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Anniversary Offering SermonSeventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 11, 2016

Luke 15:1-10 – 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,[a] 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.”

My Dear Fellow Christians,

Proclaim the wonders God has done! This is our synod-wide theme for the next two years as we recognize and celebrate two major milestones in our churches: the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation and the 100th anniversary of the ELS. But that theme expresses much more, doesn’t it? When Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five Theses to the All Saints’ Church door in Wittenberg, when a handful of pastors met at Lime Creek in Iowa to organize what is now our beloved synod, they were holding those saving wonders of God in their hearts. They knew and understood personally how lost they were. They knew and understood how the world is in sin without the Lord Jesus’ meritorious work and the wonderful light of His gospel of forgiveness. This gospel message is something that we enjoy because God used those men and those events to preserve and pass down this great heritage to us. We hold this heritage in our hearts just as deeply so that it is something others too may enjoy as we pass it to them. We have been given such a gift and made stewards of this gospel message. To celebrate these two wonderful events let’s turn to that gift, his gracious words, and learn from our Lord Jesus.

You heard the Lord tell two stories: the first about a lost sheep, the other about a lost coin. Even with a casual look, we can see that Jesus was not talking about an actual sheep or an actual coin. He was talking about people: people who had made bad choices in their lives, people who had been selfish and self-serving, people whom Pharisees were quick to call sinners but who look an awful lot like us, maybe more than we would like to admit. One other thing: these stories are not about the people as much as they are about God and His great love, His never-give-up attitude in searching to find those who are utterly lost and in the dark.

What began as just a dinner became a way to highlight Jesus’ mission to rescue the lost, to save the sinner, and to bring them back into fellowship with God. Now this is what Jesus wants us to see and hear and hold dear in our hearts, so don’t miss it. Jesus searches for the lost. He seeks and finds us as He brings us to faith and holds us in that same faith through the gospel message in Word and sacrament. He then turns around and uses us—of all people—to find others by proclaiming His wonders.

Now those Pharisees and scribes felt very different about that. Their grumbling gives them away. The way Luke describes it you would think they had been suddenly cut off by another car on the road: “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:1-2). The Lord was only doing what He was sent by His Father in heaven to do: to search for the lost. So He was associating with the tax collectors and sinners and teaching them—even sitting down to dinner with them—because that was His mission: to call sinners to repentance and faith. Why would the Pharisees and scribes complain about that? Were they jealous? Were they angry? Were they feeling self-righteous and superior? Was it all of the above? As we take a closer look at them, you might see some or all of those things in their grumbling. Shame, shame on you, Jesus! Why would any godly person want to spend time with such ungodly people? This was an attempt to discredit Jesus and label others as sinners. But what they failed to see is that all people, including them, including us, are sinners not only because of our choices but because of our sinful condition at our birth.

It is often quite shocking to hear what the Bible teaches about us and our sin. We are not made sinners. We are born that way. It all goes back to the garden where Adam and Eve sinned. That sin, called original sin, is passed down to us as an unwanted heritage by simply being born into this world. This was certainly not how God created those first two people. When they were created, they were made in the image of God, perfect and without sin. But following that fall into sin, we, Adam’s children, are thereafter born in his likeness. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “By the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). He is describing you and me and all people with those words. The source of sin and wrongs is right in here, right in the heart.

If you want proof, then just look at your own life. Can you say—would you say—that you have never sinned? Those tax collectors and other sinners who came to Jesus saw how easily the love of money and worldly wealth and things leads to a whole host of other sins. Do we really believe that we haven’t fallen into such sins in our life? Those who were coming to hear Jesus had missed the mark. Have we not missed the mark when it comes to keeping God’s commandments, all of them, again and again, or when it comes to the choices we make of what we say and the things we do and the thoughts we would be ashamed to share with any other person? Our life as a sinner is nothing more than a sad and twisted caricature of God wanted for us. It shows us just how powerless we are to save ourselves, much less save anyone else. And so again we hear the Apostle Paul say about Adam, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners….so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Jesus is that other man, the second Adam, if you will. He came to rescue us from sin with his obedience, His holy life, and His innocent suffering and death on the cross. He gives us his perfect righteousness when we are baptized. He strengthens us in his holy supper and when we hear His saving wonders in the word of the gospel. We become objects of God’s love, no longer of wrath, and participants in His great love story for the world.

Don’t you love stories, especially when you feel you’re a part of that story? Jesus spoke these words to help us see and understand God’s great love for the sinner, for you and me: “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? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:4-5). This is why Jesus came into world: to find and save the lost, the sinner, to find all who have turned their backs on God who have strayed and follow

the way of this world, and to call us to repentance and faith in Him. The fact that the shepherd left the rest of the flock to find the one sheep shows us just how much He cares about the individual. Jesus bears each one of us on His strong shoulders every time he leads us to repent of our sins. All our sins are forgiven us through our Shepherd who willingly laid down His life for us sheep. He saves us sinners because we cannot save ourselves. He finds the lost because it was impossible for us to find our own way back to God. And this is the reaction in heaven: “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” (Luke 15:7). There is forgiveness for us and true fellowship is restored between us and God through faith in Jesus.

This was Jesus’ divine mission: to receive sinners, to welcome them, and to proclaim the wonders God has done. And the Lord continues to search for the lost. The first story about a lost sheep was about his great love that moved him to search for us, to seek and find us. The second one about a lost coin reminds us of His persistence in searching for the lost. Let’s turn our attention to how God uses you and me in that very same work of searching, of “evangelizing,” of spreading the good news of Jesus.

There is no denying that there is a need for evangelism today. Just take a moment and look around. Are there any empty seats here? Is there room for more people here? You were once lost and have been lovingly found, graciously rescued by our Lord Jesus through the gospel message. It is such a gift to know and be certain of eternal life in heaven. Yet there are many people that I know and you know who are still in that “lost” category. Some are our family members, our childhood friends, our next-door neighbors, some from work and many others that are strangers. There are so many lost that we can feel overwhelmed by the sheer scope of all the work involved. You might say to yourself right this moment, “I would like to help. I would like to share in this glorious work of the kingdom, but I am not sure how. I am in the dark as to what I should do now.”

Jesus tells the story of a lost coin and a woman’s search for it. He does this to explain His own search for the lost. In the story, we are told that the woman searching does not do so in the dark. Listen closely: “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8) A lamp is lit. The search is done in the light of that lamp. God doesn’t search in the dark either. He uses the lamp of His Word, the light of the gospel message. It is through that light that the Lord carefully and diligently searches for the lost and He uses us to help in His search. As an individual, as a congregation, as a synod we are given this important and wonderful task to shine the light and share in this work of proclaiming God’s wonders. This is hard work and there are no shortcuts in it. We also know that Satan hates this work and is trying to get us to delay it. He wants us to hesitate and resist having anything to do with this work. This is the work which our Lord has commissioned us to do as He directs us in Mark 16:16, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” But do not doubt for a moment that it is through that work that souls are found and souls are won and heaven rejoices.

We all have a role in that work of evangelism. That is what God is saying to us. God makes use of you, your voice, your witness, your prayers, your talents, and your gifts acknowledging and proclaiming what He has done for you, in saving you, in bringing you out of darkness to light, from well-deserved death to life everlasting, giving you faith to believe and faith to act. He has done something that we can’t do for ourselves. But God says through Peter, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may

proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). So this is something we want to do, isn’t it, to proclaim His wonders? This is the very reason we join together as synod to help us in this work, to proclaim the gospel in new places, to plan and establish new mission churches, to train young men to be shepherds, to train us to seek the lost across cultural boundaries, and to share that enthusiasm and experience with each other as we share His Word. The hymnist sang about that Word:

God’s Word is our great heritageAnd shall be ours forever;

To spread its light from age to ageShall be our chief endeavor.

Through life it guides our way;In death it is our stay.

Lord, grant, while worlds endure,We keep its teaching pure,

Throughout all generations. (ELH 583)

For all the years of grace God has shown to us and the many blessings given to the Lutheran church and our synod, we are now asking your support in a special offering for the work of searching for and finding the lost. Through this gift, sinners are called to repentance, babies and adults alike baptized into the one true saving faith, and fellow Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper. Just think of all those people who would remain lost and in the dark if God had not given us these wonderful gifts! What does Jesus teach us today? He continues to search for the lost. He shares Himself with us and with others as we proclaim the wonders God has done now on earth and then one day with His saints and angels forevermore in heaven. Amen.

Anniversary Offering Bible StudySeventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 11, 2016

The Lost Sheep and the Lost CoinLuke 15:1-10 – 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,[a] 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.”

Read Luke 15:1-3In proclaiming the wonders God has done, we want to examine the important role evangelism has in our homes, in our congregation, and in our synod. In order to help us understand better and to grow in our faith, let’s begin by answering the following questions.

Who were the sinners in verse 1?

Why did they gather around Jesus?

What do you think it means in verse 3 that Jesus received them?

We can easily see from the lesson that the Pharisees and scribes had a problem with both Jesus and the tax collectors and sinners.

How did the Pharisees deal with those they labeled as “sinners”?

What charge were they leveling at Jesus?

Read Luke 15:4-10If you had a hundred $10 dollar bills in your purse or wallet or if you had ten 1 oz. silver dollars and you lost just one of them:

Would you notice?

How much effort would you put into finding it?In the stories of a lost sheep and a lost coin the Lord gives us a view of our heavenly Father and how He feels about lost and condemned souls.

What does the parable of the lost sheep show us about God?

What does the parable of the lost coin show us about God?

Now let’s talk about evangelism and consider what God does and what His expectations are for us. To evangelize is to share, to publish, and to proclaim the “Good News” that Jesus has won forgiveness for us and paid for every single sin by His holy life and His innocent suffering and death as proven by His resurrection from the dead.

Can and do the lost find their way back to God on their own? (Read and discuss Genesis 3:10; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 8:7; and 1 Corinthians 2:14.)

How do we come to believe that message? (Read and discuss Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16-17; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:17; and James 1:18.)

Listen to the words of this familiar and beloved hymn and discuss the privilege and role we have personally in the effort of evangelism.

Hark! The voice of Jesus crying, “Who will go and work today?Fields are ripe and harvest waiting; Who will bear the sheaves away?”

Loud and long the Master calleth; Rich reward He offers thee.Who will answer, gladly saying, “Here am I, send me, send me?” (ELH 191)

In our homes –

In our congregation –

In our synod –

Anniversary Offering SermonEighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 18, 2016

Luke 16:1-13 – 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[a] 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[b] 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 [c]

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, [d] 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.”

My Dear Fellow Believers,

Last week we heard about a lost sheep and a lost coin and the joy that it brought to the heart of the owners when they found them. Those two parables were about sinners, about us, and the joy in the heart of God and in heaven when just one sinner repents. God has a great desire to reach us and save us through his Word. What a wonder to be proclaimed! The anniversary offering was also introduced to you as well. The purpose of it and the goal of it is to do just that: to proclaim the wonders God has done, to promote outreach and evangelism in our churches, to encourage and train men to serve our Lord as His shepherds to work in new missions so that the spiritually lost might be found. What a wonderful way to reach other sinners like us, sinners in desperate need of God’s gracious Word and sacraments, and to share those eternal treasures with them as faithful stewards by offering our support.

Now it is not my job to tell you how best to invest your resources or your money. But in the lesson that we have before us this morning, the Lord explains stewardship and where the best investment is for our future and the future of His kingdom. We are all stewards, or managers if you prefer, of the many gifts, so many gifts, that God has given to us. One thing we should always remember about God is that He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows how we are apt to stray and become lost under the clutter and dirt like a coin. So I think it is fair to say that He knows how fast and loose we can be with his gifts, especially the monetary ones, and so He tells the parable of the shrewd manager to us in order to instruct us on what a good investment really is. As His managers, His stewards, we are to invest in God’s kingdom. We are

to be shrewd as well as faithful in the use of all the gifts that God has given us and to serve God in the work of His kingdom.

As we consider this parable, we see something unusual from the start. The manager described by the Lord in the story is a thief and a liar—a very dishonest guy. He is not someone you would want in charge of your worldly wealth, your checkbook, your business, your 401k, your IRAs, or your retirement funds. Jesus explains, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 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’” (Luke 16:1-2). You can see that the manager had been entrusted with a large business and all that goes with it. But rather than being faithful in his management, he had been wasteful. Then there was an accounting—there is always an accounting. This manager had to give an account of how he made use of the wealth of the owner. He might try to lie but the numbers in this case would not.

In this story—and remember this is a story told to instruct the disciples and us—when the manager realized he was about to lose his job for his bad decisions and that he was not strong enough to dig ditches and too proud to beg, he came up with a plan so that he would be welcomed in the homes of others. He then put that plan into action: “So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures [b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty’” (Luke 16:5-7). Let’s not get caught up on the amounts here but focus on the point that Jesus is making. How shrewd this manager was! He reduced the debt of all those who owed money to the rich man so that they would remember this favor and act kindly toward him after he had been fired. Those debts were very large. When he reduced them, he put those debtors under obligation to him because they wouldn’t want the correct amounts to resurface. And here is the twist, if you will, in the story. When the rich man, that is the owner, found out what he had done, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[c] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:8-9). So, what is the point this story? Are we to steal? Should we lie and be dishonest? Does God overlook sin? Not at all! The simple lesson is that we should act shrewdly and wisely as the Lord’s stewards.

This is all about our Christian stewardship and how we manage God’s wealth. It is not about the wrong of what this manager had done. If we want to see wrong all we have to do is look at our own lives. There is a long record of trespasses and sins there. We know that it is wrong to steal, to take what doesn’t belong to you, to be wasteful. We have learned the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” As we put those words to the test in our lives we know in our hearts how we have failed to keep them. We desire what doesn’t belong to us. We use wealth like medicine to make ourselves feel better by shopping and splurging and being wasteful. We know that kind of comfort is only temporary. It is a quick fix which cannot last. Whether it is a penny or a dollar or thousands of dollars or much more squandered over a lifetime, would we dare deny this before the one to whom we must give an account? The writer to the Hebrews explains, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). And we cry out with the psalmist, “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared”

(Psalm 130:3). If it were not for the Lord Jesus, where would we be? We would be headed for hell. There is nothing that we could give to God to settle that score, the debt we owe to Him, except the life and the blood of his only-begotten Son, the life and the blood of Jesus. He was born of the virgin Mary for that purpose. His life was perfect in every way; he committed no sin, not one. He offered that life for you and me on the cross to pay the debt of our sin and the debt of sin for every person. His punishment and death is your punishment and death before God. He bought the peace we now enjoy with our Father in heaven. Our iniquities are forgiven and we stand guiltless through faith in Jesus. It is when we understand this and believe this that we can truly understand the parable of the shrewd manager. The Lord is not saying, “I want you to be the manager.” Rather He wants to learn from him how to be shrewd and faithful stewards of the gifts that God has given to us.

God has called us to be His own. He has made us His children by giving us faith to believe in him. The Holy Spirit continues to convince us of this through the Bible and in the sacraments. We are more than recipients of just the worldly wealth that we might accumulate over a lifetime, because we are recipients of the eternal treasures of heaven itself. And God does even more as He also makes us participants in the work of His glorious kingdom.

It is not hard to see that this world is only temporary. We might cherish things like family photo albums, grandma’s china set, our homes, our cars, our fishing boats, and so on. All are gifts from God. But we know that there is not one of those things—not a single one—that when we die we can take with us. So does it do us any good if we grow too attached to such things? The things of this world will perish with this world at the end, at the judgment.

When God called us to faith, He called us to be faithful managers of what belongs to Him, to think things through, to make good choices when it comes to how we invest His wealth, and to make a personal plan for giving.

First fruits – Our giving is to be the first fruits of our labors. Before we make a plan to buy anything important like house or a car, before we set money aside for vacations, before we sit down at the table to pay the bills, even before we go to store to get groceries for the week, we are to plan what we will give to the Lord.

Willingly – Our giving is not to be forced or under compulsion but to be done willingly, for our giving is directly related to God’s giving to us. Think about the widow who gave all that she had even though it was only a mite, and she put others to shame.

Generously – Our giving is to be generous. The Israelites were treated as children when they were taught to give through the tithe, that is giving ten percent and above. We are treated as adults living in God’s grace and in His generosity. There is no command for us to tithe but God only say to us be faithful and generous. The way we give says a lot about how we feel about God’s grace and generosity.

Trusting – God provides for all our needs. He does. We show our trust in Him by dedicating ourselves to His work in a way that challenges that faith and trust we have in Him.

When we connect this with what Jesus is telling us, we can see just how He wants us to invest our time and resources in His kingdom. This is so important that He gives us this warning: “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.  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 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 16:10-13). Have you been dishonest? Yes, you have. Have you been unfaithful? You know that answer to that question. We have served our own sinful desires; we have bowed our hearts down to them rather than serving God who loves us. But there is forgiveness with God.

God loves us and invites us to learn what love is from Him. He willingly and generously gave His own dear Son over to death that He might be the first fruits of those who trust in Him. You and I are a part of that. We become a part of his work to invite and encourage others to learn about this saving love by being shrewd and faithful with all that we have been given in this life. Your use of God’s Word and sacraments, your use of your time, your use of your wealth; those are all things for you to keep in mind today. Keep them in mind when we see that there is no better use for our gifts than proclaiming the wonders God has done, and through those wonders, souls—friends—are won for heaven. Amen.

Anniversary Offering Bible StudyEighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 18, 2016

The Shrewd ManagerLuke 16:1-13 – 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[a] 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 [b] 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[c] 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,[d] 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.”

In this parable Jesus teaches us about stewardship or management of all the gifts that God has given to us, especially the proper use of money. Let’s do a quick review of some of the simple principles of stewardship from the Bible.

Who is the owner of all things? (Read and discuss Psalm 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 29:14.)

Who are the managers? (Read and discuss Proverbs 3:9 and 1 Peter 4:10-11.)

As a result of sin our management falls far short of God’s expectations. Understanding that about ourselves, if we were to use with one word to describe how we are to be as managers, what word would you choose?

Read Luke 16:1-7The parable begins with a manager in charge of a rich man’s business and his great wealth. What is the first thing we learn about the manager in verse 1?

When the manager was called to give an account and his mismanagement was discovered, what then did he do and why did he do it?

Read Luke 16:8As we read the parable we find that the rich man praises the manager for what he did when he learned he was going to be fired from his job.

What did the manager do?

Why was he praised?

Read Luke 16:9-13As sinners we often struggle to understand God’s Word and miss the point that He is trying to make to us. In this case it might be tempting to get caught up in the bad behavior of the manager and for us to wonder how this could possibly be an example of good stewardship when it is not a good example of good behavior. Let’s consider how to apply it in the following questions:

What future are those like the shrewd manager seeking for themselves?

How do they use their wealth to secure it?

What kind of future are we seeking for ourselves?

Since eternal life in heaven has been secured for us through saving work of the Lord and all worldly wealth belongs to God and comes from Him, where should we invest those gifts? (Read and discuss Matthew 6:33.)

Consider all the investments you make over your lifetime like your home, your car, your education, your retirement, your family, and your church and then put them in order of priority:

What does your list look like?

What should it look like?

Why? (Read and discuss 2 Corinthians 9:10-11.)

Anniversary Offering SermonNineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 25, 2016

Luke 16:19-31 – 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.[a] 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[b]—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.’”

My Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Over the last couple of weeks, Jesus has taught us about His love for the lost, not just a sheep or a coin, mind you, but His great love for lost people which includes you and me. He has taken the time to teach His disciples and us about being shrewd in how we use our gifts and blessings, gifts and blessings which come from Him. And today by way of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus, the Lord graciously applies His Word to our lives so that we may proclaim the wonders God has done.

I am sure many of you are familiar with the story told by the Lord in today’s reading. It is one that when you hear it in Sunday school as a child, it just sticks. For some it sticks because of the dogs licking Lazarus’ sores; a child’s reaction might be “Gross!” But in this wonderful story the Lord is saying and showing much more. He shows us that He knows His believers by name, and in spite of what we might see with our eyes, He deeply loves us. He shows that He knows the moment of our death and sends His angels to take us to Himself. He shows us that heaven and hell exist. They are not figures of speech or fairy tales but real places. As believers in Jesus, how blessed we are to be called by name and taken to heaven when we die! The apostle Paul describes how this blessing happened: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:4). Because Jesus became poor like us and became poor for us, we have been made truly rich in life, in death, and in eternity.

From a worldly point of view, most of us would not claim to be rich. When my wife and I go grocery shopping, we use coupons. When it comes time to purchase a new car, the one we buy is not new at all but has been used by someone else. We are careful not to abuse our credit card because we don’t want to get ourselves in trouble and find ourselves drowning in debt. But then

again, this is thinking from a worldly point of view. By the world’s standards, we may not be considered poor, but we certainly are not rich. The Lord describes the rich man, and he is rich according to the world’s standards while Lazarus was very, very, poor: “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:19-21). If we had a choice, we’d probably want the rich man’s life and not the life of Lazarus. The rich man had a comfortable life. He wore fine clothes. He ate his fill and had no worries. If life were about comfort and being comfortable, Lazarus was the big loser. But as Jesus explains, Lazarus—with all the poverty, the hardship, the hunger pains, and sores—Lazarus was the one of the two who was truly blessed.

The casual listener might say, “No way!” to what I just said, but let me explain. Whether we are born rich or born poor, we are all conceived and born in sin. King David was moved by the Holy Spirit to describe himself and confess, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:4). We are all born poor, in the poverty of sin and iniquity, carrying a heavy burden of sin. Whether it is the rich man or Lazarus or King David or you and me, we all suffer from an inability to love, to care, to serve, and to obey God according to the perfect standard He has set. He judges the heart and—let’s be honest—we have all been found lacking. If the world would suddenly realize this, it wouldn’t change the fact that we are indebted to God who created us for more than serving ourselves or making comfortable lives for ourselves. It wouldn’t change the fact that we are poor without Him and that we can only become rich, truly rich in life, through Jesus and His gracious Word.

The Lord Jesus came into this world to make us rich by doing what we would never expect God to do: to leave His heavenly home, His glorious throne, in order to make His home in a virgin’s womb, only to be born and laid in a manger. Just think about it: very God of very God, the eternally begotten one, not made, became a man to live and die as one of us. He did this not because He had to but because He wanted to pay the debt of sin we owed to God. He is the one who stands in our place and takes our poverty upon Himself to give us true wealth, lasting riches. Those riches include nothing less than the forgiveness of sin won by Jesus for you and me when He was pinned to the cross and died. Yes, we have life because He died, for where there is forgiveness of sin, there is life and salvation. For some this happened “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him” (Ephesians 1:13-14). For others it happened with the drops of water tied to the Word in Baptism because God forgives us through baptism. And for confirmed Christians, there is strength and comfort in the eating and drinking of the Lord’s Supper in the words “given and shed for you.” Through all these gifts from God we are told that we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee[a] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,[b] to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). We have a personal relationship with God, created and sustained by His word and sacraments. That is what made Lazarus rich. That is makes you and me rich in this life far beyond our understanding and imagination. It does one thing that no other riches can do. It makes us rich in death.

Death is just an unavoidable and sad truth of living in this world. Today we might be able to stroll in and out of the cemetery but one day we will be carried in. Whether it is a coffin or an urn, we will be carried in but we won’t come out until that day that the voice of the Lord calls us out of the grave. Poor Lazarus died and then the rich man too. What happened to them will happen to us. We will all die. But there is a glaring difference between the two of them: what

makes a person rich in life makes him or her rich in death. For the rich man what made him rich was his money and property, his fine clothes, and comfortable living but all of those things were temporary; he had to leave them behind. For Lazarus, what made him rich is measured in the faith that God had bestowed upon him. He saw how transitory this life is and longed for his home in heaven and for his seat at the eternal banquet table.

Death can be a fearful thing. Don’t we cling to this life? Doesn’t it make our hearts heavy? Yes, death can be a fearful thing, but for us who believe in Jesus, who know His gracious will for us, we believe His Word when He says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 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?[b] 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” (John 14:1-3). Do you see? Death is nothing more than the door through which we pass to enter heaven, for the angels come to take us home to Abraham’s side, to take us to be with Jesus in our eternal dwelling place.

We are rich in eternity. Heaven and hell are real places. They both exist but for different reasons. Heaven is where God dwells with His servants, the angels, and with His blood-bought people. When God created hell it was for the fallen angels, Satan and his ilk, to imprison them and to punish them eternally. But because of sin, more accurately because of unbelief, because people reject God and His Son and His Word, hell also became a place for the punishment of those who do not believe in Him. The rich man did not believe and Jesus uses that unbelief to explain a number of things about heaven and hell. Jesus tells us, “And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 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.’ 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. 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’” (Luke 16:23-26). We learn that hell is a place of fiery torment where the rich man suffered in agony. We learn that there is no comfort there, no good things there, and no mercy from God.

For anyone who thinks, “I may have my faults but I don’t deserve to go to hell,” you are mistaken. Hell is what we all deserve. But let’s get more specific. There is not one person here who hasn’t been like the rich man, wealthy or not. He did things we often find ourselves doing. First, he loved his life but not his Lord. It’s quite obvious that he was a Jew and familiar with Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. His first love was his possessions and his comfortable life. He avoided God’s gracious, loving call to worship and to hear the life-giving Word. We have all done the same thing and in doing so only bring spiritual and eternal harm to ourselves. Second, he ignored his neighbor, the starving, sick, poor man at his gate. He was like us, probably thinking, “I don’t have the time. I don’t have the resources right now to help.” But those thoughts are thoughts of the unbeliever who doesn’t care about God and His Word or for souls, the eternal well-being of others, because they do not believe any of it matters.

But it does matter. It matters for us now, we whom God has brought to faith in Jesus through His Word and who are rich because of that. We have heaven, and heaven is not just for us but for everyone. When we repent and trust in Jesus for forgiveness, we receive this eternal wealth through faith. Just as Peter stood up and proclaimed to those in Jerusalem on Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and

you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39). There are those who need to hear that message, who need to be baptized, and who need to have God so richly in their lives. There is not one person here today who does not have God’s forgiveness through faith in our dear Lord Jesus. We don’t need to see someone resurrected to believe it. We have His Word: the writings of Moses and the prophets and the apostles and the evangelists. We have been called through the power of God’s saving message to know Him and believe in Him. Through that message imparts forgiveness for every sin. He transports us from being certain residents of hell to being certain residents of heaven. Heaven is the opposite of hell. There is no sadness there or suffering or sin of any kind. God is there and there is nothing but joy in his presence always. He makes us alive now through faith and we will live with Him in eternity. This is the message the Lord gives us the privilege to share.

You share that message in our congregation through your work here and your prayers and your offerings to be sure. But remember we are also a part of a larger church and a larger church body. This gives us even more opportunities to serve God and to give thanks for all the blessings and riches which He has bestowed upon us, especially as Lutherans and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. In our churches, the chief teaching and the central doctrine is not based on me or what I might want to hear or telling me how I should live my life. But it is the message of forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the Word I need and you need and all the men, women, and children of this world need to make them truly rich. Amen.

Anniversary Offering Bible StudyNineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 25, 2016

The Rich Man and LazarusLuke 16:19-31 – 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.[a] 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[b]—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.’”

Why does the Lord Jesus tell this parable? (Read and discuss Luke 16:13-14.)

After reading this story, what sin does Jesus condemn in us and what comfort does He offer us?

Summarize in your own words the main point and purpose of this story.

Read Luke 16:19-21What things do we learn about the rich man in life and what things do we learn about Lazarus in life?

What also do we learn about them both in the phrase “even the dogs came and licked his sores”?

__________The rich man cared about what happened to Lazarus.

__________The rich man ignored the beggar at his gate.

__________Lazarus’ life wasn’t as bad as it sounded.

__________Lazarus’ life had little to no comfort here in this world.

Read Luke 16:22-26Lazarus’ name means, “God is my helper.” When he died Jesus tells us that he went to heaven while the rich man went to hell. Lazarus, unlike the rich man, was ready to leave this life and enter eternity. Although there are many differences between them in this life, what was the only difference that mattered in death?

Although this is just a parable, we still find that there are details given in this story that contain certain undeniable truths about what happens to us when we die and where we end up eternally. Discuss the following questions:

What happens to the body and the soul upon death?

Is there a place for a second chance like purgatory?

Are those souls in heaven or in hell sleeping or are they awake and aware?

Will heaven or hell ever come to an end?

Read Luke 16:27-31The answers to the question above and the conversation between the rich man and Abraham in the parable effect our views on stewardship and mission work and our view and use of God’s Word.

How does this effect my understanding of stewardship? (Read and discuss Psalm 90:12.)

How does this effect my understanding of mission work? (Read and discuss Luke 15:10.)

How does this effect my personal view and use of God’s Word? (Read and discuss Ephesians 5:15-17.)