Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3776 to 3800 of 4957 results

3776. The Four R's

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to rise above nature' (How Could You Do That?!: The Abdication of Character, Courage and Conscience [New York: Harper Collins, 1996], 9). God made us a little lower than the angels, and we've been making ourselves lower ever since. It's time to claim our destiny as sons and daughters of God created in the divine image. The 4-R's can do it roots, rituals, relationships and realities. Alternative Sermon Idea Missed Connections or Bowling Alone We've got pagers, answering machines, e-mail, phones, cellular ...

3777. Ten Commandments of Trust

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... word. How much can you be counted on? Are you someone who can be trusted? Can you be counted on? 9. Thou shalt honestly admit your weaknesses. Hiding shortcomings may improve your image, but it doesn't build trust. There is a reason the old adage claims that "Confession is good for the soul." By trusting others with the knowledge of your faults, a bridge of trust can get under construction. 10. Thou shalt always tell the truth. There is no bigger roadblock to trust than deceit. It is the simplest and yet ...

3778. A Bill of Rights

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is like" (#1). Simple enough, isn't it? So why do so many of us feel hopelessly trapped in a wasteland of "gray areas" where the concepts of right and wrong are labels that are ridiculed and dismissed as insignificant? Philosopher Graham Priest claims that some things are both true and false. Another philosopher, Alan Thomas, counters: "If you believe that, you'll believe anything" (as quoted in Times Literary Supplement, 15 December 1995, 27). Unfortunately, it seems that is exactly where we are: a culture ...

3779. Was Jesus the First Buster?

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are too busy or too indifferent to get involved, the answer is we probably don't do much. Planning consultant and CEO of Search Technology, William B. Rouse, admits that "It never ceases to amaze me how much time people say they spend doing things they claim not to value. At the same time, they emphasize how little time they spend doing things they profess to value. People often tend to reflect wistfully on all the things they wish they were doing. However, they do not act. In this way, they squander their ...

3780. Rules for the Road

Joshua 3:7-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... becomes a symbol to the Israelites of the moment when they crossed over the threshold from their past into their future. It is now a new era with new rules and new challenges. General Motors is hawking its latest innovations and designs by claiming they have developed "rules for driving into the 21st century." Do the engineers and design consultants at GM really think that sitting in traffic jams, negotiating potholes and avoiding that idiot who just pulled out in front of you are going to be genuinely ...

3781. Just Showing Up Doesn't Get the Job Done

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and then differentiate a great multitude of roles within creation: In one act he creates a multiple, noisy jostling and diverse reality"(Rowan Williams, A Ray of Darkness [Cambridge: Cowley, 1995], 149). It's time for disciples of Jesus Christ to boldly claim their unique gifts. To live life by imitation, by mimicry, can result only in failure. Let Go. In the Matthean parable of the ten bridesmaids, the whole point of their anxious waiting for the bridegroom, the vigilance and careful preparation of the ...

3782. Teamwork Works!

Judges 4:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Barak and Jael brought about the destruction of all those who had orchestrated Israel's oppression. Together they defeated Jabin and Sisera's military might and set all of Israel free. Sometimes it only takes one problem, one barrier, to prevent us from claiming and keeping the "Promised Land" the Lord has intended us to inhabit. African-American preacher Buster Soaries likes to say that whatever the problem in your life it is your own personal "Goliath." This "Goliath" could be a coworker you simply cannot ...

3783. Tabloid Testaments?

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for a lifetime over the state of their souls. For the price of one 85-cent issue, this paper provides a "Quick Test Tells If You're Going to Heaven or Hell!" Still on the fence about whether the newfound popularity of angels should be proudly claimed by the church or left to the New Age faddists? Consider checking out the issue that reveals "Baby Born With Angel's Wings" (of course, there were photographs). By now you've probably guessed that the Weekly World News is one of those checkout counter tabloid ...

3784. On Being a Hot-Fudge-Sunday Church

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... opposites together. He ate with the poor but told parables about the rich. He preached the highest ethical standards and hung out with the riffraff. In John's Revelation, Jesus declares he is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Jesus never claimed, "I am the middle ground." Elsewhere in Revelation, the judgment on those who seek the safety of a middling commitment is harshly doled out "because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3 ...

3785. Fingerprints of the Soul

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is hidden behind off-putting elements such as coldness and bad temper. My heroes (and I have been collecting them) generally have something unattractive about them. (Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Church Hesitant [London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1993]: 25.) Paul's message to the Roman church claims that it is through endurance, character and hope that we synergize God's love in us. It is God's love "poured into our hearts" (Romans 5:5) that is both the starting gate and the finishing line of a virtuous life. And it ...

3786. A-wake or A-live

Galatians 2:15-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Ever since its publication, now a century ago, In His Steps has become a kind of Christian mantra for the faithful. But what started out as a new and challenging road has gradually become a kind of safe, well-traveled path. For too many Christians, claiming to be following "in Jesus' steps" has become a substitute for forging ahead into unknown territories, for taking faith into places where the church has not yet trod. This was Paul's warning to the Galatians in this week's epistle reading. Like Peter in ...

3787. Freedom in Bondedness

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... popularize this view as he called for the need to "actualize the potential" of one's self through "unconditional self-regard." This psychologically based school of thought has even borrowed the short-form Torah that Paul cites in today's epistle lesson and claims that Jesus' reminder to "love your neighbor as yourself" was essentially a mandate to focus on loving yourself. It is true that there is no place in Christian theology for self-hatred or self-persecution or self-disrespect. But loving ourselves was ...

3788. Who Are the Encouragers?

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... good-news gossip on their pages? What sells papers is bad news hence the rumors and innuendo. Gossip is almost by definition negative and disheartening: divorces, deaths, diseases, disasters, disappointments. In the face of all this gloom and doom, we need to claim a ministry as "Christian cowpokes" and refuse to utter a "discouraging word." We all need encouragers in our lives, and we must all serve as encouragers for others. Imagine what we might hear if we devoted ourselves to listening for and passing ...

3789. The Truth of Love

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... meaning of parable. If you are bold, you may want to develop the notion of myth. What passages of Scripture are inaccessible without using myth as a component of biblical exegesis? Turn to the advertising world for examples. Few people take the extravagant claims of Madison Avenue literally. What is it that we are to understand when we hear or see these advertisements? Refer to films that are currently playing and explain how the film can be understood on one level and how that understanding changes when ...

3790. Drawing Lines

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the boundaries of his concern when he was on earth. He calls Abraham "father" and recognizes Lazarus at the patriarch's bosom as his brother. The rich man begs Abraham to allow a brotherly mission of mercy to come to him - for he now desperately wants to claim his place in the circle of God's family. But Abraham declares that opportunity is past, the time for expanding his boundaries had been while he was on earth, and the rich man must now exist within the confines of the territory he sculpted out for ...

3791. Jesus' Bad Manners

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... name and told by this Jesus that he is coming to his house, right now! Perhaps, in the back of his mind, Zacchaeus had hoped he might get his own chance to speak with Jesus. To be sure, his tree-climbing antics seem pretty extreme for a man who claimed only a mild interest in Jesus. But Jesus doesn't wait for Zacchaeus to decide if he would like to offer the hospitality of his home or not - Jesus makes his own invitation. He invites Zacchaeus to host him. There is no hiding place from God. Zacchaeus thought ...

3792. Enemies of Promise

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... buds out in their preschool years? What changes this beginning, when they were "Poetry itself" (see the Morley poem below), to turn munchkins into murderers; mischievous elves into violent thieves? 1. The Enemy of Poverty: Children are the largest single group claiming residency below the poverty line. Statistics vary, but a reasonable estimate suggests that one-quarter of all the children in the United States go to bed hungry each night. It is hard to dream while your stomach is growling. Bad nutrition ...

3793. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus’ lineage has unique and miraculous distinction is now clearly evident. Only after this fact has been established does Luke now reveal that this young, betrothed, virginal Mary is a “relative” of Elizabeth — and so, presumably, can also claim a priestly ancestry. But Mary’s genetic genealogy is never flaunted. Instead Luke immediately returns his text to describing Mary’s faith and obedience when confronted with all this remarkable news. Unlike Zechariah, whose doubtfulness was translated ...

3794. Back to the Real World

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... they disagreed with one another just like sometimes we disagree in our families. Jesus’ relations with his family were quite strained at one point early on in his ministry. His Mother and his brothers were as confused as anyone else at some of the claims he made. Yet both Mary and his brothers were active participants in the early church following his death and resurrection. They were still a family. And they still had their faith. Of course, they had even more faith after his resurrection. They knew then ...

3795. The Coming of Christ Was to Simple Folk!

Luke 2:21-40

Illustration

James Cox

... Matthew. It was women like Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene. Christianity my friends, has never been a religion of Priest and theologians, minister's and teachers; from the very beginning it has been a religion of devout men and women with no claim whatsoever to professional expertise about their faith. This is important to remember. God never intended the church to be an organization of ministers. What he did intend it to be is an organization of laypersons, all "righteous and devout" like old Simeon ...

3796. Mark 1:4-11

Mark 1:4-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with thee I am well pleased." Mark begins this section of his text by defining the types of baptism available to people during the time of John the Baptizer. John preached a baptism of repentance. But John's baptism meant more than a participant claiming a penitent heart. Repentance or "metanoia" (Greek) meant a complete about-face, a turning around of the mind, a changing of life and lifestyle, the taking of a radical new direction. It is this new attitude, this metanoia mind-set, not John's participation ...

3797. Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 's entire message to the city consists of one phrase, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (verse 4). But the people of the city, these sinful Gentiles who exist outside the special covenant with the Lord which the Hebrews proudly claim, respond with an urgency, authenticity, and unanimity that is remarkable. The Ninevites, while appearing to be entrenched in their corrupt ways, were actually parched yet fertile soil for the redeeming word of God. It took only the feeble, watery preaching of a ...

3798. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... be his true identity. When they respond that he is "the Christ," Jesus swears them to silence. His next act is then a pedagogical one: teaching his disciples what the title they have just proudly declared actually means. It is a startling lesson. Rather than claiming authority from his identity, Jesus shakes his faithful followers with the news that the Son of Man (the term Jesus uses to define himself) is to remain obedient to God above all else. The cost of this obedience, Jesus reveals, will be rejection ...

3799. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... No longer was such suffering to be perceived as either divine punishment or as some harsh pedagogical lesson. Second Isaiah reshapes suffering into a positive image. Personifying this bafflingly new portrayal of suffering is the anonymous servant. Second Isaiah stuns us by claiming that God will be exalted and glorified through this abused and reviled figure. William Holladay sums up the previously unimaginable role of this servant as one who "... has a calling to be God's specific means to reach the world ...

3800. Luke 24:35-48

Luke 24:35-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (vv.42-43). Food is a recurring motif in all Luke's writings. Jesus seems either to be going to or coming from a meal on nearly every occasion of importance. The mode and mood of food creates some of the gospel's most distinguishing claims to what constitutes the "good news." Jesus eats with the outcasts and "good-for-nothing" riff-raff ("This man receives sinners"). He treats with respect people not unlike those we may deem strange, people estranged from us - punks, gays, pro-abortionists or pro-lifers ...

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