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Sermon
Thomas Peterson
People give evidence that they like things to be pure. A favorite theme is of the poor little rich girl wanting to be loved for herself and not her money. She goes to great lengths to find out, “Do you love me for myself or just for my money?” She’s not alone. We all want to be loved for our own sakes. Our preachers are expected to be truly committed. To think they are in their work for the money ...
2. Doors to God
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
Thomas Slavens
Sunday • Christian Education Sunday • Christian One door in the church school class room opens to God. That door, the most important, is the teacher. Whatever else they teach, church school teachers should teach the central message of the Christian faith. What is that message? Albert Schweitzer, after making a life study of the message of Jesus, has concluded that: The essential element in Christi...
Sermon
Robert Allen
Mildred was a fine lady. She was 64 years old when the doctors discovered that she had terminal cancer. She was in and out of the hospital several times receiving her treatments, and each time she seemed to be a little weaker than the time before. Mildred was married to one of the roughest roughnecks in Oklahoma. He was a big, burly man, and one look at him told you that in his younger days, he wa...
4. Soli Deo Gloria
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
Mark McGilvey Livonia
"SDG" -- Soli Deo Gloria, "to God alone be the glory." On each manuscript he completed, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote these three letters. When we imprint those three letters on everything we do, we are living as God would have us live. Soli Deo Gloriato -- God alone be the glory. A teacher of the law asked our Lord, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," a...
Sermon
Cathy A. Ammlung
Compared to some of the pericopes from Mark's Gospel, this one seems a piece of cake. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (vv. 29-31). That's straightforward enough! In fact, we might stumble over only fo...
6. Sine Qua Non
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
I read somewhere that a new Guinness World Record has been set for the world’s shortest sermon.  An Episcopal priest stood up one Sunday morning, walked to his pulpit, stood there for a moment, and said one word: “LOVE.” Then he sat down.  I know, some of you would like me to attempt a sermon like that one day.  But it is not that easy.  The word “love” is capable of many different meanings.  Love...
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
Every once in awhile I am surprised by a film which offers a message that I never expected. When I checked out Brubaker, an old Robert Redford film from the late '70s, from my local video store I expected some romantic adventure from one of Hollywood's biggest stars. That's not at all what I got. Instead I saw a wonderful and thought-provoking portrayal of human nature. Brubaker turned out to be ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Author Ron Dykstra tells about a young and successful executive who was traveling through a neighborhood, driving a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. Suddenly a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! The young executive slammed on the brakes and backed up to the spot where the brick had been thrown. He then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shout...
Sermon
King Duncan
Moses Mendelson tells the story of a woman who came to a great teacher and asked him: "Teacher, how do I know which religion is the right one?" The teacher replied with a story of a great and wise King with three sons. This King had a precious gift--a magic ring that gave him great compassion, generosity, and a spirit of kindness. As he was dying, each of his sons went to him and asked the father...
Sermon
King Duncan
How much would you pay for some spot-on financial advice from billionaire investor Warren Buffett? They call him the Oracle of Omaha. He is a legend when it comes to making wise decisions in the financial world. Some people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for his wisdom about the stock market. And yet when some reporters asked Buffett for the best advice he ever received, Buffett didn’t ta...
Sermon
King Duncan
Many of us dream of visiting exotic places. Maybe we'd like to see the magnificent castles in Europe, or the unparalleled beauty of Hawaii. Or perhaps the mysterious orient, with its unique culture. When we're there, we might even start dreaming about what it would be like to live there permanently. Would it be as beautiful or as impressive if I saw it every day, or would I begin to take it for gr...
Sermon
King Duncan
Many years ago, firefighters in Canton, Ohio, rushed to the home of Lisa M. Ash, 24, to extinguish a fire. They pulled out of her oven a smoldering voodoo doll made from cloth and twigs that she said she was using to cast a spell against a neighbor, based on advice she said she received from a telephone psychic line. (1) James W. Moore tells about a segment he saw on the television news show "20/2...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
New parents are always so eager and anxious for their babies to learn to talk. We cajole and coo and coax them to get out those first precious words. But eventually parental prayers are answered, and the child speaks. Next thing they know, however, Mom and Dad are being grilled by junior or missy who have discovered the all important “Why?” question. There are the science questions — “Why is the...
Sermon
Steven Molin
Our nation has a lot of stupid laws! For example, in North Dakota, "Beer and pretzels cannot be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant." In Alaska, "It is illegal to push a live moose out of a moving airplane." In Florida, "If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would if it was a vehicle." And if not the most bizarre, then certainly the ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Training in godliness involves the 4-step fitness program outlined in the Shema: Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength. Last spring, there was only one "athlete" on everybody's minds and every sportscaster's lips. In 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest player ever to win the Master's golf tournament and he did so by setting a record low score. The most prestigious tourney, a record-setting score not a ba...
16. No Holding Back
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
David E. Leininger
Familiar words. "Heart...soul...mind...strength...your neighbor as yourself." We learned them as the GREAT COMMANDMENT. All others pale in their light. We agree, of course. "Love the Lord your God with all your HEART." Not the blood-pumping heart, the "heart" that, from ancient times has been considered the seat of our emotions. Two weeks ago I had the privilege of preaching for our neighbors at ...
17. All-Out Love
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
James W. Robinson
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, where the death he has predicted is little more than a breath away. His enemies are closing in, firing salvos of accusations impugning his religious orthodoxy and his loyalty to Caesar. They hope to find blasphemy and treason in his responses. What pastor has not found himself in somewhat the same situation? The telephone rings in the parsonage, manse, or rectory. A cal...
Sermon
William G. Carter
Several years ago, a radio station ran a contest. Disc jockeys invited their listeners to tune in their clock radios. "Just for fun," they said, "when you wake up to the sound of FM-106, call and tell us the first words you spoke when you rolled out of bed. If you're the third caller, you'll win $106." It didn't take long for the contest to grow in enthusiasm. The first morning, a buoyant disc jo...
Sermon
April Yamasaki
To share about her ministry in Japan, one mission worker often wears a kimono -- a beautiful floor-length robe with wide sleeves that's tied at the waist with a sash called an "obi." Her outfit is both an example of Japanese culture and an object lesson that she uses to explain Colossians 3:14: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." In the Jap...
Sermon
Warren Thomas Smith
"You are not far from the kingdom of God." (v. 34) It was a discussion on the Great Commandment. We call it the "controversy source." An unnamed scribe, one of the straightforward individuals in the gospel narrative, came to Jesus asking a question. It was a candid inquiry, asked by a guileless person. Let us recall, first, that the man was a scribe. His business was recording the scripture. Lon...
21. To Love
Mark 12:28-34
Sermon
Lori Wagner
The Jewish “shema” is the most sacred commandment God gives to God’s people through the Torah (the Holy Scriptures). It is their confession of faith: Hear O Israel, The Lord is our God. The Lord is One. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And it shall be that these words that I...
Sermon
Frank Ramirez
The late film critic Roger Ebert once said there was a great reason many critics considered “Citizen Kane” the best movie of all time. For one thing, it really is a fantastic film. Director Orson Welles combined a compelling story with a great script and creative use of pioneering techniques for filming and editing. But he also pointed out that once you pick the greatest of anything you can stop ...
Showing 1 to 22 of 22 results