In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 11%3A1-11" showing 1,061-1,080 of 2,329

Sometimes I Feel Like A Nut! ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 25, 2005

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut! (07.27.05--Appreciation--Isaiah 12:1-6) Sometimes you feel like a nut-- and sometimes you don’t. Just another one of those advertising jingles that has bored its way deep into my subconscious. As innocuous as many of these little ditties might seem (and as irritating ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 12:1-6

Tags: Joy, Peace

Denomination: Lutheran

Boomerang!  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 27, 2005

Boomerang! (07.28.05--Appreciation--Ezra 5: 1-2) “When someone does something good, applaud! You’ll make two people happy.” The life-long motto of film magnate, Samuel Goldwyn, he knew that appreciation was a two-way street. The one who received it benefited as well as the one who gave it. Both ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 5:1-2

Tags: Joy, Listen, Obedience, Forgiveness General, Samuel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Streaming After Dreaming! (08.01.05--Boldness ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 28, 2005

Streaming After Dreaming! (08.01.05--Boldness Too!--Deuteronomy 33:27) Do you consider yourself a cautious person? I don’t know about you but mom and dad always taught me to “look before you leap.” A cautious approach to things can keep you out of a lot of trouble in this life. Did you also know ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 33:27

Tags: Love Of The Disciples, Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Lutheran

Holy Sway Bars! (08.02.05--Boldness Too!--2 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 31, 2005

Holy Sway Bars! (08.02.05--Boldness Too!--2 Samuel 4:1) Have you ever followed behind one of those pick-up trucks pulling a hay wagon? Around these parts that can be an every day experience especially during hay baling time. You’re driving along the highway and then, as you come over the crest of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 4:1

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

I'll Get Back To You! (08.04.05--Boldness ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 2, 2005

I’ll Get Back to You! (08.04.05--Boldness Too!--Acts 3:11) “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.” How often have you heard that said in your life. If we could count the number of times action has been spared by inaction due to the “thought process” necessary beforehand, we’d probably ...read more

Scripture: Acts 3:11

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Lutheran

It Has Been Said That No Great Work In ...

Contributed by Mark Green on Aug 4, 2005

“It has been said that no great work in literature or science was ever wrought by a person who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.” ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Actions Of The Common Day! (08.08.05--Character ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 4, 2005

Actions of the Common Day! (08.08.05--Character Counts!--Gen. 27: 11-13) “It’s the little things that count!” Growing up, this phrase had special meaning in my life. No, not because I enjoyed hearing it or, for that matter, even putting it to good use in my life. Rather, it was one of what I ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-10, Genesis 27:11-13

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran

Those Little Maybe's! (08.12.05--Character ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 11, 2005

Those Little Maybe’s! (08.12.05--Character Counts!--Romans 5: 3-4) A drought tests the metal of a man. It tests his fortitude and his faithfulness. It also tests his resourcefulness and his ingenuity. I come from a long line of “resourceful” folks who seemed to see in every bleak and forlorn ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-4

Tags: Perseverance, Character, Diligence, Faith

Denomination: Lutheran

Like Blind Beggars! (08.15.05--Envy!--John 21: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 11, 2005

Like Blind Beggars! (08.15.05--Envy!--John 21: 20-23) “No one has done a better job of portraying envy than Dante, In his Purgatory . . .the envious sit like blind beggars by a wall. Their eyelids are sewn shut. the symbolism is apt, showing the reader that it is one of the blindest sins--partly ...read more

Scripture: John 21:20-23

Tags: Envy

Denomination: Lutheran

Rejoice In The Shade! (08.16.05--Envy!--Duet. 5: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 12, 2005

Rejoice in the Shade! (08.16.05--Envy!--Duet. 5: 21) Standing in the shadows can be lonely at times. When others are taking the bows and hearing the accolades it is sometimes impossible not to be envious. Recognition is something that each one of us by nature yearn for. To be recognized for what ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:21, Micah 6:8

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Peace

Denomination: Lutheran

Burn The Books!  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 16, 2005

Burn the Books! (08.18.05--Envy!--Prov 14:30) “Envy cannot read; therefore its will is that all books should be burned.” If we can’t have it then it should not be possible for others to know what we ourselves have not be given. When we equate envy with justice, we travel a very rocky road. Denying ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:30

Tags: Envy

Denomination: Lutheran

Swallowed Alive? (08.22.05--Under ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 18, 2005

Swallowed Alive? (08.22.05--Under Pressure!--Genesis 25:32-33) When you are captive to pressure, there are only two ways to go. You can either lose you temper and flail against the wind or you can wait it out and eventually overpower it. I lost the chock to my power drill the other day. ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 25:32-33

Tags: Emotions

Denomination: Lutheran

Goodness Or Just A Smelly Gas! (08.23.05--Under ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 21, 2005

Goodness or Just a Smelly Gas! (08.23.05--Under Pressure!--Romans 15:14) I’ve always been intrigued by LP gas tanks. I guess that it is that mystery of the unseen and the unanticipated that causes the mystique. Around Beech Springs we have a number of them. There’s one in my workshop tied to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:14

Tags: God In The Hardships, Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

Add Air Or Put On The Spare! (08.24.05--Under ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 23, 2005

Add Air or Put on the Spare! (08.24.05--Under Pressure!--Exodus 16:2) When we are under pressure, we can either seek to manage the pressure or let the pressure manage us. Easier said than done? Yes, but like most things in life, there is a way if we really have our eyes and hearts open to finding ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 16:2, Exodus 16:1-3

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

The Cavalry Is Already Here! (08.25.05--Under ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 23, 2005

The Cavalry Is Already Here! (08.25.05--Under Pressure!--Judges 1:1) Working for a small, non-profit, I often find myself tackling projects on pretty much of a solo basis. The old adage, “If you want to get something done, you need to do it yourself!” is a prevalent attitude among those who work ...read more

Scripture: Judges 1:1

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

Only A Risk Away! (08.26.05--Under ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 25, 2005

Only A Risk Away! (08.26.05--Under Pressure!--Judges 6:25-30) Is it worth Risking? It used to be that life was a matter of “this I will risk” but “this I will not.” Risk was something that was weighed on a daily basis. It was a part of life. You picked one thing over another because you had ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30, Judges 6:25-30

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Lutheran

Cut To Fit!  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 25, 2005

Cut To Fit! (08.29.05--Sickness!--Hebrews 12:6) Arthritis is a real drag. As active as you would like to be this day or any, if you are weighted down with joints that are sometimes swollen and often stiff, the day always seems sometime a bit longer, somehow harder to bear. I’ve been an arthritis ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:6

Tags: God In The Hardships, Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Lutheran

It's Better Higher Up! (08.31.05--Sickness!--John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 30, 2005

It’s Better Higher Up! (08.31.05--Sickness!--John 16:32) Webley our oldest dachshund has a thing about long walks. Simply, he doesn’t like them very much. Webley is eight and getting up there in years. Anything over a mile or so can be grueling for him. And, because of this the pads of his paws ...read more

Scripture: John 16:32

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Lutheran

Undone And Redone! (09.01.05--Sickness!--Psalm ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 30, 2005

Undone and Redone! (09.01.05--Sickness!--Psalm 38:21) Recently I had a crown installed on one of my molars. In the process of doing the work, the dentist created a space between the new crown and a nearby tooth that hadn’t existed before. Now, every time I chewed on that side of my mouth, the food ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 38:21

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Lutheran

Penguins And Eagles! (09.02.05--Sickness!--Psalm ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 31, 2005

Penguins and Eagles! (09.02.05--Sickness!--Psalm 4:3) Soaring like eagles may sound good, but flopping around like a penguin can be a whole lot easier. Keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground may not always be the most glamorous of occupations, but it sure is safer and more accommodating ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 4:3

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Lutheran