Sermon and Worship Resources

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

Sermon

John E. Harnish

"If you only had one sermon to preach..." Well, we made it through the first one, and you came back! So what's the theme of the second Sunday? The church, of course. This week and next, we will explore two images of what it means, for me, to be the church. This week, we look to one of the most important books in the New Testament: Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I discover that I have preached fr...

2. A Life to Die For

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

Sermon

John E. Harnish

October 31…Halloween. It seems to get bigger every year. On my street, there are more decorations, more lights, more pumpkins, more ghosts and goblins. November 1, on the other hand, passed with little notice. For John Wesley, it was just the opposite. It was his favorite holiday. Reading his journals, you can pass December 25 with hardly a word about Christmas, and you can comb through his entrie...

3. A Matter Of The Heart

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Wesleyan theology is, at the heart, a matter of the heart. John Wesley referred to the Methodist experience as "heart religion," and the spirit of Charles Wesley's music goes right to the nurturing of the heart, the depth of the heart in relation to God, the healing of the heart. 1. First, the diagnosis. Let's call it spiritual cardiomyopathy, the hard heart. Cardiomyopathy—the muscles lose thei...

4. A Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Last week we looked at one image of the church, that of a circle of grace—God seeking, claiming and sustaining us. Today, another image, taken from St. Peter's letter to the early Christians of what is now Turkey, Asia Minor—a "peculiar people." A dictionary definition of "peculiar" says: "Out of the ordinary, strange, odd, unusual." You might say "just plain weird." I preached a sermon by that t...

5. Abraham and Sarah: Backing Into the Future

Hebrews 11:1-3; 8-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

New York Times Dateline: New Orleans, September 2: They waited, and they waited, and then they waited some more in the 90-degree heat. As many as 5000 people huddled at a highway underpass on Interstate 10, waiting for buses that never arrived to take them away from a storm they could not escape. Babies cried. The sick huddled in the shade in wheelchairs or rested on cots. A few others, less pati...

6. Are You Ready for the Journey?

Mark 8:27-9:1

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It all begins with one emperor penguin jumping out of the water and doing a belly splash onto the ice. Then he rises on his little web feet and the rich, resonate voice of the narrator says: "Like most love stories, it begins with an act of utter foolishness. Each year at about the same time, the emperor penguin will leave the comforts of his ocean home and embark on an incredible journey. Though ...

7. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Ah, nicknames. Sometimes they can be funny…like Pookey, Peanut or Pee-diddle. Sometimes they can be a problem. I am forever explaining why people call me Jack when my real name is John, while relatives who still can't tell me apart from my twin keep calling me "Twin" or Jim. And, of course, his name is really James. Sometimes nicknames can be very special. In our family, we still call our son Dav...

8. Bart and Homer, Father and Sons

1 Samuel 20:24-42

Sermon

John E. Harnish

The statistics abound and the statistics are not good: One of the chief predictors of youth crime is the role of the father in the home. Seventy percent of adolescents charged with murder and seventy percent of long-term prison inmates are from fatherless homes. Children who live absent their biological father are at least two to three times more likely to be poor, use drugs, be victims of child...

9. Bountiful Faith: Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles...Etc

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Have Faith… Strong in faith: "Just a little dab'll do ya." Ministry by faith: "Does she or doesn't she?" Saints by faith: "Good to the last drop." In a day when everything changes, some things never change. And in it all and through it all, a bountiful God of grace gives us a bountiful heart, a bountiful faith… 1. God calls us to live boldly and to give bountifully. Our theme verse for this c...

10. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Another week passes after the events of Easter day. Simon Peter says, "I'm goin' fishin'." And the other disciples join in, "We will, too." Well, what else were they supposed to do?? Jesus had risen, and he had appeared to them twice by now, but they had no idea what was going to happen. Jesus just seemed to show up every now and then, usually unannounced. They had no clear direction from him ye...

11. Bugles in the Afternoon

Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

I borrow my title from the outstanding British Methodist preacher and world Christian, Colin Morris. He titles his volume of sermons Bugles in the Afternoon. He says his title is based on the legend that Satan was a fallen angel who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Sometime later, the tradition goes, Satan was asked if there was anything he missed from heaven. Satan responded: "I...

12. Called to be a Christian Community: Cracked Pots and Clay Jars

2 Corinthians 4: 1-18

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It seems my little jaunt into English grammar, and especially the proper placement of prepositions, produced more response than almost anything I have written in Steeple Notes. I suppose that, in itself, is amazing. Several of you sent me Winston Churchill's famous quotation: "This is a situation with which I will not put up." But the best one came from a couple of my Wednesday morning Arbon Denn...

13. Central to Our Mission

John 21:1-14

Illustration

John E. Harnish

James Collins' books on leadership have become classics: Good to Great and Built to Last. In Built to Last, his primary theme is "Preserve the core/Stimulate progress." He says the core ideology, the reason a company exists, must be balanced with a willingness to change and grow in order to fulfill the mission. If an organization is to meet the challenges of a changing world, it must be prepared ...

14. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It's an obvious understatement to say we live in a day of great fear. The language of "terror" has become the motivating mantra of our day. I did a Google search for the word "fear," and I came up with a fascinating site called "The Phobia List"—pages of phobias, A to Z. Everything from Alliumphobia—the fear of garlic and Lachanophobia—the fear of vegetables to Zemmiphobia—the fear of the great mo...

15. From the Tomb

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John E. Harnish

None other than my good friend David Crumm reported on the front page of Friday's Free Press: "Christians Reach Beyond Easter Uproar to Find Hope." He writes: "Easter, Christianity's cornerstone, is at hand and nearly 200 million Americans say they plan to go to church. But the central meaning of the holiday is more hotly debated than at any other time in American history." David refers to The Da...

16. Gathered In, Sent Out

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

17. Gifts: Standing on the Promises

Malachi 4:10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

18. God Knows....Me!

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

I found it….the quotation I used in Steeple Notes about the faith that sings. It comes from a 1949 sermon preached by James T. Cleland, Professor of Preaching at Duke. The sermon is entitled "A Religion That Sings." "There are times and occasions when a religious person has to shout hallelujah or stand the risk of an inner explosion." He reminds us that the birth narratives of Jesus are filled w...

19. Good News...Really?

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Thank God for Luke. Of the many insights Luke gives us, his glimpses of Mary are especially profound. Were it not for Luke's Gospel, we would know very little about Mary. Mark skips the birth altogether, and in his Gospel, Jesus seems indifferent to Mary when she does show up. Matthew's Mary is mute. Not one word comes from her lips. She is present, but passive and silent. John shares her presence...

20. Grasshopper Religion

Numbers 13:25-33, 14:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

21. Great Joy

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

This is a sensuous season, a season of smells, sights, sounds… ...chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose; yuletide carols being sung by a choir and folks dressed up like Eskimos... Jingling bells and sleigh bells and silver bells, a mother's deep prayer and a baby's low cry. It's a season for the senses. Isaiah the prophet turns poet when he tries to picture the prom...

22. Grounded in Faith

1 Corinthians 15:1

Illustration

John E. Harnish

St. Paul's letters to the Corinthian church are written to a church torn by political and theological battles, a church unsure of its foundations and faith, a church struggling with issues of sexual morality and social pressure. So he reminds them: Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, in what terms I preached the Gospel, which you received and in which you stand. For I delivered to you a...

23. Growing Up

1 Corinthians 13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

24. High Noon

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Ah, the changing seasons, the unfolding of each new day, like the seasons of a life. This week we were up north for Judy's birthday - the first day of summer, the longest day of the year - and experienced once again: The glory and freshness of dawn, which comes so early right now in the north country, like the eager excitement of early life - first child, first grandchild, first steps, new experi...

25. In the Upper Room

John 17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

What does it feel like to have someone praying for you? By name, in person, one-on-one? John Indermark remembers a childhood experience of being in the hospital for surgery when he was ten years old. He says he remembers a priest praying for him: "I seem to recall that as he came and stood at the foot of my bed, I felt a mix of wonder and fear. I did not know him, but he prayed. For me. He took ti...

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