Ascension Written Sermons

Last Word: Grace Rob Gieselmann, Pent. 29B (C. King Sunday), 2015 Just when he was about to die, Voltaire was asked to renounce Satan. He retorted – and these are Voltaire’s last words – Now is not the time to make enemies. Groucho Marx wanted these last words written on his tombstone: Excuse me, I can’t stand up.   In 2008, when he was dying of cancer, Randy Pausch published his last words in the form of a little book, entitled, The Last Lecture. He wrote the book as a legacy for his three young sons. One of the chapters is entitled, The truth shall set you free . In it, Pausch tells about the time a Virginia patrolman stopped him for speeding. Pausch had just moved his family to Virginia so his in-laws would be able to help his wife with their boys after he died. He still carried his old Pennsylvania drivers’ license. I just moved here, Pausch explained. What brought you to Virginia? the officer asked . Pausch thought about obfuscating – rather than state the u...

Do the Peace of Jerusalem Rob Gieselmann, Pent. 28B, November 15, 2015 In the television show, Madame Secretary – Tea Leone stars as the Secretary of State of the United States.   Last Sunday, the show opened with a disturbingly familiar internet clip of an Isis terrorist murdering an American journalist, onscreen.   The terrorist is clothed head-to-toe in black – his face shrouded. He stares into the camera and speaks menacingly in farsi , but with an American accent. Tea Leone and her staff realize immediately that the man must be an American – so they set about discovering his identity. Once they think they have it, they invite the young man’s mother – an American – into the office, for her to confirm his identity. She hasn’t yet seen the Internet clip – so they show it to her. Once again, there is the terrorist, shrouded in black – menacing. The woman watches the clip with bewilderment – Why are they showing this to her? she wonders. But then the man – t...