Author: Evangelism

March 29, 2026 – Palm Sunday                                               Text:  Zechariah 9:9-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

            When have you hung your head?  Were you discouraged?  Did you hang it in shame?  Or were you just so upset about something that you just had to bury your head in your hands?  Any number of things can cause us to hang our head.

            The Jews’ heads were hanging.  They felt defeated.  Sure, the temple had been rebuilt and Herod had done some renovations, but they still didn’t have real freedom.  They were subject to the Romans who told them what to do and how to do it.  They longed for the glory that was once Israel’s.  But someone shouted, “Look up!  Here comes your King!”

            We are not subject to a King, and we have our freedom, but there are times we feel defeated.  We are subject to sin and the effects of our actions.  We long for simpler times and what we might perceive as the glory days.  Then we hear today . . .

“LOOK UP TO SEE YOUR KING!”

            “Look!  Up in the sky!  It’s bird!  It’s a plane!  No…it’s Superman!”  And with that, everyone looked up to see their hero coming to the rescue.

            The Jews of Jerusalem were so excited to have Jesus come to their city.  They didn’t need to hang their heads anymore.  They didn’t need to look in the sky for their hero, all they needed to do was to look on the back of donkey.

            Here was the long-promised Messiah, their conquering hero.  Their salvation from the Romans, from poverty and sickness and suffering.  Look up and see Him.  Spread your coats and palms to welcome him.  Shout loud hosannas to honor him.

            When Zechariah told the people to shout, he used a word that was a battle cry.  How hopeful the Jews were that their King was going to wage war against the Romans.

            They had already seen him raise fallen troops back to life, end the need for supply lines as he multiplied loaves and fish, and destroy the enemy once for all.

            But on a donkey?  Superman would never come like this.  Where is the superhuman strength or the lasers from his eyes?  Shouldn’t he at least be on a golden chariot with white stallions?  Instead, he comes gently, humbly, peacefully…on a donkey.  Much more relatable, wouldn’t you say?  He was not seeking glory but seeking to deliver the oppressed.

            They were looking for a Superman who would destroy Rome and bring them national peace.  Shortly they would look up and see him on a cross.  Why would this man who once walked through an angry mob allow himself to be arrested?  Why did he who raised the dead allow himself to die?  They must have wanted to hang their heads again.

            We often look up to Jesus and wonder:  Why does the omnipotent God allow my body to break down?  Why does he allow my relationships to fall apart?  Why does he let me struggle with finances and worry?  Why doesn’t he save me from suffering and pain?  Why doesn’t my Superman Savior save me from my troubles?

            Because he is not that kind of king.  He didn’t come to wage war on poverty or disease or to take away your pain and make life easy.  If let your disappointment in what Jesus doesn’t do for you invade your thoughts, you are tempted to reject him like the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

            You need to know what kind of King he is:  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation.” (v. 9a).  Look up.  Don’t hang your head in shame.  He won peace between you and God by defeating the old evil foe.  He stayed faithful every time you went AWOL with God.  His righteous record is credited to you, making you perfect in God’s sight.

            So, if Jesus did all this why do we still have wars and crashed planes and traitors and murdered families?  Because, he is still not that kind of King. 

            Outside a wall of the United Nations are the words from Isaiah 2:4 which describe a world of peace.  But since that first Palm Sunday, there have only been wars and rumors of wars.  Jesus said as much.  So, the promise of “peace to the nations…from the River to the ends of the earth” must mean something different.

            Jesus is the real Peacemaker.  His atoning death brough us peace from guilt and shame.  Someday, wars will end.  Someday, we will have peace from all our problems.  Someday, we will have no need for headphones.  Just not yet.  We look up to the skies when our King will return, not on a donkey but riding on the clouds.  He will bring a perfect, permanent peace.

            Let’s look up.  Your King is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey to be the conquering hero.  Look up to your King on the cross, paying with his blood for our peace with God.  And look up when He returns again to put an end to all conflict.  In the meantime, shout his praises, “your king is coming to you.”

                                                                        Amen.     

March 22, 2026                                                           Text:  John 11:47-53

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Over the years I have always told the Bible Class that my mom taught me that there can only be one chief.  You see my mom was a teacher and they are all used to being in charge.  My mom also served on the negotiating committee for contracts with some of the other teachers in the district.  She would come home frustrated at times because everyone was trying to be in charge, and nothing was getting done.  She would say to us, “you know there can only be one chief the rest of us have to be Indians.”

            That advice has served me well.  In this church we have some of you who like to be in charge and some of you who like to work in the background.  That’s wonderful.  Be who you are.  In certain situations, like at a car accident or a fire or a military battle or the coach at a game or any kind of meeting, you want someone in charge.  It just makes things normally go much smoother.

            As we near Holy Week, our text challenges us to ask the question . . .

“WHO’S IN CHARGE?”

            The Sanhedrin have a Jesus problem.  These men just wanted Jesus to go away.  He was an unwelcome intrusion into their lives, work, and world.  They knew he had performed many miracles, and He had just raised Lazarus from the dead.  We cannot do anything to control this guy.   If we don’t take care of this problem, then people will start believing in him.  They expect a civil rebellion will follow and they will lose their power because they are sure the Romans will take it away. 

            Any of this sound a wee bit familiar?  We want to control our lives, our spouse’s actions, our kids behavior, other people’s influence in our lives.  We may want to control our religion.  Worst of all, we may try to control God, dictating to him in our prayers how He should answer us.  But then we get shocked back into reality – a lost job, uncontrolled cancer, children out of control, guilt that won’t go away, and prayers answered differently than we expected.  We have got to regain control.

            In our text, here comes the man in charge.  Now we are going to get something done.  His name is Caiaphas, and he was the high priest that year.  Like many high priests he was self-seeking and not acting as God’s servant.  He does have a plan.  Rather simple really.  Have one man – Jesus – die instead of our nation going down the tubes.  What a noble concept.  Most of the Sanhedrin sign off on this plan.  If they can get Jesus out of the way they can go back to business as usual. 

            Caiaphas’ plan has been used for centuries.  When we get caught in a jam, let’s put the blame on someone else.  Maybe our spouse or our boss, our neighbor or our children, let’s make them the scapegoat. 

            God takes charge with the perfect substitute.  John gives us the real reason that Caiaphas spoke this way.  How easily we forget that man proposes, but God disposes.  These words of Caiaphas meant to save the backsides of all these men were given by God to him to utter.  What dramatic irony.  A character who utters words that are truer than he imagined.

            God’s plan brings blessings beyond the border of their nation.  God has designed that salvation and life with him are gifts given to all who will receive Him by faith, wherever they may live in the world.

            The Sanhedrin had their plan.  Now they needed to execute the mechanics of it.  They plotted, formed a conspiracy.  They forged ahead with their plan, deluded into thinking they have things under their control.

            When all is said and done, guess who had the final word?  Who was in charge?  The Sanhedrin had their mission to execute Jesus.  They did.  They also lost their temple, their court, their nation – and their Savior!  Remember, however, what Jesus declared:  “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.  This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18). What a loving sacrifice for you and me.

            Thank God that He is in charge of your salvation, your faith, your life, your future, your eternity.  Trust Him to take complete care of you.

                                                                                                Amen.  

March 22, 2026                                                                                 Text:  John 11:47-53

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Over the years I have always told the Bible Class that my mom taught me that there can only be one chief.  You see my mom was a teacher and they are all used to being in charge.  My mom also served on the negotiating committee for contracts with some of the other teachers in the district.  She would come home frustrated at times because everyone was trying to be in charge, and nothing was getting done.  She would say to us, “you know there can only be one chief the rest of us have to be Indians.”

            That advice has served me well.  In this church we have some of you who like to be in charge and some of you who like to work in the background.  That’s wonderful.  Be who you are.  In certain situations, like at a car accident or a fire or a military battle or the coach at a game or any kind of meeting, you want someone in charge.  It just makes things normally go much smoother.

            As we near Holy Week, our text challenges us to ask the question . . .

“WHO’S IN CHARGE?”

            The Sanhedrin have a Jesus problem.  These men just wanted Jesus to go away.  He was an unwelcome intrusion into their lives, work, and world.  They knew he had performed many miracles, and He had just raised Lazarus from the dead.  We cannot do anything to control this guy.   If we don’t take care of this problem, then people will start believing in him.  They expect a civil rebellion will follow and they will lose their power because they are sure the Romans will take it away. 

            Any of this sound a wee bit familiar?  We want to control our lives, our spouse’s actions, our kids behavior, other people’s influence in our lives.  We may want to control our religion.  Worst of all, we may try to control God, dictating to him in our prayers how He should answer us.  But then we get shocked back into reality – a lost job, uncontrolled cancer, children out of control, guilt that won’t go away, and prayers answered differently than we expected.  We have got to regain control.

            In our text, here comes the man in charge.  Now we are going to get something done.  His name is Caiaphas, and he was the high priest that year.  Like many high priests he was self-seeking and not acting as God’s servant.  He does have a plan.  Rather simple really.  Have one man – Jesus – die instead of our nation going down the tubes.  What a noble concept.  Most of the Sanhedrin sign off on this plan.  If they can get Jesus out of the way they can go back to business as usual. 

            Caiaphas’ plan has been used for centuries.  When we get caught in a jam, let’s put the blame on someone else.  Maybe our spouse or our boss, our neighbor or our children, let’s make them the scapegoat. 

            God takes charge with the perfect substitute.  John gives us the real reason that Caiaphas spoke this way.  How easily we forget that man proposes, but God disposes.  These words of Caiaphas meant to save the backsides of all these men were given by God to him to utter.  What dramatic irony.  A character who utters words that are truer than he imagined.

            God’s plan brings blessings beyond the border of their nation.  God has designed that salvation and life with him are gifts given to all who will receive Him by faith, wherever they may live in the world.

            The Sanhedrin had their plan.  Now they needed to execute the mechanics of it.  They plotted, formed a conspiracy.  They forged ahead with their plan, deluded into thinking they have things under their control.

            When all is said and done, guess who had the final word?  Who was in charge?  The Sanhedrin had their mission to execute Jesus.  They did.  They also lost their temple, their court, their nation – and their Savior!  Remember, however, what Jesus declared:  “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.  This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18). What a loving sacrifice for you and me.

            Thank God that He is in charge of your salvation, your faith, your life, your future, your eternity.  Trust Him to take complete care of you.

                                                                                                Amen.  

March 18, 2026 – Midweek Lent                                       Text:  Zechariah 6:9-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

            One of the things drilled into me during seminary was that as Lutherans we live in two kingdoms – political which is the state and spiritual which is the church.  One of my professors always wore a clerical collar.   I remember him saying if he marched in a Walk for Life he would wear a regular shirt.  He would be Joe citizen.  Over the years I have sent numerous letters to the Board of Review, School Board, politicians and even the CEO of American Airlines.  I always sign them Chad Lueck, not Rev. Chad Lueck.  The letters go out from me as a citizen of the United States who has the right to voice my opinion.  I don’t try to manipulate that by putting on the clergy shirt. 

            In our text for tonight, we have an Old Testament prophet being crowned a king.  Is this a confusion of church and state?  The Lord had actually forbidden such a dual role.  Yet the Lord always makes an exception to his own rules.  That is what we see as the high priest Joshua receives the royal crown.  In holding both offices, Joshua serves as a picture of Christ.

“THE KINGLY PRIEST”

            It might see strange to Zechariah to combine the authority of the spiritual realm with the authority of the political realm.  All kinds of things could go haywire.  Wasn’t it better to have a separation of power?  But he knew better than to question the Lord.  If the Almighty decided that a priest could sit on the throne as a king, and that harmony would exist, it must be okay.

            At the time of Jesus there was no harmony between church and state.  The high priests had harmony in their contempt for the Romans, who held political power, and for Jesus, who was a threat to their spiritual power.

            Annas and Caiaphas led the Sanhedrin to convict Jesus of blasphemy.  The hard part would be convincing the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to authorize the death penalty.  Pilate had the political power.  He didn’t care for the Jewish leadership, but they had to cooperate to maintain peace.  When Jesus was led before him, he was dressed as king, but he would shed his own blood as a priestly sacrifice.  They condemned THE High Priest.  Treated him as a cartoon figure.  How could they have so completely missed who he was?

            Jesus in our text is given the name Branch.  The same name given in Isaiah 11.  There he emerges from the stump of Jesse, the royal dynasty of David.  New life would appear where it appeared there had only been a dead end.  The Hebrew word is tsemach.  Luther wrote of this word:  “(tsemach) means a plant or a twig which grows to be a large tree.  For Christ at first was a small shrub, or plant, in the Jewish land, but then He grew until He has become a tree which fills all the world with its branches, its top reaching to heaven and its roots reaching to the abyss of hell.”

            That is what this Branch has saved us from – the abyss of hell.  At times our lives can be hellish.  Trapped in the pit, burning with fever, day in and day out.  We look for political answers that do not come.  Common sense flies out the window and you and I are stuck on the merry-go-round.

            The answer is spiritual.  Joshua must have been an impressive figure clothed in the garments of both the high priest and the King of Israel.  He foreshadowed an even more impressive figure who would combine the two offices and carry them out in perfect harmony.  A Pastor serving in a political office may struggle with potential conflicts.  When your Pastor is Jesus no one minds that he’s also King.  And when your King is Jesus, he’s also the best Pastor.  No conflicts.

            As our Priest, who offered himself on the altar of the cross, he daily intercedes for us, pleading the merits of his once-for-all sacrifice.  As our King, who charged into battle to redeem us from Satan, death, and hell, he rules all things for the good of his church.  The branches of his temple spread ever wider.  There is harmony between his offices; there is harmony between forgiven sinners and our holy God.

            Here is the man:  the Great high Priest, the King of kings, the Branch, your Savior.

                                                                                                                                                Amen.        

March 11, 2026 – Lent                                                Text:  Zechariah 8:14-17

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Recently I served as a juror in a court of law.  Every witness swore they were going to tell the truth.  They have dropped the “so help me God” part, which they should put back in.  I saw a lot of lying.  The most egregious was the felon who came in handcuffs.  We watched a video of him saying one thing and he gets in the witness box and everything he said, he denied.  There was a lot of baloney bouncing off the walls of the McLean County Courthouse the week of January 19^th.

            God is the Father of truth, he hates lies.  Satan is the father of lies, he hates truth.  Lies destroy reputations, steal property, cost lives, and damn to hell.  God wants us to tell the truth, not just when under oath.  He expects us to tell . . .

“THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH”

            During centuries of rebellious behavior, including rampant lying, the Lord had refrained from punishing Israel with the full force of his fury.  But he eventually resorted to sterner measures.  The walls of Jerusalem came crashing down.  Israel’s upper classes were marched off to exile, where for 70 years they could reflect on God’s truth they had long ignored.

            The Lord relents and the exiles return home.  Zechariah announced that the Lord is determined to do good again to Israel, but he also expects to see changed behavior.  They are to practice truth in relationships and in their institutions.  Five centuries after Zechariah delivered this truth, were the people listening?

            While this text is not a direct prophecy of Holy Week it does point to the lack of truth in the courtrooms of the Sanhedrin, Pontius Pilate and Herod.  They used false evidence and false witnesses to convict.  Did they speak the truth to each other?  No, they were all about personal gain.  Reminds us of our politicians, doesn’t it?  Did they render sound judgments?  No, the case against Christ was predetermined.  Did they swear falsely?  Yes. 

            God hated the disregard for the truth during Holy Week.  He hates the disregard for the truth today.  Can our society agree on anything?  The manipulating blowhards of our day must sadden the Savior.  We do not like it when people lie to us.  Leaders, lawyers, lenders or lovers, it does not matter.  We trust those who can tell the truth.

            We want to tell the truth, the whole truth, and doing but the truth.  Answer these truthfully in your head.  Did you do your homework?  Did you take your medicine?  Did you report all your income on your tax return?  Is your mind wandering during this sermon?  Not easy, is it?

            Amen means “that’s the truth.  I believe it.”  Are you telling the truth each time you pray the Lord’s Prayer that you will keep his name holy, you prefer his will to your own, you forgive those who have hurt you and you are happy with daily bread and no more?

            Sometimes the truth hurts.  It hurt Jesus to tell the truth.  Not because he lied, because he never did, it hurt because he knew by telling the truth what would happen next.  He said he was the Son of God and gets convicted of blasphemy.  He gets sentenced to death.  He tells the truth to Pontius Pilate and Barabbas gets released.  Doesn’t seem fair.

            The Bible contains many truths that are difficult to believe.  People stumble over a six-day creation, a Red Sea parting, virgin birth, walking on water, healing the sick.  We did not witness them and so we can struggle.  The other reason is because the Father of lies twists these words of the Bible into a pretzel.  Gaslighting is when someone manipulates you by telling you not to believe what your eyes see, and your ears hear.  We could dub the devil the Chief Gaslighter.

            Listen again to the beginning of our text, “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah; fear not.” (vs. 14-15)

            The Lord did what he promised.  He brought the people back and restored their temple.  He was true to his Word:  The Messiah came to the temple, then was laid on the altar of the cross to atone for all sins, including every lie that you and I have ever told.

            What are we to do?  Again, the text.  “Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another and love no false oath.” (vs. 16-17)

            Rejoice in the truth of your absolution.  Rejoice in the truth that God forgave you.  Speak the truth of your pardon upon the cross.  In other words:  the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Help me do this, Lord.

                                                                                    Amen.