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Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
Social status may be determined by many factors. Some of these may be given by birth, genetics, or for reasons other than the achievement of the person. These include such things as color of skin and eyes, kind of hair, height, body build, gender, national origin, family's social position, inherited wealth, and age. Other factors may be determined by achievements through a person's efforts. The...
Sermon
William J. Carl
Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn’t fair? It’s one of the hard realities we learn early on. No one has to wait for adolescence or old age to find it out. You can learn it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like t...
Sermon
Johnny Dean
Let’s face it: some folks come to church on Sunday morning with the expectation that, sooner or later, if they pay close attention, the preacher is going to step on their toes. It’s unavoidable; it’s inevitable; it just can’t be helped. In fact, it’s something some folks look forward to, in a masochistic sort of way. I heard a friend of mine say from the pulpit one Sunday, "Well, folks, I’ve been ...
Children's Sermon
Brett Blair
Exegetical Aim: To illustrate the fact that life may not always seem fair, but we should not let that make us bitter towards others, but happy for others who do well. Props: Some kind of candy to give the children that they can eat in the sanctuary and that will keep them occupied; e.g., m&m’s. Children will be called down according to hair color or gender. You will have to decide which works best...
Sermon
King Duncan
We have been dealing the past couple of weeks with some of the most basic human emotions--anger, hatred, resentment. This morning we want to deal with another--envy. A popular form of humor recently has been light bulb jokes. For example, "How many Wall Street brokers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" The answer: "One, The broker holds the light bulb and the universe revolves around him." Or...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The artificial division between chapters should not influence our reading of the parable in this week’s gospel text. Jesus is not introducing some new idea or topic with this illustration. He is continuing to answer the question Peter posed in 19:27: “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” The parable which begins in 20:1 was not so much a demonstration of “many w...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The first lesson of Spirituality 101 is that God is God ... and we are not. The CitiBank credit card commercial features a decent-looking guy sincerely "telling it like it is." His voice narrates the story of the family vacation, while scenes from that outing flick by on the screen. The family goes on a trip, stops at a souvenir tourist trap and the kids want a zillion pieces of plastic junk...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The remarkable parable Jesus tells in this week's gospel text is found only in Matthew. Nevertheless, the startling message this parable communicates is considered by many scholars to be an excellent candidate for being classed as a genuine word from Jesus. The classic parable structure, its skillful telling and the power of its unexpected conclusion, all suggest the special creativity and uniquen...
Sermon
James Merritt
In 1938 the United States Congress passed a law called "The Fair Labor and Practice Act." That law affects millions and tens of millions of lives to this very day, because it established for the first time in our history a minimum wage. Believe it or not, it was set at 25 cents an hour. I can remember working when I was in high school in a Five & Dime Store for $1 an hour. The only reason he ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
More often than not, the scenes and scenery described in the Bible are foreign to our twenty-first century lives and lifestyles. How many of us herd goats and sheep for a living? How often do we offer lambs or calves or doves as bloody sacrifices to God on a regular basis? Corporate leaders and government officials are concerned with maximizing profits, not heeding the words of any prophet. Today’...
Teach the Text
Jeannine K. Brown
Big Idea: While promising eternal reward to the first who have followed him, Jesus also warns against presumption of reward and status by telling a parable about the equalization of status that will occur in God’s kingdom. Understanding the Text Peter’s initial question in this passage about the rewards that he and the rest of the Twelve will have for leaving everything to follow Jesus (19:27) c...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
In the parable (20:1–15), Jesus compares God’s reign to the payment of groups of day laborers working in a vineyard for a particular landowner. After hiring laborers throughout the day, the landowner pays those hired during the last hour a full day’s wage (a denarius)—the same amount he has promised to those who began working in the early morning. Seeing this, those hired first expect to receive m...
Sermon
Kristin Borsgard Wee
Dan and I always enjoyed the summer days at the lake cabin in Minnesota. It's a noisy and happy time with grandchildren running around in wet bathing suits, adults scooping ice cream like crazy, playing our favorite game Double Cross, and swatting mosquitoes. Late in the evening we would start telling stories. Sometimes we laugh until we cry. At some point in the storytelling, our oldest child usu...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
The Last Who Are First: It is important to note the close tie between chapter 20 and the verse that precedes it. The saying about the first who will be last and the last who will be first (19:30) is repeated at the end of the first section of chapter 20 (v. 16). This Semitic device is called inclusio, and because the order is inverted it is also an example of chiasmus (for other examples compare 7...
Sermon
James Merritt
The woman’s accounting firm is having its best year since she founded it ten years ago. Taxes are due the next day and she wonders if maybe they have taken on too many projects. I majored in accounting and I know missing the tax deadline is a quick way to lose creditability with customers. She decides to bring on some extra help. A friend had mentioned a temp agency in town that was pretty reliab...
Sermon
King Duncan
It's a good thing that today's text did not fall earlier in September--say Labor Day weekend. The moral of the story goes against most of the things you and I believe about the relationship between capital and labor. You know the story well. A landowner went out about six in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them $20 for the day. That should tell you right off that...
Sermon
King Duncan
Beloved preacher and teacher Fred Craddock tells about being on a flight back when they still had smoking sections on airplanes. Craddock was seated in the no smoking section. He was seated on the aisle. Across from him sat a man who pulled a long black cigar out of his pocket and lit it up. Soon the area was filled with foul-smelling smoke. Craddock stopped the flight attendant, a very attractive...
Sermon
"... Whatever is right I will give ..." - Matthew 20:4 Sometimes some of the parables of Jesus appear, at first glance, to make no sense. Such a parable may be read in Matthew 20:1-16. This is the story of a "householder," a land-owner, a farmer, who needed harvesters to work in his vineyard. Early one morning this man went out and hired some laborers to work for him that day, promising to pay e...
Sermon
Every parent who has raised more than one child at the same time has heard the cry - whether justified or not - that one is getting special treatment over the others, or that one is being slighted to the advantage of everyone else. While the parent may or may not agree with the child’s assessment of the current situation (in fact, the youngster may not be discriminated against at all!), he or she ...
Sermon
The case went to court. For our purposes, "the whys and wherefores" do not matter. The case went to court because someone believed he was being treated unfairly. The court, he believed, would be persuaded to his point of view and he would be proven right. He would get justice after all. He told his neighbors he was sure the court would be bound to see it his way. He knew it; and as if to drive the...
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
READINGS Psalter - Psalms 105:1-6, 37-45 First Lesson - When the Israelites complain of hunger to Moses and Aaron, God sends bread from heaven. Exodus 16:2-15 Second Lesson - Paul shares with the Philippians the conflict between keeping on or being relieved by death from present suffering. Philippians 1:21-30 Gospel - Jesus suggests that those of us at this late hour of the Christian day may still...
Bulletin Aid
Frank Ramirez
Call To Worship O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspr...
Bulletin Aid
James Wilson
Call To Worship Leader: Let all who would serve the Lord come this day and worship! People: But who will be greatest and who will be least in God's Kingdom? Leader: Jesus taught the first would be last and the last would be first. People: Then would the least be made great and the greatest brought low? Leader: To God, each of us is as a lost sheep, to be saved and cherished. All: Blessed be the na...
Bulletin Aid
Call to Worship Pastor: The heavenly reward God promises to his children is not a reward we earn by good works. People: We could never become righteous enough to make up for past sin, or to be worthy of heaven. Pastor: God's love is given, then, not in proportion to our righteousness, but simply because he is love People: We thank God for loving us. May we never become jealous over his love to oth...
Bulletin Aid
Leader: There was a landowner who hired workers for his vineyard. Early in the morning he hired a crew, promising them a denarius for the day. Several times more he went out and hired workers, hiring the last late in the afternoon. Women: Those hired last were paid first, each receiving a denarius. Those hired first were paid last, each receiving only a denarius for their labors. Men: Only a den...
Showing 3101 to 3125 of 4508 results