Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 John 5:1-12, 1 John 5:13-21

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... are still waiting to be lit. What a contrast to the simplicity of Jesus' tomb, in which only the folded grave clothes were found. Jesus, of course, was not there. He had risen. The darkness did not hold him captive until some archaeologist unearthed him. God the Father unearthed Jesus on the third day, raising him to glory because of his obedience unto death, even death on the cross. The scripture had been fulfilled where it was written, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has ...

2. Digging Deeper

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... and if He did not do what He said He did, die on the cross for our sins and come back from the dead, then the entire Christian faith collapses like a house of cards. That is why this series is so vitally important. We are calling it “Unearthing Truth.” Since everything we believe about God, and about Jesus, and about salvation is found in the Bible we wanted to take, intellectually speaking, an archeological shovel and dig into the facts about the Bible and dig out the truth of whether or not there is a ...

3. Can You Dig It?

Genesis 26:1-35

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... the watering ground for the revitalization of our communities. It may be something as simple as grandma's hum or as complex as holding onto some practice or belief which sustains the family through difficult times. Some traditional and ritual practices we should unearth and preserve. Some practices of abuse we should relinquish. Every family has something of value from its past which can help it find its future. Isaac understood the value in doing such. He was reclaiming the faith of his father as a means ...

4. Looking Up: Looking Out

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... necessary to be proven or disproven. Like our story of the transfiguration, grace stands outside the capacities of reason. How can we talk about such things as the transfiguration of Jesus? Our much-valued reason fails us in light of this report of an unearthly, glowing brilliance, of a visitation from figures long-dead, like some story out of Charles Dickens, of a voice speaking from the clouds. When Peter struggled for an appropriate word to say, it didn't even merit a response from Jesus. Even Jesus didn ...

5. It's Not Rocket Science

John 8:31-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... Word of God. It claims to be the written revelation of God himself and the only written revelation that we have. That is the claim that deserves to be given the most rigorous examination and put to the most thorough test. We are in a series called “Unearthing Truth” and over the last two weeks we have shared with you why we believe this Bible was divinely authored by God, divinely given by God, and also why we believe that specifically the four gospels found in this book that tell us about Jesus Christ ...

6. The Just-In-Case God

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... the underworld to perform on their rivals or enemies. Then they would bury the curse tablets in tombs, or they would throw them down wells or in other nearby water sources. This seemed to be the surest route to deliver them to the gods of the underworld. These newly-unearthed tablets had been thrown down a well in an ancient cemetery in Athens. (4) And that brings me to a question I’d like us to consider this morning: Does it matter what god we worship? Does it matter if we know much about God or not? So ...

7. The Promise Of The Spirit

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... was manifested in utterances that broke through the confines of ordinary speech and burst out in ecstatic laughter of praise and thanksgiving. Schaff declares, "It was the Spirit himself who gave them utterance and played on their tongues, as on new tuned harps, unearthly melodies of praise. It was the first Te Deum of the newborn church" (History of the Christian Church, Vol. 1, p. 230f). Francis Giovanni was the son of a rich clothing merchant in southern Italy. He was a gallant, high-spirited young man ...

8. The Narrow Gate

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

John G. Lynch

... and even an American wandering in that half-lit city. When Alex found the narrow gate, it wasn't narrow after all. He had hoped to find, by diligent inquiry, some clue to those turbulent times in Russian history. By careful scrutiny he had planned to unearth for himself the treasure that would tell him all. He looked for something suspicious and evil -- an omen that he could claim his own. Instead God led him to a simple, fundamental truth about himself -- a truth as broad as the Steppes of Siberia, a truth ...

9. The High Cost of Christian Living

Matthew 16:24-28

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... the master. A missionary who had spent thirty years in the Congo told of a native mourning service there. The corpse was laid on a stretcher in the center of the village. For three months the relatives of the deceased kneeled around the decaying body uttering unearthly noises. The tropical sun beat down on the corpse and the hot rains helped to beat it to fragments. As the body decayed, it fell piece by piece into a gutter below. The missionary said that he had seen the natives stoop and drink from the ...

10. A Short Sermon

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

James Garrett

... because we are our own masters. The most blind were not those whose physical eyes were sightless. It was a moral and spiritual blindness. At our better moments we are appalled by the culture we have created. Imagine archaeologists, some 1,000 years hence, unearthing the movies and plays and television we watched, pouring over the books we read, hearing the music we heard -- rock music, hard rock, punk rock, and the kinds of horrors that fascinated us on the evening news. Now, of course, they would discover ...

11. The African Foundations Of Christianity

Exodus 4:1-17

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... or Negroid features. This posed a problem for many of the white racists who had been taught from day one that white people had created what is known today as Western culture and civilization. As a result, many of the artifacts which were unearthed were deliberately and maliciously defaced and even destroyed because of their typical African characteristics of broad noses and thick lips. Thus a great conspiracy began on the banks of the Nile and continues to this very day - a conspiracy to erase and eradicate ...

12. In Quest of a Treasure

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Larry Powell

... achieved his objective and, in turn, buried the treasures of gold, silver, and gems somewhere east of the Rio Grande. Ranchers in the area still lease "mineral rights" on their land to treasure hunters, but retain certain rights should Coronado's wealth be unearthed. In contrast to Coronado and Ponce de Leon, consider the quest of Francis di Bernardone, more popularly known as St. Francis of Assisi. As the only child of well-to-do parents, his every whim and desire were more than adequately satisfied. He ...

13. Call Him a Story Teller

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

George Bass

... a natural death. Why bother to make a martyr out of an eighty-four-year-old and stir up his friends and followers if he must be about to die from advanced age? That part of the tale is mysterious, but no one will ever know - unless new evidence is unearthed - what the full and true story ever is. However it was that Luke died, we may be certain that he was faithful to Christ to the end of his life. Were it otherwise, the Christians would not have established a feast day for him and celebrated it as a martyr ...

14. A Dead Man in a Witch’s Cave

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... these days that we couldn’t hear God if he yelled, let alone when he whispers in a still, small voice. The Ignominy of "Ichabod" The word "Ichabod" conjures up, in our mind’s eye, strange and mysterious thoughts of the uncanny and the unearthly. Such ideas are possibly inspired by Washington Irving’s classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with its depiction of the ungainly Ichabod Crane and a scary headless horseman. But Ichabod is a scriptural name, whose source dates back at least to the time of ...

15. Strengthened For Life

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... to the University of Glasgow to receive a Doctor of Laws degree. The students in those days had a tradition of making fun of those eminent men who were invited for honorary degrees. They made elaborate preparations to use pea shooters, to make unearthly noises, and to ridicule this missionary who actually walked the length and width of that pagan and primitive country in the name of Jesus Christ. When Livingstone walked upon the platform, the students suddenly lost their interest in the fun they had planned ...

16. The Word To The Wise

Proverbs 2:1-22

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... was in him, to render justice" (1 Kings 2:28). The Word to the Wise is Wisdom, for the wise seek wisdom with a single-minded heart. The wise seek wisdom with tenacity and diligence, like the man who bought the field and plowed it to unearth the buried treasure, or the one who sought the pearl of great price. The wise importunately pray for wisdom so that they might know and choose a course of action that will prove the best in any circumstance - the "tough go" that we frequently encounter in relationships ...

17. With All Your Heart

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

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... and spiritual reduction which prevent us from having a heart that is willing to confess. Confessing our sin unloads the burden of sin, unyokes the reigns of sin, unleashes the energy of sin, uncages the guilt of sin, unbinds the sorrow of sin, unearths the causes of sin, and unnerves the power of sin. Sin creates its own patterns of domestication and subordination that solidifies its dominion and reinforces its hegemony in our lives. Confessing our sin is subverting sin’s power and authority, sin’s ...

18. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

... in all Greek literature. The word is not found in classical Greek, and no where else in New Testament Greek does it appear. Some people thought St. Matthew made up the word when he wrote his version of the Gospel . . . that is, until 1947, when they unearthed the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among all the shards of pottery, and scraps of papyrus and parchment, was a shopping list . . . evidently a housewife's notes of what she needed from the market. Jesus' word for DAILY was on the list. It was the designation of a ...

19. Tackling Troubles Triumphantly

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... out the Christian faith for everyone to see and feel. For James, this faith depended not only on outward expressions (words and actions) but also on how far those words traveled on their inward journey to the heart. So let’s dig in and see what truths we can unearth for our journey. Let us see if we can "grow up into the jersey" and model the vision James holds up before us. It is a journey worth taking. We’ll look first at chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, where James acknowledges the presence of troubles and ...

20. Abundant Life

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

The college faculty gathered for their weekly meeting. A professor of archeology brought with him a lamp recently unearthed in the Middle East. It was reported to contain a genie, who, when the lamp was rubbed would appear and grant one wish. A professor of philosophy was particularly intrigued. He grabbed the lamp and rubbed it vigorously. Suddenly a genie appeared and made him an offer. He could choose ...

21. Dusting Off Our Gratitude

Joel 2:21-27

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... by an all-consuming drought. Their barren land and darkened sky must have looked similar to that of the 1930s dust bowl in the heartland of this country. But instead of dust and dirt, their sky was blackened by insects that were making a terrifying, unearthly noise as they moved from one place to another, ravaging the land. If that were not enough, water was scarce, placing both human and animal life in jeopardy. Joel calls upon the people of Judah to lament and grieve after the swarm of locusts has ...

22. Was Jesus the First Buster?

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... by the many different responses I have gotten about it. I don't belittle anyone's religious belief because I have some problems with the way some organized religions wield their political power...Those are some pretty deep statements for a simple pop song to unearth though, don't you think?" Still not convinced? Try scanning Buster periodicals and see what they are writing and talking about. Not too long ago, I picked up the Buster magazine Details (the December 1995 issue). Here's a quick roll call of ads ...

23. Treasure Hunters

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of being a treasure hunter. In our fantasies, a treasure hunter starts out with nothing and then suddenly is made rich beyond his or her wildest imagination. The key to the treasure hunter's success is some kind of secret knowledge or unearthed map. He discovers a hidden map, or she translates a cryptic message, and immediately the location of an unknown treasure is revealed. But true "treasure hunters" aren't found diving into the wrecks of sunken ships or hiking hidden trails through rugged mountains ...

24. Barking Dogs and Daily Bread

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is something unique about the relationship between human beings and their canine companions. Archaeological digs at ancient camp sites have found evidence of dogs sharing the firelight and big bones with humans. Some of the earliest burial sites ever unearthed have found human bones and canine bones intermingled. In other words, dogs were buried with their masters. Over the centuries dog breeders have “created” hundreds of different breeds. Dalmatians might not look much like dachshunds, but they have ...

25. I Am the Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the father suddenly saw that, that the son working down in a excavated area was about to become the victim of a landslide. Instantaneously, he jumped into the hole and threw his son on the ground and covered his son up with his own body. When the bodies were unearthed, the father had died from a blow on his head, but the son was still alive because the father’s body had covered him from the dirt and he could still breathe. It’s a picture, a faint picture of the good shepherd who will lay down his life ...

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