Recent sermons
September 13, 2026 - Matthew 18: 21-35
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do you consider it easy to forgive others? I mean generally speaking, when someone sins against you, when a person hurts you, do you find it easy to forgive them? Maybe you are like most people, generally speaking, that would put themselves in the category that would say it is hard to forgive? You might find yourself this very day in a position--that a wrong has been done to you and at this very moment you are withholding forgiveness. In Matthew Chapter 18, Jesus is in the middle of one of the longer recorded discussions that Jesus is having with Peter and the disciples. Last week Jesus spoke specifically about what should be done when someone sinned against you. As we heard from last week’s lesson, unrepentant sin should not go unacknowledged, and more than that, it could even result in that person being removed from the Christian Church… but that is not the goal. The goal is restoration and a short summery of last week’s lesson is that sin is a very very big deal. It is such a big deal that if someone has unrepentant sin in their life, Jesus suggests, they will not be forgiven nor will they participate in the joys of God’s Kingdom. I don’t know about you but I justify myself when I’m angry and I don’t want to forgive someone. Peter was no different. Peter came up to Jesus and said, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Jesus went on to tell Peter a parable. 23-25 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a major debt of 10,000 talents. When he couldn’t pay up, the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market. 26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt. 28 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’ 29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king. 32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and threw the man in jail until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.” This parable was a response to Peter’s question. Jesus, I understand the power and the importance of forgiveness but what if my brother keeps sinning against me? Peter heard the Sermon on the Mount. He heard how Jesus reinterpreted and added to the law making it ever harder to keep. “You heard it was said thou shall not kill. But I say to you if you hate your brother you are liable for judgement.” All things considered, Peter was being pretty gracious. The Jewish code would have never allowed for seven strikes. Even in our judicial system, it is three strikes and you’re out. Just notice even with Peter’s generosity, which would have been more than double anyone else’s standard, it was dwarfed and then swallowed by Jesus’ response. Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Some commentators argue as to whether Jesus said Seventy-seven times or Seventy times seven. Understand giving forgiveness a numerical number misses the point. What Jesus was doing was expanding upon his earlier teaching about “always repay evil with good.” In effect, Jesus was saying there is to be no limit to the forgiveness given and received. Jesus said, “being forgiving is not about keeping score but it is rather something in your very nature. It is to be part of your very character… who you are.” Jesus went on to tell a story to help Peter grapple with this teaching. Consider that there was this king and he was calling for all his servants to repay their debts. Now, there was this one servant who owed 10,000 talents. Know that a talent was the top monetary denomination and it was a huge amount of money. Jeff Gibbs wrote in his commentary on Matthew, “a day laborer would need to work 60,000,000 days to pay off 10,000 talents. Even if the debtor’s pay was extraordinarily high and he never had a day off the staggering amount would ensure imprisonment for at least 1,000 years. Moreover, the ratio of this debt to the later hundred denarii is approximately 600,000 to one. This was an evil servant indeed!” The whole point of the parable was to say that this guy owed an insurmountable debt. The king said go to jail but the servant pleaded I will pay you back. No doubt it was a ridiculous statement to be made. There was no fathomable way for the servant to pay off the debt. but even though the king had every right to sell the family into slavery and imprison the servant for many lifetimes, he did not. Instead he took pity on the servant and he forgave the debt. I would like for you to consider that for a moment, because although we begin our services with confession of our sins, although we realize our sinfulness, I’m not sure we take the time to acknowledge what our sin cost God. In the parable the king’s forgiveness cost him the equivalent of 60,000,000 dollars. When he chose to forgive the debt he was choosing to forgo the money that rightly belonged to him. Given that this text describes Jesus’ work and His role in the kingdom, Given that you are here because of his work to seek, find, and forgive you… let us consider that our forgiveness cost God. Last week we discussed how we have nothing to offer God. That we are small, and weak, and insignificant like children, like lost sheep. Last week the message was metaphorical, this week it is literal. It is about you and me and how you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ. Today the message is real and it is personal... Forgive as you have been forgiven. This is a relational text. To be sure, it is a practical text. Think in your head who has sinned against you. Do you have a list? I have a list? I know people who have wronged me. I know people that have spoken ill of me and who am I to talk? I have done the same thing. In fact, I might be on your list. What are we are going to do about it? I’ll tell you what I’d like to do. I’ll tell you what is easy to do. It is easy to be passive aggressive. It is easy to want revenge. At best, I want back what they took from me. Honestly, I want more than what they took from me… I want them to feel sorry. I want them to be sorry. I also want them to go away and want to never see them again. I want for them to be out of my life all together. Leave me alone and never have contact again. Brothers and sisters and Christ, can you see what sin does? Sin separates. Sin isolates. Sin divides us from God and us from each other. For this reason sin cannot be left to stand because it is more than a trite flesh wound that will heal over time. Sin permanently separates us from God and it cannot and will not be left to stand. The reality is this, we are in need of a Savior… all of us. And as I suggested I know we are tempted to use this text as permission to write people off. As long as I follow the biblical principles of church discipline I am perfectly justified to write people off and erase them from the books, right? Wrong. Understand Jesus did not give Peter this teaching to provide him a way to kick people out. Recall that Jesus is the good shepherd seeking every last lost sheep…. That means, the last thing Jesus wants is to lose someone that he has died for. If anything, this text gives us greater responsibility for it is ultimately not about writing people off, it is about restoring them. This text is about a God that wants all people to be saved. He wants your brother or sister or mother or father or friend, he wants them all saved…. That beings said, go get them. Go find them. Go bring them back. Why? Well, it is simple. Because that is what Jesus has done for you. He forgave your insurmountable debt. Go and do likewise. Of course I know it is easier said than done. Sometimes it does not work. Sometimes they don’t come back. Yet the force of the text is to go, go again, bring others, and try… try harder. On this very topic hear these words from the church constitution of my former congregation read which I served: Such self-exclusion releases the individual from the privileges of church membership. But such a person, however, will at all times be cordially welcomed to attend all divine services in our church. And they shall be restored with all rights and privileges when they repent and ask forgiveness. The sad reality is that not everyone will hear and respond to the Gospel and not everyone will be reconciled. But that is not our responsibility. That is Jesus’ responsibility. It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility. Our responsibility is to meet them where they are, to see ourselves as sinners redeemed by Christ, and to speak that some forgiveness to them. You have been forgiven. Your sins which separated you from God have been reconciled. There is the standard. In the name of Jesus, go and do likewise. The grace of God, which surpasses all understanding, trust your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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September 6, 2026 - Matthew 18:1-20
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Last week Jesus has just begun teaching the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem to die. He told them that he would soon die on the cross. Jesus was and is the greatest example of the greatest becoming the least, but given that they did not realized it at the time, Jesus in this text offers them a second example. He offered them a little child. Jesus strikingly embraced the little child and said to the disciples that faith is about loving, and serving, and welcoming the least… faith is about embracing the powerless, the downtrodden, and the destitute. It is about realizing that in the scheme of things we are not all that unlike them. Little children are great, aren’t they? Maybe I’m bias, but I have 4 of them. Children are a good indicator as to the health of a congregation… no little children… no future. All of that is true, but that is not what Jesus is saying. The disciples have just asked the question who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven and Jesus responded, “Let me tell you something boys and girls. If you don’t become like children you won’t even get in.” I’m sure this is such a well-known text that it hardly astonishes us anymore. Maybe, but when is the last time you thought to yourself “everything I needed to know in life I learned in kindergarten?” Even though kindergarten is more rigorous today with tests and standards than it has ever been, I doubt that you have ever said that. None the less, I think the force of the text is that just because you have graduated kindergarten, don’t pretend for a second that you are better than them. The great American Evangelist Billy Graham was once asked what his biggest regret was and his answer surprised a lot of people. He said, “if he had ten years left of life, he would want to study for nine of them, so that the one year of ministry left would be the most productive that it could be.” I’m sure Billy Graham was exaggerating a little bit. God used him mightily over the years as he filled stadiums and preached the Gospel. Yet Billy Graham said what he said to make a point. And the point was this, we are disciples of Jesus and that means we are always learning. You will never get to a point when you can say, “I have arrived”. If Billy Graham, as he reflected on his life, said he wished he had thought more, reflected more, and studied more, surely we too should say the same. And just consider what the church would look like throughout the week if we took this to heart. If all of you said, I have approximately 10 to 20 years left and I’m going to use those years to immerse myself in God’s word, and just consider what God would do to you and with you. The Christian walk is about learning and growing and although, we are all somewhere different on the learning curve, understand we are all Children of the heavenly Father, no more, and no less. It is easy for us to hear this story and mock the disciple’s obvious arrogant attitude. But that being said, isn’t it easy to talk about a servant attitude on Sunday but then throughout the week we live according to the world’s power politics. Let’s acknowledge that when “temptation comes” we are no better than the children. Knowing this Jesus gives us a precaution. “It is necessary that temptations will come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Can you imagine Jesus saying that to you on the Day of Judgement that you caused a weaker Christian to sin σκανδαλίσῃ. We know the word quite well in English as scandalize. My point is that it means more than “to cause to sin.” It means to “cause to stumble.” It means “to cause one to lose footing.” So in this context it means “to cause one to lose faith.” The full imagery Jesus is employing is that if you push a Christian into unbelief it would have been better for you to undergo the worst death imaginable because that death is not as bad as the Hell that the other person will face because of you. Understand Jesus is not trying to guilt trip you, but he is trying to point out to you just how much what you say and do matters. It matters so much in fact that a choice you make could have eternal consequences for someone else. But notice the implication. The implication is that your actions could have eternal significance as well. I suppose we could talk about the lost: we could talk about ways to reach the them. James says, “Fathers, provoke not thy children to wrath. Don’t domineer them. Don’t belittle them because it will do little more than stir resentment in their lives. Rather, let them learn to become a man by seeing their father serve.” And likewise, let a girl learn how to be a woman by seeing the beauty of her mother’s character. Biblical leadership is servant leadership. Paul said to Timothy, “Shepherd the flock of God, not by domineering but by being an example.” In other words whatever role you might have, may your life be that of a servant. As we learned last week, may it be cruciform. May the people who see you in action be reminded of Christ and the cross. I know we could talk extensively about the unchurched and we could talk about trying to reach them, that is a good thing, it is just the text is not really about them. This text is about you. Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to stumble cut it off… If your foot causes you to stumble cut it off… If your eye causes you to stumble tear it out.” You see, he was not talking about them! He was talking to us! No doubt there is much we all have yet to learn. Jesus wants us to be realistic about our sin and our spiritual weakness. You and I are going to fail Jesus and others quite often in our life. Perhaps you are here this morning knowing that you have failed Jesus or someone else recently, possibly even in some big way. I find myself in a failure position often and so does every other committed follower of Jesus Christ. Given that, the question is how do we handle falling, how do we handle sin, how do we handle when others sin against us. Jesus calls us all children and that does not mean small and it certainly does not mean innocent. It means needy and utterly dependent upon Him. It means I no longer look to myself, but I look to God and in the words of a child “I can’t do it.” “I can’t fix myself.” “I need a savior to save me.” “Abba Father, help me.” This is what it means to call upon the Lord and be saved. “The chief of sinners though I be, God has shed his blood for me. He died that I might live on high. He lives that I might never die. As the branch is to the vine I am his and he is mine” Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jesus said, “it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” What does that mean? That means that the one who is most in need is the greatest. Jesus came for people like you and people like me. Struggling needy people like us. It means a family who is in financial need is the greatest… we are to care for them. A person with a deepest sorrow is the greatest… show concern for them and above all don’t cause them to stumble. A person racked by temptation is the greatest… seek them out, pray with them, pronounce the Gospel and bring him back. Understand, this truth can transform our church. Today, it might be someone who is racked by heartache. Hunger, confusion, or sick or in pain. Today, they are the greatest and we are called to serve. Just understand, tomorrow it might be someone else, and one day it might be one of us. Just remember, Jesus cares for the lowly. He cares for the humble and he will come again for the children.
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August 30, 2026 - Matthew 16:21-28
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our father and lord and savior Jesus Christ. A few years ago a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill published a study on American teenagers entitled Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. It is considered the most comprehensive study of American teenage religion and spirituality to date. Here’s the bottom line of the finding: of this young generation who go to church, here’s what they believe most. A very high majority of them see themselves as religious. They believe that there’s a God and He wants us to be good which is defined as moral, based on their values, the values of their culture, their closest friends, their family, and that God’s ultimate desire for them is that He wants them to be happy. That system of belief is labeled Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Basically, the belief is God wants you to be good. And if they’re good enough you can go to heaven and that he wants you to be happy. This is not the gospel of Jesus Christ as we know from the Bible. But what’s more disturbing than that is that the researchers asked the question “where do our young people get this idea about God?” And the answer was from their churches, from their parents, from the adults in their life. Regardless of what we have said or not said, they have learned their beliefs largely by the way we live our lives. That means you might say a prayer before you eat, but if your life is always chasing the Jone’s, that is what you are teaching your children. Paul writes to the Galatians who were struggling with a similar problem concerning the Gospel of Christ. He says “I’m astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning for to a different gospel which is no gospel at all but even if we, Paul and his companions or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one that we preach to you let him be eternally condemned.” I’m gonna say it again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you heard from Matthew 16 (for instance), let him be eternally condemned. To follow Jesus we must embrace the centrality of the cross. May the Lord help us. Last week, we were also in Matthew Chapter 16 and Jesus had commended Peter for a strong, clear, correct and confident confession of faith. “Who do you say that I am?… Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16: 16). “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.” At that time Jesus commended those words of faith for what they were. They were a confession and a gift of God the Father more profound and more true than anything else that could have been said. Given that, doesn’t that just make our text all the more striking?... Verse 16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”… Verse 21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” I cannot help but sympathize with Peter. Consider if you had left everything to follow Jesus and now He was telling you His plan is to die. That is not what you would want to hear especially when you have seen the things that Jesus can do. Peter had seen Jesus perform earth altering miracles. Peter had seen Jesus cure diseases and disclose the thoughts of people he had never met. He had seen Jesus speak to a storm and the storm listened. “Surely this man is son of God.” “Far be it from you, Lord! You are not going to die.” Peter seems to be like a lot of people who hear part of what Jesus said but missed the rest of it. But let’s be fair, it does make sense. I can imagine the part about Jesus going to Jerusalem to be crucified would have been so arresting that his mind locked up. I know at least for me, that if going to Jerusalem means being nailed to a cross, it would not take me long to decide I’d go somewhere else, anywhere else. Crucifixion was possibly the most horrible form of humiliation. It would seem to be the ancient picture of everything evil and horrible in the world, especially to a Jew. All things considered, even though the disciples would have been willing to go anywhere with him, none the less, the problem was simple “the messiah can’t die and certainly not on a cross. For cursed is any man that hangs on a tree.” For this reason, Peter tried to rebuke Jesus. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” I can imagine those words to have been tempting for Jesus, especially considering all the things Jesus had already done… even conquering death was not outside the realm of things Jesus could accomplish. Therefore, all he had to say was, “You are right Peter. Let’s do it another way. That’s the Father’s way but let’s do it my way.” Just notice no other way was given. Instead Jesus said, “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.” I wonder if Jesus would think we have set our minds on the things of men. Would we, like Peter, prefer a therapist Jesus who has been sent to help us cope with problems, heals our past, and reminds us not to be so hard on ourselves. Would we prefer open minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what. How about gentle Jesus who walked around barefoot with a shepherd’s staff and flowing hair feeding the poor. Hippy Jesus who helps us to remember all we need is love, recycling, and to focus on giving peace a chance. How about yuppie Jesus who encourages us to dream big, reach for the stars, buy a boat, and become a member at his yacht club. There’s also spirituality Jesus who rejects church leaders and doctrine and institutional church. I’m sure Peter would have loved revolutionary Jesus who taught rejecting authority and rebellion against the status quo. Understand, we can find a Bible verse to support just about any Jesus you want. But brothers and sisters in Christ, who is Jesus? Last week we heard Peter say Jesus is “The Son of the living God.” This week we learn what Jesus intends to do. He intends to “go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Why is this important? Well, for one, when you go through your own pain can you hear Jesus say “I’ve been there. Endure it now. Trust me.” Through it all God is faithful. He forgives us, absolves us, and points us to the second half of the message that everyone seemed to miss. “On the third day He will be raised to life.” God’s will is not that we live forever in this world of sin and sorrow. His will is for us to be with him in paradise. His will is that on the last day He will wake us up and we will be like Him and we will be with him in His kingdom. That is no doubt too wonderful for our minds to imagine but as Scripture says “Nothing is too wonderful for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14) How do we see this text apply to our lives? Right at the end of the reading Jesus said something that is kind of hard to understand. He said, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” And we might wonder what was he talking about? We may think He is referring to the Transfiguration which happens right after this text as the moment when they saw his Glory, but I don’t think that is what Jesus meant. Jesus told them to pick up their cross and follow him. That is exactly what they did and they went all the way to Jerusalem with Jesus. There they saw Jesus’ hand himself over to the chief priests and the rulers. They saw him sentenced to death… They saw him lifted up and there His arms were outstretched in love for the world. They saw the love of God confronting the sin of this world. They saw Jesus in solidarity with you and me purely in grace and mercy. In other words, before they tasted death, they saw their salvation on the cross. May you see your salvation. May this wonderful Savior strengthen our faith as we take up our cross. May he show us his glory in times of trial May we ever walk with Him all the way to Glory everlasting. As for Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, that’s not the way of the Bible. God is not about you always being happy. He is about you being faithful. And he has done everything already so that you can be.
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August 23, 2026 - Matthew 16:13-20
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our father and lord and savior Jesus Christ. When a football team, such as the Kansas City Chiefs, goes against its most formidable opponent, the coach will send his best to face the worst. Coaches know it. Generals know it. And we are about to take a look at the ultimate leader Jesus… the worst opposition hades, Hell, and who will God send? Will he send legions of angels? Will he himself speak with earth shaking, mountain shattering, fire dropping, end all be all authority. He will use those options in due time, but here in this text who is God’s most formidable opponent? Hell. And who is God going to send? Believe it or not, it is you… it is us. Believe it or not, it is the Church, the people of God. Is that surprising to you as you look around over the church. Given the foe, maybe it’s astounding that he intends to use you, His Church, to defeat the gates of Hell. Truth be told, I too am surprised, but understand this is not the only text that speaks this way. Listen to Romans 16:20. “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.” (not his Sons feet… your feet.) Ephesians 6, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God.” Revelation 17:14 “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them with those who are called and chosen and faithful.” All things considered, the Church is God’s formidable opponent He has chosen to fight the Devil. The emphatic verse in Matthew Chapter 16 is verse 18. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.” Now consider the images… Hell is compared to a gate. Gates are connected to walls. Gates carry along with them images of fortified cities, yet the gate itself does nothing more than to stand its ground and possibly open or close. Gates are always passive. They can be shut, locked, re-enforced. They can keep people in or out, but gates don’t put up a fight. They play a defensive game and they cannot take the offensive position. But what about stones? I suppose the stone itself is passive too. It could be something to look at, or talk about, or a place to sit on. (Olive and archie were handing out stones to everyone who went to apple butter yesterday). That being said, it could also be a formidable weapon. When used… when acted upon… oh what a stone can do. A stone in a hand can break a window. A stone in a slingshot can take down Goliath. A stone in a catapult can take out a gate. What I want for us to see is that this text is a call to action, not a call to retreat into churches and wait until the enemy comes to break down our door. Too often Christians play the defensive game. And furthermore, if we sit around and wait for the devil and his minions to come to our door, it will be too late. My point, Jesus’ point, is it should be the other way around. So often interpretations of this text are like the song we just sang, “On Christ, the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.” That’s a good song. It’s a true song. But just don’t miss this, in this text we are not the fortress with gates… Hell is. We are the warriors that hold the stones that will ultimately break down the gates of Hell itself. Notice the difference, and notice the call to action. Probably a better song to emphasize the point Peter would or should have taken from Jesus in Matthew 16 would be “Onward, Christian Soldiers Marching Off to War with the cross of Jesus marching on before”. The reason why I chose the songs I did was simply to emphasize if you don’t have the right confession than you don’t have a weapon… if you don’t have the Word of God in your heart, than you don’t have the breastplate or the full armor of God (as Paul would say). Jesus asked, “who do people say I, the Son of Man, am?” Funny how he gives the right answer in the question further emphasizing how they got it wrong. None the less, “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Who do you say that I am? I cannot stress enough how important the RIGHT confession is. Jesus said, even the gates of Hell will not prove to be stronger than the ROCK of Peter’s confession and the church. One thing I should say is that it’s not really Peter’s confession. The Church does not does not rest on what Peter thinks. The Church is not built on the confessions her members make. That would confuse the effect with the cause. The effect is the confession but the cause is God’s revelation. Ultimately, she rests on the reality which Peter confessed, namely on Jesus. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said the gates will be knocked down. The Apostles’ Creed confesses that after Jesus suffered many things. He died. He descended into Hell. Peter tells us in his letter in 1 Peter Chapter 3 that Jesus preached His victory to its inhabitants. Three days later Jesus made clear that even the gates of Hell, even the valley of death, cannot hold Him. Let me be clear, I don’t question your confession. I’m sure your confession is Peter’s, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Here is what I think is our concern, we still have two options. Do we put most of our energy into replacing windows and doors, strengthening and tending the rock so that it will withstand the world and its elements OR should we be confident enough in the rock that we direct our attention to taking this rock out into the world. Should we stay or should we go. Should we sit or should we play the offensive. I want for us to notice Jesus has led his disciples to a very provocative location to ask them this question. He has taken his disciples away from Israel and taken them to Caesarea Philippi, a city with a population of 20,000 and with a population of no less than 14 false temples. Caesarea Philippi had a temple for Baal. It had a temple to Pan. It was called Caesarea after Caesar. In 1 Kings Chapter 12 King Jeroboam I set up a golden calf Caesarea Philippi in what was at the time called Dan. It was a provocative location from its conception and just consider Jesus standing with these twelve disciples surround by a city full of idols and Jesus looks at them and asks “Who do you say the son of man is?” Understand that is a weighty question because in the book of Daniel the Son of Man was God himself who would bring salvation to the people…. Now let me just say this. If your salvation is from God, you do not have to worry about the devil or any one else. Even if you are sure of your salvation, you might yet question how am I going to be a warrior. Have you ever heard the phrase “any donkey can kick through a barn door”? I’m not calling you a donkey but what I’m saying is that Jesus said the gates of Hell will not prevail you. Or in other words, any Christian can kick through the gates of Hell. Understand your ability, your power to do these things, do not come from you. The Scripture makes it clear “this does not come from you but from my Father in heaven.” Let me say it this way, the most important work going on right now is not me trying to hold your attention and you trying not to sleep. The most important work you cannot see or hear. It is happening inside of you and it is God’s work. God makes you who you are. Jesus said, “I tell you that you are Peter (Petros- a stone), and on this Petra- cliff I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it. Like I said, God makes you who you are. However, that being said, you are only as strong, only as healthy, only as vibrant, and only as dangerous to Hell as to the extent that you sincerely believe the confession made by Simon Peter. That is where it all begins but that is not where it ends. Notice that after Peter said something about Jesus, Jesus said “now let me tell you something about you.” “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.” This is depicting siege warfare, that there is a city, it has gates, and it will not be able to resist the assault. Let’s apply this, there are a lot of reasons to come to church. Worship is one, fellowship is one, receiving the gifts of God are no doubt important… but how about this, you come to be equipped so that when you leave from here you can be a warrior of the Gospel. Coming to church helps you to be Christ centered because let me tell you this, if you don’t have your eyes on the cross, if your cross-hairs are pointing anywhere other than Jesus, you will be no threat to Hell. As we continue to live in the world midst false religion, I pray that we are able to see Jesus clearly. I also pray you are ready to go to Hell and back for the sake of the Gospel. I pray that through all of your preparation, that you are poised to attack. We will win because all things considered “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For this reason, I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the Grace of God, which surpasses all understanding trust your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.
August 16, 2026 - Matthew 15:22-28
Today the Gospel reading takes us to an all-too familiar life experience. Today we see Jesus in a light where he appears to be unresponsive to a person’s heartfelt request. I suggest this text is a lot like life experience, because who among us has ever prayed for something and felt God remained silent. Why did Jesus say nothing to this woman after she came up to him with a heartfelt concern? She cried out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Like many of you, she was a concerned parent. She seems to have come to Jesus completely broken and completely humble asking for God to intervene not for herself but solely on behalf of her daughter. Many people come to Jesus all the time requesting help to complete their agenda. “Lord, help me make enough money to purchase a Ferrari for myself.” “Lord, help me increase my finances without reducing my spending.” We have all had prayers like that and I’m sure you could understand why God might be silent to some of them. But this prayer seems different. This woman appears genuine. She seems sincere, and more than that, she also seems to have done her homework… she may be living in a pagan land, but she knows who Jesus is and what He’s about. Given that, isn’t it odd Jesus said nothing to her? More than that, how could he go on to say what he said the disciples? How could Jesus say, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Did Jesus just call that concerned mother a dog? There is no doubt this text creates more questions than answers, but here is what I think is going on in this episode…. Notice, Jesus who kept silent in regards to the woman, speaks to the disciples. What that tells me is this episode was intended to teach the disciples something. The only question is what? Well, it certainly seems as though Jesus plays upon their stereotype of Canaanites who lived in Tyre and Sidon. Given that the Jews despised Samaritans, you can only imagine what they must have thought of a Canaanites, gentile, woman… three strikes and she is definitely out. They must have thought her to be no better than a pagan-worshiping half-bred mutt. Sometimes I wonder if God gives me passages like this to break me of my stereotypes. On multiple occasions I have found that I have judged people wrongly… even on the occasion that I feel justified to believe what I do about others, Lord help us all, because if God judged me the way we judge others, if God adopted the disciples’ approach of “send them away ministry”, then He would send us all away without an answer. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in the 15th chapter of Matthew… consider that for 15 chapters Jesus has offered everything to the Jews and they have accepted none of it. After everything he has done for them, just prior to our text the Jewish leaders had killed John the Baptist and they are now plotting his death. Now, in contrast to them, He has offered this woman nothing except complete silence and an insult and surprisingly she even takes that. In her humility she even says, “True, Lord it is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs but Israel’s table is so rich and so gracious that I can eat sufficiently even on the crumbs. Let them eat their full and the crumbs that fall off their table are all that I need.” A couple weeks ago when we read from the feeding of the 5000, do you remember what happened? After the multitude had eaten to their satisfaction, remember how Jesus commanded the disciples to pick up the crumbs. Remember how there were baskets of leftovers? And so it is fitting isn’t it? It is fitting that she would say, I don’t want to take the children’s bread, but if I can just be a dog (a kunerion) in your house, if you will be my master, I am content to be the kunerion under your table. The Bible says “man does not live on bread alone but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Kunerion left the mouth of God and she grabbed it. I’d like to point out she called Jesus something that only the disciples call him in the book of Matthew “Lord”. We should notice she called him something only an Israelite would have called him, “Son of David”. She also seems to acknowledge that Jesus has come with a specific plan and that you cannot just decide to have the kind of Jesus that you want. At that moment Jesus turned to her and he said “Oh woman. Your faith is great. Your daughter is healed.” What is most striking about that statement is that Jesus never said that to the disciples. There is no doubt this episode was intended to teach them a lesson. Most people read this story and assume the lesson is for her, but that is not true; the lesson was for the them and us. Admittedly, this text inspires several questions and some I cannot answer. Yet in the midst of our questions, this text provides great truths intended to feed us. If you look around you will notice there are about 65 or so active members of our congregation. At any given moment, there are 2 or 3 people in the hospital (This last week- Gary, Lisa, and Steve Shaege). At any given week, there are 2 or 3 people having surgery (this past week- Jenny and Gary). At any given month, there are 6 shut-ins, not to mention all the others stuff that goes on from week to week. Being only one person, it can be so tempting to say what the disciples said. “Jesus, send her away.” I got to bet Jesus was tired, but notice Jesus did not say that to her. He did not send her away. Instead he commended her for faith and He blessed her. I’d also like to point out that we cannot foresee the effect we have on people. I don’t know what happened to the guy I gave a ride to the laundry mat. I don’t know what happened to that guy I bought lunch or the woman I gave a gift card to. But here is the deal, at the end of the book of Acts the disciples in Chapter 21 Verse 3 have arrived at Tyre. Here’s what it says, 3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.” The striking thing is there is no record of any missionaries going to Tyre, yet when they get to Tyre they found disciples. They stayed there seven days and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Isn’t that fascinating. They had never been to Tyre, but it said they accompanied us with wives and children. I cannot know this for sure, but if I were to imagine the scene, it would go something like this: a woman walks up to Peter and says “I don’t know if you remember me, I’m the syro-phenician woman who had a demon processed daughter. My name is kunerion? Do you remember that day when you tried to hide and you wanted to send me away? You never got a chance to meet my daughter but here she is… look at the beautiful woman that she has become, but more than that, look at what God has done in this city since the last time you were here… can we pray for you. I’d like to bless you.” The work of God is amazing isn’t it? In the beginning of the sermon, I mentioned that this story is all-too familiar. As we live her story, as we come to Jesus who meets us at his table, let us receive his help. The crumbs that fall off the master’s table are indeed more than enough for us. Jesus said, “Great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you wish.” In this text we see the heart of a woman of faith but we also see the heart of Christ and the mercy of God, as he proclaims his forgiveness to all nations. Receive that same forgiveness and know that Jesus continues to hear and answer prayer. In the grace of God, which surpasses all understanding, trust your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus Amen.
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August 9, 2026 - Matthew 14:22-33
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the 1800’s there was a Danish philosopher named Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard was critical of his times and especially of the Church. Kierkegaard said, “Look at modern man. He spends all his life looking for time saving devices and labor-saving tools, and then the job of the preacher is to undo all of it.” Kierkegaard was right, that I cannot, and will not, stand before all of you and promise you success or wealth or prosperity or greatness. I cannot promise with a good conscience that storms will not be in your future. But what I can promise to you is, that even in the midst of storms, you are baptized, set apart, and loved by God. I don’t know why there are storms that tear through neighborhoods. I don’t know why there are floods that devastate entire communities. I’m sure we would much rather life to be a cruise and God to be like a deck hand there to make things smooth sailing all the time. Whether we like it or not, life is not a cruise. God is not my deck boy. Furthermore, we are not just along to enjoy the ride. That being said, you are here because Jesus called you to be here. You are here because Jesus called you to a life of discipleship. Pick up your cross, therefore, and follow him… become what Jesus wants you to be… a storm facer. Notice what I said. You don’t have to be a storm chaser, a storm predictor, or a dooms day prepper, but Jesus does expect for you to weather storms. Is it striking to you to find out that Jesus compelled the disciples to get into a boat and row straight into the storm that evening? Well, He did, and you better believe they were not all too happy about it… I’m sure it was especially hard as the rowing began to get tough and Matthew points out “the wind and the waves were torturing the boat.” To the disciple’s credit, they were being enduring. Matthew points out they were a long way from land. It literally says, “they were many “statia from land.” John adds, “they had gone some twenty-five or thirty statia away.” That means about 3 miles and I can tell you this… that twelve men could row three miles very quickly, so if these guys had set out at dusk and by 2 or 3 in the morning they have only went three miles in 7 hours that means the wind and the waves must have been incredible. They were not always that enduring, but they were that evening; and I’d like to point out the word describing the waves on the boat translated as “beating” or “torturing”, that same word is used in Mark not to describe the waves hitting the boat but to describe the disciples at the ores. After seven hours of this you can imagine the disciples felt beaten and battered. In good southern language, “These boys were getting whipped and they were wiped.” But they were still doing it… and that is important to note. If you don’t get anything else from me this morning don’t miss this… Jesus is about to walk toward them, but at the moment Jesus walks toward them, He does not immediately calm the storm, that is because he is less concerned about the storm and more concern that they are able to see him in the midst of the storm. What’s my point? Jesus waited… until all adequacy and ability was seeping from them like sweat… literally. I found it striking that Peter wanted to go out into the storm rather than say, “Master, if it is you, stop this thing.” This is a hard message. We love comforting grace but we hate it when Jesus won’t stop the storm. But sometimes He wants us to face the reality that we cannot do it on our own and we need to turn to him… and even then, the storm might not stop. I’m speaking for myself, but I hate it when he does that. I bet some of you are in a storm this morning and you have no other choice but to hear me out, what if His plan is that you stop living as if life were a cruise and God were your deck boy and you join into the race of people who are storm facers with God. What I think you’ll learn is that courage and faith come not from the absence of storms but the presence of Jesus. That is what this story is all about. In Jewish lore the sea is a place of demonic forces and danger. In the beginning of the text the disciples are out there by themselves. Matthew goes out of his way to let us know, “Jesus was back on land praying while the disciples were many statia away on the stormy sea.” The storm in this story was a real storm, but the point is that it really separated them from Jesus. I can only imagine that they were pretty upset with Jesus when they realized He literally sent them into a literal storm. Funny how Jesus seems to do this type of thing often, the only problem this time was that Jesus was not in the stern of the boat as he was in previous chapters. If you think about it, Jesus does this with us all the time. Even today, we are not all that unlike the disciples. A man by the name of Hans Schwarz wrote a book called “Our Cosmic journey.” In that book he said something about us that is true… painfully true. He said, “This generation of humanity knows more than any other generation of humanity ever.” That is true. He said, “This generation has more benefits and is capable of doing more than any generation ever.” That is definitely true. He said, “This generation knows more, knows better, has more and is capable of more than any generation in the history of the world; yet there has also never been a generation that knows so little about who they are and what they should be about in the world.” That is painfully true. The truth is we are not all that unlike the disciples, some of us may know more, some of us may know less, but in that boat when tortured by the wind and the waves, our faith in Jesus mustn’t be threatened. I’m sure you’ll not be surprised to learn a boat, or an ark, is symbolic of the Church and the boat/church symbolism plays large in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was written for the Church… Matthew was the only Gospel to mention the Church… He does it twice. Matthew wrote his book for the Church in a day and time when the Church was greatly suffering on the high-seas of life and the purpose of this story was for the readers to see Jesus in the midst of their storms. Some people love to make this story about Peter, about how Peter got out of the boat. For the sake of the analogy… where are you? Are you where Peter is, trying to walk on water, or are you back in the boat, where the disciples were? I accept the fact that some people don’t even try. I accept the fact that some of us could trying harder. But know this, that is not the point of this miracle. Let me be clear, Peter, Petros… means stone, rock. As you know, stones have no business trying to walk on the water. Matthew said, “Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and grabbed him.” Let us not miss the beautiful craftmanship of this text. Matthew is a glorious writer and this story has perfect symmetry in which at its center is Jesus saying, “I am, have no fear.” Jesus said, “Ego Emi.” There is no accident and no room for denial in those words… When Moses asked God, what is your name. “When people want to know who sent me, what should I say? God said, “tell them, I am.” In the midst of their storm Jesus reminds them He is their God. Have you read the weather forecast? People are sick, heart ache rampant, famine is everywhere, there are wars and rumors of wars, people dying. On the boat “things are not always as they appear.” Some of us get the idea that faith can do super human things… If only we had enough. The Jewish tradition is very clear and only God walks on water. Peter, a good human, jumped out of the boat and had God not intervened he would have sunk to the bottom. I get wearied when preachers suggest, “If only I had enough faith.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, faith is not about walking on water. Faith is about trusting that Jesus can. Jesus does not require them or you to walk on the water. He only asks for simple human trust. What Jesus expects from you is that you trust in him not just when things look grim… but also when they are grim. Even when it might feel like he is not present, it is at those very times when trusting him in faith is the most vital. Jesus’ disciples are not asked to walk on water, but they were told to get in the boat (implication being stay in the boat), and to trust that Jesus will be the pilot not the deck boy. Faith will not exempt you from the trials of life. As long as you are in this world, faith will never exempt you from the laws of physics or biology. If anything, the more you have faith, the more human you will become. And all things considered, the Christian life is not a cruise and God is not a deck boy. But he does promise to be with you. You are baptized, set apart, and loved by God. He promises that on this “rock” He will build His Church. Sickness, failure, pain, death they are all part of life, it is just that people of faith ride in the boat and they get through it... not because their own strength or the power of their own faith but because Jesus helps them.
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