Ecclesiastes 5:10–20; The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost; October 20,2024;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10–20, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

There is a lie we live with every day. Every day we live, every day we gain new things, every day we live in good health, we tell ourselves these things have real value. Part of it is that we are surrounded by a culture that worships the pursuit of better clothes, nicer cars, larger homes, and better technology. We are told repeatedly our lives have value because of what these things bring into our lives. And despite what we say, we believe it. We join in the chorus of the praise of things. The pursuit of things is a nearly full-time passion. As retirement draws near, we panic about the things that not working will remove from our lives. The quality of our retirement is determined by the quality of the things we can hang on to or gain. It’s all a lie. Possessions have no ultimate value. That’s what the author Ecclesiastes wants you to remember. You start life naked; if you die before the Lord returns, you will end your life naked. Nothing you have goes with you.

From God’s point of view, possessions have always been gifts from him to direct our attention to him. Anything that is misused, that is used against the way God has given it to be used, becomes a problem. If you try to use a hammer to drive a screw you won’t get the job done properly. If you love silver and set your hopes and hitch your value to material success, this is a pathetic, debilitating evil—not least to your neighbor, who needs you to be better than that. God gives you possessions to serve your neighbor, beginning with your family (your nearest neighbors) and circling out from there.

And yet, food & drink & house & home & land & animals and all that I need to support this body and life are good things. We need these things. God doesn’t expect you to not enjoy them. This text isn’t at call to deny the physical-ness of life. We are instead to give thanks to God for what he gives and use it appropriately. God gives according to his good and gracious will. In faith, in our Savior Jesus, we take our needs and wants in prayer to the Father, who promises to give us all that we need. Jesus says these same things:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:25–33, ESV)

This is a freeing thing. We have work to do, not merely for the gaining of possessions, and material things. There is much more to our everyday call to work than that. God places us in particular places to be of value to people. Wherever you are, there are people that have needs, people you can serve. You stand before them, and hidden in you is God at work providing what they need. Remembering this and thinking this way “demotes” work and material accumulation to their proper place.

The Fourth Petition
Give us this day our daily bread.
What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

Right there in the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to give us what he already promises to give. We receive it with thanksgiving and gladly do what God would have us to with it.

Your Savior has promised new life, forever life with him. He has forgiven all your sins, even the sin of loving the gifts more than the giver. Even the sin of worrying more about yourself than your neighbors. Even the sin of thinking the gifts are not gifts, but earned. His death on the cross puts an end to the punishment you deserve for your selfishness. God has promised that through faith in Jesus, that is trust that he does exactly what he promises, you have a new heart, that lives just as he would have it live, loving your neighbor as yourself.

So, how does it look? Maybe this:

Sell that expensive car and get out from under payments that are stressing life and the family.

Stop pursuing whatever the next big entertainment thing that comes into your pocket on your smartphone.

Slow down. Think about what it means that God created you and promises to give you all that you need so that you can of value to your neighbor.

Look our culture in the eye and say “no!”

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Long to see what God is doing in your life and in the world, through Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Hebrews 3:12-19; The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost; October 13, 2024;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:12–19, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Take care. The author begins this section of the book of Hebrews with a stern warning. Take care. There is an immediacy that goes with it. He means that the danger is more than real. Take care. There is trouble out there. Even you faithful can experience it. He warns against the evil, unbelieving heart. He’s talking to you and me.

To be sure faith is God’s gift. He gives it through the Word, through Baptism and through the Lord’s Supper. These work in our hearts to draw us closer to the Savior. All of it is God’s gift. But the author says, take care. He’s talking about what you do. God provides the means and the opportunity; you provide the open vessel. You see, the evil, unbelieving heart, exists in all of us. It is a fact that defines a Christian. You are a forgiven sinner, but a sinner you remain. And St. Paul tells us about it in his letter to the Romans.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:18–20, ESV)

What a struggle. Those who say being a Christians is an easy fight against sin, are lying to you. What Paul shows us is his own sinful heart, his own struggle with sin, and he is losing.

In verse 24 he even says,

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24, ESV)

The struggle against sin is real and continuous.



So, we understand when the author of Hebrews says,

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12, ESV)

Take care! He says. When the text says, in any of you we may be thinking to be on guard against other people. The comic Pogo has the famous quote. “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” But the most immediate danger for each of us is in each of us. We all have the enemy within who is leading you to fall away from the living God.

Paul answers his own question,

Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24b–25a, ESV)

In other words, God is the one, and the only one, who delivers us from our sinful nature. It is Jesus on the cross, Jesus in his preaching and teaching, Jesus in his resurrection, Jesus in his coming again. Your sin is forgiven because of Jesus, all of it, those that you struggle with daily and those that you don’t. Jesus is the answer. That is what faith putting your whole trust in Jesus for the forgiveness he offers.

Hebrews continues,

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13, ESV)

Exhort. That is how the author says to take care. The dictionary definition of exhort is strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something. As long as it is today, that means always.

Later in the letter he says,

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25, ESV)

In other words, God has provided the church to you and me, for this encouragement. Back in our text he says,

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (Hebrews 3:14, ESV)

This sharing of Christ isn’t to unbelievers, it is to each other. We continually need to hear what Jesus has done for us. We continually need to hear about the forgiveness of our sinfulness. We need to received God’s Word that works in us to tamp down the sinful nature.

Sometimes, we take all that God does here for granted. But what a miracle it is to have our little church here in this pagan place. What a miracle it is to have a Christian church anywhere! As Martin Luther says it is God’s Mouth House. It is where He comes to share Christ with sinners.

And what is the encouragement to take care that comes to you here? Well, Martin Luther begins with remembering your baptism.

What does such baptizing with water signify?
Answer: It signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts. And also it shows that a new man should daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

That old Adam that he is talking about is the unbelieving heart that you struggle with. That is highlighted everywhere in our worship service. When ever we hear the name of God (our hymnal encourages us to use the sign of the cross when we hear it) we are to remember our baptism and the gifts that God gives through it. It isn’t a one-time thing but an everyday, a today, thing that happens through contrition and repentance. Seeing our sin and knowing that God has done something about it through Jesus.

We are in God’s mouth house. We hear God speak here. We confess our sins, and God speaks of your forgiveness through your pastor. We hear his word read / spoken into our ears and straight to our hearts. The stories of God’s faithful people in the saving story of Jesus. Then the sermon applies it to you. We pray together for the needs of our church, community and the world, and God promises answers. We receive the very body and blood of Jesus, that was on the cross. We open our mouths and our ears to hear that forgiveness is given over our tongue.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have re-freshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another

All of this is the found in take care. Take care and use what God has provided. Take care and encourage one another to do these things while it is called today.

Our struggle with sin is real, and dangerous. We can’t tackle it on our own. But God in his grace provides all that we need. First, he gives faith. Then he gives us the church where he causes that faith to grow. In the church he gives encouragement through our brothers and sisters of faith. You can’t be a Christian on your own in this sinful world. You constantly need to be told about Jesus. You constantly need to be told that your sins are forgiven. You constantly need what God has here for you. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Hebrews 2:1-13; The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost; October 6, 2024;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.”” (Hebrews 2:1–13, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

As always, the Law comes at us in force. Here the author of Hebrews says, “pay closer attention to what you have heard.” Now, Hebrews is a treatise on worship, So, when the author talks about “what you have heard” he’s talking about what happens in Church. Hearing the word of God spoken, by aural reading and preaching is key to what he’s talking about. And this is the place where that happens. “Pay attention”, isn’t only talking about not sleeping during the sermon, but the word itself (Greek προσέχω) has the meaning “to listen, hear, or pay close attention to, and usually respond in conformity.” And “be on guard, beware”. In other words, the congregation is to be on guard in what it hears from even and especially its pastor.

If you don’t believe that false doctrine can creep in to any setting, all you must do is look at the myriads of denominations there are. They always begin with a doubt about what God says in his Word, and the error grows from there. If the Christians in those churches were “on guard” they would not have fallen away from the truth. That’s where the “lest we drift away from it.” Comes in.

It is a very strong warning that slipping away from the truth of God’s Word is easy, and very dangerous.

For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:2–3a, ESV)

It’s that “every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution”, meaning all sin is punished by God. And if we fall into false teaching then, God’s justice prevails, there will be punishment. We are very comfortable about God saying he will punish, and rightly so.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31, ESV)

Paul addresses this same problem in the Book of Galatians.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6–8, ESV)

He highlights how quickly a faithful congregation can fall into false teaching. And how dangerous it is. To distort the Gospel of Christ is to create a different Gospel altogether. And anyone who pushes in that direction “let him be accursed”. Again not what we want to hear. But it speaks to how clearly God wants his word to be taken very seriously. So, what’s a faithful congregation to do? Test preaching. Test teaching. Against what? The Word.

For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you

Think about it, our worship service is set up to help with just that. It begins with declaring who God says we are.

“First let us consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in though, word and deed, and we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.” (LSB p203)

That’s a truth from God’s Word. We say it first so that we have a check against what comes up in the rest of the service. If a pastor would say, “you can handle sin and get control of it on your own…” The confession of sin says otherwise.

We confess the creeds every Sunday. Their placement next to the sermon provides more context. The creed confesses what scripture tells us about God, himself. If a pastor denies any point, you can call him out on it.

Our liturgy, although ordered by people, is God’s Word to us. It gives context to everything that happens here. It is chalk full of scripture. From the readings to the responses, to the Lord’s Supper. All of it is there for you. All of it is there so you can “pay closer attention to what you have heard.”

We, in this congregation, take God’s Word very seriously. It is because it is the greatest gift from God outside of our salvation. And our salvation is impossible without it.

So, why is pure doctrine important to God? That is what we are talking about, pure doctrine. All teaching about the bible, when ever you say anything about what the bible says, that’s doctrine. God is deadly serious about it because it matters.

Jesus is our savior from sin. Everything he did and said is important. Whenever that message is watered down, or misconstrued, the souls of people are in jeopardy. There is no minor doctrine when it comes to sin and death and hell.

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9, ESV)

Jesus himself, became man (lower than the angels), to suffer and die for you, for your sin. It is grace, God’s undeserved love. You have been saved from hell. It happens because Jesus suffered on the cross and took your punishment for sin (by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone).

There is no more important act in all of history, no more important message. It then is our duty to make sure it is proclaimed just as God gives us to proclaim it. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.