Everyone has something to say about last Friday’s Supreme Court Decision to overturn Roe v. Wade which returned the decision regarding the legality of abortion to the individual states. Politicians, media, commentators, bloggers, interviewers, interviewees. There is no shortage of opinions, no shortage of people speaking (screaming!) their “truth.” Has anyone bothered to check with the Creator, aka, the Triune God? Are we listening to him?
 
Let’s consider that God is at the center of all things and that all of life revolves around him, NOT around belly-button-gazing, narcissistic humankind.
 
The Lord has much to say. Here’s a sampling. For a few moments, let’s leave the realm of “rights” and the arena of the political and the medical and the emotional and hear from the One who loves us with an everlasting love and whose grace is boundless and immeasurable. May ears listen and hearts respond to the Truth of God’s Word. God grant patience and compassion and understanding.
 

• The word of the LORD came to me: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart.  (Jeremiah 1:4,5)

 

• For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.   (Psalm 139:13-16  NIV)

 

• Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. (Job 10:8-12  NIV)

 

• Now see that I, only I, am he, and there is not a god comparable to me. I put to death and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39  EHV)

 

• But I—I trust in you, O Lord. I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand.  (Psalm 31:14,15a  EHV)

 

• Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20  EHV)

 

• Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12  NIV)

 

• So whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do everything to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31  EHV)

 
God keep you in his gracious care,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

 

​The anniversary of the presentation of the first Lutheran confession takes place on Saturday, June 25th. 492 years ago, in 1530, a group of German princes presented Emperor Charles V with the Augsburg Confession, a document that defined and defended the teachings of the Lutheran church. This date is often referred to as the birthday of the Lutheran church because of the bold unity expressed that day.
 
All of the Lutheran Confessions (including Luther’s Catechisms) were collected in the Book of Concord in 1580. We subscribe to these documents and hold to their doctrine not “insofar as” (Latin = quatenus) they agree with Scripture but “because” (Latin = quia) they agree with Scripure.
 
Quatenus is a “weasel” word!!
 
Consider…
 
Every church and pastor say they teach what the Bible says. But pay close attention to what they actually teach and the differences are profound.

• Not everyone agrees that we are lost and condemned by our very sinful nature; but it’s what the Bible says
• Not everyone agrees that God does everything in regard to our salvation, that we must play at least a small part; but the Bible says God does it all
• Not everyone agrees that the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion have saving, forgiving power; but that’s what the Bible says.

 
Simply put, confession matters. Confessing the truth of God’s Word through confessions like the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, the Catechism, and the Augsburg Confession lets people know what the Bible says.
 
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9,10)
 
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34b)
 
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32,33)
 
In Christ,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

How do you define family? There are a multitude of ways. When Christ and his love and forgiveness are at the heart of a relationship – immediate family, extended family, friends, work, church – any feuds fade in the light of mercy, forgiveness and love. And the definition of family is altered.
 
“31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. While they were standing outside, they sent word to Jesus, calling for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They began to tell him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”
 
33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 He looked at those who sat around him in a circle and he said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)
 
Everyone who does God’s will, that is, everyone who believes is Jesus’ brother/sister/mother. Here, Jesus says, is “real family,” the family of God.
 
We become part of God’s family through Baptism. In the Lord’s Supper, we join with God’s family – with Jesus/Savior/Brother and with fellow believers. And what a tremendous blessing when earthly family and family in Christ are one and the same.
 
How does this family stay connected? Since Father’s Day is coming up, a word to fathers and all men. How does family stay connected to Christ? Guys, don’t look around at others. Don’t dodge the question. Yes, each person is essentially responsible for being in the Word and partaking of the Sacrament and remaining connected to Jesus.
 
But who brings the children, who leads the family to God’s altar? If the answer is Mom or the kids – good for Mom and the kids. Well done. Keep connected. Remain faithful. The ideal answer involves fathers and husbands. Lead, love, nurture, model forgiveness – make clear that in Jesus all sin and wrongdoings are forgiven. Do this day by day, week by week, in private settings and in public worship.
 
As a father, nothing would bring me greater joy than to have my entire family with me in heaven. Sure, I want my children (and now, grandchildren) to succeed and do well in school, athletics, music, career, establishing families of their own one day – whatever they want to do. But it all means nothing if they are not part of the family of Christ. My fervent prayer at the beginning of each day, and at the end of each day, is that the Lord keep them in his care and bring them safely home.
 
As pastor, I feel the same about my church family. We’re talking real family here, brothers and sisters in Christ. This goal, this expectation that all of us will be together in heaven with Jesus makes the bad days worth it. Let the hits, hurts, and insults come from all sides. Family is worth it. Jesus is worth it. How blessed we are to be part of the family of God! By the grace of God we will remain real family.
 
In Christ our Savior,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

The festival of the Holy Trinity (this coming Sunday, June 12th) reminds us of just how little we can understand or comprehend our Triune God. We can’t, we won’t ever, but we believe in him. The central paradox of the Christian faith is this: God is both three and one at the same time. Three persons in one God. One God in three persons. Strange? Yep. Irrational? Uh-huh. Illogical? Makes no sense whatsoever. But it’s the truth. In the service that day, we’ll journey through the Athanasian Creed, which summarizes 400 years of struggling to say all this in just the right way. And when we’re done, we still won’t understand it all, but by grace we’ll believe it.
 
Many centuries ago, the great church father Augustine was puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity while walking on a beach. On the beach he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. He asked the boy what he was doing and the boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." Then Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite, incomprehensible God into his finite mind.
 
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look on you with favor and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
 
Let God be God. Let him rule over all things and work through all things and reveal himself to us as the one true God, the Triune God. Don’t try to put him in a box or on a shelf or attempt to fit him inside your head. It won’t work. Instead, may we respond with unending praise and worship: Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, Glory be to the Holy Spirit. Glory to the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
 
In the name of the Holy Trinity,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

​(This is the devotion shared at Trinity’s closing service and 8th grade graduation on May 27th.)
 
Got plans? 8th graders? Parents? Everyone here? Got plans…for summer? For life?
 
When I was in 8th grade, I planned to either be an NFL football player (preferably a wide receiver) or a pastor. The NFL never called, but God did, and the rest is history…
 
Do your plans matter? I’ll tell you what matters: if God isn’t at the heart of your planning, if you’re not staying close to him in Word and Sacrament, if you’re not seeking his blessing, if you thinking, “This is going to be all about me – what I want and what I think” – your plans don’t matter. Good luck trying to carve out “My Way” out of the divine landscape that lies ahead.
 
The words of your class verse were spoken to different people at a different time in different circumstances. God’s Old Testament people were in exile in Babylon – hundreds of miles away from their homeland – around 600 BC. In Jeremiah 29, God promises that after 70 years he will bring them back from exile and that he will continue to bless them and be with them as only he can. Your class verse is at the heart of this: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
 
I like the two verses that follow. Jeremiah 29:11 has become a very popular verse in our day, and we can certainly apply it to ourselves, but it’s good to remember the context: different people at a different time in different circumstances. That’s why I love the two verses that follow. They remind us that what matters most in life isn’t stuff or activity or accomplishments – the five of you will accumulate all of those things – the key thing in life is your relationship with your Savior. “Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. When you seek me, you will find me, when you will seek me with all your heart.” (vv. 12,13) At the heart of God’s plans for you is a deeper, closer relationship with him.
 
The future is always unknown, uncertain. But keep in mind that the Lord has already taken care of his biggest and best plans for your life: he’s conquered your sin and death by his grace and mercy, sent his Son to save you with his perfect life/his bloody, sacrificial death on the cross to pay for sin/his glorious resurrection. He’s claimed you as his own through the Holy Spirit’s work through his Word, through the water and the Word of Holy Baptism. You and your future are in good hands!
 
Two days ago, in this very place there was a funeral for someone who reached the age of 80. The five of you can’t imagine being 80 years old, can you? You can’t even imagine begin as “old” as your parents, because you think they’re old; but they’re not! But this gentleman was once 14, in 8th grade like you and by grace he listened to the voice of his Good Shepherd Jesus all through his life and all the way home to heaven.
 
One day there will be a service like that for everyone here, regardless of your age. Loved ones will gather and mourn and remember…you. No one will talk about your plans when you were a young teenager because no one will remember that. But they will remember your Savior, their Savior, who will hold you in the palm of his hand/close to his heart and guide your steps all life long.
 
 Got plans? I hope you do. I know you do. But God has plans for you, too. And his plans are always best. Cling to these words. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.”
 
In Jesus,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand