Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... , nothing happened. Then one Saturday morning he discovered the sack of grass seed - still in the garage. "What in the world did you plant?" his wife asked. With a sigh, the man replied, "Kitty litter." You might wonder, looking at some people, if bad seed, sort of kitty litter, weren't sown in their lives instead of the gospel. Jesus assures us that there is nothing wrong with the biblical gospel. It'll grow if given the chance. The problem is that Satan comes along and snatches away the seed. You know ...

1777. Deep Water!

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... Christ bids us walk on water, to throw off the comfort zone of the familiar, to venture out onto the realm of the impossible. And unless we have the impulsive audacity of Peter, we'll never be qualified for church leadership of the visionary sort. That fundraising project, that city-wide evangelism venture, that impossible family situation - those wet, windy, dark, fearful challenges keep us in the boat, keep us glued to our seats. Yet Jesus says, "Come!" So Peter did the impossible. He walked on water with ...

1778. Do You Get It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... on the third day be raised," mean that the whole catastrophic plummeting of humanity into the depths will be reversed. We shouldn't imagine that we're privy to all God's secrets or can say that God had to do something, but in very general terms that sort of explanation may help us to understand why the cross was necessary. It still may not answer all the questions that you have. How does it work? How does the cross save us from sin? Theologians have suggested various answers - that Christ paid our debt, or ...

1779. Supper's Ready!

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... coming in. "Wait Until I Have Some Fun!" Have you ever heard this excuse? "I'll come. I'll become a Christian and sit at the Lord's table, but first let me have a little fun." These people associate Jesus with a moral straitjacket. God to them is some sort of celestial killjoy. They say, "Thanks, but no thanks!" Yet, Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). He didn't come to take the life out of the party, he came to put life in the party. When I ...

1780. Influence!

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... sat together and shared communion in worship. He is a man who has been to the moon and back. Now in Christ he has learned to live on earth. His is not just appearances but the reality of a life lived out in servanthood to Jesus and others. Conclusion What sort of spiritual leader are you? Are you the mosquito or the honeybee? In the mirror of this text, what do you see?

1781. Praying Through

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... had soared. And our electricity bill had more that doubled. For several weeks I worried and schemed and grew irritable. I could see no way out of our financial plight. During those weeks I am ashamed to say that I never once prayed about things. I guess I sort of figured seminary students were supposed to be poor. My wife watched me quietly as I turned into a tyrant through worry. Finally she simply said, "Stephen, why don't we pray about it?" Well, I agreed, and together we told God all about it and asked ...

1782. Worship Wars!

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... like a man with little Jack Horner religion! You know the nursery rhyme? Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his curds and whey. He stuck in his thumb, pulled out a plum, and said, 'What a good boy am I!' " "So, what's wrong with that sort of religion?" "It's just that you judge others by their flaws, yourself by your virtues, and always get such a marvelous comparison." "Somebody has to be the watchdog around here to see that the big hair in the choir isn't adulterating or the preacher isn't being ...

1783. The Man in the Tree

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... personally. He did see him on the stage four times, he says. Once he stood up on the wall at Graceland for twelve hours trying to get a glimpse of the singer, but Elvis had so many people around Wise could never get close. (1) That’s the sort of situation Zacchaeus found himself in. Too many people wanted to see the stranger from Nazareth. A short man didn’t have a chance. But Zacchaeus was determined. And so, he climbed a tree and waited. I suspect Jesus was pleased with Zacchaeus’ zeal. A grown man ...

1784. So You Want to Be in the Lead?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... church was of a single mind and a single heart? If so, how can you say that being in the front entails missteps, mistakes, and squabbling? I say it because the same Luke who talks about the early church being of one heart and one mind describes all sorts of squabbles and scandals (Luke 6:1; Luke 5:1-2)? I say it because Paul says there's quarreling among you (1 Corinthians 1:11). Leaders exist the same way the church exists: with the ideal of one heart and one mind, and with the reality of missteps ...

1785. Gone with the Wind

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... if it has to, Misery will go out and recruit that company, enticing those trying to walk a new way, to move into a new life, back into the dark depth of their old world. Second, the winds of divagation. Divagaters are those who would sidetrack us with all sorts of other concerns. They take our focus away from the solution to our problems and back on the problems themselves. As long as Peter kept his eyes focused forward, as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he could keep his fragile footing. As he had ...

1786. God Will Take Care of You

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... upon which people depended for sustenance was simply bread. Bread, whether leavened or unleavened, was a sign of civilization. For to create bread there had to have been a grain crop, and a place for that grain to be properly processed, as well as some sort of cooking source to bake the bread. In today's gospel text the importance, in fact the imperative of bread is brought sharply into focus. The devoted crowds that follow Jesus out into the deserted place don't have zip-lock bags and coolers filled ...

1787. I Like Brussels Sprouts, but...

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... feats of faith? If Jesus had been polluted by his stubborn contact with these tax collectors and sinners, how could he have performed these divine acts of healing? The Pharisees in today's text are horrified that Jesus was associating with the "wrong sort" of people. Not only did he speak with these shady characters, but he invited much more serious personal ritual pollution by actually dining with them. The laws of kashrut (kosher), the laws of commerce, and the laws of purity - all established a very ...

1788. How Can Religion Go Bad Doing Good?

Matthew 7:21-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... let's give credit where credit is due: Germany, having implemented the most unspeakable atrocity in history, is the nation today with the highest and most admirable record of examining its own history. You don't find anything like this is Japan, which committed all sorts of atrocities on its Chinese neighbors. You don't find anything like this in Russia, where Stalin killed not only millions of his own people in various purges but millions of others in the Baltic states. You don't find anything like this in ...

1789. Tell You the Truth

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... great themes and motifs that run throughout Jesus' entire ministry. In 14:12 Jesus utters what biblical scholars identify as one of his favorite verbal tics or traits - a phrase he repeats over and over again. In a wide variety of situations, to all sorts of audiences, Jesus telegraphs the importance of what follows with this identifying phrase: "I tell you the truth." It was almost as if Jesus couldn't tell a parable or start a story without saying, "I tell you the truth." The NRSV translates this ...

1790. The Difference between Happiness and Joy

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... by grace. 3) Happiness can be a solitary emotion. Rejoicing is a community enterprise. You can be happy by yourself. You rejoice with other people. "Calling on the neighbors to celebrate together is just the kind of calling together (ecclesia) that the Church is. There are all sorts of ways of talking about the community that's the Church. You can think of it as a people who share the same beliefs, or all those who have been baptized, or even all the people who more or less agree with the Pope. And so on ...

1791. Soren's Heart

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you are wearing or have in your pocket or purse some sort of talisman - a small something that reminds you of something much bigger? We often call these things we carry around with us keepsakes or mementos or jewelry. But they're really talismans. According to the dictionary, a talisman is a trinket or piece of jewelry thought to afford some protection ...

1792. Keep on Praying

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 40s and 50s throughout the Melanesian archipelagoes of the southwest Pacific. In the Second World War, these islands of Vanuatu were used by the military as cargo depots to supply the troops. Big cargo planes would land, bringing with them all sorts of manufactured goods (vehicles, refrigerators, tools, foods) and then they'd take off again. The natives of these islands, many of whom had never seen planes before, looked on in amazement as these magical transactions from the heavens took place. Soon, some ...

1793. Don't Be a Turkey (Thanksgiving)

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... Can we thank God this Thanksgiving not only for the good things that happened, but also for the bad things that didn’t happen? The problems and disasters we worried about which did not come about? Can we look in a different way still and see some sort of blessing even in the problems that we do face? As George Matheson, the beloved Scottish preacher once put it, "I’ve thanked God a thousand times for my ‘roses.’ Now I’ve got to learn to thank God for my ‘thorns.’ " George Matheson happened to ...

1794. Eleven Plus One

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Word beyond Judea. In the feeding of the multitudes, Andrew didn't think that the food could feed everyone, but he thought that some could be fed and he wanted the opportunity to provide for those few. Simple, practical, faithful, and affectionate, Andrew is the sort of church member pastors dream of and pray for – the servant's heart that will get the job done without demanding credit. In all probability, Andrew spent the later years of his life as a missionary and teacher, and was martyred at the hands ...

1795. Experience the Mystery

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... relationship with the characters, inhabit their lives until you understand them, unravel them, become one with them if you want to uncover the mystery that they hide. The New Testament is our mystery text. It tells a dramatic story. It gives us all sorts of colorful characters. It offers a complete set of all the usual suspects. As the gospels and epistles unfold their tale, however, the mystery that is the heart of this story is only slowly revealed. In the gospels Jesus constantly drops lead-weight hints ...

1796. Follow That Star (New Year's Day)

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you read what he said about slavery and female subservience? Cicero? For whom slavery wasn't even an ethical issue. You got a better star to hitch your life's wagon to? Everyone in life has to follow someone. We all hitch our wagon to a star of some sort. Epiphany Sundays points us to Jesus and says, "Follow That Star." But there are a lot of different reasons people follow a star. Some do it to find wealth...to pet the ham...to reach for the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Herod sought out the star in order ...

1797. For All the Saints

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Our Lady's thumb. At Drew University's United Methodist Archives, there is displayed the thumb of the great 18th-century revivalist George Whitefield. Theses small scraps of humanity's holy ones were supposedly able to mantle us in some sort of post-mortem saintliness. Unfortunately, less-than-saintly behavior often surrounded these treasured relics. Collectors fought battles over these bits of petrified bone and flesh. Relics have been used to bless wars, cure illnesses, absolve guilt, and most often, bilk ...

1798. God's Original Seatbelt (Mother's Day)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... pack eight kids into a family car, ages one week to 18 years, with no restraining thoughts or devices. Automobile safety is much more regulated than it used to be. Today we have laws requiring children under four years and forty pounds to be buckled into some sort of child car seat. You can't even bring your newborn home from the hospital until they make sure a child car seat is in your car. For slightly older kids there are booster seats. With the mandatory installation of airbags, no kids under the age of ...

1799. Others

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of shopping for. Getting us off the familiar beaten track, the one-way straight-line, opens our eyes to new possibilities and forcibly expands our tunnel vision. Today's text from Paul's epistle to the Romans demonstrates how the apostle engaged in the same sort of tactics to get his listeners to think outside the lines. Steeped in the tradition of the law, observant Jews could only see the law path to righteousness. Paul takes issue with those who would take the living, breathing words of God and restrict ...

1800. That Is SO God!

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . After all, Jesus' mission and message had been one of love and guidance. Jesus' works were acts of healing and forgiveness. John the Baptist had passionately preached about one who was to come who would judge with fire, burning up the chaff as he sorted through the wheat (Matthew 3:11-12). Where was this fire and fury? Where were Jesus' judgments and justice? Despite the heaven-opening experience at the Jordan River, John had his doubts. And where is John when he poses this million-dollar question at ...

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