Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2526 to 2550 of 4976 results

2526. The Essence of Spirituality

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... us also be guided by the Spirit." Unfortunately, that is not an easy thing to do. It is not easy to look at life through the eyes of faith and to get in touch with our spiritual nature. As one fellow put it, "I keep trying to get in touch with my deepest self, but I keep getting an answering machine." So much works against us. We are incredibly busy people. Thanks to all those time and labor saving machines, we are able to cram event upon experience into every waking moment. We go at such a pace that days ...

2527. When The Saints Come Marching In

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... must be ending, you conclude. And in sharp contrast to the images you are now seeing, you find yourself almost imagining the procession -- the bride dressed in white, the groom standing there smiling. The newscast keeps insisting on one reality, Troeger observes, while the music keeps awakening a different scene. Moreover, the sentimental soundtrack, which at first seemed like such an intrusion, begins, ever so slowly, to transform the way you look at life, amplifying the all too obvious dissonance between ...

2528. Heaven's Wait

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... in the blanks. This is more or less a multiple choice exam: a) the gods of your ancestors; b) the gods of the Amorites; c) Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. Take a pencil and circle one of the above. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not so fast. Keep in mind that the Israelites are dwelling in a society which has a veritable smorgasbord of deities. You name it; they have it. Simply pick up a menu and order a little heavenly intervention a la carte. Problem with your crops? Try the third idol to the left ...

2529. Recalling, Remembering, And Rejoicing

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... 't you noticed?" tone to this speech. "Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness," Moses tells the people, "in order to humble you, testing to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep the Lord's commandments. God humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from ...

2530. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... be the cook. The fellow who first started got tired of cooking and no one was making any complaints. He decided to force a complaint. In cooking rice he added a whole cup of salt to make it too salty. As they ate, one of the fellows could no longer keep silent. Finally he said, "This rice is sure salty," and then after a moment's hesitation added, "but that's the way I like it!" 4. Light in the Dark. Some fellows were at a camp in the mountains. One Sunday when they had free time four of them decided ...

2531. Thistles Among The Wheat

Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 139:1-24, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Romans 8:12-25

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... use of the substantial church building. The two groups finally agreed to build a wall down the center of the sanctuary. Both parties continued to worship in the building, but a wall separated them! 4. Separating Weeds and Wheat. Some church groups have sought to keep a pure church by excommunicating those with whom they do not agree. In one instance it went to such an extreme that a leader excommunicated everyone but himself and his wife. 5. A Bad Harvest. In the Middle Ages the Spanish Inquisition tried ...

2532. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 13:17--14:31, Psalm 114:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... psalm observes that Israel was liberated from Egypt and made a sanctuary. Even the sea and the mountains responded to this great event. They did so because of the overwhelming presence of God. Context of Related Scriptures Genesis 4:24. The forgiveness of Cain. The mark keeps him from being punished for the murder of Abel. Amos 2:6. The Lord's threefold forgiveness for selling fellow Jews into slavery. Amos 8:6. A warning to those who sell others into slavery. Nehemiah 5:4-5. The people's cry against the ...

2533. The Promise Of The Spirit

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... power was a mighty factor in their lives. They were men and women with a message to proclaim, come what may. "For we can not keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20 NRSV). Every Christian is called to be Christ's witness. Not only do ... God" (Hebrews 11:10). Thank God for the promise of the Spirit. The Spirit brings us a new surge of power to keep our optimism alive, to maintain our enthusiasm, to see clearly our responsibilities, and to recognize our potential. The Holy Spirit helps ...

2534. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

... of justice, like a widow's plea finally heard by a begrudging judge, is a sign of answered prayer, a sign of God's Spirit moving in the world to set things right. No wonder the disciples are told, "Stay in the city until you receive power." If they keep their eyes open, they will learn about prayer and justice. One cool September night at Yankee Stadium in New York, a foul ball was hit into the lower left field stands. It was heading right toward a boy of about nine who had obviously come to the game that ...

2535. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

... name, may respond to your prayers." The counterfeit rabbi looked desperately to his friends for help. They motioned for him to go with the innkeeper to his son's bedside. They had begun this hypocritical ruse, and now there was no choice but to keep on playing the game. The mock rabbi accompanied the distraught father to his son's sick bed. That night, the three travelers slept fitfully. They were eager to leave town before their deception was discovered. In the morning, the innkeeper, still hoping for a ...

2536. Behold The Man Who Turned Toward Jerusalem

Mark 10:32-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... Christ and the church and the world and each other all at a safe distance. We cannot protect ourselves from doing too much, giving too much and becoming too involved in the church simply because we have other things to do, and we want to keep on living our private lives. We will never understand, appreciate, or live the Christian life if our main concern is our own safety. We simply have to give ourselves to the cause of the Kingdom of God with complete abandon. It will not work any other way. To travel ...

2537. Professor Of Paradox

Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... not discover anything accidentally. In other words, it had to be a professor of paradox: someone hungry enough, poor enough, desperate enough to keep stirring the mud in the bowl, yet without thinking about gold nuggets. The people who find the treasure are not the ones who ... own deaths and a poverty that cannot be measured by the balance in our bank accounts. We only have to be careful to keep our minds open to accidental discoveries. If our minds are full of things we have been taught to look for, like a ...

2538. Demon-Possessed Child

Matthew 15:1-20, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... Matthew 15:23). In Mark's version, he told her to "[l]et the children be fed first" (Mark 7:27). Response Of Disciples: The disciples have no role in Mark's telling. In Matthew, they "urge" Jesus to "[s]end her away, for she keeps shouting after us" (Matthew 15:23). The Woman's Persistence: Mark reports that the woman initially "bowed down at [Jesus'] feet" (Mark 7:25). Only after Jesus answered her initial shouting does Matthew report that "she came and knelt before him, saying, 'Lord, help me'" (Matthew ...

2539. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

... along just fine. How like us. All our needs are met and supplied. Chances are very good we have a weather-tight house with a thermostat to turn on the furnace or air conditioning, a refrigerator to keep our food in a good state of preservation, a bed with a mattress on top of a spring and enough bed covers to keep us comfortable within a fully insulated bedroom. Total(r) cereal provides us with 100 percent of our vitamin requirements and enough fiber in each serving to last us a week. If we need to get up ...

2540. Let It Go!

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... ? We too are vulnerable, for it is a real world out there. I live downtown and get up in the dark, in the middle of the night for some of you. Hardly a night passes without the sirens of police, ambulance, and fire truck breaking the deep silence. It keeps prayer life active, as a friend reminds me, whenever I avoid the bad news of newspaper or television, "Then how do you know for whom to pray?" Because I do not know who suffers in those accidents outside my window, my prayer is "Thy will be done," for I ...

2541. Easter Sunday

John 20:1-9

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... beauty of springtime. O Lord, you appeared to your disciples when the world seemed desolate. Quicken, we pray, your people everywhere with a sense of your eternal goodness which rises anew after evil has had its empty day. Roll away the stones of doubt and fear which keep us from a strong faith and a bold witness. We, who live in darkness, come to you beseeching you to show us the empty tomb. Show us that in you death becomes resurrection, that through your power we can rise from our dead selves and live a ...

2542. Something New, Something Old

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... it was Tris Speaker, himself a former ball player, who observed that "Babe Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching." These anecdotes are amusing because, aside from a good dose of embarrassment, nobody's life was ruined by them. A failure to keep up with change is not always so benign. It is very predictable that students will come to this university, any university, and "lose their faith." The same thing happens to particular people when they are abused or exploited by a trusted friend or family ...

2543. The Assumption Of Discipline

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... how much we have in common. They are us and we are them. We become keenly aware that most persons who are giving aid are one short step -- loss of a job, catastrophic injury or illness --away from needing it. Almsgiving, in other words, enables us to keep our perspective on the world, and to be in a right relationship with other persons. Anybody who is serious about walking with God comes to see that prayer has to be the main business in life, because it is through prayer that we are in communication with ...

2544. Wedding: Gift Of God (for a couple with a baby)

1 John 4:7-21

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... also. For he/she will learn his/her first lessons about love as he/she watches your relationship. Your honesty, openness, and affection toward each other -- or the lack of them -- will be a powerful example for him/her. As you shower him/her with love, don't forget to keep showering love on each other too. It will add to his/her sense of security, and it will be an important way of passing on God's gift of love to him/her. On those days when you feel overwhelmed by all of this, when you are just not sure ...

2545. Wedding: Faith, Hope, And Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... today, behind all the words are all your hopes for the future: hopes about careers, hopes about where you will live, hopes about how your relationship will grow and flourish, maybe even hopes for a family someday. Those hopes are so important. They will help to keep you moving into the future, instead of getting stuck in the mistakes and disappointments of the past. So, if faith, hope, and love are so obvious, why does Paul even mention them, and why do we bring his words up here? Two reasons. One is that ...

2546. Wedding: On The Right Track (for a long-time relationship)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... Apostle Paul writes about how real love can be recognized and nurtured. Hear these words from 1 Corinthians 13 and 14:1 (TEV): Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal... When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now ...

2547. Equipped To Play

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... that discussion for another time that never comes. But whether it's golf or some other therapeutic distraction, we're always looking for better equipment. And by God's grace or the dark side depending upon your perspective, there's always somebody hawking that cure-all for what keeps us from nirvana. Harvey Penick described how it goes (And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend, 1993): For most everyone, the driver is the most difficult club in the bag ... When a player finds a driver he falls in love with, he ...

2548. Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night

Isaiah 21:11-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... I have never been able to go into this beloved building again. "I knew nothing to do but to work more and try to keep Lawrence at home, but Lawrence -- the angry one, Lawrence, the walking prison, the one I knew least, Lawrence who turned pale when anyone asked ... was out and gone and the house was death-still and vacant as it hadn't been for thirty years. And the Sundays and Mondays keep rolling around regularly and I come here and then I go to work. Nothing else to do, but stand here on Sunday and work on ...

2549. Life Beside The Falls

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... and mature in loving one another; and it is best to err on the side of loving too much. "It is in our daily living that our loyalties, as a river, wear away rocks. We make our mistakes and try again. We give and forgive. We make and keep promises, endure pains and sacrifices, and are forced into compromises. But this is the goal set before us as humans -- care more for others than for ourselves, no matter the cost, and trust that the great creator of all rivers shall carry us away at the right time, and ...

2550. Judas, The Obscure

Drama

Peter C. Garrison

... all? 5. When did you last betray Jesus' command to love God? 6. When did you last betray Jesus' commandment to love others? 7. When you don't do the "right thing," what is your reason for not doing it? Is that a reason or an excuse? 8. How can keeping your answers limited to "Yes" and "No" help you tell the truth? 9. How can answering only "Yes" and "No" help you to know the truth about yourself and your motives and values? 10. How does the church help you to be honest? 11. How do the sacraments help you ...

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