Faith Lutheran Church LCMS

06/17/2026

06/14/2026

A conversation and a reason for the Divine Service:

" Pastor, will you play this song for worship? I really like it " " Why do you like it?" " because I can really feel the Holy Spirit moving in it. It's so exciting and moving " " okay...but what are the words? The substance of the song?" " hmmmm....I never thought about it. I don't know 😕 ...I just like it."

" As an Lutheran church Missouri Synod pastor, I have to figure that most in my congregation listen to the music on the radio. Most is weak in doctrine, repetitive lyrics, and mantra and emotionally driven, similar to Eastern mystical religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. This is the daily diet of Scripture for most Christians.

I have my congregation for 1 hour of the week. So It's my job to fill that hour with as much of the Bible as I can. The Divine Service does this. It points to Jesus, His forgiveness and the Gospel every Sunday. Aside from what many think, the Divine Service doesn't have anything to do with what we prefer but what we need. "

- Rev. Jerrod Melius, Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, LCMS, Denver Co.

06/07/2026

6/7/26; 2nd Sunday after Pentecost; Series A: Hosea 5:15-6-6; Ps.119:65-72; Rom.4:13-25; Mt.9:9-13;

Grace, mercy, peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
This morning our assigned Gospel finds Jesus on one of His many and various travels where He finds Matthew, also known as Levi, going about his daily routine, that of being in his tax booth gathering taxes from those from whom they were due, as far as they know! And, in case anyone is wondering, paying taxes then was no more popular than it is for us today; no surprises there. We find in this account Jesus’ ongoing assembly of His 12 disciples who would find themselves under His tutelage for approximately 3 years. These 12 men being the New Testament counterpart, if you will, to the 12 Sons or Tribes of Israel, in the Old Testament.
Still, of all the people for Jesus to draw from for those 12 - a tax collector? However, it is not as if all 12 of the sons of Jacob were upright examples of integrity and character - were they? Then again, in the scheme of things...perhaps this tax collector and his, such despised vocation, their being considered to be traitors due to working for the Romans?
Did Jesus call us to follow Him due our being such noble, upright, and outstanding individuals? Even after Jesus has already called us, did we not just rightly admit, already this morning, to that of our being poor miserable sinners? Those who justly and rightly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment? Paul, in Romans 3, quotes the Psalmist: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” People of God, it is extremely vital for us to see one another as those whom the Lord has also called to “follow” Him. For us to ever presume we are somehow superior to anyone else gathered here; we will indeed resemble the Pharisees, who missed the entire point of Jesus’ mission to rescue all of those who are sick and stand in need of the Great Physician. Nothing worse than those who refuse and ridicule the precious remedy they stand in such spiritual need of having.
As it was with the other disciples Jesus calls, they left their vocation and followed Him, what we find here with Matthew. Leaving behind their source of income and, in the case of James and John - walked away from their father, as well as what we would know as the family business. My class at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne IN. consisted of roughly 75% second career men who all walked away from their jobs, many sold their homes, most of them moving away from family. Personally, for Rene’ and myself, our home was almost paid for, I left the wire and cable industry which had been our bread and butter for over 26 years. Yet, as the Lord with Matthew and the others - had a different plan, desire, and direction for us. While the years of serving as a Pastor have contained quite a few twists and turns, along with challenges a plenty. I have never doubted the Lord’s Call to follow Him in this endeavor. All of you know well: He uses me in spite of myself; and while I will not presume to speak for you....I have a sneaky suspicion you might echo that same sentiment on occasion.
“As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.” Jesus our Lord and Savior was regularly found rubbing elbows, eating with, “those people”; is there perhaps something for us to, I don’t know, “learn” from such an example? Dear Christian, if the sinless Son of God, the Messiah, can and does willingly, associate Himself with those whom the religious leaders and maybe even the rest of the world consider lowlifes and that one would dare to surround themselves with such company.
“When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”’ Especially in Jesus’ day “eating” with someone meant a possible number of possible things: at times it was just my enduring your company as I “put up” with you - you are so fortunate. OR: meals were that of obligation, one of reciprocity - each back and forth requiring the host to up the ante. Before going on: doesn’t it prove rather difficult if not impossible, to build rapport or influence someone, when you are nowhere near them? It can though, and often does, make it real easy to establish a hierarchy of sorts: those who are in and those who are not - so much! At least once when Jesus was at the home of a Pharisee He was treated very disrespectfully even as the guest - in fact the Pharisee’s treatment served as nothing but insults toward Jesus.
Then there was the Jesus way of eating with others.....BTW: to “recline” at table usually involved that of a more festive type meal as one reclined on their left elbow the food not too far below their mouth. A bit of trivia: that was how the lady was able to anoint Jesus’ feet, wash them with her hair and kiss them. In other words: she wasn’t lying on the floor figuring out how to climb under Jesus' chair to get to His feet. Our Lord and Savior was always on a mission and who better to find yourself in the midst of than those who actually were interested in hearing what you had to say? Jesus proves very intentional during these meals, these were teaching moments, acquaintance and relationship building moments. Which is exactly and precisely what kingdom work and kingdom building is certainly all about. As here we find Jesus with: “many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.” These being Matthews circle of friends.....and Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth wants to eat with us eat, with us? While the religious leaders only ever ridicule and shun us. Can we even begin to comprehend the impression that would have made, left? Consider too of how many barriers this meal with them would have removed, how receptive, relaxed, and responsive, these “tax collectors and sinners”, being accepted by Jesus, would now be? Plus, with Jesus, there was never ever some sort of waiting period, no “proving yourself” timeframe.
Dear Christian, who needs us to be real with them, to be relational, with them? Even if it is simply inviting them over for a meal! As if we will truly get to know another individual, another congregation member, if all we are doing is smiling and nodding from across the Sanctuary. We enter this sacred place with all of the presumptions and prestige stripped away; one’s degrees and accomplishments.....if this ever becomes about us, then we certainly are in big trouble and in the wrong place!
People of God, Jesus was very intentional in His use of these meals and the teaching moments they provided. It would certainly be a wonderful trait of Jesus for us to mimic; no matter where our life, travels, activities, and acquaintances, in this life, might find or take us. Are we not first and foremost Christians? Should our prime directive prove to be something other than that? Lord help us! You, you, have a distinct and Divine purpose, established by none other than the Lord Himself - take that in for a moment eh! Jesus never lost sight of what His Father’s Will for Him was, neither should we as we carry on in the stead of our Savior, we take up those endeavors He did. For as we see others through the eyes of Christ, we see a mass of humanity in such desperate need of the Great Physician - as were we.
When we presume or pretend, as did the Pharisees that day, that we are somehow above all of this Jesus stuff; our having no need of/for the spiritual rescue, which only Jesus provides for one and all who will believe. The Pharisees were convinced the tax collectors and sinners were “below them” unworthy of being in their company let alone to eat with them at any festive meal? GASP. Yet, as Jesus makes clear in this passage where He quotes His Words from His Prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”. In other words sacrifices can amount to nothing more than simply going through the motions checking them off one’s to do list. Showing mercy though, requires patience, understanding, compassion, time and effort - can we even state: open ended efforts? Hey, here’s my lamb and my grain offering - whew got that out of the way......mercy however, will require, even mandate dedication. Similar to that of making disciples, if one is not in it for the long haul....beloved of God, being turned in on oneself is easy and quite natural.
To look outside of oneself, even discounting one’s own wants perhaps even “needs” - not apart from the Lord’s Spirit alive and well within us, stirring us to look beyond ourselves, will we? What if Jesus had only been concerned with Himself? What a fine eternal mess we would be in? As we strive to be Jesus to others, it is not for us, is it? Being Jesus to others sets ourselves aside, removes boundaries and hindrances, finding us with Christ-like vision, compassion and attitude, toward the very same people He came to save. Which just so happens to be all of us, yes, even the likes of us!
Let us dear Christian, yearn and ache for the souls of the lost whose lives and souls the precious life-blood of the Savior was spilled to secure their salvation, their eternal rescue. O Lord, give us eyes that will truly see our neighbors need to know You, their need to have a relationship with you, Amen? Amen. In the name of + Jesus, Amen.

06/07/2026

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 6-7-26

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

06/07/2026

Galatians Bible study 6-7-26

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/31/2026

Faith Lutheran Church: June 2026 Newsletter
The assigned Gospel text for Trinity Sunday was Matthew 28 which concluded with these words of Jesus: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” While there are some church bodies who seek to confine Jesus to the heavenly realm there beside His Father. We trust fully and completely in what Jesus has expressed in this final verse of Matthew 28. I do not know about you but I have never ever found Jesus to speak words just to make noise!
As we call on, that Invoke the name of our Triune God, the Christ assures us that He will be with us, even in our very midst! Jesus is the Word made flesh, thus He is in and among us through the read and preached word which has been preserved for us even to this very day. We have available to us how many different translations of the Bible? I trust that your Bible finds regular use in the course of your day and week. How many people groups around the world do not even have one verse in their native tongue? The need is great.
We especially recognize the Lord’s presence: His being with us, in His very Body and Blood, the Sacrament of the Altar. Yes, His presence with us, not because we have decided as much rather, it is His stating that to be so. I would encourage you to contemplate what has been provided for us. [see the Sacrament of the Altar in the hymnal on pages 326 and 327] We treat with reverence the elements after they have been consecrated with and by the very words of Christ Himself. His Word is always doing what He has said it will - His Word will always have power, He has the authority to fulfill all that He has said. Matthew 28:18: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” No time restraints, no expiration dates. We reverence the Altar when we approach it due to our recognizing and realizing that it is the presence of our Lord and Savior right there before our very eyes, Amen? Amen.
The Lord’s blessings to you,
Pastor Schmeltz

05/31/2026

5/31/26; Holy Trinity Sunday; Series A: Gen.1:1-2:4a; Ps.8; Acts 2:14a, 22-36; Mt.28:16-20;

Grace, mercy, peace to you, from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Today, Holy Trinity Sunday, finds us focusing on exactly that: our 1 God, in 3 Persons = nope, I can’t explain Him either; although the Athanasian Creed we just confessed certainly provides a solid base for us to ponder this God and Lord we serve. This same God and Lord sent His Son to secure our eternal rescue from the already condemned state and condition we were in due to sin. After all, the wages of sin is death and one isn’t even required to put in any overtime in order to earn such wages!
What Matthew’s Gospel details for us here in its concluding chapter is that of Jesus’ 11 Disciples/Apostles, gathered in Galilee there on the un-specified mountain; precisely as they had been directed by Jesus to do. Even as we notice how Mt. tells us they worshiped the Lord when they saw Him yet, some had doubts. Considering all that their last 40 days have involved......for them, up close and personal....should “doubt” really sound out of place?Contemplate how many Good Fridays and Easter mornings we have celebrated - familiar much?
Jesus’ words to the 11 and certainly to all of us gathered here, along with the Lord’s Church of all time and places, should resound in our ears, comfort our souls, calm fears, and instill a great measure of confidence: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Note the “all” and “given” in Jesus’ words, as what Jesus expresses and conveys here encompasses what has been bestowed upon and to Him from the Father. Jesus was granted what He had been told would come to Him as He fulfilled in totality what His Father had prescribed, had willed for Him, as He suffered, died and was raised to life again: Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
Jesus, the Son, then returns to His rightful place at the Father’s right hand; a position not a place of isolation, since we know well Jesus’ glorified body is not and will not be held to Man’s perspective nor limitations. Is Jesus on our Altar this morning? Just like He was with us there last Sunday? And every other Christian Altar of those churches who actually believe the Bible, what Jesus tells us here: “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Mt.18:20 Jesus tells His disciples then and now: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Every Divine Service we Invoke - that is, call upon the name of our Triune God and Lord. We do so because we believe, without a doubt, what Jesus has made quite clear in His Word.
Dear Christian, perhaps there have been, or still are, those times of doubt [but some doubted] and uncertainty. As if the life of the faithful doesn’t find us knowing trying times? Recall how Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith, little faith, even “no” faith. And these were the men who walked with, talked with, ate with, and saw firsthand, the miracles of Jesus! So, give yourself a break, repent, then go on.....oh, and in case anyone is wondering, our failures are not exactly unexpected by the one who died to save us! Let us plead: God be merciful to me: the sinner, all while keeping our eye on the prize, our pressing toward the heavenly goal.
It is in Christ’s authority that we function as His Church, therefore we are not required to seek anyone’s “permission” to do what our Lord and Savior has already tasked His people, His Church, with. His Word overrides any and all government authorities, each and every nation’s charter and constitution. People of God, we have been “pre-approved” to serve as Jesus’ ambassadors, His spokesmen. For us to ever seek or request or seek another’s “permission”, to be who the Lord has already described and entails for us.....discounts, even dismisses Jesus’ words here in this incredible passage before us from Mt.28. Besides, if someone has a problem with me proclaiming the Gospel....arrest me.....people in prison need Jesus too! Please come visit me. Even further, the Lord, through His Psalmist states in Psalm 116: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Jesus reminds us in Mt.10:28: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Our God and Lord is in the forgiveness business, after all, condemnation already belonged to us due to sin. Thus we hear these words from Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Those words: “Go therefore” are best heard in the context of: as you go, as one goes, wherever one goes and finds themselves in their daily vocations and routine. And, while it is so novel and sounds so much more enticing to devise these words from our Lord as if all of us should sign up for a mission trip to Brazil or Honduras, perhaps even Asia.....like so many of us could actually undertake such an endeavor - no, do not hear me somehow implying that such mission adventures are off limits....the more fitting question could simply be: does my neighbor across the fence need to hear of Jesus and the salvation He won on the cross for them? I certainly trust that my closing question every Sunday hasn’t become merely some form of catch phrase: Who do you know that needs to know Jesus? Which just so happens to be exactly what our Savior is emphasizing here in these couple verses!
All of us who wear the name of Christ, having been baptized into Christ have the ability and privilege to tell anyone and everyone about what Jesus has accomplished for them, for their salvation. To “make disciples” though is not about a 3 minute conversation and saying the name Jesus 5 times...it is a process, if I can use such language. One of the many things I certainly do cherish and appreciate concerning the LC-MS, is her desire and quest for an educated and prepared laity in what this Church Body is concerned with and values, what we know to be true from the scriptures. I will argue all day and with anyone that our Confessions and Doctrine are as solid as the day is long. That we, although not perfect, are as close to scripture as is humanly possible! If someone has a difficult time believing that, come see me we can help you understand what I am saying. Of course I sound biased and as your Pastor, I certainly better sound that way, hadn’t I?
In order to “make” a disciple, they will certainly be baptized, age being a nonissue in/to/for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Is it safe to say that all of us gathered here have been indeed baptized into the name? Baptized into the Trinity - into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as. It was placed upon us, spoken over us. Yes, that is precisely and exactly what Jesus means here in this passage. Should the name of the Triune God not be involved, invoked, then is not a legitimate baptism as prescribed here by Jesus. Baptism brings one into the kingdom, born into their mother, the Church. Baptism, however, does not indicate that all will always be well, ones going on their way, living happily ever after. We, dear Christian, are a work in progress, we endure, we persevere, at times we fail - even miserably - which is why we are so humbled and appreciative of our God and Lord’s incredible forgiveness, mercy, grace, and patience. As if He doesn’t know us better than we know ourselves?
The Son of God always provides what we were desperately in need of to remain His own. Not that we somehow treat our failures lightly and cheapen what His sacrificial death secured for us, for our eternity! Oh how often have our lives resembled 1 step forward and how many.....steps back? We must persevere and remain ever faithful, we pray with and for each other, we lift each other up, even as we are able to share what we have endured and how the Lord has provided each and every one of us with what we so badly required. Walk in the park is not exactly what we know now - is it? Thank you Lord for giving us each other! Once one is brought into the Lord’s Church, the Church has been charged with instructing them in all our Lord has commanded. Yet, isn’t it interesting then how some seek to discount the Old Testament because it is: Old? Rene’ and I, not so long ago heard an individual, a woman pretending to be a pastor, state that: since the Lord is still speaking there should be a 3rd Testament. As she then proceeded to discount some of the very Words of the Lord as recorded in the New Testament!
Oh, our God and Lord is still speaking alright; only ever and always, in and through His Word. The difficulty being: we will not always be found listening, as our old Adam keeps striving to pursue what he wants to have. It is not just the evil one who keeps asking: did God really say? Our sin nature promotes and advances that question on a regular basis! Thus the ongoing necessity to teach and even that is not just some sort of head knowledge; notice that it is teach AND observe. Ours is that of a life of repentance and the ever present need to learn and grow in knowledge as well as and especially so in our faith. To be ever vigilant, watchful, and alert; as 1 Pt.5:8 details: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
We, as the Community of Saints, in this incredible location known as Faith Lutheran Church; are ever to be found holding fast to and declaring the eternal truths of what scripture reveals, the Holy Spirit making our minds capable of understanding the Word. That same Spirit within our very souls, since Baptism, ponder that for a moment; the Spirit, God Himself, within us - dare we say - even putting up with us? As the Spirit equips us, enables us, to seek after, to strive for, what is good, right, and proper, for the Light of Christ to shine in us and through us; for if we, the Lord’s people are not illuminating this ever darker world, who will?
We celebrate and bask in what we have been given freely and abundantly by our Triune God and Lord yet, to ever consider only hoarding it merely for ourselves....severely misses the point, doesn’t it? Didn’t somebody, somewhere, speak to you about Jesus? All of us have been brought along the way to the point where our faith is right now at this very moment. People of God, let us never drop our guard or presume we’ve got this, for if we ever do....is precisely what the enemy seeks of and from us.
Dear Christian, it is our privilege and joy to wear the name of our Triune God, as those who have been marked with the sign of the cross, both upon our forehead and upon our heart. Being redeemed by the one who died and rose again to save us from what each and every one of us deserved. Through our Baptism we were snatched from the jaws of the evil one, rescued from an eternity in hell. What Christ accomplished for us He accomplished for one and all. We dare not sit back as if casualties and/or collateral damage are no big deal! Who do you know that needs to know Jesus? O Lord save us, Amen? Amen. In the name of + Jesus, Amen.