Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1851 to 1875 of 4972 results

1851. An Unpopular Profession

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... did St. Luke, for he included 15/16ths of Mark. But he made lengthy additions of his own—probably from first-hand experience. He was there. He saw and heard. And when Matthew heard the call to follow Christ, he rose up immediately and followed. But he didn’t leave everything behind. He took his pen and ink with him. How lucky we are that he did, for the Church learned its Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. Matthew gives us the fullest form of the Beatitudes as well as many of the ...

1852. Wining and Dining with Jesus

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the hymnal which say: “The pure, unfermented juice of the grape shall be used.” In an emergency, you have to go with what you’ve got!) I hurried back into the sanctuary. The pastor looked quizzically at me, as though I had just performed the miracle of the leaves and the fishes. And, as it turned out, the choir got the old juice, and they seem to have survived. On the way up the aisle, the pastor whispered, “Where did you get the juice? “I’ll tell you later,” I said. After the service, when I ...

1853. When Compassion Overcomes Irritation

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Shasta. One advantage of the bigger travel trailer was that it had a bookshelf on one wall. One summer we were packing and preparing to leave, when our family physician stopped by to drop off his daughter, who was a friend of our daughter’s and who was going to ... the shelf of theological books and unceremoniously dumped them outside of the trailer. “You’re going on vacation,” he said - “leave your work behind! And that’s an order from your doctor!” That event came to my mind the other day when ...

1854. When Tradition Gets in the Way

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of the Church which is his Body. When he says, ‘Without me you can do nothing,’ he is reminding us that we are not isolated beings adrift in a stormy world, each seeking some passing gust of grace to keep our faith alive. We’re not like the leaves of autumn, detached from the tree and blown in all directions. We are engrafted into the great Vine of Christ, in that great company of his Church in heaven and on earth, deriving our strength of body, mind, and spirit from the Lord whose grace flows through ...

1855. Salty Saints

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to be salt in it. Preserving it. Saving it. And they were. Salt also seasons. An old story has the proverbial “Johnnie” being asked by his teacher, “What is salt?” To which he replied, “Salt is what spoils the potatoes if you leave it out.” Not bad. It is what leaves life flat and tasteless when it is omitted. Folks on a salt-free diet can attest to that! Kenneth Wilson, editor of the Christian Herald some years back, noted that Jesus nowhere said “You are the potatoes of the earth,” but ...

1856. On Doing Beautiful Things

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... He speaks in riddles.” But he didn’t, did he? He was speaking the plain truth. That put me in mind of another story I came across the other day. It seems that several women were visiting an elderly friend who was ill. After awhile, they rose to leave and told her: “We will keep you in our prayers.” “Just wash the dishes in the kitchen,” the ailing woman said, “I can do my own praying.” The most beautiful part about doing beautiful things for others is that in reality, we do them unto Jesus ...

1857. On the Threshold: From Law to Gospel

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

David Busic

... named Kolberg developed an elaborate test to measure maturity in the area of moral reasoning. He concluded that morality to avoid punishment is the very lowest motivation for doing what is right. Is this what Christianity is all about. At all cost, avoid punishment, and we leave it at that. But let’s go back to Plato. Ultimately, Plato is trying to make the point that virtue is not true virtue if it is done, simply as an avoidance of punishment. Nor is virtue, virtue, if it is done for a reward. There ...

1858. Bread for Everyone (I am the bread of life)

John 6:1-15, John 6:25-59

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert Anderson, age 11 Dear Pastor, I''m sorry I can''t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn''t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every ...

1859. The Lord's Prayer: Deliver us from Evil

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... I should not wish to do so. I have more sympathy with Ogden Nash, who tells us that progress was once a very good idea, but it has been going on too long! Or think of the `isms'' of our times, so many of them related to a Humanism that leaves out the eternal and transcendental. They no longer have any validity for they took too lightly the depth of our perversity and our capacity for evil. We have lost any hope we might once have had in their promises. They were wrong in their analysis, mistaken in their ...

1860. The Lord's Prayer: Thine Is the Kingdom

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... me cold. It is incomplete. Something is missing. This prayer, at least for me, cries out for a proper conclusion. This great prayer, up to the petition "Deliver us from evil," has been like a mighty river flowing smoothly and powerfully--but to leave it there would be to dam up its powers and prevent it from reaching its full destination and completion. I believe this "Doxology" is a worshipful closing to such a magnificent prayer. Jesus is now returning us back to the source of life from which we began ...

1861. Love's Redeeming Work Is Done: The Sixth Word

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... it cost?" On that fateful day, when the sun hid its face in shame, when he cried out from the top of the Cross, "It is finished," what had he done? It hardly seemed like a triumph. When he ascended into Heaven, leaving a 33-year legacy of God trying to speak to humanity, what did he leave behind? What is it that Jesus accomplished in a world that scorned his coming, and chose to worship him only when he was gone? Today I want to share three things with you for your consideration as we consider what exactly ...

1862. Half-Time is Now Over

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the resurrection is more vivid or beautiful than the episode that takes place on the Road to Emmaus. S. MacLean Gilmore describes it "as a story of singular grace and charm." As our Gospel Lesson begins we see that Cleopas and another unnamed disciple are leaving behind the bitter memories of Jerusalem and are walking to the Village of Emmaus. As Frederick Buechner notes, they are headed in the wrong direction. In Buechner’s words, "Emmaus was not so much a place--as a state of mind. They could have gone ...

1863. The First Commandment: Who's on First?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... s not invented." Dr. Death needs to meet the One who is life. We did not invent God. God invented us. Remember the question is: "Who''s on first?" When the living God is on second or third, we begin to leave ourselves open to be taken over and controlled by something else. As the Israelites leave Egypt, they are ripe to be taken over when the "gods" return in a new, sophisticated disguise. In order to be a holy nation, there was a need for holy people. The Ten Commandments were the way to build a meaningful ...

1864. The Triumph of the Cross

Galatians 6:11-18, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... --who damn themselves to beasts?" The Archbishop declares, "We have fought the beasts and have conquered. Now is the TRIUMPH of the CROSS. NOW, OPEN THE DOORS! I COMMAND IT! OPEN THE DOORS! (1) When Christ ascended into Heaven, leaving a 33 year history of God trying to speak to humanity, what did He leave behind? What is the Triumph of Jesus, to a world that scorned His coming and chose to worship Him only when He was gone? Without further chit-chat I want to share for your consideration the TRIUMPH of the ...

1865. Hissing in the Garden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... preacher leading the way. However, one elderly and rather plump woman, fell near the front of the church in her rush to leave. Try as she might, she couldn''t get herself back on her feet. Now the contractor (dressed as the devil), really ... ask God to take care of us when we are supposed to be out taking care of the world. We come to church but we never leave empowered to be the church. (4) Fourthly, the devil is very subtle, deceptive, but deadly. A policeman once shared a story about being on duty during ...

1866. King of the Road

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the scripture lesson shared by the Gospel writer Luke of the episode that takes place on the Road to Emmaus. S. MacLean Gilmore describes it "as a story of singular grace and charm." As our Gospel lesson begins we see that Cleopas and an unnamed disciple are leaving behind the bitter memories of Jerusalem and are walking to the Village of Emmaus. As they walk they begin to review the series of events that had taken place on that day we now call Good Friday--but it was hardly "good" for them. Their religious ...

1867. The Powerful Fragrance of Sharing and Caring

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... body of Christ at Philippi. There was something so special that transformed even the most dreaded chores into something of a pure delight. Popular author, Max Lucado, tells the story of a housewife who for years was married to an inconsiderate husband. Each day he would leave her a list of chores to complete before he returned at the end of the day. "Clean the yard. Stack the firewood. Wash the windows...." If she didn't complete the tasks, she would be greeted with his explosive anger. But even if she did ...

1868. Tackling the Tough Tasks

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... has to come from within. I''d rather have a million smiles in my heart than a million dollars in my pocket." James would agree with this. In verses 10-13, God''s love must be equally shared by all. It is said that when people would leave after hearing Charles Spurgeon preach, they would comment not about Mr. Spurgeon, but about Mr. Spurgeon''s savior. Malcolm Muggeridge said, "that the first time he met Mother Theresa, he knew he had met a person for whom Jesus Christ was more important than herself." Joy ...

1869. The Tender Touch (Part 2)

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... North Africa and go to Italy because she wanted so desperately for him to become a Christian. Augustine, being ambitious and wanting very much to go to Italy, decided that he would defy the request of his mother and go there anyway. The day before Augustine was to leave for Italy, his mother prayed all day in a small chapel by the sea that her son would somehow reconsider and decide not to go to Italy. As is typical with most sons, he did what he wanted to anyway and boarded the ship for Italy. On his way ...

1870. Goodness and Mercy

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... on the kitchen table and then went to bed. The mother looked at those tickets. What should she do? Hide them? Tear them up? What would a loving mother do? Would she tell her son that she would not allow him to go to that concert? Would she leave the tickets on the table and do nothing? What was in her son's best interest? There she stood, looking at those tickets, wondering, debating what she should do. And then, after a long pause, Keillor said, "Well, that's the news from Lake Wobegon this week, where ...

1871. The Lamb Wins

Revelation 5:1-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... have come through the muck of being human, have endured the darkness, and now shine as stars. (3) The saints of God for us are those persons in our life who inspire us to follow after God. Their devotion to God is like a precious perfume--it leaves a fragrance that calls us to follow after. They remind us that life in Christ can be a possibility for people like us--on earth--NOW. In the liturgy we shared in together on World Wide Communion Sunday, we said, "Therefore with angels and archangels, and with ...

1872. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part III)

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... neglected portion of our American population. Trevor said he does what he does because of Jesus inside of him. His final words in the interview were these, "We used to talk about faith--now we are living it." If his life was a tree I believe you would see green leaves and well-ripened fruit. SECONDLY, I WANT YOU TO FAST FROM THOUGHTS OF HELL AND FEAST ON THE REALITY AND PROMISE OF HEAVEN. There was a dear soul in my first church who was always telling me that I have to give the people more of the reality of ...

1873. A Glimpse of Eternity

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is the opposite of the power of transfiguration. He seemed to have it all. He was married to a devoted wife, they had four wonderful children, a lovely house, two cars, and a well-paying job. However, he began to be subjected to panic attacks that would leave his leg numb and his chest very tight. He soon withdrew from his closest friends and family and refused to go outside. He went to a respected psychiatrist and medical doctor but to no avail. Shock treatments were next in line, but he only got worse. He ...

1874. Good News for Tough Times - Encouragment for the Soul

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... war here is one we are losing--not winning. We have seen continuing growth in the incidents of domestic violence and child abuse in our country and state. The newspapers, magazines and nightly news shows continue to immerse us with challenging news and predictions, until it almost leaves us numb. We begin to understand the man who said, "I used to be an incurable optimist, but now I guess I have been cured." I am sure if there is anything that those who are in the sound of my voice today and those who will ...

1875. Three Modern Meanings of the Ancient Christmas Story

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... year, as Herod the Great, he jumped up from his throne and, in his usual clumsy way, jerked the carpet out from under three wise men and dumped them on their heads. The children begged the teacher not to let Barry ruin another play: "Please teacher, can''t you leave Barry out this year?" But the teacher could not reject a little boy who tried his best and loved Jesus with all his heart--even if he were a little clumsy. She was able to convince the children that Barry could not do any real damage by playing ...

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