Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4963 results

4126. An Advent Attitude

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... experience "the Beyond" in "the Within." It was this kind of spiritual quest that led the Heaven's Gate cult to combine the technology of the Internet, the science of Hale-Bopp, the science fiction of Star Trek, the theology of New Age and the hope of UFOs to create a new sacred reality for themselves. The strange amalgam the Heaven's Gate cult pieced together points out to this entheogenic culture that the spiritual quest can be dangerous. As one marketing expert writes, "If the '80s were the decade when ...

4127. Stable-Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4128. The Perfect Time to Lose Your Luggage

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4129. Rock-Bottom Living

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the house, the Bible says, they that labor build the house in vain. Are you among those who have "bottomed-out" on "bottom-living?" Are you ready to try finding a solid-rock foundation instead of banking on some bank account? Or are you still hoping that fulfillment, love, inspiration and commitment can be purchased for a price? There is plenty of evidence pointing to the predominance of the "bottom-line," "more-is-good" mentality in our culture. More and more of us are buying into the new version of the ...

4130. Hello!?

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... God breaks through to say: "Hello!?" A Harris survey commissioned by United Airlines found that 38 percent of passengers never use the lavatory during a flight, 60 percent do, and another 2 percent aren't sure. "Hello!?" I'm fascinated by that 2 percent. But I sure hope I never sit next to one of them on a flight! "Hello!?!" Did you read about Julee Sharik, from Orem, Utah. She gave birth to a 7-pound, 5-ounce son, just 12 hours after learning she was pregnant. She explained: "Looking back, I remember times ...

4131. Do You Look Good On Wood?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... bull. For a time, the animal tossed her, but she had now lost any sense of what was happening, thanks to her hope, her steadfast faith and her close communion with Christ (as quoted by Christopher Kelly in Times Literary Supplement, 22 December 1995, 22 ... up our character more strongly every day. It is only through the strength of this Christian character that any one of us can hope to successfully heft a cross for Jesus. Through Christ and our baptism into Christ, we are empowered to "live a new life" ( ...

4132. Fifty-Fourth and Lexington

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... not help but be confronted by the mysterious spiritual power of this unadorned voice. Sitting in the midst of an urban wilderness, this John-the-Baptist voice touched a lonely, aching place that lurks in the human heart, offering an unexpected message of faith and hope in the midst of the darkest, most blighted night. Bryars himself started yearning for the confidence and faith this old man's song celebrates. He began to face what it means to feel homeless and alone even when we are sitting in the midst of ...

4133. The Devil's Sermon

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Where?].... Call me crazy, but I still believe that Because He Lives,.... Call me crazy, but I still believe that Be Not Dismayed What E're Betide,.... Call me crazy, but I still believe that Soon and Very Soon.... Call me crazy, but I still believe that My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.... Call me crazy, but I still believe that Surely, the Presence of the Lord is in This Place. The Devil says: "Keep up." Jesus says: "Keep on keeping on." 3. Keep Your Options Open. What the Devil means by this is that you ...

4134. The Six Longest Short Verses in the Bible

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Christ and the redemption Christ's death on that cross brought to all people. Today, crossed fingers mean something very different. When placed behind one's back, they mean that one doesn't mean what one is saying. When held in one's lap, they mean one is hoping something will or will not come to pass. Russ Chiodo, Director of Emergency Services for Beaver County, PA, was the person in charge of picking up the body parts from the 132 people who died on the ill-fated USAir Flight 427 that crashed on its way ...

4135. An Action-Packed Faith

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the most unlovable of sorts, has always been the test of this discipleship-love. After the crowds had stoned him, mocked him, spit upon him, screamed "crucify him," Jesus could still cry out in love, "Forgive them, they know not what they do." How can we hope to imitate this love in our own lives? How can we prove ourselves disciples of this love? [Here you might cut from your own context examples of action-packed love.] Sister Ann Manganaro, a physician and poet who lived, loved and died as a Sister of ...

4136. The Dailyness of Healing Measures

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... keep us well. Last fall there was a much-publicized "shootout at the ratings corral" between two highly touted new doctor shows. In their mysterious wisdom, the network executives decided to face "E.R." and "Chicago Hope" off against each other. After opening night, though, the battle was all over. "Chicago Hope" lay bleeding on the floor, while "E.R." rode off as the hero. "E.R." reflects what an emergency room physician really does. The very nature of an "emergency" room suggests that when you walk in ...

4137. Jesus' Bad Manners

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... only in order to get a good look at this notorious preacher and teacher who caused such a stir. Now, suddenly, he is being greeted by name and told by this Jesus that he is coming to his house, right now! Perhaps, in the back of his mind, Zacchaeus had hoped he might get his own chance to speak with Jesus. To be sure, his tree-climbing antics seem pretty extreme for a man who claimed only a mild interest in Jesus. But Jesus doesn't wait for Zacchaeus to decide if he would like to offer the hospitality of ...

4138. Waiting

Luke 2:22-40

Illustration

William Lynch

Jesuit priest William Lynch has observed that there are two kinds of waiting. One kind waits because there is nothing else to do. The other is a waiting energized by hope. The decision to engage in this hopeful kind of waiting, he says, "is one of the great human acts. It includes, surely, the acceptance of the darkness, sometimes in defiance. It includes the enlarging of one’s perspective beyond the present moment... It simply chooses to wait, and in so doing gives the future the only chance ...

4139. Mark 9:38-50

Mark 9:38-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... week's next pericope in James focuses on the gathered and faithful community of believers. Unlike the merchants whose over-zealous sense of self-determination prods them into arrogantly organizing their lives years in advance, the Christians James now addresses are desperately hoping that very soon they will never have to worry about life-plans again. This is a community anxiously awaiting the Parousia, the return of Christ. James urges the community to be patient and wait for the Lord. Using the farmer as ...

4140. Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the human labor expended on the wall's construction in the context of God's saving history with Israel. The past promises of God were heard by the community as they stood within the security of the newly-walled city and looked towards a future brightened by hope. The text for this week goes on to give a rare glimpse of the community at worship. Verse 4 makes reference to the wooden platform Ezra reads from, a detail often seen as an early foreshadowing of the synagogue tradition of reading the Torah from a ...

4141. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... upon a firm foundation of faith - a faith foundation that reaches down through the ages from the faithfulness of the patriarchs, matriarchs and martyrs to us today. The author begins by giving a two-edged definition of faith. As "the assurance of things hoped for," faith enables believers to feel assured that the future will bring the fulfillment of God's promises. But faith is also the "conviction of things not seen," freeing believers to confidently reach beyond the limits of the possible, even beyond the ...

4142. Ephesians 1:11-23

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and power and faith that will be available to believers on the day of their inheritance. Any suggestion that this day might also be a day of judgment or divine wrath is banished from this particular discussion. Instead the threefold experience of God's hope, glory and power await these believers. Paul's prayer specifically asks for the gift of enlightenment to open the Ephesians' hearts to the presence of those gifts. In verse 19, this prayer focuses tightly on the crucial notion and nature of God's power ...

4143. Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... coherent picture of God's promise of salvation - the divine determination to loose sin's grip on this well-loved but fatally-flawed creation. With Assyria's demise foretold, Isaiah opens chapter 11 with some of the sweetest words of hope the crushed and struggling Judeans could hope to hear. The revitalization of the stump of Jesse, containing the holy seed that had been described in Isaiah 6:13, is foretold. Assyria will fall - just as surely as some massive forest giant whose apparent strength is betrayed ...

4144. Isaiah 42:1-9

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... also between the Lord and all creation. Likewise now this new covenant, brought to life in the mission of the servant, is established with all of God's creation. Deliverance is promised to those who are "prisoners," those who "sit in darkness" - offering hope and mercy to those Israelites languishing in exile. But the covenant is also extended to "the nations" - even to those who are "blind" to the power and compassion of the one Creator God. Verse 8 declares unequivocally to the unenlightened nations that ...

4145. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... man looks up to Lazarus and Abraham in the distance. For the first time, this rich man seems to make the connection between himself and Lazarus - in death, as they were in life, they are brothers, common children of Abraham. It seems the rich man hopes that this relationship may yet do him some good - for it is to "Father Abraham" that he makes his plea, asking the patriarch to send Lazarus on a mission of mercy. Abraham also acknowledges the connection between the rich man in hades and his own position ...

4146. Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... emerge to rule over the people. Many scholars suggest that verses 5-6 are the unredacted words of Jeremiah. The prophet, who repeatedly criticizes the weak and watered- down kingship of Judah that ruled during his lifetime, nevertheless has hope for the monarchy - divine hope. After Jehoiakim's disastrous rule and his ultimate exile, the Babylonians installed the deposed king's nephew on the throne. The Babylonians gave him the coronation name of Zedekiah, and allowed him to rule only as long as he played ...

4147. Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew 2:13-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and Rachel was Ephraim's grandmother. Rachel represents the matriarch of that community, crying over the fate of all her descendants at the time of the Babylonian exile. But this text stands within Jeremiah 31, a chapter that also speaks of a great new hope. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, the prophet tells of the "new covenant" that will be written on the heart. By choosing Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew demonstrates both the fulfillment of prophecy in Herod's horrible crime and the miraculous message that remains. Even in ...

4148. Mark 9:38-50

Mark 9:38-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

4149. Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4150. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet