Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 426 to 450 of 972 results

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... not until the eighteenth century, long after Durer's death, Sir Walter Scott was one of the first novelists to use it this new way when he wrote, 'Let it freeze without, we are comfortable within.' Later meanings of the word were almost exclusively concerned with contentment, often of a thermal variety: 'comforter' in secular Victorian England no longer referred to the Redeemer, but to a long woolen scarf; today it describes a quilted bed coverlet." (Witold Rybczynski, Home: A Short History of an Idea [New ...

427. The Problem with Busybodies

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... world is too important to lose time criticizing or gossiping or playing games. There has been a great temptation over the past half century for many churches, particularly so-called mainline churches to give the impression that we are too sophisticated, too cultured, too exclusive--to reach out to people who are hurting. And thus, we have cultivated a reputation that says to many people: if you are truly lost, the church is the last place you should go for help. You will be rejected, you will be criticized ...

428. Life's Four Big 'Ds' and One Bigger 'D'

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... .) Order anything from any catalog and you immediately get on the mailing list for hundreds of others. Depending upon your attitude, these catalogs can either be a delightful escapist fantasy, or a miserable consumeristic experience in "wannabe-ness." Here are some exclusive, high-end catalogs. These are especially fun . . . and frustrating. For males, there's Sporty's catalog, which offers four and five digit big-boy toys (boats, deluxe grills, golf carts with mini-bars!). Here's Neiman-Marcus (a.k.a ...

429. The Naked Christian

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... account of the Son of Man" (verse 22). Jesus declares to his new disciples that their commitment and loyalty to him is what will bring a state of blessedness. But this blessing will come to his disciples (and to us) dressed in the ugly clothes of exclusion, rejection, and defamation. Good disguise. Such a good disguise that Jesus knew he had to make absolutely clear the connection between this ugly reality and the God's-eye-view blessing that it hid from the world's-eye-view. Jesus describes a world simply ...

430. Be Ready!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

King Duncan

... journey. These sailors were unprepared for the world that awaited them. I suspect the same is true of us. I want to suggest some ways we need to prepare for the coming of Christ as well as the coming of Christmas. The two are not exclusive, quite obviously. When you prepare yourself to celebrate the true spirit of Christmas, you also prepare yourself for the coming of Christ. First of all, focus on your relationships. Relationships are what life is all about. You’re thinking about gifts you can buy for ...

431. Mystery

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to prepare themselves, make themselves worthy, of the secret knowledge that they were seeking. Typically only a few specially trained or divinely-chosen members would actually be privy to the essence of the mystery, the whole of the secret. Their exclusive knowledge brought them an exalted position within the larger gnostic group. Thus even for those who considered themselves part of a mystery religion, the mystery itself, the answer they sought, the fulfillment they longed for, remained a secret guarded by ...

432. Make Room for Mystery

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... a conversation between the Bishop and an angel. The angel is telling him that all religions are trying to express a truth which they don’t clearly know, a mystical something that eludes the mind as water escapes the hand. The Bishop said, hoping for an exclusive revelation, “But, the truth, you can tell me the truth.” The angel smiled, cupped his hand over the Bishop’s bald spot, stroked it affectionately, and then held his head firmly in his hands while he said, “Truth! Yes, I could tell you. But ...

433. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

James McCormick

... is essential for us to know the difference. Too often religious people insist that their preference is the treasure. It is not. It’s okay to have preferences. We all do, and we all will. That’s okay. What is not okay is, in the name of Jesus, to claim exclusive validity for our preferences. What is not okay is to say, in the name of Jesus, “As long as I get what I want, I don’t care about what others want. I don’t care whether this is a welcoming place, a place of holy hospitality.” We can say ...

434. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... with whatever it was that produced such strength, beauty, and authenticity in their lives. So, I continued to pray. And I am convinced that continuous, meaningful contact with God must grow out of a regular, disciplined time set aside for God’s exclusive use. Understand that such time in God’s presence is not optional; it is essential for the life of faith. Using Brother Lawrence’s definition, “practicing the presence of God,” like all practice, it must be regular. There was a concert pianist ...

435. Want to Be Happy?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that DAH was an abnormal emotional response to stress, and was treatable. Our “DUH!” preoccupations created the “DAH” disorder. Here are some quotes from Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster (2007), a book by Dana Thomas outlining how luxury has lost its exclusivity and how everyone feels entitled to so-called luxury goods. “It’s like you gotta have it or you’ll die.” Tom Ford, formerly of Gucci, explaining what a “luxury” item is. “Everyone can afford a luxury handbag.” Karl Lagerfeld ...

436. Advent 2

Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 14:1--15:13, Isaiah 11:1-16, Psalm 72:1-20

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