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Showing 4251 to 4275 of 4939 results

4251. Job Considers a Legal Dispute with God

Job 9:1–10:22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Job wants God to declare him righteous, but he cannot envision how to bring this about. Understanding the Text In chapters 9 and 10, Job takes up the challenge made by Bildad in 8:5 to plead with the Almighty. As he contemplates this possibility, Job focuses on his legal status before God. In this speech he begins to work out in his mind how he might approach God with his situation, and how God might respond to him. In his soliloquy in chapter 9, Job turns over in his mind whether he should enter ...

4252. Mission Possible!

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Jesus and Moses went golfing one day. Jesus was about to hit a shot and said, “Hey Moses, watch this! Just like Arnold Palmer!” Moses said, “Jesus, you can do anything but don’t try to be like Arnold Palmer.” Jesus said, “No, watch this — just like Arnold Palmer!” Jesus hit the ball in the water so Jesus asked Moses to get the ball. Moses parted the water and got the ball. This continued for about fifteen minutes. Finally, Jesus hit the ball in the water for the seventh time. “Please get my ball for me,” ...

4253. Samaritan Opposition

Luke 9:51-56

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

In 9:51 Luke begins his account of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem (9:51–19:27), which is sometimes called the “Travel Narrative” or simply the “Central Section.” Luke breaks away from his Marcan source in this section until 18:15 (see Introduction, pp. 3–5 and commentary on 10:1–24 below). During this section the reader is reminded of Jesus’ journey by references to the verb “to go” (9:51–53, 56–57; 10:38; 13:31, 33; 17:11; 19:28) and the noun “road” or “way” (9:57; 10:4). We shall examine 9:51–62, which is ...

4254. Who Do You Think He Is?

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

A number of years ago a priest, who happened to be a woman, moved to a more conservative diocese after her husband, who also was a priest, died. I knew Mary (not her real name). She was a wonderful priest, loved by her congregation. We were all sad to see her leave our area. After she got settled she scheduled an appointment with the local bishop. After a little polite chitchat she began the conversation by telling him when she had been ordained, who ordained her, where she had served as a priest, and what ...

4255. At the Intersection of Heaven and Earth

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said to be a true story from the old West. It is about a group of Apaches who attacked a Cavalry unit and successfully captured the paymaster’s safe. They had never seen a safe before. But they knew it contained precious gold. They tried to open the safe but were unsuccessful. They beat it with tomahawks. They dragged it over the ground with their horses. They heated it on a fire. They tried to blast it with gunpowder. Finally, they dropped it off a cliff into a great ravine. In spite of their best ...

4256. Little Ones

Luke 18:15-17, Matthew 19:13-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animations: stuffed lamb or if you dare, a real lamb; Youtube: “Do Sheep Only Obey Their Master’s Voice?”; (optional: book of fairytales) How many children do we have in worship today? Raise your hands! Why don’t you come on up! All of you… I wonder if you’d come on up and help me with someone. [Bring in the lamb….if you can have some of the children help to hold his leash.] Do you know who this is? Her name is Nessa. Would you like to pet her? [Allow the children to sit up front anywhere they like.] There ...

4257. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Judaism is the story of how the love we feel for another person leads to the love of G-d, and robes us in garments of light.” (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks) Prop: a white tie and white baptismal shawl / wear a clergy collar or robe that day How many here work in a business? In a school? In a hospital? Any other kinds of workplaces? [Give people time to answer.] No matter where you work, I’m guessing you have some kind of dress code. I’m wearing today my pastoral garb. While sometimes I don’t, you can be sure that ...

4258. The Scariest Job Interview

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you remember the first job you ever interviewed for? Was it a great experience? That would be quite a surprise. I’ve rarely ever heard of anyone who felt confident, calm and prepared for their first job interview. Or even their tenth. Interviews are generally stressful and unpredictable, and you’re working so hard to project a good image that you could easily forget your own name. On the website snagajob.com, someone wrote about a crazy interview for a job at their local Subway restaurant. Not long ...

4259. The Treasure Principles

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The story is told of a man who, while walking on a beach, found a used magic lamp. He rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared, inviting him to make a wish. The man pondered for a moment and then had a great idea. He requested a copy of the stock page from the local newspaper, dated exactly one year into the future. With a puff of smoke, the genie disappeared and in his place was a copy of the stock page, dated exactly one year into the future. Gleefully, the man sat down to peruse his trophy. Now he could ...

4260. The Truth about Warren Buffet's Secretary

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

King Duncan

The election is now behind us. I guess it’s safe for me to talk about Warren Buffet’s secretary. In case you’ve been on a deserted island somewhere cut off from all media, Warren Buffet, one of the richest men on earth and a prominent Democrat, caused quite a stir sometime back when he said that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her salary in taxes than he pays. That is because wages are taxed differently than are investments, and wealthy people have a clear advantage in accumulating more wealth ...

4261. Peace, Blessed Peace

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A man went to his doctor to find out why he had been having such severe headaches. The doctor ran some tests and after a few hours called the man into his office. "I have terrible news," he told the patient. "Your condition is terminal." "Oh no!" the man wailed. "How long do I have?" "Ten," began the doctor. "Ten what?" the patient interrupted. "Days? Months? Years?" "Nine," said the doctor, "eight, seven, six . . ." There is a man who was having a bad day. There is a man living in panic, not peace. True ...

4262. It's Just A Little Thing

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One Sunday morning in a little church, the sermon just seemed to go on and on. Unlike me, the preacher kept circling the point but never quite getting there. One of the little boys in the service that day was getting more and more restless. Mom was having a hard time getting him to sit still. Finally, in a whisper loud enough for the whole congregation to hear, he said: "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?" (1) That story is a good reminder that preachers need to follow the old KISS ...

4263. The Bread We Daily Need

Luke 11:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At a small dinner party in the home of a member, a pastor was invited to ask the blessing for the meal. Turning to the talkative six year old in the house, the pastor suggested she might like to do the blessing instead. The outgoing youngster now suddenly shy replied, “I wouldn’t know what to say!” “Just say what you hear your Mommy say,” said the pastor assuredly. With that the little girl folded her hands, bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?” Give us this ...

4264. Mercy Me!

Romans 14:1--15:13, Luke 6:27-36, Luke 6:37-42, Luke 6:43-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My yoke is easy, my burden light.” --Jesus What burdens are you carrying this morning? How heavy is your heart? How weighed down is your spirit? Most of the time, when we think about that question, we think of the burdens of responsibility we carry or the weight of grief, the sandbags of unfair treatment levied against us, or hardships, such as unemployment, or health, or broken relationships. Certainly, those burdens of despair and sorrow can weigh heavily upon our hearts. But other kinds of burdens can ...

4265. Homecoming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

"Goin' home, goin' home, I'm a' goin' home." These words from the spiritual song sound the plaintive, universal longing for homecoming. We all resonate warmly to the idea of going home to "see the folks," to return to our roots, to recapture memories. In poetry and in song, homecoming has been celebrated. This text speaks of Israel's homecoming, but it is not an ordinary homecoming. It is not the return of the conquering hero or the prodigal, the soldier or the servant. It is not a return from a self- ...

4266. Arc Of The Covenant

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

James Gilmour was a missionary to Mongolia and was asked to treat some wounded soldiers. He was not a doctor, but he did know how to give first aid. He dressed the wounds of two of the men, but the third had a badly broken thigh bone. Gilmour didn't know what to do, so he knelt by the man and prayed for help, knowing that God would answer. As he pondered what to do next, a crowd of beggars came by asking for money. Though preoccupied with the wounded men, his heart went out to the needy paupers. Hurriedly ...

4267. Biography Of A Changed Person

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Robert Beringer

There are many people who outwardly seem to have their lives all together. They have plenty of money, lots of friends, a good deal of power, and they seem at least on the surface of things to be enjoying the "good life." But inwardly, many of these same people feel lost and alone and empty. What they desperately need is to find a turning point in their lives that will fill that emptiness in their soul. Bill Smith (not his real name) was the pastor of a large and thriving congregation. Everybody loved Bill ...

4268. Epiphany 4

Lk 4:21-30 · 1 Cor 13:1-13 · Jer 1:4-10 · Ps 71

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10 Even before his birth Jeremiah was appointed a prophet. Jeremiah tells us of his call to preach. It came at the time Josiah was king of Judah (c. 627 B.C.). His call came as a dialogue with Yahweh who even before Jeremiah's birth knew that he was destined to be a prophet. In this dialogue he heard the voice of Yahweh and felt his hand on his lips. There was no human initiative in the call. The words he was to speak were totally the Lord's words. The message he was ...

4269. The Rain Of Bread

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

There is nothing like heading out into the back country, carrying on your back everything you need to survive. Enjoying nature, listening only to the sounds of wildlife, having a bit of creation all to yourself. Of course, there is one downside to it all -- the food. Cans are out of the question, they're too heavy to carry. That leaves only the packaged, freezed-dried variety of food. The pictures on the outside of these packages look inviting, but the actual stuff is all texture and no taste. If there's ...

4270. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 14:19-31 The presence of the Lord in the pillar of fire, that normally went ahead of the people to lead them, moved to the rear of the community as an obscuring cloud, a kind of buffer between them and the army of the Pharaoh. The Lord caused a strong wind to dry up a pathway through the sea so that the Hebrews passed to the other side. The pursuing Egyptians became mired in the mud and the waters closed in upon them. Thus, the Lord delivered his people from their enemies. ...

4271. Paul, The Great Missionary

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Hostages had been part of everyday news for all of the decade of the 1980s. It seemed appropriate to look back into the scriptures to see if there were any materials that might have meaning in that kind of historical context. While Paul was not a hostage in the classic sense, he was under house arrest a number of times, thus separated from his family and friends, and from his task as ambassador for Christ. I decided to drop the hostage notion and just concentrate on the way things were for the ...

4272. Paul, The Great Missionary

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Notes: Hostage issues always appear to be before us. It seemed appropriate to look back into the scriptures to see if there were any materials that might have meaning in that kind of historical context. While Paul was not a hostage in the classic sense, he was under house arrest a number of times, thus separated from his family and friends, and from his task as ambassador for Christ. I decided to drop the hostage notion and just concentrate on the way things were for the story line. Storytelling can do ...

4273. Christmas Eve / Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Call to Worship Leader: Jesus Christ is the Word from God who becomes flesh and blood. Cng: God of beginning, God who sends life, God who names us your children, we have gathered here to worship you. Ldr: Jesus Christ is the light from God who enlightens everyone. Cng: Word with God, Word in the beginning, Word who brings life, we have gathered here to worship you. Ldr: Jesus Christ is the grace and truth from God who embraces all who receive him. Cng: Will of God shining in darkness, Will of God giving ...

4274. Celebrating Eucharistic Time

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

Time is an asset and a liability. Call your attorney, physician, or clergy, and the first thing they do is block out a space on their calendar for you. Go to church or a meeting and you see people looking at their watches or waiting for the hourly chime. You take time off to be with the family or to golf and, before you know it, it’s time to do the next thing. Time keeps rolling like the waters in a stream. Time is an asset and a liability. We have the choice of taking it for granted letting it pass ...

4275. Living In The Resurrection Age

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: On this day, O God, we lift up our heads and shout the good news that your son Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In these moments, may we come to know in our hearts as well as our minds that Jesus lives now and forever. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Columnist Philip Yancey, in an article titled "A Russian Resurrection," writes of his visit in October 1991 to the former Soviet Union. He says ...

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