebuchadnezzar knew. After God humbled him great king Nebuchadnezzar who ruled the great earthly kingdom of Babylon, a fabulous empire, knew. God’s kingdom was so much bigger, greater than his. God’s kingdom is eternal, unlimited. Jesus tried to help the Pharisees understand. God’s kingdom doesn’t have borders. It’s not seen like others. It exists inside people. Pastor Luther in his explanation to the 2^nd Petition put it this way: “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly father gives his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven.”  

          When we pray, “Your kingdom come” we are praying for Christ to rule in our hearts more and more. Just like Paul wrote to the Christians in Colosse. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” The kingdom of God is within you. This petition forces each of us to look in our hearts to see who sits on the throne there. Who is ruling us? Our sinful nature wants to. And when it does we are selfish and mean. We don’t live at peace with each other. If you open your Bibles to Colossians three you will see that is the context, encouragement for Christians to forgive each other, to put up with each other’s weaknesses, to live at peace. But when our sinful natures are ruling in the throne room of our hearts our pride will stop us from doing that. We’ll only see other’s weaknesses not our own, other’s sins, not our own. Yes, we are capable of being just as mean spirited and selfish as the unbelievers in our country.

          But we don’t have to be. Christ can rule in our hearts and God has graciously given us a way to answer our own prayer. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Just as a farmer who prays to God for good crops also plants seed, fertilizes and waters knowing these are things he can do but only God can make it grow Christians who are serious about Christ ruling in their hearts use God’s word regularly. Let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly. Richly. How’s your daily Bible reading or devotion time going? Richly or poorly? Do you still try to memorize some passages or is all that hard work from Lutheran school, Sunday school and Confirmation class squandered, wasted away? How can the word dwell in us if we don’t have it in our head so it can sink down to our hearts? Where the word of Christ is Christ rules. God’s kingdom exists. And then it will show on the outside. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” What a wonderful world it would be if all people did this. But it starts with us. We pray for God’s kingdom to come to us and we show we mean it by devoting ourselves to Christ’s word.

          The Second Petition, “Your Kingdom Come” has also been called “the Mission Petition.” What’s meant by that is our love for other people leads us to think about them and want them to know Christ and be saved. I have question for you and I want you to think about it seriously and to answer it truthfully in your heart. Do you believe that people who die without faith in Jesus suffer an eternity in Hell? I’m not being flip here. We all know what the Bible says, “Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” That’s what God says. Do you believe it? If so does it show? Just like we can’t make faith grow in our hearts but we can devote ourselves to the word of Christ and use Baptism, the same is true for others. We can’t bring people to faith ourselves but we can get them the word and sacraments. When you pray the Lord’s prayer ask God to get His word to others. Consider if God might use your words, your abilities, your money to make that happen.

          What a wonderful world this would be if more and more people had the peace of Christ ruling their hearts, what a wonderful country this would be. No, the United States is not the kingdom of God. Yes, we do have to be careful that we don’t get sidetracked into thinking it is and that our main work as the Church or as Christians is to change laws and force other Americans to live God’s morality. Our main task in the kingdom of God is proclaiming as Savior. At the same time we do love our country. As we celebrate another Independence Day, another birthday of America as members of God’s kingdom with the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts let’s keep our country in our prayers. Let’s strive to be a blessing to it even if it’s not exactly what we hope it to be. This is not new for citizens of the kingdom of God. When God’s people found themselves in a foreign country he told them through the prophet Jeremiah, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  To the Christians in Rome under a very evil government God said, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

          No, this won’t change our country into the kingdom of God. No Jesus is not going to come back and set up an earthly kingdom. There is no heaven on earth. But there is a heaven in heaven. Someday that kingdom will come and by God’s grace we will be a part of it. Amen.