Sermon Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Date: November 8, 2026
Event: Proper 27, Year A

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 (EHV)

Concerning the times and dates, brothers, there is no need to write to you, 2for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will suddenly come on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will certainly not escape. 4But you, brothers, are not in the dark so that this day takes you by surprise like a thief, 5for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep like everyone else, but rather let us remain alert and sober.

7To be sure, those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9You see, God did not appoint us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are also doing.

Remain Alert and Sober

Whenever I look at the warnings associated with medication that can induce drowsiness, I always laugh a little bit at the warning about “not operating heavy machinery” after taking the medication. I laugh because this absurd picture always comes to my mind: a guy takes a dose of Nyquil Flu, then hops into a bulldozer or a crane or something and tries to complete a shift while fighting medicinally brought-on sleep. It’s an insane situation that I hope never, ever happens, because it would be insanely dangerous for so many different people.

Now, probably the “heavy machinery” they’re warning against on the label is like a regular car or truck or something rather than a crane, because certainly driving a car while feeling the effects of that medication would be incredibly dangerous as well. Like so many things, blessings in the wrong context become the opposite of a blessing. Sleep is a blessing, but sleep in the wrong context can be incredibly dangerous or even deadly. The pilot shouldn’t take a nap while landing the plane, nor should I doze off while burners are live on the cooktop. When things require attention to be safe, we need to be awake, not asleep, alert and sober, not distracted or intoxicated.

As we are in the final days of this church year, our attention is drawn to the end of time. The reality is that this place, this environment that we are in, is temporary. No matter how long-lasting something looks or feels, it has an expiration date. That means every good thing we cherish and every difficult thing that is a burden or cross on our back will eventually end, up to and including our very lives. This fallen world with its sin, death, and decay will not endure forever.

But it’s so easy to lose track of that. Things seem so stable, so permanent. What actually changes around us? No matter who wins an election, no matter your job situation, no matter your relationship with friends or family, not much truly changes about this life. You are still the same person you were 5 years ago, 15 years ago, 45 years ago, or even 90 years ago if the Lord has blessed you with that longevity. And while, yes, things do change, the way of life changes, the technology around us changes, the core of our existence remains the same: we remain people who fail to live up to God’s demands, and thus have justifiable nerves about what comes after this temporary life expires.

But this is why we are here. God took our unsolvable failure on himself. Jesus is the perfection we should have been, but he became it as our substitute. His perfection is credited to us so that we are perfect in God’s sight. Because of Jesus’ work for us, Paul can say in our reading that God did not appoint us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We obtain it not through our work, but as a gift from God, given freely with nothing left to complete or accomplish. We have salvation free and clear because Jesus lived and died for us, and then rose triumphantly from the grave.

But while this is an accomplished reality, we know that we receive this gift, that it becomes ours, only through faith. We want to surround ourselves with God’s Word because there alone, through the work of the Holy Spirit, do we find the creation and strengthening of faith in Jesus as Savior. Only in his Word, spoken, read, and connected with the earthly elements in the sacraments, are we reminded of what Jesus has done, and what is coming.

At the end of these things, either at the end of our lives or, if we are still alive then, at the end of the world when Jesus returns, it will be too late to set things right. We can’t (nor would we want to) delay faith until the last possible moment because we don’t know when that moment will be. Maybe we will have a long lead-up to death; maybe it’ll come on us swiftly and unexpectedly. Maybe there are still thousands of years before Jesus returns; maybe he’ll be coming with the clouds before we make it home from worship this morning.

Paul reminds us of the urgency that we should have because we do not know when this next chapter of existence—the everlasting, unending chapter—will begin: you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will suddenly come on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will certainly not escape. Everything will go on as it has been forever, until it doesn’t. Everything will be just fine, until it’s not. Prioritizing my spiritual health can wait until tomorrow, until tomorrow doesn’t exist. There will be no rapture of believers; no one will be left behind on earth to figure it out. When the end comes, it will come for everyone; no one will escape.

This isn’t meant to scare us, but to encourage us to be prepared. We don’t want to be like those sleepy women who didn’t have enough oil for their lamps. We want to make sure that we are ready no matter how early or late our Bridegroom returns.

The world’s priorities and desires are like an intoxicating brew that makes us drowsy behind the wheel—a spiritually and eternally deadly place to be! But God’s Word, with its condemnation of our sins and the constant direction to our Savior, who gave his life for us, is like a strong cup of coffee, or heavily caffeinated tea, or a potent energy drink (whatever your preference is), that keeps us alert, watching, ready no matter when that day may come upon us. Surrounding ourselves with God’s Word and the reminders of his priorities is be[ing] sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

What are the best ways to do that? Well, we’re doing one of them right now. Coming together as a congregation, to sit at Jesus’ feet once again, to hear his love and compassion in the Scriptures, to praise him in song and to storm his throne of grace in prayer. We also put on that breastplate and helmet when we gather around his Word for Bible class, Sunday School, and Catechism class, studying in depth his love and perhaps learning a bit more, gaining a little more depth in our insight into his love for us. We do it in our homes, when we let his Word have a place in our daily routine, where one way or another we let his promises and direction motivate and guide our lives, so that we keep our eyes heavenward even as we deal with the responsibilities and grind of this life.

All of these things are so very important for us, not just for right now, but for forever. To that end, I urge you to look around you this morning. Is anyone missing? Is there a fellow member not with you in worship, a friend you haven’t seen here in a while, or an acquaintance you haven’t communed with in what feels like a long time? It’s easy to wring our hands and wax poetic about how there are not as many people in church as there should be—as we wish there were. Yet this isn’t just about wanting a full church, missing fellowship over coffee and treats, the encouragement that can come from those moments, and supporting this ministry together. It is about some of those things, but ultimately we miss people in worship because we are concerned that they might not be connected to the means of grace in God’s Word and sacraments. We care because we know how important that connection to Jesus is for strength and the preservation of faith.

So, instead of simply wringing our hands and fretting over empty seats, let’s do something about it. Let’s each of us reach out to the members of Gloria Dei that we haven’t seen in worship in a while and encourage them to join us once again. Not in a guilt-trip way, but in a “we love you” way, in a “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” way, in a “encourage one another and build each other up” way. Often, even we, who technically should know better, need encouragement and a reminder to wake up and stay alert rather than sleep through this drowsy life.

Many people outside of the Christian faith are snoozing in the false security this world provides. They’ve perhaps found ways to make peace with the fact that they’re not the perfect people they know by nature they should be, but they don’t let it alarm them, or they push it far, far down so it doesn’t seem to affect their day-to-day life. They, too, need a wake-up call. Again, not in an angry, judgmental way, but in a way that communicates true love for them and their eternal well-being. Do you know anyone who is spiritually snoozing? What might you do to try to wake them up and help them find the stirring and sobering truth of both God’s law and his gospel?

In the end, while we do have responsibilities to each other, the only people we can control are ourselves. We can’t force anyone to be in church, nor can we believe for another person. So while we take our need to share, invite, and encourage seriously, we want to be primarily concerned with our own spiritual health. That means that we will make God’s Word our constant companion, not just something we think about when it’s convenient. That means that we will stay awake and watchful, keeping our lamps trimmed and burning, waiting for our Savior’s return.

My brothers and sisters, remain alert and sober as we remember that our Savior’s rescue is near. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria