Sermons on Matthew (Page 3)
December 18, 2022
4th Sunday of Advent Isaiah 7: 10-16——–Matthew 1: 18-25 Rev. Tom Willadsen We welcome the Boca Brass as they provide inspiration for the Advent Season through the inspiration of their music today.
December 11, 2022
3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 35: 1-10 Matthew 11: 2-11
November 27, 2022
1st Sunday of Advent Romans 13: 11-14 Matthew 24: 36-44
Sanctified or Sanctimonious?
March 2, 2022—–Ash Wednesday Psalm 51: 1-17; Matthew 6: 1-6; 16-21 I was driving our daughter, Erin, to school one day, and she was reviewing her vocabulary lesson. “Dad,” she asked, “What does sanctimonious mean?” Well, sanctimonious is a word I am familiar with, and I have seen it used numerous times (though I don’t believe I have ever used it!), but I could not think of a way to define it. She had, in her lesson, some definitions from…
Newborn King/Shepherd
Newborn King/Shepherd Epiphany Ephesians 3:1-12 January 3, 2021 Matthew 2:1-12 SQuire Rushnell believes that God is always at work, performing miracles right under our noses just to show us how much God loves us! SQuire calls these little miracles “God-winks,” and he compiled a book full of examples that he entitled When God Winks at You. He has continued to document these miracles from all around the world, and recently published a new collection, including this story from McAllen, Texas.…
We Belong to the Day
We Belong to the Day 24th Pentecost 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 November 15, 2020 Matt. 25:14-30 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good. From that ancient, ancient text to this very moment, light has been associated with all things good. Running deep within our psyches we sense the epic struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. This imagery has been used in…
Watching with Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Every great now and then, someone asks me about what it’s like to be a pastor. My general answer is, “If you are called into ministry, it’s the best job in the world!” If I am asked, “What is the worst part of being a pastor,” I would have to say, “funerals and memorial services.” And, if I am asked, “What is the best part of being a pastor?” I would have to say that one of the best things would be funerals and…
A Life Worthy of God
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 Matthew 23:1-12 These last few weeks, we have been exploring several events in the life of Jesus in which he was dealing with Scribes and Pharisees—the “religious experts” of Israel. These were men who had tremendous social standing: a cushy life, and a show of respect from the common people. But they felt threatened by the teachings of Jesus—threatened because, if the people responded to Jesus and to his message, their position of power and respect would crumble! I get…
Tender Nursing
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Matthew 22:34-40 Are you a person who “thinks in pictures”? I am one, and I find myself trying to “picture” God. Without much success. How about you? 1. Do you have an image from Monty Python, a bearded guy up in the clouds, speaking with lots of thunder in his voice? 2. Or do you picture God as a shepherd, caring for sheep, searching for lost lambs? 3. Or do you see God more like Isaiah’s vision…
Word and Work
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Matthew 22:15-22 Back in the ‘70’s, I saw a poster that depicted a preacher in a pulpit and in the “word bubble” above his head, it said, “Words, words, words, words, words.” Now, if you remember the ‘70’s, you know that boomers were kind of disenchanted with a lot of things (that’s putting it mildly!), and this poster illustrated our feelings about people who did a lot of talking but didn’t back up their talk with consistent action. They “talked the talk”…
Make it My Own
Phil. 3:4b-14 Matt. 21:33-46 Would you describe yourself as a “goal-oriented person”? You know, someone who has a firm idea of what they want to do, and one who makes plans for all the specific steps needed to pursue this goal. Some folks are on the extreme end of this spectrum, while others are all the way on the other end—never making a plan, just kind of “rolling through life,” taking it as it comes to them. I suspect that most of us are somewhere…
The Power of Love – Unity
Philippians 2:1-13 September 27, 2020 Matthew 21:23-32 I want you to picture Lucy van Pelt and her little brother, Linus, from the comic strip Peanuts. Lucy and Linus are having a “disagreement,” but it comes to a sudden halt when Lucy gives a simple demonstration of UNITY. She says, “See these fingers? By themselves, they are nothing special, but when they combine into a single unit, they become a force that is TERRIBLE TO BEHOLD!!” Admittedly, it’s not a very positive example of unity,…