Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1651 to 1675 of 3099 results

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that they move in and through each other so that the pattern is all-inclusive. In fact, I suggest that the image of the dance makes most sense when we understand the divine persons as movements of relationship, rather than as individual subjects who have relationships." (Participating in God: A Pastoral Doctrine of the Trinity [Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press, 2000], 72.) When Jesus commanded his disciples to go, make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father the Son and the ...

1652. Murphy's Law and Messiah's Law

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... give the quote from which the Murphy's Law phenomenon spread like a virus all over the globe. It all began with three Murphy's Laws: "Dr. Schaefer's observation confirms this department's sad experience that editors as well as laboratory workers are subject to Murphy's Laws, to wit: 1. If something can go wrong, it will. 2. When left to themselves, things always go from bad to worse. 3. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw." (Amateur Scientist, Scientific American, April 1956, 166.) There was actually ...

1653. Who Put It There? (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... doctor assured the parents that the problem could be corrected when the boy reached his full growth and a donor could be found. Well, it was tough on the little guy when he started school Many times he came home crying, 'I'm a freak,' when he was subjected to the stares, whispers, and taunts of the other children. He grew up learning to cope with it, supported by the love of his parents. He became an excellent student in school, graduated from high school at the top of his class and entered college to study ...

1654. The Spiritually Incorrect Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... enforced the ways of correctness for they held all the power. The muscle of the Roman armies, the might of the Roman Empire, determined the course of lives and livelihoods for all the people living under their iron rule. Among the Jewish subjects in this empire, however, a different understanding of status allowed observant Jews also to claim the label of correctness despite their lack of social and political clout. The Jews were correct because they were God's chosen people, unique in their relationship ...

1655. Learning the Three Step Faith Walk

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... E. Marty's Context, 32 [15 May 2000], 5.) The 19th century reformer William Lloyd Garrison was told he should moderate himself and not be so outspoken in his opposition to slavery. His response? "I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, to speak, to write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen but urge me not to ...

1656. Death by Chocolate

Hebrews 9:11-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... re-creates the death moments that a bullet makes as it makes its way through a body, or the anatomical explorations of a knife that punctures a heart . . . But in terms of what happens after death, there is "a kind of acceptable pandemonium regarding the subject," says John Killinger in his book God, The Devil, and Harry Potter (NY: Thomas Dunne, 2002), 134. Although probably most of us would concur with the observation made by John Denmark of Seminole, Florida who remarked: "When I die I want to go like ...

1657. Tiny Pencils

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... back on the actions of Christians in the distant past, condemn their prejudices, and shake our heads at their ignorance. We ask ourselves . . . How could followers of Christ have perceived other human beings as vile objects of hatred instead of singular subjects of love? How could compassionate Christians be unmoved by the suffering of others? How could anyone much less Christians be so insensitive to the devastations being visited upon groups of people? How could we? Yet Amy Laura Hall tells of overhearing ...

1658. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

James McCormick

... in-law was in the ice cream business. Ervin Chunn was a great man, a sincere Christian, who was Vice-President of the largest ice cream manufacturing company in Mississippi. Whenever we were confronted with diversity, with a variety of opinions on any given subject, he would always smile and say, “That’s why we make vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.” All those flavors are ice cream, but people have a variety of tastes. And, he was smart enough to know that if he made chocolate and only chocolate all ...

1659. Be Kind

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James McCormick

... The usual treatments would not work, so she entered a teaching and research hospital, and agreed to experimental treatments. For eight months she underwent treatments which were painful and humiliating, and the outcome uncertain. She was no longer a teacher, but a subject for others to study. Her doctors were well versed in the latest treatments and technologies. They were very competent, and very detached and clinical. They would come into her room and talk about her instead of with her. She became, not Dr ...

1660. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... is when we can pray and mean, as did Jesus, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.” The bottom line is, if we are people of faith, we want what God wants, because we know that what God wants is always what is best for us. So, subject to those two modifications, we are to make our requests known to God. And, when we pray earnestly, persistently, powerful things can happen. Now, as important as it is to have that time when we formulate words and thoughts and offer them to God, probably the largest ...

1661. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

... to die. He knew about life’s tribulations all right. But the power of evil did not have the final word – he did! On that first Easter he rose from the grave and conquered those evil powers. And because he did, we can too. We need not be subject to them. “Be of good courage,” Jesus said. “I have overcome the world.” We are not promised a rose garden. But Jesus promises us that in whatever wilderness we find ourselves, we will not be alone, but that he will be with us. And his grace and strength ...

1662. Are You Getting Hymns Out of Your Lions?

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , simplicity, and ease should be chiefly attended to; and the imagery and coloring of poetry, if admitted at all, should be indulged very sparingly . . . The workings of the heart of man, and of the Spirit of God, are in general the same in all who are the subjects of grace." The secret of how to handle stress, the tension of being "in" the world but not "of" the world, is all in that phrase, "the workings of the heart. Newton trusted God in every workings of the heart. In fact, Newton trusted that God was ...

1663. In Life Nothing Works but the Impossible

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... betrothed couple did not share residence, the contractual agreement that bound them had serious legal consequences. A betrothed woman could be executed as an adulteress if she were found to be in a sexual relationship with another man (her lover was also subject to he death penalty–see Deuteronomy 22:23-27). For Mary to become pregnant while betrothed to Joseph, but still residing in her father’s home, carried with it possibly deadly consequences. Matthew lets his readers know how Mary’s pregnancy had ...

1664. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... s expected as a product of Christian faith and activity. Giving thanks is a duty, but one that should flow naturally from one's experience of and reverence for God. In verses 19-20 Paul shifts his focus to a subject of particular importance to the Thessalonian community. Evidently the spiritual gift of prophetic utterances was exceptional within this church. Yet some members were extremely hesitant to accept these prophetic pronouncements or validate their authenticity. The apostle offers pastoral advice to ...

1665. The Servant Song

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... shape of that role during the week of his passion. Our Lord speaks and does only what he hears from God (cf. John 8:28). He willingly accepts the suffering that comes with that ministry. “Not my will, but thine be done” (Mark 14:36 KJV). He is subjected to scorn and whipping and spitting, like the servant before him (Mark 15:15-20). And finally he is killed for his faithfulness to his God. But God does not desert his servants, not even in death, and so there will come Easter morn when all that Jesus ...

1666. A New Beginning

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

When it comes to the subject of baptism, our Baptist friends seem to have all the fun. That is, the very nature of baptism of adults by immersion lends itself to loads of good humor. For example, there is a story of a seven-year-old son of a Baptist minister who decided to baptize his ...

1667. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time by bringing together the wisdom of the East and the wisdom of the West. The Eastern, Hebrew mind is more both-and, while the Western, Hellenistic mind is more either-or. Christianity for the first time brought both minds together, East and West, and subjected them to the integrative mind of Christ. Maybe the best way of approaching the “wisdom wars” of Paul’s day and ours, however, is to look at how you drive in winter. Winter driving is hazardous for lots of reasons. Not too long ago the wild ...

1668. Advent 4

Psalm 80:1-19, Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25

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