Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 5

June 7, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 3:20-35

Sermon Theme:  “A Very Disturbing Gospel Text: There’s Nothing Crazy about Jesus!”

 (Sources:  Anderson, Cycle B, Preaching Workbook;  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Online Christian Jokes; footnotes, Concordia Self-Study Bible)

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

           Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon.  Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.  When the boy told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.”

“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy replied, “you don’t even know your way to the post office.” Continue reading →

Sermon for Holy Trinity/Graduate Recognition Sunday

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon Theme:  “Teach Me, Lead Me, and Send Me, Lord”

(Sources:  Brokhoff’s Series B Preaching Workbook; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; my ideas from Images, May 28, 2015; other original ideas; Famous Online Graduation Quotes; Funny Online Graduation Quotes; Harper’s Bible Dictionary)

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

           College Commencement speeches are usually much longer than high school graduation speeches, probably because colleges pay big money to hire famous speakers who feel they earn their money by making long speeches.  High school graduation speeches are usually given by students and are much shorter.  And sometimes better.

Some people dread attending graduation ceremonies, because many commencement addresses over the years have been very boring.  In past years, when I would start my sermon on Graduate Sunday, some members probably mumbled under their breath, “Oh dear, not another Commencement speech!”

Because of that attitude, there has been in recent years an attempt by many speakers to be funny, or at least to have a few funny one-liners.  Melanie White told a group of high school grads, “Now that you’ve graduated, just remember:  Bosses don’t usually accept notes from your mother.”

An auditorium full of college graduates listened to Arnold Schwarzenegger tell them:  “Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”

My favorite one has probably been around so long it is considered anonymous:  “Go to it. Be bold.  Be true. Be kind.  Rotate your tires.  Don’t drink so much.  There aren’t going to be enough liver transplants to go around.” Continue reading →

Sermon for Pentecost/Memorial Day Sunday

May 24, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Acts 2:1-21

Sermon Theme:  “Pentecost:  The Antidote to Spiritual Emptiness, Misinterpretation and Misunderstanding”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Examples; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Wikipedia)

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

           A large part of the problem with God’s chosen people, the Israelites, was their disobedience, their faithlessness.  Another part of the problem, just as big, was misinterpretation of God’s Word on the part of the entrenched religious leaders, which caused misunderstanding on the part of the people.  The religious leaders drained the spirit out of their religion and narrowed it down to rituals and sacrifices.

David pleads in Psalm 51, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me . . . You do not delight in sacrifice . . . The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.”

The Old Testament prophets had foretold the Messiah just as He appeared in Jesus, but the religious gurus misinterpreted His nature and work and led the people to misunderstanding.

It’s so easy to misinterpret, misunderstand, and mis-communicate, isn’t it?

A woman went to a marriage counselor and told him, “I want to divorce my husband.”

“Do you have any grounds for divorce?”  the counselor asked.

“Why, yes.  We have almost an acre.”

“You don’t understand,” said the counselor.  “What I want to know is if you and your husband have a grudge.”

“That we don’t have,” she said.  “But we do have a carport.”

“The counselor shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, but I still don’t see any reason why you should divorce your husband.”

“It’s just that the man can’t carry on an intelligent conversation,” she replied.

Understanding.  It’s the stuff of which great comedy routines are made.  From Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on first?” to the inspired nonsense of Lucille Ball or the gang from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” comedians have gotten a lot of mileage out of misunderstanding. Continue reading →

Sermon for Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1 John 5:9-15

Sermon Theme:  “Get a Life!”

 (Sources:  Brokhof, Series B Preaching Workbook; Anderson Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Sermon Illustrations; Online Famous Peanuts Quotes; original ideas; Online What Children Say Quotes; Wikipedia.)

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

           Today’s sermon text is about life, eternity, and faith.  John says, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”  The person who has Christ has eternal life.  Christ is life, and to have him by faith living in you is to have eternal life.  The emphasis is not upon “eternal” but upon “life.”  “Eternal” separates life in Christ from earthly life.  Physical life ends in death.  Spiritual life, found in Christ, never dies.  This life, “spiritual” life, begins here and now, right now.  It does not begin upon physical death.

No, “spiritual” life begins upon acceptance of Christ by faith as Lord and Savior.  So, heaven for a Christian actually begins now, not after physical death.

The meaning of life is something everybody puzzles about.  Sally Brown says in a Peanuts comic strip, “I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it.”  Charlie Brown remarks, “In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.”  As always, Snoopy has a different view on life, “My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy.  I can’t figure it out.  What am I doing right?” Continue reading →

Sermon for Mother’s Day, the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 15:9-17

Sermon Theme:  “The Gift Goes On, — Or at Least It Should”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; original ideas; Emphasis Online Illustrations: Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook)

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

           Last August, a little boy was interviewed prior to beginning school.  The interview went something like this:

“Any brothers?”

“No,” he answered.

“Any sisters?”

“No,” he again answered.

“Do you have any pets?”

“No, not right now,” the boy answered sadly.

Finally, almost out of frustration, the boy looked up with a smile on his face, and said, “But I do have some friends.”

Yes, and so do we all.  We have all been chosen to be Jesus’ friends.  Jesus says in our sermon text, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. . . . I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you.”

Chosen, by Jesus Christ of all people!  We are special. We are all winners because of Christ.  He has called us to play on His team.  Losers, never!  Winners, always! Continue reading →

Sermonette for Friendship Sunday, May 3, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermonette Texts:  Psalm 23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and John 10:10

Sermonette Theme:  “Wearing His Brand”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Commentaries; Emphasis Illustrations; original ideas; Weatherby’s SCV; Sermons4Kids.com; Wild West Cowboy Facts online; Cattle Brands Online; buildingonthe word.org, the Difference between Sheep and Cows; Campfire Cowboy Ministries Online)

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

           A sheep rancher decided to try something different.  He tried playing music for his sheep to soothe their nerves, make their spirits more tranquil, and put them in a mood for growing better wool and having more babies.  He got out his old Hi-Fi and a bunch of vinyl records and set it all up in the barn where the sheep gathered.

He was shocked to see his ram charge out of the shed, repeatedly ramming his head against a very solid corner fence post, — apparently intent on committing suicide.  Frantically trying to calm the animal and save its life, he finally paused long enough to listen to the music coming out of the barn.

The needle on the old-fashioned stereo record player had stuck in the groove, repeating at least 100 times Frank Sinatra’s immortal phrase, “There’ll never be another ewe.”

No doubt turning off the stereo saved the ram’s life. Continue reading →

Sermon for Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Acts 4:1-12

Sermon Theme:  A Cornerstone by Any Other Name . . .

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Sermon Suite 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.

           There’s a story going around about a college student who stayed up all night preparing for his zoology test.  He entered the classroom and saw ten stands each with a bird on it, each bird covered with a sack with only his legs showing.

The professor instructed the students to use the legs to identify each bird by name, habitat, genus, and species.  The perplexed student, sitting on the first row, was consumed by despair.  All legs looked alike.  Enraged, he approached the desk of the professor and exclaimed, “What a stupid test!  How could anyone identify birds by looking at their legs?”

He threw his unmarked test on the teacher’s desk and headed for the door.  The professor was taken by surprise.  He didn’t know the names of all of his students in the class, so he called after the student, “Young man, what’s your name?”

The enraged student pulled up his pant legs and said, “You guess, Professor, you guess!”

Birds are named.  So are students.  Salvation, also, has a name.  The name is Jesus.  The fact is Holy Scripture gives Jesus many names, — Bread of Life, the Living Water, Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Vine, the Cornerstone, — just to mention some of them.  Continue reading →

Sermon for Third Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1 John 3:1-7

Sermon Theme:  “We Are Children Loved by God”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Brokhoff’s Series B Preaching Workbook; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook)

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

Every Sunday afternoon, the state children’s home dressed the children in their nicest clothes and paraded them through the dining room during open house.  They were shown off to visitors who might be prospective adoptive parents.  Freckle-faced Allison, who had a huge winning grin, was always so hopeful that she would be chosen for adoption.

In spite of her bright personality and winning grin, no one ever chose her.

Finally the day came when a wealthy couple expressed interest in Allison.  They spent time telling her about their lavish home and all the things they could give her.  There was a swimming pool in their backyard and a tennis court behind it.  She would have her very own room, complete with television and computer.  They would be glad to have a puppy or kitten join the family, too, if she wished.  They would fill the shelves with every toy imaginable.

In fact, they offered Allison the fulfillment of a dream world.  Astoundingly, Allison told them that she thought she would rather remain at the children’s home.  This well-to-do couple could not believe their ears.  Their generous offer was being refused by an orphan.  They simply could not understand until Allison explained, “All in the world I ever have wanted was somebody to love me.” Continue reading →