Sermons

Genesis 28:10–17

We spend much of our lives climbing ladders - striving for success, seeking approval, and sometimes even trying to work our way into God’s favor. We imagine that if we become a little better, a little more faithful, or a little more righteous, we might finally get closer to heaven.

But when Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, something remarkable happened: God never told him to climb it.

Jacob was a deceiver, a fugitive, and a sinner. Yet God came to him with a promise of grace.

Scripture tells us that we are dead in our trespasses, enslaved to sin, and incapable of saving ourselves. Our problem isn’t that we need a taller ladder. It’s that we cannot climb our way to God at all.

The Good News is that we don’t have to.

In this Trinity 19 sermon, “There Is a Ladder, But It Isn’t for You,” we discover how Jacob’s vision finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ - the Son of God who came down from heaven to accomplish what we could never do for ourselves.

We don’t climb our way to God. In Jesus Christ, God has come to us.

We often comfort ourselves by saying, “God knows my heart.” Scripture answers: Yes, He does - and that is precisely why we need Christ.

This week’s readings confront us with the full demand of God’s Law: love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. But the problem runs deeper than our actions. The heart itself is divided, deceptive, and in need of renewal.

The good news is that Jesus does not leave us looking inward. He asks the better question: “What do you think about the Christ?” Our hope is not in the purity of our hearts, but in Christ, who has fulfilled the Law, borne our sin, and gives us His righteousness.

Deuteronomy 10:12–21; 1 Corinthians 1:1–9; Matthew 22:34–46