Sermon for June 22nd 2014

Sermon for Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 22, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 10:26-33

Sermon Theme:  “The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 24, Part 3, Series A; original ideas and examples; Emphasis Online Illustrations)

 Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

           “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” came the uplifting words from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address in 1933.  He described that fear as a “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

          Of course, there would have been no reason for Roosevelt to assert his “firm belief” that there was “nothing to fear” unless there actually was something to fear.   In 1933, our country was in the staggering economic crisis of the Great Depression.  People were desperate, without jobs, food, places to live, and   hostilities were already brewing that would lead to World War II in 1939. Continue reading