Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
“The Fruit of Slavery”
Rev. Timothy D. Smith
7:30am & 9:00am Sunday, June 25, 2023
Trinity Lutheran Church & School
Wausau, Wisconsin
As We Gather It is not easy to live in this world as a believer in the one true God. Faith is challenged, truth is questioned, and persecution is faced. Though hardships and challenges are there and will continue, we are reminded this is nothing new since the fall into sin. The Lord doesn’t leave us though in midst of doubt and despair as we deal with division and even danger. He gives His presence and assures His lasting promises. In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah and his people faced hardships, yet they modeled how our witness and testimony can be ones of boldness and confidence as we sing to and praise the Lord, for He “delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers” (Jeremiah 20:13). As Paul would face countless challenges in his Gospel proclamation to the ends of the earth, he reminds us that, even amid the battle of sin, we have received grace and that the “free gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). Jesus also reminds us that as divisiveness and persecution can be expected even from those closest to us, because of His everlasting promises we are able to “fear not.” The psalmist also assures that the Lord remains our refuge and our fortress. The world around us won’t change until Christ returns, but the Lord doesn’t change either. In and through Him, with faith and confidence we keep our trust.
