Heavenly Bread for Our Earthly Journey, Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Laetare Sunday

Heavenly Bread for Our Earthly Journey - Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 15^th, A+D 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches - Hill City and Custer, SD
John 6:1-15

Audio of the sermon is available HERE.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

   The folks on the mountainside were hungry and weak, and a long way from any place they could find bread.  Traveling further without eating would be to risk collapsing on the way.

   Do you suppose Jesus didn’t foresee this problem?  Why did He allow them to follow Him so far afield?  Captivated by his Word and the healings He was working on the sick, they stayed with Him till they were tired and hungry, and far from the necessities of life.  Why did Jesus let this happen? 

   Jesus led them into the wilderness on purpose.  The hunger and the potential suffering, pain and fear did not originate from Him.  But Jesus uses these struggles, for the ultimate benefit of the people, a harsh experience, yes, but still in keeping with God’s divine mercy. Our Lord knows we are all ultimately helpless.  So, He led the crowd into a bad situation, so that, right there, in their desperation, He could provide for them.  Jesus taught them that there is only one place to find true and lasting sustenance.  He showed them that He is the hope for the hopeless.

   We sinners learn faith through suffering.  Still, as John tells us at the end of our Gospel reading, many of those folks on the mountain could only think of satisfying their physical hunger.  Their bellies miraculously filled, they wanted Jesus to be their King of Bread.  And so, Jesus withdrew to the mountain alone.  Being a Bread King was not His mission.

   Today, here on our mountainside, our stomachs still rumble.  The pull of our flesh is still strong.  Our worries, our depression, our sorrows and distractions are often intense.  Do you hurt more in your physical body, or in your spirit?  We ache, and like the Israelites in the wilderness, we still murmur against God.

   It is ironic.  For all of us here, I think, and for most people in our nation, there is more than enough bread, all kinds of delicious food, really.  Our knowledge of the world and the technology we enjoy combine to make our lives pretty amazingly comfortable. 

   And, unlike most generations throughout salvation history, we have the Word of God readily accessible; all the Scripture’s wisdom and promise is at our fingertips.  And yet, we are often unsatisfied, unsure, uneasy.    

   The fire that blew up on the southeast side of Custer last Thursday was frightening.  The shock of it was heightened by the fact that we do not regularly face many dangers.  Certainly, unlike most humans throughout history, we do not face frequent danger.  And when dangers come, we have amazing machines and experienced guardians who help keep us safe. 

   We truly have it good, in many ways.  But do we have peace? 

   I pray that you do.  But I also know from our conversations that peace often escapes many of you, just as it escapes me.  Peace, and even joy, these are God’s goals for us.  So, I am glad we are together here today, that God’s peace might find us.  For we need it.     

   We have doubts about the Word of God.  If we spend any time glued to our screens, irreverent questions about the veracity and reliability of the Bible assault us, and seek to worm their way into our minds.  Doubts about God’s goodness or even His reality can plague our hearts.  Now and again, such questions arise from our hearts, and sometimes slip out of our mouths: 

Even if this is all true, Jesus, what do I care?  What good does it do me if You performed miracles and taught great things 2,000 years ago?  You also promised a wonderful future for us.  Where are You now?  Where have those magnificent spiritual experiences gone, when You led your followers to the summit of the emotional mountain, by filling 15,000 bellies from 5 loaves and two fish?”

When will You multiple the loaves I care about?  I'm not literally hungry, but I have wants.  I cry and pray to heaven, asking you to remove my suffering, to heal my family, to fix my finances or take away my physical pain.  But the sun rises and sets, and the clouds pass by, raining or not, never noticing me.  The night comes, again, and I do not see the miracles for which I pray.

   Is the feeding of the five thousand men and their families relevant for our lives, today?  How can we continue to pray for relief, when this has been our unceasing prayer, and for so long it has gone unanswered?  How often, when facing great need, have we sympathized with Philip, saying, "Thirty-two thousand dollars worth of bread would not be enough.”  That is to say, "There is no hope."  

   Looking at the needs that surround us, and then looking at our resources, how often have we echoed Andrew’s hopeless sentence:  "Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  That is, "It just seems impossible, Lord."

Under a gentle sun, I believe everything the Word says about you, Jesus. But when the black curtains of disease, or want, depression, or frustration descend around me, separating me from my loved ones, or robbing me of my good things, then everything seems irrelevant to me.

Oh You, who conquered sin and death, can You not conquer my pain?  Can’t You take away my suffering?  You claim that nothing is impossible for You, so why haven’t you done what I ask? 

   Is it possible that we also would prefer a King of Bread, instead of a Savior?

   Dear friends, you, like me, are sometimes happy, even joyful.  And then sometimes we are sad and lonely, sometimes stubborn and complaining.  One day life is all sunshine and rainbows, the next, full of impossibilities, insurmountable obstacles, and long, dark nights.  Your pains and sorrows are not unknown or unimportant to God.  And He is greater than all of them.  For God, all things are possible.  He can conquer, and He does.  But He conquers all things in the way that we need, not necessarily in the way we think is best.  

   From the ashes the Phoenix rises to life, but that's just Egyptian and Greek mythology.  Superman died, then but rose again, stronger than ever.  But that is just DC Comics. 

   But please hear this: from a borrowed tomb our Lord Jesus Christ rose.  Dead on a Roman Cross on Friday afternoon, He revealed His total victory over pain, struggle and death when He walked out of the Tomb in the early morning of the first day of the week.  The Resurrection is not a myth.  It's true.  Do you have doubts?  Certainly, the world says Christians who believe in the Resurrection are blindly naïve.  Doubts may assail you, but God can handle them.  Go ahead, investigate the Resurrection.  God can handle it.  Examine the accusations of the critics, and then read the responses of centuries of wise Christian apologists. 

   Paul explicitly hinges all of Christian faith on the truth of the Resurrection, (1^st Corinthians 15).  From Genesis 3 through Revelation 22, the promise, fulfillment and proclamation of the Son of God crucified and resurrected to save sinners is the central theme of the Bible.  

   Reasonable, serious study of history and archeology supports the truth that something entirely unique happened with a Jewish tradesman from Nazareth name Jesus.  His miracle has left us with many clues, and it's a joy to study them.  Because the Resurrection is true.  If you want, I'll happily join you in such an investigation, because each time I dig, my faith and confidence are boosted. 

   From the Cross and the Resurrection we learn the Essential Truth: that, from the most insignificant circumstances, using unimpressive things, from weakness and humility, even from death, God gives the best gifts.

   And so when you say, "What should I do?  I'm sad.  I'm lonely.  I'm depressed.  I'm frustrated.  I'm scared.  There's nowhere to turn," the Lord responds to you:  “O.k., come here, sit down. If you want, lie down."  That is what He said on the mountainside, before the miraculous feeding.  He commanded the people to sit down, even to recline, to rest in the abundant grass.  Be still, and know that I am God, and I will feed you unto life.  So also today, Jesus says to you, "Sit down, rest."

   Sit and listen.  Sit and wait.  You will be provided for in His way, in His time.  How could He not provide for you?  After all, He became a human being to save you, for eternity, and also in the here and now.  Our experience of salvation in this fallen world is incomplete, not yet perfect.  But it is true, and real. 

   Jesus looked up at the five thousand men, plus women and children, who had come to hear Him, and He had compassion on them.  At His word, they sat down, and He took care of them.  He saw that assembly of doubting followers through merciful eyes. 

   Through the centuries, God has watched over all His beloved children of all times with these same merciful eyes.  He sees your joys today, and He smiles with you.  Jesus also sees your sadness, and sighs with you.  He hears you cry, "Lord, I am in pain," and He answers, "I know.  And I know how that is.  I was hurt too, hurt so bad I died.  But my Father did not leave me in the grave.  He freed me from the depths of hell, and so I will free you as well.  I know your struggle is real, but trust Me: My death is sufficient for you.  My blood covers all your sins.  The price for your rescue has been agreed upon, paid in full, and accepted for eternity."

   In your good moments and in your bad days, Jesus speaks to you: “Wait.  I love you.  I am here for you, where I have promised to be.”  The Christ of God reminds you: “In the darkest days, I am your comfort, peace, and hope.  In Me, you will find more than enough strength for the journey.” 

   “But only in Me.  Do not be fooled.  I AM the only Name under heaven by which men are saved.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  There is no true comfort, no healing, no peace anywhere else.  When the sun shines upon you, when blessings fill your day, do not forget, these also come from My Father.  Still, do not trust in these blessings; instead always trust in Me.”   

   And so this is why Jesus sometimes allows troubles into your life.  This is why He says to you: “Stop grumbling.  Stop trying to go your own way.       Repent.      Turn around, and sit down.  See that I am here to serve you.  Listen to my words of life, of love, and of forgiveness.  Come, kneel before me, and I will feed you with bread that satisfies your soul.  And know this: At just the right time, I will come back for you.”

   Jesus Christ hears you.  He answers your prayers.  His answer won't always satisfy your fleshly desires, but He knows what is best.  Often enough, His actions don't make sense to us.  But we can trust that He gives abundantly, wisely, according to what is truly good, always keeping in mind what we can bear.

    Remember how Jesus fed the five thousand with more than enough; He gave so much that each person ate until they were full, and there were still twelve overflowing baskets left.  Where God distributes His gifts, human vessels are filled to overflowing.  We cannot contain it all.  God's grace is greater than our need.

   The victory you need over sin, death, and hell is complete.  It has been won on the Cross and announced in the Resurrection.  Soon, we will pass through this veil of tears and enter our heavenly home.  For now, there is only one way to fight, one way to move forward, one path that will take us through this desert.  This path leads though the heavenly Manna He so generously bestows.  Those walking this path are washed clean by His Baptism, and His Word echoes in their ears and hearts.  You are placed on this path and kept on this path, by the Holy Spirit, working through His Word and His Sacraments.  By God’s Grace and Providence, these gifts are available to you, today, and every day.

   He has given you the Bible, the Apostles’ teaching, recorded and preserved, for you.  Pick it up, every day.  Read it.  Listen to it.  Pray it,  There is overflowing comfort and wisdom for you, in the Word of God, which reveals your Savior to you, and also draws you into the fellowship and the prayers, the enactment of love, intercession and praise that is the hub of Christian life, our regular corporate worship, gathering together, to receive Christ’s gifts, and to rejoice together.

   He has also given you the Breaking of the Bread, that is, the Lord’s Supper, in which Christ serves us His Body and Blood.  The Supper will strengthen and sustain your body and soul for the living of this life, even they prepare you for the next.  In and through His Holy Supper, Christ forgives your sins, cleanses your soul, and brings you into perfect communion with His Father.

   But wait, there’s more.  The end goal of the Apostles’ teaching is to deliver forgiveness, and this is especially proclaimed over you in the Absolution, the declaration of your innocence.  Jesus Himself is your Advocate, your defense attorney, proclaiming you to be innocent before His Father, innocent because of His own wounds.  In Absolution, Christ Himself speaks, through the mouths of His servants, delivering the blessed result that you become pure and holy, as the Christ is pure and holy.

   Please remember, for now, these gifts won't take away all your pain or suffering.  They won't even cure all your doubts, although they will help you overcome them.  What Christ’s gifts will do for sure is give you the strength to carry on, to believe in the midst of your troubles.  They will protect you from giving up along the way.

   In the end, the Gifts of Christ, the Apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers, will carry you to your destination, where the cross will be exchanged for a crown, the place where there are no tears, no remorse, no shame, no fear, no guilt, no loneliness, no depression, no want.

   The Christian life isn't easy, but it is good.  It is the best life, because it is real, and true, and it is the only life that lasts forever. The Christian life is centered on His Word, which defeats Satan, drives out the impurities from your heart, and cleanses your lips.  And so, by the gifts of Christ, you begin to enjoy the peace that only God can give, today through faith, and soon, in glory.

   So come and let your soul delight in the Lord's abundance and mercy.  Let Him fill the empty spaces within you.  Stop, sit, listen, and receive.  And you will live, for Christ will share His indestructible life with you!  Our cup overflows.  God is good.  Amen.

 

(This sermon draws on one by Pastor David Peterson, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Many blessings be upon him.)

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Avoiding the Nets by Staying Close to the Stronger Man - Sermon for Oculi, the 3rd Sunday in Lent

Avoiding the Nets by Staying Close to the Stronger Man
Sermon for Oculi, the 3^rd Sunday in Lent
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
March 8^th, Year of Our + Lord 2026

Based on Jeremiah 26:1-15, Ephesians 51-9 and Luke 11:14-28.

There is no manuscript to share this week. 

You can access the audio of the sermon HERE.

If this is a blessing to you, consider passing it along to someone you think might also benefit!  

 God bless your week, pw

Second Sunday in Lent - Reminiscere
March 1 A + D 2026
Our Redeemer and Our Savior's Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South dakota
The Catechumen - Matthew 15:21-28

Audio of the sermon is available HERE.   

    Who catechized this Canaanite woman? We must find out. 

     The catechist catechizes the catechumens according to the content of the Catechism.    

   In my time here in South Dakota, I’ve catechized far more adults than youth, and I don’t usually inflict my worst puns and word play jokes on the adults.  So I haven’t been able to enjoy this wonderful sentence very often: The catechist catechizes the catachumens according to the content of the Catechism. 

     A catechist is one who teaches the Catechism, which is a summary introduction to the basics of the Christian faith, the faith that is recorded for Christ’s Church in the Holy Bible.  Christian catechesis is to teach souls, sometimes called catechumens, what Christ has given us, the truth about God, and man, and Himself, our Savior.  Catechesis carries a sense of echo, of teaching orally and learning by repitition, which can be heard in the Greek root: katacheo, literally, ‘according to the echo,’ the back and forth speaking of God’s truth.  Luke uses the verb ‘to catechize’ in the opening of his Gospel, referring to the teaching of the Word that Theophilus had received. 

     Catechesis is the heart of evangelism, for it is to apply the Gospel, the Good News of Christ’s salvation, to a soul, through the ears, into the heart and mind, so that the Holy Spirit can create, maintain and strengthen true faith.  Taking advantage of an opportunity to start a Gospel conversation with an unbeliever and invite them to enter into the worship and teaching of the Church is wonderful, and is a necessary first step in evangelization.  But, while the Holy Spirit can do His conversion work as fast as He wants, for faith to take root and grow usually takes some time, and a lot of teaching and re-teaching.  Typically it takes a lot of catechesis to turn a person into a strong and wise believer.  Consider this: the disciples traveled and lived with Jesus and heard His catechesis for three years, and still they only came to faith when they saw the resurrected Christ. 

     Catechesis is the heart of evangelism.  And, because the Devil, the world and our own sinful flesh all fight against faith throughout our earthly lives, catechesis, evangelization, is still needed after conversion.  We sinner-saints need Jesus to continue teaching us throughout our lives, until He finally drags us across the finish line of life in saving faith.       

     And so, I’d love to know who catechized the Canaanite mother in our Gospel this morning.  What methods were used to bring her to such great faith?  It would be very good for us as Church to know, because her level of understanding, wisdom and confidence about the Word of God and the teaching of the Christ is wonderful.  We would do well to copy the methods used with her.  Consider her testimony. 

     Lord, help me!  This is how this woman prays, even though Jesus had already ignored and rejected her previous requests.  She demonstrates the attitude that Luther encourages us to have in his explanation of the Introduction of the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven: What does this mean?  With these words, God, tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.   

     Only firm confidence in the goodness of the heavenly Father could persist against all the opposition this woman encountered.  Remember, she is a foreigner, a dirty Canaanite, a woman who should not even approach a faithful Jew.  She is a member of an enemy nation of Israel.  Still, she knows that God the Father, Jesus’ Father, is also her Father.  So she persists in prayer.

     Her trust, her love and her obedience to the commandments move her to persist.  She understands the summary of the Law of Moses, confessed by Jesus himself: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and the first commandment.  ³⁹ And the second is similar to this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)       

     This woman loves God, and neighbor, and so will not perceive the silence and exclusion, nor the seeming insult of Jesus, as if they were words with any power against her.  She persists because she knows, she trusts with a miraculous faith that the Father has sent Jesus to be her Savior, that Jesus is proof that God loves her.  By this love, the Canaanite woman then loves her neighbors, especially her first and dearest neighbor, her own daughter.  For the love of her tormented daughter, this woman will not stop seeking Jesus' help.

     Considering the Commandments, it is enough today to review only the Second:  You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie or deceive by His Name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. 

     Taught by the Holy Spirit, the Canaanite understands, better than the twelve disciples, that Jesus is the Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).   Since she believes that the man Jesus is the Lord, God in human flesh, she does not hesitate to cry out to Jesus, to invoke his Holy Name: Lord, Son of David, help my daughter.  Not only back at home, in the privacy of her room, but out in public, before a group of thirteen Jewish men, and who knows how big a crowd, she loudly prays to Jesus.  Not just once, but three times.  She does not allow Jesus' apparent rejections to discourage her.   Oh, that the Name of the Lord would be sanctified among us in the same way!

     It is unlikely that this woman could have heard the singing of Simeon, 30 years ealier, as he held the infant Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple.  She lives far to the north, in the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And even if she had been in Jerusalem, Canaanites could not enter the Temple.  She had to have learned about Jesus some other way.  But she believed what Simeon proclaimed, a promise that Jesus’ own disciples don’t seem to be familiar with.  Simeon prophesied that this Jesus was going to be not only the glory of God’s people Israel, but also that He was the salvation of the Lord, which he has prepared in the sight of every people, the light of revelation for the Gentiles.  Jesus is the Savior of Israel, and He is also the Savior of the Gentiles, of all the other nations.  (Luke 2:30-32) 

   But the disciples don’t want her around, they want to keep Jesus for themselves.  And, based on His harsh responses to her requests, it also seems that Jesus does not care about the salvation of the Gentiles.  His answers seem to indicate that Jesus shares the typical Jewish prejudice against foreigners.

    First, He doesn't say a word to her.  The second time she cries out, Jesus says: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Then the woman comes right up to the Lord and kneels down before Him, begging: “Lord, help me.”  And to this desperate mother the Lord says: “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 

   To ignore, exclude and call the Gentiles "dogs," all of these reactions to this mother’s prayers fit perfectly with the typical attitude of a proud first century Jew, negative toward all foreigners.  Even still, the woman is not discouraged.  She knows that the promises to Abraham were not only for his descendants by blood.  As St. Paul would write 10 or 20 years later, she knows it is not the children of the flesh, but rather those who share Abraham's faith, who are the true children of God. (Galatians 3 and Romans 9)

   And so the Canaanite mother does not hear Jesus' insult as a ‘no.’  Rather, she believes it guarantees that she will receive a "yes."  She already trusts another promise that would be written by Paul in his 2^nd letter to the Corinthians: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, … was not Yes and No, but in Him it is always Yes.  (2 Corinthians 1:19-20)     

   The Lord had promised, so she persists until she reaches her Yes.  And she knows that she has reached her Yes, she knows that she has captured her Jesus, when the words that seem so cruel to us left His mouth.  Listen again: Kneeling before Him, she prays: Lord, help me!  And He answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”  

   You and I hear this as an insult and may doubt the Lord’s goodness.  The Canaanite mother hears the truth, and rejoices.  Because, anticipating the first letter of St. John, she knows that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But, if we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1: 8-9)   She confesses that she is a dog, but she is a dog of faith.  She believes Jesus, God-made-man, will cleanse her daughter from the demon that had possessed her.       

   It is as if she had consulted with Luther, and understood his explanation to the Fifth Petition of the Lord's Prayer: And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.   What does this mean?  We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them.  We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. 

   Full of joy, the woman confesses that yes, she is a dog, a sinner who deserves nothing from Jesus, which means she is just like every other person in the world.  But her sin does not cut her off from the Son of David, as long as she confesses it.  She knows that she has Jesus trapped in His own Word of promise, so, she quietly replies: ²⁷ “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 

   Oh, what delight, what pleasure Jesus now expresses, as His faithful daughter reaches this great confession: O woman, great is your faith; Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly.  What joy in the house, when the daughter was set free.  What a surprise for the disciples, as Jesus praises the Canaanite and grants her petition. 

   This surprise would serve them well in a few years, when, after some resistance and confusion, the Apostles begin the mission to the Gentiles, their outreach to all the children of Abraham, to all those from every nation who will truly become children of Israel, by faith in Jesus Christ.   

   And what about us? What does this Canaanite woman of great faith teach us?  I hope we do not imagine that we are better than the disciples, or the Jews, that we could never be so tribal, so xenophobic, so prejudiced against outsiders.  Human nature has not changed.  We are still able to lock ourselves inside our approved group, and try never to deal with people who are different from us.

   The Church, and especially her catechists, must always maintain the truth of all God’s Word, including His Law which establishes traditional Biblical values.  At the same time we must remember that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek or barbarian, there are no foreigners and natives.  Rather, by faith in Jesus we are all made one Body, one People.  Especially today, when the Church is rejected publicly more and more, we must remember that Christ came to save the whole world, and that we are the worst sinners, just like everyone else.  We can stand before God only because of the work of Christ.  And the work of Christ is for everyone. 

   May we also learn to pray without ceasing; and give thanks in everything, even when it seems that God ignores or rejects us.  This is God's will for us, that we exercise our faith like the Canaanite mother.  For all His baptized believers, God's answer is always ‘Yes’, even when we don't understand it. 

     Also, we do not always get to know how or when God will help us.  As St. Peter teaches, beloved, do not overlook this one fact, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2^nd Peter 3: 8-10)        

     Finally, I pray we come to better understand how great, how broad, how high and deep is Jesus' blessing for us. We do not need to have everything in this life, because we know this life is a shabby preview of the glorious eternal life that Jesus has earned for us. The bad things of this life do not count, when compared with the good things of the Kingdom of Heaven.  And the truly good things of this life do not need to have a luxurious or impressive appearance.  Sufficient are the crumbs of the Lord.  And the crumbs we receive are even better than those the Canaanite woman received that day, so long ago.  For she could only look forward to the table that we are blessed to approach this morning, the altar of the New Testament, our preview and foretaste of the coming heavenly banquet, where today we receive the finished fruit of the Cross and the Resurrection.

   As Luther asks: What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?  His answer?  These words “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given to us through these words.  For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

   All of this, and Christ himself, present to bless us, in His Word, and under the bread and wine. Truly, just a few crumbs from the table of our Master will be enough, in the Name of the Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

Christian Confidence

First Sunday in Lent
February 22^nd, Year of Our + Lord 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Christian Confidence - Matthew 4:1-11, Hebrews 4:14-16, 1 Samuel 17:40-51

 Audio of the Sermon can be found HERE.  

In the Name of the Son of David, our Confident Champion. 

    Confidence.   A mighty fortress is our God, a sword and shield victorious!  And so, we Christians are called by God to live with confidence.  I think that almost all of us have room for growth in our Christian confidence.  I certainly do.  Every time I hear how my original namesake, David the son of Jesse, broke into the public consciousness of Israel, I marvel at that young man’s confidence.  He’s a kid, maybe 15 years-old, going up against a seasoned champion, the greatest warrior of Israel’s greatest enemy.  Oh, and Goliath also happens to be a giant.  “No worries, I’ve got this,” young David asserts.  “In fact, I don’t need anything but my slingshot, and a stone.  The Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, will take care of the rest.”  Confidence!

    None of us are called to slay Goliath.  The Thursday Men’s breakfast (at Our Redeemer) does not need to add slingshot practice after their weekly feast of fats.  Slaying the giant was David’s calling.  He was special, chosen and empowered by God, to kill Goliath, and to do much more for God, and for His nation, Israel. 

    We don’t have to fight Goliath.  But all of us are called to Christian confidence.  It’s all over the book of Hebrews.  Today we are exhorted to hold fast to our confession, the clear statement of the teaching of Christ, and we are called to pray to God, to approach the throne of grace in time of need, with confidence.  Confidently trust in the Word of God, and, then as dear children, pray confidently to our dear Father, through Christ Jesus, our Great High Priest in the heavens. 

    Pray with confidence.  Worship God with confidence, drawing near to the Holy of Holies that the Lord makes available to us here, and everywhere that His people gather around His Word and His Altar.  The New Testament is filled with calls to confident Christian living.  Even more, there are many examples, confident heroes of the faith who bore witness to the truth of God in their daily life, proclaiming God, His power and His promises, plainly, and with assurance. 

    Confidently the saints of God turn away from the way of the world when it demands us to go against what we know is true, the truth of Christ that sets us free.  Jesus sets us free from fear, and free to live confidently.   

    Be a confident Christian.  That’s easy enough to say.  But, at least speaking broadly, we have to recognize that the Christian Church has lost a lot of confidence in recent decades.  Sometimes it has been easier for us Christians to display our assurance.  Down in the basement at Trinity Lutheran in Sidney, Montana, my first call, there are picture boards with confirmation classes going back to nearly the founding.  For the years after WWII, these boards include astounding adult confirmation classes, multiple photos of 40 and 50 adults, packed into the chancel to be photographed, all received into membership on the same Sunday.  Richland County was growing, and folks were flocking to the Church.  The Sidney Herald published Sunday School attendance numbers of the various churches every week, fomenting what I hope was a friendly competition between congregations.  Across America, the Christian Church was ascendant.  I assume individual Christians found it relatively easy to live confidently. 

   So much has changed.  The weeds were already sprouting earlier in the 20^th century, but in the 1960s, and every decade since, popular culture and the heights of academia openly turned against the Church, and especially Biblical Christianity.  Of course, if a particular Christian, or a church or denomination was willing to abandon their confession and adopt the values and morals of the world, then the culture would extend them a little credibility, for a while.  But faithfulness to God’s plain Word became decidedly unpopular with all the “best” people.  Church membership and church attendance have been in steady decline for many decades.  Today, it is decidedly not cool to be a Christian in popular American society.  Public expressions of Biblical morals or faith in Christ went from common and uncontroversial 50 years ago to now being loudly rejected, and even attacked as hateful.  Our context for displaying Christian confidence is increasingly difficult.     

    But, should that matter?  Perhaps broadly as Church, our confidence has declined because of our loss of prestige with the dominant culture.  But, should our confidence depend on the what the world thinks or says or does?  No, of course not, we all know this.  Christ the Son of God, resurrected from the dead and reigning over all things, He is our confidence.  We are called to pray, worship, confess the faith, and live with confidence, because of the Good News of Jesus.  We are confident, because in Jesus Christ we are forgiven our sins and so are at peace with God, today, and forever and ever. 

    Our recent American history might make this seem strange to us, but across the last 2,000 years, the times when faithful, Biblical Christianity was popular with the world are pretty rare.  In so far as the Church in America began to or continues to depend on worldly approval for our confidence, we must repent.  Faithful, Biblical Christian confidence only flows from God’s Word, which reveals God’s love for us in Christ, and teaches us what wise, confident Christian living looks like.      

    And what does Scripture teach us about Christian confidence?  Are we to be combative, like young David, boldly facing down Goliath?  Well, maybe, sometimes, if and when the Lord calls us to face a clear enemy.  When called upon to defend the faith, we certainly need not be shy.  We shouldn’t apologize or speak tentatively.  The Truth of God deserves our best, most confident delivery. 

    We do need to remember that, while the Old Testament Church of God was the Kingdom of Israel, and so had a literal army and fought wars, at God’s direction, the Church of the resurrected Christ is not a nation state.  Our sword is of the Spirit, the Word of God.  We are in a struggle, but not against flesh and blood, [rather, we fight] against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6)  Slingshots, tanks and guns will do us no good against Satan and his demons.

    Generally speaking, our confidence should not lead us to be combative, but rather calm and clear.  The examples of confidence in the New Testament are mostly related to believers plainly speaking God’s truth with assurance, to everyone, friend and foe, no matter the consequences. 

    Peter and the other Apostles astounded the Jewish Sanhedrin when they testified before them.  Their defense of the faith was confident and eloquent, despite the fact that none of the Twelve had received higher education. (Acts 4)  Jesus spoke to His disciples plainly, confidently, and directly about His coming suffering and crucifixion. (Mark 8)  Paul prayed that the Spirit would give him utterance, so that he would proclaim the Gospel boldly, with confidence, as he should. (Ephesians 6)

    We are rightly impressed by the calm courage of so many Saints, and of course, most especially by the courage of the Holy One, Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary.  We want to see such courage displayed among us, Christians saying and doing great, Godly things, out of a proper confidence.  But to see this, we must all remember our confidence is not found in our courage, not found in our hearts, not in our strength.  Coaches routinely exhort athletes to look inside themselves and dig deep for the strength to compete, and win.  And that’s fine for sports, and lots of other earthly pursuits.  But not for confident Christian living. 

    Looking inside ourselves is an important part of Christian life.  But, what happens when we look inside?  Will we find nothing but strength and resolve to walk in God’s Way and make the good confession in our words and deeds?  No.  At our very best, we see in ourselves a mixed bag, a desire to live with Christian confidence, yes.  And right alongside, we will also see weakness, a damnable tendency to fall back into spiritual laziness, to pursue sin, and not righteousness.  It is important for us to look inside, to daily examine our motivations, our desires.  This is the first step in the daily drowning the Old Adam who remains in each of us. 

    But let us not be fooled into thinking that our self-examination and resolve to do better will by themselves lead to consistent and confident Christian living.  No, we examine ourselves primarily to be reminded to look outside ourselves, to repent of our sinful weakness and fix our eyes once again on our true Confidence, on Jesus, who lived and died and rose again, not merely to show us the Way, but to be the Way, for us.  Only when our hearts are focused on Jesus can the New Man arise to live in righteousness.   

    And then yes, we pursue confident Christian living, because we are victors, we are champions.  By extension.  By imputation, to use a 25-cent theological term.  Everything that Jesus is and has done is imputed, it is reckoned or counted by the Father as belonging to us, when the eyes of our hearts are trustingly fixed on Christ.  In Him, by the imputation of His righteousness to us, we are victorious.  We are greater champions than young David was 3,000 years ago, as he held up Goliath’s head and proclaimed the victory of God.  In Christ alone, the exalted Son of David, we have perfect confidence.

       When we struggle to live with assurance, when we fail to recognize the true shape of Christian confidence, David, and especially Jesus, guide us on the Way.  When he volunteered to fight Goliath, David was accused of arrogance by his older brother, but the lad’s confidence was clearly in the Lord, not in himself.  He calls out to Goliath, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.  Godly confidence. 

    Even more Jesus shows us what Godly confidence looks like.  After going without food for 40 days, Jesus faces the Devil.  This was the first step on His path of reversing the failure of Adam in the Garden, and all our failures that have followed.  Adam and the Woman sought food that was not given to them, worshiped the deceitful lie of the Serpent, and put the Lord God to the test.  Jesus rejects all these temptations, and not simply by His personal inner strength, although Jesus certainly could have relied on His own strength.  Even more easily than David defeated Goliath, the eternal Son of God could have destroyed Satan in an instant, just with His Holy presence. 

    But such a victory would not have helped us.  To save us, Jesus needed to destroy Satan through suffering, suffering in our place, to wash our guilt away.  But wait, there’s more.  To help us in our Christian walk on this side of heaven, Jesus’ way of rejecting the Devil also shows us how we are to do the same.  Jesus laid aside His power, and defeated Satan’s temptations using the Truth of the Word of Scripture.  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (That’s from Deuteronomy 8.)  “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”  (That’s Deut. 6)  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” (Deut. chapter 6 & chapter 10.) 

   Jesus shows us that Godly, Christian confidence is lived out by knowing well and applying God’s Word, in the face of whatever temptation comes our way.  Christian confidence is lived out in and through the Word, the instruction and the promises of God. 

    This insight is helpful for us when we examine our lives.  When we live in contradiction to God’s Word, when wasteful, sinful, worldly habits gain a place in our daily lives, then it is no surprise that our confidence wavers.  The charge that we Christians are hypocrites is a favorite weapon of Satan and the world.  The question for us is, “How much ammunition are we providing our accusers?” 

   Examining our thoughts, words and actions honestly in the light of God’s truth will help us turn around, to repent, and to pursue the holy living God wants and expects in all of us.  Clearly, we do not base our confidence in our holiness.  But, when by prayer and meditation we properly seek more holiness in our lives, we will, in this very pursuit, be more often and more intimately in contact with the Word of the Lord, the living, active, powerful, two edged sword of the Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit, through His Word, will be changing and shaping us.  We never make our lives our confidence; we never put our faith in ourselves.  Still, as we pursue God’s righteousness, God’s Way, we can expect to see, as a bonus, more good and less bad happening in our lives, today, and tomorrow.  Our confidence is in the forgiving love of Jesus.  But, is also nice when we have to deal with fewer self-inflicted wounds, less consequence of sin in our daily lives. 

    To raise confident children, parents need to love them, in word and deed.  If parents don’t tell and show their children their love, then regardless of what they may claim, they are not truly loving them.  Children need their parents loving words and actions.  Babies’ brains will literally be damaged, they will not develop correctly, if they are not held and talked to and cared for.  Loved.  Parents should never assume that their children know they are loved.   

    God is your Father.  He is the heavenly Good Parent, and He loves you.  He has loved you, and He seeks to love you, in Word and Deed, every day.  Every good and perfect gift you have received came down to you from the Father of lights.  And your heavenly Father talks to you, through His Word.  If we like rebellious teenagers shut our ears to God’s voice, if we do not hear Him, if we do not respond in prayer to Him, using both His Word and also words from our hearts, then our confidence will fail.

    And so today is a good day for us.  For God is speaking Words of wisdom and love, He is showering us with gifts, here, today.  And we rejoice to respond with our thanks and praise, often quoting back to God what He has first said to us.  Forgiven, strengthened, reminded of and strengthened by His Truth, our Father sends us forth, to live with confidence, in and through our Champion, Jesus the Son of David, who has completely defeated all our enemies, for us.  Amen.