Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 12:20-33

Sermon

David T. Ball

... , of being with Jesus all the time, including several private teaching sessions, didn’t ensure that they would truly “get it.” But that doesn’t mean that I still don’t long to have been there, to have been able to see Jesus. Theologian Douglas John Hall suggests that this stems from a very basic need of our faith. If our faith is to be real, then we will have to encounter Jesus himself in some manner, and not just encounter some ideas about him. Because of this need, we’re constantly fashioning ...

2. Practicing What We Preach

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... it, hypocrisy in the church is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a hopeful thing if it leads us to change and grow. Let me suggest two ways that this can be so. Suggestion number one comes from the Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall. In one of his books he writes, “We should never underestimate the capacity of the human mind, especially the minds of children and adolescents, to sense contradiction. It is probably the greatest hope of the race, humanly speaking.”5 In other words, children and ...

3. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

... Moses was being told, "You have done enough research on the Egyptian strengths. You have sufficiently studied the dwellers in the wilderness where I will bring my people in the future. It is now time to come out and be one of my own people." Douglas John Hall has written: "The world's suffering is not going to be engaged by people in designer jeans frolicking and posturing in the wilds of Colorado in search of "the meaning of life" (their own!). It will only be met, and transformed, by those who take up ...

4. When Christ Is King

Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... we presenting to the world? What would Jesus do in this situation? Are we doing enough?) They are not afraid to walk into city hall, or over to the next desk in their office, or to reach across the back fence if they know that is where they need ... and our own ruler. It is not the freedom of the rich who "have" everything. It is instead the freedom, according to Douglas John Hall, "of those who are conscious enough of their emptiness and lack to realize that they must ‘ever ask anew' for intimations of a ...

5. Are You Ready to Wait?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... everyone and everything in it. God sent Christ into the world not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. God does not want to destroy the world but to redeem it and make things right. Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall offers harsh words to those who believe that Christ will return only to destroy: If the world does end, its end will have to be attributed in part to these simplifiers [of faith], who were more concerned for their own personal salvation than for the ...

6. Structure Slows Things Down

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

Sid Burgess

... in church? Why is it that change is so hard to come by in the old mainstream churches, like the Presbyterian Church, USA? For the answer, I have turned to one of my favorite theologians, a Canadian named Douglas John Hall. In his excellent, new little book, WHY CHRISTIAN?, Hall writes that, slowly but surely, the New Testament church developed structure and structure slows things down. But, the big change in the form and function of Christian movement came in the fourth century of the common era 4th century ...

7. Everyone's a Fundamentalist About Something

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... But the law of Christ makes tolerance not enough. "It may be good enough, legally and politically, for the pluralistic society; but it is not good enough for the one who did not say, 'Tolerate your neighbor,' but 'Love your neighbor'" (Douglas John Hall, The Future of the Church: Where Are We Headed? [Toronto: United Church Publishing House, 1989], 57). The great thing about being a love fundamentalist is that the more strictly you abide by your fundamentalism, the greater your freedom. Instead of narrowing ...

8. The Covenant Of Amazing Grace

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... unequivocal self-commitment. And if the end of the world would happen tomorrow, ‘Let us plant our apple tree today.’ (M. Luther)"4 1. The source of this quotation is unknown to the author. 2. Jurgen Moltmann, "God, Hope, and Nuclear Catastrophe," (Perspectives, April 1988, pp. 7-10). 3. Douglas John Hall, Lighten Our Darkness, (Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1976). I am indebted to this book and other writings (and lectures) by ...

9. Converts Or Disciples?

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

... process. In recent years, the best minds of the church have pointed out that we can’t simply coast along and become “automatically Christian.” We have to work at it with intentionality. I think of the work of Douglas John Hall who taught theology in Toronto. “It used to be,” said Hall, “that somebody could pick up Christian odors in the air, and that would be enough to shape their lives. These days, according to the research, white Westerners cease to be Christian at a rate of 7,600 per day ...

10. Stewards of Creation

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... drag out the pious word from scripture called "stewardship." It’s called Stewardship Sunday, and is filled with pressure, discomfort, complaint, and pleas for loyalty to good old St. Johns Lutheran.* (*The Author's parish.) Because of that once-a-year phenomenon and the fact that we look only at the biblical image of the steward when we are ... ." 1. 554 Lutheran Book of Worship ("This is My Father’s World" by Maltbie D. Babcock, 1858-1901) 2. The Steward by Douglas John Hall, Friendship Press, 1982.

11. Headlines and Holiness

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... our country and world. I don't deny that. But perhaps our focus should return to the spilt blood of the cross, sown into our lives at Lent. More fruit will be harvested there than from a lifetime of watching the evening news. 1. See, for example, Douglas John Hall's excellent book, Why Christian? For Those on the Edge of Faith (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), especially pages 35-62. 2. Jim Wallis, The Call To Conversion: Recovering the Gospel for These Times (Harper San Francisco, 1992), pp. 7, 17.

12. Learning the Three Step Faith Walk

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... us to take half or half-hearted steps. Jesus calls us to launch out into the deep waters of discipleship. The walk of faith is not about safety or risk-free living. The walk of faith is all about passion and compassion. In fact, theologian Douglas John Hall insists that "Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it's delivered as easy and amusing, it's another kind of religion altogether." (Journal for Preachers, Lent 2000, as quoted in Martin E. Marty's Context, 32 [15 May 2000], 5.) The 19th ...

13. A Message To You from God

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... 7, 2019, The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/7/20953422/text-messages-delayed-received-overnight-valentines-day-delay. 4. “In the Beginning Was the Word” by John Piper, Sept. 21, 2008, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/in-the-beginning-was-the-word. 5. “‘I just knew that they would heal in my home,’ Simon Hall says of his 6 adopted children” by Mary Constantine, Knoxville News Sentinel, Published November 19, 2018. 6. “10 Superhero Nurses Making a Big Difference” by Rachel Rabkin ...

14. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

... business. He was watching the ladies as they went by; and where is the man that wouldn't get rich at that business? But when John Jacob Astor saw a lady pass, with her shoulders back and her head up, as if she did not care if the whole world looked ... pin is now being manufactured. He was offered fifty-two thousand dollars for his patent. That man made his fortune before he got out of that hall. This is the whole question: Do you see a need?" I remember well a man up in my native hills, a poor man, who for ...

15. To a Life Beyond

John 6:51-58, Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... laughter. Few but the king noticed when a tiny sparrow flew in the open window, pecked at a table scrap, circled the hall several times, then winged through another open window into the remaining night. The medieval king rose, and to no one in ... to the frightened pilgrims on the bank who must follow after him, "Be of good cheer, my brothers. I feel the bottom and it is sound!" John's Revelation gives us the same firm footing as we face death. It assures us that dying is not merely an exit. It is an entrance ...

16. The Leadership Principles Of Jesus

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... a year earlier. He's in New York where the British have just landed 25,000 crack troops. He writes that it's imperative that action be taken. One scene is particularly memorable. It's the night of July 3, 1776. The hall is empty save for John Adams, who reviews the facts as he sees them. South Carolina and Pennsylvania are opposed to the motion for independence. Delaware i s undecided. New York's representatives are awaiting further instructions. It looks hopeless. Wrestling with a vision shared by only ...

17. Timeout at Tiberias

John 21:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... than to bear the shame of seeing them again. And so the disciples, seven of them at least--Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John and two other unnamed disciples--decide to take a timeout . . . a timeout at the Sea of Tiberias. After Christ’s resurrection an ... one time a popular comedian in music halls in Great Britain. But then his comedy fell out of favor and he was forced into retirement. After retiring, it’s said that Sam Mayo would stand outside of music halls listening to the applause given to other ...

18. A Hall of Fame Dad

John 16:12-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Fame Dad or a Hall of Fame Mom by giving your time, by teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, and by showing them the love of Jesus Christ who showed us how much His Father loves him and how much His Father loves each of us? 1. (Gresham, OR: Vision House, 1995). 2. Ted Kyle and John Todd, A Treasury of Bible Illustrations, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN., 1995, p. 147. 3. Bill Hybels, Honest to God? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992). 4. We are grateful to Billy ...

19. Up Close & Personal: Coming Into Focus

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... do it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV) Notice the very first part of this, “If we confess our sin.” The first thing you’ve got to do if ... happened my junior year in high school. My entire senior year, whenever I would see her, I would avoid her. If she came down the hall, I would duck into a classroom. I was just too ashamed to say anything to her. Literally, twenty years later I was sitting at ...

20. Fans or Followers

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... the pastor of the church when the hall would be filled like that for a Sunday morning worship service. The pastor answered solemnly, “It will be filled when like that conductor I have eighty well-trained, committed and disciplined men and women to work with me.” How the church needs that today. Eighty well-trained, committed and disciplined men and women could change a community, maybe even a nation. I heard recently about a man who was given the nickname, “Honest John.” It embarrassed him and he ...

21. A Church Fueled By Prayer

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... cotton fields of America in Beethoven Hall. The Consul advised me not to go to Berlin. However, I went. On the night of my concert, I took a closed taxicab with my Negro accompanist to Beethoven Hall. "The hall was packed with people, with hundreds ... world in this atomic age lies not in physics but in prayer." 1. John W. Drakeford, THE AWESOME POWER OF THE LISTENING HEART, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing, 1982). 2. John Foxe, CHRISTIAN MARTYRS OF THE WORLD, (Moody Press) cited in Roger T. Campbell, ...

22. Mistaken Identity

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... to pin the ancient seer's name on this new man of God. Yet, Jesus knew better than anyone else that he was neither John nor Elijah, neither Jeremiah nor another of the prophets come back to life. So he put the matter squarely to those who shared his ... it seems so sad Everything he gave to us took all he had. Jesus is their familiar stranger. He is the man who lives down the hall, yet remains an enigma. The disciples know they don't really know him, yet they are willing to live with the tension as long as ...

23. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... thereby support to carry on their business or ministry (cf. Acts 18:27; 2 Cor. 3:1; 4:2; 5:12; 10:12; 12:11; 3 John 9–10; 1 Macc. 12:43; 2 Macc. 9:25).2 From the Greco-Roman literature, Robert Jewett supplies the following example: So-and-so, who ... in Christ’s name. It tells the stories of a most unlikely friendship between Ron Hall, a wealthy art dealer, and Denver Moore, an impoverished homeless man, and Debbie Hall, who brought them together. The two men become friends through the message of the gospel ...

24. R.S.V.P.

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... night was the only night they couldn't get the practice room. Or they were chemistry freaks and needed a 4.0 for Johns Hopkins. Or they were just nerds and pencil geeks. The world, says Jesus, is unfortunately full of fools who can't tell a ... ; the bag ladies, old men on Ripple, young kids on cocaine, all at the wedding. Jesus says with a great sigh of satisfaction, ''The wedding hall was filled with guests." I told you, this King was determined to party and he wasn't going to let a little thing like rejection ...

25. Show Us The Father, and We Shall Be Satisfied

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Larry Powell

... house and that he was going to prepare the way for them to follow. He said confidently, "And you know the way where I am going (John 14:0." It was then that Thomas spoke up and said, "Lord, we don't even know where you are going; how can we know the ... of his voice. In a while, and in a strange attitude of awe, everyone descended the mountain and went their own way. Dr. Hall would learn sometime later that 40 people had been converted that morning and joined the church. "That is strange," he said, "I did not ...

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