Sermon for March 22, 2015

Sermon for Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 22, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 10:35-45

Sermon Theme:  “What?!  You’re Asking for the Best Seats in the House?!”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Believer’s Commentary; Nelson’s Three-in-One)

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

           Let me tell you about the two cattle ranchers who were bragging to one another.  The rancher from Oklahoma said, “Well, I’ve got 15,000 head of cattle with an ‘A’ branded on them.”

“An ‘A?,’” said the rancher from Texas, “heck, my spread is called the Bar T, Circle L, Cross Creek, Flying Z, Bent Fork, Double Back, North Canyon Ranch.”

“Wow,” said the first rancher, “how many head of cattle do you have?”

“Well, confessed the Texan, “not too many survive the branding.”

We human beings like to brag, don’t we?, because we want to be Number One.  Too often we want to be greater and better than anyone else.

Such an attitude could be applied to the behavior of James and John in the incident in today’s sermon text.  These two disciples tell Jesus they want Him to do something for them.  When He asks what that is, they tell Him that when He comes into His glory, they wish to sit on His right and left, the places of highest honor.  This request shows that James and John had really, really missed the point. Continue reading

Sermon for March 15, 2015

Sermon for Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 3:14-21

Sermon Theme:  “In Christ There Is No Condemnation”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Examples; original ideas; Bible Dictionary)

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

           Today’s sermon text is one of those bold texts that even wakes up the pew-nappers who don’t get enough sleep on Saturday nights.  They suddenly wake up and think, “What did Jesus say?  Run that by again!”  Jesus likes to shock us into listening, doesn’t He?  He does it throughout the New Testament.

He tells us, ‘Don’t point out that speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye when there’s a plank in yours.’  He loves to say things like comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to the yeast a woman hides in the grain to make bread.  I mean, the Jews considered yeast an “unclean” substance, and when you prepared for Passover, you had to get rid of all yeast-raised products out of the house.  So comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast was a shocker.

There are some “shockers” in today’s text, but before we look at them, let me just briefly sum up the text itself. Continue reading

St. Paul Work Day Pictures

Annie Mae Korenek and Pauline Koening (arm visible) at work giving the church kitchen a total "cleanover."

Annie Mae Korenek and Pauline Koening (arm visible) at work giving the church kitchen a total “cleanover.”

Judy Stallings is shown with broom and dust pan in hand, ready to start the cleanup.

Judy Stallings is shown with broom and dust pan in hand, ready to start the cleanup.

Cheryl Davis helping to give the church kitchen a thorough cleaning

Cheryl Davis helping to give the church kitchen a thorough cleaning

Steve Grissom, Gary Davis, and Larry Foltz setting up shelving units in storage room.

Steve Grissom, Gary Davis, and Larry Foltz setting up shelving units in storage room.

Men of St. Paul's loading up the truck.

Men of St. Paul’s loading up the truck.

Steve Grissom and Jan Johnson assessing the progress on the heavy-duty storage racks they were installing during our Church Workday

Steve Grissom and Jan Johnson assessing the progress on the heavy-duty storage racks they were installing during our Church Workday

Sheila Johnson restoring and embellishing the Cross of Glory so that if will be ready for Easter Sunday.

Sheila Johnson restoring and embellishing the Cross of Glory so that if will be ready for Easter Sunday.

Sermon for March 01, 2015

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, March 1, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 8:27-38

Sermon Theme:  “You Can’t Live Your Life in a Safe Deposit Box”

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

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

           When two sisters divided a family inheritance, there was a precious gold watch that had belonged to their mother.  Said one wise sister to the other, “You can have it if you wear it.  But if you are going to put it in a safe deposit box and never look at or enjoy it, then I will keep it.”

Life cannot be lived in a safe deposit box.  But if life is lived for Christ and the Gospel, it is “safe.”  We have God’s promise.

In the television documentary of a nun who was killed in El Salvador, she was sure that God had called her to be a missionary to this particular place at this time in her life.  When she was home on missionary leave, her friends, her family, and even a priest tried to persuade her of the imminent danger in El Salvador, and to dissuade her from returning to her missionary assignment.  But she was willing to be lost for Christ’s sake.

Most of us, probably none of us, will be called to serve God in such a way, where danger is imminent and being killed is very real possibility.  Yet we need to hear the message of this Gospel, because our commitment to Christ and our dedication to His work are so lukewarm.  Many Christians today want to put their whole church in a safe deposit box. Continue reading