Zoom
Showing 26 to 48 of 48 results
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
It is customary for politicians to launch political campaigns in their hometowns.  Hometown is supposedly where your most fervent supporters are. Jesus launched his public ministry in his hometown of Nazareth, a town of about 20,000. It was there he had grown up, played with friends, worshipped in the synagogue, and assisted his father around the carpenter shop. We think that father Joseph died wh...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
I wish I had discovered Eugene Patterson long ago. He's a Presbyterian Pastor, and also an outstanding writer. He's the pastor of Christ Our King United Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He has been there for 27 years; (maybe I'll make it that long here). This is one of Patterson's simple, matter-of-fact, powerful expressions of truth: "There is no such thing as successful churches. Ther...
Sermon
J. Ellsworth Kalas
I've read some books where it seemed the author had no purpose in writing. When that's the case, I'm glad if I can discover it early, so I don't invest too much time in a meaningless search. In some instances, however, I've been slow to recognize the problem, perhaps because I've been looking so earnestly for the author's point that I didn't realize he was without one.  No such charge can be made ...
29. Surprise!
Luke 4:14-30
Sermon
King Duncan
A man wrote into Reader's Digest with an embarrassing story about his former boss. This gentleman was just stepping out of the shower one evening when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel or robe, the man headed down to the basement. Just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and...
30. Good News
Luke 4:14-30
Sermon
Brett Blair
The story is told of a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide and "gofer" to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the friar never had the ...
31. Today
Luke 4:14-30
Sermon
William G. Carter
In one of his books, David Buttrick tells about a cartoon in a magazine. The cartoon showed three men sitting in a row behind a long table. A microphone has been placed in front of each of them. One man was pictured in long flowing hair and a draped white robe. Another was battered, a wreath of jagged thorns on his head. The third was swarthy, with dark curly hair and a pointed nose. The caption s...
Sermon
King Duncan
A scandal is brewing in the hallowed halls of Academe. It has to do with test scores given to our young people. A West Virginia doctor noticed sometime back that all 50 states claim that their students score above average on standardized test scores. That, of course, is impossible ” for everyone to be above average. Someone has even given this scandal a thoughtful name ” the Lake Wobegon effect. L...
Sermon
J. Ellsworth Kalas
In the church, most of us think of Epiphany simply as a season on the church calendar, and sometimes as a season we don't understand too well. We may recall that we are celebrating particularly the revealing of Christ to the Gentile world, via the Wise Men, but not much more.  The dictionary, however, adds further dimension to the word, listen: "a sudden, intuitive perception ... into the reality ...
Sermon
William G. Carter
I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up. It is true for me. I was recently invited to preach in the church where I grew up. My mixed feelings about the invitation were justified. Before anybody heard a word I said, they remembered little Billy Carter, who made paper airplanes out of worship bulletins ...
Sermon
Thomas A. Pilgrim
Not long ago I was driving down the interstate. I saw standing by the road a young man, not very impressive in appearance, who seemed to have all he owned in two bags. As I went by he held up a sign with one word on it: "Home." I wanted to stop and help him get home and yet because of the way things are today I did not even slow down. But I have often wondered where home was - and if he got there ...
Sermon
Gary L. Carver
I shall never forget the night that Mae June came to church. Mae June was a workingwoman who, in our little community, was often seen in the late hours of the night in some of the darker places of our little town. The rumor circulating over breakfast every morning at the city cafe, was that Mae June had a male companion. Mae June had a boyfriend. They were seen quite often, not only at night, but...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
Frank had his own very successful company. He employed about 20 people who were all paid well and happy. One day at work one of the critical pieces of equipment broke down and Frank was right in the middle of helping make repairs. After just a short time, they got it back up and running but he was all hot and sweaty. On top of that, on the way home, he had a flat tire. So when he got home he decid...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
In September of 1997 there was a groundbreaking service for a Catholic cathedral that is going to be constructed in Los Angeles. The Diocese of Los Angeles commissioned the famous Spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneo to design the building. Their hope is that the cathedral will be completed by the beginning of the millennium. It’s to be a peculiar witness to the glory of God. There were models of ...
39. Via Maris
Luke 4:14-30, Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:23-25
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and in...
40. The Master's Voice
Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:14-30
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Prop: The King’s Speech [use a clip from the movie near the conclusion in which the king is grateful to have been freed] Being “voiceless” has been the cause of many a revolution. Slavery, women’s suffrage, child abuse, human trafficking —the progress of history is the story of the voiceless finding a voice and struggling to be free. The stifled voice will find a way to be heard. Those who have d...
41. The Healer
Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) “I am the Lord, who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) Prop: stethoscope [Hold up the stethoscope.] How is your heart? [Have a volunteer come up. Listen to the heartbeat. Put the stethoscope to the mic.] What do you hear? [Allow people to listen to the beating heart.] Listen to that. That’s the sound of a living hea...
Sermon
King Duncan
Some of you will remember the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield who made a handsome living with the phrase — “I don’t get no respect.” “I don’t get no respect,” Rodney would say, adjusting his tie. “I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back . . . With my dog I don’t get no respect. He keeps barking at the front door. He don’t want to go out. He wants me to ...
Sermon
King Duncan
It’s tough to preach your first sermon at a new church. Most pastors experience at least a few jitters as they head to a new church to preach. Can they remember the main points to their sermon? Will the sound system work? Will the congregation stay awake? It’s nerve-wracking. Not exactly on par with the stresses faced by police officers or brain surgeons or middle school teachers, but nerve-wracki...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
Chuck Swindoll illustrates how ministry concerns all of us in his “Saving Lives” parable (https://www.insight.org of October 2, 2015). On a rugged section of seacoast many decades ago a crude lifesaving station was built. Only a few volunteers manned the station to watch for ships that were in danger of the rocks. On the occasion of a shipwreck the handful of volunteers took their one and only bo...
45. Spirit Powered Anointing
Luke 4:14-21 · Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Anointing. This is a term that means that the Holy Spirit is with you, that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. When you are “anointed,” you are not only empowered but commissioned into action. The word comes from the Greek word echrisen, to anoint from the root chrio, also related to christos, anointed one, the word we call “messiah.” Jesus has been “contracted” by God with the power of the divin...
46. Provoked
Luke 4:21-30
Sermon
Lori Wagner
It’s hard to impart joy to those who dwell gladly and gainfully in sorrow. Ever notice that? I’m not talking about the truly sad or those who are grieving, and I’m not talking about those suffering from depression or anxiety. These are truly debilitating conditions. Some people however neither respond to joy nor comfort because they are gaining too much power, attention, satisfaction, or compassi...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
Jesus wanted people to know and experience his loving Father — the true God. Anything else was false love….false gods. Christ’s message came directly from the heart of God. He and the Father were so intimately connected in heart, soul, and spirit. His whirlwind preaching and teaching tour in the synagogues in the communities of the region of Galilee landed him in his own hometown of Nazareth. His...
Sermon
Will Willimon
“And he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”' Luke 4:21 I would wager that this text, Luke 4:14-30, has been preached more than any other here in Duke Chapel. If you're a regular worshipper here, you have heard it used as a text for sermons at least three times in the past two years. Its proper place is here, on the third Sunday after Epiphany. But it's ...
Showing 26 to 48 of 48 results