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1. Out On A Limb
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
Larry R. Kalajainen
A friend told me of the hours he spent as a child in a large cherry tree in his grandmother's backyard. The tree was very large and high, at least as he remembered it. He remembered the very first time he climbed it. He had to jump to catch hold of the lowest branch, and then pull himself by sheer muscle power up onto it. Then he could work his way up the tree. The tree seemed so high, that he got...
2. Humans, Inc.
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Why is it, when we're confronted with the details of a particularly savage crime - of cold, calculating cruelty - we label such behavior as inhuman? To call some monstrous behavior inhuman seems almost an insult to animals. Certainly no dog or cat ever intentionally put out cigarettes on their offspring's legs. Herds of zebras don't band together and kick herds of gazelles to death, much less gas ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Jesus didn't wait for an invitation. He came and got people, even people who were hiding like Zacchaeus, even people who were lost. Consider this scene that every parent has been confronted with at some time. You are busy in the kitchen getting dinner ready while your child and a neighbor friend are playing out back. Suddenly, two hopeful faces confront you, and you hear, "Mom/Dad, Jamie can ...
4. The Reject
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
James Merritt
Her name was Vicky Harrison. By all appearances she was a beautiful 21-year-old perky blonde with a sweet personality, great ambition, and a seemingly bright future. Tragically she became another suicide victim. She killed herself after more than 200 unsuccessful job applications. She had dreamed of a career as a teacher or a television producer, but gave up hope for the future. A day after h...
Sermon
King Duncan
We are told that being tall gives you an advantage in our culture, particularly if you are a male. For example, taller men earn more money on average than their shorter counterparts. If you’re six-feet-two or taller, you’re likely to start a new job at a salary 12.4 percent higher than someone under six feet. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not fair, but that is the way it is. Each extra inch of he...
Sermon
King Duncan
Mrs. Billie Cannon--a Knoxville, Tennessee homemaker--was preparing to paint her back porch. In order to protect the floor, she very carefully placed around the edges of the floor a strip of Scotch tape--the kind with adhesive on both sides. It was her plan to place a drop cloth over the floor and secure it with the tape. Having succeeded in placing the tape around the entire surface, she went ba...
Sermon
King Duncan
Kevin Greene is a former linebacker who played in the National Football League for 15 years. Greene retired after the 1999 NFL season and ranks third among all-time sack leaders, leading the NFL twice in that category. As a result, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. Maybe one reason Greene was so successful was the support of his wife, Tara. From 1992 to 1996, while Greene w...
Sermon
King Duncan
The news service Reuters carried a story sometime back about a man in Poland who was up a tree literally. He was trying to avoid paying a cab driver. The man jumped from the cab with driver in hot pursuit. He must have been amazingly athletic. After climbing a tall tree, he jumped from branch to branch and hurled bananas from a shopping bag at a crowd which had gathered at the scene. More than a ...
Sermon
King Duncan
There is something odd about the sight of a grown man up in a tree. The Reuters news service carried a story sometime back about a Polish man who climbed a tree to avoid a taxi fare which totaled just a few dollars. Pursued by the irate taxi driver, the passenger climbed a tall tree, jumped from branch to branch and hurled bananas from a shopping bag at a crowd which soon gathered at the scene. ...
Sermon
Children of all ages quickly recognize Zacchaeus as the little man who shimmied up a sycamore in Jericho to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed through town. His story has long been a favorite with the children of the church schools, especially those who have experience in climbing trees. His image is imprinted on the mental screen of everyone familiar with the story, for when pilgrims tour the Ho...
11. To Be Somebody
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
A few years ago, Vance Packard wrote a book he called The Staus Seekers. From him and others like him we learn that having an office with a window and a carpet might be more important than getting a raise. So what encouragement is there for those who make sandwiches for a cafeteria? Or who fill mail orders at Wards? Or who make boxes at Hoerner Waldorf? Or who are retired - whose job history is i...
Sermon
King Duncan
Regardless of what you may have heard or read, Frank and Jesse James, two of the most famous outlaws of all time, were cold-blooded murderers. Their father, though, was a Baptist pastor and the founder of William Jewel College in Liberty, Kentucky. Their mother was raised in a Catholic convent. Both parents espoused values very different from those that their sons held. Yet, Robert James, their fa...
Sermon
Molly F. James
My college friend Amelia is well-off by any standard. Her parents hired a circus for her fifth birthday party. Her mother has china and place settings for one hundred people. Her father is a doctor who made a breakthrough discovery that helped millions and made a fortune for his family. There are libraries named after him on multiple college campuses. On the surface, she might seem to be just lik...
14. Real Gratitude
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
James W. Moore
I want to begin this morning by telling you about two of my most prized possessions. The first one is a simple ordinary rock. It’s a rock with some green and yellow paint splattered on it. I use it as a paper weight on my desk. I have had it for over 30 years. It’s not worth a lot, but I cherish it. If I tried to sell it, I couldn’t get much money for it, but you see, I would never even consider ...
15. Saint Who?
Luke 6:27-36, Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
Scott Bryte
He gets shorter every time we tell the story. Sunday school children sing about the "wee little man." Illustrated Bibles and everything from stained-glass windows to coloring books depict a tiny elf of a man, perched bird-like in a tree. "Poor little Zacchaeus." Or maybe "rich little Zacchaeus." Either way we've got a short story about a short man who had to climb a tree to get a good view of the ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Good morning, saints! Good morning, sinners! We're all here. And all that we are is here. The month of September is still warm and green, even though late in the month autumn officially begins. October is marked by cooler temperatures. But the shameless displays of gaudy, glorious colors dull the impact of the real changes that are creeping up on us. November can no longer disguise the grey-o...
Sermon
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd; because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus...
Sermon
James Merritt
This message is the first of a four-part series I am calling "Four Steps to Greatness." I believe within each one of us separately, and all of us corporately, there is the God-given potential for greatness. Over three decades ago Newsweek magazine ran an article entitled "Advice to a (bored) Young Man." It is good counsel for all of us, man or woman, young or old: Died, aged twenty; buried, age ...
Sermon
Dr. Chane M. Hutton
There is a well-known and widely practiced tactic in sports and in life known as "messing with your opponent's mind." They tell us that one of the most adept practitioners of this art was Dizzy Dean, the great St. Louis Cardinals pitcher of years ago. One day the New York Giants put runners on first and second with two out, and Dean intentionally walked Hughie Critz to load the bases. It seemed li...
Sermon
Brett Blair
They say “politics and religion don't mix.” I say this campaign can't shut up talking about religion. They say “separation of church and state.” I say politicians sure been preaching a lot of sermons lately. Some of them preachin’ political sermons in the churches, right up there where the preacher ought to be. You might be able to separate the state from the church but you sure can’t separate the...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
I want to think with you for a few moments on the idea of "Why Change is Possible." I want to think about the new beginnings and fresh commitments that these Bible lessons make possible. The new year can and should be a time when we grow spiritually by allowing the power of God to be fully operative in our lives to change those attitudes and actions in our lives that prevent our work and witness ...
Sermon
Stephen M. Crotts
In William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, the actors roam the stage looking for a scarce potion that can make humans fall in love. What with our church splits, divorce rate, homicides, racism, and terrorist wars, such an elixir, such a love potion, could come in handy in our own day. Jesus Christ told us in the Great Commandment to love our neighbor (Mark 12:28 ff). Then he stuck ...
Sermon
King Duncan
I can see actor Danny Devito playing Zacchaeus. That is, if Hollywood ever makes a movie about Zacchaeus, Devito would be perfect. Think about it. The first thing most of us think about when we think of Zacchaeus is that he was short. Vertically challenged. The second thing about Zacchaeus we know is that he was rich. Devito can handle those two characteristics easily. The third thing we know is t...
Sermon
John Wayne Clarke
This chapter of Luke brings us ever closer to the end of Jesus' public ministry. Jesus enters Jericho, just fifteen miles or so from the holy city of Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus transforms the life of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. This is one of the few stories that is peculiar to Luke and is a wonderful human-interest story. The fact that Zacchaeus is willing to climb a tree to see Jesus is ...
Sermon
Robert Beringer
There are many people who outwardly seem to have their lives all together. They have plenty of money, lots of friends, a good deal of power, and they seem at least on the surface of things to be enjoying the "good life." But inwardly, many of these same people feel lost and alone and empty. What they desperately need is to find a turning point in their lives that will fill that emptiness in their ...
Showing 1 to 25 of 39 results