Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 651 to 675 of 1679 results

651. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Mark's gospel begins by focusing on Jesus' power and authority. It is full of wonder-working displays of God's vital presence in the midst of Jesus' early "hometown" work in Galilee. This week's gospel text changes both the direction and the message of Mark's record. Jesus turns himself and his disciples away from Galilee and faces them towards Jerusalem. As the first leg of their travels takes them to Caesarea Philippi, Mark's portrayal of Jesus also shifts. Three different times on this trip (recorded in ...

652. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

“Let’s say it’s 4:17 p.m. and you’re driving home alone after an unusually hard day on the job. Not only was the workload extraordinarily heavy, you also had a disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried he just wouldn’t see your side of the situation. You’re really upset and the more you think about it the more uptight you become. All of a sudden you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles ...

653. Eating in the Echoing Hall

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Here's a question for you: In considering your life to this point, what things, if anything, do you regret? Regret, of course, is a feeling of disappointment or distress about something you wish could be different, and in reality, not many of us get through life without a few regrets. As Frank Sinatra crooned in his song "My Way": "Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention." And that's likely how it is with many of our regrets — we might wish that a certain thing had turned out ...

654. The Good News about the Future

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Douglas L. Meyer tells of working at a college radio station during his undergraduate day. These were the days before computers and CDs. They were a small operation so the deejays also read the news. The news they read each hour came in on two teletype machines which clattered away constantly. What he remembers most was that these machines had bells attached that the broadcaster could hear faintly even in the broadcast booth. These bells would go off when a particularly important story came over ...

655. Giving Up

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Lent started early this year. With the east coast up to its eyebrows in snow, the Lenten season was underway. I only learned recently that every year Fat Tuesday comes to an abrupt end at midnight. New Orleans police shut down the Mardi Gras festivities promptly at 12 am in reverence for Ash Wednesday. The stroke of midnight is the moment Bourbon Street revelers must give it up. We always think of “giving up” something for Lent. Some people give up meat. Others give up sweets, or alcohol, or television. If ...

656. Commitment (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Last September, Sandy and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. I could tell you today that it’s been 43 years of heavenly bliss, but she would correct me by saying there’s been a lot of hell in the mix. Like all couples we married for better for worse, for richer for poorer, and in recent years it has been a lot more sickness than health. Yet, relationships are held together by an invisible cord called commitment. Commitment is an island of certainty in a sea of change. We are not human butterflies ...

657. Clear to the Better End - Parent Burnout

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’ve told you this story before I think, but it’s the most appropriate story with which we can begin the sermon today. A man had an awful day at work. Everything had gone wrong. There was one interruption after another, and he was never able to complete his work. When he entered the door at home that evening, he knew that his wife must have had a similar day. You could see it on her face. So, to set the process straight he began, “I’ve had the worst day of my life; it’s been bad news, bad news, bad news. I ...

658. Good and Mad

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Before we start the message this morning I need you to do something for me. I want everybody on this side (point to the right side) to move over here (point to the left side). I want everybody in the center to move there (point to the right side). And I want everybody on this side (point to the left side) to move to the center. OK, let's go. After everyone has moved, and is uncomfortable, mad and grumbling. Did that make you mad? Of course it did. It probably made you "Good and Mad" We don't like change. ...

659. The Ear, the Tongue, and the Temper: A Lesson in Spiritual Anatomy

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Today's lesson is from the book of James. James identifies himself only as a "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." In the early church it was thought by some to have been written by the Lord's brother. It was written later than most of Paul's letters because, James says, of "foolish fellows" whom he describes as the "ignorant and unstable." They had distorted Paul's message of love and faith. They were twisting Paul's words to justify their own lack of hard work in the mission of the church. James ...

660. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I am not a potter, and I do not play one on television! However, as a student of the scriptures and the life and times of the people in the biblical narrative, I can say with some certainty that crafting pottery is one of the world's oldest professions. Alongside bone and bricks, fragments of earthenware or pottery have long been gathered and studied by archeologists to understand something of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and nearly every other ancient culture throughout the world. Few of ...

661. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Community Laws: Defining and Protecting the Community · These last chapters (23-25) of the central law code have a “flavor” of concern for a compassionate and caring community that takes seriously the claims of kinship and the needs of the weak and vulnerable. That community itself, however, needs clear definition and measures to protect its religious distinctiveness and purity. This need explains the presence, alongside laws that immediately appeal to us by their charitable nature, of other laws that ...

662. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Everywhere Jesus went, people flocked to him. They wanted what he was offering. They wanted inspiration. They wanted healing. They wanted God. Mark's gospel tells us that "so many people were coming and going they (Jesus and the apostles) did not even have a chance to eat" (Mark 6:31). That coming and going provided a chaotic atmosphere for Jesus' ministry. That chaos meant that even before Jesus got to a town, the mass of admirers and hangers-on rushed ahead of him and waited for his arrival (Mark 6:33). ...

663. Jacob's Well

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

Sermon

Lori Wagner

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3) My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13) Props: a fountain of water (you can find small fountains at most greenhouses or online) running; large pot made of pottery or clay; bottle of spring water; baptismal font or other large bowl of water with nearby towel; fishbowl; glasses of water that look ...

664. Hold Me When I'm Angry

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carl Jech

The Shadow: Anger Introduction Why was All In the Family such a popular television program? I suspect it was because the "love-hate" relationships between Archie, Mike, Gloria and Edith helped us better to understand the ways in which our love is mixed with anger, our joys are mixed with pain, and our laughter is tinged with sadness and pathos. Even longsuffering Edith with her good-natured naivete could get angry. Who can forget the time when she tells Archie to "stiffle!"? Or the episode where Archie ...

665. Fear of the Light

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

From the time man invented fire, we have been both fascinated and afraid of this powerful force. Fire is power, raw, uncontrolled power. And most humans spend the bulk of their lives in a battle to control or obtain power. Whether social power or personal power, we feel our best when we feel in control –of our lives, our surroundings, our relationships, and our world. This is the story of Babel, and it has never gotten old. So, when we contemplate the Light coming into the world during this Advent season, ...

666. Queen Of Hearts!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Sociologists have defined her. Psychologists have analyzed her. Pollsters have surveyed her. But here's what those who know her best -- children -- have to say. Liz Ann, age 8. "Who is a mother? She knows what is important. This is why God asked her to be a mother." Louise, age 7. "A mother is the only one if she sings your favorite song it stops thundering." Jimmy, age 8. "A mommy is a wife. A mommy looks after children and she yells." Gary, age 6. "A mother doesn't do anything except she wants to. Nobody ...

667. What Can I Do for You?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Knowing James and John wanted something of him Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The modern equivalent of this question is “What can I do for you?” We hear it on all sides; for many it is a routine way to answer the phone. “Hello, this is Frank.” “Yea, what can I do for you?” After a weekend together on retreat, a participant and I were at a dinner party. Looking at me seriously he said, “You do for a lot of people. I’m wondering if there is anything I can do for you. Just let me know, no ...

668. Fourth Sunday In Advent - Joy!

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

Bulletin Aid

David M. Oliver

Introduction to this Service On this fourth Sunday of Advent, joy is theme of the service. Everyone is asked to bring a joyful spirit and a willingness to sing to the Lord. Not everyone feels what we commonly associate with joy. The holidays are difficult for some people. A meaning of joy that does not rely on pleasant circumstances is explored in this message. People may wonder what joy is, true joy, godly joy. We get a sense of the meaning of joy by hearing some contrasts. True joy is oftentimes quiet ...

669. Where is the Nearest Sycamore Tree?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Johnny Dean

Theologian John Killinger has written that Zaccheus is just about the only person in the New Testament who is singled out for comment on the basis of his physical appearance, the fact that he was small in stature. Whenever I read this passage of scripture, I can’t help but think about the song about short people that was popular a few years ago, remember? Maybe that’s part of the appeal of this story, because so many of us are not happy with our physical appearance. How else could you explain the immense ...

670. God’s Safety Net

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

Political jargon over the last decade has given us a new understanding of an old term. The term is ‘safety net.’ My first recollection of a safety net was at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus when it was still performing under the big top. Who could forget those daring acrobats balanced on the trapeze or high wire and, under them, a net. When the act was finished they would fall gracefully from their lofty perch into the open arms of the net, a kind of tease, I suppose, a hint of the ...

671. You Don’t Really Feel That Way

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

As a young soldier I was on my way to the Pacific Theater. The trip was at the height of World War II, with troop ships easy targets. To avoid the enemy our ship wove an irregular pattern across the ocean. The trip to Manila took 36 days. I was not a good sailor. Between sea sickness and infections, I was on sick call more than half the days. At one period I knew I had naso-pharyngitis, a condition for which I had often been diagnosed. On sick call, the doctor said, "Well, what’s wrong with you," not in a ...

672. The Most Beautiful Word

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

What is a sinner? We might have many definitions. For instance, Pascal put it, "There are only two kinds of men, the righteous who believe themselves a sinner and the sinners who believe themselves righteous." Or Mary Wilson Little put it, "Men who make no pretensions of being good one day out of the week are known as sinners." Or, as Oscar Wilde has said, "Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner." It would be so simple, wouldn’t it, if the fact of sin could be brushed off as easily as ...

673. Trees

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

"I think that I shall never see," wrote Joyce Kilmer, "a poem as lovely as a tree." Trees are lovely and, like people, they come in so many varieties. Some, like the giant sequoias in California, are large enough to drive a car through. Others, like the slender, ungainly dogwood, remind us of the cross of Christ. Easterners see a palm tree and they think of Florida or the coastal areas of the Carolinas or Georgia. In the springtime tourists flock to Washington, D. C. to enjoy trees filled with cherry ...

674. Look Inside and Discover Life

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Oscar Wilde's short novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in the early part of the twentieth century, describes the life of a tortured man who is unable to look honestly at his life. He refuses to look inside and accept who he truly is. Dorian is a physically handsome young man who possesses power, wealth, and prestige, the three great assets and temptations of contemporary life. An artist, Basil Hallward, who is enamored at Dorian's presence, paints a portrait of him, which is indeed a master work. ...

675. When Being Good Is Bad For You Or Breaking The Chains Of Co-dependency

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"Have you been writing any personal experience articles lately?", the woman asked the writer. "No," replied the writer. "I've been busy having them." (Ruth Peterman, quoted by Melody Beattie, Beyond Co-Dependency and Getting Better All The Time, Harper & Rowe Publishers, p. xi) Most of us have been having the personal experience I'm talking about today. We may not talk about it a lot, and we certainly may not write about it -- but it's a common experience. I'm talking about co-dependency. Let me begin by ...

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