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Showing 426 to 450 of 1679 results

426. Healing in His Wings

Acts 14:8-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus spent his entire ministry doing three things: preaching, teaching and healing. This sermon explores the three steps to a healing ministry and healing church. The reign of modernism in our culture has been shored up by a very powerful myth we long to believe: that we can be in control through technological manipulation and mastery. The quest to control nature has led to an explosion in scientific knowledge - allowing us to splice genes, wipe out pathogens and multiply our food supply. Likewise our ...

427. It's All God's Doing

Ezekiel 17:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"A few years ago, a little boy was diagnosed as having a terminal illness. When he was told the situation and that he would soon die, he retreated fearfully into a cocoon of total silence. No one...not his doctors or nurses, not even his parents could get through to him. No one could penetrate the wall of silence the little boy had erected around himself. He would not speak to anyone. The only way he would communicate was through drawings he scratched out on a legal pad. One drawing showed a beautiful ...

428. Just Showing Up Doesn't Get the Job Done

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Eight words that can change your life. Cowboy culture is still dominated by the larger-than-life image projected by the greatest cowboy-actor of them all, John Wayne. The rough-and-tumble, heart-of-gold, good-guy character John Wayne perfected on-screen never failed to embody the qualities of honor, loyalty, bravery and commitment. John Wayne's cowboys didn't just look good. They were good. In the classic, "Rio Bravo," Wayne's character summed up the essence of his cowboy philosophy by declaring to a less- ...

429. Job’s Reply to Zophar

Job 12:1--14:22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Job’s Equal Wisdom 12:1 Undeterred by Zophar’s stringent warnings, Job answers Zophar’s harshness with equal venom. 12:2 Doubtless. Job begins his reply to Zophar with the same word with which he began his response to Bildad (ʾomnam, “surely, certainly, without a doubt,” 9:2), but here the word drips with intentional sarcasm. Job clearly has his doubts about the wisdom of the three friends—especially after the rather unfeeling rebuke that Zophar has just pronounced. He directs his reply at all three ...

430. Called To Pull Down; Called To Rebuild

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

This text is a narrative of the call of Jeremiah; but before the call narrative, we have a preface by the editor of the tradition, placing the call in its historical context (1:1-3). The word of the Lord does not exist in a vacuum and it does not work only in some spiritual realm. It is rooted in our history and related to our chronology. It came in all its specificity to Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah (1:1), during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah (1:2-3). In what seems to be a simple ...

431. Passion Sunday

Mk 14:1 - 15:47 · Isa 50:4-9 · Phil 2:5-11 · Ps 31:9-16

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Isaiah 50:4-9a · Philippians 2:5-11 · Mark 14:1--15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47) Roman Catholic: Isaiah 50:4-7 · Philippians 2:6-11 · Mark 14:1--15:47 Episcopal: Isaiah 45:21-25 or Isaiah 52:13--53:12 · Philippians 2:5-11 · Mark (14:32-72) or 15:1-39 (40-47) COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 50:4-9a The third servant song. The Lord gives his servant the task of comforting his beaten people. His efforts meet with rejection and abuse but his faith in Yahweh remains unwavering. Lesson ...

432. A Larger Design For Living

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

Words Of Preparation from 1 Peter 2:4-5: Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. Hymn: "Higher Ground" Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29 (NRSV) Jesus said, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been ...

433. Moving Fences

2 Corinthians 5:16-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

During World War II a Protestant chaplain with the American troops in Italy became a friend of a local Roman Catholic priest. In time, the chaplain moved on with his unit and was killed in combat. The priest heard of his death, and knowing that the chaplain had no close family back in the States, he asked the military authorities if the chaplain could be buried in the cemetery behind his church. Permission was granted. But the priest ran into a problem with his own church authorities. They were sympathetic ...

434. Advent: Lament, Repent

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

Israel had much to lament. It was a season for lamentation. The results of God’s anger were everywhere. The destruction is easy to catalog: Holy cities, become a wasteland. Zion, become a wilderness. Jerusalem, a desolation. That "holy and beautiful house," The Temple, burned by fire. "And all our pleasant places have become ruins." Living in the midst of this wasteland called for an incredible patience before the Lord - waiting for deliverance, waiting for return, waiting for restoration. This patience ...

435. Proper 19

Proverbs 1:20-33, James 3:1-12, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Proverbs 1:20-33 Israel is warned against rejection of wisdom. The wisdom of God is personified as a female. She cries out in the streets but she is rejected. Wisdom will laugh when the people get in trouble. When they cry for help, wisdom will not answer. But, they who listen will live in safety and at ease. Epistle: James 3:1-12 Because teachers use their tongues, they will be judged more strictly how they use them. Bits in horses mouths enable us to control them. Ships are ...

436. My Name Is Legion

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many of you know that old poem: Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd There’s one that’s humble and one that’s proud. There’s one that’s sorry for his sins, There’s one that unrepentant sits and grins. There’s one that loves his neighbor as himself. There’s one that cares for naught but fame and pelf. From much corroding cares, I would be free. If I could once determine which is me. Our Gospel story today is of a man who could have written a far more powerful poem than that: “My Name if Legion,” he ...

437. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this epithet to remind the Galatians that they need not be as they once ...

438. Doing What is Good

Titus 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Instructions for Living in State and Society: After a brief exhortation to Titus (2:15) to “teach these things” (at least 2:1–14), Paul returns in this section to the major concern of the letter—“good works” (i.e., genuinely Christian behavior) for the sake of the outsider (3:1–8) and in contrast to the false teachers (3:9–11). This section, however, makes a decided turn in the argument. In 2:1–14 the concern for “good works” had to do largely with relationships between believers, which when seen by ...

439. The Plague of Locusts

Exodus 10:21-29

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

God Hardens Pharaoh’s Heart: Locusts and Darkness: The Lord begins actively to harden Pharaoh’s heart late in the plague cycles, and more frequently in the last three plagues. God’s hardening functions alongside the choices Pharaoh himself made to “self-harden” his heart. The Hebrew has two different words, both generally translated “hardened,” that the narrative uses interchangeably (without pattern). Khazaq refers to physical or political strengthening, as in “making tough” or uncompassionate. Kabed ...

440. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I want to share with you a simple biblical message about how to find contentment. So often our lives get out of control because we fall under the spell of a terrible myth. The myth is that more is better — the more we have, achieve, attain, or buy the happier we will be. This myth is no more powerful than during the Christmas season which has just come and gone. We saw all the ads promising utopia if we bought the perfect Christmas present. Many of us bought those presents and still no utopia. How long did ...

441. Paul's Longing to Visit Rome

Romans 1:1-17

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

The Salutation The first seventeen verses of Romans serve as an introduction to the epistle and fall into three parts. The first part, verses 1–7, is Paul’s salutation. In the second part, verses 8–15, Paul introduces himself and speaks of his desire to visit Rome. The third and final part is verses 16–17, in which Paul broaches the seminal theme of his gospel, justification by faith for both Jew and Gentile. First, the salutation. Letters in Hellenistic times followed a standard literary pattern. Unlike ...

442. Slaves to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

In chapters 6–7 Paul discusses the Christian life using four metaphors: baptism (6:1–14), slavery (6:15–23), marriage (7:1–6), and psychology (7:7–25). The present section on slavery continues the interplay between indicative and imperative: what God has done leads to what we ought to do. Paul presents his ideas in a series of antithetical statements: “under law / under grace” (v. 15), “sin which leads to death / obedience which leads to righteousness” (v. 16), “free from sin / slaves to righteousness” (v ...

443. Job's Reply to Bildad

Job 9:1–10:22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

How Can a Mortal Be Righteous before God?: Job’s response to Bildad’s speech moves the discussion in a new direction. Up to this point in the book Job has largely been addressing the extremity of his suffering and raising the agonizing question as to how a righteous person can be allowed to suffer so horrendously. Now, however, in response to Bildad’s suggestion that the resolution of Job’s suffering lies in his willingness to “look to God and plead with the Almighty” (8:5), Job begins to consider the ...

444. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

Paul’s Appeal to the Gospel the Galatians Have Known and Experienced 3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this ...

445. The Plague of Darkness

Exodus 10:1-20

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

446. Badger or Bonobo?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Have you ever had a run-in with a badger? If you have, you’ll know to avoid doing it again! Badgers can be snarly, vicious, and terribly aggressive, especially if you’ve come too close to their burrow or nest. If one passes on the road in front of you, give it a wide berth. Otherwise, you may be running for your life. With sharp teeth and a feisty attitude, the badger is a naturally aggressive animal with few natural enemies. One horrifying report from Lancaster, UK reports a two-day rampage by a badger ...

447. Proper 13

Luke 11:1-13, Hosea 11:1-11, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 107:1-43

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

THE UNWISE FARMER The parable included for the Gospel reading today concerns a farmer who prospered. He let his possessions possess him. Certainly you can find parallels today, though it may be corporations who buy up farms and add acreage to acreage. The family farm is less and less a part of American life. Only about two per cent of the population now earns their livelihood full-time in farming. The typical person who accumulates wealth today is more likely to do it in business and commerce. The parable ...

448. Patience

Matthew 11:2-11 · James 5:7-10

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Be patient, therefore,...until the coming of the Lord." I begin this Third Sunday in Advent here in the Chapel preaching on the necessity for Christian patience. Advent is the Christian season of waiting and expectancy. Therefore it is also a season of patience, because what we really need in life can't be ours merely by wanting it. It must come as a gift from God, in God's own good time. Patience is needed. I will end today in the Chapel celebrating a wedding of a couple who waited until they were past ...

449. A Sure-Fire Way to End Burn Out

Isaiah 40:21-31

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

We live in a crazy time. There is, in the air we breathe, a sense of freneticism that buzzes around us all the time. People are busy. Too busy. It can be seen in the life of the church, where people who once gave of time and energy, now curtail their efforts because "work" demands so much. Many churches, ours included, now offer dinner at Bible studies and church meetings because people work so late they don't have time to squeeze a meal in if they are planning on coming to church that evening. Each one of ...

450. Let It Go

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes what we think is most familiar is also the most unknown. Take the case of one Midwest family. The matriarchs of the family had passed along a time-honored recipe for the traditional Easter ham. Along with the list of spices and herbs, rubs and glazes, cook times and basting procedures, was the absolutely strict instruction that the last three to four inches of the ham must be cut off — completely removed. This order was an integral part of the recipe that their great-grandmother had passed down. ...

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