Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: loss, disadvantage, debt, lack, need, payment, resource, want

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Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What used to be true for boats is now equally true for cell phones. The best day of your life? The day you bought your boat. The second best day of your life? The day you sold your boat. That kind of love/hate relationship is even fiercer when it comes to our most beloved, most bemoaned tech toy — the “smart phone.” Every time you “upgrade” from a version “3" to “4” to “5” . . . it seems that only minutes later there is a version “6.” Almost as soon as you can get out your credit card, you are the proud ...

2. Good News about Death

John 11:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Comedian Woody Allen once said that it’s impossible to whistle a tune while pondering one’s own death. And yet that is exactly what we want to do on this All Saints’ Day 2009. We’re not going to whistle, but we’re going to put death in its place. Every once in a while a series of epitaphs come across the Internet. I’m glad that we can find humor even in cemeteries. Here are some of the best ones I’ve seen: “Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York: Died 1942. Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was ...

3. Persistence In Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

I believe you will agree with me that this is one election season that all of us will be happy to see come to an end. One of the candidates for president . . . I won’t say which one . . . was campaigning in West Virginia recently. Some of the coal miners were not real happy about it when the candidate asked for their vote. “Vote for you?” one of them jeered. “Why, I’d sooner vote for the Devil!” “Fair enough!” called out the candidate, “But in the event that your friend doesn’t run, may I have your ...

4. Face To Face With God

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

H.G. Wells once told a fascinating story. It is about an Episcopalian bishop, though he could have been a cleric in any denomination. He was the kind of man who could always be counted on to provide a pious platitude. He had a favorite answer that always served him in good stead. When troubled folks came to him, he would assume his best stainedglass voice and ask, "Have you prayed about it?" If said in just the right way, no more needed to be said. The bishop himself didn't pray much. After all, his life ...

5. Christ Is King

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Today we have the privilege of a preview of that glory when eternity begins, when every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. The day is Christ the King, the final Sunday in another round of time with Christ. We can hear the trumpet of the seventh angel, and the voices loudly shouting in the heavens (Apocalypse 11:15), "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." We are in the ...

6. Death Meets The Lord

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Ken Lentz

The writer quoted in Isaiah 25 promises that an unlikely victory will occur. An unlikely victory had already occurred in his tradition when Goliath, the hero of the Philistine army confronted David, a young sheepherder. It didn't look like an even match. Goliath was a seasoned warrior, six cubits and a span tall, covered with a coat of mail and bronze helmet, and armed with a shaft with an iron spearhead that weighted six hundred shekels. He taunted the Israelites for forty days before David asked Saul to ...

7. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this epithet to remind the Galatians that they need not be as they once ...

8. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

Paul’s Appeal to the Gospel the Galatians Have Known and Experienced 3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this ...

9. Love Them Before You Leave Them

John 19:25-26

Sermon

James Merritt

A businessman wanted to send a floral arrangement to a friend who was opening a new branch office. His friend called later in the day to thank him for the considerate gesture, but he was a little bit confused about the card which read: "Rest in peace." The businessman apologized for the mix-up and quickly called to chastise the florist. The florist tried to brush it off, and said: "Look, it could be worse. Somewhere in the cemetery there is a bouquet with a note reading, ‘Good luck in your new location.'" ...

10. No Condemnation!

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

The prophet Micah, who lived 700 years B.C., was surrounded by people who worshiped many false gods and idols. One scholar has established that the Greeks alone worshiped thirty thousand; and we know the Hindus claim thirty-three million gods. In Mesopotamia every household had its own god. Micah beheld the Canaanites who worshiped Baal and Astarte, the Moabites who worshiped Chemosh, the Philistines who worshiped Dagon, the Amorites who worshiped Moloch, the Nabateans who worshiped Dusares, and the ...

11. God As Wisdom

Proverbs 1:20-33

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

If someone like me were to ask someone like you, "How do you imagine God?" what would you answer? What is the first word that comes to your mind when I say God? Creator? Love? Mother? Friend? Jesus? Help? Shepherd? Defender? How do you imagine God? When you are praying, how do you experience God? As strength? As light? As comfort? All-encompassing? How do you imagine God? Is God someone with a large protective shoulder to lean on, when you are more than a little scared? Is God a strong warrior who will ...

12. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

I've read that in one of Von Schlegel's avant-garde plays, the curtain rises to show the dimly-lit interior of a theater. There on the stage sit a group of people waiting for a curtain to rise. A ripple of amused laughter washes across the auditorium at the obvious irony of watching actors engage in the very activity which had occupied the audience only moments earlier. However, when this second curtain is lifted, it displays still another group sitting in front of yet another curtain. People begin to grow ...

13. Jesus Gives Us Tomorrow!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven." And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51) The ...

14. Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

R.S.V.P. Sometimes it is interesting to take a biblical passage and just go through it line by line, letting the sparks fly out. This is the way I have opted to deal with today's first reading. Isaiah is one of the prophets who has given us an account of a turning point experience in his life. Some of his imagery will seem strange to us. But if we can get behind it there is something powerful here to which we can relate as well as a piercing word to us in the here and now. Listen! Isaiah begins: "In the ...

15. A Glimpse of God

Exodus 33:19-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

What would you feel like if you had an appointment with God at 9 A.M. tomorrow? Would you be able to eat for the rest of the day? How much sleep do you think you’d get tonight? You’ve got an appointment with God at 9 A.M. in the morning. He has given you instructions as to where to meet him and what to bring with you. That was the case with Moses. “Come up in the morning to Mount Sinai,” God said, “and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.” Moses was to bring with tables of stones like ...

16. The Great Divide

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

I have to admit, this is not the Jesus I'm comfortable with. All this talk about bringing fire to the earth and that he can't wait until it's set ablaze. What kind of talk is that? Then there is the part about how households will become divided because of him. For goodness' sake, that's exactly opposite from the kind of community we're trying to build here. Can you imagine if I announced an adult education program that promised to teach you how to divide your families in five easy sessions? You wouldn't ...

17. Joy in the Journey

119:129-136

Sermon

Michael Milton

This section contains seven of the eight words used to refer to the Law in Psalm 119. Each line of this section begins with the Hebrew letter Pe, though each is a different word. Yesterday my son, as he often does, read cartoons to me. One was Dennis the Menace. Dennis is kneeling beside his bed, devoutly gazing toward heaven, saying his prayers. The caption read, “You’ll be glad to know that I only broke three-ana-half commandments today.” Only three-ana-half! Way to go, Dennis! Well, the cartoon is funny ...

18. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Larry Davies, in his book Sowing Seeds of Faith in a World Gone Bonkers, tells a story with which many of us can identify. He says the check‑out line at his local grocery store was long and he was in a hurry. Seeing another line nearby nearly empty, he walked over and stood behind the only customer still to make a purchase. A young twenty‑something woman was holding a small basket with fifteen to twenty jars of baby food. There was nothing else in the basket: just baby food. “This is great,” he ...

19. Christ My Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

If someone were to suggest the term most descriptive of life today, a very possible reply might be that of "darkness." Such a response would fit not only our physical and environmental condition following the initial energy crisis announced in the early 1970s, but also our present economic situation, our international tensions, and our domestic relationships. However, most noticeably it characterizes the current moral and spiritual malaise evidenced across our nation and throughout society. Individuals ...

20. The 3 Rs of a Holy Life

2 Corinthians 13:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

An old adage warns, “bad things always come in threes.” Have you found this true in your own experience? That bad things (and good things) like to happen in community, in bunches? You say: we invent this connection by suddenly realizing that we got a flat tire on the same day that a computer glitch devoured our hard drive, shortly after our last contact lens just slid down the drain. I say: there seems to be something significant about the power of three. Today the church celebrates the Triune God—Father, ...

21. The Deeper Magic

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Brett Blair

It might surprise you to learn that I do not disapprove of the Harry Potter phenomenon. I do not think that Christians who read these books or watch the movie are in any way practicing witchcraft. The books are first and foremost literature. There is, in the movie and book, a great deal of attention given to spells and incantations but from my point of view the main point being made has nothing to do with witchcraft. I will get to this point in a moment. But first let me throw in a word of caution. If ...

22. What If He Shows Up?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I know that you remember Murphy's Law, which said, "If anything can go wrong, it will." There are a thousand variations of that law, such as, "Buttered toast, when falling to the floor, will always fall face down." But it seems that one day in this particular house the toast fell to the floor, and to the amazement of the family, it landed buttered side up. Immediately the scientists were called in to analyze this. Did this really refute Murphy's Law, which said that "buttered toast, when it falls to the ...

23. A Sermon for Passion Sunday

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Dean Lueking

On this Passion Sunday, we stand again at the threshold of the Great Seven Days, this week of time that takes us to the inmost heart of the work that God has done for us through Christ his Son. As we prepare to hear the passion story of Jesus’ suffering as proclaimed by St. Matthew, I invite you to hear one sentence in particular. It is that word of our Lord from the Cross that is at once the most anguished account and the Gospel which comes to us from it: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ( ...

24. Holy Vexation

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Robert Noblett

We have all probably had the experience of being in the presence of someone who is normally composed and tranquil, and having that person suddenly erupt. A topic is introduced and immediately goes to the quick. It all seems so out of character. I can imagine Christian folks having a similar reaction to this story (found, incidentally, in all of the Gospels) of Jesus cleansing the temple. If you are fifty years or older and remember singing the old gospel song that talks about Jesus calling us "softly and ...

25. Cross Eyed: Triumph

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Mark was three years old when his pet lizard died. Since it was her grandson's first brush with death, Grandma suggested that Mark and an older boy in the family hold a "funeral" for the lizard. Grandma explained what a funeral was: a ceremony where you say a prayer, sing a song, and bury your loved one. Grandma even provided a shoe box and a burial place in the backyard. The boys thought it was a great idea, so they all proceeded to the backyard. Taking the lead, the older boy said a prayer. Then he ...

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