Sermon: Glad Confession

Title: Glad Confession Text: Gospel: Matthew 10:5a, 21–33 Liturgical Date: Pentecost 4, Proper 7 A Calendar Date: June 21, 2026 Location: Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County Preacher: Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Jackson St. Peter’s serves Sturgeon Bay (https://doorcounty.church/communities...) and other areas in Northeast Wisconsin. Transcript Introduction: A Glad Confession of Christ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christ our Lord said these words in our Gospel lesson for today: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” On the basis of this passage, we are going to be talking about making a glad confession of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Father’s Day and the Power of the Tongue Today is Father’s Day, and when we observe Father’s Day, it is hard for me not to think of that old classic country song. I love classic country music. The song is “Daddy’s Hands.” “Daddy’s hands were soft and gentle, and Daddy’s hands were hard as steel,” and so on it goes. Certainly, when we think of fathers, we might think of hands, right? The hands that provide, the hands that protect, the hands that guide, the hands that correct, and so on. There is a lot of truth to that. But really, when it comes to fatherhood, there is another member of the body which is even more powerful than the hands. And what member of the body is that? The day is going to come — and it has already begun in my household — when these hands can’t do that guiding and correcting and protecting anymore in a physical way. The day is even going to come when these hands can’t even do any kind of providing whatsoever. In a sense, these hands will, in time, become weak. And instead, I will need protection and provision and even guidance. It is the way the world goes. So what is going to help with that provision and protection and guidance when these hands are no longer able to? It is the tongue. When I think of fatherhood as a father, the tongue is probably the most important part of the body. I would not be a father were it not, for example, for the tongue. When, twenty-three years ago, I said, “I do,” that set me on the course of being a father. And as a father, even while these hands have been important, what has been even more important is the tongue — giving words of guidance, words of instruction, words that protect from even worse enemies than those who might assault the body: from those enemies which might assault the soul, the heart (https://doorcounty.church/news/sermon...) , and the mind. Even when I am long dead and gone and in the grave, and perchance if the Lord has blessed me and prospered me, those words will continue to guide and provide and protect even while I am in the grave. Our tongue is a powerful force. It is a way of guiding our lives. It shows who we are. And on account of this, therefore, it is good for us to gladly make confession of the faith that dwells in our hearts — to gladly confess in word that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Savior from the sins that we have committed, and the one who has earned us eternal life. That is what our sermon is all about today. What “Confession” Really Means Now, as we talk about this and about making a glad confession, that choice of words might be a little bit confusing to you. Confession? Isn’t that when you say that you did something wrong? Yes, that is one definition of confession, absolutely. But there are other ways that term is used, and we are using it in one of these other senses. Another sense of the word confession is simply giving voice to what you believe, and that is the sense in which we are using “confession” today. It is a very important word for our congregation here at St. Peter’s. We are what is often called a confessional Lutheran church. What does that mean? It means that we have bound ourselves to certain statements regarding the Christian faith. They are enclosed in a book called the Book of Concord. You are most familiar with the Creeds, which are part of the Book of Concord, and also with the Small Catechism, which is also in the Book of Concord. The church as a whole has dedicated itself to that. That is a confession. And also as individuals, we are called by Christ to make glad confession about what we believe regarding Him and the work that He has accomplished for our sakes. Life Is Led by the Tongue One of the most important reasons why we ought to be glad to confess our faith is, first of all, that life is led by the tongue. There are many passages which indicate this. In Proverbs chapter 18, verses 20 and following, we find these words: “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied. He is satisfied by the yield of his lips. De...