Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 501 to 525 of 2962 results

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... celebrity photos — either looking their best or revealing their worst. But whatever shape they are in, what those celebrities are sporting influences the fashion choices of thousands. Designers count on it. In fact they literally “bank” on it. If someone fabulous and famous wears something, it will sell. The “knock ‘em dead” designs on red carpet runways are immediately copied into much cheaper “knock-offs” so that those with a bit of disposable income can outfit themselves like royalty ...

502. Historical Background

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Scott Hozee

... out how wrong it was. Had John just stuck to baptisms and some harsh pronouncements about the Pharisees and such, he would have been OK. But John landed in prison because he had the temerity to question the morality of Herod the Tetrarch (he never was actually designated a king and when he petitioned Rome for the title, Caesar Gaius Caligula banished Herod and Herodias to Gaul for the rest of their lives). As has too often been the case in history, the powers that be are content to regard religion as a kind ...

503. There’s Still Time

Mt 6:1-2, 5-6

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... a wonderful dress from scratch, while telling Mary about how, as a child, she had worked for one of the finest designers in Paris, and dreamed of creating her own line of clothing. Indeed she admits she probably had the talent for it. Aghast, Mary asks ... her how she could have left a promising career as a fashion designer. The reply: "I found something better." Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Back in 1975, Dr. Graydon F. Snyder, ...

504. Where Would You Go to Meet Jesus?

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

... method a bit far in my opinion when they offered a class to parents on how to potty train their toddler. I am not kidding. As they say, you can't make this stuff up. How different this is from the approaches I've already mentioned. When we design churches around what people think they need we may never get to the mission of Christ. Instead, we'll be putting on potty training seminars instead of ones on how to reach the unchurched in our families and neighborhoods. We will be focused so much on the needs ...

505. Epiphany 7

Genesis 45:3-11, 15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, Luke 6:27-36, 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-50

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... our actions. Help us to think and live the teachings of Jesus because they give everyone in the global village a chance to have their needs met and enjoy their time on this earth. Healer of Body and Soul — we do know that we are mortal and that we are designed to die. How strange! We need one another to accompany us along this human journey as our bodies grow and our minds learn and our souls find peace. When we are wounded, soothe us; when we are ill, heal us; when we are sad, comfort us. Artist of the ...

506. L4G Live For God

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to do something really stupid. And sometimes it’s so stupid it could get you killed. A 22 year old rapper named Ervin McKinnes just signed a record deal last month (September 2012), and got drunk with four of his buddies. Instead of using a designated driver, they decided to drive anyways, and the last tweet the rapper would ever send said this: “Driving Drunk. #YOLO.” A minute later he and his four friends were dead, having crashed into a wall at 120 mph. The story of the rich young ruler might ...

507. Proper 23

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c, Psalm 66:1-20, Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, Luke 17:11-19, 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... among all peoples till ownership is not the goal; move among us so collaboration and peace satisfy our minds. We pray for peace in families and between tribes throughout the global village. We pray for peaceful protection of the earth’s productivity. Designer of Hummingbirds and Kangaroos — thank you for the multiplicity of species. Help us to appreciate and protect the variety around us. We are glad you know how we are made for we get hurt and need healing; we experience disappointment and betrayal ...

508. Christmas Eve

Psalm 96:1-13, Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-7, Titus 2:11-14

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... laid him in the manger. (Mary and Joseph spend a few moments wrapping the baby.) Narrator 1: That same awesome night when Mary was birthing her son, some shepherds were in the fields taking care of their sheep. All was well. (Shepherds move to their designated place.) (Angel shows up — stand on stool/pew/ladder to add height.) Narrator 2: But then, an angel appeared in the sky! (Other angels gather around.) Narrator 1: Messengers from God! The whole sky was bright! Narrator 2 or Angel Gabriel: Don’t be ...

509. The iPod Vs. The Larynx

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... in. When the pastor left us to answer a phone call, I turned to friends and asked, "How in the world can a congregation sing in a room like this?" My friend's musician smiled and said to me, "They don't. This entire space is designed for the electronically amplified praise band and the song leaders standing in the front of the congregation on the stage." The musician's observation reminded me of a conversation I had with my friend about the interview process he and several members of the building committee ...

510. God All Along

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... things, and God met them all along the way. You and I recognize that pattern, for that would likely be a part of the testimony for so many of us, too. We would bear witness to a God who does not reserve his activity to certain specified places or designated times. Rather, we have encountered him in the midst of our routines. For some of us, he has been a gracious interruption, calling to us while we were just minding our own business. He meets us, deals with us, and speaks to us all along the way. So ...

511. Turning Potholes into Mud Puddles on the Bethlehem Road

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Mars. Scientists are hoping this event might happen around 2030. That means by the time all the infants playing baby Jesus in this year’s bathrobe dramas known as “Christmas pageants” are getting their driver’s permits! Right now the space suit design weighs about one hundred pounds and completely encases whoever wears the suit within a separate, sealed environment. The environment on Mars is so hostile that for any human to survive on its surface for even a moment, they must be completely cut ...

512. Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... jacket or just a different pair of jeans, wearing something new makes everything seem special and different. In this week’s Colossians’ text the author affirms that “putting on” something new is transformative. But instead of clothing ourselves in new designer duds, the Christians Colossians addresses are called to clothe themselves with actions and attitudes that will show the living presence of Christ in their lives. Having already enumerated a list of “vices” Christians should get rid of (3:5 ...

513. Put on Some Clothes

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... love. COMMENTARY The week between Christmas and New Years is a festive time, with plenty of holiday parties and get-togethers. It is the perfect time to show off all the new clothes opened up on Christmas day. Whether it’s an expensive designer-label jacket or just a different pair of jeans, wearing something new makes everything seem special and different. In this week’s Colossians’ text the author affirms that “putting on” something new is transformative. But instead of clothing ourselves in new ...

514. Are You in Labor?

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... , but a hospital for the hurting. If you understand that the church above all else is a place for people who have problems, then you can easily see what Jesus meant when he said the harvest is plentiful. Pastor Jeremy Houck put it this way: The church is designed for the single mother who works two jobs to support her kids. The church is for the drug addict who can’t stop his habit. The church is for the young person who struggles with self esteem. The church is for the young couple who lives together and ...

515. Financial Planning

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... of us whose lives are not dominated in one way or another by the pervasive materialism of our age. The desire for bigger houses, nicer cars, a boat, a swimming pool, a large screen television, a camper, new furniture, designer clothes—the list goes on ad infinitum. Modern advertising is carefully designed to increase our need to acquire. We buy a certain perfume because, after all, “I’m worth it.” Such advertising is even aimed at our children. I suppose it reached its epitome a few years ago with ...

516. Work Like the Who?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... that same wit and cunning. And yet Jesus once told his disciples a parable about a dishonest man who did just that. Remember that a parable is a story that has just one point. Jesus, of course told many parables, many of them designed to disturb those who heard them. These parables were designed to get people to think outside the box of their upbringing. That’s hard for most people to do. It’s much easier to view life as you’ve always been taught. In this case, Jesus told a parable about a rich man ...

517. "Before" and "After"

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Don’t you love “Before” and “After” pictures? Most “Before” and “After” pictures focus on the thrill of improvement. Your home before our design team got their hands on it: It looks like a nice suburban rancher. Your home after our design team worked on it! It looks like the Biltmore mansion! You, before you bought the Muscle Miracle Machine and you, after you bought the Muscle Miracle Machine. All the women swoon! You can almost hear the excitement in the television announcer’s voice, ...

518. Fear of Missing Out

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... thing she had ever seen, and she thought it was just absurd enough to set the right tone. Okra was also a family favorite vegetable, and it was served often in a variety of ways. At the gathering of women, Julia handed out T-shirts that she had designed that had three dancing okras on them, and the words ‘I’m Okray. You’re Okray.’ Throughout Julia’s illness, the Okras wore those T-shirts as a sign of support for her. Along the way, Okra husbands were added as volunteers, and many others joined the ...

519. Waking the Giant

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... is, where people are baptized, married and buried. Is that our purpose? I don’t think so. David Platt writes about a ship that was built 60 years ago to be the greatest troop carrier in US naval history. It was called the SS United States. It was designed to carry 15,000 troops faster and farther without having to stop for fuel or supplies than any other ship in military history . . . The only thing was it never got used to carry troops. It was such a remarkable ship that it got turned into a luxury liner ...

520. Breaking News: A World Gone Wild

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... Question #1: Where was God when this happened? Question #2: Why did God let it happen? Question #3: What kind of a God would allow this to happen? In fact, one newsman commenting on Hurricane Katrina said this, “If this world is the product of intelligent design, then the designer has some explaining to do.”[2] Question #4: When are religious people going to quit believing in God at all? For those of us who do believe in God and even more believe in the God of the Bible, it is a formidable question. We ...

521. How Does Your Garden Grow?

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... not put the First Adam here to “preserve” the garden, but to “tend and till the garden,” or more precisely, to conserve the garden and to conceive from it. When you preserve something you pickle it. God did not design a pickled planet, or a pickled garden. God designed a garden that its caretakers conserve and then participate with God in conceiving out of its bounty. Jesus’ parables, all of them, are all about embracing God’s continual presence in this world. None of Jesus parables are about ...

522. Why Matter Matters

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... earth” will be brought about by God’s own form of affirmative action. Both human beings and angelic beings are going to have to learn how to pack up, move over, and generally adjust, as God’s new design for the universe unveils itself. And it’s not a “traditional” design at all. In the midst of Advent, our season of great traditions, we receive this announcement of newness. Everything is going to need to change. The arrival of this baby changes everything. This child will change human history ...

523. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , and Asia Minor which were intended to alleviate the needs of the poor in Palestine (ch. 15). Paul hoped to embark on another mission journey soon thereafter, and this time stop in Rome on his way to Spain and the western reaches of the empire. Paul’s design in the first part of this letter (1:19—3:20) is to give a different view of the origins of evil. God is good; creation is good; and human alienation from the good is a late introduction brought about by our sinful choices. For Paul’s audience ...

524. Table Manners

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... find this all a stumbling block. They will say they have found the secret recipe — vote democratic or republican, plastics, intelligent design, mindless living, of doing your own thing, twelve ways to make chicken soup of the mind. Yet, our work is taking ... God’s work, joining in the task of making sure all can come to God’s table — tabling, in the American sense, our own grand designs in order that God’s plan for us to grow in God’s wisdom and stature will serve up the meal that will satisfy our ...

525. Can One Become Two?

Matthew 19:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... an issue as some people make it. I’ve said many times that we try to complicate the simple, but Jesus came to simplify the complicated. Once you understand God’s design for marriage, then it is really easy to understand what God says about divorce and remarriage and why He said it. Jesus has already stated that the Divine Architect designed the house of marriage with only one door. There is a front door that says “Entrance”. There isn’t a back door that says “Exit.” What is killing marriage in ...

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