The Lutheran Hour

"Proclaim His Glory"

#92-49
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on August 3, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: John 5:30-47

Almighty God, since You have called Your church to witness that in Christ You reconciled us to Yourself, grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may proclaim the Good News of Your salvation, that all who hear it may receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. (“Lutheran Worship,” collect 102).

I recently heard William Willimon speak. He’s dean of the chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke University. Dean Willimon asked if we had ever wondered why the pews in churches are bolted down. His answer? They’re bolted down because you need to hang on because of what happens in church. You shouldn’t leave church the same person who came in. Hang on, because what you hear will change the story of your life.

Every now and then I get letters complaining that I tell stories in these messages. Life is about the stories of people. Your life is a collection of day-in and day-out stories that are being put together in one important volume: “The Story of Your Life.” Yes, of course, we need the Word of God, but face the obvious fact: that Word is filled with the stories of people and the greatest story of the Bible is that God put skin on. The coming of Jesus Christ is God putting skin on to save you. So, hang on! When you go to church, you can expect Him to change the story of your life.

The story of your life should not be the same as the stuff of your life. By “stuff” I mean the things that happen in your life: going to school, falling in love, getting married, having children or living a single life; getting a job, losing a job, retiring from a job; being healthy, being sick; having a good marriage, having a troubled marriage; having money, wanting money. These things are the “stuff” of life. Too often we resign ourselves to whatever happens to us. We shouldn’t. The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “Men are disturbed not by things that happen, but by their opinions of the things that happen.” The stuff that happens in your life should not become the story of your life.

Take, for example, Aaron Montgomery Ward. Late last year newspapers reported that the firm he founded was closing after 128 years in business. You and I would never have heard of Wards if Aaron Montgomery Ward thought the stuff of life was the story. Ward was a travelling salesman for a St. Louis dry goods company. He became convinced he could sell merchandise through the mail. That was as revolutionary in the 19th century as e-commerce has been in ours. Ward used his money, and probably borrowed a good chunk, too, to build up an inventory for his new mail-order business. He stored that inventory in a warehouse in Chicago. The year was 1871. Does that year and the mention of Chicago suggest anything to you historians? In 1871 Chicago burned to the ground. Over 17,000 buildings were destroyed, and Aaron Montgomery Ward’s inventory went up in smoke. If he had let that become the story of his life, you and I would never have heard of Wards. But Aaron Montgomery Ward started over and pioneered the mail-order business.

Some stuff in your life is good; other stuff is bad. The pews are bolted down because God is coming at you to turn your story—there’s the key word for this sermon—God is coming at you to “turn” your stuff into a great story. I chose the word “turn” for a reason. The more popular word these days is “spin.” “Spin City.” “Spin doctors.” The word “spin” suggests an outlook that may not be true. But when God turns the stuff of your life for good, it’s real.

The “turn” suggests repentance, which in the languages of the Bible is a turning, a turning away from sin and to God. Sin is bad stuff, evil stuff. Sin is breaking God’s commands by what we say, think, or do. Sin is all about us because it multiplies. For example, King David coveted his neighbor’s wife. Sin multiplies. He committed adultery with her. Sin multiplies. He murdered her husband. Sin is all about us. Sometimes we feel the effects of sin even when we have not committed some specific sin. A person driving according to the rules is hit and killed by a drunk driver. Or you may have perfect health habits but a debilitating, even fatal disease strikes you through no fault of your own. Ours is a broken, imperfect world. Sin fills our lives with bad stuff.
But God turns this. That’s the great glory of God to us sinners. God’s great glory is that He sent His willing Son Jesus to the cross to forgive all your sins and to break the power of sin in your life. You can overcome guilty feelings, and you don’t have to stay stuck in wrong conduct. And Jesus rose on Easter, replacing despair with real hope and emptying death of its power, offering us life. This Jesus says, “Come, unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden” with the stuff of life. This Jesus says, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Jesus is coming at you! Not in a bad, threatening way. He didn’t come into the world to condemn the world. He’s coming at you to take the stuff of your life and turn it into a great story. We know that the Word of Christ never returns void. So, hang on!

That seems unbelievable. And it would be if it weren’t for the fact that the words of Jesus are spirit and life. In the Good News of Christ God gives us the faith we need. Like the God who gives it, Christian faith is living and active. Because it is, the power of God in faith enables you to start shaping your own story. As a Christian you are a story-maker, a positive story-maker. It’s that lemon thing, you know: Life gives you a lemon, you turn it into lemonade. Life gives you a stumbling block, and you turn it into a stepping stone. Why shouldn’t the Gospel produce this result-that you shape the stuff of your life into a positive story? “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” St. Paul asked in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The power of God that is active in the Gospel of Jesus Christ can take the stuff of your life and turn it into a great story and a real story. No spin here!

Now what good is a story if you can’t tell it? My daughter Katie called me the other day on her cell phone. She was ecstatic because she had gotten a great sale price on some clothes. That’s the way it is for all of us. Everyone has a story to tell. And that’s the way it is with people whose lives have been turned around by God. It’s like the apostles said, “We cannot but help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). But let me now make one more point using this word “turn.” When you and I tell our faith stories, let’s make sure that sooner or later we turn the focus away from ourselves and to Jesus Christ. The psalmist said, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us but unto Thy Name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth’s sake” (Psalm 115:1). In other words, proclaim His glory, not ours.

That problem of getting hung up on our own selves showed up many times in Jesus’ conversations with His religious opponents. In John 5, for example, Jesus is talking at—He’s not talking with—He’s talking at His opponents and telling them they are wrong not to accept Him as the Messiah. “You search the Scriptures,” He said, but not to find the story of Me, your Savior. You are religious, He granted them, but your religion is simply a way for you to promote your own glory in the eyes of others. The religion you are practicing has nothing to do with the religion God wants from you. You’ve had John the Baptist, Jesus said. You’ve seen My miracles, He said, and still it’s all about you, isn’t it?

Here are some of Jesus’ exact words from John 5: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. I do not accept praise from men but I know you. I know you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” Again, those words of Jesus to His opponents are from John 5.

The fact you are listening to this program tells me you are not an opponent of Jesus. However, we Christians can fall into a similar trap. Talking about our lives, our Christian walk, and not turning—there’s that word again—not turning the focus toward Jesus. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t talk about our lives. Every merchant knows that a satisfied customer can be most convincing. St. Paul, for example, often wrote about his own experiences. We can do that too, for the incarnation of Jesus Christ is about God changing human stories. And so, your story is worth telling. I’m simply saying, don’t stop with your story, with your Christian experience. Sooner or later, turn the focus onto the goodness of God in Jesus Christ. It’s the Word of Christ, not your experience, the Word of Christ woven into your story through which God can come to others.
Two years ago I attended a large gathering of Christian communicators. One of the functions of this gathering was to honor my predecessor on this program, Dr. Oswald Hoffmann. I’ve been on this program for 12 years, but many of you can still hear his voice clearly and fondly in your memories. Now it happened that I was walking with Dr. and Mrs. Hoffmann to the banquet hall where he was to be honored. As we walked he asked me how things were going. “Fine,” I replied and then added, “You know, I’ve noticed something about this gathering.”
“Oh, what’s that?” he asked with his unique voice.
“I’ve noticed that they talk a lot about the Lord’s work that they are doing, but I haven’t heard anyone talk simply about the Lord.”
“Is that right?” he replied and said nothing more. So much for my observation, I thought.

Later Dr. Hoffmann was honored and gave a short response. He told a couple of his favorite jokes and then, guess what? He said nothing, absolutely nothing about the Lord’s work, but he spoke wonderfully about Jesus. He got two standing ovations. The place was rocking—not for him but for the clear presentation of the goodness of God that comes to us in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Of course, we are to search the Scriptures, but we search them for Jesus, for the One who turns the stuff of our lives into the great story of salvation. And yes, it is good to tell our real life religious stories. God help more of us to speak the faith that is in us! But we are storytellers who strive to turn our listeners to the Gospel. Proclaim His glory, not ours. That’s why we bolt down the pews in church. Amen.

Reflections for August 3, 2025
Title: Proclaim His Glory

Mark Eischer: To start things off, here’s Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.

Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. Also with us here is Dr. Ryan Tinetti. He is a professor at Concordia Seminary. Thanks for joining us, Ryan.

Ryan Tinetti: Yeah, happy to.

Mike Zeigler: Ryan, we are officially somewhere in the dog days of summer. It’s hot in St. Louis. What do you think of the dog days of summer? What’s that like for you?

Ryan Tinetti: When I think about the dog days, I’m a big baseball fan, and baseball’s a long season and by the time you get to August, the playoffs aren’t quite yet in view, but also you’re far past opening day and all the joy and the possibility of what’s going to happen, and it’s just one game after another.

Mike Zeigler: Yeah. Slogging through it.

Ryan Tinetti: Slogging through, and sometimes life can feel that way, too. It’s just one day after another, one task you got to do. We’re not quite yet to the beginning of the school year, but the joy of the beginning of summer maybe has worn on us a little bit, and yeah, all the stuff that’s going on.

Mike Zeigler: And it’s humid in St. Louis, it’s hot.

Ryan Tinetti: It is that.

Mike Zeigler: Yeah. Pastor Tinetti and I are going to be something like tour guides for you. So, maybe your summer vacations are already behind you, but we’re going to take a tour through some sermons here on The Lutheran Hour, sermons that span over five decades, as early as 1963 up till a more present time. And so we’re going to listen along with you, but also point some things out along the way. Today we have a sermon from Dr. Dale Meyer who was the president of Concordia Seminary when Ryan and I were studying there. And we look forward to talking with you more about the sermon. But that’s a theme we’d like you to listen for in this is the stuff of life and what do you do when you’re just grinding it out, slogging through. So, here’s Dr. Meyer.

(Conversation picks up again after the sermon)

Mark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. It’s Archives August, and we heard a classic message from Dr. Dale Meyer, first broadcast in February 2001. By the way, you can find this and other previous broadcasts, along with lots of other FREE resources online, at our website: lutheranhour.org. Now, more reflection on today’s message with Dr. Michael Zeigler and his guest, Professor Ryan Tinetti.

Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. As Dr. Meyer said in that sermon, we look to Jesus because He’s the one who can take the stuff of our life when we’re just grinding it out, slogging through, He can take all that and turn it into a story, the story of God, the story of salvation. Pastor Ryan, when we look at the Bible and the story, the big story of the Bible, it’s mostly the Old Testament. So, about how much would you say is the Old Testament?

Ryan Tinetti: I think it’s about three quarters of the Bible is the Old Testament, actually.

Mike Zeigler: All right. But we’re focused on Jesus, right? As Christians, as followers of Jesus. Why do Christians still care about the Old Testament, or should care?

Ryan Tinetti: Old Testament, New Testament. The Old Testament does it in different ways, but ultimately it’s all pointing us to Christ Jesus and filling out the picture of who He is and what He has done for us. For us to get the fullest grasp of the meaning of the redemption that we have in Jesus, we need to read the Old Testament. Otherwise it’s like you’re coming into a movie three quarters of the way through and maybe you can grasp the storyline and what’s significant and when it comes to the climax, you still get a feel for the meaning of it, but you’re not going to have the depth of appreciation unless you’ve started at the beginning and heard and seen all the things that God has done through history.

Mike Zeigler: “All these testify of Me, you search the Scriptures because in them you think you have life,” but they’re all pointing to Me.

Ryan Tinetti: Yeah. And so in reading those stories, the different episodes that show up in the Bible, we are getting anticipations and foreshadowings already of the main Character, the Hero of our Lord Jesus when He steps onto the stage in full through His incarnation and, you know, Christmas and onward, that now with all of those little stories, we see how they are building up to and pointing toward the big story.

Mike Zeigler: You mentioned the little stories, the episodes, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I’m preparing to do a series for The Lutheran Hour in September on the book of Numbers, and the book of Numbers is kind of like that. It’s just a lot of episodes and a lot of “stuff.” How do we, as a reader of the Old Testament, if I’m a Christian, I want to see how the Old Testament leads me to Jesus, but I’m in the middle of it, and it’s just a bunch of stuff, one thing after another. How do we make sense of that?

Ryan Tinetti: It’s an important question because you can get lost in, as we often say, losing the forest for the trees, or if you will, losing the capital “S” big Story for the little episodes, the little stories that are in there. Because there’s all of these different stories from the Old Testament that you might have in the back of your mind, certainly David and Goliath, Noah and the ark, and on and on it goes. I’ve been helped by a theologian by the name of Christopher Wright who provides a kind of classification. He says, you might think of it as there’s all of those different episodes, if you will, those lowercase “s” stories that the things that we’re kind of alluding to there, of David and Goliath, and so on. But then there are what he calls the mega stories or the bigger narratives. So this might be something like the life of Moses or the story of the people of Israel from exodus to the promised land. But then ultimately all of those are incorporated into, they fall under the capital “S,” big Story of God working out in Scriptures and through history of what He’s doing in the world for the redemption of creation, for bringing us to Himself.

Mike Zeigler: So there’s that big S story. This is the creation account, the fall into sin, falling away from God, rebellion. There is a salvation story that starts, and then ultimately leading to new creation, new heavens and new earth. That’s what you mean when you say Big S story.

Ryan Tinetti: Yeah, I mean you might think of it as the story as the Creeds tell it if you’re familiar with the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed. In a sense they are a confession of faith of course. But in a sense they’re also telling the story of the God who created, the God who acted to save and redeem through His Son, and the God who is now renewing, sanctifying, making holy, and making new all things through the power of His Spirit. And so, thinking of that big picture story in those creedal terms can be helpful, too.

Mike Zeigler: I like the phrase “mega blocks,” kind of like the foundational accounts, and these would be the big—like salvation is defined through them, like the exodus becomes a way that people understand salvation in the Old Testament, the exile, out of exile in Babylon back to the promised land. These are the big mega blocks.

Ryan Tinetti: Yes, that’s right. And so it can be helpful at those different levels like when you’re reading a particular episode in the Old Testament—well, where does this fit in? Again, think of Gideon. Where does this fit in within the judges and the larger work of God bringing His people into the promised land? You read the story of David, a particular episode of David’s life, but where does it fit into the whole sweep of what God’s doing in David and in his kingship and ultimately pointing forward to the Messiah? So, seeing those different levels I think is helpful for us then to see the big picture of what God’s up to.

Mike Zeigler: Grinding it out, slogging through it in those everyday events, we want to understand ultimately how God is still at work today in our lives.

Ryan Tinetti: What looks to us as though it could be just one thing after another is ultimately those little moments that God takes and amount to the story of our lives, which then are grafted into the great story that He is working out through history. We don’t know how these little moments are ultimately going to amount to much more, but God does. He’s the One who works all things together for the good of those that love Him. And I think that’s the confidence that we can have in our Lord who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

Mike Zeigler: Amen.

Music Selections for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Crucifer” by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Glory Be to God the Father” arr. William B. Heyne. From Hope by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 2003 Concordia Seminary Chorus)
“Gracious God, You Bring Great Blessings” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.