Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2851 to 2875 of 5000 results

2851. Before You Start Ripping Your Clothing

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... this home, and a tear rolled down his cheek. The angel caught that tear and brought it to the Throne of Glory. God accepted the tear with rejoicing. God smiled and said, “You are fully pardoned, for there is nothing more precious than a tear of repentance.” (3) As we mark our foreheads with ashes this evening we are asking God to cleanse us of anything that might prevent His perfect will from being done in our lives. We, too, are His people. We, too, miss the ...

2852. Actors

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Jamison

... have come praying to find hope: some word or some act that will help you find an answer, or help your faith feel more real. Regardless of why you are here, keep the following words in your mind as you leave. Ash Wednesday is fifty days before Easter, created to mark the beginning of a period of time for us to reflect as well as to look at our faith and the role it plays in our day-to-day lives. Sure we talk about the more “theological” things like salvation and resurrection, but it’s also a time for ...

2853. The Bethsaida Boys

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Jamison

... Peter and be prepared for whatever he might do next. Let’s not single out Simon Peter and make it sound like he was some kind of a problem disciple. As the story is told, every one of the disciples turned out to be what you might call a challenge. Mark’s version of the story gives us some good examples. Remember the day a bunch of them came running up to Jesus saying, “We found someone over there who was casting out demons and helping people, and he was doing it in your name. So we made him cut it ...

2854. United We Stand

John 17:11b-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... . 1. Author unknown. From the Internet. 2. Michal Stawicki and Jeannie Ingraham, 99 Perseverance Success Stories: Encouragement for Success in Every Walk of Life ( Kindle Edition). 3. Zondervan (June 1974). 4. Via Ecunet, “Sermonshop Discussion,” #1748, 2/7/97. Cited by Dr. David E. Leininger, https://www.sermonwriter.com/sermons/mark-92-9-wow-leininger. 5. William H. Hinson (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), p. 44. 6. From a sermon by Dr. Eugene Brice 7. Http://day1.org/552-take_this_job_and_love_it.

2855. Giving Up Control

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... theme of the Bible is that by faith we can turn control of our lives over to God. One theme of these two stories in Mark is that given inadequate resources, we sometimes wake up to the need to turn to Jesus, and let God be God. Given a desperate situation ... . It's just that we fight that idea as if he is an enemy. Control is one of the big messages in the second story in Mark 6. The storm comes up on the Sea of Galilee. Many of the apostles were fishermen. They had seen storms before. Yet, it was evening. It ...

2856. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Being Rich

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... recognized that to be rich is about much more than dollars and cents -- to be rich means also to be rich in giving. The man in our scripture reading today also seemed to realize that being rich was about more than money. His story appears here in the gospel of Mark and in two other gospel accounts. Each time he is described as a man with many possessions, a man who was wealthy. The gospel of Matthew adds the detail that he was a young man. The gospel of Luke calls him a ruler. But even with all his riches ...

2857. No Reason to Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... (2 Corinthians 9:11-12); and most of all he gave thanks for God's grace: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15). Instead of focusing on what he lacked, he focused on all that God had provided. Jesus' own life and ministry were also marked by a deep sense of gratitude to God. He regularly gave thanks for food and drink (Matthew 15:27; 26:27); he gave thanks for his relationship with God (John 11:25ff); he saw his followers as those who had been given to him by God (John 17:26 ...

2858. When Your Life Is Put On Hold

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... name is Jairus. The esteemed physician’s name is Jesus. Would Jesus come lay his hands on the girl? Of course he would. Mark tells us simply, “Jesus went with him.” But wait. There’s a break in the story. While Jesus is making his way ... by said, “Mrs. Jones, God is going to give him right back to you.” (2) Why does that seem sometimes to be true of our prayers? Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn prayed for a fishing pole and hooks. When he got only the pole, he gave up prayer. Most of us are not ...

2859. In It for the Long Haul

John 6:60-69

Sermon

King Duncan

... long after this, George passes by a mask shop. He goes into the shop and has the owner create a lifelike wax mask that he believes will allow him to look like a saint. He returns to the woman who has won his heart. He proposes and she accepts. This marks the beginning of a moral conversion in George Lord’s life. He donates much of his money to the poor. He repays everyone he has cheated. He treats kindly people whom he had never noticed before. In short, he enters into the way of life of a saint. Sometime ...

2860. Do You Believe in Miracles?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy . . . .” (Isa. 35:5-6). Two of those prophecies are fulfilled in today’s lesson from the Gospel of Mark. Mark tells us that Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand ...

2861. Big Bubba Has Your Back

Revelation 21:1-6a

Sermon

King Duncan

... future. Many of us are so fearful of the future. We are a bundle of anxieties concerning our health, our finances, our children, even the safety of our world. Our constant anxiety reminds me of a story that Mark Twain once told about a friend of his who--needing a train ride home--came to him at the races one day and said to Mark Twain, “I’m broke. I wish you’d buy me a ticket back to town.” Twain said, “Well, I’m pretty broke myself, but I’ll tell you what to do. You hide under my seat and ...

2862. A Dove Descended

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... and serve Christmas dinner for others at a local health clinic. He spent Christmas weekend with his family, but Christmas day itself he was at the clinic feeding those in need. (3) Did it matter to this 55-year-old man whether he had been baptized? It marked a new chapter in his life. He now belonged to God. Baptism matters. Father Tommy Lane, a Roman Catholic priest, tells about the difference baptism made in the life of a prominent world leader, one that may surprise you. It was just before the fall of ...

2863. If Your Cry for Help Is Loud Enough...

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... because this Bible was proof that God had a ministry for him in prison, and that God would sustain him in his suffering. Loud, humble, enthusiastic, heartfelt, uninhibited gratitude is one of the defining marks of a Christian. That kind of gratitude naturally turns to joy, which is another one of the defining marks of a Christian. Many Christians reach the first part of the faith journey, bringing their need to Jesus, and then never go any further. They do not live in perpetual thanksgiving and praise. They ...

2864. A Bridge Between Two Worlds

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... sermon-persevere-in-obedience-jeremiah-37-38. 3. “10 Unbelievable Stories of Persistence” by Steve Moramarco, May 29, 2014, https://www.oddee.com/item_98975.aspx. 4. Mark Collins, http://www.northwoodunited.org/sermons/042504.php. 5. Barbara Amiel, “A timeless hero for troubled times,” MacLean’s, September 25, 1995, 9. Cited in Mark Buchanan, Hidden In Plain Sight (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2002), pp. 139-140. 6. “Stories from Jesus: Persistent Prayer” by Rev. Ron Holmes, http://www.soth ...

2865. Are You a Super-Fan?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Why is that? Jesus says right there in verse 10, “. . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” An Episcopal priest with a sense of humor had a special tee shirt designed. In three of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—someone in some crowd raises a stink because Jesus eats and drinks with sinners. So this priest had a tee shirt made with the verse in Greek, “He eats and drinks with sinners.” The priest would wear the tee shirt when he went into bars. Some ...

2866. A Child of the Resurrection

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... last people to think about the hereafter. And Jesus knew that. So, what were they doing asking this hypothetical story about what would happen at the resurrection of the dead? Let me point out here that throughout the Gospels—the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—Jesus almost never answers questions directly. Usually, when someone comes to Jesus with a question, he answers with another question, or with a parable or a challenge. In fact, author Philip Yancey says he once heard a theologian say that ...

2867. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... who spins them fully out: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in this good news” (Mark 1: 14-15). The first question he answers is, “When?” The answer is, “Now.” Jesus is coming! And if this eschatological pronouncement, this prophetic word is to speak to our lives, if it is to open a door to authentic, Christian living then the answer cannot be only “at the ...

2868. Speaking with Prophetic Authority

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... 's version of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in Capernaum, a town Jesus obviously chose as the center for his prophetic mission due to its strategic location as a crossroads for trade and center of activity in Galilee. Mark (1:22) reports that Jesus went to the local synagogue and taught the people who "were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Not only were Jesus' words impressive, but his actions as well. He casts the unclean spirit out ...

2869. The Problem with "Fawneys"

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” It is clear Jesus didn’t like phonies. And the question is, who does? Author Mark Twain certainly didn’t. There was a certain acquaintance of Twain’s who had managed somehow to combine the appearance of piety with several unsavory practices in his business life. Somehow he was blind to the incongruity. “Before I die,” this crooked man proclaimed ...

2870. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... both appear in the gospel of John and are followed by admonitions telling his disciples what to do. If you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, feed my sheep. The phrase “worship me” appears only three times in the gospels — once in Matthew, once in Mark, once in Luke. And it was not spoken by Jesus. No, it is spoken by Satan as he tried to tempt Jesus. Jesus asks his followers to believe in him only five times and three of those are in John’s gospel. The other two times are in Matthew ...

2871. Sitting Shiva Behind Closed Doors

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... (called the “Twin”), one of the twelve of Jesus’ inner circle, was not with the others when Jesus came to them. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe this.” A week later, Jesus’ disciples were again (still) in the house, and Thomas was with them this time. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among ...

2872. Cloak of Power

Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ride into Jerusalem during the Procession of the Lambs. But there are more echoes of the tallit’s healing properties in the gospels, signifying Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all attest to the healing of the hemorrhaging woman, as she touched the “wings” or “fringe” of his garment (tallit). Matthew and Mark also remind us that others also “implored Jesus to touch his cloak…and many were healed.” The cloak or tallit along with its fringes of healing signify Jesus’ identity ...

2873. The Cure

Luke 4:31-37, Luke 4:38-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone…. ….He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath [Mark and Matthew tells us he taught in the synagogue on this sabbath]. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue, there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice ...

2874. A Man Under Authority / A Centurion's Faith, An Elder's Love

Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Jewish elders brought him to Jesus. When the Centurion laid down the symbols of his position and power, and looked up at Jesus from his knees, he saw an even greater symbol of power upon Jesus’ head –the mark of the Messiah…. and saw an even greater symbol of healing in Jesus’ hand –the mark of the Good Shepherd. And the Centurion bowed in faith to the power of Jesus. What are your status symbols? What are the symbols of identity in your life that define who you are in your community? If ...

2875. Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 7:18-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God’s Sabbath Job 38-41: Job’s Confession of Faith in the Creative Power of God Matthew’s Witness to Jesus’ Breaking of the Sabbath and the Questions of the Pharisees and John’s (the Baptist’s) Disciples (9:14-17 and 11:2-12:21) Mark’s Witness to Jesus’ Breaking of the Sabbath, calling himself God, and the Questions of the Pharisees (2:18-3:12) John’s Witness to Jesus’ Breaking of the Sabbath, calling himself God, and the Accusations of the Pharisees (5) Paul’s Letter to the Galatians ...

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