Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 251 to 275 of 1230 results

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... abundance filled with all good things. Then, of course, what was most likely in the excitement of the week in which the Greeks came was that people expected Jesus to be the perfect political leader, king, tzar, president or whatever it would take to make the ideal government. Surprise When the request of the Greeks was presented to Jesus, Jesus did not refuse to see the people. However, what he did say had to be a shock. Jesus used the occasion to make a most serious and solemn announcement. If these people ...

252. Easter Power

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... that it was he who was now alive among them. Shalom When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural ...

253. You Are My Witnesses

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... the racial barriers in order to create a truly democratic election for all the peoples of South Africa. President Mandela is hopeful that ethnicity shall never again create oppression for any of the peoples of South Africa. Time will tell how the hoped-for ideals of the new regime will succeed in the future. However, history has very few parallels to match the experience of Mandela. To be sure, the collapse of communism in the Soviet Socialist Republics was historic, but no one emerged in quite the same way ...

254. The Parables About Response

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

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... than either race or income. The major reason the ghettos are the focus of violent crime is that they have the highest rates of illegitimacy ... So if we're worried about crime, there's something we can do about it: We can bring biblical ideals of marriage and family to our own neighborhoods, our own high schools.1 Since the 1960s, America has seen a staggering increase in broken families. Liberal social scientists don't like to use phrases like "broken families"; they glibly describe them in neutral terms ...

255. A Light In The Darkness

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... of the people for a wise, strong, and benevolent ruler. Of course, such a hope was never fully realized under any Davidic king. Whatever enthronement it originally celebrated (some say Hezekiah's), it eventually became part of the messianic hope, the longing for the ideal king. But even as a part of the messianic hope, this text stretches our imagination and exceeds all historical limits. In its verbal excess it spills right over into our celebration of a new and different king -- a king born in a manger ...

256. Flatliners

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... something that says, 'Happy will you be when you pay attention to this and this and this' " -- all of these things that Jesus said on the plain. Henry David Thoreau was just bringing up the fact that we can create all of this stuff and totally miss the ideals of the kingdom. Charles Laughton faced that question one time and was able to deal with it in a way that we might want. He was in Nebraska speaking to a group of people. He was quoting Shakespeare and all kinds of other literature. He made a mistake ...

257. Why Did Pastor Hypnotize Jenny?

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Tony Everett

... This is precisely what happens when we try to be in complete charge of our own lives. Our anticipations and expectations "keep getting up and running away" from us, no matter how much we try to control them. Our desperate plans for the "ideal holiday season" rarely bring the happiness and satisfaction we had intended. Instead, the results inevitably feel more like emptiness and frustration. Today is the First Sunday of Advent, not the first day of a reckless countdown of shopping days until Christmas. What ...

258. The Blind Guiding The Blind

Psalm 92:1-15, Luke 6:46-49, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Isaiah 55:1-13, Luke 6:37-42

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... they are to follow him. They also need to make such decisions if they are to be responsible as leaders and teachers. Point to Ponder When is it hypocrisy to speak far better than we often do? Someone has suggested that it is not hypocrisy to talk about your highest ideals. In so doing you help to support your efforts to live according to your best intentions. If you go on record in public as to what you propose to do, that strengthens you in doing it. It is harder for you to live lower than what you want to ...

259. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... loses. Jesus rejected war as an unacceptable means of kingdom building. C. Death and Life. Affirm and act for that which enhances life. Reject those acts that lead to death. 5. An Unfinished Life. (vv. 28-33) Too many persons start out with high ideals, but have not reckoned on the cost of realizing them. They end up with many high ends never reached. A. Starting With High Purpose B. Abandoning Purposes Midway C. Settling for Low Achievement CONTACT Points to Ponder 1. Family Values. "Family values" has ...

260. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... God and heaven in order to talk about salvation. In today's Gospel we meet a pious and godly man who also seems to be rich (if we compare this to the parallels in Matthew and Luke). He seems to be a guy who has got it all together, an ideal poster boy for G.Q. or Christian Entrepreneur (if there were such a magazine). He's young and handsome, and he not only drives a BMW but goes to church every week and doesn't miss a Promise Keepers' rally. He's probably got a cute perky wife, two children ...

261. Have I Got News For You!

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

William L. Self

... are the agents of destruction along with their bloody tunics, broken swords, and marching hobnail boots of the oppressor. Now we must proclaim the peace that has fallen over our delivered country. With undying hope, rekindled with every king's coronation in the hope that the ideal king would be sent by God to rule his people, they went on hoping, praying, trusting that he would come -- if not now, some other day. That is faith -- and when he comes, he will come as light and he will bring peace. It must be ...

262. The Giver Becomes The Receiver

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . The private and the social were not separated from one another. Religion tended to unify or support all elements of life, both social and individual. David's recognition that God needed no house was a fundamental aspect of his being allowed the honor of the "Davidic ideal" which ultimately produced the Christ child. Only as David was willing to "let go" of his desire to bring a gift to God and let God bring the gift to him, was the revelation made complete. The text is more than a rhetorical inversion. It ...

263. All Dressed Up And Somewhere To Go!

Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... his worldly obligations that God would really jabber. After five years of waiting, hiking, hoeing, splitting wood, sleeping, praying and studying, he finally reasoned that God had had ample time. But the inscrutable silence simply pushed him back on resources, memories, and ideals he already had. With great certainty he said, "It's as if God has said all God intends to say."1 Indeed, sometimes the speechlessness of God can be a long and awful thing. Such silence creates a kind of skepticism in communities ...

264. Daring To Trust The Roots

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). Isn't it true that just to hear those lines of Isaiah is to picture rolling eyes and "Get real!" comments from people "in touch" with the realities of the day? Isn't it true that just to allow such grandiose idealism to be seriously verbalized in our modern day is to be shunted aside as Pollyanna, out-of-touch dreamers? Almost as crazy as those who, years ago, held forth hope that one day the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall would crumble. A hope that was seen clearly ...

265. The Sacred Other

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... Lewis of the Philadelphia Inquirer has written, "Though King is gone, many still believe in his ideas," but the celebration of his life is made far less meaningful by the fact that "the hatred and the killing goes on." The words of Isaiah ring across the centuries. The ideal is a precious image for us all. It is an image which the Master, Jesus of Nazareth, fully lived out on this earth, "a bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning wick he will not quench." Such was the life of Jesus. And so we ...

266. God's A Catcher

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... our children through college, or once we get that house of which we've always dreamed, or once we retire. The reality is that life is the journey wherever we are. We live in the time in between. It's not as familiar as time in the past, nor as ideal as some imaginary time in the future, but it is the reality in which we live. And it's a time full of opportunities for God to show us his grace. Look again at the Hebrews in the wilderness. They had a real problem. They really were thirsty. More than ...

267. Enlarge Your Horizons

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... hidden for ages in God who created all things ..." In other words, God's will is for unity encompassing all people in Christ in a breathtaking cosmic plan. Finally, Paul shows how this "mystery" takes shape among humankind. Far from being an abstract ideal, the "mystery" exhibits itself in a unique community, in Paul's own words, "through the church ..." Here within the people of God old barriers break down, and all are one in Christ. What are the ramifications for our congregational life if we respond ...

268. Learn To Wait Creatively

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... people have their priorities straight. Then, too, it is important to have a special place that is set apart as a symbol of prayer and meditation. Some people find going inside an empty church building and sitting alone in the sanctuary an ideal place to reorder their thoughts, calm their anxieties and commune with God. There is something rejuvenating about such a sacred place, in particular during the Advent season prior to Christmas. Other people simply find a spot at home that represents a meditation ...

269. Say Goodbye -- Say Hello

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... truth, sometimes forgotten, namely that in ancient Israel a unique corporate bond existed between the high priest and the covenant people. Likewise, Jesus, the one who had the power to destroy death and defeat the devil himself, uniquely identified with the people and became the ideal high priest who was both "merciful and faithful." Jesus, the pioneer, who left the realm of glory to become a human being like ourselves, shows us the way to say goodbye to an old way of life and to say hello to a new ...

270. Memorial Day

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Sermon

Brett Blair

... here. It is a horrible sight. So we gather this day, both to remember and to recommit. We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. Some were instilled with a sense of patriotism and duty. Others may not have had such high ideals. They were in far away places, where they did not wish to be, fighting a war that they did not completely understand. At this point, it makes no difference whether they did understand. Those whom we this day honor all paid the supreme price. In death ...

271. Week Four Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... because a reward we desire will be ours. When people on the outside challenge us, however, it generally means that we must change or do something that may not be to our liking. It may even be distasteful. We are many times challenged by the words and ideals of others. In the 1930s and '40s Mohandas Gandhi challenged the British government to allow home rule in the land of India. Gandhi's ideas and his non-violent method were not popular with many, both in and outside of India. Gandhi's challenge was too ...

272. Why A Cross?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... deeper level, the cross is God's challenge to us to make a radical break with the world, and to love others in the same incredible way that God has loved us. D. T. Niles, the great church leader from Ceylon, has written, "Christianity is not an affirmation of ideals which we must test and practice. It is not an explanation of life and its problems over which we must argue. It is rather the announcement of an event with which the world must reckon."3 The cross of Jesus demands a response from us. It is an ...

273. The Tenth Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

Broiled FishLuke 24:36-43 Worship Focus A platter with a whole broiled fish fillet or a baked whole fish would be ideal. Someone in the congregation may have a mounted or wooden fish as a wall decoration, and that would be easier to take care of. A piece of comb honey, though not in the newer translations, would pick up the line from Ezra Pound's poem. A Litany For The Tenth ...

274. Discern How Things Grow

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... balanced team. They blended together, and the result was that they were able to beat consistently other teams despite their individual stars.2 How can a congregation learn to function like the Celtics and not like the Red Sox? The Epiphany season is an ideal time for us to remind ourselves that all the members of our congregation are important. Each one has gifts and talents to fuse together in strengthening the unity and the mission of the whole congregation. But there is another principle of church growth ...

275. Week Five Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... thinking of the Holocaust and the many other horrors of World War II. Different emotions are generated in us when we see the national flag. It is a sign of the nation, but it stands for so much more. In the flag we see the ideals of democracy and freedom, treasured beliefs in our society. Religious signs are also very powerful and bring forth much emotion. Catholics use many items which are signs or sacramentals. Things like the Bible, rosary, holy water, statues of the saints and more are examples of ...

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