Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1776 to 1800 of 3099 results

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stasis of the people by proclaiming the need for a baptism of “repentance” and “forgiveness of sins.” But more than anything else John the Baptist lives, says, or does: John the Baptist is a beacon and bastion of preparedness to the people. His lifestyle, his subject matter, his ritual of baptism, all are “prep work,” cleaning out the old muck of an old life, preparing people for the new work, the new miracle, that God is about to land in their midst. What John the Baptist did for “the whole ...

1777. Beware the Crest of the Wave

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The moment of our greatest success and achievement, when we are riding the crest of the wave, is also the moment we are most likely to be subjected to the severest temptations, gnawed by our most debilitating insecurities, and seduced into believing the most grandiose visions of our own abilities. In today's text Jesus celebrates perhaps the most exhilarating and confirming episode of his entire ministry. Everything is going right. John baptizes Jesus, carrying out his appointed ...

1778. No Comment

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... come face to face with the wonder of God's love and power, our best response may be to close our mouths and open our hearts to God's magnificence and munificence. In his 1924 presidential campaign, Calvin Coolidge greeted the emotional subject of Prohibition at press conferences with a standard response: "No comment." No matter how insistent the questioning reporters, he steadfastly persisted in his "No comment." Then he would leave the room, smiling softly and adding, "Now don't quote me." Calvin Coolidge ...

1779. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... soaked buy-out impugns the sovereignty of divine love and affirms the heresy that Jesus the Son came to save us from God the Father. The Moral Influence Theory The third A of the "AAA's of the Atonement" is Abelard’s moral influence, or subjective, or "Socinian" theory. It has been a favorite of liberal Christians ever since Abelard(1079-1142), who was virtually a contemporary of Anselm's, first proposed it. Abelard’s theory doesn't picture the Devil as an extortioner, or God as an executioner, but does ...

1780. Miss Manners and Mr. Goodwrench

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in her syndicated newspaper column, "Miss Manners," Judith Martin has attempted to present an overarching code of personal integrity and conduct. In both her columns and her books Martin conducts a type of remedial instruction for the American public in the subjects of honesty, kindness, compassion, attentiveness, and selflessness. Yet as insightful and sometimes painfully precise as Martin's critiques of modern manners may be, her basic commitment is to a general body of "manners from the heart" not to any ...

1781. The Golden Calf and the Golden Table

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... idol of technology, it is easy to lose compassion for "the orphans and widows in distress" James 1:27). People become objects to be produced and used, images to be manipulated and marketed. When we no longer see persons, or subjects, only objects, only things, then we have allowed technology to undermine our humanity. "Mythinformation" is a concept scholars like political scientist Langdon Winner are using to describe "the almost religious conviction that a widespread adoption of computers and communication ...

1782. Protecting Your Valuables

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... " into the psychological realm using the term to signify "the sum total of principles, ideals, desires, and so forth that constitute the basic motivational structure of a person or, indeed, an entire culture." Now the word "value" means something more subjective than objective. Previously people saw themselves pursuing certain kinds of activities because those activities had value. "Now we are more apt to conclude that persons have values that lead them to behave in certain ways"(158). The down side to ...

1783. FaithRace

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Bible are these three Jesus directed to his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" "What are you looking for?" and "What do you more than others?" This is our groove. When we are in it, addressing our best reflections and research to these subjects, we feel strong, confident and can stretch for the finish line. When we try to fit into someone else's niche, when we adopt someone else's questions, the groove becomes a grave. Our sprint slows down; our spirit stalls. Ambition: In the argot of athletics ...

1784. Take an Ember Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... special days will help us to do three things: to trust, obey and disengage. First: Trust. Like Jesus snoozing in the storm, we learn to trust in the power of God's divinity. If God is for us, who can be against us? "God has put all things in subjection under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:27). God's power and authority run so deep that even God can sleep, for there is nothing that can oppose God's divine rule. Second: Obey. Ember Days remind us that our ability to rest is directly related to our ability to ...

1785. The Gravity of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the great hymn read in today's epistle text. From an experience of the tug of God's grace in his own life, the writer discovers a new, fresh air of joy all about him. To open yourself up to the gravity of grace in your life is not to subject yourself to some narrow tethering of your freedoms. Rather it is only in that grace-infused atmosphere that we can experience the wonder, the joy and the thrill of living in God's "good pleasure." Only when we have been brought back to the gravity of grace can we ...

1786. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... muscles. The issue for these athletes is performance, not bulk. When the Shema advocates loving God with all our strength, it recognizes that a big part of human existence is sheer physical. We have bodies we must feed, clothe and care for. We are subject to injury, sickness and death. It takes a certain amount of brute strength just to get through each and every day. To deny that God's presence and love need be involved in this physicality would exorcise godliness from our existence. As Christians, we ...

1787. Mazing Grace or Amazing Grace

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time of day. It always helped to do a few unexpected good deeds as well - make your bed, take out the trash, pick up your room and just generally be around and be good company. Only when all these signs were favorable would you dare broach the subject of the desired event or item. If something went wrong - dinner got burned or a bad day at work - forget it! You knew the answer ahead of time: Permission denied! Children may complain about having to follow house rules, but the truth is that it is reassuring ...

1788. The Family Ideal, Not Idol

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of horrendous child abuse are on the rise, there appears a new growth industry in the field of contested adoptions. Baby Jessica, Baby Richard, Baby "M," all became innocent victims on the altar of family idolatry. Reclaiming a lost possession, a thing - an object, not a subject, a family member, not a child - became the center of all those custody disputes. - When we put our marriage first - we ask our spouse to be our God. - When we put our family first - we ask our family to be our God. - When we put our ...

1789. God Will Be God

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... reign we humans have never been wholly comfortable with. Most of us would prefer a more demo- cratic system of rule one in which we could actively vote for the outcome of events or the unfolding of history. The sovereign rule of God leaves too many unwelcome subjects in our midst: famine, disease, hate, war, cruelty, waste, envy, greed, despair, evil. But even in the face of all these troubles, there is one mystery in God's reign that outstrips all the others. It is a mystery that lives on in full sight of ...

1790. Tabloid Testaments?

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The younger son had returned, but he would never regain the inheritance he had lost. The older son's position was firmly established; his brother's return posed no threat. Next time you are tempted to add a sizzling piece of juicy gossip to the fire, try subjecting your motives to these same three gates. Let us declare a moratorium on criticism within our congregations. Try not to speak ill of any brother or sister, living or dead. Don't squander your time or mind running down people you don't like or who ...

1791. Who Are the Encouragers?

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... one of the great encouragers. Bishop Colaw always takes the time to quickly jot down short notes of encouragement to others whenever he can. No hint of good news or positive gossip ever goes his way without being passed along as a bit of encouragement to its subject. In fact, Colaw is so faithful in passing on "good news" that one worries when one doesn't get one of his famous notes. (Use an illustration here of someone in your parish who is an "encourager.") Most of us have grown so careful about armoring ...

1792. The Five Adjectives of a Noun Christian

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... with the peoples [pagans]; Ephraim is a cake not turned.") When Christ is an adjective, not a noun, Christ becomes a label we stick on the surface of our lives - our lust, our greed, our chauvinism. Christian is always a noun. It is itself the subject. In many ways, there are only two heresies: the notion that Christian faith is an adjective and the notion that Christian faith is a verb. The church needs a noun consciousness again. But nouns do need adjectives; even more importantly, nouns need verbs. The ...

1793. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... young woman’s seeming insignificance, the angel addresses her with a unique greeting “chaire kecharitomene.” Translating this alliterative greeting is problematic. It has variously been rendered as “Greetings,” or “Hail,” or even as “Rejoice,” with the subject as either “favored one,” “gifted one,” or even “full of grace.” A couple things are certain: it is a formal greeting and it is directed towards one who has been specially selected, “favored,” with God’s presence ...

1794. Mark 6:30-44

Mark 6:30-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of his soul, wisely prescribes a time of quiet introspection and rest. But it was not to be. Jesus' concern for his disciples' well-being prompted him to seek refuge for them. But his over-riding compassion for those who were the subjects of their missions demanded that he postpone their retreat. Mark's description of Jesus' motivation, "because they were like sheep without a shepherd," is probably a phrase that circulated independently. He inserts it here into this miracle story to emphasize the tender ...

1795. Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... away at them until we doubt the veracity of the miraculous gift of life we have received from God. Belts bind together, making separate pieces form a whole. When the truth becomes our belt, it cinches together all our fragilities and fears and subjects them to its stronghold. While the NRSV translates Paul's next directive as "put on the breast-plate of righteousness," the NEB prefers to urge readers that "for a coat of mail" we should "put on integrity." Essentially the translations are not that different ...

1796. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... enigma of God's reply assures Moses that Yahweh is his God, his strength and his deliverer, without giving him a sense of superiority based upon controlling the divine name and therefore the essence of God. This God will be steadfast but will not be subject to manipulation by human hands and whims. In verse 15 God ties together the people's faith in their ancestral God and those covenants which had been established long ago with this new experience of God breaking in on their present. The name and presence ...

1797. 1 Kings 19:9-14

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to meet God. On the mountain there now rages a fantastic display of power and majesty. As the Lord approaches, a devastating wind, earthquake and fire all announce the divine presence. The series of negatives that accompany these phenomena are also subject to various interpretations, with little consensus. In the face of rampant ba'alism, a hesitancy at too closely identifying Yahweh with natural phenomena is not surprising. On the other hand, the author is trying to form a close association between Elijah ...

1798. Colossians 3:1-11

Colossians 3:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... images. It may be tempting to try and postpone the implementation of these "things above" by relegating them to an eschatological future, but the author has taken care to state in 3:1 that those who have already been "raised in Christ" are the subject of his discussion. Thus they have already experienced Christ's resurrected presence breaking into the here-and-now of their lives in the event of their baptisms. Biblical scholar Peter T. O'Brien has noted that such a present experience of these "things above ...

1799. Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that the author continues through verse 13. Using familiar physicality, he creates an image that translates into the 20th century pulpit with as much power as it had in the first century. By speaking of spiritual matters in physical terms, the subject is easily accessible to all audiences. Whereas the writer had just finished discussing faithfulness in individuals, he now turns his attention to the entire community, urging them first to look on either side and then to look straight ahead. Their sideways ...

1800. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

One of the most confusing and challenging New Testament parables is the story of the so-called "Dishonest Steward" in Luke 16:1-9. Few parables have been subject to such a myriad of interpretations - all attempts to harmonize the story's surprising end with our traditional moral expectations. The problem remains that after painting the steward with the brush of questionable ethics and untrustworthy behavior, this story concludes with words of praise for the master's fiscal manager. ...

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