Ohio District Convention Bible Study

This is the Bible Study I offered a week ago at the Ohio District Convention, minus a personal illustration I added the night before it was presented.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, You withdrew yourself for times of prayer and brought your disciples with you that they might also rest with you. Be present with us during this time, that gathered together in your name, we may profitably meditate on your Word and be strengthened with a good will to serve you and your people; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Good Morning. If you have your Bible with you, please turn to Matthew chapter 6, beginning at verse 25. If you don’t have a Bible, then just sit back and listen. Jesus says: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” So far our Lord’s words.
The one Message is Christ Jesus; crucified for your sins and mine and raised from the dead for your life and mine— today and eternally. The context in which St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church seeks to broadcast this message is Painesville and Painesville Township, Ohio. Painesville is located 30 miles east of downtown Cleveland, and is bordered to the north by Grand River and Fairport Harbor, and beyond that, Lake Erie; to the East by Perry and Perry Township; to the West by Mentor, Ohio, and to the south by Concord Township. It is the fourth largest town in Lake County, with an approximate population of 17, 500 people; it is the county seat; as such, the major employer in Painesville is the county government, followed by the Lake Hospital System.
There’s much more that could be said about our context and region: like many places in America, we live with the ghosts of former industrial prosperity. Nursery land still dominates our landscape, but those have been scaled back, as well. There is a stunning variety of people in Painesville; if you are familiar with these demographic categories, you’ll see what I mean: 19% of our population could be described as Inner Suburban; 19% as Affluentials; 18% qualify as Middleburbs; 17% as Country Comfort; 14% as Landed Gentry and the rest a specialized mix. In other words, within a ten-mile radius of Downtown Painesville you have every type of person in every type of living condition; we are urban, pseudo-urban, suburban, exurban, and rural. And though many folks have found a lot to like about Lake County and the Painesville area and its diversity, there is one thing that binds us together. That is a creeping sense of anxiety and worry about the future.
Rather than try to read people’s minds, I asked a handful of real-life Painesville residents: what are you worried about? Here’s what I got back: “Losing a job in this economy. Will I lose my house? Will I have money for food? Bad times lie ahead. With the bad economy—theft. Terrorism. Government mistakes. Government intervention in our lives. The cost of living in general is rising steadily. There seems to be a general lack of respect in the way people treat one another. So many people have lost considerable value in homes and other investments. Will God see them through?”
Will God see them through? Will He see us through? Into this stew of uncertainty, the Church has been called to speak and to act. It has been called to speak Jesus’ own words that challenge and console. And it has been called to act in ways that embody Jesus’ words. Jesus says, do not worry; do not be anxious about your life; what you will eat or drink or what you will wear. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. What Jesus is saying here goes far deeper than “Don’t Worry; Be Happy.” He is teaching us that there are things worth chasing after, and things that aren’t. He is comforting us with the knowledge that we live under the Father’s care at all times as we seek His Kingdom and righteousness. He is drawing us into himself, orienting our lives in His Gospel, and freeing us from needless anxiety. It is this possibility—this reality—that we are called to bring to an anxious culture.
Sometimes worry needs to be called out and confessed as the sin that it is. Sometimes worry needs to be rebuked as the lack of trust in God’s provision that it is. Most of the time, we understand this at a gut level, as God’s people. You can hear it in the responses I got, when I asked some of the Christians at St. Paul’s, “What temptations do you face?” They said: “Doing it all myself and not “giving it to God.” Self-reliance. Not relying on God’s promise to provide for me. I’m tempted to stay away from downtrodden people. Jealousy. Selfishness. Addiction. It’s easy to be caught up in constant worry. Another one: rely on self rather than God. Materialism.”
These people are self-diagnosing (with the help of the Law) the fact that worry and anxiety is not just a problem, but that it is temptation, and it is sin. At times, the best approach to worry is to turn from it, confess it, and receive forgiveness from Christ Jesus.
Our Lord takes a little different course to that same goal in this passage from Matthew 6. Through a series of gentle, rhetorical questions, Jesus invites his disciples to remember they are living under the Father’s care.
He says: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And if God clothes the grass of the field in greater array than Solomon—grass which today is alive and tomorrow in thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
The invitation to be free from worry is an invitation to remember. It is an invitation to remember the way that your Father has ordered your steps throughout your life. It is an invitation to remember all that Jesus willingly did for you in His Passion, Death and Resurrection. And it is an invitation to remember your identity in Christ. You are a royal servant of the King—and as such, He will not withhold from you the blessings of His kingdom. That doesn’t mean that we will never be grieved or concerned or troubled. But it does mean that our true focus and strength can be the reign of God and his righteousness which has come into our world in Jesus himself.
This is the Word that God has for an anxious, worried world. It is that Word about Jesus that brings real hope to human hearts. Not the vague hope of a better tomorrow; but the aggressive trust that God is making things right in Jesus Christ. Not the hope that wishes for a given outcome in the face of uncertainty, but a straightforward expectation that God will make good on his promises to save and restore and feed and strengthen his people with His Word, His washing, and his very body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.
I asked the saints in Painesville: How does the Gospel bring hope to you? “They said: “The Gospel is my true reason for living. Christ has done all the work that is needed for me and my loved ones to enjoy an eternity in heaven. I am grateful for the grace and forgiveness Christ offers. I know that no matter how out of control things are or may get—God is in control—everything works together through Him to accomplish His plan. No matter what we endure in this world, we have eternal life. In spite of I, Me, My, God still loves me and forgives me.”
This is the Gospel confidence that the Church has to offer with our community and our world. Historically, St. Paul’s has utilized Lutheran education as a major vehicle for disciple making. We were a founding partner of Our Shepherd Lutheran School, that continues to instruct children in the Word of God on a daily basis. We also provide a Christ-centered Preschool program for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and pre-Kindergarten students, and this has given us not just the opportunity to teach children the fundamentals of the faith, but it has also served as a real window into our community. Last year we were privileged to serve 115 children and their families, and one third of those families claimed no church home. We are always trying to think of new ways to attract these families to the invitation of Jesus—just a few months ago, a number of folks from St. Paul’s offered babysitting services to our preschool families “just because,” and it really confused some people—they were trying to pay our volunteers and couldn’t believe people would just do something kind for someone else. We take sanctified pride in being not just a preschool housed in a Church, but a Church preschool that has Christ as its one constant feature.
By God’s grace and direction we are looking at other ways to share this Gospel confidence with our community. We’ve explored a partnership with the Lake County Council on Aging and have someone who is here today who took it upon himself to start serving the elderly in our neighborhood. We are in the infancy stages of the Transforming Churches process, and are hopeful that it will help an external focus to really take hold, and in a sense, help us return to our origins as a mission plant of the Finnish National Evangelical Lutheran Church. If you’re going to do well in my neck of the woods, you’re going to have to learn some Finnish—at least be able to say, “Hyva Paaiva” (which means good day) or know the directions to the Finnish Heritage Museum. There really is one in Fairport Harbor, if you’re ever in the neighborhood. That reminds me of a good Finn joke: How can you tell the difference between a Finnish introvert and a Finnish extrovert? When he's talking to you a Finnish introvert looks at his feet. A Finnish extrovert looks at yours! Evangelism takes us awhile, as you can see.
Let’s return to Matthew 6, and let’s notice again, beginning with verse 31, the antidote that Jesus prescribes.
He says: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Stop chasing stuff, and start chasing Christ! Stop chasing security, and start chasing Jesus! Seek Jesus and what He is doing and bringing into the world. We have a wonderful theology that enables us to point to specific, discreet places where Jesus can be sought and found. The reign of God is happening where the Word is purely proclaimed. The reign of God is present where reclaims his creation through water and His Name. The reign of God is exercised in the merciful meal our King sets for his Church. There God is at work forgiving and making things right. There people receive the blessing and calling of Christ and are joined in community with fellow disciples. And from there those disciples carry Christ into the world, and where Christ goes, there goes the kingdom.
Hear how Jesus comes through in the answers I received to the question: “What images of Christ’s work touch your heart?” Love. Incredible love—that He would lay down his life for sinners. Humility beyond measure. Serving others. His unconditional love for me. His continual patience, forgiveness, and undeserved love—over and over and over. The images of Christ’s work that touch my heart are: Jesus as the Good Shepherd. No matter how old I am, that image of “I am Jesus’ Little Lamb” brings me great comfort. Jesus welcomes the little children. Jesus washing his disciples’ feet—a perfect example of Christian service. The images of Christ’s work that touch my heart are: his miraculous healings, being passive in the face of adversity and accusation, and his going to the cross, knowing he’s going to die for our stupid sins. I am touched when I see people leave church fulfilled with the Word and hope.”
You’ve heard about [rural], you’ve heard about [urban], and now you’ve heard a little bit about the Painesville context, which is truly a little bit of everything, and is constantly changing. Let us be thankful today that the One Message does not change. Let us be grateful that we have inherited a clear confession of faith that gets that message right. In the face of many concerns and challenges, let us chase after the kingdom of God, and by the grace of God may we discover that real life-- life in Christ-- is found in the chase.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

Let us pray:

Almighty and gracious God, you want all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Magnify the power of the Gospel in the hearts of your faithful people that your Church may spread the good news of salvation. Protect, encourage and bless all who proclaim the saving cross, that Christ, being lifted up, may draw all people to himself, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.