Zoom
Showing 1 to 25 of 37 results
Sermon
Thomas Peterson
Knowing James and John wanted something of him Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The modern equivalent of this question is “What can I do for you?” We hear it on all sides; for many it is a routine way to answer the phone. “Hello, this is Frank.” “Yea, what can I do for you?” After a weekend together on retreat, a participant and I were at a dinner party. Looking at me seriously he...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
There is an old legend about a pig and a chicken who were walking through a poverty stricken area. Full of compassion the chicken said, "These people need a good breakfast. Let's give them some ham and eggs." The pig replied, "Wait a minute. For you to provide eggs would require only compassion. For me to supply ham would require total commitment." Both compassion and total commitment are essentia...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
If you do not live a gospel that calls you to a life of sacrifice and service, you are living a shallow, selfish, shoddy substitute that promises much and demands little. This week's texts give off both green lights and red lights: the hopeful green lights of salvation and redemption (in Hebrews) and the ominous red lights of sacrifice and service (in Mark and Isaiah). The ongoing challenge ...
4. The Double Cross
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Some of the disciples felt double-crossed. They expected perks, priority, position. Instead they got a double-cross in which the more VERTICAL their relationship to God, the more HORIZONTAL their relationships with others. We all have a favorite restaurant. What's yours? [Make this an interactive moment in the sermon by having the people call out their favorites.] What's the one restaurant i...
5. Operation Omega
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Sometimes we can get things so perfectly wrong that we don’t have even a hint that we’ve stepped in it again. Here’s one example: Drive through any town or suburb in America and you will see signs announcing the names of local churches. There will be a “First Presbyterian, a “First United Methodist,” a “First Baptist,” a “First United Church of Christ.” Only after the “First” designation has been...
6. Are We Able?
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
There is an old saying that “To the victor belongs the spoils.” Nowhere is that more evident than the period following a presidential election.  That is the time when the new president-elect begins to divvy up the various cabinet positions and political plums and reward those who helped him get to that exalted position. I.SOMETHING LIKE THAT FORMS THE BACKGROUND FOR TODAY’S SCRIPTURE LESSON. Jes...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
If I had to designate one big idea that has characterized the mood and the movement of people during the past ten or 15 years, I would say that this has been a time of aggressive self-expression.  Perhaps the most graphic reflection of it is the advent of assertiveness training.  This has been formalized in books, seminars, and workshops.  For many people, winning is everything, even if you win by...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The essence of the gospel is inside-out paradox and upside-down preposterousness: The way up is down, the way in is out, the way high is low. Jesus turns the world upside-down, and invites us to an upside-down way of living, an inside-out way of thinking. Are you brave enough to be a Crazy Dog? Jesus spent most of his ministry promoting "Crazy Dog" thinking - urging his disciples to join with him...
9. Blind Ambition
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
King Duncan
It’s been more than twenty years, but I suspect most of us remember the case of the “Texas-Cheerleader-Murdering-Mom.” Wanda Webb Holloway of Channelview, Texas wanted her daughter Shanna, 13 at the time, to be picked for the high school cheerleading squad. Her rival for this honor was a girl named Amber Heath. Wanda Webb Holloway was the organist at the local Baptist church. She was a respected ...
Sermon
King Duncan
An MG Midget pulled alongside a Rolls-Royce at a traffic light. "Do you have a car phone?" its driver asked the guy in the Rolls. "Of course I do," replied the haughty deluxe-car driver. "Well, do you have a fax machine?" asked the Midget driver. The driver in the Rolls sighed. "I have that too." "Then do you have a double bed in the back?" the Midget driver wanted to know. Ashen-faced, the Rolls ...
11. Flying High
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
King Duncan
In the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains, you don’t see too many people hang gliding. But ol’ Zeek decided to save up and get a hang glider. He goes to the highest mountain, and after struggling to the top, he gets ready to take flight. He takes off running and reaches the edge‑‑into the wind he goes! Meanwhile, Maw and Paw Hicks are sittin’ on the porch swing talkin’ bout the good ol’ days ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Back in 2003 Jim Hager of Oakland, California, earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. He accomplished this feat by eating 115 M&M candies in three minutes with chopsticks! I don’t know how long it took Mr. Hager to perfect this skill of eating M&Ms with chopsticks. And I certainly have no idea why he undertook this task, but I do know this all of us have our dreams. Dwight David E...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
We all know self centered people don't we? People who get jealous because someone else is honored and they're not, even though they didn't do anything. People who always want to be the center of attention even if the attention should be focused on someone else. These are what we call Self Serving people and while a lot of business have moved to the Self Service model, the church has always taken t...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
In his book, Hide or Seek, James Dobson tells of a time when John McKay, the great football coach at the University of Southern California, was interviewed on television, and the subject of his son’s athletic talent was raised. Son John was a successful player on his dad’s team. Coach McKay was asked to comment on the pride that he felt over his son’s accomplishments on the field. His answer was m...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
My wife, Mary called Thursday morning and told me about two drivers she encountered on her way to work. One was coming onto the interstate, the other was trying to exit the interstate at the I35, I20 split. They both had on their blinkers signaling to the other their intent. The each wanted the other one to get out of their way. But rather than slowing down and letting the other guy pass, they bo...
Sermon
April Yamasaki
What does success look like to you? Winning the championship over all the other teams in your sports league? Checking off every item on your to-do list? Getting that new job or promotion you were hoping for? Putting the kitchen in order after making a homemade meal from scratch? To James and John, success looked like sitting next to Jesus, each on one side of their Lord, basking in his reflec...
Sermon
Steven Molin
There is a candy shop in the city of Keystone, South Dakota, just a few hundred yards down the mountain from that infamous Mount Rushmore monument. I can't tell you the name of that candy store, but I can certainly recall the sign on the counter that stands at just about eyeball-level for the average seven-year-old. The sign says this: "If Mom says, ‘No,' ask Grandma!" Within the obvious humor of...
18. Not So With You
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
How many of us here this morning were born BC? By “BC” I mean “Before Cell-phones?” The first cell phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper. My kids were born AC, but I was born BC. In a world of 7 billion people, there are now 5 billion cell phone subscriptions. Pretty amazing for something under 40 years old. In the last forty years the cyber-cellular age has changed the way we do business, ...
Sermon
King Duncan
There is a wonderful story about the King and Queen of Sweden who were attending the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. Trying to get into an ice hockey game featuring the Swedish team, they were stopped by the ticket taker because their tickets were for another game on another day. The King said that the correct tickets were in his car and he asked that they be allowed in without...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Kids in 4-H are usually involved in some kind of rural, agricultural activities. They raise sheep and goats, chickens, rabbits, and llamas. The 4-H fair has horse shows and dog shows and judging contests all designed to measure the abilities of the kids and their critters. Just as the Boy Scouts have their well-known pledge, the 4-H-ers have their own pledge and commitment. In fact the 4-H motto ...
Sermon
King Duncan
A very short boy wanted desperately to play basketball.  He even told his Dad that he wanted to become a pro when he was older.  Knowing that his son would never be able to play the game, the Dad asked the local coach if there was anything that he could recommend to make the boy taller.  “You might take him down to the museum and put him on that old torture stretch rack,” the coach said. Several ...
22. Service
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon
Warren Thomas Smith
"For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (v. 45) James and John came to Jesus asking for preferment! It is a situation as old as the institutional church. I know, for I am heart and soul in the institutional church; I love it. I believe in the church. I readily accept the statement, "The Church is of God, and will be preserved to the...
Sermon
Brett Blair
During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!" The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corpor...
Sermon
James W. Robinson
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." It was with that abrupt request that disciples James and John one day approached Jesus. I don’t know how that strikes you, but, to me, it smacks of impertinence. How would you have responded? In kind, I suspect, with "Oh, you do, do you!" But Jesus, always the gentleperson, made patient reply: "What do you want me to do for you?" Perhaps ...
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
One of the most dominating characteristics of our modern American culture is our worship of the free market. We live in a society where the free market reigns supreme. The free market determines which companies will profit and which will go out of business. The free market determines which political party will win the election. The free market determines which products will sell. The free market d...
Showing 1 to 25 of 37 results