Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 176 to 200 of 972 results

176. Rejecting The Message — Rejecting The Person

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... building darkened. Anger surfaced to a boiling point? Why? What was the cause? The obvious reason was the compliment that he paid to Gentiles. The Jews believed that they were God’s exclusive people. Anyone else was just fuel for hell’s fire. Jesus had the audacity to include these Gentiles in God’s kingdom…their exclusive God…Gentiles…no way! Don’t forget these were Jesus’ friends and neighbors who had known him for years and many of them since childhood. These friends and neighbors were so ...

177. I'm Going Fishing

John 21:1-19 · Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... been especially chosen by God. When God said, “you will be my people, and I will be your God,” they took that as a matter of point of honor.[1] After a period of time though, that sense of “chosen-ness” turned into a sense of exclusiveness. This is of course always the danger of chosen-ness, the belief that one is not just cherished and valued but cherished and valued “above all others.” Whereas in the scriptures, God particularly noted that the Israelites were chosen to shine their light to all ...

178. A VIP Seat

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... invited to all these parties. So when she writes about the party culture among the super-rich, she knows what she’s talking about. According to Mears, the super-rich throw extravagant parties to impress their peers. It’s all a status competition. This is why exclusive clubs have a VIP area that is elevated above the other tables. The more visible the VIPs are, the more likely they are to spend ridiculous sums of money. A common status symbol at these clubs is huge bottles of champagne with glow-in-the ...

179. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... thing we do have under our control. Rebecca Stott is the author of the book The Days of Rain, which tells the true story of her upbringing in a group called The Exclusive Brethren, a doomsday cult whose leaders believed that the world was run by Satan. As a result, they cut off all contact with the outside world. No one in The Exclusive Brethren was allowed to read newspapers or own radios or televisions. Stott says that one of the key lessons she learned from growing up in the cult was that she “became ...

180. Guiding Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... him as a light to the gentiles. Israel was always meant to be God’s “light to the gentiles.” God always meant for all of creation to live in harmony and to worship together as one people. Israel was chosen not to be exclusive but to promote inclusivity –to be the “light” for those who could not yet see! (Sounds familiar? Jesus used this phrase often!) The mission to the gentiles and the gathering of God’s “lost” was an important inclusivity issue within the messianic message, within ...

181. A Child of God

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Ronald Love

... with each other. Luther illustrated this by the analogy of the iron put into the fire whereby both fire and iron are united, yet each continues unchanged. For Paul it was not who was most right, but who is most loving. For Paul it was not to be exclusive in one’s doctrine, but to be inclusive. For Paul it was not to be belligerent, but it was to be conciliatory. In our lectionary reading for today Paul wrote, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the ...

182. The Sending Plan (Alternate title: Our Human Predicament)

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... of the divergent trends of our physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions, and disease is the disruption of that unity, then healing is the act of reuniting these trends. While the Christian may be thinking of faith in spiritual areas most of the time, working exclusively there is not following Jesus' command to heal. Jesus was a Jew. Hebrew thinking says that man is a whole -- body, mind, and spirit. You cannot heal one part without factoring in the dimensions of the other parts. Dr. Lou Kettel, Dean of ...

183. No Box Seats In The Kingdom

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

William G. Carter

... congregation with almost thirty thousand members. It was the crowning achievement of his career. First Baptist Church occupies five city blocks in downtown Dallas. It houses two schools, a college, and a radio station. The church gave him a nice home, memberships in exclusive country clubs, and luxury box seats for Dallas Cowboys football games. They weren't box seats for the kingdom, but in Dallas a box seat for one is as good as a box seat for another. But something went wrong in Gregory's pastorate ...

184. The Fear Of Taking The Plunge

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Richard Patt

... leprosy. Jesus took the leap of faith -- or rather brought others to the point of taking a leap of faith -- so that wholeness of life and limb nevertheless became a possibility. Jesus also plunged into new territory by challenging some of the exclusivity of his native culture. He dared to believe that all people are children of the heavenly Father -- even those in Samaria, even women, even Gentiles, even publicans and other sinners. While others stood in fear of acknowledging anyone outside the house of ...

185. Dinner Parties With A Difference

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... a week, and supported temple and synagogue with the tithe, which meant ten percent before taxes. Furthermore, they kept up to date on their religious teachings, even to the minutest detail of their religious law. If anyone had earned the right to belong to an exclusive dinner party, they had. Without dispute, they were good men. The prostitute had led quite a different life. Somewhere in her past, she may have been sexually abused, or she may have lacked love, or may have fallen into self-loathing, and then ...

186. The Call Of The Tradition: Remember And Return

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... . As Jesus says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). Let us take no offense at this. Jesus comes to the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. He has a preferential option for such people in need. But this is not an exclusive option. We can be committed to, in alignment and solidarity with, people in such need. For Jesus comes to set us free also. He comes to free us from our pride, which makes us think that we are better than people who are poor. He comes to free ...

187. Advent Of Angels

Malachi 1:6-14

Sermon

Tony Everett

... , "Malachi," is obtained from verse 1. "Behold, I send 'my messenger' (Malachi in Hebrew) to prepare the way before me." Malak is the Hebrew word for "angel." At the time of our text, the fifth century B.C., an angel was not necessarily thought of exclusively as a spiritual being from another plane of existence. (This is a prevailing view in earlier biblical writings and in current popular books.) During the fifth century B.C., an angel, Malak, was often understood to be a flesh and blood human being who ...

188. The Results Of Resurrection

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... another pilot." We laugh at such antics, but we do the same things at times. Jesus never told his disciples, or us, that the road to peace was one of putting blinders on and ignoring our problems. We are recipients of peace in spite of trouble, not in exclusion of it. Peace be with you, said Jesus. Let us be whole and complete because of his resurrection. III. Another Result Of The Resurrection Is The Offer Of Power To The Weak. John tells us that when Jesus came to his disciples he "breathed" on them and ...

189. Forsaking All Others

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... the call so urgent? Because everyone is looking at us as this century draws to a close to see what a Christian is really supposed to be. Have our acidic actions or verbal venom caused scorn to be brought upon the Body of Christ? Has our lack of love or exclusiveness made Jesus a byword? Do people see God for who he really is by what they see in you and me or are people mockingly saying, "If that's how God is, then I don't want any part!" How does God expect us to react? I believe with trembling ...

190. Held In His Arms

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... . A subjective person would come along and say, "I feel for you down there." An objective person would look at you and say, "It's logical that you would fall down there." A mathematician would calculate how you fell into the pit. A news reporter would want the exclusive story on the pit. An IRS agent would ask you if you were paying taxes on your pit. Confucius would look at you and say, "A wise person would not walk so near the pit to fall in." A self-pitying person would moan, "You haven't seen anything ...

191. By What Authority?

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... and their livelihood. They walked away from their old life, their old ways of doing things, their kindred and family. Taking A Risk This is a radical and bold move on their part. Why? Why did they do it? It appears that their response is simply and exclusively based on the power of Jesus' personality and message. The call of Jesus is so strong in their lives that all of the encumbrances of their old lives are jettisoned -- their boats and nets, their families, their old life and old ways of doing things are ...

192. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . 6. "Already Cleansed." (v. 3) The allusion here is probably twofold. In chapter 13 John had told of the footwashing and the rebuke of Peter when he wanted to be washed all over (vv. 9, 10). In the following verse (v. 11) Jesus referred to the exclusion of Judas as a part of the cleansing process. This represents a bit of mixing of the metaphor, though cutting off the dead branches and pruning the fruit-bearing branches was a type of cleansing. A word play is found in Greek between "pruning" (airei) and ...

193. You Can Be Less Worried

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Contrary to popular belief, our generation did not write the book on greed, gluttony, avarice and self-centeredness. Even 2,000 years ago in Galilee people were often worried about material things to the virtual exclusion of concern for God or neighbor. During the disastrous storms in Bangladesh a few years ago (when approximately 200,000 lives were lost), I heard a man remark on having a check bounce. He said, "I am humiliated. This is the most upsetting ...

194. Be Wise In The Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... of the cross or "they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Paul did not rely on pompous rhetoric because he did not want his hearers to place their faith in him but in God's power. Furthermore, he knew that if he depended exclusively upon eloquent gifts his message might soon be rebutted by someone with superior eloquence. In order that the Corinthians might be able to distinguish between two types of wisdom, Paul underscores his belief that the Holy Spirit is the One who reveals God's wisdom ...

195. The Intersection Of The Cross

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... stands at a point where the biblical witness and the lives of his people intersect. And the tension is enough to rend him asunder. Part of him wants to run. To find refuge in the second lesson or the psalm and preach on them instead. Or focus exclusively on that paragraph of the Gospel about reconciling with an estranged brother or sister in the faith before offering one's offering at the altar. That would be a piece of cake compared to this. But he knows himself well enough to know that precisely when he ...

196. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction During Lent we are focusing our biblical attention almost exclusively on the passages from the psalms, allowing their themes and their spirit to rise up and identify themselves to us. Today we are continuing to gain a greater familiarity with these conversations from the heart. Through song and reading and spoken word the religiosity of the psalmists of old is ...

197. Professor Of Paradox

Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... . On the other hand, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven will be like the angels sorting the fish. The good ones will be kept and the bad ones will be thrown away. In other words, the kingdom of heaven is highly discriminating -- a very exclusive realm. "Do you understand?" Jesus asks his disciples. They say that they do. Jesus says that his disciples must become professors of paradox. He uses the word scribe. The scribes were the professors, the learned people, the teachers and interpreters of the word of ...

198. The Savior Life Diet

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... her ... "When I first came here to serve," she says, "I just thought this was the most desolate place in the world. I called it a desert." Now she calls it an oasis. In such an environment, Angie has learned that personal value and purpose must flow exclusively from a relationship with Jesus Christ. "Your joy has to come from the Lord. If you didn't love the Lord, you couldn't work or serve here," [she says]. That is why, every morning, for more than thirty years, [Angie] has climbed into her pick-up truck ...

199. Five Thousand For Lunch In Galilee

Luke 9:10-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... seed of the Spirit, he was urging them to take a chance on sharing what they had been given. His legalistic critics claimed the bread of life was only for those who kept their religious laws in their way. They tended to be restrictive, defensive and exclusive. But Paul enjoins us to sow to the Spirit. We are to see God as leading us into the life of productivity and prosperity instead of calling us back into defensiveness and fear. Legalism and narrow religion tend to be past-oriented, confining us to the ...

200. Making A Difference

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... There are times in our mixed-up, confused world that we lose our focus of what is of utmost importance. Our attention is drawn to less important things while what is most important is often ignored or at least neglected. Some focus exclusively on getting more money and possessions while neglecting all other aspects of their lives. Too frequently we hear of people who built business empires while at the same time their personal lives suffered, and they experienced poor health, broken marriages, and children ...

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