[Jesus said:] "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

God's stewards recognize that their stewardship involves a Gospel-powered style of life which is demonstrated in servanthood within all the arenas of life.  

We live in a consumer-driven socity. Unfortunately, this gets brought into the church as well. We think that by sitting in the pews we are the customers of the service. How many times have you left a worship service saying, "I didn't get anything out of it"?

If you're thinking that's a problem, you're right. You should never leave a service saying that because you have received God's Word asit was proclaimed from the pulpit. If you observed Holy Communion, you received Christ's Body and Blood. In the Lutheran Church, we call our main Sunday service the "Divine Service". Why? Because God comes down to us and serves us with His Word and Sacraments so that we may be equipped to go out and serve others. May you see this blessing that God has for you in His service. Amen.  

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by."

Office Hymn: "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"

Small Catechism: Lord's Supper, Question 3

Large Catechism: V 20-27

Scripture: John 6:35-51

Commentary: Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John 4.2

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

God's stewards recognize that their stewardship flows out of God's act of love for them in Christ, which empowers them in turn, to love others in acts of Christ-like love.

Your stewardship is a gift from your loving God. Everything that you have been given in this life is because God loves you. Therefore, the best use of your earthly possessions is to distribute them among other people. This is truly showing love to our neighbors.

It's not a love that tries to earn favor from God. It's a love that comes because we have been shown favor by God. As St. John so succinctly puts it, "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  

This is why St. Paul can say, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law" (Romans 13:10). The basic Law that surrounds our life is to love our neighbor as ourselves with everything we have. Amen.  

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by."

Office Hymn: "Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread"

Small Catechism: Lord's Supper, Question 2

Apology: XXII 1-4

Scripture: John 6:53-58

Commentary: Hiliary of Poitiers, On the Trinity 8.13-14

[Jesus prayed:]  

God's stewards recognize that the Lord sets them apart from the world and by the transforming power of the Gospel sends them into the world to live out the Gospel.

During His last night on earth, Jesus didn't ask for His disciples to be spared from the troubles of this life. In fact, He specifically prayed to keep His disciples and all Christians after them IN the world. But He also teaches us not to be OF the world. Not to be a part of the world. We've been sanctified--set apart--for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.  This we have before us because we have been given the truth of the Gospel--the most precious news that can be given to our world. It's our job to proclaim this message to the world while not being influenced by our world. May we work to keep our proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners free of worldly, sinful influence. Amen.  

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by."

Office Hymn: "What Is This Bread?"

Small Catechism: Lord's Supper, Question 1

Large Catechism: V 8-14

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:16-21

Commentary: Ambrose, Letter 45

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

God's stewards recognize that their lives are not solo performances but are personal responses to God, lived out within the community of faith to benefit the whole world.  

"No man is an island," or so the saying goes. Everything that we do affects those around us. It may be a very active, direct effect. It may be more subtle. As the population of the world continues to boom and the Internet continues to make this a smaller world, we become increasingly more and more connected to each other. That's both good and bad.

We don't have to worry about being turned over to the authorities as in some countries, but we do have to worry about the faith that is taught in our congregations being altered from Scripture. Little by little, the core beliefs of many churches are being hacked away by the whims of our American society. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6b). May we always work to cleanse out the leaven of our society so that we may continue to be the pure church of Jesus Christ on earth. Amen.  

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by."

Office Hymn: "Built on the Rock"

Small Catechism: Office of the Keys

Augsburg Confession: XXVIII 1-17

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20

Commentary: Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 132.4-5

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  

God's stewards rejoice in and live out what God has declared them to be through the cross. At the same time His stewards recognize they are sinners who fight sin and its consequences each day.

God has called us to be a chosen race and a royal priesthood. He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But we also live in this world that is filled with sin. In fact, we are still filled with the inclination to sin. We fight this battle daily as the temptation to sin seems to grow daily. It's the same battle every day. We fight. Some times we win. Some times we lose. But we know that we have already achieved the final victory over sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He gives us His victory when He calls us to be His people. Amen.  

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by."

Office Hymn: "The Church's One Foundation"

Small Catechism: Office of the Keys

Apology: XI 63-67

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

Commentary: Theodore of Mopsuestia, Fragment 92