Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 276 to 300 of 662 results

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... if you muscled through and tried to force them to accept you? In a very short time there would be no church at all in Corinth. And the gospel would be nothing but a laughing stock. Roman soldiers bully people. We persuade with love and imitation of the strong example of the Crucified. Keep up your spirits and your hope. And keep in touch. Your brother, Paul. ANTAGONIST: Well, you can hardly blame that young fellow for getting discouraged. After all, Christianity is supposed to change people. But look at ...

277. Francis of Assisi

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... about the brave but hopeless struggle the local men put up. It is not known at present whether Francis’ wealthy father will come forth with a ransom to spring him. Now, the weather for north-central Italy. ANTAGONIST: A future superstar, eh? We should imitate a young roughneck like that? Getting mixed up in a petty war and then getting arrested and thrown into jail! At least when Paul got thrown into prison, it was for the right reason! PROTAGONIST: Well, remember, Francis was still young and trying to ...

278. King of Atlanta

Romans 8:28-39

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... obeying the civil authorities? PROTAGONIST: Sure there is. But Martin Luther King himself once said that merely following laws was not good enough. Adolf Hitler arranged the laws in Germany so that every single thing he ever did was technically legal. Should we all imitate him? ANTAGONIST: Of course not. But what’s the good of laws if people don’t obey them? PROTAGONIST: What’s the good of laws if people use them to destroy the dignity of other human beings? LECTOR: Dear Michael - I’m not surprised ...

279. Called to Be Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." (v. 12) Who is a saint? The historic definition is one whose life is worthy of imitation by all of Christendom. Some add that a sense of humor is a prerequisite, along with having performed miracles. "She is a saint," we say. What do we mean? We usually have in mind a person whose goodness, unselfishness, love, is unmistakable. Ah, but ask that one, "Are you a ...

280. Blind No More

Mark 10:46-52

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... the coins thrown my way. I was never going back to being a beggar again. Jesus was calling me. I was about to be healed. I don't know if you know what begging does for a person's soul. It kills something in you. You become a whining, cheap imitation of a human being. I was that person. And I wasn't going back -- ever. I walked straight to Jesus. All my life others had led me to my begging place alongside the road, but now I walked without any help. I was determined. Jesus had called me. I had ...

281. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... . It is to say with Mr. Steadfast of Pilgrim’s Progress "Wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there have I coveted to put mine also." It is just as true today as it was 600 years ago when Thomas a Kempis wrote in his Imitation of Christ, "Christ in our day has many admirers but few followers." And it is just as true what Luther wrote in his 95 Theses, "A Christian is one who follows his Master even through hell." Christ does not offer his followers a pillow to sleep on but a cross ...

282. Be Careful How You Live

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Paul did this as well. In these same two chapters he insisted that the Ephesians: Speak truthfully to your neighbor. Share with those who are in need. Do something useful with your own hands. Build others up. Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Be imitators of God. Do you know what wisdom is? It is not the accumulation of facts or even experience; this is simply growing in knowledge. Many people, especially older people, make the mistake of thinking they are wiser simply because they have been around ...

283. The Three Poison Pills of Position, Prestige, and Power

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

... wants to become great among you must be your servant. The young corporal had these words modeled to him from the man at the top. The disciples, likewise, receive from their leader a picture of servant hood. And it is high time they start imitating their leader. It is now five days before Jesus' crucifixion. Four days before his betrayal and trial. One day before the clearing of the temple. A few hours before the Triumphal Entry. If the Disciples are going to start appropriating Jesus' teachings in their ...

284. When God Does A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... a kind of spiritual wasteland for our times. Some churches have lost much of their spiritual vitality and are suffering from spiritual dry rot. The church looks too much like the world and has sold its soul to the devil in an effort to imitate and accommodate the larger society. The same spiritual wasting away that we see in society and our Corinthian culture, we witness in the church where worship services are flat, dry, and vapid; where the singing and preaching are Geritol-tired, stale, perfunctory, and ...

285. A Song of Promise

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... before. Songs Today The songs encouraged by the prophet are quite different from the songs of our age. So much of the contemporary literature composed for the symphony orchestras is dissonant, discordant, and harsh sounding. Composers have always been wary of imitating models from other periods lest they be regarded as being uncreative and lacking in originality. In the search for new expressions, the composers reflect the times in which we live. They portray for us the confusion and incongruities of our ...

286. A Town of Promise

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... be a peaceful town of the simple life. The Moravians were descendants of John Hus, who suffered martyrdom for his faith in Bohemia before the Lutheran Reformation. The Moravians in Pennsylvania chose the name “Bethlehem” for their village, because they wanted to imitate the simplicity of life so apparent in the Christmas story. The headquarters of the northern province of the Moravian Church in America are still there. Ironically, the city is better known today as having been the center of what was one ...

287. Ready or Not ( A Drama about Commitment)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... ’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me!? I just hiked up a stupid mountain, that’s what’s wrong with me and I’m tired! You hear me? Hot and tired! Vicki: Well maybe if you had been better prepared and more disciplined. Dave: (imitates her sarcastically) Maybe if you had been better prepared and more disciplined. Vicki: Fine. Be that way. I’m heading out. Dave: Heading where? Vicki: Hello?!? This is only the first summit. There are plenty more to go! … (looks back) See ya. Dave: Fine! Go ahead ...

288. Wisdom Sold Separately

Drama

Dave Marsh

... don’t you think? Tracy: Wise? Ohhhh. Okay. Is that what this is all about? (motions at the stuff) Jim: Of course! Don’t you remember that dressing up like Andre Agassi fiasco with my sister a couple of weeks ago? She told me that I didn’t have to imitate him but needed to look to a higher power. And that’s just what I’m doing! Tracy: Hence the bibles. Jim: Of course. I need wisdom if I’m going to truly know who God is. And where better to find it that in the Bible! Tracy: Hence all ...

289. Do You Love Me?

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... sheep. He doesn’t want burnt offerings or sacrifices or long, flowery verbose prayers, or painfully pious expressions – just love! Love is the authentic sign of discipleship. Love for others is the real symbol of our love for Christ. He wants us to follow Him and imitate His loving ways. He wants us to understand that love is the most powerful thing in the world. He wants us to know that love makes all the difference. Noted poet Helen Steiner Rice put it like this: “The priceless gift of life is love ...

290. Civil War Isn't!

2 Samuel 18:1-18, 19--19:8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... David mourning over his boy, "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!" But when the instructions of Ephesians are taken seriously, what a difference there is. Hear again the final admonition of the lesson and go into the world with it resounding in your ears: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us." Amen! 1. See II Samuel 3:3 2. Read the story in II Samuel 13 3. II Samuel 14:28 4. Colorado Springs, CO : NavPress, 2002 5. Grand Rapids ...

291. Good News in the Ashes

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... six weeks - 42 days - before Easter. But this provided only 36 days of fasting (because Sundays were not supposed to be fast days). So, in the 7th century, four days were added before the first Sunday in Lent in order to establish 40 fasting days, in imitation of Christ's fast in the desert. The custom of using ashes today is from an old ceremony. Christians who had committed grave faults were obliged to do public penance. On Ash Wednesday the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during ...

292. The Judas Gene

Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is why we are outraged at a man who chose to fight against his own country in Afghanistan, why we are disgusted with the executives of Enron, why we are repulsed at the repeated stories of pedophile priests. We have always been hard on Judas and all of his imitators.(5) We won't even name a dog "Judas." Could it be that the real reason we show betrayers so little compassion is that we are afraid there is some Judas "gene" embedded in all of us? We hate the thought that we too are capable of betraying trust ...

293. Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... may be already enough bad news in the air to infect anyone, anywhere, at anytime. The theological way of describing that phenomenon is called Original Sin. As the Council of Trent in 1546 said, the sin of Adam "is one in origin and is passed on by propagation not by imitation." In other words, we do not have to do anything. We are all infected by it, simply because we live.(9) So biology and theology agree. Isn't THAT good news? In a way that might be handy. If evil is all around us, if it infects us like a ...

294. Two Parades

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

King Duncan

... , at this particular camp, there was a little boy who was suffering from cerebral palsy. His name was Billy. And they picked on him." As Billy walked across the camp with his uncoordinated body the other kids would line up and imitate his grotesque movements. Tony watched him one day as he was asking for direction. "Which . . . way is . . . the . . . craft . . . shop?" he stammered, his mouth contorting. And the boys mimicked in that same awful stammer, "It's . . . over . . . there . . . Billy." And then ...

295. Finding Glory

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... dealer. He says that he is often asked to clients' homes to appraise "rare" pieces of furniture that turn out to be cheap copies. One woman, trying to impress Jenna with her knowledge of such valuables, proudly displayed a particularly tacky set of imitation French Provincial living room pieces which Jenna knew were made around 1940 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It is European of course," she stated, "and has been in our family for generations. It is priceless." "What style is it?" Jenna asked. She answered ...

296. The Most Vexing Question In The Bible

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... the question of who is in the wrong, him or us. Is he our example? Yes, he is that too. His life is the pattern for our lives. Of course, we can never be as loving, as forgiving, as courageous as he was. Our lives will be but a pale imitation of his life. But still, his life stands as the ideal. I read a story recently that I believe is faithful to Christ~s teaching and his example ” particularly his teaching that the first will be last and the last first. A school teacher in Seattle tells a story about ...

297. The Placebo Effect

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... the tiny magnet and never felt the great pull of the North Pole? Wouldn't it be sad if the flower only knew the heat of a lamp and never felt the life giving warmth of the sun? So it is in our lives when we settle for a cheap imitation of the real thing. In a world filled with illusions there is but one dependable reality. John described it this way in the prologue to his Gospel: "The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through ...

298. Behold The Lamb

John 1:29-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... of that majesty in our own lives. In this day when nothing is holy, we need more than ever before a knowledge of the one whose very essence was holiness. Do you remember that somewhat amusing scene in Matthew 14 when the dependably impetuous Simon Peter tries to imitate the Master and walk on the water? That scene is so instructive. Peter starts to walk out on the water to come to Jesus but makes the mistake of taking his eyes off of Jesus and looking around at the high waves that are breaking about him. As ...

299. We Haven't Seen Anything Yet!

1 Corinthians 2:9

Sermon

King Duncan

... is but a pale shadow of the love God has for us. Can you get your mind around that? The most beautiful music of this world would not hold a light to the music of Heaven’s choir. Everything we count in this world as good is but an inferior imitation of that which we will one day experience in God’s kingdom. Many of you exercise and take great care of your bodies. Take some time and read I Corinthians 15 concerning the new body that will one day be given to the believer. If you marvel at the wonder ...

300. If It's The Lord's Will

James 4:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... I need." He did this for many days, but nothing happened. He almost starved. He was nearly at death's door when he heard a voice say, "O, you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox." (3) That's good advice for us. It was Ben Franklin, not the Bible, who said, "God helps those who help themselves." There's a lot of honest truth there. We are not to depend on God for matters that we can handle ourselves. We are to ...

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