Those Who Have Christ Share Him In the forefront of those sharing the Savior by sharing his Word are those that he has specifically called into that office. What should we expect of them? We should expect that they are ready for some to receive and some to reject that word. Notice that he sends them to share only what they have received; he does not give them permission to fudge the message when many or most reject it. For Jesus does not come through false doctrine to create or strengthen faith. It is in faithfulness to the message and reliance on his promise that repentance is worked which both confesses sin and rejoices in absolution. He will keep his promise when and how it pleases him without the “help” of our opinions, our compromises of the truth, our eagerness to be popular and always successful. While we can take no credit for the success of the gospel, we can certainly throw obstacles in its path. There is a danger that we degenerate into a certain professionalism that ends up making the assumptions of Amaziah in the first lesson not all that wide of the mark. There is a danger that in a godless age we see ourselves even at our worst as better than the common herd. But God wants us to take his Word seriously before we tell others to do so. Have we become so cocky, so arrogant, so self righteous and self confident that we imagine that these words are dead letters to us and apply only to someone else. May it not be! So noble is our task, so holy our vocation! May we not cheapen it by contempt for its solemn and saving essence! 
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“The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; Second Lesson). The arrival of the bridegroom will be sudden and unexpected. Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins. “For you know neither the day nor the hour” when the Son of Man is to return. (Matthew 25:1–13, Gospel Lesson). The lamps are the Word of Christ. The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure. The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. The flame of faith endures to the end. By God’s grace they are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Isaiah 65:17–25; First Lesson).
You are blessed now with peace and plenty so that you can show the riches of God’s grace to those who are tormented and in need. That’s what Jesus did. Having everything he gave it all up so that you would have everything. And now he blesses you with confidence in the gospel promises on this good day so that you can share those promises with those having a bad day. The same holds for your time and wealth; it is yours to share in humble imitation of what Jesus has shared —no, what Jesus has generously and freely given to you. That’s how we pass the test of sincerity; that’s how invisible faith created by the Word turns into visible works of love for our neighbor.
The gifts of God are so rich and varied that the devil uses that very generosity in God to stir up jealousy and envy. Expect it in others;’ find it yourself as well! That weakness makes it crystal clear that our need for a Savior is a constant one. It makes it equally clear that our struggle against our own flesh gives us much more difficulty and anguish than the hostility or the persecution from the world.
Today is the last of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
This is the context: God’s gifts to us of wealth more than most of his other gifts can become snares to our salvation when we treasure them more than the Giver and more than our salvation. Next to the attachment to hearth and home, a person’s chief attachment is to his purse. So it is not out of order to consider what God has to say about his gifts of wealth and to let him put those gifts in a proper context for us.
Today is the fifth of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
 The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members is to reflect the love of God for us in self giving love for one another in the family. How tragic that in our society such a mirror is clouded indeed! There is much to repent of and much to strive toward. Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Today we’re observing the celebration of the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, which is celebrated on September 29. For 1500 years the Christian Church has celebrated this festival near the autumnal equinox, the day of 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. As Christians watched the autumn nights grow longer and the days grow shorter, they were reminded of the struggle between good and evil— between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—between the angel armies of God and the demonic forces of Satan. And so, every year as autumn darkened into winter, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangel and remembers that Michael and All the Angels fought on their side.
Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
How profound the love of Jesus! He is talking about his impending suffering and all the Twelve can think and talk about is the glory they expect to get out of it, and whether someone else might be getting more and therefore too much! Wouldn’t you think that at least when he is describing his coming Passion he would get a little attention, just a bit of sympathy? But no! The perversity of the best of us is indeed deep and profound. But the love and compassion of the Savior is a thousand times deeper and more profound! He does not cast them off; he does not cast us off either. Instead he patiently demonstrates his love and bids us once more to be concerned only with receiving it and then imitating it.
Today is the second of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Faithfulness and obedience to the Word of God are not merely one aspect of life out of many. They are the all-important matters of life that should be reflected in all of the rest of life. There is a life-and-death struggle going on with us, as Satan strives with all his might to pull us back into sin and unbelief. The only help that avails in that life-and-death struggle is the help of God’s own Word, the covering of the gospel and the confidence of faith which comes from it. Armed with the promises of God, we storm the gates of heaven with our prayers for assistance, in the certainty that God will hear us and in his Word answer us. May our awareness of the battle and of the victory Christ gives permeate all that we do at work and at play, at home and away, in our lives with family, with friends, with foes as well.
Over the next six Sundays, we focus on The Depths of God’s Grace. Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Today we conclude our series, Jesus and Our Daily Bread. “But Pastor, that just isn’t the way I see it! I think…” What pastor hasn’t heard that a thousand times from the outsider? It is the natural response to every doctrine in the Bible and most importantly, with the chief doctrines of the Bible. Jesus knows that very well. He even delights in it. And so he tells us things in his Word that by ourselves we would never believe. Are the beautiful truths of the gospel, not least those taught by Jesus in John 6, easy for us to grasp? Not at all! In fact for the natural man and his fallen reason they are impossible. But the gospel is not just one religious tradition among many; it is the only truth that gives life and salvation.
For four Sundays, we have spent our time in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6. In this chapter, Jesus has shown and taught us that he is “the bread of life.” We have seen the way he provides for our physical needs and heard how he provides for our spiritual needs. Last week we saw how we must fight against putting the needs and wants of this world first. Finally, this week we will see how the message of the Gospel, despite being hard to believe, is the only way to eternal life.
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