Sermons by Rev. Sherman D. Stenson, Associate Pastor (Page 16)
Bondage, Truth, and Freedom
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Are you afraid? Are you very, very afraid? Many of our fears develop out of ignorance. Out of a lack of information. They arise because we don’t have adequate knowledge about someone or something. Since we’re unsure about them, or the potential consequences of dealing…
Who Is With You?
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Some time in your past, you’ve probably had the following discussion. It might’ve been just with a friend or two, or maybe it was a game you played at a party. Maybe it was an activity you did at a team-building event at work or school. The situation begins something like…
The Perfect Relationship
The words from the Old Testament Reading and Holy Gospel appointed for today have a very familiar ring to them. Perhaps better said, a double ring. You see, these words that the Holy Spirit gave Moses to write in Genesis 2 and as He inspired St. Mark to pen in his Gospel account, together with a passage from Ephesians 5, are among the recommended readings from Holy…
The Wisdom of Humility
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. My father is a wise guy. No, I don’t mean that he’s part of an organized crime family. Nor is he one of those constant smart-alecks we all find annoying, although he’s always been rather witty and quick with a quip to suit the occasion. What I mean is that he has a…
On Your Side
Some of you may remember the radio and television ad campaign from several years ago for a company called Nationwide Insurance. With all the shakeups, mergers, and failures in that industry in recent years, I’m not sure they’re even in business today, or at least operating under the same name. Like any human creation, companies come and companies go. Cars and houses,…
Finding the Gospel
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” We all heard Pastor Nuckols declare that a short time ago, following the reading from the 7th chapter of St. Mark. And we all responded by saying, “Praise to you, O Christ.” This is the Gospel of the Lord, huh? Is it, really? Maybe it’s…
Great Things for You
“From now on all generations will call me blessed,” said Mary. And indeed they have called her blessed, though certainly not all people in all generations. It’s a great shame of Christian history that our Savior’s dear mother has been perpetually caught in a tug-of-war over her role and status in the Church. That’s not Mary’s fault, of course. It wasn’t Mary that elevated…
What Miraculous Sign?
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Do you ever have the feeling that, no matter what you do, it’s just not good enough to satisfy somebody? That no matter how hard you try, or even how much you accomplish, it’s not going to matter? Maybe they’ll think you didn’t do enough. Maybe they’ll think you didn’t do…
Spotters on Duty
The story is told about an engineer, who was working in an automobile assembly plant. The company had to make some changes to its assembly lines every year because of the new model changes. Occasionally, though, entirely new products would be introduced, which would require a more extensive overhaul of the facility. The engineer’s crew was installing and testing about six…
Who Cares?
Grace, mercy, and peace to you this Father’s Day from God our heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. Storms are among the most powerful forces in God’s creation. We know from the very fact that storms can sometimes be destructive that they weren’t a part of God’s original plan of creation. They came to be as a result of humankind’s…