by OHLCwebmaster | Sep 1, 2026 | Sermons |
CLICK HERE for a worship video for August 30
Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 30, 2026
Matthew 16:21-23
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our gospel reading for last week we heard Peter receive a flattering nickname from Jesus. In the midst of all kinds of wrong answers floating around about who Jesus was, Peter got it right. “Who do YOU say that I am?” Jesus asked him, and Peter responded: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was so thrilled with Peter’s answer, which God the Father himself had revealed to him, that he called Peter “the rock.” Jesus said, “You are Petros (which in Greek means “rock”), and on this rock, I will build my church.”
Now here we are a week later, picking up right where we left off last week in the gospel, and here things have taken a drastic turn. Peter goes from being a rock to being a stumbling block! Peter goes from being a mouthpiece for God the Father to being a mouthpiece for Satan himself! “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus said to him, “You are a stumbling block to me!” Peter got called a rock, and then just seven verses later he gets called the devil. What happened?
Well, after Peter made his good confession, after he correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of the living God, Jesus went on to teach Peter and all the disciples what that meant. Jesus taught them HOW he was going to save them. As St. Matthew tells us, “Jesus began to show them that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Peter answered the “who” question exactly right, but he did not like what Jesus was saying about the “how.” He didn’t like what he was hearing about this suffering and dying business. We can hardly blame him. I mean, Peter cared about Jesus. He loved him. No one wants the people you love and care about to suffer. But Peter went so far as to rebuke Jesus! Can you imagine? Peter knew Jesus was the Son of the living God and he had the gall to rebuke him, to correct him, to scold him, to think he knew better!
Jesus tells us more specifically what happened to turn Peter from a spokesman for God into a spokesman for Satan, from a rock to a stumbling block. Jesus says that Peter was setting his mind on human things rather than on divine things. In his human way of thinking, Peter wanted salvation without suffering. He wanted forgiveness and atonement without sacrifice. He wanted a Christ without the cross. In putting his mind on human things rather than divine things, Peter was missing the very means by which Christ would save us from our sin. And not only that, but by setting his mind on human things rather than on divine things, Peter had entirely missed what would come AFTER the suffering! He missed the promise of the resurrection. He missed the part where Jesus said that on the third day he would be raised.
Peter knew the “who” part of the gospel. God the Father had revealed it to him! But now Peter was relying on his own wisdom. He was setting his mind on human things, and in so doing he missed the “how” part of the gospel – and you really need both!
Setting one’s mind on human things rather than on divine things was not just a problem for Peter. It is a problem for all of us. It is a common human reflex, especially in the breathtaking hubris of modern times. It is very common today to do exactly what Peter did, pulling Jesus aside, thinking we know better than him, correcting him with our modern sensibilities, thinking we’re smarter or more compassionate than God. To set our mind on divine things is to listen to Jesus and to trust that he knows what he’s talking about! It is to surrender to the holy wisdom of God’s Word.
After addressing Peter, Jesus turned to the rest of the disciples and said: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Not only will Jesus have a cross to bear; we will too!
Those who follow Jesus are called to deny themselves. This is not a human way of thinking! This is especially countercultural in a world where we are constantly encouraged to seek self-fulfillment. “Follow your bliss,” we are told. This is countercultural in an age where the self is seen as the primary arbiter of truth. “Seek your truth,” we are told. This is countercultural in a time when the goal of human life is widely seen as self-actualization. It is countercultural in a society which exalts the completely self-made person and complete self-reliance. Both ends of the political spectrum and both sides in the culture wars have their version of exalting the almighty self. It is the default human way of thinking. But followers of Jesus are called to think differently. We are called to set our minds on divine things. We are called to trust the holy wisdom of Christ’s word. And Christ Jesus, the Son of the living God calls us to deny ourselves.
This is not so much about external things. It isn’t so much about depriving yourself of all earthly pleasures. As Christians we are called to a measure of self-restraint in many situations, to be sure, but this goes much deeper. In calling us to deny ourselves Jesus is taking away one of our favorite idols: the self. He is telling us to not turn our “self” into our god, that to which we look for all purpose and meaning in life. This is about not turning your “self” into the final authority on truth. Above all, it is about not looking to your “self” for your salvation.
Life isn’t about finding yourself; it is about being found in Christ. Life isn’t about self-actualization, but Christ being actualized in us. It is not about following your bliss, which never leads where you think it will. It is about following Jesus. It is not about being definers of our own truths but humbling ourselves before God’s truth. It is not about being self-made but acknowledging that we are creatures who have been lovingly made and provided for by God. It is not about being self-reliant, it is about being fully reliant on God the Father and Christ the savior.
Jesus goes on to say that those who want to save their life will lose it, and that those who lose their life for his sake will find it. This sounds like a call to martyrdom, a call to die a glorious death for Jesus, so as to gain heaven. And it is true: eleven of the twelve disciples died exactly that kind of death. Only the apostle John lived to a ripe old age and died of natural causes. Every other disciple was martyred, executed for their faith – some of them on literal crosses. There are places in this world today where Christians literally lose their lives because of their faith in Jesus.
Thankfully that isn’t a likely scenario for us, but there’s another way of understanding what Jesus is saying here about losing our lives for his sake. Losing your life can also be understood as losing your “self.” I won’t bore you with a word study of Biblical Greek, but you’ll have to trust me that Jesus’ words here can be also understood as dying to your self – your self-centered ways, your self-defined truths, your selfish pursuits. It can be understood as losing your life as it currently is in order to live for something other than yourself. This, too, is countercultural. This goes against the default human way of thinking. But this is where life is really found. This is where we find life, Jesus says.
My wife and I were watching a Netflix documentary on the country singer Lainey Wilson. (I wish this was a Dolly Parton story, but it is very much in the spirit of Dolly, blessed be her memory.) Lainey Wilson, who is herself a rising star in country music, talked in the documentary about the demands of the road and the pressure to constantly produce and perform. She talked about the pressure she puts on her “self,” and how it was leading to anxiety and depression. She talked about how she ran out of “self”-motivation to keep doing what she was doing, and how it was leading to panic attacks and burnout. So, she called Reba McIntire. She told Reba about her struggles. Reba listened carefully, and then Reba gave her what Lainey called life-changing advice. Reba told her she needed to stop doing it for her “self” and needed to start doing it for someone else. The next scenes in the documentary were of a mom battling cancer who had come to one of Lainey’s shows. Lainey did that show for her, and it was electric. It showed Lainey inviting her backstage after the concert, hugging her and her family and praying over them. Lainey Wilson discovered what it means to lose her life, her “self,” and to find it again by living for someone else.
We might not be country music stars, of course. We might not have the same large-scale impact as someone like Dolly Parton or Lainey Wilson, but we are all called to do what we do for someone else. We are called as Christians to lose our lives, our selves, for the sake of someone else – for the sake of Christ. And the way we lose our lives for his sake is by living our lives for the sake of others – for your neighbor, for those in need, for your husband or wife, for your kids or grandkids, for your brothers and sisters here at church, for your community and your country. That is where we find life. We find it outside of our “selves,” in living for the sake of others.
We need both the “who” and the “how” of the gospel. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and the way he has saved us is through his suffering, his death on the cross, and his resurrection on the third day. This gospel is what saves us. Christ’s work for our sake is complete. He needs nothing from us other than faith – and faith includes setting our mind on divine things.
And as we set our mind on divine things, denying our “selves” starts to come more naturally to us. As the gospel takes hold of our hearts, we begin to trust the holy wisdom of Christ’s word rather than our human hubris of thinking we know better than God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we at least begin to live our lives not for our “selves,” but for Jesus, and for the people he puts in our path to serve in his name. This is where life is really found, and it is a gift from the One who first gave his life for us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
by Jeffrey Spencer | Aug 23, 2026 | Sermons |
CLICK HERE for a worship video for August 23
Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 23, 2026
Matthew 16:13-20
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who is Jesus, really? Some say he was a teacher of great moral truths. Some say he was a social activist who spoke truth to power and challenged empire. Adherents of Islam say Jesus was one prophet among many, and nothing more. Many atheists say Jesus never existed at all but was merely the main character in an ancient fairy tale.
Who is Jesus, really? For those of us who look to scripture to answer that question, we get a crisp, clear answer today from the lips of Peter and the pen of Matthew.
Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him, who people thought he was. Some thought Jesus was John the Baptist. Some thought he was Elijah. Still others thought he might be Jeremiah or another of the prophets. “But who do you say that I am,” Jesus asked. Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
In other words, this great confession of faith did not come to Peter because he was wise or committed or spiritually accomplished. Peter did not conjure up this answer himself. It was given to him as a gift. God the Father revealed it to him, Jesus said. God put the correct answer on Peter’s lips, and Matthew, in recording what Peter said, put it to paper for all of us to see, so that we would know who Jesus really is too!
Jesus is the Messiah. “Messiah” or mashiac in Hebrew, simply means “anointed.” At its most basic level it literally means “someone who has been dabbed on the forehead with oil.” However, anointing was used to mark someone for a special office or calling. People were anointed to serve as prophets. People were anointed to serve as priests. People were anointed to serve as kings. Over time the word Messiah became a title associated with the one God promised to send to be the ultimate prophet, bringing the fullness of God’s word to people. It became associated with the one God promised to send to be the ultimate priest, the ultimate intermediary, giving people access to God. It became associated with the one God promised to send to be the ultimate king, the one who would usher in the kingdom of God. And so when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter replied, “You are the Messiah,” he was saying a lot! God had revealed to him that Jesus was the fulfillment of all God’s promises to speak his word to us, to give us access to himself, to bring us into his kingdom. Jesus was the Messiah who would do all these things!
Peter also said that Jesus was “the Son of the living God.” Peter was saying a lot here too! As the Son of the living God Jesus is uniquely qualified to show us God. He is uniquely qualified to speak for God. He is the embodiment of a living God – an active, involved, personal God who is present in and through the life and ministry of his Son. And so God revealed to Peter that when we look at and listen to Jesus, we see and hear the true and living God.
Jesus called Peter blessed. He was blessed! He had been blessed by God the Father, who revealed to Peter the truth about his Son. And then Jesus said to him: “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
There’s a little bit of wordplay going on here. Peter, petros in Greek, literally means “rock.” So, Jesus is having fun with Peter’s name. But Jesus is also making a huge promise here. Jesus promises to build his church on this rock. So what is this rock?
Well, I’ll tell you what it isn’t. It isn’t Peter the person. Peter the person could be a little rocky. Our gospel reading ends at verse 20, but if you keep reading just three verses beyond that, Jesus is calling Peter Satan and telling him to get behind him! A few chapters later, Peter will deny and abandon Jesus. It is true that after the resurrection Peter becomes a bold and powerful preacher. It is fair to call Peter the first pope, as our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters like to do. He was the first leader of the Christian church; there’s no doubt about it. But even after the resurrection we find Peter compromising the gospel and needing correction from Paul – a story we hear about in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
Jesus does build a church, and he does build it on a rock – but that rock is not the person of Peter. The rock is the word Peter proclaimed, the word which was revealed to him by God the Father. The rock is the good news that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the living God. The rock is the public proclamation of the truth of who Jesus really is. The foundation of the church is the word that the Father himself has given us to share with the world. The moment the church or any of its preachers stray from that word and try to do their own thing, Jesus says to them, “Get behind me, Satan!”
The church as an institution has often been a source of great disappointment for many people. We live in a time of widespread distrust of institutions, including the church – often for good reason. We sometimes find ourselves deeply embarrassed by the dumb things said or the wicked things done by people wearing a cross or a collar.
This can be deeply troubling at times. It bothers me too. But it is nothing new. St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that “we have this treasure in clay jars,” or “we have this treasure in earthen vessels,” or, in my favorite translation, “we have this treasure in cracked pots.” This verse refers to how the very human church as an institution is deeply flawed and frequently disappointing. And yet, it contains a treasure. It has the word of God. It has the truth about Jesus. It has the good news that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The church is holy, but it is only holy insofar as it bears this truth, this treasure. The office of the holy ministry is established by God, but this office is inseparable from the word. Those called to this office are only authorized to proclaim what God the Father has revealed in his word. The rock upon which Jesus builds his church is the word revealed by the Father and confessed by Peter, and ultimately nothing will ever budge or break this rock – even the gates of Hades will not prevail against it!
This rock is the foundation and the guide for our lives as Christians, and we desperately need it. In a confusing world with many different claims to what is true, we need this rock. In a world with so many different voices pulling us in different directions, we need this rock.
When my wife and I were in Hawaii this summer we hiked the Kilauea Iki trail, a four-mile loop which begins and ends in tropical forest but takes you through the middle of a volcanic caldera. The caldera part was such a contrast to the tropical forest. It was fascinating, but I certainly wouldn’t call it pretty. It was stark and barren. There were parts that looked like a moonscape. There were parts that looked like a freeway after an earthquake. There were parts that were just a huge open expanse of empty space. There was no regular trail in the caldera, like there was in the tropical forest, and so in several places we were confused about which way to go. But then we started noticing these carefully stacked piles of rocks which were placed strategically along the way. These rock piles are sometimes called cairns, and hikers use them to help mark the way. Those rocks were our guide. Those rocks showed us the way. Those rocks kept us on the correct path. Those rocks kept us from wandering away and getting lost.
As we make our way through life, we need guidance – especially through the stark and barren and confusing parts. We need those markers along the way. God’s word is that guide. The word revealed to us by the Father is the cairn that keeps us going the right direction, leading us into the truth. Sunday after Sunday, we come to another pile of rocks which show us the way. Every time we turn to God’s word, we are nudged back onto the right path. God’s word not only guides our behavior, though it should. It not only teaches us God’s will for us, though it does that too. God’s word guides us into the truth about Jesus, who is the way, and the truth, and the life.
Who is Jesus, really? He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
When Peter made this good confession Jesus said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon Son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
Blessed are you, too. Because today God the Father has revealed to you the truth about his Son.
Keep close to this rock, and you will never be lost.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
by Jeffrey Spencer | Aug 16, 2026 | Sermons
CLICK HERE for a worship video for August 16
Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 16, 2026
Matthew 15:10-28
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
A Canaanite woman cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”
The fact that she is a Canaanite woman is significant. The Canaanites were the ancient enemies of God’s people, Israel. The Canaanites are described repeatedly in the Bible as a wicked and idolatrous people. Descended from a cursed grandson of Noah, they rejected the true God in favor of a pantheon of false gods with names like Baal and Molech. The prophets warned and archaeology confirms that the Canaanites offered human sacrifices to these false gods, including the sacrifice of children. They were thus despised by the Israelites, who referred to them as dogs. It was not a term of endearment.
This was her background. These were her people. And yet this Canaanite woman believed that this Jewish rabbi, Jesus, could help her. She cried out to him, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!” This was Jewish lingo she was using. She was using Jewish terms and Jewish titles to refer to Jesus. She called him Lord. She used the messianic title, “Son of David.” Somehow, some way, she knew that the Jews were expecting a messiah, a savior, from the line of David. Somehow, some way, she believed Jesus was that messiah. And somehow, some way, she believed this Jewish messiah could help her – a Canaanite woman.
Maybe it was a hope rooted in her desperation. After all, she was experiencing one of the worst things a human being can experience. She had a child who was suffering. The best description of being a parent I’ve ever heard is that for each child you have you grow another heart, only this one lives outside of your body. The love you feel is fierce and intense and profound. You want nothing more than for them to be well. And when they suffer, you feel a piercing of your own heart, and you would do anything to make that suffering stop. Maybe that’s what had this Canaanite woman crying out to Jesus. She had no right to expect anything from him, but she was desperate. Her child was suffering.
“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;” she said, “my daughter is tormented by a demon.” We don’t know what sort of demon she was facing exactly, but the word “tormented” tells us everything we need to know. Her daughter was not well.
And what do the scriptures tell us about how Jesus responded? They say, “But he did not answer her at all.” Her cries were met with silence.
Undeterred, she kept on pleading for his help. She kept on pleading to the point that the disciples asked Jesus to send her away. Now, finally, Jesus had something to say to her. He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
I’m not sure which is worse, the silence, or this remark, which is the equivalent of a big fat “No.” But once again, this woman would not give up. This Canaanite woman knelt before this Jewish messiah: “Lord, help me,” she said. Surely now he would help her, right? But Jesus said, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
Preachers have been trying to do damage control ever since.
Bible scholars have long tried to make sense of Jesus’ words here. Some have suggested Jesus was testing her. Some say he was testing the disciples. Some say he had a sparkle in his eye when he said it and was only joking. Some say he was tired and cranky after a busy couple of days with no rest. Some have said Jesus was just using the common language of his time and culture. Others have said he was only following God’s timeline, which was Jews first, Gentiles later. Some point out that Jesus uses the term for little dog, or pet, instead of the term for a street dog, so it isn’t as mean as it sounds.
One unfortunate take which has gotten some traction in some circles recently is that Jesus is being taught here to examine his prejudices and that this was the diversity training he needed. (This is very bad theology. The sinless Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, through whom all things were made, needs sensitivity lessons from no one. Beware of preachers who fancy themselves to be more righteous than Jesus.)
Jesus’ words do sound offensive to our modern ears, and there might be something to some of those explanations, but we shouldn’t be more offended by Jesus’ response than the Canaanite woman herself was, and she doesn’t seem to be offended at all. Instead, she grabs on to Christ’s words as though they were a lifeline to her. She uses them to get her foot in the door. “Yes Lord,” she says, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” She is happy to be called a dog if it means Jesus is her master! She doesn’t mind being called a dog if it means she can eat the crumbs from his table! After all, there isn’t that much difference between dogs and lost sheep. They both need help from the master, like all sinners do!
And at last, Jesus responds to her need. “Woman, great is your faith!” Jesus says. Now he addresses her not as a dog, but as a woman, as a daughter of Eve. Now he praises her for her faith, which he describes as great – in stark contrast to the faith of his disciples which he had just recently called little. Now he gives her a place at his table, blessing her with more than crumbs. He gives her the full meal deal! “Let it be done for you as you wish,” Jesus said. Her prayer was answered. Her daughter was made well.
As Martin Luther said in a sermon on this passage: “Thus, she catches Christ in his own words, and [Jesus] is happy to be caught. She catches Christ the Lord in his own words and with that wins not only the right of a dog, but that of the [sheep]. Now then, where will he go, our dear Jesus? He let himself be made captive and must comply. Be sure of this: That is what he most deeply desires.”
Luther didn’t try to apologize for Jesus. He didn’t try to explain his responses away. Luther leaves the offense there, but looks to where it led and what it illustrates. Luther saw this whole scene as a picture of the Christian life. He saw it as a picture of faith and especially as a picture of prayer. In the same sermon Luther wrote: “From it we are to learn that nothing, not even the throes of death, must deter us from calling upon God in prayer—even though he has already said ‘No.’”
There is a particularly desperate kind of anguish that parents feel for their children when they are suffering, but even if you are not a parent or have never been in that kind of situation with your kids, probably all of us have had times when our prayers have been met with silence, or with a big fat “No.” There are times when God seems to be ignoring us or treating us rudely.
Over the years I’ve ministered to many people who have much in common with the Canaanite woman. I’ve had people come to me with tears in their eyes because their child is unwell in one way or another. I’ve stood vigil at Children’s Hospital in Seattle more than once. I’ve had parents of adult children share their anguish with me because their son or daughter is sick or suffering, or plagued by demon of addiction, or a demon of depression, a demon of unbelief.
I talk to people who have other people they care about deeply who are suffering, who are facing serious health problems or battling demons of various sorts. I know there are people in this sanctuary right now who have been begging Jesus for healing of bodies and minds and relationships, begging Jesus that things could be different, and so far, all they’ve gotten from him is either silence, or a “No.”
This Canaanite woman is the patron saint of all who have ever experienced what seems to be God’s cold shoulder. She is the patron saint of all outsiders who find themselves in desperate need. She is the patron saint of all who have felt like they are in the doghouse with God. She is the patron saint of all sinners longing for even some crumbs from the masters’ table.
But this Canaanite woman doesn’t just echo the desperation of what seems to be our unanswered prayers. She also shows us what Christian faith looks like. She says to Jesus: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” This is more than a witty comeback; it is a bold expression of faith. She is utterly convinced that Jesus can help her, and she demands it from him. “Even crumbs from you would be enough, Lord, so give them to me!” She holds him to his word even after that cruel silence, even after that big “no.” She catches him in his words, and Jesus was happy to be caught in them.
Such faith is great indeed. As Luther said, faith that holds Jesus to his Word in spite of everything is what Jesus most deeply desires from us. The Canaanite woman displayed remarkable trust in his mercy and grace in spite of what she had experienced thus far, and that trust ultimately proved to be well placed.
No matter what your background or history might be, you too can go to the Lord Jesus for help. If he can help a Canaanite woman, he can certainly help you. No matter what your deepest needs might be, your biggest fears, your most painful hurts, he can help. It might not always seem like it, but Christ Jesus is your messiah too. He is your savior, and he delights in hearing your prayers and responding to your needs.
He might not answer quickly. You might get silence at first. You might even get what seems like a firm “No.” Perhaps in these times he is teaching us to live by faith, to trust in his mercy and grace even when we can’t see it. But this Lord of ours loves to be held to his Word. He loves it when we hold him to his promises, and he will respond in due time. It might be sooner, it might be later, it might not be until the resurrection, but the day will come when our trust in him will be proven to be well placed, and all will be made well at last.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
by Jeffrey Spencer | Aug 10, 2026 | Sermons
CLICK HERE for a worship video for August 9
Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – August 9, 2026
Matthew 14:22-33
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
As some of you know, I served as an intern pastor in several congregations in North Dakota. In those old prairie churches, it is common to have altar paintings – depictions of biblical scenes positioned right above the altar. The most common ones are of Jesus the Good Shepherd or the Resurrected Christ. Sometimes you see Jesus on the cross, with the two criminals on either side.
But one of the congregations I served in that parish has a painting of the scene we hear about today. It shows Peter sinking down into the waters of the Sea of Galilee, with Jesus standing on the water, holding tight to Peter’s hand, saving him.
When I first saw it, I thought it was so strange. Here I was in the geographical center of North America, as far away from any ocean or sea as you can possibly get on this continent, and the scene these Norwegian farmers chose for their church was of Peter in those churning waters, nearly drowning, hanging on to Jesus for dear life.
As I thought about it more, I wondered if it wasn’t chosen because many of those Norwegian immigrants had made a harrowing journey across the sea to get there. That might be part of it, but eventually I came to understand that this image isn’t primarily about the sea. Peter wasn’t just drowning in water. He was drowning in fear. He was drowning in doubt.
Just a moment before, Peter had been walking in faith. His faith had him walking on water. Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter trusted Jesus’ word, and so out he went, walking in faith, walking on the water. Then, the scriptures tell us, he noticed the strong wind and became frightened. It was when he became frightened that he began to sink. “Lord, save me!” Peter cried. And immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” Jesus said, “why did you doubt?”
Do you see it now? Peter wasn’t just drowning in water. He was drowning in fear and doubt. And so, this isn’t just a story about the sea. It is a story about what the sea represents, which, in the biblical worldview, is chaos. It is a story about any number of things that threaten to pull us under.
Those Norwegian farmers were far from any ocean, but they had plenty of things that threated to pull them under. People died all the time from disease and from farm accidents and from exposure to the elements, and so they were frequently drowning in grief and sorrow. Their survival as farmers depended on the weather, which was extreme and unpredictable. There were pests which could wipe out a year’s worth of hard labor in mere hours, and so they were frequently drowning in financial worries. There were all kinds of waves crashing over them – they just weren’t waves of water! They were waves of fear and doubt. And so, even though they were as far from the sea as you can get, those Norwegian farmers on the prairie saw themselves in Peter as Peter struggled to keep his head above water.
But that wasn’t all they saw. The altar painting also showed Jesus’ arm reaching down to Peter. And so they saw Jesus holding on to Peter tightly, saving him from drowning. They saw a savior who was more powerful than the wind and the waves. The image of Peter reflected back to them the reality of their lives, while the image of Jesus assured them that they had a savior who was holding on to them too.
Peter shows us the reality of our lives here today as well. As a pastor, hardly a day goes by when I don’t encounter someone struggling to walk in faith, sinking down into fear and doubt, struggling to keep their head above water. Here’s a confession for you: sometimes I am one of them! There are powerful winds and waves that cause us to be afraid. Health issues bring fears which drag us down. Grief can feel like waves of sorrow that keep crashing over us. Financial troubles can weigh heavily. The traumas we have experienced in life can resurface and feel overwhelming. We worry about loved ones. We worry about our world. Life is chaotic and threatening and scary. We feel helpless in the face of so many forces beyond our control. Before we know it, instead of walking in faith, we start to sink just like Peter did.
But just as this story shows us the reality of our lives, so too does it show us the truth of our savior. When Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out his hand and took hold of him. Jesus didn’t make him prove himself first. He didn’t make Peter get up and take a few more steps on the water before helping him. Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out and caught him. He wasn’t going to let him go under. He wasn’t going to let him drown.
In the same way, when we cry out to Jesus, he is already right there beside us, ready to help. When we cry out to him, he IMMEDIATELY takes hold of us, pulling us to himself with his firm grip. He doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves. He doesn’t leave us to flail about in the water. He gets a hold of us and he doesn’t let go.
What happens in the boat after all of this is not just a nice conclusion to the story. The scriptures tell us that when Peter and Jesus got into the boat, Peter and the other disciples – disciples who had fears of their own – worshipped Jesus together, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” This part is our story too.
The boat is the church, and we are those disciples. We are not disciples because we walk perfectly and fearlessly in faith all the time. We are not disciples because we have great wisdom or because of our great morals. We are not followers of Jesus because we have everything figured out.
We are Jesus’ disciples because we too have been overwhelmed by fear as chaos rages all around us, but he has reached out and taken hold of us.
We are Jesus’ disciples because we too have been battered by the wind and the waves, but we have come to trust that Jesus is truly the Son of God, and as such, he is more powerful than anything that threatens to sink us.
We are Jesus’ disciples because we know what it feels like to drown, but the Lord Jesus has heard our cry. And even though our faith is small and weak and fleeting and floundering, he is quick to lift us up by his grace and mercy and love.
Being a disciple of Jesus doesn’t mean walking on water ourselves, it means knowing that he can and entrusting ourselves to his strong saving hand.
No matter what wind or waves you are facing today, the Lord Jesus is already right there beside you. He hears your cry and is holding tightly to you, so do not be afraid. Even now he is lifting us up into the boat of his church, where together, safely in his presence, we worship him.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
by Jeffrey Spencer | Aug 4, 2026 | Sermons
CLICK HERE for a worship video for August 2
Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 2, 2026
Matthew 14:13:21
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sometimes a meal is more than a meal. Sometimes eating food is more than just a way to get your body the calories it needs. Sometimes a meal means something. Maybe it is a recipe from a long departed loved one which makes it feel like they’re right there with you. Maybe it is an ethnic food, a tradition you carry on that connects you to your ancestors. Maybe it is something special you always eat on a holiday, without which it just wouldn’t be the same.
My wife and I were married up in Bellingham. We only had a weekend for our honeymoon because I had to come back and take my last final exams at Western Washington University that next week. So, we took a short trip to Victoria, BC. We left right from the church to catch the ferry out of Vancouver. On that ferry ride we got an order of French fries and gravy, which is how they often serve it in Canada. To this day, French fries and gravy means something to us. We sometimes have it on our anniversary. We sometimes have it when we’re up in Canada. It is a very simple dish. There’s nothing fancy about it. But whenever we have it, it is meaningful to us. It is only French fries for crying out loud, but when you put gravy on them, they become intensely romantic to us. It is a meal that points us to our honeymoon. It points us to the promises we made on our wedding day. It is a meal that points us to the covenant relationship we share.
The Bible is full of meals that mean something. Over and over again, God reveals himself in and through meals. Over and over again, God establishes relationships with his people through meals. After God made a covenant with his people, establishing a relationship with them, Moses and the elders shared a meal in God’s presence. When God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, they didn’t just witness salvation, they ate it! God gave them a meal, the Passover meal, which delivered salvation to them! As God’s people wandered in the wilderness for forty years, unable to feed themselves, God provided manna, bread from heaven, which nourished and sustained them. There were the sacrifices made at the temple, many of which concluded with the worshippers eating a portion of the sacrifice, indicating a restored and renewed relationship with God. There are meaningful meals found in the lives and writings of the prophets. Elijah and Elisha both presided over miraculous meals which revealed that the God of Israel was the true God who brings life.
And then there is our reading from Isaiah for today, one of several passages in the Old Testament where the prophets declare that when the Messiah comes, there will be a freely given feast to which all are invited! As we heard:
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant.”
Do you see that this is about more than food? This meal is about relationship. It leads to a new and everlasting covenant. It isn’t just about calories for the body, it is about food for the soul. It is a meal that means something.
All of this is vitally important background for understanding our gospel reading for today. In order to truly savor this well-known miracle of the feeding of the more than five thousand, we need to keep in mind that God has a history of revealing himself through meals!
Often this miracle story is turned into a moral lesson about sharing, about feeding people. Now of course it is important to share. Of course Christians should be concerned about feeding the hungry. We do that through our contributions to Help House, and in a number of other ways, and we should. It is part of how we live out our faith.
But this story is not about that! At least not directly! When the disciples pointed out to Jesus that it was getting late and there were more than five thousand people there, it was a valid concern. They were being practical. It was time to wrap things up so people could get home for dinner. And when Jesus told the disciples that the crowd didn’t need to go away, that they could feed them, he wasn’t scolding them for being selfish, he was setting up the scenario for his miracle. And when the disciples expressed confusion about how exactly they were supposed to feed more than five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish, they were only being realistic. How do you divide five loaves and two fish between that many people? How can you possibly cut the servings up that small? Even if you could, how would that microscopic morsel possibly be enough to fill anyone up?
What happens next is what makes this meal meaningful. Jesus took what they had, even though it wasn’t enough. Jesus told the crowd to sit down in the grass. Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven. He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples then gave them to the crowds. All ate and were filled. They didn’t get tiny scraps; they all ate their fill! There were even leftovers! Twelve baskets full – more than they had when they started!
This meal means something. Here’s what it means: It means Jesus is God’s Messiah, the savior who has come with abundant blessings for all, filling people up as a free gift. It means Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises spoken by the prophets, that God would send a savior to bring salvation to all, establishing a new covenant, a new relationship. The way Jesus prepared the meal means something. Jesus looked to heaven and blessed and broke the bread, lifting it up and saying the berakah, the prayer of thanksgiving. This means that this was not just a way to get calories for the body; it was offered as food for the soul. The twelve baskets of leftovers mean something too. They mean that the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s original chosen people, are now being expanded to include all those who gather around the bread of the New Israel, founded on these twelve apostles and their twelve baskets of bread from Jesus. Talk about rich food! This is a richly meaningful meal!
There is a church which stands today on the site of this miraculous meal. It is called, appropriately enough, the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish, or Church of the Multiplication for short. It has been there on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee since 350AD. There is a Byzantine-era mosaic on the floor of the sanctuary with an image of loaves and fishes. Christian tourists familiar with this gospel story often point out that there are only four loaves in the mosaic. They assume that the artists messed up because the Bible says there were five loaves.
But the artists didn’t mess up. The four loaves were very much on purpose. You see that mosaic is directly under the altar. The fifth loaf is lifted up every Sunday as the priest lifts up the host of the Lord’s Supper. The artists were making a very intentional point that the miracle of the Multiplication continues in perpetuity as Jesus continues to feed his people with food for the soul, the food of the new covenant.
And so that miraculous meal of the feeding of the five thousand which happened so long ago means something to us here today too. It reveals to us who Jesus is for us. He is the savior who enacts and embodies Isaiah’s feast, given to us as a free gift. He is the savior who has invited us into the new covenant he has established, a new relationship with God, and he keeps calling us back into this relationship again and again. He is the savior who takes our “not enough” and turns it into an abundance of grace. He is the savior who fills our deepest hungers, who gives us food for our souls.
Jesus is the savior who continues to reveal himself to us through a miraculous meal. For on the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus again took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples as the food of forgiveness, the food of grace, the food of new life, the food of himself and his sacrificial love, freely given for us and for our salvation.
This meal is more than bread and wine. It means something. It means that in spite of all the things we lack, all the things we don’t have enough of, the strengthening and sustaining and life-giving grace of Jesus Christ continues to be given to us in miraculous abundance, that we would eat and be filled with his great love for us, today and forever.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
by Jeffrey Spencer | Jul 26, 2026 | Sermons
CLICK HERE for a worship video for July 26
Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 24, 2026
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here’s a cool thing a congregation did: They invited members of their church to submit digital photos of themselves. They collected hundreds of candid photos of their members, taken during ordinary activities of daily life. They then ran those photos through a computer program to create a mosaic. The picture of Jesus you see on the screen this morning is the result. If you zoom in on those tiny cells you can see the church members. Many of the photos appear to be taken at their church, but there are others showing them at weddings, or out on boats, or playing with children. Together, these small pictures of daily life form a mosaic of Jesus. Pretty neat, huh?
I think this is a helpful way to understand our gospel reading for today. We’ve been hearing one parable per week for the last couple of weeks, but today we get not one, not two, but FIVE parables all in one reading! They are very short parables. Word pictures, really. Jesus takes several common images from daily life to give us a picture of something bigger. He uses these little word pictures to create a mosaic revealing to us what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Before we go any further, I should probably explain that when Jesus uses the phrase “the kingdom of heaven” in our reading for today, he isn’t just talking about going to heaven when we die. He isn’t just talking about the pearly gates and eternal life. That is absolutely part of the promise of the gospel, and it is in the background here, but Jesus uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven,” particularly in Matthew’s gospel, to refer to something broader. “The kingdom of heaven” means the same thing as “the kingdom of God.” The two terms are interchangeable, and both refer to the ways God breaks into our world and into our lives. They refer to how and when and where God is active and at work. And so, these short parables we hear today about the kingdom of heaven, these small word pictures, create a mosaic illustrating how God is at work through his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first word picture is of a mustard seed which someone has sown in his field. Even though it is the smallest among the seeds commonly planted, it grows up into the greatest of shrubs, a tree in which the birds of the air come and make nests. Mustard seeds are not only small, they are a humble crop. It isn’t a cash crop like olives or grapes might be. And even at their biggest, they don’t grow up into anything all that big or strong, like the cedars of Lebanon. They are not only small; they are also the least of the seeds sown – the least important, the least profitable, the least impressive. And yet, if you plant some, I sure hope you like mustard, because it has a way of taking over! Plant one small patch and it will spread! It will take over a field in no time!
The second word picture is very similar to the first. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” In Jesus’ time yeast didn’t come in the dried, granular form we have today. They didn’t have Bob’s Red Mill or Red Star active dry yeast. People passed down naturally occurring yeast by sharing a pinch of dough from the previous batch, not unlike how really good sourdough is passed down still to this day. The yeast is already in there, unseen but at work. The woman in the parable takes this pinch and adds it to three measures of flour. The amount named in this parable is the equivalent of about 84 cups, or 23 pounds of flour. That’s a lot of bread! And yet this yeast goes to work, unseen but powerful, leavening this entire enormous new batch of dough, expanding and rising in abundance!
With these first two word pictures, we start to see part of the mosaic taking shape. God came into the world in a most unimpressive way. God came as a tiny infant. Jesus was laid in a humble manger. He was raised in the backwater village of Nazareth, a place so insignificant it doesn’t even appear on many of the maps from that time. He would ride a donkey into Jerusalem, not a stallion. Instead of being seated on a throne he was nailed to a cross, alongside criminals. And yet, in these small, unimpressive by the world’s standards, seemingly insignificant ways, God’s kingdom was breaking into the world! The kingdom of heaven was drawing near! Soon this kingdom would grow into a home for many, like those sparrows making a home amidst the mustard. Soon it would rise into something which gives life and nourishment and strength to many, like leavened bread.
This is still how God works! God still brings his kingdom to us in ways that are hard to see on the surface, in ways that don’t seem all that obvious or impressive to the world but nonetheless prove to be powerful in our lives.
God’s word is sown in us through the feeble words and the stumbling delivery of preachers, most of whom rarely match the skills of the world’s great orators. St. Paul himself was criticized, and even self-critical, for being “unskilled in speech.” (2 Corinthians 11:6) And yet, God’s Word was planted through his words. Those words grew things. They grew the church, where many have found shelter and a home. They grew faith. Those words took over people’s hearts, their lives!
God’s word is kneaded into us through a pinch of bread and a sip of wine in the supper Christ has given us. It isn’t much of a meal, really. It is barely a nibble. It isn’t even enough to qualify as an appetizer. There are hardly any calories and no protein. And yet, through this holy supper Christ is literally added to us, just like the yeast is added to a measure of flour. His true presence leavens us. He works, unseen, to expand in us and fill up our lives with hope and joy and peace and love, making his rising our own.
Another pair of parables gives us two more word pictures. These parables are about something precious – a treasure and a pearl of great value. Like the first two parables, they include things that are hidden and small, but here they are pursued at any expense. The finders of these precious items give up everything they have in order to possess these precious items. In the first parable the finder goes and sells everything he has in order to buy the field and claim the treasure. In the second parable the merchant also sells everything he has in order to buy that one precious pearl.
As we take these two parables together, we start to see another part of the mosaic taking shape. God is establishing his kingdom, his reign, through a savior who is willing to give up everything in order to have what is precious to him. You are that treasure! You are that pearl of great price! Jesus gave up everything to have you. Jesus gave up the comforts of heaven to come into a fallen world that would reject him. Jesus gave up his outward glory as he went through the humiliation of being crucified for us. Jesus gave up his very life so that we would belong to him. This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is like a savior who gives up everything to make us his own. We are that valuable to him. You are that valuable to him.
The last word picture in this mosaic is very similar to the parable we looked at last week, the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Since I dealt with that at length last week, I’ll be brief with this last one. In short, here Jesus describes a net which is thrown into the sea, bringing up fish of every kind. When the net is full, it is pulled up to the shore and sorted. The good fish are tossed into a basket, and the bad fish are tossed aside.
This is yet another snapshot of daily life in Jesus’ time, and in it, Jesus gives us yet another part of the mosaic. As God’s kingdom unfolds, the net is cast widely over the earth to gather in all people, both those considered good and those considered bad. And so, like the wheat field from last week, it is going to be messy at times! The world, the church, and our sinful selves will be a mix of good and bad until the very end. It is not ultimately our job to do the sorting. That job belongs to Jesus, who will send his angels to separate what is evil from what is righteous until everything is pure and whole and holy at last.
Are you starting to see the mosaic in full? Are you starting to make out the big picture?
The kingdom of heaven comes to us in ways that are often unseen and unimpressive by the world’s standards. It doesn’t come through smoke machines or fireworks or specific dramatic feelings. It comes through a humble savior who wants to be found in words and water and bread. While simple to the point of being easily overlooked, these means of grace are a force to be reckoned with as our Lord Jesus uses them to feed us and shelter us and leaven us and nourish us and strengthen us. His kingdom quietly grows in and through us.
We are part of this kingdom because even though we are sinners, our savior sees us as precious and valuable, and he has given up everything in order to claim us for himself. You are his treasure. You are the pearl of great price, and Jesus was willing to pay that price with his own precious blood in order to make you his own, today and forever.
This kingdom will be a mixed net until the end, there will be good and bad both in us and around us, but eventually everything evil will be cast out, so that we can dwell with our Lord forever in peace.
Your life is a cell in the great mosaic that makes up the kingdom of God. In every scene, both good and bad, in every picture, both joyful and sorrowful, God is at work – loving you, forgiving you, guiding you, teaching you, healing you, blessing you, carrying you. You might not be able to see it at times, you might not feel it, it might not seem obvious, but even now your Lord Jesus is weaving your life into this great mosaic that is now and forever will be the kingdom of heaven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church
