{"id":3948,"date":"2026-10-18T20:12:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T03:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=3948"},"modified":"2026-10-18T20:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T03:12:13","slug":"who-do-you-serve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2026\/10\/18\/who-do-you-serve\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Do You Serve?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10\/18\/2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"10\/18\/2026 Who Do You Serve?\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1237085634?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sermon Info<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Speaker \/ Pastor: Rev. Douglas Dill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scripture References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Joshua 24 &#8211; Joshua reviews God&#8217;s faithfulness from Abraham through the conquest and calls Israel to choose the Lord and discard foreign gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Matthew 4:8-10 &#8211; The temptation scene: Satan offers worldly power; Jesus replies, &#8220;Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Central Message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 God&#8217;s faithfulness and covenant love call us to choose wholehearted loyalty to the Lord; baptism and the sacraments continually renew that covenant and free us from idols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 1. The reading from Joshua is a historical reminder of God&#8217;s actions for Israel (call of Abraham, deliverance from Egypt, provision in the wilderness, conquest of the land).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 2. God establishes a covenant with laws (two tablets): one governing our relationship with God and the other governing our life together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 3. Joshua calls the people to reject foreign gods and to decide whom they will serve \u2014 a deliberate, ongoing choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 4. The Matthew passage shows temptation: worldly splendor offered in exchange for worship; Jesus refuses and points to exclusive loyalty to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 5. Baptism is central: it cleanses, marks, and claims us; it unites us to Christ&#8217;s death and resurrection and is repeatedly effective (past, present, future) because of the perfect tense of Christ&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 6. The sacraments (baptism, communion) and confession are means to remember and renew the covenant and to be pursued and restored by God&#8217;s grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 7. Practical idols named: money, people, job, possessions, comfort, routine \u2014 things that can become false gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notable Quotes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 &gt; &#8220;Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 &gt; &#8220;Every time you wash your hands, remember your baptism.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 &gt; &#8220;Jesus is like a biscuit who will sop up your sins like gravy on a plate.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 &gt; &#8220;You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Application<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Write down and name your sins (symbolic exercise the speaker led) as a step toward confession and repentance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Regularly remember your baptism in daily life (ritual reminders such as washing hands, posture in worship).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Participate in confession, communion, and baptismal remembrance to renew the covenant with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Intentionally identify and discard personal &#8220;foreign gods&#8221; (money, status, comfort, relationships, routine) and choose to serve the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 When tempted by easy gains or prestige, echo Jesus&#8217; refusal and reaffirm exclusive worship of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>Reflection Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 1. Who do you serve \u2014 the Lord or something else? Who do you want to serve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 2. What specific possessions, habits, or relationships function as &#8220;foreign gods&#8221; in your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 3. How will you use baptism and the sacraments to remember and renew your covenant with God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 4. When tempted by worldly offers, what practical steps help you turn back to God?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>10\/18\/2026 Sermon Info \u2022 Speaker \/ Pastor: Rev. Douglas Dill Scripture References \u2022 Joshua 24 &#8211; Joshua reviews God&#8217;s faithfulness from Abraham through the conquest and calls Israel to choose the Lord and discard foreign gods. \u2022 Matthew 4:8-10 &#8211; The temptation scene: Satan offers worldly power; Jesus replies, &#8220;Worship the Lord your God and &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2026\/10\/18\/who-do-you-serve\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[87,316,246,141,299,28,102,195,126,10,36,214,83,39,150,4,31,189],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","post","publish","author-admin","post-3948","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-christ","category-christians","category-commandments","category-communion","category-confession","category-eternal-life","category-god","category-god-the-father","category-holy-spirit","category-jesus","category-promise","category-repentance","category-sermon","category-sin-2","category-sinner","category-spirit","category-theology-of-the-cross","category-trinity"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-11G","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2654,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2021\/09\/05\/armor-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":0},"title":"Armor of God","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"September 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"8-22-2021 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Old Testament Joshua 24:1\u20132, Joshua 24:14\u201318 New Testament Ephesians 6:10\u201320 Gospel John 6:56\u201369 \u00a0 https:\/\/vimeo.com\/598016781","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christ&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2969,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2022\/10\/23\/god-did-does-and-will-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":1},"title":"God Did, Does and Will Do","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"October 16, 2022 Joshua 24:1-26 (NIV)1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (NIV)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commandments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commandments","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/commandments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1804,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/04\/20\/easter-sermon-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":2},"title":"Easter Sermon 2017","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"April 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Easter morning sermon at First Lutheran Church, South Sioux City NE First Reading: Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV) Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV) Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV) Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (NRSV) For an audio version only, click here. https:\/\/youtu.be\/ln2KUZZijDg","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christ&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ln2KUZZijDg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1628,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2016\/11\/09\/__trashed\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":3},"title":"Being In Community:   Saints and Sinners","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"November 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is the video of a sermon delivered at First Lutheran Church, on 11-6-2016. Click here for an audio version. https:\/\/youtu.be\/6R5mD1h-0-g","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Attitude&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Attitude","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/attitude\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/6R5mD1h-0-g\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1644,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2016\/11\/28\/advent-opportunities\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":4},"title":"Advent Opportunities","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is the video version of the sermon. To listen to the audio only version, click here. First Sunday of Advent Isaiah 2:1\u20135 Romans 13:11\u201314 Matthew 24:36\u201344 https:\/\/youtu.be\/vD08zfRQSJM \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Advent&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Advent","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/advent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/vD08zfRQSJM\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1725,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/03\/01\/daniel-plan-introduction-part-a\/","url_meta":{"origin":3948,"position":5},"title":"Daniel Plan Introduction, Part A","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"March 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(NIV) 1 Corinthians 6:12-15a, 18-20 (NIV) \u00a0Romans 12:1 (LB) Psalm 119:73 (NIV) Proverbs 3:1-10 (NLT) Deuteronomy 32:47 The sermon is based upon Pastor Rick Warren's sermon, The Daniel Plan Introduction, The book Daniel Plan and the Video Series, Daniel Plan. \u00a0For an audio link only, click here. \u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/B00eRKGKdVw","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Attitude&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Attitude","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/attitude\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/B00eRKGKdVw\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhoDoYouServe.png?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3951,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3948\/revisions\/3951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}