Sermon Oct. 3-4, 2026

Title: By the fruit of forgiveness, Christ overcomes the world!
Text: Matthew 21:33-46

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33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.

In 2007 a remarkable thing happened. A brand-new Plymouth Belvedere that was buried in a vault in the ground in 1957 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood was unearthed. 50 years after it was buried the ground was moved away from the top and the concrete slabs that entombed the car were removed. A crane lifted the car in celebration of Oklahoma’s Centennial, though the result that emerged was not what was expected when the car was first buried. 50 years of water underground had turned a once new 1957 Plymouth into a pile of rust.

Not even the key for the car’s ignition survived fifty years under ground and under water!

So too the things of this world; what we hope to preserve in this life will be destroyed but what God changes by his word of truth will be preserved by his work for eternity!

Following our lesson last week where the Chief Priests and elders questioned Jesus’ authority and which ultimately caused Jesus to ask them this question; “John’s baptism was from God or man?”

“I don’t know” was their reply fearing both Jesus and the people.

So too Jesus also refused to tell them where his authority came from.

Today we see also Christ’s continued teaching to the Chief Priests and Elders with his use of parables. And we know that a parable is a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.

Jesus here begins with an image of a vineyard, life, fruit, and sustenance.

You can imagine a beautiful vineyard contained within a fenced [walled area] and all within the vineyard is the masters, having been leased to the tenants to tend and produce fruit.

So also, this world that God created and gave to the children of Israel who were to manage his creation and produce fruit.

34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

As the harvest approaches the master sends servants to get what is His. But they are mistreated, beat, stoned, and one is killed.

The message of John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees was to:

- Bear fruit in keeping with repentance,
- Turn away from sin, and to receive the washing of repentance in the baptism that he offered.
- And that this all points forward to the one that was to come whose sandal John was not worthy to untie.

Those who study the Law and the Prophets should have connected this to the Book of Isaiah, but they had hardened their hearts and refused to hear.

John was sent to prepare the way. He ultimately was killed.

The question asked last week by Jesus in our gospel lesson:

25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” - put the Chief Priests and Elders on notice.

Jesus simply asks them, do you trust God or man?
Their answer was a decisive, “We don’t know,” coming out of both fear for Jesus and the crowds.

36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
Our Lord here shows the Chief Priests and Elders that they too acted like the tenants in the parable, treating the servants sent from God as despised and rejected.

They were caretakers of the Lord’s vineyard and they have fallen short.

37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son … they said to themselves,

‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’

It is no coincidence that the tenants killed the son for in keeping with the parable Jesus was showing the type of death he too would suffer.

39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Jesus was led outside the city gates where the prisoners were taken to a small hill called Golgotha to be crucified, so the image of the master’s son being thrown out of the vineyard parallels the Lord’s own rejection and so to those who name the name of Christ, whether Apostle, whether King, or just simply you and me.

So Jesus asks this question …

40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” What will he do to those who have been given the responsibility to care for all that is the masters?

We’ll, the Chief Priests and Elders answer for themselves:

41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

The point is; that those who had been given the vineyard as tenants to care for the master’s property thought more of the property for themselves than the master.

Even His son they killed. The analogy of heaven and hell is a good one for Chief Priests and Elders desired a heaven apart from Christ and a heaven apart from Christ … is hell.

43 Therefore [Jesus says] I tell you; the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

A baptism of repentance with John has become a baptism of forgiveness in Christ. Physical Israel, those born of the flesh, has given way to Spiritual Israel, those born of the Spirit, born again, born anew and born from above.

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:5-7

By the fruit of forgiveness, Christ has overcome the world!
You dear friends, who have been baptized, who have been born of the Spirit, who have been born from above, have been given the Kingdom.

You have been marked as Christ’s, and redeemed by him.

He has washed you clean and you have been given the Vineyard and heaven is your home and God by his Spirit, continues to work in you and me to bear fruit for his Kingdom!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon Sept. 26-27, 2026

Title: The question and the answer are Christ’s!
Text: Matthew 21:23-27

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24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?”

Who gave you this authority? This is the questioned asked of Jesus.
By what authority are you doing these things?

Authority has to come from some place.

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Rom. 13:1

God rules his church and has given the church the authority to call pastors to preach and teach his word and to administer his gifts. We cannot claim this authority by ourselves but it is given by God through the working of the Holy Spirit sent on the Day of Pentecost through the church.
Authority is given to the church by God in this Kingdom of grace. But God also works in the Kingdom of the world, through his authority, given to governments and elected officials, and in Luther’s day, through princes, emperors and magistrates to keep the peace and care for the people.

In 1981, 69 days into his presidency Ronald Reagan was shot.

In the aftermath and confusion there was a famous miscalculation by Alexander Haig, Reagan’s Secretary of State. He claimed, wrongly that – he was in charge of the government. Maybe it was just the inclination of a former general who had once been in charge, or as has been suggested, there was much jockeying for power between those in the cabinet. To this Defense Secretary, Casper Weinberger said: “He’s wrong! He doesn’t have such authority,” President Reagan eventually signed over authority to George Bush his vice President, because he had the authority to do so.

During the pandemic a few years ago, there was also quite a few times when authority has been questioned.

Who has the authority and power? The Governor or the Legislature; the States or the Federal Government; the courts that determine or the people that elect?

At times power is claimed.
And other times power is questioned.

When I first became Pastor of Peace, I was at a Red Wings game with my friend Pastor, Paul Monson and jokingly said, “I’m thankful that the Lord allows me to play the part of pastor at Peace.”
To which Pastor Monson quickly said,

“Russ, you are the pastor of Peace!”

Jesus replies to the question of his authority with a question of his own because He knows from where His authority comes.

24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come?

From heaven or from man?”

This gets to the chief priests and elders as they know …

“If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

A least Secretary Alexander Haig was man enough to take a stand in time of crisis even if he was wrong and misguided, while the chief priests and elders both show their fear of Jesus and the crowds.

Jesus has authority and Jesus gives authority.

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee … 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:16-20

In John’s gospel, Jesus gave authority to the disciples who would build the church through Christ’s means of word and sacrament, proclamation and gift.

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:21-23

Article VII: Of the Augsburg Confession, concerning the Church says:

1] Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

2] And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and 3] the administration of the Sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions, such as, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. 4] As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4:5-6.

But where is the church?

Is it in a boat on a lake communing with nature and thinking about God and his majesty? No.
Is it in the better home and living provided for your family? No.
Is it where the children want to go because they have fun and feel welcome? No.
It is where Christ is and where his gifts are, and where forgiveness of sins is found in His name. Yes!
It is here … at Peace Lutheran Church and countless churches around the world where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are rightly administered according to Christ’s institution.

As both saint and sinner the devil is quick to point your reason and understanding to other things. It happens to me too.

Yes, the sporting events are back, and school has resumed, and many other activities like music and theatre that we enjoy can distract us from the one thing needful, and that is the hearing of God’s word of comfort and mercy and receiving of his gifts for the forgiveness of our sins.

Even the turmoil of Covid 19 and the political battles that rage on and on and on, which bringing joy or fear for us in one outcome or the other, cannot comfort us with the blessings the church gives in Christ’s forgiveness and gifts. Even when we lose in the world we win in Christ!

God works through these means of grace, to bring about his will.
It is he who has the authority to forgive and retain sins and it is given to His church on earth for your benefit.

The blessed absolution you hear from those who have been given the authority from God through the church’s call to stand in the stead and by the command of Christ, is the authority that pastor’s bear as under shepherds in Christ’s church.

It is not authority claimed but authority given for the wellbeing of God’s people.

Our epistle reading gives us this charge:

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Phil 2:1-2

Friends, just like Saint Paul, you too have received your forgiveness from the one who has authority to forgive, Jesus Christ our Lord. The comfort and peace of Christ and abide with you all!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon Sept. 19-20, 2026 - Vicar Matthew Rich

Sermon - Vicar Matthew Rich

Title: Let us receive Jesus gladly!
Text: Matt. 20:1-16

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13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong.
15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Let us receive Jesus gladly! The sermon text is from Matthew chapter 20 verses 14 through 16.
Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? So the last will be first and the first last. ESV

That's not fair!

This would seem to be a common way to react to this parable. We all expect to be paid for the time that we put in at work, but we would not expect someone to be paid the same for putting in less time for the same work. The world is full of numerous examples of this. Perhaps you and a work colleague are tasked with the same project, and you have to put in the majority of the time, but your pay is the same. Or you have a business partner who doesn't share the same skill set as you. You have been more productive but still have to split the profit. Maybe you have taken care of a loved one or friend for years, and at their passing, find out that their estate has been shared with those who never came to visit or to help with things.

Our response is sometimes like the response of the older son in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 verses 27 through 30.

The servant was speaking to the older son...
And he said to him, your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, look, these many years I have served you and never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. ESV

The older sons response to the celebration of his brother safely returning home and his father's forgiveness was to feel that he was being treated unfairly.
But what about the person that is giving? Are they not allowed to do what they choose with what belongs to them? Or do we begrudge their generosity? Sometimes we like to make ourselves the center of their generosity instead of giving thanks for the gift and the one giving.

God the father, in his love and mercy for his creation gave his only son for the Redemption of mankind.
In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus states,
“for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” ESV 16

Jesus spoke these words as a part of a reply to the Pharisee named Nicodemus. Nicodemus's question was "how can these things be?" in reference to being born of water in the spirit. Was Jesus really proclaiming that all who believe in him would have their sin forgiven through faith?
John writes in his gospel in the first chapter

He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ESV 11-13
So, at what hour were you hired or brought into the vineyard? For many of us, the Lord marked and redeemed us in our baptism when we were infants. We had no interview; we were just a lost and condemned soul in need of the life-saving Gospel having our sins washed away by the water and the word.

Maybe you were older and heard the gospel proclaimed when you visited a church or were invited to Vacation Bible School. Or possibly someone you know simply shared a gospel message with you in a conversation or during a time of trouble. We had no qualifications, we certainly didn't deserve the job, we didn't deserve to be paid except for the wages of sin which we received in the fall, which is death! None of us were aware that we were being hired, but through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus called and redeemed us.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3.
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks are under sin, as it is written; “none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless: no one does good, not even one.” ESV 9-12

But being hired or working in this Vineyard is different. The work has been done for us. We don't labor for our own salvation, Christ has paid the price for our sins. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he has atoned for the sin of the world. And by the grace of the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit has given us new life through faith in Christ Jesus.

As it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8-9,
for by Grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. ESV

So we receive that which we do not deserve, the work that we are unable to do has been done for us, and the faith to believe all of this has been given to us as a gift!

Then let us receive it gladly!
How do we receive this gift?

It is through the Grace of God, trusting in Christ’s obedience to the father that he is the once and for all sacrifice for the sin of the world. And having received this gift of faith in Christ Jesus, let us rejoice with fellow Believers for the Forgiveness of sins and the eternal life that has been given to us.
Let's strengthen and build each other up in faith through the means that God himself has provided for us. Let us receive his Word through the proclamation of the Gospel. We can receive the Forgiveness of sins that is ours through his true body and blood that is received at his table. We can continue to strengthen our faith through the study of his written Word. We should continue in prayer and supplication for the entire body of Christ.

In our vocations in life, as a parent, a grandparent, child or sibling let us continue to build each other up in Christ. Daily at our jobs or in our homes, let's always be ready to share the Good News about the gift that has been given to us.

Do not look down on someone for the amount of time since they have received the gift of faith, instead let us look up and give thanks to the one who is the author of that faith.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 15:7

Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. ESV

When we have been brought into the vineyard does not matter. We are all sinners in need of forgiveness. None of us were able to save ourselves, even if we are the hardest of workers Christ chose us, so that those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.

As Sons and Daughters of the Most High God, we should daily give thanks to our Heavenly father, that he graciously keeps us both night and day. And that the works of the Holy Spirit keep us in the work that was accomplished by Christ.

Some Christians have lifelong stories of going to church, Vacation Bible School, confirmation classes and a life full of service to Christ. Other Christians were active in their youth fell away for a while but heard the Lord's call and returned to the fold. Some like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, had never heard of or it was near the end of their life before they received that Gospel message. But thanks be to God that each has become a child of God, all of them receiving the gift of faith that brings forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.

Not all of us in the body of Christ have the same talent or gifts. Each has been given their own part in the body of Christ. The timing and use of our gifts are for God's glory. We may not understand or even be reluctant to use them, but God always knows the right time and right place.

We want to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ to use those God-given talents and gifts to the glory of God. That encouragement could be attending a Bible study or devotional time, it could be helping to pack up a wild bunch of children on a Sunday morning and getting them to church. Maybe it's just the calm, firm commitment of being at worship service weekly. Sometimes it's the four, five, six or seven-year-olds answering the question Pastor asked in the children's message. No matter where the encouragement comes from, it is for the edification of the church.

We give thanks to God, The Giver of all good things. They are his gifts.

He gave his only son, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That through faith in his victory over sin, death, and the devil, we might share an eternal life with him.

As we continue in the task given to each of us, let us, with the help from the Holy Spirit, keep our eyes focused on Jesus and his atonement so that all could receive the saving faith.

Jesus gave this command at the end of the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 28.
Go therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold I am with you always, to the end of the age. ESV 19-20

There was no age restriction involved in any way, sharing or receiving! Jesus was speaking to the eleven disciples that were with him at that time, and he is speaking it to us today.

People here at Peace have been called to serve in many ways. Some have been called to serve as Elders, to assist Pastor in worship service and distributing communion. Others as teachers, educating the children at Sunday school or VBS. Many others serve by beautifying, repairing or cleaning the building , property, the Altar or other important parts of the church. And still others serve in quiet parts of the congregation, through prayer, phone calls and visiting, and so many other areas of need. Even some of the children serve as they assist the elders by collecting attendance sheets after the end of service.
Let each of us gladly use our talents and gifts to the glory of God. I see and hear much of this firsthand, as many of you have been praying for me, and have given me many words of encouragement. The Lord continues to strengthen me through these things as I prepare to serve Christ in a new way. Jesus taught us that all the law and the prophets rested on two Commandments. The first being, love your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all of your mind, and the second, love your neighbor as yourself. The law and the prophets point us to Christ through the Holy Spirit. May God continue to strengthen each of us through his Holy Spirit in faith and in service to one another.

We know through the law that we do not measure up to God's requirements, we all fall short, and at times we are the ones grumbling about the gift that we have received. Instead of focusing on God and His gift, we let the concerns of this world draw us away from Jesus. We lose focus on the forgiveness that was one for us on the cross on Calvary, that Jesus purchased us with his own blood, so that we may be his own.

So, whether we are first into the vineyard or the last one into it, we are Christ's. The amount of time does not matter. Take what belongs to you and go! I choose to give to the last worker as I give to you! Receiving this gift is the work of the Holy Spirit pointing us to Christ and his victory on the cross.
Jesus invited us into the vineyard with these words spoken in the gospel of Matthew Chapter 11,
“come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ESV 28-30

Let us repent of our grumbling, let us love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind. Let us love our neighbors as ourselves.

Receive the Forgiveness that is ours through Our Risen Lord! He paid the total price for the sin of mankind, to all he has called to be his own. We can rejoice in the grace, mercy and peace that is ours through his all-sufficient sacrifice on the cross and gladly receive the gift of his salvation.
This is surely His to give!

But thanks be to God who gives us Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:57 ESV

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit amen.

Sermon Sept. 13, 2026

Title: Jesus is forgiveness and mercy over and over again!
Text: Matt. 18:21-35

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21 Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

You remember the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens, A Christmas Carol? He was a man of means and one who held onto what he had in this life with little or no love for those around him. He had no  interest in Christmas, Bah Humbug! and were it not for the visits of the ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas yet to come he would have remained in his state of miserly misery until death closed his dark eyes and he returned - in the sleep of death - to the earth awaiting the final yet to come visit without hope, without peace and without comfort in his life.

We too are all born Scrooge like in our sinful state and destined to die with the idols we cling to in this life left behind for others, while we await the judgment to come.

But in the Christ of Christmas, there is a marvelous change that takes place whereby we are made new and hope, peace and comfort are given freely in an eternity yet to come - that never ends.

“That is the mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: Luther writes, wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied Himself of His righteousness that He might clothe us with it, and fill us with it.

And He has taken our evils upon Himself that He might deliver us from them [and] in the same manner as He grieved and suffered in our sins … we rejoice and glory in His righteousness.”

–Martin Luther, Werke (Weimar, 1883), 5: 608.

In the gospel reading for today Peter asks Jesus a probing question.

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”

It’s easy to see that Peter believes himself to be quite generous in his view of forgiveness. Maybe even thinking that at some point certainly after seven times, I’ll be able to justly not forgive my brother and end this nonsense.

To this Jesus replies:

“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

It is not the Lord’s intent to show a definite number of times where forgiveness is to be delivered but that for God’s people who have been forgiven by grace, may understand that the content of their hearts should contain … only God given love and forgiveness.

But for we who are Christians, saved by the mercy and grace of our Lord, we live daily within that tension of being both saint and sinner. Both, brought forth in iniquity, and conceived in sin as Psalm 51:5 reminds us, yet justified by faith, receiving God’s peace through Christ’s work by the power of the Holy Spirit as St. Paul writes in Romans 5:1.

We have received in essence, the favor of God on account of Christ through this blessed exchange, our sin … for Christ’s righteousness.

“The idea is not simply that we have been forgiven, and therefore ought to forgive [others], but that God Himself, in Christ, has forgiven us, and therefore our debt is truly incalculable.

No matter how much has been done against us, it is little compared with the offense we have thrown in the face of our Lord.

Take for example the parable our Lord tells today in the Gospel:

The servant owes his master 10,000 talents.
This is a large sum.

1 denarii = a day’s wage
1 Talent = a hundred days wages
10,000 Talents = you are in big trouble!

For you and me when we think of billion dollars. It is a bit beyond comprehension.

$100, 1000, 100,000, 1,000,000, 100,000,000, 1,000,000,000, it’s beyond what we can even think or imagine in reality … the sum is that great.

Now, you are called in to the King and he gives you your debt. Let’s say it is $100,000,000. What do you do? If you are like me, you can’t pay. Even if you sell everything you have at the best possible price, your home, your stuff, and at the most favorable time and price you can’t even cover 1/100 of the debt.

So you go to the King, which in our case might be the IRS – it’s a joke - and you say as you fall on your knees:

“have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.”
You know you can’t … and you’re just pleading for mercy.

And this is the part of the story that won’t pertain to you or me,

27 And out of pity for him [the IRS] released him and forgave him the debt.

But Jesus says, in light of the great debt and the Lord’s great mercy, you and me and the servant in the parable are forgiven!

If we know anything of [our own] forgiveness, if we have glimpsed anything of the magnitude of [our own sin] and the debt we owe to God … our forgiveness of others will not seem to be such a large leap.”

–D.A. Carson, Love in Hard Places (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002), 80-1.

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. … not even one.” Rom.3

The truth is that as sinners we have a very high view of self and a very low of sin. To that end, the indebtedness that we owe to Christ for our rescue is devalued and you either see your sin as really not all that bad or Christ’s forgiveness and rescue as really not all that good or necessary.

The servant in the parable’s joy didn’t last very long.

When he was confronted with a fellow servant who owed him 1/10,000 of the debt he himself had owed and had just been forgiven of, he showed no mercy to him and had him put in prison until he could pay.

What should he have done?

Well, he should have forgiven the debt, bought him the big Christmas Turkey in the window, picked Tiny Tim up in his arms and proclaimed,

“God bless us, everyone!”

As sinners, we too can be Scrooge like with grace. We expect it for our own wrongs but are stingy and hell bent at times when doling it out.

But, apart from God’s action and working, every one of us would remain, dead in trespass and sin. And like Lazarus who was unable to free himself from the bonds of sin, death, and the tomb, wrapped in grave cloths and dead until the voice of Jesus called, “Lazarus, come out!”
We too would remain entombed in our own sin, dead to God, forever separated from the love of Christ found only in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christ’s mercy for we who deserve death is a nothing but pure gift.

Even one sin would separate us from the love of God in Christ, not to mention the 10,000 talents, worth of sins and more that we have been forgiven of!

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,

This 5th petition in the Lord’s Prayer has real significance for you and me in how we see sin - our sin - and how we see the Lord’s forgiveness and grace.

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

God bountiful mercy is given us for the sake of Jesus, who paid the debt of our sin.

He has [freed] us from the imprisonment we deserve and has forgiven the debt.

Therefore, we have the obligation of gratitude resting upon us that we gladly forgive our fellow-men what they have sinned against us.
Even if such a [sin] great in the sight of men, it cannot come into consideration in comparison with the debt which God has mercifully forgiven [you and me].

Luther – Kretzmann NT pg. 103

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

You have been set free from eternal death may the love of Christ live freely in each one of us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon Sept. 5-6, 2026

Title: Seeing Jesus through the eyes of faith!
Matt. 18:1-20

Facebook live: Seeing Jesus through the eyes of faith!

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Some years ago, after I finished one of our Sunday services, I was standing in the Narthex greeting the people by the door as they came out of church. It was a time of joy and laughter; hugs and handshakes as was the norm for that time. As I stood there, little four-year-old Atarra Rich walked out, looked at me, waved and said, “Hi Jesus!”

It’s funny. I laughed as did those who heard it. But in reality Atarra didn’t see me – as Russ, or even Pastor Tkac.

In the robe and stole she saw the one called to be Christ’s under shepherd, here at Peace.

She saw Jesus and heard his word proclaimed, not in my person but in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Though she might have not heard and understood all that was proclaimed. God, by the working of his Spirit as one baptized and marked as God’s redeemed, she recognized Jesus by faith.

Today in our lesson we learn of this faith, and that to be true Disciples of Christ one must first:

Be childlike in faith and love!

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Last week we talked about being a disciple of Jesus and picking up our cross to follow Him. The bearing of one’s cross can, in this life lead to death, or as Jesus said:

“… whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

But, the disciples start talking among themselves wondering who, among them, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

The work of Satan and their own sinful pride were at work in them.

Though they had been discussing this privately, Jesus knew what had been going on as he in the gospel of St. Mark asks them specifically, in chapter 9:

“What were you discussing on the way?” Mark 9:33b

So, Jesus, as has been his way, teaches again the disciples an important lesson. He calls a little child to himself so as to illustrate the point in a very tangible way.

St. Mark goes on to say that Jesus took the child in His arms [Mark 9:36] and we could understand the Lord’s comfort, to this little one, as he places the child in their midst saying:

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

To this we need as well to be reminded to be childlike in faith and love!

Because, sinful pride can become arrogance.

During the Civil War, Union general John Sedgwick at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, was inspecting his troops, urging his men to leave a ditch in which they lay in order to cover from the Confederate snipers hidden 800 to 1000 yards away.

According to Martin T. McMahon, Brevet Major-General, he and General Sedgwick were walking along the line when General Sedgwick noticed a soldier dodging a near-passing bullet, and said to him:

"What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

Seconds later he fell forward with a bullet hole below his left eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitworth_Sharpshooters

How also our own sinful pride can drop us once again to the dirt and sin, back into our own filthy rags from which we have been washed clean, by the righteous blood of the Lamb.

Pride can cause us to look at who we are in the Kingdom, and what status we hold, or to even look at others and be ashamed with our own prideful arrogance.

Jesus says that:

5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

Those who trust Christ with simple faith have Jesus and receive all that Jesus has promised.

Martin Luther writes:

Consider Christ himself, how he draws little children to him, how urgently in Matthew 18 he commends them to us and praises the angles who wait upon them, in order to show us how great a service it is when we train the young properly.

LW Vol. 45 pg. 372

As we consider our regular worship, school, and all that our normal life is, we also need to get back to the good and holy work God has given us to do,

To, train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6

The responsibility even from the time of infancy calls parents of those who have been brought to faith in baptism, to not let these little ones who believe in me to fall - back into the sinfulness they were born into - before being called to faith in Jesus Christ by the working and power of the Holy Spirit.

You have a Godly calling as a parent to raise your child in the faith, especially if they are baptized, and to make sure that they are brought to God’s house for worship, where Christ gives his gifts of word and sacrament.

Also, the good work done by many in Sunday school and VBS helps all of these little ones, by God’s Holy Spirit, to see Jesus and to stay connected to him.

We all have in Christ, a Godly calling to keep children connected to Jesus and his word.

So why do so many parents and their children who have been baptized or confirmed, fail to do this and not remain connected to the church and Christ?

It’s work!
Children fight against it!
It is not fun like the world offers.

When I worked in the piano business I attended a piano teachers forum. One question was asked about parents who find it difficult to get their children to practice.

One teacher replied:

“If you don’t make them brush their teeth, they won’t do that either.”

The devil, the world and our sinful nature rebel against that which is good in God’s economy.

Piano lessons, travel teams, theatre and other programs are good in the life of children but they can get to these unless parents take them and much the same for church. If parents don’t come to church, children can’t and won’t and both suffer the loss of the gifts Christ gives in his word and through his sacraments, here.

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Friends,

Parenting is hard, but the reward great in God’s mercy and forgiveness for we who have been brought to the knowledge of the truth. Christ has promised to be where his church gathers.

Let us come and receive all that he has promised in humility and joy!

So that, he will bring forth, by faith, those who believe in him so they too can confess as the church confesses in Jesus,

“You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!”

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon Aug 30, 2026

Title: Death is overcome in Christ!
Text: Matt 16:21-28

Facebook live: Death is overcome in Christ!

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Nobody likes bad news.

The business deal, you’ve been working on for the last 6 months, has been awarded to you competitor.
Your anniversary, and the meeting you need to attend, are on the same night.
The sale of your house fell through, but the purchase agreement of your new home has been approved, where will you find the money?
Your child is sick.
Your lifelong friend has passed away, unexpectedly.

At times, for we who have been blessed with the good news of eternal life, it is hard to live in the present and keep our eyes fixed on the prize; while the gifts of this temporal life seem to be slipping away.

In our Gospel today we read:

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things  the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

The disciples are on a Roller Coaster too. Up one minute and down the next.

Just this month in our readings:

There are too many people here to feed, send them away.
A storm on the sea of Galilee brings fear, and Peter takes a sinking step.
There’s pleading from a mother for her daughter’s healing, which brings first silence.
The disciples are asked, “Who do the people say I am?”
Then, “Who do you say that I am?”

Concern, storms, pleading, questions, and each time the Lord Jesus brings comfort.

All were fed.
Peter was rescued, the sea was calmed, and Jesus entered the boat.
The woman’s faith received the gift of healing for her daughter.
God speaks and the people hear through his appointed messengers.
You are the Christ, the son of the living God, and this good News is revealed to all through God’s working.

But here Jesus speaks the reality of life in a broken world and the entire purpose for his coming, and still the sinful flesh can’t comprehend the good, the bad, and the ugly presented here.

So, we live like the disciples, day by day, up and down, in and out, good and bad, forgetting how blessed you are, and how blessed I am - now and then seeing today and tomorrow as the great joy that we hold to.

Weddings,
Baptisms,
Family reunions
Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings, oh my!
Hope, loss, falling short, and even waiting until next year.

To the words of Jesus, Peter has a hard reply:

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

To what Jesus revealed to the disciples, Peter says, no!

To this rock of a man that some would build their church upon, the Lord himself turns and counters the hope of the here and now, peace and tranquility that Peter rests in, saying:

23 … “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Do our lives ever blind us from the eternal perspective?
Do we live for the moment, thinking that we control our destiny?

Peter and the other disciples did, and we do as well.

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Taking up our cross in this life is not what we plan to do for today, or tomorrow, and certainly not on a holiday.

Life can blind you and me.

25 For whoever would save his life] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

When I was growing up, truth seemed much simpler.
Boys and girls, dads and moms, brothers and sisters, men and women, husbands and wives.

The trial and cross, was not so much who you struggle to be, but who are you going to ask on a date!

For me this being an especially difficult cross to bear when you consider, there was one centralized phone in the kitchen, and my dad was not spending hard earned money for an extension line - just so you had a little privacy during this most sensitive time in a young boy’s life - and the darn cord was too short to reach down the hallway into a near bedroom to talk privately!

Whatever I asked and whatever the answer; everyone knew!

Now, getting a date or not is not that big of a cross to bear, is it?

Well, what if in doing so, the person you date leads you into a life style that is contrary to God’s desire or design?
What if this relationship leads you away from Christ or in some way a life at odds with our Christian  view?
What if the person leads you to unbelief?

26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

The cost of following Jesus is a cross we all need to bear.

Peter was not the only one to miss the Lord’s intent and reason for his coming.

James and John were sure that sitting at Jesus’ right or left in his Kingdom were places of honor in an earthly world they desired and the cup they could drink. Mark 10:35-45

Nathaniel mused, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46

Thomas needed proof in the hands and side of Jesus. John 20:24-25

Life and crosses can keep our eyes off Jesus.

My friend Paul, knows a cross I hope I never know, the loss of his child. His daughter Dianna was born prematurely but didn’t live two days.

After the birth of his second daughter Michelle, he wanted to write her a song of praise and he wrote Michelle’s Song which is sub-titled Keep your eyes upon Jesus.

Oh, my child, keep your eyes on Jesus and not on me.
If you keep your eyes on my I’ll only let you down.
But I’ll try to be consistent with the word I know is true.
But there’s so much more I need to say to you.

Keep your eyes upon Jesus
He’ll never let you down, oh no, he’ll never let you down
Keep your eyes upon, Jesus
He’ll never let you down, oh no, he’ll never let you down

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon Aug. 22-23, 2026

Title: Who do you say Jesus is?
Text: Matthew 16:13-20

Facebook live: Who do you say Jesus is?

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In our Old Testament lesson, we read:

5 My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

And here is the key.

but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

In our Gospel reading today:

13 … Jesus and his disciples came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

Now, Caesarea Philippi during the time of Jesus was a lush, deeply pagan city located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the base of Mount Hermon.

Ruled by Herod Philip, it featured a massive cliffside cave, a white marble temple to Caesar Augustus, and an active shrine dedicated to the goat footed Greek god Pan.

The ancient Greeks were very much a polytheistic culture and had belief in many gods. In fact, in polytheism, the more the merrier. Let us have a god for every unique need. Certainly, a very different belief than the Jews who hope is in the one true God, who created all things, delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and fed and sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years. It is in that context and in the district of Caesarea Philippi that,

[Jesus] asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Maybe even in this context we can also understand the answers the disciples give:

14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

In fact, the people see Jesus as one of the prophets even thinking John the Baptist, having recently been beheaded might be embodied in this Jesus who is speaking now, or one of the prophets of old, Elijah or Jeremiah who now speak through the voice of this new prophet Jesus.

They were familiar with the prophets of old and the word that was delivered from their mouths as the writer to the Hebrews would record for our benefit writing in Hebrews Chapter 1.

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

They might see God move as he had done in the past through men whom God had called to bring his word to the people - as it says, in time past, so that the people might hear, and that they might believe, and God could certainly do this again, they believe.

God speaks and we hear.

Maybe the people believe that this is who Jesus is? One of the prophets, sent to deliver God’s word, and so they listen, sometimes with belief and trust, and at other times, with doubt or misunderstanding.

In John chapter 6 Jesus calls himself the bread that comes down from Heaven to which,

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

So here, in the district of Caesarea Philippi, in the vicinity and among a polytheistic culture and Pagen gods, Jesus asks his disciples – which means followers:

15 [saying] to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

A hard question for sure.
What do they believe?
Didn’t they already answer about the people?
What might Jesus be getting at?
They possibly don’t really know or understand the question.

Maybe even thinking, “What should they say?”
And wondering, “What if we’re wrong?”

No one likes hard questions and wrong answers!

I know what your answer would be given the context of our gathering together here in worship at Peace, the Gospel account appointed for today, and Peter’s answer:

You and I like Peter would reply,

16 … “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

At least, I’d hope we would!

Many of those disciples with Peter heard and agreed as well, or at least they were waiting to see how Peter’s response was received by Jesus.

But for us in our day it might depend on the time and place, and the context in our lives and what those  attendance might think?

Would we speak safe answers calling Jesus one of the prophets, and a good man that lost his life in a most terrible way, but also fail to point to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Our true hope and the hope for the world?

Unfortunately, some miss the connection.

Many years ago, I was watching the Phil Donahue show. If you are unfamiliar with Phil, he had a talk show and guests in the afternoon and I probably watched this in the 70s. His guest was Dr. Adrian Rogers who was a Baptist minister and theologian. At one point Phil asked:

“Dr. Rogers, can the Jew be saved?”
To which Dr. Rogers replied, “Apart from faith in Christ, no.”

This is how I remember it all these years later. No hope apart from Jesus.

Faith and trust in Jesus!
Like the mother from last week simply looking for the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.
Now to Peter’s confession Jesus exclaims,

17 … “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

As we discussed in the sermon last weekend, the woman who came to Jesus for healing for her daughter would not be deterred. Her faith in Jesus was given to her as a gift by the infinite mercy of God and the healing for her daughter was given immediately.

Jesus blesses Peter:

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

It is all gift, and it is all God!

Now to the part of the gospel lesson that brings questions both about Peter and the rock that Christ Jesus will build on.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The question of who do the people say that I am was addressed to all of the disciples who were with Jesus, and some answered about John the Baptist and the prophets as so also the question of, Who do you say that I am was addressed to all of the disciples as well - to which Peter gives reply:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The other disciples may not have understood this fully yet and Peter was certainly the one who stepped out of the boat, so it is not surprising that he speaks this truth on their behalf as well and for their benefit.

Because it was made clear by Jesus:

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

This is not something they or we can know outside of God’s working.

So, I would submit that the rock that the church is built on is not Peter the man but on Christ Jesus the Son of the living God and the gift of faith and trust in this God/man Jesus Christ our Lord, whom Peter confesses.

It is interesting to note that in Caesarea Philippi in the time of Jesus a massive cliffside cave where a deep spring was viewed by ancient pagans called the - Gates of Hades – was seen as a mystical portal or boundary where the god Pan traveled to and from the underworld, giving the site a heavy reputation associated with the realm of the dead.

To this Jesus replies to Peter:

That the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!

Trust in Christ will overcome the works of the devil to deceive and lead the faithful into bondage and captivity. For we who are given freedom through Christ’s work and by faith in him we too confess:

You are the Christ the Son of the living God!

To this the keys of heaven have been given to the Church to call to repentance with the binding key of the law, and to set free all who repent with the key of gospel, so that sin, death and the power of the devil would be overcome by Christ and his work!

This, dear friends - as Luther writes in the Small Catechism – is most certainly true!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen