Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4251 to 4275 of 4999 results

4251. Building Bridges While Getting Shot at from Both Shores

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... little floating corpse will be mangled and maligned until it's scooped out of the tank and the remaining fish are satisfied that the different fish is gone forever. That kind of behavior vicious, without conscience, arbitrary is what encourages human beings to label it as "beastly." When people exhibit that kind of brutality we call them animals, inhumane, brutish. Yet that very type of behavior appears as an endlessly repeating refrain among human populations and civilizations throughout history. In the ...

4252. Go Meditate!

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in the neighborhood, and I can tell a sick child's temperature with one touch of my finger, but if I don't have love, I am nothing. Love is patient while watching and praying by the front window when it's 30 minutes past curfew. Love is kind when my teen says, "I hate you!" It doesn't envy the neighbors' swimming pool or their brand-new mini van, but trusts the Lord to provide every need. Love doesn't brag when other parents share their disappointments and insecurities, and love rejoices when other families ...

4253. Which Will It Be - the Silvered Cross or the Slivered Cross?

Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... phenomenon. Our kids might not believe us, but not only did most businesses used to close on Sundays, but other Christian observances were commonly honored as well. McDonald's came out with it's Filet-O-Fish sandwich in the 1960s not out of some kind of early health consciousness, but so that on Fridays observant Catholics could still drop by the fast food restaurant for a quick bite. Within memory of many here, it was routine for businesses to shut down on Good Friday between the hours of noon and three ...

4254. Learning the Three Step Faith Walk

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... up to speed forward. But they're not. Rocking is another necessary pre-walking, pre-crawling activity that gets the child used to feeling off-balance, educates its muscles to adjust and readjust to motion and the pull of gravity. Rocking is followed by a kind of insect-like wriggling called squinching, which finally leads to full-fledged crawling. But the baby is only half-way there . . . and is still on all fours. Eventually babies do get up on two feet and learn the art of standing. Then using furniture ...

4255. Trust that Leads to Transformation

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... previously lifeless looking lump. Now in mid-January, the transformation is almost complete. Two long green shoots have climbed about eight inches high and at the tip of each stalk a plump bud has formed. A few more days of pale winter sunlight and the mystery of "what kind of bulb is this" will finally be revealed. Forcing bulbs to bloom in the dead of winter is a practice that takes a lot of faith. It's hard to imagine anything that looks less promising than a dormant flower bulb. Too hard to be an onion ...

4256. Making a Clean Sweep

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Everything had changed. The temple was destroyed. And yet as Jesus had foretold it was not the end-of-time. Indeed this particular clean sweep opened the way for the birth of an entirely new kind of faith a faith not dependent upon animal sacrifices or secret priestly communiques with God. Out of the rubble arose a kind of faith that could live and thrive without a structure, without a central building or privileged born-to-it class of leaders. And this faith was built on a new temple: the true Temple is ...

4257. The Smell of Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... factor web sites of ApprovedGasMasks.com, ProtectiveSuits.com, GammaScout.com, saferoom.com, in our search for a portable safe-haven against a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack. There's a big difference between the kind of fear stalking US society and bolstering the US economy, and the kind of sensible precautionary tone that used to inform safety-conscious people. What school system doesn't have a stockpile of emergency supplies? Not gas masks and Geiger-counters, but cases of drinking water, granola ...

4258. Loud and Clear

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you think of when you think of an interpreter? A tour guide on a trip, translating the language of another country? Someone who works at the United Nations in international diplomacy? Maybe someone interpreting for the hearing impaired at a public event? These are the kinds of things I used to envision whenever I heard the word "interpreter:" all are someone with whom I do not have regular contact. But I'm beginning to see the need for my own personal, full time interpreter. Our society, even in rural areas ...

4259. Tiny Pencils

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the greatest woman in the world, but I will tell you the greatest thing about my life. I've been able to be a tiny pencil in the hand of God, someone through whom God writes love letters to the world. Each one of us is a tiny pencil. What kind of letter will we write to this world? Will you dedicate yourself this day to being a tiny pencil in the hand of God, someone through whom God writes love letters to the world. The letters of your life will spell something. What will they spell? Will they spell LOVE ...

4260. Are You Running?

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... expectant worshipers reaffirming our faith and refilling our spirits with the hopes and promises of the resurrection. No wonder everybody shows up. Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus and his disciples were journeying to Jerusalem during the same kind of anticipatory days, amongst the same kind of growing crowds and excitement. In the writings of the first century Jewish historian Josephus (Bel. vi 422-425), he notes that in the years immediately preceding the Jewish war (c.66) the crowds of Passover pilgrims ...

4261. Conviction with Compassion

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James McCormick

... the behavior. Jesus’ love for her did not require that he pretend her sin did not exist; in fact, just the opposite. It was precisely because he did love her that he had to identify and condemn the behavior that was hurting her. We could use more of that kind of tough love. I wish we could learn once and for all that genuine love is not weak. It is not wishy-washy. Authentic love is strong. There are times when we must say, in love, “You are wrong. You made a mistake. You inflicted a hurt.” I believe ...

4262. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

James McCormick

... experiences for everyone? I keep remembering that, shortly after my becoming Chaplain, some people left the Chapel. I remember one of them sitting in my office and saying, “I think the Chapel is too inclusive. I think you are too welcoming of too many different kinds of people.” He thought it was a criticism. I think it was one of the greatest compliments we have ever received, because it is the same criticism made of Jesus. And here is why: someone has suggested that all of life is a dress rehearsal ...

4263. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... mother said, “Why don’t you say, ‘Amen’ so you can go to sleep?” The little girl said, “I was just waiting to see if God had anything to say to me.” She had the right idea. What do we listen for? Well, if we are waiting for the kind of voice that could be recorded on a tape recorder, we might have a long wait. The “still, small voice” the Bible talks about is more the sense of a presence, not ourselves, but Someone. It may involve a sense of well being, closely akin to the experience of ...

4264. What Is That in Your Hand?

Exodus 4:1-17

Sermon

James McCormick

... Moses, we would begin to make excuses and recommend some more qualified person. My, how humble we can be when we don’t want to do something! Years ago, I heard a quote which I have not forgotten: “The person who wants to do something finds a way; the other kind finds an excuse.” Listen to Moses’ excuses and see if they have a familiar ring. First, he said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? I’m just a sheep herder, and they are not even my sheep. I’m a nobody. Why should the most powerful ...

4265. Being Christian in the Family

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

James McCormick

... values.” Harry Emerson Fosdick, one of the great preachers of a former generation said, “In the home where I grew up I was taught to obey something inside me, so that when I left home I took it with me.” That is what I am talking about: solid values. That kind of solid value structure does not happen by accident. It must be taught. So, let me give a special word to parents. Make time for your families. I don’t know of many things that feel more like love than the gift of time. I grew up in a busy ...

4266. A New Vision

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... , is not that much different from the biblical vision of the kingdom of God, except, of course, Lennon omitted God. How he thought such a perfect world could be produced without God is a mystery. Sinful humanity cannot produce of its own volition a perfect world. A different kind of vision is found in the contemporary song, “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe. It is a vision of what it would mean to be in God’s presence. “I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side . . . I can only ...

4267. A New Calling

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... loud; you can’t turn it down.” Then with impeccable timing Shandling adds, “I leave the number of the room next to me, and then it just rings kind of quiet, and you hear a guy yell, ‘What are you calling me for?’ Then you get up and take a shower. It’s great.” (1) True ... ’t make excuses. Christ said, “Follow me,” and they did just that. Very few people actually make that kind of commitment. On Feb. 2, 2006, President George W. Bush hosted the 64th annual National Prayer Breakfast. This is ...

4268. Baptism of the Lord

Psalm 29:1-11, Isaiah 42:1-9, Acts 10:23b-48, Matthew 3:13-17

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