You cannot serve God and the pursuit of happiness any more than you can serve God and life or freedom. And what does God do when your worship is not on him but on the gifts He gives? He takes them away. The unanimous witness of Moses, the Prophets, the Psalmists, Wisdom, Evangelists, and Apostles is that God removes whatever and whoever gets in the way of you trusting Him. Whether patriarchs, Israel, or Gentile, God ceases to give when the gift is received apart from praise and thanksgiving to Him. 

The economy of the Christian Church is impossible and absurd. But that’s only to reason and experience. And it’s the voice of unbelief speaking. Jesus’s kingdom is not governed by power and wealth. It doesn’t mimic our poor attempts at community-building and providential care. Fundamentally it can’t because Christ’s kingdom is ruled by the very Word that made and kept making all things out-of-nothing. Jesus is the Word of the Father that said, “Let there be!” Matter can be created or destroyed but only by God the Creator. 

The theological constitution of our congregation asserts: “Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight (Romans 3 and 4 [3:21–26; 4:5].” (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Augsburg Confession, Article IV, 33)

If we are to feed ourselves by the work of our hands, God's blessing must accompany it. If God is to bless our work, we must celebrate His Sabbath both inwardly and outwardly—because breaking the Sabbath is punished by the curse. Peter first loaned Christ his boat, and then he caught the great haul of fish, even though previously he had caught none. Therefore, take care first of your soul; take Christ into the little boat of your heart; let Him teach and work in it; then your work will be blessed. The Third Commandment comes first, and then the Seventh follows. Obedience to the Third Commandment should be first to us, for then we will follow the Seventh Commandment.

If the law of God or the commandments have helped us see that we do not live up to the standards and have no right to judge others, then they can aid us further in a matter that is even more important. They can become for us "a tutor to Christ" (Gal 3:24). They can teach us to begin to listen seriously to the Gospel. He who allows what compelling reason God has for judging him will begin to listen freshly to the Savior who does not judge—not because Jesus needs forgiveness and not because he had no occasion to judge, but because he has taken upon himself his brothers' destiny and has died in place of sinners.

Today we celebrate the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. These men called to be apostles are radically distinct and often at odds. So, both get their days: the Confession of St. Peter (Jan 18) and the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan 25). Yet, those festivals are only a week apart. Despite their disagreements, the Church has taken great pains to show that these two apostles share a confession in one Lord—God the Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And so, on June 29th, we celebrate these men together. 

Most of us have been with the flock since infancy by our Baptism, with the community of God's people, among whom is our safety and welfare. You can't be a member of the flock in isolation. A sheep that is separated from the flock is a lost sheep. Sometimes we have gone our own way, deserted the flock and the shepherd. Left to ourselves we would perish, drugged and poisoned by the noxious weeds of the world, the prey of that lion who walks about seeking whom he may devour and torn by the sharp teeth of fear and uncertainty.But the Good Shepherd would not let us perish. He came after us, patiently and lovingly, and carried us back on His shoulders to the flock. On our wounds and injuries, Jesus poured the balm of forgiveness, and for our hunger, He gave the food of His Word and the fellowship of His family. If we are in the flock today, we must confess that Jesus has often come after us and carried us back.

The Lord is having Supper. You are invited today – to His table. Today, Jesus gives you His Body to eat and His Blood to drink for the remission of all your sins. You eat and drink Salvation. Everything He earned for you by His perfect life, He delivers to you, into your mouth. Everything He paid for by His suffering and death, He gives to you, into you today.

What the rich man did with his mammon colored, shaped, and finally destroyed him. Like an alcoholic, he was unaware of his self-destructive behavior even after its bitter conclusion. What Lazarus was able to do without mammon becomes an inspiration for all. Why? Because mammon cannot save you from sin, cannot resurrect you from the dead, and cannot give you life that lasts forever. Thinking he has everything, the rich man fails to see that he has nothing that matters. 

The word for disciple is a verb. In English, it's been turned into a noun by putting "make" in front of it to make disciples. I’ll spare you the Greek grammar, but it should be translated like a verb, as in, “Go disciple.” And if “disciple” is the verb, how do we “go disciple” people? It's by baptizing and teaching and going. Typical “missional” theology typically has cut off the phrase from “baptize,” and then it's tried to establish what it means by making disciples without the baptism Jesus gives! 

Nicodemus is a teacher of Israel, a man well-versed in the things of God. He was well qualified to recognize that, because of the things Jesus did, He had a special relationship with God. Today we would call Nicodemus a theologian. But as John tells the story, it soon becomes evident that, even though Jesus is religiously important, Nicodemus has no idea about what Jesus means when He says that Nicodemus must undergo a complete change in his being if he is going to be included in God's kingdom.

Yes, the Spirit is given to each individual, then that individual is gathered to others into fellowship. Just as Luther says in the Catechism, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel and enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." Here we have both next to each other. The Holy Spirit has called me to faith. No one else can believe for me, But my faith is never separated from the faith of others in the Church, which is why we can listen, sing, and hear God's word together. "In the same way, He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith."

The day of Pentecost and every day for the Christian Church since has been a gift of God. Everything needed for faith and life is a gift from your gracious God. The Holy Spirit gives faith. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the gift of the Father in giving up His only-begotten Son to die to save you from sin, death, and the devil’s captivity. The office of the Holy Ministry, this Christian congregation, the sinners-made-saints sitting next to you, and all the opportunities for neighborly love are gifts to you. 

God himself would fulfill the task with them. He would clothe them with power from on high. He would open the way for the Word by convicting men of sin and of righteousness. He would give his messengers power and wisdom which would overcome their enemies. He would lead them into all the truth. He would preserve the vision of Christ living and untarnished. He would himself speak through their tongues and words.

Jesus constantly repeats the promise that He who asks shall receive, and He who knocks shall open the door. Jesus reminds us also that we can talk with God the Father as children with their fathers. It is not a matter of being able to put many words together or speaking glibly and eloquently. We will not be heard because of our many words. God knows beforehand what things we need. However badly we may express ourselves, He understands us. 

Never tell a lie. Always tell the truth. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia. You are forgiven. You are God’s child. Nothing—not even death, devil, and hell—stands in the way of Jesus, the Truth, and His Spirit, the Helper working all things for your salvation.

Thus, St. Paul writes: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith” (Philippians 1:21–25).

Bad shepherds will look, sound, and act like saviors, messiahs, or Christs. But their words cannot save, their sacraments cannot forgive, and their churches are white-washed tombs. When push comes to shove, they will abandon, fleece, or devour you. They care nothing for you but only what robs away Jesus’s glory. And that’s the key to discernment. Has Jesus sent them to speak in His stead and by His command? Do their words lead to Jesus’s cross and resurrection for forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation? Do they call, gather, enlighten, and set you in Christ’s church by the Word of Jesus and His Spirit? Or do they lead you to trust in their world-building plans, science and innovation, and promises of a progressive utopia here on Earth? If it's the latter, they are false shepherds, evil imposters, and their lies are false hopes, dreams, and vanity.

Thomas does not believe Jesus Christ when Christ forgives him until Christ says go ahead and put your finger in my side. What Thomas is doing when he's wiggling his finger in the side of Jesus Christ is touching his sin. Thomas knows his sin very well. You know this stuff, and you can; you know it immediately when you touch it and can feel it. So Thomas puts his finger in, wiggles it around, and behold, he's touching his sin there. Then Peter, same thing. And when they feel it, this is sacramental. This is incarnational. This is what it means to be the body of Christ and not just an idea of Christ. The sin that belonged to them doesn't belong to them any longer. It's actually on Jesus Christ. 

In summary, the risk for infectious disease transmission by a common communion cup is very low, and appropriate safeguards- wiping the interior and exterior rim between communicants, use of care to rotate the cloth during use, and using of clean cloth for each service-would further diminish this risk.