Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... And if one does not receive it, then one stays in a kind of emotional dependency, waiting for the blessing, or doing whatever they can to try and earn it, trying to be perfect, trying to excel in all things. The father's blessing it is called, this archetypal experience. In the Bible it first appears in the Old Testament, in one of the oldest stories in the world, the story of Jacob and Esau, twin brothers, the sons of Isaac and Rebekah. They both want Isaac's blessings, they both want the father's blessing ...

2. A Call to Servanthood and Suffering

Mark 10:46-52, Mark 10:35-45, Mark 10:32-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... one of suffering, for he will give his life to provide a “ransom for many” (v. 45), a payment that will purchase the freedom of humankind from the bondage of sin. As before, the disciples fail, desiring glory rather than sacrifice or servanthood. The archetypal disciple is none of them but rather is Bartimaeus, who seeks only “mercy” and throws himself entirely under the care of Jesus. That is the only path to greatness. Teaching the Text 1. Jesus predicts his path of suffering. Jesus knew that the ...

3. “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Lack Nothing”

Psalm 23:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... portions and stories of Israel’s history, the main story being the exodus from Egypt. Just as David’s experience as shepherd (1 Sam. 16:11; 17:20) and king engraved its language on this psalm, the archetypal story of the exodus is also echoed in its language. Psalm 23 is an example of the archetypal story, that is, a large segment of history or biography is represented under symbols and metaphors, while other psalms recount the story in historical language (e.g., Ps. 106:7–8). Verses 2 and 3 share two ...

4. What Kind Of Love?

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... gift love, disparaging the first and exalting the second. The problem, as Lewis discovered, is that this is a false dichotomy. Needs are not necessarily superficial or selfish, and gifts are not necessarily altruistic. In the Genesis creation story, after God created the archetypal person, God looked at Adam and said, "It is not good for the human being to be alone," and so created another. Human needs come built in; they are neither defects nor flaws. We know from everyday experience how this tension works ...

5. The Saving Grace Of Gratitude

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... was not the boy's father." Archie suggests that the boy was adopted, or that the surgeon was his step-father. But with a triumphant glint in his eye, Mike informs Archie that the surgeon was the boy's mother. Good old Archie, the archetypal male chauvinist, would never have seen the answer to that one. His presuppositions blinded him to the obvious. The prophet Micah, many centuries ago, proclaimed some obvious, but unpleasant realities to people who were likewise blinded to the truth of their situation by ...

6. The Unfairness of God

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

William J. Carl

... it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like the prodigal son story was some kind of Jungian archetype for familial systems down through the centuries. Well, I didn’t exactly put it that way when I was 15, but that’s how I felt. It’s the way older employees feel when young hot shots come into the workplace and the older ones get ...

7. A Wandering Aramean

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... seems to be the unspoken, ever-present question. "When all the facades are down, when the image I seek to project is removed, who am I? And where do I fit?" The book which came of Alex Haley's quest is so successful because it presents an archetype for our own self-understanding. So does another book. The Bible, the best selling book of all times, is, also, a personal history book. You, undoubtedly, have heard the play on words "history" is actually "his story," and his story and his story - a story common ...

8. Preaching Your Life

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... are scratched into you forever. Then comes Christ. His invitation is to expand our memories to include his experiences, to expand our life stories to include his life. "Christ never asks to share our lives. He invites us to share his." Christ is the archetype of our lives Paul promised the Corinthians when speaking of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20 ff) The story of Christ becomes the heart of the story of each of his followers. Paul writes the Colossians: "As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so ...

9. A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... part snake, part lion, part lamb. Confusion and chaos arise when we are possessed by one and then another part. The Little Child The prophet proclaimed that only as the little child within us is allowed to live, only then can these warring tendencies or archetypes come to harmony, only so. Strange as it may seem, it is not the reasonable adult or the powerful sword-wielding warrior or the judging parent who brings these various parts of us into harmony and cooperation, but rather the child, the little child ...

10. Is There Hope for the Hapless Wedding Guest?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Darrick Acre

... of the feast. Others a phony Christian whose hypocritical profession is stripped away under the white-hot glare of God’s holiness. Or a rebel who arrogantly refuses the king’s offer of appropriate wedding garments. For holiness commentators, he is the archetype of one who has been saved but not entirely sanctified, thus lacking that “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.” Why are biblical scholars so negative about him? Not knowing the facts they, like us, invent a worst-case scenario ...

11. Night Moves

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the story of the origin of the Jewish people. All Jews are sons and daughters of Jacob. This is Israel's story. But it is also our story. This is every man's and every woman's story. You can see yourself in this story. These stories are called "archetypes," where you can see yourself in the story, and where you can read the story to learn about yourself. When I came back to this story of Jacob wrestling the stranger at the River Jabbok, I saw something that I had never noticed before. That is, Jacob is like ...

12. The Offense of Grace

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... had done nothing but complain and whine. In Jesus' most difficult parable, the vineyard owner, who is God, pays the one-hour workers the same as the eight-hour workers, and thus gives them - and us - not what we deserve but what we need. And in the archetypal tale of the Prodigal Son, we meet a God who rejoices when a sinner comes home. Yes, again and again and again, God gives us grace instead of grief. God gives us blessing instead of blame. God gives us comfort instead of condemnation. And in the ...

13. Generations

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... must "Get Real." "Please be Real:" The message is not what you give. The message is who you are. You are not what you say. You are what you do! Only those who establish an emotional connection with busters will reach them. Busters hate the archetypal boomer Martha Stewart, not because of what she does, but the way she does it – it's too perfect? Where the struggle? Where's the pain? Where's the messed-up hair in the kitchen? "Get Real." Busters hate overstatement, self-importance, spectacle, and hypocrisy ...

14. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 's declaration. Little wonder Nathanael is unimpressed, and responds with the dry, snide question, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Although Philip's understanding of Jesus may be less than perfect, he nevertheless confidently offers a disciple's archetypal invitation: "Come and see." Despite his doubts Nathanael accepts his friend's challenge. Jesus' first words about Nathanael reveal that he has some knowledge or insight into this man. Jesus declares Nathanael to be an "Israelite in whom there ...

15. Changed Lives - Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... all, what did Jesus tell Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Well, that raises another question. What is the Kingdom? Look no further than the life of Christ. Jesus is the archetype for them all. He embodies all of these images by choosing the path of sacrifice on the cross, resulting in the abundant spiritual harvest of salvation for humanity. His singular act of love and redemption has multiplied into countless lives transformed by faith ...

16. Life Just Isn’t Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

... it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn't fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like the prodigal son story was some kind of Jungian archetype for familial systems down through the centuries. Well, I didn't exactly put it that way when I was 15, but that's how I felt. It's the way older employees feel when young hot shots come into the workplace and the older ones get shoved ...

17. Settle for an F

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , 1987], 211). If marriage is to be a reflection of God's image then it cannot be thought of as a static relationship. God, the cosmic dynamo of all creation, can hardly be accused of being stationary and tedious. Using Warner's focus on the archetypal couple, Adam and Eve, we must see their relationship prior to the fall as one that perfectly reflected the boundless flowing love of God in all its shapes and forms. By living in harmony with God and each other, their marriage mirrored "the oneness between ...

18. Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to destroy the nest of believers at Damascus. Saul is obviously a dangerous and formidable enemy of the church. Indeed nearly every one of Luke-Act's uses of the verb "to persecute" involves Saul and his activities. He is Luke's archetypal enemy of the church. (See Beverly R. Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986], 58.) The actual Damascus Road theophany is described in minute detail by Luke. In keeping with traditionally understood ...

19. Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... boat. Of the three gospels where this story is told (Matthew, Mark and John), only Matthew singles out Peter and describes that disciple's own attempt at water-walking. In Matthew's telling, Peter's words and actions demonstrate an almost archetypal picture of Christian discipleship. In typically exuberant Petrine fashion, the disciple goes from boasting faith, to frantic doubt, and then back to a more informed, confessional expression of faithfulness. At Peter's request, Jesus commands Peter to join him on ...

20. Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

21. Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... John envisions is "home" - a word so layered with meanings and emotion that it would in itself require another six visions to explain all the inferences and nuances the term holds for us. Yet John's vision captures the essence of what we would define as an archetypal, eternal state of being "at home" for us - "The Curriculum of the Home," if you will. If school has three Rs, home has four Ss. First, home is a place where we feel physically secure and safe. The gates of this city are always open - for there ...

22. The Lenten License to Steal, Drink, Lie and Swear

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... just flip sides of the same disc. The repeating message of this one control disc is “This is my life and I will live it my way.” But there is a true opposite to this “control central” attitude. We encounter the alternative in the archetype Abraham. Instead of “control” Abraham opted for faith. Already an old man, wandering in a land where he was a resident alien, Abraham listened to the words and promises of a deity he barely knew and in the crucible of that commencing relationship, “Abraham ...

23. God's Unchanging Plan

Illustration

James Packer

... has in his Word committed himself to do, will infallibly be done. Thus we read of the "unchangeable character of his purpose" to bring believers into full enjoyment of their promised inheritance, and of the immutable oath by which he confirmed his counsel to Abraham, the archetypal believer, both for Abraham's own assurance and also for others (Heb. 6:17-19). So it is with all God's announced intentions. They do not change. No part of his eternal plan changes. It is true that there is a group of texts (Gen ...

24. Epiphany 5

Psalm 138:1-8, Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13), Luke 5:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... What symbols and images impel us to say, “Yes, I will be an active, hospitable home for the Holy,” and “Yes, I will work for justice and mutuality in my home, my church, my nation, and the global village.” A satellite dish? Archetypal dreams? Athletic and movie images often have components that do not fit with Jesus’ “commandments” to love yourself, your neighbor, your enemy, and the stranger. Technological games and sports often consume time and energy we might otherwise use for meditation or ...

25. Who Wants to Be Your Brother?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Lazarus. There was no human connection between Lazarus and “Dives.” There was no real reaching out. There was no real relationship. It is easy to write a check. It is hard to check up on people you do not really know. Jesus’ parable condemns “Dives” — the archetypical “rich man” not for the sin of greed but for the sin of not giving any part of himself. Remember what torments the rich man when in Hades? He is tormented by the pending fate of his five brothers. That’s why Dives is in hell ...

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