Sermon and Worship Resources

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Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... to scale God down to our size. The God which inspired buildings like this one was complex, multifaceted, colorful, soaring; a God of a thousand faces, weird images, fantastic forms, and the mystical cloud of unknowing -- not our tamed, domesticated, split-level, reasonable, ranch-style God of suburban respectability. ''I like computers,'' he told me, ''because it's all so simple. Just push a button and it's there. Not like people; they never work the way they're supposed to.'' Such a mind will be baffled by ...

1777. What Time Is It?

Matthew 24:32-44

Sermon

Will Willimon

A woman of my acquaintance has thrown away her watch and decided to have nothing more to do with clocks. ''I have freed myself from the tyranny of time," she says. She has had it with bourgeoisie, middle-class punctuality. She will now live as if every day were a vacation at the beach. Something in me would like to be her, free from time's tyranny, measuring time as did my ancestors -- through the gentle passage of seasons, sunrise and sunset, not seconds, minutes, hours, punching in and punching out. I ...

1778. Divine Things

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My Way!” We all know the famous song by Frank Sinatra that delighted Americans across the country and became the signature song of Sinatra’s career. It is also the quintessential song of self-actualization and self-reliance that often defines American culture. Did you know that the song’s lyrics were not written by Sinatra at all but were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on a French song called "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux? Did you know too that ...

1779. The Best Little Harlot's House in Jericho

Hebrews 11:31

Sermon

Will Willimon

“By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies.” (Hebrews 11:31) Oh, I can hear it now. Arnold Jones, Trinity College 1938, accosts me at the door of the Chapel after the service. “Is it not enough that I come to the Chapel and am shocked by Jazz Music on All Saints, but also must listen to scripture about a whore.” Arnold, you have your point. It's shocking, in the midst of the Epistle for All Saints, to come across the name ...

1780. His Own Knew Him Not

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the preacher tells us something that we can go home and think over. It was the ministers' Monday Morning Coffee Hour and one of the brothers was bragging about a visiting preacher he had at his church. “You should hear him,” he said, “his style, his illustrations, his power, he is wonderful.” “Joe, you ought to hear me three hundred miles from home, “said another. “I'm downright brilliant.” Luke wants it well understood: The problem with Jesus is not between the new and the old, between the ...

1781. Growing Into Our Scars

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Mary Austin

... a sharp left and began walking through a dilapidated strip mall. [Getting tired,] he bent over with his hands on his knees, [trying] to catch his breath. That is when he saw me. I must have looked ridiculous — the front of my lightweight blouse soaked with sweat, my once-styled hair now plastered to the side of my beet red face. He stood up abruptly …but it was not a look of fear. I saw his body relax. He did not attempt to run again …My exhaustion caused me to slow to a walk. He opened his mouth to ...

1782. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... brief references to their accomplishments. The series ends with the last king being greater than all the lesser kings that preceded him. Most likely the last king has commissioned the writing of these texts in the form of a prophetic apocalypse. The literary style of Daniel 11 is quite similar to these texts, although Daniel’s vision condemns the last king rather than honoring him.1 Interpretive Insights 11:2 I tell you the truth. This assertion reflects the similar statement at the beginning of this ...

1783. The Art of Restoration

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is also an art. Likewise, the study of the history of art is considered by most a kind of archaeology. While archaeology delves into the human past seeking to understand behavior, history, culture, and social structures, art seeks to reveal the style, form, image, meaning, and beauty revealed in human expression of the innermost mind and psyche. Psychoanalyst and interdisciplinary practitioner Carl Jung had a high appreciation for both. He saw the artist as the “collective man or human,” one who shapes ...

1784. Zion's New Name

Isaiah 62:1-12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... . But the fact that the prophet’s voice has been so prominent, as well as the fact that these verses refer to Yahweh in the third person, suggests that the prophet speaks for one last time—on this occasion not in testimony but in command. The style and word choice of verses 10–12 recall chapters 40–55 in an especially systematic way. The repeated commands recall the very beginning of those chapters and the repetitions in 51:9–52:12. The command to pass through the gates recalls 48:20 and 52:11 ...

1785. David's Mighty Men

2 Samuel 23:8-39

Teach the Text

Big Idea: Sin sometimes has devastating consequences: God’s justice must be satisfied. Understanding the Text The Structure and Function of 2 Samuel 21-24: These final chapters of 2 Samuel are an epilogue. They are arranged in a mirror structure, in which the elements in the second half of the literary unit thematically correspond to those of the first half, but in reverse order, creating a mirror effect:1 A Saul’s sin and its atonement: David as royal judge (21:1–14) B The mighty deeds of David’s men (21: ...

1786. The King’s Overseers

1 Chronicles 27:25-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

First Chronicles 27:1–15 enumerates David’s military, including the various levels in the army’s chain of command. Verse 1 makes it clear that David’s army was not an ad hoc force but rather a standing army on defined rotation, able to defend Israel constantly. First Chronicles 27:16–22 lists the leaders of the tribes of Israel, leaving out the two tribes of Gad and Asher, separating Aaron from the rest of Levi, and dividing the Joseph tribes into three groups (Ephraim, half Manasseh, half Manasseh), to ...

1787. Loving Against the Grain

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are,” said Lewis Carroll in his famous story, Alice in Wonderland. A couple of weeks ago, I took a day trip to Ocean City, NJ. Once there, I looked for some new and different things to do and discovered that the town has a “historical museum” of the shore’s history. Being a lover of history, I walked several miles to the museum to take it all in. The entrance to the museum was free but one was asked to sign in. ...

Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces.

Matthew Henry

1789. Life in the Future

Philippians 1:3-11

Sermon

Scott Bryte & Kimberly Miller van Driel

... in joyful anticipation for the return of our Lord Jesus, when God will make all things new. In the past half dozen decades or so, more and more congregations have adopted blue as the color associated with Advent. This is not simply a matter of decoration or style. Advent is all about expecting, hoping for, and counting on, what comes next. It is about the coming of Jesus into the world, first as a baby in a manger, and again, sometime in the future, when he will bring God’s kingdom in all its fullness ...

1790. All in God’s Time

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

"Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14 “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” Psalm 37:7 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 Trust, ...

1791. God on the Move

Luke 3:1-6 · Isaiah 40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I don’t know about where you live, but it seems that this past year, with all of the beautiful weather we’ve had, that road crews flourished! No matter what direction you took, sure enough, a road crew was sure to be blocking part of or the entirety of the road there! “Detour” signs appeared everywhere! Detour here. Detour there. At one point, I had to completely circle the town to drive what should have taken two blocks, due to a complete road closure near my home. Although road closures can feel ...

1792. Famine of the Heart

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... considered “bad influences” –tax collectors, and others who have committed sins of one kind of another. As usual, they began grumbling about it, gossiping about it, complaining about it, throwing verbal and visual arrows Jesus’ way! So, in Jesus’ usual style, instead of launching into a set of precepts, he began to tell a story. We call this story, “The Prodigal Son.” Prodigal because the son in question recklessly and carelessly spent his entire inheritance on frivolous things. Son, because ...

1793. Starting Over

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... is Jesus, head of the body. It is a bit like the experience columnist Robert Fulghum wrote about years ago. He said that long before he had given up any significant relationship with God. He didn’t really want God, the church, or religion to cramp his style. Then he met someone who prevented him from banishing God from his life. He was so amazed that he put her picture on the mirror above the sink where he washed each morning. Every time he cleansed his hands, she was there to cleanse his heart. Whenever ...

1794. God Is Like...a Friend

2 Corinthians 5:16-20

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

... prayers I had heard in worship and other places seemed like they were being lifted up to the sky to the throne of a distant, remote deity. But the prayers I heard on this weekend were different. Our leader prayed in conversational style. It was almost as if he were talking to …well, a friend. The prayers were honest, straightforward. They included simple statements about what the person praying them was feeling. There were no long words or convoluted sentences. There was no “churchy” vocabulary and ...

1795. The Unknowing Evangelist

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , or mistakes, our acts of love matter! For in that moment, that person will see Jesus in your eyes! As Jesus advises, “we cannot serve God and ourselves.” One must take priority. And if we want our lives to matter, if we want to be worthy stewards of God’s style of grace and mercy in the world, if we want to be true followers of Jesus and honest disciples, then God must come first. I can’t tell you how often I have heard people in my life say, “I’ve met people in the secular world who are so ...

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