Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 401 to 425 of 2157 results

401. Having Fun with The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ..." (Matthew 28:18b-19). You and I have been commissioned, to do the work of evangelism. But wait, there are some nuances to Matthews' version of this commission that put some new, happy light on how to do evangelism. New Testament scholars like to point out that because Matthew is the most Jewish of all the gospel writers, he tends to focus more on obedience. This is evident in his ...

402. With a Firm Foundation, Application Is Second Nature

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... the judgment against those who have had charismatic experiences and performed healings are critiques of leaders of the post-Easter church who were not living in accord with the teachings of Jesus.3 So far it sounds like Pastor Warren is right about Matthew's version of Jesus — that an emphasis on practicing, on doing the word and living our purpose is the heart of the gospel. But wait, there is another wrinkle to the agenda of the author of the gospel of Matthew. Its author seems to have been identified ...

403. Not What You Expected

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... angels, it would seem like a natural. So the somewhat-dense reading from Hebrews may have struck you as a little heavy-duty. It is not the Hallmark-card rendition of those things. As Christians, we no more have to ignore the Hallmark version than I have to give up my Disney version of the three pigs, but we are called to acknowledge that there is more and be willing to dig into it. The writer of Hebrews wants to make sure we do not overlook the significance of doctrines like the incarnation, atonement, and ...

404. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... a strange irony to this original sin. Even though we are born in sin, we are not just victims only. Original sin is not just another version of the domino theory. It is not just that we are the umpteenth millionth billionth domino in a long line of dominoes that goes all the ... rock and a hard place," "damned if you do and damned if you don't." A rich and pious ruler, the ancient version of Billy Graham and Bill Gates combined, wants to become one of Jesus' followers. He wants to show off his credentials. So, ...

405. Remember: Live Worthy of the Calling

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the very beginning words that all we have and all we are comes from God. Four pastors were discussing their favorite Bible translations. One liked the King James because of its beautiful language. Another liked the New Revised Standard version. A third liked the contemporary version The Message. The 4th minister said, "My favorite translation was my Mother's." The other preachers said they didn't know his mother had translated the Bible. "Yes, she did," he replied. "Every day she translated the Bible into ...

406. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the big city, I want you to know you can come home and there will always be a light on in our house for you. There will always be a light in the window of our house to remind you that you are always welcome home.” According to both versions of the story, Johnny went to New York and he had a very horrible experience. Life went from bad to worse, and the bottom dropped out and he ended up penniless and friendless. He finally remembered: “I’ll go home. There will be a light in the window for me ...

407. The Lenten License to Steal, Drink, Lie and Swear

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that you will swear by the grace of God to put its powerful principles into practice every day. (p. 158) This year, 2011, is the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible. In their “Address to the Reader” prefix, their presentation to the public of the Authorized Version (King James) of 1611, the translators try out a bunch of metaphors, piling one on top of another until they find the exact fit. Here is 400 year-old wisdom about why you steal, drink, lie and swear this Lent: The Scripture is a tree, or ...

408. Keeping Perspective

Illustration

Staff

... mid 90's, is an urban legend and though this purports to be an "actual" event, it is not. In fact the legend is so ubiquitous that even Wikipedia covered it's veracity. No version of this story has ever been corroborated. The best use of this legend would be to introduce it as such. Here is the common version. “This is the transcript of an ACTUAL radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval ...

409. He Descended Into Hell

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the landscape of life is utterly bleak, and nothing you or anyone does can brighten it. Hell.... Is there a hint there of what we have in Jesus? "He descended into hell," we say. Even yours. As the psalmist said, in the phrasing of the venerable King James Version of scripture, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Psalm 139:8). And perhaps there he can remind you that neither his story nor yours ends here. You see, the creed continues: "I believe ...

410. Skin Game

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... powerful proclamation. Fred Craddock said "All the way to the cross, Jesus will be trying to get those who think ‘where the Messiah is, there is no misery' to accept a new perspective — ‘where there is misery, there is the Messiah.' "1 Naturally, we have our own modern versions of the skin game that was practiced in Jesus' day. Of course, we can be subtle about it. Yet we have our own sorts of lepers that we put away from the comfort of human community in order not to have to see them face-to-face. We ...

411. But Is It True?

Luke 2:8-20, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... with me from memory. We stumbled at some points. I was reading from a new translation. She recited from the original King James Version. When I said the shepherds were terrified and she recited, "And they were sore afraid." She knew it by heart. She learned it ... Christmas when he announced the birth of Jesus?" She nodded. She knew it by heart. So I started — using the King James Version, "And the angel saith unto them ..." and she finished, "Fear not ... for I bring you good news of great joy." "Fear not ...

412. Job Is for Real

Job 1:1, 2:1-10

Sermon

Donna Schaper

We find Job on the edge of town, his money gone, his children dead, picking at his innumerable sores and scabs. In the Joni Mitchell version of his sorrow, Job speaks of how the children of the wicked frisk like deer while his are dead and gone. In her version, we are also told that Job sees the diggers waiting, leaning on their spades, at the site of his grave. Job's three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar show up to comfort him but they do so in a way that only pours iodine on his wounds. God is just ...

413. Saved by an Arm

Illustration

Staff

... fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career. 2. Same story different version: One example of friendship remains with me as vividly as the moment I first heard of it as a boy. In his first seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play Major League baseball, faced venom nearly everywhere he traveled ...

414. Human Government

Illustration

Charles Colson

... government is to promote the general welfare of the community where its laws are in effect. Paul commands us to pray for human leaders "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Tim 2:1,2). New King James Version Notes, Thomas Nelson, p. 1152 Converesly, we have a responsibility to human government. It is impossible for a believer to be a good Christian and a bad citizen at the same time. As children of God our responsibility to human government is threefold: We are to ...

415. Zombie Zone or Beulah Land?

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... zombie-zones and zombie-lands can be “Beulah Land,” even heaven’s border-land, “Sweet Beulah Land.” [Note: You might close your sermon by having the congregation sing the original Stite’s version of “Beulah Land” (1876) or the more contemporary song, often sung as a memorial song, “Sweet Beulah Land.” Whichever version you use, be sure to make it clear that “Beulah Land” is not just something we have to wait for. That we are bring heaven to earth now, and that the “Sweet Beulah ...

416. Holy Ground

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... as I have done to you. — John 13:12-15 New ground ... holy ground. But sometimes we just can't let go of the past. The children of Israel were leaving slavery behind but they took with them a longing for what had been, a romanticized version of a past that never existed. There was nothing good about slavery, yet time and again they would lose sight of that bleak existence and make it sound like nothing short of heaven. Jesus lived the life of service and selflessness that he wants his disciples to share ...

417. A Time To Laugh

John 20:19-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... 's ultimate joke on evil and death. It is a testament to the God who, as the psalmist says, "sits in the heavens and laughs" (2:4) at the foolishness of humanity and any forces that might seek to thwart divine purposes. Here is a five-year-old's version of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-laughing life!" Not bad. Not bad at all. But as wonderful as Easter Sunday makes us feel, Monday dawns, and life ...

418. What Is Truly Important?

Psalm 149

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... for joy on their beds ... This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord. - Psalm 149:1, 4-5, 9 (emphasis mine) Three times we find the word "saints" in this brief psalm (at least in the venerable King James Version and the more modern New International Version - the New Revised Standard calls them "the faithful"). Is that why the lectionary committee chose this psalm for reading on All Saints Day? Perhaps - regardless, a hymn of praise such as this one is certainly appropriate as we pause to remember ...

419. Not So With You

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... rules” than does the world. The truth is Jesus’ disciples live according to different “relationships” than does the world. There is a long-standing tradition of having to pass a quiz at the Pearly Gates. In the more humorous versions St. Peter proctors the test. In the serious versions it is Jesus who actually asks the questions. I don’t really know anything about those Pearly Gates. But my mind often conduct theological reveries on what those questions might be. Here is my current crib sheet for ...

420. Coffee Shop Christmas Eve

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Julia Ross Strope

... can I get you? (Everyone orders.) Lee: Be back in a couple. Rebecca: (to waiter) Hurry. I’m wilting! (Rebecca goes to explore the manger in the back of the shop; “Chestnuts roasting ...” is still playing.) Lucy: We’ve heard this song in a zillion different versions today! Sarah: Heh! We could write a new song! (music fades out) Smell the coffee beans. Get a whiff of chai tea. Shake a leg; clap your hands I gotta go.... Grandma: Uh, uh. Jeff: I have to keep reminding myself that this is a holiday ...

421. Did God Really Say...?

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... we take matters into our own hands and make choices shaped not by what is right but by what we can get away with. Who cares what it does to others? We are now in charge. We have the knowledge of good and evil, that is, our version of good and evil and in our version we are always good. We are always God. It gets worse. The devil uses God's own words to poison our faith. Imagine that! The devil quotes scriptures! In today's gospel the devil used God's word against Jesus to undermine his trust in God ...

422. A New Beginning

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... give up on ourselves, others, and even God. Those feelings of disappointment with God probably occur far more frequently than we are willing to publicly — or even privately — admit. The advice to "just try harder" simply won't do it for us. An edited, more upbeat version of our lives isn't what is needed. Since the disappointment is with God, only an act of God can remedy the situation. What is required is a new thing, and only God can do that for us because only God can create. Therefore, any genuine ...

423. John 12:1-8

John 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , discerned by a dozen separate pairs of eyes, will be perceived differently. This week’s gospel text tells of Jesus being anointed. It is a scene that is described in all four gospels, yet each rendition has a separate set of details. Matthew and Mark’s versions (Mark 14:3-9; Matthew 26:6-13) have the most in common. John’s description is very similar. Luke’s description (Luke 7:36-50) has more differences, yet shares details with John, such as the wiping off of Jesus’ feet with the woman’s ...

424. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

425. The Lord’s Prayer and The Stones-Serpents-Scorpions Story

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... what they ask for — a “formulaic” prayer. The “Lord’s Prayer” or “Pater Noster” is found both in Matthew and in Luke — suggesting a “Q” source. But while Matthew’s version is proclaimed publically at the “Sermon on the Mount,” and is more detailed and eloquent, Luke’s version is short, sweet, and offered privately to Jesus’ closest disciples. For twenty-first century Christians, the initial address of “Father” is not startling. But for first century Jews, the mandate ...

Showing results