Sermon Texts

December 4, 2022                                      Text:  Isaiah 11:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

    The well-established convention of expressing historical dates as BC and AD is gradually being discarded in favor of BCE and CE.  Out of sensitivity to non-Christians many textbooks, instead of BC, “Before Christ,” are using BCE, which is “Before the Common Era.”  And instead of AD, which is short for the Latin phrase that means “in the year of the Lord,” various publications are now using the initials CE, which is “Common Era.”

    Even as the world does these silly things like trying to replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays,” BCE and CE may avoid the name of Christ, but the numbering system stays the same.  The anchor date is still the birth of Jesus.  The Common Era still begins with the baby Jesus being born.  Scholars and the worldly may do their best to erase any Christ connection but our calendars do not lie.  In the year 2022 Common Era it is still 2,022 years since Jesus’s birth!  What Isaiah prophesied in our text has come to pass:  the “signal for the peoples” has come.

    Let’s delve into the prophecy a little deeper and discover how . . . 

“A STUMP CAN BEAR FRUIT”

    Don’t we love the poetry of Isaiah this morning?  It sounds so idyllic.  Wolf and lamb together.  A leopard with a goat.  Calf and lion.  A child playing near a cobra.  Oh, how wonderful.  Yea, that’s a place I want to live.  Is that the way you see things on earth right now?  Of course not, animals do not play nicely together.

    As someone who suffered a dog bite as a child and is still leery of dogs, I would love to love in this Isaiah world.  But I watch re-runs of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom on RFD-TV and that is not what my eyes see.  Marlin and Jim don’t just walk into a lion’s den.  They don’t play near a cobra.  When approaching a wolf, they don’t greet it with a kiss.  What do they do?  Approach everything with caution.  It is a scary world out there.  There is no peace in the animal world.

    The same can be said in the human world.  People still die from animal attacks.  Humans get blown up by bombs in war.  Men and women are killed in the random shootings that keep occurring.  Peace eludes us as we listen to the news and see an economy in free fall.  Who is safe anymore?

    Is peace as far away as the shepherds on a lonely hillside, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” (Luke 2:14).  Can a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots still bear fruit?  Do we see a wasteland or a garden?

    It has to start somewhere.  How about in Bethlehem?  This prophecy of Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born.  His arrival is like a shoot out of a stump.  Judah, at the time of this writing was in rebellion against God and many were in exile.  It looked dead, like a stump.  But God had promised that a Messiah would come one day, and He would be called the Prince of Peace.

    In this prophecy the glory of King David is not mentioned.  His father Jesse is named.  The reason?  To show the birth of the Savior would be from humble beginnings.  A carpenter and virgin wife.  A small town.  A manger.

    This shoot out of the stump is going to bear fruit.  He has the wisdom and the counsel and the knowledge and the might to bring true peace.  Isaiah says his delight is the fear of the Lord.  Every breath He takes is to do just what the heavenly Father has sent him to do.  He was sent to bring to bring peace.  He was sent to bring justice.  He was sent to bring forgiveness.

    He brought peace between God and man.  His death would take care of whatever anger and hostility God had against us because of our sin and rebellion.  We call it forgiveness.  We call it peace.  That peace then bore fruit as it flowed from Jesus to his followers.  He rose from the dead.  The violence done to Him was undone.  These disciples were afraid that day.  Locked in a room.  Then Jesus appeared.  He gave them peace.  He sent them out to share that peace with the world.  Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled, “In that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples – of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” (v. 10)

    Lions eating straw and wolves lying down with lambs?  Crazy, right?  The Gospel can do even greater things.  The wild beasts are us, devouring each other.  But a lion going vegan, is nothing compared to God taking a sinful human being, releasing him from all the guilt of all his sin, and giving him a heart that no longer wants to sin but only wants to do the will of God.

    This shoot, this stump, sprouts branches.  That’s you.  That’s me.  We are called to bring peace to this world of hurt and fear.  Where can you bring peace?  A prayer for someone shattered by a crime.  A contribution to a Christian organization that provides an alternative to abortion.  A Twitter message that uplifts instead of tears down.  A visit to a nursing home to bring some joy to a lonely existence.  A word of encouragement to someone confused in their sexuality.  A “Merry Christmas” to that worker running your grocery items.

    The world we want, and Isaiah’s prophecy will be completely fulfilled on the Last Day.  Peace on earth.  Until then, we are the branches from the root of Jesus.  We are the instruments of peace for the Prince of Peace.  A stump that will bear fruit.

                                        Amen.       

November 30, 2022 – Advent                                  Text:  Isaiah 9:6

Dear Friends in Christ,

    In today’s world because of the loud voices, we hear about everything “Christian” going away.  Nobody follows God’s Word anymore; I mean look around you.  Because of this people tend to buy into the myth.  Here is just a small example.  Have you noticed the names dads and moms continue to give their children.  Look at a top ten list or top 50 list and Biblical names are all over especially with boys.  Just in the top ten for boys you find Noah, Elijah, Levi, and Asher.  These aren’t even New Testament names, they are from the Old Testament.  God continues to work and the Christian influence is going nowhere.

    I love my name and pray you do too.  Joseph and Mary didn’t need to get out the latest name book.  They got something a little more immediate and dramatic – an angel.  They both heard, “You shall call His name Jesus.”  With the assigning of the name Jesus the angel was saying, “This Child Is . . .”  Jesus means “The Lord Saves.”  That has a life-changing meaning for us.  Let’s begin these mid-week Advent sermons with . . . 

“THIS CHILD IS . . . WONDERFUL COUNSELOR”

    Our theme verse is Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder, and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Tonight, we look at “wonderful” and “counselor.”

    We will start with the 2nd one first – Counselor.  What do you think of when you hear that term?  Someone who can provide guidance.  Someone who might provide comfort.  Before we see a counselor we like to know they will lead us down the right path or to the right answers for our lives.  We want to trust them.  We look to their experience.

    Jesus does all of this and more.  We can trust Him and His Word.  He comforts us in tough times.  He guides with His eternal light.  He has perfect knowledge and absolute truth.  There is no hourly charge.  His rate is always the same – grace, mercy, forgiveness – and it all comes from his Hand. 

    All right you wonderful people, how about wonderful?  How will you decipher this?  Remember being starry-eyed when getting to know your spouse?  “Dad, mom he’s wonderful!”  “Pa, ma, isn’t she just wonderful!”  It was used as an adjective.  For Jesus, it is a name.  It is the content of who He is.  He is wonderful because of all His goodness and his self-sacrifice on the cross.  It is about who He is and what He came to do.  It takes us directly to His desire to give Himself for the sins of the world – wonderful!

    Now, what does this all mean for us?  How does Wonderful and Counselor apply to us?  Think of it this way.  Jesus is His name but as we see in Scripture Jesus has so many other titles.  If I asked every one of you here tonight for a title of Jesus, you could each name a different one.  We would have to bring in more people to even get close to all his names in Scripture.  

    It is the same for you.  You have a name.  But think of everything you have been called in life?  Prayerfully mostly positive.  Jesus is “The Lord saves” let’s start there.

    So, what are we being saved from?  Sin.  Jesus addresses our deepest need.  We must acknowledge who we are.  John helps to identify us in His Gospel, “Jesus needed no one to bear witness about man, for He himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:25). We can’t hide anything from God.  He knows what is in you and I.  “We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed.”  

    Jesus doesn’t drag us into a courtroom to face the judgment we deserve.  Rather, in the courtroom He declares us “Not Guilty.”  He can declare that because He took our guilt and nailed it to a cross.  This Counselor intervened for us and it is wonderful.

    Most counselors want us to find solutions to our problems within ourselves.  They want to point to man.  “Read a book, keep a diary, speak with your parents about how they screwed you up.”  What?  Jesus operates outside that realm.  He knows our problem is solved by who He is and what He has done for us.  He insists that our problem of sin, death, and the devil can only be taken away by Him.  He takes our sin.  He takes our death.  He faces the devil and conquers.  

    Too good to be true?  Go to Bethlehem this Christmas and see the child born of a virgin.  His name is Jesus – the One who saves.  Listen to the angels sing “Glory to God and peace on earth” because of His birth.  In the manger is “Wonderful.”  The shepherds come to behold their “Counselor.”  What is in a name?  Everything.  The names tell us who this child is and all that He has done.

            Amen.        

November 27, 2022                                            Text:  Isaiah 2:1-5

Dear Friends in Christ,

    OK, I admit it.  I love the darkness.  If I lived alone, you would never know I was home.  When we go out at night and I am the first one back in the house, I don’t turn on a light.  I hang up my coat, walk up the stairs and then maybe flip on the TV.  If I work at night at church – same thing.  I come in the front door and walk to my office in the dark.  I leave the same way.  One of the greatest sleeps I ever had was in a room with no windows.  Loved it.

    How about you?  Same thing or do you flip a light on as soon as you can?  You don’t care for the darkness or walking down the hallways with your hand on the wall.  Any adults still have a night light?  

    While I enjoy the dark, I do not care for the dark times we live in.  The heart of men and women can be cruel and nasty.  Some people want their way so bad in the world they will lie and cheat and manipulate and their soul is so cold it almost isn’t there.  

    Ancient Judah was living in the same conditions.  When Isaiah was doing his prophetic work, Israel had split in two.  It was a time of darkness.  We know.  We need the reminder . . .

“A NEEDED LIGHT IN OUR DARK TIMES”

    In Judah the people were far from God in their hearts.  They didn’t trust the Lord, they were looking to the outside for peace and security.  They were selfish and greedy.  The courts could be bought.  Most people preferred injustice if it benefited them.

    Has a ring of plausibility, doesn’t it?  Look around.  People today are so selfish that they don’t care about justice.  As long as it benefits what they believe then it is ok.  People today don’t care about the minds of our young people.  It is the adults making the decisions who are messing with these young brains.  People today can attack the faith around the world, and nobody seems to think it is important.  People today in their speech take the 1st Amendment way past what the framers of our Constitution had in mind.  You can’t just say what you want at all times.  If we let all this continue, we will no longer live in a civilized society.  The road ahead can be dark and lonely, and we can get depressed thinking there is no end in sight. 

    What we need is a light in our dark times.  Isaiah called the people of Judah to do that by looking ahead.  Days will come when people from all nations will stream to worship the true God.  The little hill where the temple stood in Jerusalem will become the greatest mountain.  People will listen to the teachings of the Lord, and do them.  There will be peace.  Swords will become plows to provide food to eat.  Isaiah’s message is simple:  walk in the promise of this light of the Lord during dark times.  Better days will come.

    And they did.  The days of light arrived a little over seven hundred years after Isaiah wrote these words.  Jesus, the light of the world, came down from heaven above.  “Peace on earth,” the angels sang when Jesus was born.  People flocked to listen to the Savior when he preached His Sermon on the Mount.  He instructed Peter to put away the sword when Jesus was arrested.

    Jesus is the light in our dark times.  On the cross, the world was plunged into eternal darkness in the middle of the day.  Jesus took the selfishness and the cold hearts and the injustice and the filthy language and the power plays, all these dark times melodramas, it all went with Him on a wooden cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem.  He died there for everything the world has done or will do to blacken our hearts.  After death, His darkness continued in a tomb with a stone rolled in front of it.  Dark, dark, dark.

    The dark, dark, dark was shattered.  The tomb had light.  Jesus as he was surrounded by angels shone brightly. He came walking out and the promise of Isaiah was kept.

    Do you see the fulfillment of the prophecy?  All nations worship the true God.  On every continent this day worship services were held.  People on every continent heard God’s Word.  People on every continent were reminded of the light – Jesus Christ their Savior from sin.  Hundreds of languages were heard.  People on every continent were in church and Bible study and they want to do what is right.  With the Holy Spirit’s help, they want to walk in the light.

    Yet, we still wait for the final fulfillment.  Where nations worship God without persecution.  Swords are laid down.  When will this all happen?  On the Last Day.  On the day Jesus returns in power and glory and light.  Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  We still wait.

    While I enjoy the darkness do you know what I always see when I leave the church at night?  This eternal light in our sanctuary.  A reminder that I don’t go out into a dark world alone.  Jesus goes with me in His Word.  Jesus goes with me in His Sacrament.  Jesus goes with me in my prayers.  A Needed Light In Our Dark Times.

                                Amen.           

November 23, 2022 – Thanksgiving Eve                      Text:  Deuteronomy 8:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

    If you live long enough, you know that each year has challenges of its own.  Are there some years that are worse than others?  That would make a great debate topic.  Some things affect all of us – pandemics, the economy, politics, taxes, utility bills.  But other events in life are individual.  A close relative dying can make for a rough year.  A child that starts living a new lifestyle can break a heart.  Or things can make for a good year – a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, the birth of a child or grandchild, witnessing a baptism or confirmation, positive health news.  How do we during all of this, give thanks?  

    2022 had moments out of our control that changed everyone’s life.  We came out of the pandemic, but the people in charge never quite let it go.  We paid more at the pump since the days of Hurricane Katrina.  Electric and natural gas rates are at their highest in decades.  Maybe the election wave you wanted was a trickle.  Supply chain issues were a concern.  But in the midst of all of this, did you ever go wanting?  Do you ever not have enough food, or shelter, or gas?  We complain about a product not on the shelf but miss the food on our table.  Ever ask the question . . .

“THANKFUL?  THIS YEAR!?”

    Our text from Deuteronomy.  “You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (vs. 2-3)

    We studied the Exodus in depth in Adult Bible Class.  One of the things we all learned was how many times the Israelites grumbled.  These people were never happy.  They took out their hostility on Moses and on Aaron and on the Lord God.  They didn’t just live a bad year.  They lived 40 bad years in row – just a wanderin’ with no place to call home.

    God had sent them to the wilderness to humble their hearts.  God knew they could not properly receive His gifts – the Promised Land and the Promised Savior – without a little teaching.  The Israelites were relying on their wisdom and abilities.  By letting them endure hopelessness and hunger, the Lord God showed His beloved people that they need His salvation.  “Man does not live on bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

    Whatever we have experienced in 2022 we can still say   that God’s fatherly, divine goodness and mercy are infinite and boundless.  The Word of the Lord is still being proclaimed.  Most everyone who has been away from worship has come back.  New people are coming to hear God’s Word.  Yes, we too have been humbled.  We have seen the ability of man only goes so far.  We can only control certain things.  God’s Word is the ultimate control.  We live on that.

    God’s Word promised the Israelites a land flowing with blessing.  That promise sustained the people trekking through the wilderness.  In the day-to-day they were frustrated.  The Lord’s promise gave them hope and kept them going.  They forgot the past and pressed forward to the great goal God was giving them.

    The same is true for us, friends.  When we get frustrated with high gas prices and rental cars and hotel rooms and no new cars and months of waiting for a product and endless political battles and crimes going unpunished and the progressives making headway – we have a sure Word of comfort.  That Word is the salvation promised in Jesus, who delivers us from this valley of sorrows to himself in heaven, based solely on His love for us.  We believers can forget what lies behind and we can set our face joyfully to the blessings that lie ahead.

    In God’s Word, we learn to be content.  In God’s Word, we see how truly blessed we are.  In God’s Word, we are comforted in affliction, fed when spiritually hungry, strengthened when weak, loved when loveless, at peace when terrified, and forgiven for Christ’s sake when guilty.

    God has made me laugh more this year than almost any year I can remember.  He continues to remind me that He is in control.  Has He done the same for you?  Have you noticed?  Did you see His hand in your life?  Do you give thanks to the One who has given you so much?

    Our Promised Land is in the distance for most of us.  Or it could be right around the next corner.  Christ has gone ahead of us to prepare that place.  He has secured that place by His blood, and He communicates that to us through His Word and Sacraments.  

    Thankful?  This Year!?  You bet.  We have a promise that makes this year and every year a time to give thanks.  

                Amen.     

November 20, 2022                                        Text:  Colossians 1:13-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

    We interrupt this broadcast for a test – of the emergency Judgment Day Warning System – this is only a test:  “Jesus Is Coming!”  This has been a test of the emergency Judgment Day Warning System.  Had this been the actual event, the message you heard…would have been too late.  In the event of the final judgment, you will not have time to tune to your local radio or TV station, there will be no time to await further instructions; no time to react; no time to change the condition of your heart.  We now resume our normal broadcast.  Thank you.

    Now that is a little frightening.  Nothing like getting hit with the law early in the sermon.  It is the end of the church year.  Advent is next Sunday.  We prepare the way for the Lord.  We are who we are because of Jesus.  Be at peace.

“YOUR LIFE AND IDENTITY ARE DETERMINED BY JESUS”

    Where are we?  Well, here at the beginning of our text we are in “the domain of darkness.”  Sounds like a movie preview, doesn’t it?  Can you escape “the domain of darkness?”  Honestly, sometimes we can’t.  We are in darkness because we can’t see the way to the truth.  We stumble, we grope, we walk in spiritual blindness.  Satan has his way with us.  He works on you when no one else is with you and you assume no one sees or cares what you are doing.  Darkness is his favorite place – especially when he’s there with you.

    From that domain of darkness, you have been delivered.  By a man of light, born in the light of Bethlehem and risen on the third day when the light began to spread on the earth.  He rules the darkness as well.  In the world to come there will be no need for sun or moon because the brightness of Christ will be our light.  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”(v. 13)  In Jesus, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (v. 14). He paid the debt of your sin.  You have been delivered.

    Why should He redeem you or anyone else?  Was it your sparkling Sunday School attendance record?  Is it your warm and fuzzy personality trait that everyone loves?  No.  You are who you are in Christ only because of who He is.  He is the Head of creation, and He shall have what is His.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For in him all were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (vs. 15-17)  You were made by God for more than wallowing in your sin and your filthy mouth and the whims of us those around you.  You were made to live under Christ’s gracious reign in His Kingdom.

    Before you took your first breath, before your parents ever met, before Adam and Eve made earth their home, God knew you from eternity.  You can’t see the Father’s face, but you can see Jesus.  In order to know the Father’s will you need to know Jesus.  Jesus is the only way to salvation because He is the only access point we have to the eternal Father.  “He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (v. 18)

    Your identity is taking shape.  Delivered by Christ.  Created for Christ.  And now, at peace.  “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (vs. 19-20)  

    Wouldn’t you like a little peace?  But I know you dread the holidays coming up and the relatives who want to talk about more than the weather.  I know the grudges you still hold because of something said 17 years ago.  I know what that girl did to you.  Everyone here has pain, regret, broken links of love, frayed nerves because of what you have inflicted on others or what they inflicted on you.  

    Because of Jesus you are not captive to these emotions.  You are not caught in the web of darkness.  You are redeemed; you are delivered; you have transferred out; you are forgiven; you are set free; you are cleansed; you are healed.  

    The blood of Jesus sets you at peace with others.  Remember that when Cousin Blowhard wants to talk politics before you carve the turkey or prepare to open gifts.  Remember that when the lines are long because the workers are few, but the customers are many.  You have peace with God because God has made peace.  You have peace with your fellow men and women because God is at peace.  I have the privilege of sharing this peace with you at the end of the divine service.  This is the peace Jesus has won for you by His blood and by His cross and by His resurrected life.

    So go in peace.  You are free of darkness – your identity.  You live in His light – your identity.  Your faith has saved you because you trust in Christ alone – your identity.  You are at peace with others because God is at peace with you through Jesus – your identity.  This is your life because you belong to Christ.  Enjoy the glory now and into eternity.

                                        Amen.       

November 13, 2022 – Stewardship Sunday                            Text:  Luke 12:13-21

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Almost everyone in the world from Alaska to Australia, from Siberia to South African observe a general festival of thanksgiving.  In Bible times both Pentecost and Succoth were such festivals.  The idea did not originate with the Pilgrims.  We mark the completion of seedtime and harvest.  In reality, we usually spend the weekend overeating, oversitting and overspending.  Prayerfully, we remember our many blessings.  We have a total dependence upon God.  It is Stewardship Sunday, and this question is posed . . . 

“DO YOU HAVE A LASTING BLESSING?”

    Stewardship Sundays are usually on one of three topics – our talent, our time, our treasure.  Looking at sermons of the past on this day they have usually been on time and talent with a little treasure thrown in.  That is my fault.  I don’t like people telling me what do with my treasure so I have shied away from preaching on it.  But that is ridiculous as this is a biblical topic.   When we sent the letter out earlier this year on the state of the church’s finances you brothers and sisters are so amazing you thanked us for it.  You want to know.  It’s your church.  We are in this together.  This sermon like the letter is not an “open your pocketbooks” more Law sermon.  It is a reminder of what good fortune we have been blessed with.  It is that reminder that all good gifts come from God.  It is that reminder that what we have is temporary in one way but what the Lord provides is eternal.  

    Only about half of you who are in the pews this morning will stay for our meeting today.    I don’t need to reiterate the challenges we faced at the end of last year and beginning of this year.  It has made…well 2022…a good exercise in frugality.  But as always, along the way the gracious hand of our Lord has been a constant.  We approached a few tipping points and then boom….thank you Lord!  

    Do you know the most surprising part of the pandemic for those of us in the clergy?  The offerings given.  Never expected it.  75-80% of LCMS churches saw higher offerings in 2020.  Studies have been done as to why, but the main reason…God is good.  Most churches have seen the opposite in 2022.  Why?  Because people are scared.  Why did people build bomb shelters in the 1950’s or why did those who lived through the Depression horde food?  Fear.  It paralyzes us.  As I said earlier in a sermon and it has borne itself out in our giving, $5 gas scared us.  You then add on the cost of energy, food, sundry items and we all start to look inward instead of outward.  Why can’t we in the 21st century figure out a way to have new cars on the lots?  Cars are being made, we all know that.  When life doesn’t make sense where do we go?

    God’s Word.  It is really that simple.  Today’s text has been called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”  However, he wasn’t a fool for being rich.  He was probably a great farmer or good business manager.  The man was a fool because of the wrong conclusions he drew from being rich.  His riches were foolishness because they were wrongly used.

    His biggest problem was that he his didn’t realize his riches had no lasting value.  “Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (v. 20)  He had a temporary blessing.  Sooner or later, it would be taken away.

    Look at all the pronouns in this text they are almost all “I” and “my”.  It is the same way we speak.  My house, my car, my money, my clothes.  Are they really ours?  Does the farmer cause the seed to germinate and the rain to fall and the sun to shine?  That all comes from the hand of God.  God entrusts us with many things, but they are really His because He provided them.

    Do you have a lasting blessing?  Today people are not buried in a shroud.  It is usually a nice suit or dress.  In earlier times a shroud was used.  But it lacks one thing – pockets.  The reason?  We take nothing with us when we go, even as we brought nothing with us when we came.  Jesus came into the world with no home, no fancy clothes, no comfortable bed.  Still, on the Last Day, every knee will bow before Him.  Why?  Because he was poor?  No, because He faithfully carried out the Father’s will to save us.

    You see the Lord knows you are sacred.  He made you.  You are the crown of His creation.  He provides you with the greatest riches.  Your fear is replaced with hope.  Your inward cocoon now sees outward possibilities.  He unfolds your tight fists with percentage giving.  It is all made possible through His love and grace.  A Calvary Cross.  An empty tomb.  A promise to always be with us.  What is there to be frightened of?  Read your history.  Really, everything in His hands.  We have a priceless inheritance with Christ in heaven.  I can’t wait for that lasting blessing to be an eternal joy.  Are you there, with me?  I look forward to seeing you.

    Today is again a reminder that we are all rich.  In a way the world doesn’t understand.  May God grant us such a faith in Him, that our hearts and eyes will be fixed where true joys are to be found.  That we will be grateful stewards of the material things entrusted to us and use them for God’s glory and the welfare of others. 

                            Amen.