Luke 13.31-35 & Galatians 2.15-21

Every town and city has something that is it famous for.

Huntington has Walt Whitman’s birth place. New York has the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Times Square, Broadway, and Central Park.  San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle.

And Longview, WA has its squirrel bridge called The Nutty Narrows Bridge. Spanning Olympia Way, is a local landmark.

The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, the late Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy thoroughfare without getting flattened by cars. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to dodge traffic to and from the Park Plaza building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times, workers near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over. It didn’t take long before squirrels started using the bridge. They even escort their young across, teaching them the ropes. In addition to the Nutty Narrows Bridge, four additional bridges have since been built, the most recent bridge was installed in May of 2015. The sixth bridge is in the works.

In the busyness of every day life, there are dangers that threaten to stop us in our tracks and prevent us from making it back into our bed at night.  We have to become wise in order to know what paths to walk and which paths to avoid in order to stay safe not only today, but for tomorrow and the future.

In this morning’s two Biblical texts, we will hear about the ultimate danger we face while living life.  We will also hear about how to avoid and escape that danger that will leave us flattened and dead if we don’t take the safety bridge put in place for us.

Let’s get into our first Biblical text now.

Luke 13:31–35 says this:

[31] At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” [32] And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. [33] Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ [34] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (ESV)

The Gospel message is both serious and soft (gentle).

The message of the Gospel is serious because it tells you of our dire condition.  The message of the Gospel is serious because it tell you that Sin separates you from God.  The message of the Gospel is serious because it speaks the truth that you are lost in Sin from the moment of conception due to the inheritance of Sin from your first parents Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  The message of the Gospel is serious because it informs you that your aren’t only lost in Sin but that you are actually dead in Sin meaning you are lifeless and unable to do anything to help yourself get back to God.  The message of the Gospel is serious because it tells you that because of Sin you are scattered away from God and running around without protection from the danger of being punished by God’s wrath.

In this morning’s Biblical text, we hear that the Gospel is not only serious, but it is also soft, meaning, gentle.  Jesus says that He came to gather you to Himself in order to cover you and protect you from the danger that you are in because of Sin.

The Gospel, ultimately meaning, “Good News” from the Greek evangelion, tells you the Good News that while you were still a sinner sinning, God poured out his love for you and chased after you in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  

Using the illustration of a mother hen gathering her babies under her wings to protect them from ultimate harm—death—she gives them shelter even if it means she has to die in the act of protecting them.

Let’s explore the mother hen for a moment.

When a hen senses danger, her parental instincts kick in and she brings all of her little ones under her wings so that predators, such as foxes, cannot see her babies and therefore cannot steal them, harm them, or kill them.  The mother’s love is so great that she is willing to take all of the hurt, suffering, pain, and even die, from enemy attacks, if necessary, by making herself a shelter to protect her offspring.  

One commentator shares this information:

“Fire is a terrifying thing to trapped animals as to people, if not more so. When a farmyard catches fire, the animals try to escape; but, if they cannot, some species have developed ways of protecting their young. The picture we have [in Luke 13.31-35] is of a hen, gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them. There are stories of exactly this: after a farmyard fire, those cleaning up have found a dead hen, scorched and blackened – with live chicks sheltering under her wings. She has quite literally given her life to save them.” (Wright, 171)

The way the hen brings her brood close so that she can protect them is an incredible demonstration of true love because there is the willingness present in the mother to sacrifice her well-being and even her life to save the children she loves.

This morning’s Biblical text tell you that Jesus has come to you and for you because Jesus desires to gather you under the protection of his cross where you are fully protected from the wrath of God that will you destroy you because of your Sin.

In Jesus, the grace of God gathers you in.  It doesn’t scatter you out and away.

So, that leads us to ask the question, “How, exactly are we gathered to God and not scattered away from Him?”

Well, the Apostle Paul addresses and answers that question Galatians 2:15–21 when he writes these words:

[15] We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; [16] yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

[17] But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! [18] For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. [19] For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (ESV)

As an aside, there are two verses here that you should have highlighted in your Bible and committed to memory. Those verses are 16 and 20.

Now, in order to fully grasp most of Paul’s letter to the Galatians we have to learn to properly distinguish the place of God’s Law and God’s Gospel in every piece of Scripture that we read.

So, let’s begin by answering the question, “What is the Law of God?”

In a paragraph written by one of my seminary professors, that summarizes pieces of The (Lutheran) Book of Concord, and that I make every one of my Confirmation students memorize, we are told that God’s Law has three uses in our life. Here is that paragraph:

The Law is that part of God’s Word which tells us what we must do and what we must not do.  It has [three] uses: 1) to curb our natural tendencies by telling us what we must do under penalty of punishment or failure; 2) to convict of sin by describing where we have failed to keep the law, thus showing us our need for a Savior; and 3) to coach the believer regarding what Christ has given the believer to do.

What we have to notice is that there is no place in God’s Law that says, “Following God’s Law is possible and it will save you from your sin.”

That’s where we have to ask, “How then can I be forgiven and saved for God’s Kingdom of Heaven?”  Or, in a more specific question, “What is the Gospel?”

In another paragraph written by one of my seminary professors, that summarizes pieces of The (Lutheran) Book of Concord, and that I make every one of my Confirmation students memorize, we are told what God’s Gospel (or, Good News) provides for us and accomplishes in our life. Here is that second paragraph:

The Gospel is that part of God’s Word which tells us what God has promised to us and has done for us in Christ Jesus.  It is good news (Gospel) which is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1.17) which when preached causes one to be born again (1 Peter 1.23-25) as faith comes through hearing this word (Romans 10.17).

After hearing these two paragraphs describing the Law and the Gospel, we can better understand why Paul tells the Galatian Christians that “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2.16).

Jesus doesn’t want forgiveness to be impossibly hard.  

Jesus doesn’t want to lose you.  

Jesus wants to rescue you. 

After all, as 1 Timothy 2.4 tells us, it is God’s will that all men and women are saved.”  This is all shown in Jesus’ preaching.  Jesus’ message was “Repent [of your sin] and Believe!”  Jesus’ message was not, “Work hard, do the right things, struggle, worry, doubt, and then maybe God will think you are good enough.”

Jesus gathers us under the protection of arms spread out on the cross by faith alone.  We are not welcomed under the cross of Christ by obedience to God’s Law because God’s Law is impossible for a human to fully complete.  You are welcome under the protection of Jesus’ cross and death by simple fish in Him and His work there for you.

On December 26, 2004, the third-largest earthquake ever recorded by seismograph occurred deep beneath the Indian Ocean. It registered 9.1-magnitude on the Richter scale, and the shock waves produced tsunami waves more than one hundred feet in height, traveling five hundred miles per hour and reaching a radius of three thousand miles. This deadliest tsunami in history claimed 227,898 lives, but one people group living right in its path miraculously survived without a single casualty.

The Moken are an Austronesian ethnic group that live on the open seas from birth to death. Their handcrafted wooden boats, called kabang, function as houseboats for these sea gypsies. Moken children learn to swim before they learn to walk. They can see twice as clearly underwater as landlubbers. And if there were an underwater breath-holding contest, it would be no contest. But it wasn’t any of these skills that saved them from the tsunami. What saved them was their intimacy with the ocean. 

The Moken know its moods and messages better than any oceanographer, reading ocean waves the way we read street signs.

On the day of the earthquake, an amateur photographer from Bangkok was taking pictures of the Moken when she became concerned by what she saw. As the sea started to recede, many of the Moken were crying. They knew what was about to happen. They recognized that the birds had stopped chirping, the cicadas had gone silent, the elephants were headed toward higher ground, and the dolphins were swimming farther out to sea.

Fishermen in the same vicinity as the Moken were blindsided by the tsunami and had no survivors. “They were collecting squid,” said one Moken survivor. “They don’t know how to look.” The waves and birds and cicadas and elephants and dolphins were speaking to those Burmese fishermen, but sadly they didn’t know how to listen.

A local anthropologist who speaks Moken said, “The water receded very fast and one wave, one small wave, came so they recognized that this is not ordinary.”

The Word of God is speaking to about your Sin and your Savior,Jesus.  The Word of God tells you what the dangers of Sin are and what the dangerous sins are.  The to Word of God tells you to look out for Sin and it’s sins and to repent of those sins before the wave of His wrath makes it to your boat or shore.  The Word of God is giving you the signs you need to know in order to not be one of the casualties of God’s wrath that punishes those stuck in unrepentant Sin.

Don’t be like King Herod and the Pharisees who looked at Jesus and did not recognize God’s saving grace in their life.

Instead, Look and recognize that Jesus gently gathers you to God, under the protection of His arms that are spread out on the cross to shield you from the destruction that comes because of God’s deadly storm on Sin.  In the process of the crucifixion, because of His love for you, Jesus willingly takes the full brunt of the storm that so that you can escape alive and live in ultimate safety today, and forever, in the arms of your Creator and Redeemer—God the Father in Heaven.

I encourage you to wake up everyday preaching The Gospel to yourself while being readied to walk through life doing the good deeds that God has prepared for you to do.  According to one of today’s Biblical texts, you can find help every morning by repeating Galatians 2.20 along with the Apostle Paul which says, 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

March 16, 2025

Prayer:

Glorious God, 

We praise you for the privilege of knowing you. We have lived in this world, yet often have been ignorant of its Creator; we have enjoyed your tender care without knowing you as the provider. In blindness we have enjoyed sunlight, and we have listened to voices all around us while profoundly deaf to spiritual truth. We have understood many things without knowledge of your ways, and have seen the world yet failed to see Jesus. We live each day as sovereigns of our own kingdoms, carrying out our desires and bending others to our wills. Instead of submitting humbly to those you have called us to obey, our souls rise up with prideful indignation, inflamed with desires for self-determination. We fear that if we love others sacrificially, we will lose the world, and so we fight for our kingdom to come and our will be done. Father, forgive us for our sin, and for the great damage we do to others as we sin. 

Lord Jesus, 

you have entered into the darkness of our world in order to possess us and save us. You submitted to the will of your Father, loving us sacrificially as you carried our cross up the hill of execution and died in our place. With your perfect obedience and death, you have crushed the head of the serpent forever and wrapped us in the silken robes of your righteous submission and sacrificial love. In losing yourself, you gained the treasure for which you longed: our salvation. Jesus, thank you. 

Holy Spirit, 

grant that we may weep in praise of the mercy that we have found. May we tell others as long as we live that you are a pardoning God who pursues proud and selfish sinners and transforms them into grateful, humble, loving, and sacrificial saints. Though we are weak in this life and only make small beginnings in obedience, may our hearts expand with joy to think of the great treasure that is ours in Christ. His perfect love casts out our fear, for though we continue to sin, there is no condemnation left for us, and an eternity of joy has been purchased by his blood. Give us boundless gratitude and increasing grace to live in submission to your perfect and loving will, and to sacrifice ourselves as he laid down his precious life for us. In Christ’s name, amen.

Benediction:

God in peace today.  Jesus gently gathers you to God through his life, death, and resurrection of you. 

Galatians 2.11-14

Do you practice what you preach?

Can the beliefs and morals you speak about and teach your children about be clearly known by the way you live day to day?

Do the words that come out of your mouth match the actions of your daily life?

Now, here is the BIG QUESTION with a BIG SCARY WORD that may make you tense up:

Are you a straight-up hypocrite who says one thing but does the exact opposite?

There are many ways that hypocrisy rears its ugly head. Here are a few ways to spot hypocrisy:

Do you treat those in power differently than you treat the common man or woman?

Do you give advice but fail to follow your own guidance?

Do you promote tolerance but judge others who don’t conform to your way of thinking?

Do you volunteer others but rarely raise your own hand to offer help?

Do you live one way in public but another in private?

Do you say one thing to someone’s face but another thing behind their back?

Well, I have some bad news for you.  I know the truth that you are a straight up hypocrite from time to time and can answer with a confident, “Yes!,” to many, if not all, of the above questions.

You may ask, “How does Pastor Fred know I am a hypocrite?”

Well, I know you are a hypocrite because I, a less than perfect, broken human born into Sin, am also a straight up hypocrite from time to time.  And, because we are human, we are the same.

This morning’s Biblical text, from the next part of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia during the first century following Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, shows us that the original disciples of Jesus also struggled with hypocrisy because they too were simply human.

Galatians 2:11–14 tells us this:

[11] But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. [12] For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. [13] And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. [14] But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (ESV)

Since this text focuses on an interaction between the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter, let’s first ask, “Who was Peter?”

Peter was, as we heard a few weeks ago in this sermon series, one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples.  He was an OGG (original Gospel Gansta). 

In this moment, Paul confronts Peter because Peter is a classic case of believing the right things but behaving the wrong way.  Or, as we began this morning, this is a classic case of being a hypocrite.

Peter (a Jewish man) believes and teaches that the age-old Jewish laws have nothing to do with receiving God’s love in your life.  God doesn’t just love one people group.  God loves all people in all groups around the world.

But, here, Peter gets up from a table with fellow believers and stands to the side because they are not Jewish in background like him.

How do we know that Peter knew and believed the right things but was behaving in the wrong way?

We know that Peter knew what he was doing was wrong because we have the encounter between God and Peter recorded for us in the Bible in which God directly tells Peter that separation of people based on rules and laws and dietary restrictions is wrong and ungodly.

In the Biblical book of Acts, the book that tells of the beginnings of the Christian church immediately following Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we are told that an Italian centurion (that is, a non-Jewish man) invited Peter to his house.  Now, in the mid-first century, that invitation would have clearly meant that they would share a meal together.

Upon receiving the invitation, Peter gets nervous because, as a man with a Jewish background, he was used to having dietary restrictions in his life that were put in place by God for his people generations earlier.  This invitation, if he were to accept it, meant that he would be served food he wasn’t allowed to eat.

Knowing this struggle within Peter’s heart and mind, God graciously intervenes to let Peter know the Good News that in Jesus Christ all rules and regulations for attempting to be Holy have been cast away as they were impossible to completely fulfill, leaving one separated from God the Father in Heaven forever.

Let’s hear about the intervention of God and the new life that God was creating for Peter, for you, and for me.

Acts 10:9–48

[9] The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. [10] And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance [11] and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. [12] In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. [13] And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” [14] But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” [15] And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” [16] This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

[17] Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate [18] and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. [19] And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. [20] Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” [21] And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” [22] And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” [23] So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. [24] And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. [25] When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. [26] But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” [27] And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. [28] And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean…

[34] So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, [35] but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. [36] As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), [37] you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. [39] And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, [40] but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, [41] not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. [42] And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. [43] To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

[44] While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. [45] And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. [46] For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, [47] “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (ESV)

Why did God make a point of miraculously telling Peter that age-old dietary restrictions no longer have a place in his life?  

Well, God needed Peter to understand that dietary laws that were used to keep people groups separated had been abolished, by God, so that all men and women could sit around the same table and enjoy life together.

By uniting and allowing all of humanity to sit together at the same table and eat the same foods, God was teaching that the time had come in which all of humanity, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender, and socio-economic status, were welcomed into God’s Kingdom.  And, they weren’t welcomed and accepted through following rules and laws like dietary restrictions. They were welcomed and accepted only through a common faith in their Savior, Jesus.

This uniting of people from all walks of life through a simple faith in God’s promised Savior, Jesus, gives Peter, Paul, and us, a picture and foretaste of Heaven.

The Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah, speaks of the world-uniting eternal table at God’s feast in Heaven when he says: 

[6] On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

[7] And he will swallow up on this mountain

the covering that is cast over all peoples,

the veil that is spread over all nations.

[8] He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:6–8, ESV)

In verses from Psalm 23 that have brought many of us comfort throughout our lives, King David, the song writer says of Jesus:

[5] You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies…(Psalm 23.5, ESV)

And, in the last book of the Bible that speaks of the end of history and the in-breaking of eternity, we are told that an angel says to the Apostle John:

[9] …“Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9, ESV)

If Peter believed the right thing—that reconciliation with God only comes through faith in Jesus our Savior—why did Peter change his behavior to reflect the wrong belief—that reconciliation with God comes through obedience to Laws and Commands and Good Deeds?

Peter became a hypocrite and changed his behavior so that it didn’t match his beliefs because of fear.  

Peter feared being rejected by his old friends.  

Peter feared the negative and critical opinions of others about him that would be spread. 

And, Peter feared confrontation from those that believed differently than him.    

So, instead of standing strong in the truth with God on his side, Peter caved and chose the path of hypocrisy which in turn led many away from the comfort and truth of the Gospel and placed them back under the burden of trying to act the right way in order to make God happy.

Commenting on this section of Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, the 16th Century Church Reformer, Martin Luther said:

“[Peter] knew the doctrine of justification better than we do.  And yet how easily he could have been responsible for such a terrible ruin by his deed and example if Paul had not opposed him!  All the Gentiles would have fallen away from the preaching of Paul and would thus have lost the Gospel and Christ Himself.  And this all would have happened with the appearance of holiness.”

“For to avoid foods this way is to deny Christ, to tread His blood underfoot, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, against God, and against everything holy.  Therefore if one has to lose one or the other, it is better to lose a friend and a brother than to lose God the Father.”

“I am making such a point of all of this to keep anyone from supposing that the doctrine of faith is an easy matter.  It is indeed easy to talk about, but it is hard to grasp; and it is easily obscured and lost.  Therefore let us with all diligence and humility devote ourselves to the study of Sacred Scripture and to serious prayer, lets we lose the truth of the Gospel.”

How did Peter know what was right and what was wrong?  Through God’s Word speaking to him.  For Peter, God chose to speak to him in a dream.

How do you know what is right and what is wrong?  Through God’s Word speaking to you.  God chooses to speak to you through His written and preserved Word known as the Holy Bible.

Peter was told by God Word in his dream that salvation—the forgiveness of sin, including the sin of hypocrisy and leading others away from the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ, and eternal life—comes to you only through faith in the innocent life of Jesus sacrificed over to death on the cross and risen from the grave on Easter morning.  Good deeds and following commandments will never get you to God.  

And, you are told through God’s Word in the Bible that salvation—the forgiveness of sin, including the sin of hypocrisy and leading others away from the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ, and eternal life—comes to you only through faith in the innocent life of Jesus sacrificed over to death on the cross and risen from the grave on Easter morning.  Good deeds and following commandments will never get you to God.  

I give you comfort, encouragement and exhortation for today and the week ahead of you from another Biblical letter, this time to the churches in Colossae.

In Colossians 2:8–23, God says to you, through the Apostle Paul’s words,

[8] See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, [10] and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. [11] In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [15] He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

[16] Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. [17] These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. [18] Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, [19] and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

[20] If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—[21] “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” [22] (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? [23] These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (ESV)

As the Apostle Paul demonstrated in his confrontation with the Apostle Peter, our struggle with hypocrisy doesn’t leave us hopeless.

Hypocrisy is just one sin, among countless others, that breaks God’s command to always be truthful in our words and actions.  

The sin of hypocrisy is forgivable, just like every other sin is forgivable, through confession to God the Father in Heaven, repentance, and belief in His Sin forgiving Son, Jesus Christ.

Today is a happy day because Jesus washed your sin away.  You’ll never be the same again, forever you are changed.

I invite you to sing it out, Jesus is alive;

The empty cross, the empty grave;

Life eternal, Jesus has won the day.

This morning, repent of your sin, believe the Gospel, and take a seat at God’s table, where a place has been prepared for you by Jesus.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

March 2, 2025

Prayer:

God of all grace, 

We are weak and forgetful people, easily distracted by the joys and sorrows of our lives. We are capable of great thoughts concerning you one moment, yet we forget your kindness and live as though we had no hope the next. Forgive us, Father, for the unbelief that clings to our sinful flesh and clouds our minds with doubt and fear. 

Jesus, 

thank you for clinging to us, even though we let go of you repeatedly. You held fast to the gospel in your living, dying, and rising again, always obeying your Father and setting your face toward the hill of sacrifice. You never forgot your mission or resisted your calling, but faithfully lived and died in our place. You endured mocking, beatings, and crucifixion for the joy set before you. Thank you that we are that joy; now fill us with your joy and cause us to find great delight in you. Though we may be quick to forget you and need reminding often, you never forget us. Instead you intercede for us daily before your Father, and you are preparing for the day when we will feast with you in heaven. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

Holy Spirit, 

produce in us growing faith that we may live in Christ. May all our desires rest in him constantly. Make Jesus our greatest hope and all our glory. May we enter him as our refuge, build on him as our foundation, walk in him, follow him, conform to him, rely on him, and obey him. Let us never be ashamed of him or his words. May his death comfort us, for we have been loved with unfathomable love. May his resurrection assure us that his obedience was perfect, his sacrifice accepted, and his work finished. Help us to hold fast to the gospel we have believed: to cherish it in our weakness and to profess its power when we stand strong. Deepen our faith and guard our hearts and minds with the helmet of Christ’s salvation, the breastplate of his righteousness, the shield of his faith, the sandals of his peace, and the sword of his truth. In his strong name we pray, amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace today, you have a seat at God’s table in Heaven.  Invite others to join you by living in such a way that your behavior matches your belief. 

Luke 12.38-40

Right now, who is speaking into your life to lead you?

Right now, who are you letting influence the way you think, speak, and act?

Is it a family member or friend?

This election season, is it a politician or political party?

Is it a journalist or podcast host?

Is it a famous actor or musician?

Is it a TikTok or YouTube star?

Is it a parent?  Is it a child?  Is it a spouse?  

Is it a teacher or principal?

Is it a pastor or theologian?

Or, is it God and His Word, the Bible?

We have all made choices throughout our years to let other people, institutions, philosophies, and theologies control some of our personal internal and external narrative. 

And, as we can all confess, we have learned over time and will continue to learn over the time that has not yet come, sometimes we choose good mentors and sometimes we choose bad mentors.

In our text for this morning, chosen by the lectionary for this November, we receive a warning from Jesus.   

In this section of the disciple Mark’s biography of Jesus, we hear Jesus telling those in his presence 2000+ years ago, as well as us today, that we need to carefully choose who we listen to and follow because many who claim to be wise are actually fools.  And, many who claim to be holy and righteous are actually sinful and corrupt.

Let’s hear from Mark 12.38-40 together.

Mark 12.38-40 says this:

[38] And in his teaching [Jesus] said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces [39] and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, [40] who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (ESV)

In these words, Jesus is warning the people against following those that were claiming to be God’s representatives on earth.

These religious leaders, known as scribes, or, as Martin Luther renamed them, “the Scribblers,” were putting on a show for the world, claiming to be wise and holy, when they were in fact fools and sinful.  Their actions proved that they did not understand God’s ways for life and love.  

God works and loves through being selfless.

The scribes words and actions were self-centered, self-righteous, and selfish.  Their words and actions were the opposite of how God works and loves.  

Here are the problems with the scribes behavior according to Jesus, who I like to remind you is God in the flesh:

The scribes did things for recognition.  They wore long robes, or they dressed fancy, so that people would compliment them and think highly of them for having access to such garments.

The scribes lived with a sense of entitlement.  They expected special treatment.  When they went to the synagogue, they expected to have reserved seating up front so that they would always be seen by the other worshippers.  When they went to someone’s house, they expected a seat next to the host so that they would always be seen by the other guests.

The scribes did not show mercy.  They were always looking out for themselves first, or, in the words of our culture, they were looking out for #1.  In fact, they actually cheated and oppressed the poor and helpless to get everything they could out of this life.  Jesus says they “devoured” the widows.  Scribes lived off the donations of others.  When they went to the widows and the poor who had no one to help them, the scribes would demand large sums of money from those who were themselves in need.

The scribes showed off their theological knowledge.  When they prayed in public, Jesus says they prayed long prayers with many words to indirectly say to the people, “Look how much better I am than you.  I know many scriptures and many big theological words. Be impressed with me!”

Here are a few Scriptures from the Bible that show how far off the scribes were from a Godly way of life.

James 2.1-4, 8-9 say this:

[1] My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. [2] For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” [4] have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

[8] If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. [9] But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:1-4, 8-9, ESV)

James 1:27 says this:

[27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (ESV)

Matthew 6:5–13 has Jesus teaching this:

[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

[7] “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [9] Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

[10] Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

[11] Give us this day our daily bread,

[12] and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

[13] And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. (ESV)

With all of that being said, Jesus says this to his followers in Matthew 23:1–12:

[1] Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, [3] so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. [4] They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [7] and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [10] Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. [11] The greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (ESV)

Several year’s ago, NBC’s show The Good Place, was a humorous depiction of life after death. The creator Michael Schuur said it’s based on “the idea of an omniscient [point] system, like we’re all playing a videogame that we don’t know that we’re playing. And someone’s keeping score, and the 10 highest scores out of every 10,000 people get rewarded.”

Let’s take a look at the show intro to see how they understand getting in Heaven.  

After her death, the character Eleanor Shellstrop finds herself with this small minority of the world’s best people in the good place. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t belong there. She was actually a pretty awful person. When Michael, the architect of the Good Place, finds out she is there by mistake, he gives her a questionnaire to determine her worthiness.

Did you commit murder?

Did you commit arson?

Did you take off your shoes and socks on an airplane?

Did you ever have a vanity license plate?

Did you ever reheat fish in an office microwave?

Have you ever cared about The Bachelor and any of its attendant spinoffs?

Michael lets Eleanor know that they are going to watch some highlights from her life as Michael tries to determine if she is good enough to stay in the Good Place. Eleanor says, “It doesn’t make me look great, so don’t judge me.” To which Michael replies, “That’s literally the purpose of this entire exercise.”

We may sit here and laugh at this clip from a television show but I would argue that most people think that this is exactly how one gets into Heaven.  The religious leaders known as the scribes, the ones that Jesus is saying are working hard in this life only to earn condemnation and eternal separation from God, certainly thought this way.

I saw someone on Facebook this past week post this statement:

“God, please let the good I have done outweigh the mistakes I have made.”

This is the problem—we are not just mistake makers.  We are all law breakers in God’s eyes.  We have been the scribes in this text more times than we would be able to count.

We like recognition from others.  We get dressed up to hear, “You look hot!” Or, “I can’t believe you could afford that brand!”

We have a sense of entitlement. We believe we deserve to get more than we are often offered.

We like special seats at special events.  We like to be seen with the popular people in popular places.

We often live to get all we can out of life with no regard for others.  We don’t show mercy because we are always “looking out for #1.” 

We like to show off our knowledge and be praised for our wisdom, insight, and intelligence.

Martin Luther, the 16th Century Church Reformer, in His Large Catechism says this:

“The devil has deceived us to such an extent with false holiness and the glamour of our own works.” (Large Catechism, page 514)

And, in his essay, On Translation: An Open Letter, Luther wrote:

“I want to give such offense; we preach so strongly against works and insist on faith alone, for no other reason than that the people may be offended, stumble, and fall, in order that they Amy learn to know that they are not saved by their good works bu only by Christ’s death and resurrection…Now it is Christ’s death and resurrection alone that save us and makes us free from sin, as Paul says in Romans 4[.25], ‘He died of our sins and rose for our justification.’…Faith alone, indeed, all alone, without any works, lays hold of this death and resurrection when it s preached by the gospel.” (Luther’s Works. AE 35, pages 196-197)

Historically, people have thought and continue to think that they can earn their way into God’s Kingdom of Heaven.  This is their own fault for two reasons.  First, they are at fault for not reading the Bible and knowing what God actually says about forgiveness and Heaven.  Second, it is there own fault because without knowledge of God and his ways, they follow false shepherds disguising themselves as religious leaders teaching this false theology of works based righteousness for personal gain from their sheep.

In our Biblical text for this morning, we hear Jesus warning against this wrong way of thinking.

All the inspired authors of the Bible, God’s revelation of His love for you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, make the bottom line of forgiveness of sin clear — you cannot earn enough “good” points to make God love you and accept you.

God’s forgiveness and love come to you ONLY through FAITH in the person and work of HIS ONE AND ONLY SON Jesus Christ.

However, because this burning sinful desire to take credit for saving ourselves by proving to God how good we are continues to exist in our human nature, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Christians in the city of Rome during the first Century, says this:

[20] For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:20–25, ESV)

Because of God’s great love for you and God’s desire to have you with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven forever,

Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your search for recognition and compliments by dressing up and putting on a show.

And, Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your favoritism in giving recognition and compliments based on what someone else externally shows you.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your sense of entitlement and your giving into others entitled requests.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your lack of mercy, your selfishness, your self-righteousness, and your self-centeredness. 

And, Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your misuse of wisdom and knowledge to gain another humans praise and adoration.

Romans 8:1–4 gives us the final good news for this morning.

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (ESV)

This week we are celebrating Thanksgiving.

As we prepare to be thankful, we have to realize that “Gratitude most naturally springs from an awareness that we have been given something we do not deserve or have not earned.  For believers, then, the eternal wellspring of gratitude flows directly from the atoning cross of Christ.  In other words, there is a beeline between Good Friday and Thanksgiving.”

Today, tomorrow, and this week, listen only to God’s Word and allow only Jesus to lead and influence your thinking, speaking, and acting, because this is the grace of God that turns you away from condemnation and death and holds your hand all the way into glory and 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.

November 24, 2024.

Prayer:

We thank You, God our Father, 

for all Your gifts so freely bestowed upon us.  For the beauty and wonder of Your creation, in earth and sky and sea.  For all that is gracious in the lives of men an dwomen, revealing the image of Christ.  For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends.  For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve.  For health and strength to work and leisure to rest and play.  For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity.  Above all, we give Your thanks for the great mercies and promises given us in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace, this morning.  Follow Jesus who alone takes away your condemnation and reconciles you to God your Father in Heaven.

psalm 9

Have you ever thought that you did something or could do something, now or in the future, that would make God stop loving you?

If you have, what you are actually thinking is that men and women are more powerful than God.  Or, more specifically, that you are more powerful than God, the Creator of the Universe.

You are thinking that men and women are more powerful than God if you think you can do something that would make God stop loving you because you are saying that you have the power to overthrow God’s promises of love and forgiveness by your own thoughts, words, and actions.

It isn’t uncommon for humans to think they have power over people, places, and things. 

Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, who was responsible for the deaths of 168 men, women, and children, and the injuries of 800 more, embraced the poem “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley. 

According to Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, in their book, American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing, McVeigh intended to include some of its lines in his last words, which he did in fact end up doing.

Invictus, the Latin word for invincible, was published by the obscure British poet in 1875 as a tribute to self-reliance. The last stanza is not only an apt picture of Timothy McVeigh, but of much of our society:

It matters not how straight the gate, 

How charged with punishments the scroll, 

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

Author Os Guinness traces our contemporary idea of human freedom, or human power to affect all things, that “began in the Renaissance … blossomed in the Enlightenment and rose to its climax in the 1960s.” 

The classic understanding of human freedom comes from the statement of Pico della Mirandola, during the Renaissance period, as he imagines God addressing Adam: 

He imagines God as saying this to Adam, his creation:

“You, who are confined by no limits, shall determine for yourself your own nature …. You shall fashion yourself in whatever form you prefer.”

Throughout the centuries this same view of human freedom—limitless potential apart from God—has been expressed by other key thinkers.

Some of those expressions from the 20th and 21st centuries are:

• President John F. Kennedy: “Man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” (20th century, America)

• Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand: “Man’s destiny is to be a self-made soul.” (20th century, Russian-American)

• American biologist, naturalist, and author E.O. Wilson: “Humanity will be positioned godlike to take control of its own ultimate fate.” (21st century, America)

In this morning’s text, we will hear, once again from King David in the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 9, King David reveals the conclusion that he comes to after looking at both God’s power and humanity’s “perceived”power.

Psalm 9 says this:

[1] I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

[2] I will be glad and exult in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

[3] When my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish before your presence.

[4] For you have maintained my just cause;

you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

[5] You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;

you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

[6] The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;

their cities you rooted out;

the very memory of them has perished.

[7] But the LORD sits enthroned forever;

he has established his throne for justice,

[8] and he judges the world with righteousness;

he judges the peoples with uprightness.

[9] The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

[10] And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

[11] Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!

Tell among the peoples his deeds!

[12] For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

[13] Be gracious to me, O LORD!

See my affliction from those who hate me,

O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

[14] that I may recount all your praises,

that in the gates of the daughter of Zion

I may rejoice in your salvation.

[15] The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

[16] The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

[17] The wicked shall return to Sheol,

all the nations that forget God.

[18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

[19] Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;

let the nations be judged before you!

[20] Put them in fear, O LORD!

Let the nations know that they are but men! (ESV)

Have you ever asked yourself, 

“Where is God?”

If you have, there is a good chance that one of the times you have asked that question was this week.

Maybe you have asked, “Where is God while the people of our nation are spewing hate at one another over a Presidential Election?”

Maybe you have asked, “Where is God while Hamas is attacking Israel?”

Or, maybe you have asked, “Where was God  over two decades ago when the Twin Towers in NYC fell?”

Well, as we have heard in Psalm 9, King David certainly asked similar questions from time to time as he was coming to the conclusion that he presents to us this morning.

When he looked at the world in which he lived, King David would have asked questions like,

Where is God while my enemies are attacking my nation?

Where is God while my life is being threatened?

Where is God when evil men get away with torture and murder?

Where is God when innocent civilians are being oppressed?

Where is God when human rights are being taken away?

And, a few years later, Jesus even asked a similar question to “Where is God?” from the cross when he, an innocent man, was being crucified for sins of the entire world.

From the cross,

[46] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV)

It would be easy to come to the conclusion that all of this points to a blind and deaf god, or an uncaring sadistic god, or no god at all.

However, the exact opposite is true.

As King David pointed out in the middle of his own questioning of God’s whereabouts and God’s ways, “the LORD sits enthroned forever…he judges the world with righteousness…the LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed [in their time of trouble].”

You see, in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God entered the flesh and lived among us.   He did so for my good and your good.  God’s time in this world, in the person of Jesus, gave him experience with human trouble and human feelings so that he could relate to you, sympathize with you, empathize with you, in the hardest and most difficult times that you will face and while you are asking questions that seem to have no immediate answers.

We are reminded of this good news in the book of Hebrews when we are told:

[14] …we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14–16, ESV)

Jesus knows the things you are thinking while the world seems to be falling apart.

Jesus knows how you feel when you are being personally attacked.

And, in all of that Jesus assures you that he, through his life, death, and resurrection has canceled the power of man.

Humanity thought they could get rid of God by crucifying Jesus on the cross, but God was powerfully triumphant when he defeated the power of sin and death by walking out of the grave on the first Easter morning.

Humanity cannot overthrow God. 

Humanity cannot take a step or make a move without God allowing it (and I admit that some of those things that God allows will be hard to understand this side of Heaven).

Proverbs 16:9 let’s us know this truth when it says:

[9] The heart of man plans his way,

but the LORD establishes his steps. (ESV)

What Psalm 9 is making clear is that God is always in control and cancels the power of humanity.

The Recovery Bible makes the following comment:

“If we think we can control our own destiny or the destinies of others, we have a terrible surprise in store.  One day God will step in and demonstrate who is truly in control. Since God is ultimately in control, the only wise plan is to follow God’s plan.”

Returning to where we began…

Sixteen years after Henley first published “Invictus,” the British preacher Charles Spurgeon offered another philosophy of life. On June 7, 1891, in the closing words of his final sermon, Spurgeon urged people to submit to a better “Captain” for our soul. Spurgeon said:

Every [person] must serve somebody: we have no choice as to that fact. Those who have no master are slaves to themselves. Depend upon it, you will either serve Satan or Christ. Either self or the Savior. You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters; but if you wear the uniform of Christ, you will find him so meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your souls …. If you could see our Captain, you would go down on your knees and beg him to let you enter the ranks of those who follow him. It is heaven to serve Jesus.

The apostle Paul’s words from Romans 8:31–39 preach good news to us when he says:

[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

A social media post that I saw yesterday said:

“Caesar is now a salad dressing but Jesus is still King.”

Go in peace this morning and trust in the promise that Jesus cancels the power of humanity and forgives your sin of trying to be stronger than God.

Pray with David this week:

[13] Be gracious to me, O LORD!

See my affliction from those who hate me,

O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

[14] that I may recount all your praises,

that in the gates of the daughter of Zion

I may rejoice in your salvation.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

November, 10, 2024.

Prayer:

Mighty God, 

The forces that are arrayed against us in this life far outmatch our little strength. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against powerful spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. Our enemy is strong and crafty, and if we try to stand against him in our own strength we will inevitably fail. Yet, Father, we confess that we often trust in our own wisdom and strength, as if we were mighty and self-sufficient. We go through life oblivious to the dangers around us and not heeding the warnings of your Word. When we find ourselves defeated yet again, we complain and moan as if you had let us down, when the fault is entirely ours. Instead of praying and asking for your help, we grumble and resent our weakness. Father, forgive us. 

Jesus, thank you that you have entered the battle on our behalf, leaving the safety of heaven to engage the challenges of living as a human being. You felt all of our human weaknesses, yet you endured without sin, because you constantly entrusted yourself to your Father’s mighty power. Thank you that you were triumphant for us, redeeming us and giving our souls complete safety in you. The strong forces that are arrayed against us can never separate us from you, and so our ultimate victory is secure. 

Holy Spirit, thank you that you are at work strengthening us daily. When you give us the grace to stand, depending upon you, help us to remember that the strength is yours and not ours. When you leave us to ourselves and we fall, show us your good purposes in that, too—help us to learn our own weakness, to become more watchful and distrustful of ourselves, to pray more frequently and fervently, and to become more eager for the final day of our victory in Christ. Thank you that he is even now interceding for us and that he will continue to do so throughout our earthly warfare, until he welcomes us into his closer presence. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace this morning knowing that trusting in the promise that Jesus cancels the power of humanity and forgives your sin of trying to be stronger than God.

John 8.31-38

We have all been the victims of false advertising at one point or another in our lives.

False advertising is the use of misleading or blatantly untrue statements when promoting a product.

In other words, false advertising is making a promise that it cannot keep or that cannot be kept.

Maybe you ran to a restaurant to get that picture perfect burger that you saw on TV but were met with something that looked like it was run over by a car before they served it to you.

Maybe you chose your favorite cartoon character to help cool you down on a hot summer day after seeing the picture on the side of the ice cream truck but were met with something that resembled a blind person’s attempt to draw that character when you pulled it out of the wrapper.

Or, maybe you got a bait and switch—you were promised one item but after making the purchase, you realized they gave you something else.

The one who believes the false advertising’s promise is left disappointed, monetarily burdened after wasting their money,

and often angry.

In this morning’s Biblical text, Jesus’ is warning his hearers of false advertising.

Let’s hear from our lectionary text chosen for this Reformation Sunday.

John 8:31–38 says this:

[31] So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [33] They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

[34] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. [35] The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [37] I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. [38] I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” (ESV)

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were advertising that God would accept a person into His Heavenly Kingdom based on who they were related to and the tasks that they performed throughout their lives.

However, this was false advertising because the Bible makes it clear that no one will be forgiven of their sin and accepted by God because of human relationships or good deeds or having your Confirmation picture hanging in the hallway of the church.

The religious leaders surrounding Jesus were telling others that things like church attendance, family name, good works, donations of money, and volunteer service would make one qualified to be accepted and loved by God.

Because this false advertising places power in our hands to get something from God, the if you do this for God/then God will do this for you relationship, it tickles our ears and attracts our attention.

However, this advertising by religious leaders is false because it makes a promise that it cannot keep.

In fact, even though it promises eternal love and freedom, it actually delivers the exact opposite.

The promise of a good deeds based forgiveness does nothing but enslave the one who buys it because it piles burden on top of burden as you try to do more, try to do enough, and try to do something of value that will please God. 

You live life worried and weary believing the fake claim that God will accept you through the life you have lived. 

You end up regularly disappointed in yourself as well as angry at God for making His love so hard to obtain.

I have a movie clip, from the greatest Christmas movie of all time, that I want to share with you now.

For those of you unfamiliar with this movie, Elf is the story of a human that is raised by Elves in the North Pole.  The Elf in this clip, named Buddy, has traveled back to New York to find his birth parents.  He is confused by everything in what we would call “the real world” because he was raised under the nonsensical rules governed by fun and Christmas magic in Santa’s town and workshop.  Therefore, when he sees the department store Santa, he knows that this isn’t “the real Santa” because the real Santa smells like candy canes and hot chocolate not beef and cheese.

Today the Christian Church around the world is celebrating the 508^th anniversary of the Reformation.

For those of you unfamiliar with this history-changing event, the bass player from Megadeth, yes, you heard that correct, the bass player from Megadeth, also an ordained Lutheran pastor, sums up the Reformation succinctly and beautifully for you.

In his biography, My Life With Deth, he says,

“In 1517, the German theologian, Martin Luther challenged the political agenda of the [serving] priesthood, which taught at the time that believers could buy their way into heaven.  Luther went back to Scripture, read it, and declared that the church was doing it all wrong. They were not following what Jesus said.” (Dave Ellefson, My Life With Deth, 174)

Martin Luther was saying to the church leaders of his day,

“You sit on a throne of lies!”

He was telling them that their presentation of God’s forgiveness smelled like beef and cheese, not like the sweet fragrant aroma of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

Luther was standing in classrooms, and in the church pulpits;

Luther was standing on on the city streets shouting that what was being offered by the religious leaders of his day was nothing but false advertising, it was a fake.

And, all of what happened 508 years ago during the Reformation was nothing but an echoing, a retelling, a return to what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day 2000 years ago as recorded in this morning’s Biblical text.

Jesus was saying to the church leaders of his day,

“You sit on a throne of lies!”

He was telling them that their presentation of God’s forgiveness smelled like beef and cheese, not like the sweet fragrant aroma

of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

Jesus was standing in temple courts, and in the synagogue podiums;

Jesus was standing on the mountainsides and on the city streets shouting that what was being offered by the religious leaders of his day was nothing but false advertising, it was a fake.

Jesus brought you the good news of God’s grace.

God was not a God of burden.

God was the God of love.

God was the God of forgiveness.

God is the God of freedom because God requires NOTHING from you in exchange for His love, forgiveness, and eternal freedom.

Everything God required from you was completed for you in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It was a freely offered gift from Him to you. 

A gift that was purchased by Him, for you, with the blood of His own Son.

This is the truth that sets you free.

Jesus lived the perfect life of obedience to God the Father.

Jesus took on your sin and died on the cross to take the punishment that your sin deserved.

Jesus rose from the grave defeating the power of death once and for all.

And all of that perfection,

all of that complete work,

all of that victory,

all of the meeting of God’s requirements

was completed for you because God is gracious and God loves you.

God knows that you could never complete His requirements for perfection by yourself but He still wanted to accept you into His Heavenly Kingdom.

At the theological conference I attended a few years, one of the speakers shared this thought,

“Without Christ, you are in bondage to sin, trying to buy and earn God’s forgiveness.

With Christ you are free because forgiveness has been bought for you.”

Only if Jesus Christ, the Son sets you free, are you free indeed.

“Because Jesus gave you His righteous, you are free to live and love your neighbor because you don’t need anything from them.” (Elyse Fitzpatrick, Here We Still Stand, San Diego, October 20, 2017)

This morning,

here I stand,

proclaiming to you the unquestionable truth that you are saved and set free from your sins, by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Jesus’s words remind you of this good news.

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8.12, ESV)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14.6, ESV)

This morning, repent of your sins, confess them to God, and believe in the truth that sets you free—in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God forgives everyone of your sins.

Go into the world today trusting in God’s Word alone which proclaims this truth to you.  Do not believe any other false advertising which places a to-do list into your relationship with your Maker and Creator.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

October 27, 2024.

Prayer:

Glorious heavenly Father, 

We admit that we don’t see your glory very clearly. In heaven we will be captivated by your beauty, but now we are weak and sinful and do not adore you as we should. We do not have clean hands and pure hearts, but have wandered away like lost sheep. Our idolatrous hearts desire many things besides you; our days are filled with other thoughts; we live in a world full of strong temptations and have an enemy who knows how to draw our eyes away from you. Father, forgive us for finding so much glory in your creation while failing to see you in all of your wonder and radiant majesty. Our souls are darkened and all our motives mixed, yet you allowed your perfect Son to die in our place. Help us to see the great glory of your love and forgiveness through the outrageous sacrifice of the cross. 

Jesus, you preserved purity in both your heart and your hands. You touched lepers and brought them wholeness instead of becoming defiled by them; you ate with tax collectors and sinners and called them away from their sin rather than being drawn into sin by them. You used your hands to glorify and praise your Father, and now you have ascended into the heavenly sanctuary, which you purified once for all with your own blood. Now you grant us access to the Father through the gift of your perfect cleanliness—what a privilege is ours! 

Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see the magnificence of our great Savior. Lovingly strip away the idols and trinkets that seem so priceless to us, yet keep us from worshiping him alone. Wean us from our strong attachments to your wonderful gifts, and quiet our anxious thoughts when you take them away. When we see our impure hearts and unclean hands, give us the gifts of godly sorrow and swift repentance. May the darkness of our sin magnify the glory of Jesus Christ, whose perfect heart and spotless hands have been credited to us. Make us grateful that through him we are worthy to belong to the King of Glory, to fall at his feet and join in worshiping him forever. Until then, may we live as joyful and grateful debtors to your mercy alone. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace today.  In Jesus Christ alone, you are free, free indeed!