Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to the words of Jesus. Give attention to the witness of the way the Spirit of Christ is at work in other people's lives. Having done those three, you can: Go. Go into life with a new awareness and a new confidence that the God who is with us will fulfill his good purpose in our lives. (James A. Harnish, "Finding the 'New' You," sermon preached at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, Florida, 18 July 1999.) There are many people out there who have no conception of what REAL LIFE can be. They think long ...

2. A Matter Of The Heart

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... and the new life at Hyde Park Church, his book is entitled You Only Have To Die. You can order it from the virtual bookstore at www.fumcbirmingham.org or purchase it in the Circuit Rider Bookstore. Also mentioned is E. Stanley Jones. His autobiography, A Song of Ascents, and a recent biography by Stephen Graham, Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Mission, are available from the virtual bookstore at www.fumcbirmingham.org. ENDNOTES: 1. James A. Harnish, You Only Have to Die, page 24, 40 2. U.M. Hymnal, page 417

3. Noah: The Bearer Of An Alternative Possibility

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... creatures have become mean spirited. Created for good, they have turned toward evil. Gifted with freedom, they have acted with utter disregard for the order and purpose you carved into the creation." (James A. Harnish, Journeys With the People of God, pp. 26 - 29). How would you feel? What would you have done? My friend, Jim Harnish, in thinking about this talked about remembering seeing Michael Angelo's Pieta at the New York World's Fair in 1965. He was moved by the beauty of the work, the perfection ...

4. Good News in the Ashes

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it clear that something is not right, that human beings have settled in the dust and settled for the worst.(5) James Harnish tells of a seminary professor who asked each new group of seminary students, "What made you feel that God was calling you into ... Samuel 11 4. II Samuel 12:1-14 5. http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/feb2094.htm 6. James A. Harnish, Tampa, Fla., 4/4/93 7. J. Clinton McCann, Jr., "The Book of Psalms," The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IV, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998), p. 887-888 8. Isaiah 55: ...

5. The Lord's Song in a Foreign Land

Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... we can learn to sing it, even in a foreign land. NOTE: For further reading, I highly recommend Bill McKibben's article in the August 2005 Harper's Magazine entitled "The Christian Paradox: How a Faithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong." On request, I will gladly provide you with a copy. 1. Gary Haller, "Searching for Shalom," April 14 and 28, 2002 2. Bill McKibben, "The Christian Paradox," Harper's Magazine, August 2005, page 31 3. Quoted in a sermon by James A. Harnish, "A Song of Hope," Hyde Park UMC, Tampa, Fla ...

6. Are You Ready for the Journey?

Mark 8:27-9:1

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... point in Mark's story, Jesus surprises us with the secret. [1] 1. YOU SAY I AM THE SON OF GOD...WELL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE SON OF GOD — IT MEANS A CROSS. He tells them plainly. But the sad truth is, they don't get it. He tells them again in Chapter 9 and for the third time in Chapter 10, but they still don't get it. ... swim, for the most part we will walk. Are you ready for the journey? 1. Justo Gonzalez, Mark's Message, page 41, 66 2. Rev. James A. Harnish, Sermons from Hyde Park, 3/31/96

7. Tongues, Ears, or Too Much to Drink

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... of us, most of the time, we experience the Spirit of Christ most often when two or three are gathered together in his name, in community. My brother tells a story of a man in his church who had been through personal trauma—alcohol abuse had led to the breakup of his family, loss of his job, and the struggle to ... Even here. Even now. Amen. 1. Tom Ehrich, www.onajourney.org 2. James A. Harnish, "No One Gets to Heaven Alone," Oct. 26, 2003, Hyde Park UMC, Tampa, FL 3. Bruce Larson, Wind and Fire, page 39

8. Unlikely Election

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... an itinerant traveling preacher in the connection for more than thirty-five years and I love it. I spent seven of those years as a church bureaucrat, literally running the machinery of this huge global conglomerate we call United Methodism, and I believe in the work we did. I ... 27 2. Stephen Tomkins, A Short History of Christianity, page 90 3. E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of Every Road, page 25 4. Quoted in the sermon "What Me? Holy?" by James A. Harnish, Hyde Park UMC, Tampa, FL, April 24, 2005 5. U.M. ...

9. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

For most of us, it just wouldn't be Christmas without reading Luke's eloquent words foretelling Jesus' birth. Tampa's James A. Harnish says that the difference between Luke's account of the Christmas story and Matthew's account is the difference between a Norman Rockwell painting in Saturday Evening Post and a tax collector's report. "If Luke reads like the Saturday Evening Post," Harnish writes, "then Matthew reads like the Wall Street Journal." In Luke's account, all the facets of this expertly crafted ...

10. Mustard Seed Faith

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... come in little packages. Mountains are moved. Sycamore trees plucked up. And tired cynical folks like you and me are transformed-picked up off the ground to soar like eagles. 1. (POSSIBILITIES, Jan/Feb 1988, p. 6) 2. James A. Harnish WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH KING JESUS? (Nashville:The Upper Room, 1987). 3. Robert L. Veninga, A GIFT OF HOPE (New York: Ballantine Books, 1985). 4. (Waco: Word Books, 1986). 5. Harold E. Kohn, ADVENTURES IN INSIGHT (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans publishing Company, 1967).

11. Legacies of Power

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... figured it out?" asks Timothy. "Paul is in love ... Paul is in love with Jesus Christ." The man looks even more confused. "Is that all?" With a smile on his face, Timothy answers, "Ah, but that is everything."6 And, indeed it is. Christ is the King, and in his power is the ... As told by Bishop Bevel Jones in a sermon before the 1996 United Methodist General Conference, Denver, Colorado (Nashville: United Methodist Communications, April 25, 1996), DVD. 3. James A. Harnish, "Out of Sight!" Tampa, Florida, May 19 ...

12. In The Beginning And The End...God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... marvelous people flawed and human and underlines for me that God does not choose "qualified" people to do the work of love...Genesis has everything all the human vices and glories, love and hate, hatred, murder, sacrifice, and a great story. There is no end to plumbing its depths." (quoted by James A. Harnish, Journeys With The People of Genesis, Upper Room Books, 1989, p. 13). She's right. There is no end to plumbing its depth. But we are going to probe, and pray, and reflect, and simply listen, for seven ...

13. Power

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... difference...in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! In a moment we will remember and reaffirm our baptisms. Remember with a sense of holy awe. Remember. Power! Amen! 1. ©1997 Butchers Run Films. Produced, written and directed by Robert Duvall 2. 2 Kings 1:8 3. Luke 3:7-14 4. Brian Stoffregen, via Ecunet, "Gospel Notes for Next Sunday," #2764, 1/5/97 5. James A. Harnish, "Out of Sight!," Tampa, Fla. 5/19/96 quoted in Homiletics Online, http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments ...

14. Bad or Good?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... plane lift off the ground. He said that in that moment realized, 'I always wanted her to be a respectable Christian – not a real one!" (As cited by James A. Harnish, "Overcoming Complacency," 27 February 2000, Tampa, Florida). Which will it be this morning? · A good Christian or a bad One? · A Christian that begs to differ? · Or a Christian that strive to comply? · A Christian that passes on God's hands-on touch? · Or a Christian that keeps one's hands in one's pockets? When we don't beg to differ ...

15. A Circle for Dorothy

Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... that's just what he did! He wanted us to be called Jim and Jack, so we have no middle name, only middle initials—James A. and John E.—but we were always Jim and Jack. There was only one problem. Nobody could tell us apart. Even some of our relatives just called us "the twins" and in high school it was just "Harnish," as if I didn't even have a first name. But in church... old Rev. Ross, a retired minister in our congregation, took Jim and me under his wing and loved and prayed for us by name. our Sunday ...

16. Ministry By Faith: Does She or Doesn't She?

I Corinthians 16:14, James 2:14-26

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... James ... without providing even a cup of ... a litmus test? I mean ... a ... James Version? Can they still be a ... a Methodist preacher in Oxford, North Carolina. His father was an outspoken advocate of racial justice and integration in a ... a vital faith, it is to be found in active servanthood, ministry in the name and spirit of Christ. James ... a board for the next four years would be to try to implement what the Conference adopted. In part, it created a ... a ministry? You say you "Have ... a ... a ... a time, there was a ... a ... a whole and the North as well as the South. 1 ...

17. Preparing The Way

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of urgency in John's message. There wasn't much time left. The Christ was coming soon. They needed to be ready. Pastor James Harnish tells about buying a home near a lake in northern Florida. The house had been vacant for over a year and nature had taken control. "Down at the lakefront right beside the dock, a massive bramblebush had grown. Its long twisting vines totally engulfed the earthbound end of the dock. It was not possible to get past the bush and onto the dock without being snagged by its thorns ...

18. High Noon

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... of the soul. And that was my dad. Life is real. Life is earnest. Life is serious business. I sometimes think we Harnish men are burdened with a congenital disease...an inherited case of terminal seriousness. But at high noon, in the midst of our busyness, there is the danger ... from James Gleick's Recovering the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time: Busy people may think that what we need is a few more open boxes on the pages of our date books, but in fact, that would only provide a flat ...

19. A Life to Die For

Acts 6:8-15; Acts 7:54-8:1

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... his words, they were enraged and ground their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven, and saw the glory of God. A life worth living is rooted in the past, but gazes toward heaven. It has its eye on the future, looking for the glory of God. These whom we ... for all are thine. Alleluia. Alleluia. Thanks be to God. Amen. 1. Quoted in James Harnish's sermon, "Till All Heaven Breaks Loose," Nov. 22, 1987 2. Time Magazine, Sept. 18, 2006, page 55 3. Bruce Modahl, Christian Century ...

20. On the Mountainside

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... , body and life. [1] We call it the Lord's Prayer, but it is really the "Disciples' Prayer." Jesus gave it to his disciples as a sample prayer, a model prayer. In fact, in Luke's gospel, the prayer is offered in response to the specific request, "Lord, teach us to pray." Across the ... Jesus, page 69 2. Phillips, Your God is Too Small, page 37 3. James Harnish, July 7, 1991, "Does Anyone Fear God Anymore?" 4. UM Hymnal, page 103 5. John Killinger, The God Named Hallowed, page 20 6. Killinger, The God Named Hallowed ...

21. The Lonesome George Church

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... rule of God himself. . . . It does not matter whether you are now working in the field or grinding corn, whether you are a priest or a professor, a cook or a porter, or an old age pensioner. What matters is how your life looks when you hold it up to the light of the ... had sung, ‘Give me that old time religion, it’s good enough for me,’ we’d all be wearing yarmulkas.” --James Harnish When Jesus asked, “Do you love me more than these?” what do you think “these” means? Does it mean “more ...

22. Point Of Origin

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... who are unfriendly, we act as if they are a swarm of flies at a picnic or a beast of burden. We ask our school teachers, our ... James Rachels, Created From Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990). 2. See Reinhold Niebuhr, The Self and The Dramas of History (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1955), especially pp. 3-5. 3. Thanks to Charles Carter, Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, High Point, North Carolina, for calling my attention to this story told by James Harnish ...

23. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... A ... a ... a ... a ... a deep level, because we know it is a ... a ... a ... a ... make a different ... , told a lie, brought home a bad ... I uttered a profanity. I was ... a single dime as a ... a camel, when Satan approaches him: “Why not just turn this stone into a ... a story about how I am tempted. I may not be able literally to turn a ... a chunk of sandstone. I have a ... a secret about a grandfather, or an uncle, or a ... a little cemetery in a ... a lifelong friend and neighbor–a bout the ... a preacher. He was a business man, who, with only a high school education, had built a ...

24. The Rest Of The Story

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... heaven and a new earth.'" (Rev. 21:1 RSV). He said that the sea, the Old Testament symbol of chaos, and the physical reality separating John from his people, the sea vanished -- it was no more. So the revelation of John is the final version of the restoration of the hope of the creation story." (James Harnish, Journeys With the People of Genesis, p. 22). There is no escape from the struggle -- we will forever be caught in it -- the struggle between good and evil. To live by faith, though, is to know that ...

25. Evangelism Jesus' Style

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... and amplified. He said that in great old theaters where actors had spoken and sung with ease for fifty years, audiences are now obliged to listen to what he called a “totally phony sound.” He said that in an amplified world “the voice is never heard in its ordinary resonance ... it is pure tin” (James Harnish, “Like Father, like son,” June 19, 1983). There is a resurgence of emphasis on evangelism in the church today, and we thank God for that. With that being the case, why would I think about ...

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