Ep 141 | Cover to Cover 20 | Pastor Ryan Clark | May 17, 2026

Hello, this is Pastor Ryan Clark.

You are listening to a message from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Last weekend, my daughter and son-in-law got away for a couple of days to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.

And so Katherine and I got the opportunity to do something that we really wanted to do, and that was spend two days watching our two wonderful grandchildren.

We had a blast for those two days, doing things like playing house, working puzzles, going on walks, scootering, playing on the playground, et cetera, et cetera.

But I have to say, at the end of two days, we were tired.

Really tired.

My grandkids, I think they're the best.

They're amazing.

They're, great kids.

They have great parents that are teaching them, really a wonderful way to live.

But as we were doing all of those fun things together with them, like working puzzles or playing house, I kept on being reminded of something that I had heard many years ago.

It was called the Toddler's Creed.

Anyone ever heard the Toddler's Creed? Well, for those of you that have never heard the Toddler's Creed, this is what the Toddler's Creed is.

It says, "If I want it, it's mine.

If I give it to you and change my mind," guess what? "It's mine."

"If I can take it away from you, then it's mine.

If I had it a little while ago," guess what? "It's mine.

If it looks like mine, then for sure it's mine.

If I saw it first," then guess what? "It's mine.

And if you have it and you put it down, that's mine.

Now, of course, if it's broken, it's yours."

That's the Toddler's Creed.

It's a bunch of rules and laws that have to do only with me, me, me.

Everyone, when we're toddlers, we're the center of the world, right? And we think that the whole world revolves around us.

Well, as we're going through our two-year Bible study, we are in the book of Deuteronomy right now.

And in Deuteronomy, Moses is standing there on the edge of the Promised Land.

He knows that he's not gonna be able to go into the Promised Land, but he's telling all of these millions of people what they are to remember as they go in to the land that God promised to them.

And he says, "When you go in there, there's gonna be a bunch of people that are already there that are going to be living basically- by The Toddler's Creed, and you are not to act like them.

In Deuteronomy 18 it says, "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

Let no one be found among you who does such things like sacrifice their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, casts spells, who's a medium or a spiritist, or who consults the dead."

Moses said you're going into a place where you're gonna be surrounded by people that are gonna be doing detestable things to the Lord.

They're gonna be doing horrible things like casting spells and curses on one another.

They're gonna be involved in horrible things like witchcraft, and they're even going to be doing the horrible thing of taking their babies and throwing them into the fire.

Now, why would anybody do such a thing? The reason that all of those things are in yellow up there, and the reason that those things were detestable to the Lord, is because every one of those things you do if you think it's all about you.

Why do you curse other people or cast spells on other people? Because they made me mad, and now it's all about me.

Why do you do such a horrible thing of taking your babies and throwing them into the fire? Because you think it's all about me.

And so, you know, even if I have to sacrifice my own flesh and blood so that the gods up there will grant me better in my life, well, it's all about me.

And God says, "Don't act like that."

In Deuteronomy 4, Moses says, "What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I'm setting before you today?" The laws that God was setting before His Old Testament people were very different than the Toddler's Creed.

They weren't all about me, me, me.

They were about everybody else.

For you confirmands, we spent time studying the Ten Commandments.

Do you remember what the first three commandments were about? Here's a test.

Loving who? Loving God.

That's right.

It's not about me, me, me.

It's about loving Him.

And then the second seven commandments are about loving others.

It's not about me.

It's about Him and it's about you.

That's the way that God set it up.

Oh, that's a much better way to live.

And then he goes through all these different ways that you live that out.

In Deuteronomy 14, it says, "At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and share it and store it in your towns so that the Levites, who have no allotment or inheritance of their own, and the foreigners, the fatherless, the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."

What you're gonna see as we go through some of these laws that God had set out for His Old Testament people is that God loved all of His people, but He had a special affinity in His heart for those that did not have or those that had less: the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner.

And He says, "You know what? I don't want you to forget about them.

I want you to think outside of yourself and think of other people, especially those that have not."

In Deuteronomy 15 it says, "At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.

This is how it is to be done.

Every creditor shall cancel any debt they have made to a fellow Israelite.

They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed."

Listen, we all know people that are completely underwater in debt, and it doesn't look like they're ever gonna get out of it.

But the way that God set it up in the Old Testament with His people, He said that it's never gonna happen.

Why? Because every seven years, everybody that owes another person a debt, that debt is canceled, and you get a fresh new start every seven years.

That's a great law.

Here's another one: "If anyone's poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, don't be hard-hearted.

Don't be tight-fisted toward them.

Rather, be open-handed and freely lend them whatever they need."

Once again, He says, "My heart is for the poor and the needy, and when one of those comes into your life, don't be hard-hearted.

Don't be closed-fisted, hanging onto the stuff that is yours with all your might.

Instead, be open-handed.

Be willing to give to people."

Behind that idea of being willing to give is the idea that God will continue to supply you as you are open-handed and supply those that God puts into your path.

Deuteronomy 16, He says, "Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly."

Don't pervert justice or show partiality, do not accept a bribe.

For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.

It's so sad that in our day and age, probably justice is not always done in our court system.

But the way that God set it up, He said, "Make sure that judges are good judges that are gonna judge fairly and not take any bribes."

That's a good law because God loves people, and He wants us to love people as well.

Deuteronomy 17, I love this one.

He says, "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and you say, 'Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,' be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses.

The king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself.

He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.

He must not accumulate large amounts of silver or gold."

He says, "Guys, one day when you're in this Promised Land, you're gonna say, 'We want a king.'

Don't just appoint any king.

Appoint the one that God has preordained and chosen Himself.

And then that king is not to get wealthy in that position."

Wouldn't that be nice in the United States here today if people that were in office were not using it as a way to get wealthy themselves? Not in God's world, not in the way that He set it up with His people, that would not happen.

And then He goes on to say, "When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law taken from that of the Levitical priests.

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left."

He is saying when you're a king, you're also for a time going to become a scribe.

You are to take the law and write out your own copy of it.

Why? So that you will learn it, and then you are to read what you wrote out every day of your life so that you won't forget these good laws and decrees, and so that it will keep you humble, and you won't think that you're better than everybody else.

Once again, wouldn't that be nice in our world today? Deuteronomy 22, "If you see your fellow Israelite's ox or sheep straying- Do not ignore it, but be sure to take it back to its owner.

Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else that they have lost.

Don't ignore it.

He's saying, "Guys, I want you to be your brother's keeper.

I don't want you just to be thinking about yourself.

Think about your brother, your sister, th- your neighbor.

And if they lose something and you find it, don't just leave it there.

Pick it up, bring it back to them.

Take care of one another."

As we look through all of these laws that God had set up for His people, we have to say with Moses, yes, what other nation has ever been so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws that God set up for His Old Testament people? So he says, "You are to follow all of those things which focus on God and which focus is on others."

And then he says in Deuteronomy 18, "The Lord your God is gonna raise up for you a prophet like me," says Moses, "from among you.

And if you're ever gonna listen to anybody, listen to him."

Moses says, "One day, there's going to be somebody that's going to be raised up, and He's going to be the prophet of all prophets.

And if you're ever gonna listen to anybody, listen to Him."

Who is He? If we go to Acts 3 in the New Testament, this is what it says, "Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you, even Jesus.

For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people.

You must listen to everything he tells you.'"

Who was that prophet that we were to listen to above everything and everybody else? Jesus.

And then when Jesus comes on the scene, as we heard in our gospel lesson for today, Peter, James, and John, and Jesus go up on the Mount of Transfiguration, and it says Jesus was transfigured before them, and God the Father begins to speak.

And what does He say? "This is my Son, whom I love.

You must listen to Him."

Jesus is the one that we are to listen to because He has the greatest laws and decrees that have ever been shown on the planet.

So what did Jesus say if we're going to listen to Him? He said this: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart- With all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Sounds like the Ten Commandments, doesn't it? Love God and love people.

It's that simple.

That's what Jesus said.

We call that the Great Commandment.

The Great Commandment: love God and love people.

Now, what's the difference between the Toddler Creed and the Great Commandment? The Toddler Creed is all about me, me, me.

Love me.

The Great Commandment is love God and love others.

Which one is a better way to live our lives? Obviously, the Great Commandment.

Now, when I think about those two things, loving God and loving people, start with love God, the first thing that comes to my mind is my son, Josiah.

My son, Josiah, tomorrow we get a chance to go down to the U of M and celebrate with him as he graduates, from college tomorrow.

But for the last three years, he has served on a worship team for a ministry called Salt Company there at the University of Minnesota.

And I remember a number of months ago, he said to Catherine and I, "Mom, Dad, you gotta come and check this out.

You'll never believe it."

Well, he was exactly right.

They gather together for worship Thursday nights at 8:00 PM, and so Katherine and I got there Thursday about 7:45, and we went and sat in the back.

And by the way, we were by far the oldest people there.

Everybody else was 18 to 22, and there were 1,500 of them.

I couldn't believe what I was watching.

And they started worshiping, and 1,500 college students stood up with their hands in the air.

This is a picture I took from the back of the auditorium there.

1,500 people with their hands in the air, their eyes closed, singing out to the Lord with all of their heart.

During th- down the center aisles, there were people that were littered down the aisles on their knees calling out to God.

I had never seen anything like that before.

I thought, Ryan, what were you doing when you were 18 to 20 years old on a Thursday night at 8:00? Were you gathering together with other believers to worship Jesus? No, I wasn't.

What is going on with the young people today? I believe wholeheartedly, and many of us have been praying for years for a revival generation that would come right before Jesus comes back, that would lead the world closer to the Lord God.

And I believe with all of my heart, guys, that you are that revival generation.

I am seeing it.

1,500 college students worshiping the Lord, and that's only gonna grow.

And it is for such a time as this, guys, that you are being confirmed, and you are being raised up to be part of that generation that is gonna change this world forever.

So that's loving God.

But then He says, "I also want you to love one another."

And when I think about that, I think of the old Beatles song, Oh, look at all the lonely people.

We are surrounded by lonely people.

We are surrounded by hurting people.

We are surrounded by people that are trying to self-protect.

And you know the way that people protect themselves? When they're walking through a busy place, they stare at their phones or they look down.

Why? Because that is a whole lot easier than looking up, smiling, saying hi, and not having it be reciprocated.

That hurts.

And so what is everybody doing? If I do that, then I don't have to get hurt.

But we don't live as Christians by the Toddler's Creed.

It's not about me.

If anybody is gonna take the chance and love the lonely and hurting people in the world, it's gotta be us.

It's gotta be us.

We've got to be the ones.

But you say, "Well, I don't wanna get hurt."

I don't wanna get hurt either, and I see myself doing this sometimes as well.

But it's not about us.

It's about us loving this hurting world.

And if people are ever gonna see the love of Christ, it's gonna be through us.

And by the way, there are gonna be times when they're gonna turn aside or they're not gonna reciprocate.

You're gonna smile and they're gonna frown, or they're gonna look down, and you're gonna feel bad.

But at that point, remember this: God loves you so very much, and His love is really all that we need.

Just get back up and keep on smiling at people.

Keep on loving people.

Keep on saying hi.

Keep on praying for people.

Be the light of the world that God wants us to be in this world, because it's not about us.

Now, if we're gonna be honest, there's gonna be times when we're gonna forget all this, right? And we're going to go back out there in the world, and we're gonna think it's all about me again.

Me, me, me, my, my, my, my, my, my.

And we're gonna live our life by the Toddler Creed.

But when that happens, and we recognize it, and we feel badly like, "Oh, man, I'm doing it again," what do we do? Well, we go to a passage like Deuteronomy 21 that says, "If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole or literally a tree, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole or tree overnight.

Be sure to bury it in that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole or a tree is under God's curse."

Do we know of anybody that was hung on a tree made of wood? Yes, we do.

In Galatians 3 it says, "Christ Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole or a tree."

One of the things that we talk about a lot in confirmation is that we're all sinners, right? And because of our sin, we deserve punishment.

In fact, the Bible says in addition to that, what we accrue for ourself are curses on our life when we live by the Toddler's Creed.

But Jesus, out of His great love for us, came here to this earth and became a curse by being hung on a tree to take the curse that all of us had won for us by living by the Toddler's Creed.

And because Jesus took our punishment, because He took the curse, now for those of us that put our trust in Jesus, there's no more curse left, and now it's just blessing and forgiveness on our lives.

And so when you feel bad realizing, "I'm living for me instead of living for others or living for God," all you have to do now is just say, "God, I'm so sorry.

For the sake of Jesus, I ask you to forgive me."

Then you receive that forgiveness, you get back up, and you keep on living by the Great Commandment.

Love Him and love others.

And in the process, you're gonna be the light of the world to this very dark and sad and lonely and hurting world in which we live.

So confirmands, family of God, we got a choice here today, and we have a choice every day.

Am I gonna live by the Toddler's Creed? That's no way to live.

A society can't work by the Toddler's Creed.

But instead, because you are forgiven and because you have the Holy Spirit, and confirmands, today we're gonna pray that that Holy Spirit fills you to overflowing here today.

So that you can trust in God's forgiveness and instead live by the Great Commandment.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You've been listening to a sermon from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

If you would like more information about St.

John's and any of our ministries to our community and beyond, you can go to our website, www.

stjohnsbuffalo.

org.

Thank you and God bless you.