In Sermons: showing 1-15 of 113

God's Answer For The Snake Bit

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 20, 2012

Lent 4: We are all snake bit. Need proof? See what happens in the darkness... Listen to the griping and complaining... Listen to the poisonous words that come from us. But God has provided a solution to save the snake bit... His name is Jesus.

As a boy, I learned to hunt small game. Dad would take me out to a friend’s ranch. We’d follow cow paths through the brush and cactus looking for rabbit or hare. I remember one time we were out there walking along a cow path. All of a sudden we heard a loud dry rattle. You guessed ...read more

Scripture: John 3:14-21

Denomination: Lutheran

A Day Like No Other

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 17, 2012

Lent 3: A narrative sermon from the perspective of a seller of doves and pigeons. It is based on the account of Jesus first cleansing of the temple.

[Note: This is a narrative sermon told from the perspective of, Yoseph, a seller of doves and pigeons at the Temple on the day that Jesus came and threw out the sellers and money changers. I put on a ‘costume’ as I changed into the character of Yoseph. The message begins with a brief ...read more

Scripture: John 2:13-25

Denomination: Lutheran

Lord Of All: Lord Indeed Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 18, 2012

Transfiguration Sunday: Who is Jesus? Maybe better asked, "Who is Jesus to you?" We fail to truly recognize Jesus when we don’t understand his full divinity and his willingness to suffer and die on the cross for our sake.

Who is Jesus? - All-around great guy? Great teacher? Prophet? Savior? God? If you wanted to take the easy way out – your answer would simply be, “Yes.” But I’m not going to let you get away with that. Truly knowing Jesus touches more than understanding. It touches more than knowing ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Tried It All?

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Oct 10, 2009

Ordinary Proper 23: A sermon looking at three erroneous ways we often attempt to inherit eternal life: religion; good works; riches. Set in the context of a fair that has many things from which we can pick and choose.

If you all didn’t make it to the Pan American Fair, you missed a good time! You could buy yourself a bunch of tickets and take them from place to place and play a game or buy a drink or get yourself some good food. Let me tell you a bit of what I tried yesterday: I started off by eating a couple ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-22

Denomination: Lutheran

God Loves Families!

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Oct 1, 2009

Ordinary Proper 22: Our individualistic orientation as a culture has brought many ills upon us. Among those is the deterioration of the family. This message looks at Jesus’ teaching on the intention of God for men and women and children.

Leonard Sweet, professor of theology at Drew University was the keynote speaker at a theological convocation that I attended last fall. Part of Dr. Sweet’s message focused on the rampant individualism that has become so much a part of our culture. Here is a paraphrase of part of what he said: ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:2-16

Denomination: Lutheran

With Whom Are We At War?

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Sep 26, 2009

Ordinary Proper 21: Divisions among Christians are not new. Unfortunately, they are all too common - even among the same church members. But we are called to be one because of the price paid to make us one - the Cross!

At one time, we had a large aquarium. It was fun to keep it up and to learn about the different sorts of tropical fish that we kept. One of my very favorite fish was the Betta Splendens. Sometimes they are called bettas or they are called Siamese Fighting Fish. There is a picture of a betta on ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:38-41

Denomination: Lutheran

Better Than You?

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Sep 19, 2009

Ordinary Proper 20: The disciples argued about who was the greatest. Jesus told them that He - the Creator - would be betrayed and be killed. Jesus showed greatness through humility.

What a ride! Can you imagine – I mean can you even begin to imagine – hanging out with the Creator of the universe!?! To see Him smile; to hear Him teach; to watch Jesus as He lived life with the zest and with the love that our Creator intended from the beginning – what a rush! But I wonder if ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:30-37

Denomination: Lutheran

Tongue Taming Challenges

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Sep 12, 2009

Ordinary Proper 19: We face an uphill battle as we consider the challenge of getting our tongue - our speech - under control. But that is precisely what St. James exhorts us to do!

Words matter - they matter a lot. In order to uncover the processes that destroy unions, marital researchers studied couples over the course of years, and even decades, and retraced the star-crossed steps of those who had split up back to their wedding day. What they discovered is unsettling. None ...read more

Scripture: James 3:1-12

Denomination: Lutheran

God's Love Letter Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Sep 5, 2009

A very practical sermon that depicts the Bible as God’s love letter to us. The message shares some insights from the Word about the Word and practical advice on how to engage the Bible.

Back when I was a young sailor, I came back home on Christmas leave. My sister asked me to take her to get some last minute Christmas gifts and I said OK. So when we got into the car, my sister told me that she was going to invite a friend, Sofi, to come along with us. Well – let me tell you – I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Denomination: Lutheran

The Cross Has Two Beams

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Sep 4, 2009

Ordinary Proper 18: What is the relationship between saving faith and works of righteousness? Sometimes an inability to distinguish can create confusion. But we look to Saint James to answer the question!

There are vocations that endeavor to deal in certainty. Take engineering: I’m not certain that I would feel comfortable driving over a bridge designed by a person who simply ‘felt’ that their design would have integrity. I want somebody who will crunch the numbers and who understands beam and ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-18

Denomination: Lutheran

The Bible - Cradle For Jesus Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Aug 29, 2009

Third message in a series whose purpose is to introduce us to the Bible and to encourage daily use of the Bible. Today’s focus is to introduce us to Christ - the Eternal Word - in the Scriptures.

[Start the sermon with Scene 3 from the movie, The Passion of the Christ]. There are innumerable connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament, especially as it concerns the Lord Jesus. This scene from the movie, The Passion of the Christ relates part of the suffering of Jesus in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Denomination: Lutheran

It's Still About Your Heart

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Aug 27, 2009

Ordinary Proper 17: A continuation of last weeks lesson about the need for new hearts. Here Jesus directs his words at the disciples (and us) as he shares the darkness in the human heart.

A couple of cows were grazing in a lovely pasture. They were standing by a fence alongside a road. Right in front of them passes a large semi truck. It was hauling a bright, shiny, chrome tanker trailer. On the side of the trailer - printed in big red letters - were the words: “Grade A Milk. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:14-23

Denomination: Lutheran

It's About Your Heart

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Aug 22, 2009

Ordinary Proper 16: Christ came to set us free from blind traditionalism. His liberating Spirit frees our hearts to serve Him and the neighbor out of a spirit of love and forgiveness.

There’s a story about how in 1903 the Russian Czar noticed a sentry posted on the Kremlin grounds for no apparent reason. When he inquired, he discovered that in 1776 Catherine the Great found on that very spot the first flower of spring. She ordered that a sentry be posted there so that no one ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-8

Denomination: Lutheran

The New Testament Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Aug 22, 2009

New Testament: A brief survey of the New Testament including brief descriptions of each major grouping of books. The goal is to encourage greater use of the Bible.

[Start the sermon after the presentation of the video, The Bible, from sermonspice.com]. What did you think of the video? I think that the video truly unearths realities that we are often hesitant to speak about. I also think that we have to admit that there really is that sort of either ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Denomination: Lutheran

The Old Testament Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Aug 13, 2009

Old Testament - The first in a series of sermons designed to encourage personal Bible study by demystifying the Scriptures and providing background and context to the Old Testament.

I suppose that we can all think of a situation or two in our own lives where going to the instruction manual or to the owner’s manual would have been very helpful. When we need to learn how to set up a telephone, or find the fuses in a car or put together a complicated piece of furniture, the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:1

Denomination: Lutheran