Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 276 to 300 of 609 results

276. The Family: A Place For Persons

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . The truth is he presented a radically new view of marriage and family which elevated women and children to a hitherto unthinkable level of equality. The Hebrew and Greek understanding of marriage reduced women to "things" to be used and enjoyed, not loved and cherished. Women were seen as totally subservient to men, not only in society, but in the home. It was a man's world in every way. Before Paul, Jesus' attitude toward women and marriage was revolutionary. He saw and treated women as persons of worth ...

277. The Nuclear Truth Of Christianity

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." It's a picture of the divine love of the divine Father, bending down over his dead children and loving them and cherishing them, still. Friends, you can do a lot -- in fact we all do a lot -- to separate ourselves from God. We exercise our selfishness, our self-will, our sensuality; we give ourselves to all forms of sin-- and that's within our capacity and freedom to do ...

278. A Fragrant Offering

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... profound truth. But do you know how the truth is actualized. It is actualized primarily in the little things of life. Back in 1987, Mike Hardin wrote a column in the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. He was talking about an experience he had had visiting a cherished friend who was seriously ill. Let me read you a portion of that column -- the way he closed it. "When Frank Segner pushed himself into an upright position in the hospital bed, the heart monitor's cursive line disintegrated into an erratic scribble. His ...

279. Don't Mess With Mr. In-between

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Harold and Maud is a fascinatingly different, but warmly convincing novel. It's by Colin Higgins, and is the story of two persons who not only affirm each other's existence, but also cherish the mutual meanings they share. A young man in his 20's and an enchanting woman in her 70's become real friends. Maud cares for Harold, not because he is useful or ornamental. He is neither. Not because of anything he does or has, but just because he is ...

280. How To Be Rich And Poor

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... have. That's not what James is saying. He is calling lowly Christians, the poor, to rejoice in the fact that their lowly estate is temporary. What we have does not determine whether we have the Kingdom. The marvelous Negro spirituals which were sung and cherished by slaves had this perspective. Those songs were songs of rejoicing, not in their slavery, but in the fact that their status in life was temporary. You remember "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". The last verse of that spiritual goes:I'm sometimes up, I'm ...

281. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ?" Isn't that beautiful? Who knows? Who knows what morning can be breaking in me? Who knows? So we live in hope. I like the way Eric Fromm put it. "To live is to be ready at every moment, for that which is not yet born, and to see and cherish all signs of new life. To live is to be ready at every moment to help the birth of that which is ready to be born" (The Art of Loving). So, that's the first way to prepare for the Coming of the Lord being hopeful. II. Then the second ...

282. The Easter Question: Why Are You Weeping? Whom Do You Seek?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... an anonymous poem about tears that says it well. Not now, but in the coming yearsIt may be in the better landWe'll read the meaning of our tears,And there, sometime, we'll understand. We'll know why clouds, instead of sunWere over many a cherished plan;why song has ceased when scarce begun;Tis there, sometime, we'll understand. God knows the way, He holds the keyHe guides us with unerring hand;Sometime with tearless eyes we'll see;Yes, there, up there, we'll understand."(J. C. Maclaulay, Devotional Studies ...

283. Adopted! (New)

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... of them," Aunt Ruby replied. The caller persisted. "But I mean, which one is adopted?" Aunt Ruby did not hesitate. She looked straight at her guest and replied, "I've forgotten." As Craig Brian Larson writes, "When we are adopted as God's children, we quickly come to cherish our heavenly Father's forgetfulness. For he chooses to forget our sins, to forget our wayward past, and to give us the full rights of sons or daughters. He treats us as if we had never sinned." (7) That's the good news for this day. God ...

284. At the Corner of Church and Main

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... " in the connotation of the word. It is a supremely cheerful word. If your experience was like mine, then perhaps you grew up seeing these Beatitudes on a poster in a Sunday school room or on an embroidery in the church parlor. We cherish these familiar teachings. I wonder, though, what the reaction was of Jesus' original audience. I wonder if they resisted these Beatitudes. They are, after all, quite surprising. Even counter-intuitive. Blessed are the poor? Fortunate are the hungry? To be envied are those ...

285. Whether You'll Weather the Weather

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... of the wisdom tradition of ancient Israel, there is a straightforward cause-and-effect paradigm: obedience brings blessing, while disobedience yields disaster. At the same time, however, the Old Testament people of God were not naïve on this point. They cherished the stories of Joseph, David, Job, and others whose sufferings were unfair and undeserved. Many of the Psalmist's prayers are cries for justice in the midst of unjust persecution and troubles. And the faithfulness of people like Jeremiah, Daniel ...

286. The Coronation of Christ

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... had thought she was going to marry had turned his back on her and left. I think we all have some kind of devastating moments like that, do we not, when a love fails us, or a job offer falls through, or a plan for the future that we so cherished goes awry? And in those moments, our scripture tells us, we are nevertheless being guided. God has a planned future for us. God rules our life. We know that because Jesus Christ has been born. If ever a life seemed to end in shattered dreams and futility, it was his ...

287. The Two Ways of Life

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... :31). We are called to love God with all our heart (Mark 12:30; Deuteronomy 6:5), as well as with our soul and mind and strength, for it is in our hearts, as we all know, that our love abides. If we love persons with all our heart, we cherish them and try to please them and want to be with them. And so too, and much more, is to be the love and trust in our hearts for God. Our text tells us that if we dedicate our hearts in love for God, and trust him with our lives ...

288. The Book that Changes Lives

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... him going? Just this: from morning to evening Shcharansky read and studied all 150 psalms (in Hebrew). “What does this give me?” he asked in a letter: “Gradually, my feeling of great loss and sorrow changes to one of bright hopes.” Shcharansky so cherished his book of Psalms, in fact, that when guards took it away from him, he lay in the snow, refusing to move, until they returned it. During those thirteen years in prison, his wife traveled around the world campaigning for his release. Accepting an ...

289. Set Apart For God's Purposes

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... differently and they see differently, because they obey God and not human beings. For example, a Christian does not follow the customs of society in marriage. One out of two marriages in our time ends up in divorce court; a Christian promises before God to love, cherish, and honor his or her mate "until death doth us part." In the same fashion, a Christian does not do just what "comes naturally." It is not natural to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you. A Christian does not view other ...

290. The “Sad-You-See” Syndrome

Mark 12:18-27

Sermon

Michael Milton

... . In the resurrected state, there is continuity and discontinuity. We learn from Jesus’ resurrected life that we shall be recognized and know each other, but there is also discontinuity—no sickness or death, and also a new way of life that does not include some cherished parts of life here. We must not dwell on what we do not know but only on what Jesus reveals. There is continuity and discontinuity in resurrection. Jesus shows just whose argument is really absurd. Jesus goes to the heart of the part of ...

291. Children in the Arms of a Loving God

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Michael Milton

... are you to children? We are ambassadors of Jesus, and Jesus intends that children know His love, be brought to Him, and that nothing hinder their relationship with Him. Children and childhood is a distinctively Christian concept that must be protected and cherished. In this passage, like the one before, Jesus is taking a stand for the least in society. The divorce and remarriage passage that precedes this is connected to this one as a single teaching of Jesus overturning laws and culture norms that ...

292. Set-Apart People

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

293. Prayer

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... prayer as a duty and begin to look upon it as a privilege. As a privilege, the discipline of praying becomes a creative freedom, not a bondage of duty. Consider this testimony of Sir Wilfred Grenfell: “The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God sees and answers, and His answers I never venture to criticize. It is only my part to ask. It is entirely His to give or withhold, as He knows best. If it were otherwise, I would ...

294. Discipline

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jewell tells about a conversation he had with a woman who was a victim of domestic violence. Her husband frequently brutalized her. She was a committed Christian person, and tried everything to be the kind of wife a husband would love and cherish. One Sunday, her pastor preached a sermon on forgiveness and emphasized Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: “If you forgive others their trespasses against you, your heavenly Father will forgive your trespasses. But, if you do not forgive others their ...

295. A Higher Value than Freedom

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Johnny Dean

If there’s one thing we Americans value above everything else, it is freedom. We cherish, guard and exercise our freedom, and woe be unto those who threaten it in any way. We’re even willing to go to war to defend freedom, whether it’s ours or someone else’s. We are the world’s self-appointed watchdogs of freedom. But Jesus says there’s ...

296. The God of Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... is. That’s how much God cares. One little lamb goes astray, and God is willing to leave all the nice lambs who stayed at home and go through the briars and the brambles until God finds that one lost lamb. It’s a beautiful image that every Christian should cherish. Whether you’ve ever been lost or whether you have someone you love who is lost right now, it is great comfort that God cares about those who have gone astray. The picture of God as a shepherd is an interesting one. It is at least as old as ...

297. Church Divided, By Christ United

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... discover to our surprise that the light has already dawned upon your people. You are our light and our salvation. You are our hope and security. Today we seek to behold your beauty here in this, your house. Consecrate us as your people today as we seek to cherish this light, and to carry it out into the world, inviting others to join us. Be our light and salvation, no matter where this journey may lead. These things we pray in your name. Amen. Prayer Of Confession God, we confess today that you are God, you ...

298. The Best Offering

Micah 6:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... Lord, for speaking through your prophets, both in the pages of the Bible and in our lives together. Hallelujah. We praise you Lord! Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, your patience is astounding. You have waited for us as you have worked with us and on our behalf, cherishing us as your children, and waiting for us to assume our tasks as disciples. What do you require of us, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you? You are patient with our failure when we try, but we confess that at times we ...

299. Worth Waiting For

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Paul writes to a young church full of enthusiasm and spirit. He is careful to give words of encouragement as well as caution. As we gather in worship today let us resolve to cherish the Spirit in our midst with love and respect. Collect Give thanks to God for the ministry that we share in Christ Jesus. Give thanks to God for the wealth of Christian experience here and around the world. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, we hear so much about the coming ...

300. But Some Doubted

Matthew 28:16-20

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... will for our lives. These things we pray in your name. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Thank you, Lord, for telling us in your word that your work was so vital that you included the doubters in the great commission. We are all needed, all loved, all cherished. We come to the mountain of resurrection to stand in your presence, but are prepared to return to your hurting world to share your healing and salvation. Amen. Hymns "Praise The Lord, Sing Hallelujah" "How Great Thou Art" "Savior Of My Soul" (see page 245)

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