Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our text for today’s meditation is from Acts.

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, ¹⁶saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." ¹⁸So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, ²⁰for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." ²¹And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

Peter and John are living on the edge here in this passage. They are living on the edge of two worlds, the world of the elders and rulers and the kingdom of God. They are the contact point of these two worlds where they are trying to live out their world of the kingdom of God in the world of the rulers and elders. As you can see it’s a bit rocky but the kingdom of God prevails. God uses Peter and John to further His kingdom by healing and preaching. He sends them to meet the needs of the people in the world of the rulers and elders and they are very dedicated to the task. They continue to proclaim God as the ruler over men even with the threat of punishment. They are very determined to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. They were truly living on the edge.

I know of a military family during Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. The soldier was called back from leave to be part of the advance team of his unit deployed to Saudi Arabia. Of course after two weeks of typical hurry up and wait the soldier finally deploys to the desert leaving his wife with two small children, a one year old and a four month old. At this point the wife begins living on the edge. She is on the edge of her life raising two small children and the life of her husband in a combat zone. She is the contact point for those two worlds. She is dedicated to making sure the children are cared for the best way possible and shield them from the ugliness of deployments and possibly war. She is determined to support her husband by caring for the family in order to keep him from worrying and his mind on his mission. She decides to pack the house into storage and move to her parents which will give the children more stability and support for her. During the day she cared for the children and kept their routine as normal as possible while at night after the children went to bed she watched CNN as the deployment unfolded. She watched anxiously for any news about her husband’s unit and prayed not to see his name on the casualty list. She is living on the edge, she is in both worlds at the same time. About the time the soldier was to come home the wife is notified that government quarters were available so she accepts them and promptly arranges and executes the move. The soldier returns home after a seven month deployment and is greeted by his wife and two beautiful children and is taken home to a completely set up home. There wasn’t a single box left to unpack. His wife was determined to be sure he came back to a home without having to worry about unpacking boxes and setting things up. His wife had the strength, determination, and dedication to her family that she packed up, moved, cared for the children and her deployed husband, moved again, unpacked, and set everything up herself. She was a woman on a mission now that is someone living on the edge. I have to tell you guys, we may be the physically stronger gender but over the years I have come to realize we can’t hold a candle to the strength and resolve of women. The woman in the story is my wife Laurie. I saw so much strength in her then and I still do.

We can see the strength and resolve of women all throughout time. Look at the women during the crucifixion of Jesus. Luke 23 verse 27 "And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children (ESV)." Then again Verse 48 "And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things (ESV)." And starting at Verse

54 through 24 verse 3 "It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. ⁵⁵ The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus (ESV)." Do you realize what these women faced by being there at the trial, at the foot of the cross, and at the tomb? They were identifying themselves with a criminal, a follower of Jesus. They were living on the edge. They were determined to show support during the trial, to comfort Him with their presence while He hung in agony on the cross, and to provide a proper burial for their Lord. They were dedicated when others feared for their life and ran. These were women on a mission now that is living on the edge.

This is LWML Sunday and I want to introduce you to women on a mission, women with the strength, dedication, and determination to complete a mission of proclamation and support. I want you to see women living on the edge. Look at the bulletin insert that shows the projects the national LWML is dedicated to funding. They say they will raise $ 1,389,569 for these projects and this is just the national level; there are project lists like this at the district and church level as well. Imagine how much these women have dedicated themselves to. You see they will fund projects here in the United States and abroad; Haiti, Detroit, Montana, Vietnam, Kansas, Concordia Seminary. When soldiers deploy they a huge mission to accomplish but they have tanks, helicopters, trucks, rifles, and machine guns to get it done. The LWML has willingly accepted a HUGE mission but they don’t have huge powerful things to get it done. They do it with pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and a few dollars. They say they will raise more than 1.4 million dollars with loose change. Now that is living on the edge, these are women on a mission. If the last couple years are any indication they will make complete their mission too. The projects for 2009-2011 totaled just over 1.3 million and every project was funded. That is dedication and determination that is living on the edge.

I have been personally impacted by the work of the LWML. The 2009-2011 national projects included a $50,000 project for the seminary to relocate and improve the food bank for the seminary students on campus. Students shop at the food bank first and then get other needs at the local store. This was a huge boost to know that the LWML supported the seminary students. The past three years I have received a district LWML scholarship as a student of Concordia Seminary. These scholarships total $4,000. I also received scholarships from two church chapters of the LWML totaling more than $3,000. Through their support, the women of the LWML proclaim Jesus and His saving act of dying on the cross and His resurrection to a world that doesn’t want to hear it just like John and Peter by supporting Christian outreach. They are strengthened through bible studies and Proclaim Christ through local projects as well. These ladies mean business, they are on a serious mission and they are living on the edge.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Scottsboro Alabama does not have a local chapter of the LWML. I’m sure there are many reasons for that like you may think of it as an old ladies organization, you might think you have to get involved at all those different levels, you might think you have to have another crazy structure with officers, you might think you don’t know what to say to contribute. We have a unique opportunity here at TLC. We aren’t burdened by an existing organization, structure, or history. We have the opportunity to create an LWML chapter in our image, unique to TLC. It doesn’t have to be an old ladies organization although old ladies can participate, there is a difference. The structure is up to us to devise and you can be involved as little or as much as you desire. TLC doesn’t need another women’s social event, we currently do a good job of women’s fellowship. I see many strong, determined, dedicated women in this congregation and LWML can be a way for the TLC women to use their talents for missions and be a part of this amazing group of women of all ages. As a beginning, we scheduled a women’s Bible study led by Judy Lessman for the 4^th Sunday of the month starting in October during Sunday school. The group can progress from there as fast or slow as they desire. In the Gospel lesson for today it says ""And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, ⁹ but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God (ESV)." So, go forth and acknowledge God before men and "do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Put your determination and dedication to good use, join the women on a mission for Christ, and live on the edge.

Amen