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 1276 to 1300 of 1652 results

1276. The Seeds of Social Conflict

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... and distancing from his brother? Nursing anger is like handling radioactive rocks, it can destroy all that it touches. John H. Hanley, CEO of the Mansanto Company, tells about a young chemist in his company who announced one day ... ’s brother or sister. In Act III of the drama, God punishes Cain, but puts a mark of mercy on him. In verses 11 through 16, God banishes Cain from the agricultural life. Cain becomes a transient, a nomad. But to protect him from hostile, border-conscious people, God put a ...

1277. Jesus and Judgment

Romans 2:11-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... and said, but also the spirit in which we did or said it. HERE IS THE THIRD TRUTH I FIND IN THIS SCRIPTURE: THE CHRIST OF CALVARY WILL PRESIDE OVER THE FINAL JUDGMENT. Note verse 16: “On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” The role of Jesus in that judgment is even more explicit in John 5:22: “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." Jesus as judge! That's hard for us to visualize. We think of Jesus as the One who welcomed ...

1278. Reclaiming Our Covenant

Genesis 9:18-29

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... by the promise of God. Noah and his people were to find in God one who bound himself in a covenant never to be broken. (v. 16) Moreover, a rainbow - always a sign that a storm was over and of unity between heaven and earth - a rainbow in the cloud would be ... it secure. In the old Presbyterian ritual for the Sacrament of Baptism for Infants, as he sprinkled the water, the minister said, "John Smith, child of the covenant...." This meant that the child was heir to a series of covenants: God’s original with ...

1279. A Perspective on the Ascension

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... Word went out under Christ’s original command, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15 RSV). One thing more: the first Ascension story gives to us today in the church new meaning and significance to the ... waiting," "power" and "witness." It gives also to us a reminder of the unceasing effect of Jesus’ Resurrection expressed so memorably by John Masefield in his poem, Trial of Jesus, when the centurion answers the questioner at Calvary, "Where is he now?" in words ...

1280. Song of a Stargazer

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... progressive unfolding of the divine purpose for the race, as the respective callings of Ezekiel and Paul demonstrate (Ezekiel 2:1; Acts 26:16). No impotent grovelers, these, but people endowed by their Maker with what it takes to build a brave new world (Psalm 8:6 ... ). In the divine scheme, the poet senses, salvation comes by way of the flesh as well as the spirit (cf. John 1:1, 14). A Universal Concept As the heavens blanket the earth with their splendor, leaving none bereft of their glory, so, continues ...

1281. Wheel Within The Wheel

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... and confident sense of to whom we belong. It is the faithful God of the covenant who remains the creator and sustainer of our congregations. God, through the presence and power of the Spirit, remains, the "wheel within the wheel." Amen. 1. Richard O. Hutcheson Jr., Wheel Within The Wheel, John Knox, 1979, p. 16. 2. Ibid., p. 1.

1282. God’s Dwelling Place

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... of waiting was fulfilled in a particular way. It was said of this man that the very word of God "tabernacled among us" (John 1:14). God came to dwell with us, not in tents, temples, nor family lines, but in a person, Jesus of Nazareth. All ... know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? God’s temple is holy and that you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In the same way that the body is the temple of God, so is the gathered community of those like-minded in Christ. God’s dwelling place ...

1283. The Miracle of Salvation

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... is so, the cross begins to make sense. We don’t understand it completely until we get to the resurrection, but we understand it in part. For here we are shown that God is willing to forgive man. To me the whole gospel is summed up, not in John 3:16 with all its beauty, nor in Romans or Corinthians or Galatians. Rather, it is summed up in Jesus’ cry from the cross: "Father, forgive them." For this is the heart of our faith. That here at the cross forgiveness is possible. Why did Jesus have to die? There ...

1284. The Technicolor Sign

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Larry Powell

... the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16) The bow is still in the clouds, and the Cross yet hangs above the altar as God’s signature upon his irrevocable covenant. If only we could gather it in, discern the signs as a balm to our souls, and apply our own signature to the matter by surrendering ...

1285. God Dwells With People

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; and your throne shall be established for ever. - 2 Samuel 7:15-16 If temples and buildings can help our worship, they need to be built. 3. High Tech/High Touch Translating some of this narrative about ... world, I am struck by the fact that our high technology can also either help or hinder our lives. In John Naisbitt’s important book, Megatrends, there is a discussion of how the new technology and sophisticated engineering we have developed ...

1286. A Prayer of Wonder

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... three? Conclusion The key to understanding this chapter is the play on the various meanings of the word house. According to the footnotes in my Oxford annotated Bible ... • in vv. 1-2 it means "palace." • in vv. 5, 6, 7, 13 it means "temples" • in vv. 11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29 it means "dynasty." • and in v. 18 it means "family status." It was in terms of all these meaningful things that David prayed. He has left us a marvelous legacy of a model prayer. Perhaps only the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6 ...

1287. Should Christians Always Oppose War?

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Should Christians always oppose war? Pope John Paul II sent a special envoy to Baghdad to support peace. The Pope did not believe a preemptive strike against Iraq ... comply with UN guidelines, or is he rushing toward the deployment of a terrible weapon? Jesus urged us to be "as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16) Is President Bush correct when he says that "Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not an option"? If the United States, Britain, and the other allies were ...

1288. The Exalted Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... to Jerusalem with great joy" (Luke 24:52) and "they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them" (Mark 16:20). As they carried out their mission, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to the ends of the earth, the living presence of ... through the apostolic witness: "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who are to believe in me through their word" (John 17:20). It means much to us to know that another person, even another mortal, is praying for us. What humility and joy and ...

1289. The Home Under God

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... words, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:16). In a still more dramatic occasion Jesus places a little child before the disciples, who are quarreling about priority rights in the ... the home under God, and strive earnestly with God’s help to build and maintain it. This home is beautifully described by the poet John Oxenham: "The cornerstone in Truth is laid, The guardian walls of Honor made, The roof of Faith is built above, The fire upon the ...

1290. The Dynamic Word

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... unrighteous receive mercy and pardon, they are lifted up into life in God. In the New Testament the dynamic character of the Word receives even greater emphasis. "The words that I have spoken to you," says Jesus, "are spirit and life" (John 6:63). Or recall Paul’s statement in Romans 1:16-17, the text that triggered the Reformation, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith ... for in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith ...

1291. The Communion of Saints

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... , we are the branches. "He who abides in me," says Jesus, "he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Without a living relation to him we have the same chance to live and act as Christians as a sawed-off branch of a ... with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love" (Ephesians 4:15-16). The church is not a mere organization but a living organism. We are not merely disciples and followers of Christ but parts ...

1292. Backsliding

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Brett Blair

... is still valid. It is backsliding. The term backsliding, I discovered in my research, was popularized in the 1600’s by John Bunyan in his very famous allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. In the story, you may recall, the character of Christian and ... living God, but ever so slowly he went the way of backsliding. One day Samson got up to do battle with the Philistines and in Judges 16:20 we read the most salient verse in his life’s story. It reads: He did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Suddenly ...

1293. Good Friday: The Three Crosses

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... at the top of the cross (Euseb., "Hist. Eccl", V, 1; Suet., Caligula", xxxviii and "Domit." x; Matt., xxvii, 37; John, xix, 19). Slaves were crucified outside of Rome in a place called Sessorium, beyond the Esquiline Gate; their execution was ... sentence permitted (Valer. Max., vi, 2; Senec., "Controv.", VIII, iv; Cic., "Tusc.", I, 43; Catull., cvi, 1; Horace, "Epod.", I, 16-48; Prudent., "Peristephanon", I, 65; Petron., lxi sqq.). The punishment of the cross remained in force throughout the Roman Empire ...

1294. A Tsunami Appeal

Sermon

Eric Hudson

Jeremiah 31:7-16 Ephesians 1:3-14 St John 1:10-18 A few days ago, in the middle of the week, I had come to the conclusion that I would have nothing to say to you this morning. I felt drained. The developing news of what was happening in south east Asia was just too much. What can ...

1295. Can People Change?

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... junk into a castle. 1. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1990), p. 171. 2. James Townsend, PELOUBET'S SUNDAY SCHOOL NOTES 1993-1994, (Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1990). 3. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1968, p. 16). Cited in John Killinger, LETTING GOD BLESS YOU, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992). 4. Warren W. Wiersbe, BE COMPLETE, (IL: Victor Books, 1981), p. 103. 5. Bob Echols, "The Speaker's Digest," QUOTE, July 1993, p. 191. 6.Michael Scott Horton, PUTTING AMAZING BACK ...

1296. Lightning Struck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... . What would his disciples do now? He was the Way, the Truth, the Life for them. What would happen to the sheep without the shepherd? They were not to worry, Jesus told them. "I will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever..." (John 14: 16) That Counselor came like a bolt of lightning, like a mighty wind, like tongues of fire at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is Christ's presence in the hearts of his followers. According to tradition, Tulsa, Oklahoma was named for old Tulsy Town in Alabama. Around ...

1297. What On Earth Is The Trinity?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in the flesh, they did not feel that God had left them. Indeed, Jesus Himself had told them: "It is to your advantage that I go away, (for) I will send the counselor to you...the Holy Spirit. I have been with you. He shall be IN you." (See John 14:16) Jesus Christ, we believe, is the supreme revelation of God. As a Man, Jesus could only be in one place at one time. And that place was Palestine, a little country some 50 x 150 miles, smaller than Massachusetts or New Jersey. Christians believe the Holy Spirit ...

1298. Blessing, Testing, Response

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... of our faithfulness, our gratitude, our willingness to obey, and our responsibility to our neighbor. It is a test which many fail. In Luke 16 we read about how the rich man was tested by the constant presence of Lazarus, the poor beggar at his doorsteps. The rich ... the needs of the hungryasking God to send them food. Because he turns right around and sends us with the food. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, once heard about a man in his community named Tom who was destitute and desperate. Wesley wrote ...

1299. Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... , "the last one up the stairs is going to get a licking." The youngest child, only 6 at the time, had no chance against 9, 13 and 16 year olds. She knew she was the last one and slowly she returned down the steps to get her licking. She took one step at a time ... with God in bringing that grace to others. 1. Paul Kersten, St. Andrew's St. Peter Lutheran, Goliad, Texas 2. John Nelson, Hosana! Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Illinois 3.PARABLES FROM THE BACK SIDE. J. Ellsworth Kalas. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992 ...

1300. Where Is Your Citizenship?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... window of the burning car. The station manager tried to rescue him. "He tried to pull him out. It got too hot. He gave up," said Corporal John McLain. "He died a very painful death for $9 of gas," said Vince Sullivan, a witness who tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher. How ... . White, Peter J., "Coca ” An Ancient Herb turns Deadly," NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (January, 1989), p. 16. 2. TIME, November 18, 1991. 3. Thanks to Dr. Eric S. Ritz for this illustration. 4. Thanks to Ed Harper, Burlington, NC, ...

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