Audio recording Sermon manuscript: There is no higher or more exalted thing than that God should speak to us. The fact that this is the highest thing in life is understood even by those who do not know the true God, but follow some other god in their hearts. The Buddhist monk sits in silence at the monastery, waiting for enlightenment. When he believes that he has received it, he is very pleased. The astro-physicist pours over numbers and theories, looking for new insight. When enlightenment comes, he is delighted. Even the great horde of humanity, who might care more about their creature comforts than they do about anything else, are pleased to hear about and use some new gadget. In this way they all are participating and anticipating the greatness that is to come, the greatness that their god is bringing about on the earth. It is a grand thing to hear your God speak. Our one and only true God, of course, has something different to tell us than all the other things that people trust in. The true God tells us that he has worked redemption and eternal life in the birth, life, suffering, and death of his eternally begotten Son Jesus Christ. We are forgiven and received by God as beloved children for Christ’s sake. Furthermore, since we have already been redeemed from sin and death, we already have begun to live our eternal life. This eternal life is not one where we pick whichever way we might want to live—which would probably mean that we would pick sinful things, or at least selfish things. Instead this eternal life is only of the highest and best things. We live sacrificial and selfless lives of love by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this way we disciples follow our master, our great teacher, Jesus, who has taught us that whoever would be the greatest must become the least. The more we love, the more we suffer in that love, the more we become like the glory of God, which is Christ the crucified. There is more that could be said about what our God tells us. This, after all, is why we have the Bible and why we gather to hear readings from the Bible. But I’ve tried to sum up the two chief teachings for Christians. First, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. He has purchased us with his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. Through him our sins are forgiven and we are accepted by God. Second, now that we are his own, we serve him in his kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. All of Scripture, all the preaching of God’s prophets and apostles, is for us to know this, believe this, and thereby be blessed eternally as God’s chosen children. This is what the true God says to us and to all who have ears to hear. There is nothing higher or more exalted. This will become especially clear when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. Although this is the highest message there is, not everyone believes it. Among those who believe, not everyone continues to believe it. Among those who believe and continue to believe it, it is not always to the same extent or with the same results. This is what our Lord’s parable of the sower of the seed is about. The seed is the Word of God. Some of it falls on the hard beaten path so that it never takes root. The devil comes and takes it out of people’s hearts. Some falls on soil where the seed sprouts, but it doesn’t continue to grow or come to maturity. Some seed falls on the sandy, rocky ground that quickly warms up in the spring. The person quickly and joyously believes. But then the hot sun comes out. Jesus says that persecution comes because of the Word. That means that people have to choose between remaining with the Word of God or forsaking the Word of God so that they can get along more easily with unbelievers. In that struggle these people choose their friends and family. They save their own skin by silencing the Word of God. But this also means that their faith immediately withers and dies. Some seed falls among the thorns