Month: August 2025

August 10, 2025 Texts: Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-16
Dear Friends in Christ,
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Bloomington IL was officially thirty years old on February 19th. The church has been existence half of Toni and I’s life. We have been under the auspices of a gracious and benevolent God. We have a wonderful church building and God-Blessed people. But we don’t measure the progress of Good Shepherd by the ornateness of her building, the size of the parking lot, the social standing of her members or how many donuts have been consumed. Her advancement is measured by the faith of her members. How do we quantify faith? Faith is an active verb.
We see that in our two texts this morning. In the person of Abraham, we get a glimpse of what faith is all about. God’s Word will help us to see . . . .
“GOOD SHEPHERD’S PROGRESS”
While only thirty years old, Good Shepherd’s progress stretches back over 4,000 years. Our existence as a Christian congregation is rooted in the faith of Abraham. Paul says in Romans we are his spiritual descendants. We share in his legacy. Good Shepherd’s progress is advanced every time one of its members reaches out in faith, when they refute the teaching of the world and the doubters, when they worship and study God’s Word together. The will of the Creator is done when we remain faithful to the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions.
This Creator would be Abraham’s shield and great reward. Abraham was doubting that God could give him one son, God promised him a whole host of offspring. He also promised one descendant would save the rest of the offspring. While we cling to our small thinking and sorry solutions, God has Christ and His countless blessings showered upon us.
Trusting in this, God’s more wonderful plans, we have the greater blessing, Christ’s own righteousness. What fuels the Church? Put another way, what is it that motivates, sustains, and activates the Church of Christ? It is God himself who provides the catalyst for our actions. God told Abraham what he was going to do, and Abraham believed it and it was counted to him as righteousness. It is this same faith that motivates us.
Do you ever consider what a miracle you are sitting here this morning? It is not natural to get dressed up and come to worship. To sacrifice your talents and earthly goods for a Savior the world makes fun of. You and I are part of the invisible church of all times and places. God has called us “out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Don’t think miracles still exist. Point to yourself, your faith is a miracle.
Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That is the story of Abraham. Remember we said earlier faith is living and active. Look at all the action verbs when the writer of Hebrews talks about Abraham. Here is a list: obeyed, go out, went out, by faith, he went to live, looking forward, greeted them. All of this moved Abraham toward his ultimate goal. “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
Good Shepherd’s progress is moving us toward this heavenly city. We have not been overwhelmed with funerals, having just over 75, averaging about 2 1/2 a year. But these saints who have gone before us have reached the better country, the golden city. We stand on their shoulders, and we continue the progress they laid down.
We also warn of the danger this day. Some have been making progress, believed the Lord and then almost in an instant the faith valve stopped flowing. Did they struggle to believe the promise? Could they not see past their problems? We pray for them. Maybe it’s a struggle. Could it be they have some shame and it’s hard to come back? We stand in this pulpit, and I think you all agree, we want to welcome you back to your church home. We want to walk alongside you again in faith. We want the Good Shepherd Progress to be done together.
Good Shepherd’s Progress depends on God in faith. Good Shepherd’s Progress is a faith in Christ Jesus that all God’s promises are true. Good Shepherd’s Progress is that we are right with God, possessing all the blessings Christ’s death and resurrection earned. Good Shepherd’s Progress is ongoing until we receive the heavenly inheritance.
Amen.

August 3, 2025 Text: Luke 12:13-21

Dear Friends in Christ,
In some parts of South Africa, farmers are frequently plagued by monkeys who destroy their corn crops in a very deliberate yet foolish way. These monkeys, similar to baboons, walk along the rows of corn and rip off a corncob, place it under one arm, and then proceed to the next corn plant. Again, they’ll rip its cob off, and this one they’ll place under the other arm. But they are not content with the two cobs they already have under their arms. They want more, and so they continue with their task at ripping off cobs and placing them under their arms, only to lose those they already have tucked away. One can imagine the chaos these monkeys leave behind with all the cobs lying scattered on the field – and for what?
Do we ever act like these monkeys? Do we ever amass things that we cannot keep? What we have are wonderful gifts from God. We are the most blessed people in the whole world. Look at the trillions of dollars that are going from one generation to another generation in the next twenty years. The world has never, ever seen anything like this. Today’s text is a prime opportunity to analyze how we look at what we have been given. In our use of possessions are we . . .
“PRUDENT OR POSSESIVE?”
Was the man in our text who asked Jesus to mediate the inheritance being prudent or possessive? Wasn’t he just trying to get what was rightfully his? Or did he want a bigger share that wasn’t fair? The way he phrases his question may give us a hint. “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (v. 13b). His desire is distracting him from the teaching of Jesus. Was this fella prudent or possessive?
He came by his wealth honestly. There needed to be a plan for the extra crops. Prudence demands that we plan for the future. Toni and I have started looking toward retirement and I know many of you have been through this as well. One question you get asked is phrased like this: “What is the goal for your money?” My answer was, “first class airfare to Australia.” It should have been “what can we give to the Lord.” When I have held my paycheck over the years to pay other church bills, I always want to make sure we have enough for our weekly offering. That’s it. It is really that simple. Is that how you see it? God wants you using your wisdom and interest rates, to be good stewards. But it must always start with the idea that is His money, not ours.
The first-person pronouns indicate the man’s desire. It was about himself. That is the huge danger for the average American. Listen to our speech. It is all first-person pronouns. Get a tax refund – “what can I do with it?” Get an inheritance – “What can I do with this money?” Our motives can be more possessive than prudent.
Jesus goes beyond the surface and takes it to a more frightening level. Is this rich fool not just possessive but possessed by his possessions? Are these things his god?
Why are gambling and e-trading and gold and crypto so big in our society? Because people always want more. Our consumer-oriented society slams it in our face. Do you remember the days when only the rich flew on airplanes? You can’t get on a plane today that isn’t full. In a financial roundtable that was watched this week, they said that salaries are up 40% since the days of Covid. Some of that is balanced out by higher inflation over the last five years. Prudent or possessive?
Well, you are not rich fools I pray, so you know the answer and where it is found. Jesus Christ. He gave up the riches of heaven and became poor, so that through His poverty we might become truly rich. That is foolishness to the world, but wisdom of God that has saved you and me.
You became Christ’s possession in your baptism. Adopted into His family. Clothed with His righteousness so that you can put God ahead of possessions. You receive the riches of His cross in the Lord’s Supper.
When we are possessed by Christ and His Gospel, then we begin to see all that we have as a gift. We use some for our pleasure – “eat, drink, and be merry” – but we also use it for God’s glory and in service to our neighbor. This is our mission – to “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Prudence or possessive? Prudence looks beyond possessions, where moth and rust destroy, to the riches of heaven. In Christ and through the Holy Spirit, we hang on to the real treasures of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. Christ has earned them for us. It is all from Him. Remember that and this part of life makes sense.
Amen.