Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2076 to 2100 of 2157 results

2076. No Promotion Required

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... When the filming was done, the videos (ahem, advertisements!) were shocking, yet convincing. They were then packaged up and sent to every major broadcast studio in America. Then, for several weeks in advance of the Beatles arriving, those videos (and audio versions) were played on every T.V. and radio station in the country. The result? “Beatle fever” and “Beatle mania” took the country by storm and swept from state after state like wildfire. When the Beatles finally did arrive in America, guess ...

2077. The Clues Are There

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... and Anna contains another clue to this gospel writer’s priorities. Luke wants to introduce to his readers and hearers, including us, a theme that will return several more times in his story. Arguably, we already heard this theme in Luke’s version of the story of Jesus’ birth. Only in Luke do we have a story about shepherds — marginalized, unimportant, unkempt castoffs from “respectable society” — being elevated to a place of great importance. The theme sounded in today’s text mirrors this ...

2078. A Nod of Recognition

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... game show on television. Some of you may remember the 1970’s remake of it, and a few may even remember the original from the early 1950’s. It was one of those shows that keeps cycling back into our lives in different formats. Today, iTunes even has a version of the game. It is called “Name That Tune.” The rules were simple, the host would play a few notes from a popular song and the contestants tried to be the first to guess it. There are some songs that are easy to recognize from the first note and ...

2079. We Need Some Good News

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.’ ” To this day, a visitor to Germany will discover two versions of Christianity, ‘Evangelische’ and ‘Katholische.’ These are the names attached, respectively, to the Lutheran and Roman Catholic expressions of the Christian Church in Germany. German Protestants who visit in the United States are understandably confused — perhaps even baffled ...

2080. He’s Not Who We Thought

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... Jesus, at least three of his disciples would have had their lives and their attitudes about Jesus completely transformed. But that does not appear to have happened. So, did it really happen? This story appears in Matthew and Mark as well. But in all of those versions of the gospel story, Peter, who is described as having been present at the Transfiguration, does not seem to be a paragon of loyalty and virtue when the tough times came during the last week of Jesus’ life. Why not? The best answer we can ...

2081. The Dean's Dilemma

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... is no God. If there is no God, life has no purpose. If there is no God, then it’s perfectly logical for everyone to simply do his or her own thing. Do you remember that tragic verse in the book of Judges, chapter 21:25? In the King James Version, it reads like this, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Can you imagine the chaos that ensued from people doing only what seemed right to them? If there is no God there are no absolute values ...

2082. How to Beat a Stress Test

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... we are whipped before the battle has even begun. Remember that hilarious scene in the Old Testament in which David, the young shepherd, is going out to face the giant Goliath. Saul, the king, places upon David his own armor—his breastplate, his sword, his helmet. One version of the Scripture says, “David tried in vain to go.” Saul’s armor was too heavy! The little fellow couldn’t move! So, David took Saul’s armor off and went out to face Goliath with only his faith in God, God’s armor. “You ...

2083. Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , are you lonely? Is there a little something missing in your life? Would you like to have peace, joy, love, self-fulfillment, happiness, good health, good sex, good times? Come to Jesus." God as good friend. Jesus as cheap therapist. It comes in more sophisticated versions. Feurbach charged that religion is nothing more than a projection of our own ego needs. We make God because we need gods. I take every virtue I wish I had, every desire I wish to be fulfilled, and project that as God. Feurbach's charge ...

2084. Being Good

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Matthew doesn't, but let's say that he would approve) of a woman who was caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). They had gathered to fulfill the law, namely, to stone her to death. That's how Torah, the law, handled .adultery. "What do you think about our version of People's Court, Jesus? A law is a law, right?" "Wrong. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone," said Jesus. And one by one, they dropped their stones and slipped away. Scholars don't think that story appeared in John's original. It was added ...

2085. The Power of the Staff

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... how to take risks. The more educated we get, the more reasons we can find to avoid risks. And most of all, the more experiences we’ve had in life that have hurt us, changed us, or impacted us, the more we will cling to our own version of a nest for fear of taking that chance again. We humans are complicated creatures. I call it getting “stuck.” Getting stuck is that psychological, mental, or spiritual place within you that declares that it’s safer to stay exactly where you are. We can get “stuck ...

2086. The Gospel Ship

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... walking on the sea and coming near the boat, at first, they were terrified! In another gospel, we learn, they thought he was a ghost, or perhaps a sea monster from the deep. The sea was a terrifying place for them out there in the dark alone. In one gospel version, Peter doesn’t even want to let Jesus near the boat, or in the boat, because he believes he is a foe. Only when they recognize who Jesus is do they hurriedly invite him into the boat. As soon as they bring him aboard with them, the winds calm ...

2087. The Blind See!

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... of this world who will not be denied by their circumstances. Bartimaeus was disadvantaged. He was determined. And finally he was discipled. Discipled is a verb we have made out of a noun. We talk about making disciples in the church. The shorthand version is to say that we “disciple” people. A disciple is a follower, someone who shows loyal allegiance to another. Bartimaeus cried out for mercy. Jesus was prepared to give him so much more. Bartimaeus was discipled. Listen to the last few words: “Jesus ...

2088. The Best Gifts

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Mary Austin

... a baby in a manger, angels announcing good news into the night sky and stunned but willing shepherds going to take a look. That’s the Christmas story, right? Not this puzzling text from Titus. This is a really unexpected reading for Christmas Eve. But Titus tells a different version of the Christmas story. He tells about what happened after Jesus was born, and lives and dies. We don’t know much about Titus. In a way, he’s a stand-in for you, or for me. He is a kind of blank slate. His faith is a stand ...

2089. For Us Or Against Us?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... the work of Jesus, and be prepared to accept a cup of cold water from them rather than rejecting them for not measuring up to our standards, especially when they threaten our own imagined place in the gospel kingdom. On the other hand Matthew’s version warns us those who demonize their opponents, who demean and dismiss others, are in danger of blaspheming against that Spirit that is present in all of us. The Bible, after all, is not a convenient tool to back up our own already established notions. It ...

2090. Not Guessing

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... thought the movie was going to be a failure. Even then he still had a hard time throughout the process of filming Star Wars from executives who argued with him about every dime, and who sat stone-faced when given the opportunity to watch the final version of the film before its release. Certain that it would fail, studio executives limited the number of theaters in which it would be played, and moved the release date up to the Wednesday before the Memorial Day weekend hoping to cut their losses before the ...

2091. The Family

Genesis 37:1-36

Sermon

Will Willimon

... friend Wade Huie said in a sermon here on Joseph, when old Jacob shopped for clothes for Joseph, he went right to Neiman-Marcus, the ''Designer Shop'' at Neiman-Marcus. Only the best for precious little Joseph. There, he picked out for Joseph (according to the King James Version) a ''coat of many colors." First-year Students, I hate to begin so early to disrupt what they may have told you in Sunday School, but it was not a ''coat of many colors." It was a long robe with sleeves (according to II Samuel 13:18 ...

2092. A Fruitful Life

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... origins of the phrase “spitting image” in his “On Language” column for the New York Times. Have you ever questioned why we say, “He’s just the spitting image of his father,” or something like that? Safire explained that the phrase is a garbled version of the original phrase, “spirit and image.” It doesn’t just refer to a physical resemblance. It was originally used to mean that someone reflects both the spirit and image of another. (7) In other words, what if others could say about you ...

2093. The Favorite

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that cannot possibly hold the weight of our expectations. And then, we fall. The problem though isn’t that we hope, but that we hope for what we want and not what God wants. What did Jesus say to Peter when he began insisting on his own version of Jesus’ mission and outcome? “Get behind me, satan! You are a stumbling block to my mission!” Peter was his most loyal follower, the “rock” of Jesus’ future church. But Peter had decided that his own vision was surely better than the vision Jesus was ...

2094. A Protestant (And Catholic) Way To Confess

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Lord is lord of all and generous to all (v.12). Paul then cites Joel 2:32 (applying its reference of Yahweh to Jesus); he states that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v.13). We have other examples of Paul’s version of confession in our other assigned Bible lessons. The first lesson includes a confession of faith of the Hebrews (in Deuteronomy 26:5-9). In the gospel, we hear Jesus confessing his faith (quoting scripture) in response to the devil’s temptations (in Luke 4:4,8 ...

2095. Why The Resurrection Makes Sense

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... by the resurrection! Get the point? You do not know the Jesus portrayed by the New Testament if he is someone who has not risen! The logic of Christian faith entails that if you accept the authority of the Bible, if that is where you know Jesus and accept its version of him, then it makes no sense to deny that Jesus is risen. Now this is not a blind faith. In fact, we can make the case for it like a lot of other scientific claims. Let me break this down for you. True enough, we have not observed Jesus ...

2096. Jesus Meets Our Needs

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... in your reach! Mary recruited help for the need (John 2:4-8). As wedding coordinator, Mary made the determination that help was needed. She turned first to her son and then to the servants attending the event. For many, verse four in the King James Version has always seemed harsh. “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” Other translations have attempted to catch the tone, as well as the actual wording. William Barclay helped me to grasp the intent of the phrase when he wrote that the meaning of what Jesus ...

2097. Fool's Gold

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... if we don’t believe it ourselves. But our true nature, our true righteousness, remains after the glitter or the dirty ore is removed. We all have been created and endowed with beauty and worthiness by God. We all have it within ourselves to become the best version of ourselves that God knows we can be. We all have in our very core the potential of exquisite beauty and the acknowledgement of true worthiness. But we need to acknowledge that part of us inside, even if we feel covered in the mistakes of our ...

2098. Selling the Cross

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... you study your Bible, or you pray before meals, or you don’t curse or drink or buy lottery tickets. Is that what it means to follow Jesus? Or does Jesus’ path require a level of commitment, courage and sacrifice that goes beyond just trying to be a better version of him? I hope this Bible story today will help us understand that Jesus’ path is not easy, but it is the pathway to life and joy and meaning, and that God made us for this very purpose. It’s important for us to see, first of all, that ...

2099. The Power Of The Resurrection

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... lives forever, for he has conquered death and hell. This is the message of our second lesson. It says that he has freed us by his blood (v.5). That’s what Martin Luther says, we’ve noticed. This is the antidote that Revelation and Luther’s version of it offer for our doubts, our apathy, our lack of enthusiasm and commitment to our faith. The formula is a very simple one here: You need encounters with the risen Lord; you need to experience the risen and victorious Christ in order to be assured of ...

2100. Feed My Sheep

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... wandered on the stage. It was, Larry, stammered out, “gone.” A sad story. Did I tell you really liked that guitar? Perhaps you know this story? I don’t quite mean that you know these details, but I am wondering if the same personalized version of this tale has ever happened to you? Someone you know has done something about which they feel guilty. Each question you ask is deflected, and each interrogative is met with dissimilation, deft dodges, and a wily dance around the room. Does this sound familiar ...

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