Sermon for Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 9, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Ephesians 4:17-5:2

Sermon Theme:  “Playing God the Right Way”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle B, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Online Religious Humor; Online christiansuite.com Jokes; Introduction to Ephesians, Concordia Self-Study Bible).

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

           While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, a pastor heard the loud intoning of a prayer that nearly popped the clerical collar tab off his shirt!  Apparently his five-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead bird which they had felt needed a proper burial.

They put the bird in a little box they found, dug a hole in the ground, and planned a proper interment for the deceased.  The other boys decided the pastor’s son would need to officiate at the funeral, beings that he had watched his father do such things.

With solemn dignity, the pastor’s son loudly recited what he thought his father always said, “Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, . . . and into the hole you goooo.”

We all imitate that which we respect, that which we look up to, which, in the case of kids, is usually their parents, — so, fathers and mothers, be careful and be clear.  In our sermon text for today, Paul sets the highest standard in all the world for Christians.  He tells the recipients of his letter and us that we must be imitators of God.

Later, Clement of Alexandria was to make the daring statement:  “The true and wise Christian practices being God!”  Although Clement meant what Paul meant in our text, for obvious reasons, that’s probably not the best way to say it.

Just like the woman who went to her pastor for counseling soon after she divorced her husband and said to the pastor, “You see, my husband thought he was God, . . . and I didn’t.” Continue reading →

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 2, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 6:22-35

Sermon Theme:  “Good Food for God’s People”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Short Christian Jokes Online; Bon Voyage Online Charlie Brown Quotes)

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

           Bread is one of the most basic foods in almost all cultures, originating as early as 8,000 B.C.  Bread comes in many forms.  Today, Germany is the undisputed bread capital of the world.  Every year, the people of Germany eat one million, one hundred thousand tons of bread, five billion, twenty-four million rolls, and four hundred billion pretzels.  Wow!  America is not far behind.

Hardly a day goes by when we don’t encounter bread.

Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, and Woodstock take an automobile trip one day.  They take a loaf of bread and some lunch meat to make sandwiches on the trip.  Having divided up the bread, they make sandwiches and start eating.

All except Charlie Brown, that is!  It seems his share of the loaf got slammed into the hood of the car.

“Boy, Chuck, this is great,” says Peppermint Patty, “that was real generous of you to feed your share of the bread to the car.”  Everybody snickers except Charlie Brown.

“Notice,” continues Peppermint Patty, “how well the car is running since you gave it some bread!”

Our sermon text takes place right after the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The crowds search for Jesus and find Him at Capernaum.  They question how He got there.  Jesus doesn’t answer but confronts them with the fact that they are not seeking the bread of heaven but earthly bread.  Jesus warns them to work for the brad that endures eternally, not the loaves which perish. Continue reading →

Sermon for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

July 26, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon Theme:  “A Prayer for Spirit-Filled Fullness”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s, Cycle B, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Examples; original ideas; Believer’s Commentary; Online Christian jokes)

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

           Just as there are hymns in the Bible, both a whole book of them, as well as, songs imbedded throughout, there are prayers throughout the Bible, the Psalms being both songs and prayers.  The most cherished and most often prayed Bible prayer is known as the “Our Father” or “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Almost as well known are the three prayers Jesus prayed before His arrest, —  for Himself, for His disciples, and for all believers, and His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Like hymns and songs, prayers are commanded by God.  Psalm 148 says, “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures . . . wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds . . . “  How literal we are to take this I don’t know.

However, there is an old story about a pastor who went to a restaurant to eat, and, quite upset, he summons the waiter.

“What’s this fly doing in my soup?”  asks the pastor.

“Praying,” answers the waiter.

“Very funny,” says the pastor, “but I can’t eat this; take it back!”

“You see,” says the waiter, “the fly’s prayers were answered.”

Today’s sermon text from Ephesians is a lesser known prayer by the Apostle Paul.  From Jesus and the Bible, we learn how to model our own prayers.  Although Paul says he is kneeling as he prays this particular prayer, that does not mean kneeling must always be the posture for prayer.  We may pray as we walk, sit, recline, or even run, but our inner being must always kneel in reverence and humility.  We are kneeling and bowing our heads on the inside. Continue reading →

Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 19, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Psalm 147:7-11 & Psalm 145:16 (Today’s Introit)

Sermon Theme:  “Sing to the Lord . . . Make Melody to Our God”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Harper’s Bible Dictionary; “Introduction to the Psalms,” Concordia Self Study Bible; original ideas; Online Church Jokes; Angels Singing, Online openbible.info; The Role of Music in Worship by Dr. Michael Edwards; Scott Bayles, SermonCentral online; Nelson’s Three-in-One)

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

           The Book of Psalms is the largest book in the Bible, and it is made up of ancient hymns, written by men and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It has always been the Church’s hymnbook.  The Hebrew title for this great hymn book is “Tehillah” which means “song or songs of praise”; the English title “Psalms” or “Psalter” (which came from Greek) means “stringed instruments such as harp, lyre and lute.”  Throughout, it contains rubrics for music; there is no doubt that it is a song book.

We believe that 73 of the hymns were written by David; the others were written by Moses, Solomon, Asaph, Sons of Korah, and Ethan.  We do not know the author of 34 of them.  Many of the 150 psalms are songs of praise to God, singing fervently of His goodness and His greatness.  The Psalms show us that God’s people are a Church on fire with zeal for the Lord.

They inspire us to want to be a Church on fire as the early Church was at Pentecost.  Too many churches today are lukewarm churches like the Church in Laodicea Jesus condemned in Revelation:  “So, because you are lukewarm –neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  How do we avoid being such a lukewarm church?  How do we become a church on fire?  One, we praise God with zeal; two, we sing to God with passion; and three, we believe in the goodness and greatness of God wholeheartedly. Continue reading →

Sermon for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

July 12, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 6:14-29

Sermon Theme:  “Christians Decapitated”

(Sources:  Anderson’s, Cycle B, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Online Stewardship of Life Jokes; original ideas; Online Bad Women of the Bible; Online All the Women of the Bible: Herodias; Safe Horizon “Child Abuse Facts”; Operation Rescue  “Abortion”)

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

           An insurance agent once stopped by a nearby church in hopes of selling some insurance.  He greeted the head usher at the door and asked to talk to whoever was in charge.

“Not me,” said the usher, “I only hand out the bulletins.  Let me take you to the pastor.”

The insurance agent then asked the pastor if he was in charge, and the pastor replied, “Not me!  I only preach and teach.  Let me take you to the president of the congregation.

The insurance agent then asked the congregational president if he were in charge.  “Not me,” he said, “I only conduct meetings and hear complaints.  Let me take you to the head elder.”

The insurance agent asked the head elder if he were in charge, and he retorted, “Not me, I just take care of the building.”

By this time, the insurance agent was quite frustrated and muttered aloud, “Well, who IS in charge around here anyway?”

The lady who made and served the coffee every Sunday piped up and stated loudly   , “That’s me!  NOTHING happens around here until I make the coffee!”

That sounds like me every morning at home.  My wife says, “Today is garbage pickup.”

I say, “I can’t do anything until I have a cup of coffee.”

One hour later, after I’ve read my newspaper and had my second cup of coffee, I say, “Good grief!  I have a lot to do today, — send stuff to the website, write a sermon, write a sermonette, pray for folks on the prayer list, run off pages for my Sunday School class . . . (pause) . . . I think I need another cup of coffee!” Continue reading →

Sermon for Independence Day Sunday

July 5, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  John 8:31-36 and Psalm 119:29-34

Sermon Theme:  “As Faithful Christians, What Do We Do?”

 (Sources:  Free to Be Faithful, LCMS newsletter, Summer 2015; Constitution of the United State, World Book Encyclopedia; Emphasis Online Illustrations;  original ideas; Online Funny Fourth of July Stories; Nelson’s Concordance; SCOTUS Marriage Ruling.)

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

           I want to start with a story.

The Fourth of July weekend was approaching, and Miss Pelham, the nursery school teacher, took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism.

“We live in a great country,” she announced.  “One of the things we should be happy about is that, in this country, we are all free.”

Trevor, who was a little boy in her class, come walking up to her from the back of the room.  He stood with his hands on his hips and said loudly, “I’m not free, I’m four!”

Even though these are serious times with serious questions to ask, I thought it would be appropriate to begin with a little humor.

“Freedom” is such a beautiful, American sort of word, certainly much more so than some of the other “F” words we hear spoken in these post-Christian times!  It’s such a compelling concept; it’s why we celebrate the Fourth of July in the first place.  However, the word “freedom” itself raises serious questions. Continue reading →

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

June 28, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Lamentations 3:22-33

Sermon Theme:  “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

 (Sources:  Brokhoff, Series B, Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentaries; original ideas; Online Peanuts Quotes; Christian Jokes Online; Introduction to Lamentations, Concordia Self-Study Bible)

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

           The “dog days” of summer are about to begin, — when the triple digit heat index and the three-digit humidity make daily life miserable, especially without air-conditioning.

For people without hope, the “dog days of summer” hound them all year long, summer, fall, winter, and spring, — only the heat and humidity are within rather than without, and life is hopeless and miserable.

You know folks are in trouble when the woebegone husband says to the wife, “I married you, — now make me happy!”  It’s like when Charlie Brown said in a Peanuts comic strip, “I’ve developed a new philosophy.  I only dread one day at a time.”

In another strip, Lucy asks Charlie, “Why do you think we’re put here on earth, Charlie Brown?”

“To make others happy,” he replies.

Lucy responds, “I don’t think I’M making anyone very happy.”  After a pause, she continues, “Of course, no one is making ME very happy either!  SOMEBODY’S NOT DOING HIS JOB!” Continue reading →

Sermon for Father’s Day, Pentecost 4

June 21, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Theme:  “Does Jesus Care?”

 (Sources:  Brokhoff Series B Preaching Workbook; Father’s Day Quotes Online; Father’s Day Humor Online; 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.

On Father’s Day, we recognize how important the father is in the rearing of children.  After all, God has honored fathers by using the term “father” to refer to Himself; He could have used “uncle” or “colonel” or “CEO.”  More about that later, but suffice it to say, — as fathers, because of the role we play in the family, we must be careful of what we do and what we say.

After the church service a little boy told his pastor, “When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”

“Well, thank you,” the pastor replied, “but why?”

“Because,” said the boy, “my daddy says you’re one of the poorest preachers we’ve ever had!’

Little Susan was mother’s helper.  She helped set the table when guests were due to dinner.  Presently everything was on, the guest came in, and everyone sat down.  Then Mother noticed something was missing.

“Susan,” she said, “You didn’t put a knife and fork at Mr. Smith’s place.”

“I thought he wouldn’t need them,” explained Susan, “Daddy says he always eats like a horse.”

In some instances, it’s the mother who helps the child understand God and develop a religious life, but the father should be involved in this, too, and he often is.

A father was at the beach with his children when his four-year-old son Bob ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore, where a seagull lay dead in the sand.

“Daddy, what happened to him?”  Bob asked.

“He died and went to heaven,” the dad replied.

Bob thought for a moment and then said, “Did God throw him back down?” Continue reading →

Sermon for Third Sunday after Pentecost

June 14, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Ezekiel 17:22-14 and Mark 4:26-34

Sermon Theme:  “God’s Arbor”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Christian Jokes Online; Peanuts Comic Strips; original ideas; Harper’s Bible Dictionary; Believer’s Commentary)

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

           Father Murphy, the priest, walked into a pub and said to the first man he met, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

The man replied, “I do, Father.”

The priest said, “Then stand over there against the wall.”

Then the priest asked a second man, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

“Certainly, Father,” was the man’s reply.

The priest said, “Then stand over there against the wall.”

Then Father Murphy walked up to O’Toole and said, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

O’Toole said, “No, I don’t Father.”

The priest said, “I don’t believe this.  You mean to tell me that when you die you don’t want to go to heaven?”

O’Toole said, “Oh, when I die, yes!  I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.”

Today’s lectionary missed Arbor Day by one month and 20 days, — it’s the last Friday of the month of April, — but both of our sermon texts are about trees, the Old Testament from Ezekiel and the Gospel of Mark.  The metaphor of the trees and the parable of the trees shed some light on O’Toole’s misunderstanding. Continue reading →