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Faith Looks Forward

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Pastor: Pastor Horton

Date: August 10, 2025

Passage: Hebrews 11:1–3,8–16

Three summers ago we began to receive the first images from the James Webb telescope.  It is unique because it’s in orbit and therefore free from earth’s atmospheric interferences.  And what has this powerful telescope been able to see?  Hundreds of billions of stars both, for the lack of better terminology, being born and passing away, massive black holes, and galaxies even beyond where human science assumed to be the border of the big bang.  This telescope has allowed us to look forward through traveling light years, and see the illuminated expanses of the created universe.  We’re told today that “By faith we know that the universe was created by God’s word.”  It’s humbling to look forward through the cosmos and to be able to see what God has done. 

The people of the Hebrews were being asked to look forward as well.  They didn’t have a telescope, but rather they had the inspired word of God, which was more powerful and more useful when it came to their salvation.  They were to fix their eyes on Christ by faith, and look forward to salvation won through Jesus alone.  And yet we’re told: that came with hardships for them.  Because they had an Old Testament way of life with its regulations and cultural heritage and family traditions all attached to the past.  To look forward instead to all that they had in Jesus was a much needed reminder.

In this famous chapter from Hebrews 11, the listeners are asked to consider the founding father of their people, Abraham, as he looked forward by faith.  There must have been hardships for Abraham as well.  After all, as the reader was reminded, his family and his heritage was not that of a native believer from Israel, but rather he was the son of Terah from a place called Ur, beyond the Euphrates River.  His religion?  The family already had at least one.  Scripture tells us that his father’s house already had “other gods.”  And his wealth?  He had earthly means and didn’t need to relocate or restart or rebuild his life.  To ask Abraham to blindly go wherever God would send him and become a tent-living traveler and stranger and foreigner in the land?  That’s a big request!  I may have been tempted to say “no thank you, I’m okay right where I am.  I know what I have here and it’s a lot, but out there, who’s to say?”

And yet marvel at our words for today, “By faith Abraham obeyed.  By faith he lived as a stranger in the Promised Land, as if it did not belong to him, dwelling in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  Home, as he knew it was no longer behind him, but ahead of him in heaven.  Home in heaven wasn’t going to be temporary or transient – as if it’s something one hopes for one day and gone the next.  No!  Home in heaven was secure in the promise of his coming Savior.

And did you notice that these timeless truths were passed on to the future generations in his family?  Promises echoed to Isaac and Jacob and later Joseph and beyond.  God had Abraham look forward by faith and see that his wife would conceive at an old age.  “Impossible!” shouts human reasoning, for this senior citizen and his barren wife!  But not impossible when it comes to God.  Abraham “considered him (God) faithful who made the promise.”  And from God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the fullness of that promise came a numerous people, and a spiritual Israel as vast and diverse as the galaxies in the sky (you are part of that promise fulfilled), and that promise included a Savior for the world.  That’s an impressive sequence of fulfilled events illustrating God’s faithfulness – all in that promise made to a man who was “as good as dead” and standing under the starry sky.

We find in those early patriarchs people whose faith continued to look forward to their heavenly home.  Far from perfect people they lived in a far from perfect world with sin and died.  “One by one, all of these died in faith, without having received the things that were promised, but they saw and welcomed them from a distance.  They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth….Instead, they were longing for a better land—a heavenly one.”  We have the same God they do, and the same Word full of truth, and are given faith like they were.  But what about those days when I feel like my faith can’t compare to theirs?   

What exactly is this faith given by God?  Faith is not merely a human hope or a human feeling.  As in “I have faith that the Brewers win the World Series since they have the best record in baseball and swept the Dodgers twice.”  That kind of faith is based upon my wants and wishes.  Faith, as described in the Bible, is far better than that.  Faith is assurance in God’s Word as the Holy Spirit has converted your heart and drawn you closer to Jesus through the saving gospel.  Faith is trust and confidence that God is and will work all things out for the eternal good of his children.  And faith is based securely upon Christ Jesus, who is today risen, living, ascended, and in total control of all things and who dwells actively in your heart.  This is faith according to Scripture, a gift from God graciously given to you and to me and to Abraham.  And faith points our focus forward and to Jesus and throws wide open the promise of heaven.

There with God in heaven is that “better land” the early believers longed for.  There is the goal of our faith.  There is an eternal country beyond our best dreams.  The leader there is never corrupt or tyrannical, but selfless in serving and providing for all our needs.  There our enemies have no voice – fear and sorrow gone forever.  There in that land exists the very best health plan where we will be completely free from sin and death and all that disturbs the body, mind, and heart.  There in that heavenly land, constructed by God with you in mind, we will have perfect relief, perfect contentment, perfect stability, perfect joy, and perfect love.  This is what the believers of old, by faith, “saw and welcomed from a distance” and is ours through Jesus.

Like those Hebrew believers we need that constant reminder to look through the lens of the Word at what is coming through Christ.  How often do we try to convince ourselves that we can have that better land right here and now apart from Christ by thinking, “if only that family or financial situation was fixed, or I have that new job or new relationship, or the country improves – then everything will suddenly be better!”  Maybe sometimes better, but not perfect.  And we become so earthly minded that we forget where our true home is and where our true treasure is.  Pastor Lauersdorf, the People’s Bible commentator, wrote beautifully, “‘I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home,’ we love to sing, but in life’s reality it is often so different. “Eyes that should be raised heavenward are riveted on earth.  Feet which should be marching toward Canaan’s shores are mired in earth’s swamps.  Hands that should be reaching for eternal treasures are wrapped around gaudy marbles.  Backs that should be straining in effort for the kingdom are bent over in valueless pursuit of earthly wealth and gain.”  And yet try as we might, this place will never be our real home.  The gift of faith in Jesus helps you and I to look forward.

By faith Abraham and the fellow believers, our brothers and sisters in the Old Testament recognized this fact. They lived in mobile tents and in earthly bodies.  These men and women passed away without receiving the Promised Land and without meeting the Savior.  Yet they died knowing he would come to earth, knowing he would die and rise for them.  Why?  Because God is faithful.  That’s why the author says, “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see.  For by this faith the ancients were commended in Scripture.”  And there the Bible, in both Old Testament and New, Jesus is held up, who is the foundation of our faith.

Consider all that your God-given faith sees and knows.  Faith sees Christ lying in a manger.  Faith sees Jesus living a sin-free life in your place.  Faith sees Jesus being heavenly-minded all the time – he even speaks that way: “the kingdom of heaven/God is like, I want to be with my Father, etc.”  Our heavenly-minded Savior set the wants of the world aside, he went to the cross to win forgiveness for you before God, he gave you his perfect life, he covered you in his righteousness like a glorious dress, and he rose from the grave so that heavenly land is yours one day.  That is what our faith sees and believes.  Like Abraham, faith sees a glorious heaven and looks forward to it.  Faith understands that in this day of grace, we have work to do in sharing Jesus, and yet faith also longs for that day when we will pass over the threshold of death to life, and say, “Thank you, Jesus, I’m finally home.”

Dear brothers and sisters, as you take that final summer camping trip, or find yourself under a starry sky, remember God’s promises to Abraham.  We have a God who is faithful, we can do the impossible, and who gives us a faith to hear, believe, and rejoice in his promises.  Press on, share the good news with those inside and outside your home, and keep your eyes on the coming Christ.  The good land and heavenly home awaits.  And by faith we look forward.  Amen. 

“Prayer is a Privilege, not a Right”

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Passage: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Pastor: Pastor Walther

Date: July 27, 2025

Is it a privilege or a right?  We don’t always like to think in those terms. “I have a RIGHT to protest whenever & wherever I want!…” “I have a RIGHT to bear whatever firearm however I want to bear it!…”  “I have a RIGHT not to wear a mask, or not get a vaccine!…”  “I have a RIGHT to insist that people use my pronouns and accommodate my needs!…” Do you?  Or, are some of those privileges rather than rights?

Don’t worry, I’m not here to give you my opinion on these matters.  As your new pastor I’m not going to be preaching politics from the pulpit.  But it’s this classic debate between rights and privileges that frames our look at God’s Word today as we consider a vastly more important topic than any I just mentioned: a topic that doesn’t just affect our lives here on earth, it affects our souls forever in heaven.

That topic is prayer.  Perhaps we’re tempted to think of prayer as a God-given right we’re born with, where we can ask God for whatever we want whenever we want it!… But under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul presents prayer more as a PRIVILEGE than as a right.  And far from that limiting our prayers, God actually uses it to give us more. Listen again to some of what we we heard earlier in 1 Timothy 2,

1 First of all, then, I urge that that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made… which is really every kind of prayer!  Petitions: that’s asking God for things – often for yourself!  Intercession: that’s also asking God for things – but this time for others!  And (also) thanksgiving: don’t forget to thank God when he answers those prayers and pours out his blessings on you!  But notice what Paul adds: (Make such prayers) for ALL people—for KINGS, and ALL those in authority….  As you think back to some of the politically-charged topics I mentioned earlier, do you really want to pray for all people, including those in government?  God tells us to do so here, and for good reason: so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives.  Simply put, when things go well for those in authority, life under them tends to go better also.  That’s why it’s worth praying for them.  And there’s also this: 3 This is good, and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Why wouldn’t we want to please God?  Not only does he want all people to be saved, he backed up his talk with action:  5  There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all. It’s something we hear all the time, but we just continue to marvel…  God sent his own Son into the world to pay for the sin of every person?  Even that politician who had an affair, or who stole from others, or whose actions led to someone’s tragic death?  Even me, with the ugly thoughts that run through my mind or the wicked things these hands have done?… Yes, Christ Jesus gave himself as a RANSOM for ALL. And as Paul wraps up our reading, he makes it clear that’s what his ministry was all about… Mine too, as your new pastor. 

We all need to hear this. Like me, did you just bristle at some of those words?  Pray?  For the government!?!  Maybe that’s hard to do with the current local or state or federal leaders above you.  Maybe that was hard to do with previously elected officials.  And it just goes to show, we are tempted to treat prayer as more of a right – as something we’re born with, that’s all about what we should demand for ourselves

But prayer isn’t just some right we inherently possess.  Not when we were born in the sinful image of our parents, separate from God as the Father to whom we pray.  I mean, you want to talk about rights?  Our right is that God would absolutely ignore our prayers, just like you would ignore someone’s petitions who hurt you, hated you, and rejected what you wanted.  That should lead us in great humility to approach God on our knees, only in terms of what he wants.  Yet how often do we spit in the face of what he wants and continue to pester him only regarding what we want?  One way we see that is by failing to honor and respect the government he has placed over us.  We also see this whenever we reject God’s plans in any other area of our lives with our money, our relationships, or our possessions.

Finally, it’s why Paul said we need a mediator – a word that implies there is conflict between two parties. And make no mistake, our sin means there is war between us and God – or at least, there would be, had there not been a mediator who came in God’s perfect image as a proper son, who had every right to petition God as Father.  Jesus paid exactly the ransom we needed for our every sin against the government.  Remember those Sunday School stories where Jesus always perfectly obeyed and respected his authorities, whether they had earned it or not?  It’s just like he did for our every other sin through his perfect life and innocent death on the cross. 

With that price paid, God has now adopted us through his Spirit in baptism.  It’s why we can approach God in prayer – not with fear & trembling as his subjects, but with confidence & joy as his children, just like Jesus described in today’s Gospel – God has granted us that privilege.  In fact, you could almost say it is a right, but God defines this right not as we so often think of it – in terms of entitlements and what we’re owed.  Rather, it’s a right defined by the values of his family – in terms of grace and mercy.

For example, how about the “right” to quiet and happy living – not on our terms, but on God’s terms –by faithfully respecting & following & praying for our governing authorities?  We may think we have it bad – and to be fair, life will never be perfect here, this isn’t heaven! – but think of what God still gives us through the governing authorities in this country?… A few of you may be aware that my dad is a pastor who does Hispanic ministry over in Watertown.  And one thing he’s heard again and again from the people he serves is that they find life so “tranquilo” here: peaceful!  They love living here under our government, and it’s because of what they left behind in some parts of Mexico…. You consider that, and then you look at some of what we have – honestly great infrastructure & roads, more wealth than any people on earth has amassed, history’s most powerful military – and we have it so good.  Of course we do.  If the Almighty God loved us enough to give us his own son as a ransom for sin, we can trust that he’ll bless us in other ways too. 

So, trust the Lord.  Along with it, trust his will.  And as you do so, God urges you through your pastors to pray.  Pray as a privilege.  Pray not just for what you want, or you feel you’re owed; rather, pray for what God wants, to whom you and I owe everything!…  So yes, pray for your governing authorities.  Pray especially for those with whom you disagree!  Then lead quiet lives in piety, godliness, and submission, not because you always agree with those above you, but because you always agree with God.  That mans you trust God will always bless you through your leaders, no matter who they are.  Then thank God for those blessings when they come.  (And they will come!)

If that’s not enough reward for such prayer, how about one more: it pleases God… it pleases GOD – who loved you and me enough to give us his own Son, who has given us the privilege to come to him in prayer And he doesn’t just yank that privilege away whenever we sin, he just continues to forgive us in Jesus.  He even wants to forgive us in Jesus, as he reminds us today.  We don’t always want to forgive others when they wrong us, but he does!  I mean, why would we not want to make our God happy?  We DO!…  So, like Abraham in our Old Testament reading, see prayer as a privilege.  He knew he had no right to come before God, but still he appealed to him on the basis of his mercy & love, and God was pleased to listen.  God delights in listening to you as well, even though he owes you nothing.  Be amazed at his love for you.

That’s ultimately what it was about for Paul as he told his people what to do & how to pray.  That’s also what it’s about for me or Pastor Horton or any other pastor as we tell you to do things.  It’s not about what we want, but about what God wants.  More than that, it’s about his love for us which explains what he wants, even if we have trouble seeing it.  So see prayer as a privilege, not as a right.  Granted, Christ HAS given us the right to come before God the Father in prayer, but not as we so often think of rights: to seize things only to satisfy ourselves.  Rather, this is a right we’re privileged to have.  And how much better would politics and so many other things in this world be if we just remembered that?  God grant us strength and ability to be his instruments to bring peace and quietness to this world.  We start by praying for all people, including those above us.  Amen.  

“A Blessing That Lasts”

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Author: John H. Boggs

Passage: Numbers 6:24-26

Date: June 15, 20205

I’ve used the NPH book “Sermon Texts” a lot in ministry. It not only brings you through the proposed texts & readings for Sundays of the church year, but also includes suggested texts for special festivals. The “Easter” section is full of suggestions, as is “Christmas” & others. “Trinity Sunday”, though, is a little light on texts. There were a few I looked at and thought, “that might work”, but nothing really jumped out. Thankfully, when I dug a bit deeper my search was complete as I turned to Numbers 6 (read text). While there are others that would do, the words before us are perhaps the PERFECT passage for Trinity Sunday. Why? Because, it includes A Blessing That Lasts, sharing 1) A promise of protection; 2) A gift of Grace; & 3) An Assurance of Peace- All of which come from Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.

Israel was one year removed from the first Passover in which God freed them from Egypt’s slavery. They had crossed the Red Sea & been recipients of water from a rock and manna from heaven. They had witnessed God flex His muscles against their foes. Now they camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai, where they would receive His expectations in the form of the 10 commandments. It’s here where he would also reveal Himself as LORD- the God of the covenant who loved them, who would protect them, who would bring them much more than they deserved. This same LORD told Moses, “‘Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites’”. What follows is a blessing so powerful it has stood the test of time & is how God’s called NT servants dismiss their people, as well.

There is no missing the mystery of the Trinity in these verses. Three blessings, each specific to the part the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit play in the lives of God’s people. The Father’s work is evident in vs 24, “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Whether OT or NT ears, what a privilege to hear these words spoken! Martin Luther writes in his explanation to the first article of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe that God created me and all that exists, that He gave me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my mind and all my abilities.” My how the Lord has blessed us! In different amounts; in different ways; but He has blessed us- The house which keeps us dry. The car that’s faster than walking. The ability to provide for self & others. The blessings of sight, learning, comforting, leading, following- the list goes on. Take a second and think how God has blessed you… amazing. There’s more, though, “The Lord bless you and keep you” We pray to our heavenly Father in the prayer He taught us, “Deliver us from evil.” We ask Him to keep bad things away from us, to deliver us from them when they do come, to make them work out for our good and to His glory. And He does! The One who created all things, the One who parted seas and provided for 2 million people wandering through the desert cares about each of us so much He not only blesses us beyond imagination, He protects us when Satan, this world, & even our sinful selves get in the way. That’s God our Father.

The blessings keep coming in our text, “The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;” I love the personal nature of the words here as we see the work of our Savior, Jesus, “The Lord make His face shine upon you.” I’ve gotten away in my ministry from using the phrase “What would Jesus do.” I understand what it means and that it was popular years back. When I look at my life, though, and ask WWJD & then compare that to myself, I’m horrified. I picture Jesus looking at me with his face downcast like a hurt mother or disappointed father. I ask myself WWJD and it’s so often not what I’ve done or contemplated or spoken. Oh, how I don’t deserve the blessing in this verse. And yet Jesus loves the unworthy. He loves the unlovable. He loves those who deserve wrath. God the Father is seen in the first verse of our text as LORD, “Yahweh”- the God of an undeserved, one-sided covenant. How much more for the second member of the Trinity we worship. It’s the same love revealed in Exodus, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (34:9-10) As if this weren’t enough, we also hear, “The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;” Luther states that this Jesus “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” 1500 years before that Good Friday outside the gates of Jerusalem, we today- at the foot of Mt. Sinai- see the effects of our Savior’s love, “The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” That’s what undeserved love does! It looks on us & doesn’t see our warts and all. It sees us as blood bought souls because of the One who laid down His life for us. It sees us as new creations, as heirs of eternal life.

Finally, the Aaronic blessing concludes with the words, “The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” The Holy Spirit often gets the short end of the Trinity stick, doesn’t He?! I know He gets Pentecost, but throughout the Church year, Christians focus more on the work of the Father & Son than this “behind the scenes” member of the Trinity. Not today, though. The One who both creates faith in us and strengthens this faith through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament is revealed as we hear the timeless truth that God does indeed ‘turn His face toward us.” Luther continues, “But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” There is nothing worse than when you are talking to someone and they- either because of anger, boredom, or distraction- turn away to focus on something else. Wow is that frustrating. It’s also something that never happens in life for those who call on the name of the Lord! The faith created in our hearts by Water & the Word gives us access to a God who never sleeps, vacations, or gets bored with ‘turning His face toward you.” Think about that- the Creator of the universe, the Savior of our every sin, partners with the Holy Spirit to answer our every prayer, to conquer our every fear, to be attentive to our every need. Only because this is true can we hear the final words of our text, “The LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace”- Peace in the middle of a messed up marriage; peace bigger than a hurting back or body ravaged by cancer; Peace when sleep deprivation hits us or financial crisis is an everyday reality or when life seems to either be passing us by or hitting us in the face again and again. This peace that the triune LORD gives us assures us that in Him we can handle any situation. And why?! For the same reason Paul could proclaim, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This blessing of peace is not built on me, myself, & I. It’s built on Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I’m going to read the words of our text again with the understanding that the original Hebrew uses the 2nd person singular every time the word “YOU” is said. Hear these words spoken directly to you today, dear friends. Know this blessing first spoken 3,500 years ago is just as valid today as it was at Sinai. It’s a blessing powered by our Triune God- Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. Hear these Words and know that this same God continues to shower His love on you and gives you His peace (read verses; end with “That is the Word of the Lord- AMEN.”)

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