Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 601 to 625 of 4986 results

601. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... gospel in their reaction at the tomb and hasty flight to the chief priests. They have witnessed something outside of their comfort zone, outside of reason, and outside of explanation. It has caused an extreme reaction in them. In the passage, some of the guards stay, and others go to tell the high priests that something quite frightening and extra-ordinary has happened, and they don’t know how to deal with it. They may be frightened at what they saw, but they are also frightened not to share it. It has ...

602. Jacob's Well

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the living water of God, that HE is God come to restore. Only when he “tells her her life” in the midst of that miracle, she realizes, he could be the true messiah. And she runs back to tell the others in her town, who then invite Jesus to stay for two days with them. Interestingly, the disciples come back from town to see Jesus speaking with a woman, and are taken aback by his behavior. But they wisely keep quiet and go with it. They then witness to Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritans for two days, in ...

603. Bittersweet

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... those sweaters on every show. No matter how famous he became, he never lost track of who he was, his roots, and his family. No matter how unstylish those sweaters his mother made may have seemed to others, (as the styles changed over the years his sweaters stayed the same) he proudly wore them for 40+ years. Why? His sweaters always reminded him that relationships were the most important gift of all. Your blessing of God’s grace in your heart must be worn too for all of the years of YOUR life. God’s ...

604. Vetted

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... step you take, I'll be watching you. Every single day and every word you say Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you. In this surveillance society in which we live today, “I’ll Be Watching You” could be our theme ... that he wasn't going to settle in at all. I tried the normal commands the shelter told me he knew, ones like “sit” and “stay” and “come” and “heel,” and he'd follow them – when he felt like it. He never really seemed to listen when I called his name ...

605. Masks Off!

John 7:25-45 and 8:11-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , pancakes, curds, and cider would be the feast of the evening before. During the meal there would be a reciting of Psalm 129 (our psalm 130), the “De Profundis.” Then all would go to bed, as a courier rang a bell through the streets in warning to stay inside. Why? It was thought that on the eve of All Souls, those in purgatory who would have their yearly moment of rising. The eve also became a time when beggars would go door to door, asking for a “soul cake” --a kind of pancake or “donut”-- or ...

606. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... tree with abundant leaves and low-lying strong branches that grew by the side of the roadways outside of Jericho. Was he trying to stay out of sight? Or simply trying to get a better view? We can’t be entirely sure. But I can tell you that the ... since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He ...

607. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... !” So he named that place Mahanaim. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’” When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went ...

608. Over the River and Through the Woods

Luke 2:1-7, Psalm 121:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a near similar trip to see Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea (probably 4 or 5 days). Then she made the trip back again three months later, only to embark with Joseph on a similar trip yet again from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where at last they stayed at least for two years until journeying to Egypt. When they returned, they would have walked with their belongings and a young child from Egypt through the area of Bethlehem and on to Nazareth. While we usually portray Mary as 9 months pregnant when she made ...

609. Song of Promise

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. Mary’s Story (Matthew 1:18-25) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found ...

610. Metathesiophobia

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of gold to invest. He bids them to do something with it, to make something of it. While several go out and invest in various ways, one man does not. Cowering in fear of making a mistake and losing all of it, he fails to invest at all. He stays rooted to the spot, and as a result, loses any chance of making relationships that will lead others into God’s kingdom. To invest is not to avoid change but to embrace it. To risk it. Investing for Jesus is thinking more about the relationships you cultivate than ...

611. You Are What You Wear

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... your faith in the world “for real.” In our scripture for today, Jesus tells his newly formed apostles that they should “stay in the city until they have been clothed with power from on high.” The disciples had gone up the mountain with ... wear the Jesus pants in the world and walk in His shoes. Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text Luke’s Story of Jesus’ Ascension: Stay Here in the City until You Have Been Clothed with Power from on High (24) Minor Text God’s Promise to Abraham (Genesis 12 ...

612. Raison d’Etre

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... that the greatest danger in such frigid temperatures was water. There were springs deep below the snow that, because the snow had insulated them, had not completely frozen over. If he stepped into one of these he would have to stop and immediately build a fire to stay warm and dry out his feet and legs. To do otherwise was to freeze to death in minutes. He had always made the dog cross any suspect areas first to make sure they were safe but now, refreshed from his meal, his confidence restored, he was in ...

613. Baby Steps on the Sea of Galilee

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... of a storm is even more remarkable. Life has its storms, doesn’t it? How do you respond to a storm? The other eleven disciples took shelter in the boat. Only Peter believed that it was better to brave the storm with Jesus than to stay in the boat without him. Author and speaker Palmer Chinchen tells of an excursion rafting the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe with his brothers. It was a scary undertaking. The Zambezi River’s huge rapids are fed by the rushing waters of Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall ...

614. Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , and on your commitment to the team’s mission to play to the best of its ability. This goes for nearly anything you do in life. Want to succeed in school? Keep your eye on the ball! Want to do well in business? Stay committed and keep your eye on the goal! Want to stay invested in your discipleship and secure in your faith? Keep your eye on Jesus! Don’t be distracted by the ways of the world, the politics of the season, a cultural milieu of doubt and despair, the peer pressure to conform to a watered ...

615. Your Faith is Your Fuel

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you procrastinated on a project and now you’re destined to do it at the last minute, lacking some of the material you really needed to make it work. Maybe you forgot about a large bill and didn’t have the resources to cover it. Maybe you stayed up late the night before a breakfast celebration and ended up sleeping right over it. If any of these scenarios make you cringe, you’re not alone. All of us at one time or another have let busyness, procrastination, or simple lack of preparation foil us up ...

616. Choosing to Be Grateful

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... with gratitude. But one Sunday morning he woke up to the kind of day we preachers dread. If it was not a full-blown nor’easter, it came pretty close. The wind was howling and the rain was coming down in sheets. As a result, many people stayed home from worship, while those who braved the elements and came to church wondered what the minister would say. Typically, he filled his prayers with praise and thanksgiving. But how could he be thankful on such a miserable day? Indeed, as he stood up to pray, the ...

617. How Does Your Garden Grow?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... that you have spent years developing and that is what Jesus talked about when he said, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.” At first that seems as if he is saying that you are thrown away and condemned. But once again, you have to stay in the story. You have ride with the grape vine analogy. The role of the gardener is to help us to bear fruit. One of the ways the Father does that is by pruning. He prunes from our branch, the little shoots that suck off the life from your spiritual ...

618. Out of the Saltshaker

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... authored by Rebecca Manley Pippert. (10) “Salt is good,” Jesus said, “but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?” Ms. Pippert’s thesis is, “Salt is good, but if salt stays in the saltshaker, what good is it?” How can it flavor life if it stays in the saltshaker? How can it preserve food if it stays in the shaker? How do we get the salt that will change our world out of the saltshaker? Really, there is only one way and that is for followers of Jesus to live as Christ lived ...

619. Promises to Keep

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... moment and find this story in the text so we can appreciate Mark’s understanding of context. Last week’s story ended with Jesus giving his disciples instructions for going out to spread the gospel. He told them to travel light, be a good guest wherever they stayed, and, if their ministry was rejected, to shake it off and move on to someplace else. As the disciples walked off into the sunset, Mark paused to bring us up to date on the life and ministry of John the Baptist using a literary device known as ...

620. Ordinary People

Ruth 1:1-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ordinary family; that is, a family where it's tough to be in the family and keep living and loving one another. An ordinary family. A Duke student told me last week that her problem with Parents' Weekend was what to do with two sets of parents. They're staying at different motels. She's got to balance fifty percent of her weekend with her father and his new wife and the other fifty percent with her mother and her fiancé. It's complicated. Last year, I told a Duke student how much I enjoyed meeting his Mom ...

621. Living Bread

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... Facebook friends, everything I type on my site goes to you and everything you type on your site goes to me and, presumably, we stay in touch with each other that way. We hear about each other’s lives, see pictures of each other’s families, hear each other ... community and all that that entails, the responsibilities, the commitments, the work, the effort. They want to be Facebook friends. They want to stay in touch with Jesus and they are willing to sit in the pew or read the Bible and be an audience for ...

622. It's No Fun to Move

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... them to follow her, “Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?” she asked them. Finally, Orpah decided that her mother-in-law was right. It would be best for her to remain in her own country. Ruth, however, still wanted to stay with Naomi. Ruth loved Naomi deeply. It was in this context that Ruth spoke some of the most famous words in all of literature: “Where you go, I will go,” she told Naomi, “your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The story of Ruth ...

623. Get Out of the Seed Box

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Mary Austin

... Paul uses the image of seeds to make his point. A seed has to die and take a new form to come to fullness. A seed that stays a seed is a little piece of dried-out promise. A seed that falls into the ground, cracks and sprouts can become a flower, or a ... and let go of the old. We can step into resurrection after resurrection, letting each seed within us flower into something new. Or we can stay where we are all dried up in the seed box. God is a gardener who doesn’t force the growth but is always willing to ...

624. Get Out of the Seed Box

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Mary Austin

625. The Most Important Thing

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... others expected of me I wish I hadn’t worked so hard I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends I wish I had let myself be happier. (3) Anytime someone at the end of their lives says, “I wish I had ... weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. (7) Stress comes from the sense that someone always needs something from you. Peace comes ...

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