Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3876 to 3900 of 4972 results

3876. The Huddle Is Not the Game

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... a lot of people are put off by some of the traditional kinds of “Christian witnessing”; the people who buttonhole us on street corners or in shopping malls asking, “Are you saved, brother? (or sister?)” I remember the story of a woman who was waiting at a bus stop in a large city, when she saw the familiar face of a famous television evangelist coming up to stand next to her. Flustered, she began to rehearse in her mind the answer to the question she was sure that she was going to be asked. And so ...

3877. That Would Be Some Miracle!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and then baking the bread. Then he said that we Christians often misunderstand the story in Genesis about God’s “resting” on the Seventh Day of Creation. It does not mean that God got tired and took a “coffee break.” It means, he said, that God stopped short of completing Creation, and that it is now our task to finish the job for Him. An intriguing idea! So perhaps a literal miracle happened that day along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But one little problem keeps nagging at the back of my ...

3878. On Panicking Close to Shore

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... their little fishing boat. (Well, it was not too little, if the famous “Galilee Boat” from New Testament times discovered in 1986 on the shores of the Galilee is any indication. That boat is nearly 28 feet long and about 7 or 8 feet in width.) Here we must stop for a moment and say a few things about the Sea of Galilee, which is sometimes called the Sea of Tiberias, or the Sea of Gennesaret, or by its modern name, the Kinneret. The Sea of Galilee is usually a disappointment to those who visit it for the ...

3879. Food for the Fed-up

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... . Just as the body needs food to run a foot-race, so the soul and spirit need to food to run the race of life. Finally, let us consider another meaning of Jesus’ metaphor, “I am the Bread of Life.” Bread satisfies hunger. Have you ever stopped to think just how many expressions relating to food and/or eating have found their way into our vocabulary? “I can’t stomach any more of this!” “He/she makes me sick!” “I’m fed up!” These phrases describe lives of waste and futility, the boredom ...

3880. Only the Neighbors’ Kid

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... home before He was missed. How could that be? The answer is quite simple. Jesus was twelve, just about the age when a young Jewish boy began to travel with the men instead of the women. Each assumed that he was with the other, until they pulled into a rest stop along the way and compared notes. No Jesus! And it took them three days to find Him back in the city. And where was He and what was He doing? He was in the Temple, sitting among the learned rabbis, listening to them and asking them questions. We read ...

3881. Slippery Rock

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... prompted Jesus’ brilliant answer. “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven times.” (Matthew 18:22) Now, I don’t think that Jesus meant us to get out our calculators and figure out that seven times seventy equals 490, and then we can stop forgiving at the 491st time. Jesus’ words pointed toward infinity. Just as there is no limit to God’s forgiveness, there should be no limit to our own. III. ANOTHER ASPECT OF PETER I’VE NOTICED: HE WASN’T THE SORT OF MAN WHO LOOKED BEFORE HE ...

3882. Son of Thunder, Son of God

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... apostles as princes and foundation stones of the Church, and it is only natural that he would want to soften the story a bit. I like the way Mark tells it, though. It makes those twelve so human. John was a “son of thunder” who wanted to put a stop to others not of his own group who were using Jesus’ name. Jesus had to rebuke him for it, and that rebuke must have stung. But it seems to have stuck. III. IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL, THERE APPEARS A CHARACTER WHO IS CALLED “THE BELOVED DISCIPLE.” The Upper ...

3883. A Terrorist among the Twelve

Luke 6:12-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , that I see no way out of the world’s trouble but the way Jesus would have found, had He undertaken the work of a modern statesman.” We may not really believe that the meek will inherit the earth, but we have come to realize that unless we stop being belligerent and start being meek, there will be no earth left to inherit! Some folks in Iowa read in the weather forecast column of their local newspaper sometime back that “there is a 90% chance of tomorrow.” I certainly hope so. But there won’t be ...

3884. The Chicken or the Egg

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... strange geezers one sees wandering through Hyde Park in London, wearing sandwich boards saying Repent! There is a cartoon showing a mother, a father, and a small boy leaving church. The father was wearing a look of annoyance and saying to his son, “I want you to stop referring to the church as the repentagon.” But the little boy was right. The message of repentance must always be part of the church’s message. But we must come to a proper understanding of what it means. As most of you know, I grew up ...

3885. Wining and Dining with Jesus

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ’t do as they do, do as they say.” They had a great idea: the commandments of God must be put into practice in one’s daily life. Nothing wrong with that. The problem is: they thought that they had done it perfectly! And they couldn’t stop criticizing others who, in their opinion, fell short. Mark’s Gospel tells us that one of the first people to respond to Jesus’ preaching about the Kingdom was a man named Levi. Now, Levi’s job was that of tax collector...not a popular profession in the best ...

3886. On Being the Greatest

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , so they can advise their candidates to shift positions to go with the flow. But times like these demand leaders who check which way the wind is blowing, and if it is blowing the wrong way, say to the wind as Jesus once said to the wind and waves: “Stop!” The job of any leader is to lead, not merely to say, “Which way is the parade going? I am supposed to be leading it!” Our age is an age that desperately demands leadership, and not just more “me-too-ism.” II. WE READ: “AND JESUS SAT DOWN AND ...

3887. Radical Surgery

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in awhile, but that none has done so since 1953. The Republicans refer to the problems of “pride” and “self-righteousness.” The Democrats refer to “short-comings.” But none use the grand old sweeping concept of sin anymore. Thus, it seems, we as a nation stopped sinning thirty-five years ago! And, speaking of politics: a poll on Heaven and Hell in the Des Moines Register awhile back found that only one Republican in 35 expects to end up in Hell, whereas one Democrat in nine assumes he will. I am ...

3888. Only the Abba Knows

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... world, but rather inspire us to prepare the way of the Lord. Not out of fear, but out of love. I’ve told you before about that billboard over by Jackson which says PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD! Inasmuch as it is over a motel, I’ve been tempted to stop to see whether God was really there. But what really offends me about the sign is the unspoken assumption that meeting God will be a drag, a horrible experience. And, the way God is pictured by some people, who in his or her right mind would want to meet Him ...

3889. Where Is My Guest Room?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... instant, and then is heard of no more. To this group of people this “householder,” “keeper of the household,” belongs. This man shared his home with Jesus. And we don’t even know his name! He was an “anonymous” donor. II. HAVE YOU EVER STOPPED TO THINK HOW MUCH WE OWE TO “BROTHER AND SISTER ANONYMOUS?” We do not know the name of this householder, so we call him “Anonymous.” How much “Anonymous” has done for the Church over the centuries! Often we see that word at the bottom of ...

3890. Sleeping through a Revolution

Mark 14:32-42

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... -the revolutionary spirit of Jesus...the spirit of unselfish, redeeming love. ONE DAY A MAN NAMED RIP VAN WINKLE SET OFF ON HIS FAMOUS JOURNEY TO THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. Most of you remember the famous story from Washington Irving’s “Sketch Book.” On the way, Rip stopped off at a local inn, located in a sleepy little town on the Hudson. On the front of the inn, there was a sign bearing the picture of George III, King of England. When Rip returned to the village after his famous snooze of twenty years ...

3891. What Kind of Vote Would Jesus Get?

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... is everlastingly right. Those who take the sword do perish with the sword. God is not necessarily on the side of the biggest battalions. Today we are beginning to realize that while we may not believe that the meek will inherit the earth, unless we stop being violent and start being meek, there will be no earth left to inherit! If that sounds like good, pious, preacher-talk, let me quote an unbeliever, George Bernard Shaw, who said: “I am ready to admit that after contemplating the world and human nature ...

3892. On Being in the Wrong Place

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... one thousand miles to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover at the Temple! Simon was probably in a jovial mood as he walked along the road. As he reached the city gate he met a crowd going in the opposite direction. The uproar roused his curiosity. Perhaps he stopped one of the crowd and asked, “What’s going on?” “We are going to the place of the skull to execute three prisoners,” came the reply. “So early in the morning?” “Yes. The trial was held all night long, and we want to get the messy ...

3893. On Keeping Quiet about Easter

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... him about it, and received this astonishing answer: “If you had just heard that a man like Jesus had risen from the dead a few days ago and believed it to be true, wouldn’t you want to talk about it on every possible occasion?” That makes us all stop to think, doesn’t it? Is our belief in Easter so compelling that we want to talk about it on every possible occasion? I remember an atheist friend telling me once: “I don’t believe that what you preach is true; but if I did, I would crawl on hands ...

3894. Palm Sunday (Prologue)

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... from Galilee who had just walked hundreds of miles on foot, and who had just completed a journey down from Galilee, across the Jordan, down through Perea, crossing again at Jericho, and thence up the steep slope from Jericho to Bethany and to Bethphage, suddenly stops and asks for a donkey to ride the last few yards into town? There must have been a reason, and there was. To understand it, you must understand the Messianic expectations of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, as well as the geography. Jesus ...

3895. Living Large for God (Part 3)

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... because she had a cane and appeared to be physically impaired, she looked aged. Evidently, she had never accepted the fact that the food one eats has a relationship to one’s health, because she said to the driver, "Well, my grandson keeps bugging me to change my ways, and stop eating pork and fried foods and things. But I told him, ‘God takes care of me! If I get sick, then God will fix it!’" (3) Whoa! That’s what we want, isn’t it? We want to do our thing and then pray for God to fix us. We ...

3896. Bread for Everyone (I am the bread of life)

John 6:1-15, John 6:25-59

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... made bread. He used bread in the Passover meal. He fed 5,000 people bread because he had compassion on them. He would not permit them to go home hungry. Throughout history bread has been central to human existence. Immediately after fighting had stopped in World War II, American soldiers gathered up many hungry and homeless children and placed them in tent cities. Many of them were malnourished and in need of medical care. The soldiers shared their bread with them. However, the soldiers noticed the children ...

3897. The Road to Somewhere (I am the way, truth, and life)

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to reach your destination. We need good directions in order not to waste time getting there. We need good directions in order not to get side-tracked. We need good directions in order to plan wisely for the trip. How much gas will we need? Will we need to stop to eat? Do we need to carry a map with us? After we have considered all of these factors, we embark on our journey. Sometimes, though, even all of these are not enough. Even maps can be confusing. What we long for is a living, breathing human being to ...

3898. The Lord's Prayer: A Surplus of Meaning

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ." They are something we can hold on to. Athanasius, the well-known Bishop of Alexandria, shared these words which I close with today on the power of The Lord''s Prayer and prayer in general: "They have conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouth of a lion, quenched raging fires, produced strength out of weakness, put foreign armies to flight." Yes, God has blessed the use of the prayer in a mighty way. If you want God''s attention, just pray these words. This prayer could ...

3899. The Lord's Pryaer: Our Daily Bread

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... with the letter "s": the sun, the soil, the seed, the showers, and the stockperson who loads the supermarket shelves. G. Campbell Morgan put it this way: "You have heard the old story of the man who met a boy in a village street carrying a loaf of bread. He stopped the boy and asked him where he got the loaf. 'From the baker'' was the reply. 'Yes, that is right, but where did he get it?'' 'He made it,'' said the boy. 'How did he make it?'' 'With flour.'' 'Where did he get his flour?'' 'He ground the corn ...

3900. The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... scene from one of Shakespeare''s plays, Richard III. Remember the scene in which Lady Anne, the widow of Edward, Prince of Wales, follows the open coffin of her father-in-law, King Henry VI? Both men have been murdered by the Duke of Gloucester. The coffin-bearers stop to rest and Anne pours out both her tears and her hatred of the murderer: "O! Cursed be the hand that made these holes; Cursed the heart that had the heart to do it; Cursed the blood that let this blood from hence!" Without the witness and ...

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