First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

PENTECOST 16 (PROPER 19), SEPTEMBER 12, 2021
Theme: Words that destroy and create
Text: James 3:1–12
Other Lessons: Isaiah 50:4–10; Psalm 116:1–9; Mark 9:14–29

• In the Name of the Father…Amen.

• The Epistle lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.

• Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
 Lord, let us walk in integrity and show forth Your love. Amen.

• Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
• Introduction
 We live in an age from which there has emerged an accepted norm of
continual outrage—seething disgust, open anger, and vitriolic attacks
directed at issues, events, and other people.
• A “protest” culture is on the upswing, oftentimes getting way ahead and
in the way of those trying to undertake sincere, meaningful actions toward
beneficial change.

• Sticks and stones indeed break bones—a violent mob roaming the streets
gives hard evidence of that—but in these gray and latter days, it often
seems that words, especially those spoken with ill will, have lost even
more of whatever little value they had left as a means of influencing our
fellow human beings.

• One commentator recently suggested that the verbal tools of outrage have
now reached a sad state of “hyperinflation.”

• Like a dollar that shrinks to nothing in its purchasing power, our words
have devalued to the point that almost every line of verbal reasoning—it
matters not whether such words are rational or irrational—has lost its
power.

• One can no longer say anything surprising enough, shocking enough, or
just plain sensical enough that it will really grab anyone’s attention or
make a difference—much less contribute to the resolution of disputes
between opposing parties.

• Rather than talking with one another, we insincerely talk past or
forcefully talk at our neighbors.

• One might rightly ask, “How did ever we arrive here?!”

• A. James, under timeless truth given from the Holy Spirit, firmly takes
issue with the notion that human speech has somehow “lost its luster.”

• The brother of our Lord Jesus begs us carefully to consider our own life
experience and to acknowledge once again the fiery power of our words,
whether they be:
 Harmful that they destroy.
 Beneficial that they create

• 1. So that our sin-infected tongues would be gladly directed to a higher
purpose:

• the glory of God and the blessing of Christ’s body.

• Wherever and whenever we fail with our tongues:

o In destructive words that thoughtlessly emerge

o in words of comfort, healing, and reconciliation that are intentionally
withheld—

o altering the course of life for the worse.

•

• James asks you vigilantly to remember that The Human Tongue Is Capable of
Inflicting Great Damage, but Christ Has Restored Your Tongue to Accomplish
His Good.
• I. Our tongues have achieved master status at setting “fires” (verses
2–6).
• Damaged ever since the fall, as devilish arsonists, our tongues speak in
sinful, self-centered arrogance and/or with intent to do murderous harm to
our neighbor’s reputation (verses 7–10).

 All these kinds of wicked speaking are especially contrary to the First,
Second, and Eighth Commandments.

 And we know this all too well!

• 1. In some instances, this is willful iniquity.

• Holy Scripture sets forth numerous examples of blasphemy against God and
false witness against neighbor.
 Talking over the back fence with one neighbor about another neighbor.
 We are not immune to this in the church.
 Where is john? He has not been to church in months.
 Did you see that horrible outfit Mary wore to church?

•

B. Likewise, our contemporary culture is screaming with painful examples
of the damage the “tongue” can cause wreaks.

• James’s lament about the harmful capacity of the tongue applies not just
to face-to-face conversations and confrontations.

• We poor, miserable sinners have become quite adept at making use of the
plethora of communications technologies currently at our fingertips.

 Airing the dirty laundry out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. for
all the world to see.

 People nowadays talk like they have no “filter”.

 At other times, we don’t even realize when or how we’ve set something or
someone ablaze.

 Do we honestly care if we did?

•
B. James warns us even as regards our tongues speaking in God’s name.

• Redeemed by the shed blood of God’s Son, as baptized saints, we ought to
speak God’s truth in love to everyone, in full testimony to the source,
content, and glory of the Gospel: Jesus Christ.

• All who are in Christ, as members of the priesthood of all believers,
have been called to such speaking (1 Peter 2:9).

3. But those who have been called to teach (that is, preach) in the church
are confronted with the special burden of warning against teaching
falsehood in the place of genuine Gospel (verse 1), for this can quickly
destroy saving faith in those who hear it.
• The Word proclaimed in its truth and purity gives rise to saving faith in
those who speak and hear it (Romans 10:17).

• A false gospel (as if it were even possible that such a thing could be
“gospel”) gives rise to the damnation of the souls infected by such
teaching (Gal 1:6–9).

•
II. But Jesus has restored our tongues to his great good by enduring the
fire of God’s wrath against all our sins—including sins of the tongue—in
our place.

A. He undoes the chaotic damage arising from sin, death, and the power of
the devil.
 He has undone the damage by fulfilling the Law perfectly, despite
suffering the scorn and abuse of evil men, while perfectly relying on the
word and promise of our heavenly Father (cf Isaiah 50:4–10).
 Christ’s death upon the cross has effectively extinguished the fiery
danger of God’s judgment into hell for all who use their tongues to confess
his name.
 He has undone the damage by preaching the healing, life-giving, divine
Word that sets all things right where all has gone so terribly wrong (cf
Mark 9:17–27). Such preaching—for our forgiveness, life, and
salvation—continues today through those whom God has called to serve in the
Office of the Holy Ministry.

•
B. Therefore, we continue to train and use our tongues as instruments that
are able to accomplish so much good (verses 3–5).

• To bless those who persecute us (Rom 12:14), so that in spite of our sins
we would live in the spirited freedom of continual repentance, absolution,
and reconciliation toward one another.
• To bless God in the purity, truth, and righteousness that have been
poured out upon us, to his eternal praise and glory.

• Conclusion

• There are only two ways to live: by the “wisdom” of the world or by God’s
wisdom.
 James condemns the worldly pattern of selfishness, deception, hurtful
words, and other evil behaviors.
 Christians, too, struggle with such sins and are even tempted to present
themselves as holier than others.
 How different is the wisdom of God!
 He has purified us in Christ and freed us from the stain of the world.
 We now walk in the works He has prepared for us to do.

• The Lord God, our heavenly Father, in the sending of His Son, utterly
quenched the threatening fire of condemnation under the Law for all who
believe in him.
 By the Means of His Grace, he continually sends the Holy Spirit to tame
our tongues, that from them the cleansing pure fountain of the Gospel may
continually spring forth through our words and in our actions. Amen

• Let us pray: O Lord, purify us so that our words may uplift, strengthen,
bring peace where there is strife, and bring sincerity where there is
falsehood. Use our lips to speak Your glory, to tell of Your wonderful
deeds, and to proclaim Your salvation. Amen.

• 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

• The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

• In the Name of the Father…Amen.

PENTECOST 15 (PROPER 18), SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 Theme: Saving faith in Christ
Text: James 2:1–10, 14–18 Other Lessons: Isaiah 35:4–7a; Psalm 146; Mark
7:(24–30) 31–37

In the Name of the Father…Amen.
The Epistle Reading serves as our sermon text for today.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
Forgive me, Lord, for looking at the face and not the heart. May Your name,
spoken over me in my Baptism, be glorified in my life as I serve Your
people. Amen.
Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
“Never judge a book by its cover.”
“Treat all people with fairness, equality, and justice, no matter their
social or economic standing.”
“Do not act as the broken, unbelieving world does.”
That is how James starts out in the Epistle today.
Truth be told, we transgress these codes of Christian conduct all the time.
Much sorrow, hurt, and sadness ensue.
We are constantly prone to make snap judgments about the people around us,
based on their outward appearances and what we perceive them to be
saying—if we’re listening at all.
Time is such a precious commodity, and we simply don’t want to invest our
energies to dig really deep, understand our neighbors’ needs, become
involved, and get straight to the heart of the problems (or joys) that
beset them.
We “faithful” Chris-tians have too many perplexing challenges of our own to
deal with!
And we rely on our faith.
Yes . . . that’s it (or so we think): our “faith” ultimately will carry us
through, even if we look the other way along life’s journey amidst our
neighbors (Luke 10:31–32).
But James aptly reaches in and breaks up this cozy self-assuredness,
bluntly asking a really tough self-examination question about such a
“faith,” absent of the confirming evidence of good works: “What good is it
at all?”

Such a “faith” as this—faith without good works, operating chiefly within
the realm of your interior—is not good for your neighbor.
Many of your neighbors are overlooked because they don’t display those
characteristics that attract your attentive favor verses 1–4.
Playing favorites based on outward appearances is the way of the world.
The foreigner and the disabled Mark 7:24–37 are often the last people we
“see” living in our midst, because we assume they can’t do anything for us.
We frequently seek a quid pro quo! You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours!
God never practices such selfish favoritism (1 Corinthians 1:27–29), and he
expects the same of those who fear, love, and trust in him above all things
(cf Leviticus 19:15).
The Lord calls upon us to Repent of such behavior !
What markers in your life point to faith in and worship of celebrity fame
and fortune?
What fantasies do you entertain that “life would be so much better” if only
you could “live like them” or gain from a relationship with those who have
prestige, possessions, influence, power, or money?
In whom or what do you place your confidence, other than the work of
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Repent!

B. “Is this your ‘faith,’ absent as it is of God-pleasing works?”
James asks of Christians everywhere and at all times (not just those of
congregations dispersed among the Gentiles of the first century) this
question.
Without the inescapable evidence:
the good works that inevitably emerge and accompany a genuine faith that
grasps the Gospel of Christ alone for forgiveness, life, and salvation
then what good is that kind of “faith” verses 15–16?
Faith with no evidence is a false, dead faith:
and don’t let anyone offer you the comforting lie that such a dead faith
counts for anything. In fact,
2. In the end, such a dead, good-works-absent “faith” will be of no benefit
to you verse 14, 17; Matthew 7:21; 25:41–46.
Such a dead faith is simply not compatible with the identity:
the new life of the resurrected Christ
bestowed on you at the baptismal font,
where, by divine grace, you became an adopted child of God, a brother of
James, the brother of the Lord Jesus.
A dead, inactive faith disavows the unity of Christ’s living body, now sent
into the world to reflect the Savior’s love, a “love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be” (LSB 430:1; cf verses 8–9).
Such a false, dead faith cannot stand up to the judgment of God, because
once the Law is broken at one point, it is broken on all points (verse 10).
What counts is genuine, living, active faith:
faith continuing at work in the present time among the faithful through
love (Galatians 5:6). And this,

3. The faith of Christ (his faithfulness to his goal, his faithful
fulfillment of the Law on your behalf) and your genuine faith in him (faith
in the Gospel, faith bestowed by him) triumph over sin and death and bring
forth fruit God desires in works pleasing to him.
Christ is the icon, the pattern, of God’s grace and love in mercy,
especially to those whom the world considers to be out-siders and
worthless, for you.
Jesus is the ultimate “outsider.”
“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” John 1:11.
He was made flesh to suffer rejection and humiliation, even to the point of
death on a cross, for you.

C. He is the one who fulfilled the royal law perfectly for you.
Verse 8 of our text declares:
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall
love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Conclusion
James pushes the refrain: “What good is it?”
What good is it if you were to keep the whole Law (as if that were
possible!) and yet commit just one sin?
What good is it when a lip-service-only faith is accompanied by nothing in
the way of active love or works of mercy toward one’s neighbor in need
James 2:14–16?
We love being treated to eye-popping, heart-stopping performances in sports
arenas or concert halls.
But spectacular efforts can be ruined by just one instance of “falling
short.”
Over the course of a game, a pitcher can record 20 strikeouts or a
quarterback can throw for 450 yards—but nobody will remember such
accomplishments, if it was on the losing side because of the home run given
up or the interception thrown at the critical moment.
An opera can move us to goose bumps or even tears, but if the soprano
cracks on her high note in the climactic aria, the audience deflates and
that’s all we’ll be discussing at the exits.
When we realize we’ve “blown it completely” with not just one but an entire
catalog of sins:
and are sinking in the depths of utter despair and ruin
we turn to the one and only Savior, who has unconditionally loved us to and
through his cross to his desired end: forgiveness and eternal life.
Amen.

Rejoice, dear saints of God, for Your Living, Saving Faith in Christ Will
Inevitably Overflow with His Good Works, and these works will be seen in
you, to the glory and praise of Christ’s holy name forever. Amen.
Let us pray:
By Your Spirit, grant me true faith, Lord, that Your name might be
glorified through me. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In the Name of the Father…Amen.

*Sermon for 08.29.21*

*Text: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9*

*Theme: A wise and understanding people*

1. *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*
2. *The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.*
3. *Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*

Ø Lord God, heavenly Father, by Your blessed Word and Your holy Baptism
You have mercifully cleansed all who believe from the fearful leprosy of
sin, and You daily grant us Your gracious help in all our need.

Ø Enlighten our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may never forget these
Your blessings, but ever live in Your fear, and trusting fully in Your
grace, with thankful hearts continually praise and glorify You;

Ø through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen .

1. *Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father, through our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.*
2. *The setting for the Book of Deuteronomy is Moses with the Israelites
in the Land of Moab, east of the Jordan River. *

Ø He knows that he will not lead Israel across the Jordan *(Num­bers 20)*.

Ø Deuteronomy basically consists of Moses’ final speeches or sermons with
the Israelites.

Ø In Deuteronomy 1–3, Moses recounts the history of the people, from the
time they were at Mount Sinai after the exodus from Egypt to the present.

Ø This was a period of about thirty-eight years.

Ø There at Sinai, God had made a covenant with the nation Israel.

Ø They were his chosen people.

Ø God had decided that from these descendants of Abraham would come the
Savior of the world, the Messiah.

1. *Now, in Deuteronomy 4, Moses, after recalling all that God had done
for the Israelites these past thirty-eight years, looks into the future.*

Ø In our text for this morning, Moses uses the phrase “a wise and
understanding people.”

Ø That phrase, which Moses connected with the Israelites, also applies to
us. May the Lord bless our meditation as We Consider Three Realities
concerning a Wise and Understanding People—the Israelites, and you and me.

*The Israelites were, and we have been, brought to faith in the one true
God through the Word of God. This is one reality concerning a wise and
understanding people.*

1. *The Word the Israelites had was that passed down from previous
generations, and that which came to them through the ministry of Moses. We
have more of the Word of God—the writings of Moses (Genesis through
Deuteronomy), the rest of the Old Testament, and all of the New Testament.*
2. *This Word reveals who this one true God is—the triune God. This Word
reveals the Savior, the Son of God, who became man, born of the nation
Israel.*
1. He, Jesus Christ, sacrificed himself in payment for the sins of
the world and arose triumphant from the dead.
2. He is the Savior, for all who believe in him have forgiveness of
their sins and everlasting life.

*Knowing and having faith in the true God and the Savior is the highest
wisdom.*

1. This is far greater than any earthly wisdom.
2. Understanding the way of salvation:
A. by God’s grace through faith in Christ
3. This is the greatest understanding.

*D. We thank God that he made not only the Israelites addressed in our text
but also us a wise and understanding people (v 6). Through faith in Christ,
we have salvation. Rejoice!*

*2. Having the Word of God, the Israelites lived—and we live—according to
it. This is another reality concerning a wise and understanding people.*

1. *In our text for this morning, statutes, rules, and commandments
refer specifically to the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. *
1. These were guidelines as to how the Israelites were to live as
God’s covenant people.
2. Today, our guidelines are the Ten Commandments, which were a part
of God’s covenant with Israel.
2. *God’s Word, since it is his Word, contains the greatest wisdom.
Also, because of his love, God gave the guidelines to the Israelites and
us.*
1. He knows what is best for his people and wants their highest good.
2. The ways of the Lord are ways of righteousness and blessedness.

*C. God, who through his Word brought the Israelites and us to saving
faith, enables his people through the same Word to keep his commandments
and live according to his word.*

1. The lives of a wise and understanding people demonstrate that they
have been enlightened by God through his Word.
2. These lives will be noticed by unbelievers and can be a witness to
them, drawing them to find out more about the beliefs of such a wise and
understanding people.

*D. We pray that God would help us to keep on living as his people and to
grow in Christian living.*

1. This means taking care of ourselves spiritually by continuing in the
Word of God and holding to all the counsel of God without adding to or
subtracting from Scripture.
2. This also means seeing to it that our children, grandchildren, are
taught and that they learn God’s Word.

*III. God is near to his wise and understanding people. This is the third
reality concerning such people.*

1. *This is a blessing of being in a faith relationship with the Lord
and is possible because of the saving work of the Messiah.*
1. God is near to his people, whom he has made wise and understanding
because he loves them.
2. This fellowship with God, which we will enjoy throughout our
earthly life, will continue first in heaven and then forever in the new
creation.

*B. Because God was so near to the believing Israelites, whenever they
prayed to the Lord, he would always hear and answer their petitions as was
best for them according to his good and gracious will. *

1. This was a belief and reality unique to the Israelites, for the other
peoples of the ancient Near East did not believe the same thing with regard
to their gods (who actually did not exist).

*C. Because God is so near to us, he always hears and answers our petitions
in the best way.*

1. *He does so, again, because of Christ, by whom we can come before the
Lord in prayer.*

1. *Also, God is near us in the Lord’s Supper: *

*A. Christ comes to us and gives us his body and blood.*

*D. May we continually take comfort in the Gospel truth that God is always
near to us, his people, and that he will provide physical and spiritual
care for us. Nothing can separate us from his love. Rejoice!*

*Conclusion*

1. *There are a number of passages from Proverbs and elsewhere that
serve as useful tools for describing wisdom:*
1. *Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be
still wiser.” *
1. *The instruction Moses gave the Israelites, many of whom
already had the wisdom of faith, increased their wisdom.*
2. *Proverbs 9:12: “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.” *
1. *Having God-given wisdom through his Word benefits the wise
person. He can then be a blessing to others.*
3. *Proverbs 11:30: “Whoever captures souls is wise.” *
1. *The believer, who exhibits spiritual wisdom with his words and
life, can catch the attention of others. *
2. *God can use this to open up opportunities for witnessing.*
4. *Proverbs 13:14: “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.” *
1. *This is a companion passage to Deuteronomy 4:1, where Moses
says, “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the
rules that I am
teaching you, and do them, that you may live.”*
5. *Daniel 12:3: “And those who are wise shall shine like the
brightness of the sky above.”*

*With regard to God being near to his people:*

1. *Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.”*
2. *John 14:23: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my
Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home
with him.*
3. *The roots of the famous sequoia trees of California are
interlocking. *
4. *Thus each tree is held firmly in place by its own roots and by
the roots of other sequoias. *
5. *When the spiritual truth is handed down in a family from one
generation to the next, this forms, so to speak, an interlocking system
that holds the family members in place in the Christian Church.*
1. *How blessed we are that God has made us a wise and understanding
people!*
1. *Because of his great love for us, we have the wisdom of saving
faith, we display the wisdom of God’s Word in our lives, and we have
blessed fellowship with the Lord, who is always near us. *
2. *All of this is possible because of Jesus, our Savior. *
3. *Therefore, Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice!
Amen.*

1. *Let us pray:*

Ø *Praise and honor belong to You, our God, because You have given us Your
Word, by which You clothe our poor and naked souls in the garments of
salvation, and bring to us heavenly and abiding treasures.*

Ø *Fashion our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we crave not the things of
this earth, but 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.*

Ø

Ø *The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. *

Ø

Ø *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

Ø *desire the things above. Amen.*