Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2601 to 2625 of 4681 results

2601. Great Feast or Sad Fast

Luke 14:1-14, Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... them expressed in verses 18, 19 and 20. Excuses: Nobody likes excuses but everybody makes them at one time or another. Excuses have been around a long time. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. And so it goes. "An excuse makes reality easier to bear when we make a mistake," said Dr. Charles Snyder, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas. A story is told of two men who met at a railway station in France at mealtime. One of the men, an alcoholic, begged of the other man enough ...

2602. What Do You Do When the Lights Go Out?

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Mike Jackson

... How could such a thing happen to the chosen people of God? Isaiah’s answer to that question is telling: Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence. The look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. (Isa 3:8-9) Darkness is the realm where sin reigns. And if the prophet Isaiah has a mission in these first ...

2603. Seeing Jesus Clearly

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... know this side of Jesus, I am afraid that God would be more like a benevolent authority figure, rather than a trusted confidant with whom we can share our deepest feelings and concerns. "What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and grief to bear!" This cherished hymn captures beautifully a vital dimension of our relationship with the Holy One. Not only is God the ultimate power over the universe, God is personal. God is my friend. I can turn to God as one friend turns to another. Is this picture part ...

2604. Cross Connections

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... and atop the steeple was a cross. There, in juxtaposition, the fundamental options we always have: the cross and the cannon. Nations make that choice in the context of international politics; you and I make that choice when it comes to the bearing we assume with family, friends, and fellow believers. What makes this bad Friday a good one is God showing the world a better way -- this way of absorption and neutralization, leading to transformation. Easter is its vindication. Little wonder the author of ...

2605. Easter for Thomas, Too

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... but the dawn is coming and the man with whom Jacob is wrestling later becomes identified as God. As dawn approaches, Jacob's adversary says: "Let me go, for the day is breaking" (Genesis 32:26). For Jacob, that kind of daytime seeing would have been more than he could bear. In the wake of the struggle, Jacob says: "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved" (v. 30). How could we stand face to face with God at high noon and survive the intensity of the moment? Would not God's light blind ...

2606. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... of that simple, and yet profound, act. I can tell you this: Parents and children being routed from their homes anywhere in the world are not taking this rhythm of going forth, securing, and then preparing food lightly at all. Empathy also marked the shepherd's bearing toward the sheep. If there were little lambs who could not keep pace with the flock, the shepherd would carry them by hand. That empathy was also reflected in the fact that every sheep in the flock had a name; a shepherd and a sheep could ...

2607. Only Sex? (New)

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... God, sex is to be used as God intended. It would be impossible to catalogue the harm that has been done to human beings by the misuse of this one gift. Sexual abuse comes immediately to mind. There are people in this room, especially women, who bear serious emotional scars from early episodes of sexual abuse. But beyond sexual abuse is the more widespread practice of using one another for sexual gratification with no real commitment to the other person’s best interest. I don’t need to tell you how God ...

2608. If You Are Willing

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... unobtrusively. It was interfering with what he had primarily come to do. It was a “catch 22.” He could not help caring about people. They could not help telling about the wonderful things he had done. I wonder if this doesn’t illustrate God s greatest dilemma. Bear with me for a little outside-the-box thinking. If I were to ask you the most troubling thing about our faith, my guess is that most of you would say it is the problem of suffering. “I have a friend with cancer,” you might say. “She ...

2609. It's Happening!

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... stop. It means a lot to those around you." It seems like such a little thing, but it was a witness. The seeds of the kingdom are little, and we are called to scatter them. The seeds may be little acts of kindness which take root and bear fruit. Oscar Wilde tells of an incident that had profound meaning for his life. He was being brought down from his prison to the Court of Bankruptcy, between two policemen, when he saw an old acquaintance waiting in the crowd. "He performed an action so sweet and simple ...

2610. The Fox

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... of listening to me? I've had an awful lot of time to think during these years I have been in exile, and I need to share my conclusions about life with someone. My name is Herod. The problem is that our family is so extended, and so many people bear that name, that I should really use my given name, which is Antipas. My circumstances used to be far different than they are now. It's not that Lyons is such a bad place to end up, but I became used to a lot more luxury when I was Tetrarch ...

2611. The Hillside and the Basket

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... the text reveals how Christ had set up this situation and used it to test Philip. John 1:44 tells us Philip was from this region. He knew the towns, the valleys, the roads, and the lake. He would have known what local resources could be brought to bear on the needs, so Jesus queried him, "How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" And Philip did the math in his head. Standing beside Jesus he looked at the hillside crowd, surveyed the contents of his own purse, and declared his resources woefully ...

2612. The Dangers of Being Religious

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... in critical judgment, saying, "I don't like it!"? Or do I ask instead, "What does Jesus think of it?" Is it okay if God blesses someone else in worship? 11. Do you use emotion as a substitute for the Holy Spirit? Paul wrote in Romans 10:2, "I bear them witness, they have a zeal for God." My! My! How the Pharisees could turn it on! Tears at funerals, anger at Christ's Sabbath healings, dancing at festivals. But it was canned religion, calculated to say, "Look! See how much I care!" Beware lest our amens, our ...

2613. Ah, the Sweet Mystery of Life

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... the carelessness of a forgetful clerk. Our mission of sharing Christ's message of love is no less vital. We must not fail him! Perhaps you recall hearing the familiar story of how Jesus, after his death and resurrection, ascended to the heavenly realm still bearing the marks of his suffering. An angel commented, "You must have suffered terribly for men down there." "I did," Jesus responded. "Do they all know what you did for them?" asked the angel. "Well," said Jesus, "I asked Peter and James and John to ...

2614. Don't Fence Me In!

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." There are two prices, as a matter of fact. One has been paid and need never be paid again: "You were bought with a price." Jesus Christ, by his self-giving for us and by bearing the cost of our redemption from sin at Calvary's cross, has won the right to possess us for himself and his kingdom forever. The cross has put a mark upon every one of us. That mark declares: "You belong to God." You may not admit it. You may resist ...

2615. Everybody Loves a Parade!

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... them depart. O year that is going, take with you Impatience and willfulness, pride; The sharp word that slips From these too hasty lips I would cast, with the old year, aside. O year that is coming, bring with you Some virtue of which I have need; More patience to bear And more kindness to share, And more love that is true love, indeed. And a final one in the form of a prayer: O Lord, I pray, that from this day I may not swerve By foot or hand, from Thy command Not to be served, but to serve. This ...

2616. Who Can Ask for Anything More?

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... need. Recall our Lord's words, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends ..." (John 15:13, 14). Tie these words in tandem with "What a Friend we have in Jesus. All our sin and grief to bear," and "He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own." Then we begin to see what our text is seeking to tell us. We do have a Friend who loves us, who walks beside us; but first this Friend walked the painful ...

2617. What Are You Going to Do with My World?

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... theme of a great symphony. It is not only the dominating theme of the paragraph, it is the compelling theme, the high music of his whole life. No language is strong enough to describe it. He had found so much in Christ that he could not bear to have others live -- and die -- without it. Christ for him was life, pardon, peace, and power. Without Christ others did not really live, they merely existed. Historian H. G. Wells echoed the same conviction: "Until a man has found God, and has been found by ...

2618. The Answer Waiting for a Question

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... Bacharach's words, "What's it all about, Alfie?" Into this distressing milieu of meaninglessness, nihilism, nothingness, and purposelessness comes the answer of Christ to every Christian man and woman: "For this cause were you born and for this cause you came into this world, to bear witness to the Truth." You are here to love the truth, to live the truth, to share the truth; to get your eyes off yourself and recognize that you are here to invest your life in the common good of the human race. You are here ...

2619. What a Resume!

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... , this world would be a paradise." Can you think of a more beautiful desire than this? Is it any wonder that some hymnals include the inspiring hymn that has us sing: O master let me walk with thee, in lowly paths of service free; Tell me thy secret, help me bear, the strain of toil the fret of care. Help me the slow of heart to move, by some clear winning word of love; Teach me the wayward feet to stay, and guide them in the homeward way. In hope that sends a shining ray, far down the future's broadening ...

2620. Stop the Offerings!

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... to God. Listen to the words of Peter at the Council of Jerusalem, as Luke reports: "Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the [new] disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" (Acts 15:10 RSV). Peter is referring to the myriad of laws which the Jews had tried to follow, and which some of the leaders of the new Christian community were insisting new, non-Jewish converts had to observe when they became disciples of Christ. Like circumcision ...

2621. Grace in the Midst of Unanswered Prayer

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... . Whenever we are suffering we are not called to put our trust in a plan; we are called to put our trust in a Person. Most of us yearn to know the specifics of God's plan. "Lord, if only I knew why this were happening, I could bear it." That is profoundly untrue. It isn't knowledge or insight that brings comfort. What comforts the heart is the absolute conviction that no matter what is happening Jesus Christ is Lord over everything, and that we can trust him (even when it seems that heaven is absolutely ...

2622. The Achilles' Heel of the Church

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... in modern medicine and psychiatry. The psychological effects of sin are well known. It has been clearly established that a sense of being forgiven for real or imagined sins is closely related to a sense of health. The final ingredient in the big three bears examination. It often becomes the Achilles' heel of the Church: Turn around people who have wandered from the truth, thus covering over a multitude of sins. This is the most potentially volatile of the big three. Healing and praying haven't laid down the ...

2623. Resting at the Mediocre Inn

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... in 1631. He is the author of the beautiful and moving poem, “No Man Is an Island.” There is also a massive memorial to the Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo. Upstairs in the main church there is a memorial to General Charles Gordon. The memorial bears this epitaph: “He gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, his heart to God.” Wow! Wouldn’t that be a great epitaph on our tombstones? “He--or she--gave her strength to the weak, her substance to ...

2624. Yes! (Easter Sunday)

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Chase and Colton. But hatred and suffering did not have the last word in this family’s story. At the trial for Terry Nichols, Cathy Wilburn, grandmother of the murdered toddlers, noticed that Terry Nichols’ mother and sister were alone in the courtroom, bearing the brunt of hatred from the victims and the public. And as a Christian, a person who knows God’s “Yes!” in her life, Cathy Wilburn knew what her responsibility was. So Cathy befriended Terry Nichol’s mother and sister. In fact, she ...

2625. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... teachings. Matthew reminds us that our talents are God given, but we must chose to use our talents toward the right end, that is, to enhance humanity. To make this world a better place by our having been alive. Matthew did just that. His Gospel which bears his name contains Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and a majority of Jesus’ parables. The Gospel according to Matthew changed the world like few writings have ever done. Maybe we see ourselves in James and John. They remind us of the pride and the ego that ...

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