Tag: worship

The Door Requires More than Rapport

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(Luke 13:22-30)

You got a guy. Everyone’s got a guy. But for this job, you got a guy. He’s swooped in and saved the day in the past, so when the situation arrives and his services are needed once again, you reach out to him. You assure others that he’ll come through.

But then something came up. There was a mix-up of some sort. He could do it, then he couldn’t. He had the wrong day. He couldn’t make it. Something else came up and he flaked again. In the end, he didn’t come through, and you felt like you let everyone down because of it. You feel awful.

What was the problem? Why didn’t your guy come through? Why did he leave you hanging? In some scenarios there may be legitimate reasons. He had other work that was a priority. An emergency came up in his own personal life that didn’t allow him to help out at this time.

Or – and this is maybe the one that stings the most: you assumed more of the relationship than you should have. You thought you had a certain rapport or understanding, only to find out that you had the wrong idea. The relationship wasn’t what you thought it was, and you ended up getting burned by it, along with others in the process. 

That might be a good way of explaining the warning Jesus is giving us in his teaching in Luke 13. Most people, regardless of religious background or belief, assume they have a certain rapport with God, or the divine, a higher being – whatever label they want to attach to it. Even within Christianity this can be the case – people assume they have a certain rapport with Jesus. Jesus’ warning to us this morning, though, is that we had better be certain that the relationship with assume we have with Jesus is not one that’s going to leave us high and dry, discovering that we don’t actually have what we thought we had with him. 

The picture Jesus uses to describe that is a door. A narrow door. And if you are shocked by Jesus saying that door is not maybe as large as you expected it would be or you think it should be, then you’ll be even more shocked by the number of people who assume they’re on their way through that door, only to eventually find they are not able to enter it. Jesus warned, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (v.24). The two points that Jesus emphasizes ought to grab our attention: 1) make every effort, and 2) many… will try to enter and not be able to.

“Make every effort.” These words of Jesus are especially dangerous in this era of soundbites and snippets, clickbait captions, and replayed reels. No, it’s not that there is anything wrong with the words themselves; the problem is on our end. With as brief of attention spans as we’ve ever had, and in our rush to scroll to the next dopamine fix, we don’t have time for context. We don’t have time to actually read the article. We don’t have time to think critically for ourselves. So like everything else we consume media-wise, we take bite-size chunks out of Scripture and run with them. In this case, that can be deadly.

Because if we’re lazy and ignore the rest of Scripture, it sounds like Jesus is telling us that salvation is a matter of how hard you work. “Make every effort” is the soundbite that has prompted who-knows-how-many souls to conclude that getting into heaven is a matter of being good or trying harder or measuring up. As long as we do our best, God does the rest and we’ve got nothing to worry about. But if effort was really the issue, then Jesus really piles on the discouragement with his words that follow!

“Many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” So much for effort! So what, I just need to try harder than all the others who thought they were trying hard, only to find out they were shut out? I need to be more dedicated, more disciplined than they were in earning my salvation?

Hardly! If entering through the narrow door was a matter of your effort or mine, the door would be slammed shut to everyone. No amount of any effort on the part of anyone will ever measure up. It isn’t your effort. The Bible makes this very clear. It says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20). Effort is ruled out, because keeping the law doesn’t cut it – all God’s law does is expose how futile our efforts are!

So what “effort” is required, then? What does Jesus mean here? The effort required is to let go of yours and lean on his. And yes, that is hard work that requires great effort! That’s why Jesus describes the door as being narrow. And it is. We can’t widen it, and it doesn’t get bigger like that door off in the distance. From far away it looks tiny, but because we understand perspective, we naturally assume that just like any door, the closer we get to it, the bigger it appears to get.

Only Jesus says this door is not like that. It doesn’t get bigger. It stays small. It remains narrow. We can’t change that. So we’d better make sure we are addressing what can change to make sure we get in.

That’s why our church and school exist. Our goal is to get as many through that narrow door as possible. While the rest of the world is worried about stuff that doesn’t matter, we’re on a rescue mission, we’re sounding the alarm, we’re announcing exactly what is necessary and required to get through that narrow door. 

The answer? The one who’s talking in these verses from Luke: Jesus. But, it’s more than know just knowing Jesus. If a person thinks that knowledge of or familiarity with Jesus is sufficient, he has a warning. “Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’  (v. 25-27).

Yes, Jesus is the answer, but make sure that your relationship with him is more than just the good rapport that you think you have with him. Jesus isn’t interested in risking your salvation by assuming you’ve got the right take on religion or your relationship with him, so he tells us how it is. He tells us plainly what is required. Do not bother pitching to him why you think you’re good to go through that narrow door, at the risk of hearing those same words, “I don’t know you.” 

That assumed rapport that people have with Jesus can show up in so many ways. People think they intuitively know how Jesus would respond or speak in any given situation. “Jesus would this” or “Jesus wouldn’t that…” This is especially shocking when their opinions directly contradict his clear words in Scripture.

Take his warning today, for example. To anyone who feels that the concept of hell doesn’t line up with a loving God, listen to Jesus. Jesus is the one speaking the harsh words of warning today – don’t miss that! This is his warning! So those who think that “hell” isn’t in Jesus’ vocabulary, pay attention to exactly what he’s describing here. The Jesus people would like to think is giving all people a pass to get into heaven because he just has such a big heart is the the same Jesus right here warning that NOT EVERYONE GETS IN – IN FACT, MANY WON’T! 

But Jesus doesn’t just wanr us that many won’t make it into heaven; he also teaches us how we can.

On another occasion, Jesus described exactly what is necessary to get through the narrow door. With bellies full of bread, compliments of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000, some crowds had tracked Jesus down afterward. Wanting to know more about what he was teaching him, an individual asked Jesus what work was required for a person to be saved. “Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:29). He later clarified, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life” (v.40). Believe. And any “effort” required to believe is also God’s work, for the Holy Spirit is responsible for granting the gift of faith, too. See, the effort is really all God’s effort from start to finish.

But it’s not natural for us to believe that. What’s natural is to believe that God needs something from me. What’s natural – albeit in a fallen world – is for man to be well aware of his own shortcomings and be absolutely convinced that there must be some contribution on his part to work with God. That’s natural, and so yes, it takes real effort not to fall for that lie. It takes real effort to believe that through Jesus Christ, God alone has carried out all the effort needed to get us through the narrow door.

Speaking of which, have we stopped yet to marvel at the fact that there even is a door?!? When Adam & Eve first sinned (and each of us has compounded that sin every single day of our lives in our thoughts, words, and actions), they were banned from Eden. As a result of our own sin, we, too, should be banned, not from Eden, but from heaven itself. We have no business being there. Heaven is for holiness, and we have disqualified ourselves by our unholiness. 

But grace gave us a door. God’s love established that sinners would not be shut out of heaven for eternity. There is a way, and his name is Jesus. Through faith in him alone, that narrow door is large enough for every soul to be welcomed into heaven. 

And how wonderful it will be to rejoice with all of those who will be there with us – including those we may not have expected. Jesus reminded us, “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last” (Luke 13:29-30).

When faith in Jesus is a factor, anyone can have it. So when it isn’t a matter of our righteous living or our good lives, but faith in Jesus, yes, some good folks that we thought for sure would make it, will be left out. And others we thought to be miles away from heaven, will be right at the front of the line.

Only grace. Grace for you. Grace for me. Grace for everyone, who not only know Jesus, but know and believe that through faith in Jesus alone we are granted access through the narrow door into heaven. 

You got a guy, actually, you’ve much more than just a guy. You have a Savior. And heaven is yours through him.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Grace to Abound

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. As so many all over the world gather together in your house, they bring so many different experiences and emotions to worship. Nevertheless, we all have one need in common that unites us: grace. What we cannot find anywhere else apart from your Word and Sacrament, pour out in abundance to all. Let it not be subtle or hidden, but rather preached clearly and sung loudly for all to hear.

Since we could have no relationship with you apart from grace, nor would we have the guarantee of a place in heaven without it, let it abound. May it wash over hearts heavy with guilt and shame. Use your grace to stir up passion and zeal among believers to carry out your mission and ministry with relentless fervor. Through us all, flood the earth with your grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Families with Little Ones in Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Jesus told his disciples to let the little children come to him. Therefore, I thank you for young parents and families who faithfully attend worship. That season of life can be filled with more than enough hassle and headaches that would make it easy to stay home. Those parents recognize not only their own spiritual needs, but also the needs of their children. They are establishing healthy worship habits that can serve to bless their children for a lifetime.

When their Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings are filled with stress and frustration, and the pull to just stay home is strong, let your Spirit provide the determination they need to stay the course. And, when they do, and little ones are out of sorts or unsettled during worship, give other worshipers an extra measure of patience, and remind them how good and healthy it is to have little ones together in worship. At the same time, give parents the discernment to recognize when circumstances call for them to take a break if little ones have become a distraction for other worshipers, while also compelling other worshipers to lend a helping hand whenever possible. When we view worship not just as an opportunity to be served, but to serve, we’ll gladly welcome all worshipers – including children – and rejoice that they are present. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Treasure That Satisfies Your Heart

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(Luke 12:22-34)

What picture comes to mind for you? The default image that I equate with the word treasure is an old chest filled with gold coins (with pictures of pirates not far behind, of course). Maybe you think of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (with pictures of leprechauns not far behind, of course). Those of us who grew up with Scrooge McDuck cartoons probably have the image of him swimming through his pool of money in his bank vault. I think associating these types of pictures with the word treasure is pretty common… but I’m not sure they’re really that helpful as we consider Jesus’ words from Luke 12. That’s because “treasure” as Jesus is teaching about it here is not at all limited to money or gold coins.

What does it mean to treasure something? Jesus provides for us a pretty good understanding of what it means. We can find it out by connecting the dots if we take note of where the word heart shows up in his teaching in these verses.

The most familiar verse of this section is the last one, verse 34: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But don’t miss his other use of the word heart. Look again at verse 29: “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.” Can we replace the phrase “set your heart on” with the word “treasure”? So then, we could summarize what Jesus is saying this way: “Do not treasure what you will eat or drink. Whatever you treasure, that is what has your heart.” So I treasure what my heart is set on. Whatever receives my attention, my focus, my time, my energy – that is what I treasure. 

Another way to think about it? Treasure as Jesus defines it is really a matter of our personal values and priorities. With that understanding, we see that treasure can refer to just about anything under the sun. To what – or whom – do I attach the most value or worth? What is my greatest priority? The answer to those questions reveals where your treasure is. And, by extension, your heart.

Jesus highlighted two examples of what can fall into that category: food and clothing. “Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes’” (Luke 12:22-23). In these two examples, Jesus also reveals a simple indicator that will help us identify where our treasure is: worry.

In fact, we might be more used to this section of Jesus’ teaching being used to address our preoccupation with worry. These verses are very often referenced as much-needed reminders to us that worry is a waste of time because God will provide for all of our needs. That is absolutely true, and will always serve as an important takeaway from this teaching. But if we pull back the curtains on “worry” a little bit more, the connection between worry and treasure becomes even more clear.

What, after all, do you worry about? Do you stay up at night worrying if your neighbor’s landscaper will do a good job on his yard? Do you fret about the grocery store receiving its deliveries on time? Have you been beside yourself wondering about the new server hired at the local restaurant who seemed to be a bit behind in his training the last time you ate there? Are any of those things unimportant? No! Someone thinks that every one of those things is important.

But not you. Why? Because you don’t attach much value or worth to them. Because they aren’t priorities for you.

But you worry about your children. You worry about work. You worry about making ends meet financially. You worry about your health.

Why do you worry about such things? Because you attach value or worth to them. Because they are priorities for you. Because you treasure them. So if you’re struggling to get to the bottom of what you really treasure in life, ask yourself what you frequently worry about, and you’ll get closer and closer on your own personal treasure map to where X marks the spot for you.

But worry does more than just reveal where our misplaced treasures are; it also reveals a pretty embarrassing faith. After pointing out how God masterfully cares for nature in ways that never even cross our minds, Jesus arrives at a very pointed and convicting conclusion about us when we worry: we are “of little faith!” (v.28).

Ouch. Worry isn’t just a normal part of life. Worry isn’t just a harmless fixation on worst-case scenarios. Worry in any measure is a lack of faith. It is more a reflection of being a child of unbelief than it is a child of God. 

Think of it – faith itself is a gift of God, something undeserved, something we do nothing to receive, yet we even dishonor and dismiss God with that very gift when we worry. And, when allowed to continue unchecked and even to multiply, worry can result on unbelief. Jesus illustrated this with his parable of the sower and the seed when some of the seed was choked out by life’s worries.

So if there’s on thing we ought to worry about in life, we ought to worry about unchecked worry in our lives – it can lead to devastating results! Yet, while our own worry will help us identify what we treasure, and sadly, how lacking our faith is, we need more than that. A scolding and a slap on the wrist not just won’t cut it.

So here is something you’ll never need to worry about: how much God treasures you. Jesus may not have made a big, splashy statement to that effect in his teaching here in these verses, but that’s because it’s woven consistently throughout them. It’s a given. It’s the norm. It’s unquestionable and unchanging: God treasures you!

See how Jesus made that known when he used illustrations from nature about how God provides for the birds. “And how much more valuable you are than birds!” (v.24b). And, what’s more, God wasn’t reluctant or hesitant to call us into his kingdom and entrust it to us, but note how the Good Shepherd speaks tenderly to his sheep: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (v.32). 

Look also at Jesus’ own words about hearts and treasure once again. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v.34). If one’s heart is where there treasure is, then find all the validation and worth you could even need in the beauty of Christ’s incarnation.

God took on human flesh and bones. Why? Not just because he wanted to experience what it would be like. Not just so he could say, “been there, done that.” No, he became man to live with man, to dwell with man, to rescue and save man. His heart – quite literally, along with the rest of his physical body – arrived on this earth so that it could be where his treasure was: mankind. You. Me. All people.

No degree of worry you could ever express, no amount of treasuring the wrong things in your life, could ever forfeit or cancel out how much God treasures you in Christ. He literally brought his heart to live and dwell and be with the human beings he treasured so much!

What on earth could ever provide you with that measure of being valued or loved? Who on earth could ever treasure you that much? No one. Not even close. And if we are treasured that much by God, then he alone is worthy of having our hearts in return. Yes, we need the Jesus who treasures us beyond our comprehension to properly direct our hearts to what he would have us treasure. And he does just that. 

Jesus directs us to, “seek his kingdom” (v.31), and maybe we do well to bring Matthew’s emphasis into it, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” (6:33). What is Jesus telling us to do? Treasure his kingdom. Attach your value and worth to that. Make that your priority. 

The added bonus? There’s no worry attached to that treasure, because it’s guaranteed and never runs out. And it’s always at work. If you treasure your daily bread, which is silly because the Lord promises to provide it, you will always be plagued by worry. That’s the nature of treasuring the stuff of the world. You’ll keep worrying about it. Always. You won’t ever escape some degree of worry, and worst-case scenario, it can even choke out your faith. So seek his kingdom instead.

Eli Stanley Jones did just that with his life. The American missionary, known for his extensive mission work in India, suffered a stroke at the age of 88, which left him significantly impaired. Nevertheless, even though he was limited in sight, hearing, speech, and movement, he was able to dictate into a tape recorder his final book, called The Divine Yes.

It was in that book that he used a mountain climbing rope to illustrate his personal situation. Rope that is used for mountain climbing has incredibly strong strands in its center. So even as the outer layers of the rope rub and fray against the rock, the rope is still able to hold the climber because of its strong center. E. Stanley Jones said that to him, Christ represented that center strand. Even as his stroke damaged the outer strands of his life, his center, his heart, where Christ was, held strong.

He wrote, “Many of the strands of my life have been broken by this stroke, for I can no longer preach and I cannot write as my eyesight is so poor that I cannot see my own writing. I can only dictate into a tape recorder. The things that were dear to me, for the time being, are broken. The innermost strands belonging to the Kingdom and the Person of Jesus and my experience of him holds me as much as the total rope, for the innermost strands are the strongest. I need no outer props to hold up my faith, for my faith holds me” (E. Stanley Jones, The Divine Yes [Nashville: Abingdon, 1975], 64). 

Maybe that should be our picture that comes to mind when we think about the word treasure as Jesus teaches it: mountain climbing rope. And we don’t even have to be world-renowned evangelists for it to apply. We simply treasure Jesus and his kingdom above all else. We pursue the gospel and everything about its work in our lives and in the lives of others, and we won’t ever be let down. He will hold us fast. His treasure alone will truly satisfy our hearts.

Raised & Renewing

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(Colossians 3:1-11)

Significant past milestones can sometimes have an affect long after they happen. How much do the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution affect not only the United States, but the entire world still today? Events like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 had an immediate impact on people enlisting in the military. Once the smart phone was invented, life afterward will never be the same.

Such past events can impact the present for individuals, too. Listen to the stories of individuals who survived a life-threatening accident or injury talk about how much more they value life in the present. The sedentary heart-attack survivor becomes a regular exerciser. The at-risk diabetes diagnosis results in radical dietary changes. The person who had to file for bankruptcy rebounds by dramatically changing his financial habits and becomes wealthy enough to retire way ahead of time. Some event happened in the past that triggered ongoing changes ever since then and into the present day.

One such event took place in the past, 175 years ago. On May 26, 1850, in Milwaukee, WI, after several months of ongoing discussion about the possible formation of a new Lutheran synod in Wisconsin, the initial convention took place and the Wisconsin Synod was born. It was just a handful of pastors at the time, serving congregations around the Milwaukee area. While the majority of them shared connections from mission societies in Germany, they had not had very extensive theological training (and, although the WELS is often pegged as being too conservative or strict theologically, it is somewhat ironic that part of the original wish to establish another Lutheran synod was driven by the desire to be more tolerant than the existing Lutheran synods, who were perceived as being too theologically stiff and inflexible). That little Lutheran synod survived and this year we celebrate the 175 Anniversary of the WELS.

That past event is responsible for ongoing blessings ever since then and into the present. In our American landscape of Christianity, which continues to see churches and church bodies split and fracture as unbiblical teachings are tolerated, pursued, and even celebrated, God has blessed our church body with an even firmer theological confession than when we first began. And how does one track all of the other blessings continue to happen right up into the present? We are able to carry out ministry together as a church body that our individual congregations would be incapable of carrying out individually. We support a robust school system at the high school, college, and Seminary level, specifically in place to train our future pastors and teachers, ensuring faithful adherence to all of Scripture. We are in mission fields all over the world, both sending and supporting missionaries. We are in the middle of a plan to start 100 new churches over ten years right here in the U.S. While these are the significant priorities and focus of our WELS, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the total ministry we’ve carried out together. So that event that happened in the past, 175 years ago, is responsible for more blessings that we can count in the present day.

Another significant event took place in the past, sixty years ago. Noticing the growth taking place in and around La Mesa, our sister congregation, Reformation Lutheran Church, expanded its ministry sixty years ago to include the start of worship at Grossmont College in the very infant stages of our Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. The goal was to establish another congregation in East County that could share the responsibility of proclaiming that Jesus has been raised and we are being renewed. Shepherd of the Hills Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed in 1965 with nineteen communicants and met originally at Grossmont College in the Fine Arts Lecture Hall. The first service was conducted on March 21, 1965, by Pastor Lowell K. Smith, who was serving Reformation Lutheran Church, San Diego. 

That past event is responsible for ongoing blessings ever since then and into the present. How many total souls have come to know Jesus and the confidence of his grace, forgiveness, and salvation, through our congregation’s ministry? For how many Christmases, Good Fridays, and Easter Sundays have we eagerly preached the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus? How many students have received not just a good education, but a Jesus-centered education, and a deeper understanding of the Bible and its place in their lives, through our K-8 school? How many hearts have been brought closer to Jesus through our Bible studies and various ministries for sixty years? How many hands have been held at bedsides, easing our brothers and sisters in Christ across the threshold of their heavenly home? That event that happened in the past, 60 years ago, is responsible for more blessings than we can count in the present day.

But you’d have to go back further than 60 years, and even further back than 175 years, to get to the event that is at the heart of it all: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, 2,000 years ago. Without that event, there is no WELS. There is no Shepherd of the Hills. There would also be no letter from Paul to the Colossians, for he would have had nothing on which to base his letter to the them.

But Jesus did rise from the dead, and it is that event which allowed Paul to remind the Colossians and us, “you have been raised with Christ” (v.1). The Resurrection is the lynchpin of the Christian faith. It is everything. Jesus dying in our place and remaining dead would have been just another religion, but Jesus rising again and crushing death by proving to the world that it isn’t the end – That’s everything! And faith connects us to that powerful historical event so that Jesus’ resurrection is ours!

And, as a result of what has happened in the past, something is also happening in the present: you are “being renewed in knowledge in the image of [your] Creator” (v.10). Something is still happening. You are being renewed. Change is happening. In you. Right now. Continually. You are changing. You are becoming more like Christ. 

You have been raised. You are being renewed. That may be a simple way to explain why the church exists, to help with those two purposes. And, it might be worth noting that they fit well with the tag line that captures our mission: Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found. We seek the lost with the news of resurrection and the eternal life that is guaranteed with it. We serve the found as we are being renewed in our Christian living.

Paul ties together the past with the present by reminding his listeners that what happened in the past changes how they think, focus, and feel in the present. It changes our priorities. It changes what is important to us. It changes everything about our lives, including the behaviors and thoughts and sin that we now want to leave in the past. Those are the things Paul listed in verse five and following: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices…” (v.5-9). That’s the old you. That’s the you you’re striving to leave in the past. 

Right? You are putting those behaviors to death, right? Or… do you see a thing or two on the list that you’d prefer Paul didn’t include? Are you putting those things to death, or do you suppose that you can somehow allow a few of them to just linger harmlessly? Do you imagine you can return to this or that sin from time to time, as long as it isn’t all the time? Do you pretend that you’re in control of whatever belongs to your sinful nature just because you don’t give in to it as much as someone else? Do you have a part-time relationship with something from Paul’s list, imagining that having a mistress won’t negatively impact your relationship with Christ?

“Put to death” is strong language! Think in terms of the DNR on the wrists and rooms of hospital patients – Do not resuscitate! Kill sin and put it behind you. Be done with it. Paul emphasizes how serious God is about putting sin to death by reminding us of what will happen regarding everything on that list: “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming” (v.6). An on-the-side relationship with anything Paul calls us to put to death won’t cut it. We can’t be raised to life while also welcoming and allowing sin to live and breathe and exist in our lives. Wrath – that alone is what awaits such sin. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise. In fact, speaking of thinking, Paul encourages an entirely different way of thinking. 

The life God had in mind when he raised us to faith in Christ includes this kind of thinking: “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (v1b-2). Our hearts and minds are focused in a different direction after we’ve been raised. We’re being renewed to dial into things above, spiritual things, eternal things, salvation things.

This is so essential, first and foremost, because it takes us back again and again to the past event that reminds us of who we are in the present. Jesus’ resurrection not only guarantees my victory over that list of sins that Paul says “do not resuscitate”, but also lines my heart and mind up with the heart and mind of Christ. The Christian life isn’t just a matter of putting the bad behavior behind you, of having “taken off your old self with its practices,” but also a matter of “put[ting] on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (v.10). It’s remembering that you are dressed with baptismal righteousness of Christ. You are new and you are being renewed – because that’s what it means that you were raised. Some events happened in the past that triggered ongoing changes in the present.

There’s more. That past event which resulted in ongoing changes in the present also yields future results. In many of the health scenarios mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, the future results include an extended life or improved quality of life. Financially the past bankruptcy experience that triggered changes in managing finances resulted in an early retirement. 

Jesus being raised in the past and your ongoing renewal in the present promise to yield an amazing future result. Paul alluded to it: “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (v.3-4). You will appear with Christ in glory! That’s the future that is in store – a glory that you better believe will blow any worldly concept of glory or acclaim out of the water. It won’t even be close! The glory waiting for you when Jesus returns, because of what Jesus did for you and what Jesus is doing in you, will surpass everything you could ever think or imagine! 

What a great way to celebrate sixty years – by getting back to the roots of why our congregation was established in the first place.

May it also rekindle our zeal and desire to get back to the basics: proclaiming Jesus raised and Jesus still renewing, so that many more will be ready for Jesus’ returning! 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Renew and Refresh Me Through Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Over the course of the week, my attention and focus can so easily sway and spin like a weathervane in a storm. My devotions and prayers are a priority one day and an afterthought the next. The good and noble intentions I have as I leave your house each week fizzle and are forgotten as the week unfolds.

So again I gather with my church family in your house, not to eagerly present some proud report of all that I have done for your kingdom this week, but as a beggar, asking yet again for mercy and forgiveness. Hear my prayers again and grant me what I seek and need more than anything else: the peace and rest that go hand-in-hand with your grace and absolution. Then, having been renewed and refreshed, send me out again this week to carry out my calling as your blessed and forgiven child, and grant me the focus and discipline to follow through and carry out your will.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Special Occasions in Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. At times, the weekly blessing of gathering in your presence with fellow believers is amplified even more by the celebration of special milestones. What a joy it is to highlight festivals from church history, recognize special observances in the church year, and celebrate ministry milestones! Thank you for these and all memorable occasions and for the chance to draw attention to them through our worship. They often provide us with welcome variety in worship and additional ways to express our gratitude. Thank you for the gifts you’ve given to those who plan special services like these to edify and build up so many. Bless all such occasions with a Christ-centered focus that leaves worshipers continually longing to rejoice in the Lord!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Focus on My Prayers in Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we set aside this day of Sabbath, we do so to engage with you together in worship. There you speak to us through your Word, guiding and directing us, but also convicting and comforting us through your law and gospel. In doing so, you feed our faith.

One of the natural responses of a healthy faith is to speak to you in prayer. Worship provides us with many opportunities to bring our requests and intercessions to you in prayer, and to thank and praise you as well. Let me be particularly mindful of my prayers this morning, focusing on the words being spoken while also expressing them with the confident faith that you are listening and will answer according to your rich grace. Let my worship set the tone for a prayer-filled week, regularly tapping into the privilege of talking to you and bringing before you all that is on my mind and heart.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Blessing of Hymns and Songs in Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we worship together with others, we have the opportunity to proclaim your promises and your saving acts through music and song. Thank you for the contributions of the skilled writers and composers of each generation who have gone before us and left their mark on the church. Their timeless hymns, musical arrangements, and choral pieces have edified and blessed believers in corporate worship and in personal reflection for ages. 

Let those hymns which have stood the test of time not be buried and forgotten in our generation. Continue to raise up in your church those with the musical gifts and abilities to put your Word to song, not only to move and inspire, but also to teach and instruct. Guide them to craft theologically strong and substantive hymns and songs that will feed your flock for generations to come. Let the music of worship consist of such more than catchy tunes; let it nourish souls and satisfy spirits with the timeless touch of your gracious gospel.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

The Needed Privilege of the Public Ministry

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(Luke 10:1-12, 16-20)

You never seem to have enough. Of what? While the answers may differ, none of us would have too much trouble identifying something in our lives that seems to be lacking; some area where we don’t have enough. We don’t have enough hours in the day to get it all done. We don’t have enough time together. We don’t get enough sleep. We don’t have enough money. We don’t get scheduled for enough hours at work. We don’t have enough gas, enough time off, enough rain, enough… the list goes on. We know the feeling, whether our feeling that we don’t have enough is backed by data or merely based on our perception. As ironic as it is for us who live in the country with the world’s largest economy, we’re not strangers to the feeling of not having enough,

But maybe that shouldn’t surprise us. After all, doesn’t it seem like the Lord delights in dealing with perceived deficiencies, in our not having enough? We have two very clear commands in Scripture: to trust God to provide and to be content. Each of these is put to the test when under perceived deficiencies, when it seems there isn’t enough of something. In other words, it isn’t as difficult to trust that God will provide when I have more money than I know what to do with, right? And doesn’t contentment seem to be much easier to achieve when I have plenty and am more than satisfied in every area of life? 

Therefore, when it appears that we don’t have enough of something, does God allow that to happen so frequently in our lives because, well… we’re half right? Maybe there is something we need more of?

Yes… but it isn’t what we think; instead, what we need more of is trust and turning to God. So he allows us to go without so that we look less within and more to him. Then, when we do just that, he shows himself to be the trustworthy God he has always claimed to be, delivering on his promise to provide whatever we need.

Jesus pointed to something that was lacking during his ministry, something there wasn’t enough of. What is that “something,” or better “someone”? Workers. People dedicating their lives to the work of the church, which we refer to today as the public ministry. Jesus was saying that there weren’t enough church workers in his day.

Not much has changed in over 2,000 years, has it? It appears we’re still short of workers for the harvest. We currently have around 120 pastoral vacancies and about the same number of teacher vacancies in our church body (WELS). Now, not all of those represent a single congregation without a pastor or school without a teacher; some have multiple pastors and are functioning with fewer than are ideal, as are schools short on teachers. But regardless, they are not at the full capacity they feel they need to carry out their ministry.

More important than the actual number of how short our churches and schools are is the solution to the shortfall. How would Jesus have us address this shortfall? He gives two pretty clear directives: “Ask” and “Go!”  

When you ask someone for something, it demonstrates two things. First, it shows you have been giving thought to whatever the topic of your request is. When we ask the Lord to send out workers, it demonstrates our concern for the important work of his church, the need to flood the earth with the good news of the gospel. To ask for workers shows the Lord that he and his church are on our hearts and minds. Second, it shows that we know he is the One who can do something about it. We don’t have to come up with clever gimmicks or try to make ministry appeal to others with attraction marketing. The Lord sends the workers. He just wants us to ask him.

Then immediately after the invitation to ask for workers, what does Jesus do? He sends out the seventy-two, telling them, “Go!” So when we ask, as the Lord directs us to, we also have to be open to being an answer, as the seventy-two were. If all of God’s people only ask the Lord of the harvest for workers, while at the same time avoiding any consideration of the call into ministry, there would be no workers! There would be no answers to the asking. So be open to both the asking and the answering, the praying for the workers and potentially playing the part of a worker.

Recall in the last post in this series, we had the opportunity to see what it looks like when one answers the call to go. While we focused on how undivided attention means complete commitment, we saw what that looked like in the example of Elisha. I want to return back to that incident to highlight two aspects of Elisha’s behavior that reflected that his heart was in the right place for public ministry. 

First, he cared about people. Yes, he went back to say goodbye to his parents. But he didn’t stop there. He threw a big party with a steak dinner for everyone! He cared about others and serving them – sacrificing his own plowing equipment and oxen in the process – which leads to his second ideal attribute for ministry: he trusted the Lord to provide.

I don’t know about you, but if I was asked out of the blue to make a big life change like that, facing all kinds of uncertainties, one thing I would want to make sure of is that I had enough in my piggy bank to ride out the rough times. Couldn’t Elisha have sold the plowing equipment and oxen and at least had a little financial cushion in his pockets as he went on his way into the unknown? Instead, Elisha made a clean break from that chapter of his life and followed God’s call, completely trusting that God would provide for him. He cared for people and he trusted in God’s providence. 

It has been my own personal experience that God often uses the one to deliver on the other. It shouldn’t just be on anniversaries or special occasions that a pastor gets to express his gratitude, so I am grateful for the care my congregation provides for my family and me. We have been blessed through our congregation’s generosity our whole time serving at Shepherd of the Hills. A pastor gets to take care of God’s people, and God uses his people to take care of their pastor. It really is a beautiful thing, and it’s right in line with the words Jesus spoke this morning. 

That kind of care allows the called worker to keep the main thing the main thing. Jesus made sure the seventy-two didn’t lose sight of that upon their return. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name’” (v.17). They were like the kid in the world of superheroes who just figured out his superpower – only this wasn’t made up; this was real power they had been given to even put demons in their place!

Jesus then validated their abilities, reminding them that demons were real, in service to the very real Satan whom Jesus himself had seen “fall like lightning from heaven” (v.18). Then, Jesus raised the bar and foreshadowed more of the amazing abilities he would give them as they served in his name, along with the promise of safekeeping. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (v.19). 

Yet even in light of all this power and authority they would be wielding as they went out with the Word, none of it was to be the ultimate source of their joy. That ALWAYS must find its foundation elsewhere. Jesus made it clear where. “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v.20).

I can also relate to Jesus’ final words in these verses. Do you what I love about getting to be a pastor? My name is written in heaven. Is it written in heaven because I’m a pastor? Is God somehow especially pleased that I chose this path over any other? Of course not. He is no more pleased with this path than he is with the faithful gas station clerk. One is not better in his eyes.

But, every single day I get to spend time in the Word, and it reminds me that my name is written in heaven. And no, one doesn’t have to be a pastor to spend time in the Word every day to find that out. But it is just one of the many perks of the job that you take home a paycheck for reading the Bible, teaching the Bible, preaching the Bible, and studying the Bible with others. It’s a sweet gig!

I began this post by pointing out how often we don’t seem to have enough. But I have to conclude with the reminder that God also promises to provide more than we can even ask for. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21). Do you suppose this promise is limited to any one area of life, or could it be applied to workers for the harvest, too? Is God able to fill all of the current vacancies in our church body with pastors and teachers? Could he exceed that by providing even more than necessary?

Yes, in fact that was the case when I graduated from the Seminary. In contrast to not having enough pastors at that time, the concern was about not having enough spots for all the soon-to-be pastors. This need prompted the class ahead of me to come up with a plan for tent ministry, or bi-vocational ministry. While that class didn’t end up needing to utilize that plan, as all of the graduates were assigned to pastor congregations, my class did have an opportunity. And in fact, I was one of the two graduates assigned to a tent ministry mission field in Tucson, AZ. That is where I served for three years prior to arriving at Shepherd of the Hills.

So yes, God can provide more workers that we can imagine. Yet, rather than thinking in terms of shortages or surpluses, let’s simply be confident that the Lord will provide exactly what is needed. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Rest assured, this applies to called workers, too.

In fact, that is exactly what Jesus promises regarding the plentiful harvest and few workers, when he invites us to pray, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2). From our vantage point, it appears we’re short on workers, we don’t appear to have enough of something. So what do we do? Turn to God in prayer. Ask. And, while asking, consider the ways we can also go and be an answer to that prayer.