Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: complain, moan, groan, whine, mutter, grouse, bleat, carp, cavil, protest, rumble, gurgle, murmur, growl, roar, complaint, muttering, grievance, objection, protestation, quibble, criticism, charge, accusation

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1. Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... peeves” of the day, and not so easy to pay attention to and pass on those things that bring the gift of joy to a mundane moment in each day? We all have “pet peeves.” How many of you have “pet joys?” We all gripe and grouse. How many of us compliment and congratulate? Where are our “pet graces” to go with our “pet gripes?” Maybe it’s time to “enlarge” our “small talk” and expand it to encompass and express joy and inspiration? Instead of just passing on the foibles of the weather ...

2. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... before children. If your hand or foot hurt a child, you are better off cutting it off and going into God's kingdom lame than to be whole and go to Hell." Strong words. "Children are our futures, our social security, our pride," one old-timer groused, "but there are always more where they came from." Another said, "None of my kids were worth anything." They again quieted down as Jesus resumed speaking. "Don't look down on children. Their angels are always surrounding the throne of God." "And I'll bet they ...

3. "I Was Hoping for a Longines"

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

... you get me?" As we get closer and closer to the time to open our presents, the anxiety level rises. Did they hear what I said? Did I take off my watch enough times and shake it and say, "It doesn’t work!"? Maybe they got the hint. Did we grouse enough or complain enough? Did they care enough to listen? Did they love enough to listen? There is a certain amount of anxiety in all of us as we prepare to open those gifts and to see what we’ve got. I also believe that there is a certain amount ...

4. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would finally live in the Promised Land would be Joshua and Caleb, because they were the only two who had enough faith to believe that their God WOULD give the victory. As you well know, the story does not end there. There would be more grumbling and grousing. One outright mutiny against Moses' leadership ended up costing the lives of almost 15,000 people in a plague. There are complaints about not enough water, so God arranges for Moses to be able to strike a rock with his staff and bring forth enough for ...

5. Living With Difficult People

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?" Conflict is part of life--in the workplace, with our children, with our spouses. Early one morning, an Englishman was blasting away at a clump of brush on a grouse hunt. Suddenly an outraged gentleman appeared and said, "See here, old man, you almost shot my wife with that volley." The hunter, properly shamed replied, "So sorry, old chap. Here, have a go at mine, over there." (2) How do we deal with conflict in the ...

6. So You Want to Be in the Lead?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . At this consummate moment of technological achievement, it was still human mistakes and squabbling that set the most memorable words and pictures into the history book. Today's Old Testament text describes the Israelites' third, and most vicious, round of grumbling and grousing against Moses' leadership abilities. In 14:11, 16:3, and now in 17:3, the people do no less than accuse Moses of malfeasance. Yes, Moses had made mistakes. Yes, Moses didn't get everything right. But it was Moses who on previous ...

7. Gone with the Wind

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, a great changing-of-the-guard takes place. Out with the sea kayakers. In with the sailors. When the wind gets gusty and gutsy, those who love to sit below sea level and solo pilot their long, lean crafts grouse and grumble and haul out onto dry land. With the calm, glassy surface of Puget Sound broken by wind-whipped white caps, the waters are no longer for them. But the sailors rejoice. With the first white curls on the water's surface come a flotilla of bright ...

8. No Bones about It

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that while some would gain a nice meaty chunk in their bowl others would end up with just a bare-cooked bone. The mentality of make no bones about it cautioned dinner guests not to complain about the contents in their soup bowl. They were not to grouse or grumble to their host about getting a dry bone instead of a more meaty morsel. Expanded beyond the dinner table, the dictum to make no bones about it could translate into an acceptance of gross inequalities in civil life, a quiescence that kept people in ...

9. The Ultimate Happy Meal

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... alive in North America an adult who's ever spent a lunch hour with a child without feeling compelled to buy a Happy Meal at some time or another? The "happiness" this fat-and-calorie laden repast offers is absolutely momentary. Within minutes adults begin grousing at the child, "You aren't eating anything!" The child usually gets a toy that isn't the version they wanted; is one they already have; or is the wrong gender (boys end up with twirling, Barbie-esque creatures; girls find themselves with a space ...

10. Out of Order

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... some growth on our part), the mounting cost of travel, the growing sense of fear and insecurity that comes with increased security precautions. We are self-obsessed to the point of seeing only ourselves being inconvenienced by schedule delays. We grouse about a flight canceled due to severe weather without ever considering those people and communities caught in the middle of those dangerous conditions. We complain about the security precautions now in effect without acknowledging the risks taken by those ...

11. God Will Be God

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... fix it. Yet another sigh from the long-suffering father/narrator "So I pay. I'm the Dad. It's my job." It's true sometimes. Sometimes we are in charge, it's our responsibility, and the buck stops squarely in front of us. And although we may grump and grouse about those times, most of us kind of like knowing that we are in control of what is going on and what is coming up next. In fact, we like it so much that we tend to try to take over the reigns of control when we are clearly no ...

12. The Kingdom of God Has Come Close

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... : Abingdon Cokesbury Press, 1943], 87.) In his devotion to head-counting and just keeping things going, this pastor missed the movement of the kingdom within his own congregation. Instead of celebrating the kingdom's arrival in Marcus and Narcissa's lives, he could only grouse that Whitman stole one of his parishioners. 2. Ego: Ken Blanchard says EGO is an acronym for "Edging God Out." At times, we let the kingdom pass us by because the wonder of its greatness threatens our own sense of importance. We do so ...

13. Wrong!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , with the Examination of the Animal Magnetism, as Now Practiced in Paris [1784]). Sometimes, maybe MOST of the time, we are wrong about so much. We accept wrongness from some people — the weather forecaster, the politician who says “no more taxes,” the professional athlete grousing for more money. But none of us wants to admit that all of us are, in fact, often wrong in both large and small things throughout the course of our lives. How many of you were taught that you were always to put butter on ...

14. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would finally live in the promised land would be Joshua and Caleb, because they were the only two who had enough faith to believe that their God would give the victory. As you well know, the story does not end there. There would be more grumbling and grousing. One outright mutiny against Moses' leadership ended up costing the lives of almost 15,000 people in a plague. There are complaints about not enough water, so God arranges for Moses to be able to strike a rock with his staff and bring forth enough for ...

15. Good Gossip

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of complaining about the weather, how about calling attention to the beauty of God’s creation in this world? “Good gossip” is what the Body of Christ is called to pass around. We are the community charged with ushering in the Kingdom of God, not grousing and grumbling about the state of the world. Christians do not need to argue endlessly over whether life is better or worse, whether the glass is “half empty” or “half full.” Christians just drink out of the firehose that is hooked up to the ...

16. The New Census

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... how you and your best friends would guess where to stand in the counting-off line so that you could end up on the same team?) There is a lot of “counting off” that happens during the Christmas season count-down. Retailers groused this year that Thanksgiving came so late that it critically shortened the all-important number of “shopping days” between “Black Friday” and Christmas Day, cutting into final total sales figures. The Salvation Army actually lost 20 million dollars in donations from ...

17. Massah and Meribah

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... making us go?” And Moses brings his hands to his ears and shouts out to God, “These people are driving me crazy!” Now, tell the truth---You’ve never, ever said that?!? Not only are people kvetching about the trip, but now Moses himself is grousing and moaning about the people. What a feedback loop God has to listen to. No wonder God decides to step in. We learn later in the story, it’s not really the water they are worried about, although the Israelites are famous for their conflicted relationship ...

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