This weekend’s Gospel reading is about a man who came to Jesus wanting to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He was encouraged by Jesus to sell everything he had, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sad because he had great wealth. The issue for the man was the difficulty in letting go and letting God.

We’ve entered October, and with a new month comes a new Mission of the Month: Lutheran Braille Workers. As stated on their website (lbwloveworks.org), “Lutheran Braille Workers exists to bring the Word of God to the 338 million people throughout the world who are blind or visually impaired …. In over 80 years of ministry, Lutheran Braille Workers has produced and distributed over 15 million volumes of Christian material, in 40 languages, to people in 164 countries. LBW has never charged a recipient to receive these materials as we believe in freely sharing God’s Word!”

This weekend, we’re finishing our series of messages based on sections from James with a message I’m titling “Prayerful Patience.” Patience, or forbearance, as it is sometimes translated, is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. I must admit, there are times when that fruit might be very evident in my life, and others not so much. For instance, I find myself becoming increasingly impatient when I am watching my favorite sports teams losing games, sometimes due to mistakes which I feel should not be made.

Ever since the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, I have been a fan. There have been more non-playoff years than playoff years, and so now that the Brewers have become the first team this year to win their division and reach the playoffs again, I am very happy.

This weekend’s message will continue our “Membership Has Its Obligations” series based on the epistle of James. Our focus will be on edifying speech. As James points out, none of us is perfect in this regard. But that doesn’t mean we simply say, “Well, I can’t help it.” What we can’t do, God can. “All things are possible for him who believes,” as Jesus points out in this weekend’s Gospel reading. But the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification (making us more and more like Jesus in our attitudes and actions), is a life-long process.

Today (Thursday, August 22) is the first day of our school ministry’s 2024-2025 academic year. Each year, a Bible verse is chosen to be the theme for the year. This year, it’s Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

During our worship services for the next few weekends, we’ll continue to go through the final chapters of Ephesians, focusing on unity. Sometimes we think that unity means everyone must think the same, do the same things, and maybe even look the same. Christianity’s view of unity is much different.

When taken together, the Gospel readings for the next two Sundays (Mark 6:30-56) give a picture of how we as followers of Jesus can easily go through highs and lows, all the while being surrounded by the consistent perfect love and care of Jesus.

Have you ever spent a lot of time, effort and money on something only to end up asking yourself the question: “Was that really worth it?” That might even happen when it comes to following Jesus and seeking to walk in His ways. You do all the right things and then, bam!, something completely changes the course of your life.

Read a devotion written by former Lutheran Hour Speaker Pastor Ken Klaus from July 4, 2017, titled, “For He Is Good,” based on Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

We sometimes find ourselves in situations in which we wonder, “How can this possibly by God’s will?” We may even ask questions like this: “If God is all-knowing and a God of love, why would He allow this bad thing to happen?”

Joy is a major theme in the Scriptures – something that God wants us to have. It is listed in Galatians 5 as a fruit of the Spirit, right after love. Those who have joy also know how to rejoice in the Lord. Imagine what it would be like to have no joy in life.

For those of us who remember going through Confirmation instruction, you may recall that in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, there is a section called “Table of Duties” where several Bible passages are listed about how we are supposed to treat others and fulfill our various callings in life. What is not listed in the Table of Duties is our “duty towards God.”

The greatest Teacher ever to step foot on this earth was our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet while He was teaching, there were plenty of other teachers who contradicted what He taught. This weekend, we’ll hear an example of that regarding what Jesus taught about what it means to remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy.

On the Church calendar, the Sunday after Pentecost is known as Trinity Sunday, a day on which we focus on the wonder of how God has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures: three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in one divine being. At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit was present as He descended on Jesus like a dove, and the Father was present as His voice declared, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” The wonder of the Trinity is indeed something beyond our ability as humans to fully comprehend.

This weekend we will celebrate Pentecost, the day on which the gift Jesus promised (the Holy Spirit) was given in a special way to Jesus’ followers. While we might think about the sound of the rushing wind, what appeared to be tongues of fire over the apostles’ heads, and them speaking in different languages giving evidence that something wondrous was happening, those signs were temporary. What was permanent was a whole new level of intimacy now possible between Jesus and His followers.