Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2551 to 2575 of 3852 results

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... can get in a lot of trouble if the milk is spilled. In other kinds of families, spilling your milk is understood as an accident, a thing that happened, and a form of chance or luck. In these families, there is no additional pain or punishment on top of the original pain of spilling. If you are in a poor family, you may not get anymore milk. There may not be any. If you are in a more secure family, and you are not being punished for your spill, you will get more milk, the mess will be cleaned up, and ...

2552. The Place beyond Revenge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... she changed in eight years? Not much. The horror remains close and precise. The exhibit gives her a frame for the chaos of the experience. She compares herself to the one elderly woman on the last Staten Island Ferry to leave the city on the original day. "We were all there in stunned silence, with orange life jackets on us. Helicopters flew overhead and you could hear us all think, Finally, the government has come to help and protect us from whatever is going to happen next. Then one elderly woman raised ...

2553. Which Mask Will You Wear?

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

Tomorrow night is Halloween. In spite of the practice nowadays of thinking of Halloween as the Devil’s night, Halloween is actually a holiday with rich religious origins. The “Hallow” in Halloween comes from the same root as “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Halloween is the day before the traditional Christian celebration known as All Saints’ Day. It was intended to be a “hallow(ed) e’en.” Our tradition in which we think of ghosts and trick‑or‑treating ...

2554. The Duration of Life

Heb 9:27

Illustration

Brett Blair

A little known segment of the Grimm's Fairy Tales is the called "The Duration of Life." It goes like this: God originally determined 30 years as the ideal span of life for all animals, including mankind. The donkey, the dog, and the monkey considered it much too long, however, and begged God to reduce their years by 18, 12, and 10. Being healthy, vigorous, and somewhat greedy, the man asked to be ...

2555. The Christmas Candy Cane

Illustration

Staff

... will notice the shape of the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name. These five symbols were incorporated into this piece of peppermint stick so that we would remember what we really celebrate the Christmas season. Wikipedia covers the German origins: In 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some "sugar sticks" for them. In ...

2556. No Case Against Christmas

Illustration

Staff

... Therefore, she said, Christmas cannot be regarded as a holiday that establishes one religious faith above all others in violation of the demand for a separation of church and state enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The judge used some original poetic verse to make her point, writing: Whatever the reason, constitutional or other, Christmas is not, an act of Big Brother. Richard Ganulin, 48, a lawyer who filed the suit, said he would appeal the dismissal to the Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth ...

2557. Many Ways To a Good Grade

Illustration

Tim Hansel

Here's an example of uncommon creativity in a story, actually a modern parable, originally told by Alexander Calandra: Sometime ago, I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should ...

2558. The Nicene Creed

Illustration

Staff

The Nicene Creed is a statement of belief widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because it was originally adopted in the city of Nicaea (present day İznik, Turkey) by the First Council of Nicaea in 325. We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from ...

2559. Athanasian Creed

Illustration

Brett Blair

... the this Creed named after him. It was created to guard Nicene Christianity from the heresy of Arianism. It is widely accepted as orthodox and some abbreviated versions of it are still in use today. And yes, the intro and outro are actually part of the original text. Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity ...

2560. Circle the Bucket

Illustration

... one side, so that the ball crashed thunderously to the floor. Tiring of this rather stale joke, the professor traced a chalk line around the bucket. The students moved the bucket as usual, traced a chalk mark around the new position, rubbed it out and replaced the bucket in its original spot. "Aha!" the professor explained, seeing the faint outline of the erased chalk mark. He moved the bucket over it and released the ball which thundered to the floor as usual.

2561. A Loaded Heirloom

Illustration

... friend, and at long last it had made a fool of his friend's grandson! Note: While this story has been passed around for years, it's authenticity is very much in doubt, especially since Grant wasn't known for his sense of humor. The tale appears to originate in an American newspaper story of the 1930s, and has been re-told, with slight variations, ever since. In another version the cigar is lit up at a Norton family reunion. It's possible that over time someone switched Grant's cigar for an exploding one.

2562. Toddler Property Laws

Illustration

Source Unknown

Property Laws of a Toddler: Some might say this is evidences of Original Sin. 1. If I like it, it's mine. 2. If it's in my hand, it's mine. 3. If I can take it from you, it's mine. 4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. 5. If it's mine, it must never ...

2563. Unanimously in Disagreement!

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

Several years ago I met a gentleman who served on one of Walt Disney's original advisory boards. What amazing stories he told! Those early days were tough; but that remarkable, creative visionary refused to give up. I especially appreciated the man's sharing with me how Disney responded to disagreement. He said that Walt would occasionally present some unbelievable, extensive dream he was entertaining. Almost ...

2564. Rock of Ages

Illustration

Frederick John Gilman

... man's potential for sinning. He arrived at the mathematical conclusion that a man of eighty is guilty of many millions of sins, a debt he can never hope to pay but for which he need not despair because of the sufficiency of Christ. He closed the article with an original poem. "A Living and Dying Prayer for the Holiest believer in the World." This poem, now one of the most beloved hymns of all time, we know under the title Rock of Ages.

2565. Small Gestures Can Pay Big

Illustration

Staff

... , his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where stood a magnificent new building. "That," explained the man, "is the hotel I have built for you to manage." The man was William Waldorf Astor, and the hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria. The young clerk, George C. Boldt, became its first manager. Note: This story is true but embellished. George C. Boldt was already managing the Bellevue, the best hotel in Philadelphia, at the time of this encounter with Mr. Astor. In addition, Mr ...

2566. Historic: The Declaration of Independence

Illustration

Staff

... of "natural law" differed in that it substituted the inalienable right of "the pursuit of happiness" for "property," emphasizing that happiness is the product of civic virtue and public duty. The concept of the "pursuit of happiness" originated in the Common Sense School of Scottish philosophy, of which Lord Kames was the best-known proponent. Jefferson emphasized the contractual justification for independence, arguing that when the tyrannical government of King George III of England repeatedly violated ...

2567. Tacky Messages in Choir

Illustration

Staff

As with many innovations, the originator of 3M's sticky yellow Post-its didn't know what he had at first. Researcher Spence Sliver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would "tack" one ...

2568. Serving Society's Outcasts

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Almost every age has had its social outcasts, people barred from normal society whether through physical illness or national origin. One person who stepped across these barriers in India was pioneer missionary Mary Reed. Already working in India, Mary visited a leper colony and was deeply moved by the people's plight. Later Mary contracted leprosy herself and went to work with the lepers, eager to tell them that she ...

2569. The Firm Foundation of Despair

Illustration

That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all ...

2570. A List of Murphy's Laws

Illustration

Staff

... in the fight between you and the world, back the world. Franz Kafka Ettorre's observation: The other line moves faster. This applies to all lines bank, supermarket, toll booth, customs. If you change lines, then the other line the one you were in originally will move faster. Osborn's Law. Variables won't, constants aren't. Never use one word when a dozen will suffice. If it can be understood, it is not finished yet. Never do anything for the first time. Marshall's generalized iceberg theorem: Seven-eighths ...

2571. Content with the Customs

Illustration

Staff

... body of the monastery, but also it shall be said to him, honestly, that he must depart. If he does not go, let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him." Okay, so maybe that last line was not part of the original sixth century text, but hospitality has always been central to christian practice and as I have gotten older I realize how important it is. Even Jesus spoke of being welcomed as a test of our true discipleship. Perhaps no greater witness to our internal faith is the outward ...

2572. Some Hills Are Too Big

Illustration

Staff

... who looked at the impossible task of pulling a train up a steep hill and said, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Filled with determination, the little blue engine huffed and puffed and pulled up the hill. But in an amusing twist to the original story, another author wrote: "He was almost there, when CRASH! SMASH! BASH! He slid down and mashed into engine hash On the rocks below...which goes to show If the track is tough and the hill is rough THINKING you can ain't enough."

2573. No Impossible Requests

Illustration

Staff

... to normal. I've just got to know." It seemed like an impossible request. Two days later, Josh drove out to the ocean. He walked to the end of a pier to be alone. There sat an old woman in a lawn chair, fishing. "Where's your home originally?" she asked. "Michigan Union City," Josh replied. "Nobody's heard of it. I tell people it's a suburb of " "Battle Creek," interrupted the woman. "I had a cousin from there. Did you know the McDowell family?" Stunned, Josh responded, "Yes, I'm Josh McDowell!" "I can't ...

2574. Religion A vs. Religion B

Illustration

Staff

... a Christian. Religion A had blinded him to Religion B. According to his brother Warren, his conversion was, and I quote C.S. Lewis' brother here: "no sudden plunge into a new life, but rather a slow, steady convalescence from a deep-seated spiritual illness - an illness that had its origins in our childhood, in the dry husks of religion offered by the semi-political churchgoing of northern Ireland, and the similar dull emptiness of compulsory church during our school days."

2575. Life's Little Gambles

Illustration

Bill Bryson

... all through this century, despite advances in our technology and safety standards. Wilde developed a controversial theory risk homeostasis postulating that people tend to embrace a certain level of risk. When something is made safer, they will somehow reassert the original level of danger. If, for example, roads are improved with more and wider lanes, drivers will feel safer and go a little faster, thereby canceling out the benefits that the improved roads confer. Other studies have shown that where an ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 2551 to 2575 of 3852 results

2551. The Place beyond Punishment

Sermon

Donna Schaper

2552. The Place beyond Revenge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Donna Schaper

2553. Which Mask Will You Wear?

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

2554. The Duration of Life

Heb 9:27

Illustration

Brett Blair

2555. The Christmas Candy Cane

Illustration

Staff

2556. No Case Against Christmas

Illustration

Staff

2557. Many Ways To a Good Grade

Illustration

Tim Hansel

2558. The Nicene Creed

Illustration

Staff

2559. Athanasian Creed

Illustration

Brett Blair

2560. Circle the Bucket

Illustration

2561. A Loaded Heirloom

Illustration

2562. Toddler Property Laws

Illustration

Source Unknown

2563. Unanimously in Disagreement!

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

2564. Rock of Ages

Illustration

Frederick John Gilman

2565. Small Gestures Can Pay Big

Illustration

Staff

2566. Historic: The Declaration of Independence

Illustration

Staff

2567. Tacky Messages in Choir

Illustration

Staff

2568. Serving Society's Outcasts

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

2569. The Firm Foundation of Despair

Illustration

2570. A List of Murphy's Laws

Illustration

Staff

2571. Content with the Customs

Illustration

Staff

2572. Some Hills Are Too Big

Illustration

Staff

2573. No Impossible Requests

Illustration

Staff

2574. Religion A vs. Religion B

Illustration

Staff

2575. Life's Little Gambles

Illustration

Bill Bryson

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