Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2926 to 2950 of 5000 results

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... real success. If we who are followers of Jesus would but learn that one simple truth, we could turn this world upside down. Notice who Jesus said these words to: In Mark 8, Jesus has been performing miracles, like feeding 4,000 people and healing a man who has been blind from birth. His teachings and his miracles are drawing a crowd. So in Mark 8:34 we read, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross ...

2927. Out of the Saltshaker

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” In Matthew’s Gospel, these words follow the Beatitudes and are often interpreted as referring to Jesus’ expectations of his disciples. Mark uses the same imagery in today’s lesson from Mark 9:50: “Salt is good,” he said, “but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?” Bible scholar William Barclay interpreted Jesus’ words like this: “When a thing loses its essential quality and ...

2928. No Turning Back

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... told Jesus that his teachings were too hard. They wanted something easier. And many of them left because, as they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (6:60) Jesus was not taking the easy road. Matthew, Luke, and to a lesser extent Mark tell us that Satan offered Jesus an easier road to messiahship. Satan told Jesus he ought to turn stones into bread for his own benefit when he was hungry. He should never have to suffer because surely God would protect him from all harm. And that ...

2929. The Days Are Coming

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... the coming of their Messiah. Israel was hurting. Israel needed a Savior. That Savior was coming. But they couldn’t wait. They needed hope now. In the last days of his ministry, Jeremiah gave them that hope. In his book The Rest of God, Pastor Mark Buchannan tells of counseling a young woman who was struggling on two fronts: she had never healed from a childhood of abuse and neglect, and these painful experiences fueled her present bad choices that were messing up her life. Nothing he said could heal her ...

2930. Seeking Jesus

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... Awesomely)” by Ivan Farkas and Kevin Phelan, March 23, 2015, Cracked.com, https://www.cracked.com/article_22202_5-missing-people-who-were-found-hiding-in-plain-sight.html. 2. Jonathan Mason, http://www.walkingwithgiants.net/bible-study-notes/new-testament/mark/mark-10/. 3. Doc’s Daily Chuckles, docsdailychuckle-join@freegroups.net. 4. Interview with Dr. Francis Collins, PBS 2004, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/voices/collins.html. 5. N. T. Wright, For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the ...

2931. It's A Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... same kind of stunt. Peter, the one who just a few days before had opened his mouth and uttered a deep expression of faith by claiming Jesus was the Messiah, now turns and is eaten up with a bad case of the dumbs. Mark tries to let him off the hook by saying it was caused by fear. But Mark's attempt only reinforces Peter's reputation for opening his mouth only to change feet. Let's face it, Peter's remark wasn't the brightest thing he could have said. I. ON THE MOUNTAIN: A. Six days after Peter's confession ...

2932. For the Love Of God is Forgiving

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... witness is that "there is no distinction, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:22-23) Jesus himself said, )"Those who are well have no need of a physician, only those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." (Mark 2:17) In the first letter to his protege, Timothy, the Apostle Paul writes: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost." (1 Tim. 1:15) We don't like it but ...

2933. Why the Greatest?

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... Matthew the scholar asked Jesus the question about the law in an attempt to entrap him. In Luke, Jesus answered the scholar’s question with a question, and it was the scholar who came up with the two laws that embody the whole law. Whereas in Mark the scholar asked a sincere question, because he was impressed by Jesus’ answers to questions of controversy, and figured this guy really knew his stuff. Why not just ask Jesus the question of the day — which law is the greatest? What are we to think since ...

2934. Shake It Up

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and Sadducees, the Scribes and Priests, those wielding power over the Jerusalem Temple were set to be brought down a notch, and things were about to get messy. Soon, the Jerusalem leadership would experience a “come to Jesus moment.”By the time we see Jesus in Mark 13, things were coming to a head.God was about to shake things up big time, and the disciples would need to be prepared. Jesus says, “Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen.” For as we all know, any truly new beginning always has ...

2935. Who Is The Prisoner? Who Is The Judge?

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... they have! But by way of preparation for that honor they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (The Life of John Kline, 452) Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to save us from the sin of the world. Jesus, despite the marks of scourging, the crown of thorns, and the brutality of his guards, is not the prisoner. Jesus is the king. If you acknowledge him as king, what sort of follower are you? Are you willing to follow in his footsteps? Will you still praise him and lift his name on ...

2936. In the Wilderness of Temptation

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... this passage is all about. After his baptism by John, Jesus went into the Judean Wilderness where he was tempted for forty days and forty nights. That's sort of the Biblical way of saying we really don't know how long but it was a real long time. Mark says that the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. One time, after reading this passage, one little boy wanted to know what kind of car they were driving when the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. And then he asked, is that what it means when we pray ...

2937. It's a Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

2938. New Creations

2 Corinthians 5:6-10; 14-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to hear all the names of all the churches and the pastors who will be serving them read aloud. It's even more exciting to sit there and hear the Church's name read and then to hear your own name read following it. Every reading of the appointments marks the beginning of something new. Even for those who are returning for their fourth, fifth or sixth year. It's something new. In one of the churches I was appointed to several years ago, there was a little blonde headed boy by the name of Barrett Lockwood, who ...

2939. Which King Do We Worship?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... and anticipation. Time probably moved at a snail’s pace. And then . . . they met King Herod. Welcome to this celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord, the day when we celebrate the Magi, or wise men, who came from the East to worship the baby Jesus. Epiphany marks the moment when Jesus was recognized as the Messiah sent for all people because the Magi were the first non-Jewish people to bow down and worship him as king. When we read the story of the Magi, we usually focus on the Instagram-worthy aspects of ...

2940. When Good People Pray

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... time in prayer. Herb Miller, in his book, Evangelism’s Open Secrets, tells about a student work director at a large university who was giving a guest speaker a tour of the campus ministry building. As they walked down a hallway, the guest saw a sign marked “prayer room” over a doorway. As they moved past the door to that prayer room, it became obvious that the director didn’t intend to show his guest that particular room. Curious, the speaker reached for the knob. As he opened the door, his nostrils ...

2941. You Will Always Have The Poor With You…

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... than approving the payment of taxes was making a very shrewd response with which the Pharisee’s could not argue. From Jesus’ point of view, nothing belongs to the emperor. It all belongs to God. This is why scripture says that the people were “utterly amazed” (Mark 12:17b). We find a similar kind spin on our passage for today. Jesus is at a dinner party at the home of Lazarus, “whom he raised from the dead.” (John 12:1b) Consider this setting! Everyone there knew the power of the master. He had ...

2942. Easter Makes Us One!

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... each other. The census bureau has provided statistics demonstrating that despite minority growth and increased minority dispersion to the suburbs, the average white resident lives in a neighborhood that has become only modestly more diverse and remains markedly “whiter” than its respective metropolitan area population. In small towns, the average American in these locales lives in communities that are 80% white. Meanwhile Sunday worship remains the most segregated hour in this “Christian” nation of ...

2943. Mountaintop Moments

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and remind us that God is not just there in “peak end moments,” but in every part of life. In our scripture for today, Jesus with his “water to wine” miracle at the Wedding at Cana, creates a “peak end moment,” a moment people will remember and will mark the start of his formal ministry. For Jesus is the best. And He has come at last. Those at the wedding will never forget the magnificent wine brought up at the very end of the feast. They would have been astounded, not only at the taste but at ...

2944. Take Heart

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ; we are saved. As he got into the boat with them, they bowed down and worshiped, saying, ''Truly you are the Son of God.'' In Mark's gospel, when he tells this story, all they can say at the end is, ''Who is this?'' Jesus is the ''right hand of God'' ... reaching out to us. When he gets in the boat, and the wind ceases, then they say, ''Truly you are the Son of God!'' In Mark, they don't get it. Their hearts are hardened. All they can say at the end is, ''Who is this?'' Here it's different. He is ...

2945. When the Doors Were Shut

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the other disciples on that Easter Sunday evening when Jesus made his first post-resurrection appearance. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” You know, there’s a bit of Thomas in me. There are so many scam artists around today. Who can you believe? Remember, most of ...

2946. When What You Signed Up For...

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... the book Make Your Job Your Calling, https://makeyourjobacalling.com/category/stories-of-calling/. 5. Letters on the Healing Ministry by Dr. Albert E. Day (Methodist Evangelistic Materials: 1964). 6. David McLemore, https://www.thingsofthesort.com/sermons-2/2019/10/28/mark-1112-25-the-lesson-of-the-fig-tree. 7. Guideposts Editors. Mornings with Jesus 2020 (p. 28). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 8. “Taking it to the Streets,” Jane Ellen Robinet. Pittsburgh, Feb 2006. p. 45. The Reverend Phillip W. Martin, Jr ...

2947. Church, Interrupted

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Will Willimon

... sermon!'' Mental illness and confusion are no laughing matter. Some of you know firsthand the hell of the tormented mind, in yourself, or in someone you love. Where does one go in such torment? Perhaps that screaming, troubled young man, had come to the right place. [Read Mark 1:21-28] Jesus, newest preacher in town, had just finished his very first sermon. As the hymn was being sung, a raving man stood in the middle of church shouting vague threats at the young preacher. ''I kno-o-o-w who you are," howled ...

2948. Selling Out

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... it is nothing but a few ruins now. The place of interest for us weary pilgrims was nothing but some rocky crags. Nearby stood the ruins of a cathedral that St. Helena had built hundreds of years ago. They were barely recognizable, but the edifice was constructed to mark the spot where Jesus cast demons into swine and sent them to their death in the sea. The Golan Heights (the place of a strategic victory for Israel during the Six-Day War) can be viewed from this spot. While we were there, one of our guides ...

2949. Disabled

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... , we see a spirit of legalism at work. The enemies of Christ were too bound by the law to stand by and let God work on the sabbath. As Jesus reminded a different group of people at another time, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). To place the day above the dire needs of a human being is not God’s way. Legalistically interpreting God’s laws is a spiritual problem with which we all need to deal. It seems as though most of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were not ...

2950. Lesson from a Prosthetic Toe

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... 9, a desperate father comes to Jesus and asks him to heal his son who suffers from seizures. Jesus replies, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” And Mark writes, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” (NKJV) So if you’ve ever cried out through your tears, “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief!” then you are not alone. For many of us, life is hard; faith is ...

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