“The Gift of Perspective” (Isaiah 61:10-62:3)

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Series: Christ The Savior is Born

Pastor Nate Walther

New Years Eve, 2025

Another year is in the books.  In just a few short hours, 2025 will be in the rear-view mirror.  How are you feeling about the past year?  This one is hitting me more than most.  After a decade of raising our kids and starting a church in North Dakota, I couldn’t have imagined how different life would be just one short year later in Madison.  And so many things seemed like a big deal back then.  So many problems to figure out a year ago!  But now they hardly matter.  In their place are plenty of other problems! 

Not here at church, mind you.  I love being here and just “being a pastor” after a decade of being all things that a small mission church requires.  But suddenly, I own a house after living in a parsonage for a decade – plenty of additional stressors come with that!  Then, both Heather and I are working full time for the first time since we had kids – plenty of juggling of the schedules there!  With that it dawns on me how quickly we forget what we’ve made it through, and how quickly we get fixated on new problems. Over the last few years, Heather and I even came up with a saying whenever we solved something: “onto the next crisis!”, because there’s always another crisis.

I know you can relate, and it’s also something Isaiah’s audience from our sermon text could relate to.  Like us, they faced plenty of crises.  Listen to how Isaiah describes it the first half of his prophecy.  First there’s God responding to his people’s sin in Isaiah 1:“Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you…”  Then, there’s God explaining the consequences when they continued their sin, Isaiah 24:“The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.  In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces…” Finally, there’s God’s Word to the king in Isaiah 39:“The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord…”  It’s just one hit after another, and if these times and these problems were all they had, they would be doomed.  But that’s also why God sent Isaiah to them, to give them the GIFT OF PERSPECTIVE. The second half of his prophecy – especially, what we hear in our sermon text – does just that. 

In the first part of our sermon text, God’s people are speaking. And what’s immediately clear?  Things have completely turned around.  Verse 10 describes an emphatic joy – it’s even pictured with the language of a wedding, one of the most joyful times of life – and it’s all because the people have found salvation & righteousness… Then, in the second part of our sermon text, starting with chapter 62, God himself starts speaking, and what stands out there?  Again, things have completely turned around.  Verse 2 describes how all those nations and kings – who previously attacked and conquered and exiled them –would now see Israel differently!  Why was that?  From start to finish in this text, it’s simply because of the Lord.  Verse 10, God is the one who clothes his people in salvation & righteousness; Verse 11, God is the one who causes his people’s praise to sprout up; Chapter 62, verse 1, God is the one who will not rest or be silent, Verse 2, God is the one who assigns to his people a new name; finally, verse 3, God is the one who holds his loved ones in his palm.

Dear friends in Christ, a new year with its new problems is an opportunity to remember God will always work things out.  We need that reminder, because the passage of time wears on us just as surely.  We face trouble like God’s people in the past, and we worry about it.  For all our faith & desire to follow God, we also have days where we think everything is falling apart & we don’t trust God to put it back together.  It’s why we don’t deserve salvation, nor are we worthy to bear God’s holy name.  Far from being symbols of God’s strength, we are symbols of weakness….

Yet, we just heard the opposite.  God tells us through Isaiah that we are God’s crown and we are God’s scepter – both symbols of a king’s strength.  How can that be?  It starts with Christmas: God showing his strength in weakness – in an infant child born in human flesh, a child who suffered under all human frailty & sin, a child who was born to die on the cross in payment for all sin… all so we could be adopted into God’s name by being baptized into Jesus name, all to show a strength from God that could overcome all human weakness, all bring us into the light.

Now that this light has dawned, it changes our perspective on things, much like the first light of morning.  Have you ever noticed that?  Maybe you are in your tree stand, and it is dark, and you can’t make out much in the shapes around you.  But then the sun rises, and everything is clear, and maybe that’s when you suddenly notice that buck standing in the clearing!…  So also, it’s the GIFT OF PERSPECTIVE God shows us in the light of the Christ child.  That’s what can make a real difference in your life this new year if you look at things in that light.  And not just for you.

As we heard in our sermon text, this wasn’t just for the Israelites to see – or, by extension, us Christians today as spiritual children of Abraham – this is for all nations to see!   Think about it: life is hard enough with Christ.  Can you imagine how much your friends and family and coworkers are struggling without Christ?  They may put on a good face, but what war do they face?  What siege surrounds them?  What has been exiled and carried from their lives – and they don’t have an answer for it?

We can’t settle for that!  We love these people in our lives!  So what can we do to shine this light on them?… Maybe that’s the New Years’ resolution you’ve been searching for.  Have you been trying to figure ot out?  So often, we think of New Years’ resolutions in terms of self, and so often we fail because of the shortcomings of our sinful selves.  But what if we thought if it in terms of others, in terms of service?   What can we do in the new year to shine this light on others in word or deed, through invitations to church or acts of love that meet others’ needs?

It’s something to think about.  It’s a different perspective.  Finally, it’s the Christmas gift God gives us in Jesus.  Everything looks different in that light. And also, that includes our new year.  Whatever you face, know that God will get you through it too.  See it in the light of the Christ child.  Amen.

“Salvation in the Flesh” (John 1:1-14)

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Series: Christ The Savior is Born

Pastor Nate Walther

Christmas Day, 2025

Have you ever met someone famous?  Maybe it was a president, or an all-pro athlete, or a famous singer.  But when you told someone else about it, perhaps you were immediately met with skepticism: “No you didn’t!”  That’s where you may have responded with something like, “I’m not kidding!…  I saw him with my own eyes. I saw her IN THE FLESH.”  Those final words are an appeal to the senses: this was so real that I could actually see, hear, and touch this person as I shook their hand.

It’s those same words that illustrate for us the blessing of Christmas.  Sometimes the things that religion offers can seem to be “pie in the sky”, too good to be true.  I mean, how can the divine and miraculous and transcendent actually cross paths with me?  Sure, God says he’s there for me, but how does that help me with the unexpected bill in my hand that needs to be paid, or the cancer in your body that is literally destroying it, or the sinful temptation in our hearts that keeps rearing its ugly head just when we think we’ve got it under control?  How can I be sure that I really will go to heaven, or that there really are good things waiting for me after I die, or that I really will see my loved ones again?

God’s simple, yet brilliant answer at Christmas is this: SALVATION IN THE FLESH.  i.e. Christmas is all about what’s standing right before us in skin & bone.  Through his birth into human flesh, Jesus offers the one place in all of time & space where the divine actually crossed paths with our human flesh, as unbelievable as it may seem. 

That’s exactly what God talks about in our sermon text today. Listen again to what we heard in verse 14 “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth…”  It’s a special title the Bible uses for Jesus.  What we heard at the beginning of our reading is also repeated here: Jesus is the Word.  Somehow, miraculously, Jesus is the same Word we pick up and read as we gather around it at home and in church.  Somehow, Jesus is also the same Word through which God once spoke and all things were created, as we were told back in verse 3. But he’s not just Word: metaphysical & abstract. No, “The Word BECAME FLESH and dwelled among us.” That’s really interesting. The Bible doesn’t just tell us that Jesus became a human being or a man – there were other words they would use back then for that.  No, the Bible takes it a step farther and says Jesus became flesh.  It’s a gritty, dirty kind of word.  The Bible even uses this word flesh elsewhere to describe our sinful flesh!  Of course, as the Son of God, Jesus didn’t have sinful flesh himself.  But this inspired word choice does remind us that Jesus got his hands dirty – he entered into our universe and our lives (tainted by sin) in a very real way – as real as the flesh on our hands that we can hold right before us…

Do you realize how much that changes everything?  Now we can look at all the other things God promises that may seem abstract – divine power to help us, which created everything we see with just a word; warm light, which can drive out the darkness of the sin in our hearts and evil in our lives; new life, which gives us hope even when we’re staring into the hopelessness of a grave – and we can finally believe that these impossible things really are true.  How?  It’s SALVATION IN THE FLESH.  It’s as real as a child lying in flesh in a manger, whom those shepherds first laid their very eyes on.  It’s as real as that child beginning to grow up found in the temple, whose understanding of God’s Word blew away the sharpest minds of his day.  It’s as real as that child now a man, who offered a glimmer of light through his love & his teachings to those lost in darkness with nowhere else to turn.  It’s as real as that same man raising the dead to life, who gave back to a grieving father his daughter & sisters their brother & masters their servants…

Dear friends in Christ, your help and your hope in this world doesn’t rest on dead prophets who once said some thought-provoking things, but whose words now ring hollow and distant when you’re hurting and suffering.  Your help and your hope rest on a living Savior whose birth is as real as any other event in history. That also includes the end of this child’s story: he died on a cross, for your sin and for mine; he rose from a grave, to deliver us from death undo the very worst thing this flesh does to us!

Again, it’s the value of something actually being in the flesh.  Granted, maybe you and I haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh personally.  But the fact is that he was seen in the flesh by others.  Countless thousands saw him, many of whom wrote about him, including the Apostle John who penned the words of our sermon text.  That makes it no less real to us.  Finally, if Jesus was going to enter our time and space, this is just the reality of it.  He could only come at one time, like all real things that have happened, and he could only come in one body, like all real people who have lived.  That means that not all the world would see it. But that doesn’t mean all the world couldn’t benefit from what he did. Just like the Caesars or the Popes, Johannes Gutenberg or Isaac Newton, George Washington or Abraham Lincoln had a lasting impact on things after them, though we have not seen them… so also Jesus, only in a far better and far more lasting way, and for all people.  In particular, this child was born to bring salvation to all who believe in him. Today, on this festival celebration, find a simple joy in the fact that you have all of God’s power, you have light in darkness, you have new life – as unbelievable and impossible as these things may seem!  Where is it all found? IN THE FLESH.  In Christ.  Your SALVATION is as real as a warm baby lying in his mother’s arms.  Amen. 

The Power of Imminence

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Theme: The Power of Imminence (James 5:7-12)

by Pastor Nate Walther

Do you know the tale of the Sword of Damocles?  It’s a Greek parable about a man named Damocles, who served under powerful king Dionysius.  One day as Damocles raved about the king’s power & position, Dionysius unexpectedly offered to trade places with him for a day.  Damocles gladly accepted and immediately enjoyed the feeling of sitting on the throne, surrounded by the finest wares with all the best food brought to him by servants. But then he noticed above his throne the point of a sword hanging right over his head, suspended by a single strand of horsehair and looking as if it could fall at any second.  Just as quickly as he noticed it, Damocles no longer wanted to be sitting on the throne…  As the fable goes, Dionysius put the sword there because he also had many enemies who wanted to kill him, so the sword was a reminder of the IMMINENCE of their threats.  And that was hard, it’s why Damocles didn’t want to sit on the throne!  But there was also a POWER in that sword, it prompted Dionysius to act swiftly and decisively in his actions as king since he was constantly reminded it this could all be over at any second.  As people interpret this parable today, it helps to explain why his real-life counterpart (also named Dionysius) was considered such a tyrant ruler.

            Perhaps we don’t have an actual sword hanging over our heads, but we get the idea. You’re playing a game and the hourglass is running out – it’s never quite clear when that will be just by looking at it! – and as the pressure mounts, you frantically shout out last-second guesses.  Or it’s the end of the year and deductibles are met, or the warranty is running out on your home or car, so there’s pressure get something looked at by the doctor, or to get your car or home inspected before it’s too late!  That’s the POWER OF IMMINENCE.  When we know something could happen at any time, it prompts us to action. There’s nothing like a deadline to get things done.  So also, God shows us today in his Word that the imminence of Christ’s return has the same power to change how we live our lives.

            A little background for our sermon text: James’s audience struggled to treat others well, including fellow Christians.  They often spoke poorly of each other, even cursing one other. And even when they talked a good talk, they still didn’t actually do anything for those in need.  Meanwhile, they showed favoritism to the rich who took advantage of the poor they weren’t helping.  Now, at the end of a letter James sent to help correct their behavior, James reminds them of the power of imminence in Christ’s return so it might motivate new behavior in them.

            We see that right in the heart of our sermon text.  Take another look at verse eight.  Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James writes, “You be patient too. Strengthen your hearts… because the coming of the Lord is near” — It’s imminent, it could happen at any time!  And in that light that James goes on to say things like verse nine, “Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the door…” 

In a world that so often directs people to themselves to power through challenges and difficulties and to be a better person, God does not direct us Christians to our own heroic capabilities; rather, he directs us to the certain knowledge that Christ will return again soon. That’s what he means to empower our behavior.  It’s the same picture James painted with the farmer in the first verses of our sermon text.  The farmer doesn’t know when the rains will come, but still he prepares and perseveres because he knows it could be at any time.

            That said, how often does the imminence of Christ’s return not show in our lives?  Honestly, what would I say different, how would I treat people differently, what would look different in my life if I knew Jesus was coming tomorrow, or perhaps even this evening?… You realize he could, right?  That hourglass may only have one grain of sand left in it, we’ve seen all the signs of the end of time that Scripture talks about spill out into the bottom of the it!  Yet how often do we not live with such urgency, and we do things that wouldn’t matter to us the moment Jesus returned?  Even worse, how often do we live in sin and figure we could always come back to what God wants later?… What if God did the same?  What if he put off saving us and doing what’s best for us?  After all, he could always come back to us!  Hopefully we won’t be dead and in hell by then, or we won’t be too far gone and our hearts so hardened that we just reject him!

            Except, that’s never what God has done. In fact, the entire Bible is really the story of how our sin created an IMMINENCE in God’s behavior, which prompted him to use all of his POWER to act with urgency and love.  It’s why in the garden God’s immediate response to Adam & Eve was not, “here are the consequences for your sin”, but rather, “here’s what I will do to fix it!”  It’s why whenever God’s people cried out to him for help in the Old Testament after rebelling against him, his heart could never bear it and he would quickly send a Moses, or a judge, or a king to help them.  It’s why at the very moment king David confessed his ugly sins of covetousness and adultery and murder to Nathan the prophet, God forgave him.  Yes, there were earthly consequences to all these sins too, but one such consequence was never the removal of God’s grace and eternal pardon.  And that’s true for you and for me as well.  Even when we have shown so little concern for the signs of Christ’s coming, or even when we continue to live in sin by putting off whatever God wants us to do today, still we repent and believe. And then when the water pours over your skin in baptism, when Christ’s true body & blood in the bread & wine are tasted on your lips in Lord’s Supper, when the Gospel promise enters ears opened by repentant hearts – God only continues to save us through his Son Jesus, who felt the imminence of our condition, which powerfully prompted him to take all of his power and pour it into human flesh so that he would save us from our sin through his perfect life and innocent death on the cross.

            Dear Christian, there’s POWER IN IMMINENCE, especially when it comes from the God of all power. It’s why you don’t have to “try harder” or “find it in yourself” to be a better person. Jesus has already taken all that pressure off our shoulders.  Instead as James shows us, we just need to see more and more that Christ has come & Christ will return.  We may not know exactly when, but like we see the signs of the season – leaves changing & temperatures dropping, and you knew this past fall that winter was coming even though it took a while for it to happen; and sure enough, here it is – so also we know Christ could come at any time. Finally, that’s why tomorrow is not the day to talk to your loved one about their sin or tell that friend about Jesus.  Tomorrow is not the day to get your kids baptized or get that pet sin out of your life.  Tomorrow is not the day to start taking your family’s devotional life seriously with Bible Study and prayer or make church a bigger priority in your life.  No, today is the day for that…  There’s no other option, not when we consider Jesus’ IMMINENT ARRIVAL.  In fact, we don’t even want another option.  Because we don’t have a sword hanging over us like the rest of the world does, fearing the end of time and death and what it means for us.  We have salvation hanging over our heads.  We want to be in this chair, it’s only good, and it can only change our lives for the better.  Amen.

A Substitute Ram as the LORD Provides

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Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns.  He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.  And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” – Genesis 22:13-14

A Substitute Ram as the LORD Provides

Did you long for a particular Christmas gift as a child?  Was there that one thing you desperately wished to open under the tree?  Depending on your generation, that special gift could be one of many things: a Barbie doll or GI Joe, a video game console, Hot Wheels, Legos, Squishmellow, or anything Star Wars.  There is something joyful about opening up the wrapped gift on Christmas morning and having that hope made into a reality.

For Abraham, that one hope was to be gifted a son.  Having a son was such a big wish at the top of his list, God had to repeat the promise to him again and again.  You may remember how his wife laughed, and how they tried to take matters into their own hands to provide an heir.  And yet God provided a son, according to his timetable, to carry on Abraham’s lineage and, even better, God’s promise to provide a Savior.  What a challenging request then in Genesis 22, to be tested and asked to sacrifice his one and only son.  

Our passage for today follows after Abraham and Isaac’s willing obedience to God’s instruction.  We find in God’s people hearts which reflect fear and love for God – even doing what he says when things don’t seem to make sense.  And we find in God, a mercy, care, and providence for his people.  

The angel of the LORD speaks from heaven before the sacrifice is carried out.  He blesses Abraham and speaks to the great gift God would give to the world through Abraham of a different one and only Son in verses 17-18,  “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

And there in the thicket, God provides a ram.  This year we have been learning about how God used his created creatures within the pages of Scripture to accomplish his good and saving plans for us.  Now in the month of December, we look forward to the coming Christ child, and in so doing, we look forward to God’s one and only Son who would enter our fallen world to take our sin to his cross.  He would be that needed sacrifice.

We find in Scripture a ram caught in the bushes who would take the place of the boy on the altar.  Here God provided substitution, sacrifice, and saving.  It would be on this Mt. Moriah years later many rams and animals would be sacrificed.  This very hilltop would house Solomon’s temple, where substitution and sacrifice would take place morning and evening and seemingly all hours between.  The temple sacrifices of rams and other animals would serve as a constant reminder of God’s promises, given to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, and to those worship attenders that God had not forgotten his promises to his people.  All nations on earth would be blessed by the one sacrifice needed for sin, through the coming Messiah.

And near Mt. Moriah stood another mountain height, one with a more ominous future.  In the same range, perhaps even in eyesight, stood Mt. Calvary.  Here the saving sacrifice of Jesus would take place at the precious cross.  Here sin would be paid for and life with God given as a free gift.  Here generations of God’s promises would be made complete in Christ.  Here would be our hope for forgiveness and eternal life with our God in heaven.  God has provided again.  This time through his one and only Son. 

That’s what makes our December joyful.  We look forward to Christmas, with it’s worship and gift giving and fun.  And yet as believers we also see in this season the Christ child.  We see God’s promises to substitute, sacrifice, and save us from our sins.  To recognize this truth by faith is a great gift.  Let’s share our hope and joy in Jesus all season long!  Our LORD has provided!

“Justice for All”

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“Justice for All” (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)

Pastor Nate Walther

Sunday, November 16th, 2025

How do you like it when they get away with it?  Maybe it’s an “open and shut” court case where everyone knows who did it, but there’s a technicality and a key piece of evidence is rendered inadmissible, so the judge throws the case out. Or perhaps it’s at the scene of a grisly crime, but it’s a matter of “he said, she said” with no concrete evidence, so the police can’t arrest anyone.  In either case the end result is the same: a crime was committed and nobody pays the price…  It’s the kind of outcome that leaves us outraged!  It’s why crime series like Law & Order or documentaries like Making a Murderer suck us in.  We want justice.  It’s just how we’re wired.  And do you realize we want this because God has hardwired this into our hearts?  In fact, he wants it so much that he promises in our epistle reading there will be JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Before we dig into our sermon text, let’s make sure we’re on the same page with the difficult topic God has placed before us today.  As we think about things like justice and punishment for sin: hell is a real place, where real people will go, including some people we know.  And maybe that needs to be said.  Perhaps you struggle with that thought, even though you know it’s what our churches teach; or even if you agree with it, perhaps you just don’t like to think about it!   But regardless of how any one of us may feel, God clearly says hell it is real, and he clearly puts it before us to think about.  Today’s readings mentioned hell in a couple of different ways.  There are even times where Jesus talks about it more directly. So, if we want to dispute what Jesus himself says or don’t want to think about something God certainly wants us to think about, we may as well throw the whole book away, we obviously aren’t interested in what it has to say!… On the other hand, if we’re not ready to do that, can we take it a step further with our theme of justice and see that hell is a necessary, even sensible teaching?  Again, we live in a world of justice!  Actions matters. Everyone feels there should be consequences for sin!  Finally, we all know deep down, that must mean hell.  When pressed, who wouldn’t agree that a serial killer, or a child rapist, or a genocidal racist dictator like Hitler should go to hell?  If not, we are really making the case that these horrible crimes don’t really matter – not in the grand scheme of things, not if you could just get away with them and there are no lasting consequences for them.  If you believe in any kind of afterlife, that will just never sit right with you. And the God who created our eternal souls agrees.  He wants JUSTICE FOR ALL!

With that in mind, consider what we heard earlier.  In verse 6 when God talks about justice, he clearly describes it as something that is earned by evil deeds.  It’s not just something God arbitrarily dishes out.  Rather, to use the example of the Thessalonian congregation, those who troubled these Christians would earn trouble for themselves.  However, verse 7 talks about such justice being handed out on Judgment Day.  We miss that sometimes.  We crave justice, and when we don’t see it we figure something must be wrong!  But God doesn’t promise justice today.  Instead, he promises it will be “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels.”  That’s when, verse 8, He will exercise vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. That’s critical to our understanding of hell.  Hell is earned as retribution for things done wrong, but that’s not the only reason God says some people will go there.  What other reason is there?  God doesn’t say it will be because the people here persecuted Christians of all people, or because their sin was bad enough.  Instead, God says they would suffer hell because they didn’t follow the instructions of the gospel, which is to believe in Jesus; and they didn’t have a relationship with God the Father where they really knew him and what he wanted: namely, the salvation of their souls. 

Moving ahead to verse 9, we are given a definition for hell.  This just penalty, as it is called here, is ETERNAL destruction away from the PRESENCE of the Lord and from his glorious strength.  First of all, hell is a place of destruction.  But we see some destruction already in our world, so it has to be more than just that.  What sets hell apart is that it is everlasting destruction, and everlasting destruction where you no longer have the presence of God with his glorious strength to curb sin.  Under those circumstances, what will prevent sin from getting worse and worse?…  Finally, verse 10, God describes people who will avoid this fate – people like the Thessalonians, and by extension, you and me! – and why do we avoid it?  Again, notice what God doesn’t say.  He doesn’t say it’s because they avoided particularly bad sins.  In fact, he doesn’t talk at all about their deeds.   He doesn’t even talk about them being wronged more than others.  Really, the only difference?  They believed.  They believed the Apostles’ message, whom Jesus had sent out to testify about him.

Some of this lines up well with our sense of justice, but there’s one thing that doesn’t line up: how can this be justice for all? Isn’t it a double standard if some can just believe and receive a “get out of hell free”-card, no matter what they’ve done?  Except, whom are they believing in? It’s Jesus. Jesus who already paid the fiery penalty of everlasting destruction that God requires for sin.  It’s why there is justice for all.  This is no double standard. God agrees in his Word that sin must be punished.  The only question? Will you believe in Jesus so that he may receive that punishment for you?  Or will you take punishment for yourself?…

What we so often fail to see is that JUSTICE FOR ALL does not just mean justice for others and their sin in hell… what it should also mean is justice for me and my sin in hell.  And that’s exactly where we try to find the same loopholes we hate that others find when they try to get away with it.  “My sin is not so bad.  I had a good reason for what I did!  I didn’t know it would turn out like that…  I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, and at least I didn’t kill anyone, others have done so much worse!”  As we think this way, we think our sins don’t warrant hell.  But what we cannot deny is that we still have sin, and what happens if that sin remains unchecked? 

The thing about sin is that it only makes things worse, even if it doesn’t seem so bad at first.  I’m just getting to know you as my new congregation, and I don’t know what sins each of you struggles with.  But one example I can imagine from 11 years of ministry experience is that some of you have struggled with sexual sin.  Think of how that one works. It only gets worse.  Lust leads to pornography, which is such an ugly addiction, it can take even a blessing like sex within marriage and destroy it!  In other cases this particular sin can lead to sex outside of marriage, which people may excuse as “consenting adults” or (a slightly more “sanctified” viewpoint) “trying things out” before you make such an important decision, but what these loopholes actually do is devalue the blessings God wants to give to bind husband and wife together, or they even make marriage based on something other than an unconditional promise.  Studies even show this mindset can make divorce or adultery more likely.

Granted, maybe you don’t struggle with that particular sin, but where do we see this sin in our lives?  Is it laziness, which may not seem like a big deal until it destroys a job and a means of providing for a family? Is it drunkenness, where “it’s only a few beers!”, but we’ve all seen how the bottle can ruin people themselves or destroy their relationships with others?  Is it in greed, whichis never content, and the pursuit of which can prevent people from being around for their families when they need them even more than the money they are providing?… Whatever sin that is for you and for me, perhaps we still think, “Yeah, but I’ve got my sin in check, it hasn’t turned out so bad!” Even if that is true, why is that?  Isn’t it only because God graciously stepped in?  Maybe he led you to repentance and new life in Christ so that your marriage, your addiction, your vice – whatever may be! – wouldn’t turn out so bad.  Or, maybe he simply had pity on you and spared you these consequences without the repentance! In other words, it’s kind of like a governor on an engine that prevents it from going too fast or too hard.  So also, God only lets our sin spin so fast and go so far in this world.

Consider the alternative.  What if God just let that engine go until it overheated, until we threw a rod, until our soul was destroyed?  Do you realize, that’s hell?  That’s exactly what we heard in our sermon text! Hell is the removal of God’s gracious presence and power, which means there’s nothing to keep our sin in check.  Hell is not God unfairly punishing people, gleefully throwing the book at them as some people imagine.  If anything it’s the opposite: it’s God saying, “If you don’t believe in me and you reject me, then I’ll give you what you want: I’ll leave you alone so that I won’t help you with your sin at all… though, I will have justice for that sin.” In other words, hell is simply our soul with sin, on a trajectory that goes into eternity.  And that will only get worse and worse. No one with sin – which by its very nature only grows and consumes and destroys – is somehow immune from this. 

But God tells us a solution. We heard it in our sermon text: the difference faith in Jesus makes.  Not as a loophole or a code; just real justice, really met. The only question is where and when?  Will justice have been met for you on a cross on a dark Friday afternoon 2,000 years ago, where a man at Golgotha died for your sin?  Or will it be on another day to come at some point in the future, when that same man returns to bring judgment on those who rejected the brand of justice that he wanted to offer them all along?… Dear fellow sinner, see it today: our day of Judgment has already passed.  Jesus has suffered your hell already.  That’s no exaggeration, just everything sin would do to you and to me and for all eternity, only crammed into three miserable, wretched, unfathomable hours on the cross.  No governor on it for Jesus, just God turning his gracious presence away from him.  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, and do you know the answer to that question?  It was so that God wouldn’t ever have to ever remove his gracious presence from YOU.  That’s how much God loves YOU. He made sure justice was met for all people, so that he would save YOU too. 

Now, since there is JUSTICE FOR ALL, how can we settle for having it when others don’t?  Whether it’s those we know and love dearly, or others we don’t know at all (but they don’t know Christ), we must do whatever we can to bring the good news of Jesus to others.  Then, they can find justice already met for them on Judgment Day as well, just like us.  May that always guide what we do as Christians and as a church!… And after we do that, if people still persecute us, if we are still wronged, if this world still lacks justice, God tells us today what he tells the Thessalonian, “Be at peace…  Judgment Day is still coming.”  Because this isn’t like one of those situations where a cold case doesn’t get resolved.  Rather, this is like one of those situations where the murderer is caught, and he’s brought to justice, and the family finds peace in that.  Even better, this is the only situation where your dead family member will be returned to you alive in the end, or your destroyed property will be fully restored, or whatever wrong you could possibly incur will be made right – in fact, it will be better than you had before. That’s God’s idea of justice.  And is it fair?  No!  It’s actually, completely unfair that God would give us so much more than we ever deserve.  So don’t ever look at hell, see the justice there, and let anyone tell you God is being unfair. But do look to the cross, see the justice there, and tell everyone how unfair God is as he brings JUSTICE FOR ALL.   Amen. 

“Christ With Us”

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Series:  “Christ Through Us” (WELS 175th Anniversary)

Theme: “Christ With Us” (Revelation 3:7-13)

Pastor Nate Walther – Sunday, October 26th, 2025

Eastside Lutheran Church – Madison, WI

            Christ with us.  It’s a fitting theme today as we celebrate the Lutheran Reformation and as we conclude our celebration of our synod’s anniversary.  Christ has certainly been with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod over the past 175 years, just as he has been with all true confessional Lutheran churches over the past 500 years – as we look back on the past, there’s just so much to be thankful for in connection to this theme… but we’re not going to be focusing on the past in this sermon.  Instead, as we live in the present and as we look at the future, do you appreciate what this means for you dear WELS Lutheran, dear believing Christian, dear precious soul bought back from the fires of hell by the blood of a Savior who loves you dearly?  Christ is with you.

            That may have been true in the past, that may be true for others, that may even be how we comfort people who are hurting in our lives, but what about me?  Do I always believe it’s true for me? What about when people ridicule you for agreeing with the Bible’s Creation account: “you don’t believe in science”, even though you do believe in science – that is, real science, not empty hypotheses about things long ago that no one observed? Or, what about when people attack you for calling something a sin: “you’re so unloving”, even though you do believe in love – that is, real love, which starts with God’s unconditional love for us no matter how we sin, and you’re always ready to share that with anyone who confesses their sin, as a fellow lost & redeemed sinner yourself?… Are we OK when that happens?  Are we certain we’re right?  Do we feel Christ is with us in those moments?  Or, if things aren’t going so well, do we wonder what we’re doing wrong?

            Let’s up the ante a little bit.  Do any of you know what it’s like to have your life in danger?  Do you know what it’s like to live in fear of death because of some serious illness, or fast-spreading infection, or a cancer you’re battling? Do you know what it’s like to have a loved one go through that?  Or, do you know what it’s like to worry that someone close to you with mental illness or a substance abuse problems will come busting through that door, because you know what they’re capable of? Do you even know what it’s like to live like our soldiers who have survived warzones and threats to their lives?  Have you had the experience of falling asleep with a loaded pistol in your hand, and every noise outside or in the house at night wakes you up in a cold sweat with your finger on the trigger?… When this becomes our lives, when we experience the evils of this world, when our suffering gets so severe, where is Christ in all of it?  What are we doing wrong?!

            You’re not alone… these fundamental matters of faith & doubt (ultimately, of life & death) are what our spiritual forefathers faced throughout the past.   For our Lutheran forefathers in America 175 years ago, did you know that, more than anything, they came here from Europe because of persecution.  The government was forcing them to unite with Reformed Christians, even though the two groups believed different things!Meanwhile, for our Lutheran forefathers in Germany 500 years ago, you may already know the story: when told to renounce his teachings that agreed with Scripture if not with the Church of his day, Luther took his stand against the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Worms and refused to compromise on a biblically-bound conscience… so what did the Holy Roman Emperor decree as the most powerful man in the world at his time? He basically had a “hit” put out on Luther.  For the remainder of Luther’s life he lived with the distinct threat that any one of his enemies could simply kill him as an outlaw, and there would be no legal ramifications to dissuade them. Finally, it’s the same thing true believers have always faced, going back to our Christian forefathers in the “O.G. city of brotherly love”, ancient Philadelphia from 2,000 years ago.  As we heard earlier, the first audience from our sermon text was being persecuted for their faith.  Bitterly so.  By this point Christians were being killed for what they believed.  It had happened in nearby Pergamum, to which this letter of Revelation was also written.  It would happen in Philadelphia as well.  And in all of this… seriously, was Christ still with them? 

            Listen again to what we God told them in our sermon text.  “8Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”So, in the following verses,the Apostle John (who wrote these words to them) goes on to explain how God would work all things for their good as they continued to place their faith in him… which is great, but it’s in the future, it’s not reality yet.  Instead, for the time being, he simply says “11Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never leave it again…” What we have here is not a message of immediate gratification, but it is a certain message of hope.  Whatever you face in life, however evil has assaulted you, now matter how it causes you to question and worry and doubt, God’s message is crystal clear: “Hold on to what you have.”  Why?  Because if you are with Christ, God says this is doorway.  It will simply get you where you need to go.  That’s why you want to stay on that path. 

Finally, I can’t share an answer with you that will make all the challenging moments in your life easy.  I can just share the answer that’s always worked for God’s people.  It’s what worked for the founders of our church body.  Just think of how their situation turned out: how blessed are we now as Lutherans in America with the religious freedom we enjoy!  It’s what worked our namesake as Lutheranism also.  Despite how dark his things looked at one point – where Luther even had to go into hiding, holed up in a castle while he translated the Bible – still, Luther had a happy and productive life, he even got married and had kids, he died several decades later as an old man surrounded by friends and family. God worked that situation out for good.  It’s even what worked for those Philadelphian Christians.  Yes, including those of them who were killed for their faith!  Because they immediately got to heaven to be with Christ.  No one could shut that door.  In fact, if anything death only allowed them to pass through that door faster.

In a broken world where sin invites such difficult situations, such challenging problems, such pain into our lives, Jesus provides a different kind of solution.  Not searching for something else that still won’t put an end to the bad.  Not trying harder when our efforts are less than perfect and will still yield less than perfect results. Not treating the symptoms, all while ignoring the cause.  No, in fact, where do we find Jesus in all of it?  There, himself in the midst, of it.  He faced that darkness too.  He encountered those threats as well.  He was even killed by them on the cross… And God says, “Hold on to that,” which he has already given you: a substitute who died for your sin and a Savior who conquered your death, a God whose love for you is never in question and whose future for you is never in doubt.  That’s what will work, even if it doesn’t currently seem to be working! 

What else can we say when, in this very last book of the Bible that was written, this is what God says?  His final message through the Apostle John here isn’t to try this new spiritual craze when things don’t seem to be working out for you, nor is it to make new changes in your life. It’s simply to “Hold on to what you have!…”  That may be so hard to do at times, but it doesn’t make it the wrong answer.  Granted, when you’re persecuted or threatened, when you’re sick or suffering, when those questions or doubts creep in, the hardest thing to do is to do nothing.  We want to take matters into our own hands and fix it!  But sometimes there’s just nothing else to do.  Not when you are on the right path.  Because the door is open in front of us, even if the path is hard.  Other paths may be easier along the way, but how often do we fail to raise our eyes and see: there is no open door at the end of those paths, only dead ends!  It’s why – like the difficult daily exercise that eventually gets you to your fitness goals – we need to stay on this path, the same path Christ went on himself.  And he’ll get you through it;  somehow he’ll even spare you even worse trials, just like he promised in our sermon text.  That’s what he’s done for the past 175 years for our synod.  That’s what he’s done for the past 500 years for all true Lutherans.  That’s what he’s done for the past 2,000 years for all true Christians in every congregation.  That’s what he’s done for the past 6,000+ for all believers in the one true God of Israel who always made this the center of his promises: Christ with us. From the beginning of the Bible – as we heard two weeks ago in Genesis 3 – to the end of the Bible – as we hear in Revelation 3 today – that has always been God’s answer.  He’s not going to stop now.  Dear fellow brother or sister in Christ, whatever you face, know that this is true for you.  Christ is with you.  Be comforted by that always and in all things.  Amen.

October 19, 2025 Sermon

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Pastor Horton

175th Synod Anniversary #2

What does success look like?  For the young entrepreneur, it might be creating a product that goes viral in popularity and finding instant global success and establishing their business as a household name and into a legacy.  For the garage band (or college band), it might involve a few lessons learned at the school of hard knocks and maybe some heartbreak to put together a raw and relatable album and in a few years finding their fanbase now filling concert arenas.  Or for the NFL QB plagued by injuries, it might mean having that one bounce-back year where the team comes together and he leads them to a Super Bowl win with great appreciation and joy.  These are the kids of stories, docuseries, and ESPN specials we like to see – because they lift us up.  They encourage us.  They inspire and motivate us.  Stories of success fill us with hope that anything is possible.

I wonder how a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee (aka the Lake of Gennesaret) might define success?  Because what Jesus accomplished in our Bible reading for today was probably more than a success story – it was a downright dream come true.  Retelling what happened would be hard to believe and passed off as just another fisherman’s tall tale.  And yet with the backdrop of this miracle, as we find Jesus calling ordinary fishermen for an extraordinary purpose.  And we are reminded that Christ still calls and works Through Us.

That is our focal theme this Sunday as we consider the 175th anniversary of the Wisconsin Synod.  Last Week we pondered the important truth of: “Christ FOR Us”.  This week?  “Christ THROUGH Us”.  And does that ever give us relief!  Think back to the lowly beginnings of our synod and to the German missionaries who arrive in this state.  In the eyes of the world, our synod’s beginning was far from a glorious chapter of human history.  But there was God’s glory present in his gifts of Word and Sacraments.  The synod did not start with glamor, but it had God’s grace.  And through the years God grew this collection of believers: from one world mission in 1893 to world missions today in 45 countries, from 800 congregations in 1965 to 1200 congregations today.  Such accomplishments are only to the credit and honor and work of our God.  We are reminded in our own history of the Father’s plan to save souls, the Holy Spirit’s guiding work and oversight of his church, and in Jesus a willingness to do the extraordinary through what seems to be the very ordinary.  Just take a look at our reading.

Peter and the disciples witnessed his desire to work “through us” from their first calling.  In fact, Peter would get an eternal-life-lesson on who Jesus was and he worked.  Early on in his ministry, we find Jesus being surrounded.  The Word works and the people get pushy – feeding on Jesus’ message of life.  And yet the crowd wouldn’t turn into a frenzy.  Jesus taps Simon on the shoulder for a little help as he gets into his boat.  And Simon was willing to help since he had already met Jesus – previously Jesus had healed his mother-in-law.  The least he could do would be to return a favor.  But after teaching the crowds from the boat, Jesus makes a unique request, vrs 4”When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”  According to those who know the Sea of Galilee well, this body of water could at times yield larger amounts of fish, but at night and in the shallows off the coastline.  Professional fisherman, like these disciples, knew that fishing in the heat of the day in the deep waters sounded like a bad decision.  Add into the mix the human element of these guys probably being exhausted and frustrated after a failed 3rd shift of fishing and they were probably not excited to go back out.

And yet…5 Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing.  But at your word I will let down the nets.”  In humble faith there is no objection or complaint.  Even if Peter’s reasoning expects the exact opposite result – he goes.  And listen again to what happened!

6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. Wow!  7 They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.  The Lord God was able to act in awesome and miraculous ways to provide for his servant.  The Lord God still acts in awesome and miraculous ways to provide for his servants.  Through ordinary resources and ordinary people God does the extraordinary to catch and to save.  The nets packed with fish are a picture of the great catch of souls Jesus wants in heaven one day.  Behold the heart of God in this miracle.

And he gives people like you and me his gospel and uses us in his kingdom!  And isn’t that incredible!  Because who are we?  Peter had a realization as he stood face-to-face with the author of life and salvation.  8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.”  9 For Peter and all those with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught.  I appreciate that the inspired author uses his full name here, “Simor Peter”.  Whenever I heard my full name I was in trouble or at the least being called to account.  You get the sense of that here, only it’s Peter by faith calling himself out and admitting his rightful standing before Jesus, the living God.  “Who am I, Lord?  “I am a sinful man.”  

Jesus has an answer abounding mercy and grace and peace for his servant.  Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.”  Christ will be working THROUGH you.  And how much did that mean to this fisherman dependent on this profession for his livelihood?  They left everything and followed him.  Life was different now with Jesus.  Success wasn’t the way the world described it, but rather success would be found in those nets of souls filled for heaven.  And Simon Peter would be one who would get to cast Jesus’ kingdom-nets to the nations.  We find Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost as 3000 were baptised, and writing as an inspired author letters which still encourage us today in our walk of faith.  Oh he was not perfect and like us would still need teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness through Scripture.  But his ministry would be marked by Christ THROUGH Us.  He would be sustained by Jesus and forgiven, encouraged, and equipped by his words. 

What does Christ THROUGH you look like?  Sometimes it’s Christ through us…in spite of us.  May we like Peter be brought through the clear teaching of the law to lay our sins at the cross of Jesus.  May God the Holy Spirit help us see and repent of our wrong.  Because our stubborn hearts find offense in Jesus.  We turn a deaf ear to his calling.  We don’t like to admit our sinful state.  We object and complain when he tells us what to do.  We would rather point a finger and blame other kingdom-things around us.  “That synod of yours won’t let me do this” “or that church or that pastor won’t let me do that.”  But it is God’s law that calls out our Old Adam by full name and we often don’t want to look Jesus in the eye or confess that we are sinful and need his help.  

And yet the same Lord there for Peter and the same Lord there for the previous generations of our synod remains the same Lord today who is a compassionate God at work on our hearts and intent on saving our souls and getting us fish caught up to heaven with him.  Christ paid our way with his dying on the cross.  Christ gave eternal life to us by rising, and through his word gives spiritual life to the lifeless.  That priceless gospel of salvation is ours today as it continues to be proclaimed in truth and purity.  

So what now does Christ THROUGH you look like?  It looks like reconciliation with our heavenly Father through Jesus.  Our reading from 2 Corinthians reminded us of that.  It looks like casting those nets out again because Jesus calls us to do so, and forgiving even if we don’t want to or praying again even if we think it’s not that fruitful.  It looks like embracing the Means of Grace, being students of the Word, so that we might be better equipped to fish.  And it means casting nets and trusting Christ even if it’s in deep waters and away from our comfortable shoreline.   And some of those nets, as our reading from Deuteronomy reminds us, are to extend even into the future generations of your family line so that our homes may thrive in the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Christ THROUGH Us has been seen for 175 years of kingdom work in our churches, school, and missions.  God works through his word to call us fish to faith, providing us with opportunity to serve in the work, and blessing the efforts.  Who will Christ catch through you and through our congregation as we cast the gospel?  Let’s find out – in fact, let’s pray that Jesus continues to grant success and make his future catch great until we’re home with the Lord.  Amen.

“Christ For Us”

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Genesis 3:8-15

Pastor Nate Walther

            Last month we celebrated the 100th anniversary of this congregation.  This month we are celebrating another anniversary, an even lengthier one at that: the Dodransbicentennial of our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod – i.e. the 175th Anniversary of our Lutheran Church body here in America. That’s kind of remarkable, and it gets me thinking about why our collection of churches has lasted.  Is it truly phenomenal preaching?  (All us pastors think we’re good preachers… but such longevity makes me wonder whether I’d make the cut!)  Or is it having a good, Christian day schools?  (Historically, that’s been a staple of our church body, and we are certainly no exception.)  Or what kinds of programs and ministries does a church offer?  Or what kind of a difference are churches actually making in the lives of their parishioners? 

            Initially, our sermon text may not seem to answer those questions or have anything to do with the topic, but it really does get at the heart of the matter. You may know the background.  When God first created Adam & Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, he gave them one command, “Don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good & evil.”  Yet they ate from it.  And it may not seem like a big deal, it’s just one tiny act of disobedience.  Yet there’s no denying the results

            8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they HID from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Immediately it’s clear something is wrong.  Never before did Adam & Eve have reason to hide from God, but now something has separated them from God.  So,  9 The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  As if God didn’t know!  10 (Adam) answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was NAKED; so I hid.”  That’s a sign that something is wrong also. God made Adam and Eve perfectly in his image, and how could anything that ourperfect Lordcreates elicit shame?  Unless, Adam & Eve’s bodies somehow had been corrupted and changed into something less…  and they were. 11 (God) said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”  That would be disobedience to God’s expressed will.  That, by its very definition in the Bible, is sin.  Sadly, it’s not hard to see their sin in what follows: 12 The man said, “The WOMAN you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  Instead of accepting responsibility for his action, Adam deflected blame to his wife and even to God, if you noticed!  Likewise, Eve followed her husband’s lead: 13 The Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  As they point the finger at each other, it’s just an ugly attitude, it’s never what God intended…

            And that’s just the start of it.  In the verses immediately after these God shares that their sin would result in pain: 1) physical pain, like a woman’s pain in childbirth or a man’s painful labor; 2) emotional pain too, of the sort you see that divides families and destroys relationships; 3) finally, there’s the pain of mortality, there’s just nothing as bad as what you find at a gravesite… Speaking of which, in the chapter immediately after this we meet the world’s very first children, Cain & Abel.  What happens to them?  One of them kills his brother!  How serious was their problem with sin if this is what was happening only one generation after God made everything perfectly!?… But the worst part? These aren’t just empty threats or idle warning for us.  This is real for us too.  This is exactly what we see in our world also.  This is sin we are complicit in as well.

            We may try to tell ourselves this story doesn’t really apply to our lives: “Some of what the Bible says is old fashioned!”  Or we may try to rationalize our sin: “A little disobedience isn’t a big deal, it didn’t hurt anyone!” Or we may point the finger: “It’s the people around me who made me to do this, and they’ve done much worse!…”  What we cannot deny is that sin is simply alive & active in our lives.  It’s there in every awful word we let slip out of our mouths that we immediately wish we could take back.  It’s there in the terrible things we’ve done that we wish we could just scrub from the pasts.  It’s there in the pain we suffer in our own bodies, more and more so every year. It’s there in the horrible ways that people have treated us, that we just can’t forget.  It’s there in the depravity we all see on the news or on social media, there’s always something worse!  Even when we try our best to live a good life and do what’s right and push through all of this, still we mess up, still bad things happen to us, still we die… Yet how often do we go to church for something less?  “Don’t actually fix my sins, Lord, or the sins of others! Don’t concern yourself with this eternal chasm that would forever separate us from the good and perfect things you want us to have!… Don’t worry about it because I don’t really want to address this dreary topic, not when it would mean actually confronting my sins, and confessing them, and repenting of them, and changing my life.  Instead, just give me a little less pain on this earth, a little more money in my bank account, a few less problems to deal with – a little more recognition for my (mostly) good deeds – that’s all I’m asking!…” As if that’s gonna cut it in the end! We’re as shallow as Adam & Eve pointing the finger at each other.

            But God wasn’t shallow.  Think about God’s immediate reaction to sin. It wasn’t just to smite Adam & Eve (or you & me) for ruining his perfect plans.  Nor was it to give us all the things we’d like to distract us from the real problems in our soul, but which wouldn’t matter when we’re gone in 175 years (if they even matter next year).  It wasn’t even to spell out all the consequences for their actions (that was important and it needed to be dealt with, but that would come later, only after our sermon text).  Instead, immediately,

14 the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!—That being Satan, who had taken the form of a snake. You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring—that being unbelievers—and hers… HE—that being an individual among Eve’s offspring—will CRUSH your head, and you will crush his heel…” 

With anniversaries, we sometimes use Latin phrases to highlight their significance.  In a similar manner, theologians call this promise from God the protoevangelium – “the first promise” – first because this great promise that would be repeated many times.  Just as the Bible highlights man’s sin one generation after another, God promised this same solution to sin again and again: A descendant from Eve’s own line to crush Satan’s head.  It’s a picture of totally destroying the evil work of sin that the devil helped introduce into the world.  In the process this figure would be wounded – his heel would be crushed – but of course, that’s not a mortal blow… It’s exactly what we see in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who also took on human flesh as a descendant of Eve, who lived a perfect life without sin as our substitute, who could therefore overcome this work of the devil on the cross.  Granted, Jesus was killed in the process, but it would be no mortal wound.  Jesus rose on Easter morning, and he promises the same final victory for us over sin’s worst consequence.

It’s the last thing Satan wants us to know, so with one last lie he tries to get even Christians distracted, and he succeeds in many churches! Oh, he’ll give us Christ, sure, he knows he can’t take that from Christians… but it’s not as we really need Jesus: as a Savior from sin.  Instead, Satan will give us Jesus as a cheerleader, or Jesus as an example for us to follow as we do our best, or Jesus as someone who will make your life better on earth as you follow him – all without pressing on the more pressing matters of sin and salvation. 

But God doesn’t get distracted.  Right from the start, God was ready with something better: CHRIST FOR US. Christ taking our place as a man himself, but doing what we could not do ourselves: a life of perfect obedience without sin, then his work on the cross to crush this work of Satan.  That’s what our brand of Lutheranism is all about.  Not empty promises that can never be certain in a fallen world, nor happy thoughts that simply ignore the reality of sin, just a real Savior with a real solution to the very real effect of sin that we see around us. Thank God for 175 years of that message, and 100 years of it personally as a congregation.  Finally, that’s what truly phenomenal preaching, and a truly good Christian school, and truly fantastic programs boil down to: not distractions, just the cross.  It’s not about what we do, but about what Jesus has already done.

So if you happen to be new here, if you’re looking for a church home to truly settle into, if you’re not sure who would do your funeral when you die… this is what we’re about and this is what we offer.  Talk to us pastors about how we can get you more connected to Christ.  No, I can’t fix all the problems in your life, but I can point you to the one who fixes your soul, and that will help with everything else.  On the other hand, if you have been here a long time, if this was your grandparents’ church, if you’ll be in that pew until you die… don’t forget this is what we’re still about and this is what we always offer.  Finally, Eastside Lutheran isn’t about this building or that school; it’s not defined by an excellent June Jumble Days or an Arts & Craft Fair; we don’t go here because our family has always gone here or our friends go here now.  There may be blessings in these things, but in a far greater way Eastside Lutheran is about CHRIST FOR US.  As we enter our second hundred years as a congregation, and as we march toward two hundred years as a synod, we should keep asking what we can do to further that mission.  You’ll hear more about that next week as we continue this celebration and see that Christ doesn’t just work for us… he works for others too.  But as he does so, that’s where he graciously chooses to work THROUGH us. Amen.

October 5, 2025 Sermon

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Pastor Horton

The 17th Sunday of Pentecost

Travel with me into a church called the Notre Dame in Paris, France, back to December 2, 1804.  Inside that majestic cathedral we’d find Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Josephine draped in white satin as the soon-to-be-crowned emperor and empress of the French.  Pope Pius VII was also in attendance, and as was customary, he would place the crown onto the new emperor’s head.  But that’s not what happened.  When the time came, Napoleon removed the laurel wreath he had begun the ceremony with and set that down, took the crown from out of the pope’s hands and placed it on his own head, and then crowned his wife.  It was a pointed and symbolic move.  Napoleon wanted it to be known through his actions, that he had gained this kingdom through his own power and to his own credit and was not subject to the Church or tradition or divine rite.  He made a statement.

Travel back now if you will once more to Jerusalem, approximately 1000 years before the coming Christ.  King David is nearing the end of his reign and he gathered all of the leadership there before him in Jerusalem: the military generals, palace officials, and the strong men of the nation.  David had been informed by God that although he had a heart for the Lord and a desire to build the great temple in Jerusalem, David would not be given that opportunity.  He was a man of war and had blood on his hands.  The temple-building privilege would be given to his son Solomon.  What would King David do?  Would he act like Napoleon and make the moment about himself and his kingdom? 

I mean he had a case, didn’t he?  He was the youngest of his brothers and yet God handpicked him to be king – you may remember his anointing by the prophet Samuel.  He was the man who had that legendary victory one v. one against the giant Goliath.  He claimed numerous battlefield victories, keeping the Philistines back, capturing Jerusalem, and bringing the ark back to the city of God with dancing.  And he would have his name connected to the everlasting throne of the Messiah.  It would have been easy for David to make a case before the leaders, take the crown into his own hands so to speak, and say, “I know God told me to do something but I’m going to do what I want instead and build the temple anyways.”

But what did David actually do?  We’re told in our chapter for today. “King David said this to the whole assembly: My son Solomon, the one God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The work is great because this citadel is not for a man.  It is for the Lord God.  According to all my strength, I have provided these things for the house of my God: gold…silver…bronze…iron…wood…onyx stones…antimony (a mineral that looks like a mix between silver metal & diamonds)…every kind of precious stone, and alabaster in abundance.”  He then, in the next verse, offers to go above and beyond, and fund this building project with his own wealth.  To help us better understand this offering, kings back in this day and age would keep a personal treasury which served more than as a rainy-day-fund, it was to help raise and pay for an army if their crown and their kingdom was in danger of attack.  What David is offering is the security of his own throne to build a worship space where God would be enthroned before the people.  And then he goes above and beyond even that, by challenging Israel’s leadership to give generously as well and set an example.  David’s words and actions reflected his heart, and he set the crown not on himself, but upon the altar of our God.  

And the people responded in abundance.  Our verses skip down to David’s awe-struck response at the outpouring of their gifts.  And yet the king looks to the heavens and says thank you to God for his kingdom reign.  Let’s walk through a few of these verses picking back up at verse 10, “David blessed the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly.  He said: Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, our father, from eternity to eternity.”  Remember that Jacob was renamed Israel.  The same God who was there and acted on behalf of those previous generations of believers – is here today continuing to fulfill what he promised!  “To you, O Lord, belong greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty, because everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to you.”  What can we give you that is not already yours!  “You, Lord, are exalted as head above everything.  The kingdom belongs to you. Riches and honor come from you. You are ruling over everything….Who am I?  Who are my people that we are able to offer willingly like this? For everything comes from you. What we have given to you came from your hand.”  What an incredible understanding from his heart of faith!  All things I can give you you have given me first!  All good blessings come from you!  All things in heaven and on earth, all the achievements you have graced me with serve you, and your good plan, to ultimately save souls.  David’s life was a living testimony to the mercy and might of our loving God in heaven.  This episode from the Bible models a believer’s heart when it comes to freely giving not just of our treasure, but of our time, talent, and daily opportunity today in the kingdom of the Lord. 

I need such a perspective found in the word of God, because I am often missing that viewpoint – and I’d guess that you are often missing out on that perspective as well.  Because we like the attention and the glory when it comes to the might of our hands.  You might say we stumble and fall and are not thinking in Davidic ways (when it comes to these verses) but Napoleonic ways.  We want our kingdom our way.  We want to be the ones to chisel out for ourselves a nice little palace of comfort and live by our own rules and take the crown off the altar and crown ourselves and celebrate our own coronation.  But minds and hearts and actions that are not moved by the freedom of the gospel and the joy of salvation are minds and hearts and actions that are driven by vanity and delusion, and by fear and worry.  If we ignore the kingdom of our God and the eternal providence he provides through his wondrous word, we waddle around and obsess over earthly consumptions of popularity, money, and prideful achievements.  At no time while traipsing about this globe will we ever have enough or be enough for long enough.

Napoleon’s personal reign?  He found himself facing more war (with Waterloo yet to come), more exile, and death.  Napoleon’s kingdom of the French?  They’d keep fighting with folks until well into the next century.  King David reminds us of something better.  

Through his own line and from his own throne, God would provide salvation through Christ Jesus.  His kingdom is an eternal one.  His redemption is a personal one.  Through the saving work at his cross Jesus would pay for each and every sin – even the ones that involve our death grip on his crown.  Thanks to his rising, we will have life with him forever.  We pray for this message of his kingdom to continue to come and to extend to our hearts and lives through Word and Sacraments (all of which is ours this weekend).  Come Lord Jesus indeed, and by the works of your hands bring us home to your heavenly kingdom! 

Homecoming!  This weekend was homecoming for both high schools we support as a church: Lakeside Lutheran (go Warriors) and Luther Prep in Watertown (which both of your pastors graduated from).  I happened to get to a Prep volleyball game and definitely understood the homecoming feeling.  My step daughter and mother were talking next to a pastor and his wife I served with in MN.  My dad was down by the court jibberjabbering with new friends.  In the row in front of me was my cousin, her husband, and next to me his parents who had served in the world mission fields.  In walked my former professors, Pastor Boggs, and former classmates with both their children and parents.  Memories and multigenerations were there under the same room.  It was homecoming.  How much better will be heaven!  Maybe you experienced this sliver on Thursday morning as grandparents and grandkids sang hymns side by side in the pews – what a special moment!  Just a peak at the kingdom!  Or last Sunday at our 100th as former church leaders, school staff, and friends joined us as we fixed our eyes on the cross of Christ and life eternal to come through him.  Such homecoming events give us but a momentary reminder, a tiny twinkle, a fleeting glimpse at the neverending glory that is far beyond our understanding in the throne room of heaven.  Where believers and angels sing in resounding triumph to the Lamb on the throne!  And you will get to come home and be home in God’s kingdom forever!  We can’t wait for that unending celebration that Jesus has made possible!Napoleon in all his pomp and celebration at the Notre Dame will pale in comparison.  For there in heaven our victorious king, who served us as the sacrificial Lamb will reign over us in perfect love, providing for all our needs forevermore.  It is why David could say in verse 18, “Lord, the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, preserve forever this purpose and way of thinking in the heart of your people. Direct their heart to you.”  Your kingdom, o Lord, on heaven and on earth, is built by your hands.  Amen.

“Money: A Means, Not A Master”

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Passage: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Pastor Nate Walther

September 21, 2025

            Which financial gurus do you trust?  Maybe you have a particular financial podcast or personal financial guy you always listen to. Perhaps it’s someone like Dave Ramsey – He’s a popular one, and he has some good things to say.  Myself, I thank God for my dad – who learned these lessons from his dad, a banker – so also, he taught me life lessons about saving money, living within my means, and giving richly with my offerings and trusting that God will provide. 

            Today God gives us an even better financial guru to listen to: King Solomon.  I say that because Solomon spoke from experience; he was the wealthiest man of his times!  But even more importantly, Solomon spoke from God; he wrote the words of our sermon text under inspiration of the Holy Spirit!  And today he (God!) shows us that we should think of MONEY AS A MEANS, NOT AS A MASTER.

            As we go back to what we heard earlier in our first reading in Ecclesiastes, Solomon clears up a misconception we can easily get as Christians.  Namely, is money a bad thing?  Solomon’s answer definitively is, “no!”  While Solomon speaks poorly about money at the beginning of our sermon text, he speaks highly of it by the end…  which goes to show, money is neither good nor bad in itself; rather, it’s a question of how we look at it.  And verse 19 hints at how we can properly look at money: “Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.” Just like Jesus warned in our Gospel reading today, money is not to be our master… God is!  As Solomon says here, God is the one who “gives wealth and possessions” in the first place. 

            That builds on a second important point.  We need it to be this way because money is a really poor master.  Solomon explains that for us too.  Verse 15 gives us the most significant proof “Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes so they depart.  They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.  Finally, what good is a master who leaves you with nothing in the end?  Spiritually speaking, then, money does nothing for us…  And Physically speaking, it’s not much different!  Verses 10 & 11, “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income…  As goods increase, so do those who consume them.”  That’s true!  With more money comes more stress, it doesn’t just fix everything!  Or, how about verses 13 & 14, which talks about how “wealth (can be) hoarded… (then) lost.” It’s not just when we die that we lose money, there are many ways we can lose it here as well!   Likewise, verses 16 & 17, “what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.”  Money can truly affect your ability to enjoy life, such as when you’re up late slaving for it instead of letting it serve you.  Then it’s no longer a means to enjoy God’s other blessings, like Solomon describes in verse 18 & following…

            As Christians we don’t need statistics to prove what the Bible says… but those exist too.  They once did a study of which social class was happiest, and do you know what they found?  If you run a chart with one axis being how happy people are, and the other axis being how much money people make, what does the graph look like?  You might think that the more money you make the happier you will be, and that’s true!… to an extent.  However, they found that once you make enough money to get by comfortably – i.e. you’re not worried about where your next meal is coming from or how you’ll pay your bills; and you have a little money saved up and you’re sort of in that middle class region – after that it’s all downhill.  Of course, that’s speaking generally. There are exceptions to these statistics, and maybe you are an exception to this.  But there’s a lot of truth in this also!  As they say, “Mo money, mo problems.” No, I’m not talking about the rappers who popularized that phrase in the 90s.  Rather, as we just heard in our sermon text, 3,000 years ago Solomon knew this was true by virtue of his experiences – God knew it was true too by his omniscience.  

            Money is not the answer our world thinks it is.  I imagine we’d all agree with that sentiment.  But would the amount we spend on vacations, or restaurants, or clothes tell a different story?  Or what about the story our offerings would tell, or lack thereof?  As Solomon talked about in our sermon text, do concerns about money rob you of sleep, and prevent you from enjoying the blessings God has given to you? Or, as Paul said in our epistle reading, are we truly content with what we have, or do we feel like we need more – only then can I gave more in offerings, only then can I stop worrying, only then can I serve the Lord!  Finally, as Jesus himself said in today’s Gospel, do we primarily see money as something to use to gain friends for eternity, or do we primarily see it as something to waste on the breath of this life? 

            Too often – far too often! – money has instead become our master.  In our affluent society – in some way or another! – Satan has ensnared every one of us with this.  Yet again, God’s law reveals our sin.  And it will only purchase for us the wind, as Solomon vividly pictured it in Ecclesiastes: an emptiness & nothingness.  In fact, when Solomon talks about this as “meaningless” (a phrase he famously repeats throughout the book), literally translated that means, “vapor.” It’s like the breath of your mouth that you see on a cold Wisconsin morning, which disappears in an instant and never comes back.  So also, that’s what our sin leaves us with.

            There’s a better way.  A way to sleep well at night without any worry.  A way to enjoy labor & work, and to find some satisfaction & meaning in it; at least, more than you ever thought you could in a fallen world.  A way to “eat, drink, and be merry,” but not because – as it’s been said before in our world – “tomorrow we die!”; rather, it’s because we no longer fear death and being left with nothing… that way is found by having the Lord God of the Bible as our master.  And I know you know that.  But let God speak that truth to your soul this morning.  Whether it’s through money or not, God will provide.  Whether you have lots of wealth or very little, God has already provided for you his Son, Jesus, who became poor for our sake so that we through his poverty become rich. Christ purchased for us eternity through his death on the cross for our sins, regardless of what we can or cannot purpose for ourselves here on this earth.  Now, when all is said and done, through faith in Jesus as our Savior from sin, the only emptiness Christ will leave us with is an empty tomb on earth, and our cups will overflow with everything in heaven.  It’s why we no longer have to squeeze everything out of this life.  This world is not all there is.  We can simply enjoy this world for what it is, then we can enjoy so much more in the life to come. 

            Dear friends in Christ, if you & I are willing listen to other financial gurus when it comes to our money, listen to God more: money is not our master, God is; and that means we must think of money as a means to accomplish His purposes.  Finally, that’s why Jesus talked about money like he did in our Gospel reading.  He wants us to use our possessions in a way that ties into his work as the master of all.  And think about this now: what an amazing thing that we can put money in a box at the back of church, or we can press a button on our phones to conduct a financial transaction… and more people wind up in heaven forever through the work it supports, since it leads to them hearing about Jesus.  That’s incredible! Our ministry here at Eastside needs your offerings and mine – that’s the way ministry in our affluent world works! – and God has given us the ability to support it.  So, support the work of the Church as God has enabled you to.  It will be a blessing for others… and it will be a blessing for you. 

First of all, God wants you and me to have the joy of contributing to something more meaningful than the “stuff” of our homes, or the “stuff” that lasts for day.  That’s what we get in our offerings.  Secondly, that’s also how we can truly enjoy the lesser things that money purchases us.  Think of it: since money it no longer has to purchase what it could never afford – salvation, eternity, things that last forever; you already have that in Jesus! – now you can enjoy that Badgers game, you can enjoy that vacation home, you can enjoy that well-earned break, you can enjoy those nice clothes, you can enjoy that good food and drink… not because these things are your master; but because they are gifts from your master who loves you, whom you’re even more invested in, who has already given you everything in his son Jesus… In other words, these things are just the “frosting”, but who doesn’t like a little frosting, especially when you’ve already got the whole cake?… In other words, through faith in Jesus, we can have our cake and eat it too!  God is too good to us!!!  It was more than we could ever ask that God would pay the price to sacrifice his only beloved Son to save us from our sins.  But not only does he give us that, he gives us these other things we can enjoy with our money as well.  Thank God!  And give back generously to him with your offerings. Amen.