Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3826 to 3850 of 3852 results

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How many of you grew up watching either the originals or the re-runs of Wile-E-Coyote and the Roadrunner? Throughout the series of cartoons, we laughed, as Wile E Coyote was continually foiled in his attempts to catch the super-fast and super sly roadrunner. Time and again, the coyote’s efforts and plots come back to bite ...

3827. The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

Amos 6:8-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... . And significantly the section begins with an oracle concerning the day of the Lord, because finally it is the day of the Lord that will bring Israel’s death. 6:8–11 Some commentators have maintained that this passage joins the fragments of two original oracles. Others point out that verse 8 forms a complete unit in itself. However, in the Hebrew, each line of verses 8c through 10c (and detest his fortresses . . . the name of the LORD) begins with a connective waw, and this progression culminates in ...

3828. Do You Believe in Miracles?

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , complexity, and miraculous nature of God’s created world. We can’t do it. It’s far beyond our abilities and comprehension. Even our best physicists and astronomers can’t figure out the underlying secrets of the universe –how it operates or how it originated. As much as we’d like to ignore these kinds of dilemmas, they still remain. We cannot explain, control, predict, or create much of what we steward on this planet and in our lives. We can contribute. We can observe. We can creatively and ...

3829. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

... a garage band which results in many paid performances throughout the community in terms of county fair events, parties, and they were able to cut their own “CD” with a local recording company. Outsiders still have a chance in Mark’s gospel — as the original inner circle will need more learning moments. How many more teachable moments and practice lessons will the disciples in Mark need? This is an open-ended question. The other good news based on Mark 16:8, is the uncertainty of how the disciples ...

3830. Faith on the Fringe

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the art world, …and not in the church. Today, the Fringe Festival is the largest arts and media festival in the world, celebrating not only art but the core values of “the fringe.” Jumping on board Edinburgh’s example, Fringe Festivals began originating in many cities around the world. The Philadelphia Fringe Festival (begun in 1997), to be held September 5-29 in 2024 will celebrate the diversity and creativity of all local artists who wish to attend. Devoid of invitation, institution, or induction ...

3831. Gideon's Ephod and Death

Judges 8:28-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Gideon actually accepts the offer, his seventy sons apparently do end up ruling (mashal, as in 8:22–23) in Gideon’s place after his death (cf. Judg. 9:2). Regarding the manufacturing of the golden ephod (8:27), it should be noted that an ephod was originally an item of clothing worn by those in priestly offices. There is also a tradition in which the ephod had a special function in relation to oracular inquiries (1 Sam. 23:6, 9; 30:7). Although the text is silent on Gideon’s motive for manufacturing ...

3832. Haunted

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’s own treacherous role in John the Baptist’s death. Such is the power of guilt, unrepentant guilt. One of my favorite childhood stories is the story of the “Teeny Tiny Woman.” Does anyone remember that story? It’s an English folk tale, origin unknown, a creepy little tale, and it goes like this (for the quotation marks below, get the congregation to repeat “teeny tiny”): As you might imagine, everything in the story is “teeny tiny.” So a teeny tiny woman goes from her “ “ house to ...

3833. Yada, Yada, Yada!

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... s Jesus of Nazareth!” No. They looked at him, and immediately, they “knew” who he was: Jesus Messiah, Son of God, Healer of the world, Savior of Humankind. Savior of us! They didn’t just know who he was. They knew his identity, his spirit, his origin, his power and potential to heal and save! They recognized him as Messiah, long before others did! This is in Gennesaret! Land of both Jews and Pagans alike, the former tribe of Naphtali, some of the lost sheep of Israel. They knew him. They looked at ...

3834. Wait. Trust Me.

Exodus 20:12 · Ephesians 6:1-12 · Proverbs 22:6

Illustration

Paul Batura

A friend earlier today called my attention to some counsel and perspective served up on an episode of The Andy Griffith Show titled, “Opie’s Hobo Friend.” It originally aired November 13, 1961. [It’s politically incorrect these days to refer to a homeless person as a “hobo” – but that wasn’t the case back when John F. Kennedy was in the White House.] As the storyline goes, a homeless man named David Browne shows up in Mayberry. He ...

3835. Did Jesus Say What I Think He Said?

Mark 7:24-37 · James 2:1-9 · Isaiah 35:5-6 · Psalm 146

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... Greek word Jesus used is closer to “puppies” than “dogs,” no matter the precise term, it is offensive. It does not stretch the text at all to say that Jesus practically called the woman a “B word.” And that would have been every bit as offensive in the original setting as it would be in ours. What can we make of this Jesus? The Jesus in this passage who heard of a need for healing, yet who declined to respond? Sit with that question for a while, as we look at this morning’s other readings. The ...

3836. Redefining “Blessed”

Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... by God. The word we say as blessed does not mean “happy”, “lucky”, or “success” but it comes from a word meaning “holy.” Someone who is blessed is someone who is somehow made more God-like. But there is something even more telling. The original word for “blessed” is also used to describe that which used to be upright and straight, but by some event or events has become bent. To be blessed means to experience something that makes us more God-like, by bending us, by reshaping us into the ...

3837. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... back to 1925, when Pope Pius XI added it to the calendar. It was set as the last Sunday of the church year in 1970. When I learned this I was a little surprised. I love looking into the history of our traditions and practices; I love learning about their origins and finding out why we do things the way we’ve always done them. But this is a new tradition. This is a holy day that has been set as the last Sunday of the church year during my lifetime! The surprising things to me about the addition of Christ ...

3838. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

3839. Whose Fault Is It?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... to them? Some come back from war and others don’t. And some who come back are not the people they used to be. Who is at fault? For some, the virus was a brief bout with a cold. For others it took half of families and left the original infectors unscathed. What kind of world is this? In pandemics and poverty, in pain and politics, we want to point fingers. We need to assess blame. Birthed By Hurt Probably no one has expressed these sentiments better than the novelist Peter De Vries. De Vries grew up in a ...

3840. Seeking the Presence of God

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

... he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). I am reminded of an amendment to the cliché I first mentioned. Somewhere in my memory I think it was authored by Mother Teresa, although I cannot find the original source. The revision is, “I know that God won’t give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” I have felt that way. Haven’t you? Clearly, he knew suffering and hardships. Our Hebrew ancestors did as well. Paul ...

3841. Swimming Against the Tide

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to reach their spawning grounds. This strong instinctual behavior to swim against the flow is driven by their need to reproduce.[1] That drive to reproduce is also the key to how we carry on our faith. We have an astute old saying in our language. Its origin is unknown, but it goes all the way back to the time of the Romans: “Only dead fish go with the tide.” Sometimes, in order to reproduce –whether fish or faith –you must swim against the tide. What does that mean for us? Well, according to our ...

3842. Messiah’s Community

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . Eventually they pushed back the boundaries of the place and reworked the entrance and road in. Some enterprising monks crafted a large arch that welcomed people to this place of grace. It had two words on it: “Messiah’s Community.” No one ever identified which among the original five brothers was Messiah. In fact, it did not matter. For when they remembered who they were, when they reconnected with Jesus by the Holy Spirit, Messiah lived in and through all of them. And everyone knew it.

3843. Behold, the One Who Betrays Me Is With Me

Luke 22:14-34

Sermon

Will Willimon

... who would do this.” This professor revealed to me, the other day, the rather seedy etiology of two human activities which I had heretofore considered congenial. Why do we shake hands when we meet? A show of friendliness and warmth? Not so. The handshake originated in Europe, the Middle Ages. Men shook hands when they met (women did not) as a means of checking one another for concealed weapons. The ritual clinking of glasses that follows a toast at the dinner table? Well, after checking out one another for ...

3844. The Accent Of Heaven

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... “a new command” to his disciples on the eve of his death. John gave us the story of Jesus’ life and ministry as a tale of re-creation. Remember? He started out the gospel mimicking Genesis 1: “In the beginning…” He talked about the original creation, and how it began to die because of sin. He told us that God decided to re-create this world without destroying humankind. John pointed to Jesus as the living and creative word, from the Genesis account of beginnings, who now entered human society ...

3845. The Captain's Voice

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... a book-signing promotional tour. Yet within the Bible’s own pages, there are hints about its own story of beginnings. Of course, we should turn to Genesis to find the Bible’s beginnings, shouldn’t we? After all, “Genesis” itself means “beginnings” or “origins.” Yet if we read through Genesis, it is striking that nothing is said about the Bible. For instance, important as he was to biblical history, Adam had no “Bible.” Nor did Noah, during all those years that he tried to hear a voice ...

3846. You Are the Christ....Now What About Them?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... God!” he said so amid dozens of vibrant, counter religions. Not one verse of the New Testament was spoken for a time when Christians were the majority. I say that because sometimes it's difficult for American Christians to remember that our faith originated in a conflicted religious marketplace where encounter with folk of other faiths was a daily, even hourly reality. So how could Peter, knowing full well that the response of most people to Jesus' question, “Who do people say that I am?” would range ...

3847. For Someone Who Filled Their World With Laughter

Zephaniah 3:14-18 · Job 8:20-22

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... retrieved all the paint he had used in the mural’s creation. He made that dark stain into a rock and then had a waterfall splash its waters upon it and he made other changes to the mural so much so that the mural was more magnificent than the original. The stain which could’ve ruined a beautiful painting ended up adding to the painting’s beauty. Those wonderful qualities of living that Lee had shown to us is what I would call the paint Lee left behind for us to use for that stain on our hearts, the ...

3848. For Someone Who Will Be Terribly Missed

Job 19:23-27 · John 12:23-26 · John 14:1-6 · Acts 1:21-26

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... to paint the mural. That black stain, he made into a rock, and then from that rock he painted a waterfall and he made other changes in the mural so much so that the end result was a mural that was more beautiful and more magnificent than the original. So that stain that could’ve ruined a beautiful painting in the end added to the painting’s beauty. Pat’s death has left this black stain upon all of our hearts, especially upon Sheila’s heart, his wife whom he loved so much. Especially upon the hearts ...

3849. Last Things First

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... to talking about his birth. In other words, the early church knew the ending of the story before they knew the beginning. And guess what — knowing the ending didn’t spoil the story for them either. In a way it made sense. The original proclamation of the church that Jesus was returning was more urgently important to a church under persecution than celebrating his arrival thirty years before. This was the urgent news shared by the apostles. But as the first Christians delved into the Hebrew scriptures ...

3850. A Gift With YOUR Name On It

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

Heather Sugden

... loud is to acknowledge that the person in front of us is seen, and known — that we re-member and proclaim their story, their gifts, and, ultimately, their relationship to God. Paul’s letter to the Romans began in a fashion that would be familiar to his original audience. Foregoing any suspense at the author, the letter did not save the signature for the end, but revealed the author’s name at the very opening: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God ...

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