Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1651 to 1675 of 1858 results

1651. Hark, The Herald... What?

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . No, we do not begin to have all the details available to us. But if you are interested in angels, be glad - it is a sign of a healthy hunger for the answers to the great mysteries. Listen for God’s messengers and messages, even from a wild-looking character from out in the desert who is the last one we would ever imagine at this time of year when we raise our voices with “Hark, the herald angels sing.” Remember, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of...” Hamlet ...

1652. The Window Of Time Is Closing

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Sermon

Ronald Love

Jane Goodall is best known to the world as the foremost expert on chimpanzees. She began her study of chimpanzees in 1960, when she was 23-years-old. She spent the next 55 years studying wild chimpanzees social and family interactions. At the age of 78, she retired from her work as a primatologist and an anthropologist. Her new venture in life has become being an activist for climate change. Her mother taught her that the best way to change the minds of individuals is to ...

1653. The Fearful Meeting

Genesis 32:1-20; 33:1-4, 12-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

There has been "The Donna Reed Show," "Ozzie and Harriet," "Father Knows Best," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Brady Bunch," "The Cosby Show," and more recently, the wildly popular "The Simpsons." School principals in Ohio and California condemn Bart Simpson as "a poor role model" -- bristle-headed little charmer that he is. Then there's prissy Lisa, blob of a baby Maggie, and poor old Homer and Marge. Here is the family Americana, warts and all. In one ...

1654. God's GPS

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... story about his father-in-law, Bob, and an unusual experience he had on a hunting trip. There are many large farms and ranches in north-central California where Bob wanted to hunt, and he asked permission from a few landowners to be allowed to hunt on the wild outskirts of their property. One rancher agreed to let Bob hunt on his land, but he insisted that he ride with Bob so he could show him around. Bob was surprised by this request because, as an expert hunter, he was accustomed to finding his way around ...

1655. Wrapped in a Cloud

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... as the many other impossible miracles that God has done within our world and beyond. Because God has a dream for humanity that goes beyond our comprehension, our ability, and often our willingness to understand. In 1965, Andy Williams sang a song that became wildly popular. From the musical, “Man of La Mancha, the song stays on the lips of many today: “To Dream the Impossible Dream.” Listen to the lyrics for a moment: To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable ...

1656. A Letter in Time

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... encounter us, they encounter Jesus. When we come into someone’s life, it’s like Jesus came in. At the end of the day, when we look back at all of the steps we took during that day, it looks like Jesus had made those steps. Sounds a bit wild and overly dramatic? Yeah, it really does, doesn’t it? Some of you are rolling your eyes just a bit, settling back in your seat while the preacher gets all theological on you for a while. Seriously, to think that we might be expected to actually our lives the ...

1657. The Great Discovery

Luke 15:14b-18a

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... own real faith to offer … my story is about the development of my faith, the expression of my faith, and the community of my faith. And it is the story of how I have experienced this Jesus thing to be true. How the Christian faith, while wildly misrepresented in so much of American culture, is really about the death and resurrection. It is about how God continues to reach into the graves we dig for ourselves and pull us out, giving us new life, in ways both dramatic and small. (Heavily tattooed and loud ...

1658. Is This All There Is?

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

... call, the grave voice on the other end saying, “I'm sorry, I have some bad news for you”--perhaps this would be enough. Schemes for human betterment abound. A dictator is toppled in one part of the world and the press goes wild--ignoring the rise of a dozen tyrants elsewhere. The glorious revolution mires and becomes a front for another regime. Today's “amazing scientific breakthrough” is tomorrow's medical disaster. The bright-eyed Freshman eventually learns the way the system works and becomes the ...

1659. The Propriety of Praise

Psalm 84:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

... think about them, are premature. All parties come just a little bit soon, and are held at the wrong location. How do you know that the prodigal is not going to get a clean shirt and a shave and hit the road again tomorrow? Sure, Jesus says that heaven goes wild when just one sinner returns, but it this the place for a party? I know many people who are against capital punishment. They're against capital punishment and for life imprisonment. But no one I know is for giving a murderer the key to the city and a ...

1660. Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... : “I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep! You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away, so I will save my flock. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. Then I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. I ...

1661. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 8:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... thought). The psalmist uses the word “all” two times again in the description of God’s deputation of humankind to rule over creation: You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything [all] under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish of the sea, all [not in the Hebrew, but implied] that swim the paths of the seas. (8:6–8) David wants us to see that God’s name is majestic “in all the earth” (the totality of it, 8:1 ...

1662. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 28:1-28, Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Hebrew term refers to a prophet oracle, as in 1 Sam. 3:1; Isa. 1:1) and the people “casting off restraint” recalls the golden calf incident in Exodus 32:25, where the same verb is translated by the NIV as “running wild” and “out of control.” Observing God’s “law” (NIV 1984; NIV: “instruction”; Hebrew torah; see commentary on 28:1–11), however, will bring a nation his blessing. Alternatively, the proverb may claim for the wisdom instruction genre the same inspired and authoritative ...

1663. Processing Grief

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ’s assaults. Verse 4 suggests that the problem is illness. To physical ailment is added psychological and spiritual isolation. Access to God has been stonewalled, blocked with huge boulders. Other images follow to make graphic the individual’s plight: wild animals mauling their victims (3:10–11); a hunter in target practice (3:12–13); a dietician administering bitterness (literally “poison”) (3:15). Like Jeremiah, the individual is the object of ridicule. A Western idiom corresponding to 3:16 ...

1664. Woe to the Complacent

Amos 6:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... verse 7, and that is probably correct. The God who is truly the first and the last can speak the end of the people who will not honor his holy name. Additional Note 6:4 The verb for “lie” here is used elsewhere only of the spreading tendrils of a wild vine (Ezek. 17:6) or of loose hanging of fabric (Exod. 26:12). Thus, Amos pictures the wealthy sprawling lazily about on their couches.

1665. David's Mighty Men

2 Samuel 23:8-39

Teach the Text

... has collateral damage, and in this case his own daughter Merab, who lost five of her sons, and his concubine Rizpah, who lost her two sons, are innocent victims. The heart-wrenching portrait of Rizpah’s trying to keep the birds and wild animals from devouring the decaying carcasses of her sons is a vivid reminder of the unforeseen consequences of sin. Illustrating the Text God’s justice is sometimes harsh. Quote: Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In this classic exploration of life in Christian ...

1666. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1667. You Sent Who?

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... man yelling at them from the middle of the river. Instead of heavenly armor, he wore a burlap bag with a piece of rope for a belt. Instead of a helmet of gold, his uncovered, water-soaked hair hung down his face, almost covering his wild-looking eyes. Instead of leading armies of angel- driven war chariots, he stood alone. He looked like someone who wandered the wilderness, surviving on bugs, berries, and whatever else he could scrounge-up. And that is exactly who he was. And they all said, “You sent ...

1668. Beloved

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... takes them out of Jewish territory and into the region of Tyre and Sidon. There, his disciples react as he expects them to, with their typical Jewish bias against a Canaanite (Greek, Syrophoenician) woman, who they see as a “bother,” just as they would a wild dog from the streets. In Matthew’s text, they ask Jesus to send her away from them, lest they be “defiled.” This sets the “stage” for Jesus’ teachable moment. [If you can, have people act this out so they can see the expressions of the ...

1669. Risky Business

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... nature. Despite our worst inclinations, we are committed to loving, including, healing, and making a difference in people’s lives. That involves risk taking. Human nature is complex. We have the ability within ourselves to be at our worst or our best. But unless we risk venturing out into the “wilds of the world,” we may fail to experience the worst, but we will never experience the heart-wrenching, amazing, and spectacular rewards that come when we give our best.

1670. Badger or Bonobo?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ://joe.co.uk/news [3] “Moving from Territorial to Collaborative Leadership,” Harvard Business Review, January 29, 2024. [4] See also “Why Territorial Managers Stifle Innovation,” MIT Sloan Management Review, May 6, 2024 and “Becoming a Collaborative Leader,” Human Capital Innovations Leadership Review, July 18, 2024. [5] Brandon Keim, “Why Some Wild Animals Are Becoming Nicer,” Science (blog), WIRED, February 7, 2012, wired.com.

1671. Faces at a Funeral

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

During the nineteenth century, all Oxford graduates were required to translate a portion of the Greek New Testament aloud. Oscar Wilde was assigned this passage from the passion story of Jesus. His translation was fluent and accurate. Satisfied with his skill, the examiners told him he could stop. But he ignored them and continued to translate. Several times more they tried to call a halt to his reading. Finally he looked ...

1672. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . Almost instantly Eurydice was gone, robbed of her nascent marriage and life itself. Deep in grief, the song died in Orpheus’ heart. He only moaned and groaned, and the world hung heavy with pain. Willows drooped their branches in empathy, and the wild beasts slunk back into the shadows. Dark clouds covered the sun’s smile, and birds roosted, unable to take flight in the oppressive air. Orpheus moped and wallowed. Consolation fled. Lament took the orchestra’s podium. Reaching for nerves that rejected ...

1673. Do You Think That I Have Come To Bring Peace?

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Will Willimon

... reading Luke 28:1-9 when he noted, “The Christ of the Gospels might seem actually more strange and terrible than the Christ of the Church”? Christ in the clutch of the clergy is a good deal more tame than the Jesus, wild and unfettered, of the Gospels. When asked what he thought to be the greatest challenge to the American church today, University of Chicago church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan, is reported to have answered, “Boredom." Multitudes are tagging along after Jesus. Multitudes. “I think we ...

1674. Starting Over

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... something routine and ordinary. They needed to live again. Then, out of the darkness, shined Jesus. They wondered at first, nervous about the shimmering ghost on the shore. But his voice steadied them, and his command strengthened them. All at once they were wildly successful fishermen. The net could hardly hold their enormous draught. Yet it was not the fish that excited them. Nor did they conceive of themselves as successful lords of the sea. Instead, they were drawn to Jesus. They needed to be with Jesus ...

1675. The Art Of Transition

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... person voluntarily goes. This discipleship business, this life in the kingdom of God, is not for weaklings, whiners, or complainers. There is no room for drama, or narcissism, for the easily bruised, or the slow to heal. Jesus said it clearly, folks. Wild animals have it easier than those who choose to be his disciples. We cannot let ourselves by distracted by our need for comfort, reassurance, safety, and familiarity. Distracted By Responsibility The second man who came to Jesus said he wanted to follow ...

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