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 1226 to 1250 of 1652 results

1226. It's Your Funeral

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... condemns the church in Laodicea because they "are neither cold nor hot." Lukewarmness -- mediocrity -- makes Jesus gag (Revelation 3:14-16). Yet even these people always have good intentions. I remember one of the first funerals I did. I tried to ... we look at the lives of great saints. Everyone has feet of clay. Martin Luther was a man who needed enemies like other men need friends. John Wesley was an utter failure as a husband. Almost always, when I do a funeral for a man or woman who has been a pillar of ...

1227. Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... God. "But the Lord of hosts is exalted by justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness" (Isaiah 5:16). Isaiah's response to his vision is utter speechlessness. I know that the New Revised Standard Version translates his response as ... He has become a listener and what he hears moves him to a response, "Here am I; send me!" Our gospel reading today introduces us to John's unique way of speaking about the lifting up of Jesus. His whole gospel is an invitation to see the Lord, high and lifted up, ...

1228. Invitation To Community

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... husband's prerogative (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). The prophet Malachi claimed God hates divorce, equating it with an act of violence (Malachi 2:16). But Ezra the priest lamented how the men of Israel had married women of other races and foreign beliefs. "Get rid of them," ... by God's hospitality, we can discover how to live together and love one another, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 1. John R. Donahue, "Mark," Harper's Bible Commentary, 1988 ed., p. 996. 2. Gordon J. Wenham, "Divorce," The Oxford Companion to ...

1229. Counting The Cost - Sacrifice

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up assignment," he wrote that he wanted to be, of all things, a missionary. At age 16 Viv Grigg picked fruit in the summer to save money for his university education. He lived in a dormitory with the other workers, ... the poor."3 If we are truly seeking God, we will direct ourselves toward living lives of sacrifice, fairness and justice for all. In John 12:26, Jesus says, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will be my servant also. Whoever serves me, the ...

1230. God Said It. I Accept It. That Settles It.

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Carl B. Rife

... for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Like the other bumper stickers we talked about, this bumper sticker raises some issues for us. The meaning of this bumper ... or inerrancy of the scriptures. The task of discovering God's Word in the words of scripture is of crucial importance. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, pointed to a way of working out this task with his quadrilaterals. While his ...

1231. Kingdom Etiquette

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15)." And then he added, "I tell you I shall not eat ... again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:16)." It was the last meal before the feast of the kingdom at which Jesus and his friends will gather. There are probably few words in all of Scripture that are more explosive than these. They are all ...

1232. The Ascension Announces a Triumph

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... Throne "So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God (Mark 16:19-20)." The Christ who once walked among us, died on a cross for us, rose from the dead, now lives and reigns! What ... they were convinced that now they were his agents on earth to carry out the work he had begun. Jesus had said to Peter, James, and John, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Christ is now enthroned in the place of power and authority, and the disciples are ...

1233. What's a Good God Doing In a World Like This?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

James Weekley

... he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 (RSV) What if the first couple of the Bible had entered into the following conversation? "My love, check out time from the Grand Eden Hotel is 11:00 tomorrow morning." "But honey, that's bad. How are we going to get the carpet cleaned and buy ...

1234. Have You Accepted Jesus' Invitation?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

George Johnson

... saved by grace, to believe in Jesus, to be born again. There has been no commitment of the heart. We live in an environment within the church where we sometimes assume that everyone is a Christian. Most of us have been baptized and confirmed. We all know John 3:16 and the Lord's Prayer. But that doesn't mean all of us have accepted the invitation to the marriage feast. There are those who do not have on the wedding garment. They mingle among the Christians. They know the party line, but something is missing ...

1235. What Children Can Teach Adults

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... the builders were commissioned by the Lord upon whom they were dependent for its completion. When Zechariah became the father of John the Baptizer, who was to become the forerunner of the Messiah, he demonstrated a childlike faith, crying, “Blessed be the ... of impulse, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona!” (Matthew 16:16b,17a) As the Christ loved those who responded to him spontaneously with childlike faith, so he loves those today who do ...

1236. The Strength of the Master

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... politics when he said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Who were some of these friends of Jesus? There was the tough, rugged John the Baptizer. There was the undecided young ruler, Nicodemus who came to him by night, Zacchaeus with whom he lodged, Lazarus over whose death ... man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?(Matthew 16:24b-26) After he finished speaking, suppose he came up to you and said, “Will you follow me?” What would you say ...

1237. Into The Whirlwind

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Robert Allen

... a grip on our lives. A couple of months ago, I received a note from some people whom I had not heard from in more than 16 years. The writer said that her husband was a hospital patient. He had already been through by-pass surgery. But his heart was just not strong ... not abandoned, he was not forsaken, he was not forgotten. God came for Elijah and God will come for you and me. John Powell, professor of theology at Loyola University in Chicago, told of one of his students named Tommy. Tommy was a problem. Tommy ...

1238. The Public Effect Of Private Living

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

... jokes about how the private morality of people becomes public information. A U.S. Congressman is found guilty of having sex with a 16-year-old and the story becomes headline news. Jim Wright becomes the first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives ever to resign ... violations of House rules. The public effect of these alleged ethical violations mesmerized the nation and led to his resignation. John Tower was considered by many to be the ideal candidate to be the Secretary of Defense, but when the ...

1239. Fatal Subtraction

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... procreation, man and woman perpetuate life. We could not have life's continuation without man and woman giving of themselves in love for the purpose of perpetuating humankind. The most important acts of creation revolve around the principle of giving. Even better, in John 3:16, we find an even deeper testimony. "God so loved that world that He gave his only son and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Again the first principle of giving is manifested by God in offering us ...

1240. Moving Words

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... years, one of the masterpieces of Christian devotion and meditation has been Of the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a’Kempis. John Wesley was so influenced by this writing that he believed every Christian should have a copy of it, read it regularly ... .” Living as we do in our Western, religiously-tolerant society, we may never face a crucial moment such as Chrysostom 16 centuries ago. We do, however, face similar temptations to renounce our faith, ignore our commitments, or compromise our loyalties. We will ...

1241. Chosen By God

Ruth 4:1-12

Sermon

Sims Robert

... be an extremely painful thing. Jesus said, “If anyone would believe in me, let him take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).” The cross is a symbol of suffering and an instrument of pain. If you love others, you share their hurts, their sorrows ... sleep. My mother awakened me and asked, ‘Can you not stay awake with me these last hours?’ ” How reminiscent of Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ came to them and said, “Can you not watch with me just one hour?” To be ...

1242. The Signs Of Salvation

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... lost and I will bring back the strayed and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak (Ezekiel 34:11, 16). The lost, the strayed, and the outcast have always been the focus of God's redemptive and reconciling activity. Of all the gospels, Luke ... to come down. Amen. 1. William Barclay, Testament of Faith, (London, A. R. Mowbray and Co., Ltd., 1975), p. 4. 2. John Baillie, Our Knowledge of God, (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1939), p. 1. 3. Paul J. Achtemeier, Proclamation 3, Pentecost ...

1243. The Significance Of An Insignificant Man

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Erskine White

... thing. He brought Jesus' words to life, for Jesus had said to His disciples, "If any would come after Me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). And Jesus was also to tell them, "Truly I say to you ... you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" (John 21:18). The very first one to do this - the very first one to pick up a cross and follow Jesus Christ - was an African who happened to be passing by, an ...

1244. Don’t Be Alarmed

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, this is the place they laid him (Mark 16:5, 6a).” One thing is certain. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would never have heard of him! The attitude of the ... life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26).” Easter is the good news about the universe and about Almighty God and about myself. It proclaims that the world ...

1245. Time and Timing

Habakkuk 1:12--2:1, Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

Paul W. F. Harms

... us who gloat, rejoice over the punishment, the comeuppance of such as Richard Nixon, too clever for his own good, the downfall of a John DeLorean; the suicide of an Adolph Hitler; the stroke-induced death of a Joseph Stalin; or even, on a much lesser scale, the ... a way that starts from faith and ends in faith: as the Scripture says, 'He who is righteous by faith shall live.' " (Romans 16:17) And again, "But now, quite independently of law, God's justice has been brought to life. The law and the prophets both ...

1246. The Dripping of Water

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

John 13:4-5; Matthew 27:15-26 I grew up with Marion Long. We started first grade together and, after eleven years, we graduated from ... The article ended on a pathetic note: "Before he could establish arecord of consistent competitiveness, his record of participating in the system caught up with him." (Raleigh News and Observer, Monday, March 16, 1981) Take a basin of water, slightly clouded from use for washing. Let the water settle and look into it. There, as in a mirror, is your own reflection. As each ...

1247. Encounter with a Stranger

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Robert Allen

... a man with a multi-colored wig -- striped in red, blue, green and orange. He would position himself so the television cameras would have to pick him up when they showed the extra point attempt. He would hold up a sign that in bold letters said: John 3:16 Romans 5:8 Galatians 4:4 I recognized the man because he is seen on television all the time at nationally televised football games, the World Series and golf tournaments. During halftime, I went and stood in line at the concession stand. The man with the ...

1248. The Lord's People Together

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

... , I will still believe, that in general, we human creatures really have some pretty good things going for us. With all our flaws and shortcomings, I don't think we're hopeless. And I don't believe God sees us that way either. For, after all, as we read in John 3:16, he has "so loved" us that he has given his own beloved Son in our behalf. One of the very fine things about us, I think, is our disposition to be together with one another. On our mountain tops and in our valleys, we tend to seek and find ...

1249. Emancipation Proclamation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... the people in the temple at Jerusalem who had engaged the Galilean in discussion. Crowds had gathered for the feast of tabernacles, and John tells us of a lot of muttering among the people. While some thought he was a good man, others claimed that he was ... -style "freedom to be me," freedom from the prudish customs of our ancestry. Or it might be the plastic freedom after age 16 when we have passed the driver’s test, freedom from the watchful eyes of parents. Break loose, express yourself, claim your rights ...

1250. The Emperor’s Son-in-law

Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

... . Paul says, "We are the children of God; if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:16-17) In 1 Peter 2:9 we are told, "You are a royal priesthood, God’s own people, that you may declare ... carpenter.’ One night when I was at the church serving refreshments to the Men’s Brotherhood I got a phone call from our national headquarters. ‘John, we want you to take your wife and two children to the mission field in Africa for three years.’ My wife and I talked it ...

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