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

Sermon Aug. 15-16, 2026

Title: Great is your faith in Jesus!
Text: Matt. 15:21-28

Facebook live: Great is your faith in Jesus!

28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

In the Book of Jerimiah we read:

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

2 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, waters are rising out of the north,
and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers look not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,

4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

With Jerimiah’s writing in the Old Testament our Gospel begins:

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

So, in this desolate place, this place where we are told, where men cry out and the inhabitants of the land wail, and at the stamping of hooves and the rumbling of chariot wheels, fathers look back not to their children, because so feeble are their hands.

Fathers feel there is no hope.
Fathers feel they can’t do anything.

I always wondered why Jesus would go to this place, Tyre and Sidon. This once destroyed home of the Philistines. The Philistines who had fought against Israel and produced a champion of their own, Goliath. But the Lord defeated Goliath through his anointed David - the shepherd boy, son of Jesse, in the Valley of Elah.

So here is Jesus in the district of Tyre and Sidon. A place, we might say - this side of Hell on Earth - enemies of Israil, the Philistines, Goliath …

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Now, this is a Canaanite woman?

You remember Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel and the Lord banishes him from the garden of Eden

24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden [God] placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:24

He didn’t want Cain to return. At least not to the Tree of Life, and at least, not yet.

Now to my question why would Jesus go to Tyre and Sidon?

Well, why not?

If Jesus has come to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and to die for the sins of the whole world, descend to Hell to proclaim victory over sin, death and the power of the devil, and rise so that we might have faith and peace with God.

Then why not go to Tyre and Sidon?

 
So here is Jesus, out of place we might think and in a wrong place.
But maybe this is exactly where Jesus needs to be?

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

This Canaanite woman comes to Jesus anyway.

She calls him Lord. Maybe there is more to her then meets the eye?

She is not putting her trust in a dead Philistines giant or the god of the Philistines, but in the Son of David who as a shepherd boy slew that Philistine giant with a sling and a smooth rock.

Jesus owes her nothing. Jesus owes us nothing.

“Have mercy on me, she pleads, my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

23 But he did not answer her a word.

I’d like to think that I’m a pretty good husband and father. Not perfect, by any means. But I have tried to care for my wife and children and to be loving to them and to do what I can, especially when they are or have been in great need. Sickness can especially be that need.

What does the Lord owe me? Or you?

And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”

The disciples too, having left the feeding of the 5000 two weeks ago in chapter 14 with 12 baskets full of left over pieces seem to have forgotten that call of “You, give them something to eat.”

But I don’t believe that Jesus is using this to belabor that point.

24 Jesus answered her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

She’s a descendent of Cain.
A daughter in the destroyed place of the Philistines.
Absolutely not worthy of the blessings of Israel.
What does she deserve?

The same as all sinners: death, damnation, and eternal separation.

When do we come to Jesus?
When we can’t.
When we won’t
When all is lost.
When someone pleads on our behalf.
When God himself draws us.

All of the above.

25 But she came and knelt before him, in an act of worship saying, “Lord, help me.”

26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Now, much is made of the Greek word κυναρίοις.

This word points to a small or house dog which some try in a sense to say that Jesus wasn’t being disrespectful when Jesus says in a sense that giving her aid is like throwing bread meant for the children to the dogs.

Now let it be known that though I often feed my dogs treats and at times a few table scraps – okay, many table scraps - find there way to them, and I love my dogs dearly. Jesus is not saying,

“It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the cute little puppies that I love so much.”

As dogs we are excluded.
We are not given a chair at the table or a room in the Kingdome.
You and I, apart from Christ and his work, are not partakers of God’s gifts.

And here this women is with her faith-based reply:

27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”

Friends, we don’t deserve the scraps either, let alone the gifts. We don’t deserve the pieces left over in the twelve baskets either. They are all gift.

Christ gives us all that is his and all that we could never get. Dogs don’t get that! No matter how sweet and loving they might be.

My dogs can sit and look cute and beg and at times cry out but at times my reply is, “Go lay down!”
You can’t plead for what is not be yours!
Yet, Christ gives it anyway!

28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”

What you don’t deserve, Christ gives!
What you can’t have, Christ gives!
What you can’t earn. Christ gives!

The dogs in the world have become the children of the kingdom!

Great is your faith in Jesus!

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

Amen

Sermon Aug. 8-9, 2026

Theme: The Word That Saves! – Rev. Terry Nelson
Text: Romans 10: 5-17

Facebook live: 

31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Sermon Aug. 1-2, 2026

Title: The Lord gives all that we need!
Matt. 14:13-21

Facebook live: The Lord gives all that we need!

19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And they all ate and were satisfied.

He was in the hospital, so I needed to make a visit.
A routine doctor visit caused the doctor call an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
It was more serious than they first expected.
It was going to require surgery.
It was Friday afternoon.

When I arrived, he seemed to be doing alright. Nothing, looked out of the ordinary. I gave him communion and we talked. I had a prayer for successful surgery and told him that I’ll see him again after surgery and to rest easy.

I got a call on Monday.
Mark had passed.
He didn’t get to the surgery that was planned because he had a heart attack as he was being prepped for surgery.

I was shocked to say the least.
I needed time to be alone.
This was unexpected.

So too Jesus.

Death has a way of getting your attention.
What had been, is no more.
John the Baptist had been beheaded in prison …
And Jesus withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.
Human emotion calls us to withdraw, separate, and to renew.
Jesus needed time to process John’s death.
Sometimes you don’t get that time.
But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

Do you ever feel like that?

The crowd just won’t let you rest.
You just want a few minutes to process things,
to be by yourself.
Loss has taken its toll.

Friends, I’m no Jesus, and neither are you.

We feel loss and the suffering and grief can need time to process.
At times, time is not what we have.

“Pastor, can I see you for a moment?”
The sinful self wants to scream.

Thankfully Jesus shows us another way.

14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Compassion is defined: as a deep feeling of care for others that leads to an active desire to help.

Sin tears compassion apart.
We look inward.

“Can’t you see? I’m hurting!”
We don’t often see, and often can’t see the pain others are suffering.

But Jesus can!

15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

The disciples see the need, but the answer is to send them away.
Pain and suffering can cause us to send those in need in our lives away too.

Can you help me? No!
Do you have a few minutes? No!

16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

But, we don’t … and We can’t … and like the disciples …

17 … “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”

When you can’t, when you don’t, and when you won’t, you have to come to Jesus.
Jesus can, Jesus does, and Jesus will.

Jesus can.

Because he hears your prayers and cries for help. It is his desire to always hear the pleas of his children.

John 9:31

31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

Deuteronomy 31:8

8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Jesus does.

Because he has promised to hear and to answer.

Psalm 116:2
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 118:5
Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.

Psalm 138:3
On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.

Jesus will.

Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.

The disciples know …

17 … “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”
18 And [Jesus] says, “Bring them here to me.”

The trouble, the fear, the wants and the needs have to go to Jesus.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest.

There is no other help that makes sense.
There is no other help that brings peace.
There is no other help that brings forgiveness.

19 Then Jesus ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Jesus broke the loves and gave them to the disciples and they fed the crowd. Five thousand men besides women and children. A sizeable number of people and all were satisfied.

There were twelve baskets full of broken pieces that remained as a reminder for the disciples of what the Lord had done and could do. The gospel remains for me and you as a sign of what Christ has done and can do in our lives.

That what seems impossible for man is possible with God. He is able to fill the impossible in our lives and to use us to fill the impossible in others’ lives.

We bring our needs to Jesus and we come to him with thanksgiving for all that he has done for us.

The Lord gives all that we need!

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

Amen

Sermon July 25-26, 2026

Title: Christ is our pearl of great value!
Text: Matt 13:44-52

Facebook live: Christ is our pearl of great value!

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

As we begin today, we again look at the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of St. Matthew. If we remember the last two weekends we recall that the Sower, who sowed seed everywhere, found that the seed that fell on the good soil took root and produced a crop that yielded 30, 60 and even 100 fold.

Last week we learned that the wheat that grew from the good seed, was planted by the Son of man, in the field of the world, and that the devil also planted weeds among the wheat where both would grow until the harvest, separating both wheat and weeds or believers and unbelievers by God’s angles at the end of the age.

Today we have three short parables and they all bring to mind the topic of the kingdom of heaven. We’ll look at these and see the truth that, through the Gospel:

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

In last week’s parable Jesus explained that the field was the world and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. In today’s parable the children of the kingdom are the treasure hidden in the world brought to faith by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel’s proclamation.

Christ then is the man who found you, His treasure, but this treasure of being his child is hidden apart from faith, in the field of this world.

So to purchase the world back, Christ empties himself, sells all He has, as it were and gives Himself as a ransom to buy and redeem this world lost in sin, death and the power of the devil.

Jesus then says:

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Knowing that a perfect pearl, of large size, of spherical shape, would far surpass in value hundreds of small, imperfect pearls, this merchant, an expert in his line, set out to seek, and, if possible, to find, such a rare valuable pearl. Having found one which seemed to him exceedingly precious, he risked his all, stripping himself of all his possessions in the one great venture of his life. The glory and beauty of God's mercy in the Gospel - so great and precious a gift that all else sinks into insignificance beside it.

Popular Commentary of the Bible, P.E. Kretzmann NT Vol.1 Pg.76-77

The pearl of the Christians is the greatest treasure in the kingdom of God … salvation in Christ!

He who has learned to know this priceless gift will gladly renounce all goods, joys, and delights of this world, and consider all human wisdom and righteousness as loss, in order to gain Christ.

But that is not always the case.

As I was driving some time ago, I caught a story on the Moth Radio Hour. This show has people speaking in front of a live studio audience and relating a story that was of some significance to them.

The speaker was Christof Koch an American neuroscientist who had been raised Roman Catholic and struggled with his own belief in God alongside his work as a scientist. The topic was: God, Death and Francis Crick. Francis Crick was also a scientist, who made his mark in DNA research and was an atheist. The two, though from different generations, spent many years in collaboration and study even authoring a book together called The Quest for Consciousness.

One day as they worked together, Francis Cricks received a call and confirmation that his terminal cancer had returned. Christof said he was immensely impressed with the Stoic faith of his atheist elder friend. “No doom and gloom, no gnashing of teeth and no tears just, “Accept what you can’t change.” And then he went on with what Francis Crick had to say, “Everything that has a beginning must have an end … those are the facts, I don’t like them, but I’ve accepted them.”

This also caused Christof to reflect on his own mortality. Ultimately, he saw Francis Crick as his hero, with how he dealt with his own demise.

The show concluded with Christof speaking of being saddened by the loss of his belief and religion like, fond childhood memories, concluding that we all have to grow up, which is difficult for many and unbearable for the few, concluding that we have to see the world as it really is and stop thinking in terms of magic.

Or, he says, as Francis would have put it, “This is a story for grown men not a consoling tale for children.”

https://themoth.org/stories/god-death-and-francis-crick

To that Jesus answers:

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The net of the Word of God and its Gospel proclamation is cast into the sea of the world and at the end of the age it will be gathered to the shore.

Here the angles will separate those, the righteous, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, are brought to faith in Christ and believe - while others - called evil, will be thrown into the fiery furnace of Hell and there, no matter how stoic they may be in this life, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The first Hymn Martin Luther ever wrote is called Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice.

I’d like to share with you stanzas 4-5, as it speaks beautifully to our message today.

Broken and condemned by the Law we are rescued by Christ and made his child and forgiven. Please turn to Hymn #556 in your hymnal and let us joyfully sing these important words into our hearts receiving the forgiveness they convey in the work of Jesus to give us forgiveness, comfort and peace!

4.
But God had seen my wretched state
Before the world's foundation,
And mindful of His mercies great,
He planned for my salvation.
He turned to me, A father's heart;
He did not choose the easy part
But gave His dearest Treasure.

5.
God said to His beloved Son:
“It’s time to have compassion.
Then go, bright Jewel of My crown,
And bring to all salvation;
From sin and sorrow set him free,
Slay bitter death for them that they
May live with you forever.

We can’t know who will be gathered … but we can trust that God knows.

He will gather his children unto himself and all that believe in Christ will be saved.

Those who have once shared this faith but have fallen away, God, by his Holy Spirit will continue to call and we pray once again give them life by the Spirit found only in Christ.

Because, Christ is our pearl of great value!

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

Amen