Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1651 to 1675 of 4977 results

1651. Giving Comfort

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... people from having too much fun. Rather they were voices of warning that doing wrong can bring disaster for us and often for people we love. Sometimes, if we are fortunate, a friend will serve as a voice of warning. Sometimes the prophets were quite strident with their warnings, but, every once in a while, the prophets were capable of striking a gentle chord as well. None more so than the prophet Isaiah. And our text for today contains some of the most beautiful words in the scriptures: “Comfort, comfort ...

1652. The Angel's Message

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... Joseph’s parents with the couple having no say in the matter. Since Nazareth was a small village Mary probably knew Joseph quite well. Perhaps, she had seen him working in his carpenter’s shop. Then came the day when Mary and Joseph were ... replied, “Because his mother was there.” And that’s true. Without Mary’s obedience to God, the Christmas story would be quite different. “Obedience,” wrote C. S. Lewis, “is the key to all doors.” I read recently about another remarkable young woman ...

1653. House Rules, Forgiveness, and Why Rat Poison Is not Good for You

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Roy Howard

... . As in all the Benedictine monastic communities, the monks are guided by the Rule of Saint Benedict, a book written in the sixth century to provide structure and discipline to the community. It is drenched in scripture. The beauty of the rule is actually quite similar to the classroom. When life together breaks down, as it always does, there is an objective guide for the monks to follow. Abuse of power is restrained by the rule. Life flows in the monastery purposefully, as it does in a classroom — not ...

1654. About Those Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of those. Alexander the Great? No, no. It is Herod the Great, believe it or not. Why? Because [the historian] Josephus gives us two whole book scrolls on the life of Herod the Great. And that is more primary material than anyone else.” Herod had quite an impact on the world of his time. For example, he was notorious for his building programs. He built ten tremendous fortifications, including the temple mount in Jerusalem. At the same time, as you know, he was one nasty individual. Over the years he killed ...

1655. Driven to Their Knees

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... , they were so frightened.) All three of the Synoptic Gospels record Peter’s words—which pretty well authenticates that he said them. Have you ever been so afraid that all you could do was babble? People react in different ways to fear. Some become quite talkative, others morosely silent. Fear brings out the best in some people. Others crack under the strain. This was not the only time the disciples were fearful in Jesus’ presence. There were many such occasions. Remember when he walked on the Sea of ...

1656. The Cost of Discipleship

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we our faithless, he remains faithful — for cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Yes, the Christian life will not be easy, but Jesus never promised an easy road. Quite to the contrary, he suggested just the opposite: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34b). Unfortunately, although the teaching of Jesus is very clear and straightforward, we don’t want ...

1657. Survival

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Will Willimon

... you hold on very tight. If we could only get the Russians to agree to peace. What will happen to us, the Europeans want to know, if we negotiate away their missiles? We aren't too worried about Europeans. It's our hides that concern us. We have lived quite nicely for forty years with Eastern Europe enslaved but we have had our peace. The Israelis want peace. They already have the West Bank. We want peace, so do the Soviets - to be left at peace to run the world on our terms. Get that bomb away from Israel ...

1658. Knowledge

Genesis 3:1-19 · Psalm 90

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ." (The closest one can come, before the Senior year, to being as wise as gods.) And yet someday, if you live long enough, you come to see that this was a great deceit; that, in truth, you are not strong, wise, and self-sufficient but really quite small, finite, mortal -- namely, naked and afraid. You will be sitting in your den, dressed smartly in Calvin Klein, a large house surrounding you, a martini in your band, but you will be naked. Your heart will skip a beat, there will be this strange sensation ...

1659. It's Worth the Wait

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... days—saddened by the departure of their leader to “sit at the right hand of the Father”—but willing to trust that Jesus would fulfill his promise and grant them the power to go on. Here’s a statistic from the modern world that is quite interesting. A study in the International Journal of Financial Research estimates that it costs major organizations an average of $136 million dollars to suddenly lose a CEO to illness or death if they don’t have some other leadership plan in place. If the CEO ...

1660. Responding to God's Love

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... afraid of death. Thus, the man who had been raised and touched by this woman decided to write her a letter in response. He began, “It is now 35 years since I, a little boy of six, was left quite alone in the world. You sent me word that you would give me a home and be a mother to me. I have never forgotten the day when I made the long journey of ten miles to your home. I remember being disappointed that instead of coming yourself, you sent ...

1661. Jesus' Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... "ls there a God?" The Bible's chief interest is, "What kind of God is there?" Adam and Eve, the very first people, are the first to trip over the question. Being told that they are built "in the image of God," being blessed by God, Adam and Eve quite naturally assume that God must obviously be concerned about meeting their needs. They are hungry, not just for food, but also for life, for knowledge. So, when they "saw that the tree was good for food, and...a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be ...

1662. Can You Deny Yourself?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... sacrifice. So if we love him, what are we willing to sacrifice? Alan Paton’s novel Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful is set in South Africa in the days of apartheid. The headmaster of a local school finally stands up against the racist system of apartheid and quits his job. One of his friends warns him, “You know you will be wounded. Do you know that?” The headmaster points to heaven as he replies, “When I go up there . . . the Big Judge will say to me, ‘Where are your wounds?’ If I say I haven’t ...

1663. Out of the Saltshaker

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... is alive by the difference he has made in their lives. Are we a witness for our Lord? A man named Jeffrey Collins tells this story. It had been a trying week at Jeffrey’s office at his organization, an organization which is called, quite appropriately, “Love & Action.” It was five o’clock on a Friday afternoon. Jeffrey was looking forward to having a quiet dinner with friends. Then the phone rang. “Jeff! It’s Jimmy!” he heard a quivering voice say. Jimmy, who suffered from several AIDS-related ...

1664. Meeting Jesus

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... other. If, for instance, I have been smoking for thirty years and one day you tell me that smoking is unhealthy, I will probably try to find a reason to dismiss what you are telling me rather than quit smoking. Or, if I accept and believe your prediction that the world is going to end on July 15 and I sell my house, quit my job, and move in with you and your followers to await the end of the world then it doesn’t come on July 15, on July 16 I will probably have found a reason that I can ...

1665. The Good

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... day a week. You think it's easy to preach this parable here? Parents, let's face it. Your kids are here because they are good. Lots of other parents have raised Publicans rather than Pharisees. A daughter at Duke, no less? Well, good for you, you must have been quite a parent. How did you do it? Sure, there was that little matter of the late night call from the cops the night of her Senior Prom, but basically, she is a good kid, a very, very good kid. Very successful at being good, and getting accepted, and ...

1666. The Invitation

Matthew 20:1-15

Sermon

Will Willimon

... one more time. Now, there's almost no one left loitering on the street corner. After all, the day is almost over. But there are two slackers, leaning up against the wall of the unemployment office sharing a bottle of Ripple. Even though it's only one hour before quitting time, be hires them as well. If you're keeping score, by the end of the day we have different groups of workers in the vineyard who have been there for twelve hours, for nine hours, for six, three, and one hour. Now, they will be paid. If ...

1667. Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Will Willimon

... in the Chapel, is to find one's modem little self, caught in the cross-fire between two competing and quite conflicting definitions of normality. Against our self-assured, conventional, socially acceptable definitions of normality, in coming to this Chapel you ... had without cost? To those who have been ravished by divine normality, the questions raised by the world's abnormality are quite beside the point. We have not gathered primarily to "address the issues" as the world has identified them, but rather to ...

1668. It's No Fun to Move

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? That’s why grief counselors often advise people not to make major decisions—moving to a new city, selling a house, quitting your job—for at least the first few months after a major loss or setback. The stress, fear and sadness brought ... law. That is the heart of our message today. That kind of love is what the cross is all about. It is about a love that never quits, never gives up, never fails. It is agape love—sacrificial love from the heart of God. It’s not, “I love you for what you can ...

1669. What Jesus Saw

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Those were harsh words. These were the most religious people in the community and Jesus judges them quite severely. It is clear that these holy men weren’t as holy as they wanted people to think they were. Of course, that is not unusual as it may seem. There are people who try to “fake it until they make it” in every profession. Recently ...

1670. A Deserted Place

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... a partial charge. I don't know how many times I have seen people who were right in the middle of recording something, like a wedding or baptism or school play only to have their camera quit because they didn't take the time to charge the batteries. I was talking to my brother on my cellular phone one night when all of a sudden it quit. I had grabbed the wrong battery. I grabbed the one that hadn't been recharged. All of a sudden it ran out of juice. Our lives are a lot like that of the gazelle and ...

1671. Public Sex

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... gospel (Mark 10:2- 16). Early on, right at the first of creation, first book of the Bible, Genesis, there is talk of sex. In fact, no sooner has the human being been created (He's not yet a man, a ''male.") than God takes a look and says, ''Not quite right. Something else is needed. Oh, I have it. It's not good to be alone. I'll make another model, more complicated, more advanced." And in a stunning second act of creation, God makes woman. Now there is man and there is woman, male and female, meant for ...

1672. For The Love of God is Creative

1 Corinthians 2:6-12 · Psalm 8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . And you know the kind of comments I'm talking about, you've heard them. Hey, stupid, can't you do anything right? You better straighten up or you'll never amount to a hill of beans. What do you want to do that for? You'll just fail and quit like everything else you've tried." Do those sound familiar? Those kind of words kill the soul and spirit. The destroy self worth. But the Biblical witness is that we are worth something. We do have value. Why? Because God says we have value. We were created in God's ...

1673. For The Love of God Is Empowering

Matthew 22:36 -40 · John 4:1-32

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , they've seen the glitter of the wrapping paper but only out of the corner of their eye. For some reason they can't quite focus on it long enough to see just how beautiful it really is. In part it's because they don't want to believe ... When I was much younger, before I joined the service or got married, I occasionally ran with a pretty rough crowd. I knew quite a few bikers. They had wonderfully descriptive names like, Leg. (he had a limp); Speed & Shakes, (they were both methamphetamine addicts); and Forger ...

1674. New Creations

2 Corinthians 5:6-10; 14-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... church for a light lunch. Grace Givens' daughter had come back to town for the occasion. Her name was April Givens. April had spent the days prior to the funeral making arrangements for the burial service and going through her mother's things. She got quite an education as she sorted through her mother's belongings, diaries and financial affairs. "So sorry about your mother's passing," Tom Warren said to April. "We hardly knew her, you know. But she was always in her place on Sunday morning." "Are you the ...

1675. The Wedding Planner's Worst Nightmare

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... as soon forget. We added some new terms to our vocabulary such as “social distancing.” And some new ways for going about our work. Businesses sent their employees home. Restaurants, stores and schools closed their doors. Soon, very soon, some of us were all getting quite depressed looking at the same four walls every day. That’s one way you can deal with a challenging situation, by the way: get down in the dumps and resentful. Or, maybe you can find a better way to deal with your situation. I read ...

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