Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 1089 results

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... little bit, and what’s happening now? Ah –the rubbing is releasing the fragrance of the rose, isn’t it? It’s making it stronger. I want to tell you a little story. On an island was a quaint little café in which local artists would display their art. One of those artists, who also served as a waitress in the café, was also allowed to display her artwork. When you picked it up, it looked like it was beautiful jewelry made out of small hand-crafted beads. The beads were uneven, because they were hand ...

102. Living in the Shadow of Jesus' Resurrection Glory (Chiaroscuro)

Acts 12:1-19a, Acts 5:17-42, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and the Light of God give us our form and our perception of each other and the world. And of God! To perceive light is to perceive God, to perceive the very existence of God. Like a photograph, or perhaps more like moving pictures taken by God, the Artist of the World, we exist in the Image(s) of God. We are God’s created images and the world is God’s beautiful, moving canvas of color and sound. A good photographer knows, you need more than sheer light to create the most beautiful photographs. True art ...

An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.

Henry Miller

104. Faith and Freedom

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... life. He told her, "go in peace." In both instances, Jesus' healing power freed them not only from their affliction, it gave them freedom from social, spiritual and religious ostracism. He gave both the woman with the hemorrhage and Jairus' family the freedom of new life. CONCLUSION: An artist was visiting a dear friend. When he arrived, she was weeping. He asked why. She showed him a handkerchief of exquisite beauty that had great sentimental value, which had been ruined by a drop of indelible ink. The ...

105. Fool's Gold

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... broken pottery, ceramic, or bone china and sears the pieces together anew with liquid gold. The resulting patterns are exquisitely beautiful and entirely unique. Each one is different. Each one is an artistic creation. This is the way that God sees our lives. For every mistake we lay at Jesus’ feet, we receive a mending of our heart by the Artist of Life with the beauty of His hand. Upon restoration, we literally shine with the light and luster of God’s mercy and grace. This is the true good news of the ...

106. Ponder This!

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

John Jamison

... is floating overhead. Even the animals seem to understand that something important has happened. This is the image of Christmas the artists recreate, and the Christmas we show every year with our nativity scenes. As I remember the story now and think of ... and trying to find some way to grab her baby, get out of town, and go someplace where no one knew who they were? The artists seem to believe she was doing just fine, and show her face as one of peace and assurance. But I wonder. Please understand. I am ...

107. Don't Be Afraid

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and yet his image of others had been altered during his time in the dark, womb-like muddle of his thoughts. Much like others Jesus healed, Paul saw when he was ready and able to see. We do the same. God is a God of patience and an artist of light and shadow. We need both light and dark. We understand God and our world within shades of meaning and gradual revelations of truth. In our scripture for today, Jesus’ disciples are stunned by a vision of Jesus bathed fully in light. In that moment, they were ...

108. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... citizens; it’s for people of all ages who want to live a simpler lifestyle. It’s a way to live with less “stuff” in the present and to make things easier for your loved ones when you actually do die. A few years ago, a Swedish artist named Margareta Magnusson wrote a best-selling book titled The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Here are some of her tips for doing it well: Start at the top of the house—attics, closets, etc.—and work your way down to the basement Invite family and close ...

109. Cast in the Image of God

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... what bears his appearance is all he is).” “Give back to God the things of God (all that has been created in the image of God).” If you didn’t hear that “mic drop,” you missed the huge punch! Is Jesus a politician? No way! Master political artist! You bet! For what has been created in the image of God? They have been. We all have been. Here’s Jesus’ truth: Caesar’s power and influence amounts to that little piece of gold on which his image is engraved. Give it to him. It means essentially ...

110. Flow

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Jesus but it harms our own health and well-being as well. We have life only in connection to Jesus. This requires us to make time for awareness, engagement, full immersion, giving our full attention to our relationship with Jesus. Just as artists do their best work, musicians write their best songs, athletes play their best game when immersed fully in a state of flow, so too do disciples feel their most energized, connected, engaged, and Spirit-led when “abiding” in Christ. How can we possibly ...

111. For Someone Who Played a Background Role In a Successful Life

Mark 1:1-8 · John 1:6-9

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... his studies and began to sell his art and was finally in a position to help his roommate. By that time however, the hands of that self-sacrificing young man were so gnarled and scarred from the hard jobs he took on, he could no longer hold an artist’s brush. One fateful day, Albrecht came home to find his friend in prayer, and he started to sketch those well-known hands, the hands that made it possible for him to pursue his career. Those praying hands could well be the hands of Helen Moran. She worked ...

112. Holy Wisdom From On High!

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... messages to be aired at a later date. We were taken to the studio by a member of the faculty, and then later he took us to see a Bible camp in the mountains. Bruce Martin, the professor, had come from New York City, and while there, had been an artist on the piano. He had magic fingers, and his touch and skill were breathtaking. After his conversion to Christ, he had come to teach at Union College. While looking over the camp we came to a room where there was an old piano. The room was dusty, messy, junky ...

113. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... was at work in Milan on his famous painting of the Last Supper. Da Vinci spent many hours meditating in the chapel of the monastery where he was working. The monks resented these "idle periods" and accused the artist of wasting time. But da Vinci defended these periods of reflection by saying, "When I pause the longest, I make the most telling strokes with my brush."2 3. A Place Of Spiritual Renewal Perhaps even more important than rest and reflection, Jesus found in the simple home in Bethany ...

114. Life's Loose Threads and The Tie That Binds

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... of time and energy to the depiction, compiling countless preparatory sketches and carefully attending to each intricate detail. The result was revolutionary: one of the most dramatic and innovative renderings of the Renaissance, before which succeeding generations of artists would later stand awestruck in absolute wonder. Mysteriously, though, just seven months into the portrayal, Leonardo abruptly set his brushes aside and never returned to resume his work. To this day, the Adoration of the Magi remains an ...

115. Jesus, The Servant

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... he found. Drops of moisture had formed on the model an illusion of bleeding or weeping. The head had drooped. The facial expression had been transformed into one of compassion. And the arms had dropped into a posture of welcome. It had become a wounded Christ-figure. The artist stared at the figure, agonizing over the time wasted and the need to begin all over again. Then, meaning came to him. He began to see that this image of Christ was, by far, the truer one. So he carved these words in the base of the ...

116. The Unveiled Truth

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... ). The word "departure" suggests his death in Jerusalem, his death and resurrection. It is a reminder that we must go through water and wilderness into the promised land. This concept is captured in the icons of the transfiguration created in the Eastern church. The artist has some liberty in portraying the glorified Jesus, but one of the rules is that Jesus must stand squarely with both feet on the mountain. This is in contrast with many of the paintings in the West, where Jesus is hovering in some clouds ...

117. Need Help Removing That Roadblock?

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Steve Burt

... -- in order to follow that dream, to nurture that angel God has placed within us -- that's often scary. So Moses speaks to God, and God promises to be with them. God wants them to succeed, just as God wants that chicken plucker to become the artist he yearns to become. Once the Hebrews commit to becoming their true selves, slaves no longer -- once they commit to following the path God has set before them -- the roadblocks disappear. To borrow a line from the PBS black history series: they've got to keep ...

118. Christ the King

John 18:28-40

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... special day in the Christian year, and yet the day is often sadly neglected in the church's celebrations. Why not let a large work of art declare the uniqueness of Christ the King Sunday? Work well ahead of time, and go to one of the congregation's best artists. Ask this person to create a work of art that can be displayed in the sanctuary on this day every year. (It might be displayed in another part of the church building the rest of the year.) In whatever medium the person works, have him or her portray ...

119. We Come to Jesus for Rest

Mark 6:30-44

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... to teach them." The second banner can show people bringing the sick on mats and begging Jesus to let them just touch the fringe of his cloak. Add the words, "They brought their sick and those who touched even the fringe of his cloak were healed." No great artists would be needed to prepare a long, narrow banner to hang across the front of the sanctuary. Use stencils and markers to add these words, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." (To center the words on the banner put the ...

120. Crossing Boundries

Mark 7:24-30

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... may be in the church's own neighborhood.) Then ask the class to prepare and produce a skit that will challenge the congregation to begin a ministry in one of these foreign places. Visuals Ask the best artist in the congregation to paint two paper banners. Using large sheets of paper, the artist should paint one scene of the Syrophoenician woman begging Jesus to heal her daughter. The second scene should show Jesus healing the deaf man with a speech impediment. Since geography plays such an important part of ...

121. First Sunday After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... and a teenage girl to be Mary. A baby is needed for Jesus. A man and a woman in their seventies or eighties are needed to portray Simeon and Anna. A narrator is needed to read the lesson. If desirable, Simeon could speak his own lines. Visuals Have an artist create two banners. One should show Simeon holding the Christ-child in his arms, and the other should show Anna. One of Anna's hands should point to the child in Simeon's arms, and her other hand should be lifted up in praise to God. Their clothing ...

122. Christmas 2

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... all both boys destined to replace servants who have not been faithful in serving the Lord. The preacher can then use the way these two stories rub against one another to get at the message that Luke is preaching. Visuals Recruit some of the better artists in the congregation to cut out life-size figures from cardboard. Have them paint these figures to look like old Jewish scholars gathered in discussion with the twelve-year-old Jesus. Place these figures in a front corner of the sanctuary, or in an unused ...

123. Where's The Treasure?

Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Thomas Long

... by the causal observer. What is strange here is that the stable, and the shepherds, and the cradle are set, not in the expected small town of Bethlehem, but among the ruins of mighty Roman columns. The fragile manger is surrounded by broken and decaying columns. The artists knew the meaning of the treasure: The gospel, the birth of God's new age, was also the death of the old world.1 Herods know in their souls what we perhaps have passed over too lightly: God's presence in the world means finally the end ...

124. Lent 4

John 3:1-21, Numbers 21:4-9, Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... fire convey uncertainty, with the possible exception of the Virgin Mary. This was not the message that the church of that time wanted to convey. Michelangelo's vision of the Last Judgment leaves everyone and everything hanging, including the artist. In his final confession, at the age of 89, the great artist repined: "I regret that I have not done more for the salvation of my soul." WORSHIP RESOURCES Psalm Of The Day: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 "Bless the Lord ... who forgives all your sins, who heals all your ...

125. A Larger Design For Living

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

... drawings. Then he took a piece of chalk and wrote across the drawing, "Amplius," which means "greater, and larger." Rafael's ideas had been too cramped and narrow. Like the great master artist, God sometimes looks on our design for living, and leaves us with the word, "Amplius." And in the same way that Rafael became a greater artist on canvas, so we ought to develop a larger design for our lives in keeping with the inspiration of God and his directions for them. We need a greater comprehension of what ...

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