“God’s Light, Our Lives”

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“God’s Light, Our Lives” (1 John 2:3-11)

Series: Identity Revealed

by Pastor Nate Walther

Third Sunday of Epiphany – Jan. 25th, 2026

            These days I’m not so much missing the cold winters we used to experience when living out in the Dakotas, but if there’s one thing I do miss it’s the night skies.  There’s nothing like being out on the wide-open, high-northern plains without any light pollution so you can truly experience the milky way or the northern lights streaming overhead in their full glory. And one thing you would immediately notice out there?  Those points of light, sometimes 20 or 30 miles away on the horizon, yet somehow you could still see them clearly in a sea of darkness, where even something as small as a tiny family homestead with its one yard light could not be missed.

            It’s kind of daunting when we consider that God tells us to be such light in a world of darkness, doing what is right and letting our faith shine for all to see.  But that is what God tells us today.  Go back to our sermon text again… Verse 3, do we keep God’s commandments as he wants us to – like how we should use our money, our bodies, or our speech – or are we liars that only pretend that what God wants is important to us?…  Verse 5, do we appreciate what God says is true inhis Word – like how he must choose us to come to faith to him (we can’t choose that), or how all sexual acts outside of marriage are wrong (not just those of the homosexual or transexual variety), or how he wants us to help the poor & less fortunate (yes, even if they’ve made some bad decisions along the way)  – or are we bothered when God disagrees with our sensibilities?… Verse 6, do we remain in the Lord – by regularly gathering with God’s people, or readily reading our Bibles, or routinely taking our concerns to God in prayer – or does our walk look quite a bit different than Jesus’ walk, who always delighted in doing all these things?  Skipping ahead a few verses to verse 9, do we love it when God places others into our lives to serve – a needy next door neighbor, a hurting co-worker, even our own children – or do we actually hate this, and we see them more as burdens that get in the way of what we want to do ourselves?

Do I need to go on?  As I think of my own sin, I don’t want to go on!  Yet in words such as these, God shows the damning difference between light & darkness – between doing right & wrong –

which leads to a warning for us in that last example: “The one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes…”   Do I live with that pressing reality?  Or am I blind to the fact that darkness is so close to me and it could truly overcome me!  After all, John is warning Christians here just like me, his audience is not some hopelessly lost heathens!

So also dear fellow sinner, see the darkness in your heart that I see in mine this morning, repent of this sin before it overcomes you… then see the light of the Gospel which shines even more brilliantly for it!  (The darker the night on those Dakota prairies, the more those lights stood out, especially the few cities out there that you would come across.)

Because notice that right here in the middle of our text – in the middle of all this darkness – God places a light which cannot be missed.  “(All this is) true in Jesus… and (therefore) in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” In no uncertain terms, this is God telling us that Jesus can produce the light we cannot produce.  It’s the same thing we heard in our Old Testament reading earlier (Isaiah 9), which Jesus repeated in our Gospel reading (Matthew 4).  “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.  For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned.”

Fellow redeemed, whenever you feel lost in darkness without any way out, God tells us today that we don’t have to pull ourselves out of this hopeless gloom of sin on our own.  Anybody can have light dawn on them, and it has dawned on us too.  Christ was born into this world. Christ already walked in that perfection; yes, for you too.  Christ shines a bright light into this world that cannot be unseen.  It’s light that even managed to pierce through all the darkness and gloominess of hell.  Even after the sun ceased to shine over a cross on Good Friday, when all hope seemed lost and our Savior died, still it rose again over an empty tomb on Easter Sunday, and all hope returned when our Savior rose.

That’s finally what explains our theme. In the light of Christ, listen again to the end of our sermon text when God talks about us living in this light, “The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is still in the darkness.  The one who loves his brother remains in the light… and nothing causes him to stumble.”  Again, Jesus already came to be the light, we don’t have to produce it. But now to change OUR LIVES, God stresses the importance of being in HIS LIGHT. 

To put it all in another way, God is telling you and me to be the moon.  The full moon is 10,000 times brighter than the next brightest star, you can even navigate outside in the dark just by its light.   Yet think of how passive the moon really is – just a dead hunk of rock, incapable of producing any light of its own!  So how do we see it?  It’s all about the sun, which shine s400,000 times brighter than the moon. If the sun is not shining on it, the moon reflects no light and its surface remains at a frigid -200 degrees F. But if the sun is shining on it, the moon reflects that light and its surface skyrockets to above 200 degrees F, above boiling!  In other words, the moon is really just a big mirror, it is impossible for it to produce light on its own.

            That’s you and me also. By ourselves we are cold, dead bodies who can produce no light on our own.  God’s Word tells us that: Ephesians 2 says we are born dead in sin, and Hebrews 11that without faith it is impossible to please God.  It mirrors the language of 1 John 2: in the darkness of this world we cannot see and we cannot produce any light on our own… but then came the one about whom the prophet Malachi once said “he is the sun that rises with healing in his rays.”  And when that bright light 400,000 times brighter than us (really, more than that) shines on us?  Well, just the slightest ray from the sun extending past the curvature of the earth will reflect itself on the moon as the thinnest, yet most unmistakable crescent.  So also, if there is any light of Christ on us, we will reflect it.  We go from cold and dead to alive and warm, but not because of anything that is in us.  Rather, the warmth we feel in our hearts and the good we produce with our lives is all a reflection of Jesus’ warmth & goodness.  We shine nowhere near as brightly, but neither are we shining like those stars, cold & distant human traditions and beliefs where you must produce the light on your own and at best can flicker feebly and ultimately uselessly.  The light produced doesn’t help anyone see.  But the more fully we reflect Jesus light, the more we become like a full moon that can make a difference in the night of this world.  We do not light things up entirely, only Jesus can do that.  But we can still make a difference and show a better way, all as we borrow his light.

            It’s why the pressure’s off!  You don’t have to worry about doing enough good things or producing more light, that’s not what our faith is about.  But if we do see that we are lacking that light, the answer is to get back into that light.  To put it simply, today God is telling us to be in Church more, to be studying our Bibles more, to be in prayer more.  Because this is where we find Christ’s light, and the more we have it the more we will reflect it, just like the moon can’t help but reflect the light of the sun…  So what does that look like in a church of 500-600 such as ours?  Well, how can we have about 300 more people in worship every week?  And how can we have about 400-500 more people in Bible Study every week?  And how can we have all 500-600 of us be praying more or reading our Bibles every day?  If that sounds crazy, I’m not kidding.  What else am I supposed to tell you if that’s where GOD says the light is found?… And how can we make that happen?  Let’s start having those conversations among church leadership, among each other, and among our family & friends. If you’re already doing this personally, great – do it even more!  Because only in the Gospel message of Jesus we find eternal life itself and walk in the light of God’s presence.  And as we see differently, that’s what will also change our lives on earth too. 

Dear Christian, from miles away in this dark world God wants people to see you… but not you.  He wants them to see HIS LIGHT reflected in OUR LIVES.  And if people aren’t seeing that when they look at us, the first and last question we ask should not be “what must I do?” or “how can I produce this light?”, but “how can I get back into God’s light?”  Fortunately, it’s easy to find again.  We just need to lift our eyes where we see it shining brightly on the horizon; in fact, it’s already dawned on us, brighter and more brilliant than anything else we’ve ever seen.  It’s right there in Word and Sacrament.  It’s right there in the cross and empty tomb.  It’s right there in Jesus…  Dear Christian, do you want to be a better person?…  Be in Christ more.  It’s all about Jesus and what he does.  Amen.

“No Empty Ritual”

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“No Empty Ritual” (Isaiah 42:2-7)

Series: Identity Revealed

by Pastor Nate Walther

Baptism of Christ, January 11th, 2026

            Are there any EMPTY RITUALS in your life?  Perhaps it’s those cheesy team-building exercises at work that you have to put up with.  Maybe it’s an outdated family tradition where nobody knows why you do what you do, it’s just what you’ve always done!  Or it might be performative social gestures – putting up yard signs, participating in protests, or putting those fancy frames about particular causes around your Facebook profile picture…  It’s not that these are all bad things, but do they really accomplish anything? Likewise, given our focus today, it seems fair to ask whether JESUS’ BAPTISM qualifies as such.  Seriously, why did Jesus need to get baptized?  He had no sins to wash away, and he was already God’s child from eternity!  Was Jesus’ Baptism merely an “empty ritual”? 

Today in his Word God shows us how it’s not.  Our sermon text contains the first of what we call Isaiah’s four Servant Songs, which connects to the truth throughout Scripture that the Lord often worked through servants to accomplish his purposes.  That included men like Saul & David, who were anointed with oil then filled with the Holy Spirit for the important task of leading God’s people.  Earlier in the book of Isaiah, God also calls the entire nation of Israel his servant, and he even calls a foreign king like Cyrus of Persia his servant, since Cyrus would return God’s people to the Promised Land after their exile in Babylon.  That last one’s especially interesting: Isaiah literally mentions Cyrus by name in this book – even calling him God’s “Anointed One”, which literally translated is “Christ” – but Isaiah lived a full 200 years before anyone else knew that name.

Unfortunately, the problem with all these servants is that they were men who had sin.  Israel constantly rebelled against God.  Despite a strong start, Saul completely turned his back on the Lord in the end.  Even David, “a man after God’s own heart”, as the Bible so eloquently puts it?  God didn’t call him that when David was committing adultery with Uriah’s wife.  Finally there’s Cyrus, the man who returned Israel to the Promised Land.  Like Saul, we’re not even sure if he died a believer!  How could any of these men finally be God’s servant, and get the job done as his “anointed one.”  It’s why God needed someone else to be his servant, someone better…

That’s what God talks about in Isaiah’s first “Servant Song”.  Listen again to the words of the first verse of our sermon text, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I am placing my Spirit on him. He will announce a just verdict for the nations.”

There’s a lot packed into these words.  First of all, we can see the entire Triune God in this verse.  God the Father is speaking.  He mentions God the Holy Spirit.  And what about God the Son?  Again, “Here is my Servant, whom I uphold.”  At first glance, that may not sound like the Son.  When God says he will “uphold” him, what help did Jesus require as the Son of God himself?  But notice how the Father also describes him as “my chosen one in whom I delight.”  There’s only one person about whom God could truly say that, and we heard it in our Gospel reading from Matthew 3.  At Jesus’ baptism the Father said, “with HIM I am well pleased”, God really did “delight” in Jesus!”  Then, God goes on to say “I am placing my Spirit on him.”  That may also seem a little strange to us, because did Jesus really need that kind help like sinful those sinful kings from the past?  Yet, about this same servant God says, “He will announce a just verdict for the nations.” It’s a picture of a judge announcing God’s verdict over all people in the heavenly courtroom.  Other than the God the Father himself, only Jesus is described with such authority in Scripture.

The rest of our sermon text reinforces the truth that Jesus is God’s true servant.  Verses 3 & 4 describe how the servant himself has the authority to “bring forth” and “establish” justice from God!  Verses 4 & 6 describe how he has authority “over all the earth”, as only God does. Verses 6 & 7 then describe how such justice will result in good things for all people despite their sin – that means this servant is able to overcome it!… In the end, we have to look a full 700 years into the future after Isaiah’s prophecy to find the proper fulfillment of these words, but that’s what we finally find in Jesus, who offers something so necessary in a world of empty rituals… especially when our own faith is full of them also.    

Seriously, how often do we treat baptism or our confirmation vows as such? Maybe you never think these words, but do we essentially live by the mantra, “I don’t always have to live as the child God says I am in baptism or listen to what God says as my Heavenly Father. It’s alright if I renege on those confirmation vows about being faithful to God’s Word and all that.”  Or when does church attendance become such? We go through the ritual not so much because we see the purpose in it, it’s just what we do.  And slowly – as our faith becomes more performative, as our relationship with God becomes less meaningful – we fall short as God’s servants.  It’s the sad reality of sin at work in our hearts.

            It’s why Jesus needed to come and do better than I did, which he did perfectly.  Think of it, the only one who didn’t need any help from angels, nor assistance at all as God himself… He willingly placed himself below angels for a time, as we just heard at Christmas; he willingly became subject to God’s law also, as he took on of human flesh.  Then, to overcome all sin as our substitute, he didn’t just blow away temptation, death, and the devil with his own power as the Son of God.  Instead he used what God has equally put at our disposal as sons of men: the Gospel, found in Word & Sacrament, where the Holy Spirit effectually delivers all of God’s power.

            Baptism was NO EMPTY RITUAL for Jesus.  It was him doing what God wanted us to do by relying on the power of God the Holy Spirit & having in a perfect relationship that always listened to God the Father. That’s why, when the Spirit descended on Jesus in Baptism, he followed that Spirit.   For example, in the words right after our Gospel reading, Matthew tells us that it was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the desert to be tempted. Jesus didn’t choose that on his own, but he did choose to rely on God to get him through that episode (we’ll hear more about that in the first week of Lent).  It’s a pattern Jesus follows throughout his life: constantly praying to the Father for guidance & direction as it led him straight to the cross, but not because Jesus lacked anything or needed that punishment. It was because we lacked everything and needed someone to suffer that punishment for us.

            So also, dear Christian, your baptism is NO EMPTY RITUAL.  In this same anointing God has poured out his power on you through his Spirit.  If that’s what Jesus relied upon in our place to overcome all the forces of sin, death, and the devil, it can work for you and for me too.  That means whatever commandments God has placed before me, and whatever tasks he’s assigned to you in your life – even if we think we are not able to do it! – we are able to do it.  The same goes for you kids out there who have been baptized – and you parents don’t you doubt it! – you can do what God says.  Simply trust God like Christ did, then do what God says like Christ did… and wherever you & I still fall short, know that Christ didn’t.  That’s where BAPTISM offers us one more gift that Jesus never needed from his Father & the Holy Spirit: washing for these sins, assurance that we are still God’s children.  That’s exactly what Jesus earned for us starting with his baptism and his work as God’s perfect servant. Someone finally got the job done right.

            In a world filled with EMPTY RITUALS – with superstitions ranging from what socks you’re going to wear on gameday to when you’re going to bathe, all in a futile effort to ensure your favorite team wins – that’s not what we find in baptism.  Jesus never would have gotten baptized otherwise, he never wasted his time on meaningless motions & outward show.  So also, Christian, you are baptized… and thank God for it!  Amen.

As Strong or as Stubborn as an Ox?

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Pastor Nate Walther

“As Strong as an Ox.” It’s a saying we have for people who are really strong, and one I especially appreciate after living in North Dakota and serving ranchers. Once cattle have it in mind that they are headed in a particular direction? They are not easily stopped. Likewise, the men who wrangle such steers? Pound-for-pound the strongest guys I’ve ever encountered.


It’s an image that adds color to certain words of Scripture, but words that are not so complementary. Several times throughout his Word, God calls his people “stiff-necked and stubborn” when they have rebelled against him. The picture behind these words is that of an ox headed in one direction, who will not turn even when you try to lead him.


How often do our sins leave us “stiff-necked and stubborn”? Just like a stiff neck that grows worse every hour you sleep on wrong, so also is our stubbornness with every sin to which we succumb. The more we tread the same path, the more easily we walk in that same groove. And we’d like to think that we can break out of it at any time! Yet how strongly does our sin have a hold on us?


It’s why we needed help from someone who didn’t once veer into the cascading path of sin where one evil leads to a million. Someone as “strong as an ox”, at least compared to us, but who would only head in the right direction. And just like oxen were sometimes used for burnt (or, “whole”) offerings on Israel’s altars, which was supposed to represent total and complete dedication to the Lord, Jesus was the burnt offering that finally got the job done God’s way, without any blemish or defect.


Thank God for the strength Jesus has as our Savior from sin! Now, with Christ’s strength, we can now find the strength to walk like an ox, but not in a stubborn or stiff-necked way. Rather, the more we follow Christ’s Word and tread that path, the more strongly we will be able to remain on God’s path.