Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 601 to 625 of 2157 results

Mark 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... through this act of worship.) Now ask them to check out how much of their Sunday revolves around serving themselves, and serving others. Be aware of how we rationalize and justify using it for ourselves. No, we have no zeal to return to the Old Testament version of Sabbath observance. Consider ways that we will allow Christ to be the Lord of our Sunday. (One minute of silence.) Response "Seek Ye First" Introduction to the Act of Forgiveness Do we ever ask for forgiveness for the way we observe Sunday; or do ...

602. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Matthew 6:25-34

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... share some of your own from your childhood, as for example, having friends, getting good grades, and so forth. Focus on Jesus' promise. Then, have someone read the scripture from a children's translation (or, write your own), or from The Cotton Patch Version by Clarence Jordan. Reading the Scripture See above. Proclamation of the Good News Consider incorporating these ideas: (1) The refugees of the world would like to have your problems. (2) "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of ...

603. The Season Of The Nativity

Luke 2:21-40

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... who is Christ the Lord, and to us is born, in this moment, life in him. We no longer yearn for God. Our healing no longer means a search but a surrender to him, who is always and everywhere present in Spirit. I invite us to sing Malotte's version of the Lord's Prayer. (Following the singing, ask how many remember this act of worship used during Advent. For those who remember, ask them if this means more today than when first used. Give several moments of silence. For those who do not speak, ask them to ...

604. The Season Of The Nativity

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... OF GOD Pastoral Invitation For the second time, in the name of the newborn one, welcome to the ____ day of Christmas, when my true love gave to me __________. Now that we are well past the culture's celebration of Christmas day, we can celebrate the biblical version of the event. Someone (author unknown) has said, "In despair we cry, 'Look at what the world has come to!' In joy we shout, 'Look at what has come to the world!' " Ask the people to stand and reverently shout, "Look at what has come to the world ...

605. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:1-27, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

... been. Keeping in mind that a "prophet," while a spokesman for God, was not always accurately portraying God as we know him through Christ, we see here an example of an unwillingness to face change. You can almost hear Nathan quoting his version of God as saying, "but we've never done it that way before." 1. Times are changing. Television, VCRs, movies all have revolutionized our psychic perceptions and responses. The remote control for television alone has changed humanity. The Walkman has made marvelous ...

606. The Politics Of The Saints

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... the word holy doesn't mean especially pious or religious or heroic. The word holy means "set apart." It means "called out from." It means "distinctive." We are God's distinctive people. We are God's called out ones. Or as the older English versions translated it, "God's peculiar people." Well, it is pretty peculiar to practice the politics of Jesus -- to return good for evil, blessing for curse, generosity for selfishness, liberality for greed, mercy for ruthlessness. The words of the song that many of us ...

607. Pentecost

John 20:19-23, Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Genesis 11:1-9, John 14:5-14, Romans 8:1-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the will of God. Christ stands for truth, love, and justice. We can be sure of answers to our prayers because we ask in the spirit of Christ, a spirit of love and obedience. 2. Counselor (v. 16). The Spirit is identified as "Counselor." In the King James Version, the word is "Comforter." The Greek word is parakletos. It is a legal term for "Advocate," advisor, intercessor, or helper. The Spirit is our advisor who stands up for us in our defense. He is by our side at all times to help us. He takes the place ...

608. Proper 18

Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... he wants it to be. God is almighty as the creator of the world and has the power today to make or re-make persons or peoples. "Can" reminds us of the omnipotence and sovereignty of God over creation and nations. 3. Change (vv. 8, 10). The New Revised Standard Version translates "repent" as "change." To repent means to change one's mind. There is no need for God to repent, for he is perfect and does no wrong. But he can change his mind. He is free to change his mind about his people. He may intend to destroy ...

609. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · Isa 65:17-25 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Ps 98

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... to go back to work and to follow his example. He worked so that the church would not have to support him and his ministry. Gospel: Luke 21:5-19 Jesus describes the end and urges endurance in suffering. Today's gospel lesson is Luke's version of Mark's little apocalypse. Jesus describes the end. For one thing false prophets will claim that the Parousia is at hand. The church in Luke's day no longer expected an imminent return. Before Jesus returns, there will be international conflicts, but the faithful are ...

610. Advent 1

Luke 21:5-38

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note This passage is a portion of Luke's version of the "Synoptic Apocalypse," and is thus based heavily on Mark 13. But Luke's omissions (v. 27) and his rendering of the fig-tree parable so as to point to the God's coming reign (v. 28) suggest that he has less interest than his source in the details ...

611. Ascension Of Our Lord

Luke 24:36-49

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note This version of the ascension of Jesus is not as detailed as Luke's other one in Acts 1, but gives generally the same picture. Jesus sets before them a tremendous task, namely the preaching of repentance and forgiveness to the world. But, lest they act precipitously, he counsels them to return ...

612. Easter 7

John 17:20-26

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note These verses are the end of the so-called "high priestly prayer," which culminates John's version of the Last Supper. The supplication of the first four verses (20-23) is for Christian unity, but of a very particular kind. This unity is not external in nature, but deeply spiritual and intimate (with God "in" the Christ, the Christ "in" God, and believers "in" both); it is ...

613. Epiphany 6

Luke 6:17-26

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Luke's "Sermon on the Plain," which begins here, is shorter and less spiritualized than Matthew's corresponding "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5-7), but similar in structure. Luke's version, however, paints a sharper contrast between the values of God's coming rule and those of the world: whereas the world appreciates wealth and the "happy" life of "success" that it brings, these are incompatible with God's reign and inimical to that coming reality. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns ...

614. Epiphany 7

Luke 6:27-36

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note This selection of the "Sermon on the Plain" provides Luke's version of Jesus' ethical injunctions. The key to the passage is in vv. 35 and 36, which indicate that what underlies all of the preceding "ethics of reversal" is an "ethics of imitation": we are to do the opposite of what wrongdoers do to us precisely because in so doing we ...

615. Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... addition based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-25), which contain Luke's distinctive order of the events of the institution of the Lord's Supper: the symbols are given in verse order (wine, then bread), as compared to Mark's and Matthew's versions; no connection between the wine and blood is made; and the eschatological reference to the coming reign and Jesus' declaration of abstinence are placed before the distribution of wine and bread, thereby emphasizing that aspect of this pivotal Passover meal of liberation ...

616. Proper 16

Luke 13:22-30

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Luke uses the rather speculative question about the number to be saved as an opportunity for Jesus to answer with an expanded version of the parable of the feast from which some late comers are excluded by the owner of the house. What is intended here is the apocalyptic messianic feast, and a warning that the coming reign of God, which is in principle inclusive (vv. 28-29), will in fact be exclusive, ...

617. Proper 6

Luke 7:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Although the wording of v. 47a is ambiguous, read in light of the parable of the two creditors that precedes it (vv. 41-43), it is clear that the point of Luke's version of this incident is that the (unnamed) woman loved much because she had been forgiven, i.e., that love is a consequence of forgiveness rather than a pre-condition for it. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns O God, O Lord Of Heaven And Earth Spread, Oh, Spread, Almighty Word Almighty ...

618. When God Asks The Unreasonable

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... us. And the way to the fullness of life is to do it. Trust God and be amazed at how he will provide. Trust and obey, there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. 1. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised Standard Version, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), Old Testament, p. 27. 2. Stanley Hauweras, After Christendom?, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991), p. 98.

619. When Jesus Arrives Late

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37

Sermon

Thomas Long

... story, we still have enough energy to shift our sights to what Jesus did in the middle of the story -- namely, he wept. This piece of the narrative is fascinating, too. "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) is the shortest verse in the Bible, at least in the King James Version, but it is not the easiest verse to understand. Why did Jesus weep? Is he moved with grief over the death of his friend Lazarus? Is he in sorrow over the unbelief around him? Is he anticipating his own death, too? John does not say.1 But even ...

620. The Man From Galilee VI: The Tragedy Of His Victory

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... of a person's life to Him and what He was all about. The truth is Jesus did not need that kind of exaltation. He did not require or want this kind of lip service. He did not try to stop it. But apparently the Pharisees did. Luke, in his version of the story, tells us that when the Pharisees saw what was happening and heard the shouts, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord," they said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." Jesus replied to them, "I tell you if these should keep silent ...

621. The Rock Of Faith

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... closely at this pivotal passage and see if we can discern what Jesus meant by the rock -- the foundation on which the Christian church and all its beliefs are founded. In the passage, Jesus renames his disciple, Simon, calling him "Peter" which is an English version of the Greek word for rock. One of the intriguing things about this passage is that Matthew uses the masculine form of the Greek word for rock, Petros, for Peter's name -- obviously because Peter is a man -- but he uses the feminine form, petra ...

622. Good News! You Are Going To Be Tortured

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... hands of them? "How many times should I forgive?" Peter asks. "Seven times?" Jesus answers, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, 77 times." Whoops! That's not the way we learned it in Sunday school. It was 70 times 7 back then. Does this New Revised Standard Version of the Bible give us a new revised standard of forgiveness? A leaner, meaner standard for the '90s? Does it mean that the good old days when you could count on someone forgiving you 490 times are over and now you only get forgiven 77 times and ...

623. Ascension

Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... type of force by which God seeks merely to dominate us. No, God could do that any time he chose. God seeks to effect his power from within us. Verse 19 speaks of the "immeasurable greatness of his (God's) power in us" (Revised Standard Version) but is translated for us (NRSV). Both prepositions reveal a different aspect of God's truth. God chooses to display his transforming power "in" us, when we yield him obedience. The proposition "for" us speaks to the qualitative dimension of God's power. God exercises ...

624. Easter 6

Acts 8:9-25, 1 Peter 3:8-22, Acts 17:16-34, John 14:15-31

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... Epistle: Acts 17:22-31 Peter alters his approach in an attempt to reach the cultured pagans of Athens by correlating the gospel to the cultural context. Later, in 1 Corinthians, we see that he repudiates this approach in favor of presenting an unvarnished version of the gospel. Rather than quote scriptures, he quotes pagan poets. He begins on a positive note, by observing that they are very religious, even having a shrine to an unknown God. This unknown God was not far from them; he desires that people ...

625. Lent 1

Mt 4:1-11 · Rom 5:12-21 · Gen 2:7 - 3:7 · Ps 32

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... God and his word. It is tempting to rationalize away that which goes against our grain. Satan commences his temptation of Eve with a question which raises doubts concerning the content of God's commands. "Did God say...?" The New International Version precedes the word "say" with the adverb "really." That addition "really" captures the intent of this question. Through the centuries people have justified their blatant disregard for God's clear command by rationalizing: It seems that God is saying thus and ...

Showing results