Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 41 results

1. Where Have All The Visible Miracles Gone?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... , keeping the story of great miracles secret until the resurrection, crops up again and again in the New Testament. Jesus would perform a miracle, he might heal someone, and then he would tell everyone to keep it quiet until the resurrection. Why did our Lord urge such secrecy? Jesus did not want people to believe in him because of those miracles. He does not want to be known as a healer, but rather as the Son of God - the man who rose from the dead. The only reason for the other miracles was to keep faith ...

2. Why Jesus Didn't Hire A "Public Relations Guy"

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "˜The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.'" Why the secrecy? We know that Jesus wants you and me to tell the story. Today's lesson clearly says, "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory ...

3. Secret Revealed

Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... gem that says so much so quickly we can be caught off balance. Of course, Romans is known for that and this passage especially calls for our complete attention and study. Focus: God's Son visibly comes on the stage of history. Body 1. What was shrouded in holy secrecy becomes evident. God has a way of doing these things to us, doesn't he? By this is meant, of course, not in the same magnitude as our Lord's coming but in our own personal and professional lives. For example, some of us may have learned more ...

4. Faith and Freedom

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... means, "Little girl, get up!" There were a few minutes of total abandon, tears of joy and sorrow were mingled. There was utter amazement at what had happened. And then there was the shocked silence of reverence. Jesus stunned them even further when he swore them all to secrecy and ordered breakfast for Jairus' daughter. IV. FROM FAITH TO FREEDOM: I don't think Jesus did that out of a need to remain secret. He didn't do it as a way to keep his identity a secret from the public for awhile longer. People were ...

5. New Life Goes On

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David Coffin

... will rise”) are signs that the gospel writer did intend to show the reader that Jesus’ resurrection from the grave was real. Those, whose faith is in this Jesus, will also have a new life like his. This is more good news of the text. Why the secrecy? This is called the “messianic secret” that is unique to Mark’s gospel. There have been volumes written on this and we will not resolve the scholarly issues this day. I happen to believe that Jesus did not want people to identify him as Messiah or Son ...

6. It's Your Funeral

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... , as long as we tell it gently. No one is perfect. Indeed, we are all far from being perfect. We all live contradictory lives. Some folks seem cold and selfish on the outside, and hide their great passion and love in such a way that it only emerges in secrecy or in their dreams. Others of us make public professions of faith and try to build reputations as people who are faithful to God, but we fail to live up to our ideals in some very important areas of our lives. Yet, we are all children of God. Someday ...

7. Palms By Day And Plots By Night

Sermon

Erskine White

... will have to speak against Him behind His back. They will have to arrest Him after dark, away from the city, and try Him illegally. They'll need false witnesses to testify against Him. Palms by day and plots by night. Jesus doesn't let the cowardice and secrecy of His enemies go unanswered. When they finally step forward to arrest Him in Gethsemane, He rebukes them: "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay your hands on ...

8. The Dripping of Water

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... his foot over the basin as the servant poured cool, cleansing water over it, then towelled it dry. Preparations for this courtesy had evidently not been forgotten, for the basin, towel, and water were there. There was no servant, perhaps for reasons of privacy and secrecy. Certainly, of the twelve men who were concerned about their own importance and their rank in a chain of command, not one was likely to play the servant role to the others. Now we hear the sound of dripping water as Jesus himself takes the ...

9. Fog-Clearing Moments

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... understand, they were often filled with awe, amazement, and fear. Even after the Transfiguration, the disciples did not fully understand who Jesus was or where his mission would take him. As they descended the mountain after the Transfiguration, Jesus charged them with secrecy "until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." But the disciples were totally in the dark about Jesus. They had him confused with Elijah and John the Baptizer. But, the fact remains that those first disciples persisted in following ...

10. God Can’t Keep a Good Secret!

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and I have done it, says the Lord." Some people simply cannot keep a secret! The moment you swear them to secrecy, they must tell it or burst! If they manage not to tell it outright, then they are compelled to give clues: "It’s something to eat!" - "It’s something to wear." - "It’s going to happen real soon!" - "It’s smaller than a breadbox." Even nations have difficulty ...

11. I know You by Name

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

... day in the lines he calls The Perforated Spirit: "The fellows up in personnel Have a set of cards on me. The sprinkled perforations tell My individuality. And what am I? I am a chart On the cards of I.B.M. The secret places of the heart Have little secrecy for them. It matters not how much I prate They punch with punishment the scroll The files are masters of my fate They are the captains of my soul. Monday my brain began to buzz I was in agony all night I found out what the trouble was - They had ...

12. Easter: The Festival Of Joy

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... We get no grasp of the enormity of scale. There are three billion of us on the earth, and all three billion must be dead on schedule, within this lifetime. The vast majority, involving something over 50 million of us each year, takes place in relative secrecy ... Less than half a century from now, our replacements will have more than doubled the numbers. It is hard to see how we can continue to keep the secret, with such multitudes doing the dying.2 Death is not some kind of flaw which we are ultimately ...

13. Stewards and Our Bodies

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... s temple; he lives in it, and we cannot do with it as we wish. "Sex is something bad and shouldn’t be mentioned in church." No, it is a great gift, and we should celebrate and talk about our sexuality. The Bible knows no such idea as secrecy about our sexuality. "We can separate our soul from our bodies, one being godly or divine and the other being worldly or human." No, the word for soul in the New Testament means life and is used interchangeably with that term. "Drinking is always wrong." Not so - but ...

14. His Risen Hand Holds Ours

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

... they feel very insecure. The absence of light can be very frightening to adults as well. Ask any man who has spent a night in a combat zone foxhole. Night magnifies fear, noises, war, death. In darkness, evil deeds are covered with the cloak of secrecy. Most crimes are committed at night, the darker the better. Darkness can be terrifying. Think of the plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians through Moses. One plague was described as a darkness that could be felt. They could not see one another, and did not ...

15. The Man Who Asked For Dinner

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

George Bass

... before this strange reunion; the entire company had been lost, including Burch; they were all supposed to be dead. But here was Burch in the flesh, not lost at all, but very much alive. "But, tell me, what made you come here tonight? And why all the secrecy?" Burch answers: "I came here tonight searching for someone I could trust. I hoped no one would remember my face - for it is changed, you know. I have something, Len. Something so great, so stupendous, that I hardly know how to present it to the world ...

16. The Apostles' Creed: I Believe

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... form or another, have been around for almost as long as the church. There were local creeds that this congregation or that would use to instruct new converts and those preparing for baptism. (We do not know as much as we might like about them because secrecy was crucial to the church's survival in those early days of persecution.) One with which we have become familiar dates to the middle of the second century and is known as the Old Roman Symbol ("symbol" being the word of choice because all a creed could ...

17. Opening Up Heaven

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... Morris Bishop's little poem entitled THE PERFORATED SPIRIT: The fellows up in Personnel, They have a set of cards on me. The sprinkled perforations tell My individuality. And what am I? I am a chart Upon the cards of IBM; The secret places of the heart Have little secrecy for them. Monday my brain began to buzz, I was in agony all night. I found out what the trouble was They had my paper clip too tight. John Claypool relates a moving story. It seems that when the carnage of World War I had bled its last ...

18. A Pentecostal Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In the days of the great California gold rush some prospectors discovered a very rich mine. "We've got it made," they said, "As long as we don't tell anybody else before we stake our claims." And they made a vow of secrecy. But they had to go into town for provisions and tools. When they left the town, a great host of people followed them. Why? Their "secret" was written all over their faces. It was impossible for them to hide what they had found. A gifted speaker was asked what was ...

19. Free At Last!

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... listening skills led her to collect gossip on all the most prominent citizens in her town. Aunt Lina used this sensitive knowledge to raise funds for her pet cause, Hebrew University. Each year, she would call up a variety of people and promise them secrecy in exchange for a donation to the University. University officials never guessed that one of their most effective fund raisers was blackmailing their donors. (7) I wonder if there are any of us who carry around secrets that we would pay good money to ...

20. On Being the Greatest

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... what Jesus thinks of what we say and do, do we? It might change things (change us) too radically. We don’t want Jesus to hear what we say in private. Certainly, politicians do not want us to hear what is said in the secrecy of smoke-filled rooms. There was a lot of embarrassment awhile back when somebody came up with a tape which contained off-the-record conversations of media consultants discussing the best way to “package” their presidential candidate in the election of 1984. The really frightening ...

21. Party Time!

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... , as the makeup crew is preparing him for the shoot, he will act a little sad. Invariably, some kind-hearted makeup lady will ask if he’s feeling all right. Walken will mention off-handedly that today is his birthday, but he swears the makeup lady to secrecy. In a matter of hours, the cast and crew of the movie throw together a big birthday party for him, complete with cake and champagne. Everyone has a great time, and no one suspects that Walken planned the whole thing just to inject a little fun in ...

22. The Family: A Place For Persons

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... put it in a rather poetic fashion. “The fellows up in personal, they have a set of cards on me, they’re sprinkled perforations tell my individuality. And what am I? I am a chart upon the cards of IBM, the secret places of my heart have little secrecy for them. Monday my brain began to buzz, I was in agony all the night. I found out what the trouble was –they had the paper clipped to tight.” So everybody, everybody needs a place. I’m talking about physical stability, yes, but far more than that. I ...

23. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... the root and fruit of their lives. And when they are wrong, they fix it. False prophets, on the other hand, take the broad way and recommend the easy way to others. They are resistant to accountability and oversight. They are surrounded by secrecy and create little cults around themselves. They are always rounding out the edges Jesus left sharp and pointed; they are smooth and appealing, leaving people feeling good as they dish out the Sunday by Sunday spiritual equivalent of Valium which removes anxiety ...

24. Fire in the Hold

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... weeks, and couldn't put it out. It was determined that the coal stores were so huge that the fire would not deplete it, and was not a danger to the passengers or crew. So the ship put to sea with a fire-fighting crew sworn to secrecy, still fighting the stubborn fire in shifts around the clock. The ship never made it to port. Crossing the Atlantic with more than 2,220 persons aboard, the ship sank. 1,513 persons perished, making the incident the worst maritime disaster in history. Safety standards of the ...

25. My Laughin’ Place

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Sermon

Bill Mosley

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