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God's Word Works

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Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:18-23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Sometimes ...
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Hidden from the Wise, Revealed to Little Children

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Click here to listen to this sermon. At that time Jesus declared, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! When our oldest grandson, Abbott, was quite a bit smaller—about two years old—Aimee and I would take him along on our walks through Dunham Park in Sioux Falls. On one occasion, he insisted on bringing along one of his toys. Planning on walking at least three miles and knowing he would probably get tired before we got back, we tried to persuade him not to bring along the extra load, to no avail. So, we took off, with Abbott carrying the special toy he felt was so crucial to bring. We figured he would have to learn the lesson for himself. It took a while for our suspicions that his (in our view, unnecessary) burden would soon become too heavy for him to carry to materialize. For som...
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Jesus Is for Losers

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Click here to listen to this sermon. “ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Mark Allen Powell tells this story in his book, Loving Jesus : I once saw a teenager at a shopping mall wearing a T-shirt that said, “Jesus Is for Losers.” At first I thought this was a cynical put-down of Christianity on the part of some adolescent who’d decided he was too cool to be associated with religion. Then I noticed the shirt had a Bible reference in parentheses beneath its bold statement. It was actually a Christian T-shirt, witnessing to the gospel. Of course! Jesus is for losers, not against them. Jesus came into this world to dine with outcasts and misfits and to proclaim good news to the disadvantaged, the neglected, the marginalized, and the abused. Tax collectors, harlots, Samaritans, lepers ... losers, all. Jesus is for them. [i] To say Jesus is for lo...
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Jeremiah's Complaint; Jeremiah's Praise

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Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Old Testament reading, Jeremiah 20:7-13.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Pashhur is a priest who oversees Jerusalem’s temple. His job description is simple: Make sure nothing changes. Pashhur’s mantra? “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (Jeremiah 7:4). As chief of temple security, Pashhur polices the place and dispenses with all false prophets, placing a gag order on everyone critiquing the present arrangement of power. In walks Jeremiah. He’s not afraid to call ‘em as he sees ‘em. The prophet’s preaching is a threat to Pashhur’s livelihood. It’s hardly surprising that people give Jeremiah the name Magor-misabib . It means “terror on every side.” The nickname summarizes the prophet’s frequent message. Jeremiah criticizes the Jerusalem temple and forecasts its destruction. Pashhur can’t stomach the thought that God is against Solomon...
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Jesus Sees; Jesus Calls; Jesus Sends

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  Click here to listen to this sermon. “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:35–38). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Seeing. Calling. Sending. That is the movement in the Gospel reading for today. It is also the movement of Jesus’ response to those who are harassed and helpless, of God’s interaction with His fractured and fallen creation, and of the sanctified Christian life as it lives by the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus sees. Jesus calls. Jesus sends. As He goes throughout the cities and villages, Jesus sees. This is not a minor detail. Many people go through life wondering if anyone sees, anyone notices. If you listen closely, that is at the heart of many of our cur...
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