Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 176 to 200 of 340 results

Romans 5:1-11; 8:1-2; Luke 18:9-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the man of steel. Bullets bounce off of him. Batman has also honed his intellect and skills of perception, training hour after hour until he is the best strategist around, which also gives him insight into the criminal mind. He has become the consummate detective and scientist through reading and training. All through his own efforts; driven by his guilt and the obsession of avenging his parents death. He is what Neitsche calls the "ubermensch." The true super human. But still, Batman hangs in the dark. Oh ...

177. John 17:20-26

John 17:20-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... glory that he shares with the Father. Jesus’ petition is memory and prophecy; it looks back and forward at the same time. It looks back at the relationship between Father and Son, God and Logos, before the creation. It looks forward to an eschatological consummation of events when that fully glorified, unified relationship will be revealed to all the world. Revealing God, and God’s glory as it is present in the Son, to this world is both the opening and closing theme of the real Lord’s Prayer (see ...

178. Chaos or Christ: Dreams Which Calm our Fears

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... arranged engagements, which evolved into a yearlong betrothal where couples were legally man and wife, but neither lived together nor slept together, in order that they could get fully acquainted with one another. Then, and only then, was the marriage celebrated and completely consummated. Divorce was the only way to break a betrothal. Adultery was punishable by death. So Mary says to Joseph, “We need to talk! We have a problem." When life is difficult what can we do? Can we find a clue here from the ...

179. Reconsider

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... then parents picked out their child's marriage partner, helped them get acquainted, then saw to it that they were legally engaged for a year; they were betrothed to one another. Finally they had a marriage ceremony after which they became man and wife and consummated the union. Today, I ask you to walk a mile in Joseph's shoes. Mary started acting strange. Then she went away for three months to visit her cousin Elizabeth. When she returned to Nazareth she told Joseph that she was pregnant, though still a ...

180. A Match Made in Heaven

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... enjoying being married. But that's what Jacob was willing to do; he set the terms. Laban, with another slick imitation of generosity, replied, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man." Always the consummate bargainer, Laban raises the specter of another customer waiting in the wings. He uses the term "give" rather loosely, considering the steep price he is accepting from his nephew for his daughter. Years before Jacob was born, we get our first glimpse of what kind ...

181. Headed in the Right Direction

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... , with its emphasis on the past, present, and future advents of Jesus Christ, is a reminder of our need as Christians to live lives that are informed by the past, enlivened by the presence of the living Christ in our midst, and directed toward the consummation of God's will. In other words, our lives as Christians and as Christian communities need to embody the totality of God's grace. Paul does this in today's lesson not just by emphasizing past, present, and future but by joining two complementary words ...

182. A Little Theology at Christmas

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... faithful to God and those who are seduced by Satan who seems to be the ruler of this world. (See for example John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 17:15-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4.) There is that marvelous scene in Revelation 18 where, at the consummation of history, not everyone is happy. The scene describes political leaders and economic magnates mourning the downfall of the Whore of Babylon. The merchants of earth weep over their loss of trade, and there is a very revealing bill of lading found in verses 11-13 showing ...

183. Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... be not just a birthday story. This will be a description of the Messiah’s arrival on earth. Yet immediately Matthew reveals a human problem. Mary, who is “engaged” to Joseph is found to be “with child” before their marriage has been physically consummated. An “engagement” or betrothal in first century Jewish culture was far more than a simple promise of intent to marry. At the time of a formal engagement, the families of the bride and groom entered into a formal, binding contract with legal ...

184. John 9:1-41

John 9:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Luke is usually considered the consummate storyteller among the gospel writers. But the lengthy, exquisitely constructed narrative in this week’s John text is a literary masterpiece of storytelling. In John’s telling, the healing of the man blind from birth becomes both the story of new sight that becomes sharper and more acute as faith ...

185. Christ the King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is why we culminate the Christian year with Christ the King Sunday. This is the day that we can rock the rafters of the universe with our declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord! Lord — to the ancients it meant master or owner and was always a title of consummate respect. In the modern world, to call Jesus "Lord" is to say he is the chief, the boss, the main man, the head honcho. The buck stops with him; his decisions are final. Jesus Christ is Lord! These four words were the first creed that the Christian ...

186. Winning Over Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... years ago titled How to Win over Worry.[2] It quoted some statistics that are probably just as valid today as when they were published in the mid-'60s. The book pointed out that more people die in America as a result of suicide (the consummation of stress, duress, anxiety, and worry) than who die from the five most common contagious diseases combined. Twice as many people die by suicide as die by homicide. Fifty percent more people die because of ulcers than die because of murder. Another book by a noted ...

187. The Divine Deal ...

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... : "... Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, ‘And to offsprings,' as of many; but it says, ‘And to your offspring,' that is, to one person, who is Christ" (Galatians 3:15-18). Paul, the rabbi, taught that the consummation of the promise to Abraham was, in fact, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way and the leader to the promised land. Perhaps he is also the promised land himself! When we find him, we find the milk and honey, the peace and the fulfillment to which God ...

188. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... Jesus' continuing presence with them. They are at ease; they have a plan; they have their mission; their doubts are assuaged. The disciples are given a sneak preview of the last chapter of God's plan. Knowing about the end of the story, the great consummation, the second coming, encourages the disciples to turn their shoulders into the task. There is no thought about "waiting it out." There is work to be done. The disciples are to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even "to the ends of the earth ...

189. The Booth That Saved a Lincoln

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

... Ford's Theater. John Wilkes Booth met the end he deserved. But his murderous life placed a stigma over the life of his brother Edwin. An invisible asterisk now stood beside his name in the minds of the people. He was no longer Edwin Booth the consummate tragedian, but Edwin Booth the brother of the assassin. He retired from the stage to ponder the question why? Edwin Booth's life was a tragic accident simply because of his last name. The sensationalists wouldn't let him separate himself from the crime. It ...

190. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... touched his outer garment, the “seamless robe” that is described in the crucifixion scene as the gambling prize of the Roman soldiers. Whatever she reached for, the result was immediate and complete. The connection between her need and Jesus’ healing power was so consummate that despite her anonymity and the multitude of the pressing crowd, both the woman and Jesus instantly knew what had happened. Jesus knew he had performed a healing and that a strong faith had made it so. When Jesus demands to know ...

191. Be Healed, Be Held

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

192. Religion and Politics

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) If anyone wonders how political that is, simply recall that it was one of the most favorite expressions of one of our generation's most consummate politicians, Lyndon Baines Johnson. God is pleading for a turnaround and an outcome other than judgment. Do it and be blessed; don't do it and "be devoured." Religion and politics - as old as the ancient prophets; as modern as tomorrow's newspaper. In my estimation ...

193. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... arms open wide. The man asked Nancy, “Would you let me hold your baby?” There was no need to answer as Eric almost propelled himself into the man’s arms. Suddenly an old and apparently homeless man and a very young baby, in a very real way, consummated their love. Eric laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed and tears flowed down his cheeks. Both Nancy and Dennis were awestruck. “You take care of this baby,” said the man to Nancy. Somehow she managed to respond ...

194. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... his arms open wide. The man asked Nancy, "Would you let me hold your baby?" There was no need to answer as Eric almost propelled himself into the man's arms. Suddenly an old and apparently homeless man and a very young baby, in a very real way, consummated their love. Eric laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed and tears flowed down his cheeks. Both Nancy and Dennis were awestruck. "You take care of this baby," said the man to Nancy. Somehow she managed to respond, "I will ...

195. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... always be disappointed. If any one should have had a reason to cry, "Foul!" it was Paul. He had certainly been a success, a winner, a righteous man. Paul says that if anyone had a reason to be confident and proud of himself, it was he. He was the consummate Jew, "circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless." In other words, he ...

196. Rally or Rail?

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ? Jesus’ proclamation as “king” of a kingdom that has its final seat of power not in this world, forewarns disciples that faith in Christ does not necessarily guarantee success in all theses worldly endeavors. It is little wonder Pilate, the consummate political animal, knuckled under to the demands of the crowds and ordered Jesus’ crucifixion. Although he harbored no ill-will towards Jesus, and had plenty of animosity toward the Jewish authorities accusing him, Pilate could not see any reason to ...

197. Earth, Wind, and Fire

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... be both a "now" and "then" experience: now through physical renewal of the land; later through a spiritual renewal of all flesh in the outpouring of the Spirit of God. The promise of God's presence, however, looks beyond the present and the future to the final consummation of "the great and terrible day of the Lord" (v. 31), a day of "fire and columns of smoke" (v. 30) as well. Only with the removal of their shame by God's promise of continuing presence could the people begin to face the future with hope ...

198. John 12:1-8

John 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... forth from his tomb. Now he takes the time to celebrate a joyful, special meal with his restored companion. The one who had been laid in his tomb was now reclining at the table alongside Jesus. One can only imagine how pleased Martha, the consummate conscientious hostess (see Luke 10:38-42), was to be able to “serve” her brother and the one she had witnessed calling Lazarus out of his tomb. Mary offers a different kind of “service” to Jesus — an anointing with the conspicuously costly “pure nard ...

199. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

200. Why Christmas Is So Dangerous

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... will name him Jesus.” Wow. Good news indeed. Except for the fact that Mary, a young, yet betrothed woman, still living in her father’s home until her marriage, was being told she was to become pregnant BEFORE her marriage to Joseph was consummated, before Joseph was truly her husband in a formal, public ceremony. That was not good news. In fact, Gabriel’s “good news” was dangerous enough to get her killed. In the first century, and still in the twenty-first century, “honor cultures” existed ...

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