Sermon - Trinity I, 2026 - Luke 16:19-31

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Parable of Lazarus and the Story of Job , Erhard Altdorfer, circa 1520 Two Rich Men and Lazarus The rich men of this age who are lovers of money justify themselves by their earthly riches Jesus is the Rich Man who loves mankind, and justifies others by means His heavenly riches, namely His precious blood Lazarus, the poor sick beggar, is all who desire to be fed with the crumbs that fall from Jesus’ table. Earlier in Luke 16 Jesus famously says: “ You cannot serve God and mammon.” Then shortly before telling today’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus, He explains: “ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. ” Thus, the issue of money and earthly wealth, and how we Christians are meant to treat our earthly riches, is most certainly at the forefront of today’s text. But today...
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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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