St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday October 25, 1998, the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

Text: 2 Timothy 2: 8 - 13

Theme: Remember Jesus Christ!

100 years old. Wow. What an accomplishment. What a celebration. Our anniversary festivities gave us an excellent opportunity to cherish some old memories, didn’t it? Pastor Biedenbender, who had served here for almost 1/3 of those 100 years, came back with his family. Seeing his children and their children brought joy to many hearts. Hearing Pastor Biedenbender sing the Lord’s Prayer brought tears to many eyes. When he preached that evening, he recalled some memories of his own. Several objects around the church reminded him of God’s faithfulness to St. Matthew’s. The plaque on the door reminded him that God provided the true means of grace for 100 years. The pastors and teachers reminded him that God provided people of faith for 100 years. The shingles on the roof and steel plate on the back door of the parsonage reminded him that God provided powerful protection. What memories! Now the celebration is over. Another century begins. It is time to look ahead. As we begin a new century let us heed Paul’s encouragement to Remember Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus Christ I) in all suffering II) throughout life.

First, Remember Jesus Christ, in all suffering. St. Matthew’s is not new to suffering. Pastor Biedenbender recalled the troubles the builders of this church ran into. When the contractor went bankrupt, the price of the building almost doubled. How their hearts must have been weighed down with worry as they tried to fund such a large project. Even today, without such a disaster, we struggle to meet the budget and our commitments to missions and ML. I only pray we can respond as generously as our fathers did. Years later a fire damaged much of the church. I had the chance to see some pictures of the church after the fire. I can only imagine the grief of seeing something so precious in such ruins.

Paul could surely sympathize with the people of St. Matthew’s. He also suffered. Even as Paul wrote this letter to Timothy he sat in prison waiting to die. His stay was not pleasant. He tells us that he suffered, "even to the point of being chained like a criminal." Paul had not acted as a criminal. He simply carried out the work his God had asked him to do. He spent his days and nights telling others about their Savior. He took God’s word to as many people as he could possibly reach. He did not deserve to be bound in chains like a common criminal.

St. Matthew’s did not deserve to suffer either. The people of the church were simply trying to follow God’s command to make disciples of all nations. Yet they did suffer. Paul does not try to explain why he suffered; he simply gives us his reaction. "I endure everything." We cannot try to explain why we suffer. What we can do is follow Paul’s example. Endure everything. St. Matthew’s has had problems over the last 100 years; the next 100 years will not be any different. Nevertheless, in all suffering, remember Jesus Christ. His word is at work.

When the contractor went bankrupt, God’s word moved many hearts to generously give so that the church could be built. When the fire burned the church, God’s word moved many hearts to dedicate themselves to rebuild and retain St. Matthew’s. When we face suffering next year, next month, or next week, God’s word will still be working. In all suffering his word continues to move hearts and to bring lost souls to Jesus. God’s word is not chained; therefore, endure everything.

But why? Why should we deal with a world that is wrapped up in itself? It would be easier to concentrate on us. Why should we reach out to a neighborhood that doesn’t seem to care about itself? It would be much easier to keep our business within familiar walls. Why?…"for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."

Right now we are able to sit here because those before us were willing to suffer. We certainly didn’t do anything to deserve faithful proclamation of the means of grace, to deserve people of faith to proclaim them, or to deserve powerful protection from God. We deserve to go to hell. Everyday we despise the blessings God has given us. We despise the means of grace he has provided; we’d rather sit at home than in a Bible class to hear God’s word. We hold onto our money so tight that Cain’s sacrifice would put us to shame. We deserve to suffer begging Abraham for one drop of water to soothe our pain. Thankfully, our fathers remembered Jesus Christ and were willing to endure everything so that we might obtain salvation.

Because they endured many hardships, God’s word had the chance to work in our hearts. Through their pains God provided people of faith to tell us about Jesus Christ. They told us that it doesn’t matter what we deserve. Jesus died on the cross to suffer what we deserve. Now we are entitled to what he earned. He lived a perfect life so that we could live in eternal glory. Thank God that those who preceded us remembered Jesus Christ and suffered in order to pass on their memory.

Now we have the chance to do the same. Remember Jesus Christ in all suffering for the salvation of those who will come after you. Paul was so thankful that God had rescued him that he wanted to tell everyone. He offered the joy of Christ even if it brought him the sadness of prison. He offered the joy of Christ knowing that he would give his life for it. Let us show our gratitude by spreading the Gospel even in the face of death. Let us remember Jesus Christ throughout life.

Life has really just begun. In fact, you were stillborn. That’s right, you were born dead. Every one of us is sinful from birth, from the time our mother conceives us. Anyone born in sin is born dead. Life only begins when we are reborn.

Paul wrote to Titus, "[God] saved us through he washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…." We are reborn and given a new life in baptism through water and God’s word. In v.11 Paul quotes, "If we died with him, we will also live with him." Through our baptisms we share in Jesus’ death; we die with him. Consequently, because Jesus rose from the dead to life, we also share in his life. Because through baptism we share in Jesus’ death, we can be sure that we will also live with him in eternal glory.

Until God calls us to eternal glory, we must live our new lives here on earth. As long as we live on this earth, we can expect to suffer. However, in baptism God has also given us the power to endure as we live our new lives. "If we endure, we will also reign with him." God knows that we cannot endure all this suffering on our own. He has seen thousands of generations give up because they could not endure the suffering. He does not expect us to endure on our own. He expects us to remember Jesus Christ. To do so, we cannot think about Jesus once and awhile. Rather, look to him daily for strength.

Begin every day with contrition and repentance. Drown the desire to rely on yourself by confessing yesterday’s failures. Then look to Jesus for power to live your new life, pleasing to God. When we remember Jesus suffering on the cross, we will want to tell others even if we are nervous. We will want to send money to missions, even if we think we can’t afford it. We will want to help out on a committee, even if we don’t have time or energy. These problems will not worry us because we look forward to the day when we will reign with Christ.

On the other hand, if we let these hardships stop us from spreading the good news, we will not have such a bright future. "If we disown him, he will also disown us." Judas thought that he could escape a little suffering. Thirty pieces of silver would solve some of his problems. He found out what happens to those who disown Jesus. His guilt was so overwhelming that he hung himself. If we decide to ease our lives by forgetting Jesus for a little while, we can expect eternal suffering along with Judas.

There will be times when we will disown Jesus for our own comfort. Peter denied Jesus three times so that he would not be associated with him. When we talk to our friends and family, we sometimes avoid talking about Jesus too. When that happens, do not despair as Judas did. Rather, remember Jesus Christ. "He will always remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." Even when we are not faithful to Jesus, he remains faithful to us. He will grant us forgiveness as promised and give us the power to endure.

For 100 years Jesus has shown his faithfulness to St. Matthew’s. As we look around at the different objects around church, we can see that he continues to bless us. He provides regular opportunities to hear his word in worship and in classes. He provides regular opportunities to receive nourishment from his body and blood. He gives us opportunity to fund people of faith to proclaim his word. He continues to protect us while many others fear for their lives in countries that do not permit Christianity. Remember Jesus Christ. He has not forgotten us, how could we possibly forget him?