Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1951 to 1975 of 4977 results

1951. When Imagination Replaces Memory

Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... to go stand behind them to help them close the door on their past. At that juncture it was not so much the threat of the Red Sea in front of the people that created the panic as it was the hosts of Egypt behind them. Harold Cooke Phillips is quite correct: "Is it not true that often our greatest enemies are not those in front of us but those behind us?"3 Many of us worry about the job market, the future of our ever-warming planet, and the future threats, from AIDS to cancer. But is it not true ...

1952. Repentance: A New Relationship

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... garage. The friends were expressing their gratitude and Bruce admits he was magnanimously accepting their appreciation when his wife walked in and said, "Bruce, you're not giving them that old rack, are you? You know it never worked right." He was, of course, quite embarassed and apologetic. He's to be admired for sharing that very human story with the rest of us. That's honesty. Repentance starts there, the inward look which leads us to genuinely catch ourselves in the things we do or say which are petty ...

1953. Jesus: The Only Way To God?

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... , or a tiny girl destined to die of starvation in a remote African village cannot be "saved." More likely, Peter is talking here about a quality of relationship with God and a unique perception of the nature of God. Then what truth does lie behind these words? Quite possibly Peter was interpreting something Jesus taught him, words we find in John 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Can we set aside, for the moment, a current issue regarding the use of ...

1954. Written On The Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... doesn't appear in our text, but it certainly appears over and over in the totality of the Gospel. No doubt there's opportunity beyond death to come to that point. One may hope for -- let's say -- conditional admission into the Kingdom of Heaven (to use earthly terms). Quite possibly, life beyond this life still offers hope for those who still don't get it. But the point of Jeremiah's words is clearly that since we know what's right, better that we do our best to be faithful and then if we fail, there's hope ...

1955. Wind -- Word -- Spirit -- Community

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... also much in our national experience that makes words suspect. Words from high places have been used to deceive, cover up, and stonewall. Yet here is the strange thing. Despite the influences that would devalue words, the closing years of this century have become quite noisy. Talk radio has birthed a host of strident and angry voices. Rap music has become a significant part of the verbal cacophony. Questions about the influence of words are resurfacing in our midst. Are words dead? Or do words just begin to ...

1956. The Strange Tactics Of God

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... ? He is bigger than any box, any creed, any particularity. He refuses to be held hostage to any particular slant. It is interesting to note that the ark made its way back to Israel unexpectedly and surprisingly without any rescue mission being mounted. God seems to do quite well on his own. One day the people of Bethshemish look up as they are in the fields and there coming toward them is the ark in a cart laden with golden mice and golden tumors and drawn by milk cows. Remember that the writers of this ...

1957. Saul, The Tormented King

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... , they had a special reason for doing that. Saul did not always see things their way. Most of the people he led followed him to the end. Perhaps theirs is the better testimony. You will find Saul's story in the first book of Samuel. It is quite a readable book containing thirty-one fast-paced chapters. It is also a baffling book. There are repetitions and contradictions. Those occur because 1 Samuel is not the work of just one writer. The editors have woven together at least two sources that cover the same ...

1958. Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... imagery of the seraph who touches the prophet's lips with a burning coal. H. G. Wells is reported to have said, "I cannot believe that whoever is up there would reach down and shake hands with me." The story is told of a little boy who didn't quite understand the words of the Lord's prayer. His parents overheard him one night saying his prayers before bedtime. "Our Father, who art in New Haven, how do you know my name?" That is a good question. Think of the Lord of all creation and the mystery boggles the ...

1959. No Particular Place To Go

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... that was what he thought. David immediately sent for Uriah, Bathsheba's husband. If he could get Uriah to spend some time with his wife, there would be no suspicion when neighbors saw her with child. Uriah had been off fighting the king's battle for quite some time, he would certainly appreciate some rest and relaxation. At least that was what David was counting on. Even though King David sinned, he thought he would get away with it; after all he was king. David would painfully discover that his sin would ...

1960. Leaving A Legacy

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... him the rest of his life. That night God appeared in a dream to Solomon. In the dream the Lord God said, "Ask what I should give you." It must have been a frightening experience. It's one thing to go somewhere expecting to talk with God; it is quite another when God actually speaks. Solomon was given a unique opportunity to make a wish. Along with this opportunity there was also responsibility. Solomon wanted to be the best king he could be, he wanted to do what God wanted him to do, and above all he wanted ...

1961. Between The Parentheses

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

William G. Carter

... say what God alone can say. In April 1995, there was a baptism in the Russian city of Ananuri. With little fanfare or advance notice, Pavel Grachev, the Russian defense minister, walked into an Orthodox church and asked to be baptized. "It took place quite unexpectedly," noted a church official. Grachev was a commander of Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan for five years. During the war in Chechnya, he was widely criticized for his army's brutality. He went to Ananuri to sign an agreement on the shared ...

1962. A Blessing Behind Locked Doors

John 20:19-23

Sermon

William G. Carter

... to see a dead friend who had come back to life. No wonder they were terrified. No doubt they considered keeping the doors locked because of how Jesus commissioned them. The Risen Christ came and said, "As the Father sent me, so do I send you." That's quite a challenge. As he gave his life, they were required to give their lives: to reveal a loving God to a hostile world, to speak truthful words to a deceitful generation, to wash the feet of a soiled church. Just like Jesus, the disciples were called to lay ...

1963. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... this perception may reveal something of what it means to be the church. Mark tells us about the day when the immediate family of Jesus came to take him away in a straitjacket. The word on the street was that Jesus was "out of his mind." Taken quite literally, people thought he stood "beside himself." They claimed Jesus was possessed. And so, his family came to his house to take Jesus away, because the popular opinion was that he was insane. That might sound like an odd assessment of his ministry, but it is ...

1964. Shouting At A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

William G. Carter

... her dog and cat were never seen again. The brief storm was devastating in a region that was already under economic distress. Over ten years later, Mrs. Stewart says, "Whenever I see a black storm cloud coming, I fall apart inside. You can't know quite how that feels unless you have been through it yourself." No wonder that people in the first century identified the unruly powers of nature as demonic powers. A storm, particularly a storm at sea, seemed every bit as irrational as the forces that drove people ...

1965. Time Taken, Life Restored

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

William G. Carter

... what to say." What can we say? Some people get well; others do not. The Gospel of Mark would probably say, "That is the way this world is." All the gospels agree Jesus was a healer. He restored life in the face of death. Some of the stories sound quite successful. Luke says, "People came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases ... and all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him, and he healed all of them" (Luke 6:18-19). Matthew says, "Jesus cured every disease and every ...

1966. Pass It On

John 1:43-51

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... the Old Testament that suggested the Messiah would come from Nazareth (John, Vol. 1, p. 78). As far as Nathanael was concerned, Nazareth was not the kind of place where anything good was likely to be found. There is no doubt that Nazareth was quite an undistinguished place. But Philip did not agree with Nathanael. He merely said, "Come and see." Nathanael, because of Philip's invitation, came and saw. The Pattern Of Witness As we have noted, there is a similarity between Philip finding Nathanael and Andrew ...

1967. By What Authority?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... The story, which captured national attention for weeks, ended like most stories of greed. The characters self-destructed and the pot of gold vanished. Joseph Conrad reminds us that "the belief in the supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." Jesus Confronts An Evil Spirit Jesus came to Capernaum. It was a small, poor village several miles from Jerusalem. It was the Sabbath day, and as was his custom he entered the synagogue for worship and prayer. He had ...

1968. Discovering The Unexpected

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... take the man to Bellevue, Harlem, or Washington Square. Christ Is A Living Presence Today, Christ comes as an angel that troubles the waters. He comes as he did in the first century -- the tormentor of men's and women's souls. We can feel quite satisfied with our lives until Christ comes along. In the day that we confront him we discover we cannot remain as we are. We must either change or flee from his presence. He offends our prejudices and challenges our basic axioms; he reveals our shabby respectability ...

1969. He Abides In Us

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... comes into our lives in a variety of ways. God works through many means. God gets at us through nature, parents, superiors, government and what have you. God's Standard What we should appreciate about God's judgment is that it is more than likely quite different from what most of us expect. We have our own standards of judgment. They are not necessarily like God's. For example, we may know of two quadriplegics. One remains completely helpless, sits in the chair, or lies in bed. The other is a talented ...

1970. Easter Consecration

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... party. The young man kept a stout heart, however, by losing himself in his studies and engaging in a form of reverie. He could tell himself that all that was happening was not the way it really was. His dad and mother had another home that was quite elegant, and at the right time they would find themselves there and everything would be all right. Probably most of us have played with that form of reverie ourselves and discovered that we can lift the gloom and find determination to carry on. However, one day ...

1971. Resist Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... the prophetic role of an Elijah. Jesus neither shirked these roles or protested them. It was the very nature of his Spirit to look at the experience as something that would help to prepare and mature him for what would follow. Tempted Mark reports quite simply, Jesus "was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan." From the other evangelists we know that there were three major temptations. Mark's announcement is not just matter-of-fact stuff. The language he uses indicates the gravity of the situation ...

1972. The Storms Of Life

Mark 4:35-41

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... to do? (response) Now, what do you think Jesus is doing? (response) He’s on the boat with the disciples in the storm. What do you think he is doing about all this? (response) Jesus is down below in the cabin asleep. As you say “asleep” stop rocking, quite spraying, but keep the fan on. Can you believe that? He’s asleep! The disciples went down into the cabin and woke him up and what do you think they said to Jesus? (response) That’s right. They said, “Why are you sleeping? Don’t you even care ...

1973. Easter 3

Luke 24:13-35

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... invitation. Sharing a meal. It all sounds so routine, Lord. So ordinary! We would expect the appearances of Jesus to be spectacular. But then again, life is punctuated by the spectacular only once in a while. Most of the time, the events of our lives are quite ordinary. The ordinary is where you prefer to meet us. In the simple acts of walking, talking and sharing meals, you reveal yourself to us. When we reach beyond ourselves to assist others, you reveal yourself to us. Help us to recognize the signs of ...

1974. Epiphany 2

John 1:29-34

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Lord Jesus, Priceless Treasure Epiphany 2 "Come and see" sounds so simple. Why didn't Jesus provide a synopsis of his future plans for expansion? A standard list of expectations for potential followers would also have been a good idea. "Come and see" really doesn't quite cut it! There should have been more. How could these men have responded to such an invitation? But they did respond. They needed nothing more! What about us, Lord? Think of how much more we know! How would you rate our responseon a scale of ...

1975. Proper 14

Matthew 14:22-36

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... of life kick into motion. We enjoy excitement when it is temporary and we are able to maintain control. However, when excitement escalates into real trouble, we lose control and we become afraid. Peter and the disciples were seasoned fishermen, so it must have been quite a storm to cause them fear. They thought they were doomed. As the storm raged, Jesus came to them. When storms rage about us and ministry appears to be impossible, come to us, Jesus. Give us the encouragement we need. Motivate us to act ...

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