Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1251 to 1275 of 2157 results

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... God." Technology is the quickest route we have to "stealing God's stuff. " Is the "right one" the "right stuff?" Do we have yet the right one, baby? (Again, hope they say "Uh-uh!") Too often we let the world's definitions determine what versions of the "truth" the church will offer, even to the point of accommodating fanciful standards of moral behavior and character. Today, for example, many perceive personal and communal "integrity" as a luxury they simply can no longer afford. For these the "Golden Rule ...

1252. The Seduction of the Palms

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -style revolt - the very thing he's come to avert! - may have its own tempting momentum" (172). Luke certainly knows his Greco-Roman cultural milieu. He takes care to omit the inflammatory palm fronds and the extremely Jewish-sounding "Hosannas" from his version of the entrance parade. Ironically, it is the church itself that has succumbed to the temptation, for we mark this Sunday with waving palm fronds and use the language of "triumphal entry." Remember how Jesus told the disciples to inform the borrowed ...

1253. The Necessary Book

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the unfair debts that had been incurred, he also restores the master's name among the honorable. As a book of dollars and cents, the steward's pay book now gleams with red ink at the master's expense. However, as a Necessary Book, an illustrated version of the master's moral integrity, this volume is clearly in the black. In fact, the master sees no red ink at all. The value of his restored relationship with the community is beyond price. As a Necessary Book, the accounting of the master's reputation is ...

1254. O Holy Nightmare

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and money, grabbing and getting. It is up to the church to save Advent from being labeled as nothing more than the "last (number) shopping days left before Christmas." The answer is not to try and go back to some austere, purified version of this season. The Puritans were the last to try that on a cultural scale. Anyone caught preparing to celebrate Christmas in 18th century New England risked punishment under the law. Puritans felt that celebrating Christmas was not biblical and that such celebrations ...

1255. Is Your Christmas Spirit a Controlled Substance?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... church was right to have “pneumatic concerns.” The spirit is not a controlled substance. The spirit of God is truly a “pneumatic concern” for all who seek safe harbors and snug quarters. The Christmas spirit recruits “pneumanauts”, the Christian version of “astronauts” which literally translates as “sailors of the Spirit”, those who are willing to heave themselves into the unknown because they trust the source that sends them. No, the “Christmas spirit” is not a safe, comfy pillow or ...

1256. Waiting - Sermon Starter

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

... eat. We stand in crooked lines, then yell out an order, get it down in five minutes and then get back to the rat race. We haven't got time to sit down and read a book anymore. Perhaps it is a sign of the times that we have condensed versions of the Bible. In kitchens all over America there are gadgets to get the meal prepared quickly. I would guess Mr. Coffee started it all. Simply spoon in the coffee and pour water. The coffee is made before you can even find a cup. When we become sick we want ...

1257. Prophets or Professionals?

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 't help. Politeness only eggs the person on. Being firm only makes the caller more determined. The only recourse we are really left with is rudeness. Thankfully, it's only a phone call. We can simply hang up. These annoying salespeople are perhaps the most petty version of a "false prophet" our culture has to offer. They pretend to have a "word" for you but all they really have is the need to spread their own message. They have no concern for your life insurance needs or the state of your reading library ...

1258. Written in Red

1 John 5:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -year-olds. Bodies lie splayed out, blood flies and flows across the TV screen. The "news" has become so grisly and graphic both in words and in pictures that many communities have clamored for and received from their local stations specially toned-down "family-rated" versions of the news that are deemed acceptable for viewing by young children. We are a society saturated in blood. In the movies and on the news, in our sports and on the screen, blood sells. After a hiatus of many years, where the only books ...

1259. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the director of operations grabs a box of everything that the astronauts have available to them in their capsule (things like duct tape, socks and plastic notebook covers) and runs to a room where several engineers wait. 'Folks,' he says, holding up a version of the square filter and the round receptacle, 'you have one hour to make this fit into this using only these materials.'" Only Christians with serious soul-training can do the impossible to provide oxygen for a suffocating world. Cited by Ronald J ...

1260. The Widow's Might

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Although we try not to admit it to ourselves, the truth is that today, more than ever, we are a society that judges everything and everyone according to monetary value. We assume that if something costs a lot, it must be good if another version costs even more, it must be better. That is why when some colleges have raised their tuitions, their enrollments swelled. If it costs more, it must be better. Whatever happened to the beauty of simple gifts, the dignity of small gestures, the grace to appreciate ...

1261. The Family Ideal, Not Idol

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is proposed to reduce federal benefits to mother-children units if the mother is young and poor'" (The Washington Spectator, 1 August 1995, 2). Theologian Janet Fishburn has declared in her book, Confronting the Idolatry of the Family, that we have succeeded in elevating an idealized version of the family, even over God. The Bible is clear: Nothing must come between God and us, or before our faith in God. So as we build a stronger focus on the family, let us not give family first place in life. Let us not ...

1262. Rock-Bottom Living

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... still hoping that fulfillment, love, inspiration and commitment can be purchased for a price? There is plenty of evidence pointing to the predominance of the "bottom-line," "more-is-good" mentality in our culture. More and more of us are buying into the new version of the American Dream the one that just costs a dollar every evening the lottery. A watershed in American history has been reached: The number one peak experience now sought by Americans is not falling in love; it's winning the lottery. Three out ...

1263. The Five Habits of Highly Spiritual Leaders

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the church demanded more from its members than their physical presence on Sunday morning. The church must make it clear that it also demands spiritual leadership from every parishioner in the pew. The author of 1 Peter offered the Gentile Christians his own version of what was needed for them to successfully negotiate life in the midst of a hostile pagan culture. We might call these "The Five Habits of Highly Spiritual Leaders." The Christians 1 Peter addressed were faced with consequences more dire than a ...

1264. Holy Spirit Holes

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... songs. The most recent is called "Breath of God" and its words (available on the cassette Woman's Song) are: Blow through me, Breath of God, Blow through me; like a pipe, like a reed, making melody The cosmic song in me, Breath of God. An earlier version is called "Breath of the Spirit." After each verse, if memory serves, came this refrain: Fill the earth, birth it to birth and blow where you will; blow, blow, blow, 'til I be But Breath of the Spirit blowing in me. Blow, Holy Spirit holes, blow. Let ...

1265. The Four R's

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 'rithmetic all to the tune of a hickory stick.' In the West Virginia holler from whence my family hails, there were '4-R's' taught reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic and the road to Roanoke (That is the fastest way out of West Virginia!). Apparently, this was the local version of the maxim that a good education can take you anywhere you want to go. There are another '4-R's' that will get you even further than Roanoke. These 4-R's are the key survival skills of the 21st century: roots, rituals, relationships and ...

1266. Teamwork Works!

Judges 4:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... standard: David and Goliath. But the story of Deborah, Barak and Jael defeating Sisera and his huge army of iron chariots (undoubtedly the kind with spiked wheels, designed to chew up enemy foot soldiers) is really another "David and Goliath" story. Only in this version with the female lead, the key to victory over the oppressor is found in teamwork. Whereas David's confrontation with the larger-than-life Goliath was a one-man show, the defeat of Sisera's soldiers and the release of Jabin's stranglehold ...

1267. Be an Energizer Bunny

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... /or rehearsed musicians. There may be another reason. When hymnbooks were precious and in short supply, children and newcomers learned the hymns by standing close by and listening to their neighbor. Whatever that pew-partner happened to be singing became the accepted version of that hymn. Boys standing next to their fathers or other males learned the men's part. Girls stationed next to their mothers and other female relatives learned the women's parts. When everyone got his or her own hymnbook, the harmonic ...

1268. The Oblivious Obvious

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... restating the obvious. In the days before television, sportscasting was more of an art _ drawing pictures with words for people tuned to their radios. But what can a sports announcer possibly add to the surround-sound, slow-motion, instant-replay, 15-camera angle, close-up version of our favorite sports events that we see now. All they can do is retell what has obviously just happened right in front of our own eyes _ and get paid for it. And for the most part, people still like to hear that obvious message ...

1269. Third Time's a Charm

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ." 2. Ritual: Rituals need not be mindless acts; indeed, rituals rightly performed are mindful acts. We all have our personal rising rituals: we get up, brush our teeth, take a shower, walk the dog, make the coffee, read the paper or do some version of this routine. The consistency is comforting and settles our systems before we launch into another busy, hectic day. Have you established a similar habitus, a pattern of faithfulness, that serves the same purpose in your relationship to Christ? We need faith ...

1270. Call the Tribe of Issachar Together

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... once experimented with grand-scale bigness, too but the results of those trials are found now only in our collections of fossilized dinosaur bones. If you can't adapt, if you can't read the signs of the times, you face certain extinction. The Greek version of Jesus' diatribe against the crowd in this week's gospel text is perhaps the experience of the Greek philosopher Thales. He ventured outside one night with a knowledgeable, elderly woman who had promised to teach him about the stars. In the darkness, he ...

1271. Life's Two Pockets

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... was neither saint nor sinner - he was both. Though he intended to cut himself off from his fellow human beings, he succeeded in shepherding a reborn creation into existence and brought a new possibility for life to his neighbors. (To read a complete version of this remarkable story, see Jean Giono, The Man Who Planted Trees [Toronto, Ont.: CBC Enterprises, 1989].) What would you discover if you were to dig into your own pockets this morning? Lint and gum wrappers or life and glory? (To conclude this ...

1272. Dream Reality

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... begin the new year with some God-powered, God-sized daydreams. In Native American culture there is a talisman called a "dream catcher." Actually, they've recently become quite popular as pieces of jewelry and folk art. A dream catcher looks like a simplistic version of a spider's web, adorned with a few decorative feathers and beads. According to legend, parents are to hang a dream catcher over their newborn's cradle - the "web" then catches only the child's good dreams, while letting the bad dreams escape ...

1273. A Theology of Linguistic Linguini

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... has more to do with adoration than explanation. Let me prove it to you. Just before Christmas Mitch Stacy wrote an (AP) Associated Press story about John Halgrim. Katharine Houreld in Kenya also contributed to the story. Let me give you the shorthand version. When John Halgrim was fourteen years old he began to get bad headaches. He felt clumsy, off-balance, and out-of-whack. Various physical exams brought various diagnoses—-allergies, migraines, even depression. But an MRI, a slice-by-slice photo-op of ...

1274. John 6:24-35

John 6:24-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jewish crowd cites the text, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat." (This is an imprecise combination of Exodus 16:4-5, Psalm 78:24, and Nehemiah 9:15.) In keeping with the Midrashic format, Jesus then responds in verse 32 with a paraphrased version of the text. His re-statement corrects the slightly butchered text the crowd had quoted him, clearly identifying God as the one who once gave the manna and now gives the true bread of heaven, the bread which gives life to the whole world. The uncomprehending ...

1275. Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Integrity speaks of the coherence and wholeness which characterizes a person's actions and beliefs. Paul continues his military analogy in verse 15, but strangely he now uses it to speak of "the gospel of peace." Paul is not simply suggesting some ancient version of the "peace through strength" mandate which governs so much of our foreign policy decisions. Rather, Paul uses "peace" as a much more extensive term here. As a Jew, Paul's choice of the word "peace," the Hebrew shalom, must have encompassed a ...

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