Sermon and Worship Resources

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... I couldn’t stand that question.” The second part of St. Paul’s epitaph was this: “I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE.” This language comes straight out of the world of track and field, which Paul loved. It suggests a marathon, a long-distance race. Paul is not claiming to have won the race, but to have completed it. He is saying, “I am not a quitter. I saw it through.” Jesus said the same thing on the cross just before he died, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). He was saying, “I have completed my ...

727. Not Bad, Just Too Busy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... problem we Christians face this month. It is so easy to get caught up in a month-long frenzy of buying, rushing, decorating, and partying. How else do you explain the reports of riots in Connecticut and California as people fight to claim one of Sony’s latest video game players, PlayStation 3? Each day the Commercial Appeal is loaded with colorful advertisements of all the latest toys, clothing styles, sports items, and technical gadgets. Children and adults get caught up in this craving for things ...

728. A Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... , obviously the people were beginning to think they were special. We can start to believe it is all about our goodness, our identity, and who we are that makes the difference. So as early as the book of Deuteronomy, Moses used the same language and image which Peter now claims for the Christians: For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number that the ...

729. Litmus Test

1 John 4:7-21

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... Jesus as our Lord denigrate other believers and pull down our pastors, work against our leaders and chase away our newcomers, silence our children, discourage our youth, belittle the young adults, ignore the seniors, if we who claim the title of Christian do these things and worse, then can we blame the world for rejecting Christ — or Christ for rejecting us? Let us live by the law of love. Let us live in love. Let us err on the side of love. There is no fear in love. ...

730. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to God’s salvation mission, and Christ’s obedience, even unto death, to that mission. Paul’s radical new accounting method elevates as desirable above all else not law but that kind of sacrifice, that obedience to Christ. Paul stresses that though he cannot yet claim full participation in the resurrection, that still remains his final goal. In verse 13 Paul admits that he cannot reach that goal on his own. Instead he employs a new image to close out today’s epistle reading, the image of a race. In ...

731. Perceiving the Presence of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the Lord's call. It took Samuel and Eli three times to realize that God was calling the youth to service. When the realization was made, however, the response was immediate, "Speak [Lord] your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10). Isaiah was a reluctant prophet. He claimed, "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." But God purged the prophet's sin so that in the end he could proudly proclaim, "Here am I; send me!" (Isaiah 6:5b, 8b). Jeremiah, speaking to the people of ...

732. Accepting the Lord Once Again

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... deny the presence of Jesus. At our jobs we must be certain that our day-to-day work ethic is consistent with Jesus' message. We must be fair and work for justice, not only for ourselves and our own betterment, but for the whole community of faith. Christ came to claim all who are willing to listen; we must be equally open to all whom we encounter. We often reject the light by our inattention to those who need us. We turn our heads with a blind eye or deaf ear to the cries of the poor and the marginalized in ...

733. Where Are You From?

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

David T. Ball

... he made no effort to defend. That didn't make Pilate happy. Maybe Pilate had intended to inquire about how a humble man from a rural town had come to think of himself as a king. Maybe he was hoping beyond hope that he could make up some kind of claim about Jesus' case belonging to another jurisdiction. In any case, Jesus didn't answer. Outraged, Pilate burst out, "Will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" What he didn't say, but what was ...

734. Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:1-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of possibilities and pitfalls. As Jesus begins addressing “the crowds” and “his disciples,” he initially sounds deferential, even complimentary, to the scribes and Pharisees. He locates them “on Moses’ seat.” Where is that? Some more recent archaeologists claim this “seat” to be a physical reality. But it may be more safely and accurately understood as a metaphorical reference. Those who sit “on Moses’ seat” are those who teach and speak under the auspices of Mosaic authority ...

735. The Golden Calf and the Golden Table

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... upset when she got a "B" on her report card. "If I fail in what I do," Amy told her parents, "I fail in what I am." The message was part of Amy's suicide note. Dr. Darold Treffert of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Wisconsin claims that America's teenagers are being victimized by "The American Fairy Tale" which he says begins with two premises That more possessions mean more happiness," and That a person who does or produces more is more important." Under the power of the American Fairy Tale we ...

736. Keep the Stars in Your Eyes

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

737. Holy Hocus-Pocus!

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

738. Hear the Vision?

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

739. The One and Only Original Sin

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

740. The Trace of Grace

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

741. Count Your Wows!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

742. Waging Wisdom

James 3:13—4:8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

743. The Great Postmodern Soul Train

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

744. An Advent Attitude

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

745. Stable-Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

746. The Perfect Time to Lose Your Luggage

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Spirituality [Virago, 1996], especially where Simone Weil says that "not to believe in God, but to love the universe, always, even in the throes of anguish, as a home there lies the road toward faith by way of atheism.") Another atheist/agnostic claims that he lives spiritually, defining spirituality as "like heaven naked, but with an attitude" (As quoted in Phyllis A. Tickle, Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America [New York: Crossroad, 1995], 100). It's time for the church to say, "The truth ...

747. Plaque Buildup

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... how the Jewish people "behaved" in this time of genocidal nightmare. Is there anyone out there who can look at the events of the past 50 years and still make that claim that we are all good and are getting better and better? Today, we are far less likely to claim our status as "little lower than the angels" and far more likely to claim only to be a little higher than the devils. But if we are being forced by this century's hard realities to abandon our false doctrine of human progress and goodness ...

748. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... proclaim, "Jesus is Lord." Listen, Paul advises his readers, for the Spirit of God will always make itself known through its words. If Paul's first point is that not all ecstatic speech is a product of God's Spirit, then his next insistent claim suggests that God's spirit is not always manifested ecstatically. This is the part of Paul's text that the mainline church loves to cite. Verses 4-6 form a tightly woven message of carefully crafted construction. Through his parallel sentences, Paul structurally ...

749. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... city of Jerusalem and the holy site of the temple were located in his tribe's lands. And Paul's lineage was unsullied he could claim the purity of being a "Hebrew born of Hebrews." Not only had Paul inherited special privilege and place but when grown to adulthood, he chose ... was an experiential event, never simply an intellectual assertion. Paul's denial of all previous "profits" so that he may claim and "gain" Christ, or even "belong to Christ," leads him in verse 9 to contrast law-based righteousness with ...

750. Galatians 3:23-29

Galatians 3:23-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... argument against these Judaizers is both theologically brilliant and emotionally barbed. Immediately prior to today's epistle reading, Paul highlights the issue of the Abrahamic promise. He disarms his opponents' argument by splitting grammatical hairs (heirs?), making the bold claim that the Abrahamic promise extended to only a single offspring none other than Christ. In addition, Paul noted with a certain acerbity and asperity that there was this small matter of the 430 years between the time Abraham was ...