May 22-24, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 14:25-27 “NO WORRIES!”

 PENTECOST

May 22-24, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 14:25-27

                                         “NO WORRIES!”

1.     The Holy Spirit provides the teachings we need.

2.     The Holy Spirit provides the teachers we need.

 

John 14:25-27 (EHV) “I have told you these things while staying with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you. ²⁷“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”

 

          Perhaps you have had an experience like this. You are in a class or a presentation for work or school. The teacher or presenter fills you with loads of information. As the class wraps up the teacher says, “OK, I hope you took good notes. You can use them for the test tomorrow.” What? Why didn’t you let us know that at the beginning? I would have taken notes. Your heart sinks. To be sure, you should have taken notes whether the teacher told you to or not. That is your responsibility. But at that point, it’s too late!  Now if you have had that type of an experience or feeling I’d like you to try to imagine being one of Jesus’ disciples in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday evening. You have been following Jesus for nearly three years. You have seen things that have astonished you. You have heard things that confuse you. Clearly He is the Messiah, the Promised one from God. He is the Anointed one. He will rule Israel. Yes, He has talked before about being put to death and leaving you but you never really believed it. Here in the Upper room, on this night, things are different. Jesus speaks bluntly, clearly, about betrayal, death, and leaving you to go back to the Father. “Oh, there’s one more thing, dear disciples,” Jesus says. “You will take over teaching the people everything I have told you.” What? Why didn’t you tell us that at the beginning? We would have taken notes. To be fair if they had tried to do that, they would have had a wagon load of scrolls to pull around. I imagine their mouths agape. How are we going to do that?

          No worries! Jesus swooped in. He promised to send the Holy Spirit. Today we observe the church festival of Pentecost. It celebrates the 3^rd person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, and the gifts He brings to believers. That reminds us of our secondary emphasis this weekend as we say good bye to one retiring teacher and four teachers who will be leaving to serve God elsewhere. No worries! No worries for people moving to a different place. No worries for one finding new ways to serve. No worries for St Jacobi congregation. Why? The Holy Spirit provides gifts for believers, gifts we need.

          He provides first of all the teachings we need. That’s what was promised. “I have told you these things while staying with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.” It’s like that dreaded test became an open book test! “No worries disciples. You don’t have to remember everything I taught you. The Holy Spirit will take care of that for you.” And that, my friends, is exactly what happened and how we got the New Testament of the Bible. As you heard in the Acts reading the Holy Spirit filled these disciples now called Apostles. They received special gifts to rapidly spread the Good News that Jesus is Savior for all. They knew how to speak languages they never studied before so when they went to different countries they could speak God’s truth in the language the people would understand the best. They were given the ability to do miracles to authenticate that God was behind these teachings. And they were given total recall, the ability to remember the teachings and even exact quotes of Jesus. And they wrote them down. Matthew, Mark and John’s Gospels. Or told them to someone else, Luke’s Gospel. And the Holy Spirit continued to work in them and through them inspiring the words of God that we now have in the Bible.

          Do you understand what this means? No worries! We have the teachings we need. There are all kinds of things that you and I may want to know about heaven or resurrected bodies or why God let the Devil continue to exist, but we don’t need to know them. We have what we need. We need to know we are sinners who can’t save ourselves. So you will find as you read your Bibles, the laws of God that are absolute, no matter what the laws of our country say. Murder is murder whether you pull a gun and shoot someone who cut you off driving or tear apart a little baby in its mother’s womb. Sexual sinning is sinning whether it involves heterosexual or homosexual. Trusting first in anything other than God who has revealed himself in the Bible is idolatry. Thinking you can do anything yourself to get to heaven is arrogant blasphemy that denies that Jesus is the Christ, the only way to heaven. We need to know those things so we repent in our own lives. And then you have the Good News, the Gospel, that tells you God loves you anyway. That He has sent His only Son Jesus who is your Savior. Your sins are forgiven. While you can’t get yourself forgiven or to heaven Jesus already has. So no worries. Don’t worry about questions you have that aren’t answered in the Bible. You don’t need them. Do concern yourself with understanding what’s in the Bible.

          Which takes us to our second Holy Spirit blessing. Not only does the Holy Spirit provide the teachings we need. He provides the teachers we need too. A few weeks ago you may remember we had the reading from Acts about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Remember the guy was riding in his chariot and reading from the book of Isaiah. He could not understand who it was talking about. Do you remember what happened next? The Holy Spirit sent Philip to explain it to him. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. He provides the teachers we need, teachers of God’s word.

          Listen again. “I have told you these things while staying with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.” YOU! Over and over again Jesus was speaking directly to the disciples. They would be the teachers that time needed to teach God’s people God’s holy will. To help them keep their eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what. To remember that their true purpose in life was to be witnesses for Jesus wherever they were at and whatever they did. The disciples called apostles did just that. They started in Jerusalem and then went further and further out, guided by the Holy Spirit. They were the teachers that were needed so they were provided by the Holy Spirit to teach the people back then. Over time these disciples called Apostles died. What then? The Holy Spirit provided more teachers.

          And He has been doing the same thing since, also here at St Jacobi. Those of you who have been at St Jacobi a long time have seen a relatively few pastors. Some remember the first Pastor Eckert and then of course the second. Some remember Pastor Henning and then all of you know who you’ve been stuck with lately. On the teacher side you have seen many different teachers as we have a large school. If you are relatively new to St. Jacob and you heard throughout the school year that teachers were leaving for various reasons you may have been a little worried. No worries! The Holy Spirit provides the teachers we need and he has. We are ready to go for next year. Thank you, Holy Spirit!

          Just like the teachers who are leaving were the ones we needed at the time. We thank, Kari Falck, Paul Frisque and Jeff and Sarah Roloff. You will be going to new places where the Holy Spirit has provided you to serve others. We thank you for your service here and pray for God’s continued blessing on your new endeavors. Mrs. Sue Saatkamp, you have chosen retirement which means you get to do work without getting paid! We thank you for your service over the years. The Holy Spirit provided you as a gift to us. So now what? Are you worried what you will do, how you will feel next school year when you won’t be going back to school? No worries!

Listen to the voice of your Savior! “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.” That’s another one of those teachings we all need. Jesus gives peace. Not like the world’s peace which only lasts until the next crisis. His peace is a calmness we get to have because He is with us always through thick and thin, good times and bad, working or retired. Jesus is with you. The Holy Spirit provides what you need. Always. No worries! Amen.

May 8-10, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Acts 9:36-42 (EHV) “SHOW AND TELL!”

EASTER 6

May 8-10, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Acts 9:36-42 (EHV)

 

“SHOW AND TELL!”

1.     Show the love of Jesus

2.     So you can tell the love of Jesus!

 

Acts 9:36-42 (EHV) “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸Since Lydda is near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, who urged him, “Come to us without delay!” ³⁹Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them. ⁴⁰After Peter sent them all outside, he got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. After he called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive. ⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

 

          It’s another one of those fun things you get to do in school. Show and Tell. Maybe you got your first chance in kindergarten. Remember how excited you were to bring your own thing from home to show and tell. Maybe you had a special collection or grandpa’s war medal. Fun thing to do. I’ve brought something today for Show and Tell. It’s called Spirit Lifters. Some of you have heard me talk about it before. It was a gift from my mom to all her children. For every day of the year, even Leap Day, to has an encouraging or inspiring Bible passage, hymn verse or saying designed to—you guessed it! Lift your spirits. What is also interesting is who made these little beauties. St. Paul’s Dorcas Society, Brownsville Wisconsin.  A Dorcas Society. A group of women who got together to serve and make nice things. Now where do you think that name came from? You know. You heard about it in our reading. “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity.” A disciple, a believer in Jesus. Tabitha, also known as Dorcas. And why is her story in the Bible? She’s going to teach us how to Show and Tell.

          First show the love of Jesus. We aren’t told a whole lot about this woman named Dorcas. We aren’t told if she was married or had kids. Was she widowed or working? No, the Spirit draws our attention to what we need to see. She was a disciple, a believer in Jesus. She knew the love of Jesus. Like you and I do as well, she understood Jesus’ great love for her, a love that moved Him to take care of her greatest need at greatest cost to Himself. He took her sins on Himself and paid the awful price of Hell. This changed Dorcas. She understood her purpose in life. Show. Show the love of Jesus. Kindly meet the needs of others at cost to herself.

          “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸Since Lydda is near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, who urged him, “Come to us without delay!” ³⁹Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them.” Dorcas showed the love of Jesus by making robes and clothes for widow women. Back then, there were no retirement pensions, no investments, no Social Security. Widowed women often found themselves poor and dependent on their church and others to survive. Dorcas saw a need and she showed the love of Jesus.

          Now remember all Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. What does the Holy Spirit want us to see? A woman showing the love of Jesus in a way that she could. Why? To encourage and motivate us to do the same. How many years of training do you think Dorcas received before she started showing the love of Jesus? What degrees did she hold? No, Dorcas was just herself. She obviously had skills as a seamstress but there were undoubtedly many seamstresses. Why does the Spirit focus our attention on Dorcas? She showed the love of Jesus. She saw a need and met a need. She was kind.

And you know what? Every one us can do the same. We know the love of Jesus. We have experienced it. Through faith we see Jesus loving us sinners and suffering for us sinners and happy to do so. We can show how Jesus has changed us. What nice things can you do for others? Neighbors need help with the garbage can? A ride to a store? You know one of the loneliest groupings of people in our society are the elderly. Kids you could make a card, sing a song, take a flower. So many ways to show the love of Jesus and on a weekend like this we have to think of how moms and grandmas do that. Show the love of Jesus as they raise kids and grandkids.

          But friends we need to dig a little deeper here. Why is the Spirit putting the spotlight on Dorcas? Surely there were other people who did nice things too. Well the book of Acts is the history of the early Christian Church. It’s put in the Bible to show how the living Lord Jesus was with the early Christians and how the fact that He lives changed the way they lived, their priorities, their purpose, and how Jesus used that to bring more and more people into the family of faith. It’s there so the fact that Jesus lives will change the way we believers live, our priorities and our purpose. Let’s see how.

          “After Peter sent them all outside, he got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. After he called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive. ⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” We’re not told but somehow Peter knew what Jesus wanted him to do. While all these people were gathered at the death of this beloved woman Tabitha it was time to use the power Jesus had given the apostles to do miracles. With Jesus’ power he raised Tabitha from the dead. How cool was that? But that was not the really cool part, was it? This was: “This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” Many believed! The purpose for Tabitha’s life and Tabitha’s death and Tabitha’s back to life was the same. Opportunities for her or others to tell the love of Jesus so more believe and are saved.

          And this, brothers and sisters, is how Jesus works through you. When you show the love of Jesus in your daily living you will gain opportunities for you or others to tell the love of Jesus. And the neat part is it does not require any classes or degree. It just requires you to be yourself but always to remember the greater purpose of connecting people to Jesus so they can be saved eternally. Dorcas did nice things for others. Doing nice things built relationships and those personal relationships became to bridge to building the only relationship that matters for eternity, faith in Jesus.

          So go ahead and be nice and do good. Help the poor, feed the hungry, help a neighbor, give a ride, make some cookies, rake some leaves but don’t be content with just being nice. Use nice to get to Jesus. Pray for an opportunity to let the reason behind your nice come out. I believe in Jesus. He loves you too. When it’s right leverage those relationships. Kids, when we start up next year, “Say, I’m going to sing at church, will you come see me?” With that lonely elderly neighbor, “Would you like to come over for Thanksgiving Dinner? How about you come to church with me and join our family for our Thanksgiving meal?” So many opportunities once you show the love of Jesus for you or others to tell the love of Jesus. In your life and in your death.

          You do know that this Tabitha who was raised to life later died—again. She went to heaven. Her body stayed here. What do you think they talked about at her funeral? How many people were there? Your death could do the same. Show the love of Jesus and when you go to heaven we will tell the love of Jesus to everyone there. It’s Show and Tell!

          You know, someone once said that “Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten.” In many ways that is true. Like Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Like I am Jesus little lamb. Like be nice and kind to everyone. And like Show and tell—the love of Jesus! Amen. 

EASTER April 4-5, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “CERTAIN HOPE FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES!”

 

EASTER

April 4-5, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 

“CERTAIN HOPE FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES!”

1.     Easter gives us hope for uncertainty in this life.

2.     Easter gives us hope for a certain life to come.

 

1 Corinthians 15:19-20 (EHV) “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

 

          Uncertainty, not knowing, is the worst. You are left hanging, paralyzed, unable to act and not knowing which way to go. So if you apply for a job that you really want it’s the waiting that’s the hardest part. Did I get it or not? Once I know I can act one way or the other. Or take the biopsy. Is it cancer or not? Uncertainty again leaves you hanging, wondering, what should I plan for. So when you are waiting for some needed news that will be either good or bad it’s better to know. Then you can act. Uncertainty, uncertainty is the worst. We are so glad to be able to worship online and in person this Easter. It was good to know we could plan on having this service but we certainly have had more than our fair share of uncertainty this past year, haven’t we? If you are like me, you felt pulled back and forth by experts. Things that we were told were true one week weren’t true the next week. Things I thought for sure would happen didn’t happen. The waiting was the hardest part. Will the economy tank or bounce back? Will I keep my job or lose it? Will we be able to go back to in person worship, in person school, or not? What keeps you going in uncertain times is hope. Hope that things will get better.

          What are you hoping for this morning? Do you hope this virus goes away or the vaccines work so life can go back to normal? Do you hope that our nation can somehow heal? Is your hope more personal for something like a job or healing or for a relationship? It’s important to have hope. It’s also important that your hope is well placed. So often the hope people have is no hope at all but just a wish, a dream, “Wouldn’t it be great if..” but there is nothing backing that hope or wish. That’s why it’s good for us to be here, to be listening. We are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and what we shall see is that what happened outside of Jerusalem that first Easter Sunday almost 2000 years ago gives us a sure and certain hope, hope backed by Christ.

          It gives us hope for the uncertainties of this life. Jesus has made many promises to you, promises filled with hope. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you. He has promised you that with Him in your life you never face any problem alone. He has promised to work all things in your life for the good. He has promised that He is ruling all things, including governments of this world, for the good of the church and that means for your good. He has promised that He has all power to provide for you and protect you and He is using it. He has promised to hear and answer all of your prayers based on what is best for you. He has promised you that He loves you unconditionally. He has promised you that His death has paid for every one of your sins in full, that you are forgiven.

          All those promises are meaningless if Jesus’ bones are buried in some cave somewhere outside of Jerusalem. None of these promises can be true. None of God’s promises can be trusted. You have no hope for this life if Christ has not been raised from the dead. But He did rise from the dead! Read all of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 today if you want and rejoice. Rejoice as it reveals Jesus lives! In addition to the eyewitness accounts from Matthew’s Gospel and Mark’s Gospel  and the ones Luke so carefully researched and wrote down in his gospel and the eyewitness account of John in his Gospel, Paul reminds us of the time the risen Lord Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time and then to Paul himself. Jesus is risen and that means you have certain hope for the uncertainties of this life.

          So go ahead and smile and be happy and have hope, hope in Jesus. Hoping for our lives to return to normal is just a wish, but hope in Jesus gives me confidence that because He lives we get to know that even if we don’t get back to normal He will work abnormal for our good. Hoping I get a certain job I have my heart set on is a wish. Hope in Jesus gives the peace that my living Lord Jesus will provide for me in the best way and if I don’t get that job it’s because my living Lord Jesus has a better one for me. Hope that our country will heal or a relationship will make it is a wish. But hope in the living Lord Jesus gives me the comfort of knowing my part in causing division in our nation and my part in ruining a relationship has been forgiven and I am free to live today in a way that promotes healing and peace. Hoping grandma’s cancer goes away is a wish but hope in Jesus gives me the calmness of knowing grandma will get better.

          Recently I was told of a retired pastor who had just gotten the news that he had an inoperable brain tumor, likely 6 months to live. A relative who did not know of this diagnosis happened to call him and ask how he was feeling. “OK,” he said, “but pretty soon I’ll feel perfect!” How could he say that? He could and did because not only does our living Lord Jesus give us certain hope for the uncertainties of this life but he also, and more importantly, gives us certain hope for the life to come.

          That’s what the Apostle Paul was emphasizing in the section of 1 Corinthians I read to you. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” I appreciate honesty. Paul’s words very bluntly remind us that a day is coming when hope for this life won’t matter any more because this life will end. That’s not a popular message in an America where many citizens strive to hold on to every last breath but it’s true. The death rate for Americans still stands at 100%. What then?  It’s good to have hope in Christ for this life. It changes attitudes and outlooks. But this life ends. Then what? If there is nothing more we are the most pitiful people of all.

“But” and I hesitate to say this, however, this is a really big “but.” But what? But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Jesus lives! Do you see what this means? We have certain hope for the life to come. Paul called Jesus the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Since we live in an urban area we really don’t focus on what firstfruits are or mean. Firstfruits are exactly what they sound like, the very first part of a crop that is ready to harvest. It’s the first daffodil to break ground, but it’s not the last. It’s the first apple or cherry blossom to show, the promise that more are coming. It’s the first ear of juicy Wisconsin sweet corn waiting to pop in your mouth, but more are coming.

Here is hope, certain hope for the life to come. Let’s go back to grandma’s cancer. You love grandma. She loves you more. Throughout her life she has been there loving, hugging, smiling. She has prayed for you and pointed you to Jesus her Savior by word and example. You pray for her to get better. She will! She will! Because Jesus lives. Whether the cancer takes her or something else she will not end when this life ends. She will fall asleep in Jesus and as He rose from the dead as the firstfruit  she will follow as the second or more likely billionth. You will be with her again. Now if it’s not Grandma you are hoping to see, who is it? Picture them. Easter gives certain hope for the life to come. It’s happening.

Now look at what that does to the here and now. This life can frustrate you but it cannot break you. It can vex you but it cannot defeat you. It can drag you down but it cannot put you out. It can cause you pain and your heart to ache but it cannot control you and does not define who you will be nor will the hurts and pains last. The Devil and the unbelieving world can try to marginalize you as much as they want but they will be the ones on the margins just hoping to get to be what we are, but their hope is nothing more than a wish that will never happen. But you, you will live forever in the glory and joy of heaven where no pain can touch you, no hope goes unfulfilled, no sin can make you feel guilty and no relationship break your heart. Why? Because Jesus lives! Certain hope for the life to come.

          Friends, I am quite certain that if I could tell you and the rest of America for a fact that all Covid related inconveniences would end tomorrow there would be great joy and happiness—for a little bit. At least until the next fear producing crisis came. If I told you, you would get that job that you really want or your house offer would be accepted you would be thrilled--for a bit, until the job or house became one more thing in this life you take for granted as we all find it so easy to do. However I can’t tell you any of those things with any certainty. What I can tell you  is Jesus lives. And because He lives you can always count on a brighter tomorrow. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Amen.

April 1, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 13:1-5, 12-17 “HANDS OF HUMILITY!”

 

MAUNDY THURSDAY

April 1, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 13:1-5, 12-17

 

“HANDS OF HUMILITY!”

 

John 13:1-5, 12-17 (EHV) “Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were his own in the world, he loved them to the end. ² By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God. ⁴ He got up from the supper and laid aside his outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…. ¹² After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garment, he reclined at the table again. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. ¹⁴ Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Amen, Amen, I tell you: A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

 

          I’m guessing you have all either had an experience like this or watched it happen. You go to a restaurant. The hostess seats you and says, “Your server will be with you shortly.” You wait. You converse with your dinner guests. After a while of talking you realize no has stopped at your table yet, not even to fill glasses of water. That’s weird. You look around trying to catch the eye of who is supposed to be your server. No one. You go back to the hostess who points out your server to you. You ask for some water. “Sure, I’ll be right there.” More waiting. Uncomfortable. Starting to lead to anger. You hunt the server down. “Can we get some help?” “Sure, just let me take care of this table first.” You head out in a huff. That’s not good service.

          Whether that has actually happened to you or not at a restaurant it has happened somewhere. Poor service just leaves you waiting and frustrated and it is all too common. At the doctor’s office. The grocery store checkout or just trying to get an oil change. Here’s the problem. We all depend on others for needed service. In fact God created people to depend on others. You might be able to do your taxes but can you fix your computer, your car, your plumbing? Good service is so important and often so rare that we are willing to honor good service with healthy tips and enthusiastic referrals.

          And if you are the person who likes to do that then certainly you will want to refer your friends and relatives, and maybe even your enemies, to Jesus! The word of God we are looking at shows Jesus providing invaluable service not just to His disciples but to all of us as we look at his Hands of Humility.

          We join Jesus and His disciples in the Upper Room and the night of what we have come to call Maundy Thursday. They are celebrating the Passover and Jesus has a lot on his mind. “Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were his own in the world, he loved them to the end. ² By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God.” Did you catch that? Jesus knew. He knew it was time, time for Him to feel the sting of betrayal by a friend, time for Him to endure the pain and suffering of Hell in order to redeem the people He loved so much. Who would have blamed Jesus if He made the night about Himself, if He had been withdrawn and quiet? But He wasn’t. He was busy serving.

          “He got up from the supper and laid aside his outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” You have to wonder a little bit just what had happened when Jesus and his disciples had first entered the upper room. Remember, these are the guys that Jesus busted arguing about who would be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom. These are the guys who fought again when James and John’s mother asked for special privileges for them. Normally when you entered a house in that culture someone washed your feet. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the lowest man on the totem pole got the privilege of handling, sweaty, stinky dirty feet. With no one there to wash their feet were they arguing again? Who would get stuck washing feet? Nose goes! Rock, paper, scissors! Wouldn’t you think one of them would at least have offered to wash Jesus’ feet? Didn’t happen. But feet were washed—by Jesus. “ After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garment, he reclined at the table again.” With all that Jesus had on His mind, with the weight of the sins of the world resting on His shoulders we would understand if Jesus let a little of his righteous anger show. But he didn’t. His hands of humility went into action and He served.

          And He served with purpose. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. ¹⁴ Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Amen, Amen, I tell you: A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” You can teach with words. You can teach with actions. You can do what’s best and teach with both. That’s what Jesus was doing. Without frustration or exasperation, with perfect patience Jesus taught the joy of service.

          Jesus’ hands of humility humble us. Most of the time our service to others falls far short of what Jesus has shown us. Often we base it on the behavior of our neighbor. We shun people who don’t agree with us. We get around to the problem child last. We do the least we can get by with for the most difficult people in our lives and gladly do good to those who are good to us and we justify our poor Christian service by saying, “That’s all they deserved,” And our own words condemn us. What if Jesus worked that way? No one would have gotten their feet washed. Much worse, no one’s sins would be paid for. But that’s not Jesus. He didn’t walk out in a huff over the bad behavior of his disciples and he didn’t walk out on you and me either. He served and gave his life as a ransom for many.

          Maybe we wonder why Jesus took this particular time to teach a lesson on Christian service. So many other things could have been His priority. But the Savior you know always has the best interest of His people in mind. He gives what they need. What we need is to know what will give us joy in this sin filled world as we wait for the glory of heaven. And what we need is the strength to do it. Both of those Jesus provided with His hands of humility. This day we call Maundy Thursday. Many people think Maundy must have something to do with the Lord’s Supper because this is when Jesus gave it to us. Actually the word Maundy comes from the Latin Mandate which means command. A new command Jesus gave that night. Love each other as I have loved you. Love by serving. Find joy by serving. The command is not to wash feet but to serve others needs even if it’s lowly, even if they don’t deserve it. And the strength to do it? Jesus’ hands of humility held out bread and said, “Take and eat, this is my body,” and the cup and said, “Take and drink, this is my blood.” Faith food. Strength for Christian living.

I said earlier that God created people to need the service of others. He also created us to find joy in serving others with our own hands of humility. That’s why Jesus said, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Happy serving! Amen.

March 20-22, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 “IT’S A NEW COVENANT!”

 

LENT 5

March 20-22, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34

 

“IT’S A  NEW COVENANT!”

 

SERMON TEXT: Jeremiah 31:31-34 (EHV) “Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴No longer will each one teach his neighbor, or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.”

 

          Just imagine you are on the game show The Price is Right. You get picked and make the right bid. They reveal what you can win. “It’s a new car!” You know what happens next. Screams and cheers from the crowd and the best reaction from the contestants. The opportunity to win a new car is just so exciting. And to be sure there is something to be said about the excitement of something new, like our new addition, or new clothes, or new shoes for my wife. Excitement and appreciation for something new builds when the old is worn out and broken.

          That’s what God had the prophet Jeremiah announce. It was about 600 years before Jesus was born. The prophet Jeremiah announced something new was coming, a new covenant. Any of the people back then who truly understood the covenant they were living under would be so excited at the prospect of a new covenant with God to replace the old. I imagine them screaming. “It’s a new covenant!” Things are a little different with us. We are living in the days the Lord was talking about, the time of the New Covenant. It’s what the Church year season of Lent points us to: how Jesus marches to Jerusalem to deliver a new covenant and then signs and seals it with His blood. Now here’s the problem. When you’ve had something new for a while, it doesn’t feel new anymore, even if it’s in perfect condition. It starts to feel old. And what happens with to us with stuff that feels old? We don’t appreciate it anymore. So today let’s eagerly examine the two covenants God put into place, the old and the new, with the goal that we will walk out of here once again excited that we have a new covenant!

          Now the best way to do this is simply to have a side by side comparison of the old and the new covenants which is really a comparison of life for believers in the Old Testament to life for believers in the New Testament. That’s what the word testament means, covenant. It’s important to remember that believers in the Old Testament were saved by believing in the Savior who would come and believers in the New Testament are saved by believing in the Savior who has come. Same Savior. Jesus. Life was very different however. Let’s look at some of the differences between old and new.

          First, the Old. It was given only to the Old Testament nation of Israel. Anyone who wanted to be a part of it would have to walk like an Israeli and by that I mean live like them and follow all the rules. Secondly it was put in place by a man, a great man, but just a man. Moses delivered the covenant to Old Testament Israel. Thirdly, the Old Covenant was conditional, two sided. God promised He would do certain things for the nation of Israel like fight their wars and bless their crops and herds. The people had to do their part and keep the laws of the covenant. And there were lots of them like food laws. Certain foods were considered unclean. Did you know that if you lived at the time of the Old Covenant you would never get to eat a BLT or a half or full rack of ribs or have eggs with bacon for breakfast, not even bacon bits on your salad? You would not have ham and rolls for Sunday lunch like so much of the rest of Milwaukee. Pork was an unclean food. Speaking of unclean there were all kinds of laws that made you unclean for a period of time which meant you could not come before God and had to be isolated from other people. You were unclean if you were near a dead body of man or beast. Unclean if you had a rash. All kinds of natural body functions made you unclean. When you learn all those laws you wonder how anybody spent any time being clean. But actually that was one of the points. You can’t clean yourself up. If you lived at the time of the Old Covenant you would have to worship on Saturday and you have to make your schedule work around that day. No going to Badger games. Nothing that resembled work. Fourthly the Old Covenant was bloody all the time. Take a read through Leviticus and find out about the many, many animal sacrifices that were required. Kids when you came to church you would see and smell a lot of blood. I’d have to be an expert butcher. Now the reason for all of this is that the Old Covenant was a teaching covenant. It taught very bluntly that sin makes you unclean so you can’t come to God. Sin is horrible and requires payment in blood and death. Either the sinner paid or a substitute and as soon as I say that word substitute you know what the Old Covenant was designed to do, point to and picture Jesus. Finally the Old Covenant was a broken covenant. It forced you to say, “I must. I have to. I can’t.” Actually do you know how long it took the Old Testament nation of Israel to break their side of the covenant? Remember what Moses found when he came down Mt. Sinai? The Golden Calf. Do you think we could have done better?

          What good news to hear “It’s a New Covenant!” “Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴No longer will each one teach his neighbor, or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.” Let’s look now at the new Covenant that you and I get to live under. First, it’s for everybody, not one nation. For God so loved the world. Secondly it was put into effect by Jesus Himself, the only Son of God. Thirdly it’s unconditional. It’s one sided. It’s all God’s doing. Six separate times God says “I will” when talking about the new covenant. It’s a covenant that frees us from those unkeepable Old Testament laws. So fire up your Traeger and smoke that pork but just remember as you do so that life under the New Covenant means whether you eat, drink or whatever you do, you can do it all for the glory of God. That happens my friends when realize that our freedom from “I have to obey the law” is replaced with the freedom of “I get to” of the Gospel. Jesus has perfectly obeyed for you in this New Covenant. So obedience flows from love. It’s not I must, I have to, I can’t. It’s I want to, I get to, I will. And when we fail. Did you hear what He said? “For I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.” With God nothing is impossible, even forgetting and what He forgets is our sins. And He can do that because the New Covenant was put into effect with the blood of Jesus shed one time on the cross which made full payment for all sin. And that payment points to another difference. The New Covenant is permanent. It can’t be broken because it’s all on God. This covenant makes us God’s people forever! As great as we might think it is to be able to eat Easter ham and not worry that what we eat or touch will make us unclean what’s so much better is to know that forever is real and forever is with God and forever is with all my fellow believers. It’s a new covenant!

          Now I suspect that those who win a new car on a game show gradually lose their excitement—especially when they realize they owe taxes on what they won. Then the new car becomes old. Friends, let’s not let that happen with us. It’s a new covenant. God’s mercies are new every morning. Every day you wake up you have a fresh start because God remembers your sins no more. And to help us remember Jesus gave us something that every time we see it, every time we participate, is to lead to renewed excitement and joy. You know what that is. “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.” What a blessing! Amen.

March 10, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 14:55-65 “HANDS OF HYPOCRISY!”

 

MIDWEEK LENT 4

March 10, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 14:55-65

 

“HANDS OF HYPOCRISY!”

 

          Our Lenten services this year have focused on the hands of the passion to help us grow in our appreciation of what our Lord Jesus did for us. Today we are looking at Hands of Hypocrisy. And fortunately for you I can show you exactly what hands of hypocrisy look like. Here. Can you see what my hands are doing? They are holding a mask. That literally is what a hypocrite is, a mask wearer. Someone who pretends to be what they are not like me pretending to be Mr. Walker when obviously, I am not. The word comes from Greek theater where actors would hold or wear masks so they could pretend to be what they are not.

          Who would come to your mind as the biggest hypocrite in the Passion of our Lord Jesus? Maybe you think of Judas pretending to be a friend when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Maybe you think of Peter pretending to be the unbreakable rock but who broke down after he denied even knowing Jesus. Maybe you think of Pontius Pilate pretending to be a fair governor as he washed his hands of Jesus’ death. But when you look at all of them you see at least some signs of struggle or remorse. Judas gave the money back. Peter wept bitterly. Pilate tried every trick he knew to manipulate the will of the people.

          There is one pure hypocrite, a total pretender whose hands were filled with hypocrisy. Caiaphas. The High Priest. As High Priest it was his job, his privilege, his honor to represent the people to God in the Old Testament Covenant set up. His hands were to be busy praying for the people pleading for God to do what was best for them. He also represented God to the people. “This is what God says. This is His will.” His hands were to be busy pointing to the coming Messiah. “This is how these sacrifices point to the coming Messiah. Wait for Him. Look for Him. God has given us the signs.”

          Instead they were busy with hypocrisy. “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶Many testified falsely against him, but their testimonies did not agree. ⁵⁷Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹Yet even on this point, their testimony did not agree.” This whole trial was hypocritical. The High Priest was to be the Law upholder but this trial was held illegally in the middle of the night. A trial should try to find the truth but this one’s goal was to find some way to put Jesus to death. The High Priest was supposed to make sure a trial was fair but this High Priest allowed false testimony. Even then it didn’t stick.

          So Caiaphas went into action. You wonder if he was thinking to himself, “You bumbling idiots! If you want something done right…” The high priest stepped forward and questioned Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this they are testifying against you?” ⁶¹But Jesus was silent and did not answer anything.” I’m sure Caiaphas was one of those guys who thinks he’s the smartest man in the room. When his first attempt didn’t work, he continued. “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Smartest man in the room had a super smart question. If Jesus says nothing or “No,” they could discredit him. If He says “Yes,” then they could convict him. “I am,” Jesus said. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³The high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? ⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” They all condemned him as being worthy of death.” The hands of hypocrisy went into action. Caiaphas tore his clothes in feigned horror. His plan had worked. Jesus was guilty of death. And then for a moment the hypocrites dropped their masks and showed their true colors. “Then some began to spit on him. They covered his face and struck him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.” Spitting is someone’s face, Beating someone who can’t defend himself who can’t even dodge the blows because he is blindfolded? What kind of people do that to another? And this was the highest religious gathering for the Jewish people. It would be like our Elders doing this or our Synod’s Conference of Presidents. Why? They were hypocrites. The pretended they cared about what God said. They pretended they cared for the people. But what they really cared about was power and honor for themselves. All led by Caiaphas, the High Priest, and his hands of hypocrisy.

          Now what can we learn from this? Have you ever heard someone say something like this? “I’d never join a church. Churches are filled with hypocrites.” Why do they say that? It’s because their understanding of a hypocrites is someone who says one thing and does another. And with that definition they are right. This is a church full of hypocrites. We all acknowledge that what God says is right. Everyone should obey his commandments. We say that. But do we always do that? No. Even if we’ve gotten pretty good and cleaning ourselves up on the outside, no obvious sins, controlling our mouths, we haven’t cleaned up the inside. Sinners one and all. Hypocrites by America’s definition.

          But not by God’s. Remember a hypocrite is really a pretender, someone who wears a mask. Someone who pretends to be a believer but is not. That’s not you. That’s not me. We do believe in Jesus. We are happy to know He’s our Savior. We look at this account from the passion of Jesus and we see not one, but two High Priests present. There is the faker, the pretender, the hypocrite, Caiaphas. But then our eyes rest on Jesus. He is the true High Priest. He has no hands of hypocrisy. His hands aren’t thrown in the air in mock horror. They don’t tear his robes if faked holy anger. They stay stretched wide nailed to the cross as He went through the horror of Hell. They stayed there unused as soldiers gambled for His robe. Why? Because as the true High Priest Jesus represented people to God. He was on the cross as the substitute for all people. He became the world’s one and only sinner. He continues to plead with the Father for our good. And He faithfully tells us what God wants us to hear. Through word and sacrament, through pastors and teachers, through faithful Christian parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends He says, “God loves you. God has forgiven you. Heaven is your home. Come to the Father through me, your great High Priest.”

          Friends let the world call us hypocrites for being what we know we are sinners who can’t save ourselves. Sinners who despite our best intention to follow Jesus faithfully still stumble and fall. But may we never be true hypocrites who pretend to follow Jesus but don’t really at all. For us it won’t be Hands of Hypocrisy, but Hands off Hypocrisy. For the glory of Jesus. Amen.

February 27-March1, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 8:31-38 “THE CROSS IS NECESSARY”

 

LENT 2

February 27-March1, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 8:31-38

 

“THE CROSS IS NECESSARY”

1.     It was for Christ.

2.     It is for me.

 

Mark 8:31-38 (EHV) “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. ³²He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.”

³⁴He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 

          Our church architecture is not unique. Many Christian churches are built this way. What is the focal point? What does the design of this sanctuary force you to do with the pews positioned the direction they are? With the walls gradually narrowing your focus? With the angled top walls? You’re right. Look at the cross! You can’t help it. Now the reason for that is not simply symmetry or aesthetics. It’s theological, Biblical. The focus is on the cross because the cross is necessary.

          Our Lord Jesus makes that abundantly clear in His words to us today. Now I seriously doubt that it was on Peter’s bucket list to be called Satan by the Lord he loved. And yet that is exactly what happened. How? Well right before this Jesus had asked His disciples who most people thought He was. All the answers could be best summed up with “a man.” A great man. A good teacher. One of the great prophets. But just a man. Then Jesus turned to His disciples and asked but “Who do you say that I am?” That’s when Peter had his shining moment. Peter answered for the disciples. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God!” A beautiful confession of faith. Could not have said it better.

          That’s where our text picks up as Jesus explains what it means to be the Christ. “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again.” Jesus taught that the cross was necessary. It was necessary for Him to be the Christ. Jesus had been sent on a mission. While he regularly pointed out people’s sin His mission was not to stop people from sinning but to save them from the eternal consequences of sinning. While Jesus healed some people and fed others His mission was not to make this world a nicer place to live but to make it possible for sinful people to live forever in the joy and perfection of heaven. And for that to happen He had to go to the cross. He had to be betrayed, suffer and die because only His holy and innocent sacrifice was worth enough to pay the awful debt for all the world’s sinners. Only His continued perfect obedience all the way to death would gain Him the right to give that perfect obedience to those who believe as a robe of righteousness, a ticket to heaven. Jesus spoke this very plainly to them.

          And then Peter had one of those moments we all have had. He opened his mouth when he should have kept it shut. “Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” Rebuking Jesus? Telling Jesus what to do or not do? This isn’t going to end well. “But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” Ouch. He got called Satan. Why? He had his will set toward want people want, the things of men. What is that? Glory. Now. “You are the Christ, Jesus. You don’t suffer and die. You rule gloriously. No enemy can stand against you. You will crush your enemies.” All true statements except that Peter wanted those things for Jesus on earth. He wasn’t thinking of God’s eternal plan. For God’s eternal plan the cross was necessary for Jesus.

          Just like the cross is necessary for those who follow Jesus. Peter is not the only one who misunderstands God’s plan, Jesus’ mission. Peter isn’t the only one who wants to see Jesus triumphing here on earth. We all fall into that. We think, “If I do things right, if I behave a little better, things should go easier for me on earth than for those who don’t.” We think as followers of Jesus some of the glory Jesus deserves should rub off on us. We think if we do what God wants and say what God wants then things should go well for us and everyone will like us. Not a chance in a sin filled world. The cross is necessary for those who follow Jesus. “He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Ask the rich man in the Bible account of the rich man and poor Lazarus. He would have given anything to get out of Hell. But it was too late. You have to follow Jesus in earthly life.

          And if you will actually follow Jesus, you will have a cross. There is no other way to understand Jesus’ words. To deny yourself means to deny your way of thinking, your values, your priorities and replace them with Jesus way of thinking, values and priorities. When you do that and live that you will get your own cross. You have heard it said, “We all have our crosses to bear.” When people hear that they may think that the cross Jesus is talking about is some illness, or a family problem, a bad relationship or the pain of loss of life or use of limb. But that’s not the cross Jesus is talking about. Those things happen to believer and unbeliever alike. He’s talking about those things that can only come from following Him and His next words make clear what the crosses will look like. “In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Crosses for Christians happen when we show loyalty first to Jesus and His words, His teachings. An example. One of our college students told me one of her first classes where the professor asked for a show of hands. “How many of you believe the world is created like the Bible says?” A smattering of hands. “Good,” he says, “now we know who all the fools are.” The class erupts in laughter. Put herself in her shoes, in her dorm room among her classmates after that. That’s a cross. Here’s another. One of our students in college thinking she was messaging a friend shared her Christian values. That “friend” passed on snippets of her comments that brought down a barrage of nasty online bullying. Reported it to the college. Nothing happened. Had to switch schools to feel safe. That’s a cross. It's a cross when your faith in Christ moves you to deal with a relationship or family problem Christ’s way and it does not work like being mean would. It’s a cross when your kids or friends come to you to announce they are going to live together without being married or they are attracted to someone of the same sex and you tell them “I love you and I will always love you. I need you to know that God says that is wrong and dangerous. Can we talk about this?” and they storm out or cut off the relationship.

          There is of course, another way. We can be ashamed of Jesus and His teachings. When God puts those opportunities to speak the truth in love we can turn them down. We can give tacit approval. We can commit spiritual adultery on Jesus by implying that fake gods or no god at all can still get you to heaven.

          No we can’t. This is Jesus we are talking about. He knows how the Devil is going to try pry us away from Him. So He helps us with our weakness. First He warns that those who turn their back on Jesus on earth will find His back turned to them in heaven. Then He gives us what we need to stand strong. Glory. When the Son of Man comes in glory! The book of Hebrews tells us Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame because of the joy set before. He knew He was winning you so the cross was worth it. Parents who adopt children and have children know this. Why do you go through all the hard work, the angst, the pain? For the joy that will be set before you! You look forward to holding that child. That’s why we are willing to carry our crosses. We know what’s coming. There’s a simple saying to hold on to. First the cross, then the crown. It was true of Jesus. He went to the cross to be the Christ. Now He is King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s true for those who follow Christ. Take your cross now, glory is coming. Remember what He said? Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. And so He will! Amen.