Sermon - Calov Conference Sermon 2026 - Psalm 91

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Isenheim Altarpiece, Matthias Grunewald, 1512 Trust in the Lord and Look upon the Savior God delivers us through the blood of Jesus Christ He ordains the angels to lift us up He intentionally directs us to walk in danger for the sake of our faith After Absalom killed Amnon he fled. Joab directed a theatrical scene between David and a pretend widow, in order to convince David to welcome Absalom back to Jerusalem. In this dramatic scene, the actress recites a powerful line: “ We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and He devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. ” What a rich illustration she uses of water spilled on the ground. Two other times in the book of Samuel water is poured on the ground. Once when Samuel is judge, after the ark has returned to Jerusalem, he pours water upon the ground as a sign of repentance. A second time David pours the water on the ground when his m...
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Let the Children Come to Me - Emmetsburg Newspaper Article - May 5th, 2022

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Here are a couple sobering numbers: Approximately 800,000+ abortions are performed yearly in the United States. About 3,500 abortions take place here in Iowa each year. About as many people as live in Emmetsburg are killed before birth in Iowa. More people than live in Des Moines are killed yearly in the United States. 

The Total Fertility Rate (children a woman has in her lifetime) for the US was right at replacement rate (2.1) in 2008, but now we’re at 1.64. How exactly this will impact our nation is unknown, but it won’t be pretty. Just consider how many things have changed here in our county since 1940 when our population was 16,000, to today when our population is 9,000.

These numbers reveal something about us and our nation: children are not our priority. But they are for Jesus: “They were bringing even infants to Jesus that He might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him, saying, “Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.””

Jesus loves children so much that He went to the cross to die for them and win God’s kingdom for them. The world is filled with darkness and evil, but children make this life brighter. All of our wealth can be easily lost, but our children are the one thing we can take with us. When we’re sick or dying we want to be surrounded by our kids. Children are a heritage from the Lord; they should neither be killed in the womb nor prevented, but welcomed and received with joy!

In Christ,

Rev. John Henry Koopman


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