Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 72 results

1. A Bent Over Woman

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

The woman with the battered face. Several years back that battered face was splashed all over the media. The woman's name was Hedda Nussbaum. She came to public attention as a dramatic witness for the prosecution in the death of her adopted daughter, Lisa. Hedda Nussbaum was a vulnerable person already in her early years. She says that when she was a child, "I just went where I was taken." She ju...

2. A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

The revised lectionary cycle serves us well by putting the intercalated stories of the healing of the unclean woman with the flow of blood and the raising of the twelve-year-old girl together again. We still have the problem, however, that vv. 1-20 are omitted totally from the lectionary readings. It can be argued on a number of premises that these three stories belong together. They belong togeth...

3. A Faithful Harlot

Joshua 2:1-24, Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

What's a bad girl like you doing in a list like this? The author of the book of Hebrews tells of a great cloud of witnesses that surround us in our own faith walk. The usual biblical heroes and heroines are there. The biggest surprise in the list is Rahab. Rahab was not an Israelite after all. She was a harlot who plied her trade in pre-Israelite Jericho. Who is this woman anyway? And what is she ...

4. A Great Prophet Has Arisen Among Us

1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:1-37

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

"Shunem: Site of the Prophet Elisha's Resurrection Miracle." If they had had road signs in the days of old this might have been the sign that welcomed you to Shunem. All the people of Shunem and all the people in the cities around Shunem surely knew of Elisha's miraculous feat. This was an area known for its prophets! Elisha's prophetic forerunner, Elijah, was the first prophet to raise a young m...

5. A Hostage Repents

Luke 3:1-20

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Terry Anderson is probably the best known of the American hostages kept in Lebanon. Anderson, an Associated Press journalist, was held hostage for 2,454 days! His ordeal began innocently enough on March 16, 1985. As he dropped off his tennis partner after a morning match he noticed a green Mercedes pulled up just ahead of where he was stopped. Suddenly three young men came charging out of the car....

6. A Lack of Faith

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

Our text for this week records a sudden change of context. Jesus had just been at the home of Jairus, a synagogue ruler, and raised his twelve-year-old girl from death. Now, suddenly, he has come to his own country; he has come to Nazareth. It is not just the scene that shifts. In his own home country people take offense at his very presence. "Where did this man get all this?" the hometown folk wo...

7. A Man Who Would Be God

Luke 4:14-30, Luke 9:28-36, Luke 3:21-38

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

It was to be his first trip back to China. He was born in China to missionary parents in the 1930s. When his parents had to flee China and return to the States because of the Second World War, however, Tom Stone came with them. And he had never been back; never seen the land of his birth -- until his journey in the 1990s. As the plane landed in Beijing his heart began to pound. What would it be li...

8. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

We have before us this week another healing story as the One who brings God's reign explodes into ministry with God's life- giving power! This time it is an unclean leper who comes to Jesus. This has been characteristic of the healings and exorcisms in Mark's first chapter: people come to Jesus for help. One wonders at times if this is Mark's story-formed way of telling us what faith is. Faith is ...

9. A Modern Day Job

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

American culture is a culture of fixing blame -- fixing blame on others. Whenever the President of our land slips a bit the media ask, "Why? Who is to blame?" When our favorite sports team loses, the question is asked, "Why? Who is to blame?" And on and on it goes. We are anxious to fix the blame somewhere. This "blame" culture may nowhere be so clearly seen as in the mountain of court cases broug...

10. A New Temple Shall Arise

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

The young girl lay bound on the altar. It was she who was chosen to be a sacrifice made to the gods on behalf of the people this year. She was terrified. She watched every movement that the priest made. At the climax of the ceremony he moved toward her with knife held high. Terror flooded her consciousness. And the knife came down. It plunged into her heart. She died in a moment. Her blood flowed ...

11. A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

I'm telling you it's just not possible that he is the Messiah. If anything he's an imposter. No one should be saying and doing the kinds of things he says and does. It's blasphemy. The man should be killed." Those were Eliezer's heartfelt convictions. Eliezer and his friend, Amos, were teachers of the law in the days that Jesus walked this earth. They were terribly puzzled by the appearance of th...

12. A Shroud Unto Life

Luke 24:1-12

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Who will ever forget those first pictures? There were pictures of starving men and starving women and starving children. These pictures stunned the world when they first hit our television screens. Pictures of Ethiopia. Pictures of an incredible famine. Millions of lives were at risk. And the world hardly knew about it until we saw the pictures. It was the pictures of the starving children that pr...

13. A Vision For The Future

Isaiah 65:17-25

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

A few years back a west coast bishop returned home from a meeting of his denomination's bishops in Kansas City. He reported on the meeting to his staff. He worked up the most energy in talking about the three major speakers. "One of the speakers," he told his staff, "teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought ...

14. Abide In Me

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

Once upon a time there lived a man whose nickname was Mr. Will Power. As you might expect, Mr. Will Power had an iron will. He could do anything he set his mind to. He was the champion of mind over matter. People loved to challenge his powers of will. One of the ways he first caught people’s attention was his ability to withstand hot and cold. They dared him to walk through a bed of fiery coals. T...

15. Bearing The Cross

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

At long last, Laura McDermott had fulfilled her lifelong dream. All she could ever think of doing with her life since she was a kid was to be a doctor. Now no one in the McDermott family had ever been to college before, let alone medical school. Her parents, therefore, were constantly reminding her of the obstacles in her path. "Are you sure you know what you are getting into?" her parents would q...

16. Calming the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

In the overall structure of Mark's Gospel we now move into material that follows the Parable of the Sower, which is the plot synopsis of the first ten chapters of Mark. This story of the disciples in the boat, along with the whole of Mark 5, is about different kinds of soil. The Sower sows the word and people hear and receive that word in different ways. The rocky-ground disciples are afraid. Fear...

17. Choices

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

She was elected to high office some time ago. Let's call her Beverly Washington. She was the first woman Lieutenant Governor ever elected in her state. Such a first brought much deserved media attention. There were many demands for photo opportunities and interviews. Beverly Washington had never experienced the limelight quite like this before. One of the interviews with Lt. Governor Washington w...

18. Disarming Evil

Colossians 2:6-23; John 8:44-45

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

People Of The Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil is one of Dr. M. Scott Peck's most intriguing books. In his work with patients as a psychiatrist and a Christian, Dr. Peck has come to see that there are people who are simply evil. He thinks that this evil needs to be studied by scientists as well as known by theologians. Until we can name and identify evil at work among us we have no way of disa...

19. Doubting Thomas

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Tommy Russo tried and tried to go to church with his wife. Sophia Russo was the one who had been brought up in the church. Her parents had been very devout Christian people. With Tommy's parents it was completely different. They didn't attend church and they didn't make their kids attend either. At this point in their marriage, therefore, Tommy and Sophia Russo faced a real dilemma. Tommy had prom...

20. Doubting Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

"How can you believe in God in such a world as this, anyway?" Melvin asked. "I mean it’s crazy. Just look around you at the world. Does it look like a world that comes from the hand of a loving God? No way! No way! It looks like a world gone mad, a world gone out of control. I just can’t believe in God, I tell ya. I can’t believe in God’s so-called Son either. I’ve just got too many doubts about t...

21. Feeding the 5000

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

In her outline of Mark's Gospel, Mary Ann Tolbert presents Mark 6:35--8:21 as a unit of material. The next unit she identifies is 8:22--10:52. She suggests that both units of material can be read as the unfolding of the hardness of the hearts of the disciples. In the section of 6:35--8:21 Jesus feeds the multitudes two times (6:30-44; 8:1-9). Following each feeding story Jesus gets in the boat wit...

22. God Is Faithful To Godself

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

His hands were surely trembling as he lifted his hammer to nail his theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The year was 1517. The man was Martin Luther. Luther had lived through many a crisis in his personal relationship to God. Out of his struggles he came to believe that much of what his church had taught him was simply wrong. It was wrong teaching that had caused his fa...

23. God So Loved the World

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) That is John 3:16, one of the best known and often-quoted verses in the entire Bible. Martin Luther once called it the "Gospel within the Gospels." If you watch any sporting events on television, you will almost always see a banner strategically placed so the cam...

24. God's Evangelism Plans

Acts 16:16-40

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

The fall of Haile Selassie in 1974 did not bring the kind of peace that the Ethiopians had hoped might follow their somewhat "benevolent" dictator. They had hoped for democracy. They had hoped for freedom. What they got, instead, was a Marxist state that ruled with an iron hand. Repression was everywhere. Persecution was everywhere. The Christian church became a target of this repression and perse...

25. Gospel Grandmothers

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

United Church has a tradition. They were known for supporting their pastors very well. Any pastor who has ever served at United will verify the truth of this tradition. Pastors, for example, consider it a privilege to serve in this congregation deep in the heart of Texas. Pastor Mike Snyder surely did. Pastor Mike, as everyone called him, had had a kind of love affair with this congregation throug...

Showing results

Showing 1 to 25 of 72 results

1. A Bent Over Woman

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

2. A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

3. A Faithful Harlot

Joshua 2:1-24, Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

4. A Great Prophet Has Arisen Among Us

1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:1-37

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

5. A Hostage Repents

Luke 3:1-20

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

6. A Lack of Faith

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

7. A Man Who Would Be God

Luke 4:14-30, Luke 9:28-36, Luke 3:21-38

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

8. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

9. A Modern Day Job

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

10. A New Temple Shall Arise

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

11. A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

12. A Shroud Unto Life

Luke 24:1-12

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

13. A Vision For The Future

Isaiah 65:17-25

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

14. Abide In Me

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

15. Bearing The Cross

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

16. Calming the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

17. Choices

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

18. Disarming Evil

Colossians 2:6-23; John 8:44-45

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

19. Doubting Thomas

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

20. Doubting Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

21. Feeding the 5000

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

22. God Is Faithful To Godself

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

23. God So Loved the World

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

24. God's Evangelism Plans

Acts 16:16-40

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

25. Gospel Grandmothers

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

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