Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1401 to 1425 of 3852 results

Hebrews 2:5-18

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Christ as our true brother Exegetical note Building upon the presupposition of the Christ's preexistence (1:1-4), the author here is at pains to assert the full humanity of this "pioneer" of salvation: he has the same origin as all his human siblings, he took the same "flesh and blood" nature as all God's children, and he is like them "in every respect," even in the experience of suffering and temptation. Call to Worship Leader: Brothers and sisters, let us proclaim God's name to one another! ...

1402. Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Deuteronomy 30:11-20, Psalm 119:1-176

Bulletin Aid

... Worship Leader: Blessed are those whose ways are pure! People: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO WALK IN GOD'S WAYS! Leader: Blessed are those who keep God's commands! People: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE GOD! (Based on Psalm 119:1-2) Collect God of Original Blessing, you filled the universe with your creative energy when you called it forth from nothingness and declared it good. Help us to find our proper place in your created order: that, seeing ourselves in oneness with all your creatures, we may yet exhibit the ...

1403. The Resurrection of Our Lord

Mt 28:1-10 · Col 3:1-4 · Acts 10:34-43 · Ps 118

Bulletin Aid

... -10 Theme: Women as witnesses of the risen Christ Exegetical note Among the many nuances added to Mark's earlier resurrection account by Matthew's redaction is a heightening of the role of the women in the event. Mark had ended his account (in its original version) at 16:8, with the women's fearful silence. Matthew, however, has the women departing with joy, not fear, and bearing the first testimony to the fact of the resurrection, having been commissioned as witnesses not only by an angel, but by the risen ...

1404. Easter 4

John 10:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Theme: The believer's intimacy with Jesus Exegetical note The mixture of "shepherd" and "door" images for Jesus in this passage suggests two originally separate sayings of Jesus fused and interpreted by the evangelist. The more accessible, though dated, image is that of the shepherd (vv. 1-6 and again in 8 and 10ff.), the point of which here is the intimate relationship of trust between the care-giver and the cared-for: they ...

1405. Proper 6

Matthew 9:35-38

Bulletin Aid

... , vis-a-vis either the bowels or, oddly enough, the womb. What we have on Jesus' part here, then, is the kind of deeply felt, profound love for "harassed and helpless" children usually associated with motherhood, which may well have been its reference in the original Ararnaic. Call to Worship Leader: As mother's heart aches when a child is harassed and helpless, People: SO DOES GOD'S COMPASSION EXTEND TO ALL PEOPLE. Leader: And as a mother's nature is to show mercy upon her children, People: SO DOES GOD ...

1406. Proper 10

Matthew 13:1-23

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Facing failures with the gospel proclamation Exegetical note The main point of the original parable (vv. 1-9), rather than the almost certainly later allegorical interpretation of the Church (vv. 18ff.), seems to be that, despite the fact that eventually it will find a fertile audience and yield extraordinary fruit, the gospel will initially and repeatedly fail to take root. In this regard, the ...

1407. Proper 11

Romans 8:18-27

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Sin as earth-shaking Exegetical note Though a literal reading of Genesis 3 is untenable to the modern scientific worldview (and contemporary exegesis!), the notion of the world itself "groaning" because of Adam's original disobedience does point to the far-reaching, earth-shaking effects of human sin that belie our tendency to individualize the human plight and its remedy through the gospel. One need only think of our potentially catastrophic pollution or the potential devastation of a nuclear ...

1408. Proper 11

Matthew 13:24-30

Bulletin Aid

... note One of the most disturbing slogans to come out of America's recent war experiences was "Kill them all, and let God sort them out!" The parable of the tares (or "weeds") offers a much more positive angle on divine discrimination, both in its original form (vv. 24-30) and in its (almost certainly later) allegorical interpretation (vv. 36-43). The suggestion is that in God's Reign (and in the Church) no artificial human "weeding" is necessary: "Save them all, and let God sort them out!" Call to Worship ...

1409. Proper 20

Matthew 20:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's gracious unfairness Exegetical note The original "punchline" to this parable was probably verse 15, which would shift the focus of the parable properly from the laborers to the vineyard owner and would underscore his generosity. The lesson, then, is about God and God's coming Reign: God will be just to all but "unfairly" gracious to ...

1410. Proper 22

Mt 21:33-46 · Php 3:4b-14 · Ex 20:1-20

Bulletin Aid

... we pray. Amen. Gospel Lesson: Matthew 21-33-46 Theme: Claiming God's coming Reign Exegetical note Form-critical analysis of this passage in light of the other versions of the parable in the Synoptics and the Gospel of Thomas reveals that the original point of the story was not Christological; nor was it primarily allegorical. Rather, it was a simple, if shocking, "Kingdom" parable, whose point was the value of the coming Reign of God and the extraordinary, even desperate measures that the lowly should take ...

1411. Proper 24

Matthew 22:15-22

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Separation of church and state Exegetical note The conversation depicted here must be understood in its original setting, in which the distinction between state and religion was blurred in a number of ways, not the least being the claim of the Roman emperor to be divine (and so designated on coins)! Jesus' famous dictum about "rendering," therefore, is a cleverly "safe" way of dealing with a question ...

1412. Proper 25

Matthew 22:34-40

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Christian love as bifocal Exegetical note In a sense, Jesus refuses here to play along with the Pharisee's question, which called for a singular answer. Jesus' answer, advocating a "bifocal" love, was not original in the rabbinic tradition. Others had emphasized these two Old Testament injunctions before. Jesus does, however, appear to raise the second commandment to a nearly co-equal status with the first with the word "like" in v. 39, and in his citing both as the foundation for the law and ...

1413. Hypocrisy vs. Humility

Matthew 23:1-39

Bulletin Aid

... gospel draws to us; and we admit with shame how much we relish the attention that comes our way, even from our most casual service to the Christ. Forgive us our pride and conceit, O God, and inspire us with the humility exhibited and commanded by Jesus, who, though his origin and destiny were in glory, found godliness in the lowliest of places and people. In his name we pray. Amen

1414. Proper 28

Matthew 25:14-30

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Preserving vs. promoting the gospel Exegetical note Exactly what Jesus' original intent was for this parable is uncertain, but the fearful, "protectionist" mentality of the third servant is universal and timeless: he timidly decides to protect what he has rather than to develop it, and because of his subsequent actions he is pronounced "wicked and lazy." This story could be applied ...

1415. Thanksgiving Day

Matthew 6:25-34

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's providence and priorities Exegetical note This passage probably was not originally a part of the Sermon on the Mount, since Luke locates it elsewhere. The exhortat ion against anxiety here has two bases, the first of which is the more developed: (1) God's providence and (2) God's priorities, namely, God's Reign and righteousness. The assurance throughout is that ...

1416. All Saints' Day

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

... . He wrote, "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age is a regret." Happiness is found not in military glory. Alexander the Great conquered the known world of his day. Having done so, he wept, saying, "There are no more worlds to conquer." (original source, unknown) Stewardship Challenge Consider this: Build on the stewardship of joy. The Readers Digest once stated, "If only we would stop trying to be happy, we would have a pretty good time." How would you go about putting your joy in the offering ...

1417. True And False Prophecy

Mark 14:27-31

Drama

... entered, as one talks, the other freezes. Text: Mark (26-31) 53-72 Cast: Caiaphas, high priest, mid-50s or older. Simon Peter, a fisherman and disciple, probably age 30-40. Time: After Jesus’ arrest but before his execution. Background: This drama was originally titled "The Lies That Served God’s Purpose." Here are two men of seemingly opposite perspectives about Jesus, but neither of them realizes the full truth of Jesus’ words, and both of them will bear false witness against him in order to protect ...

1418. THE FINAL TRIUMPH

Drama

... you do then? MARY: We rushed to tell Peter and the others what we had seen, but Mary, being younger, was already there by the time that we arrived. ANNAS: You keep saying "us" and "we." Were there others with you? MARY: Yes, there were four of us originally, but Mary ran away as she has told you. ANNAS: And did these other women see the angel, too? MARY: Oh yes. We all saw the angel, and heard his message. ANNAS: And did Peter and the other disciples believe your story? MARY: They were stunned and confused ...

1419. When I Was Hungry...

Matthew 4:1-11

Drama

... some food that we can eat ... food, not rocks! 3: It isn’t my fault you can’t eat my food. 1: It isn’t our fault either. 2: It doesn’t matter who is at fault, none of us can eat. [All three begin to walk back to their original places] 1: I’ve been in the wilderness for forty days. 2: I’ve been in the wilderness for twenty years! 3: [Pause] We’ve all been in the wilderness a long time. 1: And we’re hungry. 2: The wilderness is harsh, 3: And cold and lonely; and food ...

1420. Faithful People in a Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... amazement, the boys were walking around, unhurt. In verse 25, the King says that he sees a fourth man too, one who looks "like a son of the gods." Underline that. Guess who that fourth man was. I think he was the Lord Jesus. Remember, Jesus did not originate as a baby in Bethlehem. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ existed with God the Father from before the beginning. I believe that the Lord Jesus took on human form temporarily in order to be with and to comfort those Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace ...

1421. Turn Out the Lights! The Party's Over!

Daniel 5:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... who says, "I’ve got friends in low places, where the whiskey burns and the beer chases my blues away." It chases the blues just for a few hours; then they return with double fury. Do you remember John Belushi of Saturday Night Live? He was the original party animal. But the alcohol and drugs became progressively less effective at chasing the blues away. He died of an overdose, looking for joy in all the wrong places. Now don’t get the idea that Christianity is opposed to fun. We are not. Can Methodists ...

1422. Train Whistle In The Night

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

... simple joy. The gadgetry of the new religion can separate us from the quiet beauty of the genuine. A glamorous haze of artificial life crowds in, and with it comes assurance that "Coke is the real thing," that cheap material substitutions really are better than the originals they replace. Soon it all seems like a kind of plastic life, and no one can be very sure what’s genuine and what isn’t. And as plastic life seems to get easier and easier, it becomes harder and harder to live. The beauty of ...

1423. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... within the Christian community at this time. In Galatians 2:11-12 we find an indication that Peter (Cephas) came to the Antioch church and rejoiced with them that the Gospel was being preached to the Gentiles. After all, Peter had been given the original vision at Joppa which led to the first conversion of a Gentile to faith in Jesus Christ. But afterward some emissaries came from James, then the leader of the church at Jerusalem. These men represented the circumcision party and their presence caused even ...

1424. On Mars Hill

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

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... of laws given by God and of punishment for sin. Despite their great learning, the things Paul spoke about seemed beyond the pale of reason. His emotional and heated arguing stirred up their resistance. "What is this babbler saying?" they asked. The original word for "babbler" means a cock sparrow who flits about the marketplace picking up almost invisible scraps from the ground. The "babbler" therefore was one who had some strange scraps of learning. Others of the philosophers said that Paul seemed to be ...

1425. Return to Jerusalem

Acts 20:7-12

Sermon Aid

CSS

... up hatred against Paul. Continuing down the coast, Paul’s party came to Ptolemais and then to Caesarea, from where they were to complete the journey overland. At Caesarea, Paul stayed in the home of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the original elders of the Jerusalem church - "men of good repute, full of the spirit and wisdom." Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. That’s all we know about them. We might like to know more. Why were they mentioned at all? However, another "prophet ...

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