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4926. Manufactured Christianity: Jesus Sells, Jesus Sells!

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... away free bubble gum. Another church countered by offering free yo-yos. The process kept on until one church actually started having a raffle on the bus and the child with the lucky ticket got a five-speed bicycle. The list of examples could continue for pages, for every church, like every Christian, at a certain point in its existence, faces the temptation to jump off the ego mountain and fall down and worship Satan in an effort to receive the tangible rewards he offers. But are gimmicks the methodology ...

4927. Christianity Can Be Fun

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... is so inflexible and narrow, he finds no meaning in his vocation and no purpose in life other than existing. Such makes for a very dull life. In fact, if he does not learn that life and religion can be exciting, the chances are that he will continue his routine, mechanical existence until he finally retires at 65 and thereafter dies of heart failure or some other malady. You and I can perhaps easily identify with this dull, routine approach to life. Most of us grew up in a time and place which preached and ...

4928. A Higher Form of Love: The Good Neighbor

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... this earthly existence. In fact, a school of prophets arose in the northern kingdom who were called the "prophets of love." We know that two of these prophets were named Hosea and Jeremiah. Hosea was particularly adept at preaching a God of love who continually loved Israel even after she had prostituted herself before other gods. No, friends, we cannot claim that Jesus is unique because he preached love. Yet Jesus of Nazareth will always hold center stage when we speak of the concepts of human and divine ...

4929. It’s Not So Bad To Be A Beggar

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... a standard reply: "Now children, you know the Bible says ‘Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these, ye did it unto me’ - and you never know when we might be feeding Jesus." Even we couldn’t knock the idea of feeding "him" so the beggars continued to be fed. Occasionally we’d comment on the fact that mother always boiled and sterilized the utensils which the beggars ate from, and ask, "If we are feeding Jesus, how come he is dirtier than the rest of us?" (But we didn’t ask often, for mother ...

4930. How To Be A Saint In A Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... religious body of which he was a part, in Frankfurt, Germany. As he approached the airport in New York a terrific storm was taking place. He dreaded the trip, and now that the storm increased in velocity, he was sure that the flight would be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously about the flight when they revved up the engines and taxied out to the end of the runway. He kept desperately hoping for a ...

4931. The Most Misunderstood Gift

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... side than our own. We are often like the woman who heard the great and learned philosopher-psychologist William James deliver a lecture on the solar system. She approached him, at the lecture’s conclusion, by saying she had a theory that was far superior to his. She continued: "We don’t live on a ball rotating around the sun, as you claim, but we live on a crust of earth on the back of a giant turtle." The great man decided to dissuade his opponent as gently as possible, so he said: "If your theory is ...

4932. Hooray for Humility!

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... it happened that they were healed of blindness. Said one: "Of course, Jesus put mud on your eyes and had you go wash in the pool of Siloam." "Of course not!" said the second man, "He simply said, ‘Receive your sight!’ " "You mean," the first continued, "he didn’t put mud on your eyes?" "Certainly not!" "Then," the first retorted, "you are still blind!" (And so another fuss began.) Paul calls for humility and union on the basis of Christ’s humility. Paul warns us of the causes of disunity: selfish ...

4933. When Love Runs Out of Breath

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... I’m glad he’s dead." How polluted can mankind get? Again, our reaction to such vulgarity and criminality is to say: "But my actions and thoughts are not like that. I would never do anything so terrible - and so the comparison of self with others continues and our un-recognized need is covered again." OUR HEARTS ARE POLLUTED Sin is blinding. Jeremiah said; "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked." David knew he could not trust his sinful heart any longer, so he cried out for God to create in him a ...

4934. The Little Miracle Before The Big One

Luke 22:47-53

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... . Do you know that ear one night lay in the grass - in the grass over there in Gethsemane - and Jesus, our Lord, put it back? Son, he fixed it so well that even to this day I hear better from it than I do from the other ear." And Malchus continues: "Son, don’t ever forget that Jesus cares for you, too. Remember, when you grow up to be a man, even if you are a slave, nothing, nothing can ever happen to you that will not matter to him ..." - and don’t you suppose the son of Malchus looked up ...

4935. When Yes Means No and No Means Yes

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... for good stewardship, for the appeal to do the committee work of the church, the appeal to pledge, to tithe, to witness, to worship, to serve. How many times our answer, too, has been "No." But our heavenly father allows us to remain sons and daughters and continues to love us, and we can repent and do the deed. During the war, brave people of the Danish underground had a motto: "Do it well, and do it now." What better motto could we have as Christians? Christian happiness lies not in merely knowing what ...

4936. An Invitation to a Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... about grace for many centuries. Most of them think it has to do with forgiveness and mercy, but I’m inclined to disagree with them. I rather think grace means just the constant presence of God." That’s why we come to the banquet. Because God is continually present with us, and sees us through, and we accept his gracious invitation to be with him. There is a second little parable added to this one to explain the responsibility of accepting the invitation: "The king went in to look at the guests and he ...

4937. While We Watch for the Coming

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... up and exasperated by the rebellious Jews - gave up, and tore the temple and city to bits. Jesus’ prophecy literally came true. So here is Jesus playing the role of a prophet. There wasn’t any magic in his knowledge. Jesus was saying that if the Jews continued to play the game of power politics, it would end in their own downfall. The nation and people who will not take God and his will into their strategy are bound to fall - they are heading for disaster even in material things. William Barclay puts it ...

4938. Life: Sacred or Stupid?

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... a pure, sinless, and spotless life when he was a young man that he was able to say that kind of thing. And so it is that we who have been taught by Christ of the sacredness of any human life, no matter how apparently vile or sinful, must continue to struggle against those who would destroy it, even if they are of our states or law enforcement agencies. When did God give us the right to murder any of his children? We are so concerned in our day about endangered species - everything from the Whooping Crane to ...

4939. Embalmed Alive

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... with one burning concern in life: "How do I feel? How do I feel? Is my motor running smoothly? Is my plumbing operating efficiently? That little pain that I felt, is it better or is it worse?" Conversation at social gatherings, for many of us, continues to be an organ recital, the deliciously gory details of some recent surgery that someone had, something that the doctor told me about myself, that fascinating travelogue "Inside John Doe or Mary Jones," the magazine article that I just read - and you can’t ...

4940. Numbered Hairs

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... for about two weeks. But the other extreme was illustrated by the response of a taxi driver who said that he did not know the Bill of Rights was lost.3 There are so many opportunities for ignorance, and as the knowledge and population explosions continue, those opportunities increase. There is a multitude of persons and things one cannot know, or cannot know well. But this is no problem with God. Jesus was affirming that God has no difficulty knowing all of the circumstances of each person’s life, all of ...

4941. Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Bulletin Aid

Heth H. Corl

Call to Worship Pastor: Let us begin this experience of worship with our frowns turned into smiles; our doubts regarded as growing pains in our faith; and our disappointments exchanged for our appointment with God this morning. People: We come with one thought in mind: to praise and thank God who calls us into abundant living. Pastor: It's easy to wear masks when we say thanks to God. Will you be your real self this hour? People: It's true there are things that make us unhappy. But it's also true that life ...

4942. The New Birth in Christ

John 3:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Heth H. Corl

Call to Worship Pastor: Are you surprised that you, too, must be born again? People: What do you mean by that? Pastor: Jesus' words to Nicodemus were not a private sermon. We all need to experience God's Spirit breathing the breath of new life into our souls. People: Tell us more about this as we worship together! Collect Dear Father, we give ourselves to you in praise and adoration during this hour of worship. We want this hour to be refreshing and challenging, not a time of inactive daydreaming. Help us ...

4943. Thanksgiving

Colossians 3:1-17, Ecclesiastes 7:1--8:1

Bulletin Aid

Heth H. Corl

SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:15-17; Ecclesiastes 7:14 THEME: Thanksgiving CALL TO WORSHIP Pastor: This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We had planned a service of thanksgiving for today, but there are so many upsetting things happening in our nation. Don't you think we ought to change our plans, and face reality? People: Pastor, I do get upset over some of the things that are happening. But I'm convinced that God is in our midst. He will never desert us. That is the reality I am facing. I came today to join ...

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