Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1526 to 1550 of 1858 results

1526. Lost

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his ...

1527. Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... would demand. Perhaps the rich man thought he was doing more than needed. But Jesus didn’t see it that way. This is where the metaphor of the dogs come in. Why are the dogs there in the story? There is always a reason. “Street dogs” or “wild dogs” roamed the streets during Jesus’ day. They were generally not kept as pets, although the Greeks and Romans kept puppies as pets and would feed them scraps from the table. But the Jewish community did not keep dogs as pets. Dogs were feral animals that ...

1528. Wicked

Luke 20:9-19, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God’s sovereignty over our lives, we do so at our peril. The vineyard in the parable is significant as well. In this sense, the parable draws upon Isaiah (likewise in Jeremiah), and the Song of the Vineyard, in which God’s vineyard yields wild grapes instead of those it should. In Psalm 80, the psalmist refers to Israel as the vine which God brought out of Egypt and replanted in the Promised Land. However Hosea reminds us that more prosperity Israel received, the more “idols” they built. The ...

1529. Are You a Lemming or a Lassie?

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more ...

1530. Three Wise Women

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’re cute. Some are just plain strange. The strangest baby shower you’ve ever attended? [Allow people to answer.] If you look online, you may find some weirder ones –themed parties with babies emerging from airplanes, or babies riding horses in the wild west, or my personal weirdo favorite, the “alien invasion.” The baby shower has become a fun, celebratory tradition. Women get together (sometimes men now too!) and prepare for their lives to change with the arrival of a new little life into their ...

1531. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and I ate it.” [Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!nYou will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he ...

1532. The Mustard and the Cedar

Ezekiel 17:1-24, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... soil or culture –in every heart. It’s a “pilgrim” plant. For the “seed” planted is the primary metaphor of God’s inscription upon the heart –the seed of the Torah planted within the human heart. Not on a hill, but in a field, and all spreading wildly from one very, tiny, miniscule seed. For it only takes a “spark” to kindle the Holy Spirit fire of faith within the hearts of people everywhere, whether rich or poor, Greek or Jew, common or not. For all are “in common” in the Lord’s ...

1533. Who is That Crouching at Your Door?

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Hebrew suggests, that a better rendition would be, “If you are pleasing (in attitude), if you are good, if you are sweet natured, you will be exalted.”** On the other hand, to covet God’s pleasure, God’s gaze of pleasure, is the most dangerous of wild animal impulses. It’s like a child saying to a parent, so whose picture do you like better? And obviously wanting that parent to choose theirs. “Sin like a contender crouches at your door (of your heart) and you must master it!” says God. This is ...

1534. Knitted Together from the Womb

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... for you to entirely “get” if you haven’t experienced it. You may have experienced your wife giving birth or witnessed a birth. Or maybe you helped someone through their labor. But if you haven’t actually given birth, you just can’t know that moment of madness, that wild fear that hits you like a ton of bricks when you realize that an entire child is about to emerge out of your body and through what seems like a tiny place between your legs, and it’s too late to take it back! Anyone know what I ...

1535. Big Spender

1 Kings 10:14-29, 1 Kings 11:1-13, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1536. Deliverance (Angel on Your Shoulder)

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... track on how to communicate emotionally and intuitively with animals in ways that are relational and respectful. Animals immediately sense this in people, and respond in a trusting, calm, and easy manner. Even animals that otherwise have seemed stubborn, or wild, or even mean, seem to relax and bend toward humans we like to call “whisperers.” There is Buck Brannaman, the Horse Whisperer. There is Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer (although his techniques have been critiqued in recent times). There is ...

1537. Beautiful

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... s favor for all of God’s people. Today, we proclaim salvation and restoration, life and promise to all who repent and would follow Jesus. Esther’s story is a story of hope for all those in our communities and culture who are living rootless in a wild and wooly world filled with confusing messages and opposing narratives. You are God’s beautiful church. And you are called to seek out the Esthers of this world, to find beauty among the thistles, and to proclaim God’s promise to those with a heart to ...

1538. Rooted and Rebooted

Psalm 126:1-6, Luke 13:31-35, 2 Samuel 15:13-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... on that mountain. This is God’s place of blessing, abundance, and grace. And God “watches” over us from above, as we are all from “one root.” Paul drives this home in Romans 11 as he likens Israel to the natural branches of the olive tree, but gentiles to those wild branches grafted in. All still hail to One King, and One God. The olive anoints us all in a festival of remembrance, so that all generations may know of God’s faithfulness. May we all be fruitful in our remembering.

1539. Lamb Parade

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: all of the people [this is an interactive sermon] Today is the day Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. The crowds of people go wild, cheering him and encouraging him. They shout. They wave palms. They lay down their cloaks in the road in honor. They sing. They praise God. This is the Lamb Parade. And Jesus has taken the place of the Passover Lamb, inserting himself into the parade of lambs, waiting to be ...

1540. The Flock Paradox

2 Samuel 5:1-5, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... emphasis God has placed on shepherds. Our earliest forefathers were nomadic shepherds. When it came time for Israel to have a king, God wanted that king to have a shepherd’s heart –strong enough to be gentle and loving, and yet fierce enough to stave off wild beasts and protect the flock. And when God saw that Israel’s leadership was taking advantage of their own, God vowed to take charge as Shepherd God’s self and to lead Israel’s sheep –all of them, back into a place of harmony and creativity ...

1541. Shepherd Dreams

Jeremiah 23:1-8, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 80:1-19, Psalm 23:1-6, John 10:22-42, John 10:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . In fact, the shepherd loves and cares for the sheep enough to lay down his or her life for those sheep. That’s some commitment! Think about it! How many of you would take a job that required you to jump in front of moving trucks or cranes or fight wild lions each and every day? Not most of us. Maybe if you’re in the military or in the mission field in Africa. We are used to thinking about shepherds as a kind of milquetoast people. After all we sing “Gentle Shepherd” don’t we?” These are docile ...

1542. Now, It's Personal

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... were the rides that most of the other kids would be spending all of their time either riding or waiting in line to ride. So she suggested to Sarah that she might want to bring a friend along who felt the same way she did about those wild rides — someone who could hang out with her. Maybe one of her cousins, none of which were registered for the trip. Tuesday rolled around and they all met at the church parking lot. Julie said that the weather was perfect and she was looking forward to strolling around ...

1543. Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... web site but the average total cost for one six-week school for fifty children is about $59,000 or approximately $1200 per child. (Compare to the cost of one week of church camp!) Everything that we know about Freedom Schools tells us that they are wildly successful and very worthwhile. At a meeting I attended not long ago, the idea was being sold to us, a group who was largely already sold. But just to drive the nail home, the speaker added this caveat: “When state departments of corrections go about ...

1544. Why Can’t I Have It All?

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... it, feed it, nourish it, love it, invest in it. The more you do that, the more loyal and loving that pet will be. Every gift comes with an invitation. If you take the “easy way out” and allow that pet to wander off into the woods where wild animals lurk, or into the highway where cars and trucks speed by, you can be sure that things won’t end too well for that pet. Perhaps that’s why God’s other favorite metaphor in scripture is the “good shepherd.” Every gift comes with an invitation to ...

1545. Fake News vs. Fantastic Good News

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... robbery and his mother abandoned him at a Dallas orphanage. Although it was supposed to be a Christian place, this orphanage was a very abusive environment. When James left there at the age of 17, he was angry and lost, and he wandered into a wild lifestyle. One night, he fell asleep while driving and crashed his car. James’ best friend died in the crash. James was charged with negligent homicide. To finance a lawyer, James began selling drugs. He was soon arrested for that too, and faced a twenty-year ...

1546. Rock of Salvation

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to take up the “rod” he had been given. A rod, made from a strong tree, was a thick pick of wood with a kind of round knob at the end of it. In essence it looked something like a primitive sledge hammer. It was used to fend off wild animals from sheep herds, to protect them from harm, and as a tool to make way through difficult terrain. In essence, the “rod” was an authority, power, justice kind of tool, as opposed to the “staff” which was the compass and leading tool of the shepherd. God does ...

1547. Why I Believe In The Resurrection

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

... immediately and painfully into the shocked numbness of deep grief. Strangely, one of his very first feelings were those of guilt. He had remembered how some months before at a family picnic he was showing off with a baseball. At one point he got careless and threw wildly; it hit his dad in the hand and broke his thumb. The young boy felt horrible. He said to himself, “What a terrible son I am! I have caused my dad great pain.” It seemed that was all he could remember after his fathers death—the pain ...

1548. Sheep Just Wanna Have Fun

John 10:1-21, Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... protection that God offers us in order to walk in new and dangerous places, to come face to face with our enemies, to romp in grassy meadows and drink freely of waters, to dare to enter into the gate that leads to life, to follow the “voice” of Jesus into wild and wooly places, because we trust Him, and we trust that love, life, and play dwell securely in the future. There is a reason that Psalm 23 is the most beloved psalm of all time. It is not just that it is comforting, not just that it is vividly ...

1549. A Dirt Story

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... -driving tractors are supposed to hit the market? None of these, of course, were available when Jesus walked the earth. Sowing seed was done by hand. Imagine Johnny Appleseed with a sack of apple seeds slung over his shoulder broadcasting his seed by flinging the seed with wild abandon by hand. By the way, there really was a Johnny Appleseed and, yes, he did have a passion for planting apple trees. We’re told he also had a passion for spreading another kind of seed. Every once in a while, he would take a ...

To seek after beauty as an end, is a wild goose chase, a will-o'-the-wisp, because it is to misunderstand the very nature of beauty, which is the normal condition of a thing being as it should be.

Ada Bethune

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