Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4508 results

Sermon

"Malicious hypocrites," Matthew calls them. They’re the Pharisees, of course; Jesus’ antagonists, and they attempt an ancient ploy: they want to present Jesus with an "either/or" decision. They want to force him into a no-win situation - darned if you do, darned if you don’t. And so they ask: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or is it not?" The trap is admirably well laid. For Jesus to say "Y...

3602. Paying What's Due

Sermon

David G. Rogne

In Joseph Heller's book Catch-22, an Air Force bombardier is desperately seeking relief from going out on the deadly missions he must fly each day. As he gets close to the number of missions that will allow him to be rotated, the number of missions needed for rotation keeps changing. He concludes that only a crazy person would keep flying those dangerous missions. He thinks he must be crazy, and t...

3603. What Is Caesar's and What Is God's?

Sermon

Brett Blair

A young lady was soaking up the sun's rays on a Florida beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came up to her and asked her, "Do you believe in God?" She was surprised by the question but she replied, "Why, yes, I do." Then he asked her: "Do you go to church every Sunday?" Again, her answer was "Yes!" He then asked: "Do you read your Bible and pray everyday?" Again she s...

3604. Giving Back to Caesar

Sermon

King Duncan

Late one night in Washington, D.C. a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into the path of a well‑dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs. “Give me your money!” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “You can’t do this to me . . . I’m a US Congressman!” “In that case,” replied the robber, “give me back MY money!” (1) Ah, the “Infernal Revenue Service”--in one form or another, they have ...

3605. Proper 24/ Pentecost 22/ Ordinary Time 29

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Litany Of Confession Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen. I: We confess to you, O God, that we wish to be you. II: We try to make you in our image and to define your power in ways that set us above our neighbors. I: We wish to control our own destinies. II: We confess to you our worship of the world’s power and wealth: oil, land, and money; streng...

3606. Proper 24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The rule of God. In the Isaiah text, God rules through a heathen king, Cyrus. In the Second Lesson, he claims us through the gospel. In the Gospel Lesson, Jesus reminds us that God's rule includes the power structures of this world, yet transcends these structures. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 33:12-23 The Lord is still stung by the golden calf episode and is threatening to withhold h...

3607. Give To God The Things That Are God's

Illustration

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

"Tell us what you think, Teacher. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" When the Pharisees asked Jesus that question, he responded with a request, "Show me the coin used for the tax," and someone handed Jesus a coin embossed with the head of the current Roman emperor, Tiberius. Engraved around his head was the inscription, "Tiberius Caesar, majestic son of the majestic God, and High P...

3608. A Revolutionary Text

Illustration

Staff

The passage in Matthew 22 in which Jesus tells the Pharisees to "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's is "a revolutionary text, and its public implications have been working themselves out for almost two millennia," according to George Weigel, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center of Washington, D.C. In an essay entitled "The Christian Citi...

3609. Tricky Questions

Illustration

Johnny Dean

There is a scene in the movie Used People in which a mother/daughter confrontation occurs. In the movie, the daughter - rapidly approaching middle age (whatever that is), divorced, mother of two children - is leaving home and heading for California to make a new life for herself and her children. Naturally, Mother objects. And as mothers sometimes do, she tries to lay a load of guilt on her daught...

3610. The Political Versus the Spiritual

Illustration

Greg Rickel

The Church should not be doing the business of the Government, and the Government should not be doing the business of the Church. But, those are institutions, needed, necessary. They are not living, human beings. It is like a story I read recently that had the Dean of a Seminary saying to the newest students there, "I want to tell you two things. First, you are probably asking yourself right now ...

3611. Only One Top Priority

Illustration

Johnny Dean

I have heard it argued from both pulpit and pew that Jesus' words "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's" mean that a Christian is duty-bound to love America, right or wrong. I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with that. One Christian writer has said, "The greatest service Christians can render to their country is to become actively concerned about the destiny of the church." I have al...

3612. Gotcha God

Illustration

Little Johnny, sitting at the breakfast table drinking his mug of milk, asks mom, "Is it true God is everywhere?" "Yes, of course, Johnny, God is everywhere." "Is God in this room?" "Yes, he certainly is." A little hesitation, and then, "Is God in my mug?" Mom's getting a little wary at this point, but she continues with it, "Yes. Yes, he is." Johnny thinks for a moment, then suddenly clasps his h...

3613. Two in a Grave

Illustration

Two older women who were walking around a somewhat overcrowded English country church yard, and came upon a tombstone on which was the inscription: "Here lies John Smith, a politician and an honest man." "Good heavens!" one exclaimed, "isn't it awful that they had to put two people in the same grave."

3614. The Perfect No Win

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

At some time every older sibling has pulled this on a little brother or sister who had a nickel they wanted. "Okay," older child offers, "let's flip for it. Heads I win, tails you lose." The little kids agrees: "Sure!" Then when heads appears the older proclaims "Heads, I win!" Of course if tails comes up the declaration is "Tails, you lose." At this point it suddenly dawns on the younger child...

3615. Treasure Underfoot

Illustration

Johnny Dean

A few years ago archaeologists at a dig in the biblical city of Eshtemoa dug up 62 pounds of 15th century jewelry. The gems and silver, taken separately, are worth about $7000. But the jewelry, the combination of the silver and the gems, has an estimated worth of over five million dollars! Do you know where the jewelry was found? It was buried about 18 inches beneath the dirt floor of a cottage t...

3616. Dual Citizenship

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

What a country is America! As Erma Bombeck says, "You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers in front of the White House, but by family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets soggy, and the flies die from happiness." Some years ago in a U.S. District Court, I had the privilege of participating in a na...

3617. We Need Peacemakers

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

When we read the "Letters to the Editor" section of our local newspaper, the anger, resentment, and prejudice we encounter there are often pathetic. I'm reminded of a pastor who was hospitalized. The chairman of the Administrative Board came to visit. He said, "Pastor, the Board passed our solution asking God to help you toward a full recovery. The vote was 23 to 18." The divisiveness in our cou...

Hypocrisy, which has wondrous and infinitely tortuous dens in the human heart, must be beaten out. We must not be gently scratched, but we must be deeply wounded, so that we are laid low by the sense of eternal death and learn to die to ourselves.

John Calvin

3619. God and the Republic

Illustration

Staff

One of the changes that came with the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell in 17th-century England was the nation's coinage. New coins were struck with the engraving "God with Us" on one side, and on the reverse "The Republic of England." One old nobleman, a royalist and anti-Puritan to the core, saw the coins and commented: "Quite proper that God and the republic should be on different sides."

3620. Committing to Christ

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Tony Campolo, the Philadelphia sociologist, found himself seated beside the Pennsylvania governor at a state prayer breakfast. In the course of conversation the governor said that he was sympathetic toward Christianity but not personally committed. Campolo asked, "Why not?" The governor replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, no one ever invited me to commit." Campolo said, "I'm inviting you." with...

3621. A Message in Sync with Action

Illustration

Keith Wagner

Dr. Keith Wagner relates this story: One time I was teaching a confirmation class about the media and religion. I had some video tapes of several television evangelists so we could study their message along with their behavior. I played about two minutes of one evangelist but kept the sound turned off. At the end of the video I asked the confirmands to tell me what they thought the evangelist was...

3622. It Depends On What Is Important to You

Illustration

Keenan Kelsey

Two friends were walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxi cabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, one of them said, "What an interesting place to hear a cricket." His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You co...

3623. I Am the King’s Servant, But God’s First

Illustration

Michael Manning

If you get a chance, rent the movie A Man for All Seasons. It is based on the life of St. Thomas Moore and is one of the best dramatic movies I have ever seen. It has been a couple of years since I have seen it, but one scene remains vivid in my mind when I think about the importance of persecution as a way of life for followers of Jesus. More was the Chancellor of England. By profession he was a...

3624. Caesar or God?

Sermon

King Duncan

Let’s talk about leadership for a few moments. It is an important subject in today’s world. There is a professor from University College London who has written many books on personality and leadership. And he has some strong views concerning incompetent leaders. He says incompetent leaders create a toxic corporate culture that drags everybody in their sphere of influence down. And he claims that t...

3625. Paying Caesar

Illustration

David G. Hagopian

The poll tax mentioned in this passage was levied by the Romans against the Jews beginning in A.D. 6 when Judea became a Roman province. This poll tax was still around years later during Christ's ministry but when it was imposed for the first time, it provoked the rebellion of Judas the Galilean recorded in Acts 5:37 and discussed in more detail below. The Herodians favored the tax, but the Zealot...

Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4508 results

3601. Image and Inscription

Sermon

3602. Paying What's Due

Sermon

David G. Rogne

3603. What Is Caesar's and What Is God's?

Sermon

Brett Blair

3604. Giving Back to Caesar

Sermon

King Duncan

3605. Proper 24/ Pentecost 22/ Ordinary Time 29

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

3606. Proper 24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

3607. Give To God The Things That Are God's

Illustration

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

3608. A Revolutionary Text

Illustration

Staff

3609. Tricky Questions

Illustration

Johnny Dean

3610. The Political Versus the Spiritual

Illustration

Greg Rickel

3611. Only One Top Priority

Illustration

Johnny Dean

3612. Gotcha God

Illustration

3613. Two in a Grave

Illustration

3614. The Perfect No Win

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

3615. Treasure Underfoot

Illustration

Johnny Dean

3616. Dual Citizenship

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

3617. We Need Peacemakers

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

John Calvin

3619. God and the Republic

Illustration

Staff

3620. Committing to Christ

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

3621. A Message in Sync with Action

Illustration

Keith Wagner

3622. It Depends On What Is Important to You

Illustration

Keenan Kelsey

3623. I Am the King’s Servant, But God’s First

Illustration

Michael Manning

3624. Caesar or God?

Sermon

King Duncan

3625. Paying Caesar

Illustration

David G. Hagopian

Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4508 results