July 23, 2023. Divine Service. 8 A.M.

A sculptor was once asked how he managed to take a block of stone and create beautiful pieces of art - something I certainly could never do! He said: Well, I don’t. I just cut off all that doesn’t belong, that isn’t part of the finished piece. He sees what cannot be seen by others. That’s how it is with God. We may want to rush in and start hacking away at the stone, start pulling the weeds, start doing what we think - but all we’re going to end up with is a mess. We just don’t know. We just can’t see as God sees. So our Father in heaven says, be patient. Live with the weeds for a while, because you can’t really tell the weeds and wheat apart anyway. The time will come for the harvest, and then the separation will take place, then you’ll see. But not before then. Now is the time of patience and mercy, and yes, struggle. But in the midst of the struggle, a promise - from God through the apostle Paul: the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Right now, Paul says, are the labor pains. It’s tough. It’s probably good that none of us remember that struggle of being born! But your delivery is coming. Your new life is coming. A new world, a new creation is coming, that you cannot even begin to imagine! So be patient right now, but in hope, in faith in God, and so also in love toward your neighbor. ----- Trinity Lutheran Church, School and Child Care have been "Making Known the Love of Christ" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and throughout the world since 1853 as a congregation gathering around God's Word and Sacraments to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. Trinity is located in downtown Sheboygan, only one block from the Mead Public Library and the Weill Center for the Performing Arts. We invite you to visit us in person! Trinity Lutheran Sheboygan is a proud member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit their website: https://www.lcms.org/​​​​ Music for this production was obtained through a licensing agreement with One License, LLC. The copyright permission to reprint, podcast, and record hymns and songs is acquired through ID Number: 730195-A