On the Third Sunday after Pentecost, the congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri gathered the morning after a night of severe storms — and walked into a sanctuary transformed for the opening of Rainforest Falls Vacation Bible School. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached on Romans 5:6–15 with a searching question: who is worth your whole life? The answer Paul gives is staggering — while we were still weak, ungodly, even enemies of God, Christ died for us. It is the heart of what this congregation confesses every week — Jesus Brings Life. Meet Him Here.
The Third Sunday after Pentecost: Who Is Worth Your Whole Life?
“Who is worth your whole life?” Pastor Ramstad opened with that question, drawing on Paul’s words: “One will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die” (Romans 5:7). We can imagine laying down our lives for the people we love most, or for a great cause — freedom, family, faith. But Paul presses the question further. How righteous would a person have to be before you would die for them? How good? And then he turns the whole question on its head: it is not about how worthy we are. It is about Jesus.
Look at how Paul describes our actual condition. Not righteous. Not good. We were weak — not the strong, talented, strategic people God might have chosen, but, as Deuteronomy says, the fewest and the least. We were ungodly. We were enemies of God, standing under His wrath, for our sin rightly brings His judgment. And we were sinners — the Greek tense pointing not to an occasional stumble but to a continuous state, sin clinging to us like a disease. That is the unflattering portrait Romans 5 paints of every one of us.
And yet — “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” This is the turn that makes this passage so beloved. Not when we had cleaned ourselves up. Not once we had proven our worth. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus took our place at the cross, and now when the Father, seated as Judge, looks upon our sin, He sees instead His Son — the shed blood, the steadfast love, the perfection that covers you and me. As Pastor Ramstad put it: Jesus thinks you are worth fighting for. Jesus thinks you are worth dying for. And He did.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
Scripture Readings for the Third Sunday after Pentecost
The lectionary appointed for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6, Series A) sets God’s claim upon His people beside the love that redeems them. The Old Testament Reading from Exodus 19:2–8a finds Israel at Sinai, where the Lord declares, “You shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The Epistle from Romans 5:6–15 is the day’s sermon text — Christ dying for the ungodly, and the free gift of grace that abounds for many through “that one man, Jesus Christ.” And the Holy Gospel from Matthew 9:35–10:20 shows Jesus moved with compassion for the crowds, declaring the harvest plentiful and the laborers few, and sending out the Twelve with His own authority to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The Harvest Is Plentiful: Sent as Laborers Into His Field
If Romans 5 shows us our condition and our rescue, the Gospel shows us where that rescue leads. Paul reaches all the way back to Genesis: as sin and death came into the world through one man, Adam, so grace and life come through one man, Jesus Christ — Adam a “type of the one who was to come.” The same Lord who reconciled enemies into sons does not leave them sitting still. In Matthew 9, Jesus looks at the harassed and helpless crowds, “like sheep without a shepherd,” and tells His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Then He sends those very disciples — once weak, ungodly, sinners themselves — out as laborers, giving them His authority to heal and to proclaim. What changed in them? Their condition in Christ. Reconciled, made strong in the Spirit, forgiven, and sent.
In the children’s message, Principal Mollie Ramstad brought bananas to talk about the harvest, helping the children hear Jesus’ words, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). Even children can be sent into the harvest — helping a lonely neighbor, welcoming a new friend, telling someone about Jesus — and this very week dozens of them would do exactly that, gathering for Rainforest Falls Vacation Bible School. The congregation had opened worship singing a hymn that puts the Gospel’s harvest call on every believer’s lips:
Hark, the voice of Jesus crying,
Lutheran Service Book 827, “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying,” st. 1 — Opening Hymn
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth,
Rich reward He offers free;
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?
God takes the once-weak and makes them strong. He takes those who were under His wrath and puts His own name on their lips. He takes sinners and shows them forgiveness purchased in the blood of Jesus. And then, reconciled and made new, He sends us out — into our community, into a rainforest full of children, into the ordinary places of our week — that all would know the free gift of grace in Christ. Pastor Ramstad even noted he had never preached “over the top of a rainforest” before, a fitting picture of the Word going out wherever God’s people gather.
☀️ Summer Worship Schedule — One Service at 9:00 AM
Immanuel family and friends: Through the end of August we worship as one congregation at ONE SERVICE, 9:00 AM, with Bible Class and Sunday School following at 10:15 AM. Whether you are a lifelong member or visiting Joplin for the first time, you are warmly welcome. Jesus Brings Life. Meet Him Here.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Third Sunday after Pentecost
What is the Third Sunday after Pentecost?
It is the third Sunday of the long green season that follows the Day of Pentecost — sometimes called the “Time of the Church.” The paraments are green to signify growth in faith, and the readings walk through the teaching and ministry of Jesus. In the historic three-year lectionary, this Sunday in 2026 is Proper 6, Series A.
What does Romans 5:8 mean?
Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It means God did not wait for us to become worthy. While we were still weak, ungodly, and even enemies of God, Jesus took our place and died for our sin — pure grace, received through faith. Read more about what Lutherans believe →
What does “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” mean?
In Matthew 9:37–38, Jesus looks at the crowds with compassion and tells His disciples that many people are ready to hear and receive the Gospel, but few are going out to share it. He calls us to pray for laborers — and then He sends His people out as those very laborers, carrying the good news of Jesus into the world.
How does this Sunday connect to Baptism?
Because Christ died for us “while we were still sinners,” we are joined to that death and resurrection in Holy Baptism. Romans goes on (chapter 6) to say we were “baptized into his death” so that “we too might walk in newness of life.” The same reconciling love that saved us also makes us new and sends us out as God’s own children.
What time are summer worship services at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin?
Through the end of August, Immanuel worships at one combined service, Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM, with Bible Class and Sunday School at 10:15 AM. Visitors are always welcome at 2616 S Connecticut Ave, Joplin, MO 64804.
About Immanuel Lutheran Church, Joplin, Missouri
Immanuel Lutheran Church is a confessional congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), located at 2616 S Connecticut Ave, Joplin, MO 64804. We worship in the historic Lutheran liturgy using Lutheran Service Book and hold fast to the Lutheran Confessions as a faithful exposition of Holy Scripture.
Immanuel is home to Martin Luther School, a fully accredited PK–8 Lutheran school. Our youth ministry, Vacation Bible School, LifeLight Bible Study, and other ministries serve the Joplin community year-round. Jesus Brings Life. Meet Him Here.
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