Gospel of Matthew

Sunday Morning Prayer ~ Matthew 16:13-20

/ The Pastor

Sunday mornings are a little different as we join in prayer using the text I will be preaching today.

LET US PRAY: Holy God, who are you? You are Creator, Mighty God and Father. You are revealed to me in Jesus. But who is Jesus?
Jesus is Lord, Savor and King,
He is the One to whom my voice sings.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is Redeemer, Shepherd, and friend,
He is the One who has no end.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is Servant, Master and Son.
He is the One who for me has won.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is MY Lord.
Jesus is MY Savior.
Jesus is MY Life.
Jesus is the only way to You, Father God, and thus may Your Spirit teach me more and more of him and may Your Spirit draw me closer and closer to him. For if Jesus shows me You, and he does, then I want more of Jesus.
Who are You Father?
You are Love.
You are Grace.
You are Mercy.
You are.
And thus to You be all glory, praise, honor, thanksgiving and worship, and I do so through Jesus Christ, Your Son and MY Lord, Amen.

Sunday Morning Devotions ~ August 20, 2023

/ The Pastor

SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 13:1-9 and Isaiah 55

LET US PRAY:
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to You, oh God, without watering the earth, making it bring forth and spout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall Your Word be that goes forth from Your mouth.
It shall not return to You empty.
It shall not return to You void.
It shall not return to You having failed.
Your Word, mighty God, is powerful and therefore it shall accomplish that which You purpose.
Your Word, my awesome God, shall succeed in whatever You send it to do.
Your Word, Creator God, is the only word that can breathe life into dry bones.
As for me, because of Jesus Your Son and my Lord, my bones have life and thus I shall go out in joy and peace.
May the mountains and hills break forth in singing.
May Your people bow down in worship.
May Your works be made known to all people.
May Your servant be faithful with Your seed.
For Your Word has rained down and has given me living and daily bread, and thus seed for this sower. Therefore,
May the words of my mouth sing Your praises.
May the words of my mouth spew Good Seed.
May the words of my mouth be carried and blessed by the Spirit to create New Life; beautiful fruit from rich soil, growth that can only come from You.
Oh God, You are a faithful God and thus all glory belongs to You. In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.

Work the Soil

/ The Pastor

Over the years, I have heard people lament the lack of faith in their children/grandchildren. Sometimes the lament is centered on themselves as a parent, that there is something deficient in their own faith or practice thereof. Sometimes the lament is centered on what they did or did not do to teach them the faith. They wonder if their message was deficient or did they not support the church enough in teaching their children. Sometimes the lament is the influence of the world on their children, that the world’s voice was just too loud. Whatever the case, people are confused as to why some believe so readily and some are so resistant. For those whose children are not Christians, it is sometimes a badge of shame they wear.

But we must not blame ourselves, for salvation is something that is out of our control. The Parable of the Sower begins to teach us that (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Here, Jesus teaches about a sower who went out to sow seeds. Some of the seeds took root and some did not. But what is of note is that the sower nor the seed is deficient, it is the soil. As a parent, if you taught the Word of God to your children, if you brought them to a solid, biblical church, if you lived your faith in the home, it is not you or your message. But do not get me wrong. I am not throwing your children under the bus. The problem is the soil of their heart. So do not give up. A farmer who has a bad crop one year does not pack it in and quit. They work the land. Keep working the soil of their heart, being faithful with God’s Word and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit and entrust your children to the Lord.

Come

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

Father God,
Expectations, to-do lists, physical limitations, selfish desires competing with godly desires –
they, and so much more, all weigh me down.
They all weary my soul.
Thus,
I lay them down before You in the name of Jesus. Take it all, O God, take it all.
Release me
Free me
Unburden me
Send me out unfettered. Let nothing weigh me down. Let nothing hold me back. Let nothing get in the way. Let nothing stop me from giving You the glory that You deserve and desire.
Oh God, I come to You and You alone.
In the name of Jesus I pray,
Amen!

In the Moment

/ The Pastor

Below is my article for The News Tribune (Tacoma) that was published today. To God be the glory!

Are you one of those people who live in the moment, or are you one who worries about what is/may be coming down the road? I often find myself looking ahead much of the time. As a pastor, I am trying to be in the moment during this busy Lenten season, but I also find myself living in Holy Week and Easter, which is still a couple weeks away. Sure, we have to plan for the future, but there is a fine line between planning for the future and living in a future moment; worrying about what may or may not happen. During this pandemic – O great, there he goes talking about this pandemic again – sorry, I am not trying to beat a dead horse here. I really do have a point. During this pandemic I found myself living in the future a lot of the time, looking forward to a time when I did not have to worry about getting sick or someone else getting sick. I mean, seriously, will that time ever come? If that be the case, I would be living in a fantasy world, wasting these current moments.

So this morning while driving to my office the song, Keep Me in the Moment, by Jeremy Camp was playing on my radio. It is a song I have heard dozens of times, but it affected differently today. Here is the chorus that captured my attention:

Singing oh Lord, keep me in the moment
Help me live with my eyes wide open
‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what you have for me
Singing oh Lord, show me what matters
Throw away what I’m chasing after
‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what you have for me

It is here in this moment that God is working in your life. God knows all of your tomorrows and thus all of those tomorrows are firmly in His hands. It is not for you to obsess about those moments, but rather to trust and follow where God is leading in this moment. Matthew 6:33-34 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Isn’t it a relief that you do not have to live in a future moment, trying to protect a desired outcome? Your desired future moment may just be a fantasy; thus if you obsess about it, you will miss real life ministry that needs to be done in this moment. But with our sovereign God, you can leave all your moments in His mighty hands. And with those moments being in His hands you are free to “live with your eyes wide open”, not missing what God is doing in the here and now to bring you to HIS desired moment.

And so I pray: O Lord, keep me in the moment. Help me live with my eyes wide open. Help me to see you in the here and now that I may glorify You in this moment. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Sermon Teaser ~ Know Him

/ The Pastor

The following is the opening paragraph of the sermon I will be preaching on Sunday, October 18 on Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the Talents). To God be the glory!

Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, is faithful and true. Jesus Christ, King if kings, reigns on high; one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the Son of God died for your sins and washed you clean in his blood. Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, is coming to retrieve his bride, the Church. He is faithful and he will do it. To know Jesus is to be in awe of his majesty. To know Jesus is to live in expectation of his glorious return. To know Jesus is to live in freedom and without fear. To know Jesus is to know Life eternal. So do not just know about Jesus, but know him; and live in union with him and justified in God’s eyes. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace who reigns forever and ever, let us pray…

[To see the complete sermon, go to YouTube and search for, “Living Word Lutheran Church – Graham, WA”. It will go live at 9:45 AM (Pacific) and will be saved on the channel]

Sermon teaser ~ The Feast

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

The following is the opening paragraph of the sermon I am preaching tomorrow; Sunday, October 11, 2020, on Matthew 22:1-14 – the Parable of the Wedding Feast. To God be the glory!

We live in the here and now, but through faith in Jesus, we also live with one foot in the Kingdom of God and with our noses enjoying the savory fragrances of the Wedding Feast. We are not yet seated at the table, but the invite has been proclaimed. All is ready. Come to the Wedding Feast. And so that savory fragrance is a reminder of our King’s grace and faithfulness as we live in the hope that everything has been prepared for us. And upon entry into the Feast, a garment will be given. No, not something from Macy’s or dare I say, Kohl’s, or anything else of our creation or effort, but rather something far more glorious. Something that only can come from the King of kings. It is a garment like none other, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. But in the meantime, our Shepherd sets a table for us in the midst of our enemies; anointing us with oil and refreshing our souls, until that day we dwell in the house of the Lord forever, feasting sumptuously on fine wine and fine food. Come all is ready. Come to the Wedding Feast.

Sinking

/ The Pastor

A little while ago a series of events unfolded, leading me to reflect on the sum of those events taking place all in one day: Wildfire smoke from eastern WA; wildfires around us in western WA; a power outage (that ended up lasting 40 hours); poor air quality means we should not open windows; and the First day of school was postponed. And all of this in the midst of a pandemic. I posted my list on Facebook and concluded my list with a funny movie reference and then asked, “It cannot possibly get any worse, right?” My intention was to be funny, but many people did not see it that way. Some people concluded I was struggling, maybe even depressed. They offered words and prayers of support. A congregation member asked me later if I was doing better. Even though I was trying to be funny, I think my heart was trying to show me something I was forgetting. Soon after I posted my list on Facebook, a seminary classmate commented: “Pandemic, civil unrest, and the heat wave coming tomorrow. Yet Christ’s promises to you remain unchanged.” YES! Christ’s promises to me remain unchanged. A couple days later my morning devotion was about Peter walking on the water with Jesus. When Peter looked at the raging storm around him, he began to sink. I had taken my eyes off Jesus and I was sinking along with Peter.

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” [Matthew 14:31]

I do not know, but what I do know is that my faithful Lord and Savior reached out to me as my heart cried out. He sent people into my life to proclaim the Truth. He clung to me with those nail-pierced hands and carried me safely to shore. When Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, he declared those whom he saved – saved. He declared that Satan no more has a hold on you. Jesus defeated hopelessness and fear. Jesus reigns on high now, and forever more.

And so, instead of a list of woes and other negatives going on, I am focusing on the blessings in my life: two beautiful children excited for school, a healthy family, less arthritic back pain, the wildfires did not touch my home or church. So much for which to thank and praise God, and when I do, my heart is led to worship. Look to your blessings and not the challenges of this year. Below is a poem I wrote in June 2015 that speaks of my heart today. To God be the glory, always and forever, Amen.

I love You in the morning,
I love You in the eve;
for You are always with me,
and ever will You be.

I thank You with my whole heart,
I thank You all my life;
for You are holy awesome,
and ever be my Light.

Jesus is my Lord and Life,
for his life did he give.
You are always faithful, God,
and ever will I Live.

Adventing with Peace

/ The Pastor

The following is the opening paragraph from the sermon I am preaching on Sunday, December 8 — the 2nd Sunday of Advent. The theme is peace that only God can give through the birth of Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior who is coming again.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [Matthew 3:2]

Those are the words of Jesus as he prepares his disciples for this eventual departure – a death they do not and can not understand right now. But it is a death that will usher in the peace that Jesus is leaving with them ~ for he is the Prince of Peace as prophesized through Isaiah. It is a peace that goes beyond comprehension. It is a peace that can not be manufactured, copied or imitated. It is a peace that, really, can not even be imagined – only hoped for with complete confidence. And I say confidence because – well – Jesus left it and because God promised it long before the man, Jesus, came on the scene. We talk about peace, but rarely do we pursue it rightly. The world imagines a peace where wars cease, racism is eliminated, discrimination is gone. Governments try to legislate peace. Churches pass meaningless resolutions that claim to eradicate racism. Basically, they try to ban sin which cannot be done by humans. Shalom – the peace that Jesus brings is so much more and is only ushered in through Jesus and the arrival of God’s kingdom. Let our Adventing continue.

More So

/ The Pastor

Creator God,
The lilies of the field neither toil nor spin.
The birds of the air neither sow nor reap.
They simply go about their existence with no fret, fear or worry.
Oh God, as You provide for the lilies and the birds, more so do you provide for me.
And so…
May I rest this night in the sure and certain promise that as You never fail the birds and lilies, more so will You never fail me.
May I rest this night in the sure and certain promise that as You know every single bird and lily, more so do You know me.
May I rest this night knowing that as You never lose sight of a single bird or lily, more so will You never lose sight of me.
As I rest this night, may I know as Your eye is upon the sparrow, it is more so upon me.
As a father watches over his children at night, more so do You hover over me.
Oh God, my Father, I lay down in peace, more so than the birds and lilies.
Amen.