For All the Saints - Sermon for All Saints Day 2025

All Saints Day, (Observed)
November 2^nd, A+D 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
For All the Saints

 Audio of the Sermon can be accessed HERE.  

LSB 677, For All the Saints, Public Domain

1 For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!

For all the saints who from their labors rest…, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

     Life forevermore.  Psalm 133 ends with a triumphant declaration, that, on the mountains of Zion, … there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.  Eternal life, with God, this is the Lord’s goal for humanity, this is the hope we all press toward.  On All Saints Day we celebrate the victory of all those Christians who fought the good fight to the end, who finished the course, and so now their souls rest with Christ, awaiting the Last Day, and the revelation of the New Heavens and New Earth, the resurrection of their bodies, and the consummation of God’s plan to bless His chosen people.  Christians are pro-life, and, I have come to realize, not only because the Lord desires to give His faithful a good earthly life.  Rather, He intends to have His children living with Him forever, in perfect joy and health and community, gathered around the glorious throne of God, living the blessed life, forever and ever.

     I was seven years old when the Supreme Court discovered a new right in the U.S. Constitution, the right for babies to be killed in the womb, in the infamous Roe-vs-Wade court decision.  As this woeful miscarriage of justice rippled across our nation, I remember a family conversation at lunch, when the subject of abortion came up.  My older siblings and mother were discussing the topic.  I remember quite clearly how my dad broke-in to state, very matter-of-factly, that babies in the womb should be protected, that killing them was wrong.  Over the years I would learn much more about the finer details of the Christian pro-life argument.  But my dad’s plain statement was all I needed to be convinced that a baby is a human person, deserving of our protection. 

     Twenty-two years later, when I left the Marine Corps and took a job in central Pennsylvania, Shelee soon began volunteering at the Capitol Area Pregnancy Center in Harrisburg.  Her growing involvement led us to leave the wishy-washy Lutheran church we were attending, because Shelee sensed, and soon verified, that the pastors were “Pro-Choice.”  This means they supported the murder of babies in the womb when people find them inconvenient.  Shelee became more deeply involved in the pregnancy center, and so did I.  Eventually, we worked together to open a satellite of the Harrisburg center in Carlisle, the town we lived in. 

    Working to support life, along with a year of church shopping, were a big part of why I started considering attending seminary and sought to become a pastor. 

     All of this, and later pro-life experience, meant that my focus in life issues has always been mostly about protecting babies.  Later I learned how the merchants of death in our society were also coming for the elderly, for the disabled, and even for those who are healthy, except for struggling with depression.  Loving life, from womb to tomb, from conception to natural death, became my perspective, and I thank God for teaching me this. 

     But as I was preparing my thoughts for this sermon, it dawned on me that my time perspective is still limited, not nearly as expansive as God’s. 

     Explaining to John the great multitude of saints in white robes that he saw around God’s throne, the elder instructing John explained that their robes were washed white in the blood of the Lamb, and so “they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  ¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

     Perfect, painless, joyful, tearless, in-the-flesh LIFE, forevermore.  From Womb to Tomb to Eternity.  The pro-life character of the Almighty began before time, in the mind of God, who thought of each one of us, and all the men, women, boys and girls that have ever lived, and will ever live.  And God’s pro-human life character endures.   

     God, from whom comes all life, has a love for human life that will never end.  We begin to understand better what Jesus meant when He declared to His disciples that “I AM the Way, and the Truty, and the LIFE.”  Forever and ever, Amen. 

    Urging the elderly or the disabled to commit suicide, along with aborting infants, these are all horrible.  And so is telling lies about God and His plan of salvation.  Whether they are outright pagan, or supposedly Christian, preachers and teachers who deny or pervert the Gospel are guilty of a much worse sin.  For they are, intentionally or not, working for the Devil, who seeks to cut off souls from God, forever.  An essential part of the pro-life message is the Reformation proclamation that salvation is a free gift, not based on our works, but rather given to sinners who trust in Christ and His sacrifice on Calvary.  By this faith, their sins are washed away and their hearts are transformed.  This is Good News for those facing challenging life situations, and the Gospel even offers forgiveness to those who come to repent their pro-death actions. 

    And so we sing: Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest, by all the saints, those in heaven, and those still fighting the good fight, here in this broken world.  Alleluia! Alleluia!

2 Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia! Alleluia!

3 Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor's crown of gold! Alleluia! Alleluia!

     Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ… 

     This first sentence of the Collect of the Day for All Saints Day is also the beginning of the first petition of the Prayer of the Church in our funeral service.  This makes sense, because today we celebrate the holy ones of God who now rest from their labors, all the faithful Baptized Christians of every time and place whose souls are now with God, awaiting the Last Day.  Likewise, at a Christian’s funeral we celebrate God’s completion of another Baptism. 

     The Lord’s work of salvation, conceived in His mind before time for each of His elect, is announced publicly as a reality for a particular soul when he or she is baptized, washed with water and the Word of Christ.  Then the harder work begins, for the Baptismal life is a long battle, God fighting in and through us to bring us to the finish line in faith.  At a Christian funeral we celebrate not just the good days and fun times of this worldly life, but even more, in the midst of tears, we celebrate the perseverance that has resulted in eternal life, which God has won and delivered for our dear brother or sister. 

   This is the essence of that holy communion, the community of saints into which God knits us.  A mystery of divine grace and love joins Christians together with each other, through our connection to God through Christ.  This is the one true and everlasting life, found in Christ, and worked by God.  It is also our daily pursuit to reflect the truth of the Gospel that has saved us in our words and deeds. 

     Part of this mystical communion, this mystery of Christian life, is the double sense of both passively receiving, and vigorously doing.  As we sang, God is our rock, our fortress and might; Jesus is our Captain in the well-fought fight.  And yet, in Him, and by His presence in us, we too fight, faithful, true and bold, just as the saints nobly fought of old.    

     There are two examples of this double meaning in our reading from John’s first letter this morning, of our passive justification, God coming to us and declaring us righteous, not for anything we are or have done, but for the sake of Jesus alone, and also of our active efforts in sanctification, holy living, as we strive in our daily lives to be the saint whom God has made us to be. 

     John writes: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.  Does John mean to focus on the high honor and calling of being a Christian, a child of God, of the responsibility of each Christian to live up to the Name that has been placed upon us?  Or does John mean to marvel at the wonder and mystery of God’s effective Word?  That is, what He desires to see and enjoy, the Lord calls into existence, and so, we are Christians because God’s call, through His proclaimed Word of Law and Gospel.  Which is it, a focus on our call to live up to our name, or a focus on God’s act of saving us, through His Word?  Well, it’s both, no?  Both are true, opposite sides of the same coin of saving faith. 

     John then finishes our passage this way:  And everyone who thus hopes in God purifies himself as God is pure.  Does the Apostle mean to say that the soul who hopes in God seeks to keep his or her life pure, free from sin and faithful to God?  Or, does John mean that by hoping in Christ crucified we are purified?  Again, both are true.  We are saved because God does 100% of the work of salvation, (justification by faith, that is, hoping firmly in Christ alone), and we are called to dedicate ourselves to living out the new identity He has given us in Jesus, (the sanctified life of good works and fleeing from sin.)  It’s both/and, not either/or. 

     Now, there is a priority, there is a Source, and an effect.  God’s work in and for us must come first.  Our ability to live as Christians always depends on the Holy Spirit working in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  We receive the gift of salvation, and the privilege to seek to live holy lives.  Sanctification always depends on justification, on the free gift.  As my propane furnace must stay connected to the tank to keep producing heat, so also the saints of God must stay connected to the Gospel, the Good News of free forgiveness, both in order to remain in the faith, and to produce the works of love God has prepared for us to walk in.  We receive the gift, and the privilege of living as God’s holy ones in this world.  God receives all the glory.   

4 Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia! Alleluia!

5 And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia! Alleluia!

     One of the many blessings of the Reformation is the way that the close study of God’s Word enables us to clear up the terrible misunderstanding of what a saint is, a misunderstanding that was entrenched in the 16^th Century Church, and still plagues many Christians today. 

     Sinful human beings are always looking to puff themselves up, and put others down.  A saint in 1500 was understood to be a Christian who had done so many good works that he had elevated himself to a special, higher status. 

     In fact, saints, (and also implicitly monks and nuns praying away in the monasteries), were understood as so much superior to the average Christian that they produced a surplus of good works, a treasury of merits, which the Church, specifically the Pope, managed for God.  These merits won by super-Christians could be credited to mere run-of-the-mill believers, and maybe get them into heaven as well.  Eventually.  For a price. 

   There are many problems with this teaching.  First, it is not supported by the Bible.  God never said that.  Second, it is the most obvious perversions of the Gospel: instead of salvation being Christ’s work, which the Spirit graciously delivers to sinners through the preached Word, salvation is taught as explicitly depending on works done by mere humans.  Christ, the once for all Savior of Sinners, is robbed of the honor He is due.  Souls for whom Christ died are robbed of the comfort of free forgiveness and the promise of God’s eternal favor.  Even the privilege of Christian prayer, offered in the Holy Spirit, directly to God the Father, through Christ Jesus His Son, was taken from the people, as they were instead taught to pray to the Saints, especially to Mary, who would then carry their petitions to God, maybe.     

    From the Bible, Luther and his friends rediscovered a simple truth.  Saint simply means “holy one,” and sinners do not earn holiness by their feeble works.  No, God calls holy all who trust in His Son, who has won forgiveness for all sins.  Saints are believers in Christ, the faithful baptized, those who are invited to dine at Christ’s holy meal. 

     Now, to be sure, on All Saints Day we focus on the dearly departed saints.  We are celebrating the completion of their life of faith, of the fact they now rest in the nearer presence of Christ.  The reality is that you and I, believers who are still in this world, are also sadly still sinners.  This makes it natural not to focus on ourselves, but on the victors, on the dearly departed in heaven, whose souls are now free from sin.

     It is also natural and good to focus special attention on Biblical saints, and also on outstanding Christians through history.  That is, it is good and right to celebrate the forgiven souls through whom God worked great things, as He achieved our salvation.  Like St. Joseph and St. Mary, the guardian and the mother of the Christ Child, and Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, St. Paul, St. Peter.  God has taught us to study their lives, emulate their dependence on Jesus, and learn from their example.  Always in accordance with Scripture of course.  We don’t need to make up stories about what Biblical saints or any other Christian in history has done.  The true story, most especially the story recorded for us in the Bible, is better than all the saintly fables ever imagined.  And it is part of God’s Holy Word, His means for bringing us to faith, and keeping us there. 

     As God’s saints, we are called to live out the beatitudes, to be meek and humble, to make peace, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, even to suffer persecution for Jesus’ sake.  Clearly, we can only begin to do such things because God is with us.  Jesus has perfectly fulfilled this list of strange blessings; read it again thinking of Jesus and His life, and you will see.  So, when we are joined to Him, the Beatitudes begin to make sense in our lives.  We can be meek, humble, peaceful, we can endure suffering for Christ, because we know that we have already won the victory.  We know because Jesus our Captain has risen from the dead.     

     All those who trust in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of their sins are saints, holy ones of God.  That means you, dear baptized believer.  We feebly struggle, other saints in glory shine.  And yet in God, all are one, for all are His.  Alleluia, Alleluia, indeed. 

6 The golden evening brightens in the west; Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!

7 But lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day; The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia!

8 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia!

Reformation Past and Present - Readings and Reflections for the 508th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation

 

Reformation Past and Present
Readings and Reflections for the
508^th Anniversary of the Posting
by Martin Luther of his 95 Theses
on October 31, A+D 1517

Drawn from the 2025 Reformation Festival
of the Black Hills Circuit of the
South Dakota District of the LCMS

(Hymns referenced are from the Lutheran Service Book.  

Consider singing or reading them to enhance your reflection.)

Audio of these Reflections is available HERE.

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Prayer

Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people.  Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies.  As you once worked through the 16^th Century Reformers to uncover and boldly proclaim the pure Gospel of free forgiveness won for us by Your Son, continue to raise up faithful pastors and people, for we also live in a time and a world desperately in need of Your Gospel  Grant to Your Holy Church a clear confession and witness and let her live in Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

Hymn 644               The Church’s One Foundation

Reading:                   Amos 8:11-13 (NKJV)

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,

“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.

¹² They shall wander from sea to sea,

And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it.

¹³ “In that day the fair virgins and strong young men
     Shall faint from thirst.

L: This is the Word of the Lord     C: Thanks be to God! 

 

Reflection: Europe and the Church in the 1400s

   A famine of the Word.  It’s hard to say if the people of Western Europe deserved the famine of the Word they suffered through in the 1400’s, but surely, they were starving for the Truth of Christ.  In the 8^th Century before Christ, through the Old Testament prophet Amos, the Lord declared He would inflict a famine of the Word on His people Israel, because of their idolatry. In the 14^th Century after Christ, the Word of God was simply unintelligible to most people in Western Europe.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit showed that He wants the Word to be translated for all to hear and understand.  But in medieval Europe, the Bible was only read in Latin.  Most did not understand Latin, because the common folk spoke Spanish, or French, or German, or one of hundreds of other languages spoken throughout Europe.  Latin was the language of high royal courts, of the papacy, and the universities.  The Sunday Mass was largely meaningless to most people. 

   Many different currents of theology were running through western Christianity.  Certainly the Gospel, the Good News of God’s grace and free forgiveness revealed in Jesus Christ, was one of these currents.  But alongside this glorious Truth were proclaimed many false faiths, man-made religiosity focused on prayer to the saints, or on climbing the ladder to heaven.  Priests were forbidden to marry, contrary to God’s ordering of creation.  The necessity of good works to fully earn salvation, and the reality of purgatory, both complete contradictions of God’s Word, were common teachings, as well as important money-making schemes for the Church. 

   Godly vocations like husband, wife, farmer and laborer were disparaged as spiritually useless.  Meanwhile, supposedly churchly orders were exalted, like monk and nun, souls shuttered away from normal community life.  They were dedicated to prayer in their monasteries, yes, but their prayers were largely offered as sacrifices to earn God’s favor, heaping scorn on the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.  And yet these things were praised as holy and Godly.  God’s orders of Creation and the Way of Salvation were turned upside down.  Truly the people suffered from a lack of God’s Truth, a famine of the Word.      

Reading:                                     Matthew 11:11-19 (NKJV)

   [Jesus said] “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 

   ¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!  ¹⁶ “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷ and saying:

     ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance;
We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’

   ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 

   But wisdom is justified by her children.”

L: This is the Word of the Lord     C: Thanks be to God! 

Hymn 578:1-3                             Thy Strong Word

 

Reflection: 1440 - 1455 - The Printing Press and the Gutenberg Bible

   We don’t know when he was born, nor how he was educated.  But God works through common, earthly means, including people, and the German inventor and entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg is in the first rank of examples. 

   The people of Western Europe suffered from a famine of the Word of God, but Johannes Gutenberg changed that, and seemingly everything else.  The spread and the success of the various reformations that would spread through Europe in the 1500s, along with the economic and industrial revolutions that created the modern world depended on Gutenberg inventing, around 1440, the moveable type printing press.  Through this new technology, written texts, most importantly the Holy Scriptures, could now be cheaply and widely disseminated.  This information technology revolution is largely responsible for the world we live in.  Perhaps the internet or, we shall see, the advent of artificial intelligence, are comparable revolutions.  But our gatherings, singing from hymnals and reading our Bibles, is ongoing proof of Gutenberg’s contribution.    

     As Christians, and as the Church, we need to realize that the insights God gave to Martin Luther and his fellow reformers would not have changed the world in the way they did, if not for the printing press, brought to us by Johannes Gutenberg.  God grant us wisdom to take advantage of the blessings of our access to the Bible and good faithful books. 

Reading:                                                          John 8:31-36 (NKJV)

   Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

   ³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

   ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

L: This is the Word of the Lord               C: Thanks be to God! 

 

Hymn 584                         Faith and Life and Truth Bestowing

Reflection: 1505 – 1516: Luther Enters the Word.

   Hans Luther was a rising peasant.  A free man, and industrious, he was part of a movement that would eventually create a middle class in Europe.  A miner, Hans began to build a prosperous life for himself and his family.  So, when his oldest and very bright son Martin abandoned a career in law, and the expensive studies which Hans had paid for, you can imagine the father’s frustration.

   And we can hardly say that Luther’s motivations for entering the monastery were beyond reproach.  It’s hard for us in the 21^st century to imagine a culture so thoroughly permeated by the Church’s teaching, but unfortunately the teaching Martin understood was not the pure Gospel.  According to the Reformer’s own account, fear of dying in a thunderstorm drove Martin Luther to cry out a desperate prayer, not to God through Christ, but to St. Anne: “Save me Saint Anne, and I’ll become a monk.” 

     Whatever his motivation, in 1505, 21-year-old Martin abandoned his law studies and entered an Augustinian monastery, much to his father’s consternation.  He entered the monastery in Erfurt as a novice in July of 1505, took his vows as a monk in 1506, and was ordained a priest in 1507.  

     Luther would later savage the monasteries in his writings, and with good reason.  But, along with all the works-righteous theology and hypocrisy there was, in the monastery Luther prayed the Psalms daily, until they were permanently in his memory.  And, because of his intelligence, and perhaps also because his earnestness in seeking to justify himself made him a difficult person to live with, Martin was ordered to study theology.  Soon, he was made a lecturer in the Old Testament at the new university in Wittenberg.  Luther was now immersed in God’s Word. 

     The Renaissance rediscovery of ancient languages and learning meant that Martin began to be able to study the Scripture not just in Latin, but also in the original Greek and Hebrew.  And in every language, Martin began to realize that many teachings of the Church of Rome did not fit with the plain sense of the Bible.  And so, the seeds of the Reformation were sown.   

Reading:                                                          Mark 1:14 – 21 (NKJV)

     Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”   ¹⁶ And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

       ¹⁹ When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  ²⁰ And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.       ²¹ Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. ²² And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.                                                                                                 

L: This is the Word of the Lord                    C: Thanks be to God! 

Reading:                                                          Revelation 14:6-7 (NKJV)

   Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷ saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

L: This is the Word of the Lord               C: Thanks be to God! 

 

Hymn: 586                                  Preach You the Word

 

Reflection: 1517: The Spark Is Lit

   Along with his professorial duties at the University, Martin Luther was the pastor of two congregations, St. Mary’s (the Town Church), and All Saints (the Castle Church) in Wittenberg.  Then Johann Tetzel came with authority of the Pope to sell indulgences to pay for rebuilding St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Indulgences were pieces of paper with a papal seal, declaring the full forgiveness of sins, for oneself, or for a loved one in purgatory.  Tetzel made them available for a monetary donation: “When the coin in the money-box rings, a soul from purgatory springs!”  Many Wittenbergers bought one.  Seeing his people putting their trust in a piece of paper instead of in Christ disturbed Pastor Luther.  Martin protested in the style of the day; he posted his 95 Theses, a series of arguments against the sale of indulgences, on the Castle Church door on October 31^st, 1517.  This was the way a theologian asked for formal debate about a controversial Church teaching or practice. 

     Thesis 1 is brilliant: “When our Lord and Master Christ Jesus said ‘Repent,’ He meant that the whole life of the Christian should be one of repentance.”  However, in total, the 95 Theses are not a clear proclamation of the pure Gospel.  Luther seems to have been in transition, still using the argumentation style and language of the medieval scholastic universities, but drawing on a growing Biblical-Gospel understanding. 

     However less than fully Gospel-focused they were, the 95 Theses were a sensation.  Quickly translated into German and other languages, they were printed and disseminated throughout Europe, thanks to the printing press.  They struck a resounding and hopeful chord with a land suffering from a famine of God’s Word.  The fire was lit.  Great changes were coming. 

 

Reading:                                                          1 Timothy 6:11-16 (NKJV)

     But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  

     ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.                                                                           

L: This is the Word of the Lord                         C: Thanks be to God! 

Hymn 655                         Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word

Reflection: 1518-1546: Making the Good Confession

   At the root, to confess means to say the same thing; a true confession is one that repeats the truth.  In Christian terms, to confess the faith means to say the same thing that God has said, to repeat His Truth, which He has revealed and recorded for the Church in Holy Scripture.  Following his posting of the 95 Theses, Luther, and soon thousands of other Christians with him, committed their lives to making the good confession, to speaking the truth about God and His Gospel, no matter what the consequences. 

    God provided Martin Luther with protection, giving him space and time to dig deeply into God’s Word and proclaim to the world the pure Gospel that he found.  Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, ruled the German territory which included Wittenberg.  When Martin Luther’s teaching drew opposition from the Roman authorities and the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick refused to give in to pressure to turn Luther over to them. 

     Under this umbrella of political protection, Luther was ordered to stand before Emperor Charles the 5^th and delegates from the Pope, meeting in the German city of Worms in 1521.  Ordered to repent and recant his writings, Luther famously declared:  “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.  God help me. Amen.” 

     Luther was excommunicated and branded an outlaw.  Nevertheless, by God’s grace and the protection of various Christian rulers, Luther, along with many colleagues, spent the next 25 years digging deeper and deeper into God’s Word, and producing the writings, liturgies and structures needed for a truly Evangelical, or Gospel-centered Church to thrive.  These works, by Luther and others, include the German translation of the Bible, the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, (or explanation), the Large and Small Catechisms, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, a Latin and a German Divine Service, Biblical commentaries, systematic theologies, and much more. 

      The Lutheran Reformation focused on delivering the pure Gospel of free forgiveness, given by God the Father in and through Christ Jesus His Son, the crucified, resurrected and ascended Savior of sinners.  The reformers stressed that salvation is:

By Grace Alone, (purely God’s work, done out of His merciful heart), and is received

By Faith Alone, (not earned by any works done by sinners, but received as a free gift when the Word of Christ makes a sinner believe the Good News), based on the teaching of

Scripture Alone, the true Word of God and the source for all teaching in the Church. 

A good confession indeed.

 

Reading:                                                Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9 (NKJV)

     “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ² that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. ³ Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

     ⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

L: This is the Word of the Lord               C: Thanks be to God! 

 

Psalm 46   antiphon v. 7

L: The Lord of hosts is with us;
   C: The God of Jacob is our refuge.

L: God is our refuge and strength,
   C: A very present help in trouble.
L: Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed,
   C: And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
L: Though its waters roar and be troubled,
   C: Though the mountains shake with its swelling. 

 L: There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

   C: The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

L: God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
   C: God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
L: The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
   C: He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

L: The Lord of hosts is with us;
   C: The God of Jacob is our refuge.

L: Come, behold the works of the Lord,
   C: Who has made desolations in the earth.
L: He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

         He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
   C: He burns the chariot in the fire.

L: Be still, and know that I am God;
         I will be exalted among the nations,
   C: I will be exalted in the earth!

L: The Lord of hosts is with us;
   C: The God of Jacob is our refuge. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

     As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, Amen.

L: The Lord of hosts is with us;
   C: The God of Jacob is our refuge.

 

Reflection: 1547 to 1580 to 2025

    Would the Lutheran Reformation survive?  Luther died in 1546.  Bereft of their bold and brilliant leader, the Lutheran lands also soon suffered military defeats at the hands of the Emperor’s armies.  The ensuing decades would bring numerous setbacks and dark days for those committed to the reforms of the Church started by Martin Luther.  Pressured from without by the papacy and by militaries of rulers opposed to the Reformation, and facing division within as some colleagues of Luther waffled in their commitment to the truth, the future of the project started by Luther often seemed doubtful.   

     But the power of the Reformation was never military strength, although the protection of the Electors of Saxony and other civil rulers was a wonderful blessing.  Nor was the Reformation dependent on the faithfulness and integrity of men, although many men and women remained steadfast in the faith.  The power of the Reformation is the Word of God, and especially the pure Gospel, which relieves burdened consciences, and sets sinners free from the fear of sin, death and the Devil.  This peace that passes all understanding made freed sinners bold to confess the truth, love their neighbors, and resist persecution, often unto death. 

      The Lutheran Reformation endured over three decades of turmoil, but a commitment to God’s Truth and much hard work finally led to concord, to a clear and carefully worked out doctrinal agreement which has served to guide confessional Lutherans since 1580.  A second Martin, Martin Chemnitz, shepherded the project to completion.  The Formula of Concord was added to prior Lutheran confessions written by Luther and Philip Melancthon.  These, along with the three ecumenical creeds, (the Apostles’, the Nicene and the Athanasian), were published in 1580 as the Book of Concord, also called the Lutheran Confessions.  Accepted by Lutheran theologians and teachers as a true exposition of God’s Word, the Book of Concord helps us to be faithful to and grounded in the Bible. 

    The difficult struggle to remain faithful to the Word of God and the pure Gospel has continued for the last 425 years, and by all indications will continue until Christ returns.  It is not easy, but in this struggle, God’s Word rings in our ears, even as His Sacraments cleanse and feed our bodies and souls.  And so, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, with intrepid hearts, we seek to remain steadfast in the same good confession.  By God’s grace, we will.         

 

Hymn 659               Lord of Our Life

Closing Prayer

O Lord, we give You thanks for all Your servants who have departed this life in faith. We especially bless You today for the great reformers of Your Church who through their writings continue to call us back to the Gospel and to the righteousness we have in Christ alone. Keep us in fellowship with them, and with all Your Christians of every time and place.  Bring us at last to join them in our heavenly home, where together we will rejoice to see our Redeemer face to face; we ask this through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer

Benediction

Hymn 657              A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Feed, Pray, Walk, and Don’t Forget to Take LASSIE With You - Sermon for October 19, 2025

Lutheran Women in Mission Sunday, 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Feed, Pray, Walk, and Don’t Forget to Take LASSIE With You
Isaiah 62:1-7, Romans 10:11-17, and Luke 24:44-53.  

Audio of the Sermon available HERE.

   God has ascended with a shout, Christ Jesus, your Savior, is seated at God the Father’s right hand, and He rules over all things, for you. 

   Today we celebrate the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.  The League has chosen the Ascension from Luke as the Gospel text.  This gives us a wonderful opportunity to consider the Mission of God, how God grows His Church, and what part each of us plays in His Mission.  We rejoice in God’s Mission, and we participate in God’s Mission, because we are winners.  In Christ, we have the victory over sin, death and the devil, we know our future, we have won. 

   This is great opportunity, as we recognize and celebrate the work of those Ladies in Purple, to be reminded of this Life in Christ, of God’s ongoing mission, and our roles within in it. 

   And, we have acronyms!  FPW and LASSIE.  Feed, Pray, and Walk, and don’t forget to take LASSIE with you on your Walk. 

   It was time for the Mission to go out.  Christ, just before  at His Ascension, opened the Apostles’ minds to understand the Scriptures, which, He reminds us, is all about Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. 

   Jesus then said to the Eleven, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 

   Next, Jesus says:  ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things…(they have been with Jesus since His Baptism, they have seen His miracles, heard His teaching. They saw Him suffer, and die, and rise again.  They are eyewitnesses to it all.)  ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. (that is, the Holy Spirit)   But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (In ten days, at the feast of Pentecost).

  We are part of the Apostolic Church that grew from those 11 Apostles and about 120 believers.  This Apostolic Church has spread to very corner of the world, converting billions of sinners.  This Mission has even reached us here in South Dakota.   

    From the whole Bible, and especially from our Romans 10 reading this morning, we know that Christ has instituted a Public Ministry, and made it central to His plan, men chosen from among the believers to public spokesman of God’s Word, to distribute His gifts.  The Public Ministry is like the hub of the wheel of God’s Mission.  Many more work in God’s Mission, but it is especially through public proclamation that God saves the hearers, and also prepares them to tell the reason for the hope that they have, to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light. 

   But of course, it is not just the pastors who work in Mission, it’s not just the LWML.  Every Christian has a role to play in this ongoing work.   

   Now, God’s Mission will be done, with or without us, He will save every soul He has elected.  Faith,  the trust of the heart of the new creature created by God through the Water and the Word, faith sees playing our part in God’s Mission as pure joy, as a great privilege.  But, we have to beware, because of the sinner who remains in each of us.  For the sinner is always looking to avoid doing what God calls us to, always looking for excuses to avoid God’s will.   

   We are not saved by playing our part in God’s Mission, no we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice to win our forgiveness.  Christ is our salvation.  But, to refuse to do the good works God sets in front of us is sin.  And sin is corrosive to our faith.  Unchecked, if our sins are not washed away, they can weaken and eventually kill our faith.   

   Outreach or Evangelism is great, but it is also hard, it comes with its own challenges.  Anyone who comes to you with a big smile and tells you evangelism is easy is either ignorant, or simply not telling the truth.  Eventually, telling others about Jesus will lead to rejection.  If you are active in outreach, you will draw Satan’s attacks, for he hates for Christ’s Word to go out, and wants to stop it.  And, just as repentance and forgiveness are the message of Christ’s Mission, evangelism also requires daily repentance, for our failures, for our errors, and it needs daily forgiveness, God’s daily rescue.  Repentance and Forgiveness are the beating heart of our salvation, and they are also the beating heart of outreach, mission, evangelism. 

   This LWML Sunday has great timing for me, because it falls between two weekends of me teaching an Evangelism Workshop in Deadwood, with members from Grace Lutheran and Blessed Emmanuel Lutheran in Sturgis.  And as I mentioned, we have some acronyms to help the teaching:  FPW and LASSIE.  Feed, Pray, and Walk, and don’t forget to take LASSIE with you on your walk.  

 

The F in FPW is for Feed.  Every Christian needs to feed their faith, for their own salvation.  This is why Paul said, “let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly.”  Our faith lives from God’s Word, we need to feed it to endure.   

   Also, every Christian has a role to play in mission.  Not everyone is an Apostle, or a pastor or missionary.  But all of us, within our vocations, in our various relationships with people, have a role to play.  And feeding prepares us for this work.   

   You see, witnessing takes some preparation; consider the Eleven.  They had spent three years living and traveling with God’s Son.  They heard Him teach, they saw His miracles, they saw His suffering, death and resurrection.  Just before He ascended, Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scripture.  So they were finished, they had graduated from having to grow in the Word, right?  No, not at all.  The Apostles spent the rest of the their lives studying, so they could proclaim, and then studying and meditating more, to proclaim some more.  Paul, in one of his letters, late in his missionary career, asks for some scrolls to be brought to him.  What was on those scrolls?  I’m pretty sure it was God’s Word.  To the very end of his work, Paul continued to feed and grow his faith.   

   Think about it this way:  Should the Church send out poorly informed witnesses? Should we send a pastor to be a missionary in Africa who really doesn’t know the Bible well?  Should we send out Christian who hasn’t learned much about the faith to try to tell others about Jesus and His Gospel? 

   Our knowledge of Christ’s teaching is never perfect, not for any of us.  But we can be growing by feeding our faith, and this is what’s important for our contribution to God’s Mission.   

   So, step one in playing your part in God’s Mission is feed.  Be fed.  On Sundays, through Scripture, Preaching, the Lord’s Supper, and as you read your Bible through the week. 

   Hearing or reading more of God’s Word strengthens your faith, it increases love and hope, it makes you a better person, it is good for you, good for your family. 

    Also, feeding your faith will give you true and useful things to say, should someone ask you about your faith, or about God and His salvation.  And don’t forget, feeding your faith is not just an academic thing, we are not merely gaining more information.  God’s Word is a sharp, two-edged sword, it is living and active.  God’s Word changes you, transforms your mind, creates a new heart in you.  God grant us Wisdom to feed richly on His Word.   

The P in FPW is for Pray:  We have an amazing verse in our Isaiah 62 reading.  After many tremendous promises, describing the final victory of God’s people, the LORD through Isaiah says this: On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent.

   Not silent about what?  Proclaiming God’s truth and praise?  Sure.  But also prayer.  For Isaiah continues: you who put the Lord in remembrance, (that is, you who pray, which is all God’s people) take no rest, and give Him no rest, until He establishes Jerusalem, and makes her a praise in the earth.

   Put the Lord in remembrance!  What, is God forgetful?  No.  But He wants us to remind Him of His promises.  Can we dare be so bold, say such things? Well, yes! He just told us to:  Give Him no rest, wear Him out, hold God to His promises. 

   It’s Like the Widow and the Unjust Judge in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18) 

Then [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, ² saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. ³ Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ ⁴ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, ⁵ yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. ⁷ And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 

   Our ultimate adversary is Satan, and He has been defeated, completely, by Jesus, our Judge.  The timing of the Lord’s deliverance is unknown, but God has promised, and He will deliver.  So yes, pray to the Lord, pester Him, hold Him to His promises, give Him no rest, until He fulfills His promises, until He establishes Jerusalem, the Church, as a praise in the earth.  God, as the perfect loving Father, wants His children to pray to Him this way. 

The W is for Walk, as in our Christian walk, walking in the good works that God has prepared in advance for us.  Walking in love toward God and toward our neighbor.   

  Part of our walk is not being hypocrites.  Hypocrisy hurts the mission and witness of the Church.  When Christians claim to believe and act one way, but then are seen to be doing the opposite, the credibility of the Church is damaged, and some may even mock Christ and His Church.  Sadly, to some extent, hypocrisy is an unavoidable reality, because we sinners will never perfectly fulfill our Christian calling in this life.  But, the damage of hypocrisy can be turned around, with repentance, confession, and forgiveness.  When the world sees Christians who sin also confess their sins, and seek forgiveness, even with people outside the Church, this is a powerful witness to the Gospel.   

   One of the good works God prepares for us is to witness, to confess the faith, to speak of Christ in our daily lives, simply telling the truth we know about God and His salvation.  No one has to do it all, nor be witnessing all the time.  No one knows everything about God’s truth.  And remember, success is not a burden we are responsible for.  We get to plant and water and encourage, but God must give the growth.  

Take LASSIE with you on your witnessing walk.  LASSIE is an acronym for an approach, a way of thinking about witnessing in our lives.  It is not a program or a script, nor is LASSIE a series of sequential steps.  In our daily lives, we will bounce around the acronym in various orders.  

   LASSIE is tool to use within our vocations, our daily lives, with the people God has put you into relationship with, like your family, your friends, co-workers, and neighbors.  LASSIE is not about randomly accosting people we don’t know and peppering them with questions about God and eternity.  This is simply not often helpful.  Think about it, did Jesus work like this?  Or was He much more conversational, and relational?   

   Remember, evangelism wants to get to the Good News, but to do so necessarily includes speaking God’s Law:  God’s Law not popular with sinners.  Don’t presume the right to preach law to someone, rather earn the opportunity through humility and friendship.  And LASSIE a great tool in this regard. 

The L and A stand for Listen, and then Ask questions, so you can listen some more. 

   I must confess, I have plenty of work to do in the area of being a good listener.  Maybe we all do.  But

How much better a place would the world be, our congregation, our families, if we all listened more, and talked less?  If we really listened, and didn’t just hear the other person while thinking of how we are going to answer, how we are going to give a witty reply, that would be great. 

   And then, after listening well, what if we asked good questions, so we can listen some more? 

   Listening to others builds trust.  Good listeners are very attractive people; perhaps they are fairly rare.  But if we can learn to listen and ask good questions and listen more, this will help us get to know each other deeply, and trust each other. 

The S and S stand for Seek and Share:  Here’s where the Bible knowledge comes in.  As your friend shares story, problems, or questions about God and religion, you can seek to find Biblical accounts or teachings that fit with their questions.  Then you can simply share that Word with them to the best of your ability.  We see that seeking and sharing depend on feeding and praying. 

   As you seek and share, remember, it is not on you to have perfect knowledge, no one does.  It is your privilege to play a part, however small, in bringing someone into contact with Christ through His Word.  We all know the Apostles’ Creed, we can even just simply tell people who God is and what He has done using the Creed.  The more Biblical stories to support these fact the better.   

   Also remember, witnessing takes time.  If your friend has hurts, maybe from a previous Christian Church, or maybe from another religion, working through this will take time.  If they are simply Biblically ignorant, then witnessing will take more time.  If your friend is hardcore secular materialist, who claims to be an atheist, well even more time might be needed.    

   So, you take your time, it’s not a race.  Think about the New Testament: even though the stakes were eternal, were Jesus or the Apostles ever depicted as running around witnessing in a panicked rush? 

 

Practice Sharing with other Christians.  We all need more grace.  We could all use more of God’s good Word in our lives.  The more we bless each other with God’s Word, the more attractive our congregation will be, and more joyous.  And as we get practiced in speaking God’s truth to each other, where it is safe, we will also be preparing for doing the same outside the Body, out in the world, to people outside the Church.   

   How do we do this?  We season our speech with salt.  We can do it in our greetings.  Instead of “hello” or “have a nice day” you could say “the Peace of the Lord be with you.”  Who knows what questions and conversations might flow from such a habit.  When something good happens, instead of simply saying, “that’s great, how nice,” we could say “Praise be to God for this wonderful gift!”  Perhaps you are struck by a catchy phrase from a hymn, or one line from a reading.  Memorize it, and look for opportunities to use it in conversation during the week.   

 

The I and E stand for Invite and Encourage:  Again, LASSIE not sequential.  An open invitation to your friends, neighbors, family, is a good thing.  And Christians should be continually encouraging others, as the Holy Spirit encourages us. 

   To what might we invite?  Sunday Service?  Maybe.  For some people, it’s perfect.  For many others, the Sunday Service is too intimidating.  But we have Wednesday evening prayer services, much smaller and simpler.  And midday prayers.  And we have Bible Study and other activities?   We can think of these as side doors into the Church, and today, when the world has many doubts or prejudices against the Church, we need to develop our side doors.         

   And here is a novel idea.  Invite you friend to meet your pastor, with you.  Don’t overpromise about your pastor, about how great or smart he is, but you could say you think your pastor might have some helpful thoughts for whatever question or problem he or she is facing.  Invite them to meet your pastor, and go with them to meet with him.  This will be helpful for everyone. 

   The same applies to inviting to services, Bible Study or other activities.  Invite, and accompany them, help them through the first few visits.  That’s very encouraging for someone checking out this Christianity thing.

 

   Witnessing requires patience:  Don’t press too hard.  You can go ahead and pester the Lord in your prayers, He loves that.  But your neighbor does not want to be pestered.  Invite, encourage, but don’t badger.  Also, don’t abandon the effort or the person at the first “no thanks” you receive. Or at the 10^th.    Jesus has never abandoned you even though you have often declined His invitations.  Extend the same grace to others. 

   This is all about Seed Planting: Never forget, Apollos planted, Paul watered, but God gave the growth.  As we speak God’s truth to others, we are planting seeds.  Maybe you will never get to see the fruit, or maybe you will.  But the fruit will come, because you have seen it in your life, and you know the Lord’s Word always achieves His purposes. 

   Jesus Christ, God’s Crucified and Resurrected Son, the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, is ruling over all things, for His Church, for His Mission, and for you.  In God’s mysterious and perfect wisdom, God does not directly do His mission.  Rather He does it through us, through His Church, through you and me, and all His Christians.  This is a remarkable, and frightful, also wonderful thing, that  God would choose to work through forgiven sinners like us, as He reaches out to yet more sinners, seeking to draw them to Jesus.   

   God does this.  He is doing it.  His Mission to you continues, as He continues to deliver forgiveness, life and salvation to you.  And His Mission through you leads to pure joy, for you, and for all who come to know Christ as Savior.   

Let us pray:  Holy Spirit of the risen Christ, sent from the Father to lead us into all truth.  Enlighten our hearts and minds to your wisdom and your good and gracious will.  Help us to grow in our knowledge of Christ and His Salvation.  Help us to speak of Christ to each other within His Body, the Church, so that we will be ready to speak of Christ to others, sinners like us, but who do not know and trust in the Savior.  Embolden your pastors, missionaries, and all your people, to walk in your ways, and to do the good work of confessing Christ to the world, in the opportunities that the Father has prepared for us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with You and Father, one God, now and forever, Amen.