Alone in the House: A Difficult Call to Commitment

This One’s Especially for You

Please note: The June 21 outdoor service was canceled due to weather. Below is Pastor John’s blog written for this service, and a link is available at the end to read his planned sermon.

This coming Sunday morning you will hear me deliver a sermon based on the assigned Gospel text for this 3rd Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 10:24-39. It’s entitled “The Life of Discipleship: Proclaiming the Gospel in a ‘World of They.’” Read a preview here. For this coming Sunday night’s outdoor service at 7 p.m., on the east lawn of our FLC campus, I’d like to delve a little deeper into this text, with another, second sermon that I’m entitling, “Alone In The House.” (No, not “Home Alone IV” )

It goes something like this … It will happen again this Sunday. Quite honestly, it’s this way every Sunday. And for as long as our congregation has existed. It’s a difficult issue that I’ve never heard preached upon and has been long overlooked. And it will continue to be true every time we gather for worship: not only at First Lutheran, but wherever and whenever Christians meet to worship …

I’m speaking here of those to whom Jesus refers to in our Gospel text, specifically in Matthew 10:36—those who are “alone in the house.” By this I mean, those who are the only professing Christians in the family in which they live. You are our sisters and brothers in Christ who come alone to church, and who will return alone to your house or apartment at the end of the worship service. You long for someone to share the joy-filled acknowledgement of ‘God’s steadfast love and abounding mercy’ you will hear in our Psalm for this Sunday (Psalm 69:8-17).

And yet, yours is a particular situation that is not new in the history of the church by any means. Though it may appear to you at times that most others in this congregation have it somehow better or different, or that so much of the activity in our congregation assumes that everyone in the household is united in faith. But whatever the circumstance, today’s Gospel Word speaks in a very precious way to you. It’s a difficult word. A word of commitment. But also, through you it’s a word that speaks to us all.

I hope to see many of you, especially for whom this little introduction perhaps hits the spot, in desiring to hear an affirming and encouraging Word from God. We’ll be out on the grassy lawns of Dakota Avenue (on the east side of First Lutheran)—led in song by Larry Olson and our First Lutheran praise band, as well as sharing in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Parking is in our east lots south of the Washington Pavilion, or you can remain in your car, tuning into our FM signal. In the meantime, the Lord bless you and keep you safe in these shuttered days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and yes, in a spirited reassurance that you are not alone in the house. Your extended family of faith is present and prays with you.

In Christ,
Pastor John