Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2201 to 2225 of 5000 results

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... in ink, but that's just my cover. The real reason the pen is poised is to circle mistakes in ink, indelibly. The more expensive the book, the more prestigious the author, the greater joy in finding mistakes. My therapist, who happens to be my wife, tells me, "Mark, you do this for revenge because you have so many mistakes in your own life." In a church I served as a young man, there was a person who would greet me after the service whenever there was a typographical error or misspelled word in the church ...

2202. He's Back

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , love. "Jesus loves me, this I know." Jesus asks something of me, this I forget. That's the problem. Christianity is about unconditional love, which means I am accepted as I am. But that doesn't mean that I should stay the way I am. According to Mark, the baby who is in the manger, grew up, and preached the same message that John preached, repent. It is right there in the first chapter. Our text for this morning is the first eight verses of the chapter, the introduction part. The ninth verse begins the ...

2203. Stay in the City

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The Church's holy days were established to teach the faith. A special day, especially if it is marked with decoration and celebration, a festival, is a wonderful way to learn. Christmas and Easter, of course, are the best examples. Those two holy days teach the major doctrines of our faith: the Incarnation, and the Crucifixion-Resurrection. But there are others, such as Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, which come ...

2204. Stirring Things Up

Mark 13:1-8, Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... Temple. When he finally arrived in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, you know what he does? He goes immediately to the Temple and there overturns the tables of those who are selling animals for the sacrifice. In the Gospel lesson for this morning, from the Gospel of Mark, the text reads: "As they came out of the Temple, his disciples said to him, `Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings.'" Jesus says, "Not one stone will be left here upon another, all will be thrown down." You know the charge that ...

2205. This Is Not Rocket Science

Acts 2:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of our faith. But there are many others who are a part of this heritage as well. There are prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, philosophers and theologians. I like to think of those people as a part of our heritage as benchmarks. A benchmark is that mark that surveyors make to indicate the starting point in mapping out a territory. They cut a benchmark into a rock, or some other durable material, so that people coming by years later will be able to find that benchmark as the starting place to begin ...

2206. This Nation, Under God

2 Samuel 7:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... our nation's beginning to the story of David. You will be impressed with the parallels. On this holiday we celebrate the birth of the nation, the thirteen colonies coming together to form a "more perfect union." And our text for this morning marks that time when David brought together the twelve tribes of Israel to form one nation, with the capital at Jerusalem. So David was to Israel what George Washington was to America. Both of them, incidentally, were legendary military heroes. And both of them, after ...

2207. What Kind of Name Is That?

Luke 1:26-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the name Loring because it was a French word that means learner, or teacher, or pilgrim. Thus this new man, he said, is learning about life all over again, learning lessons that he was deaf to before. So he named himself Seth Loring, to mark the beginning of a new life. Names can also be a kind of ordination, conferring of destiny upon somebody. I heard a wonderful story about Joseph Haroutunian, who was a Presbyterian theologian at McCormick Seminary in Chicago for many years. He was an Armenian immigrant ...

2208. When to Be Extravagant

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... could embezzle it." Which I say is uncalled for, unfair, and probably untrue. It is very awkward being in a position of defending Judas, but I simply point to the evidence. All four gospels include this story. In the other gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, everybody is astonished at what this woman does to Jesus, the "Anointing of Jesus," it is called. Everybody is astonished. Only John names Judas specifically, and discredits him with these scurrilous remarks about his honesty. John says Judas was a thief ...

2209. Where Can I Find the Church?

Acts 2:1-8; 4:32-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of that event this morning. Luke wrote the book of The Acts of the Apostles, so this is Luke's version of the founding of the Church. The other three gospels have their own versions. They differ from Luke mainly in describing when it happened. Matthew, Mark and John say that it happened on the night of the Resurrection, or shortly there afterward. Luke says it happened fifty days after the Resurrection, at the time of the feast called "Pentecost." That is where it got its name, because it occurred on the ...

2210. Where's Your Spirit?

Acts 19:1-7

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... 't even heard of the Holy Spirit." The fact that Paul links the gift of the Spirit to baptism means that baptism should include something about the Spirit. Here is the reason. We heard it in the gospel lesson read to us this morning from the Gospel of Mark, the story of the baptism of Jesus. Jesus comes to the River Jordan where John is baptizing for the repentance of sins. Jesus goes into the water and is baptized. As he is coming out of the water, onto the shore, the heavens open and the Spirit descends ...

2211. While You Are Waiting

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... in Denver disappeared. The buildings were there, but the people were gone. They discovered them living in Jerusalem. They have all moved to Jerusalem to await the coming of the great battle that they believe is going to happen on January 1, 2000, which will mark, they believe, the return of Jesus to the earth. That's all Jerusalem needs is some more apocalyptists who believe that they are going to do the world a favor by igniting a war over Jerusalem. It happened before. It happened just before the Gospel ...

2212. Baptism of our Lord

Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... given a task (vv. 6-7), Jesus' ministry began at his baptism. Epistle: Acts 10:34-43 Peter, in a sermon to Cornelius, tells the story of the gospel. The passage is a part of Peter's sermon to Cornelius and his family in Caesarea. It marks the giving of the gospel to the Gentiles. In this sermon Peter reminded his listeners how Jesus, after his baptism when he received the Spirit, went about preaching and healing. Peter says he was one of the witnesses to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Faith in Jesus ...

2213. Transfiguration

Exodus 24:1-18, Matthew 17:1-13, 2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... related to the Law, not the gospel of the Son. The Prayer of the Day asks that we may see the glory of the King in his beauty. Psalm 2 refers to God's voice: "This is my beloved son." Epiphany and the Transfiguration The Transfiguration marks the apex of the Epiphany triangle. Through the season we have witnessed the glory of God manifested in Jesus, but today God's full glory is reflected in Jesus. Jesus' glory is shown by the brightness of his physical appearance, the appearance of Moses and Elijah and ...

2214. Proper 12

1 Kings 3:1-15, Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... :15-28 Need: People are marrying and remarrying for love. Is it true love? At the time the couple may think so. If it is true love why, in a few years or longer, do they separate and divorce? In the story of Jacob and Rachel, we learn the true marks of love. Outline: How to tell true love - a. Attractiveness - v. 16 - "graceful and beautiful." b. Timelessness - v. 20 - "a few days because of the love he had for her." c. Sacrifice - v. 27 - "another seven years." Lesson 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 (RC); 1 Kings 3:5 ...

2215. Proper 25

Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... both are needed. Since he answered their question, he asks them a question about Christ as the son of David. Since they cannot answer, it marks the end of any further questions from Jesus' opposition. Psalm of the Day Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 (C) - "Let the favor of ... rapidly because the life span is increasing. It is no longer rare to hear of one who has reached or surpassed the century mark. We are surpassing the Bible's "threescore years and ten." While the years may accumulate, we need not grow old. We can die ...

2216. Visions and Voices

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... the newsroom, in the dining room, in the sanctuary, in the boardroom, in the bedroom, in the classroom - a voice that echoes if we have ears to hear and the heart to respond. A few months ago I read the best-selling novel Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. I loved it for its vivid prose. And I hated it for its disappointing ending. It is the story of Sister John, a cloistered nun, who is slowly drawn into the intimate presence of God through stunning, dazzling, disintegrating visions. An ordinary woman becomes a ...

2217. His Last Command ... Our First Concern!

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... led to the water to be baptized. In one of the great cathedrals of Europe there is a baptistry that tells the story. The water flows through it reminding us that Jesus says he is the living water. To be baptized, a person walks down three steps, each one marked by a word: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Descending the steps the convert is plunged beneath the water to die to sin and then raised from the depths to newness of life in Christ. To leave the baptistry now he must climb three steps, each one ...

2218. How to Love God

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... but not knowing how. We are so deeply grateful for all he has done for us, but we don't know how to respond. Good news! In Mark 12:28-34 and Matthew 22:34-46, Jesus teaches us how to please God. He tells us how we can best serve him. He says, " ... The little fellow turned to leave, saying, "Well, I knowed you must be some kin to him." It is true that love for people is a mark of our relationship with God. The Bible makes it clear that our love for the Creator is measured also in our love for his creation, which ...

2219. The 4 LAWS of a Whole Personality

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... December 12 and go through Christmas Eve day. The twelve days of Christmas start on Jesus' birthday, December 25, and continue through to January 6, Epiphany, when the church calendar marks the arrival of the three traveling kings or wise men at the baby Jesus' bedside. December 12 is NOT the start of Christmas. It is, rather, the halfway mark for the season of Advent. We're still anticipating Christmas, still waiting for the celebration to begin. But most people don't wait well. We want what we want, when ...

2220. Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... who had never heard an explanation of basic Christianity. The man listened with wonder and surprise. Finally, he burst out, 'You folks have got it; if only you knew you had it and if only you knew how to say it" (Haddon Robinson, "Foreword," in Mark Galli and Craig Brian Larson, Preaching that Connects (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 9.). Part of our glorious inheritance is a great cloud of witnesses, ancestors who knew we had it and knew how to say it, even though often they were persecuted for saying it ...

2221. What Is Your Accent?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... - that have many speakers, including children. A few other Oklahoma languages may be spoken - like Choctaw and Comanche - but few children use them. The Yuchi language can still be heard in a few places, but is nigh unto extinct. (For more see Mark Abley, Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages [Heinemann, 2003]). The long series of scenes that make up the Cornelius/Peter story in Acts is about learning to listen to and appreciate other accents, to those who speak, and act, and believe differently ...

2222. Unchained Melody

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... when no one's around? I asked Lori how this could be possible. She thought about it for a minute, and then said, 'It's pretty clear to me. Women talk twice as much as men because we have to repeat everything we say.' I said, 'What's that?'" (Mark Feldmier, Testimony to the Exiles [St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2003] page 112.) When our own words fail us, foil us, fool us, foment us, we have other words we can turn to in our stammerings and in our silences. When Jesus preached he frequently reached back to ...

2223. Let Familiarity Breed Contentment

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me." (Psalm 23) Or hear again the promises of God to each of us: · "With men this is impossible" (Matthew 19:26) · BUT: "All things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27); · "All things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23). · "For as many received him, to them gave he power, even to become the sons and daughters of God." Or hear again how you can experience the Peace that Passes Understanding: · "Be anxious in nothing . . . · Be prayerful in ...

2224. Obstacles as Popsicles

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... over 700 Jews from Nazi extermination. She herself knew the meaning firsthand behind John Moriarty's testimony that "To stand in Auschwitz is to have your backbone turned into a question mark about the nature of the human being." Except it wasn't Auschwitz, but the Ravensbruck concentration camp that turned her backbone into a question mark. That's where her sister was executed, after her father and brother died in another prison. It was only a clerical error that spared her life and released her from the ...

2225. Undercooked Turkey and Unwrapped Presents

Hebrews 2:5-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , but when I am done folding and taping, you can still see a sector of the gift peeking out. (Sometimes I camouflage this sector with a marking pen.) If I had been an ancient Egyptian in the field of mummies, the lower half of the Pharaoh's body would be covered only by ... the end of 2001 heralds the beginning of 2002, the completion of the Godhead through the birth of the tiny baby Jesus marks the beginning of a whole new divine project. The divine entered our human midst with a baby's birth in Bethlehem over ...

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