Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Dirty Dogs

Matthew 15.21-28

Have you ever been ignored?

Have you ever spoken your opinion or asked a question only to be left hanging without a response or an answer?

Well, if you are a parent, I know the answer is a resounding, “YES!”

When our boys are playing video games or watching TV, it is as if they have been transported out of the house into a different dimension where they exist all alone.

It has come to the point that if I ask them a question or tell them something when they are playing video games or watching TV, I have to immediately follow it up with the question, “Did you hear me?”

And sometimes, I have to ask that question, “Did you hear me?,” several times before I get a response.

A story is told about a married couple that had a quarrel and ended up giving each other the silent treatment. 

A week into their mute argument, the man realized he needed his wife’s help. In order to catch a flight to Chicago for a business meeting, he had to get up at 5 a.m.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence, he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me at 5 a.m.” 

The next morning the man woke up only to discover his wife was already out of bed, it was 9 a.m., and his flight had long since departed. He was about to find his wife and demand an answer for her failings when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.

The note read, “It’s 5 a.m. Wake up.”

There is something uneasy about silence.  And that can be clearly seen in the fact that we consider silence a punishment.  

If we are angry, we will give the victim of our sinful anger the dreaded “silent treatment.”  

When a child misbehaves we send them into the corner to sit by themselves with no one to talk to and nothing to play with.  

When no voices are speaking we call that time “awkward silence.” 

In this morning’s text, we hear a story about a woman in need of help going to Jesus.  After asking her question, she is met with an awkward silence when Jesus doesn’t respond to her.

Let’s hear what the Gospel of Matthew tells us happened in this strange encounter:

Matthew 15:21–28 tells us this:

[21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. [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.” [23] But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” [24] He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [25] But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” [26] And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” [27] She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” [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. (ESV)

How would you feel if God ignored you?

How would you feel if those that believed in God didn’t want to deal with you and wanted to get rid of you?

How would you feel if God said that what you wanted wasn’t in His plan for your life?

How would you feel if God said that doing good to you wasn’t part of His itinerary?

Well, these are the exact questions that the woman in our passage this morning could answer from personal experience.

The woman had a great need.

Her daughter was ill.  Specifically, her daughter was possessed by a demon.  There was serious spiritual oppression in her house.

When the woman asks Jesus to help her by healing her daughter, Jesus is silent.  It seems as if Jesus, God in the flesh, is ignoring her.

When the disciples, Jesus’ followers, saw the woman and her problems they didn’t want to deal with the mess and asked to send her away.  The first response of Jesus’ followers to this woman and her difficult situation was to get rid of her.

When Jesus does eventually speak, he seems to tell the woman that he didn’t come into the world to help her in her moment of need and in fact doing good to her wasn’t part of God’s plan either.

If we were in this situation, we would be feeling agony and despair because of our sick child who we couldn’t help.

We would then be feeling hurt, like God was waving us away and showing favoritism to other people.

We would be questioning whether God hears cares about us.

Maybe you feel that way right now.  Maybe you feel like God is ignoring you.

Maybe you feel right now that God’s people, the church, don’t want to be bothered with you and want to send you away — to get rid of you.

Maybe you feel right now that God doesn’t want to help you in your moment of need.

Maybe you feel right now that God doesn’t want what is best for you.

I think it is safe to say that we have all experienced these feelings and thought these thoughts at one point or another.

And, I can promise you that as a person of faith, you will continue to find yourself experiencing these feelings and thinking these thoughts in the future as you struggle with God’s promises and God’s timing.

But, interestingly, in our text for this morning, the Canaanite woman didn’t despair, she didn’t get depressed, and she didn’t give up!

What did she do that gave her strength to carry on even when Jesus’ words and actions didn’t make sense to her?

She trusted in the words of the reports that she heard about Jesus.

She believed Jesus was good.

She believed Jesus was gracious.

She believed Jesus was merciful.

She believed that Jesus was God’s Messiah — the Savior.

She believed that Jesus had the power to forgive sins and give righteousness and eternal life to those who had faith in him.

And, she didn’t let her immediate circumstances deter her from believing those truths.

Yes, everything Jesus and his people were doing and saying didn’t exactly line up with the words about Jesus that she heard and believed, but she knew that there must be some explanation for that.  She also had confidence that the explanation for this seemingly strange behavior would further reveal that Jesus is both good and gracious.

And, the woman was right! By the end of her meeting with Jesus, it was revealed that Jesus was teaching her, the disciples, and the world that salvation, that forgiveness of sins is available to every last person.  It wasn’t for one person, one genealogical line, one race, one ethnic group, or one gender (male or female).  

As the apostle Paul tells Bishop Timothy in 1 Timothy 2.4,

“God, our Savior, desires all people to be saved to to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The good news in our text this morning is that God is a dog person.  Sorry, cat people!

It is good news that God is a dog person, because each one of us is a dirty unclean dog, like the gentile woman, in our sin.  In sin, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds don’t line up with God’s rules for life and love.  Our disobedience to God’s commands makes us unclean and unworthy to be with Him.

However, the good news comes because God doesn’t care if you’ve eaten your own vomit, ate his son’s homework or chewed up his favorite slipper.

Jesus will never leave you without a response or leave you hanging.

That is what the Word of God, the Bible promises us.  

That is what we can believe because it is what we hear from God himself.

1 John 5.13 tells us that we can have assurance of our salvation and of God’s goodness and grace and mercy when we hear the words that say,

“I write these things (meaning the words of the Bible) to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.  And this is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will (like the Canaanite woman did) he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we ask for.”

God is still present in agony.

God is still present in rejection.

God is still present in awkward silence.

And, God is working all things out for good, for your good and the good of every other person, even through your painful and difficult moments.

God does not show favoritism or partiality.

Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. 

In the New Testament book of James, we are commanded to not show partiality or reject someone based on our own created standards.  

What this means is that we are commanded in our faith to be like Jesus in this morning’s text and not push people away or treat them differently because they are different than us.

We are to be impartial and show mercy to all people regardless of things like socio-economic status or ethnicity because in the words of today’s text, Jesus is impartial and died to save the whole word—every last dirty dog included.

Here are James’ words:

James 2:1–8

[1] My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. [2] For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” [4] have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? [5] Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? [7] Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

[8] If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (ESV)

Trust in the words of the reports that you hear about Jesus.

Believe he is good.

Believe he is gracious.

Believe he is merciful.

Believe that he is God’s Messiah — the Savior.

Believe that he has the power to forgive sins and give righteousness and eternal life to you through faith in him.

And, don’t let your immediate circumstances deter you from believing those truths.

Yes, everything Jesus and his people do and say doesn’t always line up with the words about Jesus that you have heard and believed, but know that there must be some explanation for that and that explanation will further reveal that Jesus is both good and gracious.

In this morning’s text, Jesus’ awkward silence was the beginning of the most good and gracious act of God — the saving of the entire world from the sin that separates us from God.

Today, and everyday, pray like the woman in this morning’s text prayed, saying:

“Yes, Lord, it is true.  I am a sinner and unworthy of your grace.  Nevertheless, you have promised forgiveness to sinner, and you came not to call the righteous but to save sinners.”

Today, you can cry out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David,” and confidently know from what the Bible tells us that God in his goodness and grace will answer and be merciful to your time of need.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

August 9, 2026

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Food That Forgives

Matthew 14.13-21

I love food!

Do you love food?

Food is an important part of life.  Not only is food the way that our bodies receive the nourishment that they need to survive, we also have a long human history of seeing that sharing food with one another is a way of building relationships and marking some of life’s most important events.

Do you have a meal or a bunch of meals that you will never forget?

Maybe there is a meal that is unforgettable because it celebrated a special occasion like a first date, a wedding, an anniversary, a birthday, or even the passing away of a loved one. 

Maybe there is a meal that is unforgettable because it celebrated a gradation, cancer going into remission, a baptism, a confirmation, an adoption, or a promotion at work.

Maybe there is a meal that is unforgettable because of the family fight that happened while people were eating.

Maybe there is a meal that is unforgettable because of the food poisoning and sickness that followed it.

Or, maybe there is a meal that is unforgettable because the food qualifies as the best thing you ever ate.

I have several unforgettable meals. 

Both unforgettable meals that I am going to share with you this morning surround my wedding. The first unforgettable meal is my wedding meal.  This meal is unforgettable because it celebrated one of the best days of my life.

Besides it being my wedding, this meal is unforgettable because we actually didn’t get to eat any of the food that we were served. 

While I and Kristina were making the rounds to thank all of our guests for joining us, we were served a platter with one of each of the meal choices on the menu.  But, we were so busy connecting with our guests, when we returned to our table, they were already serving dessert.  We didn’t get to eat dessert either because we were busy dancing the night away.

The second unforgettable meal that I will mention today, took place on our honeymoon.  This meal is unforgettable because the food quality and presentation was some of the best we have ever had.

For our wedding, we were given the gift of a 8 course Chef’s tasting meal at Disney’s Victoria & Albert’s.  

During the evening, some of the delicacies presented to us were plates of John Dory, elk tenderloin, and wagyu beef filet. At this unforgettable meal, the best ingredients in the world were cooked to perfection by some of the best chefs in the world.  When the plates arrived, each course looked like the work of a master painter that should be hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Meals can be unforgettable.

In our text this morning, we come as bystanders to to wha would become an unforgettable meal because of the miracle that made it happen and the company that served the meal.

Let’s hear about this miraculous meal as it is recorded for us in Matthew 14.13-21.

[13] Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. [14] When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. [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.” [16] But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” [17] They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” [18] And he said, “Bring them here to me.” [19] Then 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. [20] And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. [21] And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (ESV)

Simple story, right?

People are hungry.

Jesus, the host, feeds the hungry people.

The people leave with their bellies full.

It may sound like a simple story at first, but what is actually happening at this meal is that all of history is unfolding and being brought into the light for the disciples, the guests, me, and you.

Let me explain.

God has always been about feeding people.

And, God has always been about feeding people in miraculous ways.

In today’s text, we see that very clearly.

5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish feed approximately 15,000 people.

But, stories like this, stories of miraculous meals, aren’t odd occurrences in the Bible.  When we think back over the history of God’s interactions with his people, we come across many stories of miraculous meals.  Another one of those miraculous meal stories is found in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is the part of the Bible that talks about history before Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected.

In the story of God’s saving His people through the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, we hear and see God intervening to feed His people while they are in the middle of the desert with no food or water in sight.

While they are traveling from Egypt to the place that God will one day allow them to call home, the Israelites become weary from the journey and the oppressive desert heat.  So, they start grumbling and accusing God of not caring about them.

However, in His grace and mercy, God, seeing their need and being compassionate toward them, allowed bread to rain from the skies every day so that their need for physical nourishment could be met.  

Even though the Israelites were in the desert because of their sin, their disobedience to God’s rules for life and love, God still took care of them in their moments of need.

Today’s story and this Old Testament story of God’s intervening in the human experience to feed the hungry show us clearly that God is compassionate toward those He loves.

At both of these unforgettable miraculous meals, the one very important thing that we need to recognize is that we are no different from the Israelites in the desert or the people on the mountainside with Jesus.

We are hungry and in need of help that only God can provide.  Just look at our lives.  Everything we do is to help ourselves find satisfaction.  The satisfaction that we are looking for is a bit different than the actual food needed in today’s text.   The satisfaction we are looking for comes from a hunger that desires a place of rest, peace, hope, and security.

God sees our need for rest, peace, hope, and security and has compassion on us.  He knows we will work and work and work, but never fully have those needs provided for. 

So, He provides exactly what we need to be satisfied.

Let’s hear what God does to provide for our needs.

John 6:31–35 has Jesus telling us that,

[31] Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” [32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [34] They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

[35] Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (ESV)

This points to a third miraculous meal that I want to point out this morning, the never ending feast that happens in Heaven.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, through being fed by Him, the Bread of Heaven, we are invited to and welcomed at God’s eternal table where every single one of our needs will be met perfectly for all of eternity.

God’s compassion meets our need for the forgiveness of sins that allows us to have a space reserved for us at His Heavenly table.

Only through trusting in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection will you find the rest, peace, and security that you are looking for. It is only through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that you can have peace with God and know that you are eternally loved and accepted because in Jesus every last fault in you is completely forgiven through God’s grace and mercy toward you.

God provided for the needs of the His people who were hungry in the desert and God provided for the needs of Jesus’ disciples who were hungry on the mountainside 

In Jesus, you are reconciled to God our Father in Heaven.

So, our God is a God who compassionately runs to meets your needs.

But, what about us?

How do we react when people who are in need come into our world?

Well, I would venture to say that many times, we are like the disciples in today’s text.

When the disciples saw that there were many needy people around them, what was their solution?

“Send them away!”

“Let them deal with their own problems.  Or, let someone else deal with their problems. I don’t want to be bothered figuring this out.”

For the times that we have had this mindset and the times that we have acted in this way, we need to repent and ask God for forgiveness.  

In the New Testament book of James, James says this to all of us who have faith in Jesus Christ:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the the world.” (James 1.27)

The ways of God are completely different than the ways of the world.

The world says, lookout for number 1! 

The world says, take care of yourself and let others take care of themselves.

God says that it is your calling to compassionately love others and consider the needs of others more important than your own needs.

In a book of sermons by the 20th century Swedish Lutheran pastor, Bo Giertz,  he writes:

“God is constantly putting people in our path. And he doesn’t expect that we shall pass on by. It is easy to do that. One can see them every day but not see that their workloads grow, not notice how tired they look, not think that one could and ought to take a part of their burdens. This happens in so many homes where the mother has so much to do but the husband and children, with pure thoughtlessness, pass on by and leave the work to her alone. But it also applies to work life and friendship. There is the man who does not work anymore. No one does like the Samaritan; no one has compassion for him. There are men who keep falling into the hands of robbers: bad company and bad habits. No one speaks a good word to them or tries to give them better friends or a nicer environment. There are complete social classes and entire neighborhoods that are marked by injustice, by poverty and overcrowding and discontent—and thousands after thousands walk on by and never ask about it. And there are whole peoples who live in the darkness of heathendom with all that that means concerning cruelty, barbarism, terror, and spiritual death—and millions of Christians pass on by without lifting a finger. 

The brother whom you shall keep is also the person you see is in need of help who may now be in your own house or your own stairwell or far away in Zululand or South India.”

God is compassionate to you and meets all of your REAL needs.

Go, and be compassionate this week as God was first compassionate to you.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

August 2, 2026

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Gratitude List

1 Thessalonians 2.13-16

Are you a grumbler?

Or, are you grateful?

Are you quick to find something to complain about?

Or, do you quick find something to be thankful for?

Does the statement “Why did this have to happen to me?,” or the feeling of “poor me,” sound familiar?

According to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, the average person has about 70,000 thoughts each day! There’s one big problem with this — the vast majority of these thoughts are negative.

Shawn Achor, a psychologist who teaches at Harvard, suggests that we can train our brains to become more grateful by setting aside just five minutes a day for practicing gratitude. He cites a one-week study in which people were asked to take five minutes a day, at the same time every day, to write down three things they were thankful for. They didn’t have to be big things, but they had to be concrete and specific, such as, “I’m thankful for the delicious Thai take-out dinner I had last night.” Or, “I’m thankful that my daughter gave me a hug.” Or, “I’m thankful that my boss complimented my work.” The participants simply expressed thanks for three specific things at the same time every day.

At the end of one month, the researchers followed up and found that those who practiced gratitude—including those who stopped the exercise after one week—were happier and less depressed. Remarkably, after three months, the participants who had been part of the one-week experiment were still more joyful and content. Incredibly, after the six-month mark, they were still happier, less anxious, and less depressed. The researchers hypothesized that the simple practice of writing down three thanksgivings a day over the course of a week primed the participants’ minds to search for the good in their lives.

In this morning’s section of Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s 1st Century letter to the Christians gathered in the Greek city of Thessalonica, the authors return to making a list of the reasons that they regularly give thanks to God the Father when they look at the Thessalonian Church.   

Let’s here the gratitude list that our authors make in 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16 now.

[13] And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. [14] For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, [15] who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind [16] by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! (ESV)

There are three specific reasons that Paul and his ministry companions give thanks to God when they see and remember the Thessalonian Christians.

First, the Apostle Paul is thankful that the Thessalonians received the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Word of God.

When Paul looked at the Christians in the city of Thessalonica, he prayed and praised saying,

“Lord, thank you that they have received the word of God for what it is—your own word!”

What do we mean when we say that the Bible is God’s own Word?  After all, weren’t the books contained within the Bible written by human men?  We have already said that today’s Biblical text was written by three human men—Paul, Silas, and Timothy.  So, what gives?

To better understand how we got the 66 books that make up the Bible, we need to understand three theological terms.

First, the words in the Bible are revelation.  This means that God revealed the truth of creation, sin, salvation, and eternal life to the authors.  Because of the corruption of original Sin, the human heart and mind would never be able to know or understand infinite truths.  But, through God’s grace and God’s will that all men and women come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, God the Father made eternal truths known to the men who would write the words contained within the Bible.

Galatians 1:11–12 says this:

[11] For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. [12] For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

And, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 tells you that:

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

Second, God’s words from the author’s mouths and pens come from divine inspiration.

2 Peter 1:16–21 says:

[16] For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” [18] we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. [19] And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [20] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

Last, we are able to understand the divine revelation and inspiration contained within the Bible through the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the text when we read and hear it.  Those who are untied with Christ through faith have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them into all of the truth of God’s Word.

When you look around your church, do you give thanks to God because the people in the pews receive the word of God for what it is—God’s own word?”

Do you personally praise God because you have confidently received the word of God for what it is—God’s own word?

The second thing that the Apostle Paul is thankful for is that the Word of God is actively working to change the Thessalonian believers to be more like Jesus Christ.

When Paul looked at the Christians in the city of Thessalonica, he prayed and praised saying,

“Lord, I want to stop right now, and I want to thank you because I see your word at work in them.”

Philippians 2:13 says,

[13] … it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)

This Biblical text tells you that when the word of God is read or proclaimed, it is living and active and does the work that God wants done in you and in others who receive it with faith.

And, when God’s Word changes a person, the change in their speech and their actions becomes undeniable to the watching world—both inside and outside the church.  

When you look around your church, do you give thanks to God because the people in the pews have been and are continually being changed by God’s Word to be like Jesus Christ?

Do you praise God because you have been and are continually being changed by God’s Word to be like Jesus Christ?

Third, the Apostle Paul is thankful that the Thessalonian Christians are willing to continue trusting God’s love for them even though they experience rejection and suffering for their faith.

When Paul looked at the Christians in the city of Thessalonica, he prayed and praised saying, 

“Lord, thank you that the gospel is so real in their lives that they’re willing to bleed for it.”

The Thessalonian Christians actually found joy in their suffering for their faith because they knew the suffering that they experienced for their faith made them more like Jesus.

In another New Testament book, James speaks of finding joy in our suffering for our faith when he says to you, the believer,

[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4, ESV)

And,

[12] Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12, ESV)

In our first sermon in this series we heard that Christians will suffer for their faith because trust in Christ turns the world upside down and inside out.  And, not only will they suffer, but they are actually called to suffer and not give up hope when they are rejected, mocked, threatened, or even punished as Jesus was.

When you look around your church, do you give thanks to God because the people in the pews are willing to suffer in their daily lives rather than deny the reality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that has rescued them from God’s wrath upon their Sin?

Do you praise God because you are willing to suffer in your daily life rather than deny the reality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that has rescued you from God’s wrath upon your Sin?

Another researcher, Arthur C. Brooks, gave a summary based on numerous studies on the benefits of gratitude.  He found that thankfulness raises human beings’ happiness and that gratitude can make us more resilient, and enhance relationships by strengthening romantic ties, bolstering friendships, and creating family bonds that endure during times of crisis. It may improve many health indicators, such as blood pressure and diet. Gratitude can make us more generous with others, more patient, and less materialistic.

One of the major things that I learned from Alcoholics Anonymous is the exercise of reviewing my day and listing the things that I am thankful for.  

This nightly exercise in daily thankfulness, very similar to the one suggested by the Harvard physiologist above, has been so life changing that I have moved the practice to be a part of our evening family devotions.  After reading a piece of the Bible together, I, along with my wife and two boys take a few minutes to write down things we are thankful for in journals dedicated to daily thanksgiving lists.  After we are done listing the things we are thankful to God for, we end our time together in prayer.

Each of us has a minimum of three things that we can list every single night.

First, you can thank God that in Jesus, a life of perfect obedience to God’s will was lived and given to you.

Second, you can thank God that in Jesus, your sins were paid for through His death on the cross.

And, third, you can thank God that in Jesus, the power of sin and death has been defeated for you through His resurrection, giving you eternal life in Heaven.

In accordance with today’s text, you can add another three things to be thankful for.

You can thank God that He has revealed, inspired, and illuminated His Word so that you and the people in your church can recognize your sin that separates you from Him and you can recognize Jesus your Savior that connects you back to Him.

Next, you can thank God that you and the people in your church have been changed and are continually being changed to be more like Jesus Christ as you live out the rest of your days in this world.

And, finally, according to today’s Biblical text, you can thank God that you and the people in your church are willing to suffer for your faith without bending to the ways of the unbelieving world which denies God’s Creation and Jesus’ salvation.

So, today,

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

This is the revealed, inspired, and illuminated Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 26, 2026.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Fake Reviews

1 Thessalonians 2.1-12

If you regularly shop on Amazon or look for restaurants to try on Yelp, you know that there is a serious epidemic taking over global marketing.  This epidemic is the plague fake reviews.

Does this sound familiar? You’ve read rave online reviews about a restaurant or hotel and made a reservation. Then you show up and wonder if you’re even in the same place the reviewers visited. That’s when you know: They were fake reviews.

One recent review of a restaurant was discovered to be fake when the reviewer stated they knew they had to eat at the restaurant when they drove by and saw the beautiful interior through the front window.  The problem with this review was that the restaurant was located on a pedestrian waterfront walkway with no street in front of it for anyone to drive by and look in.

It has been discovered that that phony reviews make up a big percentage of the total out there—anywhere from 26% to 50%. Some fake reviews are gushingly positive, written by employees, artificial-intelligence software, or people hired to wax poetic about the place. Others are negative write-ups by disgruntled ex-employees or competitors.

The problem is so widespread that the Federal Trade Commission just created a new rule that will seek civil penalties for violators who pay for fake reviews or testimonials. Meanwhile, review platforms and online travel agencies are stepping up their efforts to weed out fake reviews before they ever show up online.

The interesting thing is that it is not just products and restaurants that are victims of fake reviews.  Humans are also victims of fake reviews.

Have you ever been the victim of a fake review?  Has anyone ever tried to destroy your reputation by spreading false accusations or twisting the truth to fit a narrative that suits them?

In this morning’s Biblical text, from the next part of our journey through the New Testament letter of 1 Thessalonians, we are going to hear that Christians who walk in a manner worthy of God will always have the unbelieving world giving them fake reviews littered with false accusations.  These ignorant and sometimes malicious rumors say that Christians are believing and teaching lies while having false motives in their actions.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12, the Apostle Paul writes, 

[1] For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. [2] But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. [3] For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, [4] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. [5] For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. [6] Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. [7] But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. [8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

[9] For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. [11] For you know how, like a father with his children, [12] we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (ESV)

In these verses, Paul begins by defending himself against fake reviews of his life and ministry.  Due to jealousy, envy and fear, false accusations were made against him as He was preaching the Gospel and care for the needs of the community.

According to the defenses that Paul is taking up there were three generalized accusations made against Paul and his ministry team of Silas and Timothy.

First, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul’s teaching was pointless. 

Second, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul ran away when things got tough.  

Third, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul’s teaching, the teaching about sin and salvation, the teaching about faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection being the only way back to God the Father in Heaven, was in error, was his own morality and was driven by his intention to deceive.

I love the way that British theologian John Stott summarizes this fake review thought process.  Stott says that the unbelievers and skeptics in Thessalonica were saying,

“[Paul] ran away … and hasn’t been seen or heard since! Obviously he’s insincere, impelled by the basest motives. He’s just one of those many phony teachers who tramp up and down the Egnatian Way. In a word, he’s a charlatan. He’s in his job only for what he can get out of it in terms of money, prestige or power. So when opposition arose, and he found himself in personal danger, he took to his heels and ran! He doesn’t care about you Thessalonian disciples of his; he has abandoned you! He’s much more concerned about his own skin than your welfare.” (The Message of Thessalonians, p 46)

Every Christian who lives in a manner consistent with the morals and mission of God as revealed in the Holy Bible will experience similar fake reviews through false accusations about their life, their faith, their beliefs and their motives.

You may not be verbally accused of the things that Paul and his pastoral team were publicly accused of, but I guarantee there are people in your life who are judging you and accusing you in their minds.  Unbelievers look at those of us that have found ourselves believing the good news of Jesus Christ as those that are brainwashed and wasting our time with thinking about sin, salvation, repentance and faith.  Those that are still blinded by their sin and who are living self-centered existences think that churches are only out to take their money in order to push an unloving agenda onto society.

So, how do we do what the Apostle Paul did and what the Apostle Paul asks us to do today?  How do we get out from under the fake reviews of our faith and the false accusations made against us?  How do we walk in a manner worthy of God?

Well, just like the Apostle Paul did, he had his faith in Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit, leading him to live like Jesus lived.  Everything Paul was accused of and everything you are accused of as a child of God was part of Jesus’ story as well.  

Let’s see how Jesus lived in the face of chaos and opposition.

Jesus’ led a life of suffering and was shamefully treated in this world.  But, those difficulties did not stop Him from being bold in proclaiming the need for you to repent of your sin and place your faith in Him for salvation.  Jesus knew this was the Good News you needed and nothing can ever stop God’s Good News from moving forward—NOTHING! EVER!

Jesus’ coming to you was not in vain.  Jesus’ coming to you to sacrifice his life for you on the cross resulted in the forgiveness of your sin, reconciliation with God your Father, and the hope of eternal life in His Kingdom.

Jesus was sent by God to you and entrusted with the Gospel, the Good News of salvation.

Jesus did not come with erroneous teaching or with an attempt to deceive you.  Jesus’ teaching was the same teaching that God put forth from the moment of Creation in the Garden of Eden.  That teaching is that God is a good and gracious God desiring to have you by His side, under His protection, and blessed by His provision every single day.  

Jesus did not seek to please the men and women of this world.  Jesus only sought to please God the Father in Heaven.  So, Jesus never veered from the message of sin and salvation.  And, Jesus never veered from the mission to die on the cross to pay the price for you sin which reconnects you back to God the Father.

Jesus didn’t flatter anyone.  Jesus always told the truth so that you would see the seriousness of your sin and your need for a Savior.

Jesus was never greedy.  Jesus never asked to be taken care of.  Jesus came to take care of you.

Jesus never asked for special treatment.  Jesus never wanted to be glorified in this world.  Even though He was fully God in the flesh, Jesus did not consider His own needs more important than your needs.  Jesus humbled Himself so that you could be exalted into God’s Kingdom.

Jesus is gentle with you like a mother is gentle with her children.  Jesus wants nothing more than to care for you, nourish you with the spiritual food you need to receive rest and peace.  And, like a mother, Jesus gives His own body over to both life and death for your health and well-being.

Jesus worked day and night in this world to lift the burden of sin off of you—the sin that weighed you down and separated you from God.

Jesus is holy and righteous.  Through faith in Him, you are made holy and righteous before God’s throne.

Jesus perfectly talks the talk and walks the walk of living in a manner worthy of a child of God so that through faith you can be given His record of full and complete obedience to God in every area and aspect of your life.  Like a Father does with his children, Jesus encourages you to live in a manner that is consistent with the values of the household as you finish out your time in this world.  

Satan and those that he has deceived into denying God’s love for them will continue to falsely accuse you with their fake reviews of your faith in Jesus love for you.

But, before the throne of God, Jesus’ death on the cross causes God to drop the case that finds you guilty of sin and completely removes the charges of disobedience to God’s law from your record.  Through faith alone, your record is now the record of Jesus’ perfection and righteousness.

Through Jesus Christ, God has called you into His own kingdom and His own glory.

Regardless of what the unbelieving world accuses you of, have confidence that through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you, you will always hear from God’s own mouth, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Long-time Christian Heavy Metal alumni Demon Hunter pen lyrics about resilience, perseverance, and inner strength when dealing with the chaos of a broken and fallen world.

In their 2012 track, I Am A Stone, they faithfully declare,

I am a stone, unaffected

Rain hell down onto me

Flesh and bone, unaffected

Your fool, I will not be

So, go into the world, with the strength of a stone that is unable to be affected by the world around it, proving every fake review and false accusation wrong by walking in a manner worthy of God as described by today’s Biblical text, putting the needs of others above your own so that they will experience the grace, mercy, and love of a God who did lived that way not only for you, but for them as well.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 19, 2026.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

What’s Your Reputation?

1 Thessalonians 1.6-10

What kind of reputation do you have?

If I asked your neighbors, your co-workers, or your family about your character traits, what would they tell me?

Would I hear that you are kind and helpful?

Would I hear that you are patient and self-controlled?

Would I hear that you are generous and charitable?

Or, would I hear that you are grumpy and always complaining?

Would I hear that you mean spirited and quick to tear others down?

Would I hear that you are irresponsible and cannot be trusted to follow through?

After asking about your reputation, if I told the people who know you best that you came to the church I pastor on Sunday mornings, would they be shocked because your daily life doesn’t look or sound like the life of Jesus?  

Or, are the people who know you best able to figure out and tell me first that you have the reputation of a a God-fearing follower of Christ simply by the way you live in the world?

In his general orders to his troops at Valley Forge on May 2, 1778, George Washington spoke about the reputation he desired his men to have, saying,

”To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian.”

In this morning’s Biblical text, a text that has us returning to our series through the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, we are going to hear about the reputation of the mid-first Century Greek Thessalonians.  Their reputation was spreading and changing lives in their town, in their city, in their region, and in the countries around them.

Let’s hear what the authors of this letter say about the reputation of the Thessalonian Christians.

1 Thessalonians 1:6–10 tells us this:

[6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. [8] For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (ESV)

From this section of Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s letter, we learn several things about the reputation of the Thessalonian Christians.

Let’s briefly look at what defines the Thessalonian’s reputation.

First, the Thessalonians had a reputation for turning away from idols to serve the living God.

The Thessalonians were known for the dramatic upside-down and inside-out change that the Good News of Jesus Christ caused in their thinking, speaking, and acting.

For those that knew them, the now Christian Thessalonians went from making offerings to the mythological Greek gods in the local temples to loving and serving the living and true God as revealed in the Scriptures as well as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When we find ourselves believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God takes up residence in us through the Holy Sprit and immediately begins enacting changes.  We are given eyes to see and hearts to believe that the things of this world, things like money, upward career moves, possessions and relationships, can never truly satisfy us.  These idols always leave us wanting more.  We are given eyes to see and hearts to believe that the only thing that truly brings satisfaction, rest, and peace, is God’s love that has been poured out on us in the forgiveness and life freely offered to us in Jesus Christ.  

So, with gratitude and a real sense of hope, we end up turning away from chasing the idols of this world and we turn to the transforming love of God which strengthens us to serve Him by loving others.

When Christ saves you, you cannot stop becoming a new person with a new life and a new reputation.  And, when you become the new person that God makes you, the people around you near and far cannot help but notice and be drawn to the mystery of God in Christ.

The writers of this morning’s text have this testimony of reputation change after placing their faith in Christ.  We have one of those accounts recorded for us the Biblical book of Acts.

Acts 9:19–22 tell us this about the Apostle Paul:

…For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. [20] And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” [21] And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” [22] But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. (ESV) 

Before having faith in Christ, Paul had the reputation of causing havoc in the cities he visited as he was on a mission to capture, imprison, and kill Christians.  

However, after coming face-to-face with Jesus and the truth that he was living a life of hating God and denying God’s love for him, Paul’s faith immediately changed him into a Gospel preacher and Christian church planter.

Are you known for turning from idols and serving the living God?

Second, the Thessalonians had a reputation for waiting for Jesus’ return.

We are all somewhat familiar with the main arc of Jesus’ story.  Jesus was born through the virgin Mary making Him fully man and fully God.  Jesus lived a life in perfect service to God by obeying every commandment and law.  Jesus was crucified on the cross to pay the debt that sin created.  Jesus rose from the dead three days later defeating the power of sin and death.  And, Jesus ascended back to Heaven where He is currently ruling with God the Father.

However, one of the final pieces to Jesus’ life that is probably more mysterious for you is the fact that Jesus will return one day.

To put this into context, first, we have Jesus’ promise that He will return one day.

In John 14:2–3, Jesus says,

[2] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (ESV)

Second, almost immediately after Jesus’ ascension, we have an angelic confirmation of Jesus’ promise to return.

Acts 1:10–11 tells us that,

[10] …while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, [11] and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (ESV)

Third, we have the good news that causes us to hope and wait in anticipation of Jesus’ return in the letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 9:27–28 speaks this truth:

[27] And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, [28] so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (ESV)

The reason Christ will return and the reason we pray, hope, and wait in anxious expectation for His return is that His return will be the final nail in the coffin for the pain, suffering, persecution, and injustice that still remains with us because of Sin.

When the Apostle Paul speaks of our current life, a life lived in faith post-resurrection but pre-return, he describes our time as living in the “already but not yet.”

In Christ, through faith, you have already been forgiven of your sin.  You have already been justified before God.  You have already bee sanctified and made holy in God’s eyes.  All of this is completely true for you because Jesus has already defeated Satan, his minions, and the power of sin and death to enslave and kill.  

But, you don’t experience the fullness of that “already” life because you are still in your sinful flesh in a fallen world.  In this current world, Satan still roams around trying to seek and devour anyone he can in order to steal life from God the Father.  

So, you are already saved and brought into God’s eternal family.  But, you aren’t experiencing the full benefits of that yet.

So, like the Thessalonians, you wait for God’s son, Jesus, to return from heaven to finalize the righting of every wrong, the wiping away of every tear and the healing of every pain.

Are you known as someone who is waiting for Jesus’ return?

The last thing we learn about the Thessalonians reputation is that they were confident that they were safe from God’s wrath.

Church, do not believe the lies that God is only love and therefore he would never punish anyone for not believing in Jesus.  

Church, do not be fooled.  God will destroy sin and cast unbelievers into the eternal torment of Hell.  

Church, do not follow the trends in culture that lead you astray by teaching that God allows many different (and even contradicting) religions, philosophies, ideologies, worldviews, through the gates of the Heavenly city.

In preparing the world for Jesus, John the Baptist says this:

[36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36, ESV)

That being said, God is not a vindictive and sadistic God waiting to cast people away from Him and His Kingdom.  In fact, the exact opposite is true.  In Jesus, God came to save you through providing a way of rescue and escape from His just wrath on sin.  

Romans 5:8–9 tell us this good news that brings hope into our hearts.

[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (ESV)

Are you known for being confident that you are saved from God’s wrath?

A graduate school student, who lived with faith in Christ, but feared what that truth about her would do to her reputation, tells the following story:

When I attended graduate school for English, there were many occasions when my fellow students openly ridiculed the name of Christ. To my great detriment, I stayed silent. I was quite vocal about my belief in Christ at church and with my friends, but I was terrified of what might happen to my reputation if the people at my school found out I believed in Jesus. … Most of them were just ignorant about who Jesus is. Several of them had never even met a Christian before and assumed that all Christians were the uneducated, judgmental stereotypes we sometimes see in the media. Yet, I was still afraid.

As the program went on, I began to feel guiltier for these silences. If I couldn’t be obedient to Christ in such a central thing, how would I be able to serve him in other ways? God was faithful in my rocky road to obedience—opportunities to speak up for Christ continued to come my way.

One day a fellow student asked me flat out—right before class, when many other people were around—if I was a Christian. I was at a crossroads. … I had a clear decision to make.

I took a deep breath, and, with God’s help, I said a soft, shaky, “Yes.” The student looked at me for a second, skeptically.

“Interesting,” she said. “I always thought that Christians were like circus freaks…but you’re actually kind of smart!”

It was a small step, but even the smallest step made in obedience is progress. God tells us not to fear for our reputations, because the truth will always win out.

Henry Ford, the American industrialist that is credited for making automobiles affordable for the middle-class in the early 20th Century, once said:

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

Jesus built a reputation on what He did and is doing for you.

When tempted by the idols of this world, Jesus turned away and continued to serve the living God.

Jesus lived, died, rose, ascended, and is eagerly waiting to return to right all wrongs and bring you home to God’s Kingdom.

Jesus died on the cross ensuring that you will be saved from God’s wrath as your punishment for sin has already been poured out on Him.

At the beginning, I asked about your current reputation?

Now, I ask you to look down the road and think about what do you want to be remembered for.

What do you want said about you at your funeral?

I have done countless funerals over the past 20 years.

Some of the funerals had a profound sense of joy in the background of the mourning and grieving.  

That profound sense of joy came from the testimony of the deceased having the reputation of a being one who lived like Christ, shining the light of God’s love in the darkness of the world.

However, I have also done funerals where the life of the deceased was not one lived with faith in Christ and therefore didn’t have much to champion except the places they worked, their personal hobbies, and maybe a list of family members left behind.  Those funerals were simply a stark reminder that we are all going to pass on from this life, at a point that will catch us and everyone around us by surprise.  

The one good thing about these funerals is that I was able to share the good news of Christ with the friends and family experiencing the loss letting them know that we who have been left behind still have the opportunity to find hope, rest, and peace, through a life lived abundantly in the light of God’s transforming love delivered in the person and work of Jesus.

Just like the Thessalonians, your current reputation doesn’t have to be your final reputation.

Your reputation can and will be changed through the love that God has for you in Jesus Christ.

Just like the Thessalonians did, let the words of Psalm 40:1–5 be your joyous testimony and reputation today:

[1] I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

[2] He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

[3] He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the LORD.

[4] Blessed is the man who makes

the LORD his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who go astray after a lie!

[5] You have multiplied, O LORD my God,

your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are more than can be told. (ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 5, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Fickle to Forgiven

Matthew 16.21-28

In the early 2000s, former pro soccer star Landon Donavan was the standard-bearer of American soccer for more than a decade. Six years ago, in 2020, he was voted “The Best U.S. Soccer of All-Time,” in a poll taken by ESPN.

When Donovan was growing up in California, he was known around the neighborhood for always wearing a T-shirt that read: “Soccer is Life. The rest is just details.” 

In a recent interview Donovan admitted, “[Soccer] was my identity.” But in the last stage of his career that identity started to crack. From 2012-2013 Donovan struggled with depression, watched his celebrity marriage disintegrate, and took a four-month break from soccer.

The pressure to perform and keep pleasing fans and coaches became too much. Donavan said:

[Fans, coaches, and the media] want us to live, breathe, eat, and die the sport. Every game they want you to go out and do everything you can to make the fans feel good, make the coach feel successful, make the owners successful … After the ’06 World Cup … I realized, clearly, that it was a business. And that it was fickle. I was foolish enough to think that these people who were showing me so much love genuinely liked me .… [But after the ’06 World Cup people said], “Now you had a bad World Cup. We don’t think you’re that cool anymore.” That, for me, was a very eye-opening experience. And it made me very sad.

In this interview, Donovan points out something about humanity that is as old as time and space—one of the common traits that we all share is fickleness. 

To be fickle is to continuously change our mind on what we want based on our ever-changing feelings and emotions.

As Donovan’s story illustrates, we will rally behind someone as our hero and champion one minute but call for their crucifixion the next.

In an issue of Christianity Today, prolific Christian author Warren Wiersbe, shared that Oliver Cromwell, who took the British throne away from Charles I and established the Commonwealth, said to a friend, 

“Do not trust those who are cheering, for those persons would shout just as much if you and I were going to be hanged.”

As humans we are fickle.

We will sing the praises of our job and boss on Monday because they pay our bills and put food on our table but on Tuesday we will hand in a resignation letter because we can’t take the burden of being told what to do and how to do it anymore.

When a friend posts a picture on social media with us in it, we hit the like button, but when they post pictures with other friends on an outing that we weren’t invited to, we sulk, we curse, sometimes we contemplate the solitude of the monastic life, or sadly we may even think about suicide. 

We will clap and applaud inauguration day when a new President takes office, but quickly share our dissatisfaction with his policies and leadership at the next, “How’s he doing?,” poll.

We feel encouraged when 8 people show up to Bible study, but the following week we will go home depressed when only 2 came out to discuss God’s love for us as revealed in His Word.

When our favorite athlete is scoring goals and leading his team to championships, we wear his jersey out in public 7 days a week.  But, the very second he has a bad game or two in a row, we are burning that jersey and petitioning the team owner to replace him.

We are fickle people.

In our fickleness, pride and arrogance rule the day!

We think we always know the best way to do everything.

In this morning’s Biblical text from the book of Matthew, or, in other words, Matthew’s biography of Jesus, we are going to hear about the fickle human heart of one of Jesus’ disciples when he is confronted with the way God plans to work out the forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Heaven.

Let’s hear from Matthew 16.21-28 together now.

The Biblical text says this:

[21] From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. [22] And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” [23] But he turned and said to Peter, “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.”

[24] Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? [27] For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. [28] 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.” (ESV)

In the first verse of this morning’s Biblical text, several very important historical and eschatological things happen.

This moment with Jesus and the disciples marks a change in Jesus’ communication with them.

Up until this point, Jesus has used metaphors and similes to describe who he was and what he was doing amongst them.

For example, Jesus said he was a Shepherd, Jesus said that he was a gate, Jesus said he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus said he was God’s Son, Jesus said he was the Son of Man, Jesus said he was the Word, a Light, the Lamb, a Vine, and the Bread of Life.

However, at this turning point, Jesus begins to very clearly, very confidently, and very transparently, share about who is and what he is doing amongst them

Jesus tells them outrightly that he is God’s Messiah, the Savior of humankind, the One spoken of for thousands of years by the prophets, priests and kings.

And, Jesus brings his position as Savior and King to the forefront by sharing with his disciples 4 key points about his person and work that will unfold before their eyes.

First, he must go to Jerusalem, the Holy City, where His formal presentation to the public as Savior and King would take place.  Here he was referring to what we call Palm Sunday.

Second, he must suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, the three groups that made up the Jewish “Supreme Court,” also called the Sanhedrin throughout Scripture. Here he was referring to his rejection, mocking, imprisonment, and beating.

Third, he must die. For only though His death could the key to the Kingdom of Heaven be made for you.  There could be no good news of forgiveness of your sin without the just judgment on sin being poured out.  Here, Jesus was choosing this path of death on the cross for you and your eternal good.

Fourth, he must be raised up, back to life from the dead, to verify His office of Savior for you, continue His work as the Great High Priest for you—always mediating your relationship with God for you—and be prepared to reign over all Creation as King of Kings and Lord of lords, remaining true to his Word and Promises.

And, all of that is found in just our first verse for this morning!

So, what we have heard and seen is that Jesus clearly says to his followers, “Hey guys, I know things haven’t been crystal clear up to this point, but here’s exactly what God’s plan is! I am your Savior, the One who will provide forgiveness for your sin and a place in Heaven for you.”  In an act of pure grace, Jesus does not leave any mystery to be solved.  Jesus lays out what will happen and why for the finite human mind.

In response, without hesitation, without truly listening or thinking through everything, Peter says, “No sir! I don’t like”

It is here that we see the fickleness of humanity in action.

In the Biblical text immediately before this, Peter is championed by Jesus as the first of the disciples to recognize and confess that He is the Savior, the Christ.

But, in the very next interaction that Peter has with Jesus, Peter changes his tune and says, “I don’t want you to do Savior things because it sounds like it will be unpleasant for me.”

Peter goes from being Jesus’ rock, in the previous Biblical text, to Jesus’ stumbling block in this week’s sermon text.

Why doesn’t Peter like what Jesus is saying? 

Because Jesus is saying that things are going to get difficult and bumpy on the next part of their journey through life together.

Jesus is going to suffer and be killed right in front of them.

And, because they are friends of Jesus and work beside him on God’s mission in this world, they too will experience moments of hardship and suffering.

Just like us, Peter in his humanity, doesn’t like suffering, or even the idea of suffering.

However, what Peter isn’t hearing in his selfishness, self-centeredness and self-righteousness, is that from Jesus’ suffering will come his personal salvation.

From Jesus’ death on the cross will come resurrection life with God in his Kingdom.

Peter’s feelings and emotions that caused him to waiver in his trust in God and God’s plan for him caused him to miss the point of the cross—the point that God’s love for him and for you is so great that He willingly suffers for our salvation.  

Some years ago, a 14-foot bronze crucifix was stolen from Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery for more than 50 years. The cross was put there in 1930 by a Catholic bishop and had been valued at the time at $10,000. The thieves apparently cut it off at its base and hauled it off in a pick-up. Police speculate that they cut it into small pieces and sold it for scrap.

The thieves figured that the 900-pound cross probably brought about $450. They obviously didn’t realize the value of that cross.

That is often our problem—misunderstanding the value of the cross. 

As Matthew begins to relate the story of Jesus’ crucifixion to us, the theme that runs through all the details is rejection. Not only did Peter not see the value of Jesus, he also didn’t understand the value of Jesus’ death on the cross.

It is easy to sit in front of a text like this and judge Peter.

But, the truth is that we are just like Peter.

We confess Jesus as our Savior in one moment and deny the way He works in our life in the next because the way God is working isn’t comfortable or easy and therefore not the way we want it done.

A friend of mine spoke this week on his podcast and made the very astute observation that God never shows up late, but he also never shows up early.  God always shows up on time.

And, for us, let’s be honest, we always want God to show up early—when we demand he shows up—like some cosmic genie in a bottle.

Where in your relationship with God are you being fickle right now.  I know there is a situation where your trust in God is rocky at best because you aren’t getting what you want when you want it.  I know that there is a place where God isn’t showing up early for you and you are throwing a temper tantrum like a demanding spoiled child?

There is always a place, for all of us, in our sinful humanity that fickleness is usurping our trust in God.

What we need to hear is what Peter needed to hear and what would be written later on by the apostle Paul to recalibrate our minds…

From Romans 5:3–6:

[3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (ESV)

And, from 2 Corinthians 4:6–11:

[6] For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

[7] But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. [8] We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; [10] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. [11] For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (ESV)

What happened when Jesus suffered and died on the cross?

When Jesus died on the cross, your sins were forgiven—including your pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness that leads to your fickle attitude and behavior causing wavering trust in God and His desire to do good for you.

When Jesus died on the cross, your broken relationship with God was fixed.

When Jesus died on the cross, you were declared righteous and perfect in every way before God’s throne.

When Jesus died on the cross, the gates of Heaven were thrown wide open for you to enter.

When Jesus died on the cross, you are changed from the inside out to love others as you were first loved by God—even if it means suffering along the way.

All of this happened at the perfect time in the perfect way.

Out of suffering comes salvation.

Out of Jesus’ suffering comes your salvation.

And, sometimes, out of your suffering for others, comes their salvation as they are led back to Christ for ultimate hope and peace.

At the very end of the interview with Landon Donovan that we began this conversation with, he added: 

“At the time, it was by far the hardest thing that ever happened to me in my life. But the beauty is it was the best thing that ever happened to me, and it allowed me to wake up and see the world differently for the first time.”

Listen to these verses from the Bible:

Philippians 2:3–11 encourages you to:

[3] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [9] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

Martin Luther spoke of our fickle hearts in relation to our faith and forgiveness when he said,

“When you don’t feel like singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, that is the time that you need to sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving the most.” (My paraphrase)

I implore you to pick up your cross this week and follow Jesus, always seeking to find those lost in sin in order to bring them home to God through faith in Jesus the Son, our Savior.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

June 28, 2026.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Joy in Pain

1 Thessalonians 1.6-7

At the September 15, 2001, satellite broadcast of “America Prays,” Christian author Max Lucado read the following prayer that he wrote in response to the September 11, 2001, attack on America.

Dear Lord, we’re still hoping we’ll wake up. We’re still hoping we’ll open a sleepy eye and think, What a horrible dream.

But we won’t, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad.  There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor, and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?)


We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn’t.


And so we come to you. We don’t ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don’t request it; we implore it. We know what you can do. We’ve read the accounts. We’ve pondered the stories and now we plead, “Do it again, Lord. Do it again.”


Remember Joseph? You rescued him from the pit. You can do the same for us. Do it again, Lord. Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from the angel of death. We have children, too, Lord. Do it again. And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember his fears? You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their hope. The doubts of Thomas? You took them away. Do it again, Lord. Do it again…

Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here last Tuesday, you saw there that Friday. Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the smoke eclipsed our morning, so the darkness fell on your Son. Just as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was pierced. And by dusk, heaven’s sweetest song was silent, buried behind a rock.

But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us a September Easter…

And we thank you for these hours of prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded. He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he has no idea what you can do.

…Have mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain. Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might believe. And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years you’ve used her to heal a hurting world. Do it again, Lord. Do it again. Through Christ, Amen.

This Christ centered prayer was how one man responded to a situation that brought physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain into his life and the lives of countless others.

So now, I ask you, 

How do you respond to difficult situations?

What’s your go to reaction when something happens that you did not expect?

In moments of suffering, where do you go for comfort?

In moments of pain, who do you look to for answers?


In moments of affliction, what brings you reprieve and hope?


Your response to difficult situations reveals who and what you really trust.


When you are feeling down and out, 


Do you run to a parent to tell you that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, no matter what anyone else says?

Do you run to a friend or friend group to rally around you with an attention diverting night out on the town?


Do you run to Amazon, Target, or the Mall to buy yourself something nice or something fun?


Do you run to book a vacation to get away from the problems of your daily life?


Do you run to the computer for sexual satisfaction by drooling over images of girls in bikinis or muscle men with ripped 6 packs?


Do you run to a bottle to numb your experiences in a euphoric buzz?


Do you run to a drug dealer (some who are unfortunately legal in today’s world) to help you escape the moments of life that you are tired of dealing with?


Or, do you run to God in prayer like the Christian author who wrote the response to the events of September 11, 2001 that we just heard?  


Or, do you run to God in His Word, in His Church, in His people, in Bible Study, like the Apostle Paul, and his companions Silas and Timothy who authored this morning’s text?


As we return to the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians for the 6th week in a row, we hear about the Godly way to respond to life’s troubles.


1 Thessalonians 1:6–7 says this:


[6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (ESV)


Last week, we focused on verses 5-6 from chapter 1.  In those verses, we heard that the Christian leaders writing this letter—Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy—were thankful that the Greek Thessalonian Christians were faithfully imitating them as they were first imitating Jesus.  


What we didn’t have time to hear about was the specifics of how the Thessalonians were imitating Paul, Silas, Timothy, and ultimately, Jesus. 


So, today, we that the Greek Thessalonian Christians were imitating Jesus and Jesus’ leaders in their local church by copying the way that they responded to affliction.


Affliction encompasses many things.  Affliction can be physical pain.  Affliction can be mental suffering.  Affliction can be distress.  Affliction can be spiritual struggle against lies and evil.


And, affliction can come from many different places.  Affliction can come from disease or illness.  Affliction can come from financial or physical hardship.  Affliction can come from mental and spiritual struggle that causes things like depression, despair, and anxiety.


One of the authors of our Biblical text, the Apostle Paul, was well-acquainted with the hardships of often intense suffering on many different levels.  In his 2nd letter to the Christians in the city of Corinth, he lists off some of the mental, physical, and spiritual struggles that were an intimate part of his daily existence.


In 2 Corinthians 11:24–29, the Apostle Paul gives a rundown of some of the troubles he faced saying this:


[24] Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; [26] on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; [27] in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. [28] And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. [29] Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? (ESV)


Just like the Greek Thessalonians, many of the troubles that the Apostle Paul dealt with stemmed from his faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul’s confidence in Christ alone for salvation led the politicians to hate him.  Paul’s trust in Jesus as God’s Savior led the most popular religious leaders of his day to desire his death.


When Paul felt like he was at a breaking point and couldn’t take any more trouble, he cried out to God to remove all of the suffering from his life.


As Paul prays, God responses to Paul, but doesn’t give Paul the answer he was looking for.


God does not remove the affliction from Paul’s life.


God never promises to remove pain and suffering from your earthly life.  God only promises to remove pain and suffering from your eternal life.  But the promise that God does make to you is that he will be with you in this world through every moment of pain and suffering.  And, you can rest in that promise because in the life and death of Jesus Christ, God became personally acquainted with every single form of human pain and suffering.  Therefore, God knows how to help you because he once thought what you are thinking, he once felt what you are feeling, and he once struggled with what you are struggling with.


Hebrews 4:14–16 makes this good news for you clear.


[14] Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)


As Jesus, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and then the Greek Thessalonians knew, it’s only by running to the God the Father in Heaven, in one of the many ways He has reveled Himself, that you hear the good news that gives you the comfort and peace you are genuinely seeking.  God’s promise is that He will eventually, at his return, right all wrongs and eradicate all pain and suffering for you in the life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son, who saved you.


The Greek Thessalonians did not believe the message of Jesus’ cross because it made their life easier and more comfortable.  The Greek Thessalonians believed the message of Jesus’ cross even though it, at times, made their life harder and more uncomfortable, because the message of the cross of Christ instilled in them a hope in God’s grace and love for them that was alive and active working all things out for their good—their salvation—regardless of what they experienced on any given day.  


A few years ago, I was at a Christian leadership conference in Brooklyn and one of the speakers said, “If you want a day without problems and frustration, walk away from pastoring, leadership, and Christianity.”  


Being a pastor, leader, and Christian, I understand what the speaker was saying.  However, the truth is that even for those who are not pastors, leaders, or Christians, problems and frustrations still fill the days on this earth.


Everyone of us is well acquainted with affliction and suffering from time to time.


But, as our text for this morning is telling us, as Christians we have a blueprint for understanding the problems and frustrations of our daily lives and a blueprint for responding to the problems and frustrations of our daily life.


When he was imprisoned for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, Paul sang hymns in his jail cell.


Acts 16:16–34 tells us about one of these incidents where two of our text writers, Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned but responded with joy!


Acts 16.(16-18)19-34 records this piece of history.


After telling us that a slave girl turned away from her sin, which included the unGodly dark art of fortune telling, and turned to a life of preaching Jesus as the Savior, like she heard Paul and Silas do, the slave owners who made money off of her evil dealings were upset.  The story continues like this:


[19] But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. [20] And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. [21] They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” [22] The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. [23] And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. [24] Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.


[25] About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, [26] and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. [27] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” [29] And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. [30] Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” [31] And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” [32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. [34] Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (ESV)


Why should we respond with joy in times of pain and suffering?



Because our suffering in this world unites us with our Savior Jesus who suffered so that we could be saved.


What did Jesus do in the difficult situations that the affliction of rejection, persecution, imprisonment and the wrongful sentence of the death penalty on the cross brought his way?


Hebrews 12:1–4 answers this question in the midst of the encouragement it provides.  These verses say:


[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


[3] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. [4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (ESV)


Nothing in your life compares to the level and amount of suffering that God in Jesus faced in this world. 


However, we often ridiculously act like our momentary troubles are comparable to Jesus’ life and death.


“Starbucks is out of my favorite pink drink! FML!”


“Gas is $4.00 a gallon. Kill me!”


“I only got a 99 out of 100 on my test.  I wish I was dead!”


Even in what can be considered real suffering in this life, things like dealing with cancer and depression, losing a job and struggling financially,  being bullied, enslavement to addiction, etc., you have not been asked to offer your life and have your blood shed because of your Sin and the Sin of others.


When Jesus was asked and tasked with being the Lamb without blemish that would be led to the slaughter to pay for your Sin, Jesus endured the suffering of death on the cross for the joy that he knew was coming on the other side.


Death on the cross was not easy.


Death on the cross was not comfortable.


Death on the cross was not enjoyable.


In fact, death on the cross was the worst form of capital punishment available at the time.


However, Jesus knew that by walking the road up to the cross, after being physically beaten and tortured, and then being crucified with real criminals in a such a brutal way that a new word had to be invented to describe the pain suffered, he would have the joy of knowing and seeing you saved from Sin and reconciled to God.


It’s so hard to understand and believe, but throughout of the most disgusting and despicable event in human history, Jesus had a mind and heart set on the joy that his death would bring to you and to God the Father in Heaven as repentant sinners could now find forgiveness once and for all.  


In her book Ten Fingers for God, Dorothy Clarke Wilson writes about Dr. Paul Brand who worked with leprosy patients in India.


Sometimes they would all gather together in fellowship. One evening, Paul joined them, and they asked him to speak.


Dr. Brand had nothing prepared, yet he willingly stood up, paused for a moment and looked at their hands, some with no fingers, and some with only a few stumps. Then he spoke: “I am a hand surgeon, so when I meet people, I can’t help looking at their hands. I would like to have examined Christ’s hands. With the nails driven through, they must have appeared twisted and crippled. Remember, Jesus, at the end, was crippled too.”


The patients, on hearing this, suddenly lifted their poor hands towards heaven. Hearing of God’s response to suffering had made their suffering easier.


In Jesus’ life of obedience to God and service to you and in Jesus death on cross where he shed his blood for you, he did not grow weary or fainthearted.  Jesus faced all of the suffering, walked through all of the suffering, and Jesus overcame all of the suffering with an attitude of joy.  Jesus willingly ran this race set before him by God the Father in Heaven knowing that he would be the victor winning the prize of your salvation.


When Paul and Silas responded to suffering with joy by singing hymns and praying for God’s help, one of the prison guards watching over them witnessed their joy-laced demeanor and came to believe in Jesus so that he too could experience joy despite worldly suffering.


When the Greek Thessalonians responded to suffering with joy by remaining faithful to the tasks of preaching Christ crucified and resurrected while being persecuted by the government, the non-Christian religious leaders, and sometimes family and friends, residents of the towns and regions surrounding Thessalonica came to believe in Jesus so that they too could experience joy despite worldly suffering.


Just like the Thessalonians, as you endure the suffering of this life with joy, knowing that by suffering God is uniting you with Jesus, making you like Jesus, and will exalt you like Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven, others will see your faith driven, hard to understand and believe, joy in affliction and come to repentance and faith as they see the life of Christ exemplified in your daily experiences.


This week, hide 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 in your heart for times of trouble and affliction. 


[9] But [Jesus] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (ESV)


This is the Word of God for you today.


This is the Grace of God for you today.


Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.


June 21, 2026

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

The Only Role Model

1 Thessalonians 1.5b-6

There is a famous quote, that states “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

This saying, which has survived for over 200 years, refers to the idea that we will copy and try to replicate the choices and work of another that we find admirable.

We all have someone, or several someones, that we look up to.

Who is your role model?

Who in your life do you look at and think, “Someday, I hope to be just like them!”

AskMen.com, the largest men’s lifestyle website in the world, surveyed over 2,000 men and asked them: 

“Who do you consider your role model?” 

The survey results were broken down into four major categories:

  • 8 percent of men said they look to actors or entertainers as their role model.
  • 24 percent of men try to emulate athletes.
  • 31 percent of men said “I’m my own role model.” (what a weird, egotistical, and stupid statement!)
  • Lastly, 35 percent of men admitted to looking to entrepreneurs as role models.

According to AskMen.com, the men that aren’t absolutely blinded by ego and pride, admire men like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, who are known for “breaking the mold,” along with other men described as those “who see the risks and take them anyway, achieving success on their own individual terms.”

In this morning’s Biblical text, returning to our series through the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, we hear that the professing Christians in 1st Century (AD) Thessalonica have willingly chosen Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy—the men that first shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them—and most importantly, they have chosen the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to be their role models.

Continuing on in 1 Thessalonians, 1:5b-6 says:

[5]…You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)

As a reminder, the Biblical book of 1 Thessalonians is a letter written by 3 of the first-ever Christian leaders to some of the first-ever Christian men and women gathered in the Greek city of Thessalonica.  This letter was written and sent in the mid-1st Century shortly following Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to Heaven.

This morning’s portion of the letter comes from the opening section in which the leaders are encouraging the local church with a list a of things that they are thankful for.

In the two verses we just heard from, the Christian leaders—Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy—are thankful for two specific things.

First, they are thankful that the Thessalonian Christians are imitating them personally.

Second, they are thankful that the Thessalonian Christians are imitating Jesus.

An important question that arises out of this Biblical text is, “As a Christian, is it ever appropriate to imitate another human being?”  

In our text, the authors are thanking God and encouraging the Thessalonians for imitating them.

This seems counterintuitive to our Christian life because we know from various Biblical passages that we should love as Jesus Christ first loved us and we should serve others unconditionally as Jesus Christ first served us unconditionally.  We are exhorted throughout Scripture to walk in a manner worthy of Christ.

However, at various places throughout the Bible, we are told that it is OK to imitate other human beings.  But, the caveat is that it is appropriate to imitate other human beings only as far as they are first imitating Jesus Christ.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy were men worthy of imitating because their testimonies showed that their lives were miraculously turned upside down and inside out.  These men started out as self-serving and self-exalting deniers of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  After coming face-to-face with the grace and love of God, they ended up as men who lived with the heart and mind of Jesus overflowing with grace and love for those around them.

In a book that I recently read about loving others just like Jesus first loved us, the author speaks about Paul’s transformed Christian life and says,

“One of the reasons why [the Apostle] Paul prioritized relationships is because he saw other people through the lens of Christ. Jesus—God come down—had every right to claim authority. He had every right to be unknowable. He had every right to keep his distance. God does not have to share his space with messy, sinful, ridiculously unwise human beings. Yet he did. That is exactly what Jesus chose to do throughout his earthly ministry.”

Paul, being changed by God’s love for Him, which drove God to die on the cross to forgive his Sin in the person of Jesus Christ, could not help but pattern his life after the sacrificial love of Jesus so that others could also experience the rest and peace that come from being personally cared for and watched over by God the Father in Heaven.

So, to reiterate, it is appropriate to imitate other human beings only as far as they are first imitating Jesus Christ.

Now, as Christians, as those who find ourselves believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we have the daily calling to be like Jesus by imitating his thought patterns, his speech patterns, and his patterns of action.

The Apostle Paul tells the Christians gathered in the city of Ephesus that because God, in Jesus Christ, has forgiven them, they are to be…

[1] …imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5.1-2, ESV)

When we hear exhortations like this, exhortations to love others as Christ first loved us, it is easy to mentally assent to the idea.  However, when the day begins and people begin to not act as we want them to act, it can be hard to live up to this essential part of the Christian life.

The good news for you is that you are not left alone to find the strength to be all of the things that Jesus Christ is—loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.  The good news for you is that through faith in Jesus Christ, God takes up permanent residence in your heart and mind to help you become more like Jesus day-after-day.

In this world, on this earth, Jesus imitated the heavenly and eternal characteristics of God the Father for you!

Jesus was able to act, speak, and think like God the Father because He is 100% God and 100% man at the same time.

Jesus, the Christ, thought as God thinks.  

One of the questions in Luther’s Catechism asks, “What are God’s thoughts about you?”  And, the is God’s thoughts about me are thoughts of love and blessing.”  In and through Jesus, God considers you precious and desires nothing more than to shower you with love and blessing every single day.

Jesus, the Messiah, spoke as God speaks.

Every word out of Jesus’ mouth was a word out of God the Father’s mouth.  Imitating God’s words to perfection, Jesus constantly spoke of repentance and faith.  Jesus’ words lovingly lead you to the mirror to examine how far you have fallen short of God’s standards for life and love so that you can be honest about your need for help, ask God for that help, and be strengthened to put your trust in Jesus who is the only one who can help you by making all things right for you when you stand before God’s throne.  Then, and only then, will you find the rest and peace that every one of our souls is constantly searching for.

And, Jesus, the Savior, acted as God alone acts.  

From birth, to death, to resurrection, to ascension, to eternal life, Jesus did that Jesus did to secure forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God the Father, and a joyful and peaceful eternal existence for you in God’s Kingdom.

In response to Jesus’ rescuing you through His life, death, and resurrection, you are called to BE like Jesus.

You are not called to LOOK like Jesus.  

There is a growing request in Utah for models who look like Jesus. That’s because for an increasing number of people in the state, a picture isn’t complete without Him. Jesus lookalikes are being hired for family portraits and wedding announcements. Jesus lookalikes are showing up to walk with a newly engaged couple through a field, play with young children in the Salt Flats, and cram in with the family for the annual Christmas card.

Bob Sagers was walking around an indie music festival in Salt Lake City when a friendly stranger approached and asked for his number. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a Jesus look to you?” Sagers, a 25-year-old who works as a cheesemonger at a grocery store made the joke that it wasn’t a pickup line—the man’s wife was an artist looking for religious models. Being 6-foot-5 with dirty-blonde, shoulder-length hair and a beard that gives off Irish and Scandinavian vibes, Sagers added, “I make for a pretty tall Jesus.”

And so it was that Sagers began a side hustle as a savior. Since being recruited about four years ago, Sagers has posed as Jesus nearly a dozen times. Others have done so far more often, charging about $100 to $200 an hour to pose with children, families, and couples at various locations in the Beehive state.

For the newly sought-after models, the job can be freighted with meaning and responsibility. Lookalikes find that people expect them to embody Jesus in more ways than the hair and beard. Some models said they feel like a celebrity when they don the robe—and get treated like one too. (One felt compelled to remind an onlooker he wasn’t the real Jesus.)

You are not called to LOOK like Jesus.  

You are called to BE like Jesus.

Let me explain what this means.

It’s easy to look like Jesus outwardly.  

You can look like Jesus by going to the church building and sitting in a pew while spiritual songs are sung, while people are confirmed, while sermons are preached, and while the Lord’s Supper is served.

You can look like Jesus by putting money in the offering box.

You can look like Jesus by donating goods to the food pantry.

You can look like Jesus by baptizing your babies.

You can look like Jesus by showing up at funerals and weeping with those who weep.

You can look like Jesus by celebrating with those who a celebrating.

You can look like Jesus by helping the poor.

The ways you can look like Jesus are never-ending.

But, looking like Jesus outwardly doses’t mean that you are like Jesus internally.

Matthew 7:21–23 gives us this warning:

[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (ESV)

If we look like Jesus in our actions but don’t have the heart of Jesus through faith and trust in Him for salvation, Jesus will say to us on our last day, “I do not know you.”

Doing some of the “right things” doesn’t make you right in God’s eyes.

Only believing the right things makes you right in God’s eyes.

And, what is the right thing to believe?

Jesus tells us what the right thing to believe is, in a verse that one of our confirmands shared last week as her favorite verse, 

[1] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.” [5] Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” [6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1–7, ESV)

Nothing you do and no one around you can connect you to God expect Jesus Christ alone.  Without faith in Him, you will never see God face-to-face.  

Being saved from Sin by a Savior who died on a cross to rescue you from being eternally separated from God, your Creator, gives you a life that is freighted with purpose, meaning, and responsibility.  

In the words of Uncle Ben in Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

There is only one person that you can place in the category of “role model” that will make sure, without a single doubt, that you achieve the goal of being pure and holy as God is pure and holy.  His name is Jesus Christ.  He is the God-in-the-flesh.  He is Emmanuel, God with you!

Jesus doesn’t just show you how to live a Godly life, Jesus lives the Godly life for you and with you.

I leave you with two Bible verses this morning.

Colossians 3:2 encourages you to, 

[2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (ESV)

And, 1 John 4:10–11, 18-19 describes what is it to imitate Jesus.

[10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

[18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. [19] We love because he first loved us. (ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

June 14, 2026

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Confirmation Testimonies 2026

These student testimonies are unedited. I am sharing them just as they wrote them.

Carter Garcia

I was raised in a Christian family by my parents, Stacy and Luis. For many years, my family and I attended Gloria Dei Church, which has always been a very special place to us. My grandparents were married there, my mom was baptized there, and my parents were married there as well. Growing up, we regularly attended church services, celebrated Christmas and Easter together, and I received my First Holy Communion at Gloria Dei.

I was also baptized at Gloria Dei as a baby. My godfather is Uncle Fred, and my godmother is Aunt Jackie. Pastor Brandt baptized me, and according to my parents, I smiled the entire time and never cried once.

Through church, Confirmation classes, Church Camp at Bethel, and reading the Bible, I have learned that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. These experiences have helped strengthen my faith and better understand what it means to live as a Christian.

Jesus Christ is important to me because He guides me to live a good and meaningful life. He reminds me to be kind, helpful, faithful, and caring toward others. I know I can always turn to Him for support, comfort, and guidance during both good and difficult times.

Having faith in Jesus Christ affects my daily life because it gives me someone I can trust completely. I believe He helps guide my decisions and leads me down the right path. Knowing that He is always with me gives me confidence and strength every day.

Confirmation is especially important to me because it represents my personal decision to continue following God and living in faith. When I was baptized as a baby, that decision was made by my parents. Now, through Confirmation, I am choosing for myself to continue growing in my relationship with God and living as a Christian.

My favorite Bible verse is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I memorized and recited it in front of more than 100 people at my cousin Ava and Mike’s wedding. I love this verse because it beautifully describes the power and meaning of love, especially God’s love.

Love is patient and kind.
Love does not envy or boast.
It is not proud or rude.
It does not insist on its own way.
It is not irritable or resentful.
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.
Love never ends.

Braydon Garafola

I was raised in a Christian home and taught about God and Jesus from a young age. Faith has always been an important part of my life. I was baptized as a baby, which was important to my family because they wanted me to grow up knowing God and being part of the church. Even though I was raised in a Christian household, my Sunday mornings were not always spent at church. My faith is still important to me. Most Sundays were spent, and continue to be spent at hockey rinks, baseball fields, or volleyball courts. We also spend a lot of Sunday mornings around the same kitchen table my mom sat at when she was a child. My grandpa makes Sunday morning breakfast. Family is one of my biggest values.

I learned that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior through my family, prayer and Confirmation classes. As I got older, I started to understand more about who Jesus is and how He helps people through difficult times. I learned that he is with me at all times and I can always turn to Him for guidance, strength, and comfort.

Jesus Christ is important to me because He gives me strength and someone to lean on when life is difficult. I know that I can pray to Him during hard times, but also during good times. I pray for my family, all the people I love, my pets, my sports games, and for each day to be a good day. Knowing Jesus is with me helps me feel supported, safe and grounded.

My faith in Jesus Christ affects my daily life by helping me try to be kind, thoughtful, and respectful to others. It also helps me stay positive and work hard in school and sports. I try to remember that God is with me no matter what happens, and whether I win or lose.

Confirmation is important to me because it allows me to grow stronger in my faith and my relationship with God. I love God and am a supporter of God. It is also important because I am choosing to continue my faith journey for myself. Church is where I reflect on myself and grow stronger. Confirmation helps me better understand what it means to live as a Christian.

One thing I learned in Confirmation that sticks out to me is reading and understanding Scripture. I enjoy learning about the Bible and hearing stories that teach lessons about faith, strength, and helping others. I am able to relate the scripture and bible verses to my own life. It has helped me think more deeply about my relationship with God.

My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is my favorite verse because it reminds me that I am never alone and that God gives me strength during challenges. When I am down on myself, I remember this bible verse. I also relate to it through sports because it reminds me to work hard, stay confident, and trust in God.

Ashley Herold

I was raised by Christian parents and they raised me using their spiritual support system. We attended religious services weekly and consisted of going to religious instruction on Wednesdays at St Elizabeth.  I also learned to say my prayers at night. I was baptized in a small church in Glendale, Queens named Sacred Heart.  My godparents are my aunt and uncle.

I learned about our Savior Jesus Christ at religious instruction. In grade school I learned how he died for us and that part made me want to learn more about his life.  The belief hit harder around 5-6th grade when more hardships came. I realized faith in him was nice and good to have, and it made me feel safe.

Jesus is important to all of us because of how he cares for us unconditionally.  He is important to me because I knew he would always be there. I also knew I could always talk to him and he would be supporting us in prayer, all the time. I need Jesus in my life as one of the ways to maintain balance and health.

Jesus affects my daily life positively. I know he is always with me and watching me, no matter what. I know he always loves me and he helps me feel supported, even when it feels like nobody is there and around for me.

Confirmation is important because it is a part of being a Christian’s journey. I want to finish my Christian journey and complete what I have to. This includes confirmation, to be confirmed.

Confirmation helps strengthen a person’s faith. This sticks out to me because I know I want to do exactly that—keep faith. As I have said, I want to continue even after being confirmed, and want to be confirmed to continue my Christian journey.

My favorite verse is one of the verses we have done, John 14:6. It reads, “I am the way and the truth and the life”. This is important to me because as much as it is a fairly popular one, it holds significance in how Jesus is the truth.

Dominick Lipari

I was raised by Christian parents. I grew up learning about God and Jesus my whole life starting from when I was baptized as a baby.  I heard Bible stories growing up, went to religion classes, and also made my communion in the 2nd grade.  Church, faith, and family values are a huge part of my life because my parents taught me the importance of all of these.

I learned that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior through Church, prayer, the Bible, and from my parents.  From listening in church and reading the Bible I have learned just how much Jesus sacrificed for all of us.  He died for all of our sins which gives us hope and forgiveness.

Jesus Christ is important to me because he reminds me that I am never alone.  I can always find hope, strength, and courage when I pray to Him.  It is because of Him that I have learned to believe in myself and in the things that I do.

My faith in Jesus Christ affects my daily life by teaching me to always help people and put others before myself.  It also helps me to be an honest, respectful, and compassionate person. Praying also helps me to calm down when I am stressed out and need help or guidance.

Confirmation is important to me because it has helped to make my relationship with God stronger.  It has helped me to learn about the things that God and Jesus have done for us.  I have also learned more about the Church and what it means to be a Christian.

One thing I learned from Confirmation that sticks out to me is how Jesus rose from the dead after he sacrificed his life for our sins.  Another thing that I learned is that God is with me no matter what especially during the difficult times he is right by my side.

My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13– “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

This Bible verse has taught me that I am never alone and I just have to believe that God is always with me.  It also makes me want to keep trying even when things are difficult in my life.

Caleb Meis

Christian parents raised me.  I was baptized on June 2, two years ago at Bethel by Pastor Fred.  I spent my Sundays at the church, especially because my Dad played in the band.

I learned that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior through Confirmation.  I learned that by going over it in the Bible.  I also learned that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior through His death and resurrection.

Jesus Christ is important to me because he has taught be how to push through hard times in my life.  I need in my life because he has taught me to forgive, love, teach, and accept.  One other way that I need Jesus is to show me that nobody is perfect and that we show be treated and treat others with respect.

May faith in Jesus affects my daily life because he has shown me how to go the right way when there are two different paths.  My faith in Jesus also affect my life by teaching me how to handle the not nice people who want to annoy me.  And, the last affect of Jesus in my daily life is to remind me that faith isn’t also perfect but it is His forgiveness that matters.

Confirmation is important because it is something that I can do on my own and can’t be told what to think or do.  I can have my own thoughts and realizations.  One other thing that makes Confirmation important to me is that I can have questions and have them answered.

One things that sticks out to me in Confirmation is that you always have a choice to choose the good side.  One more important thing is that you can always have grace.  You can have grace with siblings, teammates, classmates, teachers, family, neighbors, and more.

My favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3.5-6.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

  and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

  and he will make straight your paths.

This is my favorite verse because it teaches me how to go through hard times.  One more thing about this verse is that it tells me that there is always a right choice, no matter what, and God is trying to guide you to the right path.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Yes! That’s The Book For Me!

1 Thessalonians 1.4-5a (Part Deux)

Words are powerful.

Words are expensive.

And, ignoring or rejecting words can lead you to the wrong destination.

Because words are powerful and expensive, a good translation or translator really does matter. 

Professional translator Nataly Kelly tells the following story about what journalists have called the “$70 million word.”

In 1980, 18-year-old Willie Ramirez was admitted to a Florida hospital in a comatose state. His friends and family tried to describe his condition to the paramedics and doctors who treated him, but Willie’s family only spoke Spanish. They told the hospital staff that Willie was intoxicado. The word is what translators call a “false friend”—it doesn’t mean what you’d assume it means. 

In Spanish, intoxicado refers to a state of poisoning, usually from ingesting something toxic to the system. Ramirez’s family was trying to say that Willie was suffering from food poisoning—literally, “he is poisoned.”

But when the doctors grabbed a hospital staff person to translate for the Ramirez family, the staff worker said that Willie was “intoxicated.” The doctors treated him as if we were suffering from an intentional drug overdose. Willie was misdiagnosed and, because of the wrong course of treatment, became a quadriplegic. 

The hospital finally settled in court with the Ramirez family for $71 million.

Words are powerful.

Words are expensive.

And, ignoring or rejecting words can lead you to the wrong destination.

The word that the Ramirez family was using had the power to communicate the truth of Willie’s situation and therefore, the power to get him the help and healing that he needed.

However, due to the lack of care and concern for the word being shared, the word became expensive.  First, the rejection of the word cost Willie his ability to use his torso and limbs for the remainder of his life.  The ignorance and rejection of the word ultimately cost Willie Ramirez his life.

Second, the rejection of the word cost the hospital $71 million dollars in payments that could have been avoided.

In this morning’s Biblical text, we are returning to our very slow crawl through the the deep and wide grace of God found in the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians.  (For more information on how we got here, please see the previous sermons now at home on my blog www.sinnerandsaint.blog). 

All you need to remember, or know, this morning is that 1 Thessalonians is a letter written by a few of the first Christian leaders to one of the first churches that was gathered in the Greek city of Thessalonica.

In the verses that we will hear from now, we hear that the Word of God is powerful, the Word of God is expensive, and depending on your response to the Word of God, the Word of God can lead you to the wrong destination or the right destination.

1 Thessalonians 1.4-5a says this:

[4] For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, [5] because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction…(ESV)

Last week, in this series through the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, we received other-worldly comfort from the first half of these verses as we were washed in the Good News that God has chosen to love us (yes, stubborn and disobedient us), God has chosen to forgive us (yes, stubborn and disobedient us), and God has chosen prepare a place for us in His Kingdom of Heaven (yes, stubborn and disobedient us).  

God has chosen to do all of this for you and for me through choosing to die on the cross in the God-man, Jesus Christ

This morning, we are going to move on to the second half of these verses, specifically verse 5(a), and hear how we can be confident in the truth that God has chosen us because of the changes that occur in our daily living when we recognize that we are sinners and that Jesus Christ is our loving and forgiving Savior.

More than 20 years ago, I was at a Lutheran Brethren Youth Conference in Seattle, Washington.

One of the presenters, the then President of our Lutheran Brethren Seminary, shared about assurance of salvation.

In answering the question, “How can we know and trust that God loves us, forgives us, and has a place waiting for us in His Kingdom of Heaven?,” the pastor and professor shared a verse that has taken up permanent residence in my heart and mind ever since.

The Apostle John, the one who is known Biblically as, “the disciple that Jesus loved,” shared the reason he was writing his first letter to a group of Christians in Asia Minor during the 1st Century AD when he said,

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, ESV)

This statement does not just pertain to this letter that John was writing.  

This statement pertains to the entirety of our Bible.  

All of Genesis 1.1 through Revelation 22.21, all 66 Biblical books, all 31,102 verses, are written to you hearing this message today so that you can be given exactly what you need to be made wise for salvation being confident in God’s never ending love of you.

This happens because the Holy Bible is not some dead text.  The words contained within The Word of God, are not just ink on paper.

Hebrews 4:12–13 sums this up when it says:

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (ESV)

The Word of God is powerful.

The Word of God is expensive.

And, ignoring or rejecting God’s Word can lead you to the wrong destination.

Eleanor Turnbull, a veteran missionary to Haiti, shared a few of the simple prayers that Christians in the Haitian mountains prayed in her presence.

One prayer shared went like this:

Our Great Physician,
Your word is like alcohol.
When poured on an infected wound, it burns and stings,
but only then can it kill germs.
If it doesn’t burn, it doesn’t do any good.

Another prayer like this:

Father,
A cold wind seems to have chilled us.
Wrap us in the blanket of your Word and warm us up.

And, still, another prayer like this;

Lord,
We find your Word like cabbage.
As we pull down the leaves, we get closer to the heart.
And as we get closer to the heart, it is sweeter.

What these Haitian Christians are professing in their prayers is the good news that the Word of God, the Bible, is not a dead word but a living and active Word.  And, that being true, the living and active Word of God always does God’s work when it is read and preached.

One more verse about God’s Word, the Bible, tells us that there is never a time that the Bible is read or preached that God remains quiet.  God always does some sort of work in the lives of those that hear His Word.

Isaiah 55:10–11 says:

[10] “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

[11] so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 1:18 addresses the power and conviction of sin and salvation brought to us by God’s Holy Spirit whenever we read or hear God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 1.18 says:

[18] For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (ESV)

2 Timothy 3:14–17 addresses the expensive side of God’s Word when it says:

[14] … as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

The Word of God is powerful.

The Word of God is expensive.

And, the Word of God leads you to the right direction to the right destination.

After two years without a vacation, Edward Gamson, an American dentist, was excited to board his plane and do some site seeing in Granada, a province in Spain. But some nine hours later, he landed in the Caribbean island of Grenada (not Granada), 4,000 miles from his intended destination.

Mr. Gramson told a newspaper, “I made it absolutely clear to the booking agent I wanted to go to Granada in Spain. Why on earth would I want to go to Grenada in the Caribbean if I was flying back to America from Lisbon? It’s just so sad.” He’s suing the airline for $34,000. The judge refused to throw the suit out and then added, “This case proves the truth of Mark Twain’s aphorism that ‘the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.’ Except here only a single letter’s difference is involved.”

The Word of God is expensive for you if you ignore it or reject it.  By ignoring and rejecting the Word of God that God has graciously and mercifully given to you, you are led away from God and toward many false hopes that can never satisfy you.  By ignoring and rejecting God’s Word, you are led in the wrong direction to the wrong destination.  There are only a few letters separating Heaven and Hell.

The Word of God is also expensive for God because for those of you that receive and accept it, the forgives and eternal life and righteousness it provides you with was purchased with the body and blood of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ on the cross.  The price for your sin had to be paid and God’s love for you does not want you to pay the cost so God, in His love for you, chose you to be brought back into His family through the atoning substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.

The Word of God is powerful.

The Word of God is expensive.

And, the Word of God leads you in the right direction to the right destination.  By following Jesus Christ you are lead joyously into the Kingdom of Heaven today and forever.

Someone once said, “You cannot tells a hungry children that you gave him food yesterday.”  In the same way, you can’t tell your hungry soul that you gave it some hope through God’s Word yesterday.  You need to go to God the Father, in His Word, daily so that He can feed you faith, hope, and love.  It is God’s will that you be filled daily with the food of the Gospel that only He can provide.

There is a plaque on the wall in my office with a quote from the late pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul.

The quote from his book, Knowing Scripture, says, 

“The power of the word is not in the people’s being able to summarize a message they’ve heard.   Rather it is the power of God’s Word piercing the soul.”

Knowing this all to be true, that there is power in God’s Word to change us and give us hope for life with God on our side, I began to make it as easy as possible for you in this congregation to be exposed to the life-altering and world-changing Word of God on a regular basis.  

That is why I send an almost-daily email (and Facebook post) with a piece of Scripture and a few words of explanation to you.   It is always my hope that you are opening your Bible without my help, but I provide the help in getting God’s Word to you because I know from own personal experience how hard it often is to find a few uncluttered moments during the day to do so.

When we began today, we heard the truths that words are powerful and that words can sometimes be expensive for those that ignore and reject them. 

As you have heard and hopefully experienced, the Word of God is powerful.  The Word of God is able to penetrate the deepest recesses of your heart and mind to lay out your ungodliness before your eyes to convict you of your sin and your need for a Savior.

The Word of God has the power to reveal the darkest parts of who you are, the parts that you try hard to hide and have never spoken of before.  But, the Word of God also has the power, by the working of the Holy Spirit, to take what is in Heaven with God and deliver it directly to you where you are at any given moment in time.  By showing you Jesus, your Savior, the Word of God has the power to give you rest and peace in the finished work of Christ on your behalf.

This morning, God does not leave you alone to figure things out.  God gives you His Word.  In His freely gifted Word to you, God is always speaking to you, God is always leading you, and God is always assuring you that He has chosen to love you so that you can rest today.

The Word of God is powerful.

The Word of God is expensive.

And, the Word of God leads you to the right direction to the right destination.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

May 24, 2026.