Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3576 to 3600 of 3852 results

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:40-45, Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... or not! Then we see the true power of Jesus, the power of God, which does not ostracize but encourages community, heals and restores, blesses and cleanses from inside out. Jesus is a doctor of heart and mind and spirit, because He restores God’s original gift of the “skin/clothing of righteousness.” In the scripture for today, Jesus knows He is going up against the lovers of tradition and the power structures that be in Jerusalem. And yet he grants the power of God in healing many. And word about ...

3577. Let 'Er Rip

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... up of the steam in the steam boats or steam driven trains. You revved them up, and then let her rip. What it meant is that you would let it go fast and at its own will, unrestrained and unchecked. Faster and faster. Out of control. The original use of the meaning even earlier in the 19th century meant to “give someone permission to tell a story (1809), to give someone permission to “start something.” To act or orate without restraint. Green light to go ahead! Get her ready. And then, let ‘er rip ...

3578. Caring for the Vineyard We Did Not Plant

Matthew 20:1-16, Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the identity of its owner and the uniqueness of its neighborhood. That’s where true creativity, insight, and a sense of purpose and goal is all important. You need to know who you are and what your style is in order to create it out of someone else’s original design. This is our challenge in the Church today. Today’s mission fields are vineyards we did not plant. More than that, today’s culture is a vineyard we do not know! To be in mission within the world in the way that God intends us to be, the ...

3579. The Healing Tree

Revelation 22:1-6, Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Tree. Jesus IS that Tree of Life. And we become part of that Tree. We too become part of the healing balm that becomes the “salve”-ation for the world for ALL people. Because God wants to heal all people from the wretchedness of sin. Sin is not our original and natural condition. Sin is a corrupted condition. Sin is a sickness from which we and everyone else in the world must be healed. And when we are healed by the power of Jesus, we become part of Jesus’ healing hands. Sing with me now: There is a ...

3580. The Lame Truth

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the word tarasso, which meant to stir up, to trouble, to agitate, to put in motion, to cause emotional agitation, to cause inward commotion, to take away calmness, to strike one’s spirit.* Wow! It’s important to remember that the scriptures were originally oral. Whenever in scripture you see action happening, it serves to demonstrate what is happening in the inner mind, heart, spirit of the person in the story. When the waters are “troubled,” it means YOU are troubled. When the waters are stirred up ...

3581. The Excellent Meal Ticket

Genesis 37:1-11, Genesis 37:12-36, John 21:15-25, Mark 8:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... extra girl joined the group. But we only had tickets for those already registered. But we didn’t want to turn her down. So she came along, and we agreed to purchase the extra ticket when we arrived, even though knowing it would likely cost much more than the original group rate. When we arrived however, before we could get halfway through the line, a woman walked up and handed us a free entry ticket –one she couldn’t use in her own group. And our late to the group girl entered for free! This is how it ...

3582. Rooted and Rebooted

Psalm 126:1-6, Luke 13:31-35, 2 Samuel 15:13-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the olive branch in its mouth, signifying that the time of watery death is over, and God’s promise of restoration has commenced. The Mt. of Olives is known for its ancient trees. Even today, the oldest trees are believed to have been generated by an original tree, present in Jesus’ time there. Each November marks the olive harvest, in which the oil is pressed and used for the lamps to light the holy Temple and for anointings and incense. The pulp is used for mulch. The trees are extremely fruitful, and ...

3583. God Has Not Forgotten You

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in their new homes for many generations. While these “Jews of the Diaspora” are looked down upon by the later Jerusalem purity seekers, God continues to recognize that the “True Israel” consists of many more of God’s people than only those in David’s original ancestral city. We in the church can also get caught up in a kind of “purity” seeking, a kind of “frozen chosenness.” Many of us look back to a time once heralded in the church as “good or better,” lamenting for what we believe ...

3584. Deep Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to the people of God, someone who would bring peace and restore beauty to their people and their land, someone who would break away the rock-hard prejudices bestowed upon their people and restore them into the folds of God’s beloved arms. Jacob’s well was the original stone-set well and altar dug by Jacob in the land of our ancestors. The well represented the promise made by God to Abraham and Jacob, to Israel, and to all of God’s people, everyone who would follow the One True God of the world. Jacob ...

3585. The Unclean Palate

Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... be in relationship with people who seem different than you are has much more to do with your culture, your tastes and your predispositions, and especially your relationship with Jesus, than anything to do with that person. God made us all unique. We are all original, beautiful, dissimilar people. Thank God for that. But God also made us like pieces of a dynamic and beautiful puzzle. Our mission is to find ways to fit together, to be together. For together, we create a beautiful image of God. [You might want ...

3586. Serpentine Soul

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... could have been advice for the desert undesirables. They were cranky, saucy, pushy, cheeky, carping, impertinent, insolent---and their sin bold as brass. In a sense, they embodied the lying, cunning, defiance of the “serpent” encountered in Eden –the symbol of original sin. The kind of brazen blaming, twisty lies we encounter today, we call “spin.” In that desert, we encountered spin --the “spin” of sin! “Spin” is seeing things and depicting things in a way that is not really true, putting ...

3587. A Supernatural Leap

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... divine movement that coincides with the Holy Spirit coming upon Elizabeth in a way that provokes her to prophesy about Mary’s child. The Hebrew word is eskirtese from skirtao meaning to struggle, skip, leap, or frisk about. But there is also a supernatural divine origin to the kind of leaping suggested. Just as the word is used in Genesis (25:22) as Rebekka’s children struggled together within her, here the baby John (whom we are told earlier is already immersed in the Holy Spirit in the womb), exhibits ...

3588. Immersed

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... act ensured her life and the life of her family. Rahab would later marry Salmon and bear Boaz, husband of Ruth, forebear of David, and Messiah Jesus.[10] In fact the word “tikva” (red cord) means lifeline, hope, expectation in Hebrew. Just as in the original Passover story in the Exodus of Israel, that same lifeline is inherent in the mezuzah of Jericho.[11] The sacrificial overtones of the blood on the mezuzah (doorposts/altar) mark a kind of circumcision of the heart and a sign of repentance on the ...

3589. The Art of Keeping Quiet

Luke 1:5-25, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... offers us in God’s ultimate salvation! We are saved from our tumult and terror. We are offered “rest” and “peace.” Shalom. And Selah. In Psalm 23, God leads us beside the “waters of quietness.” That’s the phrase in the original translation which we know as “still waters.” Jesus offers us freedom from heavy burdens and drooping shoulders. He offers us “rest.” He greets his disciples with “shalom” . . . peace of mind and quietness of spirit. Before Jesus quickens us, he quiets us ...

3590. Raison d’Etre

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... salt. A salt molecule is made up of a sodium atom that is bonded to a chlorine atom. For that bonded sodium chloride (salt) molecule to lose its saltiness would mean that the atoms would have to un-bond and return to their original form — sodium and chlorine. In other words, salt that isn’t salty isn’t salt; it’s sodium and chlorine. Likewise, Christians who don’t exhibit the characteristics of Christianity (love, kindness, generosity, caring, acceptance, etc.) are not Christians. They are people ...

3591. The Tempest

Jonah 4:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of story. It’s called a “dream vision.” A dream vision is when a character encounters a dream or vision that reveals truth not available to the dreamer in his or her waking state. In ancient literature, a dream vision was felt to be of divine origin. Think of the Medieval classic, The Dream of the Rood or Dante’s Inferno, the poem Pearl, or the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. All of these are examples of “dream visions.” This kind of dream vision is prevalent in the scriptures. Think of the ...

3592. Excuse Me!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carl Jech

... to apply to ourselves. Made in the image of God, we have sinned and become like junk. Our shadows threaten to engulf us. But God in grace has redeemed us, has bought us back from the junk heap through the cross and resurrection of Jesus, and restored our original beauty and goodness. Rather than saying that we are excused from fulfilling God's great expectations for us because we aren't worth much, God excuses us in a way that restores our worth, our self-esteem, and reminds us that God doesn't make junk!

3593. Hold Me When I'm Angry

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carl Jech

... characteristic that annoys us. The cross of Jesus reflects God's anger toward sin but his love toward people! When the subject of the disease called AIDS is discussed, some people become angry at the heterosexual Africans with whom the virus appears to have originated. Others become angry with homosexuals or drug users. But the real focus of our anger should be on the virus itself, the disease itself - not on the victims of the disease! I trust that all of us who are parents know the difference between ...

3594. The Power of the Unseen

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... us to bits and infuses dread into even the most rigid spine. We fear the unexpected more than anything else perhaps in our world. Speaking of unexpected, a new movie opened this past week, The Invisible Man. A new release by Universal Studios, this remake of the original classic is said to be a first-rate rendition of this chiller. In the movie, a woman fights an abusive ex who she can’t see. She must not only fight her unseen attacker but must convince the world that her threat is real and not just ...

3595. Fake News vs. Fantastic Good News

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... . This rumor was that an angel had appeared at Jesus’ tomb and told the women who followed him that Jesus was still alive. The two disciples didn’t know which rumor to believe—the one spread by the religious authorities or the more fantastic rumor which originated with the women. Nevertheless this seemed to be a good time to get out of town. They were grieving, in shock, confused by Jesus’ death and the strange rumors about his resurrection. Some of you know what it’s like to suffer a loss and be ...

3596. The Secret to Happiness

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... in me, who is doing his work.” In Jesus, we see a God who understands us. God has tried to communicate with us and have a relationship with us from the beginning of time. Through promises and prophets, God tried to reach out and bring us back to His original plan for us. And when none of that worked, God came in human form in the life of Jesus. He grew up in a poor family. He worked hard for his daily bread. He lived under an oppressive Roman government. That’s why Jesus knew what was in his disciples ...

3597. Daddy's Love

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... as we imagine. People use a phrase nowadays that is actually quite reassuring. The phrase is “It’s all good.” In fact, the phrase has gotten so popular that it has recently been chosen by the National Basketball Association as its official slogan. Some people trace the origins of the phrase “It’s all good” to Rap performers in the 1990s where it is featured in several recordings. I choose to trace it all the way back to the writer of Genesis when he says God looked out on all He had created and ...

3598. Rise Up

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... white from the glaring sun. The valley was quiet, desolate, dank, and depressing –displaying the memory of Israel’s defeat, death, and despair. Time, long periods of time in captivity, can sometimes be more devastating to the spirit than the original battle. As the Babylonian battles ended or grew more distant from the Israelites’ own homes, as life settled into a new reality, a reality in which the people were captives, unable to return to their former families, homesteads, and lives, depression ...

3599. Sheep? Seriously?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... ). 4. See Lent 4 that focused on John 9:1-41. 5. O.A. Piper. “Life” in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol 3 K-Q (Nashville, Tennessee: Abington Press, 1962), p. 127. 6. Author unknown. I only have the quotation. I’ve search and searched for its origin and cannot find it.

3600. Our Strange, Strong Peace

John 14:15-31

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Here in the twenty-first century, we of the church are trying to find our way to new life. So were the men, women, and children of John’s original audience. Remember they’ve lost their standing in the community. They are no longer part of the majority. Whereas once they were woven into the recognized fabric of Judaic culture, now that once familiar culture moves on largely without them. They are uprooted in place ...

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