Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 551 to 575 of 1089 results

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... race, and is in no way hindered by the ever-advancing tide of human knowledge." Novelists Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Defoe became Christians. So did poets T. S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson. Musical composers like George Friedrich Handel and J. S. Bach along with artists like Rembrandt knelt at Christ's feet, calling him Savior. But don't receive Jesus as your Savior just because Charlemagne, Shakespeare, and Isaac Newton did. Accept him because Jesus is who he says he is and you believe in him personally. Lord ...

552. A New Look for a New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... by a young soldier who was carrying a package. The young man explained that he was the one the rich man's son had rescued, and that earlier he had painted a portrait of his comrade. The young soldier apologized, as he knew he was an unskilled artist, but he thought the father might like the portrait. They talked all afternoon, and after the soldier left, the father sat for a long time admiring the painting of his son. It would never be considered a masterpiece, but it did capture his son's character. The ...

553. Congratulations, You've Made the Team

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... . To the Christian, a similar question comes: Who am I? Who are you? We are nobody. Christ is everything! And who is this Jesus Christ? He is our "archegos," the author of our faith, but he is much more. It is said that a man came to Whistler, the artist, and asked his help in hanging a new and beautiful painting. The man complained that he could not make the painting fit the room. Whistler, looking over the matter, said, "Sir, you're beginning at the wrong end. You can't make the painting fit the room. You ...

554. Caution and Opportunity

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... one of its treasures, Cranach's Madonna and Child. The painting dated to the sixteenth century. Unaware of any problems with its provenance or history, the museum had displayed the painting in its European galleries since it was attributed to a major artist of the German Renaissance. In the spring of 1999 the museum received a letter from an agency of the World Jewish Congress. The agency informed the museum that the painting had been illegally expropriated by the Nazis from an Austrian Jewish family ...

555. Lift High the Tree

John 12:20-36

Sermon

George Bass

... that he was a child of God. One day, on a trip to Paris, he stopped for a rest in Dusseldorf; during his stay in the city, he visited the art gallery. There he caught sight of Sternberg’s painting of the crucified Jesus that he calls "Ecce Homo." The artist had written two short lines in Latin beneath the painting: Hoc feci pro te: Quid facid pro me? ("This is what I did for you: what have you done for me?") As the story goes, when his eyes met the eyes of the thorn-crowned Savior, he was filled with ...

556. The House of Hope

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... . The sculptor who fashioned the statue of Diana found a lovely girl to serve as a model for the statue. After the statue was finished, and it was placed on the top of Madison Square Garden, it became a huge success. Because of the artistic beauty of the sculpture, the model became famous. Her beauty was stunning, and everywhere she went, people recognized her as the model for Diana. Fame is fleeting, and personal tragedies caused the world of the lovely model to collapse. Eventually she became a derelict ...

557. Led by the Spirit of God

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... In their minds, they had imagined them to be much more sinister. They thought they might explode at any time. It's funny how our minds can cause us so much discomfort, so much distress. Sometimes the results can be disastrous. Karl Sirovy, a Yugoslav artist, and his wife, Zdenka, kept to themselves. They avoided the neighbors and only left their apartment if it was absolutely necessary. You see, Karl and Zdenka lived in Yugoslavia during World War II, and Zdenka was a Jew. The Sirovys daily endured the fear ...

558. Building a House (Mother's Day)

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... as an answer. Sister Corita is a Catholic nun who had an unusual ministry some years ago. I haven't heard of her in a long time. But back in the 60's and 70's, she was known all over the nation. She was an artist who designed and printed serographs – poster-like art that used common goods to grab our attention and communicate the Gospel -- Graphic drawings of loaves of bread, dancing trees, cans of soup combined with powerful words colorfully and dramatically presented witnessed to God's grace. Posters ...

559. A Converting Presence

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , a retrospective of Picasso’s paintings was exhibited in Cannes, France. Hundreds of works graced the wall of a gallery. From the first that he painted when he was just an adolescent beginner to the latest of this master who was then considered the greatest artist of the world, and who was then 85 years old. The old man himself roamed about enjoying the show more than anyone. One newspaper report told of a woman who stopped Picasso in the hall and said, “I don’t understand, over there, the beginning ...

560. Playing A Role Or Being A Truth

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... person in the congregation. But the variety is myriad, and the expectations multitudinous. We ministers are often victimized in at least two ways. One, we think we must try to respond to all the expectations and so the tendency is to become a kind of quick change artist. Chameleons who take on the color of our immediate environment. So when we’re with one group, we come off one way, when we’re with another group, we come off another way. When we’re another group, we come off another way. Then a second ...

561. Leave Your Stuff Behind

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Loren Isley is one of my favorite writers. He is a distinguished anthropologist and essayist. What makes his writing so gripping to me is that he has the eye of an artist and the soul of a poet. He sees beyond the surface and he has that rare double gift which enables him to enter deeply into an experience and then share that experience with us in the kind of way that enables us to vicariously experience what he himself has experienced. ...

562. Living Deliberately

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ordinary. They take the commonplace and breathe sublimity into it. My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky, so was it when I was a child, so is it now I am a man, so be it when I shall grow old or let me die. Artists do the same thing. So Van Gogh with canvas and paint can make a kitchen chair a thing of beauty and a joy forever. I remember and experience my wife and I had in Hong Kong. Jeri and I were walking through a park in one of the resettlement areas ...

563. A Scream And A Laugh

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . His mother recognizes the torture and glory of his gift, his destiny, but is torn between her son and her husband. Picasso once said, "Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth." Whether Asher Lev realized that or not, he persists in his quest to be an artist despite the growing alienation from his parents. One time his guide and teacher says to him: "Art is whether or not there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way...a scream or a laugh." When I came to the 13th and 14th verses ...

564. The Cross: God's Answer To Our Deepest Needs

Colossians 2:8-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... setting us at enmity with others. If you saw the movie or remember the story, you know that Solieri is the protagonist. He was the court composer for Emporer Franz Joseph. He had dedicated his life and talent to God, wanting to be a kind of artist-angel, a messenger of God through music. He was doing well -- very well -- until the genius Mozart mounted the stage. Envy and jealousy began to control him -- to consume him in diabolical thoughts and malicious schemes. It was a sad and tragic end -- Solieri's ...

565. Put To Death The Old; Put On The New

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... 's baptism is not unlike Jewish circumcision, Paul says. In baptism we are marked as Christians. This is a circumcision made without hands, the circumcision of Christ in which we are "buried with Him in baptism." He then becomes our life. Giacomo Manzu, the artist friend of Pope John XXIII, sculpted the newest doors of St. Peter's in Rome. I remember seeing that magnificent piece of art. One door depicts a series of death scenes, "Death by Falling," "Death in War," and others. "Death by water" is there ...

566. In The Beginning And The End...God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of these first chapters of Genesis describes the God who looks down on creation not as an engineer or a scientist or a technician who has created a model and that model is now flowing off a production line no – the God of creation is an artists a painter – a sculptor and the Creation is his masterpiece. In the beginning, God created. Incandescent amazement. II. Let's move on to register another facet of the Creation story worthy of reflection. Have you noted the recurring phrase in the story "And it was ...

567. The Rest Of The Story

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Our concern is to recognize that evil is there. It's obvious that Satan assumes many forms. We think of him as originally being a snake. But I was puzzled one time when I saw a pen and ink drawing of The Fall by Rembrandt. The artist had pictured Satan as a grotesque dragon, half hidden among the branches of the forbidden tree, with wings and claws, while below an apprehensive Adam received the fruit from Eve. A careful reading of the scripture shows that Rembrandt could have been right in his depiction ...

568. East Of Eden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it could ever be-- Jesus Christ. He didn't describe himself as the Tree of Life -- but He did talk about himself as the Bread of Life -- the Water of Life -- all of that which means Eternal Life. In the Galleria Borghese in Rome, there is a painting by the artist, Caravaggio. It's not the most pleasant thing, and you may have to look at it for a while to get the meaning of it. It's called "The Madonna of the Serpent", and it shows the Child Jesus crushing the head of a snake while his mother and another ...

569. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... unexpectedly, you became aware of the presence of God in your life. We call that an Epiphany the appearance of Christ, an unexpected revelation. But, reflecting on such experiences, I have a notion that all of us would conclude that we were prepared for them. Artists talk about what happens in the creative moment. I know that D. H. Lawrence is not one to call upon for anything spiritual yet he used specific Biblical language to describe the creative moment in his life. He said, "I often think that one ought ...

570. The Art Of Borrowing And Lending A Donkey

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in the direction of what we think is unnecessary risk. And, sometimes they even seem absurd. But, even when we don't fully understand, if the instructions are clear, we must follow them. There is a wonderful anecdote about the Asian Goya, the master artist who lived through terror, revolution, invasion, and who painted the protagonists of those systems and then retired from life -- or so it seems. Yet, when he was in his 80's, Goya painted a self-portrait which reveals an ancient man propped up on crutches ...

571. Building A House

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

572. Let Your Soul Catch Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... given to the poor. The painting that the pastor’s wife created captures that scene. Mary, having anointed Jesus with that precious perfume, washes his feet with her hair, and with her tears, and dries them with her hair. But in the painting, the artist captures the essence of Jesus’ life and ministry with focus on an overturned chalice on the white tablecloth. At first, it seems incidental. But as you immerse yourself in the painting, you know this is the central symbol. The red wine is spilled and ...

573. The Road Less Traveled

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... get through the narrow door. This is the agony of the soul and the spirit. “The narrow way is very demanding. A scholar must “scorn the lights, and live laborious days” says Milton. An athlete must avoid rich food, and subject themselves to rigorous discipline. An artist must give weary hours and days to practice. A saint must pray and pray, and then deny the self so as to be able to live the prayer that they are praying. “For Jesus, the door was as narrow as the cross! Therefore, for the Christian ...

574. Dealing With Guilt And Shame

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... what he claimed, verse 25: "I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!... verse 1 of chapter 8: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." We don't have to be victims of guilt and shame. Benjamin West, the renowned artist, tells us about how he became a painter. One day his mother went out, leaving him in charge of his little sister Sally. He discovered some bottles of colored ink and began to paint Sally's portrait. He really made a mess of things. Ink blots were ...

575. Songs of the Season

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... the quality of Elizabeth's testimony is to be found in Mary's reply. Mary's response is the glorious Magnificat. If one cannot write a great poem or compose some classical music, surely the next best thing is to inspire such creation from another. I wonder how many artists could credit a spouse or friend for the work of genius which came from their brush or pen? I've noticed that often a minister will note, in a preface to a book, that he or she feels indebted to the people of the parish for the help they ...

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