Sermon and Worship Resources

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Sermon Aid

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... celebration and thanksgiving. The Jewish Pentecost would attract throngs of people from all over the world. That helped make it a fitting setting for the Christian Pentecost. Representatives from all over the known world were galvanized into the new Israel. Pentecost marks the birth of the Church, the new Israel of God, in fulfillment of the prophetic expectations that Israel would be a priestly people. Meaning Of The Word Pentecost Pentecost is a Greek word meaning 50. The Jewish Pentecost arrives 50 days ...

1777. Seder Service: The Passover Haggadah

Bulletin Aid

Robert L. Linder and Rabbi Sol Ester

... upon the earth and bring the radiance of Thy divine light to all who still dwell in darkness and in bondage. May this season marking the deliverance of our ancestors from Pharaoh arouse us against any despot who keeps man bowed in servitude. In gratitude for the freedom ... 's name: YOD HEH VAV HEH (Jehovah) -- to indicate that God, the Liberator, is the Author of our freedom. They mark the four divisions of the Seder service: the Kiddush; the reading of the Haggadah; the Birkat Hamazon (blessing after the meal ...

1778. A Good Friday Vigil

Luke 22:39-46

Bulletin Aid

Alexander H. Wales

... : Luke 22:39-48, 52-71. Pause for silent meditation and prayer after extinguishing one of the three reading candles. The worship leader then reads: Matthew 27:1-5 and Mark 15:6-20. Pause for silent meditation and prayer after extinguishing one of the remaining two reading candles. The worship leader then reads: Luke 23:26-27, 32-34, 39-46 and Mark 15:39, 42-47. Pause for silent meditation and prayer after extinguishing the final reading candle and all but a few of the remaining candles at the back of the ...

1779. The Poor In Spirit

Sermon

John A. Terry

... is the chief sin. There is the account in The Divine Comedy of Virgil and Dante meeting the Angel of Humility. The angel struck Dante's forehead with his wings, and thus erased the pride-mark, while angel choirs sang, "Beati pauperers spiritu." After that, Dante walked with light step because when the pride-mark is erased, all the other sins become a smaller burden.1 In contrast to striving after God's kingdom, which is the promise of this beatitude, is personal striving. There was a time when Christians ...

1780. The Merciful

Sermon

John A. Terry

... forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." This beatitude marks a shift from the passive to the active, from the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those hungry and ... as a removed monarch, but as one of us. In his mercy, Jesus shared in our own pain. And so this attitude of mercy is a mark of our nature as a Christian people. One of the leaders of the early church is named Tertullian. He had these words of insight and encouragement ...

1781. The Peacemakers

Sermon

John A. Terry

... , there have been many who loved peace so much they ended up getting into fights over it. We have found those working for peace called "peacemongers." There is a terrible irony that within the church of the Prince of Peace the way to peace is often marked by dissension and discord. These are easier days for the church to talk about peace. Twenty-five years ago when the war in Vietnam was raging, to talk about peace in the church inevitably led to conflict. In other days when we find our soldiers in battle ...

1782. Turning A Minus Into A Plus

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... quick fix is both a divine and human possibility. A student can receive a C- on a paper and as a record in a teacher's grade book. After a particularly urgent appeal for mercy, the teacher can, with the mere stroke of a pen, put a quick vertical mark through the minus, changing it into a plus. The student goes soaring off, flying out half a letter grade to the good. Now, we know that doesn't happen very often. Minuses aren't that quickly eliminated. God is not solely the one who comes barging into our lives ...

1783. Wind -- Word -- Spirit -- Community

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... . The Word is central. Listen to Ezekiel bringing the word from beyond to the living dead. "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." What a beautiful way to speak of the Divine Spirit that animates the whole creation! Mark the configuration of wind, breath, and word also in Luke's account. Wind, spirit, and speech are woven into the artistry of Luke. How else do you express a reality that grabs us in a way we cannot define but can affirm? And what is the bottom ...

1784. Invitation To Community

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... baptism we belong to a worldwide community of faith. Each time we gather, we have an opportunity to pray together and recommit ourselves to peace. Now that we are here, we have to deal with a troublesome and potentially divisive text from the Gospel of Mark. Some Pharisees put Jesus to the test by asking him what he thought about divorce. His response, in turn, has always put a peace-loving church to the test. Jesus' teaching about divorce provokes a variety of responses. Some people hear the text snarl at ...

1785. How To Plant An English Garden

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

William G. Carter

... singing 'Home, Sweet Home.' "1 We can understand that, can't we? Some mornings we wake in the earnest desire to take the world by storm. When we forget to set the alarm clock, we awake late after the best sleep ever. In the two parables we hear from Mark, Jesus points to the great potential in things that look passive. A farmer works hard in the field, but having planted a crop he must get on with his life. Each day has a rhythm of eating, drinking, and sleeping. The parable insists that he has to sleep. He ...

1786. Drop-Everything-Discipleship

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... back on something so secure? There appears to be only one answer: they believed Jesus' word to be true. They literally took him at his word when he declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news" (Mark 1:15). They did so believe. Belief Involves Action The call of God in your life may not be as radical, but it can be just as meaningful, nevertheless. For you it may mean forsaking a familiar past for a problematic future -- like taking a new job ...

1787. The Demanding Crowd

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... of how or when we come -- God is there! The Need to Withdraw The demand of the crowd upon Jesus' life was great. So much so that "in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Jesus realized he could not give out to others anymore. He went someplace where he could be alone, away from the cries of the needy, the demands of people, the insistence that he do something. Jesus was not trying to get away from the demands of the people ...

1788. Ash Wednesday

Mark 1:1-8

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... person to present in worship. In this monologue Jesus is deciding whether or not he should be baptized by John. Jesus could have just ignored this radical relative who really understood very little about Jesus. Did the baptism mark the end of Jesus' carpentry and commission him for the beginning of ministry? Did it mark the end of obeying and caring for parents in order to begin a life of obeying God and caring for all the world's peoples? Was Jesus' baptism a way to identify with the sin and suffering of ...

1789. Reach Out And Touch Someone

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Brett Blair

As Mark's story begins this morning, Jesus, the great physician, is on his way to make an emergency house call. There was a little girl ... had been suffering from a bleeding hemorrhage. Some modern scholars have theorized that this was a bleeding cancer. If this were the case she was, of course, beyond all medical help. Matthew and Mark tell us that she had already been to all of the doctors and she had only gotten worse, and beside that they had taken all her money. Interestingly, Luke, who was a physician ...

1790. The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John A. Terry

1791. The Merciful

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

1792. The Peacemakers

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

John A. Terry

1793. The Adventure Of The Empty Tomb

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... be touched or could he not? To whom did he first appear?" "No exegetical theology, please, Mr. Holmes, tell me about the boy." The Archbishop was on his feet imploring my companion, life returning to his eyes, tempered by the dread that Holmes might not be on the mark. "I was able to move him before you arrived. It was difficult to communicate the danger, but I was able to entice him away from where you landed by a little string magic my grandmother taught me when I was a child. Dr. Wells told me when and ...

1794. Who Do You Say I Am?

Mark 8:27-30

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... to take up the cross and follow him. (There may also be a member of the congregation who would love to spend a few days in his or her workshop making such crosses.) Music Possibilities (Mark 8:27-38) Above the Voices of the World Around Me Thou Art Jesus, Savior and Lord Weary of All Trumpeting What Fabled Names from Judah's Past (Mark 9:14-29) Here, Master, in This Quiet Place Above the Voices of the World Around Me Organ and Other Keyboard Music Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus We ...

1795. October 2-8

Mark 10:1-12

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... 31 and 2:18-25; Jeremiah 33:10-11; John 15:9-17; Ephesians 5:21-33; Song of Solomon 8:6-7; 1 Corinthians 13; and Mark 10:9) Commissioning and Blessing There are those who would stop you from going to Jesus.Know that Christ intervenes on your behalf, lays his hands ... the children living in the vicinity around the church. Put an insert in the worship bulletin, and ask the worshipers to mark this to indicate how they will help with this new ministry. The signed inserts could be put in the offering plates, along ...

1796. How Can We Restore the Christian Home?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, Isay to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them. Mark 10:2-16 (RSV) And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom ...

1797. How Do You Remain Religious?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... (RSV) "... and there are many other traditions which they observe ..." (v. 4b) The most powerful questions Jesus asked were those that made the persons being addressed raise further questions. These occasions created for him opportunities to do his best teaching. The incident Mark tells us about in our text today was just another encounter between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees. They were always watching him and his disciples in order to find a cause celebre by which to cast this new movement into an ...

1798. What Triggers Your Panic Button?

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... mind, we will put Holy Scripture in a time-frame: the time it was written, the time it was written about, and our time. Think about it. Mark’s Gospel was not written in A.D. 30 or 31. It was written at least thirty years later. And it was addressed to a church community ... to know that Jesus was still there to help them. For those who felt despair and wondered whether they could go on, Mark was trying to give reassurance. Our times are stormy, too. In the real world out there the drug market is destroying ...

1799. What’s Going on at Your House?

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... really say? He said: A family divided into groups that fight will fall apart. A house divided into groups that fight will fall apart. A nation divided into groups that fight will fall apart. Let’s take an overview of these rather candid remarks. By St. Mark’s diary, Jesus’ ministry has just begun. Jesus has healed several paralyzed and sick persons. He has preached to numerous crowds. He has broken the Sabbath as they interpreted it. He has called the Twelve to be with him as interns for on-the-job ...

1800. An Untouchable God?

1 Samuel 6:1-7:1

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... from God whom she could reach out and actually touch. And she does. And she improves. And Jesus accepts and even affirms what it must have taken great courage for her to do. “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.” (Mark 5:34 TEV) Here is one, unlike Uzzah, who reaches out and intentionally touches him who is God, and far from killing her, it heals and restores her a long way from our story in 2 Samuel. The good news of the Gospel? God can be touched and ...

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