January 11-13, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (EHV) “BAPTISM!”

 

EPIPHANY 1

January 11-13, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (EHV)

 

“BAPTISM!”

1.     It showed who Jesus really is.

2.     It shows who you really are too!

 

          “Who am I?” It’s the question of identity. It is an important one, so important that all major philosophers and systems of philosophy have sought to answer that question. Ancients like Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, and more modern philosophers like Kant and Sartre and Descartes all waxed eloquent and used up a lot of ink trying to answer that question. Who am I? It’s not just one that philosophers want to know. It’s one we need to know. Young people want to know where and how they fit in. Older people want to know they make a difference. Our identities can mistakenly be tied to our careers or our children, our accomplishments or lack of them. If you are not comfortable with who you really, are, if you do not like who you think you are, it can lead to bad behaviors and difficult relationship. Who really am I? What makes that question difficult to deal with is that sometimes what you think of yourself or what you look like to others isn’t who you really are. Take these guys for instance. PICTURE OF STAFF Now you look at that and say, “Man those 8^th graders keep looking older and older. That’s a manchild right there.” Then you look a little closer and realize, “Wait a minute. Those aren’t 8^th grade boys wearing onsies for some spirit day at school, those are our teachers and principal wearing custom made St. Jacobi onsies during a school day!” You may think, do I really want them teaching our children? I am here to tell you that you absolutely want them as spiritual leaders for our children. What they look like is not their identity. More on that later.

          Making incorrect assessments based on outward appearance is nothing new. It happened on a grand scale when Jesus walked the earth. Luke tells us, “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ.” Many men before the time of Jesus had claimed they were the Christ, the God sent Messiah. Most of them had tried to lead rebellions against whatever government was ruling the Jews at the time. They, of course, failed because they were not the Christ. Then John the Baptist came along. He was different. Instead of poking at the Roman government he punched the Jewish King Herod in the face, telling him plainly his marriage lifestyle was a sin against God. He needed to repent. Instead of pointing out all the wrongdoings of the rulers in Rome, he pointed out the sins of his own people. He called the pastors and teachers a bunch of snakes! Who is this guy? What was his identity? Was he the Christ?

“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But someone mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” No! Not the Christ. John did not fail to testify clearly. He was the Baptizer, not the Christ. He was the forerunner, the preparer of the way. He was not the Christ. Someone else was. Who?

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. While he was praying, heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” Jesus is the Christ. If you lived back then you likely would have made wrong assumptions about who Jesus was. For 30 years He had been known as the carpenter’s son. Likely He was a carpenter himself. He had brothers and sisters. He ate and drank and slept like everyone else did. He put his sandals on one at a time just like everyone else did. How were people supposed to know He is the Christ, the Messiah, the God sent Savior? PICTURE OF JESUS BAPTISM God said so. At His Baptism. The sinless Son of God was identified by His Baptism. “This is my beloved Son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.” And you know what happens when God says something? It’s true.

That takes us to our Baptism and to the question “Who am I?” There are some differences between our Baptisms and that of Jesus. Jesus was perfect and sinless. He had no sinful nature. He already was the Son of God. Jesus was baptized, as He said, to fulfill all righteousness, so that He could cover us with the robe of His righteousness through faith. Ours is different. I read some online articles recently where researchers we trying to figure out if some people are born bad and some born good or all just morally neutral. They obviously don’t listen to what God says and probably never had kids. If you do both of those you need no further research. We start out sinful from the time of conception and it does not take all that long for the sinfulness on the inside to show on the outside. One of the blessings of Baptism is the forgiveness of sins, another is the gift of the Holy Spirit. What I want to focus on today is the gift of identity.

Who am I? There are lots of different ways to answer that question. You might think about roles you have, jobs you have done. You might think of family relationships. What you can say very simply is Child of God. God’s own child. Why are you God’s own child? How do you know? God says so, at your Baptism. Some of you are sitting here today feeling like a hypocrite. You have the smile pasted on your face. You’re dressed up. But you know you. You know what you have done. You know what you are continuing to struggle with. You feel like garbage, outside of God’s love and maybe your hard life is proof to you that you are not loved by God. Not true. You are dearly loved by God. At your Baptism God named you His child and He has not changed His mind. Your status as God’s child is not dependent on what you do but what God has done for you. Your past and ongoing struggles does not define who you really are. God does. He says you are His child. And do you know what happens when God says something? It’s true! I suppose also there could be someone here today or listening that thinks they are all that. Who honestly gets a little bored hearing about God’s forgiveness and Jesus because you really are a good person. You do things right. Well at your Baptism God named you his child too and it had nothing to do with you. Did you hear what you were told in the second reading from Titus today? More importantly did you listen and apply it to yourself? “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, ⁵ he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit.” You are all that. You are God’s own child. But not because of you. Because of Him.

Child of God. That’s who I really am. That’s who you really are. We need no flowery fluff from philosophers. We have the word of the almighty God proclaimed at our Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Every other role, everything we do gets affected by that truth. I can live as a husband, a father, a grandfather, a pastor in a way that serves God and others. You can too whether working or retired, young or old, married or single. The Holy Spirit and His power are yours. God says so. Which takes us back to those onsie wearing wonders I showed you before. PICTURE OF STAFF. Don’t let looks deceive you. They are exactly who you want leading and teaching our kids. They know who they really are, children of God. Then know His love and forgiveness and they are really good at modeling it and passing it on. And they don’t mind having a little fun either. We all can, when we know who we really are. Baptized children of God. Amen.

 

 

CHRISTMAS DAY 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Matthew 1:18-25

 

CHRISTMAS DAY 2024         Pastor Timothy J. Spaude        Matthew 1:18-25

 

“THE MIRACLES OF THE MANGER”

 

Matthew 1:18-25 (EHV) " This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. ²⁰ But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.”²⁴ When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife, ²⁵ but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son. And he named him Jesus.”

 

“THE MIRACLES OF THE MANGER”

 

          Miracles! God is doing them all the time. By definition a miracle is something wonderful and extraordinary, something that can’t be explained by the laws of nature God Himself established or human reason and experience. They happen when God steps in and does the impossible. The word has gotten watered down a bit by overuse. The “Miracle on Ice” USA Olympic hockey win over Russia was extraordinary and welcome but was not against the laws of nature. True miracles have no explanation and God does them all the time. The complete cancer cure that goes against medical experience. The lack of injuries in a terrible accident. Those are and many more are miracles and because God does them all the time they don’t catch or hold people’s attention very long. Now there are miracles and there are Miracles. From my reading of Scripture God’s best and most impossible ones come at specific times. When salvation is at stake. God’s desire to have all sinner, to have you and me with Him forever is so strong that He gladly breaks His rules when your salvation is at stake. This quiet Christmas morning let’s return to the manger with wonder and awe at the great miracles of the manger.

 

          The first miracle is that Jesus was born of a Virgin. Matthew records it. " This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”  Can you imagine being Mary? Here you are getting ready for and looking forward to your wedding day with Joseph when an angel appears to you and says you will be pregnant, though not by Joseph. We certainly can’t blame her for being troubled and asking Gabriel “How can this be?” She was a virgin. She had never had sexual relations with a man and everyone knows that that’s the only way she was going to get pregnant. Someone forgot to tell God. God did the impossible. He did a miracle. The power of the Holy Spirit allowed Mary to conceive without a human father involved in any way. God did a miracle because salvation was at stake. It’s precisely because of the impossible nature of this miracle that Christmas time has become the season of miracles. A late night comedian quipped, “You stick ‘miracle’ in the title and it automatically becomes a Christmas special.” He used that for comedy fodder. You and I know it to be the truth. The miracles of the manger began with a virgin being with child. But wait, there’s was more!

          The second miracle of the manger is that Isaiah the prophet predicted the Virgin birth 700 years before it happened. We are at the time of the year for predictions, aren’t we? Whenever we get close to a New Year all kinds of people roll out their predictions for the new year, how the stock market will fare, home prices, sporting events. Call 1 800 Psychic to get a personal prediction of your new year, for a fee of course. One predicter who still gets a lot of play is a man named Nostradamus. If you ever read any of his you know how vague they are. That’s not the case with the miracles of the Manger. It was not one year but 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah was one of God’s prophets. He was told by God to go to a man named Ahaz who was king over God’s people in the country of Judah. Ahaz was commanded by God to ask for a sign by which God would prove He would deliver Ahaz from his enemies. Ahaz refused to ask. Isaiah gave him a sign anyway. It went like this. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel.” You heard Matthew quote it. No shotgun predictions here.  No vague ones that could refer to almost anything. Just an impossible one. A miraculous one. 700 years before it happens Isaiah saw it and said it like he’d seen it happen. A virgin is with child. She gives birth to a son. He’s called Immanuel. God is with us.

 

Let’s sing about these miracles in the manger as we join in the carol, “Away in a Manger!”

 

          The third miracle of the manger: God became a man. The Maker became what He made. The King of kings chooses as His first throne a manger. It’s part of the essence of God that God is God and man is not. God is holy and pure and sinless. God is uncreated. Man is created. When God first created Adam and Eve they were holy and pure and sinless too. The Bible tells us that God came to them in a personal way and walked with them and talked with them. Then they disobeyed. They sinned against God. They were no longer holy and sinless and pure like God. They were filled with shame. As a consequence of sin sinful man is not able to see God in His heavenly glory and live. So God did a miracle in the manger. God became a man. It’s like the second verse of the carol “Now Sing We Now Rejoice” where we sing, “Come from on high to me, I cannot rise to thee!” So He did. God became one of us. The beauty of this miracle is in the reason behind it. For God to maintain His justice and His love a substitute for sinful people was needed. Man to be obligated to the law and to be able to suffer the wages of sin. God, to be able to keep the law perfectly and to be worth enough to pay for every sin. Salvation was at stake so God did the impossible and became true man. The third miracle of the manger.

          The fourth miracle is that Joseph believed all this. Poor Joseph! We can tell from his reactions that he was an upright man, an honorable man. He only wanted to do what was right before God. That’s why he and Mary refused to jump the gun and show marriage love when they weren’t married. It seemed to Joseph that Mary did not want to wait. Matthew tells us, “Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately.” You can imagine what he was going through. He was looking forward to his marriage to Mary. She was a sweet girl. And then she comes with some news. She’s pregnant. You can just imagine the hurt, the betrayal, then the anger and bitterness as his emotions ran their course. And then, and then, Mary has the unmitigated gall to say that she had been faithful and she was pregnant by a miracle of God. She would have God’s Son! I think we all know how we would react. Yeah right! And that’s how Joseph reacted at first too. Until God did another miracle. Matthew points us to it. “But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” God sent an angel in a dream. That’s a miracle but an even greater miracle is that Joseph believed. I don’t know any of us who act on what we see in our dreams, but Joseph did. Joseph did because God did a miracle in Him. Faith to believe the words of God is a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Faith to act on the words of God is a miracle of the Holy Spirit too. God did those miracles in Joseph. He showed his trust in the words and promise of God with careful obedience to what God told him to do. “When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife, ²⁵ but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son.  And he named him Jesus.” He took Mary as his wife even though he would face mockery and snickering and “See, I told you Joseph did it.” Even though he was married he had no intimate relations with her until after Jesus was born so that the miracle of the Virgin birth was not tarnished. He named the boy Jesus, Savior, just like God had told him to do. Joseph believed! The 4^th Miracle in the Manger.

 

Hymn - #343

“Once in Royal David’s City”

 

          Now you may recall that I said there were 5 miracles of the Manger. One, that Jesus was born of a Virgin. Two, that the prophet Isaiah had predicted this 700 years before it happened. Three, that God became man. Four that Joseph actually believed all this. And five? The fifth miracle of the Manger? The fifth miracle that happens at Christmas? The fifth miracle, the fifth miracle, is that we believe it too. We’ve seen no angel choirs. We’ve had no special angel appearances to tip us off. We’ve seen no star in the East. And yet we believe. That’s why we’re here this morning. We believe. And that, my friends, is a miracle! It’s a miracle of God that even though our faith is challenged by the sheer impossibility of it all; even though our faith is challenged by the skeptics of this world; even though our faith is challenged by our own reason which says, “How can this possibly be true?“ we believe. God did a miracle in our hearts so that we believe in His Son and are saved. God did a miracle so that we recognize Christmas as a season of joy and a season with a reason named Jesus. And why? Because your salvation is at stake. There is only one way to heaven, not many. Only one who brings us back to God. Only one who fills the God sized hole in our hearts. Immanuel. God with us. Jesus who saves us from our sins. Yes, when salvation is at stake God does His greatest miracles because to Him you’re worth it! Amen.

 

Let’s sing a newer Christmas Carol using an older tune “Love Has Come!”

Nov. 30-Dec. 2 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16 “HAVING A REAL CHRISTMAS REQUIRES…”

 

ADVENT 1

Nov. 30-Dec. 2

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16

 

“HAVING A REAL CHRISTMAS REQUIRES…”

1.     A real view of real sin.

2.     A real desire for a real Savior.

 

          “Why can’t we have a real Christmas?” While a decade ago maybe only a child whose life got turned upside down would whine that question, it is likely that everyone older than 7 in this room at least felt like whining that question. Why can’t we have a real Christmas? All of us older than 7 remember what Christmas was like during the time of the government shutdown when for a time schools and churches were not allowed to be open and then when we resumed all kinds of restrictions went into place. We all lived with them. And then came something important, Christmas. Many extended families did not get together. Many did not travel. And then there was the school children’s Christmas service here at Jacobi. Do you remember? We recorded individual recitations and classes singing by themselves. Mr. Walker put in hundreds of hours splicing and requesting re recordings. And then we invited people to come and watch the prerecorded service on our big screens in 4 separate viewings. Many chose not to come. Do you have any idea how many times we all said or felt, “Why can’t we have a real Christmas?”

          Well, we could back then and every year. Those frustrated feelings we have or had simply reveal that all of us have spent too much time in an American culture that has no idea what a real Christmas is all about. Likely without even realizing it the slow boil of the secular Christmas has done its work. Think about it. Most of the things we associate with a real Christmas are the externals. Lights. Trees. Presents. Food. People. Wonderful blessings for us to enjoy with thanksgiving to God but not really what Christmas is all about. Today we begin the Church Year season of Advent. Advent means arrival. Its themes are often an encouragement for spiritual renewal, an urgency to be ready. As we kick of this season then God’s word urges us to get ready to have a real Christmas.

How do we do that? We learn from those who already pulled it off. As I read my Bible, I often find myself wishing I could be like the people I read about. I want the faith of Abraham who has the knife poised in the air to take Isaac’s life because he has firm trust in God’s power to resurrect. I want to be like Job who can say of God, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” And I want the real Christmas joy of the shepherds who upon hearing the Christmas message immediately went to see and then returned glorifying and praising God. Why? They were Old Testament believers. They had never been exposed to all the externals of Christmas that we have. But they had been exposed to the word of God like these words of the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 33:14-16 (EHV) “Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken to the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to grow up from David’s line. He will establish justice and righteousness on earth.” The shepherds had real Christmas joy because they realized that what Jeremiah was talking about here was happening before their very eyes. God had promised a righteous branch from David’s line. A descendant of David would be their Savior. And they knew they needed one. God’s people were painfully aware of their sins. At Jeremiah’s time the nation went into exile. At the shepherds’ time they were ruled by the Romans. Painful reminders of the people’s unfaithfulness to God. They had a real view of their real sin that prepared them to have real joy that first Christmas.

The same thing will work for us too. While we don’t live in a conquered nation there are painful reminders of sin in our lives. For some of us it is the ongoing struggle with alcohol abuse or drug addiction. For some of us it is the guilt of words and actions that have fractured our families. Every death of every loved one, prayed for or unexpected, is a real reminder that sin is real and it has real consequences. When those consequences are in our face, when we can’t escape from them or undo them, we find ourselves with a real view of real sin, the kind that pushed the Apostle Paul to exclaim, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Why a real Savior of course! “10In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. This is what she will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.” Judah and Jerusalem are used here as names for the Church, believers in Jesus. Like the shepherd and you and me. God’s good promise was that when the descendant of David, the Righteous Branch, came, God’s people would know that they are saved. They would have righteousness. No wonder the shepherds left their flocks and went to see. And no wonder that even though all they saw was a newborn boy they were glorifying and praising God. What a blessing! Christmas had come. Their Savior was born. They would have righteousness.

That’s a blessing for us as well. Have you noticed in other people, have you noticed in yourself, that we all have this deep desire to be justified? We want to be considered right. You see examples of that everywhere. After the election the pollsters were explaining how right they got it even though to many people it did not seem that way. Think of the last disagreement you had with a spouse, a parent, a teacher. How easily it devolves into a fight over who is right. Sometimes as I try to give good godly counsel to people I ask, “Is it more important to you to be right or to get this right?” You can just see the inner struggle people have to give up being justified for the sake of something greater. I wonder if that happens in us because deep down we know we really aren’t right in God’s eyes so we look to be right in the eyes of others?

Did you hear some good news of great joy that can help us have a real Christmas? With our real Savior Jesus we are righteous. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. God said so. The day is coming when we will no longer struggle with sin. The day is coming when we will no longer live with our consequences. The day is coming when we will no longer be separated from our loved ones who died in the Lord. All because we real sinners have a real Savior whose birth we get to celebrate.

Why can’t we have a real Christmas? We can. Every year. You know how people have profile pictures on their phones so when someone they know calls that picture shows up? So often it is a nice picture from a nice memory. Ask Chris to show you the profile picture she has for me on her phone. Do you know what she set as my profile picture when I call? The face of the Grinch. Now before you get ready to tar and feather her for doing such an awful thing you need to know I’ve earned that profile picture. How? By expressing my distaste for so many of the extras of Christmas. In the three weeks leading up to Christmas we make ourselves super busy with lights and baking and parties and present buying and tree trimming. And yes there are extra worship services and Christmas concerts. Those I don’t mind. But the other stuff, when I get tired, it is entirely possible that I act a little Grinchy. Part of it comes from my sinful nature. All the busies just make me tired. But part of it comes from my Christian nature. Most of the extras have nothing to do with a real Christmas. Now you can do or not do, all the extras. That is up to you. Whether you do or do not let’s get ready for a real Christmas by being real about sin so we can be really excited to hear again that we have a real Savior, Jesus. Amen.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2024                                                                                                       Pastor Waldschmidt

Luke 19:1-10

DON’T FORGET TO SEE JESUS THIS THANKSGIVING

I.  HIS POWER II.  HIS MERCY  III.  HIS FORGIVENESS

     Do you have a list of things you would like to see this Thanksgiving?  Maybe on that list you have watching the  Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with its balloons and floats and marching bands.  Or maybe on your list you have seeing (and eating) a nice turkey dinner with pumpkin pie.  Perhaps there’s a good football game on your list of things to see.  Maybe you have loved ones that you can’t wait to see.  Maybe you are just looking forward to seeing your recliner and a good book for a day of taking it easy.  Maybe you can’t wait to see the ads and deals for your shopping list.  Maybe there is a movie you would like to see-Moana 2 or that movie about what started the Wizard of Oz.  All those things are wonderful blessings from our God- things to be thankful for.  But no matter what is on your list of things to see this Thanksgiving, don’t forget to see Jesus this Thanksgiving.  Don’t forget to see Jesus in all of it.    We can take our cue from Zacchaeus.  Let’s see Jesus this Thanksgiving.  His power, his mercy and his forgiveness.

       We are dealing with a clogged sewer pipe over at school.  For the last month it’s been clogged about once per week it seems.  The tax collectors of Jesus’ day were kind of like clogged sewers pipes.  Nobody liked dealing with them.  That’s because tax collectors often cheated their fellow countrymen out of large amounts of money.  The sewer pipe we are dealing with over at school is a sewer lateral, in other words, a main sewer pipe.  That’s what Zacchaeus was. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.”   So he was a  chief tax collector in charge of many other tax collectors.  Maybe he had been training them.  He and the other tax collectors had gotten to be wealthy by collecting taxes, in many cases collecting far more than what was owed.   So his name, Zacchaeus didn't fit him very well.  It means "holy" "pure" or "just."  Maybe many people would have been saying Zacchaeus’ name with air quotes and growly voices because of all the evil ways Zacchaeus had defrauded the people out of their money.  Zacchaeus probably turned up people’s noses even if he didn’t smell bad.  But none of that can stop Jesus.   Let’s see his power. 

        In 1863, Abraham Lincoln wrote a pardon saving a turkey that had been given to the president’s family from the dinner table.   Apparently, Lincoln’s son had started to train the turkey to follow him around the White House grounds and he pleaded with his dad to save the turkey.  Lincoln had a soft heart and issued a presidential pardon for the turkey.  Since then, it has become a tradition that Presidents have pardoned a turkey in front of the White Hose.   This tradition lets us know that Thanksgiving isn’t far away.    These words in Luke 19 remind us that the suffering and death of Jesus are coming soon.    He was passing through Jericho on his was to Jerusalem where he would be arrested and killed.   There is a verse in this chapter where Jesus comes to a spot where he can see the city of Jerusalem and tears come to his eyes and he says something like, “If only you had known what would bring you peace, but you couldn’t see it” or would not see it.  Then later in this chapter, we hear of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.   Jesus has many things on his mind, yet he takes time for Zacchaeus.   Busy times, the weight of the world on His shoulders, the disgust people felt for this tax collector, nothing can stop Jesus from going to see Zacchaeus.  See His power this thanksgiving.   

     "He was trying to see who Jesus was, but since he was short, he could not see because of the crowd.”  Nobody was going to give up seats so that Zacchaeus would have a better view of Jesus.  So instead, "He ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because he was about to pass by that way."  A Sycamore fig tree has real low branches, this made it easier for short Zacchaeus to get up into the tree.  The branches often spread out low over the paths they are near.  It was the perfect spot for Zacchaeus to see Jesus and he got to see Jesus’ power up close. 

     "When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."  Did you hear that?  Jesus knew his name.  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people there that day and Jesus knew Zacchaeus' name without asking it.   Jesus not only knew his name, but Jesus used His Xray vision to look into Zacchaeus’ heart.  That's something only God can do.  It’s just a little beam of power from John writes about in Revelation like this, “His eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”  Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”      

     Fellow Zacchaeuses, short, medium and tall- Your Jesus is strong and powerful.  He sees you this Thanksgiving in your own little sycamore fig trees trying to get a glimpse of Jesus in his word.  Jesus knows your name too.  He can also see into your heart.   He knows that joys and the hurts that you are carrying in your heart.   From your worries about getting the dinner just right to your concerns about getting along with family members to your worries about what that report from the doctor is going to say to your worries about that problem you think cannot be fixed.  Jesus  knows the things that scare you the most.  He sees how sin has ripped apart your life and mine.  Jesus, the one who rides on the clouds and  gives orders to angels has promised you "I will never leave you or forsake you."  Don’t forget to see Him this Thanksgiving. 

      Most of the people who heard Jesus call Zacchaeus’ name were probably hoping that Jesus was going to knock Zacchaeus out of the tree and bust him right in the chops, given the way that the people felt about tax collectors.   Come take a look.   Instead of blasting him, Jesus shows mercy.

     "When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  He came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully.   When the people saw it, they were all grumbling because he went to be a guest of a sinful man.”  Zacchaeus was hoping for just a little glimpse of Jesus as he was walking by.  Look what he got!  Jesus talked with him, came to his house and ate dinner with him.   Instead of punishment, Jesus showed him mercy. 

     Thanksgiving is one of those days to especially think about how Jesus shows his mercy to you and to me.  Hasn’t God’s mercy and blessing gone beyond just putting food on the table today?  We deserved punishment but instead Jesus brought mercy.  Haven’t there been times when we have been greedy?  Haven’t there been times when we have only paid lip service to the fact that everything we have comes from God, but in our minds fallen into what God warns about in our Old Testament lesson thinking that what is have is because of our abilities.   Haven’t there been times when we have ignored the “secret of being content in all circumstances” that Paul talked about with the Phillipians?   No matter how hard we try, we cannot undo the evil that we do.  We cannot scoop the evil words that we say back into our mouths.  We cannot scrub our minds with soap and water.  But look at Jesus’ mercy.   He continued through Jericho and into Jerusalem where he would be lifted up on a cross.  God punished Jesus instead of Zacchaeus and you and me.  By that death he removed our transgressions from his sight as far as the east is from the west.  

     The Bible tells us that Jesus is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."  Jesus comes to eat dinner at our house too.  Whether the house is full of people or if it is just us, Jesus is there with us.  Imagine that, in mercy he comes to us.  “I am with you always,” Jesus says.  He comes to us with mercy in His Word and in His Supper. 

      At the table, the forgiveness Jesus brings was reflected in Zacchaeus' life.  "Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I am going to give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times as much.  Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  Those who were standing around and muttering about Jesus going to be the guest of a sinner took great pride in their being physical descendants of Abraham and even based their status with God upon being part of Abraham's family.   But Jesus tells them what Paul explains further to us in Galatians, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."   This Thanksgiving let’s see more and more the descendant of Abraham God sent to heal the sin sick heart with forgiveness.  

       So  Zacchaeus’ thanksgiving dinner wasn’t perfect.  There were some there who complained.  In addition to pardoning the turkey in 1863, President Lincoln also issued a much more somber, Thanksgiving Day proclamation.  It hadn’t been a perfect year and it wasn’t going to be a perfect Thanksgiving for many then either.  The Battle of Gettysburg had been fought in July 1863 with 50,000 American casualties. Lincoln’s proclamation urged his fellow  Americans to give thanks and praise to God for His blessings.  Repent of disobedience and perverseness.  Pray and care for those who had been made widows and orphans in the awful battles of the civil war.   Maybe this year has not been a perfect year for you.  Maybe this Thanksgiving won’t be the perfect Thanksgiving for you either.   As Jesus joins us for Thanksgiving, let’s not forget to see Jesus, his power, his mercy and forgiveness.  Amen 

 

November 9-11. 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16 “IT’S TIME TO START THE INSANITY!”

 

PENTECOST 25

November 9-11. 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16

 

“IT’S TIME TO START THE INSANITY!”

1.     Insane Trust.

2.     Insane Generosity.

 

Brothers and sisters, it’s time to start the insanity. I know what those of you who were here a few weeks ago are thinking. “Just wait a minute, pastor. Three weeks ago you told us it was time to stop the insanity and now you are telling us to start it. You can’t do that!” Yes, I can and let me tell you why. The definition of insanity that I’m using is the popular one, extreme foolishness or being extremely irrational. Three weeks ago, I correctly stated that it was extremely foolish for Christians who have Jesus as king to get all bent out of shape over an election in a country which is a drop in the bucket of the world’s population and insignificant in New Testament history. It is extremely foolish to think the King of kings and Lord of lords has to take His cues from an American President. It’s always time for that kind of insanity, extreme foolishness, to stop. Today I’m focusing on the extremely irrational type of insanity, going against logic and reason. And I’m saying that is exactly what we want to do. Why? Because that’s what exercising our faith is. Believing without seeing. Acting on God’s promises that go against our own understanding. That’s insane! Extremely irrational! Exactly what followers of the Christ like you and me want to do.

The Lord teaches us that truth in all of the Scripture readings you heard today but for now let’s focus on the Old Testament reading from 1 Kings. Here is the background. It’s around 850 BC. These are dark spiritual days for the nation of Israel. Wicked King Ahab and wickeder Queen Jezebel rule. They have persecuted and killed true prophets of God and promoted Baal worship. To call the nation to repentance the Lord caused a years long drought that caused a years long famine. People were starving. The prophet Elijah served as God’s true prophet. God wanted him to stay alive. He sent Elijah to a widow woman to get some food. Listen again to what happened. “So he got up and went to Zarephath. He came to the city gate, and there he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please give me a little water in a jar, so that I can have something to drink.” ¹¹When she went to get it, he called to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” ¹²She said, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no food except a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a pitcher. See, I am gathering a couple of sticks so that I can go and prepare it for myself and my son, so that we can eat it and then die.”

You probably already know what I’m going to say. This is insane. Zarephath is not a part of the nation of Israel. It’s in modern day Lebanon. It was located in the area in which the Baal worship plaguing Israel originated. And God told Elijah to go there and he went? That’s insane! It must have gone against every ounce of Elijah’s being as an Israelite faithful to the one true God. There would be absolutely no reason for a widow in Baal country to share with him. And when he got there things got even worse. The widow had a son and they were preparing to die. Only one meal left. I mean, once you hear that wouldn’t you say something like, “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll be OK. I’ll see if I can find you some more food.” But Elijah plows forward. “Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do just as you said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from the flour and bring it out to me. Then go and make another for you and your son. ¹⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not run out and the pitcher of oil will not become empty until the day the Lord sends rain to water the surface of the ground.”

          That’s insane! But Elijah was not the only one with insane trust. Look at this woman. I don’t know how prophets dressed back then or what Elijah looked like but somehow this woman knew he was a prophet. She said, “As surely as the Lord your God lives.” So he was a prophet, but not her prophet. So, let’s get this straight. Some guy shows up on your doorstep in the middle of a famine causing drought as you are preparing the last food you have for you and your only child and asks you to give him the food first, what do you do? A. Run away! B. Yell for help. C. Tell him what you are really thinking or D. Do exactly what he says.  OK, if you picked D, you’re insane! She was. “So she went and did exactly as Elijah said. He and she, as well as her household, were able to eat for many days. ¹⁶The jar of flour did not run out, and the pitcher of oil did not become empty, just as the Lord had said through Elijah.”

          That’s insane. Extremely irrational. Elijah trusted the words and promise of God that told him to go to a place that didn’t make sense, to a woman that didn’t make sense with a demand that didn’t make sense and he did it. Insane trust. The woman acted on the words and promise of God and gave all she had left for herself and her son to Elijah. Insane generosity. And God blessed it, greatly. Not only did she and her son have food for the rest of the famine but if you read the rest of the story she is brought to see that the Lord is her God too.

          Can you think back to all three Bible readings now? Did you notice something that the widow of Zarepheth, the Madedonians and the widow at the Temple all had in common? They were all poor. Their giving that caught God’s eye was not from their plenty but from their little. And that’s good news for us. You know why? If you ask an average American who the rich people are do you know what most will say? Anyone who has more than I do. So that makes us all poor and so capable of insane generosity. But it has to start with insane faith.

          Give a 5 year old $20 and what are they likely to do with it? Give it to missions. Give it away at school for some food or clothing drive. Offer to buy something for mom or dad. Give a 15 year old $20 dollars and what are they likely to do with it? Buy some snack for themselves. Spend it to buy in game bonuses for whatever online game they are playing. Get something for themselves. Give a 75 year old $20 dollars and what are they likely to do with it? Save it for a rainy day. You see that in the area of generosity as we grow up physically we grow down spiritually. The 5 year old has complete trust that mom and dad will provide so why not give it away? As we grow older that childlike faith can fade. But it does not have to. We can live like 5 year olds with complete trust that God will provide for us even if we give what we have away. We also have the words and promise of God enabling us to go against the rational way of thinking of ourselves first and instead help others spiritual and physical needs. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.” And the Holy Spirit had Paul write this promise in 2 Corinthians 9, ^“The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. The one who sows generously will also reap generously.” Those are God’s truths. Acting on them with insane generosity will take insane trust and it is clear to me that He wants us to do this.

          This is what happened last weekend. It was Saturday. Many Jacobi members generously gave of their time to do the preliminary clean up. We were just about done, just a few members remaining. All of the sudden this guy strolls through the carport doors. I hear him say to the members standing in the atrium, “Is the reverend around?” They say, “No, but Pastor Spaude is here.” I ask him if I can help him. He says, “Well, I’m not a member here but I am behind in my tithing and I want to make that right. It’s what God deserves. Here is 10% of what I just got paid.” And he hands me a wad of bills. So some guy comes in off the street the week before the Bible readings for church are about giving and even though he is not a member tithes to God here. You know what that is? That’s insane. Caught my eye. Caught God’s eyes. You and I can too. It’s time to start the insanity! Amen.

 

 

October 19-21, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Peter 2:9-12 (EHV) “IT’S TIME TO STOP THE INSANITY!”

 ELECTION UNREST

October 19-21, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Peter 2:9-12 (EHV)

 “IT’S TIME TO STOP THE INSANITY!”

1.     Center yourself on Christ.

2.     Live for the glory of God.

          It’s time to stop the insanity. If your ears are sensitive to words that have been previously used to describe people with mental health issues let me put you at ease. Mental health is a real thing. Emotional disorders are real. Mental illness is real. When I say it’s time to stop the insanity I am using that word in its popular usage: extreme foolishness, like when people do those hot pepper challenges or blackout challenges and you see them and you say correctly, “That’s insane!”—extremely foolish.

          When a pastor pops out a sermon theme of “It’s time to stop the insanity” and a national election is right around the corner one’s mind naturally goes, “Finally! Let’s talk about what is going on in Washington, and Madison and the news. Let’s talk about the insanity of the news reporter in hushed and sympathetic tones reporting on the tragedy of the death of a mother and her unborn child in a needless car accident followed in the very next segment by vilifying politicians trying to take away a mother’s ability to kill an unborn child. That’s insane! Or politicians pointing to all the problems caused by illegal immigration but doing nothing to change laws to make for safe and seamless legal immigration to a country whose citizen birthrate is not enough to replace current population. That’s insane. Or politicians promoting fiscal responsibility but on both sides of the aisle continuing to spend more than we take in. That’s insane. So, yes, go get ‘em pastor. It’s time to stop the insanity.”

          So I will, go get ‘em that is. Only the ‘em is us. It’s time for us to stop the insanity, the extreme foolishness of being Christians who talk and act or think like the fate of Christ’s Church depends on the upcoming election. It does not. Jesus lives. And He lives and rules all things, including our country, for the good of His Church. Believers. You. So, let’s stop the insanity. I have heard people talk like America is God’s chosen nation and it is the job of the church to make it look Christian. That’s insane. Only one physical nation was chosen by God. Old Testament Israel. It existed as a nation only by God’s grace and until its job was done. And so shortly after Jesus finished His work on earth, that nation ceased to exist and modern-day Israel is not the same as Old Testament Israel. Our country is not even close! I have heard us talk as though the outcome of the upcoming election will either bring about the Biblical apocalypse or hold it off. That’s insane. The United States is tiny drop in the ocean of world population and even tinier in New Testament history. Christ does not take His cues from Washington DC. I have heard it insinuated that God wants one candidate or another to win. That’s insane. Who of you here knows the mind of God and the plans He is working on? For me personally in our presidential election I feel like my mom has announced it’s time for dessert and I’m getting excited then she says I get to choose from 3 day old leftover cooked broccoli that someone forgot to put in the fridge or cold leftover cooked spinach. I want to choose neither and yet I have to choose, so I will make my choice based on what I think will be best for the country. But I won’t be able to choose whom God wants because He hasn’t told me. Nor has He told you. It is insane, extremely foolish, to talk that way.

          There is a better way, a way that will allow you to have peace, keep a smile on your face and be nice up to and after the election. Center yourself on Christ. Listen to what God says about you! “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.” We are not the only Christians who have experienced less than savory government. When God had Peter write this letter, he addressed Christians as “strangers in this world.” You don’t belong. Most likely their ruler was Roman Emperor Nero, not a nice guy and mostly likely insane in the old use of the word. And yet look at the source of their comfort and confidence. It centered on who they were in Christ. A holy nation. God’s own possession. The people of God. Recipients of mercy.

          Do you want to stop your own insanity? Do you want to be able to be happy and confident these last few weeks leading up to the election and no matter how any of the elections turns out? Center yourself on Christ first, foremost and only. In Christ you are neither liberal nor conservative, Republican nor Democrat, nor even American. You are Christian. A holy citizen of a holy nation ruled by Christ the King who is perfect in every way, who will never disappoint you, who is the reason God will continue to shower you with mercy and who rules all things for the good of His Church which means you. Each day you wake up, it is not poll data or elections results that define you. Jesus does, so center yourself daily on Him. Yes, it is OK to care and be concerned about this temporary country we are living in. It is not OK to worry about election results or to think, act and speak like a puny human being ultimately controls you. That insults your Lord Jesus. The only election that really matters has already taken place. Jesus chose you! He chose me!

          And that is why we can deliberately seek to live for the glory of God. Hear again the voice of your God.  “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. ¹² Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.” Do you think that maybe one of the reasons the anti-Christian sentiment in our country is growing is because the only Christians most Americans know, work with, hear on the news and whose posts they read are shallow Christians? Christians who care more about how other people live morally than that their souls be saved eternally? If so, it’s time to stop the insanity and let them see what authentic Christianity looks like. People who put truth and love together. People who realize everything here is temporary so in the end only faith in Jesus matters. It’s time to let them see you, in action. Let’s abstain from the desires of our sinful natures that want to fight mean with mean, nasty posts with nasty posts. All that does is start a sinful nature/Christian nature war in your soul. Let’s stop that extreme foolishness and instead seek to live such honorable lives among our fellow Americans that even though they say mean thing about us now, they will have to give glory to God on the day He comes. And He will come. On the day He decides, not decided by one election, in this teeny tiny part of today’s world.

          Peace, brothers and sisters! It’s time to stop our insanity. Our lives are bound up in Christ and we live for the glory of God. And look at how that changes our hearts and minds before, during and after a national election. Instead of getting so caught up in whom I want to win, or you want to win we can be at peace and pray for whoever wins. Pastor Martin Luther told an interesting story in his time that applies to our time.  A widow living in a country ruled by a tyrannical king prayed long and hard for the tyrant who oppressed her. The tyrant heard about it and was amazed because he knew that he had done her much harm. When he called her in and asked her about it the woman replied, "When your grandfather was king I had ten cows. He took two of them. I prayed that God would get rid of him. He did and your father became king. He took 3 more of my cows. I prayed against him and he died. Now you are king and have taken four more of my cows and now I only have one. So I am praying for you because whoever follows might take all that I have left."  Some things, no, most things, no, all things are better left in the hands of God. You, you are in the hands of God, so peace! Amen.

September 21-23, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 9: 30-37 “WHO IS GOD’S G.O.A.T?”

 

PENTECOST 18

September 21-23, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 9: 30-37

 

“WHO IS GOD’S G.O.A.T?”

1.     The Lamb!

2.     Followed by the sheep.

 

Who is the greatest? The question is not new. In centuries past pharaohs and emperors and kings wanted to be known as the greatest ruler that ever lived. In our times that debate has been held almost exclusively in the sports arena. Muhammed Ali proclaimed himself the greatest. In sports everyone wants to be the GOAT, the Greatest Of All Time. Who is the GOAT, the greatest of all time for NFL quarterbacks? Is it Tom Brady or will he be surpassed by Patrick Mahomes? The word of God from the Gospel of Mark deals with the issue of greatness. In it we see one who really is the greatest of all time and some who want to be. Some questions need to be answered. Just what is it that makes someone great? Who gets to determine what makes someone great? Do you want to be great?

Last week Pastor Langebartels told us of a time when Jesus cast a demon out of a young boy. It was shortly after Jesus had taken three of His disciples, Peter, James and John to witness His transfiguration. The time is nearing for Jesus to complete His earthly mission with His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He doesn’t want to attract crowds at this time. He wants to teach His disciples privately and so Mark tells us, “They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know this, ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But three days after he is killed, he will rise.” ³²But they did not understand the statement and were afraid to ask him about it.”

          Here we get an answer to one of our questions. What is it that makes someone great? Humble service to others. This is not the first time that Jesus spoke plainly to His disciples about the real nature of His mission. This is not the first time that the disciples remained clueless even though Jesus told them plainly. Jesus’ determination to carry out His mission as Savior shows He is the GOAT! He is the greatest of all time. Even though He is King of kings and LORD of lords, the maker and sustainer of all things, the Holy, Holy, Holy, I AM he humbles Himself to become man. He allows Himself to be betrayed and crucified. Why? It’s what people needed. A solution to the problem of sin. The only way God can remain just and punish sin without punishing the sinners is for Jesus to come and be the perfect substitute, the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. He did. Jesus is God’s G.O.A.T. because the real measure of greatness is not how many points you score or who much money you have or how much land you control. It’s the number of people you serve humbly, without expecting anything in return. Jesus served all. The Lamb of God is God’s GOAT.

Who gets to determine what makes someone great? The word goes on. “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ³⁴But they remained silent, because on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  ³⁵Jesus sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.” ³⁶Then he took a little child and placed him in their midst. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.” Jesus’ disciples wanted to be considered great. I guess we can take a little bit of comfort, some schadenfreude, that those who got to follow Jesus in the flesh still were thick in the head, had misplaced priorities and got right things so wrong just like we do. It is shameful, though, when grown children of God act like spoiled little kids. The disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest among them all. From their shamed silence it’s not hard to guess what standards they were using and how they were acting. Peter says, “I am the greatest! Jesus let me see Him transfigured.” “You’re not so special,” says James and John, “he took us too!” “I’m the one He trusts with our money,” says Judas. “I’m better than you.” Like little boys on the playground they went back and forth arguing, embellishing, trying to make their pitiful little accomplishments bigger than they were because the standard of greatness they were using was wrong. They used the world’s way, power, prestige, money.

But the world does not get to establish what makes a person great. Oh, it tries. It will list the Forbes most wealthy, and Time’s person of the year. The sports world has developed their own awards for their own people picked by themselves, just like the entertainment world has done the same, Emmys, Oscars, Golden Globes, Tonies. Seriously. How many do they need to boost their fragile egos? I’ve offered before, but no one has taken me up on it. I’ll host The Platinum Preacher award, an award developed by pastors for pastors awarded to the pastor whose golden tongued delivery can keep the most people awake. Foolishness. For the followers of Christ there is only one whose standard matters. Jesus. He gets to tell us what makes a person great. And He has. Humble service. Serving the needs of others without expecting something in return like little children who are by very nature takers, not givers, and in no position to repay us. This is what makes a person great in the eyes of our Lord. Humble service. Humility. Not thinking less of yourself or poorly of yourself. You dare not. God made each of you fearfully, wonderfully and well. Rather thinking more of the needs of others. Service, trying to meet those needs.

So do you still want to be great, great in the eyes of God’s GOAT? Jesus’ disciples had to wrestle with that question after He sat them down. And from their history recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, every one but Judas said, “Yes. I desire your approval Lord, more than anyone else’s.” What’s your answer? How will you pattern your life? Jesus, the Lamb of God, the GOAT, is our leader. He’s perfect at it. How is our following? When I was a child I wanted to be great at what I did. I was really good at ping pong. I won every grade school tournament I entered. Got some really cool plastic trophies. I even held on to them when Chris and I got married. I’m sure she didn’t roll her eyes. They are all gone, broken trashed. Didn’t mean anything anymore once I matured. I understand now that when I meet my Lord Jesus He is not going to ask me how many ping pong tournaments I won, but rather if I took care of His sheep and His lambs. And after I give report I just want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
          Will you join me brothers and sisters, and seek to serve rather than be served? Will you do so for the joy of serving the Lamb who has served you so well? This weekend we as a congregation will thank some of those who have served us in this past year. But winning our thanks not why they served. They saw a need and filled it. You can too, through faithful praying, words and acts of kindness to neighbors or those who live in your senior living center, giving rides to church. A special appeal to you parents to serve your kids. What they need is their heart tied to Jesus. I want you to think about how zealous you are in getting your kids to every sports practice and game and musical practice and concert and every other extra they are in. That’s great if you can make it work without stressing the family. The honest truth is none of them are going to make it to the pros. But they will make it to Hell if their faith in Jesus is not fed. They need you reading Bible stories and devotions at home. They need you to get them to church. Do you want to be great? Serve the needs of a child. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.” So says the Lamb, God’s GOAT. You are His sheep. Will you follow? Amen.