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 →

Sermon for Second Sunday of Easter, April 12, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 20:19-31

Sermon Theme:  “Show Me!”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; personal ideas and examples; Brokhoff’s Series B Preaching Workbook; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Workbook; Online quotes about doubting; Online Cartoons about Doubting Thomas; Online Humor about Doubting)

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

           As human beings, many of us, if not most of us, tend to identify with the disciple whom history calls, “Doubting Thomas.”  Many would say, ‘That’s our weakness as flawed homo sapiens, — to doubt.’  Some, however, especially those from the “Show Me” State of Missouri, would say, ‘We are people who want to know the facts, because we don’t want to be duped.’  Maybe Thomas was from Missouri.  After all, Thomas was not at the crucifixion to see Jesus die, nor was he at the empty tomb, nor was he present when Jesus made His first post-resurrection appearance to the other disciples.  For his Master to have arisen from the dead defies reason.

Most of you know the origin of the “Show-Me State”-label, when Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver declared, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me.  I am from Missouri.  You have got to show me.”  Thomas had to be shown. Continue reading →

Sermon for Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 16:1-8

Sermon Theme:  “Gone?!”

 (Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 16, Part 2, Series B; Emphasis Online Illustrations and Commentaries; original ideas and examples; Anderson’s Cycle B Preaching Notebook; Brokhof’s Preaching Workbook, Series B)

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

           In our Gospel text for today, as the three women, — the two Mary’s and Salome, — enter the empty tomb at dawn, and an angel says to them, “He is risen!,” they didn’t respond, as we did this morning, with “He is risen indeed!,” did they?

No, — instead, the women are scared out of their wits by the presence of the angel sitting where the body had lain.  They leave the tomb trembling and bewildered.  The women were afraid.  They fled from the tomb.  They said nothing to anyone.  The predominant emotion is fear!  The main idea is that Jesus is GONE, and that could be good or bad.  Where is the Easter joy we came to hear about, read about and sing about this morning?

The Easter angel, — or angels (Luke says “angels” in his Gospel), — announced the Good News in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but in a different order.  Matthew and Luke say first that Jesus is not here anymore, that He has left the tomb, — in other words, GONE!  Then, they say He has arisen.  The angel in Mark’s Gospel says He is risen first, and then that He is not there.  This may be nit-picking, but it seems that Mark is prioritizing the proclamation.  He is saying that Jesus is alive, and He is out there with you! Continue reading →

Sermon for Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 22, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 10:35-45

Sermon Theme:  “What?!  You’re Asking for the Best Seats in the House?!”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentaries; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Believer’s Commentary; Nelson’s Three-in-One)

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

           Let me tell you about the two cattle ranchers who were bragging to one another.  The rancher from Oklahoma said, “Well, I’ve got 15,000 head of cattle with an ‘A’ branded on them.”

“An ‘A?,’” said the rancher from Texas, “heck, my spread is called the Bar T, Circle L, Cross Creek, Flying Z, Bent Fork, Double Back, North Canyon Ranch.”

“Wow,” said the first rancher, “how many head of cattle do you have?”

“Well, confessed the Texan, “not too many survive the branding.”

We human beings like to brag, don’t we?, because we want to be Number One.  Too often we want to be greater and better than anyone else.

Such an attitude could be applied to the behavior of James and John in the incident in today’s sermon text.  These two disciples tell Jesus they want Him to do something for them.  When He asks what that is, they tell Him that when He comes into His glory, they wish to sit on His right and left, the places of highest honor.  This request shows that James and John had really, really missed the point. Continue reading →

Sermon for Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 3:14-21

Sermon Theme:  “In Christ There Is No Condemnation”

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

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

           Today’s sermon text is one of those bold texts that even wakes up the pew-nappers who don’t get enough sleep on Saturday nights.  They suddenly wake up and think, “What did Jesus say?  Run that by again!”  Jesus likes to shock us into listening, doesn’t He?  He does it throughout the New Testament.

He tells us, ‘Don’t point out that speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye when there’s a plank in yours.’  He loves to say things like comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to the yeast a woman hides in the grain to make bread.  I mean, the Jews considered yeast an “unclean” substance, and when you prepared for Passover, you had to get rid of all yeast-raised products out of the house.  So comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast was a shocker.

There are some “shockers” in today’s text, but before we look at them, let me just briefly sum up the text itself. Continue reading →

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, March 1, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Mark 8:27-38

Sermon Theme:  “You Can’t Live Your Life in a Safe Deposit Box”

 (Sources:  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.

           When two sisters divided a family inheritance, there was a precious gold watch that had belonged to their mother.  Said one wise sister to the other, “You can have it if you wear it.  But if you are going to put it in a safe deposit box and never look at or enjoy it, then I will keep it.”

Life cannot be lived in a safe deposit box.  But if life is lived for Christ and the Gospel, it is “safe.”  We have God’s promise.

In the television documentary of a nun who was killed in El Salvador, she was sure that God had called her to be a missionary to this particular place at this time in her life.  When she was home on missionary leave, her friends, her family, and even a priest tried to persuade her of the imminent danger in El Salvador, and to dissuade her from returning to her missionary assignment.  But she was willing to be lost for Christ’s sake.

Most of us, probably none of us, will be called to serve God in such a way, where danger is imminent and being killed is very real possibility.  Yet we need to hear the message of this Gospel, because our commitment to Christ and our dedication to His work are so lukewarm.  Many Christians today want to put their whole church in a safe deposit box. Continue reading →

Sermon for First Sunday in Lent, February 22, 2015

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  James 1:12-18 and Mark 1:9-15

Sermon Theme:  “Steadfast under Trial”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations and Commentaries; Concordia Journal, Winter 2015; Believer’s Commentary; “Dealing with Temptation,” christdeaf.org; “Trial, Test or Temptation,” bobrussell.org; “The Difference between Trials, Tests, and Temptation,” another Online commentary; original ideas; Pope Francis, “Their Blood Cries Out to the Lord”; Online Famous Quotations; Execution of 21 Coptic Prisoners, Houston Chronicle, Feb. 16, 2015.)

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

           Trials, tests, and temptations!  — that’s what both of our sermon texts for today are about.  Often, the same Greek word in the New Testament is translated as “trial” in one passage and “temptation” in another, because in the contexts of the verses they are not quite the same.

Although “temptation” is a very serious concept, we human beings often make light of it, saying things like, “The devil made me do it.”  We all get a good laugh out of Mark Twain’s famous witticism, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world.  I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”  Yet, lung cancer isn’t very funny, is it?  Perhaps Oscar Wilde and Charlie Brown were speaking for all of us when they said, “I can resist everything except temptation.”

Trials, tests, and temptations are not exactly the same thing, so we need to make some distinctions first before we look at our sermon texts, — the letter of James and the Gospel of Mark.  I started out with James as my text and then added Mark to develop the message fully.  A number of theologians have defined these three words and have pointed out distinctions, but I like Bob Russell’s differentiations the best. Continue reading →