Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2851 to 2875 of 4977 results

2851. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... for his boss. This was tough, but he did it. By the close of the prayer he had relaxed. His facial expressions were different. He went back to the hospital, and they dismissed him. He told his boss that he had hated him for his business practices. He quit his job and got another. He was reconciled to his family and began to live a creative life in the community. His experience was much like that of a young doctor in a fellowship group who suddenly stood up and declared joyously, "I don’t hate any more ...

2852. Overcoming Loneliness

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... writing songs that voices never shared, No one dared Disturb the sounds of silence. - Paul Simon, Sounds of Silence No wonder we are lonely. After quoting Paul Simon, Dr. James J. Lynch, in The Broken Heart, goes on to declare, "Quite literally, we must either learn to live together or face the possibility of prematurely dying alone ... Cancer, tuberculosis, suicide, accidents, mental disease - all are significantly influenced by human companionship. Nature uses many weapons to shorten the lives of lonely ...

2853. Coping When It Seems Impossible

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... dangerous silence she could ask no more questions. As she arose to go, she bent over and whispered, "I want to thank you. This has met a deep need in my life." This young woman had found new hope for coping with life, coping which is quite impossible without faith in a universe that has purpose and direction, and without faith in a God who loves us and is able to see us through. Russia is spiritually sensitive. Russia is spiritually starved. The next great Spiritual Awakening can happen in Russia and may ...

2854. Christ and Healing

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... while the child was transfused ... "No one, including me, believed I could lift my fingers from the pressure points without releasing another river of blood. I kept applying digital pressure and praying, praying to God to will the necessary strength into my hands. "And then, quite suddenly, I felt relaxed. I knew I had done all that was in my power to do, and I was full of the comfortable certainty that I could proceed. Somehow God was in the room with us. Carefully, slowly, I released my pressure on the ...

2855. Faith As Healing Energy

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... . He spoke brilliantly on the theme, "The Concept of God is Entirely Unnecessary for Moral and Ethical Living." He spoke with such impeccable logic that if I had started where he started I would have come out where he came out. But my presuppositions were quite different. After speaking for an hour and a half, Dr. Ayers paused, took off his glasses, and looked at us. A new thought seemed to enter his mind. He said, almost in a whisper, "But I cannot compete with you. I have no hope." Imagine declaring ...

2856. Not Far From the Kingdom

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... from the kingdom of God." At noon Wesley attended services at St. Paul’s where the choir used Henry Purcell’s rendition of Psalm 130: "Out of the deep have I called to thee, O Lord." (Never berate the choir or the anthem. God frequently speaks through music - quite as much as through the sermon.) The day was fast closing, and Wesley did not want to go to prayer meeting (never stay away from church because you do not feel like going. God may have a special blessing in store). Even so, Wesley went to the ...

2857. Enduring

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... I, with his stubborn "divine right of kings" philosophy, together with a "no bishop, no king" attitude, refused to recognize the growing power, influence, and theological position of his Puritan people. He could not grasp the fact they were genuine English people, quite loyal to crown and church, who had a legitimate complaint and conviction regarding the life of faith. Rather than meet the Puritans in an attempt to understand who and what they were, he dismissed them, and in so doing spelled his own ...

2858. And It Came To Pass

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... should look at the year ahead, but selection of topics six to ten months hence rules out the events of life. Something new might happen. What of inspiration? What of the work of the Holy Spirit? It is one thing to plan; it is quite another to employ sermons preached in a previous appointment. Over-anticipation precludes unexpected joys, the novelty of which can be exciting. Who knows what delights God has in store? In brief, life can only be lived in faith. This means we live responsibly and responsively ...

2859. Twenty-First Century Reformation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... of the twenty-first century. It means that no longer can we spend time trying to pander; we must seek to redeem. Rather than buy members, court them, coddle them, we must respect them as God’s people, mature Christians who are responsible. The membership has quite as much a ministry as the ordained clergy. All are called to share the glad tidings that we "having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:18). When the church is willing to step back that Christ may be exalted ...

2860. Called to Be Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... the impoverishment of the world we have forgotten the faces of starving children. Who are the meek? Do you remember The Terrable Meek? The meek are those who have made a complete surrender of self to God. How the world uses or abuses the meek is quite beside the point. They are used of God, and that is all that matters. We just do not understand meek people any more. Today we are taught to be aggressive, demanding, assertive. Speak up, with authority, when you have a complaint, and complain often, until ...

2861. Questions Without Answers

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... his servants, and afflict him with disease that drove him out of his skin. And this is what Job did: He cursed the day he was born. His wife had counseled him to curse God, too, and then go hang himself, but Job as a God-fearing man could not quite bring himself to that. There are some great and faith-filled statements scattered through the book of Job. Like these, for example: "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall ...

2862. What Was That About?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... Judgment Day), does anybody take that seriously? If there are quarters where that mentality persists and where the possibility of final judgment is at least acknowledged, why bring that up? It seems to me we have some judgments to contend with now, and these are quite enough without becoming exercised about a judgment on some distant day. Self-styled judges are in great supply. Don’t tell me there’s another waiting in the wings to nail me at the end of history. In particular, what shall we say to this ...

2863. The Remote

John 14:5-14

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... significant other is lurking nearby? TOMMIE: (A WOMAN SELLING) And for the next hour I am going to slash the price on this solid gold necklace and earrings signed by Mickey Mouse. ALICE: (A WESTERN MOVIE) Be careful out there, Montana, I've had a hankerin' fer ye fer quite a spell. ANN: (AN INFOMERCIAL) You can make as much money as I did and do it in a month with no initial outlay. I retired when I was 27. DEBBY: (A HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW) Now we attach the particle board to the two-by-fours and then we ...

2864. Cardio-sclerosis

Mark 6:45-56, John 6:1-15

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... . Read your Bible. GREEN: Cut the funny stuff, Doc. I'm a busy man. I don't have Time to read the Bible. (MORE PAIN) Aaugh! Doc, Doc, do something. DOCTOR: I told you already, I can't do anything for you, Mr. Green. You're terminal. GREEN: Will you quit saying that? DOCTOR: It's the truth. You're going to die, and painfully too, unless you change your lifestyle. GREEN: I said I'll change. I'll walk in the mall -- anything. Tell me what to do. DOCTOR: Go to church. GREEN: Do you mean walk to church? DOCTOR ...

2865. Hell!

Mark 9:42-50, Mark 9:38-41

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... 16. HOST: Thank you. People can look that up on their own, but for now let's continue with our question for the day: "What is your view of hell?" How about you? WILLOW: (STANDS) In the Bible study I attend our teacher said there are quite a few different words that are translated "hell" in the Bible. HOST: Now, this will help. What were those different words? PAM: Pardon me. HOST: Yes? PAM: (SPEAKING TO WILLOW) Don't you remember, our teacher said there were four words that are translated "hell." WILLOW ...

2866. Making Babies Cry

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

... instinctively know that this is the way to get attention. Crying is their way of calling out. These babies, however, had been in abusive situations. Their parents let hem cry for hours on end and never responded. Do you know what happened? The babies eventually quit crying. It is almost as if they had learned that it was not worth trying. So the Menninger Institute came in for an experiment. They got some people from retirement and from nursing homes, and every day these people held these babies and rocked ...

2867. Christ and Time

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... as acid turns blue litmus paper red, so human thought turns everything temporal. We cannot think of anything that exists without presupposing that it exists at some time. Apart from our thought there is no such thing as time. The French philosopher Henri Bergson takes quite an opposite view. Time to him is the very stuff of reality. It bites into things and changes things. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Waste not time, for time is the stuff that life is made of." And so Bergson found in time - or duration, as ...

2868. The Exalted Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... an editorial saying, "This Russian was not the first one to walk through space. This occurred two thousand years ago when Christ ascended to heaven." Such an interpretation of the Ascension leaves thinking modern men cold. Science has given us a view of the world quite different from the cozy little three-story universe of ancient times, according to which beneath our earth is an underworld of the dead, on top of it a flat earth, and above our space a place called heaven. The true significance of our Lord ...

2869. The Gospel for Labor Day

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... , the reward for work - everything depends on the sovereign grace of God. Thus we cannot draw from this parable, as some interpreters have done, such applications as guaranteed income and unemployment insurance. Conditions in Palestine 2,000 years ago were quite different from conditions in modern industrial society, and our Lord does not assume the role of an arbitrator between organized corporations and organized labor. Yet his gospel of grace provides guidelines which are valid at all times and under all ...

2870. Letting Go

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... , motives, religion ... must die. The new must be born ... and the pain is great. Free even to let my body die free to risk dying that the new life might be born. Lord, I want to be free, free to be open ... quite ... ready ... THERE. risking ... sharing ... reaching in ... offering up giving and taking, talking and listening, struggling and conquering ... opening the door ... and allowing it to be closed. Gathering and allowing it to be scattered ... striving without seeing fulfillment. Lord, I want to be ...

2871. The Shadow Ascending

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... the alcoholic from losing his job, covering up, bending rules, hoping this will be the last time, and not wanting to hurt the alcoholic’s family and career. The alcoholic couldn’t function without this dependency on the victim for protection. Otherwise, he would have to quit drinking or lose his job. The third character in Act II, who is really the key person in the play, is the spouse or parent of the alcoholic star, the one with whom the alcoholic lives. Her role is that of provoker and patsy. She is ...

2872. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... of real human need. And uninvolvement leads to atrophy! Our fear of self-disclosure may be the fear of being misunderstood. Interpersonal relationships are complicated. They often suffer from poor communication. I perceive my neighbors in a certain way - which may be quite different from the way he perceives himself. How often we are surprised at the response we get, since response is always based upon perception, not upon some "real" essence. Our masks become our defense. I have seen the fascist tactics of ...

2873. Jerusalem, Emmaus and the Meaning of Life

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... the time? L-3 I see the river in your eyes and in your hands. (Long silence) D-3 You know, life is just like that ... like a river ... it makes its way this way and that, changing direction over this rock and then that one. It’s just never quite the same twice, it’s always changing. L-4 I find life to be full of changes too. (Silence) I’ve missed seeing you out by the nurses’ station. I wonder why you’re not out so much as you once were. D-4 I don’t get out as ...

2874. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the Messiah or one of the Prophets?” And then the sun began to wane and the end of the day drew near. They had listened and followed for hours. It was now time for dinner and the disciples, perhaps out of care for their Master or feeling quite hungry themselves, wanted to send the people away. Then Jesus surprised his disciples, asking them to feed the crowd. There were many occasions when the disciples responded as any of us would. We have here only five loaves of Bread and two fish. But Jesus offered ...

2875. Be Careful How You Live

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . That sounds a bit heavy handed doesn’t it? Most of us spend our days getting children to school, working at our jobs, preparing meals for the family, and doing our chores. What could possibly be evil in that? Indeed on the surface the world seems quite pleasant. But let me ask you. What is your attitude while doing these things? Paul gives us a long list in chapters four and five of do’s and don’ts for Christian living. In fact he insists we follow these admonitions. Here is an abbreviated version ...

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