Dr. Luke at St. Paul’s

Mark Schoepp, Director of Congregation Engagement at Wheat Ridge Ministries, showed up for our Mission Festival/Reformation celebration Sunday, Oct. 26, incognito as “Dr. Luke”, straight from the Gospel of Luke. His presentations included a discussion of healing ministries and our call to serve and current information on the ministries now provided by Wheat Ridge.

St. Paul Ladies to Sell Food at City-wide Garage Sale

St. Paul Ladies to Sell Food at City-wide Garage Sale

Hungry for a homemade kolache or sausage wrap?  St. Paul LWML will sell both of these onsite from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 8.  Hot coffee, iced tea, lemonade, bottled water, as well as chips, cookies, and brownies are also available for sale to garage sale shoppers wishing to take a short break.  St. Paul Lutheran Church is located at 515 Cedar St., between Harry St. and Marek Rd.  Tables and chairs will be available for those wishing to sit to enjoy their food while taking a break from a busy day of shopping.   If you are on the go to the next big bargain, it’s quick and easy.  A portion of the profits from this project will go to selected missions and charities.

Our New Narthex Doors!

Our beautiful new church doors (pictured here) were installed recently. The doors, a gift from the family of Bill Hein, will be blessed and dedicated to the glory of God during our worship service on Sunday, November 30, 2014.

Sermon for October 19th, 2014

Sermon for Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

October 19, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon Theme:  “Render to Caesar and Render to God?”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Preaching Journal, Cycle A; Embassy of Heaven Midnight Rider Newsletter, 1995; “Heaven Is a Tax-Free Paradise in Oregon,” online article; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 1986 edition).

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

“Paul Revere has established the kingdom of Heaven in Oregon!”  That’s what newspaper headlines said in 1994.  Of course it wasn’t the 18th Century Paul Revere of the American Revolution we know from history.

It was a pastor in Oregon who established “the Kingdom of Heaven” on 34 acres of land about twenty miles from Salem.  Twice Revere was jailed for issuing his own license plates with the word HEAVEN embossed thereon and for failing to pay property taxes.  He insisted that the kingdom of Heaven is not of this world, and that it is impossible to serve both God and the State.  He urged that his followers should not be yoked by the government, so should throw away their state-owned driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, cancel their car insurance, bank accounts, etc.  He argued that Jesus didn’t pay any taxes so why should we.

Revere posted a regular online Embassy of Heaven newsletter on the internet, entitled Midnight Rider.  He advertised his 34 acres as “God’s Government on Earth, and apparently had many followers, who were promised they could live tax free forever, first in Oregon, then in Heaven.  Officials in Marion County were unconvinced by any of Revere’s arguments, and informed him that if he didn’t pay the $10,000 he owed in taxes, they would put the 34 acres of the Kingdom of Heaven on the market. Continue reading

PASTOR APPRECIATION SUNDAY

Rev. Scott Stallings, Visitation Pastor and Rev. Ray Spitzenberger, Pastor

October is officially National Pastor Appreciation Month, originally created by Under His Wings Ministry, Inc.,. in 1992.  The mission of this non-profit organization is to uplift and encourage pastors, missionaries and other religious workers.  It is celebrated any time during the month of October, but the official Day is the second Sunday in October.  There are approximately 350,000 Senior Pastors in the United States and over a million Professional Church Workers.  St. Paul Lutheran Church honored its two pastors on October 19, 2014, with a delicious brunch in the Fellowship Hall.  Shown in the picture are Rev. Scott Stallings, Visitation Pastor and Rev. Ray Spitzenberger, Pastor.  Both Pastor Ray and Pastor Scott express their most heartfelt thanks for this beautiful gesture of love and caring.

Sermon for October 12th, 2014

Sermon for Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Oct. 12, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Philippians 4:4-13

Sermon Theme:  “Rejoice!  Through Him We Can Do All Things”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas and examples; Emphasis Online Illustrations).

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

           When Tony Campolo was invited to preach at a Lutheran church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the pastor began the service calling the people to worship by saying, “Let us make a joyful noise unto the Lord!  Let us come into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise!”  You can imagine his surprise when someone in the balcony jumped up and yelled, “All right!  All right!”  and started clapping.  And before long there were several young people on their feet shouting praise and applauding wildly.

Dr. Campolo later said, “I don’t know what he was expecting when he told the people in the church to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, but I do know that the last thing he expected that Sunday night was that anybody actually would!” Continue reading

Sermon for October 5th, 2014

Sermon for LWML Sunday, October 5, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Ephesians 5:1-9                                                                                        Sermon Theme:  “Fragrant Sacrifices and Offerings”

(Sources:  Online Meditation, entitled, “A Fragrant Offering”; 2014 LWML Sunday Sermon; “As Children We Imitate Our Father,” by David Ernst; original ideas and examples; Nelson’s Three-in-One; Harper’s Bible Dictionary; “LWML Mission Grants” online)

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

The dictionary definition of “fragrant” is simply “Having a pleasant odor.”  Of course we know that what is a pleasant aroma to some people is not at all pleasant to others.

Two wives, when talking about how their husbands deserted them for football and beer, decided they should try to find a perfume that smelled like beer.

When one of my aunts left her parents’ farm to work in Houston, she fell in love with an English/Irish city boy who had never been on a farm in his life and had never been around German Wendish Americans before.  My aunt brought him home to meet her parents, and her mother, my grandmother, fixed all of our family’s favorite dishes to impress him, including what we loved most, koch Kase , her delicious  homemade cheese which smelled like limburger while it was cooking.  Continue reading