Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 17 of 17 results

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

The whole of today's gospel seems to be about John the Baptist. His death sentence was issued by Herod. His head was taken by a soldier of the guard. It was presented to Herodias on a platter and finally reached her mother who gloated over her revenge on the Baptizer. Not to take anything else from John, still, the lesson today might be said to be not so much about John as it is about us. It is a...

2. A Solitary Witness

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

The raw skin on Marcus' ankle was still bleeding as he began work in Herod's palace. Never mind that the chains had rubbed raw the young skin. Never mind that the healing would take time, and would leave a life-long scar. Never mind that the cut, extending clear around his ankle, hurt with each step. Marcus was a slave. One did not have such concerns about slaves. They were expendable, like the cl...

3. The Fox

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

I know that I don't have much status up here in Gaul, but will you do me the favor of listening to me? I've had an awful lot of time to think during these years I have been in exile, and I need to share my conclusions about life with someone. My name is Herod. The problem is that our family is so extended, and so many people bear that name, that I should really use my given name, which is Antipas...

4. The Cost of Being a Prophet

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

George Reed

John the Baptist is one of the heroes of the Christian faith. More of the churches that bear the name Saint John do so in honor of John the Baptist than John the Evangelist. Perhaps it is because he is so closely linked with the birth of Jesus as Mary and Elizabethshare their pregnancies. John is the one who baptizes Jesus and it is after the death of John that Jesus begins to enter into his ...

5. John the Baptist, Sanctified Indifference, & the King of Pop

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who wants your head on a platter? What truth is worth your head? What truth is worth your life? There are two types of people in the world we despise. The first are people who can never be trusted to tell the truth. The second are people who can only be trusted to tell the truth. We all know people who have trouble telling the truth. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know someone for whom a lie is ...

6. When Others Serve Your Head on a Platter

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This summer saw the “resurrection” of an old tale of family rivalry and betrayal. The show that started an industry of prime time “soap operas” is back on the air. Do you know show I’m talking about? . . . . Dallas. The ever-evil “J.R.” Ewing and all his battling, back-biting, embittered family have returned, with new generations, all of whom are admirably carrying on the family tradition of unab...

7. A Tale of Two Dancers

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our lessons for this morning tell of two dancers: one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The one in the Old Testament is the king, David; the one in the New Testament is the step-daughter of the king, Herod. Both stories have to do with political intrigue. They are not commonly read as lessons in the Sunday worship, but during these dog days of summer, this is the kind of stuff th...

8. How Life’s Pressures Affect Good Judgment

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

In the opera Faust, there is a fight to the finish between Satan and the young man Valentine. During the course of the fight, Satan breaks Valentine's sword and he stands poised to slay him. But the young boy takes the two pieces of his sword and fashions them into a cross. Confronted with this symbol of faith, Satan becomes immobilized and Valentine is saved. It is an interesting concept: A dram...

9. When Evil Wins

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

You are familiar with David Heller's delightful little book, Dear God: Children's Letters to God.(1) There are some wonderfully witty observations. For example, • Dear God, What do you think about all those movies made about you around Easter time? I think they're kind of corny, myself. Your buddy, Charles (age 9) • Dear God, What do you do with families that don't have much faith? There's a fam...

10. The Unsilenced Voice

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

There is a book on my shelf titled Texts of Terror. Phyllis Trible, the author, has a lot of courage. In this book, she has examined the most awful texts in the Old Testament. These are the pages from the Bible we wish we could accidentally drop between our desk and the wall, lost forever. For example, there is the heart-wrenching story of Jephthah's daughter in the book of Judges. The little girl...

11. The Pointer

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Ron Lavin

John, the cousin of Jesus, baptized Jews in the Jordan River for the forgiveness of sins. He pointed to sin to prepare people for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist might also be called, John the Pointer. In the gospel of Mark, we read that the ministry of John points to the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John prepared the way for the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-2) by...

12. Faith In Conflict

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Eric Ritz

In 1987, Chuck Colson wrote a book titled KINGDOMS IN CONFLICT. Colson was a mover and shaker in the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He was known as Nixon's hatchet man. And he went to jail for his role in the Watergate scandal. While in prison Colson had a genuine conversion experience and today he is a leading spokesperson for evangelical Christianity. He has first-hand experience of kingdoms in co...

13. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

On the news one day a short while ago --some of you may remember this—we heard that eight young high school boys viciously attacked and gang raped an 8 year old girl, a special needs child. One by one, they took turns raping her and beating her until at last she died. The town was shocked. These were their star varsity players…their A students...their church acolytes...their beloved sons. How coul...

14. Promises to Keep

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

The Days of Our Loves, Herod Style If you like those soap opera type stories of dysfunctional families or maybe royal palace intrigue, you need look no further than the New Testament, the histories of Josephus, and the lives of the Herod Family. Herod the Great was the patriarch of this particular and peculiar family and, as you may recall, he ruled Palestine from about 36 BCE to 4 BCE. History ...

15. The Oath

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Edgar Allen Poe, one of our great American authors, wrote a famous, rather chilling tale called the “Tell-Tale Heart.” In the story, we see the inner workings of an unknown narrator’s mind, as he wrestles with guilt, self-loathing, fear, and growing paranoia. From the beginning of the tale, the narrator feels mentally and emotionally tortured by encounters with an elderly gentleman, who he believe...

16. Which Kingdom Do We Serve?

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David Coffin

Imagine a middle-sized company or organization who had an upper manager who was soon going to retire. This person’s position would need to be replaced. There were workers in the back shop and office areas who would very much like to be considered for this opening position. One particular employee had put in much time and effort in his spare time — even off the clock — to be considered for this pos...

17. Haunted

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Ok…How many of you have had the experience of looking back at your life and lamenting (perhaps over and over) a mistake you wish you wouldn’t have made? I think we’ve all done that at one time or another. How many of you have had it keep you up at night? That nagging, awful feeling of blame and guilt that just won’t let you go. The nightmares, the sleepless nights! We can be awfully hard on oursel...

Showing 1 to 17 of 17 results