Keep the Main Thing

Pastor Lee preaches from John 12:22-28, and he opens with a statement we’ve all heard. “I’m worth more dead than I am alive.” Pastor Lee does something striking: he agrees with that statement. But he takes it deeper. He suggests that Jesus Himself struggled with this reality—knowing that in some sense, He was worth more to us dead than alive. The reality of His upcoming cru...

Communion Sunday, March 3rd, 1991. The message from Pastor Lee is titled “What Makes You Mad.” Pastor Lee opens his sermon by reminding us something important: it’s not really worth getting angry over something small—like a penny, as he illustrates. God designed us with the emotion of anger. The issue is how we use it. Pastor Lee reminds us that anger can be reflective and positive, or...

Titled “Handling His Portfolio,” Pastor Lee uses Malachi 3:8-18 as the backdrop for a message on tithing. He invites us to view tithing not as a burden or obligation, but as an adventure—something that can bring real joy to the person who tithes. Pastor Lee helps us understand that everything already belongs to God. Everything we possess is part of His gift to us. Giving is the natural...

Pastor Lee asks a convicting question: “Whatever possessed you this past week?” Drawing from Mark 1:4-11 and Jesus’ baptism, he reminds us that we “go public” every day with whatever is inside us—whether it’s anger, fear, or the Holy Spirit. In a vulnerable and personal testimony, Pastor Lee shares his own journey of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and how it...

Pastor Lee’s final sermon in 1990.  Pastor Lee outlines what he calls a “spiritual survival guide.” for avoiding a spiritual recession in the face of whatever trials we face. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you’ve noticed how uncannily similar the concerns of the mid-80s and 90s are to our own. The challenges they faced, the cultural struggles they wrestled...

It’s Sunday, December 9th, 1990, and we find Pastor Lee and the congregation right in the midst of the Advent season. The title of Pastor Lee’s sermon is “The Turning Point,” and he bases his message on the Old Testament lesson from that Sunday, found in Isaiah 40:1-11. Pastor Lee opens with a story about a recent trip to the dentist, and he uses it to create a surprisingly...

 It’s November 4, 1990 and it is All Saints Sunday. The title of Pastor Leland Evenson’s sermon is, “Putting Faith, Love, and Hope to Work.” Pastor Lee emphasizes that the Apostle Paul continually reminded the early Christians of the fundamentals of their new faith: faith, love, and hope. Pastor Lee reminds us that in many areas of our lives, there are certain fundamentals that mu...

It’s Sunday, October 14th, 1990, at Vision of Glory Lutheran Church. Pastor Lee’s message titled “Qualified to Give.” Is a short but powerful message that opens with a rather startling announcement: Maybe we’re not qualified to be givers. Pastor Lee explains to us that God doesn’t always care  what  people give, but rather  how  people give. 

Pastor Lee opens his message with a fascinating and bizarre story—the story of a house built entirely out of spite. A man, consumed by anger toward his neighbors, constructed a ridiculous, impractical house for one reason only: revenge. It became known as “the spite house.” Pastor Lee suggests that we all visit—or even live in—our own “house of spite” from time to time. Pas...

September 16th, 1990, and it’s titled “Gift Exchange.” This is a wonderful sermon about one of God’s greatest gifts to us—the Holy Spirit—and how that gift flows through us to others. Pastor Lee is preaching from Romans chapter 12. Pastor Lee reminds us that through God’s grace, we’re not only brought back to God—we’re also brought back together as Christi...