Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2101 to 2125 of 4997 results

John 8:42-47

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!” In other words, the old excuse “The devil made me do it” is a cop-out! Belief in the devil thrives when people feel overwhelmed by the complexity of life; and that certainly describes our kind of world. But the New Testament message is that the demonic forces which so often hold our world in slavery have already been defeated in principle through Jesus Christ. When we forget that fact, it then becomes easy for us to succumb to the devil’s lies ...

2102. It’s Hard to Eat While Lying

John 13:18-30

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to His people! Here at last is Jesus’ chance to rally the troops around Himself and gain recruits to throw out the Roman oppressors.” But what vehicle did Jesus use to ride into the Holy City in triumph? A war horse? No, he chose a lowly donkey. What kind of Messiah is this? A Messiah on a donkey? So perhaps Judas tried one last time to force Jesus to show His hand. He would maneuver Him into a position where His very life and the life of His movement would be threatened. Perhaps then Jesus would forget ...

2103. The Huddle Is Not the Game

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... that the Holy Spirit is sent to empower the Church. We are all sent into the world to be bearers of the “good news.” But what is the best way to do it? I must confess that a lot of people are put off by some of the traditional kinds of “Christian witnessing”; the people who buttonhole us on street corners or in shopping malls asking, “Are you saved, brother? (or sister?)” I remember the story of a woman who was waiting at a bus stop in a large city, when she saw the familiar face of a famous ...

2104. Slippery Rock

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... folks who never fall short nor make mistakes, but people who have courage to admit their mistakes, to confess their sins, to pick themselves up and start all over again. In other words, people just like Peter, and you, and me. They are precisely the kind of people upon whom Christ builds His Church. Not perfect people, but people who, in the old Methodist phrase, are “going on to perfection.” There is an ancient legend about Peter, which became the basis for a famous book and motion picture. It may or ...

2105. Philip the First

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... when he saw the bumper sticker, “Honk if you love Jesus,” only to be greeted by an obscene gesture from the driver of the other car. I suppose “Have a nice day” is harmless enough, but I recently came across one which said: “Don’t tell me what kind of a day to have!” A few years ago there was a campaign which plastered bumper stickers on cars with the caption, “Have you found it?” I assume that they were referring to salvation—or to God. But God is not an “it.” God is personal. The ...

2106. On Talking to Oneself

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... or small interruptions, interrupting many of our plans, projects and life schemes? Don’t we feel an inner protest when a student interrupts our reading, bad weather our summer, illness our well-scheduled plans, the death of a dear friend our peaceful state of kind, a cruel war our ideas about the goodness of man, and the many harsh realities of life our good dreams about us?” (Ibid., p. 36) Nouwen asks us to consider the possibility that our interruptions may well be our opportunities. Jesus did more ...

2107. The Lord Has Need

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Christmas shopping as it is. I’ve got troubles of my own.” God needs our money: “Sorry, but I have given all I can. There are so many demands these days, don’t you know?” “Don’t call me; I’ll call you.” And so it goes. What kind of priority does God get with us? With great insight, Martin Luther said in a Christmas sermon: “There are many of you in this congregation who think to yourselves, ‘If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby. I would have washed ...

2108. Sine Qua Non

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... part of Jesus’ great commandment which many of us miss. But the truth of the matter is, if we don’t love ourselves, then our neighbors are in big trouble. And a lot of us don’t. At least we don’t love ourselves properly. There are right and wrong kinds of self-love. Most of us have had it up to here with the self-centered person who always seems to suffer from “I” trouble. The whole universe revolves around that person and his needs. That is not what Jesus is talking about. He is talking about a ...

2109. Opposite the Treasury

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... moment of prayer. As I was about to leave, she stopped me. “Pastor,” she said, “I haven’t been able to get to church much lately. This has been a hard winter for me. But I have kept up my offering envelopes, and I wonder if you would be so kind to take them back to the church and place them in the offering plate this coming Sunday for me? My husband and I always tithed during his lifetime, and I have tried to keep up the practice since he has been gone.” I confess I was a bit embarrassed. This ...

2110. Where Is My Guest Room?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... there is a scene in a courtroom after Dmitri has been sentenced to imprisonment in Siberia. He is so exhausted that he falls asleep on a bench. When he awakens, he finds that someone has placed a pillow under his head. He doesn’t know who has done the kind deed, but he is overjoyed. It is a sign of the goodness of life. He will go to prison, he says, and keep God’s name alive there, because he knows that God is alive in the world. The nameless, anonymous, selfless act of someone who did him that ...

2111. Sleeping through a Revolution

Mark 14:32-42

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... we have to sneak up on God in the dark. One of the things I like best about attending a Jewish synagogue service is that it is held at a civilized hour - in the evening! That’s when I finally wake up! Somebody once said that there are two kinds of people: Those who wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed and say: “Good morning, Lord,” and those people like me who wake up saying, “Good Lord, morning.” I. OUR SCRIPTURE TELLS US OF A FATEFUL NIGHT WHEN THE DISCIPLES WERE TOO SLEEPY TO PRAY WITH JESUS ...

2112. What the Maid Said to the Fisherman

Mark 14:66-72, Mark 14:53-65

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... arms race? I shudder to think. ) We promise great things, (“Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold!”)... but we do not deliver on our promises. We follow from afar, and are afraid to come closer, lest people might think we are some kind of religious fanatics. We talk piously in church, but curse and swear with the best of them outside in the courtyard. By our words and actions people haven’t a clue that we have been with Jesus of Nazareth. What was Peter doing there in the courtyard ...

2113. GIVE ME YOUR SINS: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of redeemer is this that has a heart made of stone? The statue was held together by concrete and mortar but with no love or passion. Then Max Lucado makes a revealing statement about his discovery: "This is exactly the kind of redeemer most people want and have." (1) Stone statues may be fine for art work and artistic expression, but they do very poorly when it comes to representing Christ and his church to people who are hurting and suffering and are caught in a vicious cycle of despair and ...

2114. A Faith that Works with a Victorious Attitude

Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... since receiving your letter. You mentioned how difficult it is to be locked behind bars, and my heart goes out to you. But when you say, `You can''t imagine what it is like to be in prison,'' I feel compelled to say that you are mistaken. There are all kinds of prisons, Waymon. When at age 31, I awoke one day completely paralyzed, I was overwhelmed by a sense of being imprisoned in a body that would no longer allow me to run through a meadow, or dance, or carry my child in my arms. For a long time, I ...

2115. Tackling the Tough Tasks

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to write as quickly as they could all the images and word associations they could think of when they heard the word "waitress." The class came up with a list of words like: "Always looking for a tip--runs in their stockings" "Forgetful--Tough/Rough--Airhead." All kinds of less-than-flattering words. Then he said, "My mother was a waitress and she worked to help me get through college. She was the most godly woman I have ever known." You might remember that the next time you encounter a waitress. We know our ...

2116. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part II)

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... me that, my estimation of her and the way I valued her as a person went sky high because I''d found a woman who cared more about what God thought than what the world thought. I knew that''s the kind of woman I wanted to marry. And that''s the kind of man I want to be." That''s the kind of man and woman God wants every single one of you to be: men and women of conviction. (2) It seemed that Andy''s wife-to-be had a well defined goal in life. It was Christ. She was convinced ...

2117. Good Friday: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... he discovered two important details. First, Christ had no eyes. He thought, "What kind of Christ was this that refused to see the masses of people below it?" Then it struck him. The statue also had a stone heart. What kind of redeemer is this that has a heart made of stone?" The ... was held together by concrete and mortar but with no love or passion. Then Max Lucado said, "This is exactly the kind of redeemer most people want and have." (1) I agree with Max Lucado that stone statues are fine for art work and ...

2118. Mother's Day

Proverbs 1:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... --as like a mother hen--comforting her chicks beneath her wings, address a deep need within us and reassure us of a love of God that overcomes every separation to connect us with one another and the source of life. The third story for today is an example of the kind of mother not to be--this story is a true one --I did not make it up. Actually, it is the story of a Christian mother--a church organist--who hired a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter''s chief competition for a cheerleading squad. It ...

2119. A Vision and a Voice

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... injustice and oppression. We are to care for the hungry and homeless. We are to work to make peace a reality. It takes a special power to face those kinds of issues. But the voice throws us back to the vision -- for the power in the vision is the power of God's very own Spirit. We are not ... us to do. "You are my son. You are my daughter. With you I am pleased." Baptism is not some kind of "magic spell" or "death insurance" policy that we take out on little children. Baptism is about life, because baptism is ...

2120. We Are Christ's - That Is Enough

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... boldly, knowing that every single day of our pilgrimage through life is worth the effort, in spite of all its dangers. That's the good news for us this morning! It is not to argue whether or not there are really demons in this world. It is to proclaim the kind of trust which believes that God's love for us is so great that life's demons and dangers never have the last word. Rather than talking about what we expect from God, Jesus is telling us about what God wants from us, and that is a relationship with ...

2121. Heaven's Applause

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... there also."3 True piety acknowledges its indebtedness. And finally, let it be said that such piety does have its just reward. Jesus says that those with a misshapen piety will "have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). The truly pious do. What kind of reward do you suppose that is? Clearly it is not a reward after the fashion of a carrot enticingly dangled in the hope that we will do what we should be doing anyway. Rather, it is that sense of satisfaction and quiet delight that follows in ...

2122. Up and Running

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... "descending like a dove on him." Jesus' baptism even has an auditory dimension. "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:9-11). If you juxtapose his baptism to yours, yours probably pales in comparison. It's unlikely that it packed the kind of drama his does. But don't be so quick to underplay your experience, nor assume that nothing like this has ever happened to you. What is initially happening here has to do with a sense of being called. When you were growing up, you played all ...

2123. Together, But Not Enmeshed

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... replenished and productive. Now, one more observation. When Jesus talks about "those who abide in me and I in them," he is talking about togetherness, but a togetherness that serves a common good -- and that's the reign of God. There are two kinds of togetherness, a good one and a bad one. Family systems theorists term bad togetherness fusion or enmeshment. A family that is enmeshed looks like a can of worms, or like a string of Christmas lights that has become hopelessly entangled. There is constant ...

2124. It's Happening!

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... of love, that the saints knelt down to wash the feet of the poor, or stooped to kiss the leper on the cheek. I have never said one single word to him about what he did ... I store it in the treasure-house of my heart ... That small bit of kindness brought me out of the bitterness of lonely exile into harmony with the wounded, broken, and great heart of the world." We plant the littlest of seeds and it helps the Kingdom to grow. The second thing these words of Jesus do is to remind us that while we are ...

2125. In the Hot Seat

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... Regis Philbin as host, but our Lord Jesus calling us by name to be his disciples. Of course, this gospel isn't a game show; and the Final Answer (worth our life, not a mere million bucks) has already been provided by our gracious Host. But there are all kinds of questions he might ask us. They could be summed up by just one: "Do you get it?" And whatever our response to that question, I seriously doubt most of us would fare much better than did James or John. Picture the scene. The disciples had seen Jesus ...

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