Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2126 to 2150 of 5000 results

2126. What Is Your Response toe the Resurrection?

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... , "and they said nothing to anyone--for they were afraid?" We know from personal experience that fear is not always a negative response, but to end a Gospel in this way almost seems out of place. However, it is not God''s response to the Resurrection that Mark is being honest about; it is the human response. The Resurrection was God''s response to human folly, but the human response to God was that of fear. As we read of the initial response of the women and the disciples to that first Easter Sunday, we ...

2127. Good Friday: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... 1:21, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." The Gospel of Saint Mark declares, "For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." The ... would have cried out in praise if the people had not. In a lonely cemetery in New York City, there is told of a grave marked by a headstone which contains just one word: FORGIVEN. The source for that word begins with our Savior''s cry from the Cross today. It ...

2128. When "Well Done" Is Rare

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... never really lived, they claim he never died. You cannot reach your full potential with your efforts crippled by caution. Mark Twain once said, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." The one talent servant ... in our lesson tonight sure could have used that common sense advice from Mark Twain. The one talent servant did not invest himself or his resources, and thus, he inherited what he had invested, which was nothing ...

2129. Singing in the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... waves and wind struck the little boat without mercy, and that little part of the world became tossed and turned by every force of nature, much like the people along the Mexican coastline and those along the Mississippi river in our own nation. This gospel lesson from Mark is saying to us in the 20th century that life is like a boat ride-- and we are the passengers! Life is like a peaceful lake that becomes, without warning, turbulent, and there is neither mercy from it nor control over it. At times it seems ...

2130. Staying Focused--Traveling Light

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ; the runners of this race are you and me. I can almost hear the Apostle Paul shout out like a track coach, "Runners, take your mark." As in his letter in I Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul instructs us to "run the good race." So if there is a good race, ... race. I want to share with you five quick exhortations for your consideration today. As the track official would say, "Runners, take your mark." First, there is the rich soil of the past. The letter pulsates with the conviction that we are surrounded by God''s ...

2131. The Wideness in God's Mercy

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... me. A leper begged to be healed. Jesus was moved with pity. He sternly warned him. He sent the leper to fulfill Moses' commands. I realize it is a very short passage. But I found myself feeling puzzled about the widely varying feelings and reactions Mark described. I found myself asking if this was a story about God's compassionate concern or a message about so-called "tough love." A favorite hymn for many has been "There's A Wideness In God's Mercy." One of my seminary professors insisted vehemently that ...

2132. Your Sins Are Forgiven

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

This morning Mark tells us about the healing of a paralyzed man. This episode goes to the heart of Jesus' approach to the needs of people. Throughout the Gospels we see his concern for the physical dimensions of life and for human suffering. "He had compassion on ... you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And the man stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' " (Mark 2:9-12)

2133. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... recover the beauty of that simple, and yet profound, act. I can tell you this: Parents and children being routed from their homes anywhere in the world are not taking this rhythm of going forth, securing, and then preparing food lightly at all. Empathy also marked the shepherd's bearing toward the sheep. If there were little lambs who could not keep pace with the flock, the shepherd would carry them by hand. That empathy was also reflected in the fact that every sheep in the flock had a name; a shepherd ...

2134. No Angels, No Shepherds, No Star

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... in burlap sacks. They carried an array of objects that were supposed to be crooks. “It was at this point that the problem occurred. During the dress rehearsal the teacher had used chalk to draw circles on the floor to mark where the angels were supposed to stand and crosses to mark the spots of the shepherds. But the children had practiced with their regular clothes on. So, on the night of the pageant, the angels came walking out with their beautiful gauze wings and stood on their circles. However, their ...

2135. God Help the Fish

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... anchor us over night. Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. At least there was one man whose baptism did not harm the environment--whose sins were no threat to the fish. One man who did not even need the baptism of repentance. One man whose baptism marked the beginning of a ministry that changed the world for all time. Last week we acknowledged that what is unique about us is that we have been presented to God as perfect, valuable, worthy--not because of anything we’ve done, but because of what Christ ...

2136. Only Sex? (New)

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... . We have very little hair compared to most animals, so our bodies are unprotected from cold weather. We are not particularly well-adapted for swimming, or climbing trees, or fighting. We have no natural weapons, like claws or sharp teeth. According to Dr. Mark Cosgrove, humans are the only creatures who cannot drink and breathe at the same time. This would seem to be a poor way to adapt to our environment. But our airways and throats are constructed for a very special function: speech. No other creature ...

2137. Party Time!

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s Son, Jesus Christ. When we know God, then we know that sincere worship and devotion flow from a sense of joy, not obligation. As Jesus explained to his followers in John 10, “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” In fact, in Mark 2, Jesus is declaring himself to be the “life of the party.” He is saying to those who are fasting and mourning and trying so hard to please God, “You are in the presence of God. Enjoy it. Get in on the party. Celebrate with me while you ...

2138. Making Compassion a Verb

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... and needy people were already standing around, waiting to present their needs. Any person seeking a rest would have been justified if he expressed exasperation under such circumstances. Mark tells us, however, that Jesus had compassion for the crowd, because they seemed to him to be like sheep without a shepherd. What does it mean to have compassion? Mark spends the remainder of the chapter showing us. Jesus proceeds to teach the people, then to feed them, then to comfort his disciples and allay their fears ...

2139. Have You Gone Far Enough?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... :8-11). He asked his followers to believe in him (John 14:1), he said that to see him was to see God (John 14:9), he said all earth would pass away, but never his words (Mark 13:31), he accepted worship from people as if he were God (Matthew 8:2; Matthew 14:33; John 20:27-29), he claimed to forgive sins (Mark 2:7; Matthew 9:5-6), he claimed to be the only way to God (John 14:6), he claimed he would rise from the dead (Luke 18:31-33), and he claimed he would come ...

2140. Hanging the Law on Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

Compared to some of the pericopes from Mark's Gospel, this one seems a piece of cake. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you ... his anguished cry from the cross, too: "My God, why have you forsaken me?" And yet with his dying breath he gave a great shout and (if we are to believe Luke as well as Mark) commended his Spirit to his Father. Do we doubt that Jesus' love for God was absolute? Loving God in faithful obedience, and loving neighbor by praying for and working God's will for them is ...

2141. When Nothing Is Everything

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... Give until it hurts; no, give past the point of pain. Give everything. Nothing held back. Period. The widow did what the earnest rich man couldn't conceive of. You remember what Jesus told him: "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor ..." (Mark 10:21). And he went away grieving, because he had many possessions and couldn't part with them, even for the sake of Jesus and the life he offered. C. S. Lewis wrote that Christian charity is neither Christian nor charity unless our giving "cramps our ...

2142. Ah, the Sweet Mystery of Life

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... 13:5) saying: "Lord, I have thought and I cannot find the reason and the way. I cannot grasp thy purpose, but with my whole heart I trust thee. May thy will be done." An unknown poet expressed it eloquently: Whose eye foresaw this way? -- not mine! Whose hand marked out this day? -- not mine! A clearer eye than mine -- 'twas thine. A wiser hand than mine -- 'twas thine. Then let my hand be still -- in thine! And let me find my will -- in thine!1 And finally we note the Mystery Shared. In his "The Inn Album ...

2143. Don't Fence Me In!

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... You were bought with a price." Jesus Christ, by his self-giving for us and by bearing the cost of our redemption from sin at Calvary's cross, has won the right to possess us for himself and his kingdom forever. The cross has put a mark upon every one of us. That mark declares: "You belong to God." You may not admit it. You may resist the thought. But you cannot alter the fact: you belong to God! You perhaps remember the story of the twice-owned boat? A lad fashioned a crude sailboat out of scraps of lumber ...

2144. Learning from the Spider

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... serve as we place our hope and trust, not in our own efforts and creativity, but in the secret, powerful, mysterious, sometimes agonizingly slow activity of almighty God. The disciples were often irritated and confused about Jesus. He would be off praying when people needed him (Mark 1), or he would be asleep in the boat when the waves and wind were raging (Matthew 8). That's because Jesus knew all about spiders. He stayed "at home," at the center, in the heart of God, and from that center found the peace ...

2145. Spelling Doesn't Count

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (3:17 RSV). So eternal life is more than just life after death or immortality. This verse would indicate that we're talking about a quality of life that can begin now -- a life that is marked primarily by knowing and relating to God. And further, and this is what I want us to note today, this knowing of God is to be found in Jesus (v. 11). So what does that mean? I believe it has a very practical and vital meaning for you and me ...

2146. Follow the Signs to God and Eternal Life

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... recognize and acknowledge, but for one reason or another we choose another route. Some signs we recognize and reject outwardly; some we don't even recognize. There are, however, many signs which we do recognize, follow, and in the process produce thirty, sixty, a hundred fold (Mark 4:20) for ourselves and others. The Christian path is not easy, but it will be worth the effort. Jesus himself has provided the path and the signs to follow it: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is ...

2147. The Right Word For Memorial

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , and worse things happened, they were convinced that it is love that is the strongest power in this world, and death is not the victor. As Paul wrote, "Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God which we saw in Christ Jesus" (Mark Trotter, "In the Beginning"). I could tell you in detail, story after story, of people in this congregation who are living that kind of faith. A mother rearing two children alone, but in her loneliness and frustration is sustained by a presence and power not her ...

2148. A Forgiving Presence

John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the side of the boat over here in this spot so when we return tomorrow we’ll be able to find the fish again.” “That’s stupid,” responded his friend. “How do you know we’ll get the same boat?” Well mark the spot. You can find it later. Luke 5:1-11. Jesus had sought some time alone early one morning. The day before he had been constantly involved, teaching and healing. Even late into the night, all who had friends suffering from one disease or another brought them to Jesus ...

2149. Breaking The Negative Cycle

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... family. This is healthy. If he’s saying no to those things in order to say yes to the demands of maturity. Yes to the adult responsibilities he must begin to assume. There is a place for the negative. And sometimes we need to deny in order to affirm. Jesus marked the way, if any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever will lose his life for my sake in the gospel, will find it. One aspect of denying in ...

2150. Confession And Supplication

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... quickening powers. Come shed abroad a Savior’s love and that will quicken ours. Amen. People are funny. They are also profound. A mark of genius on the part of us persons may be in how we take that which is serious and treat it humorously. ... a clinic in Chicago are so overworked that they can’t take time between abortions to fill out the forms for payment, so they make hash marks on the bloodstained smocks, callously totaling them up at the end of the day. Do you recoil in horror at that as I do? Are you ...

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