In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 8:22-26:26"

The ‘holy Grail' Of Super Glues!" John 17:1-5 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 15, 2005

“The ‘Holy Grail’ of Super Glues!” John 17:1-5 Key verse(s) 4:“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” It takes a special hand to deal with glue! Some are born to handle the sticky and others not. I am one of the latter lot. While, like most men, I find the ...read more

Scripture: John 17:1-5, Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Lutheran

A Fair Piece To Go!" Zechariah 12:10-14 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 16, 2005

“A Fair Piece to Go!” Zechariah 12:10-14 Key verse(s) 10:“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.” Restlessness! When we were children it was not unusual for us to be restless. In fact, it was that restlessness that often got ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 12:10-14

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Holy Spirit Attributes, Cleansing

Denomination: Lutheran

The 100% Solution!" John 14:25-27 Key Verse(S) ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 18, 2005

“The 100% Solution!” John 14:25-27 Key verse(s) 27:“‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’” Since the beginning of time, mankind has craved peace! When Adam and Eve came upon the body of their ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:1-9, John 14:25-27

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Lutheran

Because I Said So!" Romans 11:33-36 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 21, 2005

“Because I Said So!” Romans 11:33-36 Key verse(s) 11:“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Because I said so! If you are a parent the odds are that it is likely at some time in the course of that career you uttered these words with feeling. “Because I said so!” There ...read more

Scripture: Romans 11:33-36

Tags: Knowing God's Will, Doing God's Will

Denomination: Lutheran

Comfortable Out-On-A-Limb!" Romans 11:33-36 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 23, 2005

“Comfortable Out-On-A-Limb!” Romans 11:33-36 Key verse(s) 11:“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Get real! When as a youth I heard this phrase, it often gave me reason to pause. If someone was insisting that I was caught up in a fantasy and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 11:33-36

Tags: Trinity

Denomination: Lutheran

God's Algebra!" Romans 8:9-17 Key Verse(S) ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 25, 2005

“God’s Algebra!” Romans 8:9-17 Key verse(s) 16:“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” One of the unchangeable and mysterious laws of mathematics is that whenever you multiply a positive number by a negative number you will always get a negative number. I ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:9-17

Tags: Wait, Promises Of God, God's Love, God's Omniscience, Perseverance, Patience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Torch Races!" Job 6:8-13 Key Verse(S) 9:". . . ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 27, 2005

“Torch Races!” Job 6:8-13 Key verse(s) 9:“. . . that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!” Sometimes it doesn’t matter how quickly you run the race; just that you finish. Everyone has bad days; days which like any other days start out all right but somewhere ...read more

Scripture: Job 6:8-13

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

Is The Doctor Behind?" Psalm 13:1-6 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 30, 2005

“Is the Doctor Behind?” Psalm 13:1-6 Key verse(s) 5:“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Waiting is not something that comes natural to me. When I am put to wait, the time drags by so slowly, so tediously. While other more accommodating individuals are able ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Lutheran

May 31, 2005 "Our Semper Fi Brother!" Matthew ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 31, 2005

May 31, 2005 “Our Semper Fi Brother!” Matthew 9:18-26 Key verse(s) 22“Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed from that moment.” Nothing defines endurance better than a Marine. I have known a few Marines in my life; in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:18-22

Tags: Patience, Perseverance, Persistence, Promised Land, Doubt, Endurance, Faith General, Conquer, Brotherhood, Struggles, Victory  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Letting Go Of The Branch!" Luke 1:5-15 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 31, 2005

“Letting Go of the Branch!” Luke 1:5-15 Key verse(s) 13“But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” Trusting in God is fine, as long as it is something you believe He can do. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-15, 1 Kings 17:8-16

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Lutheran

A Winning Streak Of One!" 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 1, 2005

“A Winning Streak of One!” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Key verse(s) 16“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” It’s important to make sure that every day of our lives we practice gladness and condition ourselves to finding ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Lutheran

A Comfortable Emptiness!

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 2, 2005

A Comfortable Emptiness! On a faded scroll framed in mahogany and hung in the hallway of an old farmhouse I chanced many years ago to read what then, in my youth, seemed important but now many years later is ingrained in my heart as one of the most profound and impacting statements I have ever ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 12:12-18

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Lutheran

D.w.i.!  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 4, 2005

D.W.I.! (06.07.05--Family--Eph. 6:1-4) The American family under assault! Did you know that one out of three children in the United States are growing up without a father present in the home or that last year in a number of major U.S. cities more children were born out of wedlock than within? ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Lutheran

The Eternal Kiss! (06.08.05--Family--Gen. ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 6, 2005

The Eternal Kiss! (06.08.05--Family--Gen. 27:33-37) The most powerful institution on earth! No, it’s not the United State Congress or the Supreme Court for that matter. And it isn’t the Presidency, the World Court or the United Nations. Although such institutions are singularly powerful and no one ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 27:33-37

Tags: Parenting, Children

Denomination: Lutheran

Groans From Within! (06.09.05--Family--Prov. ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 7, 2005

Groans From Within! (06.09.05--Family--Prov. 11:29) I turned the engine over but oh the groans from within! My old leaf vacuum hadn’t been run in about a year and it was time to put it back into service redeeming the lawn and pathways of the carpet of the beech leaves blown down in a recent storm. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 11:29

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Lutheran

No Mundane Stuff Allowed! ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 8, 2005

No Mundane Stuff Allowed! (06.10.05--Family--Song. 4:1-7) It has been said that one of the major problems with families is that they start out wrong from the start. From the moment the marriage license is signed spouses are inclined to view the privilege as more of a hunting license than a ...read more

Scripture: Song of Songs 4:1-4

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Lutheran

I Don't Want A ‘shicken Sandich'! (06.13.05--The ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 10, 2005

I Don’t Want a ‘Shicken Sandich’! (06.13.05--The Tie That Binds--1 John 3:13-18) “Well, what do you want?” The young frustrated mother blurted out to her little boy as he pouted in the fast food line. “We’ve been standing here for five minutes and I’ve told you everything on the menu. What is it ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:13-18

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Lutheran

No Fire Without Heat And Smoke! (06.14.05--The ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 12, 2005

No Fire Without Heat and Smoke! (06.14.05--The Tie That Binds--1 John 4:19) It’s been hot here lately at Beech Springs. It has been unusually hot and humid. The beech woods understory that blankets our little valley are getting crisper under foot daily. The trilliums came and went and are withered ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:19

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Lutheran

I Heard A Quote That Was Made By The Man Who ...

Contributed by Mark Holdcroft on Jun 19, 2007

I heard a quote that was made by the man who started the first police force in Britain. ‘The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen…’ Robert Peel ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Pentecostal

Bono Of U2 Has Used His Status To Increase The ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jul 30, 2007

Bono of U2 has used his status to increase the Kingdom of God here and now. In 1982, thorugh the Live Aid and Band-Aid he helped Ethiopians. But not only that he traveled there to make sure the funds were used honestly and effectively. What he saw changed his life. He worked at an orphanage for ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God