Witness Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck February 9, 2021

Blog Speech, Witness

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Who’s Listening In?

Who's Listening In?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” – Ephesians 4:29

Have you ever had someone eavesdrop on a conversation?

In yesterday’s devotion, I wrote about the importance of controlling our tongue when talking to others. The tongue can heal or destroy. So, we need to be careful. However, it’s not just the people who we are talking to whom we need to consider.

Little Listening Ears
A while back, someone told me about a friend of theirs who had recently made a dramatic change to how they spoke. Their friend, a relatively new father, had told him that he hadn’t realized how much he cussed until his new son’s first word was a cuss word. He said he heard his son say a certain word and he was taken ashamed. He realized he needed to change his language right then.

Most parents have probably experienced something like that. Maybe it’s a cuss word. Maybe it’s the way they speak to someone. Kids are amazing mirrors of language and behavior.

Watch What You Say
In Ephesians 4:29 we are warned about how we speak. Unwholesome talk is a bit vague, but I think that’s the point. If it said, “no cuss words,” we would feel free to make crude jokes or say something demeaning. By keeping it vague it covers a variety of inappropriate or unhelpful speech.

The passage refers to “those who listen.” This can, of course, refer to the people you are speaking to, but it can also refer to others who you don’t even realize are listening. We never know the effect we will have on those who overhear what we say. Here, again, the words can be healing or damaging to those people as well.

Not So Little Listening Ears
It’s not just kids who we need to think about. The world is listening. People who don’t know Jesus are listening. People who are new to the faith are listening. People who are hurt or struggling are listening.

We have an opportunity to both speak and demonstrate the love of Christ into their lives even without even speaking directly to them. When they hear words of encouragement or forgiveness or love, they see (or hear) Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

Guide my conversations that they would be uplifting, not only to the people I am speaking to, but anyone around who may overhear.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck October 16, 2020

Blog evangelism, Witness

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The Garden of Saints

What do you do to grow the kingdom of God?

There was once a farmer…

“He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’” – Mark 4:26-29

Who Grows God’s Kingdom?

We often feel responsible for growing the Kingdom of God, but are we really the ones who grow God’s Kingdom? In this parable, Jesus is telling us that while we are the ones who are to go out and spread the seed of the Gospel, we don’t do the growing.

That’s His job.

After all, it is “God’s” kingdom, not ours. We can surely spread the seed of the Gospel, but it is God who works through His Word to create faith and grow His Kingdom.

What a relief it is for us!

We don’t have to figure out which people are good soil or which are bad. We don’t even have to be conservative with the seed. Spread the Gospel all over the place! And, we aren’t the ones who must convince people to have faith. That is the work of the Spirit.

What About Once a Person Has Faith?

That’s God, too. Once someone has faith, we can’t make them grow in their faith. God does that. And that work couldn’t be in better hands. That said, we can do some things to help water and tend to people’s faith. We can continue to share the Word together. We can worship together. We can encourage, correct, and build each other up. However, in the end. It’s still God’s work to grow people’s faith.

So, feel free and unburdened!

You get the easy part. Just love people and tell them about Jesus. Then let the master gardener do His work.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving us Your Word and working through that Word to grow your kingdom. Please forgive me for the times I didn’t trust you to do your work and tried to take Kingdom growth into my own hands. Please cause Your Word to go forth throughout the world so that all may hear and believe. And, as you taught us to pray, I pray that Thy Kingdom Come.

Amen

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck October 8, 2020

Blog Boldness, evangelism, Witness

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Removing Hindrances

“He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” – Acts 28:31

What hinders you from serving God or telling others about Him?

The passage above is how the book of Acts ends. What a way to end it!!

The Apostle Paul had endured many hardships in his ministry,

He was rejected by his people (the Jews)
Shipwrecked
Sent to prison
Beaten
Threatened with the death penalty.

Through all this Paul spoke about Jesus the same as it describes here at the end of Acts, boldly and without hindrance.

What do we allow to hinder us in our witness?

How often are we timid instead of bold?

Yet, hear the reassurance Paul gave to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 1,

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Paul isn’t just telling Timothy not to be afraid, he’s telling him the Spirit who lives in him, and in all of us, is not timid or afraid. He’s telling him that the Spirit will embolden us to speak if we let Him. This is significant. Paul isn’t saying, “Try harder!” or “Dig deep and muster the strength.” He’s saying Timothy may be afraid, but God’s Spirit isn’t. Rely on the Spirit and get all hindrances out of the way.

Hindrances prevent us from acting according to the Holy Spirit. These hindrances may be…

Fear
Busy-ness
Sin
Laziness
and more.

What hinders you?

Take a few minutes to pray and reflect on your life. What do you think is hindering you from speaking boldly about Jesus? What can you do to remove those hindrances from your life?

Pray that God would give you opportunities to tell others about Jesus and pray that He would make you bold in those moments, not of your own strength, but through the power of the Spirit.

Dear Jesus,
Before You ascended, You said that it was good that You would leave because You would then send your Spirit. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Transform me by Your Spirit, especially in regards to sharing the Gospel. Prepare opportunities for me to speak to others about You and then make me bold in those moments by the power of Your Spirit so that I may speak about You boldly and without hindrance.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck September 26, 2020

Blog evangelism, Witness

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Tell Me Your Story

“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” – Mark 5:18-20

Do you feel like you don’t know how to tell others about Jesus?

Telling others about Jesus is one of the greatest things we can do. Sadly, it’s also the one thing most Christians find to be the scariest thing they do (or don’t do).

Why Are We Afraid?

I think our fear of sharing the Gospel usually comes from two things, the fear the message will be rejected and the fear that we will mess up the message.

The Fear That The Message Will Be Rejected:
No one wants to feel rejected, however, I have great comfort for you. The Bible tells us over and over it is God who creates faith in people, not the person sharing the Gospel nor even the person hearing the Gospel.

We share the message and God does the rest.

The Scriptures also tell us that God’s Word will not return void. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the person will become a faithful Christian, but it does mean God will work in their heart.

So, we don’t have to fear because it’s not up to us to “convert” the person and we can trust that God will do what He promises.

What if I mess up the message?

The basic Gospel message is actually pretty simple. We all sin. Jesus died on the cross so we can be forgiven. If we believe in Jesus we will be saved.

Sometimes, however, we think the message needs to be more complex. It doesn’t. We can simply share our story and that simple Gospel truth and let God do His work!

Don’t Force Your Beliefs On Me!

We’ve all heard this said. Maybe not in person, but certainly on TV. Sometimes when sharing the Gospel, we can feel like we are overstepping our bounds; but isn’t it interesting that we don’t feel like that when we talk about our favorite movie or band or what we did over the weekend.

These are normal things to talk about as we share our lives with others. So is talking about the most important thing in your life. That’s what the demon-possessed man did in our passage.

Sharing our lives with others can often be the easiest way to share the Gospel. We’re not trying to sell something, just share what Jesus has done. By sharing how God has worked in your life, it can take the “sales-y-ness” away and make it simply talking about what’s going on in your life and how Jesus affects that.

So, what’s your story?

Dear Jesus,

You have done so much in my life. Rid me of the fear of talking about You to others. Help me to feel as comfortable talking about You as I do my weekend plans and may others come to believe in You by hearing about You.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck September 24, 2020

Blog evangelism, Imitating Jesus, Witness

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Imitators and Modelers

“You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Who is your hero?

Who do you try to imitate in life?

We all have people we look up to, people who we try to emulate in our lives or at least in some aspect of our lives. Jesus is the ultimate person to look up to.

How do we imitate Jesus in our lives?

There are several ways we can imitate Jesus.

Pray regularly
Be humble
Proclaim the Kingdom of God to unbelievers
Teach others about God
etc.

There is one other way we may imitate Jesus that we may not have thought about…and may not like very much. No, it’s not turning water into wine at parties or walking on water (though that would be cool).

It’s through suffering.

The members of the church in Thessalonica were experiencing great suffering for their faith. Yet, they experienced that suffering with joy. They understood that the Gospel was worth their suffering, both for themselves and so others could hear about Jesus.

Jesus knows suffering. Jesus’ ministry was marked repeatedly by suffering. He was mocked, ridiculed, harassed, and plotted against by the people He came to save, no less. Ultimately, He was falsely accused, tried, and found guilty. He was beaten and spit upon and had a crown of thorns shoved onto His head. Then He was nailed to a cross where He continued to suffer and die.

The church at Thessalonica, like many others at that time and even still today, imitated Christ in His suffering and modeled humility, patience, and even joy, like Christ, in their suffering.

They shined the light of Christ through their suffering.

Sometimes we can feel like we are being punished when we suffer, but the truth is that, sometimes, it is in our suffering that we shine the brightest. When we go through hardship, especially for the sake of Christ, people see that. It’s like a light in a dark place.

That witness can change lives just like Christ’s suffering changed our lives.

Dear Jesus,

May I be more and more like You every day. If that means suffering, help me to suffer with humility, patience, and joy, imitating You that Your light might shine into the lives of those around me.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck July 24, 2020

Blog evangelism, Witness

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Shining Like the Moon

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Do you feel qualified to the “light of the world?”

I don’t know about you, but I feel very comfortable saying Jesus is the light of the world. He’s the Son of God. He was perfect. He died for the sins of the world.

I feel less comfortable saying I am the light of the world. I’m an ordinary human. I sin all the time. I’ve never laid down my life for anyone and even struggle at times to even show love to some people.

Yet, in our passage from Matthew, it’s Jesus talking. He says we are the light of the world. He doesn’t lie or just say something because it sounds nice.

We are the light of the world!

Why, Shining like the Moon?
Did the title of today’s post confuse you? Why not say, “Shining like the Sun?”

The moon is not in and of itself a light source. Rather, it reflects the light of the sun. Similarly, it’s not our light we shine into the world. We reflect the light of Jesus.

The moon also isn’t very reflective. It’s not like a mirror or even a well-polished, flat stone. It’s a dirty rock with lots of dust and all kinds of bumps, crevices, and angles. It has all the reflectivity of a dirty old tire.

Yet, it can light up the night. On a clear night with a full moon, you can see pretty clearly, even see great distances. That’s how powerful the light of the sun is.

We are a lot like the moon.

We have plenty of dirt and bumps and dark areas. We don’t do a great job of reflecting Jesus’ light. Yet, the Son’s light is powerful. Even reflecting off dirty old tires like us, it can light up the darkness of someone’s life. It can help them see Jesus and find salvation.

You Are the Light of the World
Jesus said it and it’s true. You, even you, are the light of the world. You can show Jesus’ love. You can share God’s Word. You can proclaim the Gospel. You can light people’s lives up with the light of Jesus and people’s lives will be changed.

So, let your light shine. You can even let people know you aren’t a great reflector. After all, they are dirty tires, too. Maybe they need to hear that Jesus loves people unworthy, dirty old tires, too.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for saving me, though I know I am not worthy. Help me to shine with Your light in my life that others may see You and come to know You as I do.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck May 31, 2020

Blog evangelism, love, Witness

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You Never Know

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” – Colossians 4:5-6

When is the best time to share the Gospel with someone?

Because of the way the church sometimes talks about evangelism as this unique thing that we set out to do, we often think of evangelism as something we do on occasion and may even find ourselves wondering, when is the right time to evangelize.

This way of thinking about evangelism has also raised the anxiety level for most people when it comes to the idea. For some, it becomes such a scary thought that they never really want to do it. For others, it becomes a burden because they don’t feel like they are doing it enough (or at all) and they feel guilty.

What if we thought differently about evangelism?

What if evangelism isn’t this separate thing that we do occasionally (or never)?

What if it’s something we do all the time in everything we do?

That’s the idea we see in Colossians 4:5-6. Have wisdom in your interactions. Let your speech be gracious. Season your interactions with salt. Salt makes food taste better. Let your interactions with others “taste” better so people feel good about being around you.

All of these things are part of our witness. They show that we care about others, we have wisdom, and it makes people want to be around us and talk to us. Think of it the opposite way. If someone is always rude or foolish or you always feel your stomach tighten when they come around, are you going to want to hear them talk about Jesus? Are you going to ask them? I don’t think so.

Sent: A Month of Mission
In June we are focusing on Mission in the midst of the pandemic. Things are starting to open up, but there is still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. People still (as they always do) need Jesus. I want to encourage you to find ways to engage with others over the next month. It may be online. It may be in person. It may be with a gift or a note or and offer to listen.

Let’s be intentional about finding ways to share the love of Jesus with others this month and see what God does in those people’s lives…and in our lives.

Give it a try.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. See what happens. If the opportunity arises where you can share Jesus or, better yet, they ask you why you’re so kind, etc. Tell them it’s because Jesus loves you and Jesus loves them.

Heavenly Father,

Help me to love others and in loving others have the opportunity to share Jesus with them.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck March 11, 2020

Blog evangelism, Having an Answer, Witness

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The Scary 10 Letter Word!

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” – 1 Peter 3:15

What do you think when you hear the word, “evangelism?”

For a lot of us, it’s a scary word. We think of people yelling on the street corner or awkward forced conversations. These may have their place, but what we are encouraged to in 1 Peter is more natural and gentle.

1 Peter describes us responding to the question of why we have hope or why we act the way we do. It’s just having an answer when we are asked. You can do that!

We are also told to give that answer in gentleness and respect. We aren’t beating people up with the Gospel, we are kindly telling them of what Jesus did so they can have life. You can do that, too!

Take a few minutes to think about how you would respond if someone asked why you have hope.

Heavenly Father,

You have saved me. You have given me hope and a way to live that shows love to others. When people ask me why, give me the boldness to tell them about You. Give me the words to say and help me to speak lovingly and gently.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck February 12, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Witness

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Witnessing at Work

Being a Witness at Work

God blesses us with both the ability to work and the opportunity to work. These blessings are not just for us, though. They are also for those whom we serve and for those who see the light of Christ in us. Which brings up the question…

How do I share Jesus at work?

The first way we shine the light of Christ in the workplace is through our actions. When we work hard, go the extra mile to serve others, have integrity, and treat others with kindness and respect regardless of their position or demeanor, we shine. Similarly, when our language, jokes, etc. are appropriate and not coarse, demeaning or hurtful, we shine. When we help our coworkers, forgive them, and speak highly of them to others and avoid gossip and trashing others, we shine.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

Usually, when people ask about how to witness at work, they are referring specifically to talking to others about Jesus. This is good to do as well, but we first need to consider our actions as mentioned above. If we are dishonest or hurtful, etc., it will affect our ability to witness to others with our words.

That said, it’s good to endeavor to talk with others about Jesus. However, in our current culture, we have to be conscious and creative about how we do this. Even though we live in a country with freedom of religion, some companies treat talking about religion as harassment. So, here are some tips about talking about Jesus with others at or from your workplace.

It shouldn’t interfere with your work. Understanding our job as a vocation/calling from God helps here. We shouldn’t neglect our job or allow evangelism to interfere with our work. As an extreme example, if you are a salesman in a clothing store, you don’t greet customers with, “Do you believe in Jesus?” Serve them by helping them find clothes.

Pray. God is the one who creates faith. Pray for your coworkers. Pray for yourself.

Develop relationships. Sharing about Jesus can be done with a complete stranger, but people are usually more willing to listen when you first have a relationship with them. Shine through your actions, kindness, and friendliness. Develop relationships. Maybe even extend those relationships to doing things outside of work. Within those relationships look for ways to talk about Jesus.

Ask for permission. I don’t mean from your boss. Rather, if you are talking with a coworker at lunch and a subject comes up where there is a good opportunity to talk about Jesus, ask if they mind if you talk about your faith. For example, a coworker mentions that they can’t believe how you can be friendly with your manager even though he’s disagreeable most of the time. You respond, “Well, it’s because I believe in Jesus. Do you mind if I explain how Jesus changes how I treat our manager?” Most people will say they don’t mind. That opens up the conversation and prevents many misunderstandings.

Know your rights. Some companies have an unspoken (or maybe spoken) no-religion rule. They may caution employees or flat-out tell them not to talk about religion or they may be fired. Your religious freedoms do extend into the workplace, though there are nuances. Take a little time to understand your rights. This article can be helpful. https://aclj.org/free-speech-2/christian-rights-in-the-workplace If you run into issues from talking about Jesus, pray for wisdom and respond respectfully.

God bless!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck February 11, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Witness, Work

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Week 2 – Jesus in Our Workplace

Week 2 - Jesus in our workplace

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL
Sermon for February 9, 2020
Pastor Kurt Steinbrueck

Series Overview:

This is the second week of the sermon series, “Jesus in Our Lives.” This series takes a practical look at how having Jesus in our lives changes our lives. How does Jesus change our perspectives, attitudes, and actions?

The series will look at Jesus in four contexts of our lives:

Home
Work
School (both parents and students)
and Neighborhoods.

Today’s message focused on Jesus in Our Workplace.

How does believing in Jesus change our perspective, attitude, and behavior at work?

Click the above link to watch the message. This week was a dinner service at Faith. So, the message was more of a conversion.

Below are some sermon notes:

Sermon Text:

Ephesians 6:5-9
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Work is a blessing.
The Bible doesn’t distinguish between church work and secular work. All work is a calling from God in which we serve others to bring glory to God’s name.
Understanding our work is a calling from God and we are serving Him in that work changes our perspective of our job. It gives us purpose and mission. We can deal with less-than-pleasant bosses, co-workers, and customers because we are doing it for Jesus.
This also affects our behavior which means we may act differently than others. How?
We work hard and go the extra mile. (Sidenote: We work hard, but find a good balance between work, family, and health)
We are honest, even when it’s hard.
We take a stand against things at work that are contrary to God’s Word. For example, if our sales manager tells us to lie about a product to sell more. We refuse.
We know that God is bigger than our job. He is with us when we work and, if we lose our job, He will carry us through that situation as well.
We treat all people with respect and dignity, trying to help them, not stomping over them for our benefit. This includes, especially, those who are in lower positions.
All these behaviors shine the light of Jesus.
We also look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus, but we do so carefully (considering our current cultural environment) and without compromising our work.
In all these things, we give thanks to God for the blessing of work, His provision through our job, and our opportunity to serve others in His name.

God bless!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Visit us at https://faithwesleychapel.com/
Follow us at facebook.com/FaithWesleyChapel/

Join us for worship this Sunday at 4 pm.

We use the dance studio at Song and Dance to hold worship services.

Song and Dance, Inc.
27221 Foamflower Blvd.
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544

See you Sunday and God bless!

For more sermon videos please visit our Service Archive.

Witness

Who's Listening In?

The Garden of Saints

Removing Hindrances

Tell Me Your Story

Imitators and Modelers

Shining Like the Moon

You Never Know

The Scary 10 Letter Word!

Being a Witness at Work

Week 2 - Jesus in our workplace

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL