Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1101 to 1125 of 1138 results

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Will Willimon

... 's charge becomes more difficult to refute as modem Christianity is rendered into therapy and religion is judged on the basis of its utility. "What will this do for me?" TV preachers promise to "make Jesus work for you." But it comes in more sophisticated varieties. Some feminist theologians vote biblical images up or down solely on the basis of their alleged therapeutic value or lack thereof. If the Bible's word clashes with my experience or my needs (as I define my needs) then so much worse for the Bible ...

1102. Living Bread

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... was also used as a spoon to scoop meats and stews from clay pots. Flat and unleavened, it was dry, durable and filling and usually had to be soaked in flavored olive oil to make it palatable. By the first century the Romans had introduced variety and artistry to the Middle Eastern science of bread making. Barley, rye, wheat, corn and other grains were being used and leavening, salt, and sugar were making bread lighter, tastier, and more digestible though it was still far from what we know as bread, today ...

1103. “Until An Opportune Time…”

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... willingness to throw a friend under the bus in order to save our own skin or worse, to make ourselves look good. And of course there are temptations around taxes and tithing, stealing and more. The list is virtually endless, and it is stunning in its variety and complexity. We live in a torrent of temptation, and our world doesn’t help much. How does that advertisement go about Las Vegas? “What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas?” What does that really mean? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist ...

1104. Hanging Around Jesus Changes You

Philippians 3:17 — 4:1

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Luther, “Lectures On Romans” (1515-1516), in Luther’s Works, Vol. 25, p.387. [6] Martin Luther, “Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans” (1546/1522), in Luther’s Works, Vol.35, pp.370-371. [7] Bernard of Clarivaux, in Varieties of Mystic Experience, ed. Elmer O’Brien (New York: Rinehart & Winston, 1964), p.104. [8] For how the economy encourages these values, see Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism (New York and London ...

1105. Jesus Meets Our Needs

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... inviting nest to house hundreds of birds on trees and other tall objects. These nests insulate the birds from the extreme cold or heat of the desert. Maria wrote that the birds shared their food, worked as a team in mending their nests, and allowed all varieties of birds to live in their colonies. Peace and harmony was the desired end. (The Upper Room daily devotional is an online publication. Google The Upper Room). Our action in recruiting others is to help them to work together for the good of the church ...

1106. They're Drunk

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

... or England in their coldness to the fires of faith. Only people around universities, only people who write for newspapers, persist in the outmoded belief that religion is an outmoded vestige which we have at last overcome. William James (in Varieties of Religious Experience) characterized religion as a "white hot heat.” America remains heated up over faith. All evidence to the contrary, we continue to sin against Pentecost, continue to attempt to explain away the disruptive descent of the Spirit. And ...

1107. Beware! Angels

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Will Willimon

... philosophical materialism- the belief that nothing exists but corporeal substances occupying physical space--has not triumphed in American culture. As Adler states, ''The notion of angels--of minds totally devoid of bodies--is anathema to materialists of every variety." We are hungry for the spiritual, for the miraculous, for assurances of a realm beyond the corporeal.... ''In A Gathering of Angels: Angels in Jewish Life and Literature (Ballantine), Morris B. Margolies, a Kansas City rabbi, points out ...

1108. The Lonely Prophet

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

Sermon

King Duncan

... the secret to earning God’s blessings. So God “should” respond with blessings, shouldn’t He? Dr. Clarence Jordan understood Elijah’s situation. Jordan had Ph.D.’s in agriculture and in Greek and Hebrew. He could have found success in a variety of fields. But God gave him a radical calling, and he sacrificed everything he had to see it through. In the 1940s, Dr. Jordan established Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia. “Koinonia” is a Greek word that refers to Christian fellowship. And that ...

1109. A VIP Seat

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... , he was being carefully watched. The Pharisees were an influential religious group within Judaism. They were legal experts who stressed personal piety and strict observance of both Mosaic Law and oral traditions. But this dinner party wasn’t being hosted by just your garden-variety Pharisee. This man was a prominent Pharisee. A VIP. And what do people do when they’re invited to an event with a prominent person? They jockey for the best seat at the table, the one closest to the host. Can you imagine how ...

1110. Selling Out

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... asked Jesus to leave. Again, the Lord acquiesced. As he left, the man of the tombs wanted to go with him. Jesus denied his request, telling him he should go home and testify to the goodness of God. This story has always seemed to draw a variety of reactions from Bible scholars. Some just think it’s a strange story. Others have used words like bizarre and ludicrous to describe it. It’s certainly not a sophisticated tale. It’s more likely to summon the derision of skeptics than believers in the reality ...

1111. Do You See Lazarus On Your Doorstep?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... we press hard enough we might find what is most objectionable in our “Pharisee” might lodge within us too. Some interpreters of this biblical passage see not one but two parables. The first one, or at least the first part of the parable (19:1-26) is found in a variety of forms among the rabbis; it is a common story in the ancient world. In the second part of the story (vv. 27-31) we have a reversal of fortune. The rich man was in misery, and the poor man at the gate was at Abraham’s side, an ancient ...

1112. Are We Living In The Last Days?

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... will come after the millennium begins. The kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the gospel. The nineteenth century was the great century of Christian missions and also the increase of benevolent societies that began to reform a variety of social ills. Optimism was in the air. Many were looking forward to a golden age of one thousand years that would climax all their efforts. The weakness of this view was that such progress did not continue with two world wars in the ...

1113. A Last Appeal

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... for a week or more. They were deliberately exposed for many days so that their plight would be an example to others not to take for granted the Roman overlords. [2] Regarding the theological meaning of the cross, the New Testament writers used a variety of ways to explain the cross, not just one. For example, they said what happened was like: a defendant going free, a relationship being reconciled, something lost, being redeemed, a battle being won, a final sacrifice being offered, so no one ever has to ...

1114. When Darkness Covered the Land

Matthew 27:11-54

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... that opened up access to God. It reminds me of a little-known law that opened up access for people with disabilities on elevators. In 1990, federal legislators passed the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect the rights of individuals with a variety of disabilities. One interesting consequence of this legislation is that, by law, all elevator doors are set to remain open for twenty full seconds before beginning to close. And there is an open-door button in every elevator to allow passengers to ...

1115. The Just-In-Case God

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... Empire preaching the message of Jesus. And Paul was figuring out the easiest and quickest way to do it. He wasn’t lazy. He was getting highly efficient at using his communication skills and cultural knowledge to appeal to Jewish and Greek people from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems. In today’s Bible passage Paul is in Athens, and he makes his way to the Aeropagus, the meeting place for the local council of noblemen who probably served as the king’s advisors. (2) Earlier in chapter 17, we ...

1116. How Much Should We Pack?

Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Sermon

William G. Carter

... probably why I kept it still on my shelf. Here’s one of my favorites: In a certain town, an advertising executive decided to sell God. She invited some clients to a presentation. Then she got busy. First she converted the “God message” to a variety of abstract images projected onto a screen. Next she added a catchy soundtrack with guitars and drums. Finally she hired a caterer to serve drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the softly-lit room. As her clients arrived, she chatted with them casually. Then came ...

1117. Immediately, They Followed

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... a less than a dozen-word invitation. Years ago I remember seeing a film-by the Italian Marxist director, Pasolini, his "Gospel of St. Matthew." It was a landmark in cinema verite. Most biblical films are of the Charlton Heston, Cecil B. Demille variety - everything in pastels, with blonde-headed Jesus, and gigantic sets. Pasolini chose instead black and white with ordinary, peasant people. This Marxist movie-maker took the Bible literally. "I will tell it just the way it was written," he said. "The folk ...

1118. Everything You Ever Wanted

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... a play about a man who died and woke up in another world. All of a sudden every wish was granted. A mysterious attendant came and ministered to every need he had -- every single need. After awhile he said, “If I could just have the variety of some refusal.” That didn’t happen. He continued to get everything he wanted. Finally, one day, in an unheavenly manner, he shouted, “I want something that I cannot have without earning it!” His attendant said, “That is not possible here.” “In that case ...

1119. Trick Questions

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Steve Molin

... she had been running from God for several years. She saw the religion of her parents as constraining and prohibitive, so she abandoned it…and them, too. She ran off to Seattle and lived what she said was a very provocative life. She got into drugs, a variety of sexual experiences, and she even dabbled in the occult. But then she got sick; a dirty needle caused infection in her bloodstream, and she was in danger of losing her leg, and all of her newfound friends had left her. Without any other option, she ...

1120. Simeon (A Monologue)

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... true and false teachers; we are the ones ordained by God to keep the faith in the face of a hostile and unbelieving world. It is a grave task, but one which every one of us is pleased and honored to undertake. To be sure, there are great varieties of opinion among the members of the Sanhedrin. Some are Sadducees... including the high priest. They are the most conservative of us. They go so far as to say that nothing matters at all except what is written in the Torah. For them, any further explanation is the ...

1121. Seeing What We Don’t Want To See

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Mary Austin

As we draw near to the end of Lent, how has your Lenten journey been? What spiritual practice did you add? What habit did you let go of to make room for God? I love hearing the variety of answers, such as reading a devotional each day, or dedicated time to read bigger chunks of the Bible. Maybe it is participating in a Lent Bible study or praying in a different way, just to try it out. Perhaps it is giving up a habit that distracts from God’ ...

1122. It’s Smart To Love God

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Children's Sermon

Various Authors

Object: A variety of books (medical book, law book, dictionary, encyclopedia, and Bible) Good morning, boys and girls. I want to ask you a question. Is there anyone here who thinks that he/she is as smart as God? (Let them answer.) No one here thinks they are as intelligent as God. Kind ...

1123.

Psalm 91:1-16

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... the deadly pestilence, v. 3b; the pestilence and the plague, v. 6), battle (your shield and rampart, which protect against the arrow that flies by day, vv. 4–5), and deadly animals (the lion and the cobra, the great lion and the serpent, v. 13). The variety of images allows this psalm to be used for any situation of threat. The psalm exhibits the following structure, consisting of three main sections: verses 1–8, 9–13, and 14–16. The first two sections have the same three parts: a description of the ...

1124.

Psalm 103:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... heavenly “heroes” (suggested by several Hb. terms) who do . . . his word and will (vv. 20–21). Also consistent with the notion of obedience, Yahweh is depicted as King (v. 19). To cover the praise of God, we can see the psalm blends together a variety of Israelite traditions: those related to the individual (vv. 3–5, as echoed in the prayer psalms of the individual), to Israel’s history and covenant (esp. 6–10, 17–18), to creation (vv. 14–16), and to Yahweh’s kingship and heavenly hosts ...

1125.

Psalm 142:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... depictions of threat and distress are varied—trappers (v. 3), pursuers (v. 6), and prison (v. 7)—thus indicating they are not describing actual circumstances but are portraying images that denote feelings of attack and confinement. This allows the psalm to be used for a variety of needs. 142:1–2 The opening verses refer to Yahweh in the third person and describe the act of praying—they are not a formal part of the prayer itself. Why, we may wonder, bother with this? Why not just get on with praying ...

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