Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2426 to 2450 of 3160 results

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Julia Ross Strope

... their shopping and looking at beautiful things. They resist joining others already at church for “traditional” Christmas Eve celebrations. Yet they tell the parts of the story they each remember and sing the carols they recall. The waiter is a narrator of sorts, reminding his customers that he wants to go home yet he wants to help tell the story of God and love and birth, of angels and shepherds, and important messages. (Inside a coffee shop, loud music is playing — “Chestnuts roasting....” One ...

2427. The Messiah’s Mark

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of knowledge and an expression of love. Questions keep parent and child engaged in an on-going, living, growing relationship. Church consultant Lyle Schaller has published over ninety books for Abingdon Press. Warren Bird has recently put together a sort of festschrift to celebrate Schaller’s impact on the church entitled Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller: The Elder Statesman of Church Leadership (2012). Among his personal quirks, as revealed by Warren Bird Schaller, is an extensive T-shirt collection ...

2428. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... marked by a spirit of giving and receiving. While we spend lots of time and energy in crowded malls, preparing meals, and generally working to bring gifts and joy to others, the greatest gift we received this Christmas is Jesus himself. He brings with him all sorts of hidden gifts. As the homeless man and the little boy’s mother each received hidden gifts at Christmas, so too Jesus showers us with gifts beyond our imagination. We have been chosen as God’s adopted children. Jesus came to ransom us and to ...

2429. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... by a spirit of giving and receiving. While we spend lots of time and energy in crowded malls, preparing meals, and generally working to bring gifts and joy to others, the greatest gift we received this Christmas is Jesus himself. He brings with him all sorts of hidden gifts. As the homeless man and the little boy's mother each received hidden gifts at Christmas, so too Jesus showers us with gifts beyond our imagination. We have been chosen as God's adopted children. Jesus came to ransom us and to forgive ...

2430. Passing the Test

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... " of a test or the threat of a grade? Paul faced a similar problem in today's second reading. There were those in the Corinthian congregation who had become complacent. They were treating the sacraments, baptism, and communion as if they were some sort of magical and mystical guarantee of their eternal salvation. They could tell you all about God's grace and forgiveness. They could extol the benefits of baptism. They loved to celebrate communion, so much so that sometimes their celebrations got a little out ...

2431. Cracking the Code

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... that we can see what has happened on the second floor, in the realm of eternity. Such literature "revealed" the truth of what lies behind events of this world. Hence the title of the book of Revelation. The world of eternity was often filled with all sorts of bizarre creatures and odd places that seemed to be utterly unrelated to what was going on in this world. A prophet might offer a revelation filled with such images. But someone was needed to crack the code and interpret the vision. Without being able ...

2432. The iPod Vs. The Larynx

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... and has a lot of hard surfaces. Such a space is anything but "dead." It does not "muffle" sound. Instead, it makes sound come "alive." A few years ago I had the privilege of worshiping in the chapel at ValparaisoUniversity, which is just this sort of acoustically friendly space with a high ceiling and lots of hard surfaces. The service began outside the chapel in the open air. We processed into the chapel singing a hymn. I distinctly remember what happened to our singing as we entered the new sanctuary ...

2433. The Blood of The Lamb and The Voice of The Shepherd

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... and Aunt Mary Jane last year, then got so proud of the card that she refused to mail it to anybody but herself ... Then we looked to see what she was so proud of, and it turned out to be this whole army of crayon angels, in this gold sort of football helmet, charging into Bethlehem while in the sky above them huge red and green letters copied from a Christmas carol book Bet couldn't yet read proclaimed: "JOY TO THE WORLD! THE SAVIOR RESIGNS!"1 And elsewhere in the novel one of the children says: Personally ...

2434. A Glimpse of Glory

Revelation 21:10-22 - 22:5

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... If the faith of those first Christians was just a hope that when they died, they would go to heaven; if their faith was just in the life hereafter, then their enemies would have considered them harmless. Everyone in the ancient world believed in some sort of afterlife. The Roman government didn't care what you believed about the hereafter. What they did care about was now and whether you would submit to Roman power now in this world. What made those early Christians so dangerous and even subversive in the ...

2435. It’s a Good Thing He’s Gone!

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... were glad to get rid of him, to no longer have this Jesus of Nazareth walking around and disturbing their orderly little world. There were people like Pontius Pilate who may have said, "It was bad enough that this Jesus got everyone worked up by claiming to be some sort of a king. And then there was that messy trial and death sentence. I got manipulated into releasing that troublesome Barabbas. I know I'm going to regret that some day. I didn't want to put the man on trial, but I really had no choice. If I ...

2436. When God Adds Insult to Injury

Colossians 2:6-15

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... victorious king made fun of the defeated army. The passage puts the elemental spirits in a ridiculous light. How well do we connect to the image of God as one who taunts, gloats, mocks, and even humiliates? Usually, we think of such behavior as kind of immature, sort of like the athletes who do a little dance after a score. Yet that is how Colossians sees God treating the spiritual causes of the world's suffering. We should take hope in that image, because it is an unmistakable image of God's triumph over ...

2437. From Slave to Brother

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

We often shortchange love. We think of it as sweet and sentimental, something that is good for children and family members. We think of love as sort of soft and cuddly, nice in its place, but not very useful in the things that really matter. Do we think of love as tough, transforming, powerful? This little book of Philemon, tucked into the back of the New Testament at the tail end of Paul's letters, teaches us ...

2438. The Final Word

John 11:25-26; Ephesians 1:12, 18-19

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... tells us the person is not gone but somehow present in the sunrise and the morning breeze. Our neighbor consults the stars, the spiritualist wants to meditate, the palm reader wants to look at your hand, and the atheist has nothing to say. People look and listen in all sorts of places, desperate to hear some answers and so they consult New Age to witchcraft to aroma therapy to a stiff drink. What do you say at a funeral? The answer is: nothing. At least nothing from us. This is a time for God's word to be ...

2439. Rally or Rail?

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Empire in Jerusalem, was caught in a similar situation. The powerful members of the Sanhedrin (think your locally elected city council representatives) brought Pilate a prisoner, a man they accused of endangering Roman rule, by proclaiming himself to be some sort of ruler and so outside of Roman law. The Sanhedrin accused Jesus of proclaiming himself “King.” Politically that was treason — a flagrant flaunting of Caesar’s rights and rule. To declare himself “King of the Jews” not only disregarded ...

2440. All Roads Lead To Bethlehem

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... possible. But still the offer was made. Bethlehem gave all it had to give. A momentary haven and home were made. The strangers were offered sanctuary and hospitality. Even the visitors of the visitors shepherds and maybe even other hangers-on of all sorts — were welcomed. There are two kinds of people in this world (always). There are those who “step up” and there are those who “step back.” Those who “step up” get things done. Those who “step back” critique how things might have been done ...

2441. Anatomy Of A Testimony

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... as God's agent of deliverance for the Hebrew slaves — and already God was talking to Moses about what would happen when the mission was accomplished. "Whoa, there! Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Lord!" Still, all of this premature talk has its own sort of beauty. It is the beauty of certainty — Babe Ruth calling his shot or Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in Super Bowl III. It is President Kennedy pledging a man on the moon. It is the beauty of certainty, and it is most splendid when the promise ...

2442. Heisman In The Hudson

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... had said and done in the past, that would inform their faith and guide their future. The great risk to be guarded against was that future generations would forget what God had done in the past. Then they would become easy prey for every sort of sin and temptation, pride and ingratitude, idolatry and doubt. Then comes the surprising moment when the quarterback throws the trophy into the river. God, who had commanded his people to remember and who had built reminders into their daily lives and annual rituals ...

2443. Birthdays and Marriages

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... , and developing that third something that did not exist until we came together. There are moments of joy, friction, boredom, and ecstasy as a couple begins to utilize every experience as an opportunity to deepen their relationship. Those same sorts of dynamics are present in a healthy church community. Like in a marriage, members of a church discover that they carry into the community a lot of unconscious assumptions having to do with values, relationships, roles, and responsibilities. When I am ...

2444. God's Playful Wisdom

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... branch of the church. For Christians, our understanding of the role of Sophia in the faith can be traced back to this passage from Proverbs 8. Here Sophia, the Greek word for wisdom, is personified as a woman who was with God before creation. It's sort of a pre-creation story. "The Lord created me," says Sophia, "at the beginning of his work ... before the beginning of the earth" (vv. 22-23). This personified wisdom then goes on to describe how she was an intimate part of every aspect of the creation ...

2445. Mugwumpers

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... set up their sacrifice and exhausted themselves with prayers and ritual dances to call upon their god to receive the sacrifice. Despite all of their efforts, they were not able to command such a god to act. When you see people who literally exhaust themselves in all sorts of work and societal rituals in order to attain security and happiness in life and yet continue to come up short, you know that the story of the Baal prophets points to a reality in our lives as well. When it was Elijah's turn, he took ...

2446. When God Calls

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... that up?" my friend wondered out loud. What message - what word of God, even - might we be embodying if we walked around the table to the other side, or if we stood together on the serving side with men who lived at the shelter? Jeremiah will do this sort of embodiment throughout his career. Jesus will too.[2] May you hear the call of God in your life - a call that is grounded in prevenient grace, persistently spoken, and personally issued to you for the sake of a world in need. And may your faith, breathed ...

2447. Help From Habakkuk?

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... 't want it to cramp our style or our lifestyle. The truth of the matter is that many people only want an inoculation of Christianity — just enough of it to protect them from catching the real thing. However, the faith Jesus calls us to, and the sort of faith that endures and leads to life — real life, a life worth living — is one that will make us more Christ-like in sacrificial living, giving, loving, and forgiving. In one scene in the movie Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman, who plays God, is incognito ...

2448. Put on Some Clothes

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Mother Theresa going to a party in her honor attended by important people in Rome. Before entering the party, she stopped to talk at length to a beggar nearby. People began to come out to look for her, and urge her to go in since all sorts of “the great and the good” were waiting for her. She responded abruptly: “Can’t you see that I am talking to Christ?” [p. 103 of Take the Plunge: Living Baptism and Confirmation (2012)]. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ, the coming into this ...

2449. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sake of the gospel was made after he spent “the night in prayer to God.” (Luke 12:12) Only after that extended time in prayer did Jesus chose his disciples. Before you make important decisions in your life, do you pray? I know you do all sorts of social and fiscal and psychological reconnaissance. We check out paper trails and personality quirks, credit checks, and long-term assets. But do we pray? Do we ask for God’s guidance? Do we open ourselves up to a divine insight that might clash with a credit ...

2450. Give It Up

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... (frying pancakes) so that there will be no more rich, greasy, goodness consumed during the forty days of Lent. Reflecting the forty days of temptation that Jesus spent in the wilderness, the forty days of Lent are supposed to be marked by some sort of personal sacrifice. Giving up great, greasy fried foods. Giving up meat. Giving up carbs. Giving up sweets. Giving up drinking, smoking, swearing, or some other “vice.” Lent is about giving up things. “Giving up” something for Lent may strike us as a ...

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