Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. Angry Rhetoric

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

The accusatory rhetoric often heard at the United Nations is not all that different in tone from the way Christians argue with each other. Here is an example from the seventeenth century, when the Puritans and the Quakers were engaged in angry debates: The great Puritan preacher Richard Baxter wrote a pamphlet in which he lumped the Quakers with "drunkards, swearers, whoremongers, and sensual wre...

2. Bend But Don't Break

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

Tevye, the Jewish dairy farmer in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, lives with his wife and five daughters in czarist Russia. Change is taking place all around him and the new patterns are nowhere more obvious to Tevye than in the relationship between the sexes. First, one of his daughters announces that she and a young tailor have pledged themselves to each other, even though Tevye had already pro...

3. Christian Civility

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can't get a good argument going in class anymore," he said. "As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judg...

4. Leadership

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

Max DePree gets to the heart of things with this succinct formulation: "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality." Leaders need to have a good picture of what is really going on around them. And they need to help others take an honest look at this reality.

5. The Battle Is Already Over

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

Theologians tell a story to illustrate how Christ has triumphed and the war is all but over: Imagine a city under siege. The enemy that surrounds the city will not let anyone or anything leave. Supplies are running low, and the citizens are fearful. But in the dark of the night, a spy sneaks through the enemy lines. He has rushed to the city to tell the people that in another place the main enemy ...

Showing 1 to 5 of 5all results

Showing all results

1. Angry Rhetoric

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

2. Bend But Don't Break

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

3. Christian Civility

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

4. Leadership

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

5. The Battle Is Already Over

Illustration

Richard J. Mouw

Showing 1 to 5 of 5all results