Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 726 to 750 of 1089 results

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... the truly providential match is the relationship between Jacob and Laban. Jacob met his match in Laban. After the Triple-A competition of Esau through his growing-up years, now Jacob was in the big leagues. And, he was repeatedly bested by his senior con artist, Laban. Could this have been part of the wisdom that Isaac and Rebecca saw in sending Jacob to his uncle's house — like the parents who know that the "real world" of work or military service will bring necessary virtues to their undisciplined child ...

727. Do You See What I See?

Exodus 14:19-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In 1956, director/producer Cecil B. DeMille tried to do in motion pictures what artists had attempted to do for centuries on canvas: capture this moment. It is the ancient writer of the book of Exodus who reports and describes the moment for us. And the children of Israel, in prayers and songs for centuries afterward, remembered the moment, and the God who brought it ...

728. Showing Up

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... , it came to focus on a different kind of appearing: the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as portrayed in Matthew's gospel in the story of the visit of the Magi from the East to the infant Jesus. Over the centuries, many Christian artists have underscored the diversity of the Magi by varying their dress or portraying them as different ethnicities. It has become traditional to portray one of them as Ethiopian. By the fourth century, Epiphany was celebrated on January 6 to emphasize that it took the ...

729. Small-Minded Christians in a Big World

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... of Christ into artificially small segments. Just who are the "real" Christians, anyway? If it is only those who attend a church just like back home, or only those who go to the meetings of a particular fellowship or only those listen to a particular Christian artist, or only the "Paul Party," it may in fact be a discouragingly small number indeed. Even as great a figure as the prophet Elijah fell into this trap. After his great triumph over the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel, he was threatened with death ...

730. The Way Things Are

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... have all seen the same thing at one time or another when someone is involved in the creative process: Although it may look like fun to get in there and just throw a blob of clay or get our hands in the paint, we don't confuse that with real artistic ability; nor do we mistake a child's plunking on a piano with skilled jazz improvisation. One of the things I love about Paul's letters is that you can see his mind at work and almost see him pacing back and forth as he dictates. I love that passage ...

731. Leaders Worthy of Imitation

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... with some strange preachers in his day, too. Itinerant evangelists gave both the gospel and Paul a bad name. People in Paul's day formed opinions of his religion based on their experiences with some of these itinerant preachers. Many were con artists, out to make a fast buck any way they could. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul appears to be defensive, and rightly, he is. His integrity has been challenged, and defensiveness is a human response to most threatening situations. Our primitive fight ...

732. Character Approved: Stand Up or Stand Out?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Be all Christ wants you to be. Be all Christ can make you to be. Anything less is out of character. The USA television network has as one of its advertising hooks a series of interviews with people they have dubbed “character approved.” Artists, activists, athletes get a “character approved” stamp from the TV network for doing what they do. Both the actors on USA network shows and the people the network has chosen to highlight on these “character” spots share a common identity. They all claim ...

733. A Man Named Useful

Philemon 1:8-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... . An article in the Fort Worth Star‑Telegram featured their coming to terms with the fact that Jean’s oldest nephew had died of AIDS. “Rather than try to hide the tragedy, Jean said, ‘I am going to make this public.’ The nephew was an artist. The Tuckers had some of his paintings in their home. They loved him dearly. “But what made Jean decide to tell the story was that following her nephew’s death, someone came to her, trying to bring comfort. “The person said, ‘I am so sorry.’ “Jean ...

734. There Will Be Singing

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christmas party when someone suggests that we sing carols. It’s one of the touchy-feely moments that is almost sacramental. We sing together and we feel like an extended family. That’s the way Christmas ought to be. Rich Mullins was a beloved artist and songwriter in the world of contemporary Christian music. Before he was tragically killed in a jeep accident on September 19, 1997, he had written many beautiful praise songs that have touched the hearts of many people. Eric Hauck, a close friend of Rich ...

735. The Cunning Craftsman

Luke 18:9-14

Illustration

Allan J. Weenink

... : "The cunning craftsman, God." As used, the word cunning does not mean some kind of craftiness which might be our modern interpretation. But taken in its pure sense it indicates skill, wisdom and ability. The phrase then really means that the Master artist God can take our blundering efforts and still make something useful out of them. He takes our mismanaged lives, our failed efforts, our missed marks, our shameful deeds, our alien attitudes, our sinful lives and out of his divine resourcefulness he saves ...

736. A Man Who Could Get the Last Quarter Out of You

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

Brett Blair

... American quarter dropped to the sidewalk. "Oh, thank you sir!" cried the woman. "You seemed to know just how to get it out of him. Are you a doctor?" "No, ma'am," replied the man. "I'm with the United States Internal Revenue Service." This was Zacchaeus. A shake down artist. A man who could get the last quarter out of you.

737. Keeping Hope Alive

Matthew 24:36-44

Illustration

At the university there was a piano teacher that was simply and affectionately known as "Herman." One night at a university concert, a distinguished piano player suddenly became ill while performing an extremely difficult piece. No sooner had the artist retired from the stage when Herman rose from his seat in the audience, walked on stage, sat down at the piano and with great mastery completed the performance. Later that evening, at a party, one of the students asked Herman how he was able to perform such ...

738. Jesus' Flight to Egypt

Matthew 2:13-23

Illustration

... star in the sky. This was wise men seeking the Christ child. But one puzzled him. It was an airplane with three figures going up the steps boarding the plane and one other figure in the cockpit. He thought and thought until he had to ask what it meant. The artist spoke up, "It's Jesus' flight to Egypt."Ok said the pastor but who is that up front? "Oh, That's Pontius the pilot."

739. Man Is Never Satisfied

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Illustration

John W. Rilling

The English mystical poet William Blake was also a first rate artist. Once, when asked to sketch a picture of man as he really is, Blake drew a picture of a child standing on the topmost rung of a ladder reaching for the moon and crying impatiently, "I want, I want!" Blake felt that man is a creature of unfulfilled desires. He ...

740. Fixing The Piano

John 3: 1-17

Illustration

King Duncan

Once there was a small jazz club in New Orleans. In a corner of that club sat an old dilapidated piano. All of the jazz artists complained about this antiquated instrument. The piano players dreaded playing on it. The vocalists dreaded singing with it. And all of the combos that played the club wished that they could bring in their own piano - just like they could a saxophone or a trumpet. Finally, after years of listening ...

741. Warmth, Warmth, More Warmth

John 4:5-42

Illustration

John Claypool

Johann Wolfgang Goethe was the last of the so-called universal human beings. I mean by that, he was one of the last of our western civilization to have gained the mastery of every academic discipline. In his long life, he became renowned as a poet, as an artist, as a musician, as a playwright and historian. There was hardly a single facet of human knowledge of which he did not have a tremendous grasp. As he lay dying in 1832, the story is that he suddenly sat up, bolted upright in bed, and cried out with ...

742. When to Take the Shirt off Your Back

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and cheering, doing everything possible to show how much everyone appreciated what he had done. He smiled wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet the crowd, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone: “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.” This is the way of Palm Sunday. That is the Way of Jesus. That is the Way of Life. This is the Way of the Cross. We live to make music, at ...

743. From Temple to Table

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... have been raised as a stone carver and mason, he also had deep roots in agriculture. The first “hands‑on” activity for God recorded in the Bible is as a “mud‑pie” maker. In Genesis 2, the oldest creation account we have, God is an artist crafting humanity out of dirt and water, a classic mud pie mixture known to potters of all ages. Throughout the Hebrew Bible God is referred to with shepherding imagery. God is Israel’s shepherd. God herds Israel away from harm. Israel is repeatedly referred ...

744. A Community of Practice, Not a Community of Perfection

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the church community’s “practice session” that is Christ’s church. Isn’t growing a soul, like learning any musical instrument, a life-long project? Yes, it brings great joy. Yes, it brings focus and direction. Yes, it brings a love of artistic perfection. But it does take continual, gradual, life-long practice. In today’s epistle text it is not surprising that it took Martin Luther and other reformation theologians to shift the focus of Paul’s words away from the “pre-Christian” Saul to ...

745. He Descended Into Hell

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Syrian Creed speaks of Jesus, "who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and departed in peace, in order to preach to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints concerning the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead." There are any number of artistic representations of the story. One of the more famous is a painting by Baldovinetti that hangs in the Museum of San Marcos in Florence showing Christ standing on the gate of hell that has been knocked off its hinges. Under the gate lies the struggling ...

746. Jesus Christ, Superstar

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that name came out, it was a jarring choice of words and caused quite a stir. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber put together a two-act musical that largely followed the biblical accounts of the last weeks of Jesus' life, with certain artistic license, of course. Contemporary attitudes and sensibilities as well as modern slang pervaded the lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life were scattered throughout. It was very cleverly done. So saying, when the show first opened, it met with a firestorm of protest ...

747. The Fred Factor

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... , judge, pastor, or vice president of marketing and sales. I remember once hearing an interview with Madonna during her younger, more expressive years in which she was having an argument with a television censor for her lewd acts on stage and she said, "I'm an artist. I need to express myself." Some live and breathe and work for the applause, but not Fred. Nor was ego the motivation for John the Baptist. He could easily have stolen center stage. He had the crowds, he had the attention, and he baptized Jesus ...

748. Welcome to the Center of Life

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... years ago. She was in bed, looking out her window, and she said that she appreciated the trees each morning because they praised God every day. Her testimony, as she faced death, was to give thanks to God for all levels of praise in her life. She was an artist, and during her 25 years at Oakhurst, she had been a central force in helping us to see the possibilities of using art to help people experience God's presence and to help us find a new way of living in God's presence. On this particular summer day ...

749. At the Banquet...In Your Pajamas

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... bank accounts who are very close to worthless as human beings. Conversely there are many people who will never accumulate much of anything of material value, but their passing will be greatly mourned by those who knew them and loved them. Did you know that the artist Rembrandt was declared bankrupt in 1656? He had to sell his wife’s grave in order to survive. Things didn’t improve from there. He died penniless in 1669. How much was Rembrandt worth? Not much in monetary terms at the time of his passing ...

750. The Renewal of Life

Isaiah 43:18-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... finally, one day he emerged, a dancer, caught in precisely the proper moment that the contours of the damaged piece of wood dictated. The man took his new masterpiece to a museum where all began to marvel at its beauty. Some said the flaw in the tree forced the artist to be more inventive than usual if he had worked with perfect materials. The tree really did not care. All he knew was that he had been renewed, reborn as a dancer, and he danced away to the delight of all who passed by. The tree learned that ...

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