Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 151 to 175 of 1795 results

Mark 10:35-45, Psalm 104:1-35

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

For the past month in our gospel readings, Jesus has been making his way to Jerusalem. He has been preparing his disciples for what awaited him there. They have rebuked him, been afraid to ask what he meant, and squabbled over who would have positions of leadership in his movement after he left them. Mixed in with his instruction and preparation to his disciples are stories of Jesus healing people seized with demons, disputing with the Pharisees, and lifting up the needs of children and “little ones,” ...

152. Steadfast Change

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

When I first looked at the texts for today, I immediately thought of the difference between change and transformation. I realized that I’m probably looking too closely at words again, looking more deeply at them than anyone cares about. But in the context of this congregation, it seems to me that change is inevitable and transformation is coming. I’ve felt it for a while. People fear change and even resist it, but the fact is that as long as we are alive, we are changing. That means that when we proclaim ...

153. Faithfulness In These Days

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

As we enter the Lenten season, we reflect on the life of Jesus, his ministry, his sacrifice, and his love for us. Paul contrasted, in this letter, the concepts of righteousness to the law and to faith, accenting that righteousness that comes from faith is the more important. The word, God’s word, is not distant from us, rather it is near us, near our lips and our heart. Knowing Jesus and proclaiming our faith, these are what brings us into relationship with God. This passage from Romans reminds us that ...

154. A New Creation in Hope

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

In Christ, we are a new creation. We, each of us, have been transformed and we need to look at the world, not from the human, but from the divine perspective. What does that mean to you? Paul saw the coming of Christ as the new act of creation. Just as in Genesis, God dramatically spoke creation, our world, into being. The coming of Christ was a new creation that freed humans from bondage and moved us into the light of life. Christ was and is the new beginning of our lives in relationships to God. What was ...

155. At the Table

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

In my faith tradition, Maundy Thursday usually involved a remembrance of the first communion service. Many of the churches I have been associated with have scheduled a light supper and following that supper, at small tables of six to eight attendees, bread is broken and the cup is shared, much as this passage from 1 Corinthians related. The commemoration is somewhat solemn often because we Christians forget that this offering of bread and cup was offered during a family celebration, a Passover feast, ...

156. For Someone Who Led an Extraordinary Life

2 Timothy 4:1-2; 6-8 · 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 · Luke 24:13-35

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

A Marvelous Life [List the qualities of their life one can marvel about.] I recently read as to how many years ago our ancestors would go out walking, usually on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes alone, sometimes with a spouse, sometimes with the whole family. And they called it going marveling. They would look for unusual rocks, unusual wildflowers, seashells or even four-leaf clovers, whatever could be labeled as marvelous things. They would collect them, bring them home and then show off the marvelous ...

157. A Place at the Table

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Preacher’s kids, PKs for short, know a lot about church. Earlier this year, I was given the best church tour of my life by a young PK. I was in a town just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, to do a preaching series and the pastor of this church, a colleague and friend for many years, went to check on a worship detail while I waited in his office. As I waited, his eight-year-old daughter seized on the opportunity to show me around. I was escorted by a church expert in a princess costume into Sunday school rooms ...

158. Upside Down And Backward

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

We get it backward, this life of faith, this discipleship, this Jesus following. We look at things from a perspective of what we lack, rather than through the lens of abundance. God gives us more than enough to do the work we are called to do. We are promised that God will do abundantly more than we hope or imagine. Jesus gifts us with the Holy Spirit to give us the right words at the right time. That Spirit intercedes for us, Christ prays for us and still we stand paralyzed, begging Jesus to increase our ...

159. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28, Proverbs 25:1-28, Proverbs 27:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

25:1–29:27 Review · The Later Colomonic: A second “Solomonic” proverbial collection begins in 25:1, extending through 29:27. These were “compiled” or edited two centuries after the reign of Solomon, during the reign of Hezekiah. 25:1–27:27 Review · The first subsection of this collection is on relating wisely to rulers, neighbors, family, and social menaces. In these chapters God is rarely mentioned (only 25:2, 22) and numerous comparisons are used (in the NIV, “like” occurs more frequently in chaps. 25–27 ...

160. Cities of Refuge

Numbers 35:6-34

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Special Cities for the Levites and for Refuge 35:1–8 The issue of the distribution of the land to the tribes continues in the first part of chapter 35 with provision for the Levites. This pattern of attending to the tribes first and then the Levites is familiar from the census counts in Numbers. The instruction, which comes in a divine command on the plains of Moab, is to give the Levites towns to live in and pasturelands around the towns. They will need pasture because the Levites receive offerings of ...

161. Saul's Family

1 Samuel 14:49-52

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

A Foolish Curse: Although there is nothing contradictory between this section and the preceding verses, it does not follow smoothly. It may be that the writers gathered a range of stories concerning Saul and Jonathan to illustrate their contrasting characters and behavior, and then verses 47–52 may correct any imbalance in the earlier stories. The rest of chapter 14 to verse 46 describes two only partially interrelated accounts, a reflection on the sort of demands God makes and how God’s actions should be ...

162. The Right of the Firstborn

Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Rectifying Public and Private Wrongs: Each of the five sections of this chapter deals with a situation of human distress or misconduct and seeks either to rectify the wrong or to mitigate its worst effects. We have seen already that this is a characteristic feature of Deuteronomy—part of its “pastoral strategy.” Another feature is that the first and fifth of the laws both require actions that involve removing pollution from the sight of God and from the land. 21:15–17 The right of the firstborn son. The ...

163. Samaria Resettled

2 Kings 17:24-41

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The End of Israel: The “uprooting” and “scattering” of Israel (1 Kgs. 14:15) has long been delayed because of God’s promises and character (2 Kgs. 10:30; 13; 14:23–29). God has continually saved (Hb. yšʿ) it from its enemies: through Elisha, through Jeroboam (2 Kgs. 14:27), through other unnamed saviors (2 Kgs. 13:5). There have been signs in the preceding chapters, however, that deliverance is now at an end, that the “exile” of 2 Kings 13:5 was a dry run for a now imminent main event. The most recent act ...

164. All Are Invited, but…

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.— Matthew 22:9 When you arrive at the church to attend a wedding, most often someone will hand you a program or a bulletin, which contains not only the order of the service but also the names of the wedding participants. It’s a helpful thing to have in hand, especially if you struggle to remember people’s names. Maybe you ask yourself: “What are the first names of the groom’s parents?” “Is that young woman the maid or ...

165. With Peace for the Fearful

John 20:19-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In 1841, Edgar Allen Poe published one of the first locked-room murder mysteries, and since then many authors have offered variations on the theme. A single door stands locked from the inside, and must be forced open. The room has no chimney for escape to the roof, no false walls to a secret passage, no trap door. The only window remains bolted from the inside. Yet the poor man or woman lies dead on the floor, obviously the victim of foul play. In print, on stage and screen, a locked-room mystery centers ...

166. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

28:1–29:27 Review · Chapters 28–29, on righteousness and a nation’s welfare, together conclude this anonymous proverbial collection. They are similar to chapters 10–15 stylistically in their dominant use of contrasting parallel clauses and thematically in their repeated contrast between the righteous and the wicked (Hebrew rasha occurs five times each in chaps. 28 and 29 but is absent from chap. 27; cf. commentary on 16:1–22:16). Some interpreters consider these chapters to be “rules for rulers,” although ...

167. Good News from the Threshing Floor

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

Harvest time is a good time to tell the story of Ruth. Ruth is one of two books in the Bible named after women, the other is Esther. One could argue that the book could be more accurately named for Ruth’s mother- in-law, Naomi. Our lesson for this morning gives the denouement, the happy ending, of Ruth’s saga. To get a true picture of how her story applies to us today we need to cover some of the background, some of what happened before Ruth went to the threshing room in her best dress. In what Christians ...

168. Pressing On In Faith

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

Recently at the gym, working out with my personal trainer, and straining to finish the third set of an exercise, the trainer began to encourage me. “You’re doing great! You can do it.” As I read this portion of Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi, I was reminded of this encouragement. To many, it seems, at least at the beginning of this reading, that Paul was bragging a little. No one deserved to be more confident in his acceptance into the faith than he did. After all, he was a circumcised Jew. He was ...

169. We Live in Hope

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

Good morning! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Happy Easter! Several times this week I have revised this sermon message, wanting to incorporate the emotions of this Holy Week, to understand the last week as a journey with Jesus and the disciples. The joy and triumph of Palm Sunday quickly seems to move into the intimacy of Maundy Thursday with its meal shared among friends, the servant leader Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, and the breaking of bread and sharing of cup. We then quickly move ...

170. For Someone Noted For Their Culinary Skills

Isaiah 25:6-9 · Luke 9:12-17

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

The Fork [Tell of their culinary skills and varied ways their life was blessed beyond measure.] I recently came upon a wonderful story about a man known far and wide for his generous and grateful spirit. Though diagnosed with cancer and given but a few months to live, he still maintained the twinkle in his eye and his terrific sense of humor, and still regaled his friends and his family with his wit and with his wisdom. Well, this man went to see his pastor to talk over his funeral arrangements. He said: “ ...

171. For Someone Who Spread Good Cheer

2 Corinthians 4:6-11 · Matthew 5:13-16 · Matthew 25:31-46 · Romans 14:7-9

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

Saints [Tell of the many ways they brightened someone’s day, tell of how they were the ‘sunshine’ of many a life.] There was a little boy who came to church with his mom. While she was lighting candles and attempting to pray the stations of the cross, he was doing what little kids do in church, he was running around examining just about everything. After a while, she called for him and he didn’t answer. She looked around and saw that he was in the sanctuary looking at the stained-glass windows. The sun was ...

172. In Which Direction Do You Travel?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... doubt that she said, "I met a really great person today who knew a lot about the Bible and showed me how my life-style was wrong." I doubt that she said "Here is a man who helped me get my theology straight and really knew all the ... myself. Truly this must be the Messiah!" How can we help people avoid the ditches of life? How can we help people change their life-styles? Initially we can become dependable. We can show to others that our church, our family, and our friends, can depend on us for support. Then ...

173. Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

2 Kings 8:7-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The End (of Ahab) is Nigh: The tension has become almost unbearable. In spite of Ahijah’s prophecy that Israel would be like a reed swaying in the water (1 Kgs. 14:15), the house of Omri has held the throne since 1 Kings 16:23. In spite of Elijah’s prophecy about the end of this house (1 Kgs. 21:21–24), we are now reading of Ahab’s second apostate son, who holds on to his kingdom with the help of Elijah’s successor. Did Elijah sabotage God’s plan by failing to anoint Hazael and Jehu (1 Kgs. 19:15–18)? Will ...

174. Jehoram King of Judah

2 Kings 8:16-24

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

175. Ahaziah King of Judah

2 Kings 8:25-29

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

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