Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 42 results

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

According to tradition, Joseph was the strong, silent type - an older carpenter who willingly submitted to impotent fatherhood - a second-string player in the drama of God's human birth. But according to scripture, none of this is true. All that is actually recorded in the Bible is that Joseph was a dreamer - a righteous man who transformed the meaning of righteousness by taking seriously his drea...

2. How Intelligent Is God’s Design?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

I wonder. I wonder how the wise men would react to our current controversy over intelligent design. I wonder how these sages, who were the educated intellectuals and sophisticated scientists of their day would react to this public tug of war? On the one side are those who see creation as a random process of nature. On the other side are those who see creation as the intentional plan of a designer ...

3. The Rest of the Story

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Just a few days later, the needles are falling, the poinsettias are drooping, and the cookies are stale. How do we hold onto the feeling? How do we hold onto the warmth, the wonder, the welcome of Christmas? Christmas letters - offering graceful glimpses of old friends; That rare mother/daughter afternoon, creating the most perfect Christmas of our lives; American soldiers sharing Christmas with ...

4. Road Rage

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

When our children were small, a nice church lady named Chris made them a child-friendly creche. All the actors in this stable drama are soft and squishy and durable - perfect to touch and rearrange - or toss across the living room in a fit of toddler frenzy. The Joseph character has always been my favorite because he looks a little wild - red yarn spiking out from his head, giving him an odd look ...

5. God's Delight

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Once upon a time a student approached his teacher and announced that he was ready to assume the office of ministry. "And what are your qualifications?" the teacher asked. "I have mastered the art of physical discipline," the student replied. "I am able to sleep on the ground, to eat nothing but raw grains, and I can carry huge loads on my back." The teacher took the young man by the arm and led ...

6. Kairos Commitments

Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

One snowy day a few years ago, after I had declared the church a "nonessential" business and closed the office for the day, I experienced a luxury I often dream of, but rarely do. I climbed back into bed to read. But dare you think I was totally decadent, what I chose to read was our congregation's Annual Report. It turned out to be more enjoyable than any novel could have been. What a remarkable ...

7. Rejoicing in Reality

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Our text says that Jesus "went up to the mountain" and, oh, what a beautiful mountain it is! The Mount of the Beatitudes is not all that high, but in Galilee it is the equivalent of Mount Everest. Stretched out below is the most fertile agricultural land in Israel, intricately laid out next to the jeweled sea, that breathtaking, blue prism reflecting the hot beauty of the Middle Eastern sun. A few...

8. The Embassy at 6601

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

The year was 1967. Vietnam was exploding. The Nuclear Arms Race was escalating. The Women's Movement and the Civil Rights Movement were agitating the soul of our nation. And the Presbyterian church was trying to figure out how to witness to Jesus Christ in the midst of all this cultural chaos. 1967 was also the year I turned eighteen and graduated from high school. Though vaguely aware of all the...

9. Worry and Wonder

Matthew 6:24-34

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Well, the orange alert has finally been lowered to yellow. The purported organizer of the 9/11 attacks is now under arrest. And this week, rather than protecting us from biological or chemical poison, it seems that duct tape is being promoted as the perfect cure for warts! Perhaps, just a bit of our terror has subsided. And yet unsettling news is still around us. Tens of thousands of our troops a...

10. Disappointed in Jesus

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It was a painful experience for both of us. Jane was a young mother about my age. She had been on the pastor nominating committee that called us to New Jersey. And we had shared much laughter and friendship through the years. She also was on the session - and that cold November night she seemed edgy and distant. I soon found out why. Following the meeting, she waited for me out in the parking lot....

11. Swept Away!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It's the same year after year. On this most somnolent of American weekends when it takes three days to recover from one day of gluttony, this lazy weekend when some people sleep in for four days in a row - it is this Sunday that the church decides to defy the culture and catapult us into a new year - smacking us first with judgment and then with demand. It is this weekend that the liturgical calen...

12. Vital Vulnerability

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

At the risk of putting you to sleep, I’d like to ask each one of you to close your eyes. Right now, for just a minute. Please close your eyes. And now imagine with me. Imagine that you are holding a newborn baby. Imagine how this baby feels — skin touching skin, curves touching curves — harmonious heartbeats as life surges between you. Imagine the smell — the earthy sweetness of breath and body pe...

13. Demonstrating the Divine

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

For almost fifty years I have lived comfortably within the church. And for almost fifty years I have loved the church. I still remember sitting in the pew, a small child of three or four - dwarfed by big shoulders embracing me on every side. I loved the music - the grand soaring chords of the organ. I loved the windows and the colors, the flowers and soft cushions. I loved the warm, full voice of ...

14. Call Waiting

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Chaim Potok was an intensely religious man; a Jew who explored the dimensions of faith in our lives. From an early age, Potok knew he wanted to be a writer. But his mother wasn't so sure. When he went away to college she said, "Son, now I know you want to be a writer. But I want you to think about brain surgery. You'll keep a lot of people from dying. And you'll make a lot of money." To which Poto...

15. What Will You Do with Your Gift?

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

There is a folk tale from India that summarizes our thoughts this morning. It seems that there was a good king who ruled wisely and who ruled well. One day the king called his three daughters together and told them he was leaving on a long journey. "I wish to learn about God, so I will need to go away and spend a long time in prayer. In my absence I will leave the three of you in charge. Before I ...

16. Balance: The Law of Love

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

Plato once imagined the spiritual journey as a chariot moving through the wilderness of life, with the soul as the charioteer trying to rein in two powerful horses: the horse of anger or passion, and the horse of reason or order. Plato understood that both passion and reason can be life-giving, but only when they are held in dynamic tension, only when each power neutralizes the potential destructi...

17. The Transforming Power of Mercy

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

Victor Hugo begins Les Miserables with the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex-convict who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister's children. As he reenters society, no one will house him or give him work because of his criminal record – that is until he stumbles into the bishop's house. Much to Valjean's bewilderment, the bishop treats him with k...

18. Lite - Or Light?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

There is, in this congregation, a running conversation as to what to call this structural wonder that rises above my head. Is it a dome? Or is it a lantern? The answer, of course, is both/and, depending on your perspective. It is a modern dome - the 1960s version of those elegant Byzantine basilicas that grace much of Europe, reminiscent of glittery mosaics and luminous paintings proclaiming the p...

19. The Offense of Grace

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

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Victor Hugo begins Les Miserables with the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex-convict who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister's children. As he reenters society, no one will house him or give him work because of his criminal record - that is until he stumbles into the bishop's house. Much to Valjean's bewilderment, the bishop treats him with k...

20. Visions and Voices

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

I don't know about you, but I envy Moses and Peter and James and John. I envy Joseph and Mary and Abraham and Sarah and Paul and Jacob - all the biblical folk who see visions and dream dreams and are swept into the palpable presence of God. And I particularly envy the many parishioners I have known over the years who have shared their holy experiences with me. Jeanne Grimm's blinding moment of lig...

21. What Are You Looking For?

John 1:38

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

Chaim Potok, the American author and Rabbi, was an intensely religious man; a Jew who explored the dimensions of faith in our lives. From an early age, Potok knew he wanted to be a writer. But his mother wasn't so sure. When he went away to college she said, "Son, now I know you want to be a writer. But I want you to think about brain surgery. You'll keep a lot of people from dying. And you'll mak...

22. The Future Present

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

We Protestants don’t know what to do with Mary. Because the doctrines of the Catholic church have turned Mary into a sweet passive icon of virginal purity, we Protestants have been content to leave her out of our gallery of biblical saints — except of course, for her obligatory appearance in our Christmas pageants. Today in both scripture and song, we meet Mary again. The woman we meet this time ...

23. God with Skin On

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

As we gather here this holy night, we come from a variety of religious backgrounds. For some of you I’m sure the more familiar word during The Lord’s Prayer is “trespasses.” You will especially appreciate an internet story about the little boy who was sent to bed early on Christmas Eve. His boisterous excitement was getting in the way of all the hectic, last minute preparations his parents were tr...

24. Patterns of Possibility

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

A few years ago I revisited the places of my childhood. Sim and I piled the kids into the car and traveled to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where I was born, and then to Erie, Pennsylvania, where I lived from the age of five until the age of twelve. Together the four of us explored what Sim fondly called the Seven Sacred Susie Sightings: the house where I was born, the two elementary schools I attended, th...

25. Wilderness Work

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I was sixteen, and it was my first game as the captain of the varsity cheerleading squad. Much to the dismay of the popular girls in the school, my loud voice had won me this hotly contested honor. The squad had been practicing all summer and we had our routines almost perfected. That early September night we were very excited and more than a...

Showing 1 to 25 of 42 results

1. The Power of Positive Dreaming

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

2. How Intelligent Is God’s Design?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

3. The Rest of the Story

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

4. Road Rage

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

5. God's Delight

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

6. Kairos Commitments

Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

7. Rejoicing in Reality

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

8. The Embassy at 6601

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

9. Worry and Wonder

Matthew 6:24-34

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

10. Disappointed in Jesus

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

11. Swept Away!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

12. Vital Vulnerability

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

13. Demonstrating the Divine

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

14. Call Waiting

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

15. What Will You Do with Your Gift?

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

16. Balance: The Law of Love

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

17. The Transforming Power of Mercy

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

18. Lite - Or Light?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

19. The Offense of Grace

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

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Victor Hugo begins Les Miserables with the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex-convict who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister's children. As he reenters society, no one will house him or give him work because of his criminal record - that is until he stumbles into the bishop's house. Much to Valjean's bewilderment, the bishop treats him with k...

20. Visions and Voices

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

21. What Are You Looking For?

John 1:38

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

22. The Future Present

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews