Sermons (Page 106)
Whom Do You Serve?
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This morning our Lord Jesus poses a question to you. “What do you seek: The things of this life, or the Kingdom of God?” In other words, what is most important to you: This life, with all its selfishness and perversion, pain and suffering, tears and sorrow, sickness and death—this life which will…
The Vine and the Branches
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5, Roy’s confirmation verse. Greetings to the holy people of St. Paul congregation and holy people from other Christian congregations. We’re set aside in baptism to be Christ’s own, entirely cleansed and freed from all…
God As God Is
That’s quite a creed, isn’t it? In some ways, it’s probably a good thing we don’t recite the entire Athanasian Creed too often, or it would probably discourage some of you from coming to worship at all. That would be your loss, not God’s, of course, because having a long worship service isn’t doing Him any good. After all, God is eternal. We just confessed that. The…
Jesus Among Us
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has…
Waiting for the Spirit
Pentecost. A great and festive day in the church year, to be sure. Yet we often forget that the Pentecost we hear about in our second lesson today was by no means the first Pentecost. The children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been celebrating it for over 14 centuries by the time of Christ and the apostles. The word means “fiftieth,” and there are 50 days between the…
Can’t? Or Can?
One of the first sins ever committed in this world was the “excuse”. After Adam had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he excused his sin by blaming Eve. And then Eve excused her sin by blaming Satan. The Bible is full of people who made excuses when God called them into service, or called them on their sin. You may remember the story of Moses. When God…
A Known God
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. The name of our congregation, St. Paul, is taken from him who was perhaps the greatest missionary in the Bible. It’s fitting, therefore, that occasionally we should consider the work and the words of this great man. It’s not that Paul was somehow holier than any of…
Love Born of God
Brian and Myria, It gives me great joy to stand before you today, celebrating the conclusion of all the preparations we have made together for your marriage. In fact, as joyous as this day is for the two of you and your families and friends, just imagine my joy: You’re the fourth of four couples I was juggling through pre-marital counseling at the same time; the fourth…
A Father’s Gifts
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. How many times a day do you think: “If I only had $10,000 to pay off my credit cards and get back to square one,” or, “If only my husband hadn’t died so young,” or, “If only I was 3 inches taller, and my waist was 3 inches smaller”? How many times do you say…
The Real Shepherd
It is only with the greatest trepidation and humility that any preacher should approach a gospel text that speaks of shepherds, whether good or bad. For when Holy Scripture speaks of bad shepherds, it takes to task those who were called to lead God’s people in faithful obedience, but who fell down on the job and chose their own selfish paths. Bring up those sorts of bad…
