We’re right to expect big things from God. Unfortunately, we often look for those big things in all the wrong places. Through history, God has demonstrated that he is Lord of the small, taking what seems very little and making it the seed of something big. This week we see how God uses small action to bring about big justice. When we see injustice in our world, we naturally want to see it dealt with swiftly and decisively. Even more, we prefer to have a hand in seeing to it that justice is carried out. God, however, takes justice out of our hands and our timetables and carries it out in his own unique way. While he appears to allow evil and injustice to spread unrestrained, he is allowing evil to bring about its own undoing and reserving his final judgment of all evil for the day of his return.

God's plan of action for his field: Yield for the yield.

This past week we had the wonderful privilege of welcoming nearly 100 children from our congregation and community to our Good News Soccer Camp. It was an awesome week for learning about soccer, meeting new friends, having a lot of fun, and learning about our good and gracious God. This year’s camp theme was “Fuel for Life: God’s Grace Flows Abundantly.” The theme comes from 1 Timothy 1:14. There the apostle Paul describes himself as the worst of sinners. If God worked the way sports work and he published the statistics of our sins, Paul said that he would be ranked #1 in the world. But far from this causing Paul to be overwhelmed by guilt or despair, it simply led him to a greater appreciation of God’s gracious love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. It caused Paul to write: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly."

What God fuels us with proves what God fuels us for.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we see how the existence of opposing currents that pull us away from God’s grace (last week’s focus) require Christ’s ministers (and really all Christians) to be ready to fight against those currents. The Christian life is not one of “going with the flow” but of “fighting the good fight.” Though that life is not easy, it is a life of promise and leads to an eternal reward.

Are you jealous?

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we see how Jesus prepares the ministers entrusted with his gospel for opposition. That opposition may come from the people to whom those ministers are sent. That opposition may come from competing spiritual authorities who have a different message to proclaim. In either case, Jesus encourages them to trust in his protection and boldly deliver the message they’ve been given.

God gives the game plan to his gospel ministers.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we see how Jesus desires to ensure that we are never without a connection to his grace. When he sees people who are cut off from his goodness, he has compassion on them by sending out workers into his kingdom. These workers act in Jesus’ stead by doing for his flock the very things he does. They freely give to Jesus’ sheep what they have freely received from their shepherd.

God made the Holy Ministry for you.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we focus on what flows through those channels. Those who are on the receiving end are unworthy of anything from God. Therefore what God must deliver to them is pure, distilled mercy. This is true of those God calls to speak his Word. As a result, it is necessarily true for those to whom they speak it. Those who have received pure mercy from God are best equipped to deliver nothing but God’s pure mercy to others.

When we ask all the wrong questions, God provides all the right answers.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we find comfort in the strength of our connection with God. He compares that connection, his Word, to the solid ground on which we can build our entire lives. Though storms will surely come, a life built on the solid ground of God’s Word will pass any test of its strength.

Rather than testing your connection to God, use it to test everything else.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. Far more than merely an abstract doctrine, God’s triune nature means that connection is part of who he is. His desire to express this essential trait of love prompted him to create us in the beginning, to redeem us through his Son, and still prompts him to invite people all over the world into communion with him as his Church shares his gospel.

Whether you're at Good News or in Mt. Horeb, "alone" is one thing you never are.

When we’re thirsty, we need to know where to find water. In the same way, when our souls thirst for the things we need from God, we need to know where to turn. Thankfully, God tells us where we can find his greatest blessings on tap. He uses specific channels so his grace can flow freely, channels that ensure his blessings will never dry up. Today we celebrate the Day of Pentecost. On this day Jesus kept his promise to pour out his Holy Spirit on his fledgling Church. This was more than a one-time-only event. This is God’s arrangement for the entirety of the last days. While we wait for Jesus’ visible return on the last day, his blessings flow to us freely through the Spirit’s work in the gospel.

The Day of Pentecost de-weaponized our spiritual thirst.

Easter Sunday wasn’t simply another start to another week. It was the first day of something brand new. A new day had dawned, a day that has no dusk. The sun still has not set on Jesus’ victory, and it never will. This week we celebrate that, when God’s Son rose with power, the sun set on insignificance. Fort days after Jesus’ resurrection, his visible time on earth reach its conclusion when he ascended into heaven. At his ascension, he was seated at the right hand of the Father and given power and authority to rule all things. He carries out that rule as the head governs the activities of a body with many parts. He rules for the church and also through the church. Each of our lives is part of the grand narrative uniting all of history: Christ reigns victorious!

Don't stop looking, not just at, but through what you know about God.

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

Good News Weekly Message

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how the light of the gospel draws people from all nations to Jesus. Because it offers free forgiveness and salvation, the gospel transcends differences between race, culture, wealth, and power. The Christ child born in Bethlehem established a kingdom that reaches to the ends of the earth.

God reveals his big surprise by hiding it in plain sight.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. If we imagined an unpredictable Christmas, we’d assume everything went wrong. But an unpredictable Christmas is exactly what God wants us to have. The gifts he delivers are so great that, no matter what we’re anticipating, we can count on being surprised. This week we see how the gifts God wants to give us are not just offered on one day or at specific times of year. Rather, his greatest presents are a direct result of his constant presence among us. As we begin a new Church Year, we celebrate the willingness of our God to come to us humbly so that we are drawn to him in faith rather than driven away in fear.

There's a place that has everything you want for Christmas.

No one likes to wait. That includes waiting for this world to become what we know deep down it should be. You can find plenty of good advice about what you can do to make the world a better place, but our best hope for the future is the good news about everything Jesus will one day undo. This week we hear that God will undo the contradiction between who we are and how we appear before the world. Our status as saints hidden beneath a life that is still very sinful. Not only that, but strive to live in a way that is faithful to God’s Word we will often meet scorn and even persecution from the world. On the last day, however, that contradiction will be undone. The  people of God will be revealed as the beautifully-dressed bride of Christ. Never again will they be apart from him. Never again will they appear to be anything other than what they are.

Take a good look at the brand new you.

No one likes to wait. That includes waiting for this world to become what we know deep down it should be. You can find plenty of good advice about what you can do to make the world a better place, but our best hope for the future is the good news about everything Jesus will one day undo. This week we wrap up this series by seeing what Jesus means when he says he wants us to wait and watch for his return. It doesn’t mean we stop everything else we’re doing and stand with our necks craned to the sky. Rather, as we go about our daily lives and tasks, we cling to Jesus’ promises about everything he will undo. Those promises not only transform every aspect of how we live, they keep us ready at all times for his return.

You can watch and chew gum at the same time.

Jesus doesn’t help us out of life’s messes by offering advice or even lending a helping hand. His footprints prove he’s walked through the worst of life’s messes for us. Those same footprints have paved our path out. This week we see how Jesus steps into our natural assumptions about how God will operate in our lives. It’s natural to think that in order receive divine favor or blessing, we must earn it. We must pull the right divine levers or push the right divine buttons, so to speak. However, Jesus came to demonstrate how God does his greatest through what seems to be smallest. He doesn’t want us to work for his blessing. He wants us to trust that he will freely give it.

Our footprints tell the story of what makes us who we are.

To test your spiritual sight, look at Jesus and describe what you see.

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how the light of God’s Word is a light that he puts at our disposal. The light that has the power to open our eyes and transform our lives is a light that we have the ability shine into our hearts and the hearts of others whenever we want. We do not have to wait for some rare, supernatural revelation of that light. God puts the light at our disposal by tying it to his Word.

It won't always be sunny, but there will always be light.

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how light exposes what God is really up to in our world. The world looks to power, wealth, and force to make things happen. God promises to make use of weakness, poverty, and humility. What the light exposes seems like foolishness to the world. God’s wisdom, however, has been demonstrated in Christ.

Harness the light that exposes you as a fraud.

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how the light of the gospel clarifies the purpose for which Jesus sent into the world. Far from him coming to serve as inspirational or motivational leader who helps us climb our way to God, he came to take our sins on himself. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

If you're already out of the hole, don't start digging again.

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how the light of the gospel identifies those God has chosen for his special purposes. Though outward appearances may suggest  otherwise, God uses baptism to identify his chosen children. If we’re looking for a healthy and stable identity, baptism helps us find it.

At your baptism, God started a rumor about you.

LEAD

Jesus doesn’t help us out of life’s messes by offering advice or even lending a helping hand. His footprints prove he’s walked through the worst of life’s messes for us. Those same footprints have paved our path out. This week we see how Jesus is willing to step into the place where the mess is the deepest and its pain is the sharpest. Jesus footprints lead all the way to the grave where he rescues us from death and brings us the gift of life.

As our footprints lead us to the grave, we have death's cure in hand.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. If we imagined an unpredictable Christmas, we’d assume everything went wrong. But an unpredictable Christmas is exactly what God wants us to have. The gifts he delivers are so great that, no matter what we’re anticipating, we can count on being surprised. This week we see how God’s plan for productivity is the exact opposite of what we would expect. The productivity God desires comes from less work, not more. It comes through repentance, not resolve. Though the plan seems unusual and perhaps even likely to work, Jesus’ birth provides the perfect proof that God works life through what appears most dead.

Enjoy all the fruit without any of the labor.

When God speaks, he does more than convey information. He changes reality. That was true when he pierced the world’s natural darkness with light in the beginning. It remains true as he speaks to us the good news about Jesus, the light of the world. Through that message he brings us light and enables us to see life as he sees it. This week we see how the light of God’s Word directs the lives who are eager to serve God. Just like you would not go running at full speed through a dark woods without a flashlight, so also those who desire to serve God with their lives benefit from the direction his light provides.

When you look at Jesus, you see what matters to God.

Jesus doesn’t help us out of life’s messes by offering advice or even lending a helping hand. His footprints prove he’s walked through the worst of life’s messes for us. Those same footprints have paved our path out. This week we see how our mess—and God’s willingness to step into it—all started. When our first parents brought our race under the control of sin and its curse, God stepped in with unfailing love and a promise to send a Savior. Eventually, Jesus came to be that Savior who stepped onto the field of battle in our place to bring perfect righteousness back to a world of sin.

The footprints left in the garden should look very familiar.

Jesus doesn’t help us out of life’s messes by offering advice or even lending a helping hand. His footprints prove he’s walked through the worst of life’s messes for us. Those same footprints have paved our path out. This week we see how sin creates in us a spiritual thirst. It leaves us with longings that this world cannot possibly satisfy. Thankfully, Jesus steps into a world that can only leave us thirsty with the only water that satisfies. He promises living water to satisfy our souls so that they will never thirst again.

Instead of looking at the glass as half anything, look to the one who gives it.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. But maybe another predictable part of Christmas is that it predictably lets us down. After it’s over, nothing is different; nothing is better. Thankfully, God delivers something completely unpredictable at Christmas. In the least likely of ways and in the least likely of places, he delivers the gift of his Son. Along with him, he delivers to all mankind the peace, joy, and hope they need. Because God delivers his greatest gift in the most unpredictable way, that gift is ours for the taking. There will always be room for us at the side of the manger. The gifts from the Christ child are all labeled: To you! When we see the unpredictable thing God does at Christmas, we’ll say with the shepherds, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened!”

When everything goes wrong, everything is right.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. If we imagined an unpredictable Christmas, we’d assume everything went wrong. But an unpredictable Christmas is exactly what God wants us to have. The gifts he delivers are so great that, no matter what we’re anticipating, we can count on being surprised. This week we see how Christmas offers us a miracle that’s more than just myth. Christmas stories often include miracles. The idea that something unexpected and supernatural could happen in our lives captivates our imagination. Yet, we often live as though such miracles are nothing more than wishful thinking. Christmas proves God is capable of the miraculous. The truth asserted about Jesus at his birth was proven at his resurrection. The miracle of Jesus’ birth shows us the kind of God we have.

You'll get a Christmas miracle whether you want one or not.

No one likes to wait. That includes waiting for this world to become what we know deep down it should be. You can find plenty of good advice about what you can do to make the world a better place, but our best hope for the future is the good news about everything Jesus will one day undo. This week we hear that God will undo the curse of sin. The common conception is that heaven is a mystical, spiritual place where we will float around on clouds and play harps for all eternity. Jesus wants us to see something far better. He will prepare for us a new heavens and a new earth, a place where we can experience the very real and physical joys he created us to experience. Not only that, but those joys will last for all eternity.

Take a good look at your brand new home.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. But maybe another predictable part of Christmas is that it predictably lets us down. After it’s over, nothing is different; nothing is better. Thankfully, God delivers something completely unpredictable at Christmas. Today we see the unpredictable way in which God reveals himself to us. At Christmas, we unwrap presents in order to reveal what’s inside. God does just the opposite at Christmas. He reveals himself by wrapping his deity in human flesh. No one can see the unbridled glory of God and live. However, Jesus Christ, the Word wrapped in flesh, we have seen God’s glory, full of grace and truth.

The Christ child shows us what God has up his sleeve.

More than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable: the food, the lights, the music, even the date. But maybe another predictable part of Christmas is that it predictably lets us down. After it’s over, nothing is different; nothing is better. Thankfully, God delivers something completely unpredictable at Christmas. This week we see the unpredictable change of status that Christmas bring - both for us and for Jesus. Immediately following his birth, Jesus endures the consequences of his arrival on earth. Earthly rulers seek his death and an earthly father is his only protection. As a result, however, our status changes too. We who by right are slaves of sin and death are redeemed and made daughters and sons.

God's second attempt to raise the perfect child was his last.

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