Sermon for Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, July 6, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon Theme:  “Is the Yoke on Us?”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 24, Part 3, Series A)

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

           At a petting zoo I went to once, there was a small carousel with five ponies tethered to a pole.  Round and round they would go in circles, wearing blinders to keep them from seeing far ahead, harnessed into a path that never changed.  The small children who had never ridden on a horse were delighted with the experience, but they soon tired of the little circular path.

          So the children were removed from the saddles and new children mounted up.  The ponies would go round and round, again and again, in an uneventful and unimaginative parade that went nowhere.

          Jesus observed that some people have a faith a lot like the little carousel. Continue reading →

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 29, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Texts:  Matthew 10:34-42

Sermon Theme:  “So Jesus Is Not the ‘Prince of Peace’ after All?”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; original ideas; Wikipedia Online; Nelson’s Three-in-One; Emphasis Online Commentary; Believer’s Commentary; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 24, Part 3, Series A)

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

           In 1994, the city planners in San Luis Obispo, California, introduced a measure that would have required every new house to have a front porch.  They were not trying to be frivolous by doing that, nor were they trying to promote a particular style of architecture.  The idea was that if all the residents of that community had front porches, they would probably sit on those porches, and therefore, they would be more likely to visit with passersby and with people who lived around them.

          In short, the city planners figured that good friends and good neighbors would yield a safer and more satisfying community.  It turned out that a legal challenge to that porch requirement caused the proposal to be withdrawn. Continue reading →

Sermon for Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 22, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Matthew 10:26-33

Sermon Theme:  “The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 24, Part 3, Series A; original ideas and examples; Emphasis Online Illustrations)

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

           “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” came the uplifting words from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address in 1933.  He described that fear as a “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

          Of course, there would have been no reason for Roosevelt to assert his “firm belief” that there was “nothing to fear” unless there actually was something to fear.   In 1933, our country was in the staggering economic crisis of the Great Depression.  People were desperate, without jobs, food, places to live, and   hostilities were already brewing that would lead to World War II in 1939. Continue reading →

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 25, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  John 14:15-21

Sermon Theme:  “Who Needs Help?  We All Do”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Wikipedia online; Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A)

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

           As a person who wanted to be a cartoonist from age five to age twenty-five, I naturally notice any cartoon that shows up anywhere.  Sometimes a cartoon can capture life attitudes better than a novel or a poem.

          A cartoon in the New Yorker a few years ago sadly depicted the way that many people live.  It depicted two young women, who, having just returned to their apartment from their day’s work, are trying to relax and make the most of their leisure time.  Both look, and are, thoroughly bored.

          One remarks, “I don’t know whether to take a Benzedrine and go to the party, or a Nembutal and go to bed.” Continue reading →

Sermon for Graduate Recognition Sunday

Friendship Sunday, Easter Five, May 18, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon Theme:  “Blocks That Fall and Stones That Live”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Series A; SermonSuite/Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; “The Chief Cornerstone” by Johnny Hunt; Funny Graduation Stories Online; “A Lesson in Life” by Michael J. Fox)

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

           “A graduation ceremony,” says Robert Orben, “is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that ‘individuality’ is the key to success.”

          That’s funny because it’s a contradiction, isn’t it? 

          Sometimes we get to feeling that life itself is a contradiction, don’t we?  Especially if we’re a graduating Senior.  The fact that we seem to struggle and struggle on the path of life and yet get nowhere is a paradox.  We need to keep in mind what Frank A. Clark once said, “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

          About this time of year, some high school seniors may not only be thinking that life is a contradiction, but also that every situation has two sides to it. Continue reading →

              Sermon for Mother’s Day, Good Shepherd Sunday, Easter Four

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas, May 11, 2014

Sermon Text:  1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon Theme:  “Suffering at the Hands of Your Own:

                                                   A Mother’s Day Perspective”

 (Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentary; original ideas and personal examples; Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A; Believer’s Commentary by William MacDonald)

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

           It’s only natural on Mother’s Day for us to think about our mothers and grandmothers – I include grandmothers, because, for many of us, our grandmother was like a second mother.  Contrary to the popular notion, not all mothers are sweet, gentle, and soft-spoken, and that’s all right.

          My grandmother was sweet, gentle, and soft-spoken, but my mother was loud, strong-willed, and rough-hewn.  I loved them both.

          And the fondest memories I have of both of them is hunting eggs.  My grandmother had a huge chicken yard with many chickens, and she sold eggs by the crates, something quite necessary when the cotton crop failed.  When I was about five years old, she took me with her to hunt eggs, — I loved hunting chicken eggs with her, because it was like having Easter egg hunts all year long!  Today, when I think of her, that’s what I remember best. Continue reading →

Sermon for Third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Theme:  “When You’re on the Road to Emmaus”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle A Preaching Workbook; SermonSuite and Emphasis Online Illustrations; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Part 2, March 9 – June 8, 2014; original ideas and illustrations; Online Blog, Just a Closer Walk with Me; John Burley, www.tfcanglican.org.)

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

 Has this ever happened to you?  You are in a grocery store, the mall, the Post Office, or even in a hotel in another town, and someone comes up to you all smiles and beaming eyes.  They say, “Hey, how have you been?  It’s been a long time.  You look great!”  You look deep into their eyes, you think for a second and the truth begins to sink in . . . . . . . .you have no idea who this person is!

Something like that happened to me when we were staying in the Ant Street Inn in Brenham.  All the rooms open out into the Grand Parlor which is a huge Victorian style living room. 

I walked out of our room into the parlor, and there was this church group having a social gathering.  I passed this elderly man who smiled at me and said, “Hey, how are you?”  I mumbled “Aw-right, you?,” and kept walking.  ‘That man acts like he knows me, but I don’t know any old geezer like that,’ I thought to myself.  Continue reading →

Sermon for Second Sunday of Easter

April 27, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1Peter 1:3-9

Sermon Theme:  “Born Again into the Kingdom of Heaven”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Part 2, March 9-June 8, 2014; original ideas; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentary)

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

 Well, the joy of Easter should still be with us, and I don’t mean Easter candy and cookies, — as too much left over candy eggs may still be giving the kids stomach aches!  I mean the true joy of our rebirth in Christ made possible by the Resurrection.

So, how does one keep rejoicing and hoping while they are still enduring the hard times, trials, troubles, and difficulties of life?  That’s what folks reading Peter’s letter wanted to know, and so do we!    Continue reading →

Sermon for Easter Sunday

April 20, 2014, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon Theme:  “Seek the Things Above”

 (Sources:  Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Part 2, Series A; original ideas; Emphasis Online Illustrations and Commentaries)

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

 The kettle drums roll their thunder!  The bass drum booms and floors shake while snare drums vibrate and timbers resonate!  News is to be announced!  The crescendo is here!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!

When the bass boomed, God spoke to Moses on fiery Mount Zion, and the ground shook!

As the Lord spoke to Elijah on top of the mountain, the firmament trembled as creation waited for the silent whispered Word from the LORD. Continue reading →

Sermon for Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon Theme:  “The Paradox of the Triumphal Entry”

(Sources:  Emphasis Online Illustrations; Emphasis Online Commentary; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 24, Part 2, Series A; Online Commentary on ‘Israel Demands a King’; Anderson’s Preaching Workbook, Cycle A; original ideas)

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

 As people in a democracy, we Americans have always had difficulty viewing a “king” as a good thing, whereas, today, in England, citizens still have a very positive attitude toward kings and queens.  We still have a bad taste in our mouth about George III who was King of England and our bitter enemy in 1776.

Another King of England, also named George, George V, was monarch of England during World War I.  Although he was a rather incompetent king, he was esteemed by the people. 

He once paid a visit to the city of Leeds, England.  Elaborate preparations were made for his coming.  Excited crowds filled the streets to wave and cheer.  There was a large elementary school in Leeds with a playground parallel to the railway line.  His majesty agreed to wave to the boys and girls as the royal train passed by on the last day of the visit.

The boys and girls crowded to the playground wall overlooking the railway.  Soon the train, moving slowly, emerged from a long tunnel and gradually drew alongside the playground.  Then the king himself emerged from the royal coach and stood on a small platform where all could see him.  He wore no crown or purple robe, but was dressed in a plain suit, just like an ordinary man.  From his jacket pocket he plucked a bright handkerchief with which he waved to the cheering children. Continue reading →