¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:17-18)

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost is September 24^th, and the first two verses of the Epistle assigned for that day are from James, chapter one, which are written above. It should be a memorable day for all the members of Trinity, for that is the day we will dedicate our new office building. The theme chosen for that day is a paraphrase from the first phrase of verse 17: “Every good and perfect gift is from God!”

Think of the good gift of God that went into the church’s building committee as the concept was fleshed out. Think of the good gift of God that went into the architectural and engineering design of the building. Think of the good gift of God that went into its construction. Think of the good gift of God through the resources expended on it. Think of the good gift of God in all the prayers offered up by so many people on its behalf. Think of the good gift of God in having it finished and being able to use it for the benefit of so many of our members and guests. And think of the good gifts of God that will still be coming even in the midst of all the angst and challenges and planning that still lay ahead as our congregation works toward debt reduction and maintaining the facility. In all these things, we can truly say: “Every good gift is from God!”

The problem is that oftentimes it is hard, if not impossible, for us to see God’s good gifts in life. Worry does that. Bills do that. Our sinful perception of what is good for us does that. The sinful idea that we are the owners and masters of all that we have and do in life does that. More often than not, we only want to see God’s good gifts in the positives of life and not in the negatives. But Scripture is clear in countering that human perception as St. Paul writes in Romans 8:28.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

You see, it really was not our purpose, as in the members of Trinity, who decided to build our new office building anymore than it was your decision to call me as pastor. It was God’s decision to place me here by the working of the Holy Spirit through the people who nominated me and voted for me. (Acts 20:28). In the same way, it was God’s decision to build this new office building by the working of the Holy Spirit through the people who voted for it.

If our new office building is an asset to the pure preaching of the Gospel; if our new office building brings glory to God, it is doing precisely what God wants it doing. If our new office building brings our congregation hardship so that we have to make some tough decisions concerning where our hearts really lie, it is still doing exactly what God wants it doing. As Jesus said:

“Seek first [God’s] kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33)

The old parsonage we used for an office building no longer brought glory to God. It was, in a word, an embarrassment to the Gospel. Just as a worn and tattered or marked up Bible or catechism can give a person the impression that God’s word is not a big priority in the owner’s life, so also, a church or office building in disrepair can send a message that the congregation is focusing on things elsewhere.

“Every good gift is from God!” Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church has been extremely blessed by God for over 159 years. When our church was built, the cost almost split the congregation, but they put their faith in God, kept His Word pure, and He continued to bless them. If it was not for their sacrifice and focus, we wouldn’t have the magnificent church we have today. It is now our turn to put our faith in God, keep His Word pure and acknowledge where all good things come from. And perhaps, by God’s grace, future generations will look back at us and say, “If it wasn’t for their focus and sacrifice, we wouldn’t have this magnificent office building today.” Just think how God has blessed us so with so many good gifts and how He promises to keep on blessing us.

Our new office building became a reality in large part because of the Holy Spirit working through five ladies from our congregation who left extremely generous bequeaths to Trinity. I was blessed to know and to minister to four of them personally. Their love of Trinity was the seed money that made our new building feasible. These five ladies were: Louise Hilgendorf, Alice Heuer, Elda Burdett, Margaret Jass, and Audrey Laatsch. However, we would be remiss to forget all the unnamed thousands who faithfully gave of their own time, talent, and treasure as they lived their lives of faith over the past century and a half.

“Every good and perfect gift is from God!” Perhaps you noticed that in quoting our theme, I have focused so far only on talking about “the good gifts of God”. I have not as yet mentioned the “perfect gift from God”, for it is the Perfect Gift from God that makes all His other gifts to us good and most importantly, makes us good to Him. And that Perfect Gift that came down from the Father of the heavenly lights is His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Without Him all of life would be worthless. Without Him it would be impossible for us to glorify God. Without Him there would be no escape from the wrath of God that awaits everyone who is dead in sin. Without Him that would include us!

We have a church spire rising 200 feet into the air proclaiming to everyone who sees it that God the Son is in our midst to distribute His perfect forgiveness through the perfect sacrifice He made on Calvary as our substitute. And now we have an office building where the teaching and business of the church can take place in an environment that also brings Him glory and honor.

God chose to give us birth through the word of truth [in the waters of baptism] that we might be a kind of firstfruit of all He created. It was His grace that did it. It was also His grace that gave us our new building, and it will be His grace that keeps us bearing up under whatever lies ahead in regard to it. God grant us all the ability to honor Him with our presence on September 24^th.