Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 326 to 350 of 3160 results

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... of courses you will take in high school, of which there will be more choices than before, is a prelude to selection of a vocation that you will call your own. Selection of people as friends, from whom there are many possibilities, is always a commitment to values - what sorts of people and things that people do are you going to call your own. Selection of people to date is a prelude to a choice about whether or not to get married, and if so, to whom. Thus the tasks that now are increasingly yours to do are ...

327. JESUS: Liar, Lunatic, Legend, or Lord

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Brett Blair

... you would say, "I'm sorry, what did he just say?" Anyone who seriously made such claims would easily be labeled a kook, a nut, certifiable. C.S. Lewis, in his book "Mere Christianity," makes the following statement about Jesus: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son ...

328. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... for the poor was embodied in Jesus’ ministry (Luke 6:20-22; Mark 12:41-44; Matthew 19:21). Jesus’ followers, both Paul and James, continued this concern for the poor (Romans 15:26; Galatians 2:10; James 2:1-6). Such a concern for the poor has all sorts of Old Testament precedent too, especially in the Prophets. Elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah this concern is explicit (22:16; 20:13). Isaiah (11:1-4; 14:29-32) and Amos (4:1-2; 8:4-7) proclaim God’s concern about the poor. An awareness that Christians ...

329. Yeah, Merry Christmas

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Dave Marsh

... all 5 glasses of milk! Hope he doesn’t explode! Dad: (holding stomach) I hope so too. (Mom elbows him). Kids: Can we open presents now? Can we? Can we? Mom: Yes, yes. Bring them over here and let’s sort them. Dad: Yeah, I’ll just sit over here and recover. (Mom glares at him) (They sort the presents. The kids start ripping into them and exclaiming what they got.) Mom: Justin, wait, you, um, Mallory, you should, why don’t you just wait… Dad: Honey? Mom: No, look, Justin why don’t you let Dad ...

330. The Ten Commandments #7: No Adultery

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to read them, and then promised to answer any questions when he was done. The boy did the reading, then when the father asked for a reaction, the lad responded, "Well, it's all right if you like that sort of thing." Uh-huh. Of course, most everybody gets to the place where they DO like that sort of thing. Fine - sex is one of the most delightful gifts that God ever gave. Unfortunately, God's gift CAN sometimes create problems, and that is the reason we find this direction about No Adultery. To be accurate ...

331. Remember!

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... 1739. Apparently, he was quite the fire-brand in advocating a break with the English king, and as such, got himself in all sorts of difficulties. He sounded like an interesting character, but I doubt that I would have given him much more than passing curiosity except ... gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to ...

332. Angels

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in texts where an angel appears, the task is to convey the message or do something on behalf of God. Since the focus of the text is on the message, the messenger is rarely described in detail. Thus, the divine emissary may or may not be some sort of supernatural being. Another set of terms used to describe angels focuses not on angels as mediators between God and us, but on God's heavenly entourage. Terms such as "sons of God," "holy ones," and "heavenly host" seem to focus on angels as CELESTIAL beings. As ...

333. Good Medicine

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... this tradition of designating the second Sunday of Easter (which some liturgical calendars call "Low Sunday") as "Holy Humor Sunday." We bring bells and noisemakers of all sorts and use them heartily at any points in the service that reflect celebration - "alleluia," "joy," even the venerable AMEN. The resurrection is comedy of the best sort, the unexpected reversal of expectations. Mary comes to the tomb on Easter morning expecting to find a dead body. Her train of thought keeps barreling along one track ...

334. The Lord's Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... come." There is an element of confession here. We are admitting that God's rule is not complete in this world yet. We are asking for a major change on this earth...an end to war, an end to poverty, an end to oppression, an end to evil of every sort and the beginning of a new social order that would see this world made good again as God intended. But that means that our prayer is a personal challenge. By praying, "Thy kingdom come" we make our own promise that, as God gives us the vision, we are willing to ...

335. The Lord's Prayer: The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is the Glory?" Right! If God is truly being glorified, why are there empty seats here today? Why are there ever any empty seats in any church in the world? Many see God as some sort of cosmic bell hop only to be called upon for an errand. At best, the world manages a slight tip of the hat toward God as some sort of honorary Chairman of the Board. No glory though. No, the glory in our world goes to the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons, the Magic Johnsons and Michael Jordans. The crowds cheer the gladiators ...

336. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... there. But, finally, through the persistence of those who care about their friend, a way is found to bring the man to Jesus. The roof. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so there was an outside stairway or a ladder of some sort which ascended to it. With arms no doubt weary from bearing the weight of a man's paralyzed body, they made their way up. The construction of the roof lent itself to what these ingenious friends proposed to do. The roof consisted of flat beams laid across from ...

337. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it. You see, just before Luke reports this exchange about how EXCLUSIVE the kingdom will be, he has the Lord giving two brief but comforting parables about how INCLUSIVE it will be: the one about the mustard seed that grew to such a size in a garden that ALL SORTS of birds were able to nest in it, and the one about that little bit of yeast that had such power that it finally permeated ALL the dough. YES, the Lord seems to be saying, "The kingdom will be EXclusive, but it will be far more INclusive than you ...

338. Wrestling In A Title Bout

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mark Clark

... . His reputation and title are history. Of course "Supplanter" is what the name Jacob means. In a sense most of Jacob's life was a sort of wrestling match. They say he came from the womb grasping his brother's ankle ” trying to be the first born. He always wanted to ... know how to manipulate. We know how to get our own way. Gomer Pyle had the best word for that scheming, false sort of Jacob within us. "Deceitful, Deceitful, Deceitful," Gomer would say. When I think of the big and small ways that we take ...

339. We Know Where You Came From

John 6:41-51

Sermon

King Duncan

... we are the president of the company, perhaps it slants the way we regard them when it comes time for a promotion. Oh, none of this is intentional of course. We may not even be conscious of it. It simply saves our brains the time and energy of sorting out people individually. So, we sort them out by category. "I know who you are. You are Mary and Joseph's son. You're from Nazareth. That's farming country, isn't it? People are a little slow there. Well, maybe we can find a job for you that's not too taxing ...

340. Excited By Our Faith

John 1:35-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... . It had 4 stories. It was neoGothic with flying buttresses, a classic large church building. It had a very dignified, educated pastor and a wonderful choir of professional quality. The church practiced what one pastor described as a sort of "osmosis evangelism." They expected Christ to sort of "ooze" out of their fellowship into the world outside. In the Narthex, the entry hallway to the church, they had a 10 feet tall marble statue of Christ with his arms outstretched. But times changed, people moved ...

341. God Sometimes Changes His Mind

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Johnny fashioned his prayer after what he thought he heard in church in the Lord's prayer: "And forgive us our trashbaskets," he prayed, "as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets." We all admit that we have trash in our baskets. We all have sinned and fallen sort of the glory of God. None of us denies that. And we know that sin is a barrier to our relationship with God. Indeed, sin is brokenness, alienation. The longer we stay in our sin, the more difficult it is for us to turn to God. There is an ...

342. Why Jesus Was Baptized

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... I gave it to you," said the man behind the counter. Finally Redford, licking his own cone, speaks up. "You'll find it in your purse, Ma'am," he says, "right where you put it." So much for dignity and grace. Being in the presence of some people does that sort of thing to us. Think how uncomfortable John the Baptist must have felt when the Son of God came to him to be baptized. Matthew tells us, "John would have prevented him, saying, `I need to be baptized of you, and do you come to me?'" "What's going on ...

343. The Conversion Of A Scoundrel

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s eyes were dazed as if he were on drugs. He smelled of beer, the beach, and body odor. This man certainly wasn’t the sort of person you would expect to find in church. In fact, he had never set foot inside a church before. His parents had kicked him ... young man eventually went to seminary and is today the pastor of a church in southern California. (4) Jacob had gotten himself in all sorts of trouble, but God was still able to use him in positive ways. Jacob’s dream affirms to us that God is able to ...

344. It's Not Nice To Call Someone A Dog

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... it says here?" "Yes," responded the little girl. "It says, ˜Kills fleas for six months." (1) I can hear Jesus telling such a joke on himself, can’t you? People who are secure in themselves don’t have to "put on airs." He was open and caring. People of all sorts were drawn to him. Our story for the morning is about one woman who was drawn to him. She came to him for help ” not for herself but for her daughter. The truth of the matter is that she made somewhat a nuisance of herself. "Have mercy on me ...

345. A Star And A Dream

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... to get something to eat," Bill recalls. "This guy said hello to me and I said hi back. I thought he was just a friendly guy. But then he said, `I liked the commercial.'" Reflecting on the whole experience Bill says, "I have a tendency to think we're all sort of crazy. The idea that thirty seconds could completely change a man's life." (5) Do you believe a life can be changed in thirty seconds? I do. All we have to do is kneel before a manger. Don't miss your opportunity. Everyone is welcome. Give him your ...

346. Face To Face With The Devil

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... for refusing to go along with him but she felt good saying no, "cause that was the only time in my life I ever said no to anything," she told the group. Through the stunned silence Dr. Willimon muttered, "Well, er, uh, that's resisting temptation. That's sort of what this text is about." He then led the group in the closing prayer. (2) Temptation is relative. We need to be aware that there are people who are tempted daily with situations that you and I cannot even imagine. Out in the wilderness, for forty ...

347. You Can Face Your Giant

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

King Duncan

... was trouble the father would be there. The son might have thought he was all alone, but his father was behind him all the way. (2) Knowing that God is with us, like that father was with his boy, is a great comfort. People are able to face all sorts of giants when they know that God is with them. So King Saul reluctantly agreed to allow David to fight Goliath. No one else wanted to take on the giant. And besides, David was so determined that it was almost frightening. The next scene, you'll remember, is ...

348. Making Relationships Work

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... for the town got sent to the farmer friend. The message for the farmer friend got sent to the feuding town. Here is the message that the townspeople received: "You had better see that your fences are put up well in the first place. Plough your ground deep; and sort your seed; be careful not to sow foul seed; and take care of that great, ugly bull. I think you had better poke him. The rest I will tell you when I come." The townspeople sat in silence for a long time, contemplating the pastor's strange message ...

349. It Could Happen To You!

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... news. Her tip for serving a cup of coffee is not a mere two bits, but two million dollars. Well, you can imagine Yvonne's reaction to this good news. At first, utter disbelief covers Yvonne's face. "NO. NO. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? IS THIS SOME SORT OF CRUEL JOKE? NO. IT COULDN'T HAPPEN." Then, as Charley insists he is not joking, a tiny flicker of hope registers deep inside Yvonne. She dared just for a moment to believe Charley's good news was true. "Yes? Yes?" she asks with her eyes widening. "CAN IT ...

350. Wrong Way. On Purpose

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... gets downright nasty. When she is bold enough to add an addendum to her plea for help, Jesus brushes her off. "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs!" Ouch! Jesus would earn a bundle of demerits using that sort of insensitive, politically incorrect language. It just seems wrong. Is Jesus really saying this woman and her daughter should be excluded as recipients of his ministering mercy on the grounds of their nationality? That's not the Jesus we have come to know in the pages ...

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