Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2001 to 2025 of 5000 results

2001. Called to Be Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... they have been at work. The question is: Where are the saints? Where are those who are committed to Jesus Christ? We need saints. We need them as examples and for inspiration. We need Mary the mother of Jesus; Simon Peter and John Mark; Aquila and Priscilla; Phoebe and Lydia; Barnabas and Timothy. We could not get along without them. We must also have Thecla and Perpetua; Athanasius and Ambrose; Benedict and Thomas Aquinas; Theresa of Avila and Katherine Zell; Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin; Ann Hutchinson ...

2002. Your Undivided Attention, Please

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... out. You are a people holy to the Lord, set apart, consecrated! Love the Lord your God! Undivided attention! No more, no less! Marked With the Cross Tell me, now. Do you recognize the word, the promise, the voice? "You are a people holy to the Lord." Do you remember ... how you got that way? On your forehead, right between the eyes, you have been marked with the cross of Christ forever. The Holy Spirit of the living one true God has stuck it in your ear, the gospel of ...

2003. What Was That About?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom." Doesn’t this sound strangely similar to Jesus’ word recorded by Saint Mark? "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven." Great Hope And what’s that ...

2004. His Baptism and Ours

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... grace of baptism for power to wage a victorious battle against the old sinful nature which stubbornly seeks to regain the upper hand. Today our Lord says to us as he once said to his first disciples, "With the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized" (Mark 10:39). We pray that our lives may be united ever more closely with his saving life. As this takes place, the heavens will open to us too, and gently and peacefully as the lighting of a dove the Spirit of God will settle upon us. And we too ...

2005. The Word of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... same treason? Even the disciples of Jesus are involved. Peter denies him, Judas betrays him, the others desert him. When Jesus told them the preceding evening, "One of you will betray me," they had reason to examine their hearts and ask, one after another, "Is it I?" (Mark 14:18-19). Let this question be our response too, for each of us is a potential betrayer. Aware of our share in the human motives which led to the cross, let us listen to the word of judgment which the cross itself speaks. It speaks first ...

2006. The Home Under God

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... man’s mind." It encompasses the sinner in the midst of his sin and generates life and hope where there was only death and despair. Here the meaning of parenthood receives its sublimest expression. Turning now to mothers, we must affirm that the marks of parenthood, responsibility, faith and hope, and forgiving love, apply to mothers as well as fathers. In the patriarchal society in which Jesus lived, woman had the low status of mere domestic drudge. Jesus elevated her to a position of equality and opened ...

2007. Smart, Wise, and Foolish

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... good news because it promises meaning where many do not expect to find it. God’s power is represented by the most vulgar symbols of Paul’s society - a manger instead of a palace; a donkey instead of a chariot; a cross instead of a throne. It is a mark of real wisdom to see levels of meaning; to see the reality behind the sign; to see inner beauty, even when it may be encrusted with the scars of personal failure. Go back with me for one moment more and listen to Paul speaking to that strange concoction ...

2008. Signposts A Commencement Address

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... have functions. This signpost is no different. Graduating from eighth grade may or may not rank highly with other events in your life. But regardless of rank, the graduation is a signpost nonetheless. Eighth grade graduation is a signpost for parents in that it is a clear marking of a necessary and vital change in the role and function of parenting. This child, whom you may have once held on your lap and fed, is no longer a child in the sense that once was so. No longer so helpless and dependent, your child ...

2009. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... worth seeking after. One day Jesus was called to the home of a man who had an epileptic son. His disciples had not been able to heal the boy. The father, in understandable anguish, asked if there was any possibility that Jesus could help him. Mark (Mark 9:23) records the reply of Jesus as follows: "All things are possible to him who believes," and the startled father, with real insight into his present state, replied: "I believe; help my unbelief." Few of us enjoy both depth and absolute certainty in our ...

2010. Bringing the Gospel to Marriage

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... God made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." Mark 10:5-9: Here Jesus is pointing up God’s creative act bringing woman and man together, and the place of fidelity in the union.: Few Christians remain totally faithful in their lives, even though they may do so in marriage. Fidelity holds our lives together ...

2011. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... . A rather antique word, a word with a patina on it; but a real one in our world of casual come-and-go relationships, with cycles of divorce and remarriage, the underlining of sex as only play, or a playboy and playgirl person-of-the-month centerfold mentality. These mark commitment as a mere anachronism. It is no accident that it has a strange sound in our time; and that quality of all kinds is so absent. When we buy a new appliance and expect it to break down in the first month; take our car to a mechanic ...

2012. The Man Who Couldn't Hear

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... ? I Let’s take a look at the life of a man who couldn’t hear. One day, as the story goes, Jesus was returning to the region of Galilee when he entered the district of the Decopolis. There a large crowd who brought with them a patient approached him. Mark says of this man that he was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. No doubt the two went together, for hearing and speaking are one process. As one hears, one speaks. It was this man's inability to hear that made his speech so imperfect. Without a ...

2013. Preconceived Ideas

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... near. The Jews had held fast to this belief for over 900 years. Little wonder then that when Jesus was on the cross and he spoke the words “Eli Eli,” which actually means “My God, My God,” that some mistook him to be calling on Elijah. In Mark 13:35 it reads: “Behold, he is calling Elijah. Let us see whether Elijah will save him.” It is easy to see why many thought Jesus was the great Elijah. II But not only did the first century Jews have preconceived ideas about the Messiah, the twenty-first ...

2014. The Three Poison Pills of Position, Prestige, and Power

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

... pills of position, prestige, and power. I The disciples wanted position. As you read the Gospels you come across numerous occasions when the disciples misunderstand Jesus’ teachings, when their actions are inappropriate, when they jump to conclusions that are way off mark. Here in Mark 10 is a unique situation, something a little different than their usual blunders. Within their own ranks they are jockeying for position. Here’s what happened. It is the last week of Jesus’ life. It must be early in the ...

2015. Same Question, Same Answer

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

... to do, or because we have a few extra dented cans of creamed asparagus in the pantry. No, we share because generosity is an essential mark of the kingdom of God. If the kingdom of God is coming to us in Jesus Christ, then we must respond in generous ways that ... my life, but you’re not going to get my pocketbook.” In the first century, a tax collector made his money on the mark-up that he charged his neighbors. According to the system, the right to collect taxes was sold to the highest bidder. One of your ...

2016. What Are Spiritual Gifts For?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . Unlike trees in a forest, churches are supposed to do more than link together and live. This passage is about more than keeping discord at bay or warning household units about trying to invalidate the spiritual perspectives of their neighboring unit a few blocks down the street. Mark Twain told of being disturbed at all the discord he saw among God’s creatures. He decided to experiment with the problem. He put a cat and a dog in a cage. He wrote that within an hour he had taught the cat and the dog to ...

2017. A Fresh Start

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Joel (Acts 2:16-21). For the earliest Christians this gift of the Holy Spirit was seen as a sign that the End Times had come, and this association of the outpouring of the Spirit with the End was related both to Jesus’ preaching that the End was upon us (Mark 1:15) and to the book of Joel’s identification of the two. So what? What does the End Times have to do with us, when they are so far off in the future? Since the End has not come for two millennia, maybe it will never come. Besides what ...

2018. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... the poor and oppressed is all over the Bible, even if the Church has not always noticed it. “The Church’s love for the poor ... is a part of her constant tradition.”4 This concern for the poor was embodied in Jesus’ ministry (Luke 6:20-22; Mark 12:41-44; Matthew 19:21). Jesus’ followers, both Paul and James, continued this concern for the poor (Romans 15:26; Galatians 2:10; James 2:1-6). Such a concern for the poor has all sorts of Old Testament precedent too, especially in the Prophets. Elsewhere ...

2019. Reproached Rolled Away

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... the Promised Land. This is the third Passover since their last at the foot of Mount Sinai. The first Passover they hovered in fear as they ate their unleavened bread, roasted lamb, and bitter herbs and prayed to God in hope that the blood of sacrifice which marked the door frames of their homes would allow God to pass them over and spare their firstborn sons from the plague of death. Now they were preparing for a Passover where they would eat more than the hurried meal and which would not be eclipsed by the ...

2020. G.O.D. (A Drama about Tough Choices)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... following test is a pre-requisite for admission … blah blah blah… okay, um "Below are 5 multiple choice questions…" Multiple choice – Yahoo! (looks around) Oh, sorry. (starts reading again) "Please mark the appropriate circle with a number 2 pencil, not a number 1 pencil, nor a number 3 pencil. A number 4 pencil is right out. After marking the appropriate circle, proceed to the next question. If you get stuck on one question, simply move on and return to it later. If you do not finish the test, you ...

2021. The Healing Of Simon's Mother-in-Law

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

James W. Moore

... His love, always has a new beginning for us. Interestingly, Jackie reminds me of Simon’s mother-in-law in our text for today in Mark 1. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick and Christ healed her. She was knocked flat by this fever and Christ came and lifted her ... God’s action…our response. We have a fevered sin-sick soul. God heals us. And in gratitude we serve Him. This story in Mark also teaches us how powerful love is. Love has the power to heal people. Love can cure and restore and mend and make whole ...

2022. His Cleansing Of The Temple

Luke 19:45-48

Sermon

Brett Blair

... of Hosanna turned into the tears of Monday. II Following this brief respite on the Mount of Olives, Jesus continued his journey into the city. It was at this point that the second, and perhaps most curious event of the day took place. For this incident we must turn to Marks” Gospel for he alone tells it. Jesus was still outside the city. He was hungry so he stopped to pick some fruit off a fig tree. Yet, this was April, and even in a good year the tree would not bear fruit until late May or early June ...

2023. His Death

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Brett Blair

... could not be taken down, unless such removal had been specially authorized in the sentence of death. The corpse might also be buried if the sentence permitted. It is remarkable that all of this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24). It is interesting that Jesus is responsible for the abolishment of the cross as a means of capital punishment. In the early part of the fourth century Constantine continued to inflict the penalty of the cross on slaves guilty of, in the ...

2024. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

... writer put it like this: “It took a miracle To have the stars in space. It took a miracle To put the moon in place. But when he saved my soul, Cleansed and made me whole, It took a miracle of Love and Grace. Isn’t it beautiful here in Mark 10 how Jesus not only heals Bartimaeus and restores his sight, but He does it so tenderly, so graciously. Everybody else considered Bartimaeus to be an outcast and a low life, but Jesus treated him with love and dignity and respect. There’s a name for that. It’s ...

2025. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

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