Taking a stand often leaves you feeling alone. It doesn’t always win you friends and might even make some enemies. But if an idea is both true and profoundly important, those who take a stand for it have a bond that nothing can break. This week, we turn our attention to the stand Lutherans take on “Grace alone.” In most areas of life, people are treated according to what they deserve—whether good or bad. Grace, however, is God’s undeserved love. Because Jesus’ willingly endured suffering, condemnation, and death that he didn’t deserve, God can offer us as free gifts forgiveness, life, and salvation that we don’t deserve.

Good News Weekly Message

Standing for grace will always be costly.

Taking a stand often leaves you feeling alone. It doesn’t always win you friends and might even make some enemies. But if an idea is both true and profoundly important, those who take a stand for it have a bond that nothing can break. This week, we turn our attention to the stand Lutherans take on “Faith alone.” It’s natural for us to assume that we can be right with God on our own—as a result of our own goodness and virtue. Thankfully, God first gives us his law to show us our sin. Like a sharp sword, it cuts open every facet of our lives and exposes our shortcomings. But after the law has done its work, the gospel shows us Christ and works in us the faith to trust in him alone.

The impossible made possible

Taking a stand often leaves you feeling alone. It doesn’t always win you friends and might even make some enemies. But if an idea is both true and profoundly important, those who take a stand for it have a bond that nothing can break. This week, we turn our attention to the stand Lutherans take on “Scripture alone.” Following the pattern set by Jesus, the inspired and recorded Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the sole source of truth for our faith. By submitting to their authority, we place ourselves under the wisdom and care of the God who gave them to us.

Taking a stand for Scripture is taking a stand for - not against - authority.

Once something becomes habit, it’s easy to forget why we started doing it in the first place. The same goes for our spiritual habits. It’s important for individuals and churches to regularly reassess what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. This week Jesus helps reset our understanding of unity. In an increasingly divided world, we tend to find unity in those who look like us, think like us, and view the world like we do. On the flip side, we tend to be suspicious of or hostile toward those who look and think differently. Jesus, however, creates a unity among us that transcends all other differences. As one family united in Christ, each member is valued and each one’s service is important.

Unity isn't easy.

Once something becomes habit, it’s easy to forget why we started doing it in the first place. The same goes for our spiritual habits. It’s important for individuals and churches to regularly reassess what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. This week Jesus helps reset our definition of greatness. In the eyes of the world, greatness is seen in how high you climb, how much you make, and how many people report to you. In Jesus’ kingdom, however, greatness is equated as service—and service to great and small alike. Because this definition of greatness is upside down from the world’s, it’s not simply something we can be told about or commanded to do. It must be demonstrated—and has been demonstrated—before our eyes and for our benefit in the life of Jesus himself.

The only one who can stand between you and greatness is you.

Once something becomes habit, it’s easy to forget why we started doing it in the first place. The same goes for our spiritual habits. It’s important for individuals and churches to regularly reassess what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. This week God helps us reset our understanding of what’s at stake in our lives. It’s easy for our attention to gravitate toward battles that are fought in our world over things like power, influence, and recognition. In battles like those, it seems more and more like Christians are losing. But God wants our focus to be on a much more important battle. Our real enemies are not simply trying to make earthly life uncomfortable for us. They are in a tug of war with God for our souls and our eternities. Thankfully, in this high stakes battle, Jesus has already won the victory. All who turn their hearts to him will have a share in his salvation.

The score isn't what you think.

Once something becomes habit, it’s easy to forget why we started doing it in the first place. The same goes for our spiritual habits. It’s important for individuals and churches to regularly reassess what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. This week Jesus helps us reset our definition of efficiency. Efficiency is defined as getting the maximum results with the minimum amount of wasted time, effort, or energy. The problem with that definition is that we tend to measure only the results we can see, which often leads us to conclude that something is a waste of our time or attention. Thankfully, Jesus shows us how what often seems inefficient is the most effective in his kingdom. Because he has done all things well, we can joyfully seize the opportunities to serve others that he gives us.

When Jesus is involved, 1 + 1 never equals just 2.

Once something becomes habit, it’s easy to forget why we started doing it in the first place. The same goes for our spiritual habits. It’s important for individuals and churches to regularly reassess what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. This week Jesus helps us reset the source of our righteousness. A wide variety of seemingly strange habits can be explained by our universal need for righteousness. Seeking righteousness in things that we do isn’t a habit we even need to develop—it’s part of our nature. Instead, it’s a habit that needs divine intervention to break. Thankfully, Jesus' words not only help us do that. They also develop a new habit that is truly strange—finding our righteousness only in him.

Our worst habit is the easiest one to form and the toughest one to break.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention-grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we hear Jesus confront us with the difficult truth that we can only satisfy the hunger of our souls with one thing. Jesus’ words force us to choose between life with him or life without him. However, because his words are full of life and the Spirit’s power, this choice is really no choice at all. By offering his blessings fully and freely to all, the most important choice—Jesus’ choice—has already been made.

The Bread of Life comes with a choice.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention-grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we hear Jesus warn us against trusting our own expectations for what will fill our souls. There’s a universally accepted common sense that governs life in this world. To that common sense, what Jesus offers our hungry souls appears to be foolish. That foolishness, however, is in fact God’s wisdom. It cannot be accepted by the spirit of this age but must be revealed by the Spirit of God.

Expect the Bread of Life to get bad reviews.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention- grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we hear Jesus direct our eyes away from the earthly food he provides to the heavenly sustenance it signifies. If our aim and pursuit is directed only at earthly blessings, that self-interest will prove to be self-destructive. That type of food will spoil. But the Bread of Life we have in Jesus sustains us beyond this life and into eternal life.

Self-destructive self-interest is halted when you eat the Bread of Life.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention- grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we hear Jesus feed us with words that give us courage. Jesus assures us and demonstrates to us that his presence never leaves our side, no matter what waves might surround us. If we have our eyes fixed on him, we can have courage no matter the storm.

You are not the hero of your own story.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention-grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we hear Jesus feed us with words that give us purpose. It’s easy to think that the goal in life is to accumulate as much wealth, possessions, and property as we can in order to use these things for our own enjoyment. Jesus teaches us that God blesses us richly so that we can be richly generous toward others. In doing so, we serve as his own hands as he provides for his creation through us.

Fishes and loaves are more than just desserts.

Reporters and writers are often looking for sound bites—short, attention-grabbing statements they can turn into a headline. When Jesus spoke—whether to massive crowds or just his closest followers, he didn’t give them unsatisfying samples of his divine wisdom. With his words, he always aimed to leave his hearers full. This week we consider the source of the sound bites we are consuming. By comparing himself to a shepherd who tends a flock of sheep, Jesus makes it clear that his interest in all that he does—including what he says—is our good. In contrast to other voices who seek to lead and influence, our good shepherd wants us to follow him, not for his gain, but for ours.

God's solution to bad leadership is more leadership, not less.

This past week we had the wonderful privilege of welcoming 80+ children from our congregation and community to our Good News Soccer Camp. It was an awesome week for learning about soccer, meeting new friends, having a lot of fun, and—most importantly—learning about our good and gracious God. This year’s camp theme was “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The theme comes from Romans 8:31,32. Even though it is in the form of a question, those words point to an obvious answer. If God is for us, no one can be against us. If God is for us, nothing can be against us. This week we talked about some of the things that otherwise would be against us. God’s law exposes how far short of it we’ve fallen. Our sin clings to us throughout our lives and follows us wherever we go. Sickness, catastrophe, and death threaten us on every side and spoil a life that was meant to be perfect. Thankfully, God is for us. As a result, no enemy and no evil can stand against us.

Not all ifs are iffy.

Weekly sermons from Good News Lutheran Church in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

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Good News Weekly Message

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