Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1626 to 1650 of 4977 results

1626. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... chin and nodded in thought. “So,” he said. “How many coats do you have?” It is an easy thing to believe the Bible. It is an even easier thing to idealize and idolize it. It is quite another thing to follow it. Philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard put it in more strident terms. He said: “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we ...

1627. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... extreme reaction in them. In the passage, some of the guards stay, and others go to tell the high priests that something quite frightening and extra-ordinary has happened, and they don’t know how to deal with it. They may be frightened at what ... point. So Pilate granted them a guard. Perhaps he granted more than one. Added to that no doubt were other Temple guards. It would have taken quite a few people to roll the stone in front of the tomb to seal it. And Matthew leads us to believe that a group of guards ...

1628. The Gathering at Cana

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the former; surely at least the latter. The interplay between Mary and Jesus is interesting in that he at first seems to indicate to her that she should not ask him to do “such a thing” since his time has not yet come to be recognized! Perhaps Mary is quite aware of what her son can do, and wants him to announce himself before he is ready. Jesus does not consent, and Mary does not push. She simply tells the servants to listen to whatever he tells them to do. What is she expecting? We don’t know. But ...

1629. The Sweet Fragrance of Brokenness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... good reason to believe from John’s gospel that Simon the Leper (or former leper) is Judas Iscariot’s father. This would make a good deal of sense in the stories of the four gospelers. We know that Jesus healed a leper, in fact many, so it’s quite possible that Simon the Leper was healed by Jesus, and possible that he was also a Pharisee. Could this be the reason Jesus tells him the story using a comparison? Is leprosy the “lesser sin” compared to the woman’s “many”? Is she the more grateful ...

1630. Syrophoenician Lives Matter!

Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... he would have gone to the mountains or across the lake, as he often did. If he wanted to be incognito for a while, perhaps he may have gone out of Israel, but he doesn’t remain long enough to really “hide out.” He appears to go there quite temporarily. He encounters a Syrophoenician woman, and then returns immediately afterward to the Sea of Galilee only to teach another large crowd of 4,000, healing them and feeding them in the way he had with the 5,000 before (this time with 7 baskets of breadcrumbs ...

1631. The Gardener

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Mary thought that morning when she found Jesus’ body missing and turned to see a figure among the plants and flowers in the faint light of morning? The images in this scene are quite telling. The one having the experience in the story is Mary. Peter and John see Jesus’ empty grave clothes, and although they are amazed, they still don’t quite get it. They leave to ponder and debate what’s going on. Mary however stays. As Eve before her, she is the curious one, the daring one. She peers into the tomb ...

1632. The Healer

Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... heritage. And now….one of theirs had become renowned in all of Jerusalem, and Galilee, even Samaria. One of their own. They didn’t quite understand why. But they listened to what he had to say when he came home for a visit. After all, he had fostered a ... time of creation, in the time of Lemech, a medicine was known, the taking of which prevented a woman’s conception.” Quite an advance for that time period. ***See biblical and Talmudic Medicine by Julius Preuss. See the “Sepher Refuoth.” The first ...

1633. A Piggy Pudding

Matthew 8:28-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... his time in his first year, was the harbor of Gadara near Gerasa and the looming Wadi Semakh –large eerie hanging cliffs, used as ancient tombs. And among those tombs dwelt a hermit-like man, who was mentally ill to the point of being violent. He must have been quite strong, because the scripture tells us, no chains could hold him. Who can hear this and not think of how Samson was bound and had the hardest time before he was able to pull down the pillars of stone where he was kept? Here we have this man ...

1634. Mending Fences

Luke 16:1-15, Luke 16:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... earn that raise and that promotion coming up. But you also got to really like living high on the hog. So you have overcharged people for some of the products, refusing to grant them discounts that were promised. But you took your own discounts, and have lived quite well, buying nice things, a nice car, eating out frequently, maybe charging a few more things to the company card than you should have done. You took lots of perks. You cared more for your own comfort, than the CEO or the company, or any of the ...

1635. Masks Off!

John 7:25-45 and 8:11-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and his foes. It’s a message “in code” from our Master in Mission –God the Father—telling us that we all will soon be part of God’s resurrection story! So, all you souls in doubt, all you souls in pain, all you souls walking around lost and not quite knowing how to find your way to love, comfort, peace, and hope, THIS is YOUR day. A day of victory! God’s turning point in YOUR life. Jesus is your soul cake. And even as you pray for those who came before you, Jesus is lifting you up, that you ...

1636. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , but labels him lost. “The Son of Man comes to seek and save the lost,” Jesus said. The amazing thing about this story is that Jesus and Zacchaeus didn’t just sit down one day to have a conversation about money. No. Jesus never works quite that way. Rather, Jesus discovered Zacchaeus in a very interesting way. Zacchaeus was looking for him. The inquisitive tax collector just didn’t realize why. Zacchaeus was curious about this guy who was garnering so much attention. He wanted to get a peek, to get ...

1637. Wave Riders and Deep-Sea Divers

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... reading the stories of scripture “en vogue” and exciting. Along with this “personalization” of one’s faith, one gained quite a bit of individual power. No more was the authority of the Church hierarchy entirely in charge of your ... like right then. He was acting like a spoiled brat! And God needed to do a little Jonah-remodeling. Jonah wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t quite formed enough. He had that fiery temper that God loved to use for preaching! He had a lot of gumption, and get up and go (he sure ...

1638. Over the River and Through the Woods

Luke 2:1-7, Psalm 121:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... believe that Mary and Joseph traveled on foot approximately 6 to 8 days from Nazareth to Bethlehem. People walked everywhere in those days. Although they may have used a donkey to carry supplies, it’s quite likely that pregnant Mary made the journey by walking. She would have been used to doing so and was still quite young and able. When she learned she was pregnant, she made a near similar trip to see Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea (probably 4 or 5 days). Then she made the trip back again ...

1639. Job and the Mind Storm

Job 42:7-17, Job 42:1-6, Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of times more powerful than any mind-storm Job can fathom. Whereas Jacob literally struggles with God and his own inner demons, and where Jonah keeps trying to run away, in the story of Job, Job tries to “take God to task” about his unfair treatment. He quite literally tries to take God to court! And sure, that’s what you would do wouldn’t you, if your belief system were based in legalisms? It’s the great reveal! Job is unveiled for the “Pharisee” he is! And he’s quickly put in his place ...

1640. The First Songs of Christmas

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

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... or her favorite ice cream! Now, we have a reaction to this story, don’t we? But you see, unfortunately, this is sometimes the way we view God’s gift of grace. We call God’s salvation gift, simply an “undeserved gift.” But that doesn’t quite cover it, does it? Because surely in scenario one above, the parent’s gift is clearly undeserved. But there’s something missing that makes us feel there is something about this story that is just very, very wrong. So let’s look at Scenario Two. Scenario ...

1641. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

... or a fixation, but that we know are good for us. There isn't even anything necessarily wrong with being an "exercise nut." Certainly a fixation may limit other possibilities, but nobody can do everything and, as long as a habit is basically healthy, we can be quite free to pick our fixations. I am reminded of the old line: "I'm a fool for Christ ... Whose fool are you?" An extreme commitment or dedication can be an important and necessary focal point in our lives! Let us return to our text from Deuteronomy ...

1642. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... disease and sickness. Can’t you imagine how thrilled the people were to see him? Then Matthew says something quite significant about Jesus’ attitude toward people. He says, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because ... today. And like then, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” What then is to be our prayer? Jesus tells us quite concisely, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” I want you to join me in praying ...

1643. Trapped!

Romans 6:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... you an example. Mark D. Roberts, in his book Dare to Be True tells of accompanying his son Nathan on an outing to Six Flags Magic Mountain, a theme park in Southern California. Six Flags Magic Mountain features an enormous roller coaster named, quite appropriately Goliath. Goliath features such thrills as a 255-foot, nearly vertical drop, which propels the hapless rider at a speed of eighty five miles per hour into a pitch dark tunnel. Naturally Nathan loved it . . . and Mark Roberts loves his son Nathan ...

1644. A Dirt Story

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... says Jesus, “refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” Rocky soil is not quite as treacherous for planting seeds as the hardened path. Plants might at least grow initially in rocky soil. But the prospects are dim, because the soil is so rocky that the seed doesn’t get the nutrition it needs. Without the proper nutrition nothing grows ...

Praying which does not result in pure conduct is a delusion. We have missed the whole office and virtue of praying if it does not rectify conduct. It is in the very nature of things that we must quit praying, or quit bad conduct.

E. M. Bounds

A day dawns, quite like other days; in it, a single hour comes, quite like other hours; but in that day and in that hour the chance of a lifetime faces us.

Maltbie D. Babcock

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.

Ted Turner

1649. How Do We Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... from the Netherlands. The man had a testimony to give. He said he was raised in a dysfunctional family; he didn’t get along with his siblings. He had a bad marriage, was cheated by a business partner, lost all his money, and now he was quite sick. To this his doctor said quite bluntly, “You’re going to die. Your system is so shot it’s just like a worn-out car, everything’s gone. You’ve got about six months to live, so you should make peace with whomever or whatever in your life [you are unhappy ...

1650. Oh, That You Would Come Down?

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? I suppose you were absentminded, too!” “I sure was, sir,” said the lad, who was a known troublemaker and the instigator of the card game. “I forgot to pull the shades down!” (2) There is something about that young man’s attitude that strikes me as being quite contemporary. There is a rule that we associate with professional basketball, “no harm, no foul.” If I don’t get caught, it’s all right. If no one gets hurt, what’s the sweat? It’s only myself that I’m hurting, so it is my ...

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Showing 1626 to 1650 of 4977 results

1626. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

1627. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1628. The Gathering at Cana

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1629. The Sweet Fragrance of Brokenness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1630. Syrophoenician Lives Matter!

Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1631. The Gardener

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1632. The Healer

Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1633. A Piggy Pudding

Matthew 8:28-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1634. Mending Fences

Luke 16:1-15, Luke 16:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1635. Masks Off!

John 7:25-45 and 8:11-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1636. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1637. Wave Riders and Deep-Sea Divers

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1638. Over the River and Through the Woods

Luke 2:1-7, Psalm 121:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1639. Job and the Mind Storm

Job 42:7-17, Job 42:1-6, Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1640. The First Songs of Christmas

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

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1641. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

1642. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

1643. Trapped!

Romans 6:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

1644. A Dirt Story

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

E. M. Bounds

A day dawns, quite like other days; in it, a single hour comes, quite like other hours; but in that day and in that hour the chance of a lifetime faces us.

Maltbie D. Babcock

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.

Ted Turner

1649. How Do We Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

1650. Oh, That You Would Come Down?

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

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