In today’s world we see more and more division and exclusion. On Sunday, June 7th we explored our next core value: Belonging Matters. Throughout the gospels Jesus chooses mercy over religious rule-keeping. The church must do the same! Jesus says you can sit here!
30-Second Sermon Summary
In Matthew 12, Jesus meets hungry disciples and a hurting man with mercy instead of delay. The religious leaders knew the rules, but Jesus showed that love, healing, and human need matter more than systems that exclude. Pastor Hartman reminded New Spirit that belonging is not earned. In Christ, there is a seat for you here.
To view the livestream from this past Sunday click here: Sunday, June 7, 2026: Jesus Says You Can Sit Here: Why Belonging Matters.
Weekly Spiritual Practice
Pull Up a Chair: This week, look for one person who may be standing at the edge of the room, literally or figuratively. Make one intentional move to pull up a chair: start a conversation, offer an invitation, sit with someone who is alone, or speak a clear word of welcome when someone is being pushed aside.
Sermon Reflection
Most of us know the feeling. We walk into a room where we do not know anyone. Scanning the space for an open seat, a friendly face, or one small sign that we are not in the way. We hope someone will look up and say, ‘Come on. You can sit here.’
Pastor Hartman used the school bus scene from Forrest Gump to name that fear. Forrest hears, ‘Can’t sit here,’ again and again, until Jenny finally makes room. That simple moment says something deep about the human heart. We were created for welcome and community. We were created to hear good news that sounds like this: There’s a seat for you here.
That is why New Spirit names belonging as one of our core values. Belonging is not a marketing phrase. It is not a church growth trick. It flows from the gospel. Last week, we named that grace comes first. If grace comes first, then people do not have to earn their place before they are loved. Belonging follows because God’s welcome is not a reward for getting everything right.
In Matthew 12, Jesus is confronted by religious leaders who know the rules. His disciples are hungry and pick grain on the Sabbath. Later, Jesus sees a man with a withered hand and heals him on the Sabbath. In both moments, the Pharisees can point to religious law. They can make an argument. They can say the rules have been broken.
But Jesus sees hungry people. Jesus sees a hurting person. Jesus sees human need before he sees a system to protect. That does not mean scripture does not matter. It means scripture is not meant to be used as a locked door. Jesus shows us that the heart of God’s law is mercy, healing, love, and life.
As Lutherans, we often talk about law and gospel. The law shows us the truth. It names sin, injustice, and the ways we hurt one another. But the gospel is God’s promise of grace in Jesus Christ. The gospel is the good news that God comes near, forgives, heals, raises, and makes room. When religious rules are used to crush people instead of pointing them toward life, we have lost the heart of Jesus.
Pastor Hartman named this clearly on Pride Sunday. Too many LGBTQIA2S siblings have walked into churches and had to calculate whether they could be honest. Can I hold my partner’s hand? Can I bring my family? Can I use my true name? Can I be fully known here? No one should have to shrink, edit, hide, or defend themselves before they belong in the body of Christ.
And this welcome does not stop with one group of people. Migrants, refugees, neurodivergent people, divorced people, lonely people, grieving people, people in recovery, people who are questioning, exhausted, ashamed, or simply trying to make it through another week all need to hear the same gospel word: There’s a seat for you here.
This is not always comfortable work. Sometimes the people God calls us to welcome challenge our assumptions. Sometimes we do not fully understand another person’s experience. But our lack of understanding is not the same thing as God’s judgment. We do not have to understand everything about someone in order to honor the image of God in them.
So the church must say belonging matters more than once. We must say it in worship. The church must say it in our welcome. We must say it online. We must say it when faith is being used to harm people. This must said with our bodies, our budget, our ministries, our tables, and our chairs. There is a seat for you here.
This week, practice pulling up a chair. Notice who is standing at the edge. Look for who is being left out of the conversation. Notice who may be doing the math before they decide whether it is safe to be known. Then make one clear move of welcome. Start small, but make it real. In Christ, belonging is not earned. It is given. And the church is called to live like that good news is true.
