Sermon - 2019-10-20

Today’s sermon is going to be a little different.  Oh, do not fear, there will be some law, some gospel, and all the good stuff from Jesus. Today, I would also like to share with you some of the ministries and happenings your sister congregation at Grace is doing and we would also invite you to pray for us.  

So let’s start with the most important, today’s gospel.  Today’s gospel gives us insights into a situation in which we ourselves could encounter and that we can learn volumes from.  We encounter a woman who feels that justice is not being served to her and is willing to go to great lengths in order to continue to pursue that justice.  The other is a person who is so focused on themselves, a person that has risen to great status and achieved a lot but their motivation in doing so does not care about God or other people. Thinking about these people, there are times in our own lives that we ourselves probably encounter a person just like these people.  Sometimes we find ourselves being the judge who is focused only on ourselves. A warning and realization of what is perhaps the most harmful role that we can take in our lives. Sometimes we feel like we are the woman, who is continually striving for justice within her life.  

Time and time again, we turn back to this account of what we are called to do as people of faith.  Just because we do something once doesn’t mean that everything will fall into place. Simply because we want something for ourselves doesn’t mean that we get it. It is a reminder of our own journey of life and faith where we need to be mindful of the motivations and directions that we are striving for.  This is not always easy. Sometimes we need a purpose and driving force that can be like a mother. The one who is hopping with one foot and kicking us with the other.  The one who drags us out of bed on Sunday morning to go to church when we would rather stay in our nice warm bed. Yes, sometimes mom acts like the law and reminds us what it is we are supposed to do.  However, it is the gospel that delivers a deeper hope and motivation that can move us not just for a day, but for a lifetime.  

Jesus uses this experience that we can relate to and helps us understand the parental love and compassion that God has for each and every one of us.  This can allow us to see and experience God in our daily lives. To realize as well how it is the world is impacting us and we are working with God in delivering God’s love to the world, especially to those who are in need of it.  

For this is the work of the church in our community through the people who serve, we work together to share God’s love to the world that is so desperately in need of it.  Now certainly worship services are key times that we gather together in the presence of God and one another. Yet, that is only one hour a week and one in which we are sitting rather passively in God’s presence.  Yet it is here, that we are growing in understanding and greater relationship to God.  

Now at your sister congregation at Grace in Carrollton, we are working and helping people to gather together for worship, for learning and serving. Now I realize that you are doing some amazing ministries too that we are able to lift up in prayer as well.  But it is today that I hope you are reminded that you are not alone in this ministry as a church. That you have brothers and sisters who are striving for the same Kingdom of God and striving for justice and peace. Learning is something that we encourage all ages. We have a Sunday School hour in which people of every age have a class in which they are able to be a part of.  Yet book learning is not the only way to grow in understanding God. We have a men’s group that gets together to BBQ, have times of fellowship and faith, and truly care for one another and support one another. We have a women’s group that gathers together to quilt, knit, and have times of prayer walks and sharing meals together. A youth group that goes into other parts of our local community and nation to know that they are able to serve and make a difference by working together as a church.  This incorporation of learning and service is crucial for us that we are able to see, but also apply the lessons that we learn and grow into.  

Please know that we have had many failures along the way, we are far from perfect, but we are striving, praying, and trusting that Jesus Christ is calling us down this path of love, grace and mercy among the people of Carrollton.  That we are partnering with churches such as your own of New Hope Lutheran and other churches in the Northern Texas, Northern Louisiana Synod in helping the church grow to reach those who are in need; but above all, point people to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and Lord, now and forever.  Amen.