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Showing 1976 to 2000 of 2665 results

1976. Compassion Is a Gift from God

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

King Duncan

A man named Al Wiener survived the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. He entered a labor camp when he was 15. Years in those camps took their toll. Over time his weight dropped to 80 pounds and he was weak and always hungry. He was slowly starving to death. In one labor camp he worked in a textile factory. There were German women who worked in the textile factory. They were forbidden from speaking to prisoners like Al. They were not even allowed ...

1977. We All Need This Boat

Matthew 14:22-36

Illustration

David E. Leininger

Will Willimon, the one time Dean of the Chapel at Duke, tells of a visit he made to the office of a lawyer in his congregation. It was just a drop-in. Will says he did not know the man that well - his wife seemed to bear the church interest for the family. Listen to the story in Will's own words: It was at the end of the day. I entered the outer office of his law firm. Everyone had ...

1978. Cross-Bearing

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... — tender, personal love," she remarked to an adviser. "If you were [there], you would have said, ‘What hypocrisy.' " Come Be My Light's editor said, "I read one letter to the Sisters [of Teresa's Missionaries of Charity], and their mouths just dropped open. It will give a whole new dimension to the way people understand her." No doubt. On December 11, 1979, Mother Teresa went to Oslo. Dressed in her familiar blue-bordered sari and wearing sandals despite Norway's below-zero temperatures, she received ...

1979. Ephphatha...Be Opened

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would just as soon skip over because, at first blush, it makes Jesus come off like some insensitive jerk. This does not sound like the Jesus I know. In fact, I wonder why such a story was preserved in the gospel record anyway. But then the lectionary drops it in our homiletical lap and says handle it! Can we "rescue" Jesus here, find some way of explicating this conversation that will put him in a bit more flattering light? The commentators have tried to explain. Some have said that Jesus was just having a ...

1980. The God Who Is Always There

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that on Adar 13, all of the Jews were to be killed. What now? Mordecai sent word to Esther that she had better get to the king and quickly to do something about this edict. Esther sent back word that it was not as easy as that. No one just drops in on the king for a little chitchat. You come to the king when you are summoned and not before. Otherwise, it might be off with your head! For that matter, it had been more than a month since King "Headache" had called for her, so who knows how long ...

1981. The Thoughts of Our Hearts

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... fulfilled in a moment, during an encounter with an unpresuming couple of country people and their special baby boy. "Could I hold the baby?" he wondered, half hoping they would say, "No," and not really knowing why. "Yes, but please be careful, don't let him drop, he's very wiggly." The slight palsy in Simeon's movements worried Mary. With trembling hands, and with the baby fingering at the old man's beard, Simeon was filled with the undeniable sense that this was it. "Now I can die in peace," he said ...

1982. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

John Smylie

... by the reality of this experience. The tent was similar to being inside a very large lining of a giant garbage pail. There were no Oriental rugs on the floor and no great palm branches swinging from the ceiling and fanning us, keeping us cool. After dropping off our belongings, we boarded the bus so we could have a few more hours in the wilderness for prayer. This was a wonderful time and the earth-tone colors of the mountainsides were stunning in the evening light. The hours went by quickly and one ...

1983. Be Not Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... whose marriage is coming apart? Everyone experiences some kind of fear. I suspect even Jesus knew fear. He wept over Jerusalem. He prayed for his disciples, knowing they were in danger. In the Garden of Gethsemane the Bible tells us that sweat fell off him like great drops of blood as he anticipated what was in store for him. After all, he was taking the responsibility of the whole world on his shoulders. No one can tell me he wasn't afraid. I have a confession to make. I am not comfortable with those ...

1984. The Unsilenced Voice

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

There is a book on my shelf titled Texts of Terror. Phyllis Trible, the author, has a lot of courage. In this book, she has examined the most awful texts in the Old Testament. These are the pages from the Bible we wish we could accidentally drop between our desk and the wall, lost forever. For example, there is the heart-wrenching story of Jephthah's daughter in the book of Judges. The little girl loses her life because of her father's foolish promise. There is another horrific story in Judges about a ...

1985. God’s Anthills

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... the reason. In one huge anthill he was examining, he found an ingenious shaft running through the mound from the top to the bottom. It ran 65 feet down to a spring. All night long the ants ran up and down, carrying the precious little drops of water that kept alive their underground gardens, their food supply. This way they were able to feed hundreds and thousands of their brothers and sisters. The problem the disciples had with feeding the multitude was that they were operating with a different set of ...

1986. Tough Talk for Tentative Disciples

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... , the people drift away. Christ's call to commitment is a double-edged demand. First, it sets forth clearly his life mission and his expectation for those who would go further with him. Second, it weeds out shallowness of commitment from among them. As a result, thousands drop out. Now, Jesus turns to the twelve and asks his pointed question: "You do not want to leave too, do you?" It is a make-up-your-mind moment of a lifetime! We live in a make-up-your-mind generation. While there is evidence of church ...

1987. The Final Exam

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven Molin

... can you use it to determine the height of this building?" The student smiled, and then began, "Well there are several ways. I could tie the barometer to a rope, lower it from the roof to the ground, and measure the length of the rope. Or I could drop the barometer, time its fall, and divide that time by 32 feet per second/per second. Or I could find the building superintendent and say, ‘If you tell me the height of this building, I'll give you this cool barometer.' Or, if you want the conventional method ...

1988. Celebrate This!

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Steven Molin

... this made them very proud, indeed. Then a widowed woman approached the temple treasury. Carefully, she reaches into her satchel and she pulls out two copper coins. They are so small and so insignificant that nobody even notices the noise they made as they are dropped into the tubas. Nobody notices except Jesus. Before she slips away into the crowd, Jesus points her out to his disciples. "Do you see that woman over there? She has put more in that offering box than all the rest combined," and the disciples ...

1989. Witness: More than Judgment

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... conversation that goes beyond the weather. Why? You know why. Dinner's ready. I want to see my family. I've got another appointment. And sometimes, quite frankly, I'm not sure what to say or how to say it or how to raise the religion issue. So I drop the junk mail into the garbage, head into the garage, close the door and think, "I should have said something." I doubt that he sees me cutting my grass, taking out the garbage, and trimming the hedge and is coming to faith because of my righteous yard work. No ...

1990. The Eyes of Faith

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... only way to see things not seen is through eyes of faith. What does this mean? The author gives some examples. By faith, we understand that the world was formed by God. We never saw it. By faith, Noah built an ark without ever seeing the first drop of water. By faith, Abraham and Sarah left their homeland not seeing where that journey would take them. By faith, Abraham and Sarah believed they would have a son - not seeing any way that was possible. By faith, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son not seeing ...

1991. God’s Great High Priest

Hebrews 5:5-10

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus saw what was ahead and he didn't want to do it. He prayed that God would lead him in another direction. The gospel account tells us that he cried. And he prayed so hard that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. Jesus was afraid. He really didn't want to die on a cross, but we know that he did. The passage from Hebrews says: "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the ...

1992. I’ve Got a Home in that Kingdom

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... , when the polio vaccinations became available, and though I hated shots, I was willing to undergo the series of shots to prevent my getting polio. For a while, I wondered if it would really work, but as the weeks and months passed, and the number of polio cases dropped, my confidence grew. I was no longer dominated by the fear of polio. We live in an age of fear again, a fear of a different kind, a fear of terrorism. We have seen its deadly hand, and though some of the fear is overblown and exploited, the ...

1993. Antidote for Bad Times

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... no more sacred than a library or movie theater." Current books in print list almost 2,000 titles on prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth. After the Bible, books on prayer are among the biggest sellers. A Newsweek article tells about a 31-year-old woman who drops to her knees at her front door each morning before rushing off to her job as a bakery representative; and a seventy-year-old bank vice president who prays for twenty minutes while on his stationary bicycle. A 53-year-old man who prays five times ...

1994. Hope on The Day of Judgment

Hebrews 9:24-28

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... even now standing before the throne of God being judged and that she did not expect the outcome to be good for him. Somewhat taken aback and not wishing to enter into a full theological debate in the middle of the receiving line, I let the matter drop. Even as I started the funeral service, I was haunted by those words and that image. All the promised words of the service, all the hope embodied in the actions of the liturgy — the placing of the pall and the sprinkling with water in remembrance of baptism ...

1995. Make a 119 Call

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... family member. My interviewee, “Bob,” talked about conflicts with his Dad. They were as different as chalk and cheese. Bob was Triple A: athletics, academics, arts. What’s more, he was the “life-of-the-party” kind of guy. “Bob’s” dad had dropped out of high school, worked a series of hands-on, bent-back jobs throughout his life, and had many physical problems. He was quiet and rarely showed his emotions — positive or negative. But despite their differences, Bob and his Dad always watched a ...

1996. A Difficult Day to Follow Jesus

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... in Atlanta that a woman had inscribed on the tomb of her adulterous husband. The epitaph said, “Gone, but not forgiven.” Some of you can relate to that emotion. C.S. Lewis made an important distinction between excusing and forgiving. If somebody jostles me accidentally and I drop my books, I excuse that it didn’t hurt me that much, and it was unintended. But if a person does something to injure me or my family and the hurt will go on hurting for years, I can’t excuse it. I have only the option of ...

1997. The Bridge Over Every Troubled Waters

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time. There is a reason bridges strike such fear into us at the thought of crossing over on them. I have no problem driving a car across a bridge going 50-60-70 mph. Have you ever had a problem? When I’m going across I know there are huge drop-offs on either side of the bridge, but I never once have hugged the guard-rails or bumped into an iron barrier one on the way across. I’m never tempted to get close to the edge, and when a car edges me to the side, I negotiate the side ...

1998. Everyone Is Invited

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

... her childhood her second grade Valentine's Day party. Several days earlier a big decorated box had been placed at the front of the room by the teacher. It had a slit in the top. Each student had been invited to bring valentines addressed to friends and to drop them into the box. Then on Valentine's Day, one student was designated by the teacher as the postman to distribute the cards. Earlier that week Drew's mother had bought a package of 35 valentine cards. Drew asked her, "Why did you buy so many?" She ...

1999. Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?

Matthew 24:36-51

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... I’ll feed my cocker spaniel. (Scene fades.) Narrator: When the neighborhood children heard about Jason’s birthday, they exchanged gifts with one another, but, of course, Jason got none. (Children exchange packages. Jason holds out his hands, then drops them in disappointment.) Narrator: Then the whole bunch went out “Happy Birthdaying” through the streets, singing Happy Birthday to all the neighbors. (Children sing one verse of the song using “dear neighbors.”) Narrator: There was a blizzard of ...

2000. Where's Dad?

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... embarrassed by own behavior) No, no, that’s okay. Sit. Sit. There’s plenty of room. (pauses) You here to bowl? Stranger: Hadn’t planned to — actually, I’m just passing through town. A bowling alley right on the highway is pretty handy. I thought I’d drop in and get a cup of coffee. I’m actually headed for Centerville. I live there. Just celebrated Christmas with my brother and family in Nashville. Brad: I see. (extends hand) I’m Brad Nelson. I was supposed to meet my dad but he just called ...

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