John 16:19-20

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If you go see an orchestra, you might walk into the orchestra hall a few minutes before the beginning of the music, and you might hear this horrific noise. What is this terrible sound? The screeching violins and discordant brass and woodwind. And if you didn’t know that a beautiful piece of music was about to be played, you might go running from that orchestra hall. What is this?

But we know that those musicians are simply tuning their instruments. They’re getting ready to join together in harmony, to play something magnificent and beautiful. So we wait it out. We stay put. Even through that, that awful noise that lasts for just a little while.

Before Jesus was arrested, he was with his disciples in the upper room on Maundy Thursday. He was preparing them for what was about to happen to him. And so he was speaking very bluntly with them. And even though they didn’t quite grasp or understand what was going to be happening to Jesus in the following hours, and the following day, his words were very meaningful to them and would later be recalled. And these are words that Jesus spoke to his disciples, that he also means for you and me. Specifically these words from John 16.

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this [what he had said], so he said to them, “Are you trying to determine with one another what I meant by saying, ‘In a little while you are not going to see me, and again in a little while you will see me’? Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. (John 16:19-20)

Jesus was preparing them for that little while that would soon come of real sorrow and heartache and grief, as they would watch their Savior be arrested, be tortured, be killed upon the cross. This was a time when our spiritual enemies were rejoicing. The sinful world, satan, they were thinking that they had won. God, Jesus, dead upon the cross. The disciples themselves, they were thrown into despair. They were fearful, We’re told that the following days they were back in that upper room where they had been with Jesus, only this time they were in hiding. They were fearful for their own lives. They thought they would be crucified next.

You and I, we faced little whiles of despair and trouble in our lives as well. I don’t know what it might be for you. Could be a diagnosis from the doctor. It might be a financial crisis or a loss of a job. It might be a close one who is dying or recently has departed. There are these little whiles of life where we feel great despair and we feel the hurt of trouble. Jesus puts it in perspective, though, and he was doing there that night in the upper room with his disciples. It’s a little while, and yes, the world will rejoice and you will have sorrow. But here’s good news for you your sorrow will turn into joy. And that’s true. That happened for the disciples. Think of the open and empty tomb. Jesus who went to the cross, and there he paid for our sins. He didn’t abandon his disciples. He appeared before them and said, it is me. Peace be with you. And their grief turned to joy.

And so too does our Savior and the fact that he has risen from the dead, bring us joy even as we are facing sorrow and trouble and grief. Jesus lives. He’s risen from the dead. And that means our greatest enemy. The thing that people fear the most in this world. It’s nothing to him. He’s broken death. He’s defeated it. And he is for you. He loves you, and he promises that you too will defeat death. Because he lives, we too will live. This gives us such joy.

There’s an ugly noise of trouble that may surround us. But God says, hold on, there’s something beautiful in store for you. So wait out this little while and know that the master conductor is about to take the stage. And something glorious and beautiful is about to be played for you.

Romans 11:33-36

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Does it bother you when there are things about God and His Word that you can’t understand or comprehend? I know I’ve run into people that this really bothers, and so they use that as a reason why they can’t believe in God. There’s too many things that I just don’t understand, that I can’t comprehend too many things that the Bible asks of me that I can’t even fathom.

For us as Christians, we have the ability, though, to say, I don’t know. I don’t know. There are things about God that remain mysteries to us. There are things that God reveals to us in His Word, that we simply have to throw up our hands and say, I’m not sure how that happens, but I do believe that God makes it happen, even though I can’t understand it or scientifically explain it. Is this something that should bother us? The scriptures themselves point out that this is something that should not bother us. Saint Paul specifically talks about this in Romans chapter 11, he brings up a really interesting point.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
and how untraceable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his adviser?”
“Or who has first given to God
that he will be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Saint Paul points out that God’s wisdom surpasses ours. His judgment surpasses ours. And really, shouldn’t that make sense? If we have a God who’s bigger and smarter than we are, should he be able to understand and know and fathom things that go beyond our understanding? If everything about God was something that could fit inside of our heads, inside of our brains, if it’s something that we could come to understand, well, then wouldn’t that make us as smart as God is? And if that’s the case, do you want to have a God like that? Or would you rather have a God who’s far smarter, far more powerful, far more knowledgeable, with greater insight to things than you are?

I want a God who is bigger than I am, and that’s the God that we have in Scripture. Should it bother us that there are things that that we can’t fathom, that we can’t understand? No. Instead we simply say, I don’t know, but God knows. God is smarter than I am. And that’s the very nature of God. That’s what makes him God. But what we do need to know about God is what he proclaims to us in His word. And he says, trust me on these things. What you need to know is that I love you, that I care for you. That in Jesus Christ, my son, I forgive you all of your sins, that you are right with me by simply repenting of your sins and turning to me with faith. And I will take care of the rest.

Maybe you’ve heard this before. There was a small child who brought his remote control to the TV to his dad and handed it to his dad and asked, how does this work? Now that dad could have peeled off the back and explained infrared technology to his son, the small toddler, but he realized that would go way over the child’s head. So he takes the remote and he says, how does this work? You push this button and the TV will come on. And so it is sometimes with God. If he were to reveal the whole plan and system and wisdom to us, it would go flying way over our head. And so he tells us what we need to know. And he does that in his word. And he tells us about the love that he has for us. And he opens up all sorts of different understandings and knowledge to us that we can continue to explore. And that’s a good thing. But should it ever be an excuse to doubt God or to not put our faith in him, no. We should rejoice in the fact that we do have a God who’s bigger, smarter, more powerful than we are. And may that God’s peace be with you.

Isaiah 43:1-3

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I grew up in Southern California, and a lot of people have asked me if I ever tried surfing. It really wasn’t my thing. I tried to go surfing one time with some friends who really enjoyed surfing, and so we went out. And of course, because they were good surfers, we had to go out on a day where the waves were really big. They loaned me a board, they loaned me a wetsuit. They thought I was going to be good. I remember trying to paddle out past those incoming waves that were so big, so scary, and you’re paddling out and you’re going up the face of a wave. And I thought I was going to make it, I didn’t. Went tumbling backwards. Crashed on my back. You get sucked under the water. You’re so completely disoriented you have no idea which way is up. Meanwhile, you’re panicking and you’re losing your air. You’re thinking, I’m about to drown. I’m going to die. And then your foot, your foot touches the bottom and you know I can jump up and you do it. It’s such a great feeling. You jump up, you take a huge gasp of air. You open your eyes. And then for me, I saw another wave. Come and do it all over again. It was terrifying. Three times in a row I got tumbled between those waves. I nearly drowned. I said, nope. This is not for me. It was a scary experience.

There’s a Bible verse that reminds me of this, Isaiah chapter 43, verses one and two. When in life we feel like we’re getting sucked down and we’re getting knocked down by one thing or the next, and maybe, maybe you’re in a season of life where you feel that all these terrible things keep coming at you. We face these things. We face these, these troubles, and it feels like we’re not going to get out. It feels like we’re about to drown and we’re about to perish at any time. Well, God has these words for us. Isaiah 43, verses one and two.

Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine.
When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.
When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
and the flame will not set you on fire.
Because I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, (Isaiah 43:1-3)

When we feel like we’re getting sucked under the waves of life, God says, cling to me. Trust me, I’m here for you. God has made a promise to never leave us or abandon us. And he’s given us this promise. He renews this promise to us through His Word and through his sacraments. When you’re feeling down and out, return to your baptism. Remember those waters that washed over your head, those comforting waters that proclaim to you that you are God’s own child, that he loves you, that you belong to him, that he is promised to always forgive you, to be at peace with you. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by all those waves of life, and you feel those anxieties and troubles of life coming your way, come to the Lord’s altar and turn to him. Hear his invitation to come and receive Jesus.

And for us we have that wonderful blessing of coming forward to receive the body and blood of Christ Himself in the Lord’s Supper, and with that the forgiveness of all of our sins. We are right with God. We are at peace with God. Turn to his word. Turn to God in prayer. Know that he is for you, especially in these troublesome, difficult moments of life you can have confidence in God your Savior. Do not be afraid, he says, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.

Don’t let those waves of life bowl you over, cause you to drown. Don’t drown in the despair of this world. Know that you belong to God and have peace. The peace that comes to you through the forgiveness of sins won for you by your Savior Jesus. Peace be with you.

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I was going through the car wash and it dawned on me that as I was going in there and they instructed me to follow and get into line and then put the car into neutral. Take your hands off the wheel. Don’t hit the brakes. You have to have a lot of trust in this process in order to get your car clean. And it dawned on me that in many ways, it’s similar to the work of the Holy Spirit. This is something that Martin Luther in the Small Catechism really emphasized in his explanation to the third article of the Creed when he wrote,

I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength. Believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Ghost has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

We’re tempted sometimes to think that we have to do things in order to get ourselves clean, and we take a lot of that credit. We take a lot of that pressure. We internalize it. What does God want from you and me? He wants us to come to him and let him do the work. And at times that work can be pretty intense. Just as you’re going through a car wash and and you’re hearing that beating of the brushes on the car, and you see the spray, and you can almost feel the vibrations through the window of that powerful washing. So too is it as God, the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, to make us what he wants of us, to strengthen us, to make us holy and beautiful creatures before him. That work of sanctification that the Holy Spirit does. Sometimes it can be alarming, and we might be tempted to try and take control of things ourselves, but that can be really dangerous.

In fact, I saw a video recently of someone who ended up rear ending a car in front of them in a car wash, and it caused damage to their car, the other car, it caused thousands upon thousands of dollars of damage to the car wash itself. No, you have to keep your hands off the wheel. You have to leave it in neutral. You have to let the car wash do its work.

So to with us. Are we willing to let God do the work of cleansing us? As Christians, we know that he is the one who takes care of us. He’s the one who has already gone to all the effort. He’s already put the payment down for your cleanliness. And that payment, of course, was the blood of Christ your Savior. Jesus has done all the work, and now God wants to come and give that to you. And that’s the work of the Holy Spirit who goes to work in your heart, cleansing you by bringing Jesus to you, installing Jesus in you, putting faith in Christ into you. It’s not something we do. We get to be the passive passengers. And yet God does that incredible work for us.

What a blessing the pressure is off of us. Thank you Lord for giving us this cleansing. God’s peace be with you.

Colossians 2:13-14

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One summer during high school, a friend and I spent nearly our entire summer riding bikes around town, having fun, doing all sorts of things that kids do, mainly stayed out of trouble. But we got ourselves into a little bit of trouble when one day we were really hungry. It was about lunchtime and so we went to a local bar and grill that my friend would go to quite often with his dad. We’d go in and we didn’t have any money. My friend said, it’s okay. “My dad has a running tab here at this restaurant. We can just order what we want and it’ll go on the tab.”

And so we did, and we started making that a more regular habit. Hey, we’re hungry. Let’s go over and eat. And before we knew it, my friend’s dad came rolling up into his driveway as we were sitting in his garage working on our bikes, and he said, you guys ran up a huge tab. I think you’re going to be going to work with me for the next two weeks in order to pay it off.

So it came back to haunt us. We had run up this great debt on someone else’s bill, and now we were indebted to him. Now, this is a slightly silly example, but this is also how it works quite often when it comes to sin. When you and I end up breaking God’s law and we make mistakes, we make terrible, selfish decisions. We’re running up a debt. A debt that we can’t repay, a terrifying debt. A debt that we deserve to suffer and die for. To die eternally for. But we have a loving father in God the Father who comes to us. And even though he knows and understands that this debt that we have worked up is one that’s beyond our capability to repay. He forgives us of that debt.

Let me share with you a verse, a really powerful verse from Colossians chapter two that speaks about how God forgives us our debt.

Colossians 2:13 and 14.

God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Our debt was nailed to the cross and to the person that was on the cross in our place. We have a Savior, Jesus, who came and said, I’m going to pay your debt for you. And because of that, there is no longer any debt that you and I have as we stand before God. There is no anger. There is no fear as we stand before God, everything that should separate us from God: it’s been nailed to the cross. It’s been nailed to Jesus, and he has paid for it in full.

What a gift. What an awesome treasure this is that you and I have in our Savior Jesus. He has removed our debts from us. He had it nailed with him to the cross. Our sin is now forgiven, wiped out. So we now stand before God. And God smiles at us. And he says, my beloved children, yes, your debt has been paid. You have nothing to worry about. Do not be fearful. Do not run away from me. Instead, know that I am your loving father and I am here for you. What a gift that is. Glory be to Jesus for covering our debt of sin.

Peace be with you.

Isaiah 40:6-8

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I’m not sure where you were watching this from. Maybe it’s in an area of the country where you are enjoying the change of the seasons. For us, I’m from Mankato, Minnesota, we have a season called fall where the leaves on all the trees literally fall off. They turn brown and fall and then decay and blow away.

This is a season of the church year where I’m reminded of a verse in Isaiah chapter 40 about how flowers fade and the grass withers, and it reminds us that we live in a world that is fleeting. It’s fading away. But for you and me, as Christians, we have something that will never fade away. Something that is reliable. Something that we can count on forever. Let me share this verse with you. It’s a favorite verse for many. From Isaiah chapter 40 we hear verses six through eight.

A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:6-8)

The word of our God endures forever. As I’ve grown older, I can appreciate how this speaks of people being like grass, the aches, the pains, the soreness. My body isn’t working or healing as it once did when I was younger. I look at my kids who are teenagers these days, or pre-teens, and how carefree their lives are. And meanwhile, as I try and keep up with them, I’m out of breath and hurting. These words remind us of our mortality as sinful people. We ruin God’s design for us. We were supposed to never fade, but because of sin, because of the fall into sin, because of our conscious decision to disobey, we to face the effects of sin. We too are going to fade and decay. One day our bodies are going to stop working and will fall to the ground and into the ground and decay.

And that’s a scary thing. But again, for you and me as Christians, we have the word of the Lord. We have the word of our God that endures forever. And what does John say that Word of God is? Well, he speaks about that word who became flesh and dwelt among us. It’s our Lord Jesus who stands forever. And that’s something that also Job proclaimed, remember Job? As he was feeling the effects of sin, he was hurting both body and soul, his family, his loved ones, taken away, all of his possessions. He had fallen from a great height. But what did he proclaim? He says, I know that my Redeemer lives and I’m going to see him.

That’s the same hope that you and I have. We have the Word of God. We have the Word of God that points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived for us. He lived a perfect life. Never once did he fall into sin. Never once was he deserving of any decay or any pain or suffering. And yet he endured pain and suffering as he goes to the cross. And there he takes what we deserved. He takes all of our sins upon himself, and he pays for it all in full. And even though he died, he rises from the dead on Easter. And with his resurrection on Easter, you and I are given a promise that we’re going to rise. We are going to rise from the dust, from the decay, and we will stand with our Lord Jesus forever.

The Word of God that stands forever. That’s what you and I stand on as well. We put our hope, our trust, our faith in Jesus, the Word of God made flesh who is forever. And we will stand with him forever. In this fall season, be reminded that in spite of everything else around us and even ourselves experiencing decay and falling apart, we do have that which we can rely on, that we can count on that which will endure forever. The Word of God, our Savior, Jesus. All glory be to him. God’s peace be with you.

Luke 9:51-56, Ezekiel 33:11

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I’d like to share with you a couple of verses from Luke chapter nine.

When the days were approaching for him to be taken up, Jesus was determined[g] to go to Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead of him. They went and entered a Samaritan village to make preparations for him. But the people did not welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. “You don’t know what kind of spirit is influencing you. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s souls, but to save them.” Then they went to another village. (Luke 9:51-56)

The relationship between Jews and Samaritans was stressed. It was very challenged. They were adversaries. And we know that especially from the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus uses that in that teaching of that parable, how they were at odds with each other, Jews and Samaritans. Part of that was just a religious disagreement. The Samaritans refused to acknowledge that they were supposed to go and worship and go to the Temple in Jerusalem, and they had their own holy site that they worshiped at. And so here they learned that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. And the Samaritans in this village in our text say, no, we don’t want you here. And so that angers Jesus disciples. They’re angry.

Especially we hear James and John, this poor reception, how dare these people reject Jesus! How dare they insult Jesus and insult us? And so they turn to Jesus and they say, Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to consume these people? So in other words, should we have these people destroyed and wiped out for this insult to you?

When you and I face adversity and when we face hostile people, that might be our first instinct as well. Vengeance. Let’s get even. Let these people be destroyed. Let these people face damnation and even hell. That’s a scary thing to think or to say. And Jesus, he gives a stern rebuke to James and John here, who suggested such a thing. And he points out to them, you’re not being led by the right spirit. Do you think that this is a godly spirit that would lead you to say such a thing, to ask for these people to be destroyed? No, this is essentially demonic. This comes from evil spirits, from the devil himself. God would not want his people to have this kind of heart or attitude in them. God does not have that kind of attitude that seeks the destruction of people. He doesn’t want that at all.

Here and in other places, we learn from Jesus that he does not want people to be destroyed. He came with the mission to rescue and to save people. Even in Ezekiel chapter 33, we hear.

“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11 EHV)

What should our heart and attitude be? Well, Jesus lays it out here for us in our text. And really, there’s honestly a little bit of irony in these words that James and John speak in our text. Lord, should we send fire from heaven to consume them? Now they were intending, should we destroy them? But do you remember what took place on Pentecost? What came from heaven? Tongues of fire that came and rested on the disciples heads as they went out and preached and proclaimed Christ. And elsewhere the work of the Holy Spirit is compared to fire, and faith is referred to as a burning flame inside of a heart. So take those words in kind of an ironic way. Lord, should we call down fire to consume these people? Well, God does, in fact want that. He wants the Holy Spirit and the message of Jesus to come and be kindled in people’s hearts, so that they might have faith, and so that that faith might then spread and be shared.

So in a sense, it’s a good thing to say, Lord, send this fire from heaven, but not to destroy people. This fire from the Holy Spirit comes to rescue people. It proclaims and puts into us Christ Himself and the salvation that he won for us with his life. His perfect life lived for us in our place with his death upon the cross, where he paid for all sins with his resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit comes and gives those things that Jesus earned and gives them to us, and that’s the fire that we desire to be consumed with. Lord, please send us this fire of your Holy Spirit among us. Peace be with you.

Acts 2:3-11

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Do you remember the account of the Tower of Babel? These people shortly after the flood, they all had one common language, one common people, and they were determined to make a great name for themselves. They were going to build especially this tower, this great tower that would reach to the heavens. In a very real way these people were becoming arrogant and they were thinking, why do we need God? We can make ourselves God. We can reach ourselves into the heavens, and God comes and realizes this is not good. The people are not trusting in me. They’re not caring about having a relationship with me. They’re trying to supplant me and do without me. And so, God, it’s actually a merciful, loving thing, what he does, he causes them to depart from one another by confusing their language. And so at this point in time, as Scripture teaches, many different languages were created by God. And so the people had to depart and go their separate way by language.

What do we see happening though at Pentecost? Do you remember Pentecost? Let me share these verses with you about Pentecost from Acts chapter two. You remember this blowing of the wind. Tongues of fire. And then the disciples, they went out and they preached. It’s very interesting, this detail.

They saw divided tongues that were like fire resting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, since the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak fluently. Now there were godly Jewish men from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. When this sound was heard, a crowd came together and was confused, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were completely baffled and said to each other, “Look, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them speaking in his own native language?Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God.”

What’s going on here? Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes, he reverses what took place at Babel. At Babel, there were all these languages that divided people. But now at Pentecost, God brings them back, not for their own glory, not because they can supplant God, but because God knows that they need him and he desires us to gather together as his people. And so he shares with all these different, diverse groups of people a common thing, a common thing, and in their own languages. He shares with us something that we continue today with the saints throughout history to rejoice in together as one people. And that’s the Gospel message of Christ. The Holy Spirit comes and he joins us back together, not in a spirit of arrogance, where we try and supplant God, but we rally around and we rejoice in the God who has won our salvation. The God who was proclaimed on Pentecost by Peter as the one who has now forgiven us our sins, who has opened heaven to us. And that’s the message that the apostles were sharing.

And so we are invited too to rejoice in that common language of the gospel with all of our brothers and sisters, even though they might have different backgrounds, even though they might speak different languages, we rejoice in the fact that they are fellow Christians who are forgiven, redeemed citizens of heaven with us in Christ. So as we celebrate Pentecost, consider how God has undone that division that we caused and that man caused, and especially then that those people, in their arrogance, trying to kick God out of their lives, caused. And he now unites us around the gospel of our Savior Jesus. What a blessing that is. God’s peace be with you.

Colossians 2:13-14

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Hi, I’m pastor Luke Ulrich. I want to share with you a couple of verses from Colossians chapter two, verses 13 and 14.

Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Let me ask you, can a dead person choose to be alive? Can a dead person choose to be alive? No, it doesn’t work that way. If you’re dead, you can’t make yourself alive. In this verse, in the beginning of this verse, verse 13, we hear that we are dead in our trespasses. And elsewhere in Scripture it also talks about how we are dead because of our sins. We are spiritually dead before God. We are as good as dead. As a dead person can’t choose to be alive. We can’t choose to be spiritually alive. We are without hope. If it were left up to us, we would be totally lost and forever dead. But what’s the good news? The good news is God chooses to bring us life. An outside source who has power over death shares that victory over death with us.

We can’t choose to be alive. But God, who brought everything to life at the very beginning. Our Lord Jesus, who spoke to Jairus’ daughter, who spoke to the young man in the coffin outside the city of Nain, who spoke to Lazarus as he was still in the tomb. Come out. Our Lord Jesus has power over death. We have a God who has power to give life. And that’s proven especially in this Easter season, where we consider how Jesus himself rose from the dead. Proof to us that he has power over death.

He’s the one who now comes to us, who should be dead before God. And he says, you are alive. He speaks life into our hearts as he points us to what he has done for us, what our Lord Jesus has done, how he lived a perfect life for us, how he went to the cross, how all of our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus. I love that verse from Colossians 2. And because of that, we who should be spiritually dead are now alive, not because of what we have done, but because of what God has done.

Jesus desires you to be alive and to be alive with him forever in heaven. And you don’t even have to worry about doing anything to have it. We simply put our hope, our trust in Jesus. We hear this message of what he has done for us. We believe in it, and the gates to heaven are then open to you and to me. This is good news. This is good news that can motivate you and me today as we can go out into our lives, we can live fearlessly, not worrying about death, not worrying about all the fearful things of this dying world. Because you and I have life, life handed to us from God. Thanks be to Jesus. Peace be with you.

Psalm 50:15, 1 Peter 5:7

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If you’ve ever faced a problem and you’ve needed help, how great is it when you know a guy? Or maybe you don’t know a guy, but you have a friend and they say, oh, I know a guy who can help you. I love having friends like that. When I’m in need of a tool I don’t have, or there’s this problem at home that I can’t fix to be able to call someone, or maybe to have someone else say, I know a guy that you can go to.

For you and me, we also have someone that we can go to for any spiritual problem that we have more than any spiritual problem, any problem that we have in our life. I know a guy that can help, and that, of course, is God. You have the ability to go directly to God. Think about how cool this is. God invites you to approach him, to come to him with any need at all. Come to him in prayer. He pleads with us, come to me and I will be there. Psalm 50, verse 15, God says,

Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me. (Psalm 50:15)

He says, come to me, I’ve got your back. Also in the New Testament, in first Peter five verse seven, it says,

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Do you have a problem? When we face a problem or situation in life, we are encouraged to take it to God. We get to go to Almighty God, who has the power and the willingness to help us with our struggles with our problems. And he says, drop them off here. I want to know what’s going on, and I want to be able to help you. Come see me. So are you going through a struggle or difficulty? Do you have a problem? Well, I know a guy who can help and that is Almighty God.

And we know that he loves you. He desires to help you. He’s proven that by giving his own son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross, to forgive you your sins, to establish a relationship of love between you and him. And lovingly he will be there for you, for your needs. So do you have a problem? Go to God. Take it up with God in prayer. I know a guy and you know a guy through Christ your Savior.

And what about the other people around you when they are having problems or struggles? Maybe you have a family member or a friend who might be sick in trouble, maybe in the hospital. Well, you know, a guy that you can introduce them to as well. We have Almighty God who wants to hear from us, who encourages us to turn to him in prayer and to trust that he loves us and will be at work for our good. What a blessing it is that we know a guy, we know Almighty God, and we get to go and talk to him through this awesome gift that he has given to us of prayer. Peace be with you.

Matthew 6:11, Hebrews 13:5, Psalm 23:1

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Lately on social media, there’s been going around this idea of Dorito Theory. Have you heard about it? The idea is that, like a Dorito chip, it’s full of flavor, and you enjoy eating. You bite it, this burst of flavor in your mouth. But the thing is, it never satisfies. Some potato chips are like that. They’re so full of flavor, but then they’re addictive and you can’t eat just one. And so you keep eating and eating. Pretty soon the whole bag is gone and you’re not actually satisfied at all.

It’s interesting just seeing out in the world that people are recognizing this and that this idea is resonating with the world, that there is so much in life that we do, that we fall into, that really doesn’t help us at all. There’s this instant gratification, but then there’s nothing more than that. For us as Christians, we see that this is a temptation all around us, and this is a temptation that we fall into. It’s a temptation that is presented in so many different ways around us in this world. Be instantly gratified. Have this thing here and now, and you will be happy. And yet, when we fall into that temptation and we take that and we bite on it, well, we are left without satisfaction.

What is it that satisfies? God’s Word has a lot to say about this topic, and warns about wanting more and more and more, and not having true satisfaction. For us as Christians, we want to proclaim that I have satisfaction with what God has given me. Jesus himself, in the Lord’s Prayer, he teaches us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11) Lord, help me be satisfied and acknowledge that everything I have here and now that you are providing me with for my daily life is a wonderful blessing from you, or even also in Hebrews 13 verse five, this beautiful passage says,

Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. For God has said: I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

We find satisfaction in knowing that God is with us, that God cares about us, that God has given us a promise to provide for us. Even all the way back in the Old Testament, the very first verse of Psalm 23 speaks about this where we proclaim,

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1)

I shall not be in want. I shall not be left wanting more, because he gives me everything I need. What a comfort that is to you and to me. God gives us everything. He provides everything we need for this daily life and even better than that, he provides everything we need so that we can have eternal life. That’s why he sent His Son Jesus into this world. To live for us, to die for us, to rise from the dead for us, so that we can know that we are right with God. That he loves us, that he smiles upon us, that heaven is open to us. And if that’s the case, if he loves us so much that he would lay down his life for us so that we could have heaven, we can absolutely be confident that he will give us also everything we need for this life as well.

So don’t buy into those tricks of instant gratification thinking this thing might satisfy me. It’s just a flavor burst. Biting down on it, you’ll need more and more and more. See what it is that we have that truly satisfies. And that’s the gospel message, the message about our salvation given to us through Jesus. God’s peace be with you.