Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2001 to 2025 of 3160 results

2001. John 2:13-22

John 2:12-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Lent isn’t just a time to be intentional about spiritual renewal. It also coincides with another sacred ritual: spring cleaning. The clutter and accrual of the indoors seasons (fall and winter) need to be cleaned out, sorted out, and in some cases tossed out, to make room in our closets and consciousness for the new life of spring. This week’s gospel text is Jesus’ burst of spring cleaning. While the synoptic texts place Jesus’ temple tantrum towards the end of his ministry (Mark 11:15-17; ...

2002. An Easter Heart

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... The first sign of the resurrection, as noted by a distraught Mary Magdalene, was that the rock had been rolled away form the tomb’s entrance. Every body, even Jesus’ resurrected body, needs to be offered a way out. Rock-rollers offer ways out to all sorts of people, trapped in all kinds of tombs. Strengthened by an Easter heart we can . . . . We can roll away despair, and reveal a path to hope. We can roll away delusions — delusions like “If I was rich I’d be happy;” delusions like “All I need ...

2003. I Really Am Alive!

Luke 24:36b-48

Illustration

Bruce Larson

... alert the night watchman, who promptly ran off, terrified. His first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her. But he got no further than, "Darling, it's me," when she screamed and fainted. He tried calling a couple of the neighbors but they all thought it was some sort of sick prank. He even went so far as to go to the homes of several friends but they were all sure he was a ghost. Finally, he was able to call a friend in the next town who hadn't heard of his death. This friend was able to ...

2004. The Comforts of "Thy Rod and Thy Staff": Rulership or Relationship

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... together of a host of unique “locavores.” Jesus’ “flock,” the followers of Christ, is going to have members that definitely look different, act different, are different. These particularities are what make Jesus’ “flock” strong, adaptable, enabled to grow and flourish in all sorts of different environments. In the old tribalism, if you weren’t part of my tribe, I kill you. In the new tribalism, if you aren’t part of my tribe, I kiss you because God’s truth is so complex and rich we ...

2005. We Are Never Alone

John 15:1-8

Illustration

King Duncan

... with me, if I was ever afraid, I should say my prayers . . . Even at night, if I would wake up from a nightmare and want to get up and go to her room, she would immediately ask, Did you say your prayers?' That's where that came from and it sort of stuck with me." Ruby's mother wanted her to know that no matter the situation she was never alone. She was connected. To be connected is to have power. It is to have an eternal presence in your life. It is to know Someone cares about you.

2006. Mark 4: 26-34

Mark 4:26-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

What’s the first task of every communicator, be they teacher, preacher, politician, communicator of any sort? Gain Attention. Get people’s attention. In order to be memorable and to get your message across, you have to be both surprising and familiar. Nobody was better at making the familiar strange and surprising than Jesus. You can hear it coming when he says: “You have heard it said, ...

2007. Changing the Color-Tags

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the war years, triage (sorting out) referred to the policy by which medical assistance was given. It was up to the doctors to "color-tag" the wounded, placing them in one of three categories according to their condition. One color meant hopeless - nothing we can do will save them. Another tag meant they'd make ...

2008. Proper 16

1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43, Psalm 84:1-12, John 6:56-69, Ephesians 6:10-20

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... Pastor: Friends, hear the good news! Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, to consecrate it, cleansing it by water and word People: so that he might present the church to himself all glorious, with no stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort, but holy and without blemish. Pastor: Friends, believe the good news! People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Exhortation As members of the church, be subject to Christ, and husbands and wives be subject to each other out of reverence for Christ. PRAYER OF ...

2009. Proper 22

Job 2:1-10, Psalm 26:1-12, Mark 10:2-16, Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... living things. Hear us wherever we gather to praise you name. Amen PRAYER OF DEDICATION God of the gospel, we, along with pastors and elders, evangelists and teachers, healers and nurses, share the responsibility of spreading the good news, identifying with all sorts and conditions of people in order to communicate the word of your grace in Jesus Christ. Amen PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND COMMEMORATION God for all nations, all cultures, all species, draw together all things in Christ, so that all creation and ...

2010. Ignoring the Play

Mark 6:1-6

Illustration

Kenneth W. Collins

When I was in elementary school, I remember when all the kids in the neighborhood got together and put on a show. We rigged up a curtain of sorts by hanging an old bedspread in a screened porch, and arranged folding chairs for the audience. Then we practiced a small play, and added in a few musical solos, for which I played the piano. (Because we couldn't move the piano closer to the play, I had to play ...

2011. Mark 6:14-29

Mark 6:14-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... their futures. Pick any Herod. All were the same: ruthless rulers, concerned first and foremost with assuring and advancing their own power and wealth and legacy. The Herod in today’s Markan text, Herod Antipas, not only committed all sorts of illegal political moves in his quest to gain the title “king” instead of merely “tetrach.” Herod Antipas also managed to practice especially repugnant moral behavior. Although ostensibly Jewish, the Herodians had long lived according to the standards ...

2012. Public Pressure

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

... young man said, "My parents have fantastic goals for me to take over the family business. It's not what I want to do, but their pressure is unbearable." A college woman said, "I'm being pressured by my boyfriend to live with him before we are married. You know...sort of try it out...to see if we are right for each other." A husband said, "My wife is never satisfied. Whatever I do, however much I make, it's never enough. Life with her is like living in a pressure cooker with the lid fastened down and the ...

2013. Proper 11

Psalm 52:1-9, Amos 8:1-12, Luke 10:38-42, Colossians 1:15-28

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... goodness we seek for ourselves. Holy Spirit, you are at work in us to make us more like our Lord Jesus Christ. We worship you, one God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Patient God, you still wait for us to sort out our priorities. We are often busy with trivialities, bemused with the incidental, and not attentive to the eternal. Forgive this failure to prepare for ultimate communion with you and yours. Amen. Declaration of Pardon Pastor: Friends, hear the Good News! God has chosen to ...

2014. Spiritual Awareness

John 6:25-59

Illustration

Donald Macleod

... in the story." This condition of spiritual awareness is clearly defined by Jesus in the words of our text. It is a state of soul devoutly and eagerly to be aspired to, in contrast to what Lord Cecil of Britain once referred to as "believing in God in a commonplace sort of way." And, it becomes the gift and possession of any persons who are utterly dissatisfied with themselves, and who decide to fulfill those important requisites that make them completely satisfied in Christ.

2015. Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, Legend, or Lord? - Sermon Starter

John 6:25-59

Illustration

Brett Blair

... you would say, "I'm sorry, what did he just say?" Anyone who seriously made such claims would easily be labeled a kook, a nut, certifiable. C.S. Lewis, in his book "Mere Christianity," makes the following statement about Jesus: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son ...

2016. Wise, Worshipful, and Wonderfully Wayward

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ’s continual presence and guidance. When early anthropologists were looking for the quintessential “tag” to define the uniqueness of the human species, they came up with the name “homo sapiens” — i.e. “wise human.” It is “wisdom” of a particular sort that separates human beings from our fellow creatures. This “wisdom” is beyond “what gets me the most.” It’s a wisdom beyond “this is the easiest,” a wisdom beyond “others do not matter.” The “sapiens” of humanity sends ...

2017. A Time for Opportunity

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... , he glimpsed his own fallen condition, his deep loneliness and despair. Rescued by what he calls “the grace of God,” Ryan turned his car around and drove home. (2) There is something about modern life that seems to encourage additions of all sorts. Dateline NBC carried several reports on the effects of gambling addiction. One report focused on the vulnerability of women to video poker machines located in places women are likely to frequent. One woman put her family into bankruptcy and lost her husband ...

2018. Full Devotion

John 6:51-58

Illustration

Edwin D. Peterman

... of Rights to be a radical, anti-American document. In other words, these people claim citizenship, but they have not internalized the basic meaning of being a citizen. They claim the privilege, but they will not eat and drink the ethos of United States of America. The same sort of thing is described in today's Gospel. Jesus says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Most people probably think Jesus is ...

2019. Ziggy Against the World

John 6:51-58

Illustration

Ben Witherington

There is a wonderful little character named Ziggy who appears in the comic strip of some newspapers. He is lovable in part because, like Charlie Brown, he is a loser, and we identify with him. There is one Ziggy strip in particular that sort of epitomizes this loser mentality. He and his even smaller dog are standing at the window in their second floor apartment looking out on the busy city streets below. Ziggy says, "Well, it's you and me against the world, and I think we're gonna get creamed!"

2020. Eternity 101: The Final Exam

1 Corinthians 3:5-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... concerned with every minute of your life. Verse 13 says, "But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done." (I Corinthians 3:13, NLT) It is not what size work you have done, but what sort of work you have done. God is not looking for quantity. He is looking for quality. It is not just what you do for the Lord, but how you do what you do for the Lord and even more importantly, why you do what you do for the Lord. One ...

2021. The Spirit of Cross Pointe

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... religious, non-religious, meticulous, moralists, loose living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized whoever. I did not take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ, but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God - saved life. I did all of this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! I Corinthians 9: 19 - 23 (The ...

2022. It’s Humble or the Umbles

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7 You who have been robed in white, robed in righteousness, humbly go into the world. There are all sorts of dangers and infections out there. Evil is rife and rampant in our world. But God has clothed you and robed you in the armor that will keep you alive, the armor that will change you into the person you were always meant to be, inside and out. If you ...

2023. When the Bills Come Due

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... or is it God's money? II. Be Committed In How You Share Money "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (I Timothy 6:9-10, NASB) The reason why the scripture talks about the love of money and not just money itself is, if you ever grow to where you ...

2024. Who's Number One?

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... to idols." (Isaiah 42:8, NLT) Stephen Covey in his book, First Things First, describes a powerful illustration that he has used in workshops to make a point about priorities. He sets a large jar on the table in front of the room and places beside it all sorts of softball-sized rocks. He says to the crowd, "How many of these rocks do you think I can fit into this jar?" Someone guesses thirteen. Someone guesses nine. Someone guesses twelve. He then begins to place the rocks one at a time into the jar counting ...

2025. The Revolution Against Evolution

Genesis 1:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... that there are certain varieties within different species. This goes exactly with what the Bible says in the Book of Genesis. "And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal - livestock, small animals and wildlife.' And so it was. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock and small animals each able to reproduce more of its own kind." (Genesis 1:24-25, NLT) The second type of evolution is called "macro-evolution" and this is where the wheels begin to fall off. This is the theory that ...

Showing results