Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 251 to 275 of 1185 results

251. The Savior Life Diet

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... into words ... some inarticulate moan that issues from deep within us ... some sense that our hearts will never be at rest until they rest in God. (Biblical Preaching Journal, Summer, 1994, pp. 20-21, quoted in Lectionary Homiletics, August, 1997, p. 20) We may pursue the material when what we really need is spiritual. The hunger that drives us to cookbooks and restaurants (and then, to diet clubs or health clubs), the emptiness we try to pack with possessions, the way we may try to fill ourselves up with ...

252. Prayers for Epiphany

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... you can complete. Something has gone wrong that you alone can make right. Something has become distorted and you alone can reestablish clarity. Something has become ugly and you alone can restore beauty. We've tried, O God. We've spent ourselves pursuing solutions for our problems. We've read books, listened to tapes, attended seminars, prayed faithfully, worshiped thoughtfully, and we have come up empty. Why? Why should our effort be so sterile, so ineffective? We were so certain that we could take care ...

253. Take Some Lessons

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... the error as hitting the ball off the club's toe, my dad explained how a shank occurs when hitting the ball off the hosel. In other words, my cure for the disease -- hitting the ball closer and closer to the hosel -- was producing the opposite effect. The more I pursued my theory, the farther I moved from the truth. Sometimes the truth eludes us. That's when we need to go to a pro and take some lessons. The same goes for women and men of faith. Sometimes we just don't get it on our own. We need to ...

254. Equipped To Play

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... of all our hopes and fears." I cannot remember all the phrases, but his words were an ecstatic hymn to golf ... He told about the technological changes in the game and how they brought new powers and awareness into play for those who pursued it with a passion. With its improved clubs and balls and courses, golf reflected man's ever-increasing complexity. It was becoming a better vehicle for training the higher capacities. And so it was becoming the yoga of the supermind, the ultimate discipline for ...

255. Take Dead Aim

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... and consultant to many of golf's greatest players, explained the efficacy of goal-setting (Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, 1995): A person with great dreams can achieve great things. A person with small dreams, or a person without the confidence to pursue his or her dreams, has consigned himself or herself to a life of frustration and mediocrity. The sage of Proverbs put it this way, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18, paraphrase). Before the Reverend Ilona J. Buzick would accept ...

256. Truth And Its Consequences

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... willing to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in an effective witness that challenges the despair of the down-and-outs and challenges them to receive the hope of Christ Jesus in their lives. These challenges will sometimes be met with hostile responses but must be pursued in the name of justice for all God's people. The truth is that we are our brothers and sisters' keepers and share in consequences of our failure to include them in the riches of the kingdom of God on earth. The apostles could have just ...

257. Call Home

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... 's house where the broken pieces are remolded into masterpieces. Where is home? It is where those who have broken their covenants with God are given a second chance. Where is home? It is where a loving father, who is filled with compassion, pursues us to return us to right relationship with him. Our focus during the Lenten season revolves around our separation and God's reconciliation through his wonderful acts of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. A young man approached me during the fellowship hour following ...

258. Reach Beyond The Break

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... 's repeated invitations to accept him as their redeemer, so too the Jews once again rejected God's initiative. The result of rejecting God's initiatives in our lives usually results in alienation and loss. We move away from God's intent and begin to pursue our own interests. Yet, God's covenant continues to draw us back to a promise of redemption. It is in that promise of redemption that covenant and promise become salvation and reconciliation. The Passion/Palm Sunday is not so much about winning and losing ...

259. Joy For The Journey

Drama

Karren Boehr

... finger) Jan, do you think I'll ever be able to love myself? (Pauses) You know my past. First of all, I was supposed to be a boy ... and then I wasn't smart enough ... or pretty enough. I didn't get the college degree my parents wanted me to pursue. I chose to get married. I pray and pray and pray, but I'm still so depressed. Most of the time I actually hate myself. JAN: (Understandingly) You've had enough in your life to make one pretty angry. KARLA: (After a pause, softly) Yes, I guess I am angry ...

260. Jesus Teaches the Essence of His Being

John 6:60-71, John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... our goodness, until we are right with you through the Christ. (Author unknown, revised) Response "God Be Merciful to Me" Introduction to the Act of Pardon Even though we bail out on God, God refuses to bail out on us. No matter how we behave, God pursues us as "The Hound of Heaven," in Frances Thompson's great and powerful poem. God chases us as a bloodhound chasing a wanted criminal, for that is precisely what we are, wanted criminals, as God calls us to become obedient servants. (One minute of silence for ...

261. Advent 3

John 1:1-18, John 1:19-28, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

... are meant as an apologetic against them" (p. 69). Nonetheless, the Gospel writer did recognize John the Baptist as an emissary directly from God whose mission was to prepare the people for Jesus' ministry. The scholar may find pleasure, even enlightenment, in pursuing the study of John the Baptist. However, as preachers we can be pretty sure our listeners are much more interested in the Gospel as it affects their lives. With that thought in mind, we can see three facets to John which commend themselves ...

262. Designated Son Of God

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... so we designate him Mighty God, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace. Then the wonderful love of the designated Son places on our hearts a wonderful love for God's people, and we find ourselves on roads we would not have traveled, in endeavors we would not have pursued, in benevolences which we would not have otherwise found appealing. The designated Son does not send us forth on a forced march, but rather sends us as those who have found freedom, to see as he would see, to speak as he would speak, to heal ...

263. Moving At The Speed Of Light: On The Mountain

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... the mountains, with mixed results. For some time he controlled large sections of Italy, but he never reached Rome, and finally was driven from there. Unwelcome at home because of his perceived mismanagement of the Roman campaign, he died a man on the run, pursued by the Romans.1 In Every Life There Come Times To Get The Elephants Over The Mountains Everyone goes to the mountains. And almost everyone at sometime must take the elephants over the mountains, which is much different than simply going there. By ...

264. Just In Time

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... with the leaders of Egypt for some time, and finally by signs and wonders has convinced Pharaoh to free the Hebrews from slavery to depart peacefully. However, after the Hebrew departure has begun, Pharaoh has second thoughts and sends his army to track them down. Now pursued and traveling in haste, Moses and the people are trapped at the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army is closing in fast. At God's instruction, Moses raises his hand over the water. God separates the water with a strong east wind and the people ...

265. Hoofs, Paws, And Christmas Pause

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... made it! He Comes To Reclaim Our Value We await our blessed hope, the One who comes to redeem us -- to reclaim our value. To us, who are in danger of being valueless because of the way we have devoted ourselves, because of the things we have pursued, because of the way we have fought with one another, because of the way we have been distracted, dismayed, disappointed, and disheartened, right now, at this time, he comes to reclaim our value and gives us the greatest gift -- the gift of himself. But in this ...

266. The Prophetic Word-- And The Living Word

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

267. The Bread That Endures

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... compartments. In one compartment we keep our job. Whatever we do at work, whatever decisions we have to make, the language we use in the office or shop floor, stays in that little box labelled work. In another compartment we have our pleasures. And we pursue these as though they are unrelated to anything else in our lives. Another compartment is labelled home and family, and we behave in certain ways that may be very different from the way we behave at work or at the football stadium. A fourth compartment ...

268. Grapes Of Wrath Or Grace?

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... . All of this for the short pleasures of sin! A few years ago, the best-known pickpocket in Cleveland, Ohio, a man by the name of Louis Finkelstein, died. He was known by police officers all across the country as "Louis the Dip." For 50 years he had pursued his career of filching items from other people's pockets. The police said he must have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in his lifetime. When he died at the age of 68 years, he was penniless. He had been arrested 120 times and served more than ten ...

269. A Homecoming To Remember

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... life. Also during that last semester he took a class from a professor who was a committed Christian. This professor showed Don that he did not have to choose between psychology and the Christian faith. Don says that he now is able to think clearly and pursue meaningful goals in rebuilding his walk with God. The God who loves each one of us can be found in church but, of course, is not limited to one fixed place. Solomon realized this as well as he continued his prayer, "Even heaven and the highest heaven ...

270. You Can Be In Heaven Or Hell

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... one foot in each place. David understood this reality. He had one of the richest friendships ever recorded. When we try to describe what loving relationships are meant to be, we still talk about David and Jonathan. Nonetheless, it was Jonathan's father, Saul, who pursued David with the intent of having him killed. David was God's chosen ruler of Israel, and yet he broke covenant with God via his relationship with Bathsheba. He was the proud father of Solomon and also the grieving father of Absalom. He knew ...

271. Proper 19

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Jeremiah 4:5-31, 1 Timothy 1:12-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the third parable of the lost son. Psalm Of The Day: Psalm 14 -- "There is no one who does good." (v. 1c) Prayer Of The Day: "O God, you declare your mighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity. Grant us the fullness of your grace, that, pursuing what you have promised, we may share your heavenly glory." Hymn Of The Day: "Jesus Sinners Will Receive" THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS Gospel: Luke 15:1-10 1. Eats (v. 2). Jesus made friends with the moral outcasts of his day to the point of sharing a meal with them ...

272. Proper 21

1 Timothy 6:11-21, Jeremiah 32:1-44, Luke 16:19-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 6:6-19 Timothy is urged to seek spiritual values rather than material gain. Here we have a contrast between earthly and heavenly riches. The Lesson harmonizes with the Gospel's parable of Lazarus and Dives. Worldly riches are discussed before and after the admonition to pursue spiritual values vv. 6-10, 17-19. The paragraph beginning with verse 16 is thought by some scholars to refer to Timothy's ordination. As a man of God he is to shun worldly goods for the riches of six different virtues. He is reminded ...

273. Advent 1

Luke 21:5-38

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel Through The Night Of Doubt And Sorrow A Stable Lamp Is Lighted Prayer for Advent 1 Security. This is what we want, Lord! The trouble is, we attempt to achieve it on our own and then ask for your blessing. We pursue degrees. We master management techniques. We develop our professional expertise. We capitalize on our experiences. But, inside, where it really counts, we know the truth: The harder we work to build ourselves up, the more hollow we feel inside. Help us to see that Security ...

274. Proper 17

Luke 14:1-14

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... 15 -- OT 22 Life often appears to be a race, Lord. We want to be first at everything. We run here and we run there, searching for meaning and often finding ourselves out-of-breath. Our sense of self-importance can distort our thinking. Are we pursuing the things which finally matter or the things which are of no consequence? Are we chasing the wrong things and finding ourselves exhausted? We need to slow down enough to rediscover meaning in life. Restore a sense of humility in our hearts. Breathe into us ...

275. What Do You Do When Life Ain't Fair?

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

Steve Burt

... our progress toward our goal. As with the beaver building the dam, the force of the water itself will at times wash away our work; the bear will smash it to smithereens; the mischievous fisherman will dismantle it. But like the beaver building the dam, like Jacob pursuing Rachel, like Vermont Cares serving AIDS victims and their loved ones, we too, with God's help, will achieve our goals. We must remain faithful, keep our eyes on the prize, and be honest and diligent. May God add a blessing to our work.

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