Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in a risen, rising Jesus, the reality of Jesus’ day-to-day, in-the-neighborhood presence, is life-changing. The gospel truth, the resurrection truth, means nothing less than Jesus is as alive in the world today as he was in first century Israel. “Poser’s” think Jesus was a good guy who lived and died two thousand years ago. Disciples know Jesus walks and talks with them, all day, every day, for the length of their days. The Sadducees rejected the possibility of resurrection because they were strict ...

2. Dolphin Drops

Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a grown-up – we all just keep posing at it until one day the pose is all we have left. Any one who's ever had a doctor or nurse hand a tiny, completely helpless infant into their unprepared arms knows intimately what it means to be a poser. Parents pose at knowing what they're doing, knowing what they're talking about, knowing what they should do next, knowing when they should be tough and when they should be tender. We post at parenthood until it too becomes our natural posture. Our kids seem to believe ...

3. Guard the Good Treasure

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... their faith like optical illusions. They aren't really what they appear to be. They're like one of the illusions where everything seems to be moving, it's all a trick of the eyes. They are what John Eldredge in his book "Wild At Heart," calls "posers." In the sixties we called them "plastic." My son just calls them phonies. They are sort of like hollow chocolate Easter bunnies. A lot of promise but not much substance. In our passage for the message this morning, Paul gives thanks to God for Timothy and his ...

4. Singing The Song Of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... with real high morals. John Sebastian Bach died from 1750 to the present. Henry Purcell is a well-known composer few people have ever heard of. Most authorities agree that music of antiquity was written long ago. Aaron Copland is one of your most famous contemporary posers. It is unusual to be contemporary. Most composers do not live until they are dead. Music sung by two people at the same time is called a duel. A harp is a nude piano. Probably the most marvelous fugue was the one between the Hatfields and ...

5. Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a sense of adventure. The most exciting, adventurous life anyone could live is as a follower of Jesus. If you’re a Christian and you’re not in the midst of adventures of a lifetime, then there’s a problem. Then maybe you’re following a Jesus poser, not Jesus himself. Because Jesus said: Come, follow me, and I’ll lead you into a safety-first, risk-free, comfort-zone life. Right? No, Jesus said, follow me and I’ll give you the greatest adventures anyone could imagine. In fact, in Romans 16 Paul ...

6. Heart-Healthy Christians

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... might be called “One Calorie Christianity.” What is that, you say? One-Calorie Christianity is a religion that is bland, boring, tasteless, lifeless, joyless, and safe. What makes it that way? How can it be that way when we are not a poser, puny-faith people, but true sons and daughters of God, as Paul puts it in this morning’s biblical reading? First, one-calorie Christianity is sugar-free. Second, one-calorie Christianity is soaked in formaldehyde, making it a formaldehyde faith. Third, one-calorie ...

7. The Infiltrator

John 10:1-21, John 10:22-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in God’s salvific role as described in the prophets, he separates sheep from goats, grain from chaff, those who want to know him and those who won’t, God’s people from the wolves who pose as shepherds. Jesus knows the pure from the posers. The sheep’s reaction to his voice is their ultimate test. Jesus recoils at the way the Pharisees, those who are in the authoritative position as “shepherds” to Israel, have led the people astray, have taken advantage of their position, have abused their power ...

8. The Wisdom of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . They could interpret dreams. They could give sound economic and agricultural advice, based on the movement of the stars, weather patterns, the planetary positions, and the skies. They could predict calamities and see-through enemy posers. They could detect the best solutions to problems and discern the right paths to take. They were sound in judgment. They were mathematicians, philosophers, theologians, cultural gurus, intellectuals, and prophets. They were astronomers and astrologers, psychologists ...

9. The Way of the Fox and the Way of the Lamb

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Can you spot a “pretender?” A “poser?” That person who maybe holds a high-level position and a high level of bravado but is low on actual follow-through? The one who issues threats but when confronted himself hides behind his staff? A sneaky, inept, degenerate, cowardly lowlife, who sounds menacing but doesn’t have it in ...

10. Fired Up and Fit for the Feast

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to snoop at how dangerous he might be or how he might be threatening, we cannot know for certain, but John seemed to have known their “game” the moment they approached, for he confronted them immediately, calling them a “family of vipers”! Snakes, deceivers, posers, fakes in need of true repentance more than anyone else. Then addressing the crowd, he spoke: “I baptize with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me……he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and ...

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