Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1326 to 1350 of 5000 results

1326. The Kingdom of God Is Like… a Joke!

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Steven Burt

... proved to be the good neighbor?” They’d suddenly find themselves pairing together the words “good” and “black.” “The good black person.” And how would they deal with that topsy-turvy reality? A present day example may help. It very much illustrates one individual’s satori experience, a time when the punchline exploded and created a sudden, breathtaking awareness of the possibilities of the Kingdom of God. Dee Horn, a school teacher, tells about taking her class on a trip to Paris: We ten ...

1327. Small Church Communion

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Steven Burt

... punches in their book, Preaching and Worship in the Small Church (Nashville: Abingdon Creative Leadership Series, Lyle Schaller ed., 1980). In a section praising the latest printed Communion materials they say: Simply stated, these new services illustrate that contemporary liturgical renewal is taking its cue from the period before the church became big, successful, and respectable;… pompous, dramatic, and extravagant;… Directives for contemporary worship renewal are coming from a church that was then ...

1328. Good News From A Graveyard

John 20:1-9

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... graveyard: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead so that you and I might live in the assurance that all the doors of life and death are now opened to us. That is the conquest of the cross, the victory of Easter. This triumphant message is illustrated powerfully in a scene from T.S. Eliot's Murder In the Cathedral. A number of priests are working to bar the doors to the church. They are barring the doors against men who seek to assassinate the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas, the Archbishop, will not permit ...

1329. Act III, Scene 2

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... moment - or the next. You cannot predict his visitations. But your awareness can be sensitized by practicing the presence of God. You can live in the awareness of our Lord's nearness through faithful prayer and by envisioning him with you. That discipline is poignantly illustrated in the oft told story of an old man who suddenly became gravely ill. When the pastor came for a visit he noticed a chair beside the bed. "Oh my goodness," he said, "You must have already had company today." The old man said, "No ...

1330. Safe With The Shepherd

John 10:22-42

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... his mighty power will sustain us. No other god will do; we need the Good Shepherd who will lead us in the right Way, teach us the liberating Truth and give us strength for Life and peace and security at this life's end. One of my favorite stories illustrates this for us in a poignant way. There was a little boy named Jimmy, who was the youngest of three children born into a wealthy Canadian family. He had been sickly since he was an infant, but in his fifth year his illness grew worse and he could no ...

1331. A Strange Kind Of Glory

John 13:31-38

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... but by ready helpfulness. The desire for the things that mark privilege and success in this world and the quest for health are all) dangerous temptations that threaten our ability to see the kind of life God in Christ has in mind for us. This concept is illustrated cleverly in the story of Horville Sash. Horville had a very humble job in the offices of the largest corporation of the world. He worked as the go-fer in the lowest reaches of the building doing what he could to help other people do their jobs ...

1332. Beyond Togetherness

John 17:20-26

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... through personal union with the Lord so deep and real as to be comparable with his union with the Father...."1 Temple has penetrated through the superficial. His sense of union in Christ is beyond togetherness. He moves past even the appealing call to our common humanity, illustrated most commonly in the words of Pastor John Donne many years ago, "... No person is an Island entire of himself; every one is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. If a clump of dirt be washed away by the Sea, Europe is ...

1333. Our Christian I.D.

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... , even the Father; it just makes good sense. Don't be so hard on yourself." But Jesus had come with a mission that was far more important than merely trying to get the most out of life, and far greater than helping others to become successful. He had come to illustrate God's love in a unique and sacrificial way. He had come to give his all, to usher in a whole new age of mercy, forgiveness and eternal life. He would not substitute the good for the best. He would not exchange the high for the highest. So in ...

1334. Finding Our Roots

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... . Then they hear a voice saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" Listen to him. And when the voice had spoken, they looked up ... and saw Jesus only. Now what if Jesus was preparing his disciples for their ministry, preparing them by illustrating in this vivid way, that there are unseen realities which are far greater than the things we call "the facts of life." What if our Lord chose this method to imprint indelibly on the disciples’ minds that even the greatest wonder of this world is but ...

1335. That's Our God For You!

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... until we first examine what he has done. When God became human in Jesus of Nazareth, that opened up new possibilities for understanding God, of getting to know what God is like. After all, we come to know and enjoy each other through our responses; we illustrate who we are by what we do. The story is told of a little boy, Billy. He visited his grandmother in California one summer and almost wore her out with his vigorous activity. She was accustomed to living a peaceful, orderly life. He was perpetual ...

1336. When Is It Tolerable to Be Intolerant?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... and uses, as his idiom, salt, an element very familiar to his people because of the role it played in their whole culture and economy. The idea here is that there needs to be an intolerance of tolerance. And the character and activity of salt illustrate aptly what Jesus meant. The Christian life is not all softness, relaxation, and "me-too-ism." There must be salt in it, for salt, like fire, has a purifying function. Moreover, it brings out inherent flavor and preserves what might otherwise decay. For us ...

1337. This Life Is Yours To Live!

Ezekiel 18:1-32

Sermon

Keith Hammer

... to all of the problems you will ever face in life. You may think it strange to suggest to you that what you see in a mirror is the answer to all of the problems you will ever face. Yet, what I am doing, I believe, is illustrating the fundamental truth which God is trying to communicate through the prophet Ezekiel in our text this morning. The people of Israel to whom this text originally was addressed found themselves to be detainees, “guests” who couldn’t go home, exiles in a strange land. The armies ...

1338. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... of the acceptance of reality when he told the Corinthians: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I gave up childish ways ..." (1 Corinthians 13:11). Let me illustrate this phenomenon. I'm certain that your parents at times unconsciously disappointed you or let you down when you were a child. Occasionally all parents are guilty of this. Perhaps they promised you a trip for your birthday and then forgot about it and gave you a ...

1339. Illusion Or Reality?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... of the cultured traveler, the pious priest, and the lofty Levite, we find an untouchable Samaritan. The Pharisee and the publican both go up the hill to pray. It does appear to be something less than excellence that Jesus used in His personal illustrations. And this has to be of significance to a world which, rightfully so, strives for excellence. Donald Nichols writes speeches for corporate executives.32 He notes that in the past few years the gurus in the corner office began to covet a metaphor with ...

1340. Of Seeing and Hearing

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... contrast to dark. In either case -- seeing or hearing -- we arrive at understanding. The prophets taught over and over again that we are to see with perception and hear with understanding if we are to enter into God’s purposes. In Isaiah 6:1-9 we have an illustration of this. The voice of God calls Isaiah to ministry. Isaiah is told to go and urge people to see and hear. He is to be gravely challenged. People will simply look and listen idly. At last, God promises, there will be a remnant, those who will ...

1341. Where Does That Leave Us?

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... for his world, even as we will be part of the fulfillment of his Story in the Day of Judgment. You may ask, “How in the world do we cause people to go with sand in their hair?” We would never consciously do that. Here are a few illustrations which are the emotional and functional equivalent of sand in the hair. 1. Poor workmanship. Have you ever called a plumber who quickly repaired the problem; yet, no sooner had he gone than the leak started again, only this time worse. I used a particular auto garage ...

1342. God’s Ultimate Concern

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

... of Discipline. It seeks to tell what United Methodists can and cannot do. Rather than a curse, it is a blessing because of its clarity. A Jewish Rabbi was addressing his congregation where the high school graduates were being recognized. He used an illustration of water. He stated that water which is allowed total freedom, soon loses its power and becomes still, constituting a swamp, breeding harmful insects. Water, on the other hand, that is totally free, but is confined by two banks, never loses its power ...

1343. Everything Except God

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... -making that I have run across is these words by Clarence Jordan who starkly delineated peacemaking in these terms: “It’s what God does.”3 On a visit to the dentist a while back I had some time on my hands. I read the Sports illustrated and National Geographic magazines. The only other magazines remaining on the table were women’s magazines. I picked up one of them (I do not recall which one) and read an article by a woman who was drawing a distinction between infatuation and love. Perhaps thinking ...

1344. Christmas Preparations We Often Forget

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... earth and to live and reign forever and ever. We cannot ignore the judgment of Christmas. There is an imminent judgment right there in Christ's birth, a judgment that goes hand in hand with our Lord's coming to be the bringer of salvation. It is illustrated, perhaps, in the story that has been told of the shipwreck survivor cast up on an uninhabited island. For days, months and years he waited for rescue. He watched from the island's heights for a ship, but none came. Then, one day, on the distant horizon ...

1345. The Man In The River

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John Jamison

... who has no coat." You glanced at the extra coat I had wrapped around my waist and I looked at the one you had folded up under your arm. We stood there surrounded by people who had no coat at all. Surely he isn't serious. This is just an illustration, one of those "Let's pretend" things we use to get a point across. I mean, if we give one coat away what will we wear when we go back up the mountain on the way home tonight? Doesn't he know it gets cold up there? And why was ...

1346. A Lesson From Prayers Overheard

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... how much he needed it, he went home with less, knowing virtually nothing of the peace the publican found, and still not understanding that God's love reaches out to all and despises no one. 1. Rick Reilly, "Guts, Brains and Glory," Sports Illustrated, Vol. 66, No. 2, January 12, 1987. The 1987 Fiesta Bowl game between the University of Miami and The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Penn State won the game. 2. Harry F. Baughman, Preaching from the Propers, (Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1949), p ...

1347. Death of a Twelve-year-old Boy

Matthew 18:1-9

Eulogy

John M. Braaten

... 't leave much. He didn't have time to amass or to attain those things by which success is so often measured. But in the area of relationships, J_, in twelve short years, made a warm and wonderful impression on this weary and cynical world. His life was a powerful illustration of what God is able to do through one small life. Being with J_, I was struck with the sincerity and strength of his faith. At no time was that more evident than when I was called to his bedside in the Special Care unit of Saint Mary's ...

1348. For an Eighty-year-old Man

Acts 1:1-11

Eulogy

Harold Warlick

... and in all Judea (your home towns), and in Samaria (to those against whom you might have a natural prejudice), and to the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) You are witnesses. The life of Eck Ring helps me more fully understand this courtroom illustration. Jesus did not send out defense attorneys for Christianity. We are not called to defend our faith against the onslaught of forces we hate, be they fundamentalism, literalism, or atheism. Such a role Eck Ring did not occupy. He did not hate, so he did ...

1349. Death of the Unchurched For a Recovering Alcoholic

Eulogy

Alan Bacon Bond

... people like him. You turned to him for that very quality of strength to help you cope when your going got tough. One of his proud achievements was the formation of an A.A. group for adolescents. It is out of that context I would like to draw an illustration. Each of you in Bill's family is faced with the singularly most difficult adjustment of your life. The question with which you are now faced is this: On what resource am I going to draw in order that I might survive this ordeal? As a person who helped ...

1350. Three Days To See

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Helen Keller

... establish a compulsory course in 'How to Use Your Eyes'. The professor would try to show his pupils how they could add joy to their lives by really seeing what passes unnoticed before them. He would try to awake their dormant and sluggish faculties. II Perhaps I can best illustrate by imagining what I should most like to see if I was given the use of my eyes, say, for just three days. And while I am imagining, suppose you, too, set your mind to work on the problem of how to work on the problem of how you ...

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