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Sermon
Lee Griess
A man borrowed a book from an acquaintance. As he read through it, he was intrigued to find parts of the book underlined with the letters YBH written in the margin. When he returned the book to the owner, he asked what the YBH meant. The owner replied that the underlined paragraphs were sections of the book that he basically agreed with. They gave him hints on how to improve himself and pointed ou...
Sermon
Carl Jech
Those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No. (Luke 13:4-5a) Reward and punishment! A basic fact of life! In San Francisco there is a chain of pastry stores called "Just Desserts" - a clever name with more than one level of meaning. "You've been good. Treat yourself! You deserve ...
3. Never Give Up
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Because God never gives up on us, we need never give up. From the many true and apocryphal stories about the life of Winston Churchill comes the report of a singular commencement address. After enduring a lengthy introduction, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat, strode to the podium and stared fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he pronounced solemnly. Church...
Sermon
John M. Braaten
A hole is blown open in the cargo area of a 747 jumbo jet, and nine people are sucked out and killed instantly. It is natural to ask, "Why?" A tornado rips through a small community in Kansas destroying buildings and businesses which took a lifetime to establish and we grieve with them. Those are just a couple of the more spectacular of a whole series of tragic and painful events which occur daily...
Sermon
King Duncan
Let’s imagine that everyone in this room today is a follower of Jesus Christ. [Let me hasten to say that if you are not, it is time you made that decision.] But let’s assume we all are. Let me ask a most important question: what is the worst sin any of us can commit as a follower of Christ? Of course, I’m assuming that we are not going to murder someone, or commit adultery, or rob a bank. What the...
Sermon
King Duncan
You would think that people would want to put their very best foot forward when submitting a resume. You would think they would at least check for typo's. Yet, according to the firm Accountemps, here are some real-life excerpts from real people's resumes: "Dear sir: I am a rabid typist." Well, I hope she doesn't bite anyone. "I'm a quick leaner." Probably his last job was with the highway depart...
Sermon
King Duncan
Why do bad things happen to good people? It is a question all of us ask from time to time. Some of Jesus' listeners asked him this same question. They brought up a recent news story about some Galileans who had been cruelly offered as human sacrifices by Pilate. Were they greater sinners than others in Galilee that they should suffer so? A tower had fallen in Siloam and crushed eighteen bystanders...
Sermon
Brett Blair
Once in every lifetime something happens on the world stage, which shapes the course of human events. That event occurred three year ago on the morning of Sept 11th. Consider for a moment what was set in motion by the terrorist attacks of that day: Our nations capital was attacked. Over 3000 people lost their lives (1). The Manhattan skyline was irrevocably changed. The financial trade center ...
9. More Time
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon
Donald Charles Lacy
Who can speak of "justice" in any long-standing and helpful way? It is a subject that fits many who write commentaries but we discover in most cases they are woefully inadequate. You and I, lay and clergy, deal with it almost daily and much of the time when we would rather not do so. It is a theme seemingly as old as history itself. Indeed, when did we not speak and write about it? The Old Testam...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
Dr. William H. Willimon, our minister at the historic Duke Chapel at Duke University, shared an insight to the Lenten season while he was a pastor in South Carolina. He was called to the hospital to be with a couple who belonged to the congregation he served. The wife had given birth to a child. Word had drifted out of the delivery room that all was not well. Dr. Willimon then shared how the doct...
Sermon
Gary L. Carver
Repentance is relationship. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled, The Birthmark. It is a story about a man who married a very beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her left cheek. She had always thought of it as a beauty spot, but her husband saw the birthmark to be a sign of imperfection, a flaw. It began wearing on him so much that all he could see was that birthmark. He could not see...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Football season is going full steam. Emotions are running high, and already folks are making predictions about who is going to make it to the different bowls. Also, there are a lot of stories making the rounds. One is about the sometimes famous coach at the University of Tennessee, Johnny Majors. It seems that Mr. Majors bought a bolt of cloth thinking he would have a suit made out of it. He took...
Sermon
Frank G. Honeycutt
Imagine for a moment that Jesus is watching television with his twelve disciples. They're on furlough from teaching and healing, taking it easy in the living room of Peter's mother-in-law, doing a little mindless channel surfing. Maybe they catch a little of an NCAA Tournament game, March Madness. These are guys, you know, just relaxing from a demanding schedule. But eventually the evening news c...
Sermon
James Merritt
The late George Gallup, Sr. did a nationwide poll and discovered one of the most bewildering paradoxes of his career. He discovered that religious interest is growing at an unprecedented rate, but so is immoral behavior. Gallup's poll revealed: "Little difference between those who go to church and those who don't."[1] Now what Gallup discovered is what many people, both inside and outside of the ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
The story is told of a man in Easter Liverpool, Ohio, whose oil well caught fire. It was one of those uncontrollable fires and the man offered a $3000 reward to whomever could put it out. Well, all the fire departments from the surrounding cities and villages came and tried, but the fire was so intense that no one could get near enough to begin to work on it. Then a volunteer fire department from ...
Sermon
R. Robert Cueni
As with most employment, pastoral ministry has occupational hazards. I don’t want to overstate the case. Ministry is not potentially lethal as it is for police, firefighters, or combat infantry. By comparison, ministry’s hazards are irritations, mere inconveniences. For instance, simply being a minister is an obstacle to making new friends. Let us say you are the new pastor in town. Probably by a...
Sermon
Frank Ramirez
It was over forty years ago, in the middle of December 1963, when my aging father retired from the Navy. He was only 37 years old at the time, but to a nine-year-old that sounded pretty old! He and mom packed us into the car and we moved from Nor­folk, Virginia, back to our native California, taking the old High­way 66, a two-lane highway that could really cause motion sick­ness at times! Dad ma...
Sermon
Clement E. Lewis
Instrumental Meditation Words To Start Our Meditation: Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." He also said, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits." Moments Of Quiet Meditation: (Accompanied by soft music) Scripture...
19. Acts of God?
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon
Brett Blair
Once or twice in our sojourn upon this earth something happens which shapes the course of our lives. Many on the East Coast have experienced such an event. Consider for a moment what has been set in motion from Sandy: *13 foot surge of seawater. 3 feet above the 200 year old record. *90 mph winds *The battery tunnel connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn flooded. *74 foot crane in the middle of Manhat...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
In the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, a reporter asked Ray Lewis, star player of the Baltimore Ravens, "How does it feel to be a Super Bowl Champion?" He responded "When God is for you, who can be against you?" Excuse me? God had a favorite team? You mean God liked one Harbaugh brother over the other? Candidate Richard Mourdock in his losing attempt to win a Senate seat in Indiana, said ...
Sermon
Glenn E. Ludwig
As the days lengthen (remember the meaning of Lent?) and get warmer, I begin to think about that game some of us play that keeps us humble -- golf. It is a game I find frustrating, challenging and fun all at the same time. This last fall, I was playing a round with someone who is quite good at the game. I am always open to tips and pointers and we were having a very good time, until we ended up b...
22. The Fig Tree
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon
David E. Leininger
An intriguing text. First, the reflection on an apparent atrocity perpetrated by the Roman governor — folks beaten and killed in the midst of their religious observance. Apparently, Pilate was flexing Roman muscle to make sure no Jewish Zealots would consider fomenting an insurrection. Too bad. But those Galileans should have kept to their own territory rather than coming down to Jerusalem to furt...
Sermon
King Duncan
(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 3) There is a hilarious story about a farmer who had three sons: Ron, Don and Little John. All had their names on the church roll but none ever attended church or had time for God.  Then one day Don was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor ...
Sermon
King Duncan
How many of you would say you’re a pretty good gardener? I imagine your schedule is getting busy since we have entered spring planting season. I read a funny story about a potato farmer who was fuming because his son was arrested on a minor offense, and he would be spending the first few weeks of planting season in the local jail. The father wrote him a letter saying, “Son, what were you thinking...
Sermon
Schuyler Rhodes
Have you ever been judged and found wanting? No? Well, I have. I remember about a thousand years ago when I first went off to college. It was a heady time. I had grown up in a fairly controlled environment and the sudden surge of freedom caused me to, well, go a little crazy. I will be honest with you. I did more partying than I did studying. The result of this was that I was soon on academic prob...
Showing 1 to 25 of 26 results