Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2601 to 2625 of 5000 results

2601. Finding Redemption in the Midst of Judgment

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... (Malachi 3:1a) God is sending his messenger. Why would he do that? After all it is the Israelites who have rebelled and been unfaithful. The messenger comes from a heart of love. Love tempers judgment. The Old and New Testaments are filled with stories, illustrations, quotes, and messages of God’s eternal love. The one verse that clings to the mind and typifies the essence of redemption is the classic, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in ...

2602. Thanksgiving Means Giving

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . As a Christian hymn goes, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” We must find peace in our hearts by doing what is right. Right conduct leads directly to peace within our hearts. There is a short little story that aptly illustrates this point. One day a young man answered a want ad for a farm hand. He told the owner about his previous experience, which was abundant, and his references were impeccable. He ended the interview in a rather odd way, however, by telling the owner that he ...

2603. Leading Others to Jesus

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to others. We cannot abdicate this serious responsibility nor think we are not qualified to be Christ’s representatives in our world. We must avoid the hesitation and reticence that, if we are not careful, can creep into our lives. A little story illustrates this challenge. Three wise men were encouraged to find and explore what many called the cave of wisdom and life. They made careful preparations for what would be a challenging and arduous journey. When they reached the cave, they noted a guard stood ...

2604. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... his persona. We, too, need to take Jesus seriously; we are called to learn the formula for eternal life, to be the Christ to others. A short prayer, first articulated by Saint Teresa of Avila, the Carmelite mystic and religious reformer of the sixteenth century, illustrates the challenge: Christ has no body on earth but yours — no hands, no feet, but yours. Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks with compassion for the world. Christ has no body on earth but yours. Having a resume that will give us the ...

2605. Leading Others to Jesus

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to others. We cannot abdicate this serious responsibility nor think we are not qualified to be Christ's representatives in our world. We must avoid the hesitation and reticence that, if we are not careful, can creep into our lives. A little story illustrates this challenge. Three wise men were encouraged to find and explore what many called the cave of wisdom and life. They made careful preparations for what would be a challenging and arduous journey. When they reached the cave, they noted a guard stood ...

2606. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

2607. Ambassadors of The Lord

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... Saint Matthew speaks in his gospel brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, recognizing Jesus as priest, prophet, and king. Additionally, their presence in Bethlehem demonstrated how Christ was manifest to the nations. In a similar way, Artaban's adventure illustrated another essential idea — that Christ calls us to manifest his glory to all nations. Artaban's goodness and openness to all, even those he did not know, brought the face of Christ, namely the one he sought, to him. Additionally ...

2608. Teammates in Building The Kingdom

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... of the mules and the horsemen, working as a team, brought greatness, fame, and legend to Miller, Layden, Crowley, Studehler, and to Notre Dame football, as well. The story of the fabled Four Horsemen of Notre Dame and the unheralded "seven mules," is a good illustration of how people need to work together to accomplish great goals. We are not solo operators in the world; we need each other. While we may be different and possess varied talents, in this case some to run with the ball and others to block ...

2609. Formula for Eternal Life

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... maturation. As neophytes of the "new way," the Corinthians are on the level of the physical. With time, knowledge, and the development of their faith they will find a spiritual sense of their existence. This will find its culmination in the eternal life of God. He illustrates his point by comparing the first man, Adam, who was physical and made from the dust of the earth, with Jesus, the man from heaven. As we start in a physical sense like Adam, we will one day come to a spiritual sense, as Jesus. He ...

2610. Christ: The Victor over Death

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... of grieving parents who had lost their son was a true act of charity and love. More directly their decision to utilize Nicholas to assist others shows how new life can come in the midst of death and darkness. Thus, this heartwarming story serves as an excellent illustration of Saint Paul's message to the Corinthians in today's lesson — that Christ is the one who conquers death and brings new life. We can be confident that Jesus will bring new life to us. We, in turn, must do what we can, in our limited ...

2611. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... preaching a theology different than that of Paul. Paul tells the Corinthians that they should not become deluded with these false teachings but rather must stay on the true path. He uses the story of Moses in the desert and his conversations with God to illustrate his point. He says that Moses used a veil to cover himself after he spoke with God so the Israelites would not behold the radiance of God that was imprinted on his face. He suggests that the "super apostles" have veiled themselves like Moses. They ...

2612. An Uncomplicated Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... , a jockey who was too big and blind in one eye but was allowed to continue riding, an owner broken by the death of his son and the failure of his marriage but who found new purpose. A common thread runs through all these different parts of the story, illustrated by one line that is repeated in the movie: "You don't throw something away just because it's a little beaten up." That's grace. God didn't throw Paul away or throw the Galatians away, and God doesn't throw us away. Instead, God offers us grace ...

2613. On Not Giving Up

Galatians 6: 7-16

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new." Ephesians 2:15 describes it as a "new humanity." Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 3:10 talk about it as putting on a "new self." Illustrations of this new creation are often drawn from the natural world. Like the caterpillar that spins a cocoon is hidden away for weeks or months and suddenly emerges as a butterfly. Or the bulb that is planted before the snow of winter that grows into a ...

2614. A New Name

Isaiah 62:1-5

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... purpose of Christ's death for all people - the righteous one dying to make the sinner righteous. Cliff Barrows, who for many years was the song leader of the Billy Graham Crusade ministry, had an incident occur in his home when his children were small that illustrates the word "righteousness." Cliff said, "They had done something I had forbidden them to do. I told them if they did the same thing again I would have to discipline them. When I returned from work and found that they hadn't minded me, the heart ...

2615. The Winning Word

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... . 2. Gene A. Getz, Nehemiah-Becoming a Disciplined Leader (Nashville: Broadman& Holman Publishers, 1995), p. 163. 3. NYA Testamentet och Psaltaren (Stockholm: Aktiebolaget P. Herzog & Soner, 1952). 4. Le Nouveau Testament (New Paris, Indiana: World Missionary Press, Inc.) Used by permission. 5. G. B. F. Hallock, Five Thousand Best Modern Illustrations (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1927), pp. 757-758. 6. Op cit, Getz, p. 167.

2616. Breaking The Cycle - God’s Answer In Forgiveness

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... The New Testament word for bitterness is from the root pic and means "to cut or prick." Literally it is pointed, sharp, or pungent in its action and feelings. Bitterness manifests itself as prejudice, an acrid tongue, exaggerated lies, and revenge. Chuck Swindoll illustrates this in his book, Seasons of Life. He writes that during his time in the Marine Corps he and his wife rented a studio apartment from a man in south San Francisco named Mr. Slagle. During World War II Mr. Slagle was captured at Wake ...

2617. A Stupid Question

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... , according to Jesus. Similarly, the inquirer wanted to know who his neighbor was — the one he was supposed to love as well and as much as he loved himself. Jesus' answer reached over a high and thick wall, finding the hated Samaritans to illustrate true neighborly love. So it is here, too. The disciples' question proves that they were thinking too small. Their limited focus was merely the kingdom of Israel, but the instructions that Jesus gave them were so very much broader. He gave them an assignment ...

2618. When God Calls

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... protests that he is too young, too immature to be able to carry out this call. But God is persistent, and although we hear no acceptance speech from Jeremiah, he apparently agrees to serve. Consider what aspects of your own sense of call might illustrate God's persistence. When I entered Trinity Luther Seminary in the early 1980s, I was a young woman, barely 21 years old. My sense of call had developed slowly and almost imperceptibly as I became involved with campus ministry during college. In fact, having ...

2619. Not Another Rerun!

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... the newness of the covenant is introduced by the preposition "for" in verse 34: "for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more." God's selective memory loss is the key to God's most important communication with us, as the following story illustrates: A bishop went to visit with a woman of his diocese who claimed to have direct verbal communication with the Lord. After meeting with her, the bishop was still skeptical of her claims. In order to put them to the test, he asked the woman to ...

2620. Put Within Us

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... , something external to the people of the covenant. God will now ensure faithfulness by making the covenant something radically internalized and a part of who and what the people of God are. What goes on at the cellular level gives us a physical illustration of this significant spiritual change God announces. As science and technology have allowed us to delve deeper and deeper into the wonder of the living cell, the DNA molecule, with its now-famous double-helix structure, continues to astound us with its ...

2621. Help From Habakkuk?

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

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... in my life, in my family, in my church, in this country, and even in the world. But when we say, "amen," to the disciples' request we betray a basic misunderstanding of faith as a commodity we possess or as a personal achievement. Jesus' parable of the mustard seed illustrates our mistake in thinking (Luke 13:18-19; 17:5-6). In that story Jesus is saying that the level of faith really isn't the issue. What matters is in whom you put your trust — the quality not the quantity is the issue. When we think of ...

2622. Luke 3:1-6

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... repent, to “turn back” (“metanoaia”) from the life they are presently living, and so to find “forgiveness of sins.” This repentance is to be physically demonstrated though a highly symbolic act of “baptism,” a cleansing, purifying water ritual that would illustrate the beginning of a new relationship with God. Luke then emphasizes John’s role as precursor to the Messiah. He clarifies John’s prophetic roots by citing Isaiah 40:3-5. Like Isaiah, John is a “herald,” one proclaiming the ...

2623. Your Life as a Provenance of the Jesus Story

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2624. The Glow of a Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of light in a dark world, but that tiny ray of light was exactly what the world needed. And even today that light is still lighting people’s lives, helping them to move out of the darkness. A man named Jim Birchfield once gave a powerful illustration of a person moving from darkness into the light. He told about Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who works with gang members in East Los Angeles. Father Boyle has put together a team of physicians trained in tattoo removal using laser technology. The team is ...

2625. The Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... .com/sermons/by-my-new-way-of-life-j-jeffrey-smead-sermon-on-baptism-163584.asp. 5. Charles Colson and Ellen Santilli Vaughn, The Body: Being Light in Darkness (Waco: Word Publishing, 1992), page 137. 6. Anthony T. Evans, Tony Evans’ Book Of Illustrations (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009). 7. Pastor Glenn Schwerdtfeger, http://maynardav.org/sermons/BaptismSermon.htm. 8. Don Hawks, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/why-we-share-communion-don-hawks-sermon-on-church-practices-47226.asp?page=2.

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