Sermon for July 27th, 2014

Sermon for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 27, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Romans 8:28-39

Sermon Theme:  “Is God A Good God?”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; Believer’s Bible Commentary; Hebrew/Greek Key Study Bible)

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

          A college professor asked his class to write a paper outside of class on the subject, “Is God A Good God?” 

          One student struggled with this topic all weekend, and finally went to her pastor to see if he could help her with the paper.  In speaking with her pastor, she asked, “If God is a good God, how can we account for all the evil in this world?”

          To this question, her pastor answered her with a question, “Yes, I agree that there is evil in the world, but is God to blame for this evil?” 

          The young college student wasn’t sure how to answer her pastor’s question so she asked him another question, “Perhaps God isn’t to blame for all that is wrong in the world, but why doesn’t God do something to make the world a better place?”

          To this, her pastor replied, “God has!  God placed you in this world!  So get busy!” Continue reading

Sermon for July 20th, 2014

Sermon for Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 20, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Romans 8:18-27

Sermon Theme:  “Suffering, Glory, and Perspective”

(Sources: Emphasis Online Commentary; Believer’s Bible Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas)

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

           Two preachers were talking over coffee about the sorry state the world is in as well as the problems in their churches.  One confided in the other how his congregation was moaning and groaning and complaining about the miserable problems in their church, and they were making things worse.

“So to your congregation, it’s always raining,” replied the other preacher.

“No, it’s more like tornadoes and hurricanes!” Continue reading

Sermon for July 13th, 2014

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

July 13, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon Theme:  “Seeds, Soils, and Sowers”

(Sources:  Emphasis Online Sermon Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas and examples; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Part 3, June 15-Sept. 14, 2014, Series A.)

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

When my wife and I bought our home some years ago, we created some flower beds around the trees.  All the beds were circular, except for one, which we called at the time, and still do, “The Astronaut Bed,” — that’s because it turned out to be in the shape of a space capsule – don’t ask me why, it just did.

Not only was it the only odd-shaped bed, it was the only one where nothing wanted to grow.  We tried petunias, we tried sweet Williams, we tried periwinkles – and you know if periwinkles won’t grow in the soil, nothing will!  Continue reading

Sermon for July 6th, 2014

Sermon for Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, July 6, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon Theme:  “Is the Yoke on Us?”

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

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

           At a petting zoo I went to once, there was a small carousel with five ponies tethered to a pole.  Round and round they would go in circles, wearing blinders to keep them from seeing far ahead, harnessed into a path that never changed.  The small children who had never ridden on a horse were delighted with the experience, but they soon tired of the little circular path.

          So the children were removed from the saddles and new children mounted up.  The ponies would go round and round, again and again, in an uneventful and unimaginative parade that went nowhere.

          Jesus observed that some people have a faith a lot like the little carousel. Continue reading

Sermon for June 29th, 2014

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 29, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Matthew 10:34-42

Sermon Theme:  “So Jesus Is Not the ‘Prince of Peace’ after All?”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Wikipedia Online; Nelson’s Three-in-One; Emphasis Online Commentary; Believer’s Commentary; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 24, Part 3, Series A)

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

           In 1994, the city planners in San Luis Obispo, California, introduced a measure that would have required every new house to have a front porch.  They were not trying to be frivolous by doing that, nor were they trying to promote a particular style of architecture.  The idea was that if all the residents of that community had front porches, they would probably sit on those porches, and therefore, they would be more likely to visit with passersby and with people who lived around them.

          In short, the city planners figured that good friends and good neighbors would yield a safer and more satisfying community.  It turned out that a legal challenge to that porch requirement caused the proposal to be withdrawn. Continue reading