Sermon Aug. 22-23, 2026

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

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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

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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

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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

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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