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Sermon
Jerry Eckert
Comment: I have always wondered how Jesus gathered his Disciples. The way the biblical stories go, it seems like he knew most of them one way or another. So I hypothesized that they may have known each other as children. How, since they were from a number of different towns not that close together, could they have had contact? Having taught a few lab schools, I decided that maybe something like t...
Sermon
Thomas Peterson
Jesus was confronted by a man who ran up and knelt before him. You know what? Part of me was right there with that man! I know how he felt, because I have also found reason to kneel before Jesus. What about you? Don’t you know, too? Haven’t you been there along with us? Tempted to follow Jesus, this man was nevertheless compelled by his great possessions to hold back. We are all able to identify w...
Sermon
Brett Blair
The rich young ruler falls into that unique category of Bible characters that have been maligned by generations of commentators. We might compare him to the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son. It seems like both of these young men have always gotten bad press and therefore a bad reputation. We have been impressed with the f ct that the rich young ruler was seemingly so near to the Kin...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
The Rev. Will Campbell is a Baptist prophet from the hills of North Carolina. A few years ago he was invited to preach at the prestigious Riverside Church in New York City. That church has long been noted for its activist preachers and liberal, politically correct agenda. Will Campbell was asked to preach on this subject: "What Riverside Church Can Do to Help the Future of Race Relations in Americ...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
DISCIPLINE. Dirty word these days. DISCIPLESHIP. Not so dirty a word, but obviously related to the other. Discipline, discipleship, disciple...all come from the same Latin root which has to do with LEARNING. In fact, the Greek word which we translate in the English New Testament as "disciple" is mathetes, a LEARNER. What brings this subject to mind is our continuing national fascination with the j...
Sermon
Cathy A. Ammlung
Before there was Harry Potter, there was Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit. In J. R. R. Tolkien's wise fantasy, this short, hairy-footed resident of the Shire in Middle-Earth was a well-to-do bachelor and country squire. Comfortable and conventional, but just a touch bored with life, he nevertheless was shocked when the mysterious wizard, Gandalf, knocked on his door one spring morning and requested his s...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Our parents complained that "the world is going to hell in a hand basket." It's closer to the truth to say that "the world is going to hell in a shopping cart." Your soul not to mention your budget is in mortal danger as you approach the grocery store checkout lane. You say, "How?" You've carefully filled your cart with the needed items outlined on your list. You patiently wait in line,...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Author and spiritual director Richard Foster says, “The great moral question of our time is how to move from greed to generosity." That's what we would like to talk about today. A. GREED: the Bible calls it avarice, or covetousness. Greed is the gratification of my desires often at the expense of the common good. We all have a need for greed. We are born to be greedy. It would be easy today ...
9. The Loser
Mark 10:17-31
Sermon
James Merritt
This TV show debuted nine years ago and it has fascinated millions in America for years. It is called “The Biggest Loser.” If you have never seen the show it is simply about people who are trying to win a grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars by losing the highest percentage of body weight relative to their initial weight in a certain period of time. Those of you who have watched the show ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Author Andreas Schroeder tells about a poor farm boy from Iowa named Oscar Hartzell who in 1913 devised a scheme for separating a good many people from their life savings. He cooked up the idea of contacting everyone in the United States with the last name of Drake. He told them he’d made an astonishing discovery: due to a bureaucratic bungle, the estate of the famous British pirate Sir Francis Dr...
Sermon
King Duncan
There is one good thing about a recession. It sobers us up. If we’re lucky it causes us to turn our back on things we don’t need and to hold close the things that really matter. After all, periods of recession usually follow periods of wretched excess. Martha Bolton and Phil Callaway, in their book It’s Always Darkest Before the Fridge Door Opens, tell about strolling through a mall one day laugh...
Sermon
King Duncan
Many of you pride yourself on being good business people. Suppose someone reputable made you the following offer: You go into business with me. It will be expensive, but I guarantee it will be worth it. You dig up whatever cash you can find. Take out an equity loan on your house, cash in the value of your life insurance policy, pay the penalty, and take the money out of your IRA accounthowever you...
Sermon
James W. Moore
Recently, I ran across a fascinating list of unusual answers given by children on some tests at school. Let me share some of these with you. In answer to the question, “When was our nation founded?” One little boy wrote: “I didn’t even know it was losted!” Another said, “A myth is a female moth!” Still another said that Socrates died from an overdose of “wedlock”! Asked to describe the famous ...
Sermon
Mark Trotter
The gospel lesson for this morning is from the Gospel of Mark, the story of the rich, young ruler who came to Jesus, asking, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is usually interpreted as a text about money. But it is not really a story about money. It is a story about salvation, and a devastating critique of the popular notion of how you get it. Money is a tool, an instrument, the mean...
Sermon
Michael Milton
This message comes both to a rich young ruler and to the disciples. It comes to them after a teaching on becoming as little children in order to come into the kingdom of God. Right after this teaching, a rich young man runs up and we see the response of the disciples to Jesus’ teaching, and He has more to say. This morning Jesus has something to say to those who are seeking Him and want to have et...
Sermon
King Duncan
A man named Murray put the following announcement in his local synagogue’s newsletter: “LOST: a black leather wallet containing precious family photos, personal ID documents, and $875. Finder can keep the photos and documents but please return the money, to which I am attached for sentimental reasons.”  One man replaced all the windows in his house with expensive double-pane energy efficient windo...
Sermon
April Yamasaki
How would you like to be rich? The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol has offered a $10,000,000 Prize. A recent email read, "Want a six-figure second income? Get rich now!" A local financial institution was giving away copies of the international bestseller by David Bach: The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich. Many of these offers go straight to my recy...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed until he found where the real problem was, and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the questions of marriage. He said to her, “Go call your husband.” In a luncheon conversation He landed on the question of integrity with Zaccheus and before lun...
Sermon
King Duncan
Comedienne Joan Rivers who died last year once said something with which many people would agree. “People say that money isn’t the key to happiness,” said Joan Rivers, “but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.” “I always figured if you have enough money . . .” says Joan Rivers. How much is enough money? That is a good question. A Hollywood film editor once said, “I...
20. The Final Exam
Mark 10:17-31
Sermon
Steven Molin
In 1993, former president Jimmy Carter presented the commencement address to the graduating class at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He shared the story of a young college freshman who overslept for the final exam in geometry and pleaded for mercy from his professor. The professor granted it — sort of. "If you provide an accurate answer for one question, I will submit a passing grade for you." ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The front of local markets have been crammed full of candy for the past two weeks. [Get someone to take pictures of your specific local markets.] Halloween “Trick or Treat” might not be until the end of this month. But candy creators want us to stock-up and stock-pile. As a kid it was such a rush to come home after “making the rounds” of the trick-or-treat neighborhood and ceremoniously dump out ...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
As the salesman came to the front door, he turned to the little boy sitting on the steps and asked, “Is your mother home?” The boy said “Yes,” and the salesman began to ring the doorbell.  After several rings and no response, he turned to the boy and said, “I thought you said that your mother was home.” To which the boy replied, “She is, but this isn’t my house.” Sometimes we get the wrong answers...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
In the musical play: “Man of La Mancha” there is a scene where the addled Don Quixote asks the innkeeper to dub him a knight so that he may ride forth to do battle with the forces of evil.  The innkeeper, after trying to persuade the would-be knight of his foolishness, finally agrees to go along with his fantasy.  But Don Quixote isn’t content.  He says to the innkeeper: “It is customary to grant ...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
There is something rather appealing in the way the rich young man intercepted Jesus as he journeyed to Jerusalem. He greeted the Master with the enthusiasm of a child throwing himself into the outstretched arms of a father returning home after a long day at work. And, like a child, the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "Good Teacher," he exclaimed, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" In ...
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." It is sayings like this that shatter any notions we have of Jesus being simply another Mr. Nice Guy. These are tough words. They have been a flashpoint for controversy in the church for centuries. They have ignited heated debates about the role of money in the Christian life. These ...
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