Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4401 to 4425 of 4884 results

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

George Reed

... truth of who we are and all of us are wonderfully gifted and terribly flawed. We are God’s image and yet we are mired in the clay of the earth. From Saint Paul’s declaration that he is the worst of sinners to John Wesley denying his achieving of perfection in this life (though he taught it could be achieved) to the confessions of Mother Teresa, we have examples of those who knew the truth of how to serve God in the way of Jesus. We are not above others. We are only servants who, at best, have done only ...

4402. Courage

Luke 17:5-10

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... to do the right thing even when your knees are trembling. Faith doesn't remove disappointments, or guarantee victory. Faith is the courage to keep on going even when you want to give up, but you keep on going. That is what faith looks like. Madeleine L'Engel put it perfectly. "I don't have to have some special qualification to do what I have to do. All I have to do is have the courage to go on and do it."

4403. Reflecting God’s Abundant Love

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Molly F. James

... weight or gained weight? Who gives more or less than we do? Whose church has more people or more going on? Which cities have more or fewer problems than we do? We all do it. That is why this gospel story is so true, because the Pharisee perfectly encapsulates the human experience. We have all had our moments of comparing ourselves to others, of trying to figure out how it is that we are better or worse off in any number of categories than those around us. We all have our Pharisee moments. The difficulty ...

4404. The Art of Impersonation

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5: 20) “How is that even possible?” the people wondered. The Pharisees and teachers of the law could barely keep the law perfectly. How could anyone else ever surpass their level of righteousness? Now Jesus has everybody’s attention. He is challenging everything they think they know about their religion. And so the scene is set for today’s lesson. He begins, “You have heard that ...

4405. Bless the World

Luke 6:20-31

Sermon

Molly F. James

... the gifts and blessings in our lives. This is why I am so grateful for my grandmother and her incredible example of faith. She faced a great deal of loss and challenges in her life, but she never let them define her. Nor did she expect her life to go perfectly or be devoid of suffering. Those who do let loss define them, those who expect life to go just swimmingly, are the ones being warned in Luke’s gospel today: "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for ...

4406. Clearing the Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... healthier or have more fun. Now, think of the ancient mind with its filters. If I, in the time of Jesus, believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God but don’t know the way of DNA, or the science of environmental damage to a unborn baby, it makes perfect sense to filter my view of life through the lens of something bad happening to me or to another as either the result of my parents doing something wrong or me not following God’s ways. After all, God wouldn’t create someone blind without there being a ...

4407. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... can never be achieved. We place him so far above us, so high on a pedestal of admiration that we know that we will never be able to do what he did or live like he lived. Well, that was Jesus, we say. And I’m not Jesus. He was perfect, after all. I can’t be expected to be like him. We make him into a spiritual Tiger Woods. Tiger was, in his prime, the best golfer in the world, on a track to become the best golfer who ever played the game. It was said by other professional players ...

4408. Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... to our life together — within the community of faith You’re kidding. You mean to tell me that there is sometimes conflict in the church that requires peacemakers and peacemaking? I’m shocked. But my shock notwithstanding, Matthew offers this description of the perfect Christian but he also offers a promise that those who fit this description will be called “children of God.” Not by other people. Other people are more likely to call them fools, or worse. No, they will be called “children of God ...

4409. Broken Yet Sincere

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of pottery, it was not unusual to have the vessel come out of the heat with little cracks and imperfections. To cover them up, the artisan would dip the piece in wax (cere) which could cover the blemish. Buff it out, and you would have a pseudo perfect work. If the pot happened to come out without a blemish, or they allowed the blemishes to show without waxing them out, the artist would etch “sin cere” on the bottom of the piec –that is, “without [sin] wax [cere].” For artists, what is “sin cere ...

4410. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ? Thousands more were baptized. The anointing of God’s power is an impetus for spreading God’s love and mercy everywhere. Christians around the world today are “singing” the praises of God in varied voices and in various parts. But thanks to Jesus, God’s Perfect Pitch, God’s Tuning Fork to the Eternal, we all sing the same master melody--the majestic coronation Song of God’s Victory over sin and death. All disciples of Jesus sing the same Music of the Spheres, the Spirit Symphony, and when we ...

4411. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to lay with a woman? Did the King have a right to take any woman of the kingdom he wished? We know David had many wives and concubines within his household. His desire for Bathsheba could have been seen as gluttony. Or….did David break up a perfectly good (but frowned upon) arranged “mixed” marriage between a Jew and a Hittite, in order to create a pure one between Bathsheba and himself? Did he desire her sincerely but not have the patience and honor to wait for her until he could arrange it? Or as ...

4412. A Taxing Encounter

Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... .’ And we were sure no one would welcome us when they found out we were living together before we got married. Everyone made it clear to us, in one way or another, ‘You don’t belong here.’” Jesus tells us in the scripture today, in my paraphrase, “Perfect people don’t need to be healed. Those who have fallen apart are the ones who need someone to make them whole again.” Of course, the trick to Jesus’ statement is that, as Paul tells the church in Rome in his day, “we all sin and fall ...

4413. Parabola

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... One evening, however, he hit on a great idea. Taking a pencil and paper, he wrote down exactly where he had placed each item of clothing. Placing his notes on the nightstand, by his bed, he quickly fell asleep, confident that he would find everything just perfectly in the morning. “And indeed he did. He woke up, took the notes from his nightstand, and read off each item in turn: ‘Pants – on chair back’; and there they were. He put them on. ‘Shirt – on bed post’; and there it was. He put it ...

4414. Revised and Revisioned

John 8:48-59, John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41, John 10:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the fallen ones up, restore them, remake them, revision them, revise them. Face-to-face, God can redeem all of creation. God knows how. If only we could recognize Jesus. Some do. Many don’t. How do we know Jesus is the One? The Second Adam? God’s perfect human? The One who can revise and revision God’s creation and bring us all home and back into relationship with God? The scriptures give us clues. What does God use to make Adam? [Allow them to answer.] Dirt…..and water. We are made from the clay of ...

4415. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a selah of praise) Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He has done. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Refrain Great things He has taught us, great things He has done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son ...

4416. Redeemed

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... shine, to be the beautiful children of God we were born to be. Jesus’ birth changed everything. He would grow to challenge every system in the Temple, as well as those who kept people down. He would be the morning Star, the Good Shepherd, the Perfect Lamb, the Tree of Life, the Mustard Tree who welcomed all into God’s branches. Jesus IS the redeemer….who doesn’t care about your money….but only wants to see the tenderness of your heart. This Christmas season, or “Christmastide” as the liturgy ...

4417. Precocious

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... actress Helen Hayes. At Mary Martin’s memorial service, Helen Hayes told about a trip the two of them took to Paris. They were walking through one of the many beautiful parks in Paris and suddenly there was a swoosh of birds overhead--one of whom took perfect aim on the beautiful suit Mary was wearing. Helen Hayes said that Mary looked at the blob on her clothes, and they looked at Helen Hayes with a smile and said: “For some people they sing.” Regardless of whether the sky is falling or the sun is ...

4418. Higher Ground

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... will help,” would have lived here in particular, since Bethany may have been the site of an Essene “almshouse” in Jesus’ day, as such places were typically located on the eastern side outside of a city, and Bethany lay two miles from Jerusalem at the perfect location. This makes a lot of sense when you again read some of the scripture stories, in which Jesus references the poor as always with them, and when Judas becomes angry over Mary’s pouring of the perfumed oil upon Jesus instead of giving it ...

4419. The Prophet of Locusts and Honey

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is a little lobster. A lobster is a cockroach on steroids. There’s a reason Jews couldn’t eat crustaceans. In John’s and Jesus’ day, it was quite common to eat locusts, and in fact, Leviticus sanctions the critters for Jewish consumption as perfectly clean food.*** But why would the gospelers, who leave so much else out, including John’s education as a priest or where he grew up, tell us so specifically about what John wore and what John ate? Maybe locusts and wild honey had a metaphorical ...

4420. Slow Burn

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Universe, who sanctified us with his commandments, and commanded us to be a light to the nations….” Jesus’ teachings begin here. No matter what other interpretations h.e makes, we must first be part of the Light. As James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17). *See the Cultural Dictionary of the Bible. For more on salt pits see the Jewish Encyclopedia. The Mishna makes a similar ...

4421. Apples, Onions, and Cheese

Mark 7:1-23, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... apple? Is it good? We have no qualms about biting into the apple right? We expect it to be really good. It looks really good on the outside. Oh…what happened? It’s not good on the inside? It’s got some bad spots inside of the apple. It looked perfect on the outside, right? But the inside didn’t look so good once you opened it up. So…let’s see. What have we learned? [Be sure to ask your children and youth…not just your adults and allow them to answer.] Well, first of all, you can’t tell ...

4422. The Sign of the Servant

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... (Avot 6:6)^^ The power of the covenant vow or oath is as strong as oak (as strong as the yoke that binds you to God). The relationship is the pillar of strength that guides you. You learn as a mathetes IN relationship with Jesus. “My strength is made perfect in your weakness,” says the Lord. In being yoked with Jesus, you become one of God’s disciples too –cut from the same cloth, so to speak.# To receive the yoke of the kingdom of heaven is to become a living witness to God’s glory, mercy, and ...

4423. Mending Fences

Luke 16:1-15, Luke 16:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... resources, how to be healed and restored to God, they’ve been inflicting harsh regulations upon them. They’ve been enforcing strict impossible-to-follow rules upon them. They’ve been over-taxing them. They’ve been excluding anyone who doesn’t perfectly fit their strict “bill of code.” They’ve broken up marriages, have refused sacrifices, have harshly punished, and most of all, they’ve kept the people poor and themselves very, very rich. They’ve grown to love their money and their power ...

4424. It's Okay to Cry

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... age, that golden age of the church when the saints got everything right. Right? Have you read 1 Corinthians? Or Paul’s second attempt at correcting the course of this church called 2 Corinthians. There has never been a golden age of purity and perfection when the church got everything right. Every generation has its challenges, and the decline of the church hasn’t happened only in the last few years. Even in Paul’s time, churches had trouble. But you look at YOUR church, your people, your community ...

4425. Liminal Space

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , like Joshua, like Elijah, they journeyed forward in faith. With God beside them. Having faith doesn’t mean that you never have doubts. It doesn’t mean that you don’t fear the future, or wonder what will happen next. It doesn’t mean that you are perfect, and you never fall down. It doesn’t mean when you doubt that you are discarding God, or God’s journey for you and your life. Having faith is a journey with rocks, and stones, and potholes, and mountains, and especially swamps. But a journey in ...

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