Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Jech

... could share jokes and/or humorous anecdotes that have given us insight. The laughter would be a liturgical act. We could even do some liturgical applause at the end of such a sermon. It might be a surprise. But it would not be out of place. Conrad Hyers claims that laughter and a comic perspective are uniquely human attributes. I think he's right and I think we need to celebrate this attribute - literally! Speaking of comic perspective, try this on for size: We need imagination to help us deal with what we ...

2. Light In The Land Of Shadows

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... of Peace. He sits over a kingdom and rules, unlike other rulers, with justice and righteousness from now to eternity. The Kingdom whose foundations we commemorate and the Prince whose nativity the world's nations celebrate today bring light to all us dwellers in the land of shadows. 1. See Conrad Hyers, "The Nativity As Divine Comedy," The Christian Century (December 11, 1974), pp. 1168-1172."

3. Angels Announce His Coming

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Conrad Hyers in his book, And God Created Laughter, tells a wonderful story about Abraham Lincoln. It seems that an eight-year-old girl once wrote to Lincoln suggesting that he grow a beard. In her opinion, Lincoln would stand a better chance of election if he would grow a beard to ...

4. Want To Sit At The Head Table?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... .Va. Gazette, 12/9/91. 2. Donnie Radcliffe, SIMPLY BARBARA BUSH (Warner Books) 3. "Researchers' Dispute Over Who Gets Credit Delays Sex Survey Publication," The Knoxville News-Sentinel (June 27, 1989), Section A, p. 7. 4. Robert Burdette 5. Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, READER'S DIGEST, August 1989, p. 76. 6. Conrad Hyers, AND GOD CREATED LAUGHTER (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987).

5. Family Reunion

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the British Royal Family was the first Bishop of Rome”; and (5) “Jesus was of English descent - his grandmother came from Cornwall...and the grave of the Virgin Mary’s uncle was found at Glastonbury.” (LONDON TIMES MAGAZINE, December 1, 1985, quoted in Conrad Hyers, And God Created Laughter, Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987, page 57) What’s more...the author claimed to be a member of Jesus’ Family!! His claims have never been taken seriously. But you and I can be members of Jesus’ Family, if we ...

6. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and trees, piece by piece, while Stan and Ollie destroy his house and shrubbery, piece by piece. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” wins the day. What had started out with a “Merry Christmas” ends up with two piles of rubble. (Conrad Hyers, “And God Created Laughter: The Bible As Divine Comedy”, Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987 P. 111) Insanity! Yes, but it is still going on between persons, groups, and nations, even in a nuclear age. The daily papers are full of it. And we think the ...

7. There Will Be Peace

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember an old comedy team from the early part of the twentieth century named Oliver and Hardy. They produced some marvelous work. Their comedy was slapstick, but it also showed a deep understanding of human nature. Conrad Hyers, in his book And God Created Laughter tells about an early Laurel and Hardy film from 1925 titled Big Business. Stan and Ollie are Christmas-tree salesmen in California going from house to house in a Model T truck loaded with trees. The story begins innocently ...

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