August 10-12, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Sermon Text: Colossians 3:12-17 "KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL REMODELING/EXPANSION"

PENTECOST 8

August 10-12, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Sermon Text: Colossians 3:12-17

"KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL REMODELING/EXPANSION"

1. Clothe Yourself with Christ.

2. Immerse Yourself in the Word.

 Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV 1984) “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵Let 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 weekend brings us to an exciting point in our building expansion program. After services on Sunday our construction firm, Catalyst Construction, will be meeting with you to let you know how each of you can be involved in our building expansion and narthex remodeling project. With all their experience they have the keys to successful church projects. The word of God before us today also gives us some keys to some more important remodeling and expansion, the remodeling of our sinful selves for the expansion of Christ’s Church. Let’s see what they are.

          The word of God before us today comes from Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Colossae. Paul, the great missionary Apostle, was in prison at the time he wrote his letter, but even with Paul on the sidelines the work of the Church would go on through the Christians in the church at Colossae, like it does with us. But for that to happen there needed to be some remodeling done.

Paul first addresses why remodeling and expansion was important. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.” It’s been a long process so maybe you’ve forgotten. How would you answer this question? Why are we doing a building expansion and remodeling project? Some possible answers: To have a bigger, more open welcoming space coming into church. To get those bathrooms up to code. Because the current MPR is often too small and overused. To have a modern EC center. All good answers but not the ultimate answer. The ultimate answer is because we are God’s chosen people. He picked us for His family. We didn’t pick him. He made us holy by giving His only Son Jesus to take our sins away. He dearly loves us. How else can we respond but with our best? We want to do the best work for Jesus we can. Buildings serve ministry so we are building together to serve God better. That’s why. It’s also why we need to remodel ourselves daily. We can’t be content to let sin have a place in our lives. We can’t be content to look, talk and act like people who aren’t God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. Only our best for the Lord will do.

How to remodel? “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” There’s a word picture here. Putting on clothes. Kids, have you ever read the story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes?” It’s a good one. You have to read it. In it a couple of tailors convince the emperor to wear invisible clothes so he ends up walking around naked. Can you imagine? As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, we don’t want to walk around naked. The clothes we are to wear is Christ. All the characteristics listed are really Him! Compassion, that’s caring when someone else is hurting or in trouble. Kindness which leads to doing things that bring a smile to someone else’s face. Humility, thinking of the needs of others first, gentleness, staying calm in dealing with other people, having a smily face not an ugly one. Patience, absorbing life’s yuck without getting yucky in return. Bear with each other. This part of God’s word always makes me smile. The ones we have to put up with, God says, are each other, not the unbelievers. He knows us so well! Forgive as we have been forgiven. Be at peace. The reason we need to put on Christ is because our sinful natures are the exact opposite. Without Christ on we are irritable, uncaring, arrogant, quick tempered and prone to bitter feelings against each other. Kind of reminds me of a great prayer I read. It goes like this: “Dear Lord, So far today I’m doing alright. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, thoughtless or selfish. I have not whined or complained. But I will be getting out of bed in a minute and I need your help.”

How do we get it? Immerse yourself in the Word. That’s our second key for a successful remodeling and expansion. “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. 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.” Three times this word of God urged an attitude of gratitude. “Be thankful, with gratitude in your hearts to God, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” We are urged to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. But there is only one way we are equipped to do that. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Richly. Not miserly. Richly. Not a little bit. Richly. Why did Eli finally tell Samuel to say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening?” What did Jesus say was the one thing needed? It’s God’s word. What did God use to create? His word. Why is the Devil working so hard in your life and my life to distract us from the Word? He knows where God has placed His power. It seems so unassuming. Words in a book. But they come from the mouth of God and they are filled with His power. They are faith food. Some of you may remember a story I told years ago of how one of our Apache brothers in faith described to some of his friends how his life was different as a Christian. He said, “Before Christ came into my life only a black dog lived in my heart and it was mean and nasty and liked to get drunk and fight and so that is what I would do. But when Jesus came into my heart He brought a white dog to live there too. And the white dog loves Jesus and wants only to please Him and so now the black dog and the white dog they fight in my heart over what I will do.” To that one of his friends replied, “Well how do you keep the black dog from winning.” To which our brother replied, “Ah, the white dog I feed.” So smart. A sinful nature. A Christian nature inside each one of us. How do we keep the sinful nature from winning? The Christian nature we feed with God’s Word. After service I’ll share some ways to help you do just that.

But let’s go back to why. Why is it so important for us to do the daily remodeling of our sinful selves. Let’s say that after we build they come. They meaning people from our community. They bring their children to our brand new Early Childhood Center. They enter our brighter more open welcome space. They come to some community outreach or service event that we hold in our new beautiful and large multi purpose room. Now remember again why we are doing this. Our best for our Lord Jesus with the express purpose of drawing souls to Jesus so they can be saved. But what do you suppose will happen with those folks if when they come they find people who don’t seem to care, who bicker and fight, who are grumpy and  complaining, who have no attitude of gratitude and appear not to even like each other. How’s that going to go? On the other hand what if they find a bunch of people who kind of look and act like Christ? Remodeled Christians get many more opportunities for expansion of Christ’s kingdom. And like our other remodeling/expansion it takes work and planning and daily diligence and we all can be involved as we follow the keys presented in God’s Word. Clothe yourself with Christ and immerse yourself in the word. Amen.

August 4th, 2019 Luke 10:25-37 Pastor Waldschmidt

Luke 10:25-37  Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?” 27He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” 28He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” 29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” 37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

DON’T WALK ALONE ON A DANGEROUS ROAD

In the name of Jesus, the hero of the story, dear fellow redeemed  

    I would imagine that most of us have had the experience of walking on a road where we didn’t feel very comfortable.  Maybe there are roads that you don’t like to travel on for all kinds of safety reasons.  God’s word has a message for us today.  DON’T WALK ALONE ON A DANGEROUS ROAD.  Jesus tells the story of someone who got hurt that way.  Except the main point Jesus is making is not about staying on street where no one will rob you and beat you up or where you might get hit by a car.  Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan as he answers a question about the road to heaven.  Remember the man came asking “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus makes clear that the road to heaven is a dangerous road if we sinners are going to try to walk it alone.  Don’t walk alone on a dangerous road.

    “Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Just then” always sets off the radar to ask, “what just happened?  Jesus had just been talking with his disciples about the road to heaven, “the Kingdom of God.”  He sent out 72 of his followers.  They experienced joys and frustrations of living and sharing the good news of the Savior in a sinful world.  Through that whole experience they had their hearts more and more centered on Jesus as the way to heaven.  Jesus told his followers, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see; for I say unto you, “Many prophets and kings desired to see the things that you see and hear." And along comes a man who is thinking that he can walk the road to heaven without any help.   That is a dangerous road.  If one is going to try to get right with God on their own.   Jesus reminds him what God requires.  “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?” He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” Martin Luther wrote, “Christ shows him that he has as yet done nothing, when he allowed himself to think he had done everything.”  Yes, do this and you will live.  The problem is that we have not and we cannot.

    But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”   Jesus makes clear that if he is trying to get to heaven on his own he will need to keep the law.  The man is bold enough to try to parse down God’s law into what he thought would be a manageable bite.  “Who is my neighbor?” I  recently heard a joke about a conversation in a jail conference room where the attorney tells the accused, “I have some good news and some bad news.”  “What’s the bad news?” asks the accused.  “The bad news is, your blood 
is all over the crime scene, and the DNA tests prove you did it.”  “What’s the good news?”  “Your cholesterol is 130.”   There isn’t much good news there.  This lawyer might have thought he had done a pretty good job of outwardly keeping some of God’s commands.  But that was a little like having a good cholesterol count when there is incriminating evidence all around.

     In his love, Jesus doesn’t just wave the man away and move on.  Instead Jesus tries to get the man to see that God expected perfection in every single interaction with God and with every single person.  He tells  story that would probably have made the news in our day.  “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.”  You would think that someone would be easy to spot and could easily get help.  Here comes a priest.  “It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.”  Maybe we might think that he didn’t want to take the chance of contaminating himself and thus not be able to serve on the priestly duties that day.  But he wasn’t headed to Jerusalem he was headed away from Jerusalem, like the man who was beaten up.  Well maybe it was just a bad apple and someone else will help.   “In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.”  We are looking for a hero here.  The hero in Jesus story ends up being someone no one would expert-a Samaritan.  “A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the” man.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 

     Jesus audience never would have expected a Samaritan to be the hero in Jesus’ story.  Racism and hatred are not brand new thoughts to our world.  At Jesus’ time, there was bad blood between the Jews and Samaritans, even though they were related, which went back over 700 years.  When the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians they mixed everybody up.  They moved  some of the people out to far away land, left a few farmers behind and moved in new people.  They left behind a mixture of people and customs. When the remnant from the South returned to Israel after their captivity in Babylon, the friction began.  In America we take pride in calling ourselves the great melting pot, even though so often we don’t do very well at getting along. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t like the idea of a melting pot and many hated each other.    That’s why it probably took everyone by surprise that a Samaritan was the hero in Jesus story. 

      Martin Luther King Jr once said, "I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' The good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”  The Samaritan didn’t pass by on the other side of the road.  He stopped and helped.  He bandaged wounds.  Put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn.  He paid for the injured man’s stay and provided for his future care from his own pocket.  By telling this story Jesus was trying to get the man to see that God doesn’t just expect us to treat our family and friends well.  He expects us to love all people, even our enemies.  Who is our neighbor?  Everyone! It’s pretty easy for me to be nice to my friends.  It is quite another for me to be nice to those who hate me- who have been mean to me.  Truth be told I haven’t always been kind to my friends and family-let alone showing kindness to those who hate me.  If you honestly examined your life too, which would you find selfishness or selflessness?  Would you find that you have passed by on the other side when you saw someone in need?  Would you find grudges held tight?  Those sins make traveling alone on the way to heaven a dangerous road.  Those sins crush any hope of making it into heaven if we are traveling alone.

       Who is the hero in Jesus’ story-one who sees someone in need and helps?  Jesus is the Good Samaritan.  He saw our need. He saw the damage sin did to us and he helped. He could have passed by on the other side.  Instead he traded places with us.  He put his perfect love on our record.  He took our selfishness and callousness, our shame and hatred upon himself.  He bound up our wounds and provided for our eternal care in heaven.

      That changes everything!  We don’t travel on the road to heaven alone.  Our substitute goes with us.  Our Savior’s loved changes the way we treat others.  We might think to ourselves.    But if I’m kind to others that’s a dangerous road too because I might get taken advantage of.  But our Savior goes with us.  His compassion toward us opens our eyes toward the needs of those around us.  We don’t have to think that there are so many people out there, I can’t help them all.  Help the people God puts in front of us in our lives.  God says, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”  The Bible says that God has prepared in advance good works for us to do.  I wonder how many I missed along the way.  But my Savior and your Savior goes with us.  He helps us on the road to heaven.

     There is a quote from Mother Teresa I saw the other day, “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love and there is a hunger for God. …I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”  Many people try to cure that hunger for God on their own like the man who asked the question of Jesus.  That’s a dangerous road.  But we know there is one who stopped to help us.  Yes, this world is a dangerous place but we don’t walk alone. Jesus walks with us.  One who showed compassion.  One who showed love.  Let’s show his love.  Let’s share his love.  Amen.

July 20-22, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 9:57-62 “IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST”

PENTECOST 6

July 20-22, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 9:57-62

“IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST”

1.     How much does it cost?

2.     Is it worth it?

Luke 9:57-62 (EHV) “As they went on the way, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁵⁹He said to another man, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Another man also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus told him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 



          It’s basic economics. It’s an important skill for everyone in life. For some it’s a cost/benefit analysis. For others it’s risk/reward. Whatever the viewpoint it’s really the same: How much does it cost? Is it worth it? Wise parents teach this skill to their children. The kids want something. Maybe the latest video game. They make them save and buy it with their own money. Later they ask, “Was it worth it? All the money you had saved up gone for this game you no longer want to play?” Adults practice the same analysis with important things like car buying and house buying. Same thing is true for our church life. How much does this ministry cost? Is it worth it? All kinds of that has gone on and will continue to go on with our building expansion. Architects and builders will tell you that you can do just about anything—for a price. OK, how much does it cost? Is it worth it? Today Jesus brings that process to the forefront with the most important area of our lives: following Him. His words cause us to ask important questions about following Christ. How much does it cost? Is it worth it?

          How much does it cost to follow Christ? In one respect we can want to  quickly answer that questions this way: Nothing! You know what the Bible says. “It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” Becoming a follower of Christ costs us nothing. It is by grace. That is unearned and undeserved. It is not by works, not accomplished by us in anyway. God does it all from first to last. As the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  By very nature you can’t pay for a gift of it is not a gift. It costs nothing to become a follower of Christ. But that’s not what Jesus was talking about. He was talking about living as a follower of Christ.

          How much does that cost? Let’s learn the answer from Jesus. “As they went on the way, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁵⁹He said to another man, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Another man also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus told him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  We join Jesus in His last year of public ministry. He goes to Jerusalem to lay down His life for all. A man offers to follow Him wherever He goes. Jesus tells the man that following Him means putting Jesus’ work ahead of comforts like a nice home. Another man Jesus calls to follow. He makes what seems to be a normal and legitimate request. “First, let me bury my father.” While we don’t know exactly what “Let the dead bury the dead,” means, we know what Jesus is saying to Him. If you do that, if you put that task ahead of me, you can’t follow me. Another man wants to follow Jesus but all he wants to do first is say good-bye to his family. Sounds reasonable right? Not to Jesus. Just like you can’t safely drive your bike or car looking backwards, you can’t plow a straight furrow when you are looking backwards either and the point again is clear. You can’t follow Jesus if you are looking back at your former life. So what it costs to follow Christ is everything! Following is more important than a comfortable home. It is the most import item on the schedule. The relationship to Jesus is more important than family and friends. That’s what it takes to follow Jesus.

          Have you ever heard the term “Cheap grace?” That term was coined by a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany who spoke out against the atrocities and was executed shortly before the fall of Germany in 1945. This was what he wrote. “Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Cheap grace. Sounds funny at first. Grace is free. What do you mean cheap? He meant when you take God’s grace and the sacrifice Christ made without the changes the come from following Christ you treat grace like it’s worthless. He’s talking about saying you follow Christ without a willingness to sacrifice, to give up living like the unbelieving world, without giving up my wants and priorities and replacing them with Christ’s. It’s all a matter of priorities. It’s not enough to say I will put Jesus first. We must truly put Jesus first. I’m so glad in New Testament times that we have the freedom to worship on any day we choose and I’m glad we offer 3 different days and 4 different times each week at St Jacobi because you can’t always control your schedule. I have to tell you that that my pastor’s heart is really hoping that we aren’t unintendedly sending the message, “Worship Christ when it is convenient for you.” And never does following Christ give freedom to not worship. Then we make grace look cheap. Of if we say, “I will follow you Jesus but first let me excel in my career, or the sport of the season.” That makes grace look cheap. I’m glad God trusts us to pick an honorable percentage of our income to give back to Him in thankfulness and to further His work but you can’t follow Christ and not have picked that percentage and be giving it first. “I will honor you Christ but first let me pay off my school loans or the new car I always wanted or pay for my kids to get through school.” That’s no following of Christ. How much does it cost to follow Christ? Everything because it requires putting Jesus before earthly comfort, Jesus before friends and family, Jesus ways before our own.

          Is it worth it? Well how much is God’s one and only Son worth? Recently our picnic committee asked if I would be willing to spend some time in the dunk tank with a potential for getting dunked. I remember saying, “Sure. But one thing I ask, don’t sell me cheaply.” They settled on three shots for a dollar. Guess I know how much I’m worth. Some of you may have read a recent story about the Disney heiress who visited Disney to check on the morale of the employees. She was aghast to find out what they were being paid compared to the CEO who makes about 65 million a year. Her next quote caught my attention. She said, “Jesus Christ himself isn’t worth 500 times a median worker’s wages.” I didn’t crunch the numbers. Didn’t need to. She is wrong. What is Jesus worth, the one and only Son of God? What is he worth when His sacrificial death pays for the sins of all people of all time? Priceless. What is it worth to be a follower of  him?

          Everything! Jesus is no beggar. If we don’t follow He can choose others. If we don’t worship others will. If we don’t do His work He will let others have that honor. It is a privilege to be a follower of Jesus and enjoy all the blessings that comes with it. What is it worth to hear the doctor say, “There’s nothing more we can do,” and be able to say, “That’s OK. I’m going to heaven.” What’s it worth to know mom and dad, brother and sister, baby from the womb is in heaven and you will see them and live with them in the glory of heaven forever? What is it worth when hardship comes to know that a loving, not punishing, God stands behind it and is using it for good? Is it worth it? Are you kidding? It’s the deal of eternity.

          But not always easy for us to put into practice, to wholeheartedly, not half heartedly follow Christ. So what does He do? He helps in in our weakness by promising blessings to calm our fears of losing. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well,” is promised to help us prioritize our time and money. “No one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life” is promised for when we make real sacrifices for Christ and his work. And there are many more. It’s basic economics, folks. Following Christ will cost us time, money, maybe an easier earthly life. But it’s worth everything and more. Amen.

July 13-15, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984) “THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

PENTECOST

July 13-15, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984)

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

1.     That’s life in the sin-filled world.

2.     That’s OK. The LORD is with you!

Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984) “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”

For us to get the most from the Word of God before us today it will be helpful to know a little more of the history of this man named Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 brothers, the sons of Jacob. Jacob made the parental mistaking of having favorites among his children and Joseph was his favorite. Now you can just imagine how the other brothers felt and what they were thinking or saying and if you know it, say it with me. That’s not fair! Jacob’s favoritism showed. For instance he gave only Joseph a special multicolored coat while the others got regular coats. Do you know how the others felt? Say it. That’s not fair! One time Jacob sent the other brothers out to watch the sheep and let Joseph stay at home. Again. That’s not fair. Then Jacob sent Joseph out to check up on his brothers. When  they saw him coming what did they think? That’s not fair! So they made a plot to kill him. One brother, Rueben,  had a little bit of conscience and hoped to rescue Joseph and convinced the other brothers to throw Joseph into  a pit. When they did that you know what Joseph must have thought? Say it. That’s not fair! Before Rueben could rescue Joseph though, the other brothers sold Joseph to some slave traders. What must have been going through Joseph’s mind? That’s not fair! The slave traders sold Joseph to a man named Potiphar, the captain of the guard for the Pharaoh in Egypt. That’s not fair. Joseph did his best to serve. Potiphar noticed and put Joseph in charge of his house. And that’s where our reading picked up.

If Joseph were alive today they would try recruiting him for one of those smutty shows like the Bachelor or Bachelorette. Mrs. Potiphar noticed. Joseph was her slave. She wanted him. She ordered him to commit adultery. Joseph said No. Not only did he say No but did you catch the reason why? “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” There’s no, “What if we get caught?” No, “Potiphar will kill me!” Instead Joseph is living his life very conscious of God. What Mrs. Potiphar wanted was wicked. A sin against God! Can you do any better than that? Seriously, is there any better way to resist temptation than to refuse because you don’t want to dishonor, disappoint God?

Here is where we expect, “And God saw Joseph’s faithfulness. He was pleased with Joseph and an angel of the Lord came and rescued Joseph returning him safely to his father, Jacob.” But that’s not what happened. Mrs. Potiphar persisted. When Joseph continued to refuse she falsely accused him. “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison.” There are words for women like her. You know what? Say it with me. That’s not fair.

Now what does this word of God teach us? First, that’s life in the sin filled world is not fair. It is not perfect. It falls short of the glory of God and so will not be fair and it was God’s decision to leave it that way. You have sinners dealing with sinners and God dealing with sinners so it’s always going to be a mess. The heart attack hits the in shape athlete and the lifelong smoker. Cancer doesn’t check your skin color, your bank account or your diet before striking. God hating blatant evildoers can have and enjoy nice things. Hard working lifelong Christians can constantly struggle and have little. To each and every one of those examples and so many more we can rightly say, “That’s not fair!”

And we need to get over it. We need to give up these unrealistic expectations of fairness by our standards. We need to because most often holding on to those thoughts leads to bitterness and sinning on our part. It led Joseph’s brothers to hatred and selling him as a slave. It leads you to envy, anger bitterness and maybe retribution against others. This is a true store about me. I kid you not. One time as growing up in a home with 8 children and not a lot of money we badgered my poor mom so much on a perceived unfair distribution of the evening treat that she actually pulled out a postage scale to show us how fair she was being. Isn’t that awful? She should not have given us anything. Kids, don’t do that. You make your parent’s life miserable. That is sin. It’s bad enough when you do it to parents who love you and make sacrifices for you. It’s worse when we start getting angry with God and accuse Him of unfair treatment of us. And now let’s be honest. Most of the time our cries for fairness are revealed to be a part of our own selfishness because the cries of “That’s not fair!” really only come if we feel we got shorted. When is the last time you cried “Not fair!” to God because people in third world countries have so much less than you do? Been a while if ever? That’s not fair!

Brothers and sisters, here is why that unrealistic expectation of our brand of fairness need not rob us of joy and contentment. It’s OK. The Lord is with us. He was with Joseph. “But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” No, God did not end right away the unfair imprisonment. Joseph endured 13 years of slavery and imprisonment. But God stayed with Joseph. He carried him through. Joseph grew spiritually. Then when the time was right God used Joseph to spare the physical lives of many people and to further the plan of salvation so that later when Joseph’s brothers apologized Joseph was able to answer from the heart, “You intended to harm me but God intended it for good.” The unfairness was OK because God was with him and God had a plan for good.

Brothers and sisters, it’s OK. It’s OK when life is unfair because the Lord is with you. What has He promised? “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am with you always even to the end of the age.” And when God is with you all things work for the good. So it’s OK. Wait for God to make it right in His time and His way. And instead of getting angry, bitter and resentful, get curious. I wonder how God is going to use this for good?

You know if present trends continue and America becomes less and less Christian, those who hold to Bible teaching can expect some unfair treatment. It might come through the courts. It may happen in your workplace. Churches might get the financial squeeze put on us. When those things happen you know what we’ll want to say? That’s not fair. May God give us strength instead to say with a smile, “That’s OK. The LORD is with us.” And maybe God’s plan in that is to use our calm witness to draw others to Jesus so that we can say to those who mistreat us, “You intended it for harm but God intended it for good, to save many lives.” And in so doing we will join the ranks of believers like Joseph and Moses and many others who follow Jesus in dealing with unfair treatment. Think of Jesus, who when he the holy perfect Son of God was treated as the world’s one and only sinner did not cry out, “That’s not fair!” but “It is finished!” so we would know to say with words and lives, not “That’s not fair!” but “Thank you, Jesus.” Amen.

June 22-24, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 7:1-10 "JESUS IS AMAZED!"

PENTECOST 2

June 22-24, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 7:1-10

"JESUS IS AMAZED!"

1. When God’s people grasp grace.

2. When God’s people accept His authority.

Luke 7:1-10 (NIV) "When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. ²There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. ³The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, ⁵because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” ⁶So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well."

          I still remember the first book I ever paid money for. I was an avid reader as a kid and mostly read whatever books my older brother was reading. I’d make weekly trips to the library to find more. But somehow an ad for a book so grabbed me that I had to part with hard earned cash to get it. It was called, “Strange stories and amazing facts.” And it was good. All sorts of short articles about true things that had my head spinning and eyes wide. I don’t think I’m the only one who likes to be amazed though. On our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains Chris and I went through Gatlinburg which is a lot like the Wisconsin Dells with the same sort of attractions like Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Guinness World Records and many more and I remembered downtown San Antonio has those same things. People like to be amazed. I don’t know how it works for you but in order for something to amaze me it has to be something I can’t do or don’t understand. Now in God’s Word before us it tells us Jesus was amazed. That grabs our attention. There is nothing that Jesus can’t do. There is nothing beyond His understanding. What amazes Him?

          First Jesus is amazed when God’s people grasp God’s grace. Often, they do not. If you have your Bibles open to Luke’s Gospel you see that Jesus had just finished preaching what’s known as His “Sermon on the Plain.” The content is similar to His Sermon on the Mount. The location is different. He’s in Galilee by the city of Capernaum which served as His home base when he was up north. The Roman government’s presence in that city was in the form of a garrison of soldiers led by a centurion. From what Luke tells us it’s clear this centurion had converted to Old Testament Christianity and was also waiting for the Messiah and believed Jesus was that Messiah. But he had a problem. His servant was sick to the point of death. We can see how the Gospel had changed this man. Many centurions would not care about their servants this way. Most centurions would not have given money to build a synagogue.

          It’s not really surprising then that the God fearing people of Capernaum who knew him reacted as they did. “The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, ⁵because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” ⁶So Jesus went with them.”  Did you pick out why the church leaders felt Jesus should help the centurion? He deserved it. Why did he deserve it? Because of the good things he had done. Now this is a very normal way of thinking, even for the people of God who know better. We judge people based on the only things we can. What they say and what they do. People who do nice things, especially nice things for us are good people. People who murder and steal and have no respect for others’ well being or property are bad people. Good people deserve good things. Bad people deserve bad. And while that makes a natural law kind of sense person to person it does not with God.

          To be a good person before God you must be a perfect person. And unless you are a perfect person the only thing you deserve or earn from God is a one way ticket to Hell. That’s why we are so thankful God has revealed He acts on the basis of grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love. It can’t be earned. So when we say or more likely think, “Well Grandma deserves to be healed of her cancer, she is such a good person,” we are showing we aren’t grasping grace. When we see a faithful believer continuing to have struggles in their lives and we say or think, “Well, that’s not really fair, God,” we are showing we aren’t really grasping grace. And when we do that our Almighty God would be well within His rights to say, “Hello, McFly, what part of undeserved don’t you understand?”

          But we can, understand. We can grasp grace. The centurion did. Look at his response. “Jesus (He) was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.” There’s a man who grasps grace. “I’m not worthy. I do not deserve. I want your help, Lord. I need your help, Lord. But I don’t deserve it.” And Jesus was amazed.

          He was also amazed at this believer’s acceptance of authority. “But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well." We are Americans. We value independence and freedom. We don’t live under a governing system where any one man has absolute authority. That may be why American Christians struggle so much with the Bible’s teaching on authority. A good definition that I’ve heard of authority is this. The right to have the final say so. And that definition really fits with something that amazed Jesus. This centurion’s faith. It enabled him to accept Jesus’ authority in his life. “Just say the word. If you say so Jesus. I’m just a centurion and I make things happen by saying so. You are Jesus, the Christ. Just say so and it will happen.” And Jesus was amazed.

          Brothers and sisters, you know what I find amazing here? That you and I have the ability to amaze Jesus. He can do anything. He knows everything. And we can amaze Him? Yes. How? Like the centurion when in faith we take Jesus at His word. You know that’s really what faith is, taking Jesus at His word no matter what these eyes see or don’t see. When you listen to people talk their god talk and their religion talk these days a lot of times you just have to shake your head and say, “You’re just thinking too hard.” Just take the Lord at His word. Not only does that make your relationship with God so much simpler it amazes Jesus. Some examples. When all the nice sounding arguments on why same sex marriages or relationships are all right start to hammer at your moral compass how simple to say well that’s wrong because God says so. When seemingly scientific arguments support the idol of evolution how simple to say the world was created because God says so. When you feel like a spiritual failure because you fell into that pet sin again and Satan makes you feel unforgiven how nice to say I am forgiven because God says so. When the wisdom, mercy and love of God leads Him to allow a difficulty in your life, especially the kind that make your heart hurt so you don’t feel loved or that all things really will work for the good how nice to tell your thoughts they are wrong, God does love you and will work this for the good. You know why? Because God says so.

          That’s faith. Simply taking God at His word, accepting His authority over us and all. And you know what’s really cool about this? As we let grace be grace and simply take God at His word, Jesus is amazed. With the Spirit’s blessing may Jesus enjoy reading the books about our lives. Amen.

June 1-3, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 17:20-26 “WHAT JESUS PRAYS FOR”

EASTER 7

June 1-3, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 17:20-26

“WHAT JESUS PRAYS FOR”

1.     Unity

2.     Glory

3.     Love

Sermon Text:   John 17:20-26 (NIV 1984) “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. ²²I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. ²⁴“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world. ²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. ²⁶I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”



          This past Thursday we once again celebrated the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. In one sense it seems to be an odd thing to celebrate…Jesus visibly leaving. But when you understand that Jesus ascended because His saving mission was completed and that He continues to serve His Church in spectacular ways you understand why it’s something to celebrate. One of those ways is as our intercessor. Jesus intercedes on behalf of the Church for its good. He prays for us. As one verse of the great Easter hymn “I know that my Redeemer lives” puts it, “He lives to plead for me above.” That leads to a question. What does Jesus pray for? Many years ago a fad swept our country that I don’t think would fly any more. WWJD. Do you remember? It stands for What Would Jesus Do and was meant to help Christians think about their actions and decisions. While it could certainly be done right as a guide, kind of like love your neighbor as you love yourself, soon, if you recall, it got ridiculous. People started to ask questions like what would Jesus drive insinuating if you were a real Christian you would only drive an environmentally friendly car and what stores would Jesus shop at and would he really buy a coffee that came from a country where the governments were not democracies on and on it went into silliness. Some Christians shot back with WDJD.  That stands for What Did Jesus Do as they correctly pointed out that more important than what we do is what Jesus did for us. That’s true. What we do is important in that it serves Jesus and shows Him love but nothing we do gets us to heaven. Nothing saves us. What Jesus did does. With that background I would normally hesitate to answer a question like what would Jesus pray for except that the Bible tells us. The portion of God’s Word we are looking at comes from what is known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. It’s part of the extended prayer He prayed in the Upper Room with His disciples the night He was betrayed. As Jesus intercedes for us today we know what Jesus prays for. We see His prayer priorities.

          First of all, unity. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. ²²I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” We know what Jesus prays for as here He clearly says He is praying for all who will believe. He prays for unity among all believers. There is one Lord Jesus Christ. There is one Bible. It makes sense there should be only one Christian church on earth. Sadly we know there are several thousand different church bodies with differing teachings. What happened? The Devil did. Sinful natures did. The Devil knows the strategy of divide and conquer. The sinful nature of man never likes being told what to do or the way it is. From the beginning sinful people have felt free to substitute what they think for what God says. False teaching when it is tolerated spreads and grows and divides. Some have suggested that the way to achieve the unity Jesus prays for is to overlook doctrinal differences and ignore them and let people believe whatever they want about how the world began or what marriage is or what good Baptism does. But that’s not the unity Jesus prays for. “May they be one as we are one.” Jesus and the Father never agree to disagree. The Son submits to the Father and they are one. So how do you get unity? Jesus has told us. “Sanctify them the truth. Your word is truth. If you hold to my teachings you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Brothers and sisters, we get to be part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer. As we devote to God’s word and submit our opinions and wants to what God says and demand that all Christians worldwide do the same and refuse to join with them until they do we are working for what Jesus prays for. Unity. Real Unity.

          Jesus also prays for glory. “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.” Jesus prays for you to have the glory of heaven and to see Him in all His glory. What that full glory is we can only speculate but it’s important that you know Jesus is praying for you to have it and to see it and that He has already done everything needed so you will get it. It’s important that you know that because now following Jesus will not be filled with glory nor does it look like Jesus has glory. When people use the name of Jesus Christ as a curse word or words of anger and are not immediately struck dead for blasphemy He doesn’t look very glorious. When the visible Christian church declines you will wonder about the glory. When Christians try to stay faithful to Christ’s teaching and get ridiculed or shunned is marginalized it will not feel very glorious. But the glory is coming. My dad had many sayings. One oft repeated one to us boys was “Work first, then play.” He was teaching us priorities and responsibility. Do the work, the hard part first. Then have fun. Jesus’ prayer reminds us of the same. Struggle first, then glory. Live in the sin messed world for a short time and then have glory forever. Jesus prays for you to have it and so you will.

          And Jesus also prays for you to have love. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. ²⁶I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” Jesus prays for the love of the Father to be in us. This is not what passes for love for so many people which is like as long as you are pleasing me or tolerate sin and say nothing. It’s the Father’s love. A commitment love. A caring for the needs of other love. It’s important that we have it. Not only did Jesus say that if we hold to his teachings we are really his disciples. He also said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Listen to what He had the Apostle John write in his first epistle. “ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” If we love one another—God lives in us. Look for those ways to care for another’s needs, to forgive, to sacrifice. That’s the love of the Father.

          I certainly have no desire to add more alphabet soup. I’m not suggesting that in addition to WWJD and WDJD that we have WIJPF. I do want you to know that Jesus prays for you and that His prayer priorities are unity, glory and love. Then as we dedicate ourselves to those priorities we find that we get to be an answer to Jesus’ prayers. Amen.

May 11-13, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Isaiah 40:9-11 “BEST SHEPHERD EVER!”

EASTER 4

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

May 11-13, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Isaiah 40:9-11

“BEST SHEPHERD EVER!”

1.     The most powerful Shepherd ever.

2.     The most loving Shepherd ever.

Isaiah 40:9-11 (NIV 1984) “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. ¹¹He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.”



          May means graduation season according to the American education system. It’s also the time when yearbooks are handed out. Do you still have yours? I’m not sure if all high schools do this but mine did as did the one my girls went to. It’s called senior superlatives. The class would vote and the yearbook would list the senior with the bestest or mostest. Like Most Likely to Succeed. Or Best Smile. I suppose at St. Jacobi we could have pastor superlatives and so Pastor Waldschmidt would get tallest pastor at St. Jacobi which of course means I would get pastor with the most hair. I think. And there you realize that the importance of a superlative is really dependent on the size and quality of the people in the pool. And that’s what makes a Savior superlative we observe today so awe inspiring. The pool is everyone who ever has or will live and the superlative we celebrate today on Good Shepherd Sunday with all eyes on Jesus is this: Best Shepherd ever!!

          Truly all eyes need to be on Jesus. I have a direct command from God to make that happen. Did you catch it? Things were not really all that easy for believers at the time of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah had the privilege of announcing that what was left of the once great nation of Israel, the southern kingdom called Judah, would be destroyed and most of the people carried into exile into Babylon as punishment for the rampant idolatry. As you can imagine the relatively few believers left in Judah were a little down in the mouth about what was to come. So God had Isaiah give instructions to their pastors, often called prophets. “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” No need for God’s people to be down. Look up, not down, was the message. Here is your God.

          Same thing today. Jacobi. Here is your God. The best Shepherd Ever. Picturing the Savior God, picturing Jesus as the Good Shepherd is not new. God uses the picture throughout the Bible. Think of that 23^rd Psalm. Think of Ezekiel 34 and John 10. Shepherds take care of sheep. God’s people are like a flock of sheep and lambs. They need care. Jesus provides it. What makes Him the best Shepherd ever? Isaiah tells us. First He is the most powerful Shepherd ever. “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.” How often is fear the reason you do the things that you do? How often does fear prevent you from doing what you want to do? Fear is a powerful motivator. The believers at Isaiah’s time were dealing with fears. What would happen to them when Babylon attacked? What would happen to their families, their children in the long march to exile? What good did it do to be a believer if you got caught up in the punishment of  the unbeliever? We face fears. What’s the outcome of this political nastiness for our country? How bad will the anti Christian sentiment get? What will it be like for the kids and grandkids? Will our retirement savings last? Will he get better? Fear.

          Jacobi, here is your God. All eyes on Jesus. Fear is not your master. The most powerful Shepherd ever is. He’s the Sovereign Lord which means He’s in charge. His arm ruling means He’s in control. He comes with power. Isaiah’s people did not need to fear because God’s power was for them. If you are on the other side of God then be afraid. As our nation observes Mother’s Day and still we allow the legal murder of babies called abortion I wonder what will happen on the day of Judgment when the baby hitmen doctors stand before the Good Shepherd, the best Shepherd ever, the most powerful Shepherd, and He asks, “And why did you think you could slaughter my lambs for money?” I have recompense with me and it is time for payback.” It also makes you think, mom and dad, do you really want to teach the lambs in your care that worshiping the Good Shepherd weekly isn’t that important? Do you really think that lovingly prepares them for eternity? Do you want to stand before the most powerful shepherd ever and say, “I thought their short lived grade school sports career was more important?”

          How much better to be on His side and know that no matter what happens the Best Shepherd ever has all power and uses it for your good? How much better to know that when conquest happens, like it did for Isaiah’s people, or setback like it does for us that there is purpose and reason guided by the Best Shepherd ever. Oh yeah, and that, “What good does it do to be a believer anyway?” Did you hear what He said? His reward is with Him and His recompense accompanies Him. No one who has trusted in the Lord has ever been put to shame. No one who has sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness has been left hanging. No one who has forsaken others to follow Christ has been forsaken by Christ. Jesus has promised that those who do His work on earth will never lose that reward. Remember that mom when you are caring for the lambs and they kick you in the teeth or disciplining is hard and wearisome or teaching the kids to listen in worship seems to rob you or your own. You’ve got the best Shepherd ever, the most powerful shepherd ever and He knows full well how to take care of His sheep.

          And the Best Shepherd ever, who happens to be the most powerful Shepherd ever, is at the very same time the most loving Shepherd ever. Jacobi, here is your God! “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” While sadly, we too often, let fear motivate us only one thing motivates the best Shepherd ever. Love. Love for you. For me. For all people. There is supposed to be no greater or more sacrificial love than that shown by mothers to their children. That’s why even though it’s not fair, Mothers Day is a bigger Hallmark holiday than Fathers day. For some Mother’s day is a hard day because you miss your mother who loved you dearly as she is in heaven. For some it’s a hard day because a sinful mom failed you. For some moms it’s a great day because they get some attention, props and presents. Later in the week when you are taken for granted—again, you’ll wonder if you are still appreciated. You are by the best Shepherd ever. He is the most loving Shepherd ever. He loves you.

          There is a reason that pictures of Jesus as the Good Shepherd are so dear to Christians. Pictures like these. They help us visualize the most loving shepherd ever. He takes special care of those who have young. Remember that, mom, when you feel things are going badly. If the Shepherd used his staff to give you a yank or trip you up it’s only because he loves you and is saving you from something harmful. Remember that when your kids are growing up and you need to let go. He won’t. He’s the best shepherd ever. Here’s a picture some of you may have not seen. You notice who He’s carrying? The black sheep of the family. Now who are you thinking of? Hopefully yourself. We all like to stray. And what does the the best Shepherd ever do? He carries us close to His heart. Special individual care.

          And then when the time came for the price to be paid, when someone needed to carry all sin to the cross, when there was no other way for sin to be paid except through the shedding of blood, the best Shepherd ever didn’t offer up any of His sheep or lambs. He didn’t say, “Hey, here’s ___________________. How about we sacrifice him?” No instead the shepherd became the sheep, the Lamb of God whose death makes me His own. You know what you have to say to that? Best shepherd ever. Jesus. Amen.