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Showing 326 to 350 of 438 results

326. Mutual Submission

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

Today, Orientation Sunday, we welcome Freshmen to Duke. Orientation, that's when you learn the "in's and out's" of life here, when you get oriented to expectations of the university. A big part of Orientation is the acquisition of a new vocabulary. Every new place has its own language, its own special words. If you are new, you are learning the meaning of such verbal mysteries as ASDU, the Black and Blue Room, Grosschem. Soon, with a little practice, you'll be able to converse like a native! Each ...

327. A New Kingdom Coming

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

A lot of people don't believe it -- but there's a new kingdom coming. Often, like a phoenix bird, it arises out of the ashes of the old. As a young sapling is germinated by forest fire, so the new kingdom is sprouted in the desolation of despair. Like tundra flowers and crab grass the new kingdom has irresistible life impulses and grows anywhere. There is a new kingdom coming. You may wonder where it is -- this new kingdom. You may look for advance press releases, television bulletins, screaming headlines ...

328. The Collateral Damage of Our Attitudes

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

We continue to gauge how our lives are effected by all this. It has been difficult taking in all the things happening over these past three weeks, much less make sense of it all. Occasionally you read something in the paper or you see something on TV which helps you put things in perspective. I remember Thursday September 13th all of the sporting events that weekend had been cancelled. One of the NFL athletes was asked about playing on Sunday. He said, "Why? Who wants to play? I have a family and my heart ...

329. An Old Plan For New People

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Larry Powell

A mother dashed hurriedly into the nursery when she heard her five-year-old son howling. Much to her relief, she learned that his outburst resulted because his baby sister had been pulling his hair. "Never mind, darling," she comforted, "your little sister doesn’t know it hurts you when she pulls your hair." Within moments, the mother rushed back into the nursery, this time to check on the screaming baby girl. "What’s the matter with baby sister?" she anxiously asked the little boy. "Nothing much," he ...

330. Speaking the S-word

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This week's texts give you the opportunity to address aloud the S-word - Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, Evil. The church's reluctance to even admit the existence of genuine evil has usually played right into the hands of this demonic side of existence, leaving people frightened and confused when confronted by these forces in themselves and others. "Equipping the saints" for good and evil encounters, the stuff of daily life, is the focus of this week's material. "Saint Anthony wrestled with him, Luther taunted ...

331. Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

All three of the synoptic gospels agree that Jesus experienced a period of temptation; all three give us similar versions of the incident. In addition, Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus' temptation episode. The author of Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show that Jesus, like us, faced threats to his own fragile humanity. Luke, however, has a different agenda. Seeking to address both the Jewish and Christian worlds, Luke's explicit reference to Jesus' "40 days" of temptation would surely ring a ...

332. Easter 7

Acts 1:12-26, 1 John 5:1-12, John 17:6-19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 The church is living between Jesus' departure and the coming of the Spirit. The time has come to fill the vacancy caused by Judas' suicide. The one to be chosen as a replacement is to be one who shared the experience with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension and one who can witness to the resurrection. Two men met the qualifications: Joseph and Matthias. God and not the church elected Matthias. The church merely asked the ascended Lord which of the two ...

333. A "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong" Song

Hosea 1:2-10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. This is a nursery rhyme we learned as children, and somewhere along the line in history class we were taught that its composer, "Mother Goose," was, in fact, a political satirist. If we look between the lines of these playful rhymes we will find some kind of hidden message poking fun at royalty. (I guess you had to be there to get the joke.) Whether Sir Dumpty ...

334. Love Walked Across the Field

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

The ministry of Jesus was on a roll. After his baptism and time in the wilderness, he went forth to proclaim God's gospel of love. Following his preaching in Galilee, he entered his hometown. Although born in Bethlehem, his parents had fled to Egypt to protect their son from the wrath of King Herod. When Joseph heard of Herod's death, he brought his family back to live in Nazareth. As a young boy, Jesus attended the synagogue with his father where he participated in community worship regularly. Attentively ...

335. Proper 18

Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, Jeremiah 18:1-11, Luke 14:25-35, Philemon 1-21

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: Good morning! It’s great to be alive this early autumn day! School has begun; summer gardens are closing up; darkness comes sooner. People: The earth seems to be slowing down and we know that winter comes soon enough. Leader: What are you grateful for this morning? People: In our conversations with God and with one another, we express thanks for joyful events, for cheerful hearts especially during difficult circumstances, and for friends who walk with us on life’s journey. Leader: I ...

336. The ABC's of Grief

Lamentations 1:1-6

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

Grief is one of the universal experiences of humankind. Its characteristics are recognizable across time and space. Because humanity is finite by nature, there will be a time to laugh and a time to cry for every man, woman, and child on earth. We have been exploring the period in Old Testament history leading up to the Babylonian exile. The prophet Jeremiah has been our guide for the last six weeks. If it seems that we have been hopping and skipping through Jeremiah, you are right. It would appear that ...

337. God's Pattern for Sainthood

Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

(All Saints’ Day) Lutheran pastor Martin Taylor tells a delightful story which he says he heard from another pastor, an elderly gentleman, at a pastor’s meeting. As a young man this pastor had been studying for the ministry and was asked to serve a small congregation in Canada over the summer months. His father who was also a pastor urged him to accept the opportunity, but he was reluctant. He was young, inexperienced. The idea of serving a congregation and especially the writing of sermons terrified him. ...

338. The New-Covenant Ethic of Love

Romans 12:9-21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul, like Jesus, says that the new-covenant ethic is love. The thesis here is simple: love sincerely. Love should be shown toward God, fellow believers, and even nonbelievers who persecute Christians. Thus, Paul’s ethic continues the radical call by Jesus to his disciples to love one another. To love others is to sacrificially accept the new-covenant stipulation to love. Understanding the Text Romans 12:9–21 continues the theme of being a living sacrifice (12:1–2) by loving others. Romans 12:9 ...

339. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: One day believers will stand in the presence of God and the Lamb and celebrate with a new song of redemption. Understanding the Text In chapter 13 the dragon stands on the seashore and calls forth the two beasts to wage war against the saints (13:1–10, 11–18). Chapter 14, the last part of the extended interlude of 12:1–14:20, opens with the Lamb standing victorious with his faithful followers on Mount Zion. The war and struggle of chapter 13 appear in bold contrast to the victory and celebration ...

340. “The Lord Looks Down . . . to See If There Are Any Who Understand”

Psalm 14:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: The world’s God-deniers will find, maybe to their surprise, that the God they deny is found “in the company of the righteous.” Understanding the Text The form of Psalm 14 is sometimes considered to be an individual lament, and in tone, it is, because the psalmist grieves over the vacuum of faith that he perceives in his world. But it does not follow the form of the lament. Others have suggested it is a wisdom psalm, in view of its use of wisdom language. In wisdom terms, the word “fool” stands ...

341. “Taste and See That the Lord Is Good”

Psalm 34:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Having experienced God’s goodness, we invite others to “taste and see that the Lord is good” and thus experience the assuagement of their fears. Understanding the Text In addition to being an alphabetic acrostic,[1] Psalm 34 shares at least three other features with Psalm 25, another acrostic: (1) the waw (the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is missing from both poems; (2) each closes with a supernumerary verse beginning with the Hebrew letter pe; and (3) the same verb begins each of these ...

342. I Love a Parade!

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I wonder how many of you love parades? I think most of us get excited about a parade with all the people marching down the streets with the bands and the floats and different community groups marching. It’s a time of big celebration. When I used to serve a church in New York City it seemed like there were always these huge parades. There was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the Halloween Parade down Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan. There were parades for Cinco de Mayo, Saint Patrick’s Day, Gay Pride, for ...

343. The Discipline of Witnessing

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Today we talk about witnessing, or "TELLING OTHERS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST." This is even more difficult for most of us. For, quite frankly, we Presbyterians don’t like to think about witnessing. We leave it to the Mormons, or the Jehovah Witnesses, or some of the fringe groups; we much prefer to do things "decently and in order." Somehow witnessing sounds too fanatic! Someone has characterized us as being parallel to those men who belong to the military reserve. We go to drills once a week but we are not on ...

344. Jesus Is the Example of Service for His Followers

Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus’ disciples are exhorted to renounce their concern for status, following the example of Jesus himself, who willingly suffers and dies to ransom people. Understanding the Text This passage narrates a final teaching opportunity for Jesus’ disciples before arriving in Jerusalem (20:29–21:11). The passage begins with a third passion prediction by Jesus (20:17–19; cf. 16:21; 17:22–23) and ends with the first explicit purpose statement that Jesus provides for his coming death: to be “a ransom for ...

345. Instruction for Temple Entry

Psalm 15:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 15 is part of a liturgy of temple entrance (see the Introduction for a fuller discussion of this momentous rite of passage). It shares with Psalm 24:3–6 and Isaiah 33:14b–16 the threefold pattern of a question of who may sojourn on Yahweh’s holy hill (v. 1), a reply consisting of the qualifications for worshipers (vv. 2–5a) and a promise (v. 5b). 15:1 A literal translation of verse 1, “Who may sojourn (Hb. gwr) in your tent (Hb. ʾohel); who may camp (Hb. škn) on your holy hill?” makes plain that the ...

346. Exposed and Expunged

Mark 10:17-21 · Hebrews 4:12-16 · Job 23:1-9; 16-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

To aspire to perfection is to curse oneself to eternal frustration. Have you ever felt that feeling that no matter how much you do, it’s never enough? Did you ever try to please an unpleasable person? No matter what you do or how you do it, you can never reach their standards. Or how about those people, who are so insecure that no matter how much you show you love them, they will never believe you. Or are you simply that person who sets for yourself unattainable standards, sets the bar higher than humanly ...

347. Breathe

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Today, we’re going to take some time to “breathe.” Let’s everyone take a nice, deep breath. Breathe in that fresh, crisp air around you. Breathe out the stale, stagnant air within you. Let’s take a moment and take a few breaths. Feel your stress and anxiety melt away. Feel your worries recede and that Holy Spirit sense of peace fill you up. Now, we are ready for worship. Stress, as we’ve probably all experienced at one time or another, remains one ofthe greatest challenges to our mental, physical, and ...

348. Friends In Low Places

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Marc Kolden

This gospel reading from Matthew is surprising, if you think about it. A man named Matthew is sitting at his job in the tax collector's booth and Jesus comes to that town and says two words to Matthew, "Follow me." And Matthew stands up, walks off his job and follows Jesus. Does that ring true? Matthew didn't count the cost; he didn't think of the consequences; he just followed. It seems too abrupt and unlikely. Yet this passage is God's word for us today. What shall we make of it? Part of the difficulty ...

349. The Bible, Your Mirror? by Dr. Lawrence L. Lacour

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Mann

Jesus, the authority on people, knows and understands you. We have our text to assure us. Think of it! Through faith in Christ we can understand ourselves and others. These words about Jesus have a unique relationship to the theme for this series. The Greeks, who asked Paul about the meaning of "this new teaching" were hearing this message for the first time. But the teaching about Jesus and the Resurrection is not new to you. Most of you have been taught it from your youth. But if you are like the people ...

350. The Wolf and the Lamb Inside Us

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Try to imagine a world in which the wolf and the lamb will share the same stall. The leopard and the baby goat will sleep together. A little child will put halters on a lion and a calf and lead them around. The lion will eat straw like the oxen. A little child will reach down into a cobra's den and not be harmed. That's what the world will be like one day, according to Isaiah the prophet. At some future time the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the oceans are with water; then no ...

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