Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Heaven and Hell

Luke 16.19-31

Abraham Lincoln ran for Congress in 1846, and he faced a formidable opponent: Peter Cartwright. Cartwright, a raw-boned, circuit-riding Methodist preacher, was known throughout Illinois. During his sixty-five years of riding the circuit, he would baptize nearly ten thousand converts.

During the intense 1846 Congressional campaign, some of Cartwright’s followers accused Lincoln of being an “infidel.” In response, Lincoln decided to meet Cartwright on his own ground and attend one of his evangelistic rallies.

Carl Sandburg, in Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, tells the story this way:

In due time Cartwright said “All who desire to lead a new life, to give their hearts to God, and go to heaven, will stand,” and a sprinkling of men, women, and children stood up. Then the preacher exhorted, “All who do not wish to go to hell will stand.” All stood up–except Lincoln. Then said Cartwright in his gravest voice, “I observe that many responded to the first invitation to give their hearts to God and go to heaven. And I further observe that all of you save one indicated that you did not desire to go to hell. The sole exception is Mr. Lincoln, who did not respond to either invitation. May I inquire of you, Mr. Lincoln, where are you going?”

And Lincoln slowly rose and slowly spoke. “I came here as a respectful listener. I did not know that I was to be singled out by Brother Cartwright. I believe in treating religious matters with due solemnity. I admit that the questions propounded by Brother Cartwright are of great importance. I did not feel called upon to answer as the rest did. Brother Cartwright asks me directly where I am going. I desire to reply with equal directness: I am going to Congress.”

Lincoln did just that. He went to Congress.

In this morning’s Biblical text chosen for us by the lectionary, Jesus tells us a story of Heaven and Hell.  Just like the Civil War politician and evangelist did with the crowd before him, Jesus asks you to answer similar questions this morning.  Do you desire to avoid the punishment of God in Hell?  And, do you desire to receive the comfort of God in Heaven.

Let’s hear from Jesus’ teaching this morning.

Luke 16:19–31 has Jesus telling this story:

[19] “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. [20] And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, [21] who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, [23] and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. [24] And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ [25] But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. [26] And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ [27] And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—[28] for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ [29] But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ [30] And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ [31] He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (ESV)

What we see clearly in this text is that Jesus is acknowledging the presence of a real Heaven and a real Hell in everyone’s eternal life after death.

This is very important because they are many, both outside and inside the Church, that deny the presence of Hell.

The argument goes like this:

“If God is truly loving, He would never send anyone to Hell where they would suffer torment forever.”

This argument even made it to the forefront of Christianity about 20 years ago while I was in seminary.

At that time, there was a movement inside Christianity called The Emergent Church.  The Emergent Church removed the Bible from it’s proper place at the center of Christ’s Church.  In place of the Bible, The Emergent Church put the individual’s emotions, feelings, and experiences, at the center of their so-called Christian faith. This heretical teaching led people to believe that they needed to feel warm and fuzzy when they were sitting in Church in order to know that they were a spiritual person and God was real.  In many ways, this led to the popular methods used by Mega-Churches. These “churches” are more like concerts at Madison Square Garden—darkened sanctuaries so that you can’t see your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ which is telling you that you are all alone in your relationship with God; emotionally manipulative light shows paired with and a perfectly curated set of songs performed by paid musicians to create an atmospherically ambient environment to provoke your clapping, dancing, and crying at just the right moments.  It is in this place of “good vibes” that you are ready to receive the Christ-less, sin-less, gospel-less, motivational talk that parallels the Saturday Night Live skit mantra, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!”

Coming out of this movement that promoted the idea that “Christianity is about feeling good about God,” and a dangerously incorrect and damning understanding of “love,” two celebrity pastors of the day both authored books denying the existence of Hell.  Both false teachers, Rob Bell and Francis Chan, masquerading as pastors for millions of people around the world, used the emotionally manipulative Emergent Church moment to remove the doctrine of Hell from it’s home in the Bible.

Another important truth that we need to takeaway from this morning’s Biblical teaching from Jesus is that once we leave this world, and we all will because everyone dies regardless of what you have in this world or what you lack in this world, our destination is final.

Again, there are many false teachings about the presence of after death waiting rooms, some call it purgatory, some call it limbo.  These teaching about people left behind on earth being able to light candles, make monetary donations, and say prayers for those that have already died, are are completely made up and not Biblical at all.  

There is no bridge across the chasm that separates eternal suffering from eternal comfort in the arms of God.  

Jesus himself, with many other Biblical texts, make it clear that your faith or unbelief in this current life have already decided your eternal home.  There is no second chance once you breath your last breath.

The rich man had a very strong faith.  However, his faith was in the completely wrong thing.  

The rich man had faith that his wealth and possessions had the ability to provide for all of his needs.  He trusted in his wealth and possessions so much that he greedily hoarded them.  He refused to share them with those around them that needed help.

We know that the rich man lacked mercy and was completely selfish as he walked past Lazarus, the poor and needy invalid, every day and would not even give him the food scraps off of his dinner table to sustain the poor man’s life. 

The rich man’s money and possessions could not guarantee him a place in the comfort of God’s arms in eternal life.  Instead, the rich man’s faith in the things of this earth, and not in the merciful and forgiving God of Creation and Redemption, that was outlined for him in the Holy Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets—our Old Testament, led him to miss out on the eternal comfort that God, the Father in Heaven, desperately desired for him to have.

As we heard from Jesus last week in the Biblical text that immediately precedes this morning’s text, [13] No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16.13, ESV)

And, in a Biblical text that follows this morning’s text, we hear about a conversation that Jesus has with another wealthy ruler. That conversation unfolds like this:

[18] … a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [19] And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. [20] You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” [21] And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” [22] When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [23] But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. [24] Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! [25] For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” [26] Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” [27] But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” [28] And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” [29] And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, [30] who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:18–30,ESV)

The rich man’s Sin was ultimately his unbelief.  He denied God’s existence and God’s commandments as laid out in the Old Testament scriptures that he was well aware of.

However, that ultimate Sin of rejecting God the Father in Heaven who desires nothing more than to cover him with grace and mercy and forgiveness and love, led him to place his trust in something else.  As we have seen, the rich man placed in trust in what he owned.  In his focus on retaining what he had and gaining more, the rich man misused what he had in this life and did not show mercy and care for those around him. The rich man relied on his material goods to meet his needs.  Even though his material goods could meet his earthy needs, they could not meet his eternal needs.  

The rich man refused to provide comfort to Lazarus.  So, the rich man will not be comforted by God.  Instead, he will experience an eternity of separation from God in a place of torment, anguish, and flame.

The good news that this text contains for each one of us this morning is the good news that God will comfort you who place your trust in Him.

God’s comfort isn’t just for your time in Heaven.  God’s comfort is for here and now as well.

As you live in a world broken down by the corruptions of Sin, you can find rest and comfort in the truth that this is not all that there is.

As Christians, we are not nihilists.

As Christians, we do not believe we suffer and then we are snuffed out by death with nothing to follow. 

No, we believe the truth of God’s Word to us, the Holy Bible, that tells us that He is a just and right God.  He tells us that both Heaven and Hell exist.

Hell, Hades, Sheol, the pit, whatever Biblical name you hear for the place of eternal punishment and suffering for those who do not repent of their unbelief, their Sin, their wrong doing, and disobedience to God, should bring you comfort, not because you rejoice in someone else’s punishment, but you should be brought comfort because you know that God will not just brush the suffering and pain, inflicted on us by evil, under the carpet.  No, in God’s justice, evil will be receive it’s right punishment.

The knowledge of that truth should bring comfort because it means that the injustices that we experience and witness in this life will not go on forever.  God will bring an actual end to all wrong-doing.

The knowledge of that truth should also bring comfort because we who find ourselves believing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our own Sin, we be ushered into God’s eternal presence once we exit this life.

Here is a vision of the Heaven that you who trust in Jesus will experience.

Revelation 21:1–4 says this:

[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (ESV)

If you realize that in Sin, you are the rich man placing your trust in what you have and what you can get in this life, while looking past the needs of others selfishly refusing to bring comfort to those around you, even though you have plenty of means to do so, repent and believe in Jesus, who died on the cross to forgive you of that selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness.  Jesus died on the cross so that you could ultimately be brought back to God where you find comfort in His gracious and merciful arms all of the days of your life and into eternity.

What we have to realize is that each of us is Lazarus in this text.  We are invalids completely unable to help ourselves into a place of comfort.  We can’t buy God’s comfort.  We can’t earn God’s comfort.  We can’t trade what we have in this life for God’s comfort.  

However, God, in Jesus Christ, comes to us as we are laying in the gutter outside of the city and picks us up, holds us in his arms, heals our wounds, feeds us, nourishes us back to perfect health, and comforts us with His love, grace, and mercy forever and ever.  

This morning, you who have heard the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for your Sin of unbelief, your Sin of trusting in the false god of earthy possessions, your Sin of living without mercy for others, and in response find yourself believing in God’s love and forgiveness, can now confidently stand to lead a new life, daily giving your hearts to God, while being comforted today and eternally in heaven. 

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 28, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Mercy Manager

Luke 16.1-15

“You get a good job with more pay and you’re OK.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

New car, caviar, four-star daydream, think I’ll buy me a football team.

I’m alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack.

I’m in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set, and I think I need a Learjet.

Money, it’s a gas.

Money, it’s a hit.”

In case you didn’t recognize the words I just shared, they are the lyrics from Pink Floyd’s 1973 song Money.

Every day, each one of us makes decisions about what to spend our money on and what not to spend our money on.

The band members of Pink Floyd were using their money to purchase luxury cars, fancy meals, football teams, posh vacations, and private jets.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary, Jesus tells a parable, which is a story with a spiritual point about God and His Kingdom.  Today’s parable deals with the resources we have at our disposal and what the true purpose of those resources is.

Let’s hear from Luke 16.1-13 now.

Luke 16:1–13 says this:

[1] He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. [2] And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ [3] And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. [4] I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ [5] So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ [6] He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ [7] Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ [8] The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. [9] And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

[10] “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. [11] If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? [12] And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? [13] No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (ESV)

This morning, as we continue on in the Gospel of Luke, or, Luke’s biography of Jesus, we hear another one of Jesus’ parables.  When we hear this specific parable, if it easy to be left scratching our head and asking, “What the heck is going on in this weird story?”

After all, some of the details are:

  • A boss fires one of his managers for wasting resources.
  • The manager goes into “survival mode.”  He will do whatever it takes to maintain his lifestyle.  He lies, cheats, and steals to ensure his comfort, as he defines comfort, in life.
  • The manager, after he is fired, goes to some of the business’ clients and takes money off of their bills without the boss’ knowledge.
  • The boss then praises the manager for using his intelligence and insight to his advantage (even though the manager did the wrong thing).
  • The boss says that the people defined by evil and darkness are better at getting things done than the people of good and light.
  • And, the boss says that money should be used to gain friends.

I have to admit this is a very difficult Biblical text to understand.  It contains some of the hardest teaching of Jesus.  A surface reading of this text without any context just leaves us confused.

However, once we have the key piece to the puzzle, the picture becomes very clear.

And, the key to understand this text is the master/owner’s mercy.

Mercy is compassion and/or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

Let’s see how mercy unlocks the good news in this text.

The master, who represents God, first shows mercy to His manager by allowing the manager to use goods that don’t belong to him in order to make a living for himself and his family.

Second, the master is merciful, that is compassionate and forgiving in that he does not exercise his right to throw the dishonest manager in jail for the rest of his life as punishment for the things he stole, cheated on, and lied about. 

Third, the master’s mercy is even the driving factor when the manager is acting dishonestly to lower the debts of some of the master’s customers.  The manager knows that his master has always been generous and merciful toward everyone in his life, even those who have done him wrong.  Therefore, the manager trusts in the mercy of the master that he and the customers have experienced.  The customers don’t question the reduction of their debt because they know this is something their merciful master would do for them.

A summary of this morning’s Biblical text goes like this:

  • God is the merciful master and owner of everything in the created order.  
  • Psalm 24:1–2 tells us this when it says, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” (ESV)
  • In God’s mercy, God gives you some of His stuff—money and possessions—to use in this world for your own benefit and the benefits of others around you.
  • You are the manager of what your merciful God owns.
  • In Sin, you mismanage what you have been given by God.  You see money and possessions as a god that will get you everything you want and think you deserve—relationships, fun, power, position, prestige, comfort, etc.  In other words, you take what God wants you to use for the good of His eternal Kingdom and use it solely to build your own little kingdom here on earth.  In this way you are actually stealing from God.
  • In Sin, you love money and serve money.  
  • However, through God’s grace that shows you mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ, you are given a new heart and new eyes that see that what you have right now, whether it is a little or a lot, has been loaned to you by God for your eternal good and the eternal good of others around you.
  • In the grace of Jesus Christ’s mercy toward you, the grace that forgives your Sin of placing your faith, trust, and hope in the wealth and material goods of this world, you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit which drives you daily to love God and serve God by loving others by being generous with what God has given you in this life.

Two years ago, when my wife received a promotion at her job, a promotion that came with an increased salary, I immediately thought to myself, “Thank God! We can finally pay off some of our debt and go on vacations every year without worrying about the money aspect of the trips.”

However, before I had a chance to voice that thought out loud, my wife’s first response to the increase in her salary was, “Now we can give more money to the church!”

After she made that statement, I immediately felt the crushing guilt of my self-centered thinking about money and what it’s primary purpose should be.

In the first sermon that Martin Luther ever preached, dating to either 1510 AD or 1512 AD, Luther addresses what we just heard from our Biblical text for this morning.

Luther says,

“With these goods [—the money and possessions that God gives us in this life—], then, each person can conduct himself toward his neighbor in two ways.  First, with these goods he can do harm and evil to him or, second, he can advance and benefit him…An example of the second way is when one gives him food and clothing, or heals his infirmities, or protects his body, or teaches him something better and incites him to do good, and so on.

It is not sufficient for salvation that a man merely refrain from doing hard and evil to his neighbor with these goods.  It is required rather that he be useful to him and benefit him with these…goods.

[God] has given to us His seed, that is, the external, internal, and intermediate goods.  It is not sufficient that we accept this and not produce thorns, offenses, and tribulations, not injuring our neighbor, but rather we must bring forth fruit by doing good to others.

All the goods we have are from God and they are not given to us to retain  and abuse, but rather to dispense.”

What does this look like practically for me and you? 

Well, in order to use our money and possessions to make friendships that will introduce people to eternal life through God’s love for them in Jesus, we first and foremost give generously to our local congregation.  

There is a Biblical example of giving 10% of your pre-tax income to the local congregation to enable the church to have what it needs to continue sharing the love of God in Jesus with the members, parishioners, and community.  This 10% of your pre-tax income is what is referred to when we hear the Bible use the word “tithe” as your personal responsibility to the church that you call home. 

I will say this, if every Christian trusted God’s ability to provide for their needs and didn’t live in fear of ending up in a state of want, and if every Christian trusted the will and plan of God to save sinners through the teaching, preaching, and exalting Jesus as the only Savior that rescues our friends, family, children, co-workers, school acquaintances, neighbors, etc., from the wrath of God and condemnation in Hell, and in proper response gave 10% of their income to their church home, no church would struggle and the work churches could do would be multiplied exponentially.  

Ensuring that your church and other church related ministries are funded is the major way that you use your money and possessions to provide a place to make friends and include new friends that will have the peace and hope of outliving this current world with you.

I ask you this morning, in light of the Biblical text chosen for us by the lectionary for this day, to evaluate your understand and attitude toward the money and goods you have been given by God in this world.

Do you grab cash and make a stash to be used on yourself and your personal enjoyment?  Or, do you grab cash and dispense it in a flash to God’s Church to help God’s Church preach and teach the mercy of God that has compassion on sinners like me and you so that those that are lost to God can be found and rejoice in an eternal love and hope that their Creator has for them.

This morning, I do ask you to consider your views toward money and evaluate where you have been greedy, stingy, and ungodly, not putting the good of others and their salvation over your desire to accrue wealth to live in luxury.  Where have you served money by working more hours than you should to the detriment of spending time with your family and being involved in the life of your Savior’s Church on earth?  Where are you stashing cash because you don’t trust God to fulfill his promise of meeting every one of your needs?

When money comes your way, money that ultimately belongs to God, do you think, “Now I can buy a new car, get a new cell phone, buy $400 sneakers, purchase a $1000 handbag, go on vacation, or gamble it away.”

Or, when money comes your way, that ultimately belongs to God, do you think, before all else, I have to give a portion of this to the church, or, I get to increase the giving I already do to the church?

Jesus reminds you of this:

[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6.19-24, ESV)

Look to Jesus this morning to put your earthly goods into God’s perspective which should be your perspective if you have faith in God’s mercy toward you in Jesus.

God gave Jesus the goods of His mercy and grace when Jesus stepped off of His throne in Heaven.  Jesus brought those goods of God’s grace and mercy fully and immediately to you through His death on the cross for your Sin and the establishment of the Church—God’s visible Kingdom on earth where you could continually be recipients of God’s mercy and grace leading you to outlive this world through resurrection from the dead and friendship with God in eternal life.

Jesus was the steward of God’s mercy and grace for your good.

Jesus was the faithful manager and used God’s mercy and grace in order to make you a friend who outlives this world with Him.

This morning, confess and repent of your sin that led you to mismanage the money and possessions that God has given you.

This morning, place your faith in Jesus who forgives you through His death on the cross where he properly managed God’s mercy and grace toward you.

And, as a friend of God, properly use your earthly goods to provide places and opportunities to ensure others are led to eternal life.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace and Mercy of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 21, 2025.

Prayer:

Generous God, thank you for providing what I need and so much more. Help me to live in your blessing and so be a blessing to others. Amen.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Search Party

Luke 15.1-10

At least once a week, we end up on a chaotic mission to find some lost item in our house.  Whether it is a cell phone, the remote control for the TV, a set of car keys, or a wallet, an all hands on deck search party is formed and sent into action.

The pillows and cushions come off the couches and chairs.

Back packs and purses are emptied onto the floor. 

Flashlights are used to look under pieces of furniture.

The “Find My Phone,” or, “Find My Keys,” App is opened to send beeps and rings and dings to the devices that are connected to them.

All of this happens alongside a full scale interrogation of everyone home at the moment to ask as many questions as possible in an attempt to figure out who had the item last and where it was last used.

Knowing that something of value is missing makes us upset and often no rest can be had until the item is found and secured.

In this morning’s Biblical text we hear about a lost item and the owner of that lost item who searched and searched and searched relentlessly until the item was found and secured.

Let’s hear from Luke 15.1-10 now.

Luke 15:1–10 says this:

[1] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. [2] And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

[3] So he told them this parable: [4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? [5] And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ [7] Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

[8] “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? [9] And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ [10] Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (ESV)

At the beginning of this text, we are told that the Pharisees, who were the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, were trying to discredit the work of God that Jesus was doing by pointing out that Jesus was doing something that they would never do—purposely spending time with people who didn’t have faith in God, people who were different than them.

Jesus’ response to their accusation is to tell the self-righteous religious leaders two parables that make the point, “You’re darn right! I love hanging out with those that don’t believe in God. And, you know what? I won’t stop!”

But, Jesus doesn’t just hang out with those that are known for their godless living and lack of faith simply for a good time.  

Earlier in this book of Luke, Jesus tells us the good news of exactly why he befriends sinners when a similar accusation is made.  Jesus says that he seeks out those who don’t know that they are loved by God because, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5.31).

In the Old Testament portion of the Bible, we see Joseph’s jealous brothers sell him into slavery to get him out of the family home.  However, through this event, God enables Joseph to become second in command of Egypt and gives Joseph the wisdom to save the people of the nation from starvation during a famine.

That is why many years later Joseph could ultimately say to his brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50.20).

Jesus could say the same thing to the Pharisees in this morning’s encounter.

The Pharisees meant their statement for evil.  When they say, “This man receives sinners and eats with them,” they are attempting to incite they fellow Jews to erupt in hate and anger in order to get rid of Jesus by whatever means necessary.

However, those of us that know the truth of our Sin and our inability to always do the things God wants us to do, we rejoice in hearing that in Jesus, God makes friends with those who are ungodly. 

Personally, I find great comfort in the statement, “this man [Jesus] receives sinners and eats with them.”  I know and have full confidence in the truth that it is only because of God’s love for me in the rescue mission of Jesus that I will be received by God and called a friend of God in this life and the next.

What the Pharisees meant to point out as the evil of Jesus was actually the good of God at work for sinners like me and you.

In 1 Timothy 1:12–15, the apostle Paul tells us about the good work of God for sinners like him, me, and you, when he says this:

[12] I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, [13] though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, [14] and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [15] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (ESV)

With both stories that Jesus tells us this morning, the common denominator is that the sheep and the coin are unable to find their way back to their owner.  But, the owners of both the sheep and the coin are willing to go whatever it takes to find the lost item.

Sheep are notorious for being unintelligent and wandering away, so unaware of their surroundings that they sometimes they would walk right off a cliff to their death.  The only way for them to find safety and security once they wandered away was for their Shepherd to search for them and rescue them.

This is what Jesus does for me and you.

We are sinners who willingly chose to wander away from God because we think there is something better out in the world around us.  Because of the corruption of our hearts that Sin causes, we are separated from God and lost. In Sin, it is impossible for us to earn God’s love.  

However, the good news for you this morning is that God does not abandon you to your foolish wandering away.  God loves you and God loves looking for you and God celebrates when He finds you and you confess your Sin to Him and repent. 

In the case of the woman and the coin, the coin that is lost is lifeless.  It can do absolutely nothing to make its way back into the possession of it’s owner.  The same is true for me and you in Sin.  In Sin, we are labeled dead.  We are completely lifeless and powerless and can do absolutely nothing to make our way back into the possession of our owner, our Creator and Father in Heaven.

However, the good news for you this morning is that God considers you valuable and won’t stop searching for you until He finds you and you are back in His possession labeled one of His children.  

Back in 2022, when a tornado hit Lamar County, Texas, Dakota Hudson and Lauren Patterson feared they would not survive. Hudson said, “We could feel the house start lifting up around us. We could hear the creaking and breaking.”

When the couple emerged from their bathroom, everything around them was destroyed, including their home, a family member’s house next door, and all their neighbors’ homes. Hudson said, “God had his hand over our entire community. Looking at this destruction it’s hard to fathom how anyone could survive it.”

As the couple began checking on neighbors and learned everyone was physically OK, Hudson realized the engagement ring he’d just purchased to surprise Patterson was lost in the debris. He said, “Needle in a haystack doesn’t come close to what we were looking for.”

That is until the Paris Junior College softball team stopped by the property to offer help cleaning up. Once the team heard about the missing ring, they got to work. Outfielder Kate Rainey said, “I basically made my mind up. I was going to find the ring.” Rainey and her teammates searched for hours until she spotted a little miracle buried in the mud.

Though it wasn’t the proposal he had planned, Hudson decided there was no better moment to pop the question. Covered in mud, he dropped to one knee, surrounded by debris and with a team of softball players cheering him on. “We’re safe. We’re here. Everybody’s alright. It’s a miracle the ring was found. What better time to do it?” Hudson said. Patterson said “yes” immediately. “This was the light in a very dark moment. And it is still a dark moment, but this has given us reason to breathe and smile a little.”

Ezekiel 34:11–12, 16 tell us this:

[11] “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. [12] As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and darkness…[16] I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. (ESV)

And, Isaiah 40:11 tells us this about God:

[11] [God] will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. (ESV)

Because of God’s great love for you, God made up His mind the very second Sin entered the human experience; God was going to find you.  God was willing to do whatever it took to find you, rescue you, forgive you, and restore you into His forever Kingdom.

And what God was willing to do was to come and search for you and rescue you, and forgive you, and restore you to His forever Kingdom through His own death through the person of Jesus Christ.  

Did you hear that?  God was willing to enter into this world to come and find you and save you through dying on the cross to be the perfect sin-forgiving sacrifice that could restore you into a right relationship with God, your Creator.

The point of all of this is very simple.  We are lost sinners and our loving God searches for us until He finds us and then He celebrates with a party in Heaven.

The Roman Christian Poet, Prudentius, who lived in the second half of the 4th Century A.D., wrote these beautiful comforting words:

When one ailing sheep lags behind the others

And loses itself in the sylvan mazes,

Tearing its white fleece on the thorns and briers, 

Sharp in the brambles,

Unwearied the Shepherd, that lost one seeking,

Drives away the wolves and on his strong shoulders

Brings it home again to the fold’s safekeeping,

Healed and unsullied.

He brings it back to green fields and meadows,

Where no thorn bush waves with its cruel prickles,

Where no shaggy thistle arms trembling branches

With its tough briars.

But where palm trees grow in the open woodland, 

Where the lush grass bends its green leaves, 

And laurels

Shade the glassy streamlet of living water

Ceaselessly flowing.

The song writer who penned Psalm 119:176 wrote this lyric about his Sin and his need for God to find him and forgive him and make him safe in Heaven forever:

[176] I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant… (ESV)

This morning and every morning, Jesus comes to find you and bring you home to God your Father in Heaven.  Repent of your Sin and listen to the rejoicing of Jesus the Son, God the Father, and the angels in Heaven who are excited because you who were once lost have now been found. 

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 14, 2025.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You are the Good Shepherd, without whom nothing is secure.  Rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You, rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

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.