Dictionary: Rest
Showing 601 to 625 of 1128 results

Sermon
Will Willimon
The preacher steps from the pulpit, the ancient book is closed, the choir has finished, the benediction is given, the Threefold Amen is sung and the notes die away from the organ. Now, 1eft with your thoughts, it was good, you think to yourself, all well and good -- the preacher was adequate, the prayers, the choir quite good, the organ fine. But a nagging question keeps tugging at your brain. You try to put it aside, to keep alive the sounds and sights of the service, but the question will not leave you. ...

1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Sermon
Ronald Love
Perry Noble of NewSpring Church, the worship leader of 32,000, the largest church in South Carolina with multiple campuses, caused a theological stir with his Christmas Eve sermon in 2016, proclaiming that the Ten Commandments were not commandments, but only “promises” since the word for “commandments” is not in the Hebrew lexicon. Having this epiphany, he wrote a revolutionary sermon in ten minutes transforming “you shalt not” to “you are free …” Reputable theologians challenged the irrefutable pastor ...

Sermon
Jill J. Duffield
Imagine being ostracized and isolated, forced to cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” wherever you went, commanded to make visible through your clothing and hair your already physically evident and painful condition. The writer of Luke said they should keep their distance. Those ten with leprosy didn’t dare get close to Jesus, they called out for mercy from a distance. And Jesus, traveling to Jerusalem, between Samaria, that place with those people who refused to welcome him and Galilee, the region where so much of ...

Sermon
R. Robert Cueni
The scripture lesson for this morning trips its way through the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of the book of Genesis. This includes most of the account of Noah and the Great Flood. For reasons you might or might not consider obvious, this part of the Bible generates considerable debate. From time to time, the controversy spills into the public arena. In February 1993, CBS had a two-hour prime time program titled, The Incredible Discovery Of Noah's Ark. The program, hosted by Darren McGavin, featured ...

Sermon
Frank Luchsinger
Peter had long practiced a religion which required the separation of Jews and Gentiles, and following Christ's ascension Peter continued to be a practicing Jew. Through the example of Christ, Peter began to think differently about those who were considered ritually unclean and unacceptable to God. Earlier in Acts 10, Peter has been staying in Joppa in the home of one who practiced an "unclean" profession, Simon the Tanner. From there he receives the call from God to travel to Ceasarea to the home of ...

Sermon
Robert Noblett
My family and I have spent several enjoyable vacations on the Atlantic Ocean, both at Cape Cod and along the rockbound coast of Maine. Always we have enjoyed the beaches and the pastimes attendant to them. One perennial pastime is the building of sand castles, and I well remember our children building them close to the sea’s edge and how, with tidal changes, the parameters of the ebbing and flowing would be altered, often allowing the ocean to become increasingly bold in assailing what the children had so ...

Sermon
Lee Griess
This morning's Gospel reading sets the theme for us today, an appropriate theme as we begin our observance of Lent -- the theme of sin and temptation. It's an appropriate one because it is one with which we all struggle. I recently read a story about a little boy named Bobby who desperately wanted a new bicycle. His plan was to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a new 10-speed. Each night he asked God to help him save his money. Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, "Dear ...

John 20:10-18, John 20:1-9
Drama
Jerry Eckert
Comment: "The Disciples' Tenebrae" was a perfect set-up for the sunrise service. As people entered the church Easter Sunday, the worship room was bare of decorations. The rough cross made of old Christmas tree trunks still stood at the front of the church, draped with the black cloth from the Maundy Thursday service three nights before. There were no lights on in the church. All was very quiet as the people gathered. To begin the service, the liturgist went up to the cross, pulled the black cloth off of it ...

Mark 9:33-37
Sermon
Thomas Peterson
When Jesus put the child on his knee, he acted out a parable. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” At first this incident appears simple, easy to understand. Don’t we all know how to receive a little child? Assuming we know all about it, we slide over “in my name” and “receives me.” We assume we know how to be gentle, caring, attentive and careful. Our voices even change, “Well, and how are we today?” Such treatment comes without thought and is filled with good will. Expansive and ...

Sermon
Allan J. Weenink
In the book of Hebrews there is a fascinating phrase. The writer says, "... let us run with patience the race that is set before us, our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ..." There’s an interesting antithesis here: run with patience. Just exactly how do you do that? When we run a foot race, we don’t want to be hampered by anything. The competitor throws off all restraints and eagerly thrusts forward to the goal, unencumbered except with a burning passion to finish first. Is there ...

Sermon
Robert G. Tuttle
A. E. Housman, in a brief verse, uncovers the awfulness of hate: I see In many an eye that measures me The mortal sickness of a mind Too unhappy to be kind. Undone with misery, all they can Is to hate their fellow man; And till they drop need must still they Look at you and wish you ill. That is a plague I would hope to escape. E. Stanley Jones shares his keen insight into the self-destruction of hate. He reminds us that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Rev. M. L. Lindvall received a letter in a Christmas card. It was a personal letter ”not one of those which relates every event of the past year. The letter writer told how his church had held a Christmas pageant for 47 years with the same director. Perfection was her goal ”nothing less. For years the church’s pageant ran like clockwork. Perfect lines, perfect pacing, perfect everything. Then one year, something even better happened. You see, the director’s commitment to perfection was greater than her ...

Matthew 14:22-36
Sermon
King Duncan
You may have missed it in the news. A bridge is being built in the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum at the site where Jesus walked on the water 2,000 years ago. Notice that I did not say this bridge will be built OVER the Sea of Galilee. This bridge will be built IN the Sea. It will be slightly submerged so that visitors walking on the bridge will have the illusion that they are walking on water just like Jesus. The bridge will not have rails, but lifeguards and rescue boats will be stationed nearby in case of ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Our Jewish friends are wonderful story tellers and they do not mind making fun of themselves. Here are two samples: During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregregants stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up. The rabbi, educated as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested ...

Sermon
Eric Ritz
I think ministers must be on the mailing list of every conceivable organization and charity in the United States of America. Much of the mail I receive at the church office (about 50%) is what is commonly called "junk mail." Dr. Lyle Schaller, a church consultant, urges ministers to review their mail over an open garbage can. Check the upper left hand corner or backside of the mail and look to see where it came from. About 35% of the mail never gets opened. This week as I was thumbing through the "bulk ...

Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Note: There are a lot of props you can use as you preach this sermon: a styrofoam cup for the "The Elvis Cup" illustration is the suggested symbol of celebrity culture; also, here's an idea I got from Jordan Fowler, Worship Leader at Northwood Church in Keller, Texas. He began his sermon munching on a bag of potato chips but any form of junk food will do. All the while he was preaching someone was grilling steak so that the congregation could smell the barbecue and sauce. You might need to use a George ...

Sermon
Richard Gribble
Once upon a time, a diamond was born. He was nothing striking, but rather rough, like the rest of his family. He lived in the darkness and was very content to do just that. As a young diamond he heard tales of how some of his ancestors had left the darkness to a place of light, but that didn't concern him. One day he began to hear noise in the distance, and it came progressively closer. It was the sound of machinery with men talking and often yelling over the roar of the equipment. As time progressed, an ...

Sermon
Stan Purdum
One day, a Sunday school teacher asked her class of children about their favorite Bible verses. One boy volunteered that his favorite was John 11:35, "Jesus wept," because it was short and easy to remember. A girl said her favorite was John 3:16, because she'd been told it was a summary of the gospel message and had memorized it for Bible school the previous summer. One boy said he liked the story of David and Goliath, especially the part about David killing Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. Next ...

Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Once more we Americans gather for worship amidst the imminent danger of war. This week our government officials told us to gather supplies of food and water, make emergency communication plans with our families, and buy duct tape. Many of our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters have been deployed to military alert positions. Today we wait for yet another United Nations resolution. In one sense, there is nothing new about wars and rumors of wars. In my lifetime alone, there have been over a ...

Sermon
Frank Ramirez
In the old Soviet Union it was common for people who had fallen out of favor with the communist regime to also fall out of photographs. Long before digital photography made it easy to change our memories, a little air brushing could remove an incon­venient commissar who had been purged since the last worker's holiday. Indeed, Soviet watchers would study every photograph published in newspapers and journals to determine the rise and fall of cold warriors. The Soviet Union didn't have the corner on the ...

Sermon
Maurice A. Fetty
(A Dialogue Sermon) Man: Good morning! It's a pleasure to be here in the pulpit. But you may have noticed that I have someone in the lectern vying for equal time. Woman: Yes, indeed. This is a feminist age, you know — a time of equality between women and men, a time for women to catch up on centuries of lost time in subjugation and oppression. Man: That may be, but do you intend to regain all the lost time this morning? Woman: No, but at least I'd like to make some progress. Man: I don't blame you. ...

Understanding Series
Louis C. Jonker
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple: In 1 Chronicles 22 and 28–29 the Chronicler indicated that King David had paved the way for the building of the temple in Jerusalem and had already made extensive preparations. It is therefore somewhat strange that, according to the Chronicler’s narrative, Solomon had to appoint craftsmen again and had to gather building material from Lebanon. However, the narrative reaches its climax here, when the actual building of the temple is credited to Solomon. Second ...

Understanding Series
James K. Bruckner
The second half of Exodus 2 (vv. 11–25) begins with Moses walking among the Hebrew laborers. Three times in these verses he intercedes on behalf of weak persons who had been wronged, thereby showing himself to be God’s friend. Nevertheless, in addition to demonstrating the gifts God had given him, these three short scenes also reveal what was lacking in Moses’ character and education. Each encounter shows who he was and also changed him in significant ways. In striking down the Egyptian Moses encountered ...

Understanding Series
J. Ramsey Michaels
1:29-34 The account of Day Two begins with John the Baptist’s explicit identification of the Coming One as Jesus (vv. 29–30), an identification only hinted at in the other Gospels (e.g., Matt. 11:3/Luke 7:20; Matt. 3:14). John here carries out the role assigned to him in the prologue. He speaks for the entire Christian community in confessing Jesus to be both Lamb of God (v. 29) and Son of God (v. 34). Only now does he answer the question, “Why do you baptize?” His baptism is for the sake of Jesus, “that ...

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38
Sermon
David & Marian Plant
The lectionary gives us two types of traditional texts for our Maundy Thursday services over the span of the three cycles. One type is before us tonight: the text of the foot washing, the text of Jesus clearly demonstrating the importance of his love for us and our call to love others. The other is what you and I call the “last supper”: how the ritual, the practice, of our meal together, whether the celebration of a Seder reordered and meaning changed, the gift of the sacrament, or remembrance proclaimed ...

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