Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4051 to 4075 of 4999 results

John 16:17-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... hatred, then we are bound to be persecuted for our efforts. “In the world you will face persecution,” said our Lord, and two thousand years of Christian history have proven Him right! Harry Emerson Fosdick once said that the world persecutes two kinds of people: those who live below the ethical standards of society and those who dare to live above them. On Calvary there were three crosses: two contained robbers and violent revolutionaries; the third contained a Person who proclaimed a totally different ...

4052. Life Begins at Thirty-Eight

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... a swimming pool. Around it were five colonnades with five arches which afforded shelter from inclement weather. These areas were crowded with all kinds of sick people who had come to the pool to be healed, much like modern-day pilgrims visit the shrine at Lourdes. The footnote ... man’s being healed and made well, but who could only see the infractions of their petty rules and regulations. (Their kind is not all dead yet!) I have titled this sermon, “Life Begins at Thirty-eight,” obviously a play on the ...

4053. That Would Be Some Miracle!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the one miracle that is most firmly anchored in the Gospels. Of all the miracles which Jesus performed, only this one appears in all four of the Gospels! There must be some strong tradition behind it. The least one can say is that Jesus was the kind of Man about whom His friends could hardly talk except in terms of miracles. Presbyterian Kenneth Foreman, commenting on this miracle, asks us to note ...the casual, offhand, quiet way in which he did these things, the apparently trivial uses to which he put his ...

4054. Son of Thunder, Son of God

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... teeter-totter, and that in order for us to rise, somebody else must fall. The assumption in both Mark and Luke is that we are the “chosen people.” John felt that they had a copyright on Jesus, and nobody else had any right to use His name. His kind are not all dead yet! As the Interpreter’s Bible comments, “This was not the last time that a group, whether large or small, has set itself up as the sole medium of God’s action in Christ.” (New York and Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951, Vol ...

4055. An Unpopular Profession

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the Gospels together in one collection, Matthew’s placed first. IV. IN ADDITION, MATTHEW’S IS THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP WE FIND IN THE GOSPELS. All of the other calls were plural. And Matthew was not asked to become a fisher of people. What kind of a fisherman would a tax collector make? Fishing for tax cheaters, perhaps, but not for disciples. What could a tax collector do for the kingdom of God? He could become a secretary. Matthew was probably the only one of the twelve who could write ...

4056. One Bad Apple

Matthew 26:47-56

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... fact that he was the treasurer of the twelve indicates that he was deemed trustworthy. I know, a popular view for years has held that Jesus knowingly chose a villain for the specific purpose of betrayal, but that does not seem consistent with the kind of God we meet in Jesus Christ. What kind of God would play with human life as pawns on the chessboard of life? Not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Judas had a choice regarding what to do with his life, even as you and I. Yes, I know that Jesus ...

4057. The Saint without a Name

Luke 6:12-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... not mentioned. Josephus lists 45 towns in the Galilee in his day. There is no Nazareth among them. The Talmud mentions 63 towns in the Galilee. Nazareth is not among them. Nazareth was the “Podunk” of Galilee. It was sort of a “you’ve got to be kidding” kind of place. One would certainly imagine that the Messiah, when he came, would come out of Jerusalem or one of the other fortified store cities of Israel. But not so. He came from a small town. God does not seem to be as impressed with bigness as ...

4058. The Thirteenth Apostle

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... world. Although a tentmaker by trade, he had received the best of education as student of the great Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul knew Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek. He began life as a religious fanatic, the kind of person who believes that there is only one right way to God and he has it. (Their kind is not all dead yet!) Recent years have witnessed the rise of religious fundamentalism among the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and it smells as bad among any of the three. Someone ...

4059. Jesus Came Preaching

Mark 1:14-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... know...a seed here, a seed there, something will take hold and grow.” I would suggest that those who believe that preaching is outmoded do not know much about history: ancient or modern. The Nazi movement in Germany was built by preaching of a kind. A rabid kind, to be sure; but preaching nonetheless. Communists have conquered as much of the world by talk as by tanks.That is why they spend so much time and money on propaganda. (It has been suggested that if we Christians would spend anywhere near as much ...

4060. Wining and Dining with Jesus

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... coming and going, people trying to show their love for him, or their contempt for him, people asking him questions and trying to pick an argument. It is a wonder the poor man ever got anything to eat, at all! For one thing, the wrong kinds of people kept showing up for dinner. As William Willimon says: “One of the things which angered Jesus’ critics was his choice of dinner companions. The Gospels tell us that they were a motley crew: tax collectors, Pharisees, harlots, common fishermen, assorted women ...

4061. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... much, should it? A man had been healed, yes, but at the cost of some of their property. Most folks, when it comes to a choice between people and property, choose property, I am afraid. Those people’s routine of life had been disturbed and people don’t take kindly to having their lives disturbed. Nor do we. If someone came to us and said, “I can give you a world which will be a better world...a world without poverty or war or oppression. But there is one catch to it: you will have to sacrifice some of ...

4062. The Laying on of Hands

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah, and he may be saying to his readers: “Look! Here is an important man; a ruler of the Jews, and he came to Jesus for help when his daughter was dying. Don’t you see? Jesus has come into the world for all kinds of people. Jew and Gentile alike.” “My little daughter is at death’s door. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her that she might live.” It would be hard to see how Jesus could refuse an invitation such as that...and so Jesus went. There was ...

4063. On Not Knowing What to Say

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... WHAT TO SAY, FOR THEY WERE EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID.” (v. 6) says St. Mark. I can’t blame Peter much. I imagine if I had the same kind of vision he had, I, too, would be afraid. And after the vision faded, I might well want to return to the same place to see if ... me of this, and the closing illustration. Master Sermon Series, Cathedral Publishers, 8/85, p. 361) We have all had those kinds of experiences. Everything is “just right.” It seems as though it simply cannot get any better. We have a good experience ...

4064. Salty Saints

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in a dead body. Dead meat left to itself goes bad, but pickled in salt, it retained its freshness. Salt seemed to put a kind of life into it. Christians are supposed to be those who put zest into life. In ancient times salt defended against rottenness and ... of the earth,” said Jesus. I am not arguing for obnoxiousness. We have had our fair share of that. You know: the kind of Christians whose perpetual expression is a frown of disapproval. Jesus had His problems with people like that, too. But I think that ...

4065. God’s Greatest Gamble

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... has gone away for awhile. Not far away. He can still hear our prayers, but He is not so close that we will be smothered by His love. As Presbyterian David Redding says, “God has not deserted, but carried out a strategic retreat to provide man(kind) an opportunity to prove his stewardship.” (THE PARABLES HE TOLD, Westwood, N.J., 1962, p.21) And, in a very apt analogy, he says: “We are under the eye but not the thumb of God; we are not treated like helpless kindergartners but as responsible adolescents ...

4066. Only the Abba Knows

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... who had returned to England inherited some money. She learned that the young man was still alive and she traveled to the outback of Australia to see if he was all right. If I had that kind of friend, I would want to see Him, too. I would look forward to seeing him. And do you know what? According to the Bible, that is exactly the kind of Friend that we have. The One who judges us is the same One who hung on a cross for us. He rose again on the third day, and now invites us to join Him ...

4067. On Doing Beautiful Things

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... asks us to note that “The reprehensible roles in Mark 14:1-11 are played by men; the one praiseworthy character is identified only as ‘a woman.’” (Lamar Williamson, INTERPRETATION: Mark, Atlanta, John Knox Press, 1983, p.247) It was almost the last act of kindness that anyone ever did for Jesus. In a few short hours, He would be crucified, dead, and buried. And in the last hours of His earthly life, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment and made a fool of herself over Jesus. And, wouldn ...

4068. Holy Tuesday

Mark 11:27-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... hear it, for Sheol was the one place (they believed) where God was not! But the Psalmist said that even in Sheol God is there! Therefore, there is hope! But the Sadducees simply could not believe it. The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection of any kind. That’s why they were sad, you see! (I find it fascinating to realize that millions of God’s children lived, loved, served Him, and died, without any thought of reward or punishment. A whole lot of Christians, it seems to me, look upon their faith ...

4069. Holy Thursday

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the criticisms leveled against Him by His adversaries was that He was always eating and drinking with “the wrong kinds of people.” As William Willimon says in his little book SUNDAY DINNER, “The dinner table is such an intimate ... was lost, and is found!” (Luke 15:24) Jesus told the story to those who had criticized him for hob-nobbing with the wrong kind of people: “sinners,” they called them. “Sons and daughters of God,” Jesus called them. And Jesus said that there would be singing and dancing ...

4070. Blessings Beyond Our Dreams (Part 2 )

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... owner of candy store asked, "You want some candy?" The small boy nodded his head. "Hold out your hands," said the store owner. But the small boy would not. "Hold out your hands," repeated the store owner. Still the small boy did not move. So the kind store owner gathered both his hands full of candy and told the small boy to hold out his shirt, filling it with candy. When he got home, his grandmother asked, "Why did you not hold out your hands when the candy store owner told you to." "Because," the small ...

4071. Did You Leave the the Door Open? (I am the gate)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is written: "All that which troubles is but for a moment." Over the central door is the inscription: "That only is important which is eternal." This example reminds us that the doors we open--and the doors we allow ourselves to go through--determine not only the kind and quality of life we choose, but also our eternal destination. Today we will examine the third "I am" statement of our Lord Jesus found in the gospel of St. John. We are continuing our study of Jesus at the Feast of the Tabernacles. It is ...

4072. The Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... gave the results of a Father''s Day contest that was developed by an elementary school teacher. The students were to share why their dad was special. One little girl said her father was very thoughtful and kind. He was different from so many of the other fathers of the children in her class. She said, "My Dad is so nice and kind, I think he must have been a girl when he was a little boy." How tragic that our image of fathers has become so tarnished in our time. Dr. Jan Milie Lockman, in his marvelous new ...

4073. The Lord's Prayer: Hallowed be Thy Name

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... recognize our need for the reverence of God. I have two different pictures of Jesus. One of the pictures portrays Jesus as a kind, gentle person knocking at a door. The other picture portrays Jesus as the Troublemaker, overturning the tables in the Temple. Both are ... of God in my journey of faith. I am excited about it. It will not make me a "sourpuss." I do not need any of that kind of holy baloney. I am looking for the real thing. I am going to look into the face of God revealed in Jesus Christ. That is ...

4074. The Lord's Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... has a far greater commitment to the real royal family--the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He decides that it is far more important for "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, on Earth (even in the Olympic Games) as it is in Heaven." God honors that kind of commitment. Some of you remember that Eric Liddell does compete in the Olympic Games when it is not the Sabbath Day. He runs in an event for which, although not his best event, he does have some giftedness. He runs! He wins the Gold Medal! You always ...

4075. The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . I had the privilege of reading a printed sermon that Dr. Earl C. Davis of Memphis, TN preached at his church titled, "Common Sense About Forgiveness," in which he shared: "There are no Summa Cum Laude graduates of the School of Forgiveness." In fact, he said, "Any kind of graduate of this school is RARE--for most of us are still learning the ABC''s of forgiveness." Every time I read that masterpiece sermon, I am given strength to re-enroll in the School of Forgiveness and to learn at the foot of the Cross ...

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