St. Matthew Lutheran Church

Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 30, 2019

“God’s Green New Deal: From Works of the Flesh to Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:1, 13-25)

Last week we called our message “God’s Green New Deal: From Slaves to Sons.” We picked up on that phrase, “Green New Deal,” which has been buzzing around in political circles this year. Only God’s Green New Deal won’t cost trillions and trillions of dollars. Actually, it’s much costlier than that, for it cost the precious blood of Christ, God’s own Son, which is of absolutely infinite value. But for you, God’s new deal is absolutely free. A free gift, the new covenant in Christ’s blood.

And that is what has brought us into God’s new covenant, his new deal, so to speak, which changes our status radically. In Christ, we have gone from slaves to sons. We’ve gone from being slaves under the law, imprisoned, held captive under the law, thinking that we could work our way into God’s favor, which we cannot. Oh, we would be condemned to eternal death and hell under that arrangement. But now, in Christ, we have been redeemed from our imprisonment, set free from our slavery. We have been adopted as sons, brought into God’s household and family, because of Christ our brother. We have been joined to Jesus in Holy Baptism, and so now we are God’s sons also. All of us are sons and heirs, in line to receive a most marvelous inheritance: You and I will share in Christ’s resurrection and his eternal life. It doesn’t get any better than that!

So last week we emphasized the “new deal” aspect of God’s green new deal, that this is God’s new covenant, moving us from slaves to sons. Now today we’ll take up the “green” aspect of it, green signaling new life and growth for those in Christ. Being in Christ–this changes who we are. It changes the way we live. God has brought us out of darkness and into the light. Out of the darkness of this old world and into the light of God’s kingdom. Now we can see. Now we can walk in God’s good paths. No longer are we totally dominated by our old sinful nature–the “flesh,” as Paul calls it. Now we have new life in the Spirit, given to us in baptism. We are new people, and God will help us live this way. And so our theme this morning: “God’s Green New Deal: From Works of the Flesh to Fruit of the Spirit.”

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Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 23, 2019

“God’s Green New Deal: From Slaves to Sons” (Galatians 3:23 – 4:7)

Earlier this year a certain congressperson from New York proposed what she called a “Green New Deal.” She was picking up on the term “New Deal,” thus indicating a massive expansion of government programs. And she combined it with the word “Green,” because she thought this new deal would help the environment. Well, in one sense, it would have been a green new deal, because it would have taken a lot of green, as in trillions and trillions of tax dollars. Well, her Green New Deal came up for a vote in the Senate, and the Senate said, “No deal!” It got exactly zero votes, none even from her own party.

Today, though, I want to tell you about another “new deal,” only this one is a whole lot better. And it won’t even cost you a cent. It’s already paid for. This new deal is also “green,” in the sense that green stands for new life and abundant growth. And what’s more, it’s a new deal that changes our status, from a very bad situation to a very good one instead. So now let’s hear about “God’s Green New Deal: From Slaves to Sons.”

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Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 3, 2016

“Interdependence Day” (Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18)

On July 4, 1776, the United States of America declared their independence from Great Britain. Ironically, just a few days ago, with its Brexit vote, Britain declared its independence from the European Union. What goes around comes around, I guess. But the point is independence. We don’t like other people, or nations, telling us what to do. “You’re not the boss of me!” we think about others.

No, I’m not your boss. In fact, I’m your servant. And you know what? You’re called to be my servant, too. That’s how it works in the church. We are a community of servants, all called to serve and care for and love one another. We will see this in our text for today, the Epistle lesson from Galatians chapter 6. So instead of Independence Day, in the church God declares every day to be “Interdependence Day.”

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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
June 19, 2016

“Baptized Children of Our Heavenly Father” (Galatians 3:23 – 4:7)

Today is Fathers’ Day, a day when we honor our fathers for the blessing that they are to us. And it is good and right that we do this. Now for many of us, our fathers are long gone. But that does not mean we don’t have a Father to honor today. In fact, I want to suggest to you that this is a great day to thank and praise our Father, that is, our heavenly Father. For you and I, we are “Baptized Children of Our Heavenly Father.”

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Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 7, 2013

“The One Gospel Produces One Church” (Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18)

Today we wrap up our six-part series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. And our theme today, as we look at chapter 6, is this: “The One Gospel Produces One Church.” First of all, though, let’s review where we have been in this series.

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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
June 30, 2013

“Free to Be Fruitful” (Galatians 5:1, 13-25)

Freedom is a wonderful thing. This week on Thursday, the Fourth of July, our nation will celebrate the 237th anniversary of declaring our freedom from Great Britain. But as we saw in our nation just this past week, freedom can also be abused, as when that freedom is used as a license for immorality. So the question becomes: What are we using our freedom for?

That’s the question St. Paul takes up in our Epistle for today from Galatians 5. What are we using our freedom for? Only, Paul here is talking about something far more important than political freedom. He’s talking about spiritual freedom, the spiritual freedom we have in Christ. What are we using that freedom for? And what Paul tells the Galatians–and us–is that, yes, we are free in Christ, with a true spiritual freedom. But that freedom is not meant to be used as a license for immorality or any other such sin. Rather, we have been set free for a purpose. For by the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are “Free to Be Fruitful.”

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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
June 23, 2013

“Sons and Heirs” (Galatians 3:23 – 4:7)

In our six-part sermon series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, we have already talked about our changed situation as Christians. For example, last week we heard how we are “Justified by Faith, Crucified with Christ, Redeemed from the Curse.” Now today St. Paul takes us further into understanding our changed status. He says that now, through faith in God’s promise and our baptism into Christ, now we are “Sons and Heirs.”

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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 16, 2013

“Justified by Faith, Crucified with Christ, Redeemed from the Curse” (Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14)

Today we continue with the third in our six-part sermon series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. We began by looking at Paul’s opening assertion that there is “No Other Gospel” than the one he preached to them, yet the Galatians lately have been falling for a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Then last week we found out more about “The Gospel Paul Preached,” that it comes from God, not from man, that it is a gospel of grace, and that this gospel changes lives.

Now today Paul takes us further into the changed situation in which we Christians live. In our text, Paul describes this changed reality in three ways: 1) We are justified by faith. 2) We have been crucified with Christ. And 3) We are redeemed from the curse. So now, let’s consider these three wonderful realities for us to rejoice in. Because of the gospel, we are “Justified by Faith, Crucified with Christ, Redeemed from the Curse.”

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Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 9, 2013

“The Gospel Paul Preached” (Galatians 1:11-24)

Today is the second of six straight weeks in which the Epistle reading comes from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. And we’re doing a six-part sermon series on Galatians to go along with that. By the way, last Sunday I encouraged you to read through Galatians at least once a week over the course of this series. If you haven’t done that yet, I hope you will. I think you’ll get a lot out of it.

Last week, to start our series, we began under the heading, “No Other Gospel.” Paul opens his letter by telling the Galatians how astonished he is that, since he left, they are so quickly falling for another gospel than what he preached to them, a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Some false teachers had come along and told the Galatians that Paul hadn’t given them the whole story, that, yes, Jesus did his bit on the cross, but what Paul didn’t tell you is that you also have to keep all the laws of Moses in order to be saved–circumcision, the dietary laws, Sabbath laws, etc., etc. But Paul in this epistle tells the Galatians that if you fall for that, you are missing the whole point of the gospel of Christ.

Paul now develops this idea further in the rest of Galatians 1, our text for today. And what Paul is telling the Galatians, he also is saying to us. These are things we do well to hear and heed and take to heart. So then, now let’s find out more about “The Gospel Paul Preached.”

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