Sermon Archive - Aug 22nd, 2010

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=130 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="12ba6e903.jpg"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="11fcbc320.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>OFFICE:  713-526-5731      5315 MAIN STREET, HOUSTON TEXAS 77004      FAX: 713-524-1709</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Matthew Lutheran Church Houston, Te"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A><B>  ~   </B><A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Worship Schedule"><U><B>WORSHIP</B></U></A><B>  ~  </B><A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Map Directions"><U><B>LOCATION</B></U></A><B>  ~   </B><A HREF="mailto:info@stmatthewhouston.org?subject=Website Inquiry" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@stmatthewhouston.org?subject"><U><B>EMAIL US</B></U></A><B>  ~  </B><A HREF="id452.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Map"><U><B>SITE MAP</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=155 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="123030970.jpg" border=0 width="48" height="151" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="id464.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome"><U>Welcome</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id465.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lutheran Beliefs"><U>Lutheran Beliefs</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id466.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Join"><U>How to Join</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id467.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Local Missions"><U>Local Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id468.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Global Missions"><U>Global Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id508.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Parish Education"><U>Parish Education</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=280 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> Sermon Archive - Aug 22nd, 2010</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="568" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#990000" BORDERCOLORDARK="#FFCC99" FRAME="VOID" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFCC99 HEIGHT= 18 WIDTH="134"><div> <A HREF="id563.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Matthew Sermon Archives"><U><IMG SRC="157a270e0.png" border=0 width="39" height="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#990000 WIDTH="421"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="421" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>“Sacrificial Love”</B></div> <div> <B>Hebrews 12:4-24</B></div> <div> <B>The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: August 22, 2010</B></div> <div> <B>Pastor Mark Wiesenborn</B></div> <div> <B>St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The sermon text for our message today is taken from the Epistle Lesson, where the fearful power and presence of our Law-giving heavenly Father at Mount Sinai is shown in contrast to His life-giving and life-renewing Son – who redeems us as a profound act of sacrificial love, by offering His sin-free life on the Cross as the “great exchange” for our sin-full hearts and lives!  And as a result, we find ourselves invited to one day join in His incredible victory celebration.  Yet for this present reality of living and worshiping together as servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we receive these words of encouragement and warning:</B></div> <div> <B>“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Dear friends in Christ, in team sporting events we sometimes find ourselves with “divided loyalties” – perhaps cheering for the Houston Texans’ offensive unit, while booing the defense; maybe supporting a few of our favorite Astros’ baseball players while criticizing the owner and managers for even allowing certain others onto the field.  Both professional athletes and sports fans know what it feels like to go from the depths of despair to the heights of joyful celebration, but there is a distinct difference between their level of commitment and our own.  Athletes are expected by the fans to offer up the physical sacrifices of their blood and sweat and even their tears, yet in a losing effort these may not be considered “good enough”.  That is why so many of us become what are known as fair-weather fans – people who only support the team when they have been winning; who expect that in exchange for buying tickets and souvenir clothing and overpriced food and beverages we have been guaranteed the chance to join in their victory celebration…even though, to paraphrase the opening verse from the Hebrews’ passage: “In our struggles, we have not yet participated to the point of shedding our own blood.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     That “root of bitterness” you find among fair-weather fans is not very different from what we encounter among fair-weather Christians!  You may have heard a tongue-in-cheek description of our divided loyalties called “Why I Quit Going to Sporting Events” – meaning, “why some people quit going to church on Sundays”.</B></div> <div> <B>1)     It’s the only day of the week I get to sleep late.</B></div> <div> <B>2)     I want to relax, but everyone expects me to get into the spirit of the game.</B></div> <div> <B>3)     The coach expects too much of the players.  He should be able to do the job single-handed.  After all, that’s what he’s getting paid for.</B></div> <div> <B>4)     They’re always asking for money.  It costs me something every time I go.  I think someone other than myself should pay for the stadium facilities, the salaries of the coaches, and all that other stuff.</B></div> <div> <B>5)     My parents dragged me to games all the time when I was a child.  Now it’s pretty much “been there, done that”.  If my kids don’t want to go, I won’t make them.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Let me share a story which describes what that “heart attitude” might lead to.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.  After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.  Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.  The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.  As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.  Soon it was cold and dead.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.  The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.  He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.  Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.  As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the firey sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday’.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Last week I asked you to consider what prevents us from living according to the great faith of those who have gone before us.  Although we are careful in the Lutheran church to say that coming to saving faith in Christ is entirely the will and the work of God, taking the next step to live by faith is a matter of Christian freedom that includes decisions and also commitments.  So why NOT live “by faith”?  I went on to suggest that we struggle with three interconnected problems:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1)     Because of our sinful nature, we suffer from a lack of trust in what God can and will do on our behalf. Our Christian faith depends on a foundation of Biblical knowledge that is tested by life experiences to reinforce our ability and our willingness to believe, and over time that leads us to an ever-deepening trust.  And throughout this process our loving Father God disciplines (or teaches) us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2)     Even though we are God’s redeemed and sanctified people, we can still become discouraged and live with low expectations for what our mission and ministry here at St. Matthew might be able to accomplish.  Yet we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit to lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>3)     Even after we count our blessings, we can be hesitant to make a meaningful commitment in the area of Christian stewardship; in other words, to “be rich toward God” in a sacrificial way with our time and talents and treasures.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Let me challenge you to examine the importance of your Christian faith, especially when it comes to what you think and say and do at home, at school, or at work during the rest of the week (away from church).  I am going to share a few observations about how Christians sometimes view living by faith as a series of “sacrifices” WE make, instead of meaningful commitments to the God whom we love with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  See if you relate to any of these:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how two hours seem so long when you’re at church, and how short they seem when you’re watching a good movie?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> Isn’t it strange how a twenty dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange that you can’t find a word to say when you’re praying but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible but </B></div> <div> <B>how easy it is to read a hundred pages of a popular novel?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how everyone wants front-row tickets to concerts or ball games but they do whatever is possible to sit in the back few rows at church?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how we need to know about an activity at church two to three weeks before the date so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust our plans for other events at the last minute?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God in order to share it with others; but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend, and repeat gossip?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Isn’t it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And finally, isn’t it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven but they don’t want to believe, do, or say anything to help others get there?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Christians will struggle with some or all of these commitments until they come to grips with the meaning of our Savior’s sacrificial love.  The blood and sweat and tears that He shed on the Cross were necessary for us to receive the undeserved gifts of forgiveness and salvation and eternal life.  He did not turn away from us – but neither did He suggest that we should ever stop confessing and repenting of our own hurtful and grievous sins.  As the writer of Psalm 115 declares:</B></div> <div> <B>     “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us but to your name be the glory,</B></div> <div> <B>     because of your love and faithfulness;</B></div> <div> <B>     The Lord remembers us and will bless us.</B></div> <div> <B>     It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to silence;</B></div> <div> <B>it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord.”</B></div> <div> <B>[Psalm 115:1, 12, 17-18]</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Bible defines faith as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see; this is what the people throughout the Old Testament were commended for.  Our faith doesn’t necessarily know where the mission and ministry of our own congregation is going, but it does know that Jesus Christ is leading us through His selfless example of sacrificial love!  I remember a story several years ago about the Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa, who spent her last fifty years in saintly devotion and service to the poor even as she struggled with intensely painful doubts about her own faith, I was touched by this quote:  “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.  I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     We need to recognize the divided loyalties that are always present in our hearts, because even as God’s redeemed people we are still both Saints and Sinners.  Together we are the people that He has called out of darkness into the marvelous light of His truth and grace.  Together we are the people to whom He has given the wonderful challenge to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching them!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Therefore, let us grow together in the holiness and grace of God as people who fear, love, and trust in Him above all things.  Consider what it means to be a disciple (or follower) of Christ, and then pray for God to increase each of our faith so that we might serve Him boldly and confidently.  Remember the sacrificial love of Jesus, and ask Him to lead us in sacrificially using the blessings we have received for the sake of “bringing souls into Christ’s Church and nurturing their spiritual growth”.  That is our Mission Statement here at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, and what we do here together should always be to His glory and for the sake of His Kingdom!  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!</B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>EPISTLE LESSON – Hebrews 12:4-24 [ESV]</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” [Prov. 3:11,12] 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet [Prov. 4:26], so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” [Exodus 19:12,13] 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” [Deut. 9:19] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.</B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=155 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="122e30960.jpg" border=0 width="48" height="150" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="id499.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meet Our Leaders"><U>Meet Our Leaders</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id114.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tour Our Church"><U>Tour Our Church</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id493.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Read Our History"><U>Read Our History</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id626.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Arts and Music"><U>Arts and Music</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Special Events"><U>Special Events</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id515.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Gallery"><U>Photo Gallery</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=70 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="id423.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible Search"><U><B>BIBLE SEARCH</B></U></A><B>  ~  </B><A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LCMS Links"><U><B>LUTHERAN LINKS</B></U></A><B>  ~  </B><A HREF="id100.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Online Devotionals"><U><B>DEVOTIONALS</B></U></A><B>  ~  </B><A HREF="id563.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Matthew Sermon Archives"><U><B>SERMON ARCHIVES</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> © 2011  St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Houston, TX - All Rights Reserved</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>