St. Peter's Beards Lutheran Church

09/06/2026

Sermon for August 30, 2026
Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost
Ezekiel 33:7-11, Psalm 119:33-40, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20

I need to correct something I said last Sunday. I mistakenly referred to Romans Chapter 13 at “the Love Chapter,” when in fact it is 1 Corinthians 13 that is referred to as “the Love Chapter.”
When I taught Confirmation Classes as a lay person about thirty years ago, I used to tell the kids that if everyone in the world lived by the Ten Commandments, the world would be a far better place than it is. The sad thing is that the world has gotten worse in those thirty years, not better. I think we’re all familiar with or at least somewhat familiar with the Ten Commandments, the thou shalt and the thou shalt nots, so to speak.
During the time that the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness following their escape from slavery in Egypt, their leader, Moses, kept in constant touch with God, keeping the people informed as to what God wanted them to do during the journey to the promised land. During one of his visits with God, Moses was on Mt. Sinai, during which time God wrote The Ten Commandments as instructions for how the people were to live with God and with one another. The Commandments were written by God on two stone tablets, and were given to Moses to present to the people when he went back down the mountain.
During the time that Moses was on Mt. Sinai, some of the people had gotten panicky because he had been gone for so long, thinking that Moses had died on that mountain and wasn’t coming back. They had begged Moses’ brother, Aaron, to make them a god to worship, believing that God had somehow abandoned them there in the wilderness. They melted down all their gold jewelry and fashioned an idol of a golden calf, which they proceeded to worship. Needless to say, when Moses came down the mountain and saw what had taken place, he became so angry that he smashed the tablets. The people – and Aaron – did repent of their sin, and Moses had to go back up Mt. Sinai so that God could give him another set of tablets with the commandments on them. Any good Israelite or Jew should be well-acquainted with the commandments, even if they didn’t necessarily live up to them.
Fast-forward to the first century, to the church, as it is being established by Jesus’ disciples and the Apostle Paul, a persecutor of the church and of believers, recruited by Jesus on the road to Damacus. Paul is writing a letter to the believers of the church at Rome, in which he is reminding the believers of the importance of loving one another. He is using several of the original commandments to make his point. He writes, “The commandments, You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
You might recall that in Matthew 22, when a lawyer asks Jesus which commandment in the law is the greatest, he replies, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Paul is reminding the believers at Rome of how Jesus has commanded his followers to live, in love toward one another. This is exactly how Jesus lived his earthly life. I’m sure there were many times that the human side of Jesus wanted to smack the Pharisees and others, up side the head, or worse. But the divine side of Jesus, the nature of God within him, chose to love those who were the greatest pains in his neck.
And that’s what Paul is saying here: “Choose love.”
And so I say to you today what Jesus said and what Paul said: “Choose love.” Amen.

08/31/2026

Sermon for August 30, 2026
Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost
Jeremiah 15:15-21, Psalm 26:1-8, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28

Last week my sermon dealt with kindness, and as I looked at our second reading from Romans, it appears as if we have part two of that sermon. While I didn’t use any of the assigned readings last Sunday, I could have used this passage from Paul’s letter to the church at Rome and it would have fit right in.
One of the things that Paul often writes about in his letters to the various churches he has connections with is their relationship with God and with one another. I don’t think there’s anything that’s more important in life than our relationship with God and his Son Jesus, and our relationships with one another. After all, if we claim to be in a right relationship with God, yet can’t get along with our fellow believers, and non-believers, then what does that say about us and our relationship with God?
Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Life in the church and among believers isn’t perfect. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Years ago when I first joined Zion Lutheran after Judy and I were married, I was asked to join the finance committee and then the church council. I tell people that that experience really opened my eyes about the way things operate behind the scenes in the church, and it isn’t always pretty. Apparently things were pretty much the same way back in Paul’s day, as he is often admonishing the congregations about their behavior and reminding them of the was we are called to live and act as children of God and disciples of Jesus.
In the intro to our reading from Romans 12, the author writes that Paul presents benchmarks for faithful relationships with Christians and non-Christians. Interestingly, Paul doesn’t say that we are to treat non-Christians any differently than we are to treat our fellow Christians. Think about this for a minute. Do we treat one differently than the other?
The first part of this passage deals with love. You might note that this is from Romans Chapter 12, and it immediately precedes the famous “Love Chapter,” Chapter 13, which is often read at weddings and other special church services. Although Paul isn’t directly quoting Jesus here, he very well could be, as the things he is saying are quite similar to things that Jesus said during his earthly ministry.
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
These are most certainly the standards by which God expects us to live. As I said, if we cannot get along with our sisters and brothers, treating them with love, then how can we call ourselves Christians? That line from that 70’s Christian folk song comes back to me again, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.”
Of all the things Paul writes in this passage, I think you could sum it up with verse 18. “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” He begins with, “if it is possible,” which to me means that it may not necessarily possible to live peaceably with some folks. I think we can all name folks we have encountered that make it difficult, if not impossible, to do that. However, Paul doesn’t let us off the hook for these difficulties, adding, “so far as it depends on you.” Yes, some folks are difficult and hard to love, but it shouldn’t be because of us. We have a responsibility to treat our sisters and brothers with love and compassion. If we can’t live peaceably with someone despite our loving them and having compassion for them, then that’s on them, not us.
But it is up to us to live our lives in love and harmony with one another. As children of God and disciples of Jesus, it is how we are called to live, and as we go out into the world from this place today, let us strive, with God’s help, to do exactly that. Amen.

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

Sat Oct 3, Fall Festival 11am-3:30pm
Sun, Oct 4, Homecoming at Beard's Church

More details coming soon. A weekend of bringing the past, present, and the future together for a fun filled weekend.

08/23/2026

Sermon for August 23, 2026
Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost
Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 16:13-20

A few weeks ago, I quoted Ephesians 4:32 in my sermon, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” As I said then, it was one of those memory verses I learned as a kid, and it has stuck with me ever since then, and not just because of Campbell’s tenderhearted beans. Kindness should be a way of life, not just for those who call themselves Christians, but for all people.
As I drive around the community, I often see signs posted that say, “Be Kind.” I like the signs, but it makes me sad that people find it necessary to post signs reminding and encouraging folks to be kind to one another.
It seems to me that so many of us have forgotten how to be kind to one another or we just don’t care how we treat one another. Just go out into the community or even just turn on the news on TV or the news feed on your phone and you’ll see just how badly folks treat one another day in and day out. It breaks my heart to see this, especially when it involves children, and being an animal lover, I hate to see animals abused as well. When we look at our leadership, from the local level to the national level, it’s often embarrassing to me how our leaders act. In the senate and congress, folks can’t even seem to reach across the aisle and try to work together for the good of the country, but would rather criticize and condemn their colleagues. I know I’m going to get some grief about what I’m saying, but let me just say that this poor behavior isn’t unique to one political party or the other, and it isn’t just our senators and congressmen that are guilty of this.
This isn’t how God intended the world to be at all. Unfortunately, we’re all familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and how they messed up God’s perfect creation by giving in to the temptation to sin against God by breaking his commands. It’s been all downhill ever since, and quite often we say, “The world’s going to hell in a handbasket.” Many days it surely seems like that.
But God calls us, through Jesus, to live a different way, to follow the example Jesus has given us in his earthly life. There was plenty of strife in Jesus’ day, just look at the relationship between Jews and Samaritans, for one example, of the way that the Jewish religious leadership treated Jesus and his followers, for another. You often hear me say that people haven’t changed much since Jesus’ day, and that’s because human nature hasn’t changed. Our nature is to be sinful, toward God and toward one another.
But that’s not how we are called to treat one another. In Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, found in Luke 6, Jesus tells us how we are to treat one another. I’m not going to quote every command, but I’m going to give you some highlights. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you; do to others as you would have them do to you; love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Jesus says that when we do these things, our reward will be great, and we will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
So if God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, then what do you suppose he expects from us, his children? There’s no doubt in my mind that he expects the same behavior from us. There’s a folk song from the 70’s that contains the lyrics, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” So when we show our love to one another, we are being kind and compassionate, marks of a life lived in service to God and his Son Jesus.
In 1982, writer Anne Herbert coined the phrase, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” She created it as a hopeful antidote to the depressing news phrase, “Random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty.” In the more than 40 years since that phrase was created, it seems as if there is more cruelty and violence in the world than there is kindness and acts of beauty. We can certainly do our part to try and make the world a better place by being kind and forgiving to one another and by treating others as we would want them to treat us. Be kind and love one another as God has first loved us. Amen.

08/16/2026

Sermon for August 16, 2026
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8, Psalm 67, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, Matthew 15:10-28

There’s an acronym in the computer world GIGO, which stands for garbage in, garbage out. What this basically means is that if your computer isn’t producing the data you are expecting from it, it isn’t necessarily the computer’s fault, it’s the fault of the person operating the computer. Hence, the expression, garbage in, garbage out. I’ve certainly done that plenty of times during my nearly forty years of working with computers.
Although this expression is normally applied to computers, I think you can apply it to any task or job you might be assigned to do. Putting in a half-hearted effort will most likely result in a less than stellar result. When I was in high school, I was more interested in cars, girls, and music than I was in studying. As a result my grades were mostly B’s and C’s, just enough to get by, although I know I could have done better if I had just applied myself a bit more. When I began college studies in my late thirties, my goal was to graduate with the best grades I could so that I would be able to be accepted by Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. With God’s help, and the patience of Judy and our kids, I managed to graduate from both HCC and Wilson College with high honors, and was accepted by Gettysburg. After the service, if you’re interested, I’ll tell you about my unique graduation from Wilson, which included a movie star. As they say, you can’t make this stuff up.
You hear me talk all the time about the Jewish purity laws. In fact, if you participated in our study group in the spring, we talked about them. The purity laws are part of the more than 600 laws given to Moses by God during the Exodus. These laws are contained in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. These laws contain everything from what you are allowed or not allowed to wear to what you are allowed to eat or not allowed to eat, as well as instructions about cleaning eating utensils. These purity laws govern the way one lives one’s life. To violate the purity laws means that one has become unclean and cannot go into the synagogue or temple and therefore cannot participate in worship and other religious activities. In the beginning of Matthew 15 the Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus and ask why his disciples break the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat. Today we do that as a matter of hygiene, but then it was a matter of keeping the law. Now the Pharisees were always looking for a way to trip Jesus up, either in his words or his deeds. A breaking of the purity laws could land Jesus and his disciples in hot water. No pun intended.
Again, though, by not washing one’s hands one would make even clean food unclean, therefore defiling the person by what they are putting in their mouth. It’s just as bad as eating something that is considered unclean and therefore should not be eaten because it would make the eater unclean. It’s seems complicated and odd to us today because we eat darn near anything we please, and no one tells us we can’t. Well, some might caution you against eating certain things, but you aren’t prohibited from eating them. There are no consequences, except, perhaps, to your digestive system.
What Jesus says to the Pharisees, scribes, and his disciples is that it is not what you put into your mouth that makes you unclean, it’s what comes out of your mouth. He says that what you eat goes into your stomach and then out into the sewer. It’s funny, I don’t normally associate sewers with first century Palestine, but apparently they had some sort of sewer system to take care of waste. Instead, Jesus said that it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles one, makes one unclean. If you hear someone on the street or in another public place shouting profanities at the top of their lungs, what is your first impression of them? Is it, “That person must be a Sunday School teacher or a deacon?” I hardly think so; in fact, you probably don’t associate that person with church, except perhaps to think that person needs to go to church. Now, I’m not going to stand here and say that Christians never use profanity, because some do from time to time. The other Christmas my son-in-law gave me a hanging towel that says, “I love Jesus, but I cuss a little.” I’m not sure what he was trying to tell me.
Jesus says that what comes out of our mouth comes from the heart, and that’s what defiles us. He then gives a list of evil things that come from the heart: evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. He says that these things are what defiles a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile. So, it’s not what goes in our mouths that defiles us, it’s what comes out. We don’t put the sin in us, it’s already there.
Sin has been with us since nearly the beginning of creation, when Adam and Eve broke God’s command in the Garden of Eden, sinning against God. Truthfully, it’s been all downhill ever since. If it weren’t for sin, it wouldn’t have been necessary for God to flood the earth to cleanse it from sin, nor would it have been necessary for God to send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. But God did send Jesus into the world to bring light, life, and salvation for all humanity. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, he cleanses our hearts, ridding us of all those sinful things that defile us. Now may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

07/26/2026

Sermon for July 26, 2026
Ninth Sunday of Pentecost
1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 119:129-136, Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

When I was a kid, every Sunday we had a Bible verse that we were supposed to memorize and then recite it in front of the class. If you did so successfully, you received a gold star or something like it, but if you didn’t know it, you felt like you were wearing a scarlet letter on your chest, showing your shame to all the world, especially your classmates and the pastor.
Some of those verses I remember to this day, like Ephesians 4:32, “Be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” I cannot to this day hear that verse without thinking of Campbell’s Pork and Beans. Anyone remember why? givesBecause they were advertised as the tenderhearted beans. If you think about, what does that even mean? Another verse I remember should be familiar, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you notice, I remember these verse in the King James, which is the Bible we used in our church, and which is still used today in many churches. I once saw a bumper sticker on a vehicle at JLG which said, “If it ain’t King James, it ain’t Bible.” It made me chuckle.
Today I tend to remember scripture in passages, not just verses, because, as often as not, isolating one particular verse from the rest of the passage can change the meaning of the verse a bit. In the case of John 3:16, I cannot separate it from verse 17, which I believe gives verse 16 more depth and meaning. Let me show you, but from the New Revised Standard Version this time. “For God so loved that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” To me, just a little more depth and meaning when you include verse 17.
Now the reason I’m telling you this is because our second reading this morning contains my favorite passage of scripture: Romans 8:31-39. There are many other passages I am quite fond of, but this is my favorite. It is included in the suggested funeral texts, and if folks aren’t sure what to select, this passage is one that I recommend. The reason that I recommend it is because I believe these words to be words of comfort at a time when folks need to be comforted by God’s promises of life and salvation in Jesus.
In Romans 3 Paul tells us of God’s promise of grace, that is, the forgiveness of our sins, through our faith in the redeeming blood of Jesus, which was shed for us. That grace also promises new life, eternal life, in Jesus. Notice that, not just new life, but eternal life in Jesus. What a wonderful gift that God gives us through our faith in Jesus. God sent Jesus to die for us to show us his love for us, not wanting any of us to perish in our sins.
In our reading from Romans Paul once again talks about God’s love for us, saying that all things work together for good for those who love God. All things work together for good. How often have we felt like things aren’t working together for good? Things often feel like they aren’t working together for good. I once had a seminary classmate say that what we see in this life is the back side of the tapestry, with all the strings hanging down and such. It doesn’t look like much. But God sees the other side, the finished side, and on the other side of eternity we’ll see it too, then things will make much more sense.
Once again Paul talks about God’s love for us that is manifested in Jesus. He asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” and then goes on to list things that could separate us from the love of Christ: affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. This is some pretty serious stuff. He then says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You hear that? NOTHING in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! What comfort these words are for people of faith.
All throughout the scriptures we are reminded of God’s love for us. To hear Paul reassure us that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us as manifested in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s only Son, is something we always need to hear. Amen.