Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent

February 21, 2016, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 13:31-35

Sermon Theme:  “The Pharisees, the Fox, and the Mother Hen”

(Sources:  Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; “You Might Be a Pharisee If” . . . jelc-seville.org; “12 Signs You Are a Modern Day Pharisee’ by Frank Powell; “Am I a Pharisee?,” abouthim.com; original ideas; Believer’s Commentary; Harper’s Bible Dictionary)

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

The popular comedian Jeff Foxworthy made a fortune out of telling “You might be a redneck if” jokes, starting a nationwide trend of telling “You might be, if” jokes.

For instance, “You might be a redneck if you believe you got a set of matched luggage if you have two shopping bags from the same store.”  Or, “You might be a redneck if you think a stock tip is advice on worming your hogs.”  Or, “You might be a redneck if you think Taco Bell is the Mexican Phone Company.”

This has no doubt triggered all the current Lutheran jokes.  “You might be a Lutheran if, rather than introducing yourself to a visitor at church, you instead check out their name in the guestbook.”  Or, “You might be a Lutheran if you forget to put water in the baptismal font, but never, ever forget to put water in the coffee pot.”  Or, “You might be Lutheran if a midlife crisis for you means switching from the old hymnal to the new one.”  Or, “You might be Lutheran if your idea of a mixed marriage is an ELCA bride and a Missouri Synod groom.”

Frank Powell and several others have come up with the Foxworthy paradigm regarding Pharisees.  Here are a few:  You might be a Pharisee if you are sure nobody has ever had to forgive you.  You might be a Pharisee if you go to church to prove you’re good.  You might be a Pharisee if you believe God actually needs you.  You might be a Pharisee if you read the Bible to substantiate your own convictions, not to be shaped in God’s image.  You might be a Pharisee if you think the world would be a better place if everyone were just like you.  You might be a Pharisee if you believe your salvation is based on your works, not on Jesus.

Our sermon text for today is about some Pharisees, a fox, and a mother hen.  Let’s talk about the Pharisees first. Continue reading →

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent, February 14, 2016

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon Theme:  “You’re No Different from Anybody Else”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; original ideas; Believer’s Commentary; Rite of Baptism, Lutheran Worship)

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

Zephyr Wright was for many years the housekeeper-cook at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas.  David Brinkley told of an incident when Mrs. Wright answered the phone at the ranch.  Her employer, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was a United States Senator at the time.  An aide was calling to tell Senator Johnson that important legislation he had sponsored had just been voted down.  Would Mrs. Wright relay the message?

She said, “I’m not telling him that.  Mr. Johnson don’t like to be turned down.”

“Why not?,” replied the Aide, “he’s no different from anybody else?”

Mrs. Wright retorted, “Mister, YOU know he’s no different from anybody else, and I know he’s no different from anybody else, — but he don’t know it, and I don’t want to be the one to tell him.”  And she hung up.

‘You are no different from anybody else.  I am no different from anybody else,’ Paul is saying in our sermon text for today.  This little short passage from the apostle’s letter to the Romans packs a lot in a small space.  With one indirect and two direct references to the Old Testament in the text, a person who doesn’t know the Bible might miss something here.

When it comes to God and human beings, in one sense, you are very different from everybody else in that God knows your name and He knows the number of hairs on your head.  But in another sense, you are no different from anybody else, in that God so loved everybody in the world that He gave His only Son.  Then, in yet another sense, true believers are different from unbelievers in that they have received the mark of Christ in Baptism.  Paul is talking about the second sense here. Continue reading →

Sermon for The Transfiguration of Our Lord

February 7, 2016, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  Luke 9:28-36

Sermon Theme: “A Daily Face-Lift to God in Prayer”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 26, Part 1, Series C; original ideas; The Parables of Peanuts; Harper’s Bible Dictionary; Lutheran Cyclopedia; The Veil, the Chalice, and the Dignity of Man, adoremus.org; LiveOrthodoxyOrthoPost; johnsanidopouslos.com)

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

I’m always amused by Lucy Van Pelt’s bullying tactics, her unmitigated gall, and her self-absorbed vanity.  In one Peanuts strip Lucy is pictured admiring her own face in the mirror, with Charlie Brown saying to her, “And besides, never forget that beauty is only skin deep.”

Lucy replies, “I DENY THAT!  My beauty is not only on the surface, it goes down deep . . . layer after layer after layer.”  She looks back in the mirror at her face and exclaims, “Yes sir!. . . . . . . I have very THICK beauty!”

You know, in today’s world, plastic surgery and face-lifts are becoming increasingly popular among those who can afford them.  Those who receive them say that it has helped them feel better about themselves.  Gravity and the pull of the grave have a way of pulling down our countenance.

However, there is another kind of face-lift that will reap far longer lasting and satisfying results.  It’s called looking up to God in prayer.  Our sermon text from Luke says, “And when Jesus was PRAYING, the appearance of His face was altered, and His clothing became dazzling white.”  In Matthew’s gospel account, Matthew adds, “And Jesus’ face shown like the sun.”  Our Lord’s face was radiant with the glow of God’s glory.  A daily face-lift to God in prayer can not only do wonders for your looks but also your lives.  Continue reading →

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

January 31, 2016, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas

Sermon Text:  1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

Sermon Theme:  “Love Makes Peanut Butter Taste Better”

(Sources:  Anderson’s Cycle C Preaching Workbook; Emphasis Online Commentary; Emphasis Online Illustrations; Original ideas; Online Cartoons about Charlie Brown Falls in Love; “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” Wikipedia)

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

          It always struck me as funny that the very young characters in the Peanuts’ comic strips often thought about and talked about being in love.

Over the years, Lucy Van Pelt was in love with Schroeder, the kid who never stopped playing the piano.  Sally Brown thought she was in love with Lucy’s brother, Linus.  And while Peppermint Patty is in love with Charlie Brown, Charlie is smitten by the Little Red-Haired Girl, who was identified in TV specials as “Heather.”

Because the Little Red-Haired Girl doesn’t seem to notice Charlie, he is often lovelorn.  In one cartoon strip, Charlie is sitting on a bench eating his lunch, a peanut butter sandwich; he looks up and says aloud, “Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”

In another strip, Schroeder, head bent over the keys, is playing the piano while Lucy stands and looks lovingly at him.  She then gets on top of the piano, but Schroeder still doesn’t notice her.  Finally, still on top of the piano, she sticks her face up to his, almost nose to nose, and says lovingly, “You fascinate me.”

Schroeder jumps up with a gasp and pulls the piano out from under Lucy, causing her to fall to the floor.  Lying on the floor on her back, looking straight up, she exclaims, “Never fall in love with a musician!” Continue reading →