Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Eternal Eyes

Luke 14.25-35

“I am so hungry that I could eat a horse.”

Can a person eat an entire horse?

No!

“My Dad is older than dirt.”

Is is possible for your Dad to be older than dirt?

No!

“My backpack weighs a ton.”

Does the backpack actually weigh a ton? 

No!

“I was dying of laugher.”

If the person is still alive making this statement, did they die of laughter?

No!

“She’s as skinny as a toothpick.”

Is it possible for a human being to be as skinny as a toothpick?

No!

Are people who make these statements lying?

No!

People that make statements like the ones above are using a method of communication that ridiculously over-exaggerates a situation to make a point about what they are experiencing.

In this morning’s text from The Gospel of Luke, one of the four biographies of Jesus contained in the New Testament portion of the Bible, we are going to hear Jesus teach us about the seriousness of the Christian life using a few statements that may seem very harsh, but are, for the most part over-exaggerations used to get your mind to understand a very fine point about living after finding yourself trusting in Him as Lord and Savior.

Let’s hear from our Biblical text now.

Luke 14:25–35 says this:

[25] Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, [26] “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. [27] Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? [29] Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, [30] saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ [31] Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. [33] So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

[34] “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? [35] It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (ESV)

This piece of history that we just read begins by telling us that great crowds were following Jesus.  

Why would crowds of people follow and chase after Jesus wherever he went?

Well, there are at least three reasons people wanted to be close to Jesus.

The first group of people followed Jesus because they were intrigued by his teaching.  They were hearing things in Jesus’ preaching and teaching that they had never heard before from a person who had a clear confidence and a strange authority when saying things about God the Father in Heaven, the destruction that one’s Sin causes, and the way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God in Heaven.   Even if they didn’t believe what Jesus was saying, they wanted to make sure they were witnesses to these seemingly new and outrageous teachings.

The second group of people followed Jesus because of the miracles He was performing.  These people either saw or heard about Jesus healing the sick from their diseases and sometimes bringing people back from the dead.  This group wanted to be close to Jesus to hopefully get something good from Him, like having their every day problems eradicated.

And, the third group of people following Jesus were doing so because through the opening of their eyes and the removal of the Sin soaked scales on their heart, they found themselves truly believing that Jesus was the promised Savior, God-in-the-flesh, come to rescue them and provide them the only possible opportunity for being brought back into a right relationship with their Creator and Redeemer which would culminate in being welcomed into their eternal home of Heaven, where all things will be made perfect in every way.  

The first two groups of people have Earthly Eyes.  They only see what they can get out of Jesus in this world.  

The third group of people have Eternal Eyes.  They see clearly that Jesus is their Savior who makes it possible for them to be forgiven by God for their Sin, made righteous and perfect in every way, and have hope in their final resting place where there will be no more tears, no more suffering, no more sickness, and no more pain.  In that eternal place there will only be rejoicing, celebration, and untainted friendship with God and all other disciples of Jesus Christ from every point in history.

Following that preliminary information of Jesus’ movement and people following Him, we hear some teaching that Jesus shares the crowds of people (and by extension, us today).

This teaching of Jesus is definitely classified under the heading, “The Hard to Deal With Sayings of Jesus.”  I mean, after, all, Jesus is telling you that truly following Him the way that God desires you to follow Him includes four very difficult and seemingly impossible tasks.

First, Jesus says that if you don’t hate your family—your father, your mother, your spouse, your children, and your siblings—you cannot be one of His disciples, which means you can’t be forgiven of your Sin and made righteous for eternal life.  

Second, Jesus tells you that every day of your life you have to willing pick up your cross, an instruction of torture and death, otherwise you cannot be one of His disciples, which means you can’t be forgiven of your Sin and made righteous for eternal life.  

Third, Jesus tells you that every day of your life, you have to do a very deep and honest self-evaluation, asking yourself if you truly have the heart and mind to hate your family and be willing to die for what is right according to God’s standards for life and love.  If you are unwilling to give up the things that are unGodly and make you guilty of disobeying God, you can’t be forgiven of your Sin and made righteous for eternal life.  

And, fourthly, Jesus tells you that you have to turn your back on all that you have.  You can’t find comfort in your money or your possessions or you positions of power or your good deeds.  If you are unwilling to renounce all that you have in this life in order to put Jesus and His way of life first in all circumstances and situations, you can’t be forgiven of your Sin and made righteous for eternal life.  

So, how do with deal with Jesus’ hard sayings here.

Well, first, we need to understand a teaching method called, “Hyperbole.”  Hyperbole is the using of grossly exaggerated statements to make a point.  

I gave some examples at the beginning of this message. But to refresh your memory at this point, common hyperboles that you are most likely familiar with are:

“I am so hungry that I could eat a horse.”

“My Dad is older than dirt.”

“This bag weighs a ton.”

“I was dying of laugher.”

“She’s as skinny as a toothpick.”

As we see this morning, Jesus often uses hyperbolic sayings in His teaching about the Kingdom of God and the living as a member of the Kingdom of God on earth. What we have to note is that the hearer of hyperbolic teaching is not meant to take the sayings completely literally.   

Now, knowing that this is a hyperbolic statement and that Jesus doesn’t actually want us to treat our family members with cruelty, that Jesus doesn’t want us to nail ourselves to a cross in an act of asceticism, that Jesus doesn’t want us to walk away from our homes, jobs, and possessions to become a homeless nomad, what exactly is Jesus telling us?

To summarize all four of Jesus’ points buried in the overly exaggerated teaching statements, we can say, that in order to be a disciple of Christ and therefore, a child of God and an eternal resident of God’s Kingdom, we need to choose God’s ways first and see Jesus and the world around us through Eternal Eyes.  

We need to see that who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us benefit, us today, tomorrow, and forever.  God isn’t a genie in a bottle who will take your problems away here and now.  God is a Savior who came to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, most notably in His death on the cross to forgive your Sin and His rising from the dead, on what we now call Easter Morning, to give you confidence that God has made it possible for you too to defeat death and rise from the dead into the comfort of His Heavenly Kingdom.

Jesus is telling us that without question, Jesus and the ways of God’s Kingdom, most clearly defined in the Ten Commandments, need to be our number one priority every day of our life.  

If we look at the majority of our Bible translations, this passage of Scripture is usually labeled something like, “The Cost of Discipleship,” or, “The Cost of Following Jesus.”  

When we see those headings for passages of Scripture we have to remember that they were not in the original text.  Those Scriptural divisions were added later on by those that translated this text from it’s original Greek into our English language.

Because the headings are man-made, I do not pay much attention to them because they usually cause us to focus our attention on the idea in the heading and sometimes miss the real point of the text.

That being said, if we go along with this text as Jesus only laying out rules for discipleship, that is, things we have to do in order for God to love us, we miss the good news in the text.  And, most of the time, end up, rightfully so, feeling like a complete failure.

We end up feeling like a complete failure because preaching a message or teaching this passage with the idea that “As a Christian, you have to do these things or else!,” completely erases God’s love and grace from the text.  Focusing on what you have to do teaches that God’s love for you in based on your ability to do the right things for God.  And, when we believe that false teaching, we will also lose confidence and hope in God’s never-ending love for us because we will never every be able to follow God’s rules 100% of the time due to our earthly connection to the corrupted flesh.  Even though faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection makes us fully perfect in God’s eternal eyes, we will not experience that absolute perfection until we leave this world and are in His presence.

That being said, if I were to title this text, using Jesus-centered, Gospel-centered, Good News-centered eyes, eternal eyes, I would title it, “The Cost Jesus Paid to Forgive My Sin.”

When God stepped off of His throne in Heaven, and came to this world in the physical person of Jesus Christ, Jesus prioritized God’s will over every one of his family members and friends and even His own life.  Jesus followed God’s commands to live perfectly, die on the cross, and walk out of the grave alive after 3 days, so that You could be forgiven of Your Sin, made righteous in God’s eyes, and welcomed home into God’s Kingdom.

Jesus literally picked up His cross, denying any temptations in the flesh to walk away from God’s difficult path for Him, and carried it all the way to Golgotha, where he was crucified for your Sins and their forgiveness.

Jesus considered the cost to Him personally, which was His very life given over to death to pay the price for your disobedience to God, and He freely and willingly chose to die through the excruciating pain of crucifixion so that You can be made right with God forever.  Jesus always chose Your good over His own.

I always want to be as honest as I can with you.  So, yes, a life lived with faith in Jesus is sometimes a life where you will experience suffering and even have to choose suffering as you seek to do the good of God in a world that promotes the evil of ungodly Sin.

But, once you find yourself loved by God through the person and work of Jesus Christ for you, the new heart you are given with the new eternal eyes that you are given, give you confidence that God has always been and will always be in control of all things for your ultimate good.

So, since Jesus saw you with eternal eyes and prioritized your forgiveness and reconciliation to God over His own earthly family members, trust in Jesus with eternal eyes and prioritize loving God and loving others in your daily life.

Since Jesus saw you with eternal eyes and prioritized your forgiveness and reconciliation with God over the temptations of this world that offered Him fame, power, and wealth, trust in Jesus with eternal eyes and prioritize loving God and loving others in your daily life.

Since Jesus saw you with eternal eyes and prioritized your forgiveness and reconciliation with God over His own good in this world and died on the cross to the pay the price for your Sin against God, trust in Jesus with eternal eyes and prioritize loving God and loving others in your daily life.

And, since Jesus saw you with eternal eyes and prioritized your forgiveness and reconciliation with God over accumulated stuff and personal possessions, trust in Jesus with eternal eyes and prioritize loving God and loving others in your daily life.

Jesus came with eternal eyes on God’s mission and lived for your good and the good of the entire world.

Join Jesus on God’s mission this week and live with eternal eyes for the glory of God by living for the good of others and the good of the entire world.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 7, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Key to the Kingdom

Luke 13.22-30

There is a lot of talk out in the world about Jesus and the Bible.

To be more specific, there is a lot of negative talk out in the world about Jesus and the Bible.

The negative talk about Jesus and the Bible goes something like this:

  • The God of the Bible is mean.
  • The God of the Bible is unfair.
  • The God of the Bible is vindictive.
  • The God of the Bible is evil.
  • The God of the Bible is sadistic.  
  • The God of the Bible is arrogant.
  • The God of the Bible is narcissistic.
  • The God of the Bible is oppressive.

However, when we actually open the Bible and read it and when we come face-to-face with a text like this morning’s Biblical text, we can see that every one of those negative statements is false.  

All of those negative views and negative opinions about God the Father, God the Son—Jesus, and the Holy Scriptures (that we colloquially call The Bible), stem from pure ignorance and Biblical illiteracy.

In this morning’s Biblical text, that comes from The Gospel of Luke, or, in other words, Luke’s biography of Jesus, we see a Savior God who overflows with grace, mercy, and compassion by clearly showing you the way to faith, hope, and love.

Let’s hear from our Biblical text chosen for us by the lecitonary now.

Luke 13:22–30 tell us this:

[22] [Jesus] went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. [23] And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, [24] “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. [25] When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ [26] Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ [27] But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ [28] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. [29] And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. [30] And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (ESV)

Jesus’ compassion for you is present in these words because He tells you the He desires for you to enter God’s Kingdom of Heaven. 

Jesus’ grace toward you is present in these words because He shows you the exact way to enter God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

And, Jesus’ mercy toward you is present in these words because He forgives your Sin with His own death on the cross and makes the opening of the door to Heaven possible for you through His defeating of death in His resurrection. 

We live in a time and place that is defined by pluralism.

Pluralism is the idea that there can be many ultimate sources of authority in the world.

The problem with that theory is that two contradicting beliefs can both be called “right,” or, “correct.”  Pluralism creates logical fallacy. 

However, pluralism has led to the idea that there are many paths to God and many different roads to Heaven.

But, as we hear Jesus tell us today, the theology of pluralism is incorrect.  The road that leads to God is narrow and the door that leads to Heaven is narrow.

To say that in a way that has cultural significance for us today, is to say, 

All roads DO NOT lead to God the Father in Heaven.

And, all doors DO NOT lead you into the eternal presence of your Maker and Creator.

And, there ARE NOT many ways into God’s presence.  

Finding forgiveness for your Sin and receiving eternal life IS NOT a choose-your-own-adventure game. 

But, in our Sin, our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and our self-righteousness, we want to believe that we can do and believe whatever we want and as long as we try our best, God has to accept us.

Let me ask you a question…

When you get home today, how will you get through the front door of your house?

You will use a key.

Will every key on your keychain open the front door to your house?

No!

Only the key specifically designed for the lock on that specific door will provide you a way into your home.

The same is true for the door to God’s Kingdom.

Not everything you try will get you through the door into Heaven.

Only the key specifically designed for the door will provide you a way into your Heavenly eternal home.

Jesus tells you this morning that:

Self-help and self-improvement techniques will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Pop-psychology’s pithy advice will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Waving flags and advocating for your rights or the rights of others will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Charitable giving will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Volunteer service will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Mixing and matching beliefs from the Bible and/or other sources until you feel good about yourself and your system of virtue will not get you through the door into Heaven.

Having a “God of Your Own Understanding” does not get you through the door into Heaven.

Voting for a specific political party will not get you through the door into Heaven.

John’s biography of Jesus, we hear this:

[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:7-11, ESV).

A little later in The Gospel of John, we hear explicitly clear directions to the door that leads to eternal life when Jesus says:

[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. (John 14.1-6, ESV)

And, in the Apostle’s Paul letter to the Christians in the city of Rome during the first Century A.D., he preached to them the ONLY way to the door that leads to God the Father in Heaven when he said:

[9] if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11] For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9–11, ESV)

If you are standing at the door today and relying on anything but Jesus to get you through that door into God’s presence, I ask you, in fact, I beg you, to lay down what you are holding onto, that is not Jesus, because you will not fit through the narrow door with anything in your hands except faith in the life, death, and resurrection of your Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Put down your laundry list of good deeds.  

Put down your bank statements and charitable giving receipts.

Put down your log sheet of volunteer service hours.

Put down calendar with markings on all of the days you went to church instead of sleeping late.

Put down your flags and flag poles. 

Put down your voting ballots.

Put down your self-help books and therapeutic techniques.

You cannot work yourself through the door to Heaven.

However, God has opened the door for you and come out to get you and bring you in with Him in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  

In God’s great love for you, He has clearly shown you the door to Heaven and the way that the door is unlocked.

Yes, the door is narrow.

But, the door is not hidden!

God has clearly marked the door with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ that cleans you from every unGodly thought, word, and action, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  

This morning, in the Sacrament of Baptism, God has shown not only Martin, but all of us, the way through the narrow door into God’s eternal presence in His Kingdom of Heaven.

We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because it is only through the grace and love of God in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ applied to us by the Holy Spirit that we can enter through the narrow door that leads to eternal life.  

The band Stillwell, made up of members of P.O.D. and Korn, sing,

I’m fallen, so broken

Having a come to Jesus moment

This morning, if you are fallen and broken because nothing you have or do brings hope into your life, hear Jesus calling to you and inviting you home into God’s eternal kingdom.

Confess and repent of your Sin that has you trying to unlock the door to the Kingdom of Heaven with everything and anything but Jesus. 

This morning, the work of unlocking and opening the door to God’s Kingdom of Heaven has been completed for you.  The door to God’s Kingdom of Heave is unlocked and opened for you who simply believe in Jesus’ life of perfection, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead, all completed on this earth in this historical timeline, for the forgiveness of your Sin and the gifting to you eternal life.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

August 24, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

We Can Trust Jesus

Luke 12.22-34

Worry and anxiety seem to be the default mode of our humanity.

We all seem to be overwhelmed by the unsteady walk that is daily life.

That’s why, there is no shortage of songs expressing the frustration of our inability to find rest and peace on a daily basis.

With that being said, maybe your daily anthem is the same as mine.

Listen to these probably familiar feelings, written by pop-punk rockers, Bowling For Soup:

Hello, hello anxiety

It really sucks to see you

Hello, hello anxiety

I’ve been expecting you

I could never through one day

Without you hanging around

So hello, hello anxiety

Maybe, on your drive to work, when you need some encouragement to face the day ahead, you ask your personal assistant, Siri, to spin Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 reggae-jazz mega-hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” or Billy Joel’s (also 1988) hit song from Disney’s Oliver and Company, “Why Should I Worry?” (what the heck was going on in 1988 that caused so much need to sing our way out of worry?!)

As an 8 year-old, I was obsessed with that Billy Joel song. I would dance around the house singing the catchy chorus which stated:

Why should I worry?

Why should I care?

I may not have a dime

But I got street savoir faire

The French term savoir faire translates to “knowing how to act.”

So, this chorus refrain was promoting the idea that “I don’t have to worry because I have the knowledge and wisdom to handle life.”

I had no idea what that French term meant when I was 8 years old, I just knew I liked the groove and catchy melody, and the onscreen street-smart animated cats who belted out the tune. 

In this morning’s Biblical text, the words of Jesus that we hear are a response to a man who was worried about how to get his fair share of an inheritance. 

Let’s hear from our Biblical text found in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 12:22–34 tells us this:

[22] And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. [23] For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. [24] Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! [25] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [26] If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? [27] Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [28] But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! [29] And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. [30] For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

[32] “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (ESV)

At our VBS Family Night, before the singing and snacking, I shared with our students and families why VBS happens at Bethel year after year.  And, I want to share that short message with you this morning.

1 John 4:7-19 says:

[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [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. [12] No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us….[19] We love because he first loved us. (ESV)

Bethel’s VBS doesn’t exist because those of us here are really good people.

The truth is that Bethel, and by extension VBS, exists because of the exact opposite reason.  We are inherently broken people who are naturally selfish, self-centered, and self-righteous.  However, despite all of that brokenness, God, in the person and work of Jesus Christ has come to us and forgiven us by His death on the cross.  And, that sets us free from the daily self-loathing of shame, embarrassment, and guilt, by making all things right between us with God.

A friend sent me a quote last night that said,

“Stop looking for the perfect church. Go worship a perfect God with a congregation of flawed people who need grace as much as you do.”  

Here at Bethel, we admit the truth that we are messed up people because of Sin but we rejoice together because God has come to us in Jesus to be a Savior who is always greater than our Sin.

You may have heard the following words before, but because of the great love for I have for everyone of you here this morning, I invite you to hear them now with fresh ears:

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Because of God’s great love, shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we can have full confidence that on the day that we exit this life, we will be welcomed by God in Heaven with open arms.

What you have heard this morning from our campers speaks to us about the only true place you can find hope for today and tomorrow and which is summarized in the Bible at John 14:1-6:

[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…[6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The five Bible points that our student’s learned at VBS this week flow perfectly out of Jesus’ teaching today. 

The 5 Biblical VBS points are:

  • When we wonder, we can trust Jesus.
  • When we feel alone, we can trust Jesus.
  • When we feel powerless, we can trust Jesus.
  • When we need hope, we can trust Jesus.
  • When we need help, we can trust Jesus.

How does our Biblical text from the book of Luke speak to these points?

Well, worry and anxiety immediately take our eyes of Jesus and cause us to try to find the answers to life’s problems apart from the only place the answers can be found—from God our Creator and life’s designer. 

So, when we worry, we wonder if God is really good.

So, when we worry, we feel like God has left us alone. 

So, when we worry, we feel powerless. 

So, when we worry, we lose hope. 

And, when we worry, we feel helpless.  

In our Biblical text for this this morning from The Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives us the answer to our worry and anxiety.

The answer is to trust Him.

The answer to our worry and anxiety is to trust Jesus.

When we look to God’s great love that drove Him to step into the flesh of Jesus and come into this world to rescue us, we don’t have to wonder if God is good.  Only a genuinely good God would leave His throne in Heaven to die a sinner’s death on the cross so that we don’t have to be punished and separated from Him forever.

When we look at Jesus, we don’t have to feel alone because we have His promise that through faith, He will never leave us or forsake us and He will be with us until the end of this age and eternally in the next.

When we look at Jesus, we know that without His intervention in our life, we are powerless and hopeless because in our sinful brokenness, we cannot fix our relationship with God.  We cannot do enough good works or good deeds to please God.  However, through faith in Jesus, Jesus’ record of perfection becomes our record of perfection before God’s throne in Heaven.

And, when we look to Jesus (and ONLY when we look to Jesus), do we find and receive the hope we need that God is love, that God has acted in love toward us, and that God will continue to act in love toward us all the days He gives us on this earth.

I started this morning with song lyrics that describe our situation when we live without faith in Jesus—worry and anxiety about today, tomorrow, and the future.  

Now, I will end this morning with song lyrics that describe the confidence, comfort, power, hope, and help with have with God for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Late 90s, early 2000s Christian hard rockers, Pillar, give you this reminder about Jesus’ presence in your moments of worry and anxiety:

So next time that you feel like crying

Next time you don’t feel like trying

Just remember I’ll be right there

Smiling down on you

In the morning you don’t feel like rising

Next time you feel like compromising

Just remember I’ll be right there

Smiling down on you

Today, you don’t have to worry because when you trust in Jesus, you have the knowledge and wisdom, that lead to rest and peace and an ability to handle life.

Today, [31] Instead [of worrying and sinking into the despair of anxiety], seek his kingdom, and [Jesus’] things will be added to you.

The is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

August 10, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Mary & Martha (The Balanced Life)

Luke 10.38-42

After his inoperable brain cancer was diagnosed, Eugene O’Kelly, the 53-year-old CEO of a major accounting firm, wrote a guidebook on how to die. His book, Chasing Daylight, was written by a man once described as a “controlling, orderly, privileged, and powerful man who sometimes felt like an eagle on a mountaintop—then, to his astonishment, the mountain disappeared.” 

In the final months of his life O’Kelly wrote:

What if I hadn’t worked so hard? What if, aside from doing my job and doing it well, I had actually used the bully pulpit of my position to be a role model for balance? Had I done so intentionally, who’s to say that, besides having more time with my family, I wouldn’t also have been even more focused at work? More creative? More productive?

Mr. O’Kelly died shortly after writing those words, before he could answer his own question.1

Is your life balanced right now?

This morning, where is the guilt for your unbalanced life coming from?  Where are you compromising balance in your life and in turn hurting you and those around you?

Hearing that question, and knowing that your life is not properly balanced because balance is hard to come by, what changes do you need to make?

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary, we meet a woman named Martha who is living an unbalanced life.  Martha is busy doing a whole bunch of things, things that we would call good things, but was she wasn’t spending any time getting the rest she needed to find the strength to carry on doing the good things she was doing.  

In this Biblical text we hear Jesus gently invite Martha, and us, to return and find proper balance between the Spiritual Nourishment that provides rest that strengthens us and the Spiritual Work we have to do.

Luke 10.38–42 records this piece of history:

[38] Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. [39] And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. [40] But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” [41] But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, [42] but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)

It is a very common occurrence in the Church to have this text taught and preached wrongly.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the message, “Don’t be a Martha.  Be a Mary.” And, it’s exact opposite, “Don’t be a lazy Mary, be a go-getting Martha.”

That presentation of this situation and these people is a complete misunderstanding of the text and a complete misrepresentation of the two women.

I think that we can all agree that evil works are a distraction from the life that God wants us to live.

But, it is important to note that even good works can be a distraction from the life God wants us to live.

Martha, the distracted, busy, worried, stressed and harried one was not doing anything evil. 

Martha was, in fact, doing really good things.  Martha was exercising her spiritual gift of hospitality.  Martha was acting as the hostess with the mostest.  Martha was making sure that Jesus and His friends were comfortable and that their needs were provided for while they were in her home.

That’s why Jesus doesn’t vilify Martha.  

That’s why Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha.  

That’s why Jesus doesn’t tell Martha she is being disobedient to God.  

That’s why Jesus doesn’t call Martha a sinner.

Jesus just says, “Hey, Martha.  Take a break from using your God-given gifts, talents, and passions and come find some rest and peace.  Come to where peace and rest may be found so that you can have the strength and proper motivation for all of the good stuff you are doing.”

Where is true and lasting peace and rest found that we need to be able to get through each day and each task?

In Jesus.  

At Jesus’ feet.

In Jesus’ Words.

But, the rest that Jesus provides for us isn’t few more hours of sleep, it is the rest that comes from knowing that God is fully satisfied with us because of Jesus life, death, and resurrection for us.  The peace and rest that comes from Jesus life, death, and resurrection for us, sets us free to live and love without the worry of having to do it all perfectly in order to make God happy.  Because of your union with Jesus, through faith, God is 100% for you, all of the time, always welcoming you into His eternal Kingdom of Heaven.  

When Jesus spoke, “It is finished,” from the cross, He was letting you who hear and believe Him that the need to make God happy by satisfying His demands of a life perfectly lived, was truly and and eternally completed for you by Him.

As we heard last week, as Christians, God gives us brand new hearts and strengthens us every day to do good things to help the people that we come into contact with every day.

However, the problem comes in when we get lost in the good thing that is the loving others portion of our faith and let it distract us from the loving God part of our faith.

English Preacher, Theologian, and Writer, John Stott once wrote this:

“Balanced biblical Christianity is a rare phenomenon. It seems to be a characteristic of our fallen minds that we find it easier to grasp half-truths than to grasp the whole truth, and in consequence we become lopsided Christians.”2

God calls us to be balanced Christians.  Not lopsided Christians.  

God calls us to be a little bit of Martha and a little bit of Mary.

If there were no Marys, there would be no Christians.

If there were no Marthas, there would be no Church.

But, Jesus calls you to be a Mary first and then a Martha. 

This is the proper order of life.  This is how God designed you to find the proper balance. 

It is in choosing the good portion of beginning by filling your mind with the peace and rest that comes from Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection of you, that allows you to have what you need, the rest and peace that comes from knowing your good deeds don’t save you but help you with the freedom and confidence you need to help your neighbor.

Life can be A LOT!  There is so much to do, all of the time.  So, even the good stuff we do wears us out and steals our peace and joy. 

I have come to notice that Church people are the biggest culprits of living out of balance by thinking the Martha life is better than the Mary life.

You will find some of the most tired, unrested, and joyless people you will ever find in the Church.

That’s because we profess the truth that life is about resting in Jesus’ presence while we live practically as if we will only find rest if we do enough good stuff to earn that rest from God.

We have to be reminded, like Martha needed to be reminded, to put the work down, yes, even the good work, and learn to listen to Jesus speaking words of comfort to us.  

We can hear Jesus gently reminding Martha and Mary, 

[45] For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, ESV)

Or, in other words, Jesus said to Martha and Mary, “I didn’t come so that you had to work to prepare your house for me.  I actually came to work to prepare God’s house for you.”

And, Jesus would have also gently reminded them of His invitation and promise which says:

[28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV)

Somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago, I read about a Bible study/Bible reading plan that I haven’t ever forgotten about.  A writer friend of mine shared a system called “Professor Grant Horner’s Bible-Reading System.”

The goal of the system was to read 10 chapters of the Bible everyday.  There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible.  Following this plan would allow you to read through the entire Bible about 3 times every year.

Professor Horner says that 10 chapters a day would take the average reader 35-45 minutes each time that sat down to read.  

Now, I know exactly what you are thinking, because it is exactly what I thought many years ago and what I am thinking with you right now, “Who has 35-45 every single day to sit down and do nothing but read the Bible?” 

However, regardless of the time commitment, I have tried more times than I can remember to implement this plan.  I have usually been able to make a a few days, maybe into a second week, but then, 

maybe it was ADHD, 

maybe it was addiction all of those years ago,

maybe it was depression, 

maybe it was making the excuse of being too busy this day or that day, 

maybe it was boredom, 

maybe it was laziness, 

maybe it was a sinful lack of desire to take Jesus’ command to rest in the presence of my Lord and Savior seriously, 

whatever the excuse was, I always just stopped very early on in the process and gave up on this specific Bible reading plan.  

About 3 months ago, I attempted to start again.  And, I was doing really well, I was balancing my day by doing all of my Bible reading, which allowed me to find peace and rest in Jesus’ presence before I started on the never-ending to-list on my desk.  Before I attempted to accomplish anything, I was daily reminded that regardless of what happened for the rest of the day, my faith in Christ made me one with Jesus and therefore, God fully loved me and accepted me despite the ups and downs that a day in this life brings. 

Like I said, I WAS doing very well.  But, about 3 weeks ago, I pulled out my VBS Preparation To-Do List, and I immediately made the excuse that I was too busy to start my day with the Bible reading, but I would CERTAINLY get it done later on, in pieces,  between some of the tasks I had to accomplish for VBS to be ready to rock.  And, if I didn’t get my Bible reading during the day, I would CERTAINLY make sure it happened before bed.

We all know how this story ends because it is all of our story.  

The “later on”, the “in-between other tasks”, the “before bed,” never came.

Why am I telling you this somewhat long story? 

I am telling you this somewhat long story about my life, because it describes what is happening in our text and what Jesus tells us is the best order of events for our daily life.

To put it succinctly, over the past three weeks, even though I was spending every waking minute doing what we would all call “good and Godly” things—preparing for well over 100 people to hear about the love of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ—my life became out of balance.  I lost my way.  My priorities became reversed.

And, in reversing my priorities and pushing the time I needed with Jesus in God’s Word out of the picture completely, I can testify to you that I became exhausted, overwhelmed, burdened, irritable, angry, quick to run my mouth and slow (if not deaf) when listening, and resentful—just like Martha saying, “Lord, do you not care that my [church] has left me to serve alone? Tell [them] then to help me.”

All of this happened while I was doing good things for God’s Kingdom because I pushed God out of the equation and tried to do everything all on my own without the strengthening help that Jesus provides in order to properly do the good works that He has prepared in advance for me to.

Like I said, this text has been taught wrongly and will continue to be taught wrongly.  That is because of the tension that exists between the Law and the Gospel.

While I was in seminary, my mentor, who was also my Pastor in Staten Island, was a brilliant man overtaken by the beauty of God’s love in the the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I still remember him saying many times from the pulpit that we can’t full grasp the totality of God’s working but we simply have to acknowledge that there is a Biblical tension.  

What he meant was that we have the clear message that the forgiveness of sin and eternal life has absolute nothing to do with the thoughts we think, the words we use, or the deeds that we do.  We do not play an active role in gaining God’s love, God’s forgiveness, and a place in God’s Kingdom.  That is all God’s doing for us.  We receive it by sitting at Jesus’ feet like Mary.

However, the Bible also makes it clear that we do have a calling and responsibility to live in a manner worthy of Christ.  Just like Martha knew. 

The Christian doesn’t sit around doing nothing saying, “God did everything for me, now let me be.”  No, the Christian responds to God by getting moving to do good deeds because the ultimate good deed of dying on the cross to reconcile us to God through the forgiveness of our yesterday’s Sin, today’s Sin, and tomorrow’s Sin.

Many passages that contain the narratives of Jesus’ life on earth give us easy to pass over details.  Today’s Biblical text opens with the simple positional statement, “Now, as they went on their way.”

Like I said, easy to pass over.  It’s simple right, Jesus and His disciples were just walking around and then they ended up win Martha’s house.

However, what we have to remember, is…

Jesus wasn’t on his way to get cheeseburger from McDonald’s or on his way home to watch the next episode of The Bachelor on Netflix.  

Jesus was always on His way to the cross to die in the place of sinful humans, including me and you.  On earth, Jesus was always on His way to the cross to die in order to provide the forgiveness that me and you need so that we can be called perfect and righteous and in turn be eternally reconciled to God our Father in Heaven, our Maker and Creator.

And, because Jesus is love, because Jesus is Grace, and because Jesus is Mercy, He stopped along the way to the cross to have compassion on those who were hurting, helpless, and hopeless.  Jesus always has time to come to you who are burdened, weary, anxious, troubled, distracted, and overwhelmed by the taskmaster called “daily life.”

In Jesus, God has come to you to balance out your like with rest, peace, and strength, so that you can freely do the good things that need to be done to help the people around you on a daily basis and ultimately lead them to Jesus for rest, peace, strength and freedom 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.

August 3, 2025.

  1. Eugene O’Kelly, Chasing Daylight (McGraw Hill, 2007), page 142. ↩︎
  2. John R. W. Stott, Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 2. ↩︎

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

W Is For Worker

Galatians 6.1-2

Our family has recently been using a wonderful book from the Scottish-born, American Pastor Alister Begg and his The Good Book Company for our nightly devotions.  The book that we have been using is called C Is For Christian and provides an easy to understand theological point for each letter of the alphabet.

This week, as we were heading toward the end of the book, we came to the letter W.

I want to share with you some of the content from the entry for the letter W.  

W is for Worker.

2 Timothy 2.15 says,

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed.”

God gives all of His people work to do for Him, every day. It might be caring for someone else. It might be saying something kind. It might be teaching someone something about Him from His Word. It might be giving your time to help someone out.  It might be using your talents in a church service.

Christians don’t work hard so that we can be loved and forgiven by God. No! Christians work because we are already loved and forgiven by God, just by trusting in Jesus. 

Christian work is often hard work. And God wants you to “do your best.” Some people do the very least that they need to do. They put in as little effort as they can. But other people do the very best they can possibly do. They try as hard as they can. As we live the Christian life, that’s how we are to do the work God gives us.

If we do this, then we will have “no need to be ashamed.” Imagine a school student doing some work in class. When they have finished, if they have done their best and tried hard, then they can give their work to their teacher with pride. But if they know they have rushed their work and not done it as well as they can, they will hand it in with shame. As we live the Christian life, God wants us to do our work in a way that means we can say, “That’s my very best.”

That’s the kind of worker who is “approved” by God. We work hard so that God will approve of the way we live for Him and obey Him. It’s exciting to think that, as you work hard for Him, God will look at you and say, That’s great. I really approve of what you’re doing. You’re the kind of worker I’m looking for!

W is for Worker.

The book then encourages us to think about and answer the following two questions:

What good works does God give you to do each day?

Do you think you will work harder if you remember that God is watching and approves of your hard work? Why?

This morning, we are returning to the book of Galatians to finish out our sermon series from this year.

This morning, we are up to Galatians 6:1–2 which says:

[1] Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (ESV)

I don’t know if you caught the tone of Paul’s words, but in these verses, Paul is naming the work you should be doing as a Christian.

Paul is saying that in the Christian life, “W is for Worker.”

Martin Luther, the 16th Century monk, teacher, and theologian— who helped the Christian church get back on track by putting physical copies of the Bible into people’s hands in order to rescue them from the corrupt religious leaders of the day who were adding and subtracting from God’s Word for their own personal gain—masterfully summarized the Christian life when he said,

“God doesn’t need our good works, but your neighbor does.”

This is what today’s text from Galatians is all about.

Today’s text from Galatians is about doing good works as Christian for the good of those around you.

When the Apostle Paul wrote letters to the early churches in the 1st Century A.D., to help them stay and track loving God and loving others, and often get back on track doing those things, he almost always wrote in a two-part fashion.

The first section of Paul’s written communications would include the truth of the Gospel.  Paul would begin his letter with a proclamation and reminder that Jesus Christ is God’s Savior.  He would proclaim that faith in Jesus Christ is the one and only way that a person can be forgiven of sin, justified, declared righteous, reconciled to God, and brought home into God’s eternal Kingdom of Heaven.   And, that all of this great blessing is freely available to every human being when they confess that they are a sinner in need of saving and trust the truth that God’s love drove him to provide that saving in Jesus, life, death and resurrection.

Following that outpouring of good news that brings hope to broken people in a broken world, Paul’s second section of each of his letters would then move on the practical aspects of living as a Christian.  Paul’s words of exhortation, command, and encouragement were for those who had experienced the life altering, heart and mind transforming grace of God.

As a brief reminder, in chapters 1-5 of Galatians, we heard the Apostle Paul tell us the good news that we find forgiveness of sin, justification, righteousness, and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  Through faith in Jesus, we are called sons and daughters of God and given all of the benefits of being an heir to all that God has created and done.  And, through faith in Jesus, we are also set free from the burden of Sin that keeps us enslaved to the idea that God needs our good works in order to accept us, approve of us, and love us.

At the end of chapter 5, in the typical Pauline way, he begins to transition into the practical aspects of the Christian life.

To return to Luther’s quote, “God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor does,” we have to remember that the things that Paul is telling the Christians in Galatia to do aren’t a series of good works that will earn them God’s love and approval. 

No.  The things that Paul is telling Christians to do are the proper responses to God’s love and approval of them despite their sin and selfishness. And, the proper response to God’s love for us is to love others as we have first been loved—with grace and mercy.

In these first two verses of chapter 6, Paul tells us that as Christians, living together in the Church on earth, we have accountability partners and are to be accountability partners.

As Christians, we are to know the Word of God.  We are to know what it commands us to do and what it commands us not to do.  And, we are to help each other live up to God’s standards for life and love.

Now comes the uncomfortable part.  This means that sometimes we have to correct others in the faith and sometimes we have to be correctly by others.  

Hearing the truth that God allows others to take moral measurements on your life using the Bible as the measuring stick so that the faith you profess on Sunday morning matches the thoughts, words, and actions of your Monday-Saturday living, may scare you because we have come to a place in the Western world where the idea of “being judged” is used negatively and as a threat to personal freedom.

We are all familiar with colloquial mantras of, “Don’t judge me!,” and, “Who do you think you are to judge me,” and, “The Bible says not to judge others.”

Well, this morning’s Biblical text proves that God not only desires but commands us to make judgments on one another for their temporal and eternal good.

To understand how the process of helping to restore a brother or sister into a right relationship with God works, let’s dig a little deeper into the Scriptural words that Paul has written and left us.

Let’s begin by highlighting the phrase, “You who are spiritual.”

This command to be an accountability partner to others all hinges on your faith of being known by God and knowing God and living in such a way that you are always working to cultivate and grow in your knowledge of Jesus Christ and prayerfully seeking that God would work out the fruits of the Spirit in your life.

This means being humble.  This means knowing that you are no better than anyone else around you.  This means that you acknowledge that you too need help.  This means you will correctly declare, “I am not perfect.” This means that you are quick to confess your own Sin and seek God’s forgiveness where it is found—in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

This faith filled and faith guided lifestyle will allow you to know what God commands and forbids and not rely on what you alone have decided is right and wrong for yourself and for others.

Here is a bit of a warning for you: In fulfilling this command to restore those caught in transgressions, you need to be aware of what is sin in God’s eyes and what is not.

In our own sin, we often like to create our own categorical imperatives for this life.  However, we have no right to do that.  It is God the Father in Heaven who created life, who sustains life, and who makes the rules for life.

So, after examining the human’s natural condition from the very moment of conception—the human condition of being corrupted and enslaved by Sin which lies to us and tells us that we are always right about everything and everyone around us should bow down to our lordship over them—what hope do we have to be able to do what Paul is telling us we should be doing as Christians?

Well, 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 speaks about the Christian’s wisdom and ability to correct others and be corrected by others as well.

These verses say:

[14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16] “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (ESV)

If you are spiritual, that means being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit of God, you will exhibit humility and therefore be gentle in your leading and guiding of others to a place of confession and repentance.  You will do this in this way because it is how God has led you to confession and repentance and how you would like others to treat you in leading you to confession and repentance.

God wasn’t a jerk to you, but He was patient, kind, and gentle, always leading you to the cross for the forgiveness and healing that He provides for you.

And, when you need to be corrected and pointed back to God in Christ on the cross, you don’t want others to be a jerk to you.  You want them to be patient, kind, and gentle.

As I like to paraphrase the greatest two commandments, “Love God and Don’t Be a Jerk to your neighbor.”

In a sermon that Jesus preached, he smooths out some of the edges on this for us when he says:

[37] “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; [38] give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

[39] He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? [40] A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. [41] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [42] How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. (Luke 6:37–42, ESV)

At one point, U.S. Men’s Soccer Team star Christian Pulisic was dropped from the starting lineup by head coach Gregg Berhalter. Pulisic said, “There were moments when he benched me and I wanted to kill the guy — I hated him, I was so angry. But then the next game comes along, and then I find myself in a better place. The way he handled a lot of situations, I have to give him a lot of credit.”

Pulisic said that he developed an understanding for Berhalter’s coaching methods during his first camp under the coach. In that camp, Pulisc suffered a slight injury. After getting a scan on the injury, Berhalter summoned Pulisic for a meeting. The coach suggested that the injuries may have happened because Pulisic wasn’t training with the intensity at which he played in games. Pulisic was taken aback at first, but eventually he took in the advice. He said:

It changed the way I look at training, even today. … Listen, it wasn’t easy, and it took me a little while, but I said “Let me take this onboard,” and since then I’ve been in a much better place. It’s things like that. The way that he deals with players, you can tell he is passionate, and he cares about his players. He’s not going to tell you it easy, or what you want to hear, he is going to tell you what he feels is going to improve you.

To be honest, sometimes we hate God and His people because the process of growth is difficult for all of us.  To grow in our faith often means looking into the mirror and seeing how far away from God’s standards for life and love we actually are.  And, even when we are treated with patience and kindness and gentleness, we still initially react out of our old nature with the colloquial mantras of, “Don’t judge me!,” and, “Who do you think you are to judge me,” and, “The Bible says not to judge others.”

But then, by God’s grace, the next day comes along, and then you find yourself in a better place. The way God handled all of your situations in such a way that you have to give him all the credit.

God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Church (if the Church is doing it correctly) are not going to tell you it is easy, or what you want to hear, they are going to tell you what they know is going to improve you.

This morning, Paul wants you remember that the letter W is for Worker.  

As a Christian who is automatically a part of the body of Christ, His Church, you are called to work for the good of your neighbor.

In the context of today’s text, Paul is focusing on your Christian neighbor.  

1 John 4.19 reminds us that “We love because [God in Christ] loved us first.”

Go today and do the good work of helping your brothers and sisters in Christ to live in a such a way that the love, grace and mercy of God is known by them and the world around them.  And, be prayerfully open to God using your brothers and sisters in the faith to do the same for you.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 27, 2025.

Prayer:

Dear God, thank You that You love us not because we work hard but because we trust Jesus. Thank You that You do give us good works to do for You. Please help us to work hard and to remember that You are pleased when Your people do their best in the work You’ve given them. Amen.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Tired of Life

Matthew 11.25-30

Have you ever felt tired?

I don’t mean the kind of tired that comes from a lack of sleep.

I mean the kind of tired that comes from working non-stop and feeling like you are never going to be able to finish the job?

In our house with two kids, three if you include me, which my wife does, there are never ending piles of dirty dishes and never ending piles of dirty laundry.  

Just when you think you have washed the last plate or folded the last pair of underwear, someone needs a snack and then drops that snack all over their clean shirt. 

Do you sometimes feel like the list of burdens of life, the to do list at your office, the to do list in your home, the to do list in your marriage, the to do list with your children, and the to do list at your church are too much to handle?

Today, heavy, unimaginable, and overwhelming burdens are being felt because:

Our kids are rebelling against what is good and right for them.

Our marriages aren’t experiencing all that was promised in the vows at the altar.  Instead, we are experiencing daily struggle and the hardest of hearts — things we could never have imagined when getting married. Stubborn disagreement. Refusal to compromise. Addiction. Insurmountable debt. Verbal abuse. Mental abuse. Physical abuse. The Jumbotron Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert.

Today, heavy, unimaginable, and overwhelming burdens are being felt:

Because of the constant news of natural disasters taking human life.

Because of worry about tomorrow.

Because of personal failure in the past.

Because of injustice.

Because of self-loathing and guilt over what we have thought, said, or done.

Because of wars and possible wars with Middle Eastern countries, Russia, and China.

Because of the decisions of politicians to fight each other instead of fighting for the good of the American people.

Burden stinks.

When we are burdened, we can’t sleep, we find it hard to breath at moments, we can’t focus, we can’t move forward, and we can’t accomplish the simplest of goals — like taking a shower or getting dressed, just to name a few of the side effects of burden.

And, all of that to say that when we are burdened, we just can’t rest.   

There is too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

If all of this sounds like the way you feel, and I am sure it does, there is good news for you this morning as we hear much needed good news from one of the four (4) biographies of Jesus.

Our Biblical text this morning comes from the Biblical book of Matthew.

It is here that we are told about living at rest instead of living with burden.

Matthew 11:25–30, brings us the words of Jesus, assuring us that life with Him is a life of rest.

Let here what Jesus says about rest:

[25] At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (ESV)

In these words, Jesus tells us that when we go to him, that is, when we have faith that He is God’s gift of a Lord, Savior, and Friend, we can rest.

And we can rest because of who Jesus tells us he is and what Jesus tells us he does for us.

This is what Jesus tells us about himself in these words:

Jesus speaks to you.

Jesus prays to God the Father in Heaven for you.

Jesus thanks God for you.

Jesus who alone knows God the Father, because He is One with Him, reveals God the Father to you.

Jesus reveals God’s grace to you.

Jesus is in charge of all things for your good.

Jesus calls you to come and be with Him.

Jesus gives you rest because of who He is and what He does for you.

Jesus teaches you who God is and what God is like and what God’s standards are for life and love.

Jesus is gentle with you.

Jesus is humble with you.

Jesus’ yoke is easy for you.

And, Jesus’ burden is light for you.

Writing about this morning’s text, one author says,

“At the end of the day, the Christian life is not about what you and I can do in and for the kingdom in our own effort; that’s a recipe for failure. Following Christ is about Jesus the Christ living in and through and for us on a daily basis. He helps us in our struggles with sin, in our battles with temptation, and in our suffering in trials. Believers are in the yoke with Jesus, and the One who calls us to righteous living is the One who enables us to live a righteous life. The One who beckons you to trust the Father is the One who enables you to trust the Father. And the One who calls us to preach the gospel to the nations is the One who empowers us to preach the gospel to the nations.”

The first thing we are going to briefly examine is the good news that Jesus speaks to us and reveals who God the Father in Heaven is and what God the Father in Heaven has done and is doing for us.

Ultimately, Jesus reveals himself.

Jesus reveals salvation.

Jesus reveals the way to forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life.

In another biography of Jesus, John, a personal friend and follower of Jesus tells us that Jesus said:

[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.” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1–4, 6,  ESV)

This is good news because God did not have to make Himself known to us.

Because of our ungodly thoughts, words, and behavior, we broke off our relationship with God.  In effect, we sent God divorce papers.  We told him, by our ungodly thoughts, words, an behavior that we thought our life would be better without him.

However, God refused to sign those divorce papers and instead did everything in his power to fix our relationship with him.

Because of God’s great love for me and for you, He chose to let us know that He would forgive us and forget our wrongdoing.

And, He would forgive our sin and forget our wrongdoing by paying off the debt that our sin incurred by trading the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross for ours.

The second thing that we are briefly going to look at this morning, flows directly out of the first.

We find rest in what Jesus reveals to us about God the Father and Himself.

We can rest in the truth that that God provides all we need to be accepted by Him today, tomorrow, and forever, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

There is nothing left to do to gain God’s approval.

In the person and work of Jesus Christ, God has come alongside of us and rescued us from the burden to work hard to perfectly complete the over 600 commandments in the Bible.

When I was in high school and had a day off, I would often go with my Dad to his job in New York City.

Back in those days, my Dad worked for a company that dealt with marine insurance claims.  

I know, I know, it sounds exciting and fascinating — just the place a high school student would want to spend an 8 hour work day.

But, I really like to go to help my Dad catch up on the stack of claims that he had to process and record.

Now for some of you, this is going to shock you, but there were no computers back in those days.  Every insurance claim had to be recorded by hand with a pen in a giant log book.   It was tedious work.

On those days that I went to help my Dad with his work, I would get up early, travel with him from Staten Island into Manhattan by train, boat, and subway.  

And, before heading up into my Dad’s office in midtown, we would stop at the deli for buttered bagels and a Snapple.

I would then sit at the desk next to my Dad and log in dates, claim numbers, company names, and payouts for the remainder of the day.

I worked alongside my Dad, helping him with the work he had to do.  Or, in other words that come from our Biblical text for this morning, I was yoked to my Dad on those joint work days, sharing the burden created by the job he had to complete.

Now, when I say “yoke,” I am not referring the yellow center portion of an egg.

I am referring to the farming tool that would hook two animals together.

This is what a yoke looks like.

And, this is what a yoke looks like on a pair of oxen.

The yoke would be used to help the oxen share the burden of plowing a field.  Instead of one animal bearing the weight and physical exertion of pulling a plow all day long, the farmer would yoke two oxen together and then hook up the plow to the yoke so that the weight and physical exertion would be shared by the two animals.

As a Christian, have you ever felt tired?

I mean the kind of tired that comes from working non-stop to prove that you are a good person or good Christian?

good enough for God and His Kingdom of Heaven; 

good enough for the people in your church; 

good enough so that you don’t feel like a hypocrite?

Do you feel like the burdens you read about in the Bible, learn about in Bible study, and hear about in sermons are too much to handle?

Well, if you feel that way, you are right.

The to-do list of what it takes to please God by obeying all of His laws for life and love is too much for you to handle. 

The laws of God and His rules for life and love are actually impossible for you to live up to.

However the good news for you this morning in our text, is summed up by author Todd Brewer in his latest post for the culture meets theology blog Mockingbird, when he says:

“Christianity is not a road-map of rules to follow before gaining eternal life, or a set of general principles that govern God’s creation and our ethical decision-making. Christianity believes in a personal, benevolent, creative God who has already and is in the process of fundamentally altering the course of human history. Christianity posits itself as the one truth that changes everything.”

The good news for you this morning is that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has altered human history and changed everything for you!

He comes to work with you to help you catch up and finish the stack of claims piled up against you and in need of recording as being “finished” in God’s logbook.

However, when you are yoked to Jesus, you are yoked to someone who has already finished the job before you got there. You are partnered with someone who has first finished the job that needed to be completed.  You are connected with someone who leaves nothing left for you to do.

In the yoke, Jesus takes the full weight of our sin and Jesus gives us full pardon for our sin on the other side.

Therefore, you can always rest with peace before God in the completed work of Jesus Christ.

When you feel the burdens of the world piling up on you and when you feel the burdens of trying to please God pile up on you, remember the good news that Jesus speaks to you when He says:

[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14.27, ESV)

[33] I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33, 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 20, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Jesus Writes Your Name In Heaven

Luke 10.1-2, 16-20

The late Bible scholar John Stott once said, “Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.”

According to the National Geographic’s kid’s website, the Pufferfish can inflate into a ball shape to evade predators. Also known as blowfish, these clumsy swimmers fill their elastic stomachs with huge amounts of water (and sometimes air) and blow themselves up to several times their normal size … But these blow-up fish aren’t just cute. Most pufferfish contain a toxic substance that makes them foul tasting and potentially deadly to other fish. The toxin is deadly to humans—1,200 times more deadly than cyanide. There is enough poison in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.

Like Pufferfish, human beings can blow themselves up with pride and arrogance to make themselves look bigger than they are. And this pride can become toxic to a marriage, a church, a friendship, and your faith.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary, we are going to be hearing from Luke 10.1-12 and 10.16-20.  

In this piece of history, we are going to hear Jesus sending out 72 of his followers to do the work of God in the world.  However, while doing God’s work, these disciples slipped back into the sin of pride and self-righteousness, finding purpose and meaning in their good deeds instead of remaining focused on God’s good deeds toward them in saving them and allowing them to be part of His mission of loving others into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let’s hear from our text now.

Luke 10:1–20 tells us this:

[1] After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. [2] And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. [4] Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. [5] Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ [6] And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. [7] And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. [8] Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. [9] Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ [10] But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, [11] ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ [12] I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

[16] “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

[17] The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” [18] And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. [19] Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (ESV)

Last week, we heard that Jesus was on a mission from God.  

Jesus’ mission from God was to deliver forgiveness for Sin and eternal life in Heaven to those who repented and believed in His sufficiency to do those promised things.

This week, we hear that as believers, as Christians, as disciples of Jesus, we are commanded to go out into our homes, work places, schools, and towns, to be active participants in Jesus’ mission on earth.  We are given the blessing of doing the same work that Jesus’ was doing on His mission from God.

As a Christian, Jesus’ mission supernaturally becomes your mission.

Can you believe that?  Through faith, God considers us to be worthy of partnering with Jesus in this world to verbally share the Good News of salvation, while loving others with grace and mercy so that they ultimately know and understand and find comfort in the love, grace, and mercy of God toward them!

In our Biblical text for this morning, we are told that Jesus sends out 72 of his disciples—in teams of two so that they are not alone and will have support, encouragement, and a prayer partner along the way.  Jesus sends them into the surrounding towns, villages, and cities to preach the Good News of Jesus come to them as God’s Savior.  

As they travel from place to place, they will be proclaiming the same message that Jesus proclaimed.  They will be proclaiming, “Repent and Believe for the forgiveness of your Sin.”

This mission was not only an active mission while Jesus was alive with them, the mission is an active mission for Jesus’ followers until the day He returns and brings us home into God’s Kingdom of Heaven.  That is why after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, which defeats the power of Sin and death for you, Jesus’ final words were words of command and blessing to you, reminding you of the active mission that you are on while waiting to be brought home into God’s arms.

In Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus says this to His followers before He leaves them and ascends back to His throne in Heaven:

[18] …“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

Let’s be honest.  Being saved from our Sin and being daily empowered by God to choose the good part of every hour, we get to do some really cool things.  We get to love God and love others.  

However, while doing that Godly stuff, we can easily and quickly slip back into Sin and become conceited and prideful.  

That’s what happened to Jesus’ disciples as He empowered them to heal the sick and preach the Gospel.

When Jesus’ disciples did those things, seeing the power of God, the Creator and Redeemer, flowing out from them, pride creeped in and they became more excited about the awesome things they were doing than they were about the awesome thing that God had done for them in sending Jesus to save them.

When the disciples return to Jesus after being out in the mission field, they are overwhelmingly excited because they saw miraculous things happen.  They were celebrating because when they preached and exalted Jesus alone for salvation, they saw demons run away and Satan fall from power.  They saw people turn from their Sin and find forgiveness and life.  

Even though those were great things that they were seeing done through their words and actions, the disciples were taking the credit for making all of that happen instead of giving the credit to God, the Father in Heaven, and Jesus, the Son, who were the actual power behind the miracle of saved and transformed lives.

So, even though good things were happening for the Kingdom of God through the disciples work in the world, they forgot that they were doing these things for God’s glory and began glorifying themselves and each other.

So, Jesus graciously and gently rebukes and corrects His disciples, pointing them back to the real Good News in their lives.

Jesus says to them:

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus points out their sins of pride, conceit, and self-righteousness, showing them that they have returned to finding comfort in their good deeds instead of Jesus their Savior.

In other words, Jesus was retelling them what was said by God in Proverbs 16:17–20.

Proverbs 16.17-20 says:

[17] The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;

whoever guards his way preserves his life.

[18] Pride goes before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall.

[19] It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor

than to divide the spoil with the proud.

[20] Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,

and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. (ESV)

Let’s be honest once again.  It is easy to get lost in the amazing good deeds that God lets us do and lose sight of the greatest good—God’s saving of us in the person and work of Jesus Christ in His life, death on the cross for our sin—sins like pride, conceit, and self-righteousness.

Let me give you and example from my week.  

This week, I got to do one of my favorite things that I get to do as a pastor.  This week, I got to stand alongside a family that lost a loved one.  

I got to send notes of condolence.  

I got to pray for a family who was grieving and mourning.

I got to offer my unconditional availability for any of their needs or wants during this time of loss.

I got to attend the funeral of the lost loved one.

I got to attend the burial of the lost loved one.

I got to attend the family lunch in remembrance of the lost loved one.

Not just as a Pastor, but as a brother in Christ, as a Christian, as a disciple of Christ, I got to be an ambassador of Christ, and a reminder and example of Jesus’ presence with them as they walked through the valley of the shadow of death.

But, in order to do all of these good Godly things that I am called to do, I had to give up a full day of my normal church work.  That meant no studying, no sermon writing, no contact with the other sheep in the flock, no administrative work.

After the church service, as we were doing the slow caravan-like drive along the Southern State Parkway from the funeral in Patchogue to the burial in Farmingdale, going 25 miles on the highway, attempting to stay connected to the processional of cars in front of me, I began to think about all of the good deeds that I didn’t have to do, but that I got to do as a Pastor and Christian when it came to this family’s loss.

And, as I said a few minutes ago, it is very easy to get lost in the amazing good deeds that God lets us do after we come to a saving faith and lose sight of the greatest good—God’s saving of us despite our inability to earn His love through good deeds.

So, that is what happened to me.

In my thoughts, while driving in the processional, I very easily and quickly began to pat myself on the back for all of the good deeds that I was doing for this family.  I was feeling really good about myself and all of the sacrifices I made during the week to support this grieving family.  

Pride rushed in.

Conceit rushed in.

Self-righteousness rushed in.

And, I began to think about how thankful the family should be for my sacrifices and how pleased God should be with me because of my sacrifices.

But, thanks be to God for His grace in using His Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance what I read and learned in preparation for this morning’s sermon.  As I was detouring back onto the road of pride, conceit, and self-righteousness, I remembered the last line of today’s Biblical text which says, 

“…do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Again, only by the grace of God in my struggle with Sin, was I led in that moment to confess my Sin, ask for forgiveness, and rejoice in my forgiveness secured for be my Jesus, while also thanking God that my name is written in heaven.

You may be wondering about that phrase, “your names are written in heaven.”  And, you may be asking, “Is there a literal place that my name is written in Heaven?”

Well, the answer is, “Yes! There is a book in Heaven that your name is written in if you repent of your Sin, your disobedience to God’s rules for life and love, and place your trust in Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only path to God, the Father in Heaven.”

In Revelation 20:11–15, the Apostle John describes this book containing the names of the saved when God graciously allowed him a peek into Heaven.

John tells us this:

[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)

If you are sitting here this morning, knowing that your name is not written in the book of Heaven, this is the day of forgiveness and salvation for you.  Hear Jesus’ words, “Repent of your Sin and believe.” Jesus is calling you! Respond with faith in His sufficiency to forgive your Sin and write your name in God’s book of life in Heaven.

This morning, take your responsibility seriously and be an ambassador of Christ every day in every place that you go.  Always pray for the fruits of the Spirit to overflow out of you and rely on the Spirit to give you the words to say in all situations.  These things are promises from God to you.

However, along the way of living in a manner worthy of Christ out in the broken and fallen world, as a sheep among wolves, prayerfully ask God to guard you from falling back into the sin of pride, conceit, and self-righteousness where you find joy and hope in your good deeds.  And ask that instead, you would keep focused on Jesus’ good deeds of living, dying, and rising from the grave in order to ensure your name is written in the book of life in Heaven.

This is the Word o God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 6, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

A Mission From God

Luke 9.51-62 / Galatians 5.16-26

In his 2017 book, The God Shaped Heart, author Timothy Jennings writes of the dangers of unrecognized heart issues:

Hypertension—high blood pressure—has been called the silent killer, but medical professionals didn’t always realize this. In fact, some doctors argued that hypertension was a made-up disorder that didn’t need to be treated at all. For instance, in 1931 Dr. J.H. Hay proclaimed, “The greatest danger to a man with high blood pressure lies in its discovery, because then some fool is certain to try and reduce it.”

Tragic results followed from this idea. Consider the true case of Frank. Frank was diagnosed with hypertension in 1937 at the age of fifty-four. His blood pressure was 162/98 and was considered by physicians at the time to be “mild hypertension.” No treatment was initiated. By 1940, his blood pressure was running 180/88. In 1941, his pressure was 188/105. He was encouraged to cut back on smoking and work. But his condition didn’t improve.

By 1944, his pressure was running higher, and he suffered a series of small strokes. This was followed by classic symptoms of heart failure, so he was placed on a low-salt diet with hydrotherapy and experienced some improvement.

But by February 1945, his pressure was 260/145, and on April 12, 1945, he complained of a severe headache with his blood pressure measuring at 300/190. He lost consciousness and died later that day at the age of sixty-three. Perhaps you know him better as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States.

In this morning’s text, chosen for us by the lectionary, we are going to hear more about the dangers of unrecognized heart issues. However, the heart issues that Jesus tells us about, in this Biblical text, have more than immediate physical consequences.  The heart issues that Jesus points out have spiritual and eternal consequences.

Luke 9:51–62 shares this piece of history with us:

[51] When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. [52] And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. [53] But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. [54] And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” [55] But he turned and rebuked them. [56] And they went on to another village.

[57] As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” [58] And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” [59] To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” [60] And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” [61] Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” [62] Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

The first thing we hear in this text is that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.

Why does the Gospel writer Luke tell us this fact? What does this mean for Jesus and His disciples?

Well, borrowing the words of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in 1980’s, The Blues Brothers, Jesus and His disciples could answer “our faces are set on Jerusalem because,” “We’re on a mission from God!”

And, what was the mission from God that Jesus was on?

The mission from God that Jesus was on was to save you and me, and every other man, woman, and child, at every point in mankind’s history, from having the wrath of God poured out upon us condemning us for our Sin.

When asked why the baby given to Mary and Joseph should be named Jesus, the answer was, “for He will save people from their sins” (Matthew 1.21, ESV).

On His way to Jerusalem, where Jesus would would solidify the forgiveness of Sin by dying on the cross in our place, Jesus was stopping along the way to prepare the people to be reconciled to God with His simple message of, “Repent and Believe.”

However, just like today, people reject that message for many reasons.

Some think, “Who are you to tell me that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness? Don’t judge me!”

Some think, “I am a good person doing good things that will certainly earn me points in the afterlife—whatever that looks like. I don’t need to confess anything or ask for forgiveness.”

While others think, “There is no god.  Or, we can’t know if there is a god.  Stop throwing that God-talk in my face.”

Something similar happened in the village of the Samaritans that Jesus wanted to visit.  The Samaritans made it clear that they didn’t want or need Jesus.  They didn’t want or think they needed His message of Good News.  And, they didn’t think they needed what He was offering them—forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God, their Father, their Creator and Redeemer.

So, as today’s Biblical text tells us, Jesus was never able to set foot in the Samaritan village to bring His Good News of forgiveness and eternal life because His disciples were told that Jesus wasn’t welcome in that place.

In reaction to the Samaritans rejection of Jesus, Jesus’ disciples do what we often do.  Jesus’ disciples jump to immediate and total judgment of those that deny Christ.  They ask Jesus if they can call down fire from Heaven to completely destroy these unbelievers and wipe them off the face of the earth with eternal punishment.

At this point an interesting thing happened.

The interesting and Good News for you and me is this part of the story where we see Jesus’ reaction to the the Samaritans rejection of Him and His disciples sinful quick-to-judge attitude.  

Jesus tells His disciples that He does not wish for them to punish the Samaritans for their unbelief.  In fact, Jesus rebukes His disciples for their sinful attitude of being quick-to-judge others.

This is the interesting part because it shows us nothing less than the overwhelming patience and grace of God with sinners like you and me.

It is God’s desire, as Scripture tells us, that every man, woman, and child come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ alive, dead, and resurrected for their eternal good.

In order for that to happen, God is patient with us along the way because He knows that Sin makes us stubborn and we will be quick to deny Christ, like the Samaritans did.  And, like His disciples, we will be quick to claim self-righteousness, and quick to Sin in ways such as judging others for their faults while we are unrepentant sinners ourselves.

God loves us.  So, God gives us more than one chance, more than 1000 chances, more chances than we will ever know, to hear about Jesus Christ and respond with faith.

After this incident with both the Samaritan villagers and the disciples following their hearts into the Sin of denying Jesus and His Commandments, which prompt us to love God and love others, we are given a few more examples of people wanting what their sinful hearts want and not the blessings that Jesus offers them.

One person wants to follow Jesus for all of the blessings that He has to offer them, but doesn’t want the suffering and rejection that come from doing what God commands instead of doing what the broken world encourages.

And, two other separate individuals want to follow Jesus only after they have take care of matters at home and feel like everything is in order as they would like it to be.

In 1862, American Poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “The heart wants what it wants, or else it does not care.”  This quote has made it’s way into popular culture in numerous ways.  Two examples from my lifetime were Woody Allen using it in an interview in the 1990s and Selena Gomez stealing it for a song in 2014.

The sad reality is that we hear Dickinson’s quote and miss the warning in it.  We don’t hear that our heart is selfish and doesn’t care about anyone or anything except what will make us happy in the immediate moment.  We only hear what we want to hear. So, we hear that our heart should be our light and our guide, leading us to true happiness.  

When my son was younger, he watched a show on the Disney Channel called Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  In one segment of one of the episodes, Jake danced around his pirate ship  encouraging children with the terrible advice to “always follow you heart.”

What we miss in all of this heart-talk is the truth of humanity.  The truth is that the heart is sinful from the moment of conception.  Our default setting is to follow the heart and what the heart wants, even though what the heart wants is to deny God and destroy others.

In 2 Peter 3:8–18, the Apostle Peter, speaks of God’s grace-led patience with us.  Peter says:

[8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

[11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, [12] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! [13] But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

[14] Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. [15] And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, [16] as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. [17] You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. [18] But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (ESV)

Jesus was on a mission from God.

The mission from God that Jesus was on was to fix the ultimate problem with your heart—the problem of Sin that made you selfish, self-centered, and self-righteous, denying your need for God’s intervention to forgive you and give you the new life that leads to an enteral home in His Kingdom of Heaven.

And, as you are told, Jesus’ mission was completely successful.

Through Jesus’ sinless life, sacrificial atoning death on the cross, and victorious defeat of death in the resurrection, your Sin is forgiven, you are made righteous and sinless in God’s eyes, and you have been made victorious over death’s power to kill and condemn you.

So, today, as we have been set free by Jesus Christ to live and love with brand new hearts set on God our Father in Heaven and the things above, not the things of this earth, I ask you to hear and heed Paul’s words from Galatians 5:16–26 which say to you:

[16] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (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 29, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Don’t Stop Believin’

Galatians 5.1-15

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

An age-old bedtime prayer that took on very real and imminent meaning for me this week and probably for many of you as well.

With talks of the fast enriching of Uranium in a non-sanctioned country desiring death to the West, night time missile exchanges in the Middle East, a two week decision making time table given by the President of the United States, and finally the destruction of nuclear weapon sites in Iran, certainty of God’s love, God’s concern, God’s sovereignty and God’s protection came to the forefront of our thinking.

In the midst of war and rumors of war, most normal functioning human beings wanted one thing this week—to be certain of personal safety.

And, some of us could sleep with the certainty of safety while others of us were overcome with worry and anxiety.

Interestingly, in the opening lines of 2022 article from INews reads: “Those of us without traditional religion are left to make our peace with uncertainty. … There’s nothing comforting about being agnostic.” 

For those of us unfamiliar with the term, agnostic means to be indifferent about the existence of God.  Agnostics believe we can’t know if God exists or if God does not exist.  They are different from atheists.  Atheists come down hard on the belief that there is no God. Agnostics instead say that there is just no way of knowing.

In the article, Eleanor Margolis laments her agnosticism and muses about the benefits of faith.

Speaking of the Russia/Ukraine war in 2022, Margolis says, 

It was in February, and while Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, that I started to wonder if it was time to find God. Definite God, that is. Not the half-hearted agnostic one built on a Jenga tower of uncertainty. The addition of a heightened nuclear threat from Putin made me desperate for a vengeful Old Testament God. Someone (to) smite the warmongers and oligarchs, the evil ones “know not what they do.” When nothing is left of civilization but the cockroaches.

The last time I felt so envious of religious people was when my mum was dying of cancer. Certainty about an afterlife sure would’ve come in handy then. And prayer might have created the illusion that I had some power over the situation. Instead, I was treated to the spiritual equivalent of the shrug emoji. I became a devout follower of one true religion of the 21st century: uncertainty. Those of us without traditional religion are left to make our peace with uncertainty.

In this morning’s Biblical text, as we return to the New Testament book of Galatians, a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the churches gathered in the region of Galatia during the first Century A.D., the Apostle Paul speaks about what brings certainty of personal safety in God’s arms and what takes that certainty of personal safety in God’s arms away from us.

Let’s hear from Galatias 5.1-15 together now.

Galatians 5.1-15 says:

[1] For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

[2] Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. [3] I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. [4] You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. [6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

[7] You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? [8] This persuasion is not from him who calls you. [9] A little leaven leavens the whole lump. [10] I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. [11] But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. [12] I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

[13] For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (ESV)

In verse 1, Paul makes clear what brings us certainty of God’s love for us and certainty that we are safe forever in God’s arms.

Paul tells us that we can be certain of God’s love for us and certain that God will safely bring us home into His Kingdom of Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  

Maybe this sounds familiar:

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16–17, ESV)

Paul then moves on to tell us what steals our ability to be certain that God loves us and will keep us safe in His arms.

Paul does this by pointing to the false teaching that some of the Galatian Christians are following and which is putting them in a place where they can never be sure of God’s love for them.

Paul points out that when they return to the Law and try to earn God’s love, they will never find comfort that they have done enough to please God.  They will never find the comfort they are looking for or be certain of God’s love because in Sin it is impossible to please God.

One of the specific things that was stealing the Galatians certainty of God’s love for them was returning to the Law based act of circumcision.

As a reminder, circumcision is a surgical procedure in which the foreskin is removed from the male, usually during infancy.

In Genesis 17, God introduces the act of circumcision to His people, the Hebrew people at that time. God required that on the 8th day after birth, every Hebrew male was to be circumcised as a sign that they were included in God’s covenant family.  Circumcision was the physical mark that reminded them that they were different than the peoples of the world around them that did not circumcise their males and whom were not part of God’s eternal family.

At that time, for those people, a male and his family could not be included in God’s family without being circumcised. 

However, as the Apostle Paul mentions over and over again, with Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God began a new covenant that allowed inclusion into His eternal family through faith in Jesus, the Savior, alone.

But, as we have been seeing since the very beginning of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, false teachers were troubling and confusing the Christians by telling them that their faith in Jesus Christ was not enough for them to find comfort and hope in God’s love for them.  These false teachers were telling them that they needed to add the physical works of the old covenant to their faith in Jesus in order to be forgiven of Sin and saved for Heaven.

Some of the Christians were buying the lies of the false teachers and were walking away from their faith in Christ to go back into slavery to Sin in an attempt to earn God’s love by being good people in their own strength.

This is a serious mistake and their denial of Christ’s work in His life, death, and resurrection, has major consequences as the Apostle Paul points out.

First, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds causes you to be severed from Jesus.

That means, if you want to rely on good works and religious deeds to get you to God in Heaven, you will be cut off from receiving Jesus’ gifts and blessings.

Second, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds will lead you to a place where you then have to keep all of God’s Laws perfectly to be accepted by Him in the end.

Third, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds means you have forsaken God’s love for you and grace toward you.

Fourth, Paul says that attempting to earn God’s love by your good works and religious deeds means you have no hope of being called righteous and ready for God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

In all of this returning to Sin and self-reliance, you will not be able to truly experience love or give out love because in your separation from the new covenant of God’s grace living in you and working through you, you willing make yourself a slave once again to Sin.  This means that once again, godless selfishness and self-centeredness will be your way of life.

Paul makes it clear that circumcision and Christ are incompatible with one another.  If there is any saving value in religious ordinances (e.g. circumcision) apart from the cross, then Christ’s death has been in vain.

As we heard Paul say earlier in Galatians, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2.21, ESV).

Let me put this into contemporary language: 

If you go to church, sing songs, and study the Word, thinking this is how you’re going to work to earn God’s favor, then you are no different from the over one billion Hindus in the world today who are bowing down to their gods. 

If your Christianity is a check-off box in order to make you feel good about yourself before God, in order to save your skin on the day of judgment, then your Christianity is no different from every other religion in the world, and ultimately it will condemn you. 

Paul is uncovering a scheme of the Devil in the first century that continues in the twenty-first century. It is subtly and dangerously deceiving. What if Satan’s strategy to condemn your soul involves not tempting you to do all the wrong things, but instead leading you to do all the right things with the wrong spirit? What if Satan actually wants you to come to church, lead a small group, teach, and lead your home in an upright way? What if he’s in favor of you doing all those things, just so long as you think that by doing those things you’re working your way to God? 

You say, “Well, I pray.” Big deal, Muslims pray. 

You say, “Well, I go to worship.” Big deal, Hindus go to worship. They worship all day long. 

You say, “Well, I study the Bible.” So do Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they can quote it better than most Christians. 

You say, “Well, I go on mission trips.” So do Mormons—scores of them give years of their lives to do so. 

If your Christianity consists of slavery to religion in order to make yourself right before God, then it’s just as if you’re giving yourself to the pagan religions of the world. 

But Christianity is radically different from those worldly religions. 

Rather than slaves of religion, we are sons in a relationship with God . As we heard a few weeks ago, Paul says that the Galatians know God, and then he pauses and says, “or rather have become known by God” (v. 9). To use the language of 4:1-7, we are sons of God. Why would we live like a slave to religion when we are sons in a relationship with God? God knows us intimately, and the idea here is of deep, personal knowledge. We know God, and He knows us!

Paul doesn’t ever mince words.  He knows the severity of the penalty for not trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation as well as the severity of the penalty for those that lead others astray by offering more or less than Jesus Christ Himself offers.

That is why Paul says that he wishes those who don’t want to trust in all that Jesus says and teaches, and also tell other people to follow their feelings and the ways of the culture over what the Scripture explicitly says, would emasculate themselves.  

Jesus doesn’t offer you the freedom to Sin. Jesus always says to those that come to faith in Him for the forgiveness of Sin and eternal life, “Go, and sin no more!”

And, Jesus doesn’t offer you the burden of the Law.  Jesus doesn’t say, “I’m not enough, so do religious-like things to ensure your salvation.

Jesus offers you the freedom to live and love as you have first been loved and given abundant life through repenting of Sin and placing your faith and trust in Him alone to take you back to God, your Father in Heaven.

This morning, may the truth of God’s Word fill your heart and mind today, the truth that because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you, you are free from having to work your way out a sinful and ungodly life, and may you experience the freedom that comes from knowing and following him.

This morning, repent of your Sin and believe in Jesus your Savior.

Then, and only then, can you be absolutely certain of God’s love for you and certain that God will safely bring you home into His Kingdom.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

June 22, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Who’s Your Daddy?

Galatians 4.21-5.1

Today, we celebrate Father’s Day.

We are called to celebrate Fathers because when they are functioning in the God designed way, they are head of the family unit, the provider and the protector of their wives and kids.

Fathers are meant to be the Christ figure in the home, loving and giving of themselves for the good of those that God has given them to care for.  

Now, here today, I know that not all of us have had that experience of a Father functioning in our life as God designed them too.

Some of us do have a Father that we call our hero and has loved us as Christ has loved the Church.

Some of us have a complicated relationship with our Father.

Some of us have been abandoned by our Father along the way.

And, some of us sit here this morning not knowing who are real biological Father is.

Because of the corruption of Sin, all families experience some form of dysfunction.  

However, despite sin driven dysfunction, some families do promote a picture of Godliness by being examples of love, grace and forgiveness.  While other families unfortunately lean into sin driven dysfunction and  promote a picture of Godlessness with their trauma, grudges, and division.

Family is important to God.  God created the family to be a place of safety and security, of peace, love, and grace.

Economic expert, Robert J. Samuelson says, ”Along with the budget deficit, we have a family deficit…We’ve learned that what good families provide cannot easily be gotten elsewhere. For the nation, it is [the family] deficit that matters most.”

In this morning’s Biblical text, from the the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we hear the Apostle Paul describe two different families.  In one family, the Father, Abraham, dysfunctionally leads his family in disobedience away from God.  In the other family, the same man and Father (I know complicated situation), Abraham, overcomes sin-driven dysfunction and leads his family in obedience toward God.

Let’s hear about these two families now.

Stick with me through this text thick in Old Testament history and I will help you understand it on the other side.

Galatians 4.21-5.1 says this:

[21] Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. [23] But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. [24] Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;

break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than those of the one who has a husband.”

[28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. [30] But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” [31] So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

[1] For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (ESV)

In these words, the Apostle Paul tells a tale of two families. 

For one family, it was the best of times.

For the other family, it was the worst of times.

Let me tell you about the bad news family first.

The first family is made up of Abraham as the Father, Hagar as the mother, and Ishmael as the son.

This family came to be by disobeying God’s design for marriage and parenthood.

When God called Abraham into his family, God made a promise to Abraham.  God told Abraham that despite his old age and the old age of his wife Sarah (both close to 100 years of age), God would allow Sarah to get pregnant and bear Abraham a son to be his heir.

However, as time went on and Sarah’s womb remained barren, Sarah and Abraham decided to take matters into their own hands (and loins) in order to have a child.

So, the plan they came up with was for Abraham to break his marriage commitment to Sarah and commit adultery by sleeping with one of their younger servants named Hagar.  In their selfish plan, Hagar would get pregnant and they would take the child from her and raise the child as their own.

As you can hopefully see, a sin soaked agenda from the very beginning that went from thought to action.  

To create this family, Abraham and Sarah stopped trusting in God and attempted to get the blessing of a child their own way.

A problem arose, not surprisingly.  After Hagar became pregnant and bore a son named Ishmael for Abraham, Sarah became jealous and treated Hagar so badly that Hagar ran away.  

This family consisting of Abraham, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, was a family created by sin.

When we fail to rest in God and instead seek to be our own savior, the result is havoc and disintegration—spiritually, psychologically, and relationally.

Disregarding God and trying to forcefully find blessing and life apart from God’s grace led everyone involved back into slavery to sin creating a havoc filled family.

The second family that Paul mentions is made up of Abraham, Sarah, and their son, Isaac.

This family came to be completely by God’s doing.  God intervened in an impossible situation and allowed childless 100 year olds to get pregnant and birth a healthy son.  This happened by God’s forgiving of the parent’s sin and then God doing what God, the Creator and Redeemer, does best.  God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and Sarah despite their wrong doing in attempting to find blessing and life apart from Him.

The late NYC Pastor Timothy Keller explains this better than I ever could.  Keller says:

“Taken in this narrow, figurative sense, Hagar’s son represents seeking salvation by works, and Sarah relying on salvation by God’s grace. This is a really interesting analogy. The gospel is that we do not try to attain a righteousness that our abilities can develop. Rather, we are to receive a righteousness provided through supernatural acts of God in history—the miraculous birth, sin-bearing death, and death-defeating resurrection of Christ. We need to rely on God—just as Abraham eventually learned that he needed the miraculous work of God to provide him with a son and heir. As Abraham needed to switch his faith from his own efforts to God’s supernatural work, so these Galatian Christians need to look back to Christ’s work, rather than at their own law-keeping efforts.”

The first family is the “have to” family. They are slaves to working as hard as they can to try to make things happen for themselves because they don’t trust God is for them.

The second family is the “get to” family.

The second family was built on knowing the truth of Psalm 118:5 which says:

[5] Out of my distress I called on the LORD;

the LORD answered me and set me free. (ESV)

It is in the freedom of forgiveness, living with the knowledge that God loves you despite your past and regardless of your future failures because of Jesus sin forgiving death on the cross, that Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac can love without fear of failure.  Failure doesn’t define them.  Being God’s sons and daughter through grace and faith defines them.

In the upside-down world of the gospel, failure equals free-dom. To fail is to be crowbarred from the lockstep lunacy of success at all costs. To fail is to be forced to drop that weight which has withered your humanity and your childlikeness. To fail is to have the chance to look God straight in the eye.

Janis Joplin once sang about failure: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”

In their 1968 hit single, “Time of the Season,” The Zombies, asked both “What’s your name?,” and, “Who’s your daddy?”

This morning, I ask you, “Who’s your Daddy?,” and, “What family do you belong to?”

Are you still living apart from God?  

Are you without faith in Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior who can help you?

Are you part of the first family described by the Apostle Paul that is defined by slavery to sin, attempting to do things your own way because you don’t believe God is good and faithful, walking a path to ultimate eternal destruction and condemnation?

Or, are you living with God’s presence forgiving you and comforting you because you find yourself believing in Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior who can help you?

Are you part of the second family described by the Apostle Paul that is defined by God’s forgiveness, serving God and others because you have first been loved and served by God, your Creator, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, doing things empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, walking a path to ultimate eternal life saved and redeemed for God’s Kingdom of Heaven?

If you are in the first family this morning, living as a slave to sin, finding yourself hopeless because you know there is no real way to find peace with God and blessing from God in the things you are trying to do, I want you to know the Good News that God is calling you right now to join the second family, the family that He has created for you.

So, join God’s family defined by promises and blessings, grace, mercy, and love, by repenting and believing.  That’s all.  Confess your Sin to Him and He will immediately forgive you because God paid for your Sin in the death of Jesus on the cross for you.  And, confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior.  

As one of our Confirmands shared with us last week, Romans 10:9–10 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

God wants way more for you than for you to remain flailing around in sin like a pig rolling around in a pile of crap and food scraps.  

That’s why God came to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, to live a perfectly righteous life for you, to die a sacrificial death on the cross to pay the price for your Sin, and to rise from the grave defeating the power of sin and death to separate you from God forever.

And, because of all of that, rejoice with the Apostle Paul that it is For freedom Christ has set us free; [and, today] stand firm..and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

June 15, 2025

Prayer:

God our Father, 

You see Your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show us that Your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following You is better than chasing after selfish goals.

Help us to take failure, not as a measure of our worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give us strength to hold our faith in You, and to keep alive our joy in Your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (For Young Persons – BCP p. 829)