Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 851 to 875 of 1858 results

851. Angels in the Wilderness

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... came a message of God: “My strength is sufficient for you.” (II Corinthians 12:9) And it is something like that, the Gospels tell us. that happened to our Lord Himself. During Jesus’time of testing in the wilderness, when He was buffeted by Satan and wild beasts, we read that “the angels ministered to him.” (1:12) Imagine that! angels in the wilderness! the last place youUd expect to find them! I am not at all sure what “angels” are, but I do know this: III. GOD HAS MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF ...

852. Wining and Dining with Jesus

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... anything to do with these common people at all. They could not speak to them, travel with them, be seen in their company or do business with them. William Barclay says, “To marry a daughter to one of them was as bad as giving her over to a wild beast!” (Barclay, DAILY STUDY BIBLE, MARK, Phila: Westminster Press, 1956, p. 50) In the eyes of the Pharisees, the man who committed adultery and the man who ate pork were in the same category. If we do not realize this, we may not understand the criticism which ...

853. Jesus Out of Character

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... by the great Scottish Biblical commentator, William Barclay. He notes that the word “dog” was sometimes a Jewish word of contempt for the Gentiles. But, Barclay says, Jesus “did not use the usual word; He used a diminutive word which described, not the wild dogs of the streets, but the little pet lap-dogs of the house. In Greek diminutives are characteristically affectionate.... In any event, Jesus did not shut the door. First, he said, the children must be fed; but only first; there is meat left ...

854. Dealing with Our Doubts

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... battle, also. We have come to faith only after a long struggle with doubt. Harry Emerson Fosdick once preached a sermon in Riverside Church titled: “The Importance of Doubting Your Doubts” taking his cue from G.K. Chesterton, who once spoke of his “first wild doubts of doubt.” Fosdick said that one comes into true faith only after getting to the point where one begins to doubt his or her own doubts! I like that! Harold Bosley, who was minister of First United Methodist Church of Evanston, for many ...

855. Salty Saints

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to venture outside on a Sunday morning if there is a little rain, for fear that they might melt. They would never understand the first Christians who braved “peril, fire, and sword” for the privilege of gathering together in worship every Lord’s day. Wild horses (and wilder emperors) couldn’t keep them away! Such an idea is so foreign to most of us as to be almost laughable. In his book on the Parables of Jesus, Presbyterian David Redding writes: “Consider the Connecticut Yankee and his bicycle ...

856. Jesus and the IRS

Mark 12:13-17

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in 4 B.C., he was ruler of all of Palestine, albeit a puppet ruler under the domination of Rome. When he died he gave his kingdom to his three (remaining) sons: To Herod Antipas he gave Galilee and Perea. To Herod Philip he gave the wild northeast district around Caesarea Philippi. To Archelaus he gave southern Palestine, including Judea and Samaria. But Archelaus was a total washout as a king. The result was that in AD 6 the Romans had to step in and take over direct control. Immediately, provisions began ...

857. On the Singing of Hymns

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ?” “Ah, I don’t know. Sunday is my only day to sleep in. And besides we went last week. Or was it last month?” What a difference! For those first Christians gathering together on the Lord’s Day was such a dangerous and exciting thing that wild horses couldn’t keep them away. It is a cold and cruel world out there, and each Christian needs the sustenance which can only come where two or three are gathered together in Christ’s name. The old catechism said that our primary purpose in life is ...

858. What the Maid Said to the Fisherman

Mark 14:66-72, Mark 14:53-65

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... announced to the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” That didn’t mean he was taking a vacation-merely that he was going back to his previous occupation - a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, which was what he did before he went off on the wild-goose chase to follow the itinerant rabbi from Nazareth. But then there came a brilliant Easter morning, and an angel standing by an empty tomb, telling the disciples that “He is not dead, but lives! Go and tell the disciples AND PETER that He goes before ...

859. The Unfinished Story

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”(Matthew 12:39) Nevertheless, I believe that I have witnessed three out of these five “signs.” I believe that the casting out of demons is something quite different from the wild scenes in movies such as “The Exorcist”—and I have seen the demons of hatred, cruelty, racism, etc. cast out of people’s lives and persons become new creatures in Christ Jesus. Though I myself do not speak in “tongues” a number of fine people ...

860. Holy Monday

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Inc., BMI) I don’t recall ever hearing a sermon on Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. Perhaps that is because most preachers are somewhat embarrassed by it. Jesus seems to be acting so out of character. The late Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton wrote a book titled RIDE THE WILD HORSES! which is about the “Seven Deadly Sins,” one of which is the sin of anger. He asks of this event in the Passion Week of our Lord: “What are we to make of this outburst, this account of an angry Christ? Did Jesus slip out of ...

861. Holy Thursday

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ve got to be careful whom you eat with. If you are trying to convince yourself that another person is not a full, valuable human being, a brother or sister, be careful not to invite that person to dinner. Be careful. Remember, as Oscar Wilde said, ‘After a good dinner, one could forgive anybody, even one’s relatives.’” (Nashville, The Upper Room, 1981, p. 45). In the Bible, eating has special significance. The Biblical story begins with the eating of the forbidden fruit, and ends with sitting down ...

862. Please, Don't Let me Jabez Anyone Else (Part 5)

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is why the fellowship of the church is so important. Here is where you can find people who will build you up. Here is where you will find people who will give you the support you need to resist evil. We’re told that wild dogs on the African plains kill their prey by separating individual animals from the herd. They accomplish this with precise cutting abilities. Isolated, the victim seldom escapes. Satan utilizes a similar tactic in the cunning art of temptation. He is most efficient when his enticements ...

863. Did You Leave the the Door Open? (I am the gate)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... a makeshift shelter of shrubs and other natural items to provide cover for the sheep. This opening was smaller than the village gate. There was no actual door. The shepherd literally became the door or gate for the sheep. Here the sheep were safe from the wild beasts and other predators. Jesus brings that same role and protection into our spiritual lives. He will not allow others to use us or abuse us--spiritually or any other way. Through Jesus we find direct access to God. We do not ever have to turn ...

864. The Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to teach us to say a decisive "NO" to one way of life and in order to declare a resounding "YES" to a greater way of life. William Shakespeare was so right when he wrote: "''Tis one thing to be tempted and another thing to fall!" Oscar Wilde perhaps said it best when he wrote, "There are two tragedies in life--not getting what you want and getting what you desire." You cannot resist temptation if you begin in crooked places. Remember the nursery tale we learned as youngsters which went something like this ...

865. Saintly Citizenship - Earthly Responsibilities

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... had gotten out of his seat and onto the field. He placed his arms around Derrick in a helping way. This time Derrick allowed the man to help him. It was his father. The crowd, sensing something special was happening, began to applaud and go wild. Leaning on his father''s arm, Derrick finished the race. Someone else got the Gold Medal, but Derrick stole the show. It was an incredible demonstration of courage, determination, and the power of love. Afterwards, a reporter asked Derrick''s father why he did it ...

866. The Power of a God-Shaped Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... power of a God-shaped attitude. FIRST, A GOD-SHAPED ORIENTATION COMES FROM THE MIND OF GOD, NOT OUR OWN THINKING. One of the great prophetic voices today in United Methodism is that of Dr. William Willimon. Dr. Willimon, in a provocative sermon quoting Oscar Wilde, once said: "About the worst advice you could give anybody is to be yourself. Please don''t let children think for themselves." Dr. Willimon is on to something here. You have heard me share before that one of the prime reasons that God gave the ...

867. Tripping the Tempter

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to teach us to say a decisive "NO" to one way of life in order to declare a resounding "YES" to a greater way of life. William Shakespeare was so right when he wrote: "Tis one thing to be tempted--another thing to fall!" And Oscar Wilde wrote, "There are two tragedies in life, not getting what you want--and getting what you desire." You cannot resist temptation if you begin in crooked places. Remember, the nursery tale we learned as youngsters which went something like this, "There was a crooked man who ...

868. The Taming of the Tongue

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... deadly like poison darts. William Shakespeare knew of the power of words when he wrote, "He who takes from me my good name, takes that which enriches him--but makes me poor indeed." Yes, when anger spreads through thy breast--guard thy tongue from barking wildly. St. Augustine wrote years ago that a preacher is a "vendor of words," and because of this teaching in James'' Epistle, it frightened him a great deal. Then to make matters much more challenging, James writes in verse 8, "No man can tame the tongue ...

869. Thanksgiving - The Biblical Version

1 Chronicles 16:7-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... was a glorious day. There was only one sourpuss in the crowd. We find that evidence in II Samuel 6, verse 20. David''s wife was watching from a palace window as the procession came into town. She looked down and saw her husband and king dancing wildly behind the Ark and declared him a fool. She didn't realize that loving God could produce such an extravagant act of praise. A PEANUTS cartoon, if I remember it rightly, shows Charlie Brown catching a football. Linus says to Lucy, "Charlie Brown has great hands ...

870. Up and Running

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... , and the One who holds before us -- and draws us into -- that larger picture. Now our text flows from calling to chastening. "And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him" (Mark 1:12-13). I am thinking of chastening in the sense of being refined and made purer in style. Again, please do not let the imagery be off-putting for you. We too have such moments, even though we ...

871. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... . They did that with rods and staffs. A rod was a stout piece of wood, around three feet long, with a lump of wood at the end about the size of an orange. With it, the shepherd fought the battles of the sheep; he would use it to drive off wild animals and defend the flock against robbers. A staff was a long crooked stick, and if a sheep showed signs of straying, the shepherd would use that staff to pull it back. The psalmist says of the two items, "Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." Obviously those ...

872. What Gets Into People?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... --and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” Then Mark tells us, “News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” We will see in the coming weeks that Jesus’ ability as a healer made him wildly popular. In fact, so popular that it interfered with the rest of his ministry. And why not? When people are hurting they will do anything for a cure. Writer Gordon MacDonald, in his book Forging a Real World Faith, paints a heartbreaking picture of children ...

873. When the Boat Begins to Sink

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... so powerfully that a viewer can sense the danger the small craft is in and the panic of those who are on board. The small boat is being lifted on the crest of a giant wave; sail and lines are torn loose from the riggings and flailing wildly in the gale. Five disciples are struggling to reef the sail while they hold on desperately to the mast. The rest are in the stern of the boat, clustered around Jesus, some frightened almost to death, one miserably seasick, hanging over the side, and others frantically ...

874. Anxious Thanks

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung & staff

... "stuff" a broken world dishes their way. God's kingdom and righteousness are present whenever we place our hope and trust in God above any and all the good "stuff" -- the good blessings -- with which he has graced us. God cares even for birds and wild flowers and graces them with loveliness. God doesn't freeze the flower in timeless perfection; the day comes when flowers fade, die, scatter their seeds for another year, and are finally gathered for fuel. Is God's care any less real because the flower isn't ...

875. The True Story of the Magi

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... the Bible says is "We saw his star ... and have come." We need a star today. Significant News Milosevic Idi Amin Saddam Tony Blair, UN, War space shuttle Columbia Suicide bombers Iran Earthquake SARS Mad Cow Disease East Coast Blackouts California Wild Fires Spam (20 Billion in lost productivity) Deaths Strom Thurmond Johnny Cash June Carter Cash Donald O’Conner John Ritter Bob Hope Mr. Fred Rodgers David Bloom Buddy Ebsen Buddy Hackett Art Carney Charles Bronson David Brinkley Maurice Gibb Althea Gibson ...

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