Sermon and Worship Resources

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4476. That Mountaintop Moment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We as human beings since the beginning of our time on earth have loved looking up at the stars and imagining what it must be like to reach those distant heavens. Those who have traveled outside of the earth’s orbit have had the opportunity to star gaze in a very different fashion. Unlike the fascinating, familiar feeling we all get when viewing the heavenly constellations that we see from our earthly habitat, astronauts have unanimously experienced a stunning, somewhat eerie phenomenon as they viewed ...

4477. I Missed Your Touch Upon My Skin

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Peter Walker was a teenager who successfully took his own life. Everyone was shocked that this bright, cheerful person, whose life held such promise could kill himself. From a journal Peter kept hidden under his bed, this poem was discovered: I missed your touch upon my skin I missed your love and warmth within And most of all, whoever you are, I missed you. That's a sad story. Do you feel with peter the driving need we all have to be deeply cared for and touched? The data is clear. We know that children ...

4478.

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The God of Zion Breaks the Weapons of War This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37). 76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of Yahweh. His name, or self-revelation, is great in Israel. The terms chosen to designate Yahweh’s dwelling in ...

4479. All In God's Time

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In our contemporary society in which information lies immediately at our fingertips or even at our voice command and we can instantly communicate our wishes in a variety of ways, we humans have become more and more…impatient. This quickly leads to frustration that our needs and desires are not being met. Impatience then causes stress, often making us feel more…impatient. How do we break this unhealthy cycle? And it is unhealthy. Stress caused by impatience can cause a variety of emotional, mental, and ...

4480. Kingdom Mystery

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

David Coffin

An older man in his early sixties of age has been working for his company for over 25 years. He attended college and later went back for a master’s degree so he could better serve his employer. He has earned his own office due to his hard work. While he is not a regular church worshiper, he does practice the Christian work ethic he learned earlier in life regarding working hard today for a better future. He is honest and will help people who in are need. He tries to model this work ethic for his family and ...

4481. But, Why?

Titus 3:4-7

Sermon

Scott Bryte & Kimberly Miller van Driel

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Merry Christmas! It’s finally here! After counting down the school days and the work days, the ...

4482. Did Jesus Say What I Think He Said?

Mark 7:24-37 · James 2:1-9 · Isaiah 35:5-6 · Psalm 146

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

This morning’s gospel lesson may be the most troubling passage in the gospels because Jesus said a lot of provocative things to the religious authorities. The crowds were delighted with the clever ways he always seemed to best them in battles of wits. This morning’s gospel passage is different — very different. Jesus and his disciples needed a break. Just before today’s passage begins, Jesus had a controversy with some Pharisees. It appears that the Pharisees had traveled from Jerusalem to Gennesaret ...

4483. The Greatest Gift

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

By the time we get to Epiphany Sunday, for most people, the season of “gift giving” is over. The sea of presents from Christmas has been mostly put away, the decorative trees and lights are coming down, and, having celebrated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, people are moving on to resume their lives, hoping for a positive year. Stores, no longer selling Christmas, are already focused on St. Valentine’s Day. The thrill of the holiday season has passed. For most, Epiphany just doesn’t have the “zing” that ...

4484. Seeking the Presence of God

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

It is a well-known cliché that “God never gives us more than we can handle”, but I have sometimes found that not to be so. When my youngest brother died of brain cancer at age five, it was more than I could handle. When my first husband was emotionally and physically abusive, it was more than I could handle. When my second husband and I lost our twin sons at birth, it was more than I could handle. The COVID pandemic was more than we could handle. Wars and violence are often more than we can handle. ...

4485. At the Table

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

In my faith tradition, Maundy Thursday usually involved a remembrance of the first communion service. Many of the churches I have been associated with have scheduled a light supper and following that supper, at small tables of six to eight attendees, bread is broken and the cup is shared, much as this passage from 1 Corinthians related. The commemoration is somewhat solemn often because we Christians forget that this offering of bread and cup was offered during a family celebration, a Passover feast, ...

4486. Faith and Fury

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

A brand-new book came out in the past couple of months that immediately hit the #1 New York Times Bestseller List and has remained on the list for 14 weeks straight. It’s called “The Let Them Theory.” Written by Mel Robbins, who researched and developed its premise in response to her own personal journey from feeling “stuck” and hopeless in her life’s situation to becoming one of the most successful behavioral experts in the country, the book helps people and organizations alike battle depression and ...

4487. Remember

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Losing someone is hard. All of us at one time or another have lost someone in our lives, someone truly dear to us. Perhaps through death, perhaps through divorce or the ending of a relationship. Perhaps our children have grown up and left the nest. Perhaps a friendship has ended. No matter how we have lost someone, our brains will go through a complicated process that we call grief. Grief essentially means our brain is trying to adapt to a new reality in which someone who was a significant part of our ...

4488. God Is Like...a Potter

Jeremiah 18:1-11 · 1 Corinthians 15:20-26

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So begins our morning’s reading from the Old Testament. When you hear those words, you may wonder what the Bible meant when it said, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord.“ How did that word come to Jeremiah? Was it written down somewhere? Did Jeremiah hear it audibly? Just who was this Jeremiah anyway and why did the word of the Lord come to him? Lots of questions come to ...

4489. A Song to Shake the World

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

In The Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufrense is sentenced to two back to back life terms for crimes he did not commit. That tough world of Shawshank Prison conspires to destroy humanity. Andy writes every week to the state legislature requesting books for the prison library. From out of nowhere, a huge shipment of used books and records, accompanied by a check, gets dumped in the warden's office. Andy puts one of the records on the prison record player. Intoxicated by the beauty of an aria, Andy locks out the ...

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