Sermon for July 24, 2016

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

July 24, 2016, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 11:1-13

Sermon Theme: “God’s Door Is Always Open”

(Sources:  Brokhoff, Series C, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Westminster Dictionary of the Bible; Footnotes from the Life Application Study Bible; What Luther Says, Compiled by Ewald Plass; original ideas; Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; “Six Reasons Prayers Are Not Answered” by David Wilkerson)

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

Many smaller churches have only four Elders, and they don’t always agree on things, so they have to take a vote to make a decision.  In one such church, there was an Elder who always cast his one-against-three losing vote no matter what the issue seemed to be.

After a number of years of always having to give in to the majority vote, this Elder brought up an issue he felt very strongly about and was sure he was right in God’s eyes.  Knowing that the other three would vote against him and believing that God was on his side of this particular proposal, he decided bold action was needed.  So when the negative vote came from the other three, he prayed aloud in front of them, “O Lord, I know in my heart that I am right and they are wrong.  Please show us a sign now, so that they will understand that I know your ways.”

At that very moment, a storm cloud moved across the sky, rumbled, and then disappeared.  The outvoted Elder said, “See, a sign from God!  Now you will have to believe me!”

But the other three disagreed, saying that storm clouds just suddenly form on hot summer days.

So the lone Elder prayed aloud again, “O Lord, I need a bigger sign to show them that I am right and they are wrong.  Please, God, give me a bigger sign.”  This time four storm clouds appeared out of nowhere and rushed toward each other to form one big cloud.  Then a bolt of lightning came down and knocked down a tree ten feet away from the window near where they were sitting.

“See, I told you I was right,” said the lone Elder.  Reluctantly, the other three said, “OK, we’ll agree with you that God thinks you are right.  But that only makes the vote 3 to 2.”  As if God’s will was only one vote.

In our sermon text from Luke, Jesus gives his disciples a two-part reply to their request, ‘Teach us to pray,’  — one is a model or example of prayer, and the other is a parable.  In the model and the parable Jesus focuses on three aspects of prayer, —  ONE, its content, TWO, our persistence, and THREE, God’s faithfulness. Continue reading

Sermon for July 17, 2016

Sermon for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

July 17, 2016, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 10:38-42

Sermon Theme:  “Mary Has Chosen the Good Portion”

(Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentaries; original ideas; “State of the Bible,” American Bible Society; Online Life Way Bible-Reading Survey; Statistics from the Pew Research Center; Online “The Mary/Martha Mother”; Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; Nelson’s Three-in-One Reference; Online Stats for Church Attendance Worldwide)

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

The pastor of a large congregation with very poor weekly attendance got fired up by Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  So he sent a newsletter to all members announcing that the next Sunday would be “No Excuse Sunday.”  Here’s what his newsletter promised so that everyone would come to church and hear the Word.

“There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard.  Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.  We will have steel helmets for those who say, ‘The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.’  Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.  Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.

“Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.  We will distribute ‘Stamp Out Stewardship’ buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money.  Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.  The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.  And we will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he is too loud.” Continue reading

Sermon for July 10, 2016

Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 10, 2016, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Leviticus 19:9-18 and Luke 10:25-37

Sermon Theme:  “’You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself’:  the Whole of the Law”

(Sources:  Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 26, Part 3, Series C; Harper’s Bible Dictionary; Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Online “How to Love Your Enemies”; Online “Bible Verses Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself”; Online Christian Jokes; “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” by Rick Warren; Online “Enter the Bible”; Online Study of Leviticus 19; “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Doug Van Meter; “Is Loving Yourself a Sin,” wordpress)

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

In our sermons, we pastors try to teach the congregation about both Law and  Gospel, hoping that this will strengthen their faith as well as help them invigorate their moral code.  With the Lutheran emphasis on salvation by grace through faith alone, this isn’t always an easy task.  “Sin big, be forgiven much!  After all, we’re  under the New Covenant, and besides, God’s Law is for Baptists, and God’s Grace is for Lutherans.”  But it’s not just Moses under the Old Covenant who preached the Law; even Jesus, who brought the New Covenant, preached the Law.

A pastor, who was giving a sermon based on Jesus’ command to love your enemies, said, “Now, I’ll bet that many of us feel as if we have enemies in our lives.  So, raise your hands if you have lots of enemies.”  Quite a few people raised their hands.

“Now raise your hands if you have only a few enemies.”  About half as many people raised their hands.

“Now raise your hands if you have only one or two enemies.”  And even fewer people raised their hands.  “See,” said the pastor, “most of us feel like we have a lot of enemies.”

“Now raise your hands if you have NO ENEMIES AT ALL.”  The pastor looked on the left side of the church, and no one had raised their hand.  Then he looked to the right side, and no hands were up.  Then, finally he noticed, way in the back, a very, very old man holding his hand up.

“I have no enemies whatsoever,” the elderly man proclaimed.

“’What a blessing!,” the pastor said.  “Come up here and tell us more about  yourself.  How old are you?”

“I’m 98 years old, and I have no enemies!’

“What a wonderful Christian life you must lead!  And tell us all how it is that you have no enemies.”

“All those good-for-nothing slime balls have died!”

I have chosen two sermon texts for today, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.  The Old Testament is from Leviticus, and it’s Law; the New Testament from Luke is Gospel, and they come together. Continue reading

Pictures form VBS

Pauline Koening is shown preparing food for the opening night of VBS.

Pauline Koening is shown preparing food for the opening night of VBS.

Rev. Scott Stallings and Mark Woolley were two of our VBS teachers.

Rev. Scott Stallings and Mark Woolley were two of our VBS teachers.

Seth is shown helping Annie Mae Korenek serve drinks at Vacation Bible School.

Seth is shown helping Annie Mae Korenek serve drinks at Vacation Bible School.

VBS leaders, Peggy Spitzenberger and Cheryl Davis, during one of the sessions of "Pets Unleashed."

VBS leaders, Peggy Spitzenberger and Cheryl Davis, during one of the sessions of “Pets Unleashed.”

Jan Johnson as German Shepherd in a comedy skit with Peggy Spitzenberger during Vacation Bible School.

Jan Johnson as Germain Shepherd in a comedy skit with Peggy Spitzenberger during Vacation Bible School.

Sermon for July 03, 2016

Sermon for Independence Day Sunday

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 3, 2016

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Galatians 6:1-10, 14-15

Sermon Theme:  “’Sow’ What?”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; Brokhoff, Series C, Preaching Workbook; Online Christian Quotes from George Washington; Online Quotes from John Adams Historical Society; Online Quotes from Thomas Jefferson; Online LCMS Harrison Reacts to Supreme Court Abortion Clinic Ruling; Online LCMS Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty; LCMS Harrison’s Letter, “A Time to Act”; original ideas)

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

           Many, if not most, of our Lutheran ancestors came to America from Germany for religious freedom.  In 19th Century Germany, the Prussian Union required that you belong to either the Roman Catholic Church or the generic Protestant Church, neither of which upheld the Biblical truths of the Lutheran Confessions.

For over 150 years, we have enjoyed and cherished the freedom of religion here in America.  So much so, in fact, that we became complacent and detached from the reality of the shrinking of that freedom, most of which has occurred in recent years.  This fact is not at all consistent with the vision of the Founding Fathers of our nation.  So let me review the theological ground our first three great Presidents of the United States stood on. Continue reading