Sermon for July 26, 2015

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

Foltz Wedding Pictures

St. Paul Lutheran Church was packed for the wedding of Larry and Carole Foltz.

St. Paul Lutheran Church was packed for the wedding of Larry and Carole Foltz.

Larry and Carole at Friday Practice

Larry and Carole at Friday Practice

Pictured is Carole Blazek being escorted to the altar by her brother, Butch Blazek.

Pictured is Carole Blazek being escorted to the altar by her brother, Butch Blazek

Sermon for July 19, 2015

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 July 12, 2015

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 July 05, 2015

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