Weekly Sermon: 05-31-2026 - Values That Stick - Self Control Sunday

The Holy Gospel according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned to the Jordan and was led by the Spirit

in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil.

He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.

The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.

Jesus answered him, It is written, One does not live by bread alone.

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

And the devil said to him, to you, I will give all this authority and their

glory for it has been given over to me and I give it to anyone I please.

If you then will worship me, it will all be yours.

Jesus answered him, it is written, worship the Lord, your God and serve only him.

Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him,

if you are the son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

he will command his angels concerning you to protect you.

And on their hands, they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus answered him, it is said, do not put the Lord, your God to the test.

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Today is our last Sunday, preaching on the fruit of the Spirit, values that stick.

Today is self-control. You can hear the whole series on our podcast or on YouTube.

I must say, I did not plan to become the sermon example for the final fruit

of the Spirit on self-control.

I didn't think, you know what would really help the congregation understand

self-control? If I fell flat on my face in my own front yard.

Most of you have read the story, but for those of you who didn't,

I was scuffing dirt off my shoe on my front walk while after watering the flowers

and my shoe flew off and I fell and I landed on my hand with all the fingers bent backward.

And so they're taped to heal a fracture here, a torn ligament here from dislocating this finger.

And it felt really good, even though it was painful, to have the ER doctor pop

that finger back into place. I could hear it.

Oh, now I understand the phrase, it hurts so good.

But here we are. The doctor tells me I need to do exercises every hour that I'm awake.

That's 17 or 18 times a day.

Yeah. Talk about self-control.

I've been told very cheerfully that I will be in pain for 6 to 12 months.

Now, I'm truly grateful that I did not need surgery. Still, 17 or 18 times a

day, I have to stop what I'm doing and practice something that,

very painful, and hold it five different exercises for 10 seconds and do that every hour.

Because I'm trying to heal. And so this is a pretty good picture of self-control.

Not because self-control is about being tough or pretending that pain doesn't

hurt or shaming ourselves into being better people.

But because sometimes healing and growth, love and freedom require us to practice

something in the present to achieve a future that we trust is possible,

even when we cannot fully see it.

Self-control needs a vision.

I think probably we have all experience this.

We know what it's like to want a hoped-for future, but the practice today is a struggle.

We want health, but daily exercise is hard.

We want stronger relationships, but forgiveness and emotional work is challenging.

We want to rest, but we keep saying yes to others or giving in to the temptation to doom scroll.

So often, self-control gets reduced to willpower, to trying harder,

to being stronger, to why don't you just get yourself together?

Or worse, it becomes shame. What's wrong with you? Or what's wrong with me? Why can't I do better?

But the fruit of the Spirit is not shame. The fruit of the Spirit is soul. It is gift.

It's in the name, like all spiritual gifts.

Fruit of the Spirit. We always forget that part, right? At least when we're struggling.

Self-control, as the Spirit grows it in us, is not a smaller,

harsher, joyless life. It is freedom.

It is the Spirit helping us say yes and no for the sake of love,

love of God, and therefore love of ourself, because God made us.

Self-control is God giving us enough vision for tomorrow that we can make a

faithful and loving choice for today.

Paul gives us one picture of this in 1 Corinthians.

He talks about runners in a race and athletes who train with a purpose.

They do not run aimlessly because they live with the goal that is before them.

Some of us love athletic metaphors, and some of us came to church to avoid sports.

But some of us are really happy that the San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference last night.

But Paul's point is simple. People endure discipline, even when you're seven

foot four. Can I say that guy's name?

Wambanyama. Anyway, you know the guy. Even he has to have discipline.

When they are living toward something that matters.

The athlete trains to win the race or the game. A person in physical therapy.

Exercises because there is mobility and healing to recover.

A pianist practices because there is a recital or a performance on the calendar.

And a disciple of Jesus, Paul reminds us, practices self-control because there

is love in God's kingdom to build and there is eternal life to look forward to.

For Christians, the goal is not just my prize, my success, my great life, or my personal victory.

The goal is God's mission, God's vision, God's dream for us,

our families, our church, our community, and indeed the whole world.

And Jesus shows us this in the wilderness.

After his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit out into the wilderness where

he is tempted for 40 days.

And he's hungry, he's vulnerable, and he is alone.

And the temptations that come to him are the temptations to abandon God's vision for his life.

I'm sorry, I need a mint. And this one is not a good one. Sorry.

He's tempted to abandon God's vision for his life. The first temptation, of course, is bread.

Turn this bread into stone. Turn this stone into bread. Boy,

that'd be interesting, wouldn't it?

Bread isn't bad. Hunger is real. Jesus is not tempted with something obviously evil.

He is tempted to use his power only for himself.

And Jesus says, no, one does not live by bread alone. He's not denying his body.

Jesus will go on to feed hungry people. He will sit at tables and share meals

with tax collectors and sinners.

He will give us his own body in bread and wine.

But here, Jesus refuses to turn his gifts inwardly only for self-preservation

because God has given him a bigger vision.

Next comes the temptation of power.

The devil offers him all the kingdoms of the world. And this is the temptation of the shortcut.

Skip the suffering. Skip the cross.

Skip the slow work of mercy. Just take charge. Take control.

And Jesus says no, because God's kingdom doesn't come through domination.

It comes through love and mercy and compassion and truth and the cross and resurrection.

God has given Jesus a bigger vision.

And then comes the temptation of the spectacle. So the devil says,

throw yourself down, have an angel rescue, make a scene, prove yourself,

Turn faith into a performance.

And Jesus again says no, because Jesus does not need to prove that he is beloved with an angel rescue.

He already knows who he is.

Before Jesus enters the wilderness, he hears the voice of God at his baptism.

Like we said in the children's message, The Holy Spirit comes down as the dove

and God says, you are my son, the beloved with you. I am well pleased.

You see, self-control does not come from shame. It comes from belovedness.

Jesus does not resist temptation in order to become the son of God,

to prove himself worthy of God.

Jesus resists temptation because he already is the son of God.

God has given him a bigger vision of who he is and who everyone is already in

the kingdom that God is building.

And I think this is the hardest thing for us to accept and to eternalize.

Because my first reaction when I fell was shame.

When I picked myself up and got into the house and I said, I think I broke my hand.

And everybody jumped up and got ice and mobilized and all that stuff.

Do you know what I said? I'm so sorry.

And I said it about five times. Why?

Because I was ruining everybody else's evening. I'm so sorry.

I said it over and over and over.

And also, I felt so stupid. Right? Don't we always feel so stupid?

And my dad and my two sisters were on their way over for dinner so that they

could meet our granddaughter Elsa for the first time.

And I thought I was messing the whole thing up. Well, I wasn't.

They had a great time. I just missed the moment where they met her for the first time.

And Dan missed it because he was with me at the ER.

But Daniel and Kasha finished cooking the salmon and everybody arrived and they

all had a ball, right? I'm not the center of the.

But I felt shame and stupid, right? But Jesus was already beloved.

So even in temptation, shame never entered the picture.

And that is good news for us. Because it's so hard for us to believe that before

we fall and after we fall and every moment in between,

we, like Jesus, are already beloved, a daughter of God, a son of God, a child of God.

And for me, this is why being a church that is welcoming of gay and lesbian

and trans persons is so important,

because the church for generations has told them that it's It's about self-control

and shame when our life in God is the same as everybody else's.

It's about identity as God's children, and it is about being beloved.

And it's part of God's vision for us to make sure that our non-binary and gay

and lesbian and trans sisters and brothers,

and all of them know that they are beloved children of God.

And if we don't tell them as the church, who will tell them who will correct the wrong message?

So let's be clear about ourselves and recognize when we feel shame so we don't dump it on them.

So we can genuinely welcome others. We do not practice self-control by trying

harder out of shame to earn God's love.

We practice self-control because we are already loved by God,

by a God whose love knows no boundaries and whose vision for us is to extend

this to all the people that God has made. Isn't that wonderful?

Isn't that wonderful? I want to hear an amen.

Amen. And so we practice a spirit-shaped discipline and discipleship,

because in Christ, God has already claimed us.

God has already forgiven us.

God has already called us, and God has already set us free.

Receiving God's love and grace, God's vision pulls us forward into God's promised

future where all are beloved.

So here is the invitation for you this week. And let the Spirit guide you into

one practice, not 17 or 18.

Unless, of course, you want to pray every hour. I would say that's okay.

A Spirit-shaped yes, a Spirit-shaped no that lines up with God's vision.

I don't know what that looks like for you, but here are some suggestions just

to get you listening to the spirit that dwells in your heart.

Pausing before speaking. Praying before reacting.

Maybe noticing when you feel shame like I had to do when I fell.

Taking that walk. Going to the gym just once if that's your struggle.

Making that doctor appointment that you have been avoiding.

Asking for help. Guess who's doing that all the time?

Turning off the noise so your soul can rest.

Letting go of something that has had too much power over you lately.

Maybe saying, I love you, but I cannot do that right now.

Remembering that no is a complete each sentence.

Or simply, I am sorry.

Let the Spirit lead you, not because you need to prove yourself.

You do not need to prove yourself.

You are beloved, so beloved.

And if you can remember one thing I have ever said in eight years of being your

pastor, is that you are so loved by God unconditionally,

unreservedly, so deeply, so profoundly that there aren't enough words in any

language to describe it.

Let the Spirit lead you, because faith is not about gritting your teeth.

It is simply about receiving. Thank you.

It is simply about accepting. It is simply about being open.

Because you are beloved. Because the Spirit is alive in you.

And that is true with every fiber of your being.

Because God's future is calling you forward. And because this matters for us together.

St. Luke's mission is all about spirit-shaped self-control.

To keep loving when things change, to make room for people who are new,

to keep welcoming the whole rainbow of God's beloved, and to keep showing up

for God's mission, even when it would be easier, oh, just to coast a little bit.

Self-control begins in the body.

Where we live, but it does not stay there.

It moves outward into our relationships, into our home, in our church,

in our community, and out into the world.

The world tempts us to turn stones into bread only for ourselves,

to grab power without love, to perform goodness for show, for God.

Instead of practicing it when no one is looking. To be constantly outraged,

but rarely transformed.

To give up on peace and justice, creation and mercy and one another.

But Jesus shows us another way.

He walks out of the wilderness, still centered in God, still beloved,

still clear, still free, still living toward God's mission.

And from there, he proclaims good news to the poor, release to the captives,

sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, food for the hungry,

and belovedness for all. And this is the vision.

This is where God is taking us into freer, bigger lives that say no to what

diminishes love and yes to what makes love possible.

No to fear and yes to courage. No to cruelty and yes to kindness.

No to despair and yes to hope.

No to selfishness and yes to service.

So as we go from this series on the fruit of the spirit, We go trusting that

these are values that stick because the Spirit is alive and growing in us.

Fruit for our bodies, fruit for our homes and our church, fruit for the world that God so loves.

And the same Spirit who filled Jesus, who led Paul,

who raised Christ from the dead, is still at work in us now,

giving us a big enough vision to change us today and transform our future into

God's beloved kingdom of justice and love. Let the church say amen.

Go forth into the world strengthened in Christ to live with values that stick,

sharing the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Tell others what Jesus has done for you and invite them to St.

Luke's as you love, serve, and welcome all. Thank you to God. We will.