Sermon: God Can Teach the Worst Students

God Can Teach the Worst StudentsSermon preached for Trinity 12 at Mt Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 23, 2026. Sermon text: Isaiah 29:11-13, 17-19, 2411For you this whole vision has become like the words of a sealed scroll. If you give it to someone who can read, and you say, “Read this, please,” he will say, “I can’t. It is sealed.” 12And if you give it to someone who cannot read, and you say, “Read this, please,” he will say, “I can’t read.” 13The Lord says: These people approach me with their words, and they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is nothing but commandments taught by men. 17Isn’t it true that in a very short time Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, and the fertile field will seem like a forest? 18On that day, the deaf will hear the words from a book, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. 19The humble will rejoice in the LORD once again, and the poor will delight in the Holy One of Israel. 20But the ruthless will come to nothing. Those who mock will be no more, and all those who plan evil will be cut off— 21all those who slander others with a word, all those who argue cases at the city gate, all those who use false testimony to deprive the innocent of justice. 22Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says about the house of Jacob: Jacob will not be ashamed anymore. His face will not grow pale. 23But when his children see what I do among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24Those who are confused will come to understand, and those who complain will gladly receive instruction. Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Is 29