Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4884 results

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... people stop singing songs of praise and joy, that’s the moment when they start tuning God out. That’s the moment when their lives begin to slip out of tune, go off key, and out of sync. Jesus is God’s tuning fork to the eternal, God’s Perfect Pitch. When we tune our lives to Him, we begin to resonate with the very heart of God. So, when people in a church stop singing God’s praises, they start instead noticing the dirt on the carpet, or judging the clothes on a teenager, or counting the money ...

4427. The Tragedy of Caiaphas

John 18:1-27 · John 11:45-47 · Matthew 26:36-75

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to the High Priest. “The breastplate was actually made of two pieces, which formed a sort of purse, or bag, in which also was kept the two sacred stones, named the Urim (representing light and excellence) and the Thummim (representing perfection and completion). These stones were some divinely appointed instruments by which the High Priest inquired of God about matters concerning the welfare of the Children of Israel. The Bible makes several references to these miraculous stones, but not anything physical ...

4428. Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain

Mark 15:42-47

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... we say to ourselves, “well, if Jesus were really here, this wouldn’t happen!” [Think of those 13 senior adults in the church van who lost their life to a 20 year-old texter this past week]. Or, “If Jesus were alive, the world would be beautiful and perfect.” Or, “If Jesus were alive, I’d know it!” How many of you have thought when your life was in turmoil, or when you lost your job, or when someone did something nasty to you or your friends, …how many of you have looked around and asked ...

4429. The Catch

John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25, Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:5-14) When Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons touched those who were sick, they were instantly healed, “covered” by the grace of God. Paul told them, “I bind you by Jesus.” When we literalize the metaphors of scripture and ...

4430. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... really a Jesus who can heal and change your life? Can the gospel really change the lives of others? Change our world? Terrorism, murder, robberies, drugs, abuse, politics, suicide--all you have to do is watch the news to know that we don’t live in a perfect world. Is God doing anything about it? Inquiring minds want to know. Inquiring hearts cry out to know. Does Jesus care? Is God there? Isaiah tells us, God is always there for His people. God will always be there for all who want Him, need Him, honor ...

4431. Unreasonable Mercy

2 Kings 5:1-27, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... we are! The better question perhaps is WHY? Why do people think this way? Why is the perception of most people outside of the church that the Church is a “judgy” place, full of “judgy” people? We think we’re nice people, right? Of course, we do. We’re not perfect, we say, but we try to be nice people. We do nice things. We like ourselves. Why does it seem that the identity we see in ourselves is not the one the world sees? How can they say this about us? Well, before we answer that, I’m going ...

4432. "Salt and Swaddle"

Luke 2:1-20 · 1 Samuel 16:1-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to a nation gone astray (as told by Ezekiel), one who would come to be the harvester of heaven and shepherd of Israel. On a night most likely in the earliest spring, the end of March or the beginning of April, as shepherds watched their flocks by night, the Perfect Lamb was born: The Paschal Lamb. This Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world was bathed in salt and wrapped in swaddling cloths. And laid in a “manger” –a sukkot not unlike the one perhaps that Abraham had made a long time ago ...

4433. Follow the Light

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Matthew 2:1-12, Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... -defeating voices, and when you allow Jesus to cast His light into the darkest recesses of your soul. That’s the beauty and joy of Jesus. We don’t have to be strong on our own. Jesus is our strength. We don’t have to be perfect. Jesus is our salvation. We don’t have to be good enough. In Jesus, we are God’s beloved and always cherished people. Are you struggling with doubt? With broken relationships? With depression? With grief? With addictions? With sadness? With worry? With defeat? This new year ...

4434. House of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Spirit among and within us that makes this disciples’ prayer unique, even as it challenges us in our humanness to be the kind of people God intends us to be, as Jesus teaches what the Kingdom may be like (both now and in the future in God’s perfection). The Kaddish is a very Jewish prayer. And Jesus is a very Jewish rabbi. But Jesus also is a messiah, a prophet, a savior, and God’s sovereign Son. Jesus teaches us how to be in relationship with God as a member of the same community –with personal ...

4435. Scroll Bread and Honey

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Exegesis: Sweet Prophecy and Locust Pie Some of you have probably made Scroll cookies/bread sometime in your lifetime. They may be as simple as rolling up those Pillsbury crescent rolls in the morning. Or maybe you’ve gone whole banana and formed a perfect scroll out of puff pastry. But scroll bread is a popular treat that also embodies the idea of “eating the scroll.” If you think about it, we do the same each and every communion, when we eat “tablets” of bread called scripture wafers. Whether ...

4436. Lion of Judah

Gen 49:1-28, Judges 13-15, Matt 4:12-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with men and women of character, men and women of kindness, compassion, and giving in other ways than money. They have the courage to speak out against wrongs. They have strength to lift each other up. They are fiercely loyal, and yet regally kind. They aren’t perfect people. But they are dedicated Lions! We as followers of Jesus also have the heart of a lion, a heart like the great Lion of Judah! In the scriptures, that roaring wind-like voice of Pentecost is most often described as the great roar of a ...

4437. The Prodigal

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“There’s more than one way to shatter a perfectly good relationship.” The word “prodigal” has gotten a lot of attention. There was even a Fox show called “Prodigal Son” that explored a father-son crime franchise. Most people assign “prodigal” meanings it never carried, such as a “disobedient” person or a “feisty teenager” or a “lost or broken person.” ...

4438. Sweet Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... as a beloved person who exists in covenant, in relationship with God. Adam’s identity is infused with new purpose, new freedom, the ability to love, an ability to be in relationship with God and others.** After the departure from the garden (perfect relationship) however, a new kind of relationship must be formed –a grafted one if you will. No longer is humankind automatically one with the Vine. But now, a “grafting” must take place. Identity must be sought and infused in relationship with God ...

4439. Seeing with Eyes Closed

Exodus 34:1-28, Exodus 34:29-35, John 1:1-18, Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... love of God the Father flashed down from heaven in a dazzling smile that would light the world forever. Embodied truth rose up from the earth, arms outstretched on the cross, and the two met. In Jesus Christ, Son of God, truth and love meet in perfect balance. In Jesus Christ and in him alone, truth and love meet in a blaze of revelation and salvation.”* When Jesus strikes our hearts, we will all be changed. Because when Jesus short-circuits the inner workings of our minds and hearts, we don’t just ...

4440. The Healing Tree

Revelation 22:1-6, Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Tree of Life that is Jesus reigns. When the healing in His “wings” heals the world and everything in it with Christ’s Light and Life. It’s not just you and I who need healing. The whole world and everything in it will become part of that perfect matrix of love and life that is represented by the Tree of Life –the everything of God. Those leaves will heal a broken world and make it fresh and new again. Remember: sin is a condition from which the world must be healed –the world and everything and ...

4441. Let It Loose!

Mark 7:31-37, Exodus 4:1-17, Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... this perceived defect, Paul did more to evangelize for Jesus than anyone in history! Here’s Paul’s story: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore (Paul says) I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For ...

4442. Calling All Wide Receivers!

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with God, your engagement in your discipleship, receiving of Holy Communion with the Lord Your God. Commit to being part of a team that is ultimately undefeatable against the forces of evil in this world. Above all, keep on playing. You don’t have to make every play perfect. You don’t have to make a touchdown every time. You don’t have to fear God when God throws the ball to you and asks you to respond with your words, your acts, your response, your love. Can God count on you….to receive His gift of ...

4443. Lamb Parade

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... hour away in Bethlehem, where the shepherds raised the lambs for the celebration, [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap] the shepherds were lining up the sheep for the big parade [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap], and the high priest was choosing what he thought was the most perfect Lamb [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap]. It needed to have no blemish on it. It needed to look white and clean. This would be the Temple Lamb, [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap] the Paschal Lamb [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap], the Lamb of Atonement to walk ...

4444. The Olfactory Sense of Prayer

Exodus 30:34-38, Exodus 30:22-33, John 12:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... anointings of kings, weddings, funerary rituals, Temple rituals or rituals of prayer and sabbath. Some were cleansing rituals, others celebratory or transcendent rituals. The combination of ritual (linked to memory) and scent (the olfactory emotional response linked to memory) made perfect sense. Smells evoke our faith. They draw on both our memory and our emotions to create an experiential manifestation of prayer, God, the Holy Spirit or the sacred amidst life. Scents make sense of our faith. They make the ...

4445. Feasting on Leviathan

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Here we are a few days before All Hallows Eve, the precursor to All Saints Day. So it’s perfectly appropriate that we look today at a couple of the most frightening creatures in scripture: the Behemoth and the Leviathan! [Show photos on screen if you can.] Yes, there be dragons in scripture. Dragons of the sea and giant, ferocious beasts that roam the earth. One each of these was ...

4446. The Tempest

Jonah 4:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that sometimes can teach us how to grow and be better people. But God can and will provide the peace within us and the strength to buoy us that we require to get through every conflict. This is the secret to faith. Being human does not mean being perfect every day or never having conflicts, never being angry, even at God. It simply means that we know, God is there with us, every day and in every way, even in our dreams. [1] “Dream Visions,” by Mary Wellesley. bl.uk/medieval-literature.com [2] Think of ...

4447. Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... on that mountain with Jesus and he witnesses something about as amazing, as awesome, as powerful as anything that has ever happened in human history. So it is not surprising that his impulse is to do something. Americans can understand that perfectly. We’re doers, after all. First, he offered to do something that was traditional, helpful and, well, religious. Appropriate, no? It is what any of us would do upon having an eye opening, mind bending, consciousness raising, spiritually-electrifying experience ...

4448. Excuse Me!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carl Jech

... "Excuse Me!" to mask our anger Comedian, Steve Martin, is known for the retort "Well Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me!" The expression as he uses it contains a strong element of angry defensiveness. He is saying in effect, "Excuse me for livin', but you aren't so perfect yourself!" I may be "unworthy," but you are just as unworthy. People who are extremely critical of others usually are betraying the fact that they do not like themselves! This is an easily missed fact of life, but one which also becomes obvious when ...

4449. A Robot in the Pulpit

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Governance of Change, IE University, 3/19, https://www.ie.edu/cgc/research/tech-opinion-poll-2019/. 2. “AI religion is upon us. Welcome to the future.” by Sigal Samuel, Sept. 9, 2019, 11:10am EDT https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/9/9/20851753/ai-religion-robot-priest-mindar-buddhism-christianity. 3. https://becauseisaidiwould.com/because-he-loved-them/. 4. The Jubilee Story of the China Inland Mission by Marshall Broomhall. Cited at http://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/sacrificial-love. 5 ...

4450. Daddy's Love

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... . What a tyrant it can be. How much misery it can bring into our lives. Human beings seem to be uniquely susceptible to blowing fearful situations completely out of proportion to any real threat. This is to say that, even in situations where fear is perfectly appropriate, we would do better if we learn to manage it. Fear, which is after all a survival mechanism, can sometimes actually impair our response to the event causing our fear. So Christ says to us, “Don’t be afraid. God knows every sparrow that ...

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