Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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‘For the Kingdom of Heaven is like”

That little phrase tells us the crucial point that Jesus wants to make with His disciples. It’s always nice when the teacher tells the class the point of the lesson at the beginning of the class. We know where He’s headed and what we’re supposed to get out of this.

This parable is a lesson about what the kingdom of heaven is like. It’s not about creating jobs or fair minimum wage standards or successful business management strategies. That’s kingdom of the world stuff. Just imagine if you tried to apply the details of this parable to the workplace and paid everyone the same whether they put in a full days work or showed up an hour before quitting time. It would never work.

In the ‘worldly realm’ there are distinctions that are made between one person and another and not everyone is treated equally. Not everyone gets paid the same amount. Managers generally get paid more than the hourly. People who do hard, physical labor are not always paid as much as others who sit behind a desk all day. Those with a college degree are on average, paid more than those who do not.

You may argue whether or not some of the distinctions that we make are right or wrong. wrong. But you can’t eliminate all distinctions. It wouldn’t be fair to pay everyone the same amount regardless of the work that is done. ‘THE WORLD DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY.’

But Jesus begins this lesson by saying, ‘for the kingdom of heaven is like” And as we see, it’s not the way the world is. The distinctions that exist in the ‘worldly realm’ simply do not exist in the ‘heavenly realm.’ Everyone, from the first to the last is paid the same. There is no distinction between one and another before God.

Now, the very fact that Jesus feels that a lesson on this subject is necessary tells us that this is something that we don’t understand. This is not, ‘common knowledge.’ In fact, as we heard St. Paul remind us last week, even the ‘wise according to this age’ don’t know what the ‘kingdom of heaven is like.’

The problem is, we think we do. We assume that the kingdom of heaven works the way the world works because that’s all we know. We make distinctions among ourselves because it’s only fair. Therefore we think that in the kingdom of heaven, God must make distinctions among individuals too, based on how worthy they are. It’s only fair. Continue reading →

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‘In the cross of Christ I glory.’ I’m quite sure that no one who had ever witnessed a crucifixion would have spoken of the GLORY of the cross. The cross was a terrible instrument of torture and execution invented by the Persians and developed to cruel excess by the Romans to inflict the maximum suffering over the longest period of time. Cicero called it, ‘the supreme capital penalty.’ When the Jews said that anyone hung on a tree had to be cursed by God, they were referring to death by crucifixion.

Yet we sing ‘In The Cross of Christ I GLORY.’ And even stranger, when Jesus talks about His rendezvous with the cross in the same way. ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ ‘Father, glorify your name.’

Parents ‘glorify’ their children by bragging about their great accomplishments and how successful they are. And as they ‘glorify’ their children they ‘glorify’ themselves. What son would ever think that he ‘glorifies’ his father by being nailed to this object of suffering and shame?

But we sing, ‘In the cross of Christ I GLORY.’ What FOLLY to the person who sees nothing more than what the eyes can see. But what WISDOM to the person who puts his ears before his eyes and believes the Word of God that proclaims God has used this piece of wood which men made their instrument of punishment, pain and death to be His instrument of reconciliation, peace and life.

Continue reading →

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‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

A rather embarrassing and inappropriate question for those who have been called to a man who is known for being ‘despised and rejected by men.’ A man ‘from whom men hide their faces.’ A man of whom others confess, ‘we esteemed Him not.’ (Isaiah 53:3) These are the disciples of the One to whom the psalmists and the prophets were talking about when they said, ‘I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.’ (Psalm 22:6)

But look how Jesus responds to them. We would like to scold these Neanderthals for being so ignorant and insensitive. But Jesus is patient and merciful with them. And His patience and mercy with them comforts us, because we it gives us good reason to hope that He will be just as patient and merciful with us.

‘And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’

So what are we to learn from Jesus’ answer here?
Continue reading →

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The original plan in this summer sermon series on ‘reasons for rejection’ was to address the question of suffering. ‘If God is merciful, why does He allow suffering’? Instead, I want to address what I think is a very common misunderstanding, that membership and participation in a church is entirely optional if not even detrimental to the practice of true religion.

A couple of weeks ago I was hiking on the A.T. with another fellow whom I hadn’t before. We came to stream where we took a break. I asked him what he does for a living. He is a retired State government worker. He asked me what I do and I told him I am a Lutheran pastor at the Lutheran Church on Cool St., in Waterville. He then proceeded to tell me how religious he is. I asked him where he goes to church. He replied, ‘I don’t. I don’t need the church to be religious. I can be a good person without the church.’

Here is an issue that is particularly pertinent here in Maine. Maine has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest percentage of population that doesn’t go to church. I used to think that ‘unchurched’ equaled ‘unbeliever,’ ‘unchristian.’ But I’m not so sure about that anymore. I think that if the ‘unchurched’ were actually asked, many would say that they consider themselves ‘religious’, if not ‘very religious.’ It’s just that they don’t have any use for the Church. And by that they mean, the ‘institutional church.’

I’m fairly confident that this is the reason that over the years, many of our own members here have quietly dropped out of this congregation. In many of the discussions that I’ve had with members who were ultimately released from the roles because of ‘self-exclusion,’ very often, there doesn’t seem to be any particular disagreement or dissatisfaction that is the reason for their leaving. It’s simply that they have come to believe that participation in the Church is just not necessary. ‘I don’t need the church to be religious. I can be a good person without the church.’ ‘I can pray to God on my own.’ ‘I can worship on my own and in my own way. I don’t need the church.’ Continue reading →

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I. The Problem of Evil
Even though it happened over 10 years ago, I can still clearly remember a conversation with a friend who offered me his unsolicited reason for why he rejects the God of the Scriptures. We were fishing together, which as those of you who have been fishing with me know, is not the time to be talking theology with me. But somehow we got into a discussion about religion and faith and he felt obliged to tell me that he didn’t believe in God. He believed that there was some sort of ‘higher power’ out there, but not the personal God of the Bible. ‘Why,’ I asked. ‘Because of all the evil in the world. How could a God who supposed to be good and loving allow so much evil in the world’?

That was the first time I had heard that ‘reason for rejection.’ But since then I’ve heard it several more times. And I suspect you have too. But interestingly, it’s not just from unbelievers that I’ve heard this from. Even those who live by faith, have from time to time been perplexed by this question, ‘if God is good, why is there so much evil’?

I wonder how many people reject the God of the Scriptures not because of the irreconcilable claims of science and the scriptures, or because of the appeal of another religion, but because of the state of the world.

The Bible describes God as ‘almighty.’ The Bible also says that God is love. When you put those two together it means that God uses His almighty power, not for evil but for good, not to harm us but to help us, even save us.

So how can a God Who desires only what is good for us and who has the power to eliminate all evil, allow evil to continue, knowing that evil is definitely bad for us? Is He sleeping? Or since He is male, does it mean He can only do one thing at a time and while He’s taking care of one side of the planet, evil runs ramped on the other side of the planet? Or could it mean that there really is no such God as the Bible says there is?

Needless to say, this is enough to ruin a good fishing trip. Continue reading →

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‘The church is full of hypocrites.’ ‘I’ll come to church when you get rid of all the hypocrites.’ So far in this sermon series, the ‘reasons for rejection,’ have all been directed at the Bible or the doctrines that come from the bible. But now this morning, we come to a ‘reason for rejection’ that is aimed directly at the people who call themselves Christian. That’s you and me. In other words, this one gets pretty personal.

I. Hypocrisy
A. Definition
Let’s begin by getting a grip on the meaning of the word, ‘hypocrite.’ The English word is taken directly from the New Testament Greek word which is ‘hupokritais.’ The Greeks were famous for their love of theater and drama. An actor was called ‘hupokritais,’ literally, ‘one who wears a mask.’ An actor pretends to be someone whom he is not.

In our own day, actors perform on TV and in the movies and on stage. And people go to the theater and watch TV to see actors pretend to be someone they’re not. But the same people who appreciate good actors on the screen or stage, refuse to step foot in a church because they feel that the church is full of actors. If there is one role in all of life that we insist there be no acting, no ‘wearing a mask,’ no ‘hypocrisy,’ it is the roll of being a Christian.

Christians are expected to be ‘sincere’ about their Christianity. One dictionary defines ‘sincerity’ like this: to be ‘free from pretense or deceit. There is a heavy expectation that Christians, maybe more than any other vocation in life, be ‘genuine’ Christians.

B. Two reasons for the charge of hypocrisy.
So, why is it that many people feel that the ‘church is full of hypocrites’? Why do people feel that there is too much ‘acting’ going on where it doesn’t belong? Let me suggest two possible reasons. Continue reading →

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We come now to the third in our series of six, ‘Reasons for Rejection.’ Reason number one was, ‘The bible is just a myth.’ Reason number two was, ‘All religions are essentially the same.’ In both, we investigated and analyzed the claim against Christianity, and then we presented a particular point of Christian doctrine that supports the Christian faith.

So, in the first reason for rejection, the answer to ‘The bible is just a myth,’ is the doctrine of the ‘inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures.’ In the second, the answer to ‘all religions are essentially the same’ is the doctrine of ‘grace’ which sets the Christian religion apart from all other religions.

Now, as we address this third ‘reason for rejection,’ we want to take the same approach. We’ll investigate and analyze the claim against Christianity and then clarify the Christian doctrine that addresses this charge, which in this case is the doctrine of ‘conversion.’

I. Reason for Rejection: ‘What About The Person Who Has Never Heard The Gospel’?

A. ‘Why do you want to know’?
But this morning we want to begin just a bit differently than we have. Rather than plowing right into the claim itself, let’s begin by asking this question, which should be the question that just sits on the tip of our tongue ready to be asked whenever someone challenges the faith or whenever we find ourselves asking these kinds of questions. The question is this, ‘why do you want to know’? ‘What’s your motive for asking a question like this one, ‘what about the person who has never heard the gospel”?

Sincere love and concern for the lost.

The motive behind the question determines how we respond. Some people ask this question out of sincere love and concern for those who have never heard the gospel. They know that Jesus Christ is the only savior of mankind and that it is only through faith in Him and all that He has done that man is saved. And it pains them to think that some will perish eternally because they haven’t gotten the Word.

It used to be that this question was framed by some far away, remote place like Africa. ‘What happens to the poor, innocent native in Africa who has never heard the gospel’? But today, you don’t need to go that far. There are many, many people right here in the U.S., right here in Maine who have never been to church, never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I’ve heard people ask this question out of sincere love and concern for those who have never heard the gospel. And frankly, I really wish that more of us would feel this pain and have this same concern.

Accusation of God’s Unfairness

There is however another motive that is often lurking behind this question. Sometimes you can detect it simply by the tone of voice. The question can be motivated by a deep-seated suspicion of the God of the Holy Scriptures. It’s a suspicion that God is not fair in the way that He judges men and women. Continue reading →

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I. All Religions Essentially The Same

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to design an official seal for the newly established United States of America. The initial proposal featured a lady holding a torch on the left side of the seal and a man bearing a gun on the right side. In between these two were thirteen small shields, one for each of the 13 Independent States of America. At the top of the seal there was a triangle with an eye in the center of it, which is the symbol of the ‘all seeing,’ triune God, watching over the nation. And then, at the bottom of the seal was a banner with this phrase written on it: ‘E Pluribus Unum.’ Literally, ‘Out Of Many, One.’

The seal itself didn’t really catch on. But that phrase ‘E Pluribus Unum’ did. To this day, you will see this phrase printed on all U.S. currency.

‘E Pluribus Unum.’ ‘Out of the many, one.’ America is a ‘melting pot.’ ‘Toleration’ is a fundamental, guiding principle of our nation.

So for example, when it comes to religion, there are laws in place to protect ‘religious toleration.’ The government cannot support one religion over another one. Although a few of the initial 13 States had their own ‘state church,’ the law of the land is, there can be no ‘established national religion.’ Nor can any religion establish it’s own religious state within the U.S. No ‘state church’ and no ‘church state.’ Continue reading →

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Introduction to series:
A sermon series based on reasons for rejecting the Christian faith may seem a bit strange coming from a Christian pastor to his Christian congregation. You’d expect this kind of topic at a meeting of the ‘American Atheists Association’ or the ‘Freedom From Religion Foundation’ but not in a church.

But of course, our intention is not to present these arguments against the Christian faith in order to encourage you to reject what you have just confessed in the Nicene Creed. Our intention with this series is twofold: one, to examine and critique the reasons that some have for rejection of the Christian faith. And two, to strengthen our understanding of what we do believe so that we may be good witnesses to others ‘ especially others who have reasons for rejection.

And let’s be honest here. We ourselves may also be included in those ‘others,’ at least from time to time. We believe the faith we have is a gift from God, given through Holy Baptism and the hearing of the gospel. With the help of the Small Catechism, we say, ‘I cannot by my own REASON or senses, believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel.’ (Small Catechism ‘ 3rd Article explanation).

But we also believe that this gift of faith can be lost. Which of us haven’t been bothered by at least some of these ‘reasons for rejection’ at one time or another? Peter writes, ‘the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’ (1Peter 5:8). Sadly, the baptized can and do fall from faith and reject the precious gift of life and salvation that we have been given.

We begin with the first ‘Reason for Rejection,’ ‘the rejection of the bible.’ Continue reading →

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A 3rd grade teacher in a Lutheran school asked her students to write an essay explaining God. One of her students wrote this:

‘One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn’t make grown-ups, just babies. I think that’s because they’re smaller and easier to make.

God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like pastors, pray at times besides bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.

Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles. But people got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said, ‘Okay.’ His Dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all His hard work on earth so He told him he didn’t have to go out on the road anymore, he could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps his Dad out by listening to prayers and answering them. Now you can pray anytime you want because they got is worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.’

What would you write if you were asked to explain God? How many of you would recite the Athanasian Creed? Personally, I’d probably start with the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed. But this is Trinity Sunday and today we use the Athanasian Creed to explain God.

‘The catholic faith is this, that we worship one God, in three persons and the three persons in one God, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.’

Today is a day that is devoted to the consideration of who God is. If we have trouble expressing ‘who God is,’ it may be because we are not used to thinking about God or speaking about God like this. We’re much more used to speaking about ‘what God does.’ We’re practical, utilitarians at heart, and we want to know ‘what God does for me.’ ‘How does God benefit me’? Continue reading →