Pastor Rissmiller

Number 5 on my list of most memorable sermons is....

   The fall after I graduated from high school I made my way out to Seattle, Washington to attend the Lutheran Bible Institute.  LBI was a wonderful place in the early 1970's filled with teachers and students who loved Jesus and wanted to grow deeper in their walk with Him.  Every day we had a chapel service and they were usually good.  The only one that I really remember almost 50 years later  though was given by one of the professors, Pastor Rissmiller.  Pastor Rissmiller was one of the Old Testament teachers and made even the difficult to read book of Leviticus come alive for his
students.
    On this particular day, the students entered the chapel and sat down.  Usually there was a pastor, teacher, or special speaker up front.  This day no one was there and no one appeared.  Eventually a deep, rich voice sounded over the loudspeakers.  The voice began to speak, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes'"....At first we were not sure what was going on but after a couple of minutes we all sat back and listened intently as Pastor Rissmiller read the entire book of First John from the New Testament.  Since there was nothing to look at, no one person to concentrate on, the words of that book penetrated deeply.  It was one of the most poignant sermons I have ever heard and there were no other words said, save the words of Scripture.  When he was done reading, we all filed out of the chapel and went on our way.
    Sometimes I wish all pastors would take a lesson from this man.  Sometimes we all need to hear the words of Scripture as they really are.  They are powerful all on their own.....The living, breathing Word of God!!!

                                                   Have a good day!  Love, Sue

1 John 1:4   " And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."

Good Friday

Number 4 on my list of memorable sermons is....

    On Good Friday in 1980, my husband, John was going to sing a song for special music at Grace Lutheran Church in Erskine, MN.  While introducing his song, he spoke of what Jesus Christ went through on his way to the cross and what happened while he was hanging on the cross.  He shared every painful part of the events that led to the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.
    In an extremely thoughtful and provocative way he described those events so that for the first time in my life I truly understood the immense sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave for me.  By that time of my life I had heard and read about the Crucifixion many, many, many times,  The knowledge of it had not become old hat exactly, but the impact of it had dimmed.  I knew the story.  I knew the facts that are written in the Bible.  But, that day, like never before, I heard, saw, and felt what it must have been like!  I was forever changed.
    Many years later a movie called "The Passion of Christ"  was shown in theaters.  We watched the big screen and immersed ourselves in what producer Mel Gibson imagined The Passion to have been like.  As I watched it, the words of Isaiah 53:3-6  from the King James version ran through my head over and over.

    "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
     Surely he has borne our grief, and carried our sorrows: yet we did not esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
     But he was wounded for our afflictions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
     All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

    I appreciated what the movie was trying to do; to help us see the sacrifice of Christ in a different way, but I did not need to watch it.  I had experienced it much more deeply all those years before through John's eloquent words taken directly from the Bible!
   
                                                      Have a good day!    Love, Sue
   
 
                                                       
                                                 

Billy Wolfe

   In the late 80's and early 90's we lived in North Bend, Washington.  During that time we attended church in Fall City, Washington where, for most of that time, a young man named Billy Wolfe was the pastor.  We attended church there on at least a biweekly basis so we heard from Pastor Wolfe a lot.  His sermons were always good but one in particular makes the number three spot of my favorite sermons.
    As we drove into church one morning we saw a homeless man standing just outside of the parking lot.  This was not an area where we would ever see a homeless man so the sight was very unusual.  He was minding his own business, gathering trash from the side of the road but he looked forlorn and worn down.  His clothes were dirty and tattered.  Thus, our deduction that he was homeless.
    We looked at him and commented on how sad he looked and proceeded to park our car and make our way into the church building so we wouldn't be late for services.
    Imagine our surprise when it was time for the sermon and in walked the homeless man.  He walked straight up to the altar, turned around and stood before us.  It took a minute but pretty soon a gasp was heard and we all realized that it was Pastor Wolfe!  He had always had a dark beard before and now he was clean shaven.  Dressed in his dirty, tattered clothes he told us that he had been standing there the entire time that the the people of the congregation had entered the parking lot and only one....only one of us had stopped to see if they could help him or invite him to come into the church!!!!
    Sadly, we were not the one car that had stopped and it was a tremendously effective wake up call!
    Truthfully, I can not remember what he said after that.  The illustration though has stayed with me for all of these years.
   
                                                         Have a good day!  Love, Sue

P.S.  I have never seen anyone transform himself quite so effectively as Billy Wolfe on that day!  Well, maybe in the movies!

Billy Graham Crusade

    Number two on my list of top ten sermons is special, not because I remember the words that were spoken or the songs that were sung but because of the aftermath of the event.  In 1987, my husband and I rode a bus with many of our friends from the little town of McIntosh, Minnesota to Fargo, North Dakota to sing in a Billy Graham Crusade that was held there.  The two hour trip sped by and when we got to the Fargo Dome we joined  others who were going to be a part of the very large crusade choir led by Cliff Barrows.  I remember singing alto with the choir but I don't remember what we sang,  I remember that a group performed special music and that Billy Graham preached but I don't remember the songs or words by either of them.  What I do remember is a very, very amazing time after the crusade was over for the night.
     Somehow I had become separated from my husband and my friends.  As I stepped onto the field of the Dome and headed in the direction of the bus I quickly became caught up in the wondrous display of love around me.  There on the tarmac were hundreds of people praying and talking about the Lord Jesus Christ!  As I made my way across the field I was completely wrapped up in a peace that I had rarely known.  I truly felt like I was walking on holy ground.  I lingered as long as I possibly could...just standing there absorbing with every fiber of my being that amazing, wonderful, completely overwhelming peace!!!  If there was ever a time in my life when I caught a glimpse of what heaven might be like, it was there!

                                              Have a good day!  Love, Sue


Philippians 4: 6-7  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Corrie ten Boom

 

    Lately, I have been trying to make a list of some of the most memorable sermons  that I have heard over the course of my life. Since I have been a Christian since the age of three and am now in my sixties, I have a lot to choose from. Some of them I remember the words that were said and some are memorable for the reactions that I had.  So, after years and years which ones do I remember?
     I think that my first pick for one of the most amazing talks was from Corrie ten Boom in an auditorium in Minneapolis around 1974.  Corrie ten Boom was the author of "The Hiding Place".  For those of you who have not heard of her, her book is a "must" read as far as I am concerned.  She was a Dutch watchmaker who, with her family, hid many Jews during World War II and as a consequence spent a long time in a concentration camp.  After the war she traveled the world sharing her faith.
    When I attended the conference for which she was the main speaker, she was an 82 year old little gray haired lady.  Even though she did not shout or raise her heavily accented voice at all, you could feel the power and force of her words!  At one point she held up a tapestry that looked odd.  It had a jumble of colors and threads going this way and that.  She said that this is how we sometimes see our own lives.  They do not always make sense and we do not always know why God allows certain experiences -good, bad, and tragic.  Sometimes our lives look and feel messy and confused.
    Then she turned the tapestry over.....On the other side was a beautiful, delicate pattern woven with many colors into a perfectly designed cross.  She said that this is how our loving God views our lives,  As Christians,  he takes each and every thread and because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, turns them into something beautiful!
    Around the same time as we heard Miss ten Boom speak, a song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither became popular in Christian circles.  I heard the words to that song and used it as a lullaby for each of my four children.....It has become very precious to me.  Hear are the words....

                          Something beautiful, something good
                           All my confusion, He understood
                           All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
                           But He made something beautiful of my life.
                   
                           If there ever were dreams
                           That were lofty and noble
                           They were my dreams at the start
                           And the hope for life's best
                           Were the hopes that I harbor
                           Down deep in my heart
                           But my dreams turned to ashes
                           And my castles all crumbled
                           My fortunes turned to loss
                           So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life
                           And laid them at the cross..

                            Something beautiful, something good
                            All my confusion, He understood
                            All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
                            But He made something beautiful of my life!

                     
                                                      Have a good day!  Love, Sue

Stains

    One day when our grandson, Caleb, was about 7 years old we had a situation that has forever been imprinted in my heart....
     His mom, Sarah, and I had just finished painting the walls of a brand new playhouse.  It was a pretty impressive small building with it's own porch, picture windows, loft, and upper deck from which you could access a zip line.  It had turned out to be way more than any of us had envisioned and the kids were having a hard time waiting until it was finished.
    As Sarah and I shut the door and started to walk back to the house with our brushes and paint supplies in hand, we heard the door slam behind us. Sarah turned around and called out, "Who just went inside the playhouse?"
    A meek little voice replied, "It's me, Caleb! I'm up in the loft."
   "I told you that you were supposed to stay away from here for awhile!  The paint is wet and you have your new jeans on!"  She scolded.
    "I'll be careful, Mommy!"
    "No, Caleb.  You come out of there right now!"
    A few seconds later a very sad little boy emerged from the playhouse.  Head hanging low and new jeans covered in paint, he looked like the picture of dejection.  As tears flowed down his face he cried, "I'm so sorry!"
    Sarah looked at him with a mixture of compassion and sternness.  "I know, Caleb....but you were told not to go in there.  Now, you will have to suffer the consequences."
    Sarah took off while I waited for my sad little grandson.  As we walked to the house I listened to him.  He was mad at himself, frustrated that his new jeans were ruined and dreading his rightful punishment.  As we reached the door,  I turned to him and said,  "Let's try to get those paint stains out before you go see your mom, O.K?"
    We went into the bathroom.  After shedding his jeans, I went to work on them.  With a bit of soap, water, and a lot of scrubbing the paint was slowly washing away.  As Caleb and I watched the disappearing paint we talked about sin and how it always causes hurts, stains, and consequences.  We also talked about the importance of acknowledging and confessing sin right away.  If we had allowed those paint stains to fully dry before we tried to wash them they would have been almost impossible to get out.  By dealing with them immediately, the evidence of his disobedience was easier to get rid of.  Soon his jeans were fully restored.......They were wet and couldn't be worn for awhile but they were as good as new.  Relieved, Caleb ran upstairs to tell his mom the good news!
    I often think of this real little story when I am tempted to want to hide my sin from God.  When I do something that I know in my heart of hearts is wrong or when I willingly disobey a direct commandment from God, I remember this time.  It is always, always, always better to be honest before the God who knows all things and allow him to discipline me before the stains of sin are too deeply embedded and  the effects of sin become disastrous!
 
                                                          Have a good day!  Love, Sue
 
A paraphrase of the Bible called The Message states it this way in Psalm 51...."Generous in love, God give grace!  Huge in mercy, wipe out my bad record.  Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry."

Midair catch

    Yesterday I was sitting on our couch when my husband rose up from his chair and started walking towards me.  He appeared puzzled, confused, and inquisitive all at the same time.  He looked like a big cat stalking his prey, slowly creeping across the room. What was he looking at so intently?  I followed his steely gaze and saw nothing but air.  Suddenly he thrust out his arm! What?  In the split second before he clapped his hands together at the air in front of him, my focus cleared and I saw it!  There hanging by a single silken thread was a tiny spider about the size of a mosquito.  There was no  web just that tiny, lonely, little spider suspended in the middle of the room!

    It was a weird experience to go from seeing absolutely nothing to being able to see what previously had been unseen.  Just before he attacked the spider, John had called out the word "Spider!".  It was only then that I was able to squint, focus and see it.

   Last week someone I care about told me that I had done something twenty years ago that had  negatively impacted his life for that entire time.  I was truly mortified!  I hadn't known.  How could I have missed it?  It was like finally being able to focus on that seemingly invisible spider.....what had been unseen was now as plain as day!  Just like John calling out "spider" before I could actually see it, it took this person twenty years to have the courage to point out in plain English  how he had been wronged by me.  Sadly, he was right.

    Afterwards, I went on a days long journey trying to remember and understand myself at that time.  I came up with all sorts of justifications for my thoughts and actions.  I tried to give myself the benefit of the doubt and tried to minimize my sin.  Finally, after a very close and painful examination of myself, I could find no excuse.  Now, besides the original sin,  I knew that he had developed deep ruts of hurt and frustration over it.
 
   The truth is that it is always beneficial to carefully examine our lives through a microscopic lens.....to put ourselves willingly and thoughtfully into "focus". It is healthy to look clearly at our faults without trying to justify them.  Lamentations 3:40 says, "Let us examine our ways and test them.  Let us return to the Lord."
 
    I think that is the key... examine, confess, REPENT and then return to the safety of the only One who truly knows you inside out. 

                                                        Have a good day!  Love, Sue

To repent means to make a complete change of direction towards God the Almighty.  A 180 degree turn.