COVID - 19 Update - Due to the Executive Order issued by Governor Abbot, all church meetings will be cancelled until April 30th unless stated otherwise by the church. Online services will be available here on the website and also on the church Facebook page. We will continue to monitor the situation and notify you if things change.

The Crowd or the Cross? - Pastor Diedrich Harms

Aug 9, 2026  •  Pastor Diedrich Harms

Luke 15 opens with Jesus surrounded by two kinds of people, the ones pointing fingers and criticizing, and the sinners and tax collectors coming near to hear him. The question becomes, is a person with the crowd, or standing with Jesus at the cross? The crowd feels safer, because it agrees and does not cost much, but the cross calls a person to stand with Christ even when others look, cough, or criticize.


The lost sheep shows how little people can understand the value of a soul if there is no rejoicing when one lost person is found. The lost silver piece shows something precious that is gone, and the woman understands what it means to be lost. She sweeps through every crack until she finds it, then calls the neighbor ladies to rejoice with her. Jesus says there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents, and that joy should also be found among God's people when somebody accepts the Lord.


The father with two sons shows the grace of God in a way that is hard to understand. The younger son asks for his portion, and the father gives it, even though the son is rebellious. God gives grace, and even people living deep in sin still live under his mercy. The son goes into a far country, spends everything in reckless living, and ends up hungry in a pigpen, wanting the food that pigs eat.


The turning point comes when the son comes to himself. His confession has no excuses, no blaming his dad, no saying other people made him do it. He says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” That is one of the hardest things for a person to say, but it is the place where turning around begins.


The father does not chase the rebellious son and drag him home, because the son did not want to be home. But when the son changes and comes back, the father runs to him, kisses him, and does not say, “You stink.” The robe, the ring, the shoes, and the fatted calf all say that he is accepted as a son, not a hired servant. Forgiveness is not earned by worthiness. God forgives when sin is confessed, and First John 1:9 says he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness. The forgiven person must then fill the house with God's word, fellowship, and testimony, so the empty place does not become worse than before.