Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 1:29-34

Sermon

John Jamison

When his parents died he was still too young to be on his own. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been very old when John was born, so it was no surpirse that it happened, but apparently nothing had been done to prepare for it just the same. The rest of the family had gone north to Nazareth because of political problems, and John was alone. According to tradition, he was taken in by a group of old men wh...

2. Actors

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Jamison

Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets.... We can almost see the people in the crowd leaning forward as they try to hear these things Jesus was saying that afternoon on the hillside. He had been talking for a while now, and although he started out talking about things that were theological, he was now getting to things that...

3. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

John Jamison

It was over. The shepherds had gone back to their flocks. The three wise men had gone to wherever they were going, the other visitors that had come to see what was going on had drifted away to other things, and the animals had begun to settle back down in the straw. Mary was resting and the baby was sleeping soundly. Joseph looked around the room and let out a long, deep breath. “It was over.” He ...

4. Be Real

Colossians 1:3-8

Sermon

John Jamison

The old story is told about two painters; two artists. Now, the story may be from Greece and may be true, or it may be from some other place and be even more than true. I'm not sure. But the story goes like this: Each of our two artists was extremely talented and each had their own audiences of followers. As you might expect, and maybe even have experienced, it is difficult for two people to be s...

5. Being Different

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John Jamison

Picture it this way. The teenage daughter walks in the house. “Hey mom, dad, guess what? I was down at the gas station filling up the car when something happened. An angel walked up and told me that I was going to have a baby. Wow! Can you believe it?” I’m not trying to make light of the scripture today, but if you think about it, that’s about how this story began. According to tradition, Mary ha...

6. Brace Yourself!

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

John Jamison

Before we look at today’s scripture, let’s take a moment to remember where we were and what was going on. After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus moved from Nazareth to Galilee where he could do what he needed to do to prepare for his ministry. Galilee was more Roman than Jewish, so the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jerusalem would have less ability to stop him before he was ready. He traveled the...

7. Christmas Is Out of Control

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

John Jamison

After hearing the scripture reading, the thought going through your head may be, “What the heck does that have to do with Christmas? Isn’t this the first Sunday of Advent? Why are you talking about Noah? And didn’t Jesus say those things during holy week, like on Palm Sunday? Where is the Christmas story?” Let me try to explain. There is a thing called the lectionary; some of you are probably fam...

8. Christmas Questions

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

John Jamison

This passage has puzzled me. The story is pretty simple; John the Baptist sends some of his followers to talk to Jesus, to ask him if he is really the Messiah they have been waiting for, or if they should keep looking. Rather than getting into a bunch of theological jargon, which God's Son could probably do even better than most preachers, Jesus simply tells them to look around at what they see go...

9. Coming Back Down

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

John Jamison

I have visited some places I really wish I could have stayed. If it were my choice I would still be there right now. As much as I like it here, I would rather be there. There is a tent, set on a hill at the top of a 1,500-foot cliff overlooking the Jordan Valley in southern Israel. When the sun comes up in the morning it breaks over the mountains a few miles to the east and literally shatters the ...

10. Enough!

Matthew 2:19-23

Sermon

John Jamison

There are many things that could be said about this passage. It is an amazing story. You have heard it before, but for just a few moments I would like for you to remember it with me one more time. Christmas has come and gone. The baby is born, the angels have sung their songs and have gone back to wherever it is that angels go after a performance, and the shepherds have gone back to sit with their...

11. Fish Tales

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had to sell an idea or a concept or a belief? Have you ever had to sell something intangible, something you couldn’t see, touch, or taste? And maybe it was an idea that was really rather strange; one that most people would find really hard to believe. So, before you actually got someone to believe in the idea, you first have to somehow convince them that the idea is even possible. W...

12. For Your Part

Matt 5:17-37

Sermon

John Jamison

I walked to the bank the other day. I made my way over to one of the desks and sat down to talk to a guy whose name tag said "Andy." I said, "Andy, I need some money, and was wondering if you could help me?" Andy smiled and said he would be glad to do what he could. I told him what I needed and he left the room for a few minutes to run the credit check and whatever else it is that they do at a tim...

13. Forgiving the Bully

Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

John Jamison

I like the first part of this story about Jesus. All those blessings, and that neat parable about the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. It makes me feel good inside. But now it gets difficult. Let me put this in terms that I can understand. The first time I ever remember hating anyone was in the third grade. The kid's name was Les. Les moved into town part way through the year and fro...

14. God’s Grammar

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

John Jamison

In the last reading from Paul's letter to the church at Galatia, he addressed the ongoing feud in the early church and reminded the folks that salvation comes from faith alone, and not from working to follow some collection of man-made laws. This week's reading continues Paul's warning to the Galatians. But if he faced strong resistance over the issues of clean and unclean foods, and the issue of ...

15. Have a Very Messy Christmas!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

I’ll tell you, this had to be something to see. The Jordan River is not a big river like many that we might think of. At its widest, you could still easily thrown a stone across it, and in many other places, you could just step from one side to the other. The wide and deeper spots usually became places where people would gather to fill their water jugs, wash clothes, bathe the children… or just es...

16. Have You Ever Screwed Up?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever screwed up? I mean, really, really screwed up? It may have been fully well-intentioned or not, but the simple fact is that you knew you screwed up and so did everyone else. If you have, then you may have a slight idea of what the mood was in that little group of people who walked down the road that morning. Only a few of them had actually been there to see what had happened on Frida...

17. Imagine This

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

John Jamison

We’re going to start the story today some 400 miles away from the Jordan River. The city of Tarsus was a major business center in what is now Turkey and a place where many Jewish families had settled who had fled the harsh Roman rule around Jerusalem. We’re going to start by looking at one particular Jewish family in Tarsus. It was a devout Jewish family. A son in that family would later refer to ...

18. John and Frank

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had doubts about what you believe? I mean really had doubts? You were so certain of everything, but over time questions started arising. Or maybe something happened that shook you really hard, and you began to wonder if all that you believed in was real? Can you relate to that at all? That’s where we find John in today’s scripture. He had spent so many years being the powerful prea...

19. Ka-Chang

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

It was a strange sound. Some said it was a kind of "clanging" sound, while others said it was more of a "ka-ching," or more accurately, a "ka-chang!" It sounded like the result of metal hitting metal, which is exactly what it was. In the valley off to the west from the hillside is a steep cliff rising up the face of Mount Arbel. The face of the cliff is covered with hundreds of caves, with no good...

20. Making Sense

John 17:6-19

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever come across a piece of scripture that you really just didn’t know what to do with? Everything you read before it makes sense, and everything after it, but that one passage just sits there staring at you, almost defying you to understand why it is there and what it means. We may have that problem with today’s passage from John’s gospel. John is describing the things that happened whi...

21. Mary Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John Jamison

So, where are the shepherds? And what about the "multitude of the heavenly host" shining their glory on everyone and breaking into song about God, and salvation, and peace? Sure, there is an angel. One angel, who sounds more like a meditating attorney in a three-piece suit, speaking in one long sentence which tells Joseph he ought to see this thing through and try to work things out with Mary. And...

22. My Earlier Life

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

John Jamison

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. Trust me on this one, everybody had heard about Paul's earlier life in Judaism. It was one of the most common topics of conversation whenever members of the new church got together. And the opinions about that earlier life were mixed, especially when it came to how it compared with the Paul that was converted. Those opinions were so mixed t...

23. On Being Salty

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

John Jamison

I don't remember ever meeting my Uncle Peacock. Apparently I did, but it was when I was so young that I really don't remember anything about him. But I have heard enough stories about him that I feel I know him very well. Uncle Peacock died several years ago, though all I know about his death was that it was the result of a long Saturday evening in town with a 20-pound watermelon and a chicken. It...

24. Ooo Boy!

Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

John Jamison

I don't know what started the argument. I don't know if anyone really knows what started the argument. In all honesty, it doesn't matter. I think we all know that most arguments never end up where they end up because of where they started. It might have started over some disagreement over the children. It might have begun over something about the in-laws, or perhaps it was her cooking again. Who k...

25. Out of Control (Good Friday sermon)

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

John Jamison

[Note to the preacher: As I write this message, my vision is that it is something more than just another sermon. It is written in four sections, each one presenting a step in the story of the events of that Friday. My personal presentation of this message would be in one of two ways, depending on the experience I am wanting to create. Option 1 would be to use this as the format for the entire Good...

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