Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1701 to 1725 of 2332 results

1701. The Messianic Age

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Adrian Dieleman

... war anymore. (Isa 35:5-7) Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. (6) Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (7) The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. (Isa 60:3,10-13) Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (13) "Foreigners ...

1702. Just Proud To Belong

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

... the body of Jesus Christ. This incorporation came about as a result of a love that was determined to draw us in. And long after the act of baptism, that love holds us together without ranking us as more or less important, allows us to disagree with each other without deserting one another, and leads us to use our different gifts without any need to compare them with somebody else's gifts.

1703. St. Andrew Christians

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Even in the most barren desert you can find an oasis or two. In the wasteland of television you can find an oasis of decency and compassion. Take the commercials sponsored by the “Foundation for a Better Life.” Here is lifted up such radically righteous behavior as, oh, some young kid giving up his bus seat ...

1704. Lamplight vs. Starlight

Matthew 5:13-16

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

In the middle of the New Mexico desert, astronomers fume about the "light pollution" from all the sprawling cities that are gradually snaking out across the land. Even on the darkest moonless nights, the stars that used to gleam and twinkle so brilliantly look faded and dim. We who dwell in the middle of cities and suburbs rarely ...

1705. My Best Demons

Matthew 5:21-26

Illustration

Kathleen Norris

... , or to deny my fears. My husband, who has a much sweeter nature than I, once told me that my mean streak grieved him, not just because of the pain it cause him but because it was doing me harm. His remark, as wise as that of any desert Abba, felt like an exorcism. Not that my temptation to anger was magically gone, but I was called to pay closer attention to something that badly needed attention, and that was hurting our marriage. It confirmed my understanding of marriage as a holy act: one can no more ...

1706. After the Mountaintop

Matthew 4:1-11

Illustration

Don M. Aycock

... dove descend upon him and heard the voice of God say, You are my son; I am well pleased in you. What a grand and high moment! But looked what happened next: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil.

1707. The Five-a-Day Rule

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and watered, weeded and nurtured. Pray . . .In Private: Jesus was always excusing himself from his disciples, from crowds clamoring for miracles, from the distraction of everydayness, to seek singular time with God. Jesus went up mountains, out on boats, into the desert, just to have some personal, private time with the Father. Singular prayer is never solitary. There is always a listening ear. In the silence of solitude all doubts and despairs, all heights and depths, can be revealed and relinquished to a ...

1708. The Rewards Program for Christians

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and soak in the beauty. As Jesus’ disciples we are still counted among those who are called to “welcome” Jesus’ missionary messengers. If life is sweet for you today, keep a look out for co-workers or companions who are suffering through a sugar-free desert. Offer them a “reward” of a “thank you,” offer them the sweetness of encouragement, offer them the pick-me-up of praise. I’m going to guess this morning that the majority of this congregation goes to bed hungry every night -hungry for a ...

1709. Finger Food

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , featuring a picnic-banquet, is part of Jesus’ rich “finger food” tradition. All the gospel writers are clear in identifying this group of diners as vast — “five thousand” were fed. They are a huge, undifferentiated crowd, a crowd that has wandered over “deserted” land to seek out Jesus. Jesus does not ask the members of this crowd to prove they are righteous, or observant, or even Jewish. His only directive is for them to “recline” on the grass, a posture that would let everyone know ...

1710. A “No Surprises” Easter

John 20:1-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . It is not surprising anymore, but for me (and I suspect millions of others) there is great comfort in that. Several years ago, The Saturday Evening Post ran a cartoon showing a man about to be rescued after he had spent a long time shipwrecked on a tiny deserted island. The sailor in charge of the rescue team stepped onto the beach and handed the man a stack of newspapers. "Compliments of the captain," the sailor said. "He would like you to glance at the headlines to see if you'd still like to be rescued ...

1711. My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... my companion. "I fear no evil; for you are with me." Once I remembered that, I was able to be confident in the face of adversity. Why? "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." The rod was a gnarled club the shepherd used as a weapon to defend against desert marauders, both animal and human. The staff was the crook that could be used to rescue one who had fallen from the path. Yes, it is a comfort to know that your protector has the tools at his disposal to do the protecting. My shepherd has done such a ...

1712. God's Day Off

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... I would support the appointment of this friend, and I would support the maintenance of the fences and the signs. You see, I want the park preserved.[3] Sunday is our little park ... our place apart in the noisy din of a hectic week ... a little oasis in the desert of a workaday world. The signs we put up and the fences we maintain can determine, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come, whether or not that park is to survive. I make no judgments as to what is right or wrong on Sunday for you, but ...

1713. Thanks for the Memory, Bob

John 6:24-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the blind have seen, the hungry were fed (5,000-plus with only five barley loaves and two small fish). They wanted even more: "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat' " (vv. 30-31). Jesus responds, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread ...

1714. Being a Christian “Survivor”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... 's name is that God never gives up on his people, no matter how low they go. No matter how unfaithful we are, God will always be faithful. For those in the midst of a struggle for survival, it is comforting to know that our God will never desert us, will always stand by us, and will never let us down. Next, Paul talks about the helmet of salvation. Salvation does not mean pie in the sky by and by. Salvation means health, wholeness, something similar to the old Hebrew word, Shalom. Salvation is a description ...

1715. Expressing The Inexpressible

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... To secure the caravan route along the Mediterranean coast, he had built cities and military outposts and armed his troops with the most advanced weapons. He had refortified the walls of Jerusalem with towers. His construction of numerous cisterns and military outposts in the desert made widespread settlement possible. Uzziah was a lover of the soil who promoted agriculture. But now he was gone, struck down by leprosy, buried in a field rather than in the royal tombs because of his disease. It was a sad time ...

1716. A Whole City at The Door

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... , work at their play, and play at their worship."1 All the essential elements of life are there, but their order, and especially their focus, is upside down. The disciples came to him in a rush of misplaced enthusiasm, "What are you doing out here praying in the desert? The whole town is looking for you, your ministry is a success, come on back and greet the multitudes." Jesus' response was not to go back, but rather to press on in pursuit of what he "came out to do." And that was to "proclaim the message ...

1717. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

John Smylie

... first was in to the Galilee region where we visited Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and the Jordan River, as well as several other biblical sites. The second adventure was to have some time in the Judean wilderness. We would spend the night in a tent in the desert. This sounded romantic to me and along with about 25 of my colleagues we boarded our bus and headed for the wilderness. There's not much vegetation that grows in the Judean wilderness, at least at the time of year we were there. The terrain is brown ...

1718. Speaking Peace

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Smylie

... , in anger and helplessness were nowhere near to experiencing peace. They needed the strong words of the Lord to comfort them and they needed to see his hands and his side to affirm that, yes, he was the same rabbi they had loved and known and deserted at his cross, that this marvelous and extraordinary experience had a definite continuity with their past. He came to them even when they had run from him. He found them when they were hiding behind locked doors. He spoke peace to them with the strength that ...

1719. Do You Love Me?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... . Nikos Kazantzakis, The Last Temptation of Christ (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960), pp. 241-242. 2. Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905, in John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1955), p. 770. 3. Syncletica in Laura Swan's The Forgotten Desert Mothers (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2001), p. 43. 4. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love (New York: Harper and Row, 1963), p. 20. 5. James Baldwin, Another Country (New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 1993), pp. 8-9.

1720. Out of Control

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

There is a marvelous miracle described in Willa Cather's book, Death Comes for the Archbishop. In the story, Father Junipero and his friend, Father Andrea, set out on a journey through a Mexican desert with bread and water for one day. On the second day, they are beginning to lose heart when, near sunset, they see in the distance three very tall cottonwood trees. They rush toward the trees and see a little house. An old Mexican comes out of the house, greets them ...

1721. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... pains than the pangs of true hunger and or true thirst. The craving for food and water are the two most powerful natural appetites for us. Jesus understands hunger. Luke records, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry" (Luke 4:1-2). It was no momentary craving for a snack that Jesus needed. He was hungry for real food. In that ...

1722. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... ritual, the Pharisees consider them heinous lawbreakers. It is interesting that in making his response, Jesus does not try to explain or justify the disciples' failure to wash their hands. Instead, as he did once before when he was tempted by Satan in the desert (see Matthew 4:1-10), Jesus speaks about the only source of true authority: the written word of God. This time, he applies Isaiah's inspired record. Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me ...

1723. Calling Out in the Darkness

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Steven Molin

... possibilities that Jesus saw. So he chose to leave behind what would have certainly been a notorious reputation ("I once was blind, but now I see!"). And we never hear from this man again in scripture. We don't know if he became a disciple, or a devotee, or a deserter. What we do know is that once Jesus gave the man his sight, the man was no longer content to hang around Jericho. He wanted to see the world through Jesus' eyes. And that brings me back to the question: What do you want Jesus to do for you? In ...

1724. Epiphany: All about You!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). Epiphany shows us how to get over ourselves and have this Copernicus revolution of the heart. We follow the journey of the magi across the desert. It is a journey that slows us down long enough to put away the cell phones and turn off the computer to see that I didn't put the stars in their courses, I didn't dictate the rise of the tides, I didn't maneuver the earth around the ...

1725. Busy with a Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... at the top of your lungs. Certainly, there is time to be busy, doing the work of the Lord, but there is also a time to be still. In Mark, the evangelist wrote, "In the morning, while it was still very dark, [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Jesus was a very busy man but he was not running aimlessly. To keep centered, he needed to be still. There is an off button to the phone, the computer, the palm pilot, the radio. Use it. We are a loud society ...

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