March 22-24, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 13:1-9 (EHV) “THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BAD NEWS!”

 

LENT 4

March 22-24, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 13:1-9 (EHV)

 

“THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BAD NEWS!”

 

          Perhaps you already know or have figured out that our way of worshipping the Lord is set up as an ongoing dialogue. Most of the time the pastor serves as a messenger for God, speaking His words, and you the people listen to what God has to say and respond to it. So we begin singing praise to our God. We are called to worship with humble yet joyful hearts as we confess our sins and hear again that we are forgiven. The meat, the main part of the worship service, centers around God’s word. That’s important because the Lord has told us, “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” We need, we want faith, so having a huge opportunity to hear God’s words is super important. As the pastor reads God’s word and you, God’s people, listen, there is also a dialogue going on. At the end of the reading the pastors says, “The word of the Lord.” And you say, “Thanks be to God!” Very fitting! God give you something good, you say Thank you! The dialogue of the Gospel lesson which focuses on the words and work of Jesus when He walked this earth is just a little different. The pastor says, “The Gospel of the Lord.” And you say, “Praise be to you O Christ!” Gospel means Good News. Of course we are going to praise Jesus for the Good News. Every once in a while, though, it kinda seems out of place. Like when there is a Gospel lesson that Jesus is teaching about the Last Day. And the Gospel reading ends with something like, “Depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And I say, “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” The Good News. Doesn’t seem to fit. Oh, but it does. Today in God’s word our Lord Jesus sets us straight. God’s ways are not our ways, and we do Him wrong when we impose our way of thinking on Him. Today Jesus shows us the Good News about what we consider to be Bad News!

Jesus had been talking very pointedly to a large group of people urging them to tend to their own spiritual well-being. He warned against hypocrisy, senseless worry, trusting in things rather than God and apathy towards the reality of eternity. You know how it goes when someone’s words start to hit too close to home. You Change the subject! So that’s what they did. “At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ²He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? ³I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? ⁵I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.” Some Jews from Galilee had come to worship at the Temple. In a display of Roman cruelty Pilate had some of them killed while worshipping. Did this bad thing, this murder, happen because those people were in trouble with God? Jesus goes down their road.  In another widely known incident a tower had accidently fallen and killed 18 people. Surely God was getting them for something. That’s the way people think. When bad things happen to people, whether at the hands of evil people or by accident, they must have done something wrong. That’s where the pagan concept of karma comes from.

 

“THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BAD NEWS!”

 

Jesus turned things back around. “Unless you repent, you will perish.” Here is the Good News about Bad News. When people die too early it is bad news to our ears. It happens by accident. The 67 who died in the DC plane/helicopter crash. 24 dead in the recent California wildfires. 39 dead from the storms that swept across our nation. Bad news. It can happen because of the evil people do. The Waukesha parents murdered by their son. The numerous citizens of Milwaukee murdered by reckless driving. Bad news. Did they die as punishment from God? “No,” says Jesus. Focus on the Good News. Untimely deaths are God’s loving call for living people to repent. No one is promised another day of life. Each day is a gift of God’s grace. Each day is an opportunity for all people to believe and be saved. And while this call is for all people, the person I am to deal with is me. And the day I need to be concerned about is today. Today, do I recognize my sins and need for Savior? Today am I looking to Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus for my forgiveness? You need to ask the same questions for yourself. Every bit of bad news is evidence of the Good News that God is still working. God still cares. God still wants you and everyone else to believe in His Son and be saved. Heaven is real. And Hell is too.

And while God is a patient God, there are limits to His patience. A time when it comes to an end. That’s the truth Jesus taught with the parable He told next. “He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ ⁸But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. ⁹If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’” The parable’s meaning was pretty obvious for the original hearers. Probably for us too. If you plant a fruit tree you do so with purpose. That it produce fruit. If the tree is not fulfilling its purpose, at some point the tree planter says “Enough!” and moves on. In the parable I am the fig tree. You are the fig tree. God is the owner looking for fruit. Jesus is the gardener pleading for more time. As long as we live Jesus pleads for us and works to make us Christians who produce fruit, repentance, which includes lives lived for the Lord.

 

“THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BAD NEWS!”

 

What do you suppose the digging up and fertilizing are in people’s lives? What about the pruning Jesus talked about in another word picture? Well the fertilizing is food for a tree so that brings us right back to God’s word which is food for our faith. Digging up around a tree, wouldn’t that disturb the roots, maybe cut off some? Pruning, there you are cutting living branches off of a tree. What’s that like in real lives of real people? Bad news! At least that’s how we would label it. Car accident or house fire. Even with insurance, a pain. Broken arm or leg. Heals…but. Job loss. Medical bills. All bad news. Except it isn’t. We think that way because we are short-sighted and have our minds set on earthly things. It’s all we know. God loves us too much to leave us to ourselves. He is deliberately using the bad news we hear about others and the bad news we deal with personally to keep us God dependent, in a state of repentance, so we are ready for our end or The End which, with living faith in the living Jesus, turns into the beginning of the way things were supposed to be, a perfect life with God and others. So bad news isn’t really bad news. It’s Gospel, Good News that the Lord cares and is watching out for us.

Kind of reminds me of a great coach I had. I remember him addressing the team at the beginning of a football season when we had the two a day practices in the heat of the day. “Boys,” he said, “Don’t get mad at me when I push you and correct you and even yell at you when you deserve it. I am only doing that because I know you can get better. Get upset if I leave alone. Because that means I’ve given up on you.” Brothers and sisters, God has not given up on you. When you face the bad news of another challenge that pushes you to run to the Lord in mercy and prayer, when the bad news of hardship, loss, and hurt comes into your life, especially the kind that make you cry, “Father, I don’t understand,” hold on to the Good News that God only chastens those He loves and digs around and fertilizes those He knows can get better. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not ours. They are so much better, so know this truth. Whatever He allows is for your good. This is the Gospel or the Lord! Amen.

 

March 12, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 14:32-42 PLACES OF THE PASSION Gethsemane: A Place of Temptation

 

MIDWEEK LENT 2

March 12, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 14:32-42

 

PLACES OF THE PASSION

Gethsemane: A Place of Temptation

 

          As we follow our Lord Jesus in His walk to the cross this Lenten season we are pausing at various places along the way to worship and learn. Last week we paused in the Upper Room. Today we join Jesus and His disciples as they leave the Upper Room and go to the Garden of Gethsemane, a place of temptation. This is a picture of what the Garden of Gethsemane looks like today. Pretty average. Filled with olive trees. Nothing special about the garden, except what happened there almost 2000 years ago.

 

Mark 14:32-42 ^“They went to a place named Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ Then he took Peter, James, and John along with him and began to be troubled and distressed. ³⁴ He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.” ³⁵ Going forward a little, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ He also said, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

 

          The Gospel lesson for this past Sunday included the Devil’s temptations of Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry. Those were not the only times that the Devil tempted Jesus. That account concluded with these words. “When the Devil had finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time.”  This was one of those opportune times. It’s Maundy Thursday, the night before Good Friday. As true God, Jesus knows exactly what will happen to Him the next day. He will be forsaken. He will make payment in full for the sins of the world. As true man He dreads that and wishes there could be another way.

          I have heard people say that bunion surgery and recovery is extremely painful. In fact some have refused a second surgery because of what they went through in the first. Knowing what it would be like is too terrifying. Imagine the raw fear coursing through the heart of our Savior Jesus as he stands at the precipice of making payment for the sins of the world. He knows what the wages of sin really means: cut off from God and His goodness, forsaken, despair. There is no way for us to begin to imagine the agony and angst Jesus felt as He prepared Himself to face the cross. Certainly the temptation was there to turn away from it.

          But there was more temptation taking place in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus’ disciples faced temptation too. Jesus, their Lord, their Savior, had told them to keep watch. This is what happened. ^“When he returned to the disciples, he found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not strong enough to keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ Again he went away and prayed, saying the same thing. ⁴⁰ When he returned, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. They did not know what they should answer him.”

          You want to cut them a break. We have all been there too. It is late at night. The day had been long. The Passover meal filling. Staying away when you are just sitting there doing nothing is hard. You want to cut them a break. How could they have known the gravity of the situation? How could they understand how difficult this was for Jesus? You want to cut them a break. But you can’t. What part of  Jesus’ heartfelt command, His plea to his friends of “Watch and pray” is difficult to understand? They did not need to know how dire things were for Jesus. They were not supposed to be sitting there doing nothing. They were to watch and pray. Even Peter, who had a short time before this boasted that he would sooner die than disown Jesus, fell asleep. “Watch and pray,” Jesus had said. But they ignored the heartfelt command from their Savior and slept.

          You want to cut those disciples a break, you want to excuse their behavior. But you can’t. And just like there is no excuse for the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, there is none for the disciples gathered here today who pause at the Garden of Gethsemane. What part of “Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God” is hard to understand? Yet “O my” and God’s name comes flying out, not just from the pagans in America who despise Him, but also from the mouths of those who are privileged to be called the children of God. What part of “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” is hard to understand? Yet how often have the people of God chosen treat their beds as holy by attending St. Mattress on a Sunday morning or remembered to keep their sports events holy while having trouble remembering that at this church there are worship opportunities on Saturday and Monday evenings as well as Sunday morning. There is no excuse for failing to give our Lord the worship due His name. For his disciples Jesus said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Oh that he could say the same of us. Or might it have to be “The flesh is weak and the spirit is unwilling.”

          In the time of His temptation Jesus turned to his Father. “Abba, Father.” He prayed to be spared from the cup of punishment He would face. Yet He resisted this and every temptation by simply trusting the will of God. For our temptations we turn to Jesus and say, “Thank you, Jesus.” We understand that Jesus faced temptation because of us. Our need for a Savior is desperate. Even when our spirit is willing, the weakness of our flesh means we will not successfully resist temptation. So we rejoice that Jesus was tempted for us. His perfect resisting of the temptations in the Garden of Gethsemane is mine. It’s yours. He won it for us.

          When Jesus finished fighting His battle in the place of temptation we call the Garden of Gethsemane we are told, “He returned the third time and said to them, “Are you going to continue sleeping and resting? It is enough. The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us go. Look, my betrayer is near.” On to the next place of His passion for us.  Thank you Jesus! Amen.

March 1-3, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 9:28-36 (EHV) “THE PERFECT PICK ME UP!”

 

TRANSFIGURATION

March 1-3, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 9:28-36 (EHV)

 

“THE PERFECT PICK ME UP!”

1.     A glimpse of glory.

2.     The witness of the past.

3.     The word of the Lord.

 

          Every once in a while you need a little pick me up. Most here can relate. Maybe you had a really hard day at work or a bad night of sleep. Maybe you got some news letting you know difficult days were ahead. Maybe it’s just your body’s circadian rhythm and there are times you need that energy boost. For centuries people have used coffee and tea to provide that pick me up. In more recent times there are a myriad of energy drinks like Red Bull available. One of the first jobs I had was cleaning store floors at night when grocery stores actually used to close. We would go in and scrub the dirty floors, scraping off stickers and gum. By the way, who does that? Who spits their gum out onto the floor in a grocery store? Knock it off. That’s gross! Anyway, then we would put on a nice shiny coat of wax so that you, the customer, would want to come in and spend money. It was a process. Took a lot of time. Normally we were heading back home in the predawn hours. Eyelids would grow heavy. Most of the time the preferred pick me up was Mountain Dew. I still have a taste for the stuff. But then came Jolt Cola with probably the best advertising line I have heard for young people who were not thinking about what they were putting into their bodies. “Jolt Cola: All the sugar and twice the caffeine.” It was a great little pick me up at 4:30 in the morning!

          The Transfiguration of Jesus serves as a perfect pick me up for disciples of Jesus. As you heard in the Gospel lesson it was about 8 days after Jesus said some very important things. What things? He had revealed to the disciples that He would suffer many things, be killed and then rise again after three days. But wait there was more. Faithful followers of Jesus could expect suffering too. There would be crosses for them to bear. In other words, “By following me, you have signed up for suffering.” You can imagine on hearing this the disciples were confused, maybe afraid, they no doubt had many questions. They needed a little pick me up to raise their spirits. It came in the form of the Transfiguration. “Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! ³¹They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure, which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.”

          The Transfiguration of Jesus served as the perfect pick me up for Jesus’ disciples. First it gave them a glimpse of glory. Not a full taste. They could not handle it, nor could we, as our worship theme box explained very well. Jesus appeared in a way that showed some of His true glory as God. What a blessing this was for them as they followed a Savior who looked like a normal Jewish man. What a blessing this was as they grappled with the truth that faithful following of the Son of God would not get them an easy earthly life but it would give them a glorious eternity. A perfect pick me up for confused and questioning disciples. Secondly the Transfiguration drew their attention to the witnesses of the past. Moses and Elijah. Peter James and John grew up hearing about these heroes of faith in Sabbath School. Here they were alive, talking with Jesus. And what were they talking about? Jesus’ departure that He would bring about. Later they would be able to understand that the events in the Garden of Gethsemane and Good Friday did not happen to Jesus but happened because of Jesus, according to God’s plan. There was no need for them to worry. A perfect pick me up!

And there was still more. The first part of Jesus’ Transfiguration set up the last. Peter, James and John had grown sleepy while Jesus and Moses and Elijah were talking. That gives me some comfort for when your eyes glaze over. But when they were fully awake, this happened. “While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. ³⁵Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” ³⁶After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.” How do you think He said it? God, I mean, when He said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” A whisper? A bold booming voice? Something in between? You can use your imagination and you have to because we are not told. That’s because how God said it is not as important as what God said. Disciples. Followers of Jesus, listen to what Jesus says. It will pick you up when you have doubts, questions, fears, when you are tired.

The Apostle Peter sure learned that lesson! This is what he wrote in his second letter. ^“To be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹ We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it,” (2 Peter 1:16-19)

Brothers and sisters, the Transfiguration of Jesus serves as a perfect pick me up for you too. Like Jesus’ disciples at this point in their lives we will find ourselves dealing with things that are too big for us. Confused when faithful following of Jesus brings us suffering instead of glory. Afraid when we don’t understand God’s plan for us or our loved ones. Dealing with doubts over what God says. At those times it’s important to go back to the glimpses of glory God lets us see, to revisit the witnesses of our past and to pay attention to the words of our Lord.

Let’s start with a glimpse of glory. Jesus let the disciples see a taste of what was coming to help them endure when faithful following didn’t yield the results they wanted. We see Jesus’ glory through the eyes of Peter, James and John but that is not all God gives us. Our faith is not blind. Each of you, can think of times when God gave you your own glimpse of His glory. The medical miracle. Some extra money at just the right time. An impossible broken relationship restored. Don’t gloss over that glimpse. Hold on to it as Peter, James and John would do. There is no need for us to complain or through ourselves pity parties when faithful following of Christ brings hardship. We have an eternity of glory coming. We also have the witnesses of the past to pick us up. In addition to the biblical heroes of faith we have in common with all followers of Christ God gives us more. You may call them Mom or Dad, Grandpa or Grandma. Younger people especially. Think! Why did they care about their faith so much? Why was church so important to them? Like Moses and Elijah, they enjoyed their time talking with Jesus. God gives you their witness of faithful Christianity to hold on to, to teach you the importance of your relationship with Jesus.

And then remember, like it was with Jesus’ disciples, the glimpse of glory, the witness of the past, are all designed to do one thing, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” The focus stays on Jesus, what He has done. The eyes and ears read and listen to what He has to say. It will provide the perfect pick me up. When you doubt God’s truths, when you worry for your future, when you wonder about God’s love. Listen to Him!

I still have fond memories of my high school and college jobs. Using Mt. Dew or Jolt Cola when needed did the trick. But now as I have taken half a step toward maturity I’ve discovered how nice it is to have a daily pick me up. You’ve seen the coffee cup in my hand. That works physically but not spiritually. For that I use God’s words. Every day. Will you? Amen.