Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2876 to 2900 of 4957 results

2876. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... zinc putty used on them, any number of potential compression problems, or human error during manufacturing, these two miniature o-rings failed to do what they were designed to do, and the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded before the watching world, 73 seconds into her flight, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. It's the little things. Tiny viruses the size of a pin head, heart valves no larger than a man's thumbnail, single votes in an election, an ill-chosen word from a loved one - little things ...

2877. Suffering

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... , a purple robe was placed over Jesus’ shoulders, and a crown of thorns was placed on his head. For what must have seemed an unending period of time, the soldiers had played the game - "mock the king." All this was done to mock Christ’s royal claim. Seeking to be as rude as possible, the mocking soldiers knelt before Jesus and mockingly hailed him king. Each time Jesus moved, the crown of thorns dug deeper into his scalp. Blood drained down into his eyes and into the corner of his mouth. He could ...

2878. Victory

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... to whom little is forgiven, loves little" (Luke 7:47). Saying this to the Pharisees, Jesus then said to Mary Magdalene, "Your sins are forgiven.... Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7:48, 50b). What great words! Mary Magdalene took hold of them, claiming them as truth. Therefore, when she heard, "It is finished," she recalled how Jesus had brought her home to her Father. Love filled her soul. Just for a moment, she remembered how it was before Jesus came into her life. As she tried to look up at ...

2879. Who Do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... by saying that Jesus was a Superstar. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the-German theologian, referred to Jesus as the “man for others.” The Gospel writers also attempted in their own fashion to answer this most fundamental question. They bestowed upon him numerous titles and claims: Son of David, Son of Man, Son of God, Divine Physician, king, prophet, bridegroom, Light of the world, the door, the vine, high priest, the firstborn of creation, the bright and morning star, and Alpha and the Omega. All of these were ...

2880. The Passover and the Passion

Drama

Denny C. Wise

... Just. You might call me the forgotten member of the twelve. Some people called me James the Lesser. I used to regard myself as a nobody. This is my friend Judas Thaddeus. He, too, knows what it is like to be forever hidden in the background. In fact, his only claim to fame is that he is not the disciple who betrayed Jesus. I guess you would call him the quiet one who stuck.... Well, for a while that is. But then, when the soldiers came, all of us ran like a pack of cowards, hiding in the darkness. After all ...

2881. Small-town Revolution

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... which we long - in our lives, our family, our daily work. And just as her child’s lullaby began in an obscure locale, so often does liberation begin that way for us. It takes only a word, a thought, a deed to affirm a change in our lives which claims the freedom of the Gospel. Nazareth is a sharp reminder that liberation begins in the small, quiet places. "It only takes a spark to get the fire going," we sing. It takes as little for liberation to encompass all of humanity in the person of the Christ Child ...

2882. What Is Christianity Without the Cross?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

... example." The preacher replied, "If I presented Christ in that way, would you be willing to follow Him?" "I certainly would," said the stranger without hesitation. "All right then," said the preacher, "let's take the first step. He did no sin. Can you claim that for yourself?" The man looked confused and somewhat surprised. "Why, no," he said. "I acknowledge that I do sin." Stearns replied, "Then your greatest need is to have a Savior, not an example!" II What is Christianity without the cross? First, it is ...

2883. Reclaiming Our Covenant

Genesis 9:18-29

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... , which tested the genuineness of the deal with such questions as these: Is this thing right? Is it consistent with the will of God? Indeed, the only guarantee that the deal would last was based upon the quality of the commitment of both parties to the claim upon them of the righteous will of God. Take a look at the situation in our Scripture text: The devastating Flood was over and Noah, his family and the whole shipload of zoo creatures were let out. It had been a hectic season, confined within the ...

2884. Reviving Our Moral Responsibility

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... seem to be caught up in a whirlwind of opposing forces bent on their destruction. Christians believe in love, but everywhere throughout the world we see the fingerprints of the agents of hate. Christians affirm the power of right, but others claim that might is the only resource with any viable clout. Christians are apostles of goodness and kindness, yet their witness is overshadowed by reports of child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, political intrigue and deception even in high places. It would ...

2885. Returning to Genuine Religion

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... ways, nor by standing before the world with a holy face and declaring, "Thou shalt not!" A great reversal was now afoot: prior to Israel’s offering of sheep and goats in ritual sacrifices, God had already given. His love and grace were already in the field, claiming these people as his own. This is why we see in Jeremiah 31 this new covenant as the closest the Old Testament comes to the gospel of the New Testament. It is the religion of the changed heart. And for the realization of all this, God would ...

2886. Servants Without Fiber

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... , in whom my soul delights ..." (Isaiah 42:1 RSV). Clearly the servant is not ever his or her own. There is a givenness about the servant’s character; the servant is endowed with qualifications that come from an order and will beyond self and which lay claim upon every personal talent and power. As Professor G. Ernest Wright expressed it: "[It is] God’s reaching down into human affairs."1 Or, as it is stated more fully in The Speaker’s Bible: The servant of the Lord is useful only because he is used ...

2887. Servant Worship

Psalm 116:1-19

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... of the earth, the glory of the seasons, the food and clothing we take for granted, and so on. But the Psalmist’s thanksgiving was basically for whom and what God is. And when we thank God for that, it is not entirely complete until what God is is claimed by us and invited to become the essence of our way of life. Whatever else God is, he is love. And when the Psalmist says "I love the Lord because ..." (v. 1), it means that God’s love displaces in the Psalmist all traces of self-love, and certainly ...

2888. The Vicarious Servant

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... went home and left the streets without a soul to see, And Jesus crouched against a wall and cried for Calvary.1 Today is observed throughout the Christian world as Good Friday (sometimes known in earlier years as "God’s Friday") and one can safely claim it to be probably the most solemn day of the Church Year. By the same token, our scripture lesson today is certainly one of the greatest religious writings of all time in its relevance, lofty literary style and deep spiritual sentiment and devotion. Some ...

2889. The Outcome of Easter Faith

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... many of us stop short. The writer of the First Epistle of Peter refers to something more. He says: "As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls" (1:9 RSV). This is Christ realized! And unless we face up to this challenge and its claim upon our devotion and worship, we shall miss the true benefit and blessing of this Easter Day. 1. Our first step, then, is to recognize that a true celebration of Easter is possible only if we pay a price. None of us should come to Easter Day light ...

2890. Easter Journeys Out and In

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... between race and race, class and class, creed and creed. A question can be raised appropriately: To what and with what? And any answer must work both ways. Any reaching out must be a mutual action. The person in need must reach out with his or her claims as fully as the person with answers and resources should do in their response. Only when the two meet in mutual acceptance will there be fullness of life for both. No story excites the Christian mind to the degree that the miracle of the Resurrection does ...

2891. A Perspective on the Ascension

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... so memorably by John Masefield in his poem, Trial of Jesus, when the centurion answers the questioner at Calvary, "Where is he now?" in words unusual for him, "Let loose into the world, where neither Jew nor Greek can stop him." The Ascension lays its claims upon our interest and devotion and mind, because in it Jesus took finally our humanity which he assumed at the Incarnation, and having redeemed it through his death and Resurrection, he presented it to God as love’s highest offering. Only the power of ...

2892. Genes of Joash

2 Kings 12:1-21

Illustration

Larry Powell

... Joash and made a positive influence upon his character. Zechariah, a prophet and son of Jehoiada, whom Joash had killed for spreading the truth. Some commentators suggest that Joash was the product of bad genes. There is a case for this claim insofar as his greatgrandfather was King Ahab (who sponsored Baal worship), his great-grandmother was Jezebel, his grandfather King Jehoram, an evil king who "departed with no one’s regret," (12:20) and his grandmother, Athaliah. Not a distinguished gallery of ...

2893. One’s Proper Service

Isaiah 58:1-14

Illustration

Larry Powell

... the congregation had stopped. Things had become so disconcerting that even the minister refused to sing. Consequently, Linkhaw was found guilty of a misdemeanor and ordered to remain silent in church. However, the state supreme court overturned the conviction, sympathetic to Linkhaw’s claim that singing was a part of his service to God. I was interested in this particular item because I well remember when an old fellow in my home church was asked to surrender his choir robe on the same grounds. As a boy ...

2894. The Force

Acts 7:1-53

Illustration

Larry Powell

A high school graduating class in California omits the invocation from its proceedings because of a law suit brought by three seniors who claimed the brief prayers would violate the "separation of church and state" clause of the Constitution. This is but one instance, part of a long-growing list, to be contained in a manual that our generation appears to be authoring: "How to Dismiss God from the Universe." To whom or what ...

2895. In the Eleventh Hour

Mark 14:32-42

Illustration

Larry Powell

... each first Sunday of the month, and still others quarterly. The fact that the sacrament was considered as an "essential" ought to challenge us to rethink our own loyalty to it. 2. 14:29-31. Here we encounter Peter’s false loyalty, his claim that even though all others would fall away, he would remain loyal. The Scriptures betray him, for we see him later squirming uncomfortably around an unfriendly fire, praying that no one would recognize him. Three times he denied Christ after swearing absolute loyalty ...

2896. And Their Eyes Were Opened

Luke 24:13-35

Illustration

Larry Powell

... which he had led countless charges, escaped into the hills. The peasants violently refused to believe that their leader would have allowed himself to be ambushed and killed, and whenever they caught a glimpse of the white horse in the hills, they claimed that it carried Zapata, signaling to them that he would return. They fully expected the return, but in time, the expectation died. Although Jesus attempted on several occasions to interpret specific events to his disciples, as well as to prepare them for ...

2897. Song of an Historian

Psalm 78:1-72

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... 78:11-17). Moreover, she has not only failed to appreciate what the Lord has done; she has even been so brash as to make grumbling demands of God (Psalm 78:10, 18, 19). Angered by such an attitude on the nation’s part, the Lord has responded to her claims by raining down manna upon her from heaven and hurling quail in her midst "like the sand of the seas" to prove to her what he can do. And ingrate that she is, she has gorged herself upon them (Psalm 78:21-29) without changing her attitude. But the ...

2898. In The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Robert Allen

... years and I have pastored three different churches. During this time, I have been with parents when a child died ... I have gone into homes to tell families that a loved one has been killed in an accident ... I have sat and prayed with families as illness claimed the life of one they loved. All of these people, in one way or another, have asked, "Is anybody there? If God is real, why doesn’t he do something? Why doesn’t he prove he exists?" I can understand the agony and grief which produces these ...

2899. The Reality Of Sin

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Robert Allen

... black out the reality of the world. I don’t suppose there are many sins in our world which are more pervasive than the use of drugs. The illegal use of drugs accounts for a majority of the crime in our nation ... and fills our prisons ... and claims the lives of many each year. But, the use of drugs is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other sins which have an impact on our world. The industrialization which pollutes our water and destroys the ozone layer of our atmosphere ... the hundred ...

2900. Rules For Living

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Robert Allen

... neighbor as yourself." This is a revolutionary concept. Our relationships with other people are first, last, and always vitally important. We are to love other people and care about other people simply because they are God’s children. After all, how can we claim to have a relationship with God unless we are willing to develop a caring relationship with his people? Recently, I read a little fable about a young girl who was walking through a meadow. She saw that a beautiful butterfly had one wing impaled ...

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