Sermon and Worship Resources

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Drama

Thomas A. Renquist

... Yes.” (Silence for meditation) Reader 3: “Not I, but God in me.” (Silence for meditation) Reader 2: “I am the vessel. The drink is God’s. And God is the thirsty one.” (Silence for meditation) The Hymn Of The Day: “They Cast Their Nets” The Prayer Of Dag Hammarskjold (Markings) Reader 3: Thou who art over us,Thou who art one of us,Thou who art…Also within us,May all see thee -- in me also,May I prepare the way for Thee,May I thank thee for all that shall fall to my lot,May I also not forget ...

477. A Tempting and Lonely Place

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Thomas Long

... no place of serene reflection; it was a place of momentous decision, the Kingdom of Self-interest versus the Kingdom of God. Facing the tempter again, Jesus decided: "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out" (Mark 1:38). As Henri Nouwen has stated it: ... the secret of Jesus’ ministry is hidden in that lonely place where he went to pray ... In the lonely place Jesus finds the courage to follow God’s will and not his own; to speak God’s words and not his ...

478. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to be borne up by the faith of others, we are summoned to hear again those words of Jesus. Listen to them once more: "My child, your sins are forgiven...Rise up and walk." Amen. 1. Warren Times-Observer, 2/13/03, A-1 2. Mark 1:32-34a 3. Mark 1:38 4. Mark 1:45b 5. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM edition (Liguori, MO: Liguori Faithware, 1996) used by permission of Westminster/John Knox Press 6. Job 4:7 7. Barclay, ibid. 8. From Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 8 quoted by Bible Illustrator ...

479. A Time For Miracles

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... come. I asked Jesus to send you." Elizabeth went home to her family, but now she was in the Christmas spirit. (1) This is a season of miracles, isn't it? It is also a season for stories. There was a story in the newspapers sometime back. Eight-year old Mark Amador's letter to Santa laid it on the line, "My Mom needs help bad! . . . " His tale of woes ran from his mother's unemployment to selling almost everything the family had to get food. "I want clothes and food for us to last 3 months," wrote ...

480. Jesus, Where Are You?

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... forgive us our sins. And so, we ask with those Greeks, "Sir, WE would see Jesus. Where DO we see Jesus?" I can think of some places. FIRST OF ALL, WE SEE HIM IN THE HISTORICAL RECORD. We first encounter Jesus in the record made of his life by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is not a very complete record. For example, we have no idea how Jesus really looked. Was he tall, short, slender, chubby, muscular? You may be offended by the idea of a chubby Jesus, but we really have no idea. Most of us tend to see ...

481. The Secret Of A Great New Year

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... Eve is one of the biggest celebration nights of the year. What's so special about a New Year? (Give them an opportunity to answer). A new year is an opportunity to start over, isn't it? Let's pretend this pad is the old year and each of the marks on this pad are things I have done. See these marks. These represent things I have done. Some of the things I have done made me happy and made other people happy and I am glad I did them. But there are some other ...

482. How Many Times?

Matthew 18:21-35

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... said, "It's okay, I'm not going to get angry at you, and I'm going to love you anyway, and I'm going to forget that you did something to hurt my feelings"? (Roll the Playdo around in your hands to smooth it out) See, all those ugly marks are gone. It's like they've never been there. That's what forgiveness is like. Let's pray and ask God to show us how to forgive people, just like God has forgiven us.

483. Love Is Extravagant

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God (Cf. Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25). Now, some commentators would have us believe that the word has been mistakenly translated. They say that a slight ... when she had already poured it out? Here again we have to look at the other three Synoptic Gospels for a clue to the meaning. Mark’s Gospel is as good a place as any to start. And he has Jesus saying, “She has done what she could; she has anointed my ...

484. An Unpopular Profession

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of Isaiah the prophet were written down by secretaries who preserved his words for future generations, after he was slain by the wicked king Manasseh in 701 B.C. Isaiah saw it coming and prepared for it by dictating his teachings to his secretary. We believe that Mark was the secretary to St. Peter. Is it too much to imagine that Matthew was, in a sense, a secretary to Jesus? Note this: Of all the Gospels, Matthew alone relates Jesus’ parables about the treasure hid in a field and the pearl of great price ...

485. Little Jimmy

Mark 3:13-19

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... would have indicated such. This may be true, but on the other hand, Jesus specifically rejected ties to Himself which were based on blood. He said: “Who are my mother and my brothers?...Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (See Mark 3:31-35) And, as I said, there grew up in the early Church the notion that Mary and Joseph had no other children after Jesus was born, so it is understandable that the Gospel records might make no mention of his relationship to Jesus. One may ...

486. Jesus and the Baptists

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... 8.2) We do know that John, like the Essenes, had strange dietary habits, wore strange clothes and reduced life down to its simplest essentials. Mark’s Gospel says that he ate locusts and wild honey...a strange diet. But it may not be so strange when we realize that locust ... stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Cf. Matt. 3:11-15; Mark 1:7-9; Luke 3:16-21) Just how much John knew about Jesus at this juncture at the Jordan, we do not know. But ...

487. Angels in the Wilderness

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... fall; they are sent to strengthen us. And God is there to help. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, says Mark. Now, that need not be taken literally. It is the regular Hebrew phrase for a considerable time. (Barclay, Daily Study Bible. p. 12 ... strength of the meal the angel gave him (I Kings 19:8) That was some meal! I think I had a meal like last Thanksgiving! Mark tells us that Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. I have confessed that I really donUt know much about Satan. ...

488. Seeing Jesus Clearly

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... had been only 100 yards away from one of the largest sunken boulders in that area and certain destruction of his ship. It made a difference how clearly he could see! How clearly can you see Jesus? What do you see? I would like to turn your attention back to Mark's Gospel text for this morning. The season of the Church year is the Epiphany Season, and in a way, the theme of this season might be called: "Pictures of the Holy One." Today's Gospel is meant to be included in our "picture albums" of how we see ...

489. What's in It for Me?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Michael Milton

... give more to you. It all plays to the question on the heart of an unbeliever or a believer—What’s in it for me? Here in Mark 10:17-31 we discover Jesus’ teaching on wealth and reward in the kingdom of God. But it is more. It is God’s call for ... sins on His Son and impute His Son’s righteousness to your life. The Way to Eternal and Temporal Security Is to Invest (Mark 10:28-30) This issue of wealth and reward and faith is not something that just poor self-righteous Pharisees struggle with. Material ...

490. Sing the Resurrection Song

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... see all of that in the resurrection. Now, the question is: what are we going to do about it? How will we respond to it? As Mark tells the story, it is unfinished. It is left for us to finish the story by what we say and by what we do. Can people ... , we must go and tell. And we must do it with joy and with song. Do you understand, then, why I say I like the short version of Mark’s Easter story? It is an unfinished gospel. But it is our privilege to complete the story by the way we live and by the way we die ...

491. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to Capernaum. But his presence is soon reported throughout the town. The crowds are no longer satisfied with waiting for Jesus to appear. They gather at his home (most probably Peter's family residence) to hear the word (verse 2) that Jesus was speaking. As Mark had mentioned in 1:33, the crowds were so great that they even blocked the doorway into the house. It's this limited access to Jesus that inspires some creative thinking on the part of the paralyzed man's friends. The man suffering from paralysis ...

492. Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of Jesus an event that graphically reveals who Jesus is and gives us a glorious glimpse of who he will be. Over the course of the three-year lectionary cycle, we get to read each of the three gospels' accounts of the Transfiguration event. Although Mark's is clearly the primary version, this year's text from Luke adds several invaluable features to the record. Some of Luke's account suggests he had his own oral or written source, while other insertions seem singularly Lucan in emphasis and ethos. The first ...

493. Sunday Of The Passion (Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... response, the veil of the temple was split and a Roman soldier confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS Gospel: Mark 15:1-39 1. King (v. 2). The central issue in the trial, passion and death of Jesus was the matter of kingship. ... a king vv. 9-13. c. Mocked as a king vv. 16-20. d. Crucified as a king vv. 25-32. 4. What will you do with Jesus? (Mark 11:1-10; 15:1-39). Need: Pilate's question, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" makes everyone responsible to give an answer. How we answer ...

494. The Good News about the Future

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... , he never did get any monsters, but he did manage to hurt his father who slipped on the Jello instead. (2) The apocalyptic language of Mark 13 about the end of the world is not the sort of thing you want to read right before falling off to sleep. It’s ... get ourselves into an anxious state. There are enough possible personal tragedies to keep us in turmoil. And so we need to deal with Mark 13. We need to confront the fact of dramatic upheavals that will come to us all as time passes, whether it is the end ...

495. When the Winds Are Against Us

Mark 6:45-56

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... resist in times of distress, but he never gives it in advance, lest we should rely on ourselves and not Him alone. We need to remember that. God is in control, and God is not going to abandon us. But God has a time-table that may not be ours. Mark wants us to know that. He and the other Gospel writers record the story of Jesus and the storm at sea to reveal who Jesus really is. He is “the only son of God the Father Almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth.” In other words, He owns the place ...

496. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... sort of news spreads quickly, so, as the record has it, "That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons ..." (Mark 1:32-34a). In fact, the hoopla wore Jesus out to such an extent that he needed to get away for some quiet time. It was to be short-lived — Peter and his friends found him, but instead of returning to Capernaum, Jesus suggested, "Let us go ...

497. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. — Mark 7:6-8 The human heart has always had a capacity to extend and twist God's word, and rearrange it. We see it first in the Garden of Eden when Eve exaggerates God's direction to the first couple. The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit ...

498. Enough Foolishness!

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... dealt a bad hand in life? no pun intended. His friend has no hands. Instead, he uses hooks. He uses them so well that he is able to play tennis and ride a bicycle. This man named Mark, sometimes takes off his hooks and is still able to function using only his wrists. One day Tim accompanied Mark to the grocery store. Mark didn’t have his hooks on. Nevertheless he used both wrists to pick up items and drop them into his grocery shopping cart. As he was picking up some cereal, two boys about six or seven ...

499. An Annual Reminder

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... The people’s believing (15:2), their faith (15:14), and the apostles’ proclamation (15:14) could all possibly be in vain. But at the same time, he assures the people that God’s grace (15:10) and their labor (15:58) have not been in vain. Mark 16:1-8 One of my New Testament professors along the way once shared what he thought was the single greatest evidence of the resurrection. “Women were the first witnesses,” he said. “If the early Christians were making up the story of Jesus rising from the ...

500. Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

Acts 1:12-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... may be, then, to the first book, Luke 22:11f., to the room of the Last Supper, though a different word is used in that passage. Traditionally this room has also been identified with that in which the church later met in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, though this identification is not without problems (see disc. on 12:12). It may also have been their place of meeting in 2:1 and the place where they met for prayer in 4:23–31. Peter, John … and Judas son of James: The names of the apostles are ...

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