July 5, 2026
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost — July 5, 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost — July 5, 2026
On the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, the people of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri continued their journey through Romans 7 — gathered on the Fourth of July weekend as our nation marked its 250th year. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached the war that rages inside every believer, and the Gospel that answers it: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25) — the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Joplin, Missouri.
The War Within Every Believer
Saint Paul does not hide his struggle. “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19). The Apostle knows the Law of God is good — the problem is not the Law, the problem is us. As Pastor Ramstad noted, this is where last week’s reading from Romans 7 left off: the Law is holy, righteous, and good. Our own conscience bears witness — the good we ought to do, we leave undone; the sin we ought to flee, we run toward anyway. That tug-of-war is the shared experience of every Christian.
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!“Romans 7:24–25 (ESV)
Paul refuses to end in despair. Just when the back-and-forth threatens to overwhelm him, he lands on a rally cry of joy: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The question “Who will deliver me?” already has its answer — and His name is Jesus.
United in the Problem — United in the Solution
It was a fitting weekend to speak of unity: fifty states, one nation, 250 years. “United we stand, divided we fall,” the saying goes. But Pastor Ramstad pointed to a deeper unity. We are all united in one problem — sin — and we know it is deadly, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Yet we are even more deeply united in its solution. That shout of triumph, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord,” belongs to the whole gathered body of Christ as it hears the Word and receives the Sacrament.
The freedom Christians treasure most is not merely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the freedom Christ won at the cross — freedom from sin, death, and the devil. And that freedom is not license to sin, but the joyful liberty to serve God and neighbor. “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (Romans 6:1–2). It is the same grace Pastor proclaimed earlier this summer from Romans 5: while we were still weak and ungodly, Christ died for us.
A Children’s Message: The Heavy Stone
Before the sermon, DCE Jason Glaskey called the children forward and hauled out a gym bag weighted with the biggest stone he could find. Volunteers tried to lift it — some could, none could carry it far. “We are not made to carry that kind of weight,” he told them. And yet every day we carry something far heavier: our sin. Pointing to the words on the sanctuary wall, the children read together, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus does not simply watch us strain; He takes the load all the way to His cross, and then He puts His own yoke on us — because a yoke is how He pulls with us the rest of the way home.
Rest for Your Souls
The Gospel appointed for the day is Jesus’ gentle invitation — the very promise that gives rest to our souls when the war within leaves us exhausted.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV)
This is where the sermon lands: your deliverance is already accomplished. In Holy Baptism you were joined to Christ’s death and His resurrection; the old Adam is drowned and a new person rises to wa
