September 28 – Sermon
Heavenly Father, thank You for guiding us along the path we should follow. We are very grateful that we don’t have to chart our own course in life; we only need to trust Your word. Calm every anxious heart so we can hear Your voice as You direct our path. Thank You Lord for always providing. You have given us forgiveness, community, belonging, and our daily bread. We rejoice, not in earthly riches, but in the divine love and grace that You have promised to us, through Jesus Your Son our Savior. Amen.
This morning, I preach for the final time from this pulpit, the final time to preside over Holy Communion to be shared with you. It is very difficult to say goodbye. Some of you know I have an awful time bringing closure to our visits—I think I’ve mastered the MN goodbye method.
Something deep down within us resists the move from being together to being apart. When someone is present with us, our space is filled, we are not alone. There is conversation and comradery. When someone leaves us, there is absence, loneliness—a gaping silence.
In our minds we all know life is a series of coming and leaving. Carly Simon sings, “Nobody ever stays in one place anymore. You say hello, but I say good-bye.”
The writer of Ecclesiastes states it very clearly: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” There is a time to get up…a time to show up for work. There is a certain time for meals and for different things that we must do throughout the day. There is a time for every activity under heaven.
Our time together, with me as your pastor, is ending. But before all that happens, I want to ask for your forgiveness. If I have sinned against you in anyway, I hope that you can forgive me. Also, please forgive me for my failures in the ministry here among you. With that said, I want to remind you of a couple of things as this season of our ministry comes to an end.
I. Great days are ahead
We’ve gone through a lot of change in the years that I’ve been here. I had hair when I started here. We’ve changed synods. We’ve had two building additions. We’ve called an associate pastor. We’ve seen families come and go. But we’ve also experienced a lot of growth.
Now you and I are entering a new season of change. Things may seem like they’re in a holding pattern right now, but you’re in good hands with Pr. Miller as your interim pastor. I believe St. Luke’s will continue to grow and expand its ministry over the next years.
II. Remember that we are all called to share the Gospel.
Sharing the gospel is the reason for all who are disciples of Jesus. 1 Peter 3:15 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. That hope that is in you… Christians are to be a people of hope and that means sharing the gospel. The hope that is in us is Christ Jesus Himself and if we are sharing a reason for that hope, then we are sharing Him.
We live in a world that is absolutely full of suffering people. We can bring light and hope into many of those lives. But we must always be ready. Read your Bible daily. Spend time in prayer. Don’t skip worship.
III. Remember that for those of us who believe, goodbye is not forever
The elders of the Ephesian church grieved when Paul told them that they would never see his face again. And it’s good that we should have relationships where we grieve over the thought of separation; over the thought that we might never see each other again. But we have to keep in mind that as Christians, goodbye is not the end. We will all be reunited in a fantastic reunion that Christ has prepared for all believers. Therefore encourage one another.
IV. Be good stewards.
Wealth –the resources God has given us was never intended to be our God. Wealth is nothing more than a servant; it’s here to provide for the needs of people in the world. If we desire after wealth, it has a way to declare itself king. But it’s not king. The king of our lives is our Lord Jesus Christ.
The parable in our Gospel ends with the rich man asking for Lazarus to go back from the dead to warn his brothers. “No,” Abraham says, “They have Moses and the prophets, if they listen to them.” The rich man knew his family and that wouldn’t be enough. “If someone came back from the dead, then they’ll listen,” he says. Abraham disagrees. “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, then they won’t listen to someone who rises from the dead.”
We know that to be true. Christ Jesus died and rose from the dead and yet they didn’t listen to Him. Will we listen to Him? He has defeated sin and death so that we may have the life. Please listen.
When we keep Jesus firmly seated upon the throne and wealth relegated to its proper place, then true life in all its fullness is active in us. Our hearts expand in compassion. The love of Christ fills us. And then we gain a whole community of sisters and brothers. That’s when we are rich! Rich in hope. Rich in faith. Rich in community. We abound in the true riches that rust can’t destroy or moth consume. For with Christ on the throne, our hope is built on the solid rock of His victory over all things.
Each believer is a part of THE Church. Continue to make disciples for Jesus, not just members but disciples. Continue to proclaim God’s Word, not just what people want to hear…but the whole Gospel.
Follow God’s Spirit as it moves among you to take you down paths you’ve never been on before in mission to a hurting world. In the midst of transition, celebrate God’s embrace empowered by the Spirit of Jesus.
I want you to know that as I leave, I do so with a lot of joy and satisfaction in my heart. I have been privileged to watch your faith grow and take root in “good soil”. The Holy Spirit has moved powerfully among you and it will continue to do so, because you have allowed Jesus to lead and direct you through His Word. I leave in the confidence that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. God loves you and so do I! Amen.
