Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2126 to 2150 of 4490 results

2126. Are You a Pillar or a Pillow?

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a corny story about a little girl in a mountain family who laid her head over on her father’s ample midriff in a worship service and went to sleep. Her mother, seeing her daughter cushion her head in this fashion, whispered to her husband in the mountain vernacular, “There, Clyde, now you know what it means to be a pillar of the church.” Her husband was probably more of a pillow of the church rather than a pillar. But that is the question for the day: are you a pillow or a pillar? I would like to ...

2127. Pop Verses: Lamentations 3:22-23

Lamentations 3:22-23

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Today I continue our series “Pop Verses.” We are taking a closer look at some of the most popular Bible verses. We are finding out why they are so popular and how they apply to our lives. Quite often our favorite verses are just that – they’re verses. They’re not read in context. This can lead to a misunderstanding about the meaning of the verse. I believe this series is going to give us a lot of food for thought about these popular verses. Today we are going to focus on a couple of verses of scripture ...

2128. Job's Reply to Bildad

Job 9:1–10:22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

How Can a Mortal Be Righteous before God?: Job’s response to Bildad’s speech moves the discussion in a new direction. Up to this point in the book Job has largely been addressing the extremity of his suffering and raising the agonizing question as to how a righteous person can be allowed to suffer so horrendously. Now, however, in response to Bildad’s suggestion that the resolution of Job’s suffering lies in his willingness to “look to God and plead with the Almighty” (8:5), Job begins to consider the ...

2129. Who Is This Man?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Every once in a while the news media carries a story about a man who claims to be the Messiah. It happened in Knoxville, TN not too long ago. A local man claiming to be Jesus Christ was arrested after he assaulted his wife. The man was charged with assault under the domestic violence law. The warrant stated that he assaulted his wife, shoved her into a chair and threatened her if she left him. He also ripped out a telephone and smashed a car windshield. “He was yelling about being Jesus,” a deputy wrote in ...

2130. The God Who Comforts

Isaiah 40:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A story came across my desk recently about a man who worked for the Post Office. This man’s job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses. One day, a letter came to his desk addressed in shaky handwriting to God. He thought he should open it to see what it was about. He opened it and read these words: Dear God, I am a 93-year-old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension check. Next Sunday ...

2131. When a Storm Is Raging

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Benjamin Franklin was one of the cleverest men of his generation. It is said that in the spring of 1772 Franklin attended a party thrown by Lord Shelburne at one of Shelburne’s estates. The other guests watched as Franklin approached a turbulent stream with his gold-headed bamboo cane in hand. He boasted to the other guests that he could calm the water. Franklin walked upstream about 100 yards. Waving his cane over the stream three times in the best abracadabra fashion, he stepped back, his feat ...

2132. God with Skin On

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

As we gather here this holy night, we come from a variety of religious backgrounds. For some of you I’m sure the more familiar word during The Lord’s Prayer is “trespasses.” You will especially appreciate an internet story about the little boy who was sent to bed early on Christmas Eve. His boisterous excitement was getting in the way of all the hectic, last minute preparations his parents were trying to make, and they needed to get rid of him. A few minutes later his father overheard the child saying his ...

2133. Join in the Singing

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

The strangest thing happened on Christmas night last year. You may have heard about it on the news. In a small town in Pennsylvania, a man got into an armed standoff with police. Such events occur so often nowadays, we’re likely to forget the details of any particular episode. This episode, however, is different. This man was acting erratically and shooting at police officers. Members of the local SWAT team surrounded him and tried to talk him into surrendering, but he wouldn’t listen. This standoff lasted ...

2134. Scroll Bread and Honey

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How many of you have tried to diet? Come on, I know you all have! Which ones have you tried? Everyone today has a special diet. I know some of you probably have tried the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet. What others? Some of you eat gluten free! Some of you cut out other allergens, like peanuts, or shellfish. A while back the rage was “mono meals.” The mono meal diet meant you ate only one thing, a fruit like bananas or a vegetable like potatoes. (This kind of eating regimen didn’t work so well for ...

2135. Stay Awake!

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

A young professional woman from Ohio decided to seek her fortune, discern her vocation, and potentially change her life for the better by moving to England. She relocated to London where she began to pursue an advanced degree, seeking new opportunities in the work world. One of the things she took with her from the Midwest was an insatiable love for the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team. She followed the games on the internet, listening to the live feed. The problem with this arrangement was that, ...

2136. Freedom

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

"One thing which I like about living in New York," he said, “as opposed to where you live, is the freedom. Here there is freedom to live the lifestyle I choose -- to eat where I want and to dress as I like. Freedom." Then he closed his door behind us. He locked the latch, turned the deadbolt, inserted the chain, and switched on the electronic alarm, telling me, "Don't dare open that door without switching off the alarm or all hell will break loose and the cops may shoot you dead." If there is one virtue on ...

2137. How Does Your Garden Grow?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

Our scripture reading from the gospel of John tells of Jesus teaching his disciples about remaining connected to him in order to grow strong in their Christian lives. He used an illustration that people of his day would have understood easily. Grapevines were readily handy and they were most likely grown by most homes as a source of food and drink. The disciples, who were once boys, would have tended to the family’s vines and would know experientially the right ways to trim, groom, prune, and train a vine ...

2138. For the Glory of Christ

John 12:20-33 · Hebrews 5:5-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Maybe you've had a similar experience. There was a mother who asked her two and 1/2 year old daughter: "Would you like an ice cream sundae?" The daughter got real upset and replied, "No...I want ice cream now." (1) Then some time back, in the comic strip The Ryatts, the little boy, Winky is sitting on the couch, Mom comes in and says, "Winky, your socks don't match." Winky looks at his socks and then says, "I tried to find some...but none of the socks in the drawer belong to the same family." (2) Sometimes ...

2139. True Worship

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

"For this reason..." begins today's text from Ephesians. For what reason? What is the reason why Paul bows his "knees before the father?" What is the reason for him to fall stupefied, dumbfounded to his knees (in the words of the hymn) "lost in wonder, love, and praise?" What reason has moved Paul to worship? What reason thrusts you to your knees in praise and adoration? Here in the chapel, with the great organ sounding forth, great choir and congregation, that will move many to worship. What reason ...

2140. I Need

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

My lovely bride and I used to laugh about our youngest daughter’s use of the phrase, “I need…” It seems as though she never simply wanted things — she “needed” things. At one point in her life, these two words became her mantra. “I need this dress. I need a car. I need to go out tonight. I need…” I don’t mean to pick on her, because I’m sure most other parents go through a similar stage with each of their teenagers. They all need something. Interestingly enough, their actual needs are already being met (in ...

2141. A Law Against Dying?

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

In a civilized society, there are laws that cover almost every facet of human life. And sometimes those laws can be overreaching or burdensome. It’s the price we pay for living as part of a community instead of as a bunch of unorganized loners. But at least most of our laws make sense. Maybe we’d complain less about the laws of our state or town if we lived in a town where there are laws that don’t make any sense. For example, how about a law against dying? That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it, to create a ...

2142. Close! But No Cigar!

John 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever gotten an unexpected visitor? Maybe you’ve just settled into your easy chair for the evening. Your only plan is to turn off your mind and relax a while. And then the doorbell rings. There go your plans. Who knows what needs are on the other side of that door? All you know is your plans for the evening just got put on hold. You may remember a story that made international news back in 1982. Very early in the morning of July 9, 1982, a young man named Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace ...

2143. A Life-changing Question

John 9:1-41

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever noticed how many questions you ask each day? We are constantly learning from our environment, and asking questions is a big part of that. It’s the best way to learn. Usually. But you have to ask the right questions too. Not every question leads to greater knowledge. Some questions lead to greater frustration. A few years ago, when the internet was fairly new, a woman named Nancy wanted to teach her elderly mother how to use it. So she introduced her to the website “Ask Jeeves.” Before Google ...

2144. People of the Rolled Stone

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A three-year-old little girl was just as anxious for Easter to come as she had been for Christmas to come. Mom and Dad took her shopping. They picked out a new dress and a new white bonnet and then stopped to buy her a new pair of shoes to go with her outfit. When they got home and laid out all the new things, the little girl said, "I can't wait for Easter, Daddy!" Dad asked her, "Well, do you know what Easter means, honey?" The little girl replied, "Yes." "Well, what does Easter mean?" In her own sweet ...

2145. More Fully Understanding Christ

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

I don’t know if you have noticed all the news stories this year about new technologies designed to help us all communicate better. Many of these stories proclaim that artificial intelligence, or AI as it is popularly known, will revolutionize the way we communicate, whether through writing emails or articles or using social media or simply texting or talking on the phone. And all of that is well and good, but what happens if your technology doesn’t understand you? Back in 2003, when much of today’s ...

2146. When Payday Comes

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Steven Molin

Dear friends in Christ, grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and his Son, our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. He walked into my office with all the confidence of corporate CEO, this fifteen-year old confirmation student. Without much fanfare, he announced, “I don’t think Mike Stevens should be confirmed.” I didn’t know Randy well; I had only been the pastor of that church for about four months, but it was clear that he and Mike had a little competition going between them. Randy grew up in that ...

2147. Heroines of the Faith

Mark 1:29.39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I am certain that you Bible scholars have experienced the same phenomenon as I have, namely, that you can read the same passage over and over and over again and find something that strikes you anew each time. Scripture does not change, of course, but we change. It is that old saying about not being able to step into the same river twice. That is my experience with this pericope. In years past, I would have noted the Lord’s healing ministry, the way the word spread through the people about this wonder- ...

2148. Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am sending you out among wolves.” Matthew 10:16 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15 We all know and fear wolves. But some can be clever. How do you recognize a “wolf” when you see one? I think we can all probably answer that question. We need to pay attention to their behavior and not their facade. We don’t need a manual on wolf behavior to recognize when wolves are in our presence. Wolves have a certain identifiable ...

2149. Good News / Bad News

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. Luke 12:51 Sports writers still talk about the joy they used to take in interviewing the great New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Yogi was something of a rough-hewn philosopher given to malaprops and seemingly contradictory statements that managed to, somehow, still make a weird kind of sense. It was Yogi who said: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” When giving his opinion of a New York ...

2150. Suffering And Service

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."1 Ironically, it is in our overcoming of the suffering of life that we learn to be true servants. Without the difficult experiences of life, we remain shallow and lacking in sensitivity to others. The scriptures teach us to become servants. This is the example Christ gave us. Our call is to serve God by serving others. Yet the concept of servanthood is lost on most of us. Our culture conditions us to ...

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