Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1626 to 1650 of 2157 results

1 Peter 3:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... all women and that is they are unpredictable. I have seen a lot of husbands who act like they’ve got bricks for brains and couldn’t follow crumbs if they were as big as boulders. It really isn’t as difficult as it sounds. The New International Version translates the verse this way, “Husbands be considerate of your wives.” (1 Peter 3:7, NIV) There are practical ways you can show your wife that you get it and that you understand her such as -leave the toilet seat down, be a good roommate, or pick up ...

1627. The Knot: Tied

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... the well of marriage worse than jealousy, which is simply a disguise for distrust. James Dobson once said, “If you love something you can set it free. If it is yours it will come back to you. If it doesn’t, it never was.” There is another version that said, “If you love something set it free. If it doesn’t come back to you, track it down and beat it to death.” That is not love. Jealousy possesses. Love releases. Jealously distrusts and love does trust. How does your love measure up and how ...

1628. Seventy-Seven

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Receiving a gift is hard for most of us. We either feel beholden, or suspicious, or overwhelmed, or unworthy of the freely given gifts (gratuities) that bless us. That’s why adults often become better givers than receivers. The adult vs. child version of acceptance is even greater with the other tremendous “gift” young children are good at offering and accepting. Kindergarten kids might get into a heated battle over who gets custody of a Ninja Turtle figure. Tears and blows might even be involved ...

1629. How to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times . . .” This is an amazing teaching, if you think about it. Some versions translate this as seventy-seven times, others seventy times seven. Whichever translation is correct, Jesus seems to be saying that forgiveness should be an unlimited resource in our lives. Doesn’t Jesus realize how difficult that is? Of course, he does. Imagine ...

1630. Prison Theology: Bait and Bail

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... �liked what Paul had to say. And nobody wanted to give him an opportunity to say it. Yet Paul kept writing, in and out of prison. And after Paul, generations of incarcerated Christians continued writing. Prisons have become both big business (new versions of "Monopoly") and giant fiscal sinkholes over the past few decades. Private corporations are making lots of money offering privately run prison facilities to stressed out state run facilities. Fully two-thirds of all ex-prisoners find their way back to ...

1631. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . School children were instructed to dive under their plywood desks and cover their heads in what were called “duck-under-the-desk” drills in order to “survive” a nuclear bomb attack. “Duck and Cover” was the 1950’s and 60’s version of “Dumb and Dumber.” It was during this “Cold War” freeze that a smart-alecky, satirical magazine was born. It wasn’t some well-heeled, upper-crust publication, financed by any special “lobbyist” group. It was “MAD magazine.” A comic book ...

1632. Night of Light

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... s coronation the people look back upon his birth as a time of special blessing. The more modern translations have properly recognized the pairing of qualifiers with each title and so corrected the translation of the old and still quite familiar King James Version. Thus, the king is “wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” If it should be objected that some of these titles are not appropriate to a purely human regent, then the objection is to be answered by noting their ...

1633. Still Surprised After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... that we may no longer see it clearly. Specifically, I wonder if we can fathom how full of surprises was that event — and the days preceding it — for Joseph and Mary. Between the two Christmas accounts (both Matthew and Luke offer versions of the story), we see both Joseph and Mary having angelic visitations and communications. Likewise, the shepherds outside of Bethlehem and Zechariah in the temple were visited by angels. Assuming such appearances were an uncommon thing, the story and the period are ...

1634. Come Home

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to the hive. Desert ants make an “antline” back to their holes in the sand. Sea turtles return to the same beaches they were born on after roaming the oceans for twenty years or more. Aphids, ladybirds, dragonflies, moths, amphibians all display their own version of this “homing instinct.” But the superstars of the homing instinct are birds. Some of the greatest feats of nature are made possible by the homing instinct that seems innate to every creature. the arctic tern travels from one pole to the ...

1635. Life and Light to All He Brings

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the invention of the Thomas Edison Research Laboratories. It’s called the “light bulb.” In 1879 the research team that Thomas Edison oversaw created a filament that could burn an “electric arc” for forty hours without burning out. By 1882 the tungsten-based version of this filament made long-life light bulbs a reality. “Let there be light” was converted by the lowly light bulb from a sacred mantra to a hardware-store purchase. And as anyone who has ever watched a cartoon knows, a big, bright ...

1636. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Christmas called “Christmastide.” But in the Eastern Orthodox tradition Epiphany IS Christmas. Epiphany is the day that the “wise men” arrived where Joseph and Mary were staying and worshiped the newborn baby Jesus. In our “Cliff Notes” version of Jesus’ birth, we converge all the miracles of Emmanuel—God WITH us—into one magical, manger night. But the “wise men,” who were Persian astrologers, Gentile “wizards,” outside-the-box “scholars” of their day, were still following ...

1637. A Watery Grave

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... with water. This is the familiar story of Noah and the flood. Archaeologists have discovered other ancient flood narratives that bear striking resemblances to the Genesis account of Noah. Biblical scholars ponder these comparable accounts, pondering what they mean for the version of the story we have in the Bible, as well as whatever event lies behind the similar traditions. Meanwhile, in our popular culture — and even in our churches — the story of Noah does not seem to generate much serious attention ...

1638. Table Manners

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... , gay/lesbian and transgender readings, and native aboriginal readings, to name a few. There is little doubt that we are all better off for these readings. Yet, they can be a heady mix for those who grew up with the only options being King James or Revised Standard Version. Some advice on table manners from the lesson for this Sunday may be helpful if we are to enjoy the feast that God intends. Make sure you include both boards to expand the table so that it will include all. What does what we say about God ...

1639. Getting to a Teachable Moment

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... a job for commentaries and super study. With thirty years in ministry will my skills be up to it or have they atrophied? My home pastor, of sainted memory, studied with Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a classmate. I can’t let him down. I hear a strange version of Professor Kingsfield from the movie, Paper Chase, the story of the rigors of Harvard Law School, “Here is a dime, call your mother, and tell her that you are not going to be a college professor or perhaps even a pastor.” The recurring nightmare where ...

1640. Show Me Your Baptismal Certificate

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... can never be “stolen.” Faithful followers of Christ are not defined by “cards” or “apps” or “functions.” Faithful followers of Christ are identified by an MRI discipleship (Missional, Relational, Incarnational). In this week’s gospel text we read Mark’s version of Jesus’ baptism. This is not an identity that starts out well. Jesus is first tagged as someone coming “from Nazareth of Galilee” — a nowhere place known as the boonies, a bad hood, a kind of scuzzy, worthless parcel of ...

1641. The Story Worth Living

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The Israelites had bad-mouthed God and disobeyed God. Not a good thing. Then they started to be bitten by an influx of nasty snakes. The divine word to Moses was to concoct a “vaccine.” Vaccines are nothing more than “dead” versions of whatever virulent toxin is threatening a local population. For Moses the bronze sculpture of the serpents that were hurting his people became the “vaccine,” the “cure” so that everyone who looked upon the sculpture was healed. The Hebrews were “inoculated ...

1642. Spiritual Marines

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... goes like this: “Those who are regularly exposed to small doses of watered-down religion, become inoculated against genuine Christianity.” I am afraid that is what has happened to many both inside and outside of the church today. They see a watered-down version of religion, mistake that for Christianity and say: “No thanks, I am not interested.” Well, I want to say firmly and clearly, the Lord Jesus Christ is not looking for “weekend warriors” who come once a month to a National Guard Meeting ...

1643. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... dead four days. That's why as Jesus goes to raise Lazarus from the dead Martha says to Him in verse 39, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:39, ESV) Now if you have an old King James version it says, “Lord, by this time he stinketh.” (John 11:39, KJV) Now when you stinketh you’re dead. You see there was no such thing as embalming back in Bible days in the sense that we know it. Whenever you wrapped a corpse in cloth and ointments it was ...

1644. Who Is Right

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... had a drink, or taken a smoke, or used profanity, or been through a divorce, or used drugs, it is so easy to have the attitude, “I thank God I am not like people who do.” [Turn to Luke 18]. The story I told you is based on an older version of a story that Jesus told about two men in a very similar situation, but with a very shocking conclusion. One man was convinced that he was in the Kingdom of God, but he didn’t get in. One man realized he didn’t deserve to be in the Kingdom ...

1645. To the Rescue

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... In fact, you probably ask not only what is wrong with me, but you probably ask sometimes what is wrong with us, or what is wrong with everybody? The number one selling book of all time answers that question. It is called “The Bible.” Depending on what version of the Bible you have the Bible is roughly 1200 pages long, made up of 66 different books, written over a period of 1500 years, by 39 different authors. Yet, the book really is very simple. In this series that we are calling “The Story” we have ...

1646. Shockproof

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... . I. Eliminate Bitterness “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31, ESV) You cannot bear the fruit of forgiveness until you cut out the root of bitterness. Another version translates the verse this way, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”(Ephesians, 4:31, NIV) Now that sounds a little bit weird, because how do you get rid of bitterness and anger? How ...

1647. Waiting Is So Hard to Do

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... need to bear witness to our faith. No waiting no witness, at least no effective witness. I suspect this is why many of us are so feeble in our witness to faith. We are not spending enough time waiting. Many of us grew up loving the King James Version translation of Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Waiting precedes witnessing. The Holy Spirit gives us ...

1648. You Are God's Child

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... her that, as a black man, when he sat in meetings with all-white pastors, he struggled with the same lies as Vickie “I am not as important as my colleagues” and “My worth is dependent on what other people think of me.” Michael held the written version of Vickie’s lies in his hands, and he looked straight into Vickie’s eyes, and he said words like these, “Vicki, I declare with the authority of the gospel of Jesus Christ that these are lies; that you are created in the image of God; and that ...

1649. Dealing with Cantankerous People

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... , hate-filled individual, then you probably will be too. Who is your role model? Your choice of a role model tells a lot about you. Some of you will remember the 1987 motion picture Wall Street starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. There was a 2010 version of Wall Street, but it did not have the impact that the original did. The original film tells the story of Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, a young stockbroker who falls under the influence of Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, a sleazy but ...

1650. In Praise of Perseverance

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... week's gospel lesson and conclude that it offers the same lesson: Prayer works. That may be a valid sermon topic, but it is not the topic of this week’s gospel reading. The identifying headline of Luke 18:1-8 in the New Revised Standard Version says The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge. It does not identify this passage as A Practical Guide for Getting Our Prayers Answered the Way We Want Them Answered. The parable concerns prayer, but the lesson to be learned differs from “prayer works.” In ...

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