Sermon April 3, 2026 - Good Friday

Title: Living among the Bible's trees - Tree of the Cross!
Text: Deuteronomy 21:22–23; Galatians 3:1–14

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13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The curse of being hanged on a tree is something we all know or have heard about in our history.

Whether it is a result or circumstance of war or simply an unjust act of rage, lives have fallen victim to death by hanging from the tree of the gallows or the tree on vengeance and revenge.

As our special Lenten sermon series nears its climax, we consider the eighth of the Bible’s trees among which we live, none other than the tree of the cross.

Considering the Tree of the Cross, we realize that, although we fail to keep God’s Law and deserve the cross’s shame, Jesus became accursed for us and so redeems us.

I. We fail to keep God’s Law and deserve the cross’s shame.

In our reading tonight, we heard the Lord through Moses in his final “sermon” command the people of Israel to bury on the same day criminals who were hung on a tree.

This hanging was after the criminal had already been executed by stoning or some other method. Hanging on a tree after execution publicly displayed the criminal’s shame and deterred others from committing the same crime.

Such criminals were cursed by God, and being displayed on a tree showed the shame of God’s judgment and rejection.

Yet there was to be a limit:

God said that leaving them hanging overnight would defile the land he was giving the Israelites.

The people of Israel were not the first or only ones so to use trees or their wood. The Book of Genesis reports that earlier Pharaoh’s onetime chief baker, who was imprisoned with Joseph, was hung from a tree. Gen 40:19, 22

The Book of Esther much later reports that the Persian king hung two of his rebellious eunuchs. Esth. 2:23

And the Bible reports at least two additional cases where the people of Israel under Joshua did obey this particular commandment to bury those so hung on the same day. Josh 8:29; 10:26–27

Of course, the Israelites could hardly boast that they obeyed that particular commandment or any of God’s commandments all the time.

Today, St. Paul, by divine inspiration writing to the Galatians about salvation by faith, quote from elsewhere in Deuteronomy that everyone who does not abide by and do all the things written in the Book of the Law is cursed.

So, St. Paul says, no one is justified (or “righteous”) before God by keeping the Law, and that includes you and me.

In thoughts, words, and deeds, we fail to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and we fail to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We each know our own failures better than others know them, and God knows them best of all!

Such failures flow from the sinful nature and for such failures we deserve to be cut off from God’s presence for all eternity.

We all deserve to be hung accursed from the accursed tree!
Do we think of such an outcome as shameful?
Are we ashamed of our sin?
Do people today even feel shame anymore?
What do we consider to be insulting?

Are we more concerned about embarrassment or a loss of respect or reputation from something posted on line than we are of the guilt of our sins?

II. Jesus became accursed for us and so redeems us.

Also, as we heard tonight, sinless and righteous Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by

becoming a curse for us,
being hanged on the tree of the cross.

For some seven centuries before Jesus, the Assyrians, Persians, Jews, and Romans crucified people, whipping them, using crosses of different shapes, and even impaling them in a most cruel way.

For us and for our salvation, Jesus Christ humbly endured the shame of crucifixion, the greatest possible insult—stripped, beaten, and left hanging naked to the world—so that you and I might be sinless and righteous, not by the Law, but by faith in him.

Jesus Christ took to the cross our sins and the ancient curse that afflicts us, as we sang this evening in the Office Hymn:

1

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ, by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, 'tis He, 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
'Tis the true and faithful Word.

St. Paul but also St. Peter repeatedly preached and wrote about Jesus’ hanging on the tree of the cross for us (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29;1 Pet 2:24).

After them, at least one Early Church writer also understood the ram caught by its horns in the thicket when Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac as a prophetic image pointing to Jesus’ hanging on the tree (Gen 22:13).

Such is God’s use of hanging on a tree for us!

One author says well:

It is no accident that human sin which began at the foot of a tree, the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”), found its resolution on another tree, the cross of Calvary.

There is a poetic justice in the use of trees in [salvation history]. ...

Satan’s victory over the woman and the man! beneath the branches of that primal tree led to his own defeat beneath the crossed beams of another tree.

Our Altar book states:

“the serpent who overcame by the tree of the garden” was overcome “by the tree of the cross”

LSB Altar Book, 151, 190, 231

2

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

The temple of Jesus’ body was likewise mocked and destroyed but ultimately raised back up.

Jesus did not hang on the tree of the cross overnight that first Good Friday but was taken down before the Sabbath.

And later God revealed the majesty and glory of the crucified Christ by raising him from the dead and exalting him to his right hand.

So, now Jesus Christ works through his Holy Spirit in all those who believe, through such means as the reading and preaching of his Word, Holy Baptism, Absolution, and …

Especially in the Sacrament of the Altar, where we eat the fruit and receive the blessings of the tree of the cross.

Thus, the cross in effect becomes for us a tree of life!

For now, considering the tree of the cross, we realize that, although we fail to keep God’s Law and deserve the cross’s shame, Jesus became accursed for us and so redeems us.

3

Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'Tis the Word, the Lord's anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Long before thousands of people in our country were killed through the detestable crimes of mobs—taking the law into their own hands and hanging people on trees—our Lord Jesus Christ was hung from a tree, under the Law, for the sake of us all.

Jesus became accursed for us on the tree of the cross so that you are redeemed!

4

Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ, the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast:
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.

By God’s mercy and grace, this is his promise now and for eternity.

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

Amen

Lent series, "Living among the Bible's trees" - modified

Sermon April 2, 2026 - Maundy Thursday

Title: Living among the Bible's trees – Fig trees!
Text: Luke 13:1–9; Mark 11:12–25

Facebook live: Living among the bible trees – Fig trees!

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

In our part of the world today, figs are well down the list of popular fruits.

In fact, if it weren’t for Fig Newtons, many of us would probably never have thought of them at all.

But in Bible times, in Palestine and the Near East, figs were no novelty for an occasional cookie or jam; they were food on the table the way apples or oranges might be for us today.

Fig trees are among the first plants ever cultivated by humans, long before wheat or barley or beans.

In fact, evidence of their domestication in the Jordan River Valley may be the first discovered example of agriculture.

Fig trees grow well in poor soil. They can withstand drought. And they’re large; they can grow to a height of more than thirty feet and provide welcome shade in hot climates.

It was fig trees and their fruit—or lack thereof—that we heard about in today’s readings.

On this Maundy Thursday night, as we think especially of the fruit of the grape vine, we prepare to receive that blessed gift by continuing our special Lenten sermon series, “Living among the Bible’s Trees.” Today we consider fig trees.

Considering the Fig Trees, We Realize That, Although We Do Not Always Bear the Fruits of Faith as We Should - God brings forth from us Fruits in keeping with repentance.

I. We do not always bear the fruits of faith as we should.

In the readings, we heard both St. Luke’s unique report of Jesus’ parable that used a fig tree, and also St. Mark’s of Jesus’ later experience with a fig tree.

In the First Reading, the parable using the fig tree illustrates the time for repentance that tragedies should prompt.

In the Second Reading, Jesus dramatically enacts a living parable or takes prophetic action related to the judgment that comes when the time for repentance is over.

In that case, the repentance and judgment seem to relate specifically to God’s people’s being full of activity but nevertheless unfruitful.

People sometimes have a hard time with Jesus’ experience with the fig tree on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem. Some say the miracle is unworthy of the Lord, or that an innocent tree was unjustly the target of his wrath.

Yet, Jesus is the Creator in human flesh, with the right to do with his creation as he knows best, and that particular tree, as it was by the road, may not have been anyone in particular’s tree.

What’s more, with the leaves, there should have been early figs, indicators of the later figs to come; apparently, a tree without figs early on also will not have figs later.

The Old Testament is also full of references to figs in related figures of speech. For example, through Hosea, the Lord says:

10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.

Hos 9:10

And yet, as he says through Jeremiah,

13 When I would gather them, declares the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”

Jer 8:13

Are we like the unfruitful people God addressed through Hosea and Jeremiah and like the Jews of Jesus’ day, claiming to be religious but without any fruits of faith?

Certainly, we are like them according to our sinful nature, but God calls and enables us to bear fruit.

Do we bear fruit as we should?

If not, apart from repentance, we deserve the same kind of judgment they deserved.

Like the fig tree on the road looked the next time the disciples saw it, God’s righteous wrath could totally dry us up to our very roots because we do not listen to him as we should.

16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is dried up;
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will put their beloved children to death.
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Hos 9:16–17

We face temporal consequences, including death, and eternal torment in hell if we do not first turn away from our sin, trust God to forgive our sin, and want to do better than to keep on sinning.

And so, we each must ask ourselves this question as we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table tonight:

“Do I repent of my sins, truly intend to amend my sinful ways, and desire to receive Christ’s forgiveness?”

II. God brings forth from us fruits in keeping with repentance.

God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, which pointed forward to his delivering his people both from exile in Babylon and, most important for us, from our slavery to sin and its eternal punishment.

After his three-year ministry, Jesus took upon himself the punishment that we deserve and experienced that punishment on the cross for us, in our place.

God forgives our sin, whatever our sin might be.
God forgives it all by grace through faith for Jesus’ sake.

21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

Through the means of congregations today, God calls pastors to serve him by serving his people, as God once directly called the prophet Amos, who had been a dresser of sycamore fig trees (Amos 7:14).

Such workers in the vineyard dig around the trees and put on manure, as it were, and wait another year before cutting down any unfruitful trees.

That is to say, such workers in the vineyard read and proclaim God’s Word to all those gathered in his cleansed house of prayer.

And, as appropriate, such workers in the vineyard apply that Word to individuals in Holy Baptism, in Absolution, and in the Sacrament of the Altar that we celebrate tonight.

For on this night, the night when he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread and wine, and when he had given thanks, he broke the bread, he passed the cup, and gave to them, gave to us, his very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

In each of these means, God brings forth from us fruit in keeping with repentance according to our various callings in life.

As such “good figs,” the Lord plants us by giving us a heart to know that he is the Lord, and so we are his people and he is our God. Jer 24:6–7

The Second Reading might have us think of the figurative figs of forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ, even as our Father in heaven forgives our sins:

25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Figurative figs are also service to God and one another through our volunteering to our congregation.

Whether or not the literal fig trees should blossom, however else we might be afflicted, yet we rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of our salvation. Hab 3:17–18

As we are “Living among the Bible’s Trees,” God calls and enables us to repent of our sin and freely forgives us of our sin for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ. Considering the fig trees, we realize that, although we do not always bear the fruits of faith as we should, God brings forth from us fruits in keeping with repentance.

By God’s grace, we are prepared and watching for it! Amen.

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

Amen

Lent series, "Living among the Bible's trees" - modified

Sermon March 29, 2026 - Palm / Passion Sunday

Title: God’s love in death and glory!
Text: Matt 27:11-66

Facebook live: God’s love in death and glory!

13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday and the Sunday of the Passion but also the greater reality of God’s love and death in this life and in the life to come.

The majesty of our procession today as we entered into worship, and the picture of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem contrasted with the reality of his trial, crucifixion and death is contrasted with our own sin, guilty verdict, and death in this life that we all know and share.

Today we will examine the human and divine work of the Lord’s passion and the reality of this pivotal story as we walk into Holy Week towards the death and resurrection of our Lord, the God/man himself, Jesus Christ.

Matthew brings to mind the human dimension of the Gospel story with the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. But also, the divine work of God.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.

So, we see Jesus, not taking the usual course of defense in his case. Pilot seems befuddled. He tries, it seems, every way he can.

13 … “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”

Jesus answers nothing.

“What do I do with this man?” Pilate must have thought.

How can I keep peace in Jerusalem, satisfy the Jews and their religious customs, and still remain faithful to Rome in this notoriously difficult political environment?

“How can I be both just and righteous?”
Well in reality, Pilate didn’t care.
He wanted peace.
He knows the law and he has a plan.
“I’ll find another, a substitute!”

One who is already guilty, and one who surly the religious leaders and the people will be happy to see him put to death to satisfy their rage.

16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. [ Bar- Son, Abba – father] 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

“Surly this will be simple solution.” – Pilate might have thought.

“For out on envy, they have accused and delivered this Jesus over, and even word from my wife who seems troubled about this, has now come to me. “

She says a dream.
A dream of all things!
What is this world coming to?

21 … “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

And they said, “Barabbas.”

22 … “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

They all said, “Let him be crucified!”

23 … “Why? What evil has he done?”

But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Now hear the divine judge

Do you not hear all that the Law testifies against you?
You shall have no other Gods
Don’t misuse my name.
Keep my day holy.
Do not kill
Do not commit adultery
Do not steal
Do not bear false witness
Do not covet things and do not covet people.

 
What do I do with this people I have created?

The divine question is much like the earthly.

“How can I be both just and righteous?”

Well in reality, the problem is in God. We are fallen and there is nothing you or I can do about it.
God wanted peace. He wanted and to restore that which was lost in our fall into sin.
God has the Law and God has a plan to redeem those born under the Law.
“I’ll send another, I’ll send a substitute!
I’ll send my son!”

One who is guiltless, and one who born in the natural way is yet without sin.

He will be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, giving his life as a ransom for the many, so that the righteous requirements of the Law are kept and the just verdict of the wages of sin is met and paid for …

… and my people, through his work, will be saved as my blessed possession for now and into eternity!

In the ride into Jerusalem,

8 … the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Now the soldiers,

28 … strip [Jesus] and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

In the triumphal entry,

9 … the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Now the soldiers,

Kneel before him, and they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

In the triumphal entry,

10 … the whole city was stirred up, saying,

“Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Now the soldiers,

35 … when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

And the world, and all who are born in sin,

39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!

If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

Well, Jesus did, come down.
With the help of a rich man, from Arimathea named Joseph, who asked Pilot for the body of Jesus.

59 … he took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.

Joseph was a follower and he was a disciple.

Are you? Are we?

Would we do the same, by letting our faith be known in a time of persecution in the world?
I would like to think so.
Would I stand up? Would you?
To claim Jesus as your own?

Friends, the human and divine come together in the God/man himself Jesus Christ for you and for me.
You can’t have Palm Sunday and Easter, without the Passion and the Cross.

 
God must be both Just and righteous.

He must be put to death in the flesh, and raised in his body for we to die and rise with him.
The Jews asked Pilot for guards to secure the tomb. They fear a hoax that might deceive the people to follow and believe a lie.

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard[ of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

They thought it was finished!

We too have a guard … the Holy Spirit.

He keeps our focus on Jesus the one who died for you and me and rose for our Justification.
We no longer fear death, as death has been swallowed up in the victory of the Christ’s work!

Triumphant, we stand on the rock of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Who triumphantly entered Jerusalem and who triumphantly conquered sin, death and the devil at the cross, and proclaimed victory as he triumphantly rose from the dead for the justification of all who believe!

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

Amen

Sermon March 25, 2026

Title: Living among the Bible’s trees - Good Trees Bearing Good Fruit, Bad Trees Bearing Bad Fruit
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13–25; Matthew 7:15–20

Facebook live: Good Trees Bearing Good Fruit, Bad Trees Bearing Bad Fruit

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

I’m not a fan of shopping. I have trouble picking out fruit at the grocery store.
I usually run in and out as quickly as I can getting what I need.
I usually don’t know what I’m looking for. I don’t want my bananas green, but also, not too yellow or it won’t last the week.

As we heard the Lord Jesus say in the Second Reading:

17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

Mt 7:17

So, as we continue our sermon series, “Living among the Bible’s Trees,” we consider good trees bearing good fruit and bad trees bearing bad fruit.

Considering Good Trees Bearing Good Fruit and Bad Trees Bearing Bad Fruit, We Realize That,

Though by nature we are bad trees bearing bad fruit, God changes you and me into good trees bearing good fruit.

I. By nature, we are bad trees bearing bad fruit.

The Lord Jesus’ words ring true later in St. Matthew’s Gospel where he writes:

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

And the passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians that we heard draws on both Jesus’ words and other similar teachings about faith and its fruit.

The idea of finding grapes on a vine and not on something like a thornbush, of finding figs on a fig tree and not on something like a thistle plant, may seem for us to be a no-brainer.

But what is important, is for us to recognize is the good or bad nature of the tree – is by its fruit – pointing to the source of the tree is good or bad.

Jesus says to beware of false prophets, and, later in St. Matthew’s Gospel in this context, Jesus calls the Jewish leaders a “brood of vipers” and says they are evil – making a judgment.

They are no different by nature than we are.

Out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths also speak, and Jesus says:

36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:36-37

Our words give evidence either to the faith that is in our hearts, or to the lack of faith and our need. Rom 10:9–10

That focus on words is not to mention the thoughts that precede the words, and the deeds that follow.

As the works of the sinful flesh, St. Paul lists for the Galatians and us

“sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” Gal 5:19–21

He warns the Galatians and you and me as well that

“… those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” v 21

Rather, as Jesus said,

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit - is cut down and thrown into the fire” Mt 7:19

That judgment is not only on some far-off Judgment Day, but, as John the Baptist has said,

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees” Mt 3:10

II. God changes us into good trees bearing good fruit.

The Lord Jesus says that

“a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” Mt 7:18

Implying,

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad” Mt 12:33

But we can’t make literal trees good or bad, much less ourselves as figurative sense.

John and Jesus call for fruits in keeping with repentance, and both John and Jesus’ disciples - baptized for that purpose. Mt 3:8; Jn 4:2

For the sake of Jesus’ death on the cross, God himself, working through his Word in Baptism, changes us …

… from being bad trees bearing bad fruit to being good trees bearing good fruit, fruit in keeping with repentance.

St. Paul says that we are called to freedom,

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36

Christ sets us free by the truth of his Gospel (Jn 8:32)—his Gospel that he, true God in human flesh, died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, including your sins and my sins.

Christ substituted himself there on the cross for us. Unless we reject God’s enabling call to repent,

God frees us from our slavery to sin, death, and the power of the devil.

God forgives our evil sinful nature and all our actual sins of thought, word, and deed.

God makes we who are bad trees good, so that instead of bearing bad fruit, which brings condemnation, we bear good fruit, the fruit of justification and eternal life.

God’s Word read and preached to us all as a group brings about and continues that change, as does God’s Word applied to us in Holy Baptism, in Absolution, and in the Sacrament of the Altar, where bread is the body of Christ given for us, and wine is the blood of Christ shed for us.

The Lord changes us from bad to good in his way as we live this out in our lives.

So, we know that we bear fruit of good works in our lives and our vocations as brothers and sisters, moms and dads, workers, friends, sons and daughters redeemed in Christ!

And St. Paul in the First Reading specifically lists as our common fruit of the Spirit,

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” Gal 5:22–23

When we fail in any way to bring forth such fruits of repentance, good works, and fruits of the Spirit - we fail to live in the daily repentance, that God requires.

And considering good trees bearing good fruit and bad trees bearing bad fruit, we realize that, though by nature we are bad trees bearing bad fruit, God changes us into good trees bearing good fruit.

God has called us to repentance and forgiven our sins by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

From various sources, we may learn the necessary skills for using our senses and reason to pick literal good trees’ good fruit— oranges, apples, bananas and the like—in our local supermarkets.

But only by the power of the Holy Spirit, reaching past our senses and reason to our hearts through his Means of Grace, can we ever be figurative good trees, ourselves bearing the good fruits of the Spirit that St. Paul calls us to be.

May God grow us to be the good trees he desires of us!

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

Amen

Lent series, "Living among the Bible's trees" - modified

Sermon March 21-22, 2026

Title: From death to life in Christ!
Text: John 11:1-45

Facebook live: From death to life in Christ!

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Death is nothing new. It seems all too common. It invades your life and your family. As a pastor it invades my life too … even if at times it is not a loved one.

I’ve done many funerals. Many for Peace members, some family members, some not connected to a church or here at Peace … but for one who died.

When the call comes it usually sounds like this.

“Hi Pastor Russ; Are you available to do a funeral this Monday at 10 am? It’s for the family of a man who had been sick and now died and they requested a Lutheran pastor.”

I’m usually available.
Jesus got a call too.

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

Lazarus, the one Jesus loved was ill. In fact, he too would die, though Jesus says:

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

At funerals the grief is real. Family and friends try to make sense out of a life now gone. It seems surreal. How could so much life in this beloved One now be gone?

It makes no sense. The tears flow.

11 [Jesus] said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.

We hear about where they worked. Their service to others and the things they loved - family and friends, cars or boats, golfing and even doing things for others they didn’t even know.
It amplifies the grief and sorrow.

Lazarus had a loving family too; Martha and Mary and friends but also Jesus … who was a dear friend and part of his extended family.

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 … and many of [their friends] the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them … Martha heard that Jesus was coming [too, so] she went and met him …

As many of those we know get older, they can’t take care of themselves anymore so they rely on others for their care for them or even make their home at a nearby care facility.

Pictures at funerals can bring back fond memories from Thanksgiving and Christmas past or seeing nieces and nephews, children and grandchildren sitting on a couch and bringing into view young and old times of a wonderful life now past.

Death is real though … and at the funeral home our loved one is not pretending to sleep.

Lazarus wasn’t pretending either.

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Visitation before the service brings the stories. Some tears and smiles emerge.

But when the service begins death is real and it is time for all to realize this and for me it is a times to bring peace in a time of sorrow.

For we, who are connected to Christ, this peace comes only from Jesus.

The joys of a wonderful life and loving relationships in a life well lived, pale in comparison to a relationship with the King of Kings. Death is no respecter of persons and comes anyway and at times when it is least expected.

Love is good, and family is good, and friends and coworkers bring joy to our lives in many and various ways but death still comes. It came for Lazarus and it comes for our loved ones and one day for us as well.

24 Martha said to him [about Lazarus], “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

At funerals, as the tears flow for our loved ones who are now departed, I speak of the resurrection and the life and the blessed comfort for we who cling to Jesus and the hope of the faith in Christ that those who have now departed held in him.

Paul writes in our epistle:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

We cry and grieve but not without hope because we know that we too who believe in Christ Jesus will also spend eternity in heaven with him and with those we love, who believe and were baptized and marked by Christ as his redeemed children!

Tears are real.

33 When Jesus saw [Martha] weeping, and the [the friends] who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

Jesus wept for Lazarus, but he weeps for all who struggle with sin in their lives - day in and day out – calling us to cast our cares on him and to receive the forgiveness he won for us at the cross.

No matter how good we are we all still need Jesus and his purifying life, death and resurrection.

Without Christ, all that remains are good memories and like Lazarus a body that remains dead too.

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

Tombs and cemetery’s abound, whether local or in a place of our past.

Headstones are not rolled away but are there to mark the spot where the body of a life well lived rests.

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

Lazarus came out and so too will our loved ones who die in Christ because Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You and I and all who trust in Jesus will also rise.

We have been given this promise.

Lazarus was raised but also eventually died and waits.

He waits for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ and his return in Glory. Titus 2:13

The grave clothes will give way as we rise - as they did for Lazarus.
For St, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15:53:

53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Bound in sin Christ calls you … “Come out!”
Because, Death has been swallowed up in victory!

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

Amen

Sermon March 18, 2026

Title: Living among the Bible’s trees - Tree of the Lord’s Planting!
Text: Ezekiel 17:1–24; Mark 4:30–32

Facebook live: Living among the Bible’s trees - Tree of the Lord’s Planting!

30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

“From tiny acorns grow great oaks,” so they say. That may be, but the process never just happens.

What we take to be simple and common acts of nature are always really the work of the Creator’s hand.

It goes all the way back to the beginning when Genesis tells us:

8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen 2:8–9a.

Tonight, in the seventeenth chapter of Ezekiel, we heard about a particular tree that the Lord planted. We’ll consider that tree in this fifth sermon of our special Lenten sermon series, “Living among the Bible’s Trees.” As we consider the Tree of the Lord’s Planting!

In our reading from Ezekiel tonight, God uses trees as a figure of speech.

Using a cedar, willow, and vine, God relates recent history pertaining to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the taking King Jehoiachin of Israel captive and putting his relative Zedekiah in his place. Zedekiah is then - disloyally and unfaithfully as he seeks help from Egypt.

Then God prophesies the consequences of Zedekiah’s rebellion:

Finally, using a similar figure of speech, as the Lord God speaks of the tree that he himself will plant, in order to point to the Messiah, and his kingdom, the Church.

Since the first man and woman ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not only King Zedekiah, but all of us in various ways have been disloyal and unfaithful falling victim to sin.

Nebuchadnezzar had Zedekiah swear a loyalty oath in the Lord’s name, but Zedekiah broke it. Instead of faithfully trusting in the Lord even at that point, Zedekiah sought help from another, from Egypt which turned out to be a help that never really came.

You and I in our Baptism renounced the devil, all of his works, and all of his ways, and at our confirmation we further vowed to live according to the Word of God and to remain true to him in faith, word, and deed.

You and I make vows to spouses, and we make commitments to family, friends, and employers.

How long do we go before we first and then repeatedly break these vows and commitments in what we think, what we say and what we do?

You and I also face consequences for our rebellion against God in all its forms:

We face an exile in Babylon which is the captivity of our bondage of sin.
It covers all we are, all we say, and all we do.
Sin touches everything. The good and bad alike.
And this also includes a death here in time, and torment in hell for eternity.

And the Lord says:

24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Unless by God’s working, we humbly repent, and believe, as the Lord calls and enables us to do … we will be humiliated at the day judgment and for all eternity.

So, we humbly turn in sorrow from our broken sin filled disloyalty and rebellion trusting God who has promised to forgive our sin, and cleanse all our unrighteousness so that we desire to do better rather than to keep on sinning.

When we repent, we receive God’s forgiveness, for all our sin, for Jesus’ sake.

Jesus is the Sprig from the lofty top of the cedar, the tender topmost of its young twigs, whom the Lord himself sets out and plants on a high and lofty mountain.

And indeed, the New Testament shows us Jesus on mountains, such as when he was tempted, when he was transfigured, and when he finally comes again with the new Jerusalem.

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.

Jesus is the righteous Branch who saves Judah and makes Israel to dwell securely. Jer 23:5–6a

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected[a] by men,
a man of sorrows[b] and acquainted with[c] grief,
and as one from whom men hide their faces[e]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely, he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

Is 53:2–5.

For Jesus’ sake, whatever our sin might be, God forgives it all.

Psalm Ps 104:10–18 recalls creation and the Garden of Eden with its parklike plenitude of trees.

It tells of the good use to which God puts water, creating strong trees bursting with life, hordes of birds and other animals.

13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

We should think of Holy Baptism and the good use to which God at the font puts water and his Word—working forgiveness of sins, rescuing us from sin, death, and the devil and giving eternal salvation to all who believe the words and promise of God.

Those baptized live in the shelter of the Church, sustained by the Lord’s Supper, for the forgiveness of sins for life and salvation.

Considering the tree of the Lord’s planting, we realize that, although we are disloyal and sin in other ways, Jesus saves us and makes us to dwell securely.

As every bird and winged creature according to its kind once entered the ark, we too nest in the tree of the Lord’s planting, eating the abundant seed or food it offers, resting in the Arc of the church.

In the second reading, the mustard seed was the smallest seed farmers and gardeners knew.

It was proverbial for its smallness as a seed, but, as a plant, it reportedly could grow to ten or twelve feet tall, the largest plant in their herb gardens.

So, Jesus uses the seed and its God-given growth at least in part to teach that the kingdom of God that is the Church, starts from seemingly insignificant beginnings, as planted and grown by the Lord’s doing, but eventually gives shelter to people from all nations of the world, ultimately standing gloriously forever in eternity.

In fact, Jesus himself is the tree of the Lord’s planting, and he makes us, his Church, to be that tree as well by his work, grafting us into him so that we too are a tree of the Lord’s planting, in him.

God blesses our “Living among the Bible’s Trees,” both now in this life and in the eternity that he has promised where we will be with the Lord forever.

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

Amen

Lent series, "Living among the Bible's trees" - modified

Sermon March 14-15, 2023

Title: Wash and see!
Text: John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39

Facebook live: Wash and see!

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So, he went and washed and came back seeing.

[Thoughts on blindness] Deward Defoe, Mark Haas

To receive sight after being blind is something we can’t really understand but we who have been in the dark … when the lights have come on … know the joy of seeing again.

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Many see affliction as a result of personal sin … what we did to deserve this and the disciples thought this too.

But Jesus answers saying:

“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

His blindness had a purpose and God will display that purpose in him and in each one of us as he sees fit. It is not that he was blind, but through his blindness God will do with him and with each one of us as he sees fit.

Jesus says:

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

What Jesus means here is that while it is still day or light out, it is time for work.

I know that feeling, don’t you?

We call it Daylight Savings Time. It stays light longer and we can get much done in the light. But, from our Christian perspective we might call it Jesus Saving Time.

The time for the work of Christ and the gospel to be made known … like a light going on in the midst of the darkness.

This time of year we can suffer a loss or power with the wind storms in the spring.

I remember with past storms hearing as many as 700,000 without power and some for days on end!

That is a lot of darkness to deal with. Everyone suffered a little while some suffered a lot. The lack of electric power can make you feel helpless.

Generators can help … but unless it is a whole house generator … you remain painfully aware of your need for power and light from the outside … or it may be the heat as well as the cold nights got colder.

So it is also with our spiritual condition.

We are born blind in sin and dead to Christ and the truth cannot be made known to you and me by our own reason, understanding, or efforts.

In the gospel for today, the man born blind could not see and intervention came from outside in the person of Jesus.

6 Having said these things, [Jesus,] spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So, he went and washed and came back seeing.

The connection between Jesus, the word of God, and the water brings the blind man sight. (Command and Promise)

Water and word might bring to mind baptism … though this text is not a given pretext for baptism … there is much that can be brought to light by Jesus as the light of the world.

By Christ we receive access to the Father, by the word and water through the working of the Holy Spirit we have our spiritual blindness healed and receive sight to see Christ Jesus for who he is … the light of the world.

There are three responses from the world.

The neighbors

“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

He answered,

“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So, I went and washed and received my sight.”

The Pharisees
15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews (Unbelievers)

“Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”

22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

How do you and I respond?

We too receive sight but for us it is the gift of spiritual sight. Questions may come from our friends, religious leaders, and those of the world or of unbelief who ask …

“How do you see? How did you get your sight?”

The Pharisees denounce Jesus for his performing a miracle on the Sabbath. They look for the man to denounce him too setting Jesus up as a sinner.

His answer to those who try to entrap him is:

“Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

This template for you and me calls us to testify to the truth to those who ask so that God might by his word give faith and sight to the blind.

The truth at times will be rejected and like the blind man we too may be cast out. (The Christian witness in the world and the persecution that comes.)

Those who reject the word remain blind and dead in sin. Those who receive sight by the working of the Holy Spirit receive eternal life.

“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Lord, I believe,”

Paul brings comfort to we who believe with these words of one who is Justified and made a child of God by the working of the Spirit.

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Rom. 10:9-10

We made that confession in the words of the Nicene Creed today, and in the Apostles Creed on other services. Saying, I believe, and confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead.

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

Amen