Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1726 to 1750 of 1795 results

All styles are good except the tiresome kind.

The biggest ignorance displayed in Christianity is the ignoring of literary styles throughout the bible. The distilling of so much interpretation into a literal approach has shipwrecked the mind of many a Christian. It's time to return to classic studies and learn the complexities and subtleties of literature.

Brett Blair

We are finding that both men and women get their basic religious style, trusting or paranoid, regardless of creed, from their fathers. And you can guess what the decisive variable is; it's whether things were pretty good between their parents, whether the father trusted the mother. So a failure in one generation starts a cycle of paranoia down through the generations to come.

Father Andrew Greeley

1729. OK Boomer

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... may have had that streak of stubbornness. Melissa saw the classic movie The Ten Commandments on television a few years back. She learned from that movie that one of God’s names is “I Am That I Am.” For days thereafter, true to her contrary style, Melissa strode around the house announcing, “I am not that I am not!” (1) “I am not that I am not!” Do you know any four‑year‑olds with that same contrary nature? Former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion Mark Spitz might have ...

1730. Wavering Notes by an Uncertain Trumpet

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Ron Love

... no final judgment. False teachers who said in the absence of Jesus’ returning and no final judgment, we can live the debaucherous lifestyle we have always embraced. Peter feared, correctly, that those who followed these false teachers would no longer live a Christian life-style. They would become morally lax. The flesh would take precedence over the Spirit. Peter wrote that as we wait patiently we are to “strive to be found by Jesus at peace, without spot or blemish.” We are to continue to live in the ...

1731. What's the Time?

Humor

I had gathered my first-grade class around me to teach them to tell time using a conventional-style analog clock. We'll be learning about the hour hand and the minute hand, I explained. One of my students interrupted and said, "I don't need to learn on that kind of clock. My dad bought me this digital watch, and right now it's 10 minutes to 38."

1732. Doorkeepers for Disruption

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... close conversation with his disciples, this time in Mark, he follows his instruction to them about the coming destruction of the Jerusalem Temple with the advice to look for signs of the difficulties to come in establishing the kingdom of heaven. Here Jesus uses apocalyptic style descriptions to let them know that though they will endure hardships and pain on his behalf, they will be vindicated and rewarded in the end. His advice to them is to “keep awake, to stay alert, that God will win in the end. Look ...

1733. R.S.V.P.

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... were the beautiful people who had been to all the right schools, the jet set, Palm Beach, Newport crowd. They were the right sort of people who drove upscale cars and whose very presence at the wedding would make the whole affair look better. They had style, knew how to look good in a Dior. But they lacked one thing in all their beauty and goodness -- trust. They preferred their own devices, their own agenda, to risking an evening even at the King Mansion. And so, trusting their way of doing things rather ...

1734. Holy Extravagance

Mark 14:3-9

Sermon

Will Willimon

... pain of real poverty have found the social and spiritual healing that comes from such "excess"? What is real? What constitutes reality in the Kingdom vision? That's the question. It isn't the gospel which has made us contemptuous of style, beauty, the work of human creativity, song, dance and festivity. It is rather our flattened, drab world that robs us of our vision and calls the resulting gray, prefab landscape real. Whenever our church cuts loose and becomes emotionally extravagant, this excessiveness ...

1735. Clean Hands

Psalm 26:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

... transcript, and I got it. It is a prayer for times when you are young and have the world at your feet, and your barns are full, and the vineyards are productive. It is a prayer for bright, sunny, Sunday mornings with all of us here in dresses, hair tastefully styled, coats and ties. God, I thank thee, for me. And all will go well for you, as long as you stay right, and the sun shines, and your tie is straight, and your star is in ascendancy, and your hands are clean. You can pray Psalm 26, groom your ...

1736. Chosen and Appointed

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... face of trouble. He could be courageous and daring when he believed in something but also would ask the right questions and seek answers before making decisions. Thomas needed to buy in in order to be convinced that something was worth doing. His steady, scientific-style mind would be needed in the midst of some of the more impulsive, emotional moments exhibited by his fellow disciples. Faith was a bit more challenging to him, but once committed, he was all in. James was quiet, a follower, so quiet, we hear ...

1737. A Non-anxious Presence

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

In his book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, rabbi and psychologist, Edwin Friedman, defines the effective leader as the person who is able to maintain a “non-anxious presence” in an anxious system. He goes on to say that all systems (organizations) are, by nature, anxious. Families are anxious. Corporations are anxious. Baseball teams are anxious. Boards of directors are anxious. Armies, committees, card clubs, charities, and churches are all anxious. Especially, churches. ...

1738. A Commitment to Righteousness

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... about it or, they could respond and act on the message. Many in the crowd left, but many responded to his call for change. Acting on faith in Jesus is required before salvation becomes reality and change is initiated into our life style. Responding includes reconciliation. Humanity has been alienated from God because of sin. Paul spoke to that in Romans 5:6-11 in where he called unsaved people as “powerless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “God’s enemies.” The remedy is the removal of the ...

1739. It's A Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... what you've seen, until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead." Now what was that supposed to mean. Whatever that meant, it took the steam out of their mountain top experience. Peter's words really weren't that dumb. SURE, Peter's style as chief disciple in training seemed to be open mouth, insert foot, blush, crawfish, remove foot, open mouth insert other foot. Peter was one of those persons who never knew what to say but always felt led to say something. He spoke before thinking. But he really ...

1740. Impetuous Faith

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... men, the prime ministers of piety, the “master’s pets.” Jesus is at first taken aback by their impetuous and somewhat impertinent request. But these are the sons of Zebedee. He knows them. They are not known for their deliberating, slow-moving style. They are used to a high-powered fishing industry, where they barter and compete for the best positions, deals, boats, and fees. They are behaving in character. But Jesus also realizes immediately that they have absolutely no clue what they are asking for ...

1741. For the Love of God Is . . .

1 John 5:3-4

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... about. Just look at some of the titles of some of our love songs. Love is Kind, Love is Blue, Loving Blind, Love is True, Love Hurts, Love bites, Love Stinks, Love Is Strange, Love Me Tender, Love Potion #9, Love Makes The World Go Round, Love Boat, Love American Style, What The World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love, Love Letters In The Sand, All You Need Is Love, To Know Him Is To Love Him, Never My Love, and Love Lifted Me. I really didn't mean to get your mind racing like an oldies station. But as you ...

1742. Shake It Up

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... But be sure that when God touches down, when Jesus is in the house, things will begin to change. And sometimes that means a destruction of the old to make way for the new. Scary? Maybe a little. The Holy Spirit is no fainting flower but a downright hurricane style force to be reckoned with. Let the Spirit in and you’re going to experience the ride of your life! Jesus’ words are clear: tighten your seatbelts and get ready for the tide to come in. But disciples of Jesus know how to surf the waves. We get ...

1743. It's a Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

1744. A New Identity for a New Year

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... 29 Beautiful Stories That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity,” https://www.success.com/29-beautiful-stories-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity/. 4. “8 Inspiring Stories That Show the True Meaning of Christmas,” December 25, 2019. Camille Styles, https://camillestyles.com/wellness/8-inspiring-stories-that-show-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/. 5. “Dolly Parton shares her morning routine, including the breakfast she cooks her husband” by Scott Stump, Source: TODAY, December 7, 2020, https://www ...

1745. The Art of Fruit

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... 1562 at the age of 36, Arcimboldo received an invitation to accept a post as Court Portraitist at Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II’s imperial court in Vienna. Suddenly the budding artist was thrust into a rich renaissance-style intellectual and artistic atmosphere, which boasted interchange between botanists, astronomers, physicians, and alchemists. These would influence his art, and soon he would begin churning out vegetable and fruit likenesses of local celebrities and benefactors. At first, these may ...

1746. I Shall Rise Again!

I Corinthians 15:19-26 · Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... only for a season, then cease to exist forever? Or are we so significant in God’s eyes that even death cannot separate us from His love? Do not say that Christianity can exist independently from Easter. Christianity is not simply a set of values, a moral code, a style of living, a grand philosophy. Christian faith is Easter faith. It is the conviction that people matter so much to God that he gave his own son in our behalf; that he allowed him to be crucified on the cross for our sins and on the third day ...

1747. A New Beginning

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... a new beginning.” New beginnings, fresh starts, really are possible from God’s point of view. Lent is a season for helping us see that this is possible. Yes, Lent is an unattractive time, filled with sobriety. Yet it opens the way to the Easter celebration. It is God’s style to do things in surprising ways. That is what Paul means by calling us not to look at things from a human point of view (v.16a). Don’t look at things from a human point of view, because we are in a new time. God clearly does not ...

1748. A Sympathetic High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Whoever wrote this sermon (it is not likely that it was Paul, since its style is different from other books written by Paul) was addressing a group of Jewish Christians. But what he has to say is for us, especially at this time when we remember Christ’s death: Since then we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son ...

1749. Rules for Basic Living

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... the reasons, what a difference it could have made in the lives of its young people. Maybe that is why Jesus got in trouble with the Pharisees so often, because they said “do” or “don’t do” just because it was a rule and not a life style endeavor that would lead to real life. Instead of drawing up an elaborate system of rules, if we stuck to the moral fiber and ethics that the Bible taught us it would revolutionize the world. When the Bible says, “No” it gives a reason. When the scripture ...

1750. Fool's Gold

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of our Creator, and that image is seared into our hearts at the moment of our birth. We only sometimes need to be reminded of how valuable we truly are. In the Asian tradition, some of the most valuable and expensive pottery is a style of art called kintsugi. In the art of kintsugi, the artist takes broken pottery, ceramic, or bone china and sears the pieces together anew with liquid gold. The resulting patterns are exquisitely beautiful and entirely unique. Each one is different. Each one is an artistic ...

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