Fifth Sunday after Trinity (2026)

1 Peter 3:8-15

My Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Epistle lesson today we hear the exhortation that echoed that Christ has for the Church on the night that He is betrayed and prays that high priestly prayer “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” So here is the call for us to be united in mind, in sympathy, brotherly love, with compassion and a humble mind as we grow in love in the church.

Unity of Mind

This may seem impossible.

It is difficult enough to get two or three people to agree on the same thing. How is the church as a whole to be united and have a unity of mind, and stand together as one? It’s good when it happens, no one will deny that, but to make it happen? That’s why

The world says, we agree to disagree.

But that’s not really unity, that’s just giving up and figuring that there is no way that we can see eye to eye and that both of us will continue down our separate roads. That is not good enough nor is it what Christ desires for His church. Christ desires that we be united.

We are to share a confession.

Now the word confession has some different meanings and we will get to that in a little while, but it means to have a common creed, a set of beliefs, and to stand together as one. For when we share a confession, we are able to stand united, but what do we find as we look out at the world, but division amongst the body of Christ.

Dangers of Divison

Division comes from Satan.

From the beginning Satan’s desire has been to lead God’s people away from being united with God and he works to accomplish that by convincing us of the same thing that he convinced Adam and Eve to believe in the garden long ago. You don’t need God, you can make the decisions, and so

Sitting at the heart of all heresies is pride.

It is self-reliance especially when it comes to spiritual matters that you can do as you choose and want, and make things happen as you desire. Pride says that you don’t need to listen to God, you can find your own way, your own path, and you can make God bend to your thoughts, your ways, and make deals with him that God never said he would honor. How can this happen?

A sinner believes he neither needs the Scriptures nor the Church.

For if he is able to make God bend to his will, and make his own deals with God, then why would he need the Scriptures, why would he need the sacraments, why would he want to be surrounded by a bunch of folks who don’t agree with his own spirituality? Now every one is guilty of this at some point in time. It typically happens with a particular sin, that we don’t want to let go of, and we want to find some way to continue with it in our lives. It could be holding on to an idol like money, work, or family, and that you don’t really need church. It could be an addiction that you are certain you have under control, as long as you keep most of the commandments, but is that what God said? No. But this is why God brings us together and why we are

Cultivating Confession

To Confess means to same-speak.

It comes from the greek homolego which means literally to be saying the same thing together. So how can we share in a singular confession? How can poor miserable sinners that we are do this?

How can we be one with Jesus and the Father?

When we find that there is such division and strife and disagreement all around the world? Is it even possible? Should we even try what’s the point? How can be of one mind with each other with so many different backgrounds, ideas, experiences, etc. How can the church be united in one mind?

This is why we have the Word.

The Word of God Remains Forever, that’s why the Word of God has been so important to us over the centuries and is still important to us today. For God gave us His Word that we might know about His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and about how God has saved you in spite of your sins and your failings. That you couldn’t keep the Law that had been laid out for you, and so God out of Love sent Jesus to take your place upon the Cross.

This is where the Spirit is found.

It is the Holy Spirit who brings us together through that Word and unites us with the Father and the Son by creating faith inside of your heart. For God does not wish for any of you to perish, and so to save you, He gave us these words that are God-spirited that they might create a unifying faith in your heart and in your mind. This is why we focus on the

The Means of Grace

God comes to us only through the Word.

God does not deal with us apart from the Word, He does not want to, remember a few weeks ago when we had the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus? Moses and the Prophets are enough, the Disciples are told to listen to Jesus. Why is it the Word again and again? Because

God’s Word is sure and certain.

God has not lied to us. He has kept his promises, He has worked through time and space to accomplish all that He had spoken. When the word is then attached to water it saves us, when it is attached to bread and wine, we receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. How do we know it can be trusted? Well even when it has sounded insane, God’s Word is fulfilled. The virgin will be with child? That Jesus says, he will be crucified and rise again? When our foundation is the Word, it should be no surprise that

The Word is what makes us one.

The Word has served as the foundation for every Christian throughout the centuries, and if we wish to be united as the Christian church on earth, then we need to be rooted in the word. That’s why it is important that you be in the Scriptures, for this is what Christ wanted for all those who would follow after him and it is what he prayed for you on the night that he was betrayed. But the cynic inside of us thinks,

Are These Words Enough?

The words of men fail.

We celebrate our 250th anniversary of our nation, and our founding fathers had admirable goals made by our forefathers, they also included the ability to make amendments and changes to the Constitution to adapt to the times, but God’s Word doesn’t change. Is it enough?

The word of God is efficacious.

What that means is that the Word of God does what it says, when God said let there be light, light sprang into existence, when Jesus says, you are forgiven, you don’t have to wonder if or not its true the judge of all the earth has declared you forgiven. When Jesus says, this is my body, this is my blood. We don’t understand it, but we believe and trust what He has said. That is why even our Church service is built around the Word for

Without the Word, churches fall.

Nations come and go, but the Word of God remains forever, and wherever the Gospel is purely preached and the sacraments rightly administered there the Church of God continues on the earth. It isn’t about what language we speak, what nation we live in, or what century it is, we are made one by the Word of God and that is how the Church endures.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be united in mind, but how does that happen? Be in the Word. Should it be any surprise that since it was the Word that saved you, the Word that brought you from death to life, the Word that became flesh for your salvation, that it would be the Word that now binds the hearts and minds of men together? Not at all, rather let us set aside our pride from which come our errors, and cling to the simplicity of God’s holy word for it is a firm foundation which has strengthened and sustained all Christians throughout the ages, and until Christ’s return. In Jesus name Amen.