In Sermons: showing 46-60 of 113

Made Holy, Able And Ready By God

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 14, 2004

Lent 3: Moses walked on holy ground and was commissioned to accomplish God’s purposes. We consider holiness, qualifications and efficacy of ministry in this message.

There’s a cute little story of Moses appearing in the Rose Garden of the White House. When the White House staff recognized this important visitor, they quickly rushed in and told the President. He too was impressed and so he rushed out to welcome Moses. But to everyone’s shock, the very moment ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Denomination: Lutheran

Enemies Of Christ / Citizens Of The Kingdom

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 7, 2004

Lent 2: Paul warns the Philippian believers of a certain group of people he refers to as enemies of the Cross. In this warning, Paul refers to the destruction that awaits the enemies of Christ and the blessed Citizenship in heaven for the believer.

Beloved, I want you to know that there are forces that would call you away from Christ. The enemies of the Cross would like nothing better than to deceive people and lead them away Christ. Misery loves company – and so satan and his followers look to see how many can be deceived into becoming one ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 7, 2004

Lent Mid-Week 2: When death comes close, it is painful. The faithful mourn. Even in this, the Lord tells us, we are blessed because He will draw close to bring comfort.

‘Blessed are,’ says Jesus as He speaks each of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed’ means more than ‘happy.’ Happiness is an emotion that is dependent on how well things are going. It is an emotional reaction based on outward circumstances. But ‘blessed’ in the Beatitudes refers to much more. It speaks to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:4

Denomination: Lutheran

Just A Little Give And Take

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 29, 2004

First Sunday in Lent: Temptation is often the enticement to compromise, to engage in just a bit of ’give and take.’ Jesus would have none of it when satan tempted Him. Nothing would deter Jesus from the Cross.

The art of the compromise – of give and take – is valued by many people. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Watch the consummate politician on campaign trail – they live by give and take. Whey even a good football game starts out as a battle of give and take. One team will fight and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Denomination: Lutheran

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 29, 2004

Ash Wednesday: Christ’s name elicits jeers and rejection from those who don’t know Him. But for the poor in spirit, Christ is Savior, Son of the Living God.

Why the outcry? Why the outcry when the name or the work of Jesus is mentioned in public? The reaction to the mention of the name is like splashing ice water on people. We see it in our own lives as the name of Jesus offends – sometimes family members; sometimes friends or neighbors. We see it in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:3

Denomination: Lutheran

Cutting To The Chase

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 15, 2004

Advent 6: The Resurrection is proof that Jesus’ work on the Cross was exactly what was needed to restore a sinful humanity to God.

There are people that have the absolutely uncanny ability to zero in on a problem. With laser-like precision, they can identify what’s going on and cut to the chase. If protests are raised, they can lay waste all arguments to the contrary, take no prisoners and accept no compromises as they ferret ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Denomination: Lutheran

Servants By God's Authority

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 8, 2004

Epiphany 5: Our holy God makes us fit to be his servants through the forgiveness that Jesus won for us through his Cross and Resurrection.

Have you ever read about the homeless children that live in Russia, India and South America? There have been several stories and TV documentaries that have aired in which the plight of these children has been described. There are literally thousands of these children that live in the most pitiful ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:1-8

Denomination: Lutheran

Love Looks Like Something

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Feb 1, 2004

Epiphany 4: What we say we believe and what we do can sometimes be at odds with each other. If we are to live out the mission that God has given the Church, love looks like his people sharing Jesus with others.

What believer has not been touched by the beautiful ’love chapter’? These words to the Corinthians are almost poetic in nature, and yet so authentic that they touch the soul. In these words, God gives us a beautiful description of what ‘love’ looks like: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:21-32

Denomination: Lutheran

Laying Eggs And Being Loved

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Jan 25, 2004

Conversion of St. Paul: God changed Paul from a persecutor of the Church to the great Apostle to the Gentiles. In the same way God changes us from the inside out.

Name that Tune! That was the title of the TV game show where the contestants would try to identify a melody in the least number of notes. Contestants would try outbid each other by saying, “I can name that tune in 5 notes.” The opponent would respond by saying, “Well I can name that tune in 4 ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-22

Denomination: Lutheran

Kodak, Cookies And Christ

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Jan 17, 2004

Confession of St. Peter: The Rock - Jesus - is Peter’s confession and our confession. In Christ - the Rock - our hopes and our eternity are secure.

Most our homes have a stash of pictures that catalog important events in the lives of our families. Some might have these pictures in photo albums or maybe they’re stashed in shoeboxes. Chances are that many of these pictures were taken using a Kodak camera and film. If we look on the back of these ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-19

Denomination: Lutheran

He Sure Doesn't Look Like Much

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Jan 10, 2004

Baptism of Our Lord: Many people missed the Messiah because ’He sure didn’t look like much.’ But veiled in flesh and blood, fulfilling all righteousness, was God Himself.

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated the birth of the Savior. God – the eternal, the almighty Logos – the second Person of the Trinity – became flesh and blood, like we are. There He lay, in a manger in a stable. And He needed tending to. Mother needed to feed Him and change his diapers and comfort ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:15-22

Denomination: Lutheran

Compassion And Light On Christmas

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Jan 3, 2004

Christmas 2: Jesus’ selfless love and compassion is offered by God to bring light and forgiveness to sinful human self-centeredness.

In his book The Power of the Powerless (New York: Doubleday, 1988), Christopher de Vinck tells a simple story. He writes: “One spring afternoon my five-year-old son, David, and I were planting raspberry bushes along the side of the garage. A neighbor joined us for a few moments. David pointed to ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-5

Denomination: Lutheran

Jesus And Dallas Cowboys Jackets

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Dec 27, 2003

Christmas 1: Mary and Joseph had settled into the normal routines of life. But when Jesus was 12 years old, they were reminded of Who Jesus was and what He came to do.

About 22 years ago we lived in Virginia Beach, VA. On one occasion, Sofi and I went to the mall with our, then, 2 young sons – one was 6 the other about 4 years of age. Sofi thought that I had the kids, and I thought that she had them. And before we knew it, we had become separated from our younger ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:41-52

Denomination: Lutheran

Christmas Day - Its Implications

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Dec 25, 2003

Christmas Day: What are the implications of God becoming man? We explore this question in this message.

Jesus’ birth had been prophesied for centuries prior to his coming into the world. One reason that many devout and religious people missed his arrival on that first Christmas Day was because He came “wrapped” in a way that they didn’t expect. Many were waiting for a Messiah that would come with ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Lutheran

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Dec 23, 2003

Christmas Eve: There were so many things in the Christmas story that aren’t what they seemed to be. But God used them to bring salvation to the world!

A visitor to the zoo noticed one of the keepers sobbing quietly in a corner. He asked, “What’s the matter with that poor man?” He was told that the elephant had just died. “Fond of him, was he?” the visitor asked. “No, it’s not that,” came the reply. “He’s the one who has to dig the grave.” Things ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Lutheran