Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1426 to 1450 of 1679 results

1426. Setting All the Idols Down

Hosea 2:14-20

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

Idolatry. It's not an issue that crowds the agenda of the contemporary church today. Most people really don't give it much thought. If asked about idolatry, some will respond with some comment about worshiping graven images instead of God. The more biblically astute will point to the golden calf story in Exodus (32:4). The unfortunate reality, however, is that most people would point to a popular television show called, American Idol. In modern parlance, an idol is a celebrity. An idol is someone who is " ...

1427. Chocolate Cake, Flooded Waters, and Baptism

Genesis 9:8-17

Sermon

Ron Lavin

There was a man, let's call him Rod, who was a fine woodworker. He made cabinets, tables, and mantels for family, friends, and fellow church members. One day his pastor asked him to come to his house and reconstruct a cabinet over his new refrigerator. The new refrigerator was taller than the old one. Rod agreed. When he came to do the work his pastor and his pastor's wife were not at home. They had given him a key to get in. Why not? Rod was the former president of the congregation, a man to be trusted, a ...

1428. Power Failures and Power Surges

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Is this a great parable, or what? All of Jesus’ parables are like depth-charges, but this one seems to give off a dazzling display of fireworks when it explodes. The power of Jesus’ parables is that even though they were all set in the first century world, they have perfect twenty-first century pitch, both in terms of resonance and relevance. Granted, today’s parable talks about strange wedding traditions, midnight processions, a late bridegroom, and nearly a dozen dozing bridesmaids, but the whole ...

1429. Miss Manners and Mr. Goodwrench

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Thankfully, most of us do not deal on a daily basis with the most profound issues of morality and ethics. What we do face every day, however, are small matters of manners (should I keep my word? should I honor my commitments.) Caught up in the big newsmaking issues (murder, abortion, war) of ethics, these small matters sometimes go by the wayside. The church needs to be aware that its role is as the one "hosting the Host," and act accordingly. Post-modern society moves at an incredible pace. It bombards ...

1430. Scissors, Paper, Rock

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"Tough as nails." "Hard as a rock." "Solid as a brick." Those are our metaphors for strength and sturdiness. God, however, hardly ever seems to agree. The divine preference is for security in fluidity and victory in vulnerability, defying our concrete convictions. Do you remember as a kid playing the ancient game "scissors, paper, rock?" You and a friend would beat three counts into your palm with a fist, and on the third count would reshape your fist into either "scissors" (two fingers extended), "paper ...

1431. Take an Ember Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How can we regroup, catch our breath, decompress, get some rest and regain our strength? There's an answer in Church tradition. Canadian postmodern theorist and culture critic Arthur Kroker, professor of Political Theory at Concordia University in Montreal, calls this time we live in "the recline of Western Civilization." Not "decline," but "recline." Some symptoms of "recline"? You're sitting in your family room, parked in a La-Z-Boy, a proverbial couch potato. The perpetual motion of your remote control ...

1432. Mazing Grace or Amazing Grace

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is the amazing grace of God that brings together God's justice and mercy - and turns the maze of life into constant amazement. Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to ask your mom and dad for permission to do something really special? The more outlandish the request, the more unlikely the prospect of approval, the more you knew that timing was everything. You knew you had to catch them in just the right mood and at just the right time of day. It always helped to do a few unexpected good deeds as ...

1433. B.T.D.T.

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

To a "weary and heavy-laden" generation who has Been There, Done That, Jesus offers something radically new: real rest! Have you ever watched a commercial for that glow-in-the-dark neon-green soft drink "Mountain Dew"? It's exhausting. The television screen is filled with frenetic action. Young men spend 60 seconds catapulting out of airplanes on snowboards, leaping off cliffs while wearing parachutes, hurtling down rugged mountains on mostly airborne bicycles, and rollerblading through complete loop-the- ...

1434. Heads Down, Thumbs Up

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The old adage, "Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you," can be translated into body language: Heads Down, Thumbs Up. On Palm Sunday, Jesus gave a thumbs up to the bowed down. Christians commemorate the strangest things. We make a big deal over the fact that Jesus was born in a cave or stable full of smelly animals, into a family of dirt-poor Jews. We tell all sorts of stories about Jesus' closest followers, his most devoted disciples focusing on their being ignorant ...

1435. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul spends considerable time in 1 Corinthians on the topic of food. Chapters 8-11 all look at the use and abuse of such a humble human necessity when it provides a symbolic means of dining with the divine. This week's epistle text lies midway through his discussion. In chapter 10 Paul begins by reaching back into Hebrew history to show how the fickle tendencies of the human spirit can undo the exquisite acts of love and deliverance God may perform. Paul spends the first four verses citing some of the most ...

1436. Isaiah 43:16-21

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

For the desert tribes of Israel, the life-giving presence of Yahweh was intimately tied up in the image of the life-sustaining presence of water. Deliverance and water are found side by side throughout Scripture, beginning with creation's deluvian dunking from human wickedness in Genesis 6 to the New Testament's emphasis on baptism’s power to start life over again. Water cleanses, restores and refreshes, all at the Lord's command. Isaiah 43 is part of the writings of Deutero or Second Isaiah. The enemy of ...

1437. Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul's letter to the Romans immediately conjures up "justification by faith through grace," the catch-phrase of the Reformation, the cornerstone of our postmodern confidence. While it is true that Paul's most eloquent, powerful declarations of this truth are in Romans, that is not the sum total of the letter. In fact, this week's epistle lesson is the transitional point between the two foci of Paul's letter. Paul's first four chapters discuss this miraculous justification we have received through the gift ...

1438. Genesis 12:1-4a

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a mere four verses, we have described the creation of an entire people and the establishment of a radically new kind of relationship between humanity and divinity. The "call of Abram" does more than separate a lone herdsman from his ancestral family. This "call" separates the old animistic, anthropocentric notions of the universe from a remarkably new way of viewing the divine/human or creator/creation relationship. In the other popular, ancient Near Eastern religions, the numerous "gods" behaved in ...

1439. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1440. Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1441. Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today's gospel reading depicts an intensely personalized, detailed scene in Jesus' ministry. Although both Matthew (19:16-30) and Luke (18:18-30) also report this encounter, the Markan version presents the most poignant, sympathetic picture of this man who comes to Jesus seeking an answer to the question " ... what must I do to inherit eternal life?" This scene stands squarely in the midst of the Markan discussions of what it means to be a disciple in the shadow of the cross. Immediately following this ...

1442. You Must Start Over!

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Mike Ripski

I. A personal confession My first appointment was as the Associate Pastor of Grace UMC in the Graceland area of south Memphis. It was 1975. Racial transition had begun in that part of the city. Overnight young adult Sunday school classes moved east. Older adult classes moved to Mississippi. People of a different race and culture moved in. Grace Church’s future depended on its reaching out to its new neighbors. The community had changed. Could the church change too? Things have changed since Belle Meade UMC ...

1443. Worship on the Mountaintop...And Everywhere Else

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

A young woman asked her older co-worker: Why do you go to church every Sunday? Does something happen there that can’t happen somewhere else? And does it happen every Sunday?” The older woman replied, “What happens is I go to meet the God whom I’ve come to know in Jesus. God meets me in other settings than at church. However, I must confess that I’m sure I miss most of God’s appointments with me. I find that I live most of my days in a daze – as though I’m sleepwalking or on autopilot. I go to church to be ...

1444. Epiphany 4

Mark 1:21-28, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The book of Deuteronomy came out of the reform movement during Josiah's reign in the seventh century. The book is put in the form of Moses' last address to the people before entering the Promised Land. This pericope is a part of a section dealing with prophecy. A prophet like Moses is promised to replace the false prophets. This true Moses-like prophet will mediate Yahweh and the people. The passage explains how through Moses God provided for the institution ...

1445. Proper 7

Mark 4:35-41, 1 Samuel 17:1-58, Psalm 9:1-20, Psalm 133:1-3, 2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 9:9-20 [OR] After David’s victory over Goliath, Saul and Jonathan treat him as a prince and take him to the palace. 1 Samuel 17:57–18:5 [AND] Psalm 133:1 First Lesson—David and Goliath fight as champions for the Israelites and the Philistines. 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 Second Lesson—The apostle Paul outlines some of the difficulties faced in his ministry and the resources brought to bear in dealing with them. 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Gospel - Jesus has quite different power ...

1446. Lent 2

Genesis 12:1-8, Psalm 121:1-8, John 3:1-17, Romans 4:1-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 121:1-8 First Lesson - Abraham's response to God's election is readiness to leave the past behind and begin the journey of faith. Genesis 12:1-4a Second Lesson - To be children of Abraham is to know the salvation possible through faith in God's grace, not perfect obedience. Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 Gospel - Rebirth by the Spirit is as mysterious as the source of the winds. John 3:1-17 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you ...

1447. What Is Your Name?

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

Sometimes things don’t work out the way they should. Then, again, maybe they do. Esau and Jacob This seems especially true with regard to twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, hairy, ruddy, red complexioned. Thus he was named Esau. Esau relied on his brawn rather than his brain. Had his name been based on who he was instead of how he looked, his name should have been "Easy-Going," "Laid Back," or even "Slow." His was not a Type-A personality. He had no desire to be his class’ President and ...

1448. Total Recall

Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Sermon

James Merritt

On June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to Roger C. Weightman, declining an invitation to come to Washington, D.C., to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It was the last letter that Jefferson, who was gravely ill, ever wrote. In it, Jefferson says of this date celebrating America's independence: "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be...the signal of arousing men to burst the chains...and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That ...

1449. What Child Is This?

Isaiah 9:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

The melody to the Christmas carol "What Child Is This?" goes all the way back to the 1500's. It was known at one time as "Greensleeves." But most of the world would never have known the melody of this song, much less the words as we know it today, if it had not been for an insurance salesman named William Chatterton Dix. In 1865 as Christmas was approaching, this insurance salesman sat down and wrote a poem in one afternoon that he entitled "The Manger Throne." Dix imagined visitors walking by a manger 2, ...

1450. Nice Guys Finish First

Proverbs 1:20-33

Sermon

Stan Purdum

One day, a Sunday school teacher asked her class of children about their favorite Bible verses. One boy volunteered that his favorite was John 11:35, "Jesus wept," because it was short and easy to remember. A girl said her favorite was John 3:16, because she'd been told it was a summary of the gospel message and had memorized it for Bible school the previous summer. One boy said he liked the story of David and Goliath, especially the part about David killing Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. Next ...

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