Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1051 to 1075 of 1138 results

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

John Jamison

... most powerful pieces of their story, and as the early church grew, the resurrection was a central message. But it was not a new idea in either Antioch or Rome. The idea of life after death was commonplace in most religions, and there was quite a variety of different approaches to the idea. As these folks read Mark’s story of the resurrection of Jesus, their response was, “Yeah, okay. That’s kind of like Uncle Fred, when his spirit came back at the temple of Zeus.” The idea of returning spirits was ...

1052. Hope for People Who Are Angry

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the arena. The punch nearly killed him, and resulted in severe medical problems that ultimately ended his playing career. Tomjanovich’s life was certainly shaped by that moment in a variety of ways, but “even more so, probably, this incident has shaped Kermit Washington’s life. He will forever and perhaps primarily,” says John Feinstein, “be known as the man who threw that punch.” Though Washington had a good reputation off the ...

1053. She Gave More than Bill Gates

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... with a b) worldwide line up with Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world, to announce that they will give away at least half of their wealth by the time they die to help fund a wide variety of worthwhile causes. Of course, you don’t have to be a billionaire to make such a declaration. I understand that actor Jackie Chan of Chinese Kung Fu movie fame has announced that he would give away half of his net worth. Unfortunately his contribution will be ...

1054. God with Skin On

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

As we gather here this holy night, we come from a variety of religious backgrounds. For some of you I’m sure the more familiar word during The Lord’s Prayer is “trespasses.” You will especially appreciate an internet story about the little boy who was sent to bed early on Christmas Eve. His boisterous excitement was getting in the way of ...

1055. It's Not About Me

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... threats to leave. He was asking for wisdom from the other elders and pastors gathered about how to respond to the anger, to the judgment, and to the pain that he was hearing from some of his people. The next 45 minutes were fascinating and very healing. A variety of folks talked about conflict and differences in their congregations and about how hard it is to be the church when people disagree. The consensus that emerged was that we are not called to agree and we are not called to be all alike. In fact, the ...

1056. A Dove Descended

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... of that is that the church envelopes all the important events of our life. It should be central to our life. Baptism is our initiation into a special group, the church of Jesus Christ. Notice that today I have cited examples from a wide variety of churches--Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, liturgical. We may baptize in different ways, but all churches are united in this one way: baptism is a requirement of acceptance into the body of Christ. Baptism is important because of what it says about the person ...

1057. What Will It Take to Make You Happy?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... , there is such a road, a road to happiness. And it’s found in the teachings of Jesus. In 1989, columnist Nick Clooney decided that he, like a modern-day Huck Finn, wanted someone else to do his work for a little while. So he invited a variety of local celebrities from the Kentucky-Ohio area to send in their ideas on a column about epitaphs. What would these famous men and women want to have written on their tombstones? He was surprised by the wit and sincerity of the various responses. Ira Joe Fisher ...

1058. Maternal Legacy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

When the will of Henry J. Heinz, wealthy distributor of the famous "57 Varieties" line, was read, it was found to contain the following confession: "Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as ...

1059. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... make sure things get done. Still, the hard work and attention to detail of the Marthas of this world often get overlooked. One mother was trying to explain the health benefits of a colorful meal to her family. “The more colors, the more variety of nutrients,” she said. Pointing to their dinner, she asked, “How many different colors do you see?” “Six,” volunteered her daughter. “Seven if you count the burned parts.” (2) Another woman says, “I have my own system for labeling homemade freezer ...

1060. Bitter Medicine

Illustration

King Duncan

... described the predicament of a doctor who is prosecuted by a cook before a jury of children. The unfortunate doctor is accused of harming the children with bitter medicine and even surgery. The cook, on the other hand, has been indulging the children with a variety and abundance of sweets. Can you see the doctor’s predicament? The children much prefer the cook since their allegiance is to a diet of sweets rather than what is good for them. There is no doubt that the children will condemn the doctor, even ...

1061. Portraying Jesus

Illustration

Phillip Yancey

A class was shown several dozen art slides portraying Jesus in a variety of forms--African, Korean, Chinese--and then asked to describe what they thought Jesus looked like. Virtually everyone suggested he was tall (unlikely for a first-century Jew), most said handsome, and no one said overweight. They were then shown a BBC film on the life of Christ that featured ...

1062. Clearing the Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... or simply diminish the bad things that happen to our eyes with UV ray exposure. So too, we see people wearing sunglasses at night, not to blot out the sun, but to take the glare out of headlights or streetlights. In doctor offices now, you have a variety of colored glasses designed for use with lasers, to detect bruising after an accident, or see a blood clot that is disrupting flow through the veins. All sorts of sunglasses, or color-specific glasses if you will, enable us to be healthier or have more fun ...

1063. I've Seen the Lord

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

You and I come here for a variety of different reasons this Easter morning. For some, you come because of a deep abiding expectation that yearns to be reminded that our Lord died, but then out of death, God granted life. And in turn you know, therefore, that nothing is impossible with our Lord. For some you come ...

1064. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... forms of communication on planet Earth. In a sense, these primal soundings are the sounds that a shofar imitates. I have here a shofar. {You may want to demonstrate the shofa The shofar sounds a bit like a trumpet. It also can communicate in a variety of registers. For the Israelites, depending upon how someone blew it, it conveyed a message. Whether in short beats, staccato pulses, or in one long blast, it was said to alert people to the voice and call of God. The Tekiah, or long blast, communicates ...

1065. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... apps help you do that? What will your organic architecture look like? Will it pass the test of MRI? Will your style pass the test of fMri? What kinds of apps can pump up your semiotic sermon so that it connects with people on multiple levels and in a variety of ways and in surround sound? Can you hear the voice of Jesus within it? Once you can answer these questions, you can move on to look at what might make your sermon a EPIC experience that people can tap into, connect with, participate in, see the image ...

1066. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel. Image Exegesis: Wrestling Tips The first shall be last, Jesus said. This lesson is seen first here in the story of Jacob and Esau, in a variety of ways. It’s important to read the story from beginning to end to understand the fulness and richness of this story. In the end, Jacob sees God’s face (and God’s grace) in the visage of Esau, and he treats him, as God has treated him ...

1067. Here Be Dragons

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... fiery heavenly beings that represent the fiery presence and Spirit of God, but also who stoke the sacrificial altar of God and praise God with their tongues of fire are the same Hebrew word in scripture for serpents (and later snakes of the poisonous variety). Likewise, it is the name of the bronze serpent of Moses and the serpent of Eden. Not just guardian griffins (similar to the Egyptian seref), these are creatures of Light in the heavens.* The seraphim are serpents of fire with griffin-like features and ...

1068. Tale of the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ? Even professional hikers sometimes can have difficulty discerning one from another. Both can be found in every forest. If in doubt, don’t take a risk, experts say! You could consume a deadly fungus. Or you could discard a perfect succulent treat! Many varieties appear nearly identical with only a few giveaway features that you may discover just too late! Weeds too can be mistaken for flowers in your backyard garden. Is that your new flowering shrub coming up? Or a counterfeit weed? Sometimes, it’s ...

1069. Excuse Me!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carl Jech

... course, the only bad, destructive sex is sinful. There is an organized movement today within the Roman Catholic Church to challenge the church to develop a more complex understanding of the role of sexuality and pleasure in the lives of a complex variety of individuals. It may well be that unless this challenge is met by all churches, the church will become shockingly irrelevant to the lives of more and more people. In his book Embodiment, James Nelson* (*Professor of Christian Ethics at United Theological ...

1070. Daddy's Love

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... there used to be. In fact, a survey published last Fall in the Journal Science reported that there are nearly 3 billion—yes, I said billion with a b—3 billion less birds altogether than there were half a century ago . . . probably for a variety of reasons. We live in a complicated environment. Among those most threatened according to the survey are sparrows. (3) Still the number of sparrows in the world is still quite staggering. Now think about Christ’s statement: “Are not two sparrows sold for a ...

Variety is the soul of pleasure.

Aphra Behn

How can you govern a country with two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?

Charles De Gaulle

Have a variety of interests. . . . These interests relax the mind and lessen tension on the nervous system. People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest.

George Matthew Allen

The superiority of the distant over the present is only due to the mass and variety of the pleasures that can be suggested, compared with the poverty of those that can at any time be felt.

George Santayana

The word 'funny' is a bit like the word 'love' - we don't have enough words to describe the many varieties.

George Saunders

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 1051 to 1075 of 1138 results

1051. Fish Tales

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

John Jamison

1052. Hope for People Who Are Angry

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

1053. She Gave More than Bill Gates

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

1054. God with Skin On

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

1055. It's Not About Me

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

1056. A Dove Descended

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

1057. What Will It Take to Make You Happy?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

1058. Maternal Legacy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

1059. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

1060. Bitter Medicine

Illustration

King Duncan

1061. Portraying Jesus

Illustration

Phillip Yancey

1062. Clearing the Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

1063. I've Seen the Lord

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

1064. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1065. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1066. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1067. Here Be Dragons

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1068. Tale of the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1069. Excuse Me!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carl Jech

1070. Daddy's Love

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Variety is the soul of pleasure.

Aphra Behn

How can you govern a country with two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?

Charles De Gaulle

Have a variety of interests. . . . These interests relax the mind and lessen tension on the nervous system. People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest.

George Matthew Allen

The superiority of the distant over the present is only due to the mass and variety of the pleasures that can be suggested, compared with the poverty of those that can at any time be felt.

George Santayana

The word 'funny' is a bit like the word 'love' - we don't have enough words to describe the many varieties.

George Saunders

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