OCTOBER 4, 2026
Whose Church Is It, Anyway?
Rev. Dr. Thomas Ahlersmeyer
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Sermon Text: Matthew 21:33-46; Readings: Psalm 80:7-19; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46
The church belongs to Jesus Christ, not us! He alone builds, sustains, and blesses His church through the saving gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Because we are His people by grace, we are freed and empowered to joyfully serve as Christ’s presence in the world.
Don’t Leave the Nest Yet!
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Do the words of Deuteronomy 6 apply to grandparents as well as parents? I hope so. I want to share the message from Moses before our five grands leave the nest. In these Old Testament verses, Moses is speaking to a new generation. The time is before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. Many of the now-adults in his audience were infants when God’s people started this lengthy journey out of Egypt. That was nearly 40 years earlier. Now, those “babies” are adults. And like us at the beginning of our life journey, Moses, too, was younger; now, he’s 120 years old. As we so often remind our children and our children’s children, “Don’t repeat past mistakes.” That’s the message from the past. And like Moses, we repeat the critical message for the future: love God, listen to Him, and obey Him. That’s a message that matters.
Mary Manz SimonFort Myers, FL
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