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I have another lifeboat story to share with you. On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were common, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was little more than a hut and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station. In fact, it became famous for the good work it did. As it became well-known, some of those who had been saved, and others from the area, wanted to become part of this station. Many people joined it. They gave of their time and effort and money to support the work of the lifesaving station. New boats were bought. New crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They built a new shelter, replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it and improved the furnishings. They kept adding on and improving as more and more people joined. It became a sort of club, a place where members could get together and socialize. Fewer members were interested in going to sea on the lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to work for them and go in their place. The lifesaving motif was still prominent in the main room. There was still a liturgical lifeboat in the room where initiations were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked on the coast. The hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos, so the property committee immediately had a temporary shelter house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether. They viewed rescue efforts as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal, social life of the club. Some members insisted that being a lifesaving station was their primary purpose, pointing out that they were still called a lifesaving station. However, they were a small minority and voted down. The minority was told that if they wanted to still save the lives of those shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was formed. History continued repeating itself, and today there are a number of exclusive clubs up and down those shores. Shipwrecks are still common in those waters, but most of the people drown, because none of the lifesaving stations are really lifesaving stations.

Take a close look at your congregation. Of course you need to care for those already in the fold, and you are doing that. But are you taking the message to the lost? Are you telling those who are drowning in sin that Jesus wants to be their Savior? Are you pointing to the cross for those who are in need?

It isn’t easy being alone. And those who die alone, without Christ, are forever condemned and separated from him. All around us are people drowning in their sins, and you and I have the means to save them. What are you going to do?

A story has been floating around the internet for more than twenty years about the Titanic and Lifeboat #14. I’ve heard several different versions of this story, not all of which agree. After doing some research on my own, here’s what I discovered.

• April 14, 1912 2203 people including crew onboard the Titanic.
• 9:30 p.m. Ship is warned about an Iceberg, but the warning was disregarded.
• 11:40 p.m. Titanic strikes Iceberg.
• 11:50 p.m. Water rises in bow of ship 14 ft.
• 12:05 a.m. Lifeboats uncovered and passengers brought up on deck. There were 20 Lifeboats on the Titanic capable of saving 1178 people.
• 12:45 a.m. First of 20 lifeboats lowered. Sadly, the boats were not filled to capacity. Women and children and some men got in. Those in the boats paddled away from the liner as quickly as they could so they would not to be dragged under when she went down. They kept their distance.
• 1:30 a.m. Some passengers already jump into freezing waters.
• 2:05 a.m. Last lifeboat lowered. Remember those twenty boats could hold 1,178. But only 705 people survived.
• 2:18 a.m. Many more passengers jump. Titanic breaks apart and begins to go down.

There were 20 so called lifeboats. But they kept their distance from the people screaming in the water. Those on board were afraid of being swamped by those in the water.  They were unwilling to take the risk of helping others, fearful they might sink with weight of those who would try to climb aboard.

The majority of the lifeboats were less than half full. Many of the boats could easily have held 40 more people.

Fifth Officer Harold Lowe was in command of Lifeboat #14. He managed to round up four other boats and tied them together. He transferred all but three of his Lifeboat 14 passengers onto the other boats and rowed back toward the wreck with his small crew to attempt a rescue. He found four survivors, but by morning, two fell victim to exposure. Out of the twenty lifeboats launched that night, only Lifeboat #14 returned to the wreckage. The other 19 were safe boats. Only Lifeboat #14 went back to reach out to those who were dying.

Every congregation has to make a choice. Are you content to merely be a safeboat, or do  you want to be a lifeboat? You can sit around and debate the issue, but in the meantime people are perishing without Jesus. There are those all around you who are lost, alone, and dying. What will you do?

It is easy to sit there week after week, content in the knowledge that God has sent His Son to be your Savior. You rejoice in the Good News that the death of Jesus has paid for your sins and His resurrection is your guarantee of eternal life. But is that all there is to being a disciple? God has called you into His kingdom not just to have you in it, but so that you will bring others in as well. We can get so comfortable in the church that we forget that we are among those who needed saving. It started with God’s great love:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God accomplished the salvation of all people by allowing Jesus to take our sins on Himself and carry them to the cross. Jesus did it, and anyone can get the benefit of His death by believing in Him. That means someone has to tell people about it. Do you know who that “someone” is? The only ones who can tell others are those who already know. You and I are to be the “someones” who reach out with this Good News. You and I are to man the lifeboats. That does not happen by just showing up here and sitting in the pew. Something more has to happen.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

That was the mission of Jesus while He was with us here on earth until His Ascension. To whom has He entrusted this mission now?

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Are you sitting in a lifeboat as an observer or are you part of the crew of Lifeboat #14?

Returning home from the Cayman Islands on the first Friday of this month, we went through customs and immigration at the Orlando Airport. The TSA screening room was very tiny. We have TSA pre-check, but that was not available there. That means taking your laptop out of your bag, taking off your shoes and your belt and all that fun stuff. I emptied my pockets into a gray bucket and sent everything down the conveyor. Cheryl got selected for a random screening, which shut down the whole line for a minute or two. When I went through, the bags and buckets were piling up. They were rushing us to get out of there, so I hastily threw things into my pockets and backpack and we went off in search of our connecting flight. We were looking for gate 107, but there were only signs for the 70s, 80s and 90s gates. There was no one at the information booth either. Finally, an airport employee walked by and he told us we had to ride two different monorails to get to our gate. The monorails were not plainly marked, so we did not know about them. By the time we arrived at our gate, our flight was about to board.

As we got in line to board the plane, I realized I did not have my phone. I checked all my pockets and my backpack, but it was nowhere to be found. I made sure Cheryl did not have it, and then tried back-tracking a bit. Cheryl was calling my phone, but we did not hear it ring. As I said, it was time to board the plane. Cheryl asked if we should skip the flight, but I knew that was not a good option, since I had an obligation to preach on Sunday. We boarded the plane without my phone.

To say I was calm would be an overstatement. But I was not frantic, either. I was somewhere in between those two extremes, closer to the calm side than I thought I would be. Even just a few years ago I would have been freaking out at such an occurrence. At this point I did not know if I had been pickpocketed or dropped the phone or left it at TSA or what happened to it. As I sat on the plane, I prayed. I told God that I knew He was in control and asked Him to help me deal with this situation. Then I thought of all the things I would need to do when I got home to safeguard our lives. I also told Cheryl, “I know a lot of bad things could happen. But there are still a lot of good people in this world. Maybe one of them will find my phone and turn it in.” I’m not sure I fully believed that, but I did say it.

After we landed, we got our bags and went to our car. As we were driving home, I remembered the app we both have on our phones that allows us to track each other’s location. Cheryl checked it and saw that my phone was still in the Orlando airport, but it had moved to a location where we had not been. I asked Cheryl to call it one more time. After the fourth ring, just before it went to voicemail, I heard, “This is Sue with Southwest Airlines. How can I help you?” I said, “Sue, this is Mike Mattil. You are holding my phone right now!” The sense of relief was profound. She said someone found my phone and turned it in to a gate agent. It was now in the lost baggage office and would spend the weekend in their safe. Thanks to Southwest Airlines and FedEx, my phone was back in my possession on Tuesday.

One of the things I thought of while going through this was Luke 15. It contains stories of a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. In each instance, there is rejoicing when the thing that was lost has been found. I felt that when I knew my phone was found. But the point of Luke 15 is the rejoicing of our Father in heaven when a sinner who was lost has been found and repents and comes to faith in Jesus.

Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

Lord, thank you for the blessings You give me every day, including allowing my phone to be found and returned to me. May this be a reminder of all those who are still lost and dying without having come to knowledge of your love and grace and mercy that you show in Jesus. You have graciously led me to know that His death paid for all my sin and His resurrection assures me of life eternal with you. Help me to share your love and forgiveness with those who have not yet come to know and believe in Jesus. In His name. Amen.

The following is taken from something my daughter Bethany shared online a few years ago. She was working part-time in children’s ministry at a Church in the Denver area at the time.

Yesterday was the epitome of a Monday. We were all dragging in the morning getting out the door, and my “to do” list at work was longer than I could accomplish in a week.

The first big thing I decided to tackle was a quick trip to Walmart. When I got back to the office I went to grab my receipt to turn in to our finance manager. My wallet wasn’t in my office. I went to the car, and it wasn’t there either. I knew at this point I left it in the cart at Walmart. I got on the phone with my local Walmart while taking the two-minute drive to get there. They didn’t have anything turned in. The carts had been put away from where I returned my cart.

 Panic set in. I called Scott. I then called the local police office. Everything was in there… my work card, my personal cards, my ID, and of course my IKEA family member card! Maybe that last one doesn’t matter… I figured out how to “lock” my cards on my banking app, so my cards could not be used. Panic…

 Then I remembered we had an Apple air tag on my wallet. Scott started tracking it and someone was moving with it. MORE panic. He’s watching it move across a park. Then it stopped. My wallet was taken to the police station one city over from my work!

 I could not believe it! I drove there right away, and when I arrived I was so excited. First she asked for my ID… I mean really? Yes, she was serious. She went to look for it, and then she told me the strangest thing. Since the wallet was recovered in the other town they told the man who was trying to turn in my wallet to drive to the other precinct. I was angry!! I mean really!!!!???  This kind man was trying to be a Good Samaritan and was told to take it somewhere else!! Are you kidding me?!?

 Tracking the wallet continues, and it stops for about an hour without an exact location pinpointed. (It needs to ping off iPhones to stay updated on location.) I talked to the police again, and they told me to contact them at 2 p.m. if it does not show up anywhere. At 1:30pm I received a call from the local police office. My wallet was there waiting for me. The gentleman dropped it off!! When I arrived they jokingly (this time!) asked for my ID. Everything was in there. Even my $5 cash I had. I was in awe! I asked them to give the gentleman who turned it in my number.

 He called me about 20 minutes later.Dennis was my hero yesterday. He told me he wanted to do the right thing. He didn’t trust people enough to leave it at Walmart, and he apologized he didn’t return it sooner. He had lunch plans he didn’t want to miss. I think I said thank you 20 times in 4 minutes.

 God sent Dennis to me yesterday. God knew I needed to slow down and remember there are good people in the world. Today I am thankful for Dennis. I am thankful for the reminder that God is alive, in control, and He is on His throne.

I thought maybe some of you needed that reminder today, too.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

1 Corinthians 13  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Two small boys went to the dentist’s office and waited for him to finish his appointments. When he came to the waiting room, the older boy said, “Doctor, I want a tooth taken out, and I don’t want any gas, and I don’t want it deadened because we’re in a hurry.” The doctor smiled and said, “You’re a brave young man! You want a tooth pulled and you don’t want any gas and you don’t want it deadened.” The boy said, “That’s right, ’cause we’re in a hurry.” The dentist replied, “Well, O.K. Which tooth is it?” The little boy turned to his smaller friend and said, “Show him your tooth, Albert!”

I think most of us know people like that. They like to make decisions for someone else, not really concerned about how it will affect the other person. Their only concern is how it will affect them personally. And I’m sure most of you have been guilty of that at times. Selfishness takes control. That is anything but the loving kind of attitude that Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 13. He says that love should be the over-riding influence in the life of the Church. That is our goal! Love dictates our actions!

Some of the last lines written by playwright Oscar Hammerstein include the phrase, “Love isn’t love ’til you give it away.” I think that conveys the sentiment of the kind of love God would have us show. It is not something we keep to ourselves or direct only at our own person, but we are to love others as an expression of the new life to which we have been called. True Christian love is concerned for the other person and seeks their good.

These words were aimed at the church as a whole. The apostle was urging believers to get along with one another in the Christian community. He tells us that it is possible to have all kinds of gifts, to attend worship every week, and still miss the point of this chapter. In the previous chapter Paul wrote about Spiritual Gifts. In the middle of his discussion of spiritual gifts, he starts talking about good ol’ hard-working love. That love is unconditional; there are no strings attached. It is a love that is not earned or bought, but is given freely. He states that love is far superior to spiritual gifts. You need to use your gifts as God intends. You may be very talented, a great speaker or teacher or administrator, but if God’s love in Jesus Christ does not fill and flow through your efforts, they are ineffective. That is why Paul says that love is “the greatest.” Love has the most fruits. Love is where your faith is put into action with fellow men.

Earlier I quoted that phrase, “Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away.” We know this to be true from our own life experience. We have also seen this graphically demonstrated by God Himself in the gift of Jesus to be our Redeemer. We begin to receive and understand the joy of love by remembering where it comes from: God so loved the world (the same kind of love spoken of in our text) that He gave His son to die for our sins (including the sin of not loving) so that whoever believes in Him might have never-ending life.You know this from John 3:16. But there is another verse in 1 John 3:16 that explains this even further:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

The ultimate expression of love was God’s rescue of you and me and all men from hell. That was done through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death was accepted by God as the full payment for sin. Through faith, you make that payment your own, and are forgiven. This act of God’s love is at the core of our existence as Christians. It should be our motivation to love others as God has loved us.

1 Corinthians 15:53–57 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A few days ago I shared some thoughts on Victory and Defeat. I’ve done some more thinking about that. I remember growing up that I would watch a program on Saturday afternoons entitled “ABC’s Wide World of Sports.” The host Jim McKay would say during the program intro “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Lately I’ve been watching lot of college basketball. A recent game between Texas A&M and Ole Miss saw my team, the Aggies, behind the entire game. However, with less than 15 seconds to go, a player who is not normally a starter and who is not known for shooting the long shot made a 3 point basket, giving them the lead, their first lead of the game, and they went on to win. Unfortunately, in their next game, the Aggies lost a game they had led the whole way in the same fashion. The other team beat them with a last second shot!

The cross reminds us that Christ has obtained victory through what the world considered to be a defeat. Jesus was put to death. How can that be a victory? What we have here is Victory in Defeat. I don’t mean Jesus hit a buzzer beating shot. It is much better than that. It does not make sense from a worldly point of view.

You and I know that the cross was a defeat. Although, things are not always as they appear. The defeat is not of Jesus, not a defeat of God – it was His defeat of sin and death and the devil. By the cross, Jesus made payment for sins in order to bring us life. Jesus won the victory through what the world sees as Him being defeated.

The Duke of Wellington led the English forces against Napoleon at Waterloo. News of the history making battle came by sailing vessels to the southern coast of England. It made its way across land toward London by semaphore. Atop Winchester Cathedral, the semaphore began to spell out the eagerly awaited news. A dense fog settled in just as the words “Wellington defeated” were spelled out. The semaphore was no longer visible, and the heartbreaking news of his defeat spread throughout London. Before long, the fog lifted, and again the semaphore atop the cathedral was visible. This time the entire message was spelled out. “Wellington defeated the enemy.”

That is how it is when you first look at the cross It may have appeared that Christ had lost when he died, but the entire message needs to be heard. Jesus defeated the enemy. His death paid for sin. But He did not remain dead. He rose again from the dead to let us know that His victory is for all people. Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness and life everlasting. So we proclaim Christ crucified, the most important truth that people need to hear: God has in Christ reconciled the world to Himself. Jesus won the victory. And that victory is given to all who believe that He is their Savior.

Without faith in Jesus all that awaits us is the agony of defeat. With faith in Him, the thrill of victory is ours. Death swallowed up in victory. Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I remember when my girls were young, less than ten years old, they thought I was their hero, their champion, the one who could fix things and make things right. They would get excited when I came home and want to spend time with me, show me things they had learned and just spend time with me. e

Eventually they all reached the age that they came to the conclusion that I was probably the stupidest man on earth. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t understand how the world worked. So they would shut me out and roll their eyes at me.

At some point, somehow, eventually, I got smarter. They would ask my advice and input on things again. I wasn’t just the old guy who didn’t understand.

Through it all, I have loved my children. Immensely. I have always been fiercely protective of them and tried to shield them from harm. But my love also allowed them the freedom to make their own decisions, which sometimes I did not agree with. But there was never a point that I was willing to let them be harmed. And I would never have willingly let them be put in a position that they might be seriously injured or killed, even if it meant helping someone else.

I know how much I love my girls. I cannot fully comprehend how much God the Father loves us.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

I think we spend too much of our lives like teenagers who think God just doesn’t understand the real world in which we live, that He has no concept of what we need or is best for us. Yet the love of our heavenly Father values us, His adopted children, so much that He was willing to sacrifice His Son to give us life. Mind blowing love. Love that I rejoice in even though I am not able to grasp the magnitude of it.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

God’s love not only rescues and restores and redeems us, it blesses us constantly and abundantly on this side of heaven.

These days, I have regained hero status among my grandchildren. They have not yet concluded that I don’t know anything. I’m taking advantage of that and enjoying it for as long as it lasts. And one of the things I whisper in their ears when they hug me is, “Papa loves you. But Jesus loves you more.” I want Him to always be their true hero.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God– that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Yesterday there was a big football game. I didn’t watch very much of it. I found out this morning who won and who lost. The Philadelphia Eagles have bragging rights until the next season begins. They take pride in the fact that they were able to overcome all of their opponents by their own strength and desire and inner resolve. They are the champions.

Victory and Defeat. Those words are used to describe the same thing from different perspectives. Either you gain the victory or you are defeated. And the same is true when we consider what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

The cross reminds us that Christ has obtained victory through what the world considers to be foolish, weak and lowly things. This victory was obtained through the entire life of Christ, beginning with the fact that He became one of us. And that, of course, is something that the world continues to dismiss as foolishness. To the religious leaders of His day and many of God’s chosen people, Jesus did not appear to be anything special, certainly not the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah.

This passage above was written to the Corinthians because they were a people who prided themselves in their religious knowledge and boasted about it to the world. Paul was trying to remind them that apart from what God had done for them, they were nothing. They were not wise, not influential, not of noble birth. They were not worth choosing. And the same can be said of all of us. God’s Law reminds us that on our own merit, we are nothing in His sight, nothing but defeated and damned without Christ.

When you reach that point, you are prepared to accept the righteousness, holiness and redemption that God has for you. While coming to faith in Christ is something that is in your past, you should not forget about it. Paul encouraged his readers to REMEMBER what they were. You should remember, too. You should daily confess your sins, remember your Baptism, and receive God’s forgiveness. You should rejoice in the foolishness of preaching and the Lord’s Supper, because you know that they are the source of wisdom and forgiveness and life. The very things the world considers foolish, weak and lowly are what God used and uses to bring His salvation to the world.

If you remember, as Paul encourages here, it will change your living, like he wanted the Corinthians to change their living. Afflictions, weaknesses, illness, even death will become reminders of the victory you have through faith in Jesus. God uses things like this to remind us of our own weakness, and that of the world. At the same time, these things remind us of the victory over all things that comes through Christ. Knowing what Jesus has done for you through His death and resurrection, the bad things in life take on a different meaning. Remembering the victory you have in Christ, these things should cause you to look away from yourself and to Christ. You take part in His weakness. You boast in foolish and weak and lowly things because you know the victory Jesus gives.

Someone once asked why do they call it the Super Bowl and proclaim a team World Champions if they know they are going to do it all again next year? While the Super Bowl is played year after year, the Victory that Christ won for us is for all time. It is a done deal. By His death He has destroyed death, and by His rising has brought life and immortality to light. Sin, death and the devil have been defeated. Through faith, His Victory is ours.

I’m about to go in to my Dentist’s office for a routine cleaning and check up. I remember a few years back going in and the lady doing the cleaning was someone I had not met before. When she found out I was a retired pastor, she had several comments and questions about her Bible readings. Of course, she was asking those questions while she had her instruments in my mouth and I was unable to answer!

One of the things she mentioned was that she read a passage that spoke of some of the apostles being married and she said, “I guess I never really thought about them having wives and taking them along with them!” I think the passage she was referring to was 1 Corinthians 9:5  “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?” While Paul was not married, he tells us that other apostles were, including Cephas (Simon Peter), which we know from the Gospel accounts as well.

While I am not comparing myself to the apostles, after a career as a full-time church worker, I could not imagine what that would have been like if I had not been married. Being single might have made scheduling easier, but I would have missed out on so much joy and happiness. God led me to a fantastic, wonderful, God-fearing wife and has blessed our union with children and grandchildren.

Just so you know, Cheryl knew what she was getting into. She was a preacher’s kid, too, and part of my proposal to her included the fact that I was planning to go to the seminary. And she still said yes!

God knew it would not be good for this man to be alone. To me, this is further evidence of His grace in my life. The same God who loved me enough to provide His Son to be my Savior cares enough to be involved in the details of my individual circumstances. His love and care and mercy continues to astound me.