A Blueprint for a Caring Church

Let love be genuine.(B) Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10(C) Love one another with brotherly affection.(D) Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal,(E) be fervent in spirit,[a](F) serve the Lord. 12(G) Rejoice in hope,(H) be patient in tribulation,(I) be constant in prayer. 13(J) Contribute to the needs of the saints and(K) seek to show hospitality.
14(L) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15(M) Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16(N) Live in harmony with one another.(O) Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[b](P) Never be wise in your own sight. Romans 12: 9—21

St. Paul always wrote to congregations. Now maybe that’s self-evident to you, but it is worth thinking about nevertheless. St. Paul always wrote his letters, which we call epistles, to congregations—to groups of Christians living in the real world. These letters were never meant to be dry, academic exercises for the scholarly few. These letters are personal, pulsating with life and energy, written by someone with a vested interest in the church’s success. They were meant to be read in the public assembly of believers, which is to say, in worship. And so today let’s hear these words as if we were the Roman congregation that Paul was writing to. Let’s take stock of ourselves in light of the directives the Apostle gives here—which provide us with a blueprint for a caring church.
Paul begins this blueprint by saying: “Let love be genuine.” What a simple idea. I think it’s safe to say that more people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments or worship styles or special programs combined. A person will get up and get ready and drive all the way across town and past who knows how many other churches if he or she knows that they will experience love and true fellowship at the church they’re going to. Now, Paul’s not saying we ought to make a show out of it—hugging and kissing and backslapping if that’s not your thing—instead he writes, “Let love be genuine.” Let it be real. Let it be sincere. Let it be unique to who you are, and who Christ is making you. Don’t get the idea that Paul is saying, “try hard to love each other.” When a group of people see one another as fellow sinners, saved under the cross of Christ, there will be love for one another. As Jesus said in the gospel of John, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So let it be genuine.
In verse ten, Paul continues, “Outdo one another in showing honor.” How are we doing when it comes to showing honor and respect to one another? According to the journal U.S. News and World Report, 89 % of Americans think that incivility, rudeness, and a general lack of respect is a serious problem. Now listen to these statistics. 73 % think mean-spirited political campaigns are to blame; 52% think talk radio is to blame; and 1% think their own behavior is uncivil. Something doesn’t quite add up.
The fact is, thanks to sin, it is not natural for me to think about someone else’s needs before my own. It is not natural for me to set aside my own desire to be honored; it may not be natural, but it is possible, through the forgiving power of Jesus. We must never forget that Jesus, second person of the majestic Trinity, came into this world to become a servant. The King of Creation became its slave. Our holy and perfectly just God was treated as a criminal and hung from a cross, punished for sins that were not his own. They were yours, and they were mine. His rising to life on the third day means many things—one of which is that his sacrifice was accepted by the Father, and now it counts for us all. And so we trust in Jesus’ servant actions. His servant actions save us from self-destruction and eternal punishment. And his servant actions show us who we become with Him inside us.
A story comes to us of a king who organized a great race within his kingdom. All the young men of the kingdom participated. A bag of gold was to be given to the winner, and the finish line was within the courtyard of the king’s palace. The race was run, and the runners were surprised to find in the middle of the road leading to the king’s palace a great pile of rocks and stones. But they managed to scramble over it or to run around it and eventually to come to the courtyard. Finally, all the runners had crossed the finish line except one. But still the king did not call the race off. After a while one lone runner came through the gate. He lifted a bleeding hand and said, "O King, I am sorry that I am so late. But you see, I found in the road a pile of rocks and stones, and it took me a while, and I wounded myself in removing them." Then he lifted the other hand, and in it was a bag. He said, "But, Great King, I found beneath the pile of rocks this bag of gold." The king said, "My son, you have won the race, for that one runs best who makes the way safer for those who follow."
There is great reward in serving, but it’s not a bag of gold. The reward in serving is simply being like Christ, who stooped down to serve us in love. The reward in serving is fulfillment, the sense that we are finally doing what we have always been meant to do. We’re being who we are: people in whom Jesus Christ has made a home.
That’s critical for us to remember as Paul continues to draw the blueprint for a caring church. He writes, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them,” and a few verses later, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.” None of the things just mentioned come naturally to us. If someone pushes us, it’s human nature to push back. Human nature is concerned with self first and foremost. Living in harmony means I look outside myself. And human nature knows that there is nothing much to be gained from associating with the lowly. If you and I belonged only to the kingdom of the world—the kingdom occupied by sin, death and Satan—then these words would be a fairy tale. The idea of blessing those who persecute you would be foolishness. The thought of living in harmony would be discarded as idealistic, naïve, wishful thinking. Associating with the lowly would be seen as a waste of time. But you and I do not belong to the kingdom of the world. As Jesus himself said, you are in the world, but not of the world. You are not of the world because Jesus has chosen you to belong to Him. You were adopted by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. All the benefits and blessings of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead have been applied to you through baptism, even the faith to believe has been granted to you as a gift. The believing Christian is, to use Paul’s language, “In Christ” and Christ is in him or her. You are a person in whom Jesus Christ lives and works, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the faith he brings.
And that truly makes us different. “Jesus in us” makes us different from those ruled by the kingdom of this world. With Christ as our life, we can and do bless and pray for our enemies. With Christ as our life, we can and do seek to live in harmony with one another. With Christ as our life, we can and do associate with those who by worldly standards are lowly—because we know that as we serve them, we’re serving God. A caring Christian—and a caring Church—dares to be different than the world. Caring Christians and the caring churches they populate cannot help being different—as they show forgiveness; as they act in mercy; as they work in harmony; as they welcome and help the lowly; as they do all these things and more, it’s Jesus doing it, through them. It’s Jesus doing it through you. I can think of no stronger witness to the reality of Jesus Christ than just living out His different way of life for all people you to see. The difference Jesus makes confuses people, in a good way. The difference Jesus makes attracts people—it opens their eyes, it challenges them to think that there might be something to Christianity after all. Living out this difference is what you were put here for. Living out this difference is what St. Paul’s was put here for. But make no mistake—what St. Paul’s does as a congregation starts with you. Being a caring church starts with you—and your connection to Christ Jesus. The blueprint is right in front of us. Let’s get to work being who we are—people in whom Jesus has made a home. Amen.

Speaking the Faith to Children

I led the following in-service for our preschool staff. Discussion on this topic is always interesting.

Answering the Questions of
Mini-Theologians (a.k.a. Preschoolers)

Where is God? I can’t see Him.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4: 24

“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD.(B) Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 23: 24

God is spirit, which, by definition, means we can’t see Him, because He has no body. However, He “fills heaven and earth,” according to Jeremiah 23: 24.

Therefore we can say God is everywhere and all around us all the time. A good comparison here would be air. We can’t see air, but we know it is there—we need it to live. Unlike air, God has given us special ways to learn about Him, such as His Word, the Bible; churches, pastors, and teachers; Christian families, etc.

Who is Jesus?

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1: 1-2; 14

…we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5: 20

God may be invisible and everywhere (like air), but Jesus gives children (and us) something more to hold on to. Jesus is “God with skin on”. God became a human being, and that is Jesus. He died, came back to life, and went back to heaven, but one day he will come back. Because Jesus is “God with skin on”, He understands what it means to be hurt, afraid, hungry, tired, happy, etc. The love of Jesus comes to us through Christian people and whenever we learn about Him.


Where do people go when they die? Where is heaven?

And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23: 43

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

People who believe in Jesus go to be with Him when they die. That is probably the clearest statement the Bible makes about heaven. From the Bible’s standpoint, “heaven” is getting to be with Jesus forever, in the presence of those who have died in the faith. You get to spend time with your best friends and you never have to go home, because you’re already there.

What about those who do not believe? With young children, I would go in this direction: We don’t want to be apart from God. We believe in Him, so we never have to be apart from God. We will be with Him forever and ever, thanks to Jesus.

Where is heaven? That’s one of those questions like “Where is God?” Heaven is where God is. Right now we can’t see Him or heaven. We get “sneak peeks” of heaven in Christian worship, or when the gracious love of Christ is shared between people. At the Resurrection, Jesus “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:21) Finally we will be able to see everything!

Will our pets be in heaven? There’s no strong reason to say “no.” Animals were obviously a part of God’s original creation, and the Bible teaches that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8: 21) We can reasonably assume that animals are part of “creation itself.” You might not see your "Spot" in the life of the world to come, but there might be restored animals there to enjoy. That’s good news for children as well as adult pet owners!

He Saw The Wind

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When) evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,) "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
28And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying) "Truly you are the Son of God."

What was Peter thinking? What was he thinking when he got out of that boat? I suppose we’ll never really know the answer to that question. I can remember as a child playing hide-and-seek with my father—sometimes he would pop out from some dark hiding place, scaring me half to death, but I vividly recall when he did that, running to him, not away from him. Maybe that’s what was going on inside of Peter. Maybe in his fear, his first impulse was to run to his Teacher, even though he’d be running on waves.
It isn’t that crucial for us to figure out why Peter called out “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” What is crucial is what happened next. What is crucial is that, for a few moments, it worked. Peter got out of the boat and walked on water and came to Jesus. To state the obvious, it was a scary situation. The disciples were in a boat in the dark in churning seas. Add to that scene the appearance of their teacher walking along on top of the waves—this would be more than enough to rattle anyone. But once Peter has the assurance that it really is Jesus, he hops out and goes directly to his Master and Lord. He just happens to be “going” on top of a wind-whipped lake.
Are you able to relate to that impulse? Have you ever been in a scary situation, a situation that would be enough to rattle anyone—and did you go directly to Jesus for help? Do you remember what happened when you did?
Well, we know what happened next to Peter. He had been doing the impossible. He had been stepping on the waves and it had been working, because Jesus was the focus. Getting to Jesus was the goal. But you know what happened next. Peter saw the wind. And when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid, and he began to sink. And this is precisely the point at which you and I can jump in and tread water with Peter—because we know what it means to “see the wind” and be afraid, even though Jesus is there.
It’s easy to “see the wind” when you find out your job is in jeopardy, and naturally, you fear for your family and how you will provide for them. Have you “seen the wind” at the doctor’s office, when he comes in the room and the news is not good? Have you “seen the wind” in a family that is fracturing, and breaking up before your very eyes? Have you “seen the wind” in current events—in wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters, end-times prophecies and predictions? Do you “see the wind” in a situation where there are no easy answers, and you are powerless to do anything about it? The cold wind of fear blows through our all of our lives, and when we give that wind our full attention, things get worse, not better. When we give the wind of fear our full attention, like Peter, we start to sink. If we’re giving that wind our full attention, that means we’re not giving Jesus our attention. Without Jesus, there’s only churning water, bitter wind, the fear of the unknown, and the terror of death.
Peter saw the wind, and he was afraid, and he began to sink. But Jesus was still there, and Peter remembered. Peter remembered Jesus, causing him to cry out, “Lord, save me!” And that is exactly what Jesus had come to do. He came not just to rescue Peter from drowning, but to rescue him from the storm of sin. He came not just to rescue Peter, but to do the same for you and me.
You may be “seeing the wind” right now in your life. The wind of fear may be howling, and you may feel like you’re sinking. If that’s the case, I urge you to remember Jesus. Call out to him, “Lord, save me!” That’s exactly what He has come to do. He has come not just to walk on water, but to walk up Calvary’s hill and take the punishment for your sins on the cross. Having paid for your sin in full, he walks out of the tomb on the third day—providing the greater miracle of eternal life to all who believe. In faith, we cry out, “Lord, save me!” And He does. You can walk on the water of your baptism, remembering the faith and life God gave you from the font. You can drink from the living water of Christ’s forgiveness—his blood poured into you, along with His Body at His Supper. Hear the very voice of Jesus saying to you today, “Take heart, it is I. Don’t be afraid.” A life of faith is a life of remembering. It is remembering Jesus is there, even when we see the wind. It is remembering to cry out, “Lord, save me.” “Lord, have mercy.” “Lord, hear our prayer.” It is remembering your baptism, and remembering Jesus in Word, Bread, and Wine. “Lord, save me” is our song, it is His church’s anthem, every “hosanna” we sing is the same petition: “Save us now,” Lord Jesus.
Matthew supplies us with Jesus’ response to Peter’s desperate plea. He writes, “31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you) doubt?" 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of Peter. He didn’t let Peter drown. In his justice, he probably could have. “Peter, you doubter, here’s your reward!” But none of that with Jesus. It’s all about mercy. And there in the fellowship of that little boat, with the disciples worshipping Jesus, confessing Him as God’s own Son—what do you know? The wind stopped.
In fear, we rush to Jesus. We see the wind, we’re afraid, we sink, we remember, we call out, Jesus rescues us, he restores us, we worship Him, the wind ceases. There is peace. A life of faith is a life of learning and re-learning this pattern, established on the blustery Sea of Galilee. “Lord, save me!” Amen.

Pizza Buffet Spirituality

There is a place we sometimes go (that shall remain nameless) that is a pizza buffet. You pay one price and then you can eat all you want. I really like pizza, so it seems like a good deal. But the thing is, the pizza itself is just OK. It’s not bad pizza. We wouldn’t go back if it was bad. But it’s not great pizza, either. You can eat until you’re full, but it’s nowhere near as satisfying as deep-dish, Chicago-style stuffed pizza.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that God routinely uses food language to communicate His love to us. It’s language that we get. Everyone knows what it means to be thirsty or hungry. We can tell the difference between a carefully prepared meal and a bag of junk food. I think we even understand, at some level, that sharing a table with someone means something; it implies a relationship that we desire and want to nurture. Our Lord uses all these food-related ideas and more as a way of describing his desire to serve us and give us life.
For example, you have today’s Old Testament Lesson, which really is enough to make your mouth water. The Almighty God invites everyone to his feast. He talks about His gifts in terms of water, wine, milk, and bread. He sets His table with “the richest of fare.” Come, enjoy the best, the Lord God says. It’s free. It’s for you.
In our Gospel lesson, it’s more of the same. There Jesus sets the table for thousands of hungry people and miraculously satisfies their hunger. The Lord of creation demonstrates his compassion by meeting physical as well as spiritual needs. There’s also a hint here, I believe, of an even better meal that is to come, a meal at which Jesus will again take bread, give thanks, break it, and give it to his disciples. Jesus uses food language—and food itself—to nourish us and build up our faith. He wants to give you nothing less than full pardon of your sins; confident life in Him today; and true peace in knowing you do not stand condemned, but you stand to inherit eternal life, thanks to his passion, death, and resurrection. He sets the table with these delights and says, come and eat. I made them just for you.
But back to our pizza buffet for just a minute. If you remember, my biggest gripe with it, and it’s not a huge gripe, is that the pizza is just OK. You can fill up on the stuff, but it’s not like having something really good and tasty. That’s not a big deal. What is a big deal is when people bring a pizza buffet mentality to their spiritual lives—when they chase after happiness or fulfillment and fill up on things that are just OK. God asks the question through his prophet, Isaiah: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” Why, indeed? Why do we fill our lives up with things that are just OK—things that don’t bring us any closer to Christ? Why do we work to fill our homes with things that cannot remove guilt, or soothe a conscience, or just make us better? Why do we devote so many hours to staring at images flickering on a screen, when there’s so much life to be lived, and so many greater God-given gifts to be enjoyed? Are you eating what is good? Do you regularly feast on the richest fare that Christ provides? Or are you spending money on what is not bread, and laboring for things that cannot satisfy? Are you going to the pizza buffet looking to pig out on something, anything, hoping that it will fill you up?
It doesn’t take long to become spiritually malnourished. Just keep your Bible closed. Just stay away from church for a while. Tune out the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Stay away from the Supper of our Lord. Stop speaking to Him in prayer. Forget about your baptism. That’ll do it. If you stop eating food, you’ll die. We know this. Faith is no different! And this is one of the greatest dangers we face as Christians. We start filling our lives with commitments and pursuits and pastimes that aren’t bad—they’re just OK. But in filling our lives with “just OK” commitments and pastimes and pursuits, we forget the great stuff. We pass on the holy things, the best things. We think we don’t have time for them. We settle for the OK buffet. Then when life knocks us for a loop, we find out, too late, that faith has shriveled—it’s atrophied like an unused muscle—we have no clue what the Bible says about our situation or even where to look. Our strength is gone and we can’t think straight because we haven’t been eating the good stuff!
It’s not too late to start eating right. Again, through Isaiah, God says: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Eating what is good begins with believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It begins with savoring His mercy—he will not punish us according to our sins. It begins with appreciating His grace—He wants to serve you, feed you, and give you life. Eating what is good means finding out more about this Jesus, who would rescue us from Satan’s power, by learning about Him in Holy Scripture. Eating what is good means believing that a simple, humble church service (with new hymnals to boot) is, in fact, the setting in which Jesus serves us. That’s why it’s called a Divine Service—God is our server. Every time we gather, our Lord brings out the great stuff and gives it away for free. He adopts through Holy Baptism. He convicts sinners, distributes forgiveness, creates faith, and instructs us through His Holy Word. And yes, he sets a table and feeds us His own body and blood to forgive our sins and to keep our faith lively and active. When you keep eating what is good, you will discover that your appetite for the great stuff, the holy things of God, will grow. You’ll find yourself saying “no thanks” to things that are “just OK,” in order to have time for the really good stuff—the stuff that tells us again who Jesus is and what He did for us; the stuff that tells us who we are because of Jesus—that “stuff” being the Holy Bible, good devotional materials, the Divine Service, whatever is Christ-centered. This is the food group that we need. This is the food group that the Lord attaches His promise to. He says: “Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Did you hear the promise? Eat what is good, and your soul will delight—not in something “just OK”—but in God’s “richest fare,” the best gifts God has to give, lovingly prepared for you by Jesus himself. The promise is that your soul will delight! You will find your way home to the feast of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Take the Lord God up on this promise. Eat what is good. Amen.

Oak Island, Toes, and Treasure

If you ever want to hear a really weird story, look into the history of Oak Island, Nova Scotia. Oak Island is the site of the so-called Money Pit, a place where numerous excavations have taken place to recover treasure believed to be buried there.
The story begins way back in 1795, when a 16-year-old boy and his friends discovered a circular depression in the sand and started to dig. They seemed to find layers of logs and stones on their way down that had been placed there deliberately. They gave up digging at 30 feet.
Eight years later, a professional company made a 300 mile journey to dig at the same site, and at 90 feet down they allegedly found a stone on which had been inscribed, in ancient characters, “forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.” Since then, approximately ten official excavations have taken place, using a variety of techniques to try and reach the level described on the stone, only to have the shaft fill up with seawater or simply to find nothing. Even so, as of 2005, a portion of Oak Island was for sale with a price tag of $7 million dollars, and as of today, nothing of value has ever been found in the Money Pit. I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not the time, the money, and the loss of life has been worth it.
That kind of makes me wonder what your treasure is and how far you would go to get it. Would you go as far as this Green Bay Packers fan? He tailgated and then stayed through the entire 1997 NFC Championship game. Because the temperature was 17 degrees below zero, he acquired frostbite, and three of his toes had to be amputated. His response to all this? He said, “You know what? I got 7 good toes that I can lose—If I can go, I’ll stay the entire game next time.” It evidently was worth it for him to lose toes to be present at a professional football game. That was his treasure. So what’s yours? How far would you go to get it?
Jesus told a couple stories about treasure that I think you’ll find intriguing. You heard them as part of today’s Gospel lesson, but listen again and let our Lord paint the picture for you. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
As stories go, the plots of these tales are simple enough. Upon further inspection there is an interesting contrast between the two. In the first story, there’s a sense that the man stumbled across the treasure in the field. Nothing in Jesus’ story (or in common sense) suggests this guy was out poking around fields looking for treasure. The treasure, you could say, found him. In the second story, however, you’ve got a merchant actively searching for fine pearls. He was on the hunt, looking for the best. And he found a pearl of great value. And even though one man was looking for treasure and the other one wasn’t, their reaction to finding their treasure is the same. They recognize the worth of what they’ve found, and they sell all they have in order to possess the thing they value most. Although Jesus’ parables lend themselves to a variety of interpretations, certainly one point Jesus means us to “get” in this case is that those who find the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of God—the kingdom of Jesus Christ—treasure it. It becomes the thing that they value most, whether they were looking for it or not.
That kind of makes me wonder what your treasure is—and how far you would go to get it? Does all the evidence in your life point to the fact that God’s kingdom and His concerns are indeed your greatest treasure? Or does the evidence take you in a different direction?
Let me ask the question a little differently, thanks to our Packer fan. What would you be willing to lose a couple of toes for? A better-paying job? A bigger house in a nicer neighborhood? Would you lose a couple digits for the sake of popularity or power? A better body—or improved health? The chance to meet someone you admire? Would you do without a couple toes if it meant that someone you know would come to faith in Jesus and be saved?
Now that’s a little extreme of course, but you understand my reason for asking is to make sure you recognize what Jesus and His kingdom are worth. Because it’s one thing to know who Jesus is and it’s another to treasure Him. It’s one thing to admire Jesus and it’s another to put all your trust in Him for forgiveness, new life, and salvation. It’s one thing to toss a dollar in the plate as it passes by and it’s another to sell all you have and buy the field; to invest not just your finances but your very self in His kingdom.
You see, Jesus didn’t do what He did on the cross to just make you a better person; He didn’t endure the whip to just give you life pointers; He didn’t let the nails pierce his flesh to make sure you were well off and successful. He did it to prevent you and me from having to endure eternal torment in hell! He did it to save our lives for eternity! He did it so that you can look death right in the eye and say: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that I will see Him” Jesus bought and paid for a full ride to heaven for us with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. That means there’s no hell for you; no bitter separation from all that is good at the end of your life! Do you see and believe that that’s what Jesus is worth?
In a way, you are the treasure that was found in a field. You are a pearl of great price. Jesus sold all He had to buy you. He gave all He could give to redeem you from sin’s downward spiral. And He did so with joy. He did so with passion. He did so knowing that this is what He had been born to do—to lay down his life for his friends, and take it up again on the third day. All because you are his pearl; his treasure; his creation; his child. What is that worth to you? Amen.

No Other Rock

A recent poll of Americans revealed that 70 percent of those who were asked “Do you think all religions lead to heaven” answered “yes.” Of those polled in Ohio, 76 percent said “yes.” Now let’s be clear: the word “religion” means something different than the word “denomination.” Christianity is a religion. Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran; those are denominations. So seven out of ten people (almost eight out of ten in our home state)—at least the ones that were asked—evidently believe that no matter if you are a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Hindu or a Mormon or whatever—it’s all good! All the elevators go to the same floor! I have to tell you, as a pastor and as a thinking Christian, that makes me profoundly sad, because not only does that reveal how Biblically illiterate we have become as a people, but it also reveals how ignorant we are of other religions, because some of those I’ve just named don’t even believe in a heaven where you exist as a person for eternity! 70 percent of a so-called Christian nation doesn’t know or care what the Bible says about the matter—neither do they really have a clue what other religions teach. They’ve bought into the school of thought that says: “You be a good person, you go to heaven.” The only problem is, the principal of that school of thought is the devil, and he is having great success in teaching this lie, not only “out there” in secular society, but also within the Christian Church itself. If you think I’m exaggerating, consider the case of the Episcopal priest in Seattle who has defined herself as both Christian and Muslim. This priest has said about Jesus, and I quote: “I don't think God said, "Let me send this special person so that I can kill him for the benefit of the rest of humanity." That's not the kind of sacrifice I think that God desires.” End quote. Her bishop—the supervising pastor in her area-- says that her declaration that she is both a Christian and a Muslim to be “exciting” in terms of interfaith understanding. This is really happening, and it’s not going away.
What’s so wrong with the thought that all religions drop you off at the same heavenly hotel? Well, just this: If you believe in the God that reveals Himself through the Bible, and you take Him at His Word and you let Him define your reality, then the message you get is that He is the only way to heaven—He is the only true God. And it’s not like he’s silent on the issue of other religions. Consider our Old Testament lesson for today from Isaiah 44. There Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty says: “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come—yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
Does that sound to you like a God who would say, “Oh yeah, those other gods will get you to the same place anyway?” No way! The God of Israel; the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob; the God who led his people out of Egyptian slavery; the God who lived with his people in tabernacle and temple and who finally put on our flesh to die and rise in our stead will never share the stage with Allah or be put on a double-bill with Krishna. There is no other rock on which to stand when all other ground is sinking sand. It’s the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or it’s false. It’s reliance, faith, and trust in Jesus’ death and his resurrection or it’s wrong. If the Christian Church loses this truth, the church is lost. If we individual Christians ignore what God has clearly said in His Word and start inventing a God that thinks like we do, then we’re in danger. To say that “All religions lead to heaven” is really to rebel against Jesus, who said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s also to rebel against apostolic teaching. It was Peter who said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4: 12)” And really, it is to rebel against and call into question all that God has said; because nowhere are we given the freedom to cut and paste the parts of the faith we like and to ignore the rest. At that point, we’re just playing god. The God who said “There is no other Rock; I know not one” will not accept us as fellow gods either. Where we have remained willfully ignorant of what God says…where we have heard what God says but ignored it and gone our own way…where we have presumed to know better than God and adopted the world’s so-called wisdom…and where we have concluded that there’s really no sin that sticks to us… we need to repent. We need a wake-up call. We need to truly confess the words of the beloved hymn: “No merit of my own I claim; But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” We need to go to the only true God asking for mercy, which really is a matter of asking the Lord to not punish us as our sins deserve.
So here is the mystery and majesty of the true Triune God: He will not punish us as our sins deserve when we wholly lean on Jesus’ name. He will show mercy, because contrary to what human wisdom suggests, God did desire the sacrifice of His Son as the payment of our sins’ debt. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, could not be clearer on this very point. Jesus’ mission was to be our substitute in death; to die our death; to take our punishment instead of us, which He did on the cross. Because He paid the ultimate price, you and I are forgiven, fully and completely. But God doesn’t stop there. He plants the gift of faith in your heart to believe this Great News. He did not forgive your debt in order to make you an indentured servant, but to adopt you as his child and an inheritor of eternal life. He gives his children his very name in Holy Baptism. The Good Shepherd feeds His flock in the Lord’s Supper. His Word is our Solid Rock through the storms of life. He loves you and lavishes these gifts upon you. And let’s be honest: we don’t deserve them. But that doesn’t stop the persistent love of God, who gives us the treasure Jesus earned again and again and again. This we call grace.
And it’s grace that sets the true Christian faith apart from any other world religion or philosophy. It’s grace that marks the true Christian faith as the one authentic expression of God’s love for His creation. Without exception, every other religion or worldview gives you a list of things to do, and you do the list to earn God’s favor. You do the list to improve yourself. You do the list to make the world a better place. And if you do the list well enough, there might be some rewards for you. But inevitably, people can’t do the list very well at all, and it becomes a burden as they try harder or simply give up. Only the Christian faith, with its focus on the saving words and actions of Jesus, presents the way of grace, of God giving us what we could never achieve as a gift because He loves us already.
When the grace of Jesus hits home, it really hits home, especially if you’ve been laboring under a “do-this-list” religion. Let me introduce you to a man named Joakim. Joakim lives in Africa, but he speaks French, and one day he met a man who as it turned out was a Lutheran missionary. That Lutheran missionary asked Joakim to help him learn the French language. Joakim agreed. So the missionary and Joakim got together and took turns reading from a French-language Bible. They had been doing this for many weeks when one day the missionary asked Joakim if he was a Christian. And Joakim said, “I was a Muslim until the first day that we read the Bible together. I had always thought that Jesus was a prophet like Muhammed and that Islam and Christianity were basically the same. I thought Jesus was a law-giver like Muhammed. I never heard that Jesus came as a Savior to pay for our sins. I had always tried to be a good Muslim but my sin haunted me. Now I know that Jesus came to die for me and because of what He has done, I can be sure that I will go to heaven.”
There are souls like Joakim’s on the line all around us, and the only way they will ever have peace is through the pure message of Jesus’ gracious life, death, and resurrection. Let us always pray for courage to boldly broadcast that apart from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no God; There is no other Rock who loves with such extravagant grace as Christ on whom we stand. Amen.

In Memoriam -- Jean Long

My mother-in-law, Jean Long, was received into the Church Triumphant on July 4, 2008. As Pastor Tom Zucconi said at her committal, our loss is her gain. My family has been moved by the outpouring of sympathy and support we have recevied from our Christian family.

The Service of Committal includes a prayer that I am finding to be increasingly beautiful. Here it is:

Almighty God, by the death of your Son Jesus Christ You destroyed death, by his rest in the tomb You sanctified the graves of Your saints, and by his bodily resurrection You brought life and immortality to light so that all who die in Him abide in peace and hope. Receive our thanks for the victory over death and the grave that He won for us. Keep us in everlasting communion with all who wait for Him on earth and with all in heaven who are with Him, for He is the resurrection and the life, even Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.