Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3801 to 3825 of 5000 results

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Thomas Long

... it could have been any day ... Arnie, it scared the hell out of me.2 Another playwright, Arthur Miller, stated it this way in an essay: People no longer seem to know why they are alive; existence is simply a string of near-experiences marked off by periods of stupefying spiritual and psychological stasis, and the good life is basically an amused one.3 Many people, however, have grown weary of making changes simply to alleviate their boredom. They have discovered that the problem with shaking the dust of ...

3802. What’s In It For Me?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... of these promises and many more. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by becoming a Christian, they tell me. There are many voices today telling me what is in it for me if I become a Christian. But, according to this passage in Mark’s gospel, Jesus rejected this "what’s-in-it-for-me" version of Christianity. Jesus rejected Peter’s interpretation of the Messiah, and Jesus will reject any such notions of Christianity that dance in our wee little heads. "Get behind me, Satan!" Jesus said to ...

3803. Doubting Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... doubt to Jesus. Thomas was not with the rest of the disciples on that first Easter evening. The disciples reported to Thomas that they had seen the Lord. Thomas did not believe them. "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). "If I don’t see it for myself, I won’t believe it." That was Thomas’s reaction to the witness of the disciples. Thomas represents all kinds of people who want ...

3804. All-Out Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... Press, 1951] , Vol. 7, p. 847.) "In its original context [Leviticus 19:18] has to do with a man’s fellow Jew. It would not have included the Gentile, whom it was quite permissible to hate." (William Barclay, "The Gospel of Mark," The Daily Study Bible Series, [Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975], p. 295.) 3. The Interpreter’s Bible, (New York and Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1951), Vol. VIII, p. 848a. 4. Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gabalein, General Editor, (Grand Rapids, Michigan ...

3805. What Is God Like?

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... and replied, "He may be your emperor, but he’s my father!" In this old story, retold in a book by William Barclay, is an excellent example of Jesus’ attitude to God as father. When Jesus prayed to God, he called Him by the Aramaic word Abba (Mark 14:36). This word abba has a warmer shade of meaning than merely father. It is the word that a little child in first century Palestine would use when he was addressing his earthly father in the intimacy of the family. "There is," wrote Dr. Barclay, "only ...

3806. How Can We Meet Grief?

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... the evening came. Then, he would stop at one of those mansions to rest for the night. The next morning he would resume his journey and travel another stage of his journey. In effect, Christ was saying to us, "Within my Father’s world, there are many ‘stations’ marking the stages of growth in the journey of a soul. If it were not so, I surely would have told you." Because of Christ, God’s children never see one another for the last time! This way of looking at life accounts for the note of joy and ...

3807. What Makes People Great?

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... at a strand of hair and never miss" (Judges 20:16, TEV). By killing the Philistine giant, David proved most helpful to King Saul. When Jesus spoke about greatness, he said, "If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest" (Mark 10:43, TEV). Far from being an other-worldly platitude removed from our daily lives, our Lord’s words underline a principle of all effective living: The person or the institution which serves most, is most helpful, is most useful, is the one that will survive ...

3808. The Remnant Year

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

With this Sunday we leave the Christmas Season and enter into a New Year. We all go through a peculiar sadness as we put up the ornaments, eat up the leftovers, and silence the sounds. Perhaps we have already put away the openness and ready affection that marked us during these weeks. If the house looks bleak and sterile, maybe we do a bit ourselves. We are in the process of shaking our heads and getting back to regular living as we meet the year ahead. How nice it would be if we could take some of the ...

3809. Advent 1

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Mark 13:32-37, Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... for you and your Kingdom. Forgive us, we pray, and teach us to live as a people who are dedicated to your inbreaking Kingdom and who thus truly share in the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 13:32-37 Theme: "Be prepared!" Exegetical Note Having uttered two parables that urge watchfulness, Jesus here issues an explicit exhortation on behalf of that same virtue. In so doing, he emphasizes the uncertainty of the time of cataclysmic eschatological events, and counsels, not ...

3810. January 1

Numbers 6:22-27

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... ’S NAME, THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME! Leader: And with that divine name comes a divine blessing: People: GOD’S FACE HAS SHONE UPON US, AND THE LIGHT OF GOD’S COUNTENANCE HAS BROUGHT US COMFORT, GRACE AND PEACE. Collect Gracious and loving God, who have marked us with your name and graced us with your blessing: make your face shine yet again and lift the light of your countenance once more upon us; that we may realize anew that we are the bearers of your name and your blessing, both of which you ...

3811. Epiphany 8

Hosea 2:2-23, Mark 2:18-22, 2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... rather than the inner testimony of a spiritual relationship with you. Forgive us, we pray. Help us to seek validation where it really matters: in hearts that have been enlivened and activated by your Spirit through Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 2:18-22 Theme: All things made new in Christ Exegetical Note The issue in this pericope is clearly fasting, but the real subject is novelty, as seen in the two attitudes reflected here: (1) that of Jesus himself, that his presence and ministry ...

3812. Lent 2

Genesis 17:1-27, Romans 4:1-25, Mark 8:31--9:1

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... . Forgive us our attempts to be our own saviors. Teach us to trust, not in our righteousness, but in yours and Christ’s, and to live lives of Christian responsibility and service as a result. Trusting in Christ and his name, we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 8:31-38 Theme: A discipleship of crosses, not of conquests Exegetical note: In this Marcan account of Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession of him as the Messiah ("the Christ"), it is clear that Jesus is contradicting in no uncertain terms the triumphal ...

3813. Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Mark 16:1-20

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... and life. Forgive us, we pray. Convince us of the power that is Christ’s and thus ours; and teach us to use that power in wisdom and humility for your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen Gospel: Luke 24:46-53 (or Mark 16:9-16, 19-20) Theme: The blessing of the ascension Exegetical note This passage overlaps the selection for the Third Sunday of Easter, which recounts resurrected Christ’s final commission to his disciples. Added here, however, is his leading them to Bethany, blessing them, and ...

3814. Proper 4

1 Samuel 16:1-13, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Mark 2:23-3:6

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... of your Kingdom. Comfort us with the knowledge that we minister in the name and spirit of Jesus, who brought life to the world, not by succeeding on its terms, but by suffering at its hands. In him we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 2:23--3:6 Theme: Restrictive religion versus redemptive righteousness Exegetical Note In the two incidents recorded here, both related to Sabbath-keeping, Jesus’ justifications for the alleged violations on his and his disciples’ part are varied: Davidic precedence, creational order ...

3815. Proper 5

1 Samuel 16:14-23, Mark 3:20-30, Mark 3:31-35, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... sight of you and your Kingdom. Forgive us our short-sightedness, and teach us to take the long view of life, the world, and time. That we may know our true priorities and possibilities in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 3:20-35 Theme: A madman with a mysterious ministry Exegetical Note This interesting passage is an example of a pericope (on Jesus’ alleged Satanism) within a pericope (on familial relationships), tied together by the fact that both Jesus’ friends and the scribes believed ...

3816. Proper 17

1 Kings 2:1-12, Mark 7:1-23, Ephesians 6:10-20

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... forces of evil. Forgive us, we pray. Give us the ability and the courage to use the truth, righteousness, faith, and Word that you have given us against the evil powers and principalities that threaten us all. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Theme: Human customs versus divine commandments Exegetical Note These excerpts deal with two rather loosely related issues: the weight of oral "tradition" as compared to the Law, and the relative impact of defilement from within and from ...

3817. Proper 21

Job 42:1-6, James 4:13-17, James 5:7-12, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... projections only human. Forgive us, O God. Remind us again that as gifted and capable and bright as we are, our proper role is to discern your objectives and to work patiently toward them. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 9:38-50 Theme: God’s unauthorized helpers Exegetical Note The first of the loosely related (probably originally independent) sayings contained here speaks to the issue of authorization or credentials. Instead of an anticipated institutional response - "He who is not with us ...

3818. Proper 22

Gn 2:4-25

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... . Let us never forget the source of our salvation and sanctification, the sacrifice that was made on our behalf, or the brotherhood that we have in Christ that by grace makes us sons and daughters to you. In his name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 10:2-16 Theme: Childlike receptivity to the Kingdom of God Exegetical note: The second of the two pericopes contained here is not a sentimental portrait of childhood innocence, as it is often depicted, but a straightforward lesson about the proper attitude toward God ...

3819. Proper 23

Genesis 3:1-24, Mark 10:17-31, Hebrews 4:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... hide who we are, even from you. Forgive us, we pray. Teach us again about your grace: that in your Word we are acceptable to you, in spite of our faults and failings that you know so well. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 10:17-30 Theme: The threat of wealth to discipleship Exegetical note: This passage is a compilation of sayings that reflect the attitude of Jesus toward wealth in the Synoptic Gospels and that seem particularly inimical to a thoroughgoing capitalism. The gist of all the sayings ...

3820. Confronting Hypocrisy With Humility (I)

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Brett Blair

... one teacher, and all of you are students. Nor are you to be called instructor, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.” And then he says this: The greatest among you will be your servant. You see! It’s a level playing. In the Kingdom of God leadership is marked by servanthood. If you want to rid your life of hypocrisy, if you want to rid your church of Hypocrisy, find a place to serve. A servant’s word will carry far more weight in the end than the word of a great teacher who does not follow through ...

3821. Looking Ahead with Hope

John 1:43-51

Sermon

... of responsibility, rises to a place of influence and power? When Winston Churchill was chosen Prime Minister of England, a wail went all over England, "Have we come this low? Where can we find hope in a man who has had failure after failure to mark his career?" Who could anticipate what divine courage and strength, working in the life of a dedicated man, could bring out of the despair of that moment. I have seen frivolous young girls transformed into loving and dedicated mothers when a baby is in their ...

3822. The Most Beautiful Word

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... you straight. God does care about you, and God is able to forgive you." The girl fell back with a little choking sob and a sigh, and she slipped back into a coma. As death approached, her face changed. It seemed that the lines of sin, the marks of degradation were somehow erased. She looked different. A miracle had been performed. One who was reconciled to God had seen all things in God, and she had carried out her ministry of reconciliation. "Look, all things are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ ...

3823. LORD, I BELIEVE

John 9:35-41

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... another parish, perhaps because he was in the habit of making rather unusual announcements. He said, "On Monday, we will hold the Funeral Services here at the church for Jacob Wellman. What makes this Service interesting is that Mr. Wellman will be present, which marks the first time he has been since Christmas three years ago." You know the medical process of inoculation? We used it a great deal during the war. With a series of injections, we were given light cases of deadly typhoid fever, and with that ...

3824. The Racial Gap

Psalm 53:1-6

Sermon

William McKee Aber

... remarks about how so-and-so should do more for his people can be done without! This, it seems, is the situation. A move toward separateness in order that the black community can discover itself. Our call is to try to understand in order that honesty may mark the relationship between us. II Paul’s suggestion to the Romans goes on: "HATE THAT WHICH IS EVIL." I suppose that this has been the race relations theme for years and it’s still valid. Hate that which is evil. Evil is anything that degrades a man ...

3825. Sharing with Our Brothers

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Ewart E. Turner

... blessed." "Theirs is the Kingdom of heaven," Jesus declared. Theirs is a wealth that does not pass away. These Macedonians helped establish for all time a distinctive badge for the Christian. Giving, sharing what you have with others, became the distinguishing mark of the Christian. The poor do not have compassion fattened out of them. They live in need and dependence. Humility, openness to the eternal, hungering and thirsting after righteousness - are nearer the poor than those who boast of their barns and ...

Showing results