Sermon and Worship Resources

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Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... said, "A wandering Aramean was my father." Moses was establishing the roots of all God's people. "A wandering Aramean was my father" is an announcement of who we are - it locates us in the scope of history. You might say it's the Old Testament version of the Apostles' Creed - it defines us. As such, the statement reminds us of the divine promise received from our Lord. The statement is also a confession. "My father was only an Aramean, a nomad unwelcomed anywhere but in the swamps and the barren desert, a ...

777. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

... load all by myself. It’s in the Lord’s hands. Whatever his will is, is mine also." There is relief, and peace that defies understanding, when you put something in the Lord’s hands. Jeremiah said, "for to thee have I committed my cause." One version of the Bible translates it, "I’ve laid my case before you." The act of commitment has sound precedent. Jesus himself said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) He committed his way to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying ...

778. Honest to Goodness Religion

Hosea 4:1-19

Sermon

... Lord said, "I don’t listen to the words as much as I do to their lives." He closed the window, and the noise of the tempest of words ceased. The Lord pressed a button on the receiver, and over the speaker came just one prayer. It was a condensed version of a great number of prayers that came up from the lives of people. A quavering voice was heard, "O Lord, if it does not cost too much, we would like to be faithful, courageous, loving and forgiving." "If it does not cost too much ..." How true. For many ...

779. The God Who Doesn’t Give Up

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

... was then that Doug said to Sandy, "I’ve given you three chances now. That’s enough. I’m through giving any more chances. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go." You may know of someone like that. You may even have experienced some version of this yourself. When someone takes advantage of you, you may be willing to forgive them once, twice, or even three times; but there usually comes a point where you say, "That’s enough. I don’t want to go through this again." The feeling is one of ...

780. Pentecost

Jn 14:8-17, 25-27; 20:19-23 · Acts 2:1-21 · 1 Cor 3-7, 12-13 · Gen 11:1-9

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 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 ...

781. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Mal 3:19-20, 4:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the idle 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. 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 ...

782. Death by Water

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Thirty years have passed in the last five days on the church calendar. Jesus was still a baby just days ago, when Matthew’s version of the Christmas story was read and Christ’s Epiphany was celebrated around the world. Now Jesus is at the beginning of his ministry, and we remember his baptism by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River; he has but three more years to preach, teach, and heal and then ...

783. The Lamb of God

John 1:29-34

Sermon

... second thing?" we asked her. "This was even worse; the congregation applauded when the announcement was made. That seemed very strange to me. We never applaud anything in our churches." Now it is the turn of the writer of the fourth Gospel, John, to tell his version of the baptism of Jesus at the hands of that other John, the Baptizer. It was the day after Jesus’ baptism took place (John does not tell the actual story about the baptism). When John saw Jesus, he made an announcement: "Behold, the Lamb of ...

784. Harnessed Power

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... 's main disappointment is not about the party. Her main disappointment is about the parents who promised, about the mother and father who proved powerless to accomplish what was pledged. From this point of view, things do not get any better in John's version of Pentecost. First, the Spirit is given to the disciples without visible or aural effect. And now, the task given to them seems as inconsequential as the gift. In the other Gospels Jesus commands his followers to preach, or to baptize and teach, or ...

785. Invincible Harvest

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... church growth. One of the most effective ways that the Church can try to push God's hand these days is by the use of market analysis techniques. In terms of television evangelism, what this amounts to is providing different social classes with different versions of the gospel. To put it crassly, programmers discover who is listening and then shape (or better, change) the message in such a way so as to keep them listening and to encourage their support.1 The techniques of market analysis are highly developed ...

786. No Weedless Garden

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... ripening field. Into rich soil good seeds have been planted and now as far as the eye can see there is wheat and barley growing in one great unbroken mass. The field is so well tended that it contains no useless or injurious plants. It is a clear version of the garden of Eden, the place where everything is "pleasant to the sight and good for food." It is a place of unadulterated growth, of beauty and of nourishment. A couple of months after the student had graduated and had been installed as the pastor of a ...

787. Miracle In the Bethlehem Inn

Drama

... family.) Aaron: There has been a miracle in Bethlehem this night which will shatter the world! May God give you strength to endure. May God's Peace reign forever more. (He turns and walks slowly away.) Congregation: "Joy To The World." (There is music at the end of the book version only.)

788. The Keeper of the Covenant

Exodus 31:1-11

Sermon

... Resurrection - every week. Like the Israelites, they were aware that they had something to celebrate - but they, too, got their priorities wrong and had made a god out of recreation and family activities that had nothing to do with the real business of Sunday. Theirs was another version, which too many of us share in, what I call the "Feast of the Golden Calf." That is why it is important for us to know the story of God’s dealings with us, so that we get our facts straight and set our religious priorities ...

789. Painting Out the Lace

Illustration

Staff

... by any artist. I refer to "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci, that classic portrayal of Christ and the twelve apostles at the table. Many students of art history believe that the painting, when first created, was somewhat different from the version which we now see. There was initially, it is believed, an exquisite lace border on the tablecloth. When, immediately upon completion, Leonardo invited a group of art students to view his masterpiece, they were immensely impressed by the delicate design of ...

790. Being Different

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . He hired a great orchestra - comets, bagpipes, flutes, dulcimers, drums and harps. They could play all kinds of music. And all the people were commanded to fall down and worship this monument to the king's ego when the band played the mid-East version of "Hail to the Chief" or "God Save the Queen" or the "National Anthem." All the politicians were there - the princes, the governors, the bankers, the judges, the lawyers, the doctors, the school board, the city council, the sheriffs and the mayors. Imagine ...

791. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... one aspect of your life and totally fight life in another dimension. One significant way in which we fight life is to struggle after the wrong dream. At one level we all fight for what has been called the "American Dream." We battle for our particular version of the dream house, the dream family, the dream church, the dream job, the dream life. The most common experience in that battle, of course, is the feeling that we do not have it. Lawrence Reimer notes that the second most common experience is thinking ...

792. Compassion

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... go and have compassion. It is a charge that causes us to shiver. Deep down, I think most of us know that in spite of our achievements in technology and medicine, our society is no better off morally and spiritually than those people who heard the original version of this story so long ago. We still haven't found a way to educate people in compassion. We grant more degrees than the world has ever seen before. We also have more casual but painful divorces, more child abuse, more wife and husband abuse, more ...

793. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... City, by Laurence Rivers, Inc., on February 26, 1930 and closed on August 29, 1931. Marc Connelly's original play may be found in Sixteen Famous American Plays, edited by Bennet Cerf and Van H. Cartwell (Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., 1941). It was produced in many versions. I have used a combination of the original and later productions, trying to retain the meaning and purpose of the original while fitting some of the language into my sermon. 4. Ibid.

794. Our Splintered World

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

... a crude cartoon of a jackass on a cross, and under it are the words "Alexamenes worships his God." Today Christian churches, once open to every passer-by, are being kept locked because they are being vandalized and looted with a vicious contempt - a modern version of the division over Jesus, an updating of the ancient contempt "Alexamenes worships his God." Jesus said, "I came to bring division." The important question for us is this: Where are we in this division? How does this Gospel apply to us? At least ...

795. The Master Has Come - And Is Calling For You

John 11:38-44

Sermon

... or not we think we can even do anything. He can use us to set someone free. He can use us to lift someone’s hope. He can use us to fill someone’s stomach. He can use us to show someone the way. You and I are the only version of God, of Christ, of the church, of the Bible - we are the only love, the only mercy, the only kindness some person will ever see. "Unbind him, and set him free." As a young man, Albert Schweitzer was a preacher, teacher, theologian, and a masterful musician. He was known ...

796. More Real Than Food

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Carl Jech

... Communion does likewise indeed have a variety of roots, a complex background of possible interpretations. In 1 Corinthians 11, Jesus describes the bread as his body, but the wine is described as "the cup of the new covenant in my blood." This earliest written version of the words of institution does not suggest the drinking of blood and is, therefore, very much in keeping with the Jewish Kosher tradition which forbids any kind of eating or drinking of blood! If we follow this tradition today, we present the ...

797. Cowherding Christians

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... good quality of course. Have you ever been to New York City or Los Angeles or Chicago? Besides all the cars, what you notice are the thousands and thousands of people all frantically trying to get somewhere other than where they are. Toki Miyashina wrote a modern version of Psalm 23 that is appropriate. It changes the image of the Lord as Shepherd into the Lord as Pacesetter. It goes like this: The Lord is my pace-setter, I shall not rush: He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals, He provides me with ...

798. Advent 1

Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122:1-9, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon Aid

... How is the preacher to make theological sense out of all of this? Is there any hope for humanity and the world? Matthew's eschatological theology of the age of salvation, when viewed from the perspective of his entire Gospel, provides a fitting conclusion to his version of the Good News and positively shapes the liturgical season of Advent that begins the church year. What he writes in chapters 24 and 25 about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is an integral part of the gospel story ...

799. Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-16, Psalm 72:1-20, Romans 14:1--15:13, Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon Aid

... shout verses of Scripture, calling on all who pass by within earshot to repent of their sins before it is too late. When the school principal ordered them to enter the school building and go to their classes, they refused and continued to "preach" their version of the Gospel; their father does the same thing. The story made national news, including several of the prominent news programs. The five-year-old has received the most publicity, probably because he is so young, and he could pass for a young John ...

800. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25, Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon Aid

CSS

... didn't look at it that way; he had to decide whether or not he should break the engagement and abandon Mary to scorn and shame, letting her suffer the consequences of her "sin." That's the complicated situation in which Matthew begins to tell his version of the Christmas story. Even if Mary had told him that she was pregnant "by the Holy Spirit," his dilemma would not have been solved. Clearly, his was a far more critical decision than he could possibly imagine. (Note: the "complication" in this plot comes ...

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