Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2601 to 2625 of 4963 results

2601. Behold! Chariots of Fire!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... There is a separation that such glory brings. We cannot cross over. But we stand in awe and wonder at what has happened. In the very human events of our lives, we come upon times something like this, when there is great glory and we must remain behind. A father and mother proudly proceed down the aisle to the glorious organ music. Behind then come the bride and groom. And after loving words of support and blessing, the parents sit down and watch the transformation happening before their eyes. A boundary has ...

2602. God Dwells With People

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... Then you wouldn’t have to wait in line." "Because," she replied quietly, "it never asks about my rheumatism." We smile at that, but it says much about how important the human touch always is. And God dwells where the people are. The church or synagogue which remains most profoundly aware of its own humanity is closer to the Kingdom of God than the one which is too proud of its buildings and heritage. Buildings and heritage can be nourishing, but they can also get in the way of our remembering that God can ...

2603. Back in the Swing

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... one did before the illness and death. It is wise counsel to urge people not to make any major changes for a while after a death. Getting back into the swing of the old routine can do wonders. As the late psychotherapist Karen Homey said: Life itself remains a very effective therapy. And Rabbi Abraham Heschel: Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy. Buechner knows the value and holiness of the everyday routine, and he puts it in marvelous prose: One holy place I know is a workshop attached to a ...

2604. Eyes and Umbrellas

Colossians 3:12-14

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

Object: An umbrella. Lesson: When we are accidentally hurt by others, we can forgive them and remain their friend. What do people sometimes use to keep dry when they go out in the rain? I was thinking of an umbrella. I brought one with me today. Let’s pretend that it’s raining in here, so I need to put up my umbrella. It’s important to ...

2605. Why Must We Carry A Cross?

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... of Job, totally lacking in any glory. Most chose to join the various military services. They desired something that could give them more social acceptance and recognition. Something was needed to motivate these men in the work that they were doing so that they would remain in the mines. With this in mind, Winston Churchill delivered a speech one day to thousands of coal miners, stressing to them the importance of their role in the war effort. He did this by painting for them a mental picture. He told them ...

2606. Partners in the Impossible

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Richard Patt

... hands in utter frustration. But he went. He traveled. He endured danger. He bore insults. He stuck to it. He creatively proclaimed Christ. And today, not a handful, but one-third of the world’s billions confess Jesus as Lord. Two-thirds of the world remains ready for the harvest, and the work seems impossible. The fact that the overwhelming majority die without ever having heard the name of Christ baffles me. The mystery of why God allows so many unreached souls brings a pang to my heart. I cannot figure ...

2607. What God Wants Us To Do

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Richard Patt

... large public swimming pool not far from our home. There we witnessed a charming little scene. A young mother was attempting to coax her little girl to jump off the edge of the pool into her waiting arms. But not this little one! She was determined to remain on the edge, depriving herself of the exhilaration of the water and the pleasing bouyancy that comes from swimming. I suppose her mother could have put a harness on her, or taken her to some shallow water barely above her ankles. But what good would that ...

2608. Do Children Like You?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Richard Patt

... most beautiful kind of human relationship - that between a man and woman who are married to one another. Despite the fact that our current talk about marriage often involves contracts and rights of equality and tests for compatibility, the central dynamic of marriage remains the tender love and commitment that a man and woman have for one another. What relationship can surpass the self-giving love and devotion that go on, year after year, in the sacred bonds of matrimony? But the Pharisees here do not seem ...

2609. Then He Went Home

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... that divides nation from nation? The answer is clear: An arrogance and pride that leaves no possibility for repentance and forgiveness. The ancient words of Jesus are more contemporary than our morning newspapers. Much has changed in the past 2,000 years. The human heart remains the same. It can pump blood as long as it has not turned to stone. Jesus calls people together who are willing to repent. They are his family. The Family Of God We are born of the flesh to one family. We become true spiritual family ...

2610. What If It Is True?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

... God is at work in a wondrous way to do something remarkable for humankind. Neither those who insist on belief in the virgin birth as a test of true faith nor those who say it is fantasy and the cornerstone of their doubt will arrive at this point. They will remain entangled in futile attempts to prove or disprove it. I submit that the real question to ask is not, "How can this be true?" but "What if it is true?" What if it is true? If it is true - what the angel told Mary - then it means that God is ...

2611. Job - A Probe Into the Shadow World of Despair

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

... reward? "I am overcome with terror; my dignity is gone like a puff of smoke, and my prosperity like a cloud ... I call to you, O God, but you never answer; and when I pray, you pay no attention" (Job 30:15, 20). In the few minutes that I have remaining, let me try to get to the root of this thorn in the flesh of our scriptures, of this book of Job. I believe it penetrates to the heart of what it means to be human. What can we learn about life and God from these ancient poems of agony ...

2612. When A Grain Of Wheat Falls

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

... it comes to "packaging" or presenting the Christian religion. They try to make the call of Jesus Christ as easy as possible because they’re afraid people won’t "buy it" if it seems too hard. Jesus said, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it bears much fruit. Jesus then explained what he meant. He said, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it." It's true in life isn't it ...

2613. Memories

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... recollection here of birthday parties, of first words spoken, of little friends. There is, rather, a testimony to one life that, from its very beginning was God’s greatest gift. It is the life of one man who was, from his birth on - and still remains - the Savior of the world. Looking back into our Lord’s childhood we see, first of all, parents who were God-fearing and religious. Mary and Joseph were Jews who believed in God and practiced the religion of the Old Testament. In keeping with Old Testament ...

2614. Coping with Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... several stitches had to be taken. Although the doctor had given him an anesthetic when the stitches were put in, when the time came to remove the stitches the doctor had felt that the anesthetic was unnecessary. The child was frightened and would not remain still. The nurse held him to the operating table by the white covering sheet. The child, fearing he was being crushed and smothered, went into a traumatic fit. The stitches were removed. The child "forgot" all about it. But for years the old terrorizing ...

2615. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... the muscles - all these are inbuilt, automatic preparations for a fight or for flight. These are protective devices. But what of anger that turns to hatred? It becomes a long-drawnout burning. The adrenalin is played out slowly into the blood stream; the nervous system remains tense and up-tight; bodily functions are thwarted; and health is broken. "It just burns me up" really expresses it. Revenge is not "sweet." I’ve tried it. "Boy, did I get even with him! I really got him!" Afterwards I see how little ...

2616. Christ and Healing

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... knowing that my God is the loving father of the Lord Jesus Christ - he had restored my faith ... Thus in six years as a Christian, I have come 360 degrees and am again faithful to the gospel I first received." We too have our ups and downs. But Christ remains loyal to us in his love: and by faith and obedience we are whole again. When he was healing others, Jesus was constantly saying, "You are well; go and sin no more." He knew that our personal break with God was responsible for much of our physical and ...

2617. Why Fear Growing Old?

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... have a science, gerontology, dedicated to our well-being. We do not even have to surrender to senility: doctors tell us that it is not a normal state of old age; only 8 percent of older people need to fear such a breakdown. It is possible to remain alert and creative right down to the conclusion of our lives. Marie Dressler once said, "It’s not how old you are, but how you are old that counts." I remember hearing Dr. E. Stanley Jones speak just after his seventieth birthday. He said with great assurance ...

2618. Life After Life

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... and Alice Ward. Dr. Ward headed the area of Social Concerns for the United Methodist Church at the National level. They were both outstanding individuals of unusual intelligence, training, and leadership ability. For this reason I was deeply impressed by their book, I Remain Unvanquished. Alice Ward was struck down by cancer. In the early stages of the disease, she had a death experience. She saw Christ; she wanted to stay in that other world. But Christ said (a loose quotation), "Alice, I need you in the ...

2619. Saved!

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... , fear. Can we pretend it does not exist? There is another warning: That Third World is one of anger, frustration, hate, rebellion - insisting it wants, yea demands, its share of the food and goods and services of the earth. That Third World will not remain docile. Not all the haggard, pinched faces are resigned. We have been told, again and again: A hungry person is a dangerous person. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, we have counted our gold, listed our stocks and bonds, and gone home amid the cold fog of ...

2620. Counting The Cost?

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... was serving. Who can forget William Booth? Methodists of England failed to see his contribution there in the slums of London and wanted to move him to "larger areas of service." Fortunately, for the good of the whole human family, Booth remained in the slums, establishing The Salvation Army. It required his leaving his beloved Methodism. A pity for Methodism, but unquestionably he accomplished more by becoming General than by holding noted pulpits in Britain. His Christmas message to all Salvation outposts ...

2621. And It Came To Pass

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... the wolf blew down these flimsy affairs. Then that workaholic built his house of solid brick, gave shelter to the other two, and did away with the wolf. One point: Did anybody learn or change in the whole episode? Of course not. The first two remain just as silly - the perpetual ne’er-do-wells. The plodder goes on doing the hard work, looking after everyone else, and getting short shrift when it comes to thanks. A county official was running for reelection. To his consternation he learned an erstwhile ...

2622. Called to Be Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... count membership by hundreds of millions. And we thought everybody wanted to be Christian! What has happened is that people, other than disciples of Jesus Christ, have been very busy in our world. Some have borrowed ideas from the Christian faith; others have remained clearly antagonistic to anything from the Bible. But they have been at work. The question is: Where are the saints? Where are those who are committed to Jesus Christ? We need saints. We need them as examples and for inspiration. We need Mary ...

2623. Your Undivided Attention, Please

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord!" Your attention, please! Known as the Shema, taken from the first word of the sentence in the Hebrew - hear - this became Judaism’s confession of faith. This line became the spiritual battle cry of Israel and still remains so to this day. Hear! Stick it in your ear! And from this paragraph as well the practice of phylacteries developed, those small receptacles of cube-shaped leather worn by male Jews on their foreheads and their arms at prayer times. "Bind them as a ...

2624. What Was That About?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... they are only momentary. At a time when atheism seems to triumph, when materialism rules, when even in the church the devil seems to have the upper hand and the Christian witness is completely negative - judgment, vengeance, personal profit seeking - the child of God can remain unperturbed. He can look back on the mad convulsions of our age that spell disaster even for the cause of God and be surprised to see that even now, amid the surging chaos of these times, God is at work to build his kingdom in ...

2625. She Knew The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Illustration

Lee Griess

... became indignant and shouted at them that unless they spat on the cross they would be killed. Finally the elder in the group came forward, spat on the cross and left. One by one they followed, doing the same disgusting thing until only the thirteen-year-old remained. She refused to do what the others had done. "I cannot and I will not," she replied. Then she told the lieutenant the depth of her faith and said that she was willing to die for it. Remarkably the Lieutenant seemed pleased. "This is the kind of ...

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