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Christmas Programs from the Past… and from This Year

Our Sunday School children singing for the Christmas Program in 2008.  Would you believe Paul on the front left and Toby on the front right?

Our Sunday School children singing for the Christmas Program in 2008. Would you believe Paul on the front left and Toby on the front right?

Shepherds Paul and Toby at the stable with Mary (Lexie  Brzozowski) and Baby Jesus.

Shepherds Paul and Toby at the stable with Mary (Lexie
Brzozowski) and Baby Jesus.

The Sunday School young people performing in last year's Christmas Program.

The Sunday School young people performing in last year’s Christmas Program.

Jan Johnson, costumed as St. Joseph, portrayed in carpenter during the First Wednesday in Advent service - 2015.

Jan Johnson, costumed as St. Joseph, portrayed in carpenter during the First Wednesday in Advent service – 2015.

Toby and Paul Brzozowski flank our living nativity scene for the Sunday School Department Christmas Program.

Toby and Paul Brzozowski flank our living nativity scene for the Sunday School Department Christmas Program.

Pastor Ray and Peggy shown enjoying their gifts after the Christmas Program, including a Christmas Snoopy which lights up. Pastor Ray is infamous for quoting Snoopy and Charlie Brown in his sermons.

Pastor Ray and Peggy shown enjoying their gifts after the Christmas Program, including a Christmas Snoopy which lights up. Pastor Ray is infamous for quoting Snoopy and Charlie Brown in his sermons.

Adult Readers for the Christmas Program were, left to right, Sheila Johnson, Sarah Brzozowski, Jan Johnson, John Geiger, and Rev.  Scott Stallings.

Adult Readers for the Christmas Program were, left to right, Sheila Johnson, Sarah Brzozowski, Jan Johnson, John Geiger, and Rev.
Scott Stallings.

Peggy Spitzenberger as St. Mary

Peggy Spitzenberger as St. Mary

 

Welcome to New Member John Geiger

John Geiger, who joined St. Paul's on Reformation Sunday, is shown here with a special cake to honor the occasion.

John Geiger, who joined St. Paul’s on Reformation Sunday, is shown here with a special cake to honor the occasion.

Head Elder Steve Grissom and Pastor Ray Spitzenberger welcome new member John Geiger (center) into communicant fellowship of our church on Reformation Sunday.

Head Elder Steve Grissom and Pastor Ray Spitzenberger welcome new member John Geiger (center) into communicant fellowship of our church on Reformation Sunday.

Sermon for October 25, 2015

Sermon for Reformation Sunday

October 25, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1 Corinthians 10:1-5

Sermon Theme: “The Reformation and the Rock of Our Refuge”

 (Sources: Luther: His Life and Times by Richard Friedenthal; Rocks, PhysLink.com; Online Lutheran Jokes; Online “You Know You Might Be Lutheran If”; Online Rocks and Gems; Footnotes from the Concordia Self-Study Bible; Protestant Reformation, Online Theopedia; my original ideas; “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over,” Online Bible.org; Nelson’s Three-in-One).

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

           We Lutherans are a unique group of Protestants, maybe not so much now as we were in the past.  I wonder if we have changed very much.  When I was growing up Lutheran in the 1940’s, you knew you might be Lutheran if a midlife crisis meant switching from the old hymnal to the new one.  You knew you might be Lutheran if you were 57 years old and your parents still wouldn’t let you date a Catholic.  You knew you might be Lutheran if you believed the Eleventh Commandment was “If we’ve never done it that way before, thou shalt not do it.”

You know you might be Lutheran if you actually think your pastor’s jokes are funny.

Today, Lutherans are unique in that they are no doubt the only Protestants who still celebrate Reformation Sunday, and, of course, Catholics, for obvious reasons, never did.  The Reformation, led by Martin Luther, began in Germany and spread first to the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Scotland, and parts of France before becoming a world-wide “revolution.”   The Reformation is much more complicated than just a German monk nailing 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door.

The Church, which Jesus wanted to remain One, was split in two and soon would be splintered even further, ultimately into more divisions than you can count on both hands and both feet.

There’s a funny story that shows what it’s like after the Reformation.  It seems that Pastor Hubert, a Lutheran Pastor, Father Joe, a Catholic Priest, and Brother Bob, a Baptist Preacher, were fishing together in a boat not far from the shore.

Pastor Hubert had to make a trip to the port-a-potty located on the shore, so he got out of the boat, walked across the water, and, in the same manner, came back to the boat after he was finished.

A little later, Father Joe had to make the trip also.  He got out of the boat, walked across the water, visited the bathroom, and in the same manner, came back to the boat.

Still later, Brother Bob needed to go ashore.  He got out of the boat and immediately sank.  Pastor Hubert looked at Father Joe and said, “Do you think we ought to tell him where the rocks are?”  I guess that’s one way to lead into the subject of today’s sermon – rocks.  And The Rock. Continue reading

Sermon for October 18, 2015

Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

October 18, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 10:23-31

Sermon Theme:  “Is It Mission Impossible?”

 (Sources:  Brokhoff, Series B, Preaching Workbook; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 25, Part 4, Series B; original ideas; Nelson’s Three-in-One Bible Reference; Online 25 Inspirational Quotes on Wealth and Money; Online Revelation.Co, Regarding a Rich Person Entering Heaven; Online Charlie Brown Quotes; Online Religious Jokes; Believer’s Commentary)

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

           It is not uncommon for Jesus to say something that really slaps us in the face.  In reading today’s sermon text from Mark, some of us felt a pretty hard whap!  And so did the disciples.  Jesus made this jaw-dropping statement:  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  We have to take this in context of the entire Bible and its teachings, and understand it in context.  Otherwise, we might promote a welfare state, and that’s not what God wants.  Folks during the time of Jesus would have seen wealth as a sign of God’s favor, so it’s no wonder His statement would have startled them.  Let’s see what we can make of this.

Keeping in mind that 1 Timothy 6:10 says the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil, not that MONEY per se is EVIL, let’s first look at the world’s wisdom on this subject before we plunge into a theological explanation.

Jim Rohn says, “Time is more valuable than money.  You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”

One of my favorite quotations from the world’s pool of wisdom was written by an anonymous commentator:  “The person who doesn’t know where his next dollar is coming from usually doesn’t know where his last dollar went.”

Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Empty pockets never held anyone back.  Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”

I saved Eleanor Roosevelt’s for last:  “He who loses money, loses much; he who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all.”

The world’s wisdom understands the importance of money, as well as the limitations of money, but you could read a thousand quotations about wealth and money and not understand what Jesus meant.

In the text, Jesus seems to say it is impossible for a rich person to enter heaven.  Impossible or difficult?, you ask.  Jesus would answer, “Impossible.”  But then, if we asked Jesus, ‘Is it possible for ANYONE to enter heaven by himself, He would also answer, “No, it’s Mission Impossible!”  Just as the camel cannot make it through the eye of a needle no matter how hard he works at it or how much he struggles, so we cannot work our own salvation.  We can enter heaven ONLY by God’s grace through faith.   Continue reading

Sermon for October 11, 2015

Sermon for LWML Sunday

Pentecost 20, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas, Oct. 11, 2015

Sermon Text:  Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon Theme:  God’s Idea of the Perfect Woman

(Sources:  LWML Facts, Online, lwml.org; Men Versus Women Jokes Online; Original ideas and examples; Online Peanuts Comic Strips; Introduction and Footnotes to Paul’s Letter to the Romans; Online Commentary on Proverbs 31:10-31; my devotional given to LWML Zone Rally 10-3-15; U. S. Congregational Life Survey; U.S. Census; Barna Research; Lifeway Research)

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

Ever since John Gray wrote his best-selling book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, many folks are convinced of a planetary difference between men and women.  That difference is the subject of hundreds of jokes, most of which are told from a man’s point to view.

Let me tell you several of the jokes, and then I’ll tell you some facts.

In the beginning, God created the earth and rested.  Then God created Man and rested.  Then God created Woman.  Since then, neither God nor Man has rested.

Men see the telephone as a communication tool.  They use the telephone to send short messages to other people.  A woman can visit her girlfriend for two weeks, and upon returning home, she will call the same friend and they will talk for three hours.

Here’s one more.  A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.

“What are you doing?”  She asked.

“Hunting flies,” he responded.

“Oh,” she said, “killing any?”

“Yep,” he replied, “three males and two females.”

Intrigued she asked, “How can you tell?”

He answered, “Three were on a beer can, and two were on the phone.”

Those were some slanted jokes.  Now let me tell you some facts.

These facts come from three different national surveys.  The typical Christian congregation in the United States is made up of 61 percent female and 39 percent male.  And the gender gap is found in all age categories.

So, on any given Sunday, there are 13 million more adult women in American churches than there are men.  Less than 25% of married women worship with their husbands on Sunday.  Also 70 to 80 percent of the female members of a church participate in midweek activities.  Only about 25 percent of the men do.  While those percentages seem a bit startling, it doesn’t mean that the majority of American men are atheists, as 90 percent say they believe in God.

Does it mean church isn’t very important to men?  I can’t answer that. Continue reading

Sermon for October 04, 2015

Sermon for Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

October 4, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Hebrews 2:1-13

Sermon Theme:  “Setting the Hebrews, and Us, Straight”

 (Sources:  Brokhoff, Series B, Preaching Workbook; Concordia Self-Study Bible Introduction to “Hebrews” and footnotes; original ideas; Online Kids’ View of Angels; Emphasis Online Illustrations)

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

There is just as much confusion and misinformation today about angels as there was during the time the letter to the Hebrews was written, though not necessarily the same misinformation.  And it’s not just kids who are confused, but adults, too.  Here are some actual statements by children that show how kids view angels:

Nine year old Olive said, “Everybody’s got it all wrong.  Angels don’t wear halos anymore.  I forget why, but scientists are working on it.”

Seven year old Mitchell said, “Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else.”

Seven year old Sarah said, “What I don’t get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them.”

Ten year old Reagen said, “When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten.  And when he lets out his breath, somewhere there’s a tornado.”

Six year old Sara said, “Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy.  If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow.  Then when it gets cold, angels go north for the winter.”

Nine year old Tonio said, “All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn’t go for that.”

Nine year old Matthew said, “It’s not easy to become an angel!  First, you die.  Then you go to heaven, and then there’s still the flight training to go through.  And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes.”

Before we go any further, let me say four things about angels to debunk any misinformation, then or now:  One, angels are divine; we are human.  Two, angels are supernatural; we are natural creatures.  Three, angels are holy and sinless; we are sinners.  Four, we do not turn into angels when we go to heaven. Continue reading