Sermon for September 19th (Truth and Action)

Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did. Are you walking as Jesus did or are just you “doing it in your heart”? Follow me, Jesus said. Are you following him? Be honest. Are you following him in your marriage? Are you following him with your friends? Are you following him at work? Are you following him at church? I’m not asking you if you want to or if your intentions are good because I’m sure they are. But, “The person who says, “I know God,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

When my wife, Kristy, and I first found out we were going to have a baby, we really tried to prepare ourselves for what was going to happen. We bought diapers and a high chair, we had clothes ready for that first trip home, we made sure the car seat was installed correctly, we had our doctor picked out and another lady to help us through the birth, and we had phone numbers to call people when the baby was born. But that’s not all we did, we talked about what was going to happen and how we were going to handle it as parents. We went on a ton of dates before the big day to try and talk about our fears and our hopes—we wanted to be a strong couple before this little one came in and rocked our world. We wanted to be parents, but not only that, we wanted to be the best parents we could be.

Then my little girl was born and I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. I still find myself today wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to do it. I’d rather read about the Husker game on the internet than sit down and play with my kids. I’d rather hand over Micah to his mom than listen to him scream in my ear. I’d rather go to bed and stay there instead of waking up before dawn to get everyone ready for school.

I had tried to estimate the cost of diapers, clothes, beds and food. I had tried to prepare myself for how children would change my marriage and my life, but it is so different. Once you have a child, it doesn’t matter if you want to spend all night in the emergency room before a big day at work or if you were prepared to do it . . . you just do it. It’s what a parent does. Whoever claims to be a loving parent knows that the true cost of parenting really doesn’t have much at all to do with diapers, with food or even college tuition. The cost of parenting is paid with sleepless nights, broken hearts and a mind restless with anxiety about whether you are doing a good enough job from the time they are born until the day you die. I’m sure that there are a lot of parents whose intentions are good, like me, but if a person says, “I’m a good parent” but doesn’t do the things a good parent does then they are a liar, and the truth is not in them.

I’m going to be honest with you. If you believe that the hardest part about being a Christian is getting to church on Sunday morning then you have missed Jesus’ message. It’s not just about getting to church enough, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” When Jesus carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem, everyone knew what he believed . . . do the people you work with know what you believe? When Jesus was mocked and ridiculed on the cross, he did not rain screams of profanity down on their heads or argue that he was right and they were wrong. When you are criticized, what do you do? Get defensive? Would you rather be “right” in an argument and risk losing the relationships with your children, your friends and your spouse? Can you love and forgive someone who betrays you? Jesus did. Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did.

If you believe that tithing, giving ten percent of your income, is the hardest part about being a Christian, you have missed Jesus’ message. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus above anything else. Above any other relationship—Jesus alone. In one Bible story, Jesus stayed to teach a group of people one night rather than leaving with his family when they called. Did Jesus hate his mother or his brothers? No, he stayed because he desired that this group of people might better know their Father in heaven and to be saved for eternal life. Did Jesus hate his life? Was that why he died on the cross? He died on the cross because He loved you above anything else—even more than his life. The new goal is not “hate”—the goal is Jesus—the goal is love above anything else.

Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Well what if he DID mean everything? What if we took Jesus at his word? What if we really did give up everything? What if we put Jesus first in our lives and not just “in our hearts”. What if we put Jesus first in our real, everyday lives with real, everyday things? What if we really did give up our jobs, our 401k’s, our houses, our football games, our clothes, our computers and our security and gave them in service to others? In service to God? Would our lives really be destroyed? Is it impossible?

What if Jesus meant what he said? What if the word “everything” really means everything!? What if we stopped making excuses? What if we stopped saying “That’s not realistic” just as an excuse to keep our Ipods. What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when we allow marriages to fail just because we’d rather feel justified in ourselves rather than forgive unconditionally? What if it’s not “realistic” to call ourselves followers of Jesus when the only people who know we are Christians are the other people in our church. “This is how we know we are in God: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

When my little girl was born, I began to realize that I had no idea what being a parent was really about. And as I said before, I still find myself wanting to be a good parent “in my heart” but not always being willing to actually do it. But she still loves me, so do all three of my children, so does my wife even though I don’t deserve that kind of unconditional love from any of them. That’s grace. And yes, God knows that you had no idea what you were getting into when you became a Christian. You did not estimate the cost involved in being his disciple. Jesus died alone . . . his twelve disciples and all his followers, left him to die alone. And in your striving for being “realistic” in your life; to make it easier to be a Christian; in your passion for the things of this world rather than the things of God, you’ve abandoned Jesus on the road just like me. But Jesus Christ still loves you even though you do not deserve that kind of unconditional love. That’s grace.

The greatest tragedy, the worst offense I could ever make as a Father, or a husband, or a follower of Jesus is to admit my failures without ever seeking to change. To repent, to say “I’m sorry”, and then to still keep making the same old excuses. Making it easier on myself instead of giving up everything. For some reason, by God’s grace, we are loved. It cost you nothing. It cost Jesus his life. Jesus didn’t just love you “in his heart” while sitting on the couch. He walked the road of suffering and death according to his Father’s will. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Amen.

Sermon for September 5th

“This is the message that we have heard from Jesus and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” Light comforts and light exposes. Light blinds and light leads. Darkness comforts and hides. Darkness blinds and confuses. Are you walking in the light or hiding in the darkness? Are you being led by the light or confused in the darkness.

According to the book of 1st John, “If we say that we have fellowship with Jesus Christ while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son cleanses us from sin.” Light exposes. That why my family was so happy this summer when we finally got shades at the parsonage. At nighttime, when it was dark outside, turning on the lights inside exposed to the outside world a little too much sometimes. In the book of first John, we hear that, “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we get close to Jesus, he shows us how far from him we truly are in our hearts, in our actions and in our lives. He exposes us as sinners in need of a Savior.

Have you ever seen or gone to the Macy’s counter where they sell all that make-up? Have you ever seen the huge magnifying glass mirrors they have there and the brighter than bright light on the counter. These are the tools of the trade, to come close to your face and let the light expose your minutest skin defects and make you feel that the only way you can face the world is to buy a fifty dollar zit cream the size of a thimble. When your problems are exposed, we are all driven to hide or to stand up and face the light.

While I was attending the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music getting my Masters in Double Bass Performance, I spent a lot of time practicing. Kristy was working as a music teacher in some inner city schools there and would be gone all day, but I would be gone all day and all night. She would ask for me to come home and I’d tell her that I had to keep practicing or I had to go to work or I had to do something else. She could only make me come home when she’d get so frustrated and upset that she would cry. Then I’d feel bad and come. She called me a workaholic, but I didn’t feel the label stuck because I didn’t WANT to work so much, I felt like I HAD to do it for US.

Then, one night, I remember going to bed early (since I had to get up and work early the next day). Sometime soon after, I woke up with the realization that she was right. I was a workaholic and I had missed out on so much time with her that I could never have back. Ever. My sin was exposed to me though I know that I had been exposed to her and the rest of my family much earlier. When I realized what I was like, it was like I could look back at everything I had done up to that point and a light was shown on all of it. I could suddenly see what she had always seen before. When God’s light convicts you of your sin, you suddenly see things that you were blind to before. You start seeing yourself as God sees you. When you become a Christian and start walking in the light of God, you can’t be ignorant and arrogant of what you are like anymore. You are exposed and forced you to either confess your sin or live your life in the full knowledge of your hardheartedness.

But God’s light does more than simply reveal sin, it also leads you in the right paths. “If we say that we have fellowship with God while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. By this we may be sure that we are in Jesus; whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” Becoming a Christian is more than simply realizing your sin and confessing your need for a Savior; it is about following a new way that is opposed to sin and following your Savior. We have to walk the walk and follow Jesus.

I know that a lot of you now have some type of GPS navigational system in your cars, a Garmin or something. And when you type in your destination, the idea is that you are to follow those directions. If you get off course, some voice will start calling out to you, “you’re going the direction” or “recalculating” or something. You don’t type in a destination if you aren’t going to follow the directions.

As a Christian, we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. He is the light that shows us the path to take, but just seeing the pathway to our destination isn’t enough, we have to follow that path. When I graduated from seminary, I had to make a choice about what path to take regarding how I would be ordained. I was still a member of the ELCA at that time and the ELCA had made an agreement with the Episcopal church that every pastor MUST be ordained by a bishop. I believed that this undermined the authority of the Bible. I believed that God’s Word was effective whether I was ordained by a bishop or not. I didn’t want to do something that I believed would undermine peoples’ trust in God’s Word as their source of hope and power and have them put it in a human being instead. However, I knew that, to follow this pathway, would mean possibly getting in a lot of trouble. You see, I saw the right way lit up for me, but I also saw very clearly the impending danger. Just seeing the right direction doesn’t make it any easier to follow. I finally took the way that the light led me, I also did get into a lot of trouble. Thankfully, following God’s leading and walking in the light has led me to LCMC and to this church. There are many times in my life when I see the right thing to do and don’t do it; but, by God’s grace, I took the right path at least that once and that has made all the difference.

The book of first John continues, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” To live a life as a Christian we must walk in the light: that means following Jesus and walking according to God’s commandments “so that we may not sin”, but it also means seeing our sin, confessing it and trusting that Jesus saves us from that sin.

But how can you do both? The text says to follow the light, “So that you may not sin.” How is that possible? To not sin would be to deny what the text says later on, “if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” How can we believe both things at the same time? Are we supposed to “not sin” or confess that we cannot “not sin”?

How can we do both? Well, for once, my seminary training is really helpful. You see, in the language this letter was first written in, it wouldn’t have been so confusing. 1st John was written in Greek, like the rest of the New Testament. And in the Greek language there are different verb tenses than we have, namely, there is a way to show that an action repeats. Perhaps a better way to translate this verse, to get the point across, is to say it this way, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.” Once again, “So that you may not sin, and sin and keep on sinning.”

God knows that we fall short of the glory of God. If we say that we don’t we make him a liar the text says. But walking in the light means that if we do something wrong, when our sin is exposed by God’s light, we need to stop doing it and follow the light in a new direction. We can’t just doing that sin over and over and over again without attempting to change our behavior. Maybe we’ll fail, but when God’s light exposes us again, we must seek to follow God’s light in a new direction. If we continue doing something that we know is wrong without attempting to stop, we are NOT walking in the light and we are NOT living the Christian life.

But it’s hard to walk the walk isn’t it. For instance, the vast majority of couples that are getting married are living together. This is true for both Christian and non-Christian couples. And while having the same address is certainly no sin, what’s happening in the bedrooms at those addresses is according to God’s word. He commands that sexual intimacy be placed within a marriage and not outside it: this includes prohibiting both adultery and pre-marital sex. But the thing is, most couples know this! They know that God doesn’t like it and yet, even once the light exposes this as sin, well, nothing really changes. And, as I said before, it’s not about addresses, it’s about the behavior. We all have really awesome Christian friends or family members that either have done this or are doing it. I am sure some of you here are involved in this as well.

What can you do about it? Well, if you want to walk in the light you must do more than simply confess that what you are doing is wrong, you are called to change your behavior and follow Jesus, walk in his footsteps and in his light. There is nothing that can separate you from God’s love, you are forgiven completely—this is just one of many sins that we struggle with in this room—but repenting means to turn around and try to follow in the right direction.

We also must be wary of becoming legalistic and prideful of people who are trying to follow God’s will but continue to struggle. Many churches check people’s addresses before allowing them to be married as if that would stop all bad behavior. If you are struggling with this in your relationship, you are welcome here. We’re all struggling with something. And yes, you are welcome to be married here as are your children and friends in the same predicament. We cannot tie up heavy burdens on people so hard to bear without being willing to lift a finger to help. As Christians, we are called not only to shine Christ’s light to expose sin, but also to help people walk in God’s pathways.

All of us struggle to be the kind of Christians we want to be. We are embarrassed by our sins when they are exposed and we are constantly refusing to follow where Christ leads. The good news is that even as we are hiding out in our darkness and even when we choose the dark path rather than the lighted way, our darkness will never overcome God’s light. Just as the smallest sliver of light can fill up an entire room, Jesus love, compassion and forgiveness is enough to fill your life with hope. There is no sin dark enough that his forgiveness will not destroy and there is not direction you can walk where God will not follow you. Amen.

Sermon for August 29th (Sent out for Mission)

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? (Pause) I’m not asking you if you are a Christian; I’m asking if you are a follower of Jesus Christ? For those of you who have been baptized, you were named and claimed by God Himself, cleansed from all your sin, past/present and future, and given a promise to have faith in: the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone. At baptism, you were reborn a child of God, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit and you marked with the cross of Christ forever: you become a Christian. But I believe that many Christians, including all of us here today, have a very difficult time actually becoming followers of Jesus Christ.

Will you be a follower of Jesus? This morning, I want you to consider three important what being a follower of Jesus means. Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission.

According to the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, As Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ? For many, it means being squeezed out of this world, placed on the margins of society, finding yourself in neighborhoods you never wanted to visit, discovering yourself far away from every home you ever knew. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Jesus points out that in this world everyone knows their place, even the very animals of the field, such as the fox, and the birds of the air have a home that they know. The cattle in the fields follow the same path each day, grazing across the countryside, but they know their way back to their resting place at the end of the day. Some birds migrate over thousands of miles and over many months only to return to the nests that they made the year before. They know where they belong. The know where home is.


As a Christian, especially a Christian in America, you may also know where you belong. You know where home is. It may be a very comfortable experience to walk into this church on Sunday mornings. But this also creates a problem. A lot of other people don’t feel like they “belong” anywhere, especially not in a church, because of what they have done in their past, how they are living or what their last name is. That’s how this world works: everyone knows their place. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests” Jesus says. But Jesus put all these cultural understandings and traditions in the toilet as he brought the kingdom of God into this world. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, thought they “belonged” with Jesus inside the temple, but he kept hanging out with the sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors in their houses. Will you be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Being a Christian is important. We come into this place, into this church, to become Christians. It’s not the only place we could go, but it is a very good place. We come in to be inspired by God’s Word, reconnected to God’s people and empowered in our serving. But being a follower of Jesus Christ is not about coming in, it’s about being sent out. Where are you beng sent? The last few weeks, we’ve talked about being sent out to speak, sent out to lead, sent out to bear fruit, and sent out to give. This week, I’d like to talk to you about something that I believe God is passionate about as much as anything else: we are sent out for mission!

It’s easy for us to say that we love mission or say that we want to follow Jesus, but when the details come out about what that means, we shut up and stop saying anything. To follow Jesus wherever he goes means to join him with “no place to lay his head”. Each of us has particular comforts in our lives that we do want to give up easily. And, as Jesus points out, “Where your heart is, there is your treasure also.”

When a certain ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus explained that he needed to sell all that he owned and distribute the money to the poor. Then, Jesus said, “come follow me.” Why did this person need to sell that he owned? Because that is where this man’s greatest assets were laid. Jesus’ answer would have been different for the widow who gave all she had to the temple treasury. Her greatest assets were not laid up in money. What do you hold to be dearest in life? How would you feel if Jesus told you that following Him meant using those assets for the kingdom of God? Pastor Mark Batterson says, “You greatest asset will become your greatest liability if you do not use it for God’s purposes. Is your identity in something other than your relationship to Christ?”

Will you be a follower of Jesus? What would hold you back? What if you were called to go to India as a missionary? Is your greatest asset your house? Staying in Adair county? Being within a few miles of your family? Is it your job? Is it your reputation? To be a follower of Jesus, would you sell that house? Quit your job? Be called a Jesus freak? Fly halfway across the world for two years? This isn’t about sacrificing all that you love; it is about using your greatest loves and your greatest assets for the sake of the kingdom of God. If your identity is in farming for example, God would not ask you to change who you are in order to serve him—He gave you those gifts after all!—but when you find your identity first in Jesus Christ, your gifts for farming would be used in service to God. As a follower of Jesus, that might take you someplace that looks very different than the fields of Iowa just like it did for Donnie in the video.

Looking at the text from Luke again, Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Why is mission so important? It is the difference between death and life. We have many things to do here on this Earth. Bills to pay, errands to run, dirty diapers to clean, chores to do, people to visit, games to attend . . . but Jesus informs us that what he is calling us to do is of such importance that it takes precedence over everything else. Yes there are other important things to do, but God’s passionate love for the broken and hurting people of this world is so intense that He puts everything else and all of us in service to finding them, healing them and bringing them words of hope.

At the beginning of August, I spoke to you about the importance of being sent out to speak. I gave you the top ten excuses you might hear for why people don’t want to come to church, but I encouraged you to speak up anyway for the sake of their eternal life and salvation. When we are sent out in mission throughout the rest of world, the reasons for not being a Christian are much different. Often, the closest church in 3 hours away and it is an underground church—hidden from the authorities Why? Because it’s illegal to be a Christian. In some places, when you become a Christian, you are at risk to be killed if your neighbors find out or disowned by your family who are of a different faith. People often don’t have a job, live in poverty, don’t have a Bible, are illiterate anyway and have never heard the story of Jesus. We are sent out in mission because there are people around the world who need to hear Jesus’ words of life.

Back to Luke chapter 9, “Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Will you be a follower of Jesus? If so, you must do more than talk about it, you must start doing it. There are no doubt many reasons to turn back from this path and many excuses for why it won’t work for you. Moses certainly have a great deal of excuses when he was called by God in the reading from Exodus today and I bet that you are no different. But Jesus calls us to keep our eyes on Him alone and follow wherever he leads. When we start looking at ourselves, we’ll find many faults and weaknesses, when we look back we’ll start clinging to all we’ve left behind, but when we your eyes are on Jesus, you begin trusting Him to provide for all that you need.

Will you be a follower of Jesus? Followers of Jesus go to places they never intended on going, using their gifts for the sake of serving others with their eyes locked on their leader, their provider, their protector and their savior. You were called in today, to be sent out in mission. If God is pulling at your heart this morning to follow Him into the mission field, don’t stifle the spirit. There are forms in your pews that I would invite you to fill out and return to me, whether it is through the offering plate, after the service or sometime this week. There is no doubt that God is calling us into mission, but where we go and what we do is based on who he calls. My hope and prayer is that we begin a process today that sends out a small group of people on a short-term mission trip. The next several weeks, we’ll be meeting to pray and discern. The next few months, we’ll be planning and preparing. Finally, by next spring or early summer, I envision a group being sent out in mission for Christ.
But even if you don't feel called to be on such a trip, you still have an essential part to play. We need every follower of Jesus to be on board in order to make this mission successful. We need people gifted in prayer, planning, travel, organization, and giving as well as those making the trip because we are ALL called in to be sent out.
Jesus Christ had a mission on Earth--to preach the forgiveness of sins so that you might have faith in his promise of eternal life. The message is still the same and so is the mission. Amen.

Sermon for August 22nd (Sent Out To Give)

I have a single goal today. When you leave church this morning, I want you to be focused on the freedom you have in Christ. I want you to leave this building today with a smile on your face knowing that your Lord Jesus Christ became poor so that you might become rich. My dad used to say that there are two states of wealth: no money and not enough money. I’d like to propose a third state: rich! Sometimes that involves lots of 0’s and often it does not. As Paul points out about the Macedonian church, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” I want you to leave here today rich and free.

Not so that you might feel bad, or guilty or wrong for being rich, but so that you might really and truly believe that God can provide and has provided you with everything that you need or want with 0’s at the end! Because God loves you that’s why! I want you each to have the knowledge that you are leaving here today rich and that God has given you the freedom to use the money he has blessed you with—no strings attached. Is it dangerous to say that? Yes.

This is not your parents’ stewardship sermon. It’s much more dangerous than that. My goal is that you will leave today free. I do not want to put any burdens on you or make demands on your money because God does not. Is that dangerous to say? Yes. If you do not feel that you HAVE to give, this church may fall into disrepair. The lights might be turned off. Ministries might end all because you heard that your salvation is not dependent on your giving.

If you knew that you didn’t have to do anything to be saved, you could do anything, couldn’t you, including never getting a penny and yet continuing to hear that God loves you unconditionally? Is that dangerous? Yes. So let’s dangerous today. Because it is the truth and I pray that this truth sets you free. The danger is worth it because you might finally realize that just as salvation is free of charge so is church. It’s free. You don’t HAVE to give, you CHOOSE to. Jesus Christ didn’t HAVE to die for you; it was necessary for him to die on the cross because he CHOSE to love you and forgive you. And when you leave today knowing that you don’t have to give anything, what will you do? You’ll have the opportunity, the choice to give, so that others might hear the promise of salvation. And it won’t be about just today’s offering plate, but about how you want to live and give the rest of your life. You don't come in to give, you are sent out to give.

I believe that Jesus has a much bigger goal in mind for your life and for your money than a ten percent tithe. He referred to a widow who gave all she had, two pennies, as a model to be followed. He demanded that a rich young ruler give all his possessions to the poor. In the gospel of Luke, he said, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” You think God wants 10%? You are wrong. He wants everything that you have. 100%. It’s not about your money, it’s about your faith. When you live your life in faith, every dollar you have is an opportunity. To enjoy the life God gave you, to bless your children and to be sent out in mission for Christ.

There are two main issues when it comes to giving: Having the tools to give and having the faith to give. What do I mean by tools? Having a plan and sticking to a budget for example. Giving you the tools to give involves a lot of things: helping you make good career choices, encouraging hard work, supporting good pay practices, helping you make a budget, looking at long term financial planning and getting out of debt.

Over the next thirteen weeks, you can learn some tools and techniques for managing your money in a program we are holding here called, “Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.” There are no doubt many great ways to get control of your money that I don’t know of, but this is one that I know works and so I encourage you to do it. If you are having trouble in your life because of money or if you simply want to use your money more effectively to carry out your goals, come to this course and get the tools. You’ll hopefully find the freedom to live and give like you’ve always wanted to.

Why are tools important? Well, even if you desire to do something you need the right tools to get r’ done. Last week, on the way to breakfast, I had a flat tire (the first of three that morning by the way) and I wanted to change it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the tools to do it because the bolts were rusted stuck. Thankfully, one of the men in the men’s Bible Study had an impact wrench. Without this tool, it wouldn’t have mattered how much I wanted or desired to change that tire. I simply would not have been able to. I know that some of you want to give, but you can’t figure out how you would be able to with the way your finances are going right now. What might you do with the right tools?

When Kristy and I first started ministry in Connecticut, we wanted to tithe, but we were using our credit card even to go out to eat. We didn’t have any money to do what we wanted! We decided to tithe anyway, but that credit card bill made giving seem like a huge sacrifice. Once we started this Dave Ramsey thing, got on a budget and told our money where to go, we put the money into tithing BEFORE the month started. When we made a budget, got on a plan and stuck to it, we found there was more money there than we thought. We finally found freedom and that made giving a joy and not a curse. We could start living according to what was important to us rather than feeling “poor”.

However, giving is not just about tools—it is also about faith. I want to expose you today to something Dave can’t give you—the faith to give. Faith comes from God alone. Not from feeling guilty about not giving. Not from feeling shamed for not giving enough in the past. The faith to give comes from God and only from God.

How many of you are excited about Tax Day? Not many. And yet, when the moment is right, you’d give all you had for a friend. You’ll never find joy in being generous by following particular laws or commands. That’s why the apostle Paul points to an impoverished church in Macedonia as a symbol of hope for us saying that when this church found freedom in Christ they became rich in generosity. When you hear and believe what Jesus has done for you, I believe that you will find yourselves rich and generous as well. You won’t be able to help yourself.

Why? Because freedom alone leads to generosity. Only when you realize that you are free can you feel the joy of generosity. But the Devil doesn’t want you to know all this, you see. He wants you to stay away from hearing God’s word, from sharing God’s love and involving yourself with a church or with ministry because of those little offering plates over there. He wants you to feel poor whether you’ve got a little or a lot. He wants you to believe that you don’t have enough.

The Devil makes us believe that a 10% tithe is impossible, a ridiculous demand, even though through the abundance of God, many of you might spend that much going out to eat each month. Stewardship is not about money—it’s about having the faith to give and learning the tools to put that faith into practice. Paul told the Corinthians, if you have the desire (the faith) to give, then finish the work (find the tools) so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” It’s not about how much, but having the faith to give.

But the Devil wants you to believe differently. He wants you to believe that your faith has nothing to do with your money. The Devil wants you to believe that you can be a Christian on the inside and never let it show on the outside. But faith involves everything you have: your heart, your mind, your actions and yes your money too. The Devil is a liar. But what does God say? “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, Says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Give me ten percent and I’ll give you 110%. Test me and prove me to be a God of abundance in your life.

Giving is not a salvation issue. Jesus’ death on the cross gives you eternal life with God. Your trust in that gift seals the deal. There is nothing left to be done . . . so what are you going to do? Giving is not a salvation issue for you, but your gifts are used for God’s ministry. We are called in to be sent out. We don’t come in to give, we are sent out to give. Let me say that again, We don’t come in to give, we are sent out to give. To share the gift of salvation with others, to feed those who cannot find food, to heal those who are sick

It’s only by faith that you can give, when you believe that being a Christian is more than just a name, but a way of life. When you start realizing that you really are free from sin, death and the power of the Devil. Then your money becomes a tool that you can use to do what you think is important in this world, whether it is to build a hospital to care for those that are sick, pay for your child’s college education or send out missionaries to the ends of the earth. It’s your freedom, it’s your money and it’s your choice. By His death on the cross, Jesus has give you freedom, and by His poverty He has made you rich. Amen.

Sermon for August 1st (Sent Out To Speak)

Now it’s time for the TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOUR FRIEND DOESN’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH . . . Number 10: The church is full of hypocrites. Number 9: I like to have one day to sleep in. Number 8: Religions all teach the same things. Number 7: God loves me even if I don’t go to church. Number 6: Churches just want money. Number 5: But I’m not baptized. Number 4: But I’m not Lutheran. Number 3: I’m a good person even if I don’t go to church. Number 2: But I don’t believe in God. And the number one reason you might hear for why your friend doesn’t want to go to church: I’m spiritual, not religious.

Jesus gave this commandment, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Great. But what are you going to say? Saint Paul told us to say this, “We proclaim Christ crucified!” But what does Christ crucified mean?

Let me break this down for you a second. Christ is the term for the coming and expected Messiah. How many people you know are expecting the Messiah to return? Your Jewish friends maybe, but that’s it. No one would even know what a Messiah would look like it was standing right in front of them walking and talking like one. And what does it mean to have the Christ be crucified? It means that this long expected Messiah was killed on a cross, a most shameful death for what was supposed to be a magnificent King of kings. For a Jew, the words, “Christ crucified” would certainly be offensive, a stumbling block, but how many Jewish friends do you come into contact with each week? Probably not too many.

That means, for you and I, we are going to be focusing mostly on non-Jews, what the Bible calls Gentiles. What’s a Gentile? You. You are a Gentile. Look in the mirror. That’s a Gentile. And if you come up to a Gentile, like you, that is any non-Jewish person and tell that them, “Christ crucifed” they are going to give you a look like—what! Do you need a Kleenex or something. It doesn’t mean anything to people. Christ crucified! It’s silliness! Or as Paul says: it’s Foolishness. I have two objectives today. First, I want to help you see why you should care to be foolish and tell anyone about Jesus. Second, I want to equip you with something to say.

So let’s dig right in. Why should you care. Why. If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead YOU will be saved. And that’s nice. It’s nice to know. As Paul put it, “For the message about the cross if foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s right! The power of God! And it’s for us!

Not so fast. There was just that little part in there about those who are perishing. What does perishing mean? Dying. Those who are dying. Imagine that you were walking along a beach and you looked out into the cool waters as the waves cascaded across the sand and, what’s that, someone is out there in the water, gasping for air and then they just stopped doing anything all together—and you suddenly realize: That person is perishing! They are drowning! What would you do?

Of course, if you jumped in and tried to save them they might be offended. They were probably just trying to swim all on their own. You might look foolish jumping right in there. You’ve probably never even done this before! Do you even know CPR? Shouldn’t you call the lifeguard first? But then again they ARE drowning. What would you do? Would you just let em die or would you try? What if it was your friend? Or your child? I bet that most of you would jump in and try to save them, no matter what the cost, because even if you failed, you couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. They might die if you did nothing.

Why should you care to tell anyone about Jesus? Because many of your friends, your neighbors, your children, your parents, your coworkers and your acquaintances are perishing . . . they are dying and you are just standing there watching them do it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To you, that might be good news, because you have Jesus. But for many others it is offensive, because they don’t know why Jesus matters at all. Yes, you might look foolish, especially if your friends and family don’t realize that they are about to drown. But God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

You Savior has given you a command. “Go. Make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey my commandments.” Some of you might go and share your faith because of this command, because you desire to walk as Jesus walked, but that’s not good enough. God doesn’t just want you to “follow the rules”. Because people will know it. They will know if you are just talking to them because you’re trying to be a “good little Christian.” People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

They might think that you are foolish sometimes for caring so much, but only when we realize that salvation is a matter of death and life will we have the heart to speak up. “Faith comes through hearing” Saint Paul says in Romans. Oh that God would break our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh! That we would care, each and every one of us, enough for people, that we don’t just look onto the world like they don’t matter. Like we’ve got salvation and that’s good enough. They might not be your children, drowning out there, but they are God’s children and he is calling you to jump in, start swimming and speak up.

God has placed you in this world, in your town, in your job and in your neighborhood for a purpose. Your circle of friends is not an accident. But if you asked a friend who was struggling with their life to come to church some Sunday here at Emmanuel to meet Jesus, to get faith, and they gave you some excuse, what would you say? I’m here to help you start responding. Who knows what you or I might say in the heat of the moment. But here are some examples of how you might respond if your friend told you something like, “Thanks, but no thanks. The church if full of hypocrites.”

“Yes, the church is full of hypocrites and liars and adulterers and addicts. I go to church to hear that God forgives me even though I don’t always live the way I want to. You’re my friend and I know that you aren’t perfect just like I’m not. God loves you and forgives you too even though you’re not perfect. I want you to hear that and believe it. You don’t have to go alone, I’ll pick you up Sunday morning at 8:15.”

“But I like to have one day to just sleep in.” Me too, but I have to get up even earlier every other day of the week for work or to get the kids off to school. I choose to get up for church because it gives me the strength to get through my week. Once you get into the habit, you might even like going to church. I do. You could come with me if you want.”

“Religions all teach the same thing.” Well, a lot of religions teach you to be a good person or to DO good things for others, but only Jesus Christ died to forgive you unconditionally. Other religions don’t teach that. You know me. I’m no saint. Church is the ONLY place where I can hear that I’m forgiven and then go back out and try to love people again.”

“Listen God loves me even if I don’t go to church.” Yes, God does love you no matter what! But you know what. I know my wife loves me, but I like to hear her say it. In fact, I NEED to hear her say it. I can’t hear it often enough! That’s one reason I go to church every Sunday. I think that you’d have a great time and meet some great people at Emmanuel. Can I pick you up this Sunday?”

“Churches just want money.” Yeah, I’ve felt that way along the way. You don’t have to give that’s for sure, but, for me, I want to give money to something that is meaningful in my life and to the lives of others. I want to be a part of the vision of our church and I just wish I could give more! But just come. Don’t worry about that whole giving thing until you love doing it as much as I do.”

“But I’m not baptized.” You don’t need to be baptized in order to come to church. Baptism is just a special way to hear God’s promise of love and forgiveness. Now, if you ever want to be baptized then just ask, I would love to talk with you about that. But don’t let any of that stop you from coming. I’m going to the contemporary service this Sunday. Why don’t you ask at home and I’ll call Saturday night to see if you have any more questions.”

“But I’m not Lutheran!” Yeah, so what? You are a Christian! Jesus died for you. You don’t have to be Lutheran to come to Emmanuel. God’s promise is for everyone and you are definitely welcome. Lutherans simply believe that Jesus loves you because you have faith in him and that it’s not because you do enough good things. Why don’t you just come and see if you love it there as much as I do.”

“I’m a good person, even if I don’t go to church.” I know that. You help me out all the time. But church isn’t for good people, church is for people who make mistakes, who sometimes do bad things. That’s me and that’s you too right? Church is where you can hear that God forgives you . . . even if you’re not always perfect. But here the thing, I’m not trying to convince you. Just come and see what it’s like. You might even like it.”

“But I don’t believe in God.” Well, I do, but that’s not a prerequisite for coming to church. Church is where you hear that God believes in you! That he loves you and forgives you. You don’t have to say or do anything that you don’t want to. Just come and listen. If you have questions, you can talk with me or the pastor after the service.”

“I’m spiritual, not religious.” For me, church isn’t about being spiritual or being religious, it’s about hearing that Jesus loves me and forgives me. It’s about faith. Being inspired and reconnecting with God’s Word and others Christian people who love and support me. I just think it’d be really cool to have you come this Sunday. What time could I pick you up?

When you have the chance, listen to your friends and their concerns about faith and church. Be honest and open about your failures and your need for Christ. Talk about God’s love. Tell them about God’s forgiveness. Tell them about why faith matters to you. And, finally, either bring them here or encourage them to find another faith community.

God has commanded us to speak, but I hope that today you understand why. It’s about death and life. If you get the chance, speak up, but above all, trust in this: you are only planting the seeds. God gives the growth. You are only speaking, God gives the faith. You are only loving, God changes hearts. God does the saving, but he intends on using you to give his message. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Amen.

Sermon for July 25th (Empowering Leadership)

E(Pastor Beeper clip) You know what’s sad. We don’t even have pastor beepers. So, for those in our community, if you do not use your gifts—those people will just go unloved. In my few short years as a pastor, when I am in my office by myself, I sometimes wonder, “What am I doing in here! I should be out serving someone—not in my office! But when I can’t leave, I try to remember that I’m only ONE Christian and I’m part of a faith community. I can make a lot of impact, just my one life in this world, I believe that. But if I can empower you, the body of Christ, this community of believers, well that makes a much more dramatic impact.

Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening? What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.” The model of the pastor doing everything in the church? The model we all grew up with? It is not good. That’s what the Bible says anyway. Why isn’t it good? Because it wore out pastors for one. Did you know that the average pastor stays a pastor for five years before quitting? That gives me, what, two more before I’m burnt out? Well, I hope not! I love my job! I love what I am called to do and I love it here! That would not be good for me and my family, I can tell you that! But, having me burn out would also not be good for you. As the reading puts it, “You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you.” How can that be? How is it that a leader doing so much of the work can wear out other people?

Well, on the one hand, if pastors burn out after about 5 years a pop, call committees get worn out, those of you who were on the most recent one know all about that. But more than that, workaholics don’t actually get more done, do they? Study after study shows that just because you put in more hours or take less breaks doesn’t mean you are a more effective worker. So, the more a leader carries the whole load by themselves, the more work everyone else is forced to make up for that lack of effectiveness.

Another reason is that God has only blessed any particular person with some gifts, but not ALL gifts. Do you want to know how to wear out the property committee? Have ME work on some project for them. Then you’ll not only have to clean up the mess I make, but do the project over again. Leaders must, I repeat MUST share the workload because if they do not, if they seek to control every detail, if they demand to do all the work, they stifle growth and create a lot more work for everyone else.

Moses’ father-in-law said this next, “Now listen to me, I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.” He explains to Moses that he needs to choose able bodied and trustworthy people to bear the burden together. He said, “If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.”

I believe that a very good model for leadership would be Jesus Christ, so let’s see what he did. First, he finds twelve people to be his disciples when he starts his ministry. He gives them the authority to heal, to preach and to cast out demons. He teaches them and sends them out to the towns he cannot go to. Then, in the passage from Luke for today, he chooses seventy people, gives them the same authority to heal and sends them out two by two.

But why? Why is Jesus, why is God so interested in giving this kind of authority to uneducated fishermen and tax collectors? Well, number one, because in three years Jesus will be dead on a cross. He will no longer be seen as he was before, in his fleshly body. He needed to teach others to be his hands and feet in the world. Second, because Jesus knew that God had given gifts to his people through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Imagine it was your child’s birthday and you had picked out for him or her the most amazing gift you could afford. Perhaps it was a beautiful baby doll for her second birthday, or a brand new bicycle when he turned ten. Maybe a new car for when they turned sixteen. And then, from that point on you said, “Don’t use it.” Put that baby doll away, you probably don’t know how to play with it anyway, you’re too little and uneducated. You’ll learn to be a mother later. If you go trying to ride that bike around town, you’ll look foolish in front of your friends, have a little pride! If you go riding that beautiful car around this town, you’re just going to be showing off how great of a present you got from me. Don’t show off your gift or else it will make others feel bad.

You have each been given gifts by God. Which of those excuses have YOU used? You don’t know enough to teach Sunday school? You not good at speaking in front of people for the faith talk? You don’t want to SHOW OFF by being a leader of this church? Now, imagine how you would feel if after you gave your child a gift, THEY were the ones who chose to not use it. How would you feel if you had planned, and scrimped and saved to give them each just the right thing and, then, they tucked their doll, or their bike or their car in the garage and never gave you the joy of seeing them use it? That’s how your heavenly Father feels every time you fail to use the gifts he has given you.

According to the book, “Natural Church Development” by Christian Schwartz, there are three areas leaders must focus on to empower others. Many of you are being called to be leaders of this church. Don’t back away from God’s call on your life. Step forward in faith! To be an empowering leader, you need to do three things: Teach, Motivate and Free people to use their gifts.

You need to teach people how to use their gifts. If I lead one Bible study for six people, that’s great. But if those six people are each empowered to lead six other people, that’s 36 people impacted each week and that is better! But, just because you know how to do something, you may still not be willing to get off the couch and do it. A leader needs to motivate. You need to call, beg, plead, pray and ask a person to use his or her gifts so that they do what God made them to do. Finally, you need to give people the freedom to use their gift even if that means that they may fail. A strong leader guides others, but lets them have the freedom to work up to their potential. Teach, Motivate and Free one another to serve to God’s glory. That’s what empowering leadership is all about.

What are your gifts? What are you good at? What do you love doing? What comes easy for you? If you had all the money in the world and all the time in the world, what would you do? If you could do anything for the church—anything in the name of Jesus—what would it be? If you knew that you didn’t have to do anything, what would you do?

In your bulletins, you each received a note card. First, write your name on the top of the card. Now we are going to pray that God might help you discern some of your gifts, then you will write at least two of them down. You might write down natural gifts like the gift of song or the gift of organization. These also might be spiritual gifts, like the gift of prayer or the gift of hospitality or the gift of administration or the gift of evangelism.

If you knew that you didn’t HAVE to do anything at Emmanuel, what would you CHOOSE to do. What would you like to start? What area could you make even better? After we pray, I want you to write down at least two gifts you think you might have. Let us pray . . . Start now.

Look at this picture on the screen. It is a wagon, full of circular wheels, being pulled on four square wheels. This picture represents how churches function most of the time. It’s looks like pretty hard work? The thing is that it doesn’t have to be, does it? Those round wheels that are just being carried along, they represent you, people with gifts. God has given each one of you talents, abilities and desires to do wonderful things in this world and in this church. And if you knew your gifts and were willing to utilize them, if you realized that you were a round wheel in that wagon and were tired of being unused, through the power of God you might do some amazing things. And some amazing things might happen here in this church and in this community.

It is my calling and the calling of many others in this church to empower you to use your gifts. When the offering plates are collected, please place your notecards in them as a sign that you are willing to step forward in faith and see how God might use you. If you are still unsure of your gifts, there is a spiritual gift inventory to fill out on our website that I would encourage you all to complete. Finally, if you’d like to study this more, I have a great resource for discovering your gifts and how to work on them as a small group study. I’d love to empower you to start one. Finally, perhaps you feel called today to be a leader in this church. Perhaps you have a gift for seeing gifts in others, in teaching them, motivating them and freeing them to not simply be sitting in the pew, but loving in truth and action. I want to help you be the best leader you can be. Don’t just wait on to be called, get involved today.

Empowering leadership and using your spiritual gifts are not simply “extras” to our lives as Christians, they are essential. Without them, we are not fulfilling our call to walk just as Christ walked. God empowered us by his Holy Spirit with many gifts for building up the body of Christ as Ephesians says, “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full statue of Christ.” I pray that by empowering others and being empowered yourself, you will grow in your relationship to Christ, to maturity, in unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. You don’t need a pastor beeper—God has already given you the gifts you need to impact this world in a meaningful way. Amen.

Sermon for July 18th (Conflict and Forgiveness)

Last week, I presented you all with a vision of what the ministries here at Emmanuel might look like one day. I continue to pray that the Holy Spirit inspires us as we are coming in to be sent out together in mission for Christ. But before we can go and do all the fun stuff, before we go out and do all the hard work, before hearts are changed, before lives are changed and before the world can ever be changed we must ensure that we have a firm foundation upon which to build.

We need to build our ministry upon a firm foundation so that, when God calls upon us as a faith community, to plants churches or to go out on missions or to serve at food kitchens, we can put our time and energy into that work. We don’t want our community falling apart like a sandcastle if issues come up that attempt to bury us under conflict and unforgiveness. When I was working as a chaplain one summer in Minneapolis, the group I was studying with heard this imperative over and over again, “Deal with your issues now so that the people you serve don’t have to deal with them later.” One of the best ways we can serve others as a faith community is by putting into place a good system for dealing with our own conflicts.

And yes, we will have conflicts. Conflict is a part of our life together. If we can accept that fact and handle it appropriately, our community will grow stronger. And Jesus has given us a specific way to deal with conflict in our church so let’s take a look at what he has to say and apply it to our situation here at Emmanuel. Jesus starts off: “If another church member sins against you, go and point out the fault, just between the two of you.” Let’s just stop right there. I call upon you all today to heed the words of the apostle Paul as well, “Do NOT be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” I know that this is NOT the way of the world BUT, “If another church member sins against you, go and point out the fault, JUST BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU.”

That means that you DON’T talk to other people about what happened, you talk to the person who hurt you about what happened. The book of James says, “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire . . . full of deadly poison.” When someone says or does something hurtful towards you and you talk negatively to someone else now about what that person did. . . well, you are committing the same sin, don’t you see? And not only that, but the wound that was opened in your heart is now burning from the heat of your anger and stinging from the result of your bitterness. Hatred, anger and gossip will not heal your wounds—in fact they make it worse. Bitterness is the poison that we drink ourselves with the hope of killing someone else. Healing occurs when there is both repentance and forgiveness. “If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”

“But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” The key word here again is WITH. Take them WITH you. Don’t rant and rave about the injury or attempt to bias them to your side. If your cause is just, the truth will be clear. Calling your best friends to “back you up” is for gang fights, not for a conflict that you wish to settle peacefully.

If you are called to join the conversation, it is not your job to side with one person or the other. Your job is to help them talk and reconcile their differences. If you cannot think of someone to go along with you, I would like to encourage you to call upon me, as your pastor, to help you deal with this conflict. However, when you come to me alone, while I can do my best to counsel you, without the other party there the conflict will not be solved. Bring them WITH you. Putting me or anyone else in the middle of a conflict is neither helpful nor is it very nice.

“If the member continues to refuse to listen, tell the church.” What is the church? Does that mean the town of Fontanelle? Does that mean facebook? Does it mean to tell all your friends during fellowship time or during a ministry team meeting? No. We have called people from our congregation to serve as our representatives and leaders and put them on the council to help us deal with conflict in a healthy way. So, if someone has hurt you and even after speaking privately with them, and then with another person, there is no repentance—if the two of you have met together with others or with me and nothing has changed (perhaps the behavior has even become worse) come together to the council and together we will do our best work to settle the conflict as a community.

If there is still no repentance and no attempt at resolution of the issues—if the one who has hurt you refuses to listen to you and continues the hurtful behavior with no remorse, according to Jesus, as a community we are called to treat this hard-hearted person like a pagan or a tax collector. What does THAT mean?

I’d like to make two statements about this phrase. Both are important. First, pagans and tax collectors were the people Jesus hung out with to the horror of the rest of the Jewish leaders. “I have come not for the healthy but for the sick, not for the righteous but for the unrighteous,” Jesus said. We are under obligation as followers of Jesus to seek out pagans and tax collectors, pray for them and bring them back to Jesus.

However, pagans and tax collectors were also considered to be outside of the faith community, according to Jewish people, until they were restored. In other words, as a church, we should never kick someone out, faith in Jesus is the gate to this community. We cannot judge others as being more sinful that we are ourselves. However, repentance is a necessary part of the Christian life and so, we also must realize that until true repentance has occurred, a person should be disciplined in some way. For example, they may be disallowed from voting and kept from being on ministry teams or in leadership positions until the conflict has been resolved. The most common instance of this is when a pastor sins publically and is stripped of his position. Some pastors who go through this serve other churches, eventually, but not without public repentance taking place.

But have you noticed that Jesus’ system of conflict resolution, even if it works perfectly, is still missing something. Notice that Jesus keeps referring to a person “listening to you”. The most a person can do, when they have hurt you, is to repent. They can sincerely say that they are sorry, do what they can to make amends and attempt to stop the bad behavior. However, is that enough? Notice where Jesus goes next in this discussion. “Peter came and said to Jesus, ‘Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times.’” As a congregation, we must not only have a system in place to deal with conflict, but we must have forgiving hearts or else we can never be free to serve anyone else.

I believe that there are some of you listening today who have not truly repented for your actions against others, even when you have sinned against other members of this church. If you truly believe that Jesus Christ died to take away your sins, what are you waiting for? Nobody’s perfect, this is true, but admitting your sins and turning from them is a part of being a Christian. In the gospel of John, Jesus saved a woman, caught in adultery, from being stoned for her sins. But while he did not condemn her, he also did not tolerate her behavior, “Go and sin no more,” He said. Each of you have been given a piece of rope with a knot in it this morning. If there is someone in your life you have hurt, you’ll understand that that knot is no mere symbol—it is the knot in your stomach and in your heart—a knot of guilt. Your relationship with that person, with this community and with God is not as it should be. Repent and believe in the good news. Jesus died for sinners just like you. Trust in his forgiveness. Trust in his mercy. Risk repentance.

I also believe that there are some of you listening today who, even when presented with the opportunity to forgive, have refused to do so, even when those who have hurt you have asked for that forgiveness. Just like the slave in the Bible story today, you have received and accepted the unconditional forgiveness of all of YOUR sins and, yet, somehow, you cannot also forgive? Do you truly believe that you have been hurt more than the Son of God crucified on the cross? Will you continue to hold resentment for those who have hurt you while God gives YOU pardon? Should you not have mercy on those who ask forgiveness just as God has mercy on you when you come to him with remorse? In the story, the slave is handed over to be tortured . . . Jesus said, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Perhaps that is why you have the knotted rope today. To remember to forgive because your heavenly Father has forgiven you.

It’s hard. I know that. All of this is hard. It is hard to confront someone when they have already hurt you. It is hard to say, “I’m sorry.” It is especially hard to forgive. We all struggle with these things. But I still see a day, when we are coming in to repent and being sent out to forgive. I want you to take a moment as we end today to think about your relationships with others in this very church. Who has hurt you? When will you go to them and let them know? Who have you hurt? How will you say you are sorry? Who has asked for your forgiveness? When will you forgive them? Perhaps you came in today to hear this promise, “By the authority of Jesus Christ, I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins.” Perhaps you will be sent out today with the same promise on your lips. Amen.