Sermon for September 27, 2015

Sermon for Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 27, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 9:38-50

Sermon Theme: “A Funny Thing Happens When You Don’t Pray”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; original ideas; “Too Much Prayer/Prayer Jokes Online; jokes.christiansunite.com; The Parables of Peanuts)

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

           In a Peanuts cartoon strip, Linus is kneeling by his bed saying his prayers.  When Lucy walks in on him, he says to her, “I think I’ve made a new theological discovery.”

“What is it?’  Lucy asks.

Linus replies, “If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what you pray for.”

Although meant to be funny, Linus’ “theological discovery” shows the confusion many folks have about prayer.  Many of us have questions about prayer.  Can I pray for things I need when there are others with greater needs than I have?  Would it be an insult to God if I prayed for a parking spot?  Etc.

It’s not surprising then that the Bible has a lot to say about prayer, with Jesus even giving us The Lord’s Prayer, a model prayer to pray.  Obviously, with the Biblical emphasis placed on it, prayer is very important in the life of a Christian.  In our sermon text, the Apostle James gives us some solid counsel about prayer.

He says to pray for the suffering and the sick.  This makes me think of the cartoon of Snoopy hugging a heart and saying, “When my arms can’t reach people who are close to my heart . . . I always hug them with my prayers.”

James also says we should pray by singing praises.  We should thank and adore God in all things.  The Apostle Paul tells us we must always pray with thanksgiving.  It seems that you and I are always begging God to give us things, to bless us, to heal us, and we should do that.  But we forget about thanking Him and praising Him for all that He has done and will do for us.

In another Peanuts strip, Charlie Brown is sitting up in bed, as though this thought suddenly came to him, “How would we feel if someone never talked to us till they wanted something?  God has feelings, too!”

James says in our text we are to be prayed for by others, especially by the Elders of the church, and to be anointed with oil.  By oil, he possibly could be referring ot the Balm of Gilead.

James lived in a world where the success of medical care was severely limited.  There were no antibiotics, no understanding of germs and viruses, and infected wounds often led to death. Continue reading

Sermon for September 20, 2015

Sermon for Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 20, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 9:30-37

Sermon Theme:  “A Christian Is Humble, Never Haughty”

 (Sources:  Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 25, Part 4, Series B; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentaries; original ideas; The Parables of Peanuts by Robert C. Short)

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

           The Jewish people have an ancient joke they like to tell about Moses.  It goes like this:  The Hebrews were dissatisfied and constantly complaining to Moses as they made the journey through the desert wilderness toward the Promised Land.

Frustrated with their weak faith and their griping, Moses finally prayed to God, saying, “Lord, these people you have put me in charge of, never do anything but argue and complain.  What should I do?”

God replied, “Take two tablets and call me in the morning.” Continue reading

Pictures from The 2015 St. Paul Fund Raiser

Part of our Pastries Team, left to right:  Esther Dusek, Amelia Hegefeld, and Annie Mae Korenek, doing a landslide business at our Fund-Raiser.

Part of our Pastries Team, left to right: Esther Dusek, Amelia Hegefeld, and Annie Mae Korenek, doing a landslide business at our Fund-Raiser.

Long-time member and recent shut-in, Robert Galabeas, was excited to be able to attend our Fund-Raiser.

Long-time member and recent shut-in, Robert Galabeas, was excited to be able to attend our Fund-Raiser.

Cashiers and ticket takers at our Annual Fund-Raiser on September 13, left to right: Susan Woolley, Caroline Osborne, Sheila Johnson, and Cassidy Brzozowski.

Cashiers and ticket takers at our Annual Fund-Raiser on September 13, left to right: Susan Woolley, Caroline Osborne, Sheila Johnson, and Cassidy Brzozowski.

Part of the St. Paul serving team, left to right: Steve Grissom (back to camera), Steve Trojacek, Jan Johnson (at doorway), and Jeff Shofner.

Part of the St. Paul serving team, left to right: Steve Grissom (back to camera), Steve Trojacek, Jan Johnson (at doorway), and Jeff Shofner.

A view of the sellout crowd at our Annual Fund-Raiser on September 13, 2015.

A view of the sellout crowd at our Annual Fund-Raiser on September 13, 2015.

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Sermon for September 06, 2015

Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 6, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Isaiah 35:4-7a and Mark 7:31-37

Sermon Theme:  “Be Strong, Fear Not:  the Deaf Hear and the Mute Speak”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s, Cycle B, Preaching Workbook; Brokhoff’s, Series B, Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Online “Ten Healing Miracles”; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Online “Christian Doctors Testify of Modern-Day Miracles”; “Funny Doctor Jokes” Online; “The Meaning of ‘There Is Balm in Gilead’” Online article; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 25, Part 4; Harper’s Bible Dictionary)

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

           As you well know, many folks in this congregation have had a variety of very serious medical problems this year.  Members of our Prayer Chain have prayed for them, and Rev. Stallings, our Visitations pastor has visited them.

So I told myself that it might be inappropriate to begin a sermon on the Lord’s miracles of healing with some funny stories about doctors and patients.  On the contrary, say modern psychologists, folks with serious medical problems enjoy funny stories about doctors and patients, and laughter is good medicine for the body and soul.

So here goes:

A patient went to the doctor and said to him, “It’s been one month since my last visit and I still feel miserable.”

“Did you follow the instructions on the medicine I gave you?” the doctor asked.

“I sure did,” the patient replied, “the bottle said, ‘keep tightly closed.’”

Another patient went to the doctor and said, “Doctor, when I press my leg it hurts.  Then when I press my chest, it hurts.  When I press my head, it hurts, and when I press my stomach it hurts.  I’m worried, doc, what’s wrong with me?”

Calmly the doctor replied, “You have a sore finger!”

Doctor Khan was giving a lecture to a group of medical students at the city hospital.  Pointing to the x-ray, he explained, “As you can see, this patient limps because his right fibula and tibia are radically arched.”

The doctor looked at the assembled students, and asked Sidney, a soon-to-be intern, “Now what would you do in a case like this?”

Sidney answered, “I suppose I would limp, too.” Continue reading

Sermon for August 30, 2015

Sermon for Rally Day, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 30, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon Theme: “Prepared to Stand up for Jesus”

 (Sources:  Brokhoff, Series B, Preaching Workbook; Anderson’s, Cycle B, Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Online Sunday School Humor; Online Church Jokes; Concordia Pulpit, Vol. 25, Part 3, Series B)

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

           Rally Day Party yesterday!  Rally Day Service today!  It’s almost September, and the 2015-2016 School Year is underway, — both Secular and Ecclesiastical.

It’s sort of been a tradition to tell funny Sunday School stories on Rally Day.  I knew one pastor who was notorious for using his special occasion sermons over and over, year after year.  That means his congregation heard the same Sunday School jokes every year; consequently, he was the only one who thought his Rally Day humor was funny.

While I’ve never preached the same sermon twice since I have been here at St. Paul’s, I can’t vouch for my stories.  My family tells me that I have been known to tell the same story more than once.

One pastor always kneeled at the altar rail and prayed silently before he gave his sermon.  After church, on the way to Sunday School one day, a little girl asked Pastor, “Why do you kneel at the altar rail before you preach your sermon?”

The pastor, pleased that she was so observant, answered, “Well, young lady, in my prayer, I am just asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.”

“So how come He doesn’t answer it?”  She asked.

All of us who have taught Sunday School know that kids can say the darndest things.  One Sunday School teacher tells about how she described the Old Testament scene wherein Lots’ wife looked back at Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt.  A little boy named Billy interrupted the teacher and said, “My mommy looked back once when she was driving, and she turned into a telephone pole.”

Unlike us, many churches have Sunday School before church.   Another Sunday School teacher always talked to the kids about behavior before she dismissed them to go into the church.  One Sunday she asked, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?”

Annie replied, “Because people are sleeping.”

Then there was the Sunday School teacher who was teaching the class how God created everything, including human beings.  Little Jimmy seemed especially intent when she told how Eve was created out of one of Adam’s ribs.  Later in the week, Jimmy’s mother noticed that he was lying on the bed as though in pain.  “Jimmy, what’s the matter?” she asked.

Jimmy replied, “I have a pain in my side; I think I’m going to have a wife.” Continue reading

Pictures from Rally Day Party

Maxine Cates playing "grandma" to Ariana.

Maxine Cates playing “grandma” to Ariana.

Sheila Johnson, Robert Osborne, Caroline Osborne, and Maxine Cates playing 42 under the trees at the party.

Sheila Johnson, Robert Osborne, Caroline Osborne, and Maxine Cates playing 42 under the trees at the party.

Keith, Aubrey, Paul, and Nicole take time out from swimming on Rally Day Saturday.

Keith, Aubrey, Paul, and Nicole take time out from swimming on Rally Day Saturday.

Toby Brzozowski dreaming about the big fish he is going to catch at the Woolley's pond.

Toby Brzozowski dreaming about the big fish he is going to catch at the Woolley’s pond.

Mark Woolley firing up the grill in preparing to make hamburgers and hot dogs for the Rally Day crowd.

Mark Woolley firing up the grill in preparing to make hamburgers and hot dogs for the Rally Day crowd.

Gary Davis enjoying himself at the Woolley's Rally Day Party.

Gary Davis enjoying himself at the Woolley’s Rally Day Party.

Robert Osborne enjoying the Rally Day hamburger and hot dog meal at the Woolley's home.

Robert Osborne enjoying the Rally Day hamburger and hot dog meal at the Woolley’s home.

Avery Stolle, Becky Jungklaus and her grandson, and Peggy Spitzenberger cooling off with a swim at the Rally Day party.

Avery Stolle, Becky Jungklaus and her grandson, and Peggy Spitzenberger cooling off with a swim at the Rally Day party.

Carole Foltz and Annie Mae Korenek involved in a domino game, as Annie Mae keeps score.

Carole Foltz and Annie Mae Korenek involved in a domino game, as Annie Mae keeps score.