09/01/2026
From Pastor’s Sermon on 30 August
On June 22, 2022, Casey Schwartz of Hartford, WI, got a telephone call at work. His wife’s boss who was wondering why she was not at work yet. It turns out that another driver was texting while driving and hit his wife’s car in the back, pushing it into oncoming traffic. His wife, their son and their unborn child were all instantly killed. How do you function after such a loss?
It’s clear that we live in a sin-infected broken world. Bad and sad things happen that can not be predicted or explained. Years later, Casey Schwartz whose wife and children were killed in the car crash explained, “Faith was the only thing I had.” He was touched by God’s grace, God’s grace which points us to heaven.
Think of a large balance scale. On the one side, we’ll pile up all the pain and suffering that affects us. What have you suffered and what are you suffering right now?
We have piled on to the suffering side of the scale. But the Apostle Paul tells us that heaven’s glory far outweighs present suffering. It’s true that sufferings define our present, but glory defines our future. Paul wrote (:18), “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” All the sufferings on the earthly side of the scale don’t come close to “weighing” as much as heaven!
As we look at the balance of life, at times it seems as if hardships are overwhelming us. But heaven’s glory far outweighs our present sufferings. Heaven is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit who lives in us through faith. We endure our trials because God’s grace points us to heaven. Amen.
