"Red Letter Challenge: Giving" | Matthew 6:19-34In this message, part of our Red Letter Challenge Lenten series, we begin with a shocking statement: "You are rich!" How does that hit you? If you make $40,000/year, you're in the top 4% globally. If you make $48,000, you're in the top 1%. We have a quality of life few in history have experienced. Yet we live in denial about our wealth. Our garages overflow. We buy storage sheds. We fill attics and basements. We rent storage units for stuff we don't even need. Jesus said to poor Palestinian farmers: "Do not lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, but lay up treasures in heaven." Time for a spiritual health checkup on our STORAGE and our DEVOTION. "You cannot serve God and money." Not advice—a command. Your spiritual condition is critical. What are you worth to God? Everything. He laid down His life for you.🎯 Maybe you've been storing up earthly treasures that moth and rust will destroy...🎯 Maybe you're devoted to your stuff more than you realize or want to admit...🎯 Maybe it's time to discover that YOU are God's treasure—worth everything to Him.🗝️ Key Takeaways:✔️ Most of us are rich by global standards—yet we live in denial about our wealth.✔️ Jesus gives an either/or choice: serve God or serve money (mammon)—you can't do both.✔️ You are God's treasure—He laid down His life because YOU are worth everything to Him.📖 Main Scripture:Matthew 6:19-24 (Don't store treasures on earth; you cannot serve God and money)Philippians 2:7-8 (Christ emptied Himself and became obedient to death)#RedLetterChallenge #Giving #Generosity #Matthew6 #Lent #ChristianSermon #LentenSeries #Stewardship #ChristianFaith #TreasuresInHeaven

"Red Letter Challenge: Serving" | Luke 10: 25-37 In this message, part of our Red Letter Challenge Lenten series, we explore the parable of the Good Samaritan—and whether serving others feels like a "dirty job." A lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" as if there were people he WASN'T called to love. A man lay beaten and dying on the Jericho road. A priest passed by. A Levite passed by. Too dirty. Too messy. Too much involvement. "It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it... and that someone isn't me." Then came the Samaritan—the unlikely hero who bound wounds, poured oil and wine, paid for the man's care. Jesus asks, "Which one was a neighbor?" But here's the twist: WE are the man dying on the road. And Jesus is our Good Samaritan who got His hands dirty with our sins to save us.🎯 Maybe you've been treating service like a dirty job you'd rather avoid...🎯 Maybe you've passed by on the other side, afraid to get messy or involved...🎯 Maybe it's time to discover that Jesus got dirty with YOUR sins—so you could serve others freely.🗝️ Key Takeaways:✔️ The lawyer's question assumed some people AREN'T our neighbors—Jesus destroys that assumption.✔️ The priest and Levite avoided the "dirty job" of helping—we often do the same.✔️ Jesus is our Good Samaritan who dirtied Himself with our sins so we could be healed and serve.📖 Main Scripture:Luke 10:25-37 (The Good Samaritan)Isaiah 53:5 (By His wounds we are healed)

"Red Letter Challenge: Forgiving" | John 8:1-11 In this message, part of our Red Letter Challenge Lenten series, we face Jesus' hardest words: forgive. Chapter 1 of the book "Things I Wish Jesus Never Said" (that will probably never get written): Forgiveness. I love that Jesus forgives ME—but forgiving OTHERS? That's the problem. When we withhold forgiveness, we feel like we have power and control over the person who hurt us. But here's the truth: "When we choose vengeance, we are signing a blood oath to join our stories to our enemies for the rest of time." You're not controlling them—you're chaining yourself to them, dragging them through life. Who are you carrying with you right now? The ex-spouse? The parent who never believed in you? The friend who betrayed you? The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, stones in hand. Jesus said, "Let him who is without sin throw the first stone." They all walked away. So must we.🎯 Maybe you've been carrying someone with you for 20 years, thinking you have power over them...🎯 Maybe you're holding stones, waiting to throw them at someone who hurt you...🎯 Maybe it's time to drop the stones—because Jesus dropped His right to condemn you.🗝️ Key Takeaways:✔️ Unforgiveness doesn't give you power—it chains you to your enemy for the rest of time.✔️ We play three roles in this story: the Pharisee (accusing), the woman (sinful), and Jesus (forgiving).✔️ Jesus' blood covers ALL our sins—100%, not 90%—so forgiveness should flow from our lives to others.📖 Main Scripture:John 8:1-11 (The woman caught in adultery—"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone")John 3:17 (Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save it)#RedLetterChallenge #Forgiveness #John8 #Lent #ChristianSermon #LentenSeries #LetGoOfBitterness #ChristianFaith #DropTheStones #ForgiveAsChristForgave----📌 About St. Paul Lutheran ChurchFounded in 1855, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sheboygan Falls, WI, has been a steadfast beacon of faith, service, and community for over 165 years. From its early days with Reverend F. Steinbach ministering in homes to its modern ministries, St. Paul remains deeply rooted in the teachings of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).The congregation’s journey includes building its first church in 1858 and moving to its current facility in 1995. Ministry efforts extend beyond worship, including the Early Childhood Center (est. 1986) and The Gathering Place (est. 2008), which provides compassionate care for individuals with memory loss.With a mission to "Connect People to Christ by sharing His love in Word and action everywhere we are," St. Paul welcomes all to experience the love of Christ.📌 Stay Connected📺 Subscribe for more messages of faith: youtube.com/@StPaulSheboyganFalls👍 Like & Share to spread the Good News!📜 Licenses & Copyrights:Lutheran Service Book License 100010069CCLI Copyright 712799CCLI Streaming CSPL026675