Sermon Texts

August 17, 2025 Text: Jeremiah 23:16-29

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Word of the Lord can be tough business. Few people in our world have known this better than Jeremiah. He tried to get out of this work by using his youth with the Lord. It didn’t work. The Lord even told him that people wouldn’t listen to him. Do you want that work?
It didn’t matter, the Lord wanted him. He called him into service. He used these words in the King James version of the Bible. “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee.” (Jer. 1:17) The Pastors of our circuit know this is the verse that yours truly always uses at a Pastoral ordination or installation. The ESV translates it, “dress yourself for work.” I like that as well. At our house we say this it this way, “Put on your big boy pants,” “put on your big girl pants.” What does that mean? These sayings all point to the same thing, getting ready for a demanding task or challenge.
That is where we find Jeremiah this morning. He needs to speak God’s Word to a people who don’t want to hear it. He needs to “put on his big boy pants” or more appropriately . . .
“GIRD UP THY LOINS”
Jeremiah had competition. There were others who were proclaiming a different message, one that was far more appealing than the message the Lord gave Jeremiah to say. Like Pastor’s and evangelists of all times, many challenges were also happening in the world around him. The final days of Judah, Babylonians taking over, a faithful king killed and a new king who didn’t care for Jeremiah’s message. Jeremiah would be the target of persecution.
The market was dictating the message. We all know how this works. Your computer feeds will feed you topics of interest to you. If you buy something, they will shower you with more like items. You follow a sports team, and they are sure to hit you up for tickets or apparel. The market in Jeremiah’s time were false prophets who filled the people with vain hopes. They “speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” They even told the people, “no disaster shall come upon you.”
Nice, right? But not biblical. No one can tell you and me that nothing bad will happen to us. That is a misunderstanding of living in this world. It does not consider the words of the Lord in the Bible. It misses the boat on who God, or Yahweh is. Yahweh is not some local deity unaware of the lives of His people. Yahweh is at hand and relates personally to his people.
No one wants to hear about the possible destruction of their home or city. No one wants to hear that you need to repent and return to the Lord with broken and contrite hearts. It is a much easier sell to tell people that everything is going to be fine. It is a sell that is still going on today.
Jeremiah was in a tough business. That is why the Lord told him to “gird up thy loins.” This was not a challenge confined to his time. The walls were broken down long ago. The temptation has always been to give people what they want, rather than what they need. This has plagued God’s people and God’s prophets in all ages. We know we have something to say in this world, so why not give them what they want to hear?
If we do that, we reduce God to a deity made in our image. So many think of God as far away. God says in verse 23, “Am I a God at hand…and not a God afar off?” The Lord is near to us and has promised to be with us always.
Jeremiah knew God was near. He went into the fight with loins girded. He put on the big boy pants and shared the message. He said the Lord would rise up a Righteous branch, who would be a king and deal wisely. This righteous branch would be the ultimate prophet, the Word of God in human flesh. Like Jeremiah, he stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear his Word. He proclaimed the word faithfully. Like Jeremiah, he was opposed. He would not preach what the people wanted to hear, He preached what they needed to hear. He would contend with false prophets. There would be a storm that would reach a fever pitch on a Friday. Jesus would gird up thy loins and in obedience would take his life to the cross. He hung in our place. The rocks were broken in pieces. His gift of salvation is ours. We hear the message we need to hear. Though still sinful, Christ died and rose for us.
Are you ready to gird up thy loins and share this message? It can be a tough business. We have stood in the council of the Lord. We have seen and heard His Word, and that is the message we faithfully proclaim. It is a message not driven by the market, but driven by the Holy Spirit. Hear the words I love to share, “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee.”
Amen.

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.

July 27, 2025 Text: Colossians 2:6-15

Dear Friends in Christ,

How much debt do you have? If you are the average American household, you have a mortgage, student and auto loans and credit card debt that averages $105, 056. Generation X has the biggest debt. Generation Z has the lowest. What do you think about that?
Other than when we first purchased our house, we have not lived with a bunch of debt. But the Lord sent us to a church where that is all we have been living under. It has been a burden. Less money for missions. Church projects delayed etc. Don’t wiggle in your pew, this sermon isn’t about money. Though I would love to see this church with no debt before I ride off into retirement.
Consumer debt can bring a mixture of shame, depression, frustration, anger, anxiety. Wouldn’t it be great if that debt just went away?
Our focus today is on spiritual debt. It too can bring shame, depression, frustration, anger and anxiety. Wouldn’t it be great if it just went away? It would be a blessing to have a…
“DEBT PAYER”
No doubt we live in a strange world. I just read of man who was looking for trouble, so he decided to cut in front of a car just to provoke a fight. The thing is the car he decided to cut off was an unmarked police car. Let’s be careful out there.
That story is not an isolated incident. Satan is using people and circumstances to try to devour us. Peter tells us that he prowls like a roaring lion, and we must resist him and stand firm in the faith. (1 Peter 5:8-9) Let’s tie that word RESIST into the opening verses of our text. “Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (v. 6-7). The only way to resist the attempts of Satan is to nurture the connection with Christ. So how do we handle Satan? How do we overcome this spiritual debt?
We start by lessening our focus on the debt. We get caught up in philosophy and empty deceit. We convince ourselves that we can pay the debt. We can stand strong against the devil’s advances. But we labor under the shame and frustration of not being able to do anything. We lose the focus. It should be on the debt payer. Without Jesus, the debt cannot be paid. Following the world just leads us deeper into the abyss.
Do you remember this story? Dr. Jerome Frank was a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. Years ago, when bombs on board planes were an occasional occurrence and security checkpoints were not even there, he flew on an airplane. He sat next to a man and started a conversation. The man’s mother-in-law had been on a flight where someone smuggled a bomb on, but it didn’t go off. He could not shake the idea that his plane could have a bomb. Dr. Frank asked him how he handled that.
He told Dr. Frank that he went to therapy to help him with this fear. He was told there was only a 1 in 10,000 chance that someone on board would have a bomb. He didn’t like the odds. He then stated this to Dr. Frank. “I reasoned that if there was only 1 chance in 10,000 of a bomb on my plane, there was only 1 chance in 100 million that two bombs would be on board. I could live with those odds.” Dr. Frank said, “But what good does that do?” He replied, “Ever since, I carry one bomb on myself – just to improve the odds!”
Isn’t that the insanity of the world? We trust in ourselves above the Living God. We are human timebombs crawling all over ourselves trying to improve the odds. Paranoia is the living companion of far too many. Debt, Satan, whatever is driving the world insane.
In steps the debt payer. Sent by God. The record of your debt of sin was set aside, when Jesus became the focus of God’s attention as the one paying your debt. He nailed that notice to the cross by doing this in verse 14, “canceling the record of debt.” The record of your debt of sin was nailed to the cross with Jesus. There it died. The proof is in the resurrection of the debt payer. Verse 13 says that “God made alive.” We can hardly escape debt and certainly can’t escape death. But God accepted the debt payer Jesus’ payment made for us and raised him from the dead. Through faith in Jesus, you also have been raised to live a debt-free life.
You know it’s going on my tombstone – he never paid a finance charge. Financially, I almost have a perfect credit score. But more importantly and the same goes for you, we have no debt, no finance charge, a perfect credit score when it comes to our spiritual books. No burdens. Living for Christ in forgiveness and eternal hope.
Amen.

July 20, 2025 Text: Genesis 18:1-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

Stress relief from laughter? It’s no joke. In the short-term laughter stimulates intake of oxygen rich air, helps the heart, lungs, muscles, and brain. It cools down your stress response and gives you a good, relaxed feeling. Long-term laughter improves your immune system, relieves pain, helps cope with difficult situations and improves mood.
Today we are going to join Sarah in laughter. God doesn’t think it is all that funny. But why? Let’s smile at what the Lord can do as we are reminded . . .
“STRESS RELIEF FROM LAUGHTER? IT’S NO JOKE”
The phrase “last laugh” developed out of a play entitled, Christmas Prince, first performed in Cambridge, England in 1608: “He who laughs last laughs longest.” In 1924, a German film had the title Last Laugh. A doorman at a famous hotel is demoted to washroom attendant and suffers scornful laughter. But what happens is a wealthy patron dies in his arms in the bathroom and leaves his fortune to the demoted attendant, who gets the last laugh.
Before we get to the laughing in our text, let’s set the scene. Abraham believed what God had told him that he would be the father of many nations, but first he had to be a father. He laughed when God first told him, but he believed in joy it would happen. Three visitors come to Abraham. Who are they? One is the Lord, a preincarnate Christ, the other two are angels. Abraham serves as the host to these men. They need food and water because in the midday of the Middle East temps can reach 120 degrees. Abraham shows great respect.
But why did these men come? Because Sarah needed to hear God’s promise. Strangers normally would not inquire of one’s wife in this culture, but then, this is God who is inquiring! He wants to get Sarah’s attention.
God tells Abraham that him and Sarah will have a son. Sarah overhears and laughs. This is a cynical chuckle, like the pitcher who gives up three home runs in a row and just laughs because he can’t believe it. Sarah knows her age and post-menopausal condition. She thinks this is a joke. God notices. He asks Abraham why his wife is laughing. Then says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Well, is it?
Sarah had been beaten down. Trying and praying for decades to have a child. She observed other women having children, including her servant Hagar. She remained barren and became bitter. This affected how she heard God’s Word. She laughed at it.
Do you feel beat down by unmet expectations? Your marriage, children or other family members haven’t been what you hoped for? Your job, goals, and aspirations haven’t panned out? You’ve seen a healthy retirement ruined by injury or illness.
Like Sarah, we laugh at God’s promises. We question if God can work in our life. We think we know better than Him. Satan can have us questioning the promises of God.
There is no Word too wonderful for God. Stress relief from laughter? It’s no joke. God said “Let there be” and creation was formed out of nothing. God’s Word brought faith to Sarah. He confronts Sarah with her lying in verse 15. God’s Word brought not only conception but faith too. Listen to this from Hebrews: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” (Heb. 11:11). The child, Isaac, carried the seed of the Messiah, Jesus. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” He would crush Satan’s head and bless all nations. Jesus perfect life has reconciled us to the Father. This should bring us joy and great laughter. It’s no joke, it’s stress relief.
A year ago, this God-ordained laughter gave some of us stress relief when we were stuck in the Charlotte airport on our way back from Germany. Six people were at O’Hare waiting, 10 of us were in Charlotte. From 2 p.m. to after midnight, we changed gates at least five times. People were everywhere. Our plane had to come from another city. Even when we boarded, we sat there for almost an hour. If you didn’t laugh at this point, you would cry. We had all been going for almost 24 hours. We finally lifted off, made it to Chicago and got the pleasure of seeing an empty airport in one of the busiest places on earth. The final laugh came later that day when we learned that the whole airport system was shut down because of a computer glitch. We had to be one of the last airplanes landing in the world that night. I say it all the time, God makes me laugh. What a blessing.
God’s promise came true. Then the laughter really came. Isaac was born, and his name means “he laughed” or “laughter”. We have been laughing with Abraham and Sarah ever since. Laughing for the wonderful and powerful message of God’s Word. That night in Charlotte we trusted God’s Word. God’s Word gets the last and longest laugh. That’s no joke.
Amen.

July 13, 2025 Text: Colossians 1:1-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

A young couple brings their first child home. No hospital worker is there to change a diaper or monitor the baby’s vital signs. The reality hits, dad and mom you are responsible for this child. For some parents they feel inadequate. Surveys continue to show that fathers and mothers of infants through teens don’t feel equipped to handle the pressures and challenges of parenthood. Discipline, faith matters, social media, sex and other topics many parents just want to avoid. Their inadequacy is a detriment to society.
St. Paul struggled with his inadequacy as an apostle. He constantly reminded his readers, like he does in verse 1, that his calling was from God. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.”
Parents need this same reminder. Your calling as parents is the will of God. God has placed you over your child for the child’s well-being. Be confident in exercising that God-given authority because it is pleasing to God.
The Colossian Christians struggled with feelings of inadequacy. Paul calls them “saints and faithful brothers in Christ,” but they were starting to doubt the sufficiency of Christ to make them holy and faithful. They needed this reminder as do we . . .
“GOD ALONE QUALIFIES US”
The Colossians were getting this background noise that Christ alone was not enough to secure their salvation. They were being encouraged to do good things in order to assure their eternal destiny. Instead of Christ alone, it was Christ and the works of the Law.
When we feel deficient, we try to make up the deficiency ourselves. What effort can I improve on? What commitment can I be better at? What decision do I need to re-think?
Paul directed the Colossians and us to the sufficiency of God. Paul writes, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, since we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.” (v. 3-4)
Where does this faith come from? “The hope laid up for you in heaven . . . the word of truth, the gospel…. strengthened with all power…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (v. 5, 11-12). God alone qualifies us to enter heavenly life and to meet the challenges of life.
We can all feel inadequate on occasion. Ever been around a group that has a skill you don’t have? Maybe you start comparing yourself to a neighbor or friend and feel deficient. Remember this, if they have adequacy in a certain area of life it is only because God has granted this skill or ability.
The same is true for you. You have adequacies and skills that others don’t have. God qualifies you. He allows you to serve neighbor in his Kingdom.
We must admit where we are inadequate. Before a holy God. Those secret sins that have our inner voice talking to us. The harm we have caused others. The compassion we do not show when we should. Your adequacy before God comes down to you and what you do. This is not the teaching of the apostles.
God’s formula is not Christ and the works of the Law. Rather, it is Christ alone. Verses 13-14 make this clear, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
When you hear that inner voice accusing you, hear another voice – the voice of Christ releasing you from your sins and drowning out the voice within. We have forgiveness in Christ alone and his finished work for us. In Christ we are completely qualified to share in the heavenly inheritance.
Gianna Jensen knows that well. She was born alive after a failed saline abortion. She weighed only two pounds, and the abortionist had to sign her birth certificate. She has cerebral palsy because of oxygen starvation during the attempted abortion. They said she would never sit up, crawl or walk. She does all three and even competes in marathons. She has addressed Congress and the British House of Commons.
As a child she was bullied and taunted. Others told her she was a burden on society. She didn’t buy into the hatred. Today, she speaks of her experience at venues across the world. She admits that she has more joy than she can express because of the obstacles God has enabled her to overcome.
For Gianna her adequacy is from God. Your adequacy is from God. God alone qualifies you to share in the inheritance of the saints. Be the adequate and qualified parent, grandparent, spouse, child, employee or employer He has called you to be.
Amen.