Sermon for February 19, 2017

Sermon for Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

February 19, 2017, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 5:38-48

Sermon Theme:  “Does God Really Expect Us to Be Perfect?”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Lectionary Preaching Workbook; Brokhoff, Series A, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; “You Might Be a Perfectionist, FlyLady.net; Cowboy Classified.com; footnotes, Concordia Self-Study Bible; footnotes, Life Application Study Bible)

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

My father was a perfectionist.  The rest of us in the family were not.  My father could never understand us, nor his peers, who weren’t.  He was the only railroad section foreman in his Division of Sections who had a 45-year perfect record of accident-free maintenance:  No derailments.  No train wrecks. No bridge washouts.  No buckled tracks.  Obviously, he was the most sought-after section foreman in Texas.

Those of you ladies who are fans of the Fly Lady and read FlyLady.Net know that she often speaks about the pitfalls of perfectionism.  In one of her columns she did a Jeff Foxsworthy spoof on perfectionism.  Here’s what she wrote:

“You might be a perfectionist if you spend hours cleaning the grout between the tile with a toothbrush when there is a sink full of dishes.

“You might be a perfectionist if you put the children’s toys away while they are still playing with them because it looks too messy.

“You might be a perfectionist if you go to replace a light bulb and end up tearing the whole light fixture apart cleaning it.

“You might be a perfectionist if you don’t have eight hours to clean your house, so you do nothing.”

Whether a section foreman or a housewife, a perfectionist can be difficult to live with if you aren’t one.  Some people believe we must all continue to strive for perfection; others believe it is absolutely impossible to be perfect.  Last week, I saw this Quote of the Day on Facebook:  “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”  That’s not what Jesus said, is it?

So just about the time we settle into thinking it’s OK to be fallible, to be less than perfect, we are faced with the last statement made by Jesus in our sermon text:  “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  No kidding?  Does Jesus really mean that?

Well, look what our Lord says near the beginning of our text.  “Do not resist the one who is evil.  But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  Wow!  He’s kidding?

But Jesus goes on.  He also says, “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”  Another “Wow!”  Then He gives us that extra mile command:  “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”  Then He says we’re to give to beggars and to lend to borrowers, and then He caps it off with, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Continue reading

Sermon for February 12, 2017

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 12, 2017, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sermon Theme:  “Choices in Life, — Baptism Is One of Them”

(Sources:  Brokhoff, Series A, Preaching Workbook; Anderson’s Cycle A Lectionary Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Luther’s Small Catechism and Explanation; original ideas; The Gospel According to Peanuts)

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

           As a child, the story of “Alice in Wonderland” frightened me; as an adult the Peanuts’ Comic strip brightened me.  Each in its own way had some very profound ideas to offer up, so I want to begin today by using both of them.

The story of “Alice in Wonderland” illustrates the difficulty of choosing when a person doesn’t know where she wants to go.  One day, Alice was treading the path through the forest in Wonderland when it divided in two different directions.  As she stood there wondering what to do, the Cheshire Cat suddenly appeared in the crotch of a tree.  Alice asked him which path she should choose.

“Where do you want to go?”  asked the cat.

“I don’t know,” said Alice.

“Then,” said the cat, “it really doesn’t matter does it?”

In a Peanuts comic strip, Linus, dragging his blanket behind him, is walking fast away from something, with Charlie Brown following on his heels.  Charlie says to Linus as the strip begins, “What if everyone was like you?”

Linus stops.  Charlie Brown continues, “What if we all ran away from our problems?  Huh?  What then?  What if everyone in the whole world suddenly decided to run away from his problems?”

Linus turns and looks at Charlie and replies, “Well, at least we’d all be running in the same direction.”

Alice doesn’t know which choice to make, and Linus is running away from choices or decisions.  There’s a third response to life, and that’s to make a bad choice.

The setting for today’s sermon text from Deuteronomy is the land of Moab.  Moses addresses the Israelites as they are about to cross over the Jordan and enter the land of promise.  He confronts them with a crucial choice which they must make that day.  The choice is life, which flows from obedience to the Lord, or death which follows disobedience.  They were about to enter the Promised Land, a land where the inhabitants served pagan gods and lived lives of sexual license,  deceit and immoral behavior. Continue reading

Sermon for February 05, 2017

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

February 5, 2017, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 5:13-20

Sermon Theme:  “Salt, Light, and the Kingdom of Heaven”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; “Paradiso,” Wikipedia; Online “Defining the Parables of Jesus – Defining the Kingdom of Heaven”; Christian Doctrine by Edward W. A. Koehler; “The Kingdom of Heaven, Bible.org; original ideas; What Luther Says, an Anthology published by CPH)

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

           Rev. Bill Mosley tells about the time he fell asleep after reading our sermon text for today and had a disturbing dream.

In the dream, Pastor Bill and some friends were getting into heaven together.  Saint Peter told them they were to wait at the gate for transportation.  Each of them would be getting around in Heaven in a style appropriate to the service they rendered on earth.

Soon a white airplane landed.  The back door opened and Bill could see a spacious interior with a flight staff and a well-equipped kitchen.  He was thinking it was for him, when Saint Peter called out, to his disappointment, “Kenneth.”

Just then a big silver RV arrived.  It was self-contained with air conditioning, kitchen with microwave oven, and bathroom with all the extras.  “I could really go places in this,” Pastor Bill thought; but Saint Peter called out, “John.”  Bill tried not to let his disappointment show.

Suddenly, a golden pickup truck pulled up.  Bill drooled over the front-wheel drive and he wondered where a person could go off-roading in Heaven.  Just as he was about to ask St. Peter if it had a CD player, the revered Saint called out, “Marvin.”  It was becoming obvious to Bill that the modes of transportation were getting smaller, so he was hoping for at least one of those 10-speed bicycles for himself, handmade custom frame with a cushioned seat and puncture-proof tires and balanced wheels.

Right then, Saint Peter handed him a pair of roller skates.  Then he looked in his book again, shook his head absentmindedly, and took one of the skates back.  Pastor Mosley was glad to wake up from his dream.

In our sermon text for today, Jesus begins by telling about those things He expects a true follower of His to be:  the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.  He then tells the disciples and us that He has not come to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.  He concludes by saying, “Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of thee commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called LEAST in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called GREAT in the kingdom of heaven. Continue reading