Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas
December 28, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas
Sermon Text: Galatians 4:4-7
Sermon Theme: “’Abba! Father’! The Best Daddy of All”
(Sources: Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle B; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas)
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Art Linkletter tells about his all-time favorite religious encounter with a child. Two nuns brought some four-year-olds for a visit to the studio where he filmed his shows. One of the tiny girls explained to Linkletter before the audience that the thing she liked most about the Catholic school she attended was when one of the nuns told Bible stories. Linkletter asked the youngster which story was her favorite.
“The story of Edam and Ave,” she announced.
“What happened to them?” he asked.
“God was mad at them and He was going to punish them. But they hided under a bench. But they couldn’t fool God and He found them.”
“Go on,” Linkletter pleaded.
“So God decided to punish them twice,” she continued.
“Twice?” Art asked.
“Yes. First, He sent them both straight down to hell,” she said, pausing for the audience to realize the significance of that punishment before adding the final horror. “And then He changed them into Protestants!” Continue reading