The lutheransermons's Podcast

Preparing for Worship - October 26, 2025

These readings focus on key Biblical ideas emphasized by Martin Luther and many others at the time of the Lutheran Reformation and expressed by Lutherans ever since. The psalm is Psalm 46, the basic text for Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” God is our refuge and strength. He is always present in times of trouble to help us. He is like a “fortress” of protection for us, even when there is chaos among people and nations and kingdoms on earth. And one day (through Christ our Savior), He will take us to eternal life, to “the city of God,” to His “holy place of habitation.” In the meantime, we are called to “be still” and to have faith and trust in Him as our Lord and God.

There is no other Old Testament lesson this week, but as in the Easter season and other times, we have a reading from the Book of Revelation, Revelation 14:6-7. An angel, a messenger from God, is flying overhead and proclaiming with a loud voice “an eternal Gospel,” Good News for all people in all languages. This reminds many of the clear Gospel of God’s Word that Luther proclaimed, calling people to fear, love, and trust in the one true Triune God, Creator of all things, and His saving work through His Son, Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to glory in the Lord, not themselves, and worship Him alone. Luther also made a great effort to put the Scriptures and many of his writings into the ordinary language of his own German people, so that they could understand and trust in Christ as their Savior, through the living water of God’s Word, and one day enjoy the waters of eternal life (Psalm 46:4, Revelation 22:1, etc.). The angel of verse 6 certainly represents the proclamation of the Gospel since the time of Christ and continues to this day, until the day of final judgment and Christ’s return. (See Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10, and Revelation 22:16-17.) The goal is always to have more believers in Christ as Savior, and that we remain strong in that faith.

Martin Luther learned a great deal from his own study of the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus Himself promises in our Gospel lesson, from John 8:31-36. If we abide in, continue in, Jesus’ Word, the Word of God, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free from the curse and condemnation of sin. We are all sinners and slaves of sin if left on our own, but Jesus, God’s Son, forgave us and set us free by His own sacrifice on the cross for us. He brings us to faith and sets us free indeed to be children of God, now and forever.

The alternate Gospel lesson is Matthew 11:12-19. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven has come, but it is being treated violently. John the Baptist is the Elijah to come, preparing the way for Jesus the Savior, but he has been rejected and thrown in prison. Jesus Himself is the Promised One, come from heaven, but He too is being criticized and rejected by many, because He is doing what He was sent to do - to be a friend of and Savior for sinners, which we all are. That mission will send Him to the cross. His followers and we, too, are called to trust Him, though He will seem to be “least in the kingdom of heaven” in His suffering and death for us, but the victory will finally be His in his resurrection - an eternal victory for us, too.

The saving work of Jesus is described so clearly in the Word of God, as given to us by Paul in our Epistle lesson, Romans 3:21-28. Paul has just explained that all of us are sinners and that none of us could be justified before God by doing works of the Law (Romans 3:9-20). But now, a righteousness from God has come to us as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ for us and all who believe in Him. We are counted justified by His grace (His undeserved love and favor for us) through the redeeming work of Christ. The big word for that is “propitiation,” a sacrifice of Christ Jesus Himself and His blood on the cross, in our place, in payment for all of our sins. God is thus the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus. Any boasting of our own about our works or efforts is excluded. “We hold,” Paul says, “that one is justified by faith (in Christ) apart from works of the law.” This statement is foundational to what Luther taught and what we believe today as Lutherans. This passage, along with the others today, focuses on the three “solas,” the three great “alones” that we emphasize as Lutherans. We are saved by God’s “grace alone," through "faith alone” in Christ as God’s gift to us, with “Scripture alone” as the foundation for our beliefs.                                                                                

Preparing for Worship - October 19, 2025

The Scriptures this week encourage us to keep looking to our Lord for help and calling upon Him in prayer and trusting Him and His Word, even in very difficult times. Jesus’ Words in His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:7-11, could be a summary of these readings. Approach the Lord and ask and seek and knock. If we, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to those who ask.

The psalm is Psalm 121. The Psalmist says that he will look up to the Lord, the Creator, when he needs help. The Lord does not need to sleep and will “keep” him in His care, as He knows best. The Lord will watch over him day and night, and will keep him and his life from evil and guide his coming and going in this life and even forevermore, in eternal life.

The Old Testament lesson is from Genesis 32:22-30. Jacob is asked by the Lord to return to his homeland, but is very worried about a confrontation with his brother, Esau, since he had stolen his birthright, which Esau should have had as the oldest son, though Esau had done wrong himself and forfeited that birthright. As Jacob waits to meet Esau, he wrestles with a man all night. Neither wins until the man, who is God, throws Jacob’s hip out of joint with a touch. Still, Jacob does not want to let him go without receiving a blessing. God blessed him and gave him a new name, Israel, which means “He strives with God.” From Jacob and His sons would come, then, the whole people and nation of Israel, and from that nation would come our Savior, Jesus. Jacob realizes that he has seen God, though only in the form of a human face, and yet his life had been spared by God’s mercy. (This is a true story, as described, in the history of God’s people. Some say that this also gives permission for us to wrestle with God in prayer, when we are having difficult times and seek to understand God’s will and ways for us.)

Jesus Himself gives us that kind of permission in the Gospel lesson, Luke 18:1-8. teaching us with a parable that we should “always pray and not lose heart.” The parable is of a widow who is seeking justice from someone who had badly mistreated her. She complains and complains, but the judge is unrighteous and cares neither about God or the people he hears from. The widow keeps asking and asking for help, and finally the judge is tired of her “bothering” him and decides to give her justice  to stop her from “beating him down.” Jesus then says that God will do right by His “elect” believers who call upon Him day and night, and give them justice speedily. (Of course, remember the words of 2 Peter 3:8-9, about God’s timing.) But, Jesus asks, will He find faithful people on earth when the last day comes? This is one of a number of Scriptures that predict that in the last times before Jesus, the Son of Man, returns, there will be many who have turned against God and His Word and work. See passages such as Luke 17:28ff. and Matthew 24:9-14, 21-24, 30-31, but Jesus will rescue His believing people for eternal life. They will have perfect peace in Heaven.

The Epistle lesson continues Paul’s letter to Timothy, a younger pastor, in 2 Timothy 3:14 4:5. Timothy is to continue in what he has learned and believed, through his Christian baptism and upbringing centered in “the sacred writings which are able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. For all Scripture is breathed out by God.” It is entirely His Word and is useful for teaching, showing people where they are wrong, lifting them back up and forgiving them and correcting them, and showing them the righteous ways of God, by faith in Christ. Then they are ready to do some good, in thanks to God for His mercy in Christ. Timothy is to preach that Word with patience, sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus, even though, as predicted in the Gospel lesson, “many will not endure sound teaching” and will find “teachers to suit their own passions” and desires, “turning away from listening to the truth” of God’s Word. There will be suffering for God’s faithful people, but their ministry, their service to the Lord, will be fulfilled. For God, the Lord is a “Righteous Judge” who will judge justly and give eternal life to all who have lived by faith and await the appearing of Christ on the last day, or on that day they die and are taken to heaven (2 Timothy 4:1-5,8). In the meantime, until Christ returns, we are to live in faith and keep calling upon our Lord in prayer, asking for His help and guidance, and trusting His ultimate deliverance (Psalm 50:15).

Sermon from Sunday, October 12, 2025

“Remember Jesus Christ and His Word”

(2 Timothy 2:1-13 and other readings)

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

The text for our meditation today is the Epistle lesson, 2 Timothy 2:1-13, along with some thoughts from our other readings. Ten people are cured, in our Gospel lesson (Luke 17:11-19), of the dreaded disease of leprosy, but only one, a Samaritan, comes back specifically to thank Jesus. “He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.”

The other nine were likely Jewish people. They were likely spiritual people, in some way, and thankful for their good fortune in being healed. But too busy or too excited, they missed out on the greatest gift they needed - the gift of Jesus Himself as Savior. Only of the Samaritan who came back does Jesus say, very literally, “Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.” Jesus had worked in him the gift of faith.

Many people today would call themselves spiritual, and they have some sense of God, but they are primarily centered on themselves and their well-being. They tailor their religious ideas to their wishes and desires and their own thinking, and they become in danger of missing out on Jesus Himself and His greatest blessing - and may even think that Jesus is just one choice among many viable choices that people have. They may never even get around to following Jesus very faithfully, if at all.

And could it be that even we in the church could be influenced by such thinking, as common as it is, today? Think about even Naomi, in our Old Testament lesson for today (Ruth 1:1-19a), who says to her daughter-in-law, Ruth: “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return, after your sister-in-law.” It almost sounds as if Naomi thinks that the God of Israel is her choice, but that it’s OK for Ruth to choose any other gods that fit her better. Thank the Lord that Ruth had already come to believe and trust in the one true God, as she says so clearly, “Your God shall be my God” - for there is no other.

Paul is telling, in our Epistle, our text for today, a younger pastor, Timothy, to follow, in his teaching and personal faith, that same God, now more clearly revealed as the One True Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Paul is calling us to that same faith in God’s Word and His saving plan for the world, centered only in Jesus Christ, as Savior.

“Remember Jesus Christ,” Paul says, “risen from the dead, the offspring of David.” Jesus is the very Son of God, who became a real human being, born from the human line of Ruth and later, David, and even later, the Virgin Mary. And by His perfect life and death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, in our place, there is provided for us, Paul says, “the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”

Jesus is not just one of many roads that lead to God and to eternal life. He is the only way, as He Himself said (John 14:6), and as Peter proclaimed: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

This sounds so narrow and exclusive and contradictory to what we constantly hear today - that we should be more inclusive and accepting of others, no matter what they believe and what they do. After all, so many people say, “They have their rights to do whatever they choose.” In this free society, people do have their rights. But that does not mean that they are right or that their words and deeds are right or good or helpful, for themselves or for others.

Paul reminds Timothy, and he reminds us, that we must be centered in Christ Jesus, our Savior, and in the Word of Christ, revealed by His holy prophets and apostles, including Paul himself, as he was inspired by God. Paul tells Timothy to “be strengthened by… what you have heard from me”… “by the Gospel I preached.” Paul says, writing from prison near the time of his death because of his faith, he is “bound with chains as a criminal. But the Word of God is not bound.”

That Word of God is always available to us, to lead and guide us and point us to Jesus. It is only bound if we leave the Scriptures, the Bible, bound and don’t open it up and read it and listen to it and ask God to help us. Paul says, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding,” through His Holy Spirit, who works through that very Word of God and teaches us.

It was not easy to stay centered in Christ and His Word, in Paul and Timothy’s day, and it certainly is not easy today, either. Paul gives three examples of the kind of self-discipline we need.

• It is like being a soldier of Christ, not getting too entangled in civilian pursuits, but listening to the voice of our Lord, our Commander.
• It is like being an athlete, who must stay in training and have discipline, and follow the rules of the competition.
• It is like a farmer, who knows he must put in hard work if he wants a harvest, and he also needs to receive from the harvest and keep believing and receiving and using the Word of God for himself.

The goal is to stay in faith in Christ all our life. “If we endure, we will also reign with Christ.” And there is the sober warning, “If we deny Christ, He will also deny us.”

In a recent Bible study on this passage, someone asked a good question: “Doesn’t this sound like righteousness by our works?” No. Paul had clearly said in the first chapter of this letter that God “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9-10). God had this saving plan for us before all ages and has now completed it in Christ. As believers, we try to do the good and right things in thankfulness for what God has done in Christ, but we trust not in ourselves and our efforts, but in God’s saving work for us, completed in Christ, by His grace.

No wonder, then, that Paul begins this text with those words to Timothy and to us, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” It is only by the grace (the undeserved love and favor of God) that Christ came for us in the first place and that we have been saved. And it is only by the grace of God, in Christ, that we are forgiven of the times that we have failed Christ, in word and deed, and have caved in to the world’s way, and have neglected God’s Word. Christ died for the very purpose of forgiving us of all that and of all our sins, and to restore us to Himself.

How good it is that we are able to be at worship today, remembering Jesus and hearing His Word, and speaking and singing God’s Word to one another - and how good it is to be able to do this regularly.

And when we speak the Confessions of Sins, with our heads bowed, and kneel for Communion and the Lord’s real presence and blessing at His altar, we are right there with the Samaritan in our Gospel lesson, who “praised God… and fell at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks” for His mercy to us, too. And we hear Jesus saying to us, too, “Rise and go your way from this service; your faith has saved you.” Christ has saved you!

One last thought. Jesus also asked in our Gospel lesson, “Where are the other nine?” There’s an old Charlie Brown cartoon where Charlie and his team have lost another baseball game by a huge amount. Charlie says, “How can we keep on losing when we are so sincere?” Our text reminds us that people can be sincerely wrong in what they believe and do - and apart from Christ, they are lost and will lose.

So, Paul encourages Timothy to keep sharing the Word of God faithfully, and he says, “What you have heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Therefore, we pray for more pastors and teachers and church workers who will teach the Word of God faithfully, and all of us can think about ways we can help out some more, too, for the sake of “the nine” - those people who are still spiritually lost - and as we share Christ’s Words and deeds and our love and care for others in Christ. And remember the final Words of our text: “Christ remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” He will help and bless us. That is His promise.

Let us pray: Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they are safe, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Preparing for Worship - October 12, 2025

The Scriptures today emphasize both the Words and the deeds of our Lord, culminating in the saving Words and deeds of our Lord Jesus. The Psalm is Psalm 111. Notice how often the “works” of the Lord are mentioned, which we study and for which we thank Him as we gather as His people, His congregation. His works are “great” and “wondrous” and are to be “remembered.” His works are “gracious and merciful,” and he is “faithful” to His “covenant” promises, especially in “sending redemption to His people,” rescuing them from slavery in Egypt (and eventually in the saving Word and works of Jesus our Redeemer). “Wisdom” and “good understanding” come from “fear” and love and trust in Him. He provides needed “food” for His people, too, physically and especially spiritually.

The Old Testament lesson is from Ruth 1:1-19a. Naomi and her husband and sons moved to Moab because there was famine in Israel. Over time, the husband and sons all died, and they had married Moabite wives. It is a difficult time, and when Naomi hears that “the Lord had visited His people and given them food,” she decides to go back to her hometown in Israel, to Bethlehem. The name literally means “the house of bread.” She wants her daughters-in-law to go back to their families in Moab, as she cannot care for them. She is even willing to have them return to the false gods of the Moabites, though she hopes that the Lord, the true God, will be kind to them. The daughter-in-law, Ruth, wants to go with Naomi and has come to trust in the true Lord. Naomi shows a lack of faith and is very bitter and thinks the Lord has just turned against her. She allows Ruth to go with her, though, and they return to Bethlehem. If you remember the story, Naomi, whose name means “pleasant,” thinks her name should be Mara, which means “bitter,” because the Lord has treated her so badly. The Lord turns this for good, though, as Ruth meets and marries a man, Boaz, who cares for her and Naomi. From that family line eventually came King David and, much later, our Lord Jesus, Himself born in Bethlehem. Jesus would be the “Bread of Life” and our Savior. The fact that Ruth was not a Jew also indicates that God’s saving plan was for all people, not just for Jews.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 17:11-19. Jesus is approached by ten lepers who plead for His mercy. (Leprosy was a dreaded disease and considered very contagious, and lepers had to stay far away from ordinary people.) Jesus sends them off to see “priests,” religious leaders who could declare them to be “cleansed.” While they were headed to the priests, they were all “cleansed” and healed. They still needed the approval of the priests to be declared healed and then return to their homes and families, though. Only one of them first returned to Jesus, praising God and falling at the feet of Jesus and giving Him thanks. And that man was a Samaritan, of the people hated by most Jews. Jesus wondered where the other nine were, who were likely rejoicing in their healing, but not in God who gave it. Jesus, the Son of God, then indicated that the Samaritan man had also received the greatest gift, saving faith in Jesus, which would help him through this life and for eternal life. Here, the deeds of Jesus helped affirm the truth of His Words.

The Epistle lesson is from 2 Timothy 2:1-13. Paul continues his letter of encouragement to a young pastor, Timothy. Paul had written from prison before. This time, though, he is bound with chains and suffering much more “for the sake of the elect,” his fellow believers. Paul encourages Timothy to be ready to endure whatever suffering may be coming with three images: as a soldier, loyal to and aiming to please the Lord, who enlisted him; as an athlete, staying in shape and competing according to the rules; and as a farmer, hard-working and aiming for a good harvest and his share of the crops. Paul asks Timothy to think about what he writes and pray for understanding. Above all, Paul calls Timothy to keep remembering the risen Jesus Christ, the true Son of David, and be strengthened by the grace and salvation that come in and through Jesus. Paul is now bound and limited, but the Word of God preached and written by Paul is not limited, and the Gospel is, as Paul said in Romans 1:16-17, “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘the righteous shall live by faith.'” Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit work through this Word, which “is trustworthy,” and our Lord “remains faithful” and “cannot deny Himself” and His promises. Timothy is to share that truly Good News and find other faithful men who can teach that Word, also, so that more and more people can live with Christ now and eternally, by faith in Him. That is still the calling of our Lord to us to this very day.

Preparing for Worship - October 5, 2025

The Scriptures for this week call us to trust in our Lord at all times, even when times are difficult and we do not understand why things are going as they are.

The Old Testament lesson is from Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4. The prophet Habakkuk is crying out to the Lord because so many bad things are happening, and He, the Lord, doesn’t seem to care. There is violence and destruction and strife all around, even among God’s people because of iniquity (their sin), and justice is perverted. The wicked even surround the righteous, as Chaldean (Babylonian) armies are threatening the land of Judah and Jerusalem. (Read 1:5-17, where God says that He is raising up the Chaldeans in judgment for the sins of Judah, and Habakkuk questions again why God would allow such wicked people to swallow up people more righteous than they are.) In 2:1-4, Habakkuk is still waiting for answers from the Lord. The Lord calls Habakkuk to wait for His plans to be fulfilled at an appointed time in the future and not to be puffed up by his own self-righteous ideas about what should happen. Habakkuk and others are simply to live by faith in the Lord and His ways and promises. (Habakkuk is finally brought to that trembling faith in His Lord. Read 3:16-19, and rejoice in the God of our salvation, too. Note also how many times verses 2:2-4 are quoted or referred to in the New Testament. Examples are: Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38, Ephesians 2:8, and 2 Corinthians 4:13-18. See, for example, even in the Old Testament: Genesis 15:6 and Isaiah 26:2-4. The appointed time, the fullness of time, was in the coming of God’s Son, Jesus, to redeem us and be our Savior and the Savior of the world. Galatians 4:4ff.)

The Psalm is Psalm 62. David had his struggles, too, and God taught him to wait in silence for His saving work. God alone, God only, was his hope. David warns against putting one's trust in other people, regardless of their status, or in riches or wrongdoing, for these can all be a delusion. Rather, David says, “Trust in the Lord at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us,” with His “power and steadfast love.” (Note also that the end of v.12 does not mean that we are ultimately saved by our good works that we do. We are saved by the gift of faith, which the Lord has brought us to, by His grace. Works that we do are a reflection of our faith and trust in our Lord, though. See such Scriptures as John 6:28-29, Romans 3:20, 26-28, 4:2-8, and Ephesians 2:8-10. Note also the thoughts on our Gospel, in Luke 17:5-10.)

The Gospel lesson is Luke 17:1-10. Jesus is warning His disciples about temptations that can lead us to sin. He does not want us to lead others into temptations and sins, either, especially those who are “little ones,” new to faith, or weak in faith, or are literally vulnerable children. At the same time, Christ would soon die for our sins and bring us forgiveness, as repentant sinners, and He calls us to forgive each other, again and again, since we are all sinful people, in thought, word, and deed. (The number 7 means a full and complete number. Jesus is calling His disciples to keep on forgiving others. Jesus went even farther in Matthew 18:22, when He said to forgive 77 times, or as some translate it,  70 times 7 times - and that does not mean that on the 491st time, we can stop forgiving. Thank the Lord that He keeps on forgiving us, above all. May we keep coming to Him, with sorrow and repentance for our sins.) We want forgiveness, but sometimes it is hard to keep forgiving others. The disciples know that and pray to the Lord, “increase our faith,” that we may love and forgive in a better way. Jesus then talks about servants, often literally “slaves” in His own day. Slaves were owned by their masters and received no pay, but were to do whatever the master wanted. Only when they had done their duty, all that he commanded, were they to eat and drink and do for themselves. Martin Franzmann says,  though, “No master of a slave is expected to serve his servants, but Jesus will do the unexpected. To those who serve in faith and love, with no thought of reward, He gives the reward (the gift) which none may claim and only He can give: 'He will gird Himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them.'" See Luke 12:35-40 and Revelation 3:20-21, with regard to Christ’s second coming and the undeserved gifts given in eternal life. Receiving Christ in the Lord’s Supper is also a foretaste of the eternal joys to come. See Psalm 23:5-6 and 1 Corinthians 10:16 and 11:26 and Isaiah 25:6-9.)

The Epistle lesson is from 2 Timothy 1:1-14. Paul writes this letter from prison to the younger pastor, Timothy, around 68 AD, not long before Paul’s death. Paul writes of “the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus” and remembers how that gift of faith had lived in Timothy’s grandmother and mother and now in Timothy, too. Paul assures Timothy again of the Gospel of God, “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of His own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus,” and “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” Paul encourages Timothy “never to be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,” but to follow the pattern of sound words, the true Word of God received from Paul. Paul is confident that Timothy could, “by the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him, guard the good deposit entrusted to him” - the true Word of God centered in the saving work of Jesus. The Lord had given that confidence to Paul himself, now in prison and facing execution. May the Lord strengthen all of us, too, in that trustworthy Word of God, for our life now and for our eternal future in our Savior Jesus.

Preparing for Worship - September 28, 2025

The Scriptures this week encourage us to keep trusting in our Lord and not in other people or in our money and possessions (mammon). Church leaders are reminded to follow God’s Word, centered in Christ, and watch out for dangers to their service to the Lord, too.

The Psalm is Psalm 146. Psalm 145 ended with the words: “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,” and the psalms that follow, including Psalm 146, all “Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) We are not to trust in princes or any other people, for they cannot bring salvation. Our hope is in the Lord, and He alone can help us, in faithfulness and justice. He can help people in all kinds of need, including prisoners, the blind, those bowed down by the troubles of this life, sojourners, widows, and the fatherless. He reigns forever and can help all generations.

The Old Testament lesson is from Amos 6:1-7. Amos was a prophet of the Lord from 784-746BC and spoke during Jeroboam II and his reign of 41 years in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The king had reconquered a large area of the land and wealthy people felt secure and prosperous. They had beds of ivory and ate choice food of lambs and calves and drank wine in bowls and anointed themselves with the finest oils, and had time to sing and write idle songs, but they had also drifted from the Lord to false gods and wrong ways of worship (see Amos 4:26-27) and were not grieving and ill at the troubles of the poor and needy. Judgment was coming for their sins and rejection of the Lord, coming soon, as it did about 720BC.

The Gospel lesson is Luke 16:19-31. Jesus tells a parable of a very rich man who had the best of everything in food and clothes and lived extravagantly every day. At his gate was a very poor man, who was ill and hungry and wished only for some scraps from the rich man’s table. But the rich man ignored him and did not help him at all. The poor man’s name was Lazarus, which means “The Lord is my Helper.” He died in faith in the Lord and was taken to the side of Abraham and heavenly feasting. The rich man died without faith in the Lord and ended up in Hades (Hell) in fire and great anguish. He had already wasted his “good days” on himself and his desires. The rich man begs for mercy and for even just a drop of water in his agony. But there is a chasm between heaven and hell, and people cannot cross from one place to the other. The formerly rich man then asks that his five living brothers be warned, by someone coming back from the dead, of judgment coming for them, too, apart from repentance and faith in the Lord. Abraham says that these people have the Word of God, and if they won’t believe that, they will not believe, even if someone does come back from the dead (as Jesus would soon do). How tragic that so many still reject the Good News of Jesus even today and are headed for eternal sorrow. This parable is also a commentary on the words of Jesus in Luke 16:13-15. May we continue in faith in the Lord Jesus, our true Savior.

There are two choices for the Epistle. The first is 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and calls for faithful overseers and deacons (pastors and teachers and other servants among God’s people.) Paul speaks of their ideal qualities to a young pastor, Timothy, and warns of the “snares of the devil” that can be a danger to them, too - the love of money, self-centeredness and conceit, too much wine, greed, etc. Instead, they are to be faithful to their Lord and hold on to the mystery of the faith and be confident in the faith that is in Christ Jesus and teach God’s Word well in care for God’s church. In the alternate reading, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Paul continues to teach Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith,” confident of eternal life, and with a good witness about God, who gives life to all through faith in Christ Jesus, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Timothy is to guard the good deposit of God’s Word entrusted to him and share that knowledge only. Paul warns him also to seek to be content and avoid the dangers of the love of money, which can quickly corrupt. Timothy is also to teach the rich to use their money wisely and to do good and share with and help others, and to set their hopes on God, not on the uncertainty of what they have. These are all very important words for church leaders and for all believers - to be focused on Christ and the Word of Scripture and not on the “irreverent babble” that we hear all around us.

Sermon from September 21, 2025

Sermon Based on Matthew 9:9-13

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel lesson, read just a few minutes ago, from Matthew 9:9-13, along with some thoughts from just before that reading.

Jesus had just come back to the city of Capernaum, in Northern Israel, by the Sea of Galilee. People had brought, literally carried, a paralyzed man to Jesus, hoping for a healing for the man. Jesus recognizes their faith and says to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” That’s probably not what they were hoping for, but Jesus was teaching what was most important for all of us to have - the forgiveness of our sins, which separate us from God

Some Jewish religious leaders are there, and they are shocked. “This man is blaspheming,” they thought - speaking against God - for only God can forgive sins. Who does Jesus think He is?

Jesus knew their thoughts and proved that he could forgive sins by also doing a miracle of healing. He said to the paralyzed man, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And the man rose and went home, healed physically and spiritually. And as Jesus forgave and healed this man, He used a term for Himself, “Son of Man,” which was used in the Old Testament to describe some of the prophets, but particularly to refer to the coming Savior of the world, who would be a true man and yet also the true Son of God. And the people who saw this miracle were afraid, but they also glorified God, who had given such authority to this man, Jesus (Matthew 9:1-8).

And it was soon after that that our text for today begins. Jesus “saw a man called Matthew, sitting at a tax booth, and said to him, ‘Follow Me,’ and Matthew immediately rose and followed Jesus.” Most scholars assume that Matthew had already had some contact with Jesus and had heard His preaching and teaching about the need for repentance and forgiveness of sins and the new life that Jesus offered. Jesus had already been very active in that part of Northern Israel, and Matthew might already have been brought to faith in Jesus in his heart through Jesus’ preaching of the Word.

What was really surprising, though, was that Jesus has specifically called him, a tax collector, to be one of his twelve chosen disciples. We may not like people from the IRS very much today, but most Jews hated tax collectors, because they worked for the evil Roman occupiers of their land and helped support their evil, pagan ways, and raised money for them.

There was a Jewish scholar in the 1800s, Alfred Edersheim, who became a Christian through his own study of the Scriptures, but also knew what ancient Jewish writings said about many things and about tax collectors. The Jewish Talmud put tax collectors alongside “murderers and robbers” and other notorious sinners, because they so often charged people more than they should and kept the extra money for themselves and became rich. Jewish rabbis taught that tax collectors were so dishonest that they should never be allowed to be witnesses in court. You couldn’t trust them. Rabbis removed, excommunicated, tax collectors from their synagogues. That would be equivalent to being kicked out of a local church today. The rabbis even considered it lawful for Jews to lie in almost any conceivable way to avoid paying tax collectors.

But here is Jesus, choosing one of these tax collectors to be one of His closest disciples. And as our text goes on, it is no surprise that when Matthew soon sponsored a dinner at his home and many tax collector friends and other “sinners” and Jesus came, too, that Jewish religious leaders, Pharisees this time, saw this and said to Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Note that they don’t attack Jesus directly, because He always has answers they have trouble dealing with, but they want to confuse and draw away His own followers. After all, Jesus should have known better than to associate with such lowlife people.

Jesus heard what was said, though, and He answers the Pharisees. He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Imagine if you had a doctor who would only see you if you were perfectly well. He or she said, “I won’t see you if you are sick, because I don’t want to be contaminated by you.” We actually need a doctor most when we are sick, don’t we?

And Jesus is speaking here about a spiritual sickness, a sickness from sin, that separates us from God and from one another, whom God calls us to care about. And the Scriptures are clear: “All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It is a sickness of the heart. The Scriptures say, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? We all have a sense of that. Our hearts struggle, at least at times, about knowing what is right and wrong, and even if we know what is right, we have trouble doing it all too often. That’s why Jesus, in our text, also tells the Pharisees and all those gathered that day, and all of us, still today, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’” (Hosea 6:6).

Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament book of Hosea, where God Himself says through the prophet, “I desire mercy and not (your) sacrifices, the knowledge of God rather than (your) offerings.” God knows our sins and struggles, and yet He still loves us and cares about us. And later on in Hosea, God says, I shall give mercy to people, “I shall ransom them. I shall redeem them, from (sin) and death” (Hosea 13:14). And that’s why God the Father sent His only Son, our Lord Jesus, into this world, not just to preach and teach, but to do all things necessary to rescue us, living a perfect life in our place and paying the penalty for all of our sins by His suffering and death on the cross, and by rising again in victory over death, so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life, through faith in Him, as a gift from God. That’s why Jesus ended this passage by saying, “For I came not to call the righteous (since none of us are righteous, by ourselves). I came to call sinners," like Matthew, and like you and me, pastors, too.

Matthew knew that he was a forgiven sinner, as he left his tax office and his old life and followed Jesus, in faith in Him. Matthew did so in a humble way, too. Two of the other Gospels identify him by his Jewish name, “Levi, son of Alphaeus.” But he uses the name “Matthew” in this passage and “Matthew the tax collector” in a listing of the disciples in Matthew 10:3. Otherwise, he never mentions himself anywhere else in his own Gospel. Some think that Jesus may have given him this name, as Jesus gave the name “Peter” to Simon (Matthew 16:18), and later on, Saul received the name “Paul” (Acts 13:9). The name “Matthew” means “Gift of God,” and Matthew had received God’s greatest gifts of forgiveness and new life and salvation, and Matthew certainly became a "Gift of God” to so many other people, as well.

The one thing that we know for certain about him is that early Christians unanimously said that he was the writer of this Gospel that we are looking at, as he was guided and inspired by God the Holy Spirit. Early Christian witnesses also agreed that this was the first Gospel written, maybe in the early 50s AD. (Liberal scholars often want to make Mark first, with very critical ideas, but the early Christians said that the order was Matthew, then Luke, then Mark, and then John. Mathew’s Gospel was very helpful to Jews (and to us all), as it has many quotations from the Old Testament, showing that Jesus truly was the One predicted to be the Savior. As a tax collector, Matthew had to be organized and skilled not only in financial matters, but in knowing his own native languages, Aramaic and Hebrew, and also the most widely used language of his day (not Latin but Greek) in which his Gospel of Matthew appears, as we have it today.

Matthew ends his Gospel with the call from Jesus to him and the other apostles and to all God’s people to be helping to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew was surely sent out to other places, too, but as one respected Lutheran scholar says, “The traditions about Matthew’s travels are very late, long after the time Matthew lived, and tend to be fantastic and legendary, and mix Matthew up with other people, and offer little basis for a reliable later history of Matthew the Evangelist” (Martin Franzmann, The Word of the Lord Grows).

That’s why we need to keep going back to the Scriptures themselves, including the Gospel of Matthew, as the firm basis for what we believe. As our Lutheran Confessions say, “The writing of the Old and New Testaments are the only rule and norm according to which all doctrines and teachers alike must be appraised and judged… Other writings of ancient and modern teachers, whatever their names, should not be put on a par with Holy Scripture" (Formula of Concord, Epitome, 1). So, keep reading the Gospel of Matthew and other parts of Scripture, for then you are on a firm foundation as forgiven sinners, trusting in Jesus Christ and his saving Word and work for you and for us all.

Let us pray: “Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they are safe, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen (Philippians 4:7).

Preparing for Worship - September 21, 2025

The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 113, calling upon us all to “praise the Lord” and “bless” and honor His Name. He is high above all nations and sees what is going on in the heavens and on the earth. He cares about all people, including the “poor and needy” in lowly circumstances, and can lift them up, even as He cares for “the princes of His people.” He can even help “barren women” and bring them joy and even the gift of children, at times, as he did with Sarah (Genesis 21:1-7) and Hannah (1 Samual 1-2) and Elizabeth (Luke 1), who were important in the history of God’s people, leading up to the coming of our Savior, Jesus.

As God cares for people in varied circumstances, He calls upon His own people to care for the poor and needy, too. In Amos 8:4-7, He speaks to His people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, through the prophet Amos, condemning them for “trampling on the needy,” hardly able to wait for the Sabbath to be over, so that they could cheat them in transactions, giving them less than they deserved with false scales, and mixing in chaff with wheat that they sold to them. The Lord “does not forget their evil deeds,” and the end is coming soon for this very sinful people (Amos 8:2).

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 16:1-15, Jesus gives a similar warning to His people and to us, with a very unusual parable - a story of a dishonest manager, who has been wasting his owner’s possessions. He is caught and is about to be fired. He doesn’t want to do manual labor or become a beggar, so he changes the records and lowers what people actually owed the master, hoping that they, in turn, would be grateful and help out the manager when he lost his job. The owner then complimented the dishonest manager for his shrewdness in his bad situation in an evil generation. Jesus then says that “the sons of light,” His own followers, should be wise and prudent in the right way, using the gifts God has given them to be a blessing for themselves, but also for the sake of others and their physical and spiritual needs, as well. Three times, Jesus uses the word “mammon,” in verses 9,11, and 13. The word means not just our money, but all that we are and possess. We can use our “mammon” in the wrong way, so that it becomes our “god” and we serve it instead of our Lord and other people, to whom we can be a blessing. The Pharisees themselves tended to be “lovers of money” and their possessions, and used them for the wrong reasons, to justify themselves before men and make themselves look good in the eyes of others. That will never work for us, as God knows and sees us and what we are really thinking about our money and possessions.

What God really wishes is described in our Epistle lesson, continuing readings from Paul’s first letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:1-15. “God our Savior desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” - the truth that Christ Jesus came into this world to be the only “Mediator between God and us” and “gave Himself as a ransom for us all,” that we might be forgiven and counted right and acceptable before God, “in faith and truth” and trust in Him. Therefore, we are called to “pray and give thanks for all people” - that as many as possible might come to faith in Christ. Our gifts can help with sharing Christ, too. We pray for kings and others in authority, as well, so that they may lead wisely and we might therefore be able to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified.” Paul goes on to speak of the role of men and women, too. Men are to be spiritual leaders in the family and in the church. Women are to learn quietly with submissiveness and are not to teach or exercise spiritual authority over men. That means only male pastors, as we have in our conservative Lutheran churches. Women can teach other women and children and serve in many other ways, of course, and women have unique abilities that only women have - bearing children, for example, as Paul mentions. God chose to create a male and female, in His own divine plan; and we try to listen to what He says about all this in His Word, in spite of what culture and society and human opinions are, at any given time.

Preparing for Worship - September 14, 2025

The theme of the readings this week could be called “the Lord reaching out to rescue His lost sheep.” The Psalm is Psalm 119:169-176. In this longest psalm of the Bible, the psalmist has spoken again and again of the importance of God’s Word and how much he “delights” in it and “does not forget it” and seeks to follow it, in all it says to him. In these final verses, the psalmist uses six different words for God’s message - three times “Your Word,” two times “Your commandments,” and once each “Your statutes,” “Your precepts,” “Your law,” and “Your rules.” He “sings of” and “praises” all that the Lord has said, but he also prays for “understanding,” “help,” “deliverance,” and “salvation,” for as he studies, he also has to admit and confess, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep” too often myself. He prays that at those times, the Lord would always seek His servant and rescue him.

The Old Testament lesson is from Ezekiel 34:11-24. The Lord knows that His shepherds have not always faithfully cared for their sheep and that the sheep themselves have become “lost” and “scattered” in times of “clouds and thick darkness.” He Himself will have to “seek out His sheep and rescue them,” as the psalmist in Psalm 119 cried out for Him to do, and He will feed them in “good pasture” and “bind up" their wounds and “strengthen” them, as some sheep sometimes hurt other sheep, too. Finally, the Lord promises to set up a new David as the one Shepherd of the sheep, and He will be Prince among them. Other Scriptures make it clear that this new David would be our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, and a true human man, as well, born from the family line of King David. See other Old Testament prophecies such as 2 Samuel 7:8-16, Ezekiel 37:25-26, Isaiah 9:5-6, Isaiah 11:1ff, and Jeremiah 30:9. And see, for example, in Revelation 19 the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus as the victorious “Lamb” of God, sacrificed for us and yet raised to glory, with His bride, the church, all believers, and who is also “The Word of God” (see John 1:1ff.) and “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 15:1-10, we see Jesus in His public ministry, reaching out to rescue lost sheep, tax collectors, and sinners, and being criticized for doing so. (See also Luke 7:34,37, Mark 2:13-17, and Matthew 9:11-13.) Note that “eating with people” was a sign of care and fellowship (see also Peter in Acts 11:3 and then in Galatians 2:11-12) and the Biblical fact that we are all sinners, who fall short of what God wishes (Romans 3:23, along with Romans 3:9-20). Jesus then tells the parable of a shepherd who has lost one sheep and goes after and finds it and carries it back to the flock, rejoicing. In the spiritual realm, angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who has been brought to repentance and faith - and remember, we are all sinners needing to be rescued. And Scripture says we cannot rescue ourselves by our own efforts and good works. The next parable emphasizes that truth, with the example of a woman who has lost one coin and searches until she finds it. Coins are inanimate objects and are helpless in trying to find and rescue themselves. The woman “lights a lamp” to help her in her search. Jesus and His Word are that Lamp, “the Light of the world” and the “Light of life” (John 8:12) for us all.

That is made clear by Paul in the Epistle lesson, 1 Timothy 1:(5-11) 12-17. Paul writes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Paul had been strongly anti-Christian and a persecutor of Christians until Jesus came to him and brought him to faith. The “mercy” and “grace” and the “faith and love” that are “in Christ Jesus” were given to Paul as a gift and are “an example” to all of us who have been brought “to believe in Jesus for eternal life.” The “honor and glory” are entirely God’s for rescuing us lost sheep. This was the truly good news, the Gospel, of salvation by God’s grace through “sincere faith” in the saving work of Jesus - a message entrusted to Paul. Earlier in this passage, Paul had used the Law of God in its good and proper way to show that all people on their own are “ungodly and sinners.” Note that v. 9-10 follow the pattern of the 10 Commandments, which condemn us all, in one way or another. Our only hope is in the “trustworthy Word of God, deserving of full acceptance,” and giving us faith and “strength in Christ Jesus our Lord” and only Savior, through His suffering and death on the cross in payment for our sins and His forgiveness for all our sins.

Preparing for Worship - September 7, 2025

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday is Deuteronomy 30:15-20. The Lord begins with His blessings - life and good - that He is bringing to His people, as He guides them into the Promised Land by Joshua. He has already promised, just before this passage, that “the Word (of God) is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” The Lord calls His people then to love Him and walk in His ways and commandments, for that is the way to life and blessing. The Lord also gives a strong warning from His Law not to turn away and refuse to hear His Word and worship other gods and serve them. That is the way of death and curses. God repeats again the way of life - loving Him and obeying His voice and holding fast to Him alone because of His love first for them. (This is the consistent way and message of our Lord. He forgave and clothed Adam and Eve after their sin. He called Abraham to be the father of a nation from whom our Savior Jesus would come. He raised up Moses and then Joshua to lead and guide His people with His Word. Before He gave the 10 Commandments, He spoke of His mercy for His people: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Only then did he give His root Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:1-3). He had said much the same thing before, too. See Deuteronomy 11:26-28. “To go after other gods” was the root problem. And Moses prays to a merciful God who had “redeemed” this people. Deuteronomy 9:26ff.)

The psalm is Psalm 1. “Blessed is the man whose delight is in the Law, the Word of God.” He is like a tree planted by the Lord with plenty of nourishing water, and not like the wicked, those apart from the Lord, who eventually are like “chaff” and driven away. “The Lord knows the way of the righteous” who worship the true God and trust Him and hope for the coming Savior, Jesus.

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 14:25-35, Jesus sees great crowds following Him and calls them to what one commentator, William Arndt, calls “total dedication.” Jesus is to be more important than our own family or our own lives. He uses the word “hating” our family and ourselves. In the context of other Scriptures, Arndt says that “hate” simply means to “love less.” Jesus says in Matthew 10:37, “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy  of Me.” (See Matthew 10:34-39 and Genesis 29:31,33, for example.) “Bearing our own cross" does not mean suffering in general but suffering because we are followers of Jesus. Jesus also calls us to realize the possible cost of following Him in this way. There can be a constant struggle against the forces of evil and a willingness to lose everything for the sake of our Lord. Jesus also calls His disciples “salt” here and in Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:50. As followers of Jesus, we are intended to be useful for the sake of others, too, and not to become followers in name only and worthless to others. (Ideas here come largely from Arndt’s Commentary on Luke.)

Paul teaches a practical application of these words of Jesus, as he writes in his letter to Philemon, in our Epistle, Philemon 1-21. (Philemon lived in Colossi, and this letter was delivered to him at the same time as the letter to the Colossians. See Colossians 4:1, 7-9.) Paul was “bearing his own cross” for Christ, being in prison in Rome because of his Christian faith and witness. While in prison, Paul had met and become “a father in faith” for Onesimus, a runaway servant of Philemon, who had come to Rome and now had also become a Christian believer. The name “Onesimus” means “useful,” but Onesimus had not been useful to his master, Philemon, but had run away and maybe had done some damage to Philemon in the process. Now, as a believer in Rome, though, Onesimus had been a valuable help to Paul. Paul does the right thing, though, and sends Onesimus back to his master, Philemon, along with this letter. Philemon could do whatever he wanted with his runaway servant - punish him severely, or worse. Paul appeals, though, to Philemon’s own Christian faith and valuable service to Paul and others in the church in Colossi. Paul describes this in Philemon 1-7. Paul then appeals to Philemon to send Onesimus back to him in Rome to continue to help him there while he was still in prison. Onesimus had been useless as a runaway slave, but now he had become very useful to Paul, and above all, had become a brother in Christ to both Paul and Philemon. Onesimus could be of real “use,” real “benefit” to Paul, if he was allowed to return to Paul in Rome as a free man, not a “bond servant.” (Paul still works through the ancient systems of his time, but shows how slavery could be broken down by Christian faith and love and unity in Christ, who died for all and cares about all. See other passages, such as Galatians 3:26-29, 1 Corinthians 7:21-23, and Romans 15:3-7.) Finally, know that our Lord calls for “total dedication” on our part, but He also knows who we are, with a sinful nature in a very sin-filled world. We try to do His will, but we too often fail. We don’t go running after false answers and ideas and false gods, though, but confess our sins and trust our merciful God, through Jesus our Savior. In His mercy is our hope.