Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2776 to 2800 of 3314 results

2776. When the Going Gets Tough ... the Tough Start Praying!

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

... be right away, the construction company would level the land, tamp it down, and pave and stripe it. "How does that sound?" he asked. You know what happened, of course. The church opened as planned, in two weeks. In our gospel passage today, Jesus is asked by the apostles to increase their faith. He replies that if they had faith even as little as the size of a mustard seed they could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea just by saying so. Well folks, it's time for those of us with mountain-moving ...

2777. Life After Life

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a few days before his death, my wife and I were talking — she was in tears; she asked, "How do you pray for your daddy to die?" We did not lose Dad the day he died — we had lost him long ago. But it was not a blessing. The apostle Paul called death "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Paul had a good deal to say about death and about what comes after for God's people. That passage from 1 Corinthians, for example. Apparently some folks in the early church were questioning this bedrock belief — that ...

2778. God's Plans

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is wrong with this world. Horrible things continue to happen - babies die, mothers get cancer, parents abuse children; we have wars and rumors of wars. Every day's news has a story. But our faith has the rest of the story: in the words of the apostle Paul: "We know that all things [... even the terrible things ...] work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NRSV). God's plans. 1. James Evans, Stan Purdum, and Carlos Wilton, Hear My Voice: Preaching ...

2779. Is It True?

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... -dee-doodle! Of course, there have been times when church folks have questioned the story; found it difficult to believe. In fact, within just a few years of Christ's death and resurrection, some in the church at Corinth expressed doubts about it, which prompted the apostle Paul to issue the stirring defense that includes our text. For Paul, this is serious stuff. It is the heart and soul of the Christian faith. Paul will brook no compromise on this issue. In fact, he goes on to insist, "If Christ has not ...

2780. Divine Dynamite

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of Babel, the ways people expressed themselves was no longer a problem. People could actually understand what one another said. There was a real concern for growing in the faith. As the story in Acts has it, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42 RSV). They did not assume that because they were Christians now they had spiritually arrived; they wanted to grow. One more thing should be noted — the people became exceedingly generous ...

2781. A Place At the Table

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the hearts of the saints. — Philemon 1-7 Yes, flattery will get you everywhere. The hook had been baited. Now to the heart of the matter. Paul was asking a favor, not something he did very often. Somehow, the runaway Onesimus had come to the apostle who was under house arrest in Rome awaiting execution, and the encounter has proven to be a life-changing experience for both of them. Onesimus became a Christian; Paul had found a valued and beloved companion and helper in the young fugitive. He even made a ...

2782. The Locust Years

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... freedom. That kind of thinking sounds like it might be reserved to teenagers, but unfortunately, when it comes to some things, too many people never grow up. The years we spend like that are locust years. Humanity was never designed to operate effectively like that. The apostle Paul says, "For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone" (Romans 14:7). When we ignore that thought, we tell the locusts to come in and feast on all this we consider not worth having for ourselves, all ...

2783. Did You Come Here to Die?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... suffered years of imprisonment and torture under the communists because of his faith. Some years ago Markquart and some members of his church went to the Holy Land together. While there they took a cruise on a ship following the journeys of the Apostle Paul. One of the passengers on that cruise was Richard Wurmbrand. One night Markquart and his wife found themselves sitting with Wurmbrand at an evening dinner table. Much to his surprise, Markquart found Wurmbrand to be witty, charming and intelligent as he ...

2784. Epiphany 9

1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43, Psalm 96:1-9, Luke 7:1-10, Galatians 1:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... the ancient hope of the Davidic line was to include all ethnic groups in worship events for Yahweh throughout the Ancient Near East. What a different world Jesus would have inherited and we would be experiencing today if that hope had been realized. The apostle Paul writes of one God, one gospel, one Christ and we know that he understood Gentiles to be included in the one God’s love and grace. The psalmist talks about expressing the human emotions in music while Luke suggests that strangers expect Yahweh ...

2785. Proper 4

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39, Psalm 96:1-13, Luke 7:1-10, Galatians 1:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... stretched a bit, the preacher might include the topic of immigration as well as ethnic differences as this text is exegeted. In the Galatians passage, there is contention between Paul and some church folk. The question seems to be whether he is a legitimate apostle of Jesus. This is another story we hear again and again in the Christian church: Who shall have power and what is the real dogma. This particular week, the title/theme might be: Mending Fences and Healing the Planet. The Paul and Elijah stories ...

2786. Proper 5

1 Kings 17:8-24, Psalm 30:1-12; 146:1-10, Luke 7:11-17, Galatians 1:11-24

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... have no one believe “your truth.” Ask any schizophrenic who has not taken his/her medication. What about the fundamentalist in every religion who perceives God speaking, often claiming personal advantage/reward at the expense of others? Reputation is as important to the apostle as it is to any congregation/individual today; it is part of our identities and must be guarded from theft and defilement. In a culture where it is important to know the “right” people in order to get a job or accepted into ...

2787. Proper 11

Genesis 18:1-10a, Psalm 15:1-5; 52:1-9, Amos 8:1-12, Luke 10:38-42, Colossians 1:15-28

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... like the psalmist 4,000 years ago. We say we’ll do and be whatever it takes to feel secure and to have companions who help us along the journey. But when the moment comes, we have difficulty keeping our word. We want to see Christ in others, as the apostle says is true; we want to say that we walk with you and we want to really do it; we want to sing of our love for you and for creation. Heal our broken parts, control our pains, soothe our scars, and give us strength to take the next steps ...

2788. Serving the King of Kings

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... in Christ, they begin to believe in all kinds of foolishness. That’s why this day is important. Today on this last Sunday of the church year before we begin the season of Advent, we celebrate Christ the King of Kings. In our lesson from Revelation the Apostle John writes to the seven churches in the province of Asia: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn ...

2789. Thanksgiving Means Giving

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... wrote 1 Thessalonians, most probably the first letter of his corpus, approximately in the year 50 AD. He had founded the Christian community at Thessalonica during his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9). In the short passage we heard proclaimed, the apostle offers thanks to the Thessalonians. He is grateful for them and the faith they have demonstrated, but he wants to suggest certain ways that thanksgiving must be manifest. First, Paul suggests that thanksgiving must be an act of presence; he believes ...

2790. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... Pope Paul VI put it so succinctly, “If you want peace, work for justice.” Peace will only come when we actively seek it. Thus, we must cooperate with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to assure that Christ’s peace will be manifest in the world. The apostle suggests that the way we can bring peace is by being joyful people. Rejoicing truly can bring peace. Rejoicing must become a way of life, not simply a momentary respite from our general worrisome and dour countenance. We cannot win every game; we don’t ...

2791. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . Pope Paul VI put it so succinctly, "If you want peace, work for justice." Peace will only come when we actively seek it. Thus, we must cooperate with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to assure that Christ's peace will be manifest in the world. The apostle suggests that the way we can bring peace is by being joyful people. Rejoicing truly can bring peace. Rejoicing must become a way of life, not simply a momentary respite from our general worrisome and dour countenance. We cannot win every game; we don't always ...

2792. Obedience: Our Gift to Jesus

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... be. The letter to the Hebrews, from which today's second lesson is drawn, has an interesting place in the New Testament corpus. Initially this letter was thought to be part of Saint Paul’s writings, but scholars today almost universally agree that the apostle to the Gentiles did not pen this document. More likely a Jewish Christian with a Hellenistic background wrote the letter as a mini theological treatise for abroad audience of people. The language, form, and theology of the letter all testify to a non ...

2793. Strength through Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... says that if we have the Spirit, we cannot speak ill of God. Living in the power and presence of God has its positive effects on us. We cannot go astray with God, but there are many lessons we need to learn in order to achieve this result. The apostle then enumerates the many gifts of the Spirit. Each is unique and special; each is given, Paul says, as the Spirit chooses. Each gift is different and must be used in a collective sense with others in building the kingdom of God. It is through this diversity of ...

2794. Teammates in Building The Kingdom

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... member is honored the whole body rejoices. The body, therefore, must live, love, and cry together. The body is one; its strength comes through unity. Paul concludes his analogy by providing examples of how the parts of the body are manifest. He mentions apostles, prophets, teachers as some of the many specific vocations of the body. Then he describes the many gifts, such as healing, assistance, forms of leadership, and tongues or languages. No one person possesses all of these gifts and, thus, there is a ...

2795. Formula for Eternal Life

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... have in the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly body must die in order to find eternal life with God. We do not sow our present body for the future; rather we sow a seed that matures later. God will give us a body as he chooses. Then the apostle gives a series of contrasting ideas that show the difference between this life and the eternal life God has promised to those who believe and follow his pattern of life. First, he says what we have today is perishable, but in the next life all is imperishable. The ...

2796. A Glimpse of Glory

Revelation 21:10-22 - 22:5

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... me? Is this life all there is? Or is there more? And if there is, is it heaven or hell or somewhere in between? Maybe what we need to do is stop thinking of heaven as a place somewhere "up there," above, in the sky. When we confess in the Apostles' Creed that Jesus "ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father," we don't literally mean that there is a specific place in heaven where Jesus is sitting. We don't literally mean that God actually has a right hand, a left hand, a right ...

2797. Freedom Calling

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... of no cost — in fact, this freedom was purchased at the great cost of Jesus' own life. It isn't something for nothing — in fact, it means becoming like slaves ourselves by giving our lives in love and service, just as Jesus did. Yet the apostle Paul dares to call this freedom and challenges his readers — and us — to live that way. In the English language, an oxymoron is a phrase that puts together two words that would normally contradict each other. As Shakespeare's Juliet says, "Parting is such ...

2798. Sing Praise

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... sin and being made right with God (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14), but it also means much more than that. It's a peace that embraces all the war-torn and hurting world around us, peace on earth and peace in heaven, peace for all creation. For the apostle Paul, these were not just the words of a song once heard and easily forgotten. They were so profound and so full of meaning that he wove them into his letter as he tried to express the mystery and glory of Christ Jesus. The eternal Christ — the firstborn ...

2799. The Unchanging Christ in a Changing World

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... years ago or more. We recite prayers from ancient cultures that still speak to our hearts. We unite ourselves with Christians through the ages. Some version of the Lord's Prayer came from Jesus' lips. Taking the bread and cup go back to the upper room. The Apostles' Creed goes back to the second century. All of these things give us roots and stability in a changing world. We can look back and see how the risen Christ has guided the church over the centuries. We see the mistakes and the obstacles the church ...

2800. A New Name

Isaiah 62:1-5

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... about that person. What emotions does the name bring to mind? What nostalgic feature? What accomplishments do you remember about them or what negatives have they produced in your thinking? Abraham Lincoln Eve Tommy Dorsey Joan of Arc Paul the apostle Amelia Earhart Mohammad Ali Albert Einstein Mary the Mother of Jesus Osama bin Laden Mother Teresa Now think of the names of people in your life who have influenced you parents grandparents other relatives Sunday school teachers schoolteachers pastors friends ...

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