Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4226 to 4250 of 4963 results

4226. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... king, should have infused the Jerusalem religious leaders with excitement and enthusiasm. Or at least curiosity. Instead they “played possum.” They reported to Herod. They gave him the information he sought. They dropped the name of Bethlehem. And then they remained in Jerusalem, frozen and unconcerned. Those charged with “keeping tabs” on the word of faith for the Jewish people stayed put and did nothing when confronted with the portents and possibilities of the very best of “good news.” Yes ...

4227. The Bride of Jesus

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... canyon and fell to his death 300 feet below. As someone very close to his aunt, DeWet says he has had the opportunity to see her deal with two tragedies in her life that have left her deeply wounded. When he asks her how she copes, her answer always remains the same: “Only by God’s grace.” (6) Friends, that is the only ways any of us cope. Life happens. Sometimes great things happen and we thank God for them. And then there are those times when we feel abandoned and desolate. But God comes to us and ...

4228. The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... was known as the Water Gate. Ezra the priest brings out the five scrolls of the Law of Moses. He stands on a high wooden platform built especially for this occasion. He opens the scrolls and as he begins reading, the people all stand. They remain standing the entire time. Nehemiah reads aloud from daybreak till noon. And all the people listen attentively and they weep as Ezra reads. When he is finished, Ezra praises the Lord and all the people lift their hands and respond, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bow ...

4229. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... uniforms of Her Majesty’s Navy. (6) That was a sad, sad mistake. Not long after the expedition entered the Arctic waters, the two ships became trapped in ice off King William Island. Many of the crew members perished onboard ship, including Franklin. The remaining crew began walking on the ice toward the Canadian mainland. They did not make it. They all perished including two officers who set out pulling a large sled. They traveled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice with this heavy load in tow ...

4230. The Servant Leader

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Agnes had the perfect answer for him. She replied that he was proud as a soldier to be serving a king who ruled over a few million subjects. She, on the other hand, would be serving the King of the entire world. Agnes entered a convent where she remained for 17 years. In 1948, after 17 years living this cloistered life, Agnes decided to walk away from the convent taking nothing with her except three Saris to go over her white habit. She left the convent and went into the street to serve the least and the ...

4231. Pilate's Dilemma

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... or even hard-hearted. It will probably be because we are weak morally weak, spiritually weak. We will keep quiet when we should have spoken up, we will give in when we should have walked away, we will strike a bargain when we should have remained true to our values. You know about weakness, don’t you moral weakness, spiritual weakness? The kind that wrecks families and ruins lives. The kind that refuses to speak out in the face of evil? Weakness sometimes takes the form of sexual temptation. Sometimes it ...

4232. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is “with Christ” is a unified whole. Paul grounds this unity in the event that all members of the church community share — baptism. Although the syntax of Paul’s sentence is a bit garbled, within the context of his argument the apostle’s meaning remains clear — the common experience of the “one Spirit” which all encounter in baptism binds them into a community, a “body,” that is composed of “on Spirit.” The “drink” of this Spirit is less likely to be a rather obtuse reference to ...

4233. Kintsugi Vessels

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4234. 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of us,” Jew and Gentile, who confess Christ; all who experience the freeing power of the Spirit, see Christ’s glory “as reflected in a mirror.” What is this mirror image of Christ? Since the physical body of Jesus has been resurrected, the mirror image that remains for Christ’s followers is the active presence of the Spirit on earth and the Body of Christ that is the community of faith. Paul declares that “all of us,” all who are members of Christ’s body, are in a continual process of being ...

4235. Face to Face

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4236. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:11-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a “first runner-up” title could certainly be claimed by this week’s gospel text — the parable known as “The Prodigal Son.” Let’s just call it “The Greatest Short Story Ever Told.” Theologically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally this parable remains as remarkable and moving in the twenty-first century as it was for its first-century audience. And as it has charged and challenged and changed those who have heard it in every century in-between. The “prodigal son” parable is ...

4237. Are You Part of the Scandal?

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4238. John 12:1-8

John 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Police investigators know that sometimes there is such a thing as too many witnesses. If a dozen different people witness an incident, chances are there are going to be a dozen different versions of just what happened. Some basic tenants might remain constant. But the details, 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 ...

4239. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ? COMMENTARY Police investigators know that sometimes there is such a thing as too many witnesses. If a dozen different people witness an incident, chances are there are going to be a dozen different versions of just what happened. Some basic tenants might remain constant. But the details, 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 ...

4240. Collections or Connections?

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... up even earlier than the kids; making lots of egg salad sandwiches (with strange colors staining the bread); and finding Easter grass still lurking in corners of the house on the Fourth of July. But while some of the traditions behind Easter egg hunts have remained the same, there has been one big change that has transformed large community-wide egg hunts, Sunday school class quests, and our own living room look-fors. Let’s get real: we might still color and decorate real eggs. But how many of those ...

4241. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... inferred that only those who dined at that meal were present. Yet John often used the term “disciples” to refer to all those who followed Jesus. It seems highly unlikely that Mary Magdalene would have delivered her testimony to Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples, talked no more of it, and then went somewhere else to supper. The miracle of Jesus’ unexpected appearance is accompanied by a wholly ordinary greeting: “Peace be with you” (Greek “eirene hymin,” Hebrew “Shalom halekem”). But in ...

4242. John 21:1-19

John 21:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the community is disturbed because John had died. The popular “rumor” within the faith community was that John would not die until Jesus would come again. Thus his death was causing great anxiety. John 21:20-23 succinctly squashes that “rumor.” Jesus proclaims “If it is my will,” John would remain alive, and declares that for Peter, for John, and all present and future disciples, their role is singular: “Follow me.”

4243. Coincidence or Providence?

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... during World War II who was preparing himself to enter the war as a military chaplain. One day this student found a used book at a bookstore on the subject of “How to Speak Russian.” This student was somewhat of an introvert. He preferred to remain in his room reading rather than going out to socialize with his friends. He decided that this little book on how to speak Russian would be a nice, quiet way to spend his evenings. From then until his graduation he studied that Russian language book whenever ...

4244. Acts 2: 1-21

Acts 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , prophesied by Joel centuries before, made alive by Jesus at his ascension ten days before this Pentecost event, has now been fulfilled and is fully intelligible thanks to the Holy Spirit’s linguistic gifts. No matter what language is used the promise remains the same: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (vs.21). Or of you want to compare a “like,” try out Google’s new Chrome commercial and substitute “Life” for “Web” and “Spirit” for Chrome. http://www ...

4245. Good Hearts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... produces what Paul calls “character” (“dokime”) — a uniquely Pauline term. For Paul “character” is what is left in the crucible after one has been tested, after one has endured suffering. In this case the “character” developed by remaining faithful in the face of suffering is “hope” — the realized hope of participation in God’s glory. Paul is confident that there can be no “shame” or “disappointment” (“kataischynei”) for this “hope” because of the abiding assurance ...

4246. Between a Rock and a Hard Rock Thrower

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... corporation” address to the annual meeting with these words: “Ladies and Gentlemen, these are my principles. Now if you don’t like them, I have others . . . .” Peter the Rock and Paul the rock thrower found that principles come and go. Only Jesus remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. Peter and Paul never pointed people towards principles and points, but a relationship with . . Jesus. Jesus is . . . The Bread of the World The Light of the world The Gate The True Vine The Living Water The ...

4247. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to Jericho. Neither his ethnic nor his religious identity are hinted at, no doubt causing Jesus’ listening lawyer to wonder if this unknown “man” was the “neighbor” he had asked about. When he is beaten, stripped, robbed, his identity is guaranteed to remain unknown. The fact that he was left “half-dead” (“hemithanes”) suggests the wounded man was not even conscious enough to identify himself to anyone passing by. As the man lies there, two more individuals come upon him. First “a priest ...

4248. Real Heros

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... and prepare yourself for whatever life may send. Remember, you are not alone in life’s struggle. It is beautiful how the writer of Hebrews concludes this passage. Remember he has just afflicted his readers with a long list of persons who had remained faithful to God even after suffering horribly. Then he writes these stirring words, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with ...

4249. Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Israel. It was carried out against those who broke the law and those who prophesied against lawbreakers (Jeremiah 26:23). Faithfulness, the Hebrews’ author continues to remind his readers, does not insure a worldly life of luxury. It is remaining faithful in the face of being “destitute, persecuted, tormented” that this author praises. Having mentioned the physical resurrection received by the two children in v.35, the author asserts that those who endure deprivations, persecution, and even martyrdom ...

4250. Lean on the Cloud

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

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