Sermon for St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2013

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Revelation 12:7-12

Sermon Theme:  “The Truth about Angels and Saints”   

 (Sources:  Emphasis online Illustrations; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 23, Part 4, Series C; Online angels.about.com; Online Aardvark Alley Saint Michael and All Angels; Online Ask us anything St. Michael Saint; Steve Bauer, “How Do Angels Serve God?”; original ideas; Lutheran Cyclopedia; Concordia Journal, Summer 2013; Nelson’s Three-in-One)

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

There seems to be more confusion about “angels,” than about perhaps any other subject in the Bible, — mainly because the most popular concepts today regarding angels are un-biblical.  Many of those we get from Hollywood movies.  To be sure, angels are real; it’s just that their reality is misunderstood. 

I want to begin by telling a funny story about angels, — partly because it’s funny, but mainly because it presents the most common misconception about angels that you will find.

Here’s the story: 

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Sermon for Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Sept. 22, 2013

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 16:1-15

Sermon Theme:  “That Dirty Five-Letter Word, “Money”

(Sources:  Emphasis online Commentary; Emphasis online Illustrations; Brokhof, Series C, Preaching Workbook; original ideas)

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

 The IRS has never called me to verify large contributions made by church members, but I have known a couple pastors who have received such inquiries. 

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Sermon for Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18

September 8, 2013, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sermon Theme:  “What Do You Choose?”

(Sources:  Emphasis online Illustrations; Believer’s Commentary; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 23, Part 4, Series C; original ideas; Nelson’s Three-in-One Concordance notes)

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

You did not choose to be born in Wallis.  Or in East Bernard.  Or in Dime Box.  You did not choose to have Lutheran parents who made you memorize Luther’s Small Catechism, — parts of it, in German.  You did not choose to have a father who could not read.  You did not choose to have a mother who was like a marine sergeant.  You did not choose many things in your life.

Some of us were able to choose the college we attended; some were not.  Whether the young man, whose tragic story I’m about to tell, was able to choose the college he attended, or not, I don’t know.

His mother was very proud of him as he left home to attend Tuskegee  Institute.  She said tearfully to him, “Don’t forget who you are and whose you are.  Study hard and do your best.  Don’t settle for anything less.”  She was a very devout Christian, and she warned him not to bow down to the false gods of the world.

Away from home for the first time, the young man had lots of choices.  He began to party more than study.  He soon lost all sense of responsibility and purpose; it no longer mattered to him why he was in college.  He fell in with the wrong crowd, stayed out late and drank heavily. Continue reading →

Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Aug. 11, 2013

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 12:22-34

Sermon Theme:  “Is It Really Worth Worrying about?”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Brokhof, Series C, Workbook; Nelson’s 3-in-1)

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

 All of us worry, don’t we?  It’s part of life.

When G. K. Chesterton was once asked by a reporter, “If you were a preacher, and you could only give one sermon, what would it be about?,” he immediately replied, “I’d preach about worry!”  He knew what it was to be human.  Worry motivates a lot of our actions.  And, my gosh, what we sometimes worry about! Continue reading →

Sermon for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, July 28, 2013

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 11:1-13

Sermon Theme:  “A Lesson on Prayer”

(Sources:  Emphasis online Commentary; Emphasis online Illustrations; original ideas; Brokhof Series C Preaching Workbook)

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

Two rather disreputable looking men were shipwrecked on a deserted island.  Frustrated by their situation, one man began to pray, “Dear Lord, I know that I haven’t been a very good person.  In the past I have lied, cheated, and hurt people with my behavior.  I drink, smoke, swear and gamble.  But God, if you get us out of this mess, you’ll see a changed man.  I’ll . . . “  Continue reading →