Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.— Matthew 22:9 When you arrive at the church to attend a wedding, most often someone will hand you a program or a bulletin, which contains not only the order of the service but also the names of the wedding participants. It’s a helpful thing to have in hand, especially if you struggle to remember people’s name...

2. Are You Ready to Wait?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet. — Matthew 25:10 Have you ever noticed how waiting — waiting for something or someone — can be either wonderful or dreadful? To a large degree the difference is determined by what you are waiting for. Waiting for your bride to come down the aisle of the church can be wonderful. Waiti...

3. Blessed to Be Among the Company of Mourners

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. — Matthew 5:4 Recently I conducted four funerals in four weeks and by the end of the month I was emotionally and spiritually exhausted. It’s hard enough to conduct a funeral for a stranger, far more so for a friend. And these people were my friends, friends with whom I had attended parties, shared meals, and enjoyed a laugh or a good joke. ...

4. Choosing to Be Grateful

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?” — Luke 17:17 There was once a minister who was well known for his beautiful and moving prayers. He always knew just what to say because, I am told, his heart overflowed with gratitude. But one Sunday morning he woke up to the kind of day we preachers dread. If it was not a full-blown nor’easter, it came pretty close....

5. Practicing What We Preach

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. —Matthew 23:2-3 In today’s scripture from Matthew, Jesus accused the scribes and the Pharisees of hypocrisy. And he did not do it just once, but numerous times. Indeed, throughout Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke more often about ...

6. Rule of Love

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? — Matthew 22:36 In one of her books, the eloquent Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, wrote these words about the Bible: “My relationship with the Bible is a marriage, not a romance, and one I am willing to work on in all the usual ways.”1 What she meant, of course, was that her relationship with the Bible was like any other serious relat...

7. Stamped with God’s Own Image

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” — Matthew 22:19 Recent DNA tests reveal that a software engineer from South Carolina shared an exact match to the maternal mitochondrial DNA of King Richard III of England. As you may know, the King’s bones were discovered in 2012 under a parking lot in England on land that was once a friary. The bones sh...

8. The Gospel We Preach

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. — Matthew 25:24 A number of years ago my wife and I and several of our friends went on a sailing vacation in the Caribbean. One day we went ashore on the island of Dominica, hired a taxi, and took a tour of that tropic...

9. The Judge of the Living and the Dead

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

When the Son of Man comes in his glory…he will sit on the throne of his glory…and separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. — Matthew 25:31-32 In a recent essay, Princeton Seminary president Craig Barnes wrote about two black Labrador retrievers that attended worship in the seminary chapel. It’s not that these dogs were especially religious. Rather, they w...

10. The Word Above All Earthly Powers

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. — John 8:31-32 Recently, I came across a list of the 100 most influential people of the last 1,000 years. First on the list is Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press with moveable type. Following right on his heels and coming in at number three, is one of my all-time fa...

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