Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing all results

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... we do not understand.” And so Eisley comments: “The winter of man has not departed because, like the Eskimo, we do not so much believe as we fear. We do not fear the Eskimos malevolent ghosts. We pierce the far rim of the universe and roam mentally through light years of time, but we also fear. We do not fear the malevolent ghosts but we fear the ghosts of ourselves. We have come now in our time to fear the water we drink, the air we breathe, the insecticides dusted over our food. We fear the awesome ...

2. Extreme Measures

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... in the eyes of God. He, like Shakespeare's Macbeth, succumbed to the machinations of a villainous wife. Ahab knew better, but allowed himself not to know the truth of Naboth's demise. He pretended not to know, knowing full well that his wife had malevolently planned the debacle from start to finish. We thank God for the saints of justice, undaunted and bold, who come forth and speak the truth on behalf of the innocent. They are unafraid of the repercussions of power, but possess the strength and resolve to ...

3. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... Square Park. Pastorius died in September 1987, following a savage beating by a bar bouncer. A mourner sized up his life as "brilliant goods in a damaged package."2 There are untold numbers of tragedies that happen due to human weakness. Others occur by malevolent conspiracies against us. Jesus came preaching, "The kingdom of God is at hand!" But the evidence reveals God's kingdom is a disputed sovereignty. Has the world changed? That's the issue in the story from the third chapter of Mark. Back in the ...

4. And Then The End

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

... as "the empty land that is no land, only emptiness, absence, the void"? Can you feel the emptiness and meaninglessness that would arise if at the end of history, when God grew tired of this repetitive drama, he would ring down the curtain, applaud malevolently and say, "That was interesting; let’s do it again sometime"? It is not so! "The end will come." Not as threat. Not as damnation. But as promise and as consummation. Over and against the sad and simple "love grown cold" stands the passionate ...

5. The City Unshakeable

Psalm 46:1-11, Hebrews 12:25-29

Sermon

... must dwell and work and shop and learn and even worship in material structures. We have to travel in machines made by human hands. We have to trust our well being to these things even knowing that there is no guarantee that they can withstand every force, malevolent or otherwise. It is part of the risk of living, and we really have few alternatives. But we can carry within that other citizenship, that other city. The New Testament calls it the kingdom of God, and it is both something that is yet to come in ...

6. Mary of Nazareth

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... ? Anna’s prophetic thanksgiving - did it not likewise disquiet the young mother? Who was this her child? What was his destiny? How terrifying the flight into Egypt as she became a refugee in a strange land, because her child was threatened by a malevolent dictator. How proud Mary and Joseph were when the twelve-year-old walked in Jerusalem, possibly celebrating his bar mitzvah. What anxiety when they could not find him in the returning caravan. They spent three frantic days searching the city, only to ...

7. A Faith for the Uncharted Way

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... it. Job, in the midst of his grave afflictions, went so far as to say at one point: "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). I know it seems sometimes that almost nothing works out right, that we are hounded by a kind of malevolency. I read of a minor playwright in New York who felt this way about things. Having been plagued by a series of what he considered misfortunes, he wrote a little fantasy in which he cast himself as the central figure. One morning, as God looked down on the earth ...

8. What Is God Like?

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... evils of pride, anger, lust, indifference, envy, greed, and gluttony. An old Greek philosopher, Epicurus, stated the problem well when he asked, "Is Deity willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able to prevent evil, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?" In this episode in David’s life and in the cross of David’s greater Son, Christ, we see the awful mysteries of human freedom and the love of God as father. What is love? Love ...

9. OUR LORD FORSAKEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

... her. Beyond the crosses, two men in the robes of the Sanhedrin were talking with the centurion, and John felt all his emotion twist into loathing and hatred. Then, as they came toward the central cross, he recognized them and he was ashamed of his own malevolence. It was Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The centurion had accepted the scroll which they had brought and he held it in his hand idly tapping it against his bare thigh. John saw that Joseph carried a bundle of linen and Nicodemus a heavy jar of ...

10. With All Your Heart

Joel 2:12-17, Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... when sin habituates the mind and eviscerates the heart’s desire to get right with God. God wants a heart of repentance that leads to redemption. God wants to turn us around from the ways of sin. God wants to turn us around from evil, hatred, malice, and malevolence. God wants us to turn to him in body, mind, spirit, and soul. Repentance is an expression of the soul’s and heart’s desire to turn things around for God, through God, and by God. Fourth, God wants a heart of redemption; a heart of love and ...

11. But God...

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... English, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Dr. Chappell said he wanted to count all the places in scripture where the phrase "but God" appeared and use them to teach divine providence, even in the face of monstrous malevolence. As far as I know, Dr. Chappell never did that research or preached that sermon, but, the idea was a good one, so I followed up. In Dr. Chappell's King James Bible, the phrase "but God" appears 43 times. Over and over it comes as God responds ...

12. I Am The Only One Left Who Cares!

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... The situation is normal.'" The world has always been in bad shape-ever since the species HOMO SAPIENS first appeared on the globe. Up until then, things had been pretty peaceful. But with humanity came lust and greed and resentment and malice and a host of other malevolent emotions. Our time is no better or no worse. Because people are no better or worse. This Is Not To Say That We Do Not Have Some Staggering Problems. We do. There is still the threat of nucleur war. In 1860 a French chemist named Marcellin ...

13. Building An Understanding Of God

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... to help. This was a great moment in our history." (6) Just as these GI's took the terror out of encountering young men in uniform, so Jesus took away humanity's fear of God. Much of humanity has always looked at the spirit world as capricious at best and malevolent at worst, but Jesus taught us that God is love. More than that, Jesus showed us in his suffering and death how far God's love will go. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . ." When Christians speak of God, we are speaking of a ...

14. Schadenfreude

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Rev. Dr. S. Ronald Parks

... with the concept? Schadenfreude is the perverse glee that you experience when someone else fails or experiences disappointment. It is not innocent or reflexive, like snickering at a banana peel-induced pratfall or an unintentional gaffe. No, schadenfreude is sinister and malevolent because it is nothing less than rejoicing in the misery of another. And the amazing thing is that we experience this sinister joy in an indiscriminate manner. It doesn't matter who failed; friend or foe, rich or poor, stranger or ...

15. The Autobiography of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ), but idolatry (trust in false gods which ultimately let us down). Ultimate Reality exists—so the question is: what is the nature of that Reality? is Ultimate Reality personal or impersonal, for us or against us, or neutral? Is it benevolent, malevolent, or simply indifferent? Christianity has the audacity to proclaim that this Ultimate Reality which we call God has manifested Himself at a specific time and in a specific place in human history. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” “The ...

16. Saints in Shorts

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... it is my pride that wants to be avenged. You and I may not live in settings where we are likely to be physically struck, but we are almost certainly in settings where our egos get slapped around a bit. That can happen even without any deliberate malevolence on the part of a spouse, a co-worker, a friend. And when someone has dealt my ego a blow, whether accidentally or quite intentionally, what shall be my response? Egos, by their fallen nature, tend to be quite big and very sensitive. They beg, therefore ...

17. The Curriculum of God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... our children. This is what the church means by original sin; it is not something we can escape by trying harder or being better; it is our world. This event from fifty years ago is a picture of the spiritual world into which Jesus came. A malevolent, deadly darkness cloaked the world when the living Word of God came and pitched his tent of flesh behind enemy lines. It was given to the prophet Isaiah to diagnose our situation and announce the relief that what would one day appear, “The people who sat ...

18. Shalom Shattered

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.' " This duo, Reuben and Judah, show a gleam of human compassion, set against so much that is cruel and malevolent. Joseph is lifted out of the waterless pit and sold for twenty pieces of silver. Though this was the beginning of salvation for Joseph in a long, long saga, the bond of brotherhood is still very cheap. Twenty pieces of silver for a brother's life? The ...

19. Gross Personality Disorder

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... this morning: there are some distinctive quirks that can create a unique character flaw within faith communities. I call it "GPD." GPD stands for Gross Personality Disorder. Why is it so many Christians exhibit GPD? This GPD complex may not be expressed as malevolent evil. But the spiritual damage this disorder can spread is grim and growing. Let me give you some examples of how Christians suffering from Gross Personality Disorder reveal themselves in small but soul-sapping ways. The other day I saw a car ...

20. The Shadow

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and distorted by the lights and darks of shadow-play to the point where we cannot easily discern what's real and what's imagined--what's true and what's false. It's this unknown, indistinguishable quality of the darkness that magnifies its malevolence and our misgivings about it. What hides in the shadows, and what may happen to us if we encounter these dim and quavering possibilities, is what haunts our fears. Psychotherapist Carl Jung argued that there's a deeper, more basic reason why humans fear ...

21. Are You Living the Three Advents?

Romans 13:11-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and injury. The newly “robed” Ph.D. wears the colors and stripes that declare war on ignorance and challenge the scholar to a life devoted to continued learning. A police officer or fire-fighter gets to wear a uniform that battles the malevolent forces of our communities. In the same way, Christians who “clothe” themselves in Christ are “armored” for the battles of the Second Advent. Living in the overlap, the “in-between times” of the new age between “now” and “not yet,” there are ...

22. Which End Is Up?

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ,” this new creation, to the Gentile world. Indeed the Pauline mission has the loftiest of expansion plans: making known the gospel of Christ “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (v.10). These “rulers and authorities” are cosmic powers, malevolent forces found beyond the earthly realm. The ultimate Pauline mission is to take the “manifold wisdom of God” to forces on heaven and earth. And it is the unified body of Jews and Gentiles, the new creation of God’s wisdom, which ...

23. God's Plans

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Dr. Chappell said he wanted to count all the places in scripture where the phrase "but God" appeared and use them to teach divine providence, even in the face of monstrous malevolence. In Dr. Chappell's King James Bible, the phrase "but God" appears 43 times. Over and over it comes as God responds to some failure or folly and instead works a blessed outcome. The most famous of all is the one we will soon celebrate again, another ...

24. The Devastating Influence of Faultfinding, Nay-Saying, and Nitpicking

John 12:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... commentary. Nitpicking, nay-saying, faultfinders seldom participate in the far more demanding task of making a positive contribution. This minister was always polite. He was not arrogant or angry in his demeanor. He didn’t seem to hunger for the group’s attention. Rather than malevolent he seemed motivated only to perform a helpful service for the speaker and the group. I certainly do not think he set out to join the ranks of Judas at the dinner party in Bethany or the fellow on the back pew in Nazareth ...

25. About Those Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... end. You see, above everything else, Herod the Great was a killer. That was his nature. He killed out of spite and he killed to stay in power. Human life meant nothing to him. The great historian Josephus called him ‘barbaric,’ another writer dubbed him ‘the malevolent maniac,’ yet another named him ’the great pervert.’ “Perhaps his basic character can best be seen by one incident in the year 7 B.C. Herod is an old man now. He has been in power 41 years. He knows he doesn’t have much longer ...

Showing 1 to 25 of 25all results