Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... of tree, one kind of flower, and one kind of bush. In fact, he didn’t have to even make flowers at all. God could have created just one plant that would have provided us shade, oxygen, and nutrition, but instead, he chose to create a wide variety of plants. Why would he do that? Maybe God enjoys gardening! Maybe he enjoys beautiful colors and likes to see different sizes and shapes of plants. I think God was having fun! Exhibit D: rainbows. (Show the picture of a rainbow.) After the great flood in Genesis ...

727. Peace and Quiet

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... at bay. They are looking to find something positive. They are searching in life for some “peace and quiet.” Or if “quiet” is too much to ask, just some “Peace.” The Russian Orthodox church introduced a word which is now quite popular in a variety of Christian circles. The Russian word is poustinia, and it refers to a remote cabin or place for prayer, even a hermit’s hut in the woods where you can encounter God in silence, serenity and peace. Who doesn’t want one of these “poustinia ...

728. A Double Portion

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and deep frying it. That's exactly what they do with these Deep Fried Oreos. They dip them in pancake batter and drop in the deep fryer. I can feel my arteries clogging up just thinking about it. There have been a number of varieties of Oreos: I can think of at least 16. Original, Mini, Chocolate Creme, Chocolate Creme Mini, Reduced Fat, White Chocolate Covered, Fudge Mint Covered, Oreo Barz, Big Stuff, Double Delights (Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Mint and Creme, Coffee Creme.) UhOh Oreos (Which only ...

729. Unlocking the Access

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, [9] and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; [10] so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. [11] This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him ...

730. Just a Little Faith Will Do

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... by a mere cry like that of the wretched man of old when he said, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) That is enough just a simple “yes” to God. The mistake we often make is the assumption that faith must be of the spectacular variety in order to be valid. It is hard for us to grasp that just a little faith is all we need. Some of you are old enough to remember that during the days of Sputnik, the first Soviet satellite how concerned our national leaders were about our falling behind ...

731. One of the Family

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... before cartoons were over and all the baseball games came on, and before any of the auto races started. All the men moved the heavy stuff and the women ran the men out of the kitchen. I remember cobbler and pecan pie. There was actually more variety of food than at Thanksgiving because, everybody was always trying a new salad or something. We had three or four kinds of baked beans, there was fried chicken cold cults, chips and what not for lunch. Then everybody would sit around after lunch catching up. For ...

732. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Salentheuo” suggests a literal “shaking” to the point of being physically moved off of a foundation. This is a serious, bedrock break that could bring down any existing edifice. The wrongful rift Paul is warning his Christians away from might come in a variety of forms — “by spirit, or by word,” or by a false written communication, or a forged letter that was composed “as though from us.” The content of these mischievous messages is revealed in v.2 — “that the day of the Lord is already ...

733. Proper 21, Pentecost 19, Ordinary Time 26

Psalm 25:1-9, Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32, Matthew 21:23-27, Philippians 2:1-3

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... : Wherever we go, our path is the path of love; our destination, your heart. IV: Show me your way, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Prayer Of The Day Leader: Father of all mercies, you call us to do your will. Tax collectors, prostitutes, and garden-variety sinners, you call us all, that we might enter your kingdom. May we run swiftly to answer your call, that receiving the joy that you have promised, we would forever sing your praise, through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of ...

734. Easter Fits All

John 20:1-9

Illustration

Steven Molin

... levels of hotels; The Sleep Inn, The Comfort Inn, The Quality Inn, and The Clarion. The name of the company is "Choice Hotels." With that rather earthy illustration, I would suggest to you that on that first Easter Sunday, those who were the followers of Jesus had a variety of needs as well. And further, I believe that the diversity of needs remain yet today. We're not all drawn to this place for the exact same reason today. Some of you are here because you are curious. Others have come to keep peace in the ...

735. 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is this love that Paul leaves as his final message to the Corinthian Christians. Fittingly, for a letter full of disagreements and hotly contested within academe, the very vocabulary Paul chooses in these final verses is also able to be translated in a variety of ways. What Paul “finally” declares in v.11 is a series of imperative exhortations. Each one can be rendered several ways. “Chairete” has been most frequently translated as “farewell.” But its prior use in v.9 clearly has the meaning of ...

736. What to Do with the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus’ time was arduous work. The harvesters would use sickles. They would bend over and cut the wheat just above the ground. But what happens if weeds are growing midst the wheat? We’re told that the weeds in Jesus’ parable were a poisonous variety called “bearded darnel.” In the early stages of growth this bearded darnel so closely resembles wheat that it is not possible to distinguish one from the other. Later when it is possible to distinguish between them, the roots of the wheat and weeds are ...

737. Finger Food

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , filling, and frying a table full of one-at-a-time bite-sized creations takes a lot more hands-on time than throwing a big turkey or pot roast in the oven to cook. But all the effort is worth it. For the pleasure of eating a variety of perfect little one-bite goodies with our fingers. Maybe eating with our fingers recalls in us one of our first “accomplishments” as toddlers. Watch any baby just learning how to use that great gadget known as “the opposable thumb” to pick up Cheerios off their high ...

738. God's Battleship

John 17:6-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... few curious converts. Some wear uniforms we have never seen. Some sport styles we have never witnessed and we stop them and say, "Why do you look the way you do?" To which they respond, "We were about to ask you the same question!" The variety of dress is not nearly as disturbing as the diversity of opinions. There is one group, for example, that clusters every morning for intense study. They promote rigid discipline and wear somber expressions. "Serving the captain is serious business," they say. It is no ...

739. The Miegakure Messiah

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The waterfall would be fully experienced, but constantly in a state of being partially hidden and partially revealed. In today’s gospel text Jesus is a mie-gakure Messiah. He has gradually “revealed” himself to his disciples as they have traveled together in a variety of ways. He has healed the sick. He has fed thousands with bites and bits. He has walked on water. He has taught them the secrets of the kingdom and given them the power to cast out unclean spirits. So now Jesus asks his disciples ...

740. Skin Game

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... text, may have thought that the scribe before them had made a mistake, so they wrote in a verb they thought more appropriate to the loving Jesus they had come to know. Those who have had the courage to translate this word as anger have offered a variety of explanations as to why Jesus would have responded to the leper's petition for healing with anger. Some say that perhaps Jesus was angry at being interrupted in his preaching tour. In the passage just before, he had told the disciples that he wasn't going ...

741. It’s Anybody’s Guess

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... farmer has put the seeds into the ground, he can go home and take a long nap because the seed will grow whether he worries or not. That's how the kingdom of God works. In the Midwest, they plant more corn than mustard seed. One variety of corn is called Golden Bantam. Apparently, all the Golden Bantam corn in this country came from one stalk discovered on a Vermont hillside. How it got there is anybody's guess. But appreciating its special qualities, the person who discovered it carefully preserved its seed ...

742. God’s Anthills

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... Jesus was suffering from heatstroke. There was no Quik-Trip in sight, not even a village. Where were they to get food for such a large hungry crowd? But Jesus just says, "Go and see what you have to share." Back to the anthills. Ants of different varieties build very different sorts of houses. Carpenter ants make their homes in the trunks of trees. Weaver ants weave nests out of tree leaves. Some ants build homes under ground and some on top like the African ants. Some anthills are so large they would cover ...

743. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... never be thirsty" (emphasis mine). This is a fascinating word self-portrait of Jesus since bread, in some form, is used in every culture known to us, whether it is the typical North American who goes to the grocery store and chooses bread from the amazing varieties available there or the South American family living in the jungle along the edges of the Amazon and baking their own bread on a fire-heated stone. Bread is a diet staple in every place that people live and has been since perhaps the beginning of ...

744. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... about her religious roots, or lack of them. It is not a compliment. In short, "Greek" means she is anything but Jewish; she is thus a Gentile, one the Jews regard as unclean. The street language of her region is influenced by the varieties of dialects that come via the sea people who do business there. Its foundation is heavily influenced by Greek, not the sophisticated Greek of the academics and well educated but common, or koine, Greek. Her heritage, neighborhood, and station in life make no difference ...

745. Spiritual Gifts: God’s Gift of Fulfillment

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church." And in 1 Peter, "God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you" (1 Peter 4:10 NLT). In Matthew 25, Jesus told the story of the master who left on a long journey, leaving his three servants in charge of his wealth. To one he gave five ...

746. How Do We Make Sense of This?

Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 10:1-39

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... of its temple worship. A pure, unblemished animal was sacrificed on the altar to atone for the sins of the people. God offered up Jesus to be sacrificed on the altar of the cross to atone for the sins of the people. The Bible was written by a variety of different people who had their own worldview. The books of the New Testament were written by people at least forty to seventy years after Jesus walked this earth, so they had some time to think about what his life meant for them and the church. Of course ...

747. Time for the Offering

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

We have been blessed at our church to have had student interns in ministry for many years from Columbia Theological Seminary, Johnson C. Smith Seminary, and Candler School of Theology. They have been all varieties of cultures, genders, ages, outlooks, and approaches. As a multicultural church, we like to think that we have broadened their view of themselves and of ministry. I know that they have greatly enriched our lives. We ask our interns to lead all parts of worship over the course of their ...

748. “Love Your Enemies” Doesn’t Mean Don’t Make Any

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it out for victory. The Devil’s work, according to Mailer, is left-brained stuff. The Devil’s strengths are systematic, actuarial, technological, consumer-driven stuff. God’s “plays” are more imaginative and creative, but the Devil is on the offensive for a variety of reasons. Both God and the Devil for Mailer have limited powers, and on that basis Mailer says the outcome of this battle between good and evil is uncertain. But the points on the board right now are in the Devil’s favor because ...

749. Love Your Enemies Doesn’t Mean Don’t Make Any

Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

750. End of the World: Bringing Down the House

Illustration

The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the ...

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