Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2501 to 2525 of 4963 results

2501. Send Me!

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... uncomfortable in the presence of God and begged forgiveness. "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" We who confess our skepticism must remember that it happened to Isaiah, and it happened to Paul. There were plenty who doubted the genuineness of his conversion, too. Life cannot remain on dead center and still be regarded as life in the best sense. Life must be dynamic. It must move. It can only go forward. We can never turn back the clock, or go back to what we once were. To stand still is to die, or at ...

2502. We Know Jonah

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... or beaten to death. Husbands and wives who were from different ethnic backgrounds were forcibly separated. A most poignant and disturbing image captured by a television camera showed a young boy with stark terror portrayed on his face, who had to remain with one parent, as the other is forcibly driven away. Terrible things result from the perpetuation of prejudices and stereotypes, rivalries and hatreds. Imagine, for example, being told that you must divorce your wife or husband - the mother or father of ...

2503. Feeling Down And Looking Up

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... he granted the Jews freedom to return to their homeland. However, the people had become dispirited in their captivity and had lost the hope of ever returning. In fact the prevailing mind-set was to accept the inevitable, make the best of their situation, and to remain in Babylonia. Thus the prophetic task was to rouse the people’s hopes and prepare them to take advantage of the freedom, which Cyrus granted them, and to return. The prophet had to arouse in them a renewed faith in God, and to stir in them ...

2504. Coming Down The Mountain

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... you remember the euphoria after a spectacular concert, or a summer camp, or a very moving religious retreat, or a memorable time with someone very important to you. How we would like to capture those moments and make them last forever. How we wish we could remain on the level of an enlightened moment, or a time of emotional or spiritual sensitivity that seems to come to us so rarely. Such times can be the touchstones of a new awakening in us, to be recalled later with some nostalgia as bright moments never ...

2505. God’s Great Promise To Sarah!

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... the beginning history of humanity. In these first chapters we go from the Adam and Eve stories, the power and progress of sin, the story of Noah and the flood, to the tower of Babel and finally to the family of Terah and the birth of Abraham. The remaining 39 chapters of Genesis describe the lives of four generations of descendants of the family of Terah: 1) Abraham and Sarah, 2) Isaac and Rebekah, 3) Jacob and Leah and Rachel, 4) the stories of Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel. The book of Genesis is our ...

2506. Whatever Happened To Sanctification?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... event. Don’t be troubled if the numbering system by which you memorized the commandments is different than our text. Various Christian denominations have numbered the commandments differently, depending on how they combined or divided the biblical texts. The commandments, however, remain the same. First of all, let us be reminded, that nowhere in the Bible do we find the faintest hint that we do not have to take the commandments of God seriously. Nor do we find anything in our theology that would ...

2507. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... it the way they want to. So the theologian’s flower has been called the "hedge" and wise old Joe Sittler talked about coming down on an issue "with both feet planted in mid-air!" Yes, strong sermons will evoke disagreement, but I believe there remains in our congregations a deep hunger for more plain talk from the pulpit. Our people are getting weary of words that distort and conceal. Some of the reasons for the strong sermon reaction in our text is that the exiled people had adapted, adjusted, and ...

2508. Peter’s Second Sermon

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... are to pray for healing, but not just bodily healing. Christianity does not promise perfect health. Physical healing was only part of Jesus’ mission. The primary purpose of Christ’s ministry was salvation - healing for sin-sick souls. Sin is and remains our most serious sickness. So, somewhat bluntly our bold preacher shifts attention from the healed beggar to the listeners. Peter reminds his congregation of their need for healing in the monstrous crime they had a part in, and that was the crucifixion ...

2509. Christian Courage

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... to quit preaching because the law said that preaching could only be done in the established church. Martin Luther told the government, "Here I stand! I can do no other!" John Bunyan refused to give any promise that would bind his conscience, and because of it, remained a prisoner for the best part of his adult life. One wonders how different our world would be if John Bunyan had given in to the government? One wonders how different our world would be if more people like the great theologians Karl Barth and ...

2510. Bridges, Not Walls!

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... after going through a similar exit process, that never again would I visit East Germany. We all know what happened. The wall has come down. The borders are no more. Travel between these two areas now proceeds without any fear-producing inspections. The world remains in a state of shock-surprise at how suddenly and thoroughly bridges replaced walls. Our text for this day describes an event that brought down an even greater wall. The event is the story of Cornelius, and the wall was the formidable, tradition ...

2511. The Commandments of Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... . Prayer Of Confession O God, in so many ways You have been patient and loving with us, yet we have been impatient and unloving to others and even to You. So often we have given rejection when an act of acceptance would have shared Your love. Too often we have remained silent when a word of kindness might have shared Your healing power. Forgive us, Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen. Hymns "In Christ There Is No East Or West" "O Love, How Deep, How Broad" " 'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus"

2512. The Path of Maturity

Drama

William Grimbol

... our enemies ... which means knowing them ... understanding them ... accepting them ... living side by side with them ... respecting them ... forgiving them ... LOVING THEM? READER 5 Christ did mean it ... He meant exactly what he said, and that call to radical - reckless - rigorous loving remains to this day the most troublesome message of his ministry. Christ has called us all to pass the acid test of faith, which is to always keep on widening the scope of our loving, and to know that our loving is also ...

2513. The Path of Integrity

Drama

William Grimbol

... totally absurd. READER 3 In our world today, there is still no better symbol of the unleavened life than the act of washing feet. Dirty, dung encrusted, smelly feet. Repugnant. Repulsive. Revolting. Yet, the image of Christ washing his disciples’ feet remains a crystalline portrait of integrity, a picture that clearly portrays Christ’s own lack of care or concern for the standards and expectations of the world. Jesus Christ, the footwasher, stands before us in the glory of his unbloated status ... his ...

2514. Early on the First Day

Drama

G. Franklin Gray

... Magdalene ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him." (Mary Magdalene runs. Others remain, guards rise cautiously and exit, remove costumes and join congregation. Angel also disappears behind tomb.) Peter and the other disciple went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; (Peter and John follow action described ...

2515. Out of Doors: Nature and Supernatural

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... you before you make the trip: if you want to feel the land of the Bible come alive, spend as much time as possible out-of-doors. In the Garden spot, as you stand by olive trees which are hundreds of years old and which grow out of the remains of trees still older, you will sense the nearness of the Lord who prayed in Gethsemane. Or when you walk down to the banks of the Jordan River, you will almost see John the Baptizer and Jesus, and though you may tell yourself, logically, that nineteen centuries have ...

2516. Stewards and the Hungry

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... is no excuse at all for us, who are the caretakers of creation, to refuse to share with those who have such desperate need. The lack of understanding and concern, the cultural factors, the economic and political factors may partially explain why this horrible hunger remains such a blight on creation. But remember, Isaiah promised that when the Messiah came it would be different. The psalmists promised us that God would intervene and that you and I would keep God’s promises for him. Saint Paul said that we ...

2517. Resurrection: From Slave to Child

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... has been illustrated. One was a Montgomery, Alabama road. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus so that a white man might be seated. Mrs. Parks is black. She told the white bus driver that she was tired and chose to remain seated. It was the same driver who, twelve years earlier, had put her off a public bus because she would not obey his direction to pay the fare through the front door, then get off the bus in order to enter it again through the back door. Now, this ...

2518. A Man Who Laughed at God

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... so greedy. There was no hint of compromise in his attitude, no indication that each of them might share part of the best and part of the worst, no attempt at a fair and reasonable division. But Abraham was satisfied. He didn’t grumble or protest. He took what remained. Now he didn’t need to give Lot the first choice. Indeed, he didn’t need to give Lot any choice at all. He could have kept all the land for himself; he might have forced Lot to withdraw. He could have said, "That’s enough. Be on your ...

2519. A Man Who Lost His Head

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

In the last chapter, we considered Daniel, a prophet who lived in captivity in the land of Babylon. After the inhabitants of Judah had been carried away as slaves into Babylonia and remained there for a period of approximately seventy years, some of them were permitted to return to the city of Jerusalem. The city had been destroyed and left in ashes. Under extremely difficult circumstances, they began to rebuild: the walls ... the temple ... the city. Some of the outstanding leaders of that ...

2520. A Man Who Wanted to Burn a City

Luke 9:46-50

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... 19:25-27). Under the circumstances, this took a lot of courage. John, as a Son of Thunder, had aggressiveness ... and ambition ... and audacity. All of which are good characteristics - when brought under the command of Jesus. Son of Tenderness But John didn’t remain a Son of Thunder. This man of violence and intolerance, zeal and enthusiasm, conviction and ambition, became a Son of Tenderness. In his life we can see what happens to these qualities when they are turned over to the control of Jesus. Beware ...

2521. A Citizen of Three Worlds

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... world" (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). There is a parallel for you, today. You have a national heritage, a great privilege; you have much for which to be thankful. You have a religious tradition, a great privilege; you have much for which to be thankful. But the ultimate question remains: "Is your citizenship in heaven?"

2522. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... . He called him "Holy Father whose faith in God affected every day of life." More than 800 years after his birth, Christians share Francis, digging him up from the grave to probe his life, hoping that his power of reconciliation still hovers about his remains. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church tells us that Francis was the son of a rich merchant who became dissatisfied with his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome he exchanged clothes with a beggar and spent the day begging. When he returned ...

2523. John Calvin, God’s Man

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... to its original purity. He left France for Protestant Basel and there wrote his famous "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in 1536. It gave Protestant beliefs its most systematic formulation. A friend, Guillaume Farel, persuaded Calvin to visit, and then remain, in Geneva, Switzerland. There Calvin tried a great experiment - the organization of Geneva under rigid and uniform religious discipline. The government of the city was put into the hands of pastors, elders and deacons, assisted by a court which ...

2524. John Wesley: Religion of the Heart

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... aside an hour of devotion each day 7. Avoid all manner of passion After his conversion at Aldersgate, John established Sunday church schools, preached in the fields of England, and was careful never to hold his worship when the Anglican Church did. He remained an Anglican priest almost to the end of his life. He finally broke with the organized church because it refused to ordain several Methodist clergy to go to the United States. John Wesley ordained them himself in 1784. Francis Asbury became the Wesley ...

2525. When Something is About to Happen

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Long

... , nothing really, has happened. In a far more profound way, the church has always struggled with its pain over a future which fails to come. "Come, Lord Jesus," they prayed, but it was Roman soldiers who came. "This world is passing away," they sang, but the world remained. One can live on tiptoe just so long, before the muscles grow tired and the eyes grow weary of looking for the light of a day which never dawns. If the church is standing at the threshold of God’s future kingdom of justice, then the ...

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