Pastor Kory's sermon from Sun, Sept. 15, 2024 was based on the three Scripture readings for the day: Isaiah 50:4-10, James 3:1-12, and Mark 9:14-29.

Pastor Kory's sermon from Sun, Sept. 8, 2024 is provided here in written form. The sermon text was James 2:1–10, 14–18: 

1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. . . .

14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

We often confess our Christian faith in the words of the Nicene Creed:   “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible …”

In this article of faith, we remember that God made us and all creatures. We give Him all the credit for everything in His creation, things which are just as real, whether we can see them or not. For one thing, we remember that God created His invisible messengers, which we call “angels.” And as we confess that our Lord is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, we acknowledge that He created this staggeringly vast universe—even those parts of it which are invisible to us …

This morning our Epistle reading calls to mind another reality which is first invisible, and then, visible. James, traditionally thought to be the half-brother of our Lord Jesus, writes this letter to the first Christians both to challenge them, and to describe Christian faith & life.

I think that we would all agree that faith is an invisible reality. We can’t point to faith up here, or down there. We don’t necessarily experience faith through the senses, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not as real as those things which we can see and touch, and that it’s not present in the people of God.

Faith in Christ is invisible, yet because faith is real, and God-given, and God-sustained, faith also becomes visible. The Holy Spirit begins and preserves your invisible faith in Jesus, but His work doesn’t stop there. God’s Spirit does far more in your life. He doesn’t just deposit a bit of “personal faith” within you and then take off! Instead, the Spirit of Christ makes His home in us. He lives in us, in an invisible way, so that our invisible faith in Christ might begin to be demonstrated visibly.

 This morning, we encounter a tension or a paradox which is at the heart of our life in Christ. On the one hand, we affirm that faith in Christ is unseen, because the Holy Spirit produces this faith deep within our hearts. But on the other hand, we also affirm that living faith in Christ doesn’t just stay deep down in our hearts. Instead, our invisible faith becomes visible through our actions.

This is what James is saying in the Scripture this morning. He’s saying faith works together with and is expressed by a believer’s actions. This is why he says so boldly, “I will show you my faith by what I do” (2:18). 

But it’s not easy to live in this tension … There’s a risk that we might slip into one of two false types of faith. For one thing, we’re tempted to keep our faith in Christ bottled up on the inside, where it stays invisible. Our enemy the devil, our surrounding world, and our own sinful nature all prefer this type of “faith”, which is neither seen nor heard!

But the opposite temptation is that our visible expressions of faith become the basis for our relationship with God,  so you might wonder, “Am I seeing enough results in my life?” or even, “Am I really a Christian, because I don’t look or feel like much of one."

This is why James teaches us the wisdom of what it means to believe in Christ:  that living and active faith is both invisible and visible, private and public, unseen within our hearts and seen in how we go about our lives …

First, let’s think about the unseen quality of faith. The writer of the book of Hebrews puts it in this way: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). Another translation of this verse calls faith “sure and certain hope.” 

You can’t necessarily see things like conviction or hope. But just because you can’t see someone’s hope in Christ doesn’t mean that it’s not there! In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes a point to bless those who have the conviction of things not seen. Jesus says to His disciple Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed” (20:29). 

That’s a blessing for you! You haven’t seen Jesus firsthand, entering our world, suffering and giving up His life, and rising again for you. We also can’t see into the future when Jesus will return on the clouds with great power and glory to raise and restore us from the dead.We also can’t see our eternal home that Jesus is preparing.  

We haven’t seen any of these things, and yet, through this Gospel message itself, God has called you to faith in Jesus.  We will be with Christ in paradise—but we can’t see paradise. Not yet. And in the meantime, we live by faith—faith which we cannot even see! 

It can be frustrating, sometimes, to not get to see what we’re so hoping for, just as it can be frustrating to not see faith in other people … 

While faith is a certain hope in Christ, hidden from the eyes, deep within your heart, James also speaks a word of caution for us today. It’s all too easy to overemphasize the private, hidden nature of our faith in Christ. Personal faith in Christ does not mean that your faith is not public at the same time. James warns us against having just a private, compartmentalized faith which does not express itself in daily life. He says in verse 14 of our Epistle reading, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”

James is saying that we should be concerned about whether our Christian faith and life are working in tandem. James wants you to be concerned if your actions and words and decisions are never motivated by your faith. He’s also saying that we should show concern for one another, especially if someone claims to have faith in Jesus, but has no visible fruits of faith.

Some people think that being a Christian simply means acknowledging that God exists, and that Jesus was a real person, and that we should try to be good people … These things are true, but we might ask along with James, “Can such ‘faith’ same someone?” If someone merely assents to these things in her mind, is she a believer in Christ as her Savior?

These are challenging questions. At the same time, I don't want you coming away thinking that you are faithless just because you did something last week in which your faith didn’t inform your words or decisions. This is often the case for each of us.

I think of Jesus’ “right hand man”, Peter.  Remember what he did when Jesus was betrayed? First, Peter hacked off some guy’s ear, and then later, he claimed repeatedly that he had never known Jesus! Peter’s anger and fear—not his faith in Jesus—motivated these actions. All of us have had days or maybe even years of our lives when we were acting more like Peter. We believed in Jesus, but it didn’t seem to make much visible difference. This doesn’t excuse those times for us; yet, we trust that the same Jesus who could forgive Peter’s violence and cowardice, also forgives and restores you and me …

Maybe you’re blessed to work or learn in a place where your Christian identity is welcome, or maybe you’re challenged to be where your Christian faith is expected to be neither seen nor heard. If any of you are facing a situation in which you’re pressured to keep your faith in Christ unseen, let me encourage you this morning: You don’t always have to be loud and boisterous with your faith. But, Christ does expect that your relationship with Him will shine through. This might mean standing up for someone who’s being picked on. This might mean running errands for a coworker who’s going through a difficult time. This might mean, like James, that you choose not to show favoritism to certain people. This might mean pointing to your hope in Christ when someone asks what motivates your kindness. Whatever you do, do it in faith, both for the glory of God and the good of your neighbor!

We also need to hear another word of caution so we don’t misunderstand James’ words. We’ve already seen how saving faith in Christ is unseen and seen, personal and public. One risk is to overemphasize personal, hidden faith. But another risk is to overemphasize our visible, public expressions of faith. 

Pastors sometimes encounter situations like this one:  A lifelong Lutheran named Dorothy waited in the line after the Sunday service. She was one of those folks who were involved in everything, giving to this, volunteering for that: baking and organizing and fundraising and serving in the ladies’ group. A guest mission speaker visited the congregation, and of course, there was Dorothy, listening intently from her usual pew. 

The guest speaker told stories about all the wonderful missionaries around the world, serving in faraway places like Peru or Cambodia. These missionaries were devoting their lives to spreading the good news of Jesus to people who had never known Him and His love. They were living in dangerous places, risking their lives, feeding the starving, learning new languages, and rarely taking time off.

Along with all his stories, the guest speaker also made a point of reminding the congregation of what they all knew about as Lutherans: the free grace of God by which they had been redeemed. He shared some Bible passages with the people, reminding them that God desires that all would hear about Jesus and believe in Him. And he gently challenged the congregation to be a part of sharing Jesus around the world through their support of missionaries and their families. 

 Afterward, everyone came by and greeted the mission speaker, but when it was Dorothy’s turn, she approached slowly. She looked up at him with a tear in her eye. He asked if she was alright. Finally, Dorothy replied, “I just hope I’m good enough – that I’ve done enough …” 

The mission speaker said back to her, “You haven’t! … But Jesus has.” 

Dorothy looked like the model of Christian faith, and yet here she was, doubting her standing with God. Instead of trusting Christ alone, Dorothy was also counting on the visible results of her faith.  

We hear James say that “I will show you my faith by what I do”, and even, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (2:17-18). You may hear James’ words and doubt like Dorothy: “Is my faith active enough?”  You’re tempted to overemphasize the results of faith to the point that your works, along with Christ’s, become the basis for your salvation. But, there’s no assurance when you go down this path, because you can never do enough for God and your neighbor!  

You haven’t done enough, but Christ has.  We trust in HIS complete work on our behalf. 

James is speaking today not to those who struggle in living out their faith. He’s addressing those whose faith remains locked inside, not even touching their daily lives. James knew that we can’t be good enough, but he also knew that we have a problem if our invisible faith never shines through …

Thankfully, James’ words can remind us of the truth that we confess, that God creates all things invisible and visible. You need invisible faith, your personal, saving trust in Jesus, and your neighbor needs your visible faith, your trust in Jesus expressed in everyday actions and relationships.  It isn’t just one or the other that’s important.  It’s “Both/And” …

May God bless you this week as His Spirit makes your invisible faith visible through your words of love and acts of service.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The sermon text for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost was Ephesians 6:10-20. This sermon, "The Whole Armor of God", concludes our summer sermon series on St. Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. It reflects on the nature of the "battle" in which the Church finds itself and also on the words of strength and comfort which close out the book of Ephesians.