Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2901 to 2925 of 4972 results

2901. Is Repentance Necessary?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... of how hard we may try, we cannot perfect ourselves. The only way to freedom, peace and the best that is in us is to draw closer to God. In the final analysis, it is really more of an expression of a genuine love of ourselves that we stop trying to perfect ourselves and accept the unconditional love and acceptance of God. Is repentance then really necessary? It is if you want to be free. It turns us away from our efforts at being our own savior toward the only One who ultimately can save. Repentance, of ...

2902. The Cost of Being Christian

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

... offer and the preacher may be asked to go somewhere else. No one would have wanted to crucify Jesus, nor to stone Stephen, nor to run off a preacher if he were simply offering religion as an opiate of the people that gives us calmness. But the Gospel does not stop there. Jesus was a radical. The word "radical" comes from the same word from which we get our word "radish." What that means is that Jesus got down in the dirt and got hold of the roots of life. He knew that unless he got hold of the root of ...

2903. How Did It Come to This?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

... question that we want to deal with this morning. By way of answer I would suggest three things: I It happened over time. No one becomes evil overnight. We cannot take weight off in a week that it took us years to put on. We cannot stop loving overnight, when we have loved for years. Marriages and divorces do not grow overnight. It all takes time. I well suspect that for the Hebrews, sin became an adopted lifestyle. Over time they quit praying, they quit reflecting, they became more pre-occupied with self ...

2904. Here Comes Jesus

John 1:1-18

Children's Sermon

... off in the right way by coming to worship? I think it is so right that I want to show you how we ought to do it. [If someone can play the trumpet, have him play some opening bars of a stirring fanfare. Perhaps the organist could use the trumpet stop on the organ. Then let someone come in carrying some banners. Example: Blessed New Year -- God Bless Us in 1975.] How about that, boys and girls? Isn't it wonderful the way we get so excited about the first day in the new year or the first Sunday? These are ...

2905. Getting Ready for Jesus

Luke 21:5-38

Children's Sermon

... a few moments until all of the children recognize it.] What was that? That's right, the "Star Spangled Banner." Well, you sure didn't act like you heard it. Now, let's try it again and I am going to be watching you very carefully. [Begin the song again.] Stop!! What do you do when you hear the "Star Spangled Banner"? Stand at attention. Put your hand over your heart, and face the flag. And if you are in uniform you salute the flag. Very good. How many of you knew the words? Do you ever sing the words? Fine ...

2906. Happy Birthday!

John 15:18--16:4

Children's Sermon

... 10, but he gave her one day and he told her that the baby was going to be born on that day. Sure enough, on that day or almost that day, a baby was born to that mother and that baby was you! Whenever that day comes each year we stop and remember it with gifts and cards just like this to show you and everybody else how important that day that you were born on is. Jesus told us some things that were going to happen. He said that he wanted us to remember that he had said these things ...

2907. The "Sorry" People

Mark 8:1-13

Children's Sermon

... that I forgot. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry! Some people are always sorry but that's all they are. We call them the sorry people. Let me show you what I mean. One day I was driving along the road and I ran out of gas. Somebody came along and stopped and said, "I'm sorry you ran out of gas." And then he drove on. He was sorry that I was out of gas but he didn't do anything about it. Another time I pulled into a service station and the man said that he was sorry that my ...

2908. We Are Free!

John 8:31-41

Children's Sermon

... free spiritually. That's right, Jesus is the Liberty Bell for us. When you don't know the truth about God you are made a slave of the Devil. But when you learn about God through Jesus you are free. Jesus is like God's Liberty Bell. When we stop and think about Jesus, we feel free because we know that he forgives us all our sins. Yes, sir, one day the people were made free citizens of Philadelphia and no longer subjects of the British. They remembered that day by making and ringing the Liberty Bell. That's ...

2909. Easter 3

Acts 9:1-19a, Revelation 5:1-14, John 21:1-14

Sermon Aid

... 9:1-20 (C, L) The conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus. This is the first of three Lukan accounts of Paul's conversion from hostility to support of Christ and the church. It is a key incident in the life of the early church. The risen Christ stops Paul in his tracks and enlists him as an apostle. It was a dramatic and radical change in Paul's life, from a persecutor to a propagator of the church. Christ comes to him as light which blinds him. He does not see that opposition to the church is ...

2910. Easter 4

Acts 13:13-52, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-42

Sermon Aid

... this Lesson has a vision of Jesus, the Lamb of God. If you were in heaven now, you would see Jesus and his activity. Because of the resurrection, Jesus is alive and working in heaven. People need to know that Jesus is not dead but alive, that he did not stop his work when he left earth but is busy serving even now. Sermon: What Jesus is doing in heaven, according to the text. a. He is seated with God on a throne of glory - v. 11 b. He washed his people of their sins - v. 14 c. Like a shepherd ...

2911. Proper 11

Lk 10:38-42 · Col 1:21-29 · Gen 18:1-10 · 2 Ki 4:8-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... by her house seemed to be just an ordinary traveler. She did not know his mantle came from Elijah. She had not heard how he separated the waters of Jordan. Yet, she "perceived" that he was a holy man of God. Now and then as he passed her house, he stopped for food. What made her think he was a man of God? Did he bless the food before eating? Was it his kindness and courtesy? She sensed that here was a man who lived close to God, who knew God. Do strangers see us as "men" of God? 2. What ...

2912. Proper 15

Lk 12:49-56 · Jer 20:7-13; 23:23-29; 38:4-10

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... be escaped. C. A God of power - his Word has power to destroy evil. Lesson 1: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 When Down Is Up. Need: Not every reversal is a defeat; sometimes suffering proves the loudest witness of them all. Jeremiah's "congregation" had stopped their ears. Sometimes words must give way to actions, sometimes righteous suffering can accomplish what right words could not. 1. Nobody said discipleship would be easy. A. We wonder why we suffer for doing good. B. Jeremiah wondered as loudly as any of us do ...

2913. Proper 18

Lk 14:25-33 · Eze 33:1-11 · Phm 1-20 · Prov 9:8-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... B. Realizes the consequence is death - v. 8 C. Warns the people - v. 9 2. The Peril of Saying Nothing. 33:8-9. Need: If a hurricane is coming and the weather bureau says nothing, what happens? If you know a bridge is out and you do not stop a car speeding in that direction, what happens? If you know who committed a crime and an innocent party is declared guilty, and you say nothing, what happens? What happens is disaster to the victim and possibly to you who remained silent. The text calls upon us to speak ...

2914. Advent 3

Lk 3:7-18 · Php 4:4-13 · Zeph 3:14-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... , challenge, or opportunity. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Three Lessons: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians 4:4-13; Luke 3:7-18 Joy in Pianissimo. Need: Today's theme is "Rejoice." Advent is a time for rejoicing in the Lord. It is not the Christmas joy when all the stops on the organ are pulled out, but a pianissimo joy, a joy of quiet expectation and anticipation. In two Sundays we will celebrate Christmas with the fulness of joy. Now the time of Christ's arrival is fast approaching and we are happy that he is ...

2915. Epiphany 3

Lk 4:14-21 · 1 Cor 12:12-30 · Neh 8:1-10 · Isa 61:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... custom of going to the synagogue each sabbath. The way he was raised, continued in adult-hood. Children usually follow the example of their parents. If children are forced to go to church while the parents remain home, it is only a matter of time until the children stop going to church. 2. Found (v. 17). The book of Isaiah was handed to Jesus to read the Scripture lesson in the worship service. There is no suggestion in the record that he had to ask what he should read nor did he ask where the passage was ...

2916. Epiphany 5

Lk 5:1-11 · 1 Cor 14:12-20; 15:1-11 · Isa 6:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... salvation depends on it - if you hold fast to faith in the Gospel. 2. Received (v. 3). Where does one get the truth of God, the Gospel? Paul says he received it - from his Hebraic forefathers, from Peter, and James, the brother of Jesus. Have you ever stopped to consider that the faith you have was given to you? It came from the church - pastors, missionaries, teachers, and parents. If it were not for them we would not be Christians. As we have received the Gospel, we have the joy of passing it on to the ...

2917. Lent 2

Lk 9:18-36; 13:31-35 · Php 3:17--4:1 · Jer 26:8-15 · Gen 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... bad. There is some good in the worst of us. 2. Must (v. 33). Jesus refuses to be scared of Herod. He will not flee. His position is based on the conviction that he has a work to do and a mission to fill and no enemy is going to stop him. He knows his end will not be in Herod's jurisdiction, for he is sure that his death will occur in Jerusalem which has killed other prophets. Jesus has a sense of destiny and this erases any fear he might have of even his worst opponents. 3. How (v ...

2918. Cross Work

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

George Bass

... to live according to them. From the perspective of the world we live in, they don’t make much sense at all. This world seems to be filled with ruthless robbers, murderers, rapists, and terrorists, in addition to a few good people: The wicked man will stop at nothing, given resistance, or not.... I read an account of a robbery in a nursing home. A thief entered the room of two elderly women and ripped their wedding and engagement rings off their fingers. Both of them received cuts on their fingers, and one ...

2919. The Glance of God

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

... born after those prophecies was Hezekiah. After him came others, like Ezra and Nehemiah and Judas Maccabaeus, but God’s gaze did not fix on them. His long, hard look finally focused on a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph of the house of David. His eye stopped over a manger in Bethlehem where God’s Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This was God’s spectacular glance our way. This glance sent his Son into our flesh, not to do away with our weakness and frailty, but to give hope as we feel the ...

2920. Tears in Raniah

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

... to warn of the deportation to come. Later on, he described it this way: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children, because they are not." At Ramah, a transition point from Jerusalem to Babylon, the exiles stopped to live as strangers in a strange land. Rachel, of course, was long dead at that time, but Jeremiah portrayed her as weeping from her grave over her children who were torn from their land. Then the prophet raised his voice again: Thus says the ...

2921. Micah’s Orders

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

... members of First English Lutheran Church, who had been burned out of their church home on Park Avenue, built that fortress. I was near there a few weeks ago, returning from a visit with one of our members who worshiped in that church as a girl. From a stop light, I saw the old church off to my right, just two blocks away. At one time this had been a highly fashionable and comfortable place to live. Many of those homes once had polished wooden stairways at both the front and the back doors. The neighborhood ...

2922. Boundaries or Frontiers?

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

... planned a restricted thesis - just an elaboration of my earlier study on John Calvin. About six months into my studies, a book appeared in German, a doctoral thesis by a Dutch priest from Nijmegen on the exact topic I had chosen. I was crestfallen. "Do I stop here?" I asked. "How can I begin all over again?" God showed me a way. He forced me to stretch my boundaries beyond my master’s research to find Luther. God always stretches our boundaries. Thanks be to God for his "boundary work" in our lives. He ...

2923. Six Cloudy Days

Exodus 24:1-18

Sermon

... apart, and rain beat on our faces like tiny arrows from the sky. It was a terrifying place to be with absolutely no place to go for shelter. The second time was not so terrifying. In Scotland, on Ben Nevis, clouds from the Atlantic rolled in. We had to stop dead in our tracks and remain still for fifteen or twenty minutes, until the clouds lifted. If we moved, there was a good chance we would walk off the trail and plummet to the sea below. We communicated only by voice, so thick was the fog of the cloud ...

2924. A Faith-Life To Emulate John W. Cobb

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... in order to try to understand his place in salvation history. Abraham was decisive. Scripture does not reveal to us the circumstances surrounding the cause of the migration of Terah’s family from Ur of the Chaldees toward Canaan but for some reason the caravan stopped at Haran, remaining there until the death of Terah. Did the patriarch become ill? Was there need for a period of organization? For whatever cause the caravan halted. The father died. Now, a decision had to be made, as is so many times the ...

2925. The Choice

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

... taking a different turn. Our own choices affect and even change us, and it was no different for Peter. When he confessed Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," his very destiny changed. On my recent trip to the Holy Land, we made a stop at Caesarea Philippi. There is no city there now, only a busy national park. But in that park, carved into the red and brown rock walls, there remain religious shrines from the time of Jesus. Places had been hammered out of the rock so that religious figurines ...

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