Sermons (Page 109)
What’s the Big Deal?
I’m sure that many of you have heard the presumably fictional anecdote about the three pastors who got together one day for coffee—or was it another Lutheran beverage? In their conversation, they found that all their churches had recently experienced bat infestation problems. “I got so mad,” said one, “I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but…
It’s Guaranteed
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the only truly Righteous One. Amen. If it’s one thing we learn from the Bible, and particularly from today’s Epistle lesson from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, it’s this: Mankind is not in control. We are in control of some things, of course. But we are certainly not in…
Teaching and Authority … or Authority and Teaching
Some of you may remember an ad campaign several years ago for a particular investment firm. The premise was that the advice given by this firm was so valuable, whenever one of their customers was about to repeat it to a friend or colleague, everyone within earshot would fall completely silent, so…
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…