Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... in the theater of God's world, only God and the angels are allowed to be spectators." But, you see, Bacon was wrong also, because as Jesus said: "My Father never stops working, and I work." I remember the scene on Calvary as depicted by an Hungarian artist, Monsky. On the one side of the cross are Christ's frightened, dedicated followers, a little knot of them. On the other side of the cross are his sneering, vicious, passionate enemies. These are they who, at least, made a choice. But on the hill in the ...

377. Christ the King A King Worth Having

John 12:12-19

Sermon

... love. The Revelation to John shows the same style in the form of another picture: Behold,I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. A couple artists have interpreted this scene with their brushes, showing our Lord knocking at the door of our hearts with no latch outside. He won’t force his way in. In John Stainer’s oratorio, The Crucifixion, there’s a line from the prophets in a chorus Stainer calls "The Appeal ...

378. The Man, the Message, and the Mission

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

George Bass

... in my fingers. After a thorough examination, he asked me: ‘Do you drink?’ I answered negatively, but added that like all Spaniards I had a glass of wine at luncheon and dinner. He then said: ‘Well, if you want to become a great, renowned artist and avoid that laziness in your fingers, you must never touch a drop of wine or alcohol.’ I obeyed him faithfully all my life." Jesus, you see, never calls us to ministry and mission under false pretenses. When the disciples wanted places of honor next ...

379. One Nation, Under Mercy

Sermon

... holiday and make of it a holy day, that we join our fellow citizens in every state and province in expressing gratitude for this good earth and this good land, for the harvest, for the advances of science, for the research teams in laboratories, for the artists in our culture. With all who can’t forget the source from whom our blessings flow, we thank our God for family and friends, for life and health, and even for the burdens of the moment that are always filtered through the fingers of a loving God ...

380. A Touch of the Master's Hand

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

... this crippled woman is of more importance to God than livestock because she is a daughter of Abraham. And so, with the touch of his hand he not only restores her health but her place in the community. It reminds me of the song by the Christian artist Wayne Watson "The Touch of the Master's Hand," which coincidentally the lyrics were a poem written by a woman by the name of Myra Brooks Welch. Listen to her words: Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much ...

381. If Only We Would Accept Responsibility ...

Ezekiel 33:1-20

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... before the birth of Jesus, the whole middle eastern world was ruled by Babylon, a ruthless and barbaric nation. The tiny kingdom of Judah fell when King Jehoiachin surrendered to the Babylonian armies of Nebuchadrezzer in 589 B.C. All her artists, her merchants, her prophets had been systematically removed from their beloved country and resettled along the Euphrates River. The chosen people were in exile. Among those deported from Jerusalem to Babylon was a young priest named Ezekiel. For five years he ...

382. Serving Hands

Psalm 92:1-15

Sermon

... is that one painted by Leonardo daVinci. He produced the picture in a setting that would have been familiar to the people of his time. It was an Italian dining room with an Italian table setting, with Jesus and the disciples placed around an Italian table. Artistic interpretation would suggest that daVinci believed that it was a meal offered for his time. You and I could have the same understanding today. The Lord extends his hand of service to you and me today. Jesus Christ is our host. Our Lord extends to ...

383. They Crucified Our Lord

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... people look at the cross. The scientist stares at his test tube and the sports addict his sports page. The society doll plays with her flowers coyly, aware of the admiring gaze of a fashionable young man. The politician has his crowd, the ditch digger his beer, the artist his cigarette. At the foot of the cross, a woman in rags, with a baby, sits dejected; in her despair, even she does not look up. In the distance, a widow with her lonely burden of grief stares only at the ground. Alone on the cross, our ...

384. God in a Glimpse

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

... of Christ outside a door knocking, he showed his picture to a friend before it was publicly exhibited. The friend looked at the kingly Christ seeking entrance to the believers' home through the thick wooden door. Suddenly he said, "Hunt, you've made a terrible mistake here." "What mistake?" the artist asked. "Why, you've painted a door without a handle." "That's not a mistake," Hunt replied. "The door has the handle on the inside."

385. A Moment of Brightness

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... a button?) which was an ingenious design in black and white - spelling out the name of our Lord. But the design of the name JESUS was such that one had to look twice, maybe three times, to discern the name. It was a kind of riddle. The artist intended it that way. One could not recognize the name immediately and then hurry on to some other things. A kind of curiosity was aroused, the further inquiry invited. Then - perhaps with a word of explanation - the real meaning of the symbol became apparent. But one ...

386. Parable of the Cafeteria

John 3:1-21

Illustration

... . As they kept the display of foods replaced, they conversed. One said, "It just aggravates me to watch these hungry wolves snatch up the beautiful salads we have made. I don't think they see any of the beauty or skill in our work. In a few moments the artistic salad is torn to pieces by their teeth." Said the second girl, "I look at it in a different way. It pleases me to think that these hungry people will shortly leave our place feeling stronger and better able to do whatever their work may be. I like to ...

387. The Emmaus Stranger

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Dean Lueking

This beautiful text from Luke 24 has inspired poets, musicians, artists, and above all - those who preach and hear the story of the risen Lord appearing to the two disciples as they walked from Jerusalem to the nearby town of Emmaus. The evening hymn, "Abide with Me," is based upon this story. Rembrandt painted the picture of the two disciples with ...

388. Authority

Matthew 28:16-20

Children's Sermon

Object: Comic strips in which the artist's signature is plain for all of them to see. Good morning to you, boys and girls. How many of you have ever heard me talk about the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? You have? Do you know what that means? There is only one God, right? Right. But we ...

389. A Poor Mixture

Luke 15:11-32

Children's Sermon

Object: Water colors of blue and yellow which, when mixed, make green. Good morning, boys and girls. This morning we are going to have an experiment for artists. How many of you like to paint? Oh boy, almost all of you. Well, I have with me today two colors. One of these colors is my very favorite of all colors. Can you guess which one of these is my favorite? [Hold up blue and yellow.] How many say ...

390. Cross Work

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

George Bass

... theologian, has this to say: "They knew from their own experience the limitations of paganism - how in spite of its great culture and refinement, one remained a prisoner of the forces of nature; how despite the fantastic intellectual and artistic achievements of paganism, it offered little consolation to the distressed and lonely human heart; how, the beautiful poetic myths and fables of paganism notwithstanding, relatively little was done to satisfy the profound human aspiration for truth and liberty ...

391. Christmas Vision

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

... God, the vision of a child in the straw, the vision of God in our midst in the Child of Christmas and in the Christ of the Cross. The architect creates a concrete and steel structure that lays open something hidden and real. Vision. The artist points toward life in color and line and form. Vision. The musician with dissonanance and harmony, brass and strings and percussion shows us life in depth and emotion. Vision. The poet expresses in concrete, abstract words depth and meaning and joy. Vision. In the ...

392. Is God With You, Or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... dealing. Because we do wrong and seem to "get by with it" does not mean God puts his approbation upon it. Rather, God knows character is often wrought through adversity, so having it too easy is not always good for us. Norman Rockwell, the great American artist, said, "When I want a dog model, I always go to the city pound. Dogs that have taken a beating from life have character." "Difficult" Doesn't Mean God is Absent The Israelites are hungry now, and their first thought (after griping about it) is to ...

393. The Gift That Claims Our Response

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

... we have been given and to do so in ways that show our thanksgiving for the Giver of all good gifts. The connection between this parable and the nature of the church is inescapable. In my study is a nineteenth-century print entitled "Saving the Lost." It is an artist’s representation of the mission of the church to rescue those who are perishing in a sea of sin. A poor soul, awash in an ocean and clinging for life to a floating timber, is being tossed a lifeline by those on board the ship of the church ...

394. The Shepherd King

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

On those Sundays when I am able to attend worship services in the parish to which I belong, I am confronted, upon entering and taking my place in the nave, with an artist’s attempt to transport the image of the oldest Christian representation into the twentieth century. It is a painting of the risen and ascended Lord, obviously sitting upon a throne in the heavens, surrounded by a half-halo of angel faces amid the clouds. The pastor and building committee, who ...

395. The Distant Bells

Illustration

Staff

You are familiar, no doubt, with a famous painting called "The Angelus." It is by the French artist Jean Francois Millet. It portrays a peasant couple in rustic garb, tools at hand, heads bowed in prayer, standing amid the clods and stones of a broken field. In the distance, not always observed by every viewer, can be seen the bell-tower of a church. Thinking of that distant ...

396. See the Whole Picture

Illustration

Staff

A landscape artist, painting, does not always stand at an arm's length from his canvas. He must not limit his attention to the isolated details of what he is doing. Occasionally he steps back to view his work from a distance. He needs to see how his thousands of small brush-strokes ...

397. Reaching Hands

Illustration

As you know, one of the most magnificent artistic masterworks of all time is that memorable painting by Michelangelo on the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. A central element of this art is the portrayal of a hand reaching down. It is the hand of God. Another hand is reaching up. It is a human hand. ...

398. Healing And Forgiveness

Luke 5:17-26

Sermon

... angina are able to avoid emotional distress and keep calm in the face of aggravation and frustration."6 Legend has it that when Leonardo da Vinci was painting his famous fresco, The Last Supper, one of his apprentices annoyed him with a heedless remark. It made the great artist very angry. He yelled at the young man, who ran away, embarrassed and ashamed. Da Vinci then turned back to his work, at which point he was painting the face of Jesus. But try as he might, he just couldn't get the face of the Master ...

399. For Those On The Outside

Luke 8:40-56

Sermon

... these carefully crafted works of art. One day the maid announced that she would be taking a month's vacation. The sculptor was very happy to be relieved of her nasty temper and oppressive personality. As she went away on her vacation, the artist dedicated himself with unlimited energy to a particular sculpture, now that he was free of all interruptions. When the maid returned, she threw open the door and was startled. She stared at the statue he had completed and then exclaimed: "It's Abraham Lincoln ...

400. The World's Best Kept Secret

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... the nation's budget. At the time, ABC was putting together a segment on his former life. Now, my wife Diane, in my opinion, has a keen eye for furniture and furnishings. My secretary at the time, Ruiko Conner, was a Japanese woman who was also an artist. To say the least, my office looked very attractive, with Cohasset Colonial furniture and Harvard chairs all over the place. Then the camera crew arrived. After all the cables were laid and the lights set up, I was required to leave my office for an hour ...

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