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Showing 276 to 300 of 1967 results

276. True Blood

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The most famous journalist saying of all time is arguably “if it bleeds, it leads.” Rolling Stone magazine decided to take that adage literally. The 18 August 2010 cover of Rolling Stone magazine featured a bloody mess and it was a huge hit, creating a big stir, selling lots of copies. Wearing nothing but dripping, smeared, puddling blood, the three young stars of "True Blood" posed in way meant to sell magazines rather than report on the series. "True Blood" is an American television drama series. It ...

277. Proper 26

Psalm 65:1-13, Psalm 145:1-21, Psalm 32:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Haggai 2:1-9, Exodus 34:1-28, Isaiah 1:1-31, Luke 19:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The "count" of the Sundays in this period of the year tells those initiated in the mysteries of the church year that it is approaching its conclusion. This, the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, is the last of the Sundays of Pentecost to be used with any frequency over the years; Easter has to occur in March in order for the number of Sundays in Pentecost to surpass 25, including Christ the King Sunday. One might begin Tennyson's In Memoriam on this Sunday - for the church, not the ...

278. Set Free Through Forgiveness!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Just a few years back, a man in Hardeeville, South Carolina went down to the Jasper County Courthouse. There he filed a deed restriction. The restriction barred the sale of any part of his 1,688 acre plantation to anyone north of the Mason-Dixon Line and anyone named Sherman. It seems that more than a century before, General William T. Sherman's troops burned every building on this man's property and Mr. Ingram vowed never to let his plantation fall into Yankee hands again. (1) Now there's a man who knows ...

279. Supper's Ready!

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Let's pretend! Let's pretend that you've been invited by the Queen of England to attend a banquet at Buckingham Palace. Close your eyes for a moment and think. What would you wear? What would you talk about at the dinner table? Should you arrive ten minutes early, take a taxi, or will you be nervous? Better still, would you turn down the invitation? When John Kennedy was president of the United States, he invited a number of accomplished artists to a White House banquet. Among those invited was the then ...

280. Love Sender

John 3:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Without even trying kids can teach us some of the greatest life lessons and when you are a kid you learn some of the greatest lessons in life. I want to share with you a lesson that I learned as a child. It all revolves around this gift [open gift – take out gumballs and a Milky Way]. Now here is the story behind this gum and this candy bar. When I was a child, I had saved enough money to do something I had never done before at Christmas which was to buy my parents a Christmas gift. I had saved up a dollar ...

281. Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain

Mark 15:42-47

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Anointing oil (preferably frankincense or myrrh) Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain -- It sounds like a mystery like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, doesn’t it? Or for those with a slightly more sinister flair, a story by E. L. Stine. Intrigue, Mystery, Mayhem, and a good dose of the gruesome. And slightly Spooky. The events surrounding Jesus’ death were certainly strange and unusual. The High Priest and his family of former and future high priests had been pushing to get something done about Jesus ...

282. Framed by Love

John 14:15-21

Sermon

April Yamasaki

On my writing desk at home, I have a framed photo of my husband taken a number of years ago. It’s a simple head and shoulders pose on a plain background in a slender gold-toned frame from a drug store. In other words, objectively speaking, the photo and its frame are really nothing special. They have no particular artistic or monetary value in the marketplace. Yet no matter how full my desk gets with books and files, papers and more papers, there’s always room for that photo too, because I think of it as ...

283. Make A Choice

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday as it is now called in some churches is certainly one of the greatest festivals of the Christian Year. However, for many years, I wondered just what this day really does signify in terms of the everyday life of a Christian. Is it simply a reminder that fickle human beings can shout ''Hosanna'' one day, and then a few days later, those same people cry, ''Crucify him''? Certainly that is a part of the Holy Week story. But then it struck me that Palm/Passion Sunday's real purpose ...

284. While This House Lies In Ruins

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house. Then the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn ...

285. Why Fear Growing Old?

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

It is said that by the year 2000 one-half the population of our nation will be over 50 and one-third over 65 years of age. Those of us who are growing older will have plenty of company. We have a science, gerontology, dedicated to our well-being. We do not even have to surrender to senility: doctors tell us that it is not a normal state of old age; only 8 percent of older people need to fear such a breakdown. It is possible to remain alert and creative right down to the conclusion of our lives. Marie ...

286. Repentance: The No That Is A Yes

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Elie Wiesel is one of the great story-tellers of our time. He is a Jew who has a passionate memory of the Holocaust. He tells stories with a clarity and a passion that sets your soul on fire. In fact, a collection of his Hasidic stories is entitled "Souls on Fire". Let me read you the introduction to that book: "My father, an enlightened spirit, believed in man, My grandfather, a fervent Hasid, believed in God. The one taught me to speak, the other to sing. Both loved stories. And when I tell mine, I hear ...

287. Sharing God’s Love

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

There once was a king who ruled over a vast empire, but alas, he was rather old and thus decided that he needed to select his successor from his four sons. He called them in, one-by-one, to discuss the inheritance of his kingdom. When the first son entered the king's chamber, the old man sat down and spoke: "Son, I am very old and will not live much longer. I wish to entrust my kingdom to the son best suited to receive it. Tell me, if I leave my kingdom to you, what will you give to the nation?" Now this ...

288. Better Than a Spanking

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Bob Beasley belongs to a Baptist Church in Canada, a church that follows the Baptist tradition of baptizing by immersion. Returning home from church one Sunday, his little girl asked, “Daddy, why did the pastor push that guy under the water? Why, daddy?” Bob’s wife tried to answer her question, but the little girl, named Rena, just wouldn’t be satisfied. Later that night Bob and his wife tried to provide an answer from a Baptist perspective that a child’s mind could comprehend. They talked about sin and ...

289. How Many of Us Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone once asked the profound question, “How many [Presbyterians] does it take to change a light bulb?” * The correct answer is, of course, “Change the light bulb? Why, my grandfather donated that light bulb!” (1) Well, [Presbyterians] are not the only ones who have trouble with change. Anytime change takes place in any institution, particularly the church, there is resistance. Pastor Pete Kontra tells about a small-town church in upstate New York. They’d had a rector in that church for over thirty-five ...

290. At Mount Sinai

Exodus 19:1-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

Meeting God at Sinai: Exodus 19 is the theological and literary pivot of Exodus. Nowhere do we find a fuller revelation of God in relation to the people. In the preceding chapters Israel had been “let go” from serving the pharaoh so that they might serve/worship the Lord. Here they serve/worship at the place of Moses’ original calling and receive their own call to be God’s “kingdom of priests” to the world (chs. 25–31; 35–40). The larger literary structure of Exodus 19–24 comprises a chiasm (see below) and ...

291. Fear of the Light

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

From the time man invented fire, we have been both fascinated and afraid of this powerful force. Fire is power, raw, uncontrolled power. And most humans spend the bulk of their lives in a battle to control or obtain power. Whether social power or personal power, we feel our best when we feel in control –of our lives, our surroundings, our relationships, and our world. This is the story of Babel, and it has never gotten old. So, when we contemplate the Light coming into the world during this Advent season, ...

292. Night and Light

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

A friend of mine had rewritten a familiar proverb and used it ominously. “Just remember,” he said, “things always look the darkest before the lights go out completely.” There was something of that threatening anticipation which always washed over us on this darkening night. We join Jesus and his disciples as dusk falls. They did not know it yet, but within hours the blackness would become very bleak. Jesus would be arrested, they would be scattered, and even Peter would deny and reject his relationship ...

293. Who Are These, Robed in White?

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

In the Sixties, rebelling students donned special clothes - jeans, sandals, tie-dyed tee shirts - as sign of their rebellion. The early members of the contemporary Women's Movement say the clothing that women wore as a sign of women's oppression. Bras were burned. High heels were condemned. When a judge, in the British legal tradition, renders judgment, the judge puts on, not only a robe, but also a wig. What does this special dress symbolize? It covers the individuality of the judge, signifying that the ...

294. Proper 12

Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 138:1-8, Genesis 18:16-33, 2 Kings 5:1-27, Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE At one time, the Pentecost season of the church year was divided into four parts, which were marked by saints' days. The first section ran from Trinity Sunday to June 29th, the day of Sts. Peter and Paul, and Sundays were numbered consecutively; the second went from the end of June to August 10th, St. Lawrence Day, and were numbered "after the Aposties;" the third extended from August 10th to September 29th, the feast of St. Michael and All Angels, and were called Sundays "after St. ...

295. Role Models

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

When the play Peter Pan first premiered in London in 1904, the author, Sir James Barrie began to hear from parents upset with the play. They asked him to make a change. In the original version, Peter Pan told the Darling children that if they believed strongly enough that they could fly, they would fly. Apparently, children who had seen the play had taken Peter's word literally and hurt themselves attempting to fly. Without hesitation, Barrie altered the script to include a cautionary statement that the ...

296. It's All In The Blood

John 18:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

*Have someone sing the refrain: "Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? O-o-o-o, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Two young boys in Kenya were out working in the fields cutting grass. As they swung their long knives through the tall stalks, one young boy stumbled into the other's path. He suffered a deep cut to his heel. The two boys dropped their knives and headed immediately for the mission ...

297. Spiritual Hypocrisy—Living by the Rules, Not by the Heart

Mark 7:1-23

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: In this passage about spiritual hypocrisy Jesus teaches that God’s people must live their lives not by how they appear externally to others but how they really are within. It is not external codes of conduct but the inner life of the heart that really matters. Understanding the Text The theme of failure continues from 6:45–53, as the disciples’ hardened hearts (6:52) link them to the Pharisees (3:5; 10:5) in their inability to comprehend the reality of Jesus and the kingdom (see “The Text in ...

298. Easter 3

Luke 24:36-49, Acts 3:11-26, 1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Jesus fulfills all of God's plans and promises. Repent and believe in him and God will give you a new life. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 3:12-19 In the first part of the chapter Peter heals a crippled beggar at Solomon's Colonnade in the temple. Great crowds are attracted to Peter and the other disciples and so Peter uses the opportunity to preach the gospel. Peter is brutally blunt in his preaching, accusing them of killing Jesus, even if it was in ignorance. The God of their fathers has glorified ...

299. The Blood Shall Be a Token

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Bible students and teachers have always connected the Old and the New Testaments by using types. That is, seeing in the Old Testament a type of what really is fully revealed in the New. This began with those who wrote the New Testament. Paul saw Jesus as the new Adam. Matthew saw him as a Moses. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews interpreted the tabernacle of the Old Testament as a type for the ministry and mission of Jesus. When we began this preaching journey through Exodus, we talked about Exodus ...

300. Born at Bethlehem — Hope

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Ellyn Sanna was twelve years old when she went on a camping trip to New England with her family. Four children and two parents were packed inside the family car. The tent was stowed away on top of the vehicle traveling from site to site. Each night they set up camp as the light faded. She tells that there were many happy memories from that vacation, but there was also the deep feeling of loneliness and being misunderstood. She was the youngest of the four children and too young to go on the long hiking ...

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