Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3751 to 3775 of 4986 results

3751. Shame on You

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . From the day of his conversion Paul became the busiest, most zealous advocate for Jesus Christ in the struggling new church. Paul forthrightly acknowledged his sin, his sense of shame was genuine, and his numerous confessions suggest that a certain sense of "godly grief" seemed to stay with him throughout his life. But Paul was not overcome by this guilt. He was not paralyzed by his shame. He used his guilt as a goad - as a reminder of what he needed to make up for. And he used his own lowliness as a ...

3752. Christ the Apple Tree

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... so that it might go on living as a support for the new fragile life of a baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a ocean-going ship so that it might go on living carrying important cargo and seeing new lands. The third tree longed to stay right where it was, existing only as a tree, but growing ever taller and pointing ever higher to remind everyone that there was a God in heaven who loved them. But soon there came woodcutters who hewed down these trees, and apparently also their dreams. The first tree ...

3753. A Star-Cross Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... have already expanded its length to three times the allowed amount and then painstakingly whittled it back down to a more appropriate length. The Christmas list let you dream, for it held out the promise that anything was possible. These promises stayed alive until the last shred of paper had been torn away from the last box under the tree. We eventually learned that not all those Christmas wishes could be fulfilled. The shining presents under the shimmering tree eventually became the Christmas morning ...

3754. Welcome Home, Joseph

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... chamber - often attached to a home. Indeed it is in a katalyma where Jesus and the disciples gather for their last Passover supper (Mark 14:14, Luke 22:11). What seems likely then is that upon arriving in Bethlehem, Joseph sought out family with which to stay. Yet because of the census, the town was crowded with visitors and the separate guest room of this relative's house was already filled. What we find as the most offensive of texts - that the baby Jesus when born was "laid in a manger" - also takes ...

3755. Mission Impossible

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... has purposefully chosen the struggling, sinful, stiff-necked [add your own adjectives here] church to be the "impossible mission force" for proclaiming the gospel to the world. Are we ready to be a part of the greatest team effort ever put forth to the world? We can stay true to our mission and accomplish all that God intends if we do two things: 1. Remember, we are part of a team. 2. In times of doubt and despair, recite the reassuring mantra with which Jesus sends us out on our mission: "The Lord needs me ...

3756. Take an Ember Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a family meal out? Where and when do we finally draw the line and declare: "It is time for a rest"? "Resting" goes against our grain. Resting is "laziness," "sloth," "wasteful," "non-productive," "idleness." If you want to get ahead, be successful, stay afloat, keep your edge, or remain competitive, there is no such thing as "rest," "time off," "vacation," "hiatus" or "down time." Sometimes there isn't even anything known as "sleep." Wearing ourselves thin, wearing ourselves out, has become a status symbol ...

3757. Soul-Scrubbing

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... one lonely, leftover firecracker snaps the sound barrier. Many of us no doubt stuffed ourselves at a big Fourth of July picnic and got sunburned watching a Fourth of July parade. On the fifth of July, the whole country is somewhat bleary-eyed from staying up late to watch the fireworks shows, and bloated from eating too many favorite family recipes. The Fourth of July has turned into a kind of national showoff day. Small communities brag down Main Street, dragging floats and bands and Boy Scouts. Big cities ...

3758. The Gravity of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... gravity. While it may be a thrill to find your body suddenly capable of flying and free-floating anywhere in the cabin, an absence of gravity can also increase the difficulty of completing a host of tasks. For instance, just how do you get the toothpaste to stay on your toothbrush? Everything has to be nailed down, self-contained, and sealed tight or it will simply drift away. Such a basic item as the pen had to be redesigned so that it didn't depend on gravity to deliver ink to its tip. Astronauts have ...

3759. How Do You Sell A Vacuum Cleaner?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ) If you buy today, we will give you a special gift, free. Yes, that's right, free. (he looks up; she is gone; he looks about, bewildered; looks at the vacuum cleaner) Salesperson: Not again. Oh, man ... they said it would sell itself. (he walks off, discouraged; vacuum stays center stage) Scene 2 The Thing Narrator: We now turn to "How Not to Sell a Vacuum Cleaner, Part II." A woman stands next to the vacuum cleaner. She is a bit nervous as she stands near it. Then a friend walks up. Steve: Hey, what's up ...

3760. Quenching St. Anthony's Fire

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a little man on it?" We want the plain one. We find it difficult to hear the word of the loaded cross, which says that any religious human being encounters suffering, and sees suffering, differently. We are hard of hearing when Christ's voice calls us to stay in our suffering, even as we become successful and powerful; and calls us to bear always a loaded cross, even when we can do more and go farther with a plain one. "Professionalism" has led us to the point where the central motivating symbol of ministry ...

3761. When Too Much Can Be Too Little

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of marriage (even Blondie of comic strip fame has taken an outside job in the catering business after 61 years as a housewife), the #1 status symbol in America is not a Porsche, not a second home, but a one-income home where one spouse stays home and raises the children? * You don't think it's more than ironic that a culture of plenty is one of the most pinched and painful environments imaginable? There are many problems facing our world today: poverty, environmental pollution, world famines, world plagues ...

3762. A 24-7-365 God

Hebrews 7:23-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and nurtured him through the bleakest times. Almost sheepishly, he would testify that, yes, he was depending on the presence of something intangible and unprovable the love one human being can share with another. Yet after he died, Sagan's widow revealed how he stayed stubbornly true to his "prove-it" principles to the very end. "We were wonderfully happy for over 20 years together," Anne reflected, "but for Carl there was no doubt that when we said goodbye it was for all eternity." How sad! How tragic ...

3763. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The key? "Get faster by going slower." Building up the heart for feats of faith takes long, slow cardiovascular workouts and training. We must start our workouts slow. To bolt out the door and take on the world is to fumble and fall. Only by staying below our aerobic threshold can our bodies chew up those fat reserves for fuel instead of our day's carbohydrate intake. Our aerobic threshold is that point where our bodies stop consuming fat and dip into muscle, which explains why so many runners who get ...

3764. The Widow's Might

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... on getting something more as well. Some perk, some freebie, or even some intangible incentive, must accompany all our purchases. Buy a dozen bagels ... get one more free. "Super-size" your soft drink ... for just 20 cents more. Pay 80 bucks to stay in a cheap motel ... but get a complimentary "continental" breakfast. Spring for the sports car and lose the back seat ... but regain your youth and your sex appeal. Get the designer label instead of the knockoff ... and feel superior and elegant. The standards ...

3765. What Are You Looking For?

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , with counterfeit Christs. When Jesus confronted these two would-be disciples with his haunting question, "What are you looking for?", the answer he received may sound strange to us, but it was actually a pretty good start. "Rabbi," they replied, "where are you staying?" "Teacher," they were saying, "let us join with you and be your students." When Jesus responds to this address and request, his answer is an invitation, "Come and see." Discovering the spirit of God, the presence of Christ, in your life is ...

3766. The Well That Will Never Run Dry

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Throughout the history of the Christian church, the fountain has been one of the supreme symbols of perfection, and Jesus is called a "Fountain of Living Water." A fountain is "something which is simultaneous rest and movement, always changing, always staying the same, ever new and ever old. The fountain expresses power and it contains light. A fountain is the exuberant play of fundamental elements: light and water, issuing without interruption from a single point of divine origin" (David Martin, Divinity ...

3767. The Five Habits of Highly Spiritual Leaders

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... attuned to everything happening around you without getting sucked into any of it. 2. SCHEMES Lead a disciplined life that your dreams may come true. Keep a clear head about your life and your life projects. Let both the invitations and the insults pass you by as you stay focused on God's plan and purpose for your life. 3. TEAMS Humble yourself in the realization that you can't do it alone or "go it" alone. Admit your weakness in wanting to go through life solo, and rely on God's strength as well as network ...

3768. Sleep Loose

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... car in line pinning you to the bumper. Our "good-byes" have become something we simply shout out from across the driver's side of the car, over the roar of traffic and the smell of exhaust. What a pity. Because good-byes are messages that can stay with us. Leaving family or friends is a poignant, sometimes painful moment in our lives. We tend consciously to remember all the details of our final minutes together. As children, we all experienced a very important "good-bye" every day of our lives when we were ...

3769. Welcome or Warning?

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... easy targets. But sounding out bad news is for foghorns, not Christians. A foghorn warns nearby vessels to steer clear; there are dangerous rocks and reefs and perilous cliffs hiding in the mist. Foghorns know they are doing their job when everybody stays away. Christians are sometimes called to sound warnings and serve as foghorns. But our primary assignment is not warning, but welcome. We are called to issue invitations for people to live the only life for which they were created. Christians should be ...

3770. Day-Timers or Begging Bowls

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that the unexpected or the out-of-the-ordinary can never find you? Or do you keep moving all the time new friends, new jobs, new loves, new lovers so that no one ever has a chance to really find your heart? Just as the risen Jesus refused to stay in the tomb, so the Christ of faith refuses to live only in our church sanctuaries on Sunday mornings. Jesus was raised from death into life and that life is everywhere and all the time. Christians live with the belief that they are always on "Candid Camera." When ...

3771. Just Showing Up Doesn't Get the Job Done

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as it is," not as you wish it were. A billboard put up by the Urban League in Queenschallenges: Life is unfair. Get over it. Get a job. Next to Starbucks Coffee, my favorite aroma is found in the Caribou Cafes around Atlanta. Their motto is "Life is short. Stay awake." Just as one of the worst things you can do while driving is fall asleep at the wheel, one of the worst things you can do in life is fall asleep at the wheel. Life takes our complete concentration; it demands we become masters of an undivided ...

3772. DisArming Christmas

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... on top of a heap. This Christmas, seriously commit to downsizing your involvement in this arms race. For our children's sake, as well as our own, let us declare that Toys "R"(NOT) Us. 2) Magnify At Christmas we love to sing "Little Jesus Boy." As long as Jesus stays "little Jesus boy," we're safe. Just don't let Jesus grow up. Herod's killing of every child under 2 was also an attempt to prevent Jesus from growing up and to drive Jesus out of the culture of his day. You see, if Jesus grows up in and ...

3773. The Secret of Living Is Giving

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are prisoners of our need for quick, in-your-face kinds of communication. Speeches and sermons are no longer composed to inform and inspire so much as they are sliced and diced into "sound bites" media-designed snack food that too often only sounds good and stays fresh for the three seconds of on-air time their life span is allowed. Postmodern culture does not make it easy to philosophize or theologize about life. What comes easy is a handy slogan we can slap over our unexamined existence so that we feel we ...

3774. The Resolution to End All Resolutions

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... intentions can be jump-started, and all your bad habits can be unplugged. At least for a few hours (or minutes?), the year is a perfect reflection of your best self. But January 1 is followed inevitably by January 2 and January 3. Someday soon you will opt for staying in a cozy bed a few more minutes rather than plunging out into the cold on that jog. Pretty soon candy wrappers will start appearing in your desk drawer again. By the 4th or 5th, you will surely have been aggravated enough at a bad driver or a ...

3775. The Devil's Sermon

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... many of us can look in the mirror and be so smug? Few of us, deep down, can stare in the mirror without being horrified. All of us know that life is "change, or be changed." Because life is change, nothing ever stays the same. Lyle Schaller, Cokesbury's best-selling author and the top church consultant in the country, asks: "What is the number one issue facing Christian organizations on the North American continent? Dwindling numbers? Money? Social justice? Leadership? Television? Sexuality?" After three ...

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