09/06/2026
Below is an excerpt from our worship service this morning. God's peace be with you! - Pastor Jacob
GOSPEL READING – Matthew 19:23-30
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
SERMON
There is a lot of discussion in our scripture this morning about sin, iniquity, wickedness, judgement, and who will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We could hear these words and imagine a picture of God that is full of high expectations and completely focused on how we are meeting or missing the mark…a God who stands in supreme authority and holds His power over His people so they obey out of fear of fire and brimstone… However, when I read through this scripture passages this week, I saw a God who was greater than that stereotype.
For instance, I also noticed verses like Ezekiel 33:11 – “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Here, God is calling everyone, including His own people, to choose life by turning to Him! We are free to choose wickedness, but God is hoping and longing that we will turn away from those things and choose eternal life instead! I also noticed verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans calling us to recognize how much time and opportunity God is giving us before that Judgement Day arrives because of His “kindness and forbearance and patience” that is “meant to lead [us] to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). God’s love for us is truly generous! Then, there is Jesus’ declaration in our Gospel reading that, when it comes to our salvation, “for God all things are possible”! (verse 26) We don’t necessarily like to dwell on our sin, but our scripture this morning offers us a message of hope through God’s redeeming love!
With these truths about God’s love for us in mind, we look at Jesus’ statement in verse 24 that says, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” On the one hand, this is a hard saying. This expression of, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…” is one that was regularly used in Jewish culture to say that something was impossible! And yet, rather than a message of condemnation, we know that we are hearing a wake-up call from our God who hopes that everyone will one day be able to enter His Kingdom. So what is this wake-up call meant to teach us? What is it about riches that we need to be paying attention to?
First and foremost, we need to pay attention to the position that earthly wealth and possessions occupy in our hearts. As Jesus said earlier in the Gospel of Matthew: “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and wealth” (6:24). Are the resources we have and the way we use them pointing us to God, or leading us away from Him? In Jesus’ time and culture, riches were seen as a sign of God’s favor, so that idea of riches being a stumbling block was shocking! And yet, if earthly wealth becomes too important to us, then we are in a “camel going through the eye of a needle” situation…if we idolize riches or rely on them for a sense of security or happiness rather than relying on God…or if we are only trying to protect the resources we have rather than also sharing them with others… then we have put earthly riches in a position in our lives they were never intended to be. Then they become that stumbling block for us entering the Kingdom of Heaven like Jesus was talking about. If we view our wealth as something instead that is a blessing from God, freely given and freely shared, then we will be able to start to put earthly riches back in their proper place.
The world tells us to worry that we do not have enough…and then to go out and get what we need. The world tells us that we need more than we have right now, and that things like happiness, power, and fulfillment will be ours once we get to that special point in the future where we do have “enough.” However, our scripture readings this morning are calling us to shift our focus from worldly things to heavenly things…to turn back to God and find life in abundance, just like Jesus promises Peter in this Gospel passage! We know that God’s love is generous, and He longs for us to know the immense riches of what He has to offer us if we will put our trust in Him!
As we gather for the sacrament of Holy Communion this morning, we are reminded again of the great, self-giving love of God. There is no greater gift we have received than the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His only Son, on the cross and the pardon he provided for our sin. Whatever we are lacking, we bring our concerns to God with open hearts during this time, trusting that God will rejoice in our returning to Him and will transform us from the inside out so that we have all that we need! We can lay down all the extra things so they do not get in our way…the burdens of worry…the concerns about what tomorrow will bring… We remember that all that we have, all that we are, all that will be is in God’s hands. We ask Him to fill us with His grace so that we will be rich indeed. May it be so for you and for me. Amen.
