Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: disciple, evangelist, the 12, the twelve, son of Zebedee, fisherman, incarnation, word became flesh, I Am sayings, apostle, sons of thunder, eternal life, darkness and light, eyewitness

Showing 951 to 975 of 1347 results

951. When a Member of the Family Dies

John 11:17-37

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

... died. Jesus went to the home of Mary and Martha to be with his friends in that time of grief. Now listen as I read John 11:33. "Jesus saw Mary weeping and he saw how the people with her were weeping too; his heart was touched and he was ... to give you strength and comfort. Psalm 46 says, "God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." And Proverbs 18:24 describes the Lord as a "friend who sticks closer than a brother." Regardless of the pain, tragedy, and trauma you feel any time ...

952. The Friend At Midnight

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... intentions. Around 1870 New York City had one of the most hotly contested mayor’s races in its history. The incumbent was Mayor John Tweed--Boss Tweed he was called. He was running for reelection. The Boss Tweed machine represented politics at its very worst. The ... how many of us persistent about it? Jesus considered this such an important point that he later told another story in Luke 18 that illustrates the same thing—the importance of persistence in prayer. He told of a widow who had a court case ...

953. The Freedom To Be Wrong

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

... with his wife. It’s plain he’s in the wrong, and he may even realize that. But he’s the macho type and John Wayne would never surrender, would he? So he just hollers louder. Here’s a set of parents concerned about keeping their children’s respect. ... who prayed: God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (Luke 18:11) This was a Pharisee, Jesus said. We may snicker at his boasting and we may dismiss him as a hypocrite but when ...

954. Time to Get Ready

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

... tubs, avocados and panoramic views, the memory of the massive tremor that devastated this city seventy-five years ago April 18 has faded to a distant rumbling on the edge of San Francisco’s unconscious." Scientists have pointed out that "history ... it to be? Telling that story is the most important business of Christians in the world, isn’t it? Do you remember John Bunyan’s masterpiece, Pilgrims’ Progress? It is, in a way, everybody’s story - and everybody’s business if we call ourselves Christians ...

955. If Only We Would Be Open To The Spirit ...

Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... s oracle at Pentecost when he was trying to convince onlookers that the coming of Jesus had initiated the new age. (Acts 2:17-18) We all have many personal feelings tied up with our belief about the movement of God’s Spirit in our lives. Those feelings ... inspire me, but I have to decide to acknowledge and answer to it. God takes the initiative, but the response is up to me. John Killinger, in Bread For The Wilderness, Wine For The Journey, tells of a friend who kept a diary of her prayer life. She became ...

956. Deliverance by a Dream

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

... the area, but if one kid got hurt, it wouldn’t be worth it." He explained that a man named John had written a letter threatening to kill three scouts and take three others captive; he had also called the home of one of the scouts and threatened to kill the boy ... if he went to the camp-out.18 Instead of a newspaper and a phone call, God used a dream and an angel to warn Joseph that an attempt would be made upon Jesus ...

957. "He Who Commands Is He Who Fulfills"

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

... his letter to the Romans: "One man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all ... By one man’s obedience many will be made righteous" (5:18). The greatest commands, those articulated by Jesus as love of God and love of neighbor, have at last been fulfilled - by Jesus himself, by his self-giving love ... are. That’s what we do. 1. Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, John Knox Press, Atlanta, 1975, Page 426. 2. Ibid. (Emphasis added) 3. Lutheran Book of Worship, Page 57.

958. The Trifocal Festival

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22) I: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8) II: Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who ... ; II: Native American Indians, like Seattle; I: Biblical saints, like Mary and Peter; II: Twentieth Century saints, like John XXIII and Albert Schweitzer. I: Much has been said and written about saints. Forthwith, a sampling. II: From ...

959. Is There No Balm in Gilead?

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... not so clear and Jesus never really answered why unsolicited suffering occurs. He did say that it was not because of sin. In John 9 the disciples ask Jesus why a man was born blind. “Who sinned,” they ask, “this man or his parents?” Neither, was ... Jesus’ answer. On another occasion in Luke 13 Jesus said that the collapse of a large building in Jerusalem, which killed 18 people, did not happen because they were more guilty sinners than any others living in the city. He said that all of ...

960. The Sermon in the Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... a mirror the splendour of the Lord; thus we are transfigured into his likeness, from splendour to splendour." (2 Corinthians 3:18, New English Bible) Henry Drummond paraphrased Paul’s words in this way: "We all reflecting as a mirror the character of ... the Lord’s Supper tells us the message: "I shall come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be also." (John 14:3, NEB) The Lord’s Supper is an acted sermon in which the message of Christ’s death is retold as it is commemorated. As ...

961. Three Arrows

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Sermon

... No wonder then that we read that Jonathan loved David as his own soul. Even as the Son of David would love a disciple named John, did David love Jonathan. Mark Twain once told a reporter, "I don’t say much about heaven and hell because I have friends in ... ’s dark night of the soul. A friend is someone who is at your doorstep when the rest of the world has gone home. Proverbs 18:24 speaks of a friend who sticks to us closer than death. His name is Jesus Christ. Because of his friendship for us, we are ...

962. Red, the Color of Sacrifice

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

... of sacrifice, and I’d like to look at fourteen verses of the 22nd chapter of Genesis, followed by just two verses, verses 16-18 of Matthew’s second chapter. Read the text! In the Genesis story I just read, we see old Abraham, now well past one hundred years ... , born to set thy people free!" It’s interesting to note that in reality we know precious little about the birth of Christ. John and Mark mention it not at all. Matthew has a scant seven verses dealing with Jesus’ birth. The rest we learn from St. ...

963. From Beast to Believer

Daniel 4:28-37, Daniel 4:19-27, Daniel 4:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... that is a central theme of the book of Daniel---the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. Then in verse 18 Neb says to Daniel, "Okay, that’s my dream; tell me what it means." Verse 19 tells us that Daniel’s thoughts terrified him. ... to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:8) Jesus himself promised, "They that come to me I will in no way reject." (John 6:37) Our Lord receives with open arms anyone who comes with this attitude: "Nothing in my hands I bring, only to thy cross I cling ...

964. The Touch of the Master's Hand

Luke 5:12-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... through the touch of the faith community. JESUS TOUCHED A THIRD CATEGORY OF PERSONS—THE TERRIFIED. One day Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a mountain. There they saw Moses and Elijah, returned from the dead, and they heard God’s voice. They fell ... BY JESUS WERE THE CHILDREN. How Jesus loved children! "People were always bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them." (Luke 18:15) Not everybody delights in little children as much as Jesus did. In a recent comic strip, Dennis the Menace and his ...

965. Call Him a Story Teller

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

George Bass

... as an artist with words - a consummate story teller - that we remember him on the traditional date of his death, October 18. He may have healed people and ministered to them as a physician, and he may have painted portraits of Jesus, Mary, ... not speak. Later, as he leaned heavily upon his nephew’s arm in his walk toward the car, "he chuckled softly as he quoted from St. John: ‘And when you are old another will lead you whither you will not go.’ In the car he stared straight ahead. His face was white ...

966. A Daughter of Jacob

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... , her self-esteem, her self-concern. What better picture could we have in the New Testament to summarize the meaning of faith. When John G. Paton went as a missionary to the cannibals of the South Sea Islands, one of the first things he did was set about ... (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 203. 16. Taylor, op. cit. p. 302. 17. Smart, op. cit. p. 72. 18. Lenski, op. cit. p. 349. 19. Taylor, op. cit. p. 297. 20. Hendriksen, op. cit. p. 621. 21. Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith and Other ...

967. The Un-Parade

Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... in the end persistence won out. Said this insensitive jurist, "... I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming." (Luke 18:1-5) Then finally, our parades end; this "un-parade" has not ended yet. It is still going on, and it is peopled by you ... God’s will and God’s power made perfect in our weakness. 1. William Wordsworth, quoted in Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett (Boston: Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1955), p. 406. 2. Keen, op. cit., pp. 123-24. 3. Ernest Hemingway, ...

968. For Those in Church: Joy and Service

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" (Matthew 22:37). The second is for the gospel and the inscription upon it is the great verse from John (3:16): "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ... ’t make religion a burden, don’t show off the faith, do be a servant. He had said it already in Matthew 18:4 and Matthew 20:26. Jesus says here, "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will ...

969. The Beauty of a Childlike Faith

Matthew 18:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... thoughts set their ambitions to soaring. Even the disciples' relatives got into the act. The mother of James and John asked Jesus to look out for her boys in the coming glory days. Finally, when competing ambitions were creating ... in Christ unless and until they prove unworthy of that trust. Perhaps the most unsettling part of today's text is Jesus' statement in Matthew 18, verse 3: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." He was saying to the disciples, "You are ...

970. One Good Word - Thanks!

Lamentations 3:1-66

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... pressures which have kidnapped Christmas and turned it into a buying binge have run over Thanksgiving with the force of an 18-wheeler. The only creatures helped in the process are the turkeys. Thanksgiving, like beauty, is in the eye of the ... wine requiring new wineskins. He gave us a new commandment and a new covenant in his blood. Finally, in the revelation of St. John, Jesus declared: "Behold, I make all things new." God's love is consistent, yes, but always full of newness; just as the tides, though ...

971. Where Are You?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... gift of grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many...For just as by the one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by Jesus' obedience many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:12, 15, 18) God is still asking the haunting question, "Where are you?" Where are you? Bill, Jane, John, Sally, Where are you? Are you hiding behind some tree somewhere, feeling terribly guilty? Are you making futile excuses to God? Are you running from God? God is no Cosmic Cop or vengeful landlord. God is a loving ...

972. Chapter I

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... and first Commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (See Leviticus 19:18.) On these two Commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). In this exchange Jesus served notice that none of these provisions ... for living was being cut off. Later, he would add to them (John 15:12), and, in some cases, give them broader applications. Time and again he simply reiterated what had been known by God’s ...

973. Thy Kingdom Come

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... share a word about what Jesus means in your life. An eternal soul could be saved, and the Kingdom would come closer. An 18-wheeler was sighted on the interstate recently with this sign on the back: "Start the week off right. Attend the church of your ... were barely surviving?" The spirit of the Kingdom of God is better reflected in a statement in the will of our Methodist founder, John Wesley. He wrote: "When I die, do not employ a hearse; have no parade. Instead, find six poor men who need employment. Pay ...

974. God of Wrath and Grace

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... won’t mention. We Methodists focus on the grace of God. But Methodists did not always avoid the subject of God’s wrath. John Wesley’s original invitation to membership in Methodism was simple: “Come all who wish to flee the wrath to come.” Of course ... in every flood, and a rainbow after every storm. The last word in our text is not about judgment but about grace. See verse 18, “But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your son’s ...

975. Right on the Money!

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... prosper." In Psalm 35, verse 27, we read: "Great is the Lord, who delights in the prosperity of His servant." And in Third John 2, verse 2, we read, "Beloved, I wish above things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." ... YOUR PRODUCE; THEN YOUR BARNS WILL BE FILLED WITH PLENTY AND YOUR VATS WILL BE BURSTING WITH WINE. That advice is similar to Deuteronomy 18:4 which tells us: “The first fruits of your grain, your wine, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give ...

Showing results