Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2976 to 3000 of 4963 results

2976. What Is Your Response to the Resurrection?

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . To isolate herself from society, she asked to be sealed into a cell within the wall of a church. The entrance was plastered shut except for one small hole through which food could be passed. She was confined in that small area at 18 years of age and remained there until she died at age 98. We may admire this woman''s determination to be free from the world''s influence, but we cannot help but feel that hers was a tragically wasted life. To serve the Lord effectively, we must not isolate ourselves from the ...

2977. A Memorial Forever - Memorial Day

Proverbs 1:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... will take place to keep alive a memory. We set aside a day to prevent past experiences, people and moments in history from being forgotten. We are called to honor and remember those who have given their lives in order that the soil of our nation remains FREE. We are to remember the sacrifice made by others that freedom''s holy light keeps burning in our hearts and our national conscience. Did our national leaders at some moment recognize the need to prevent us from forgetting too soon? In many towns and ...

2978. Just Speak the Name

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... go annually on a spiritual pilgrimage to visit the great saint of the desert, St. Anthony. Two of the priests would use this time to discuss with St. Anthony the struggles, the concerns, the salvation of their soul with him. The third priest always remained silent and asked nothing of the spiritual leader. St. Anthony asked the priest why he never asked questions like his other priest-brothers. The third priest responded, "It is enough just to see you and to sit in your presence." In a few moments, our ...

2979. Preparing for Something Big

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... ? The answer is "No." The differences come from what we are preparing for. The secular world measures this time of preparation by the number of shopping days until December 25. The Church measures this time of preparation in terms of the number of days remaining until the time when Jesus will return to the earth in glory and power. I don't know about you, but that completely reverses my personal expectations about celebrating Christmas, let alone getting ready for it. Don't get me wrong. I like to get ...

2980. We Are Christ's - That Is Enough

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... haven't changed much since biblical times. Granted, we live in an age of modern medicine. But we still are subject to maladies which defy scientific explanation. Oh, I know that medical research keeps trying to discover genetic causes. But it still remains that many of the ailments which come upon us lie beyond any kind of explanation. Ask anyone who has a family member suffering from depression, for example. Depression plagues many people, despite the various drugs that are tried. Some experts claim it ...

2981. Seeing Jesus Clearly

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... for how can we follow someone whom we do not know? Let me give you an example that has been taking place in the world of politics. The biggest issue during the recent campaigns has been the extent to which a political figure's private life ought to remain private. I would suggest that the very fact that it has been an issue indicates people's need to know those individuals who would serve as their leaders. The very same thing is true of those who would follow Jesus. How can we follow someone whom we don ...

2982. New Wine in New Wineskins

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... that the Church has not been a perfect institution over the centuries. I realize that we still have debates over dogma. I realize that we still use humanly contrived notions to avoid sitting with each other at our Lord's table of grace. But the scriptural reality remains: God comes to us through the community of faith. Please remember Jesus' high priestly prayer that, indeed, the time will come when we will all be one in him. New wine in new wineskins is a new kind of power for a new kind of living. May ...

2983. Up and Running

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... is obvious that I have no way of knowing whether all members of this graduating glass have stayed long enough at the mountain of Andover Newton. One fact, however, is clear: you have stayed long enough to qualify for your diplomas, and unless you are remaining here for further study, you are about to "turn and take your journey."2 The purpose of any educational program is to prepare students so they can eventually "turn and take their journeys." It's not to keep people in school. And to ease the transition ...

2984. The Ministry of Fading

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... 26). Read this to mean: "What I am saying about myself applies to you also, even you living in the infancy of a new millennium." Here's what Jesus says: "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (v. 24). One doesn't have to be a farmer to understand this. Always, and every day, we are planting seeds. Parents, teachers, advertisers, ministers, funeral directors, writers -- you name the people -- all are ...

2985. Easter Transportation

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... the cobwebs in the midnight mist, filled with loneliness and despair and bent double by our burdens, the whisper of God's love can penetrate the mist -- even from the underside of the soul. We know the outcome of the Story. We do not have to remain entombed in the dark night. We do not have to wrap ourselves in the grave clothes of self-pity, blame, bitterness, cynicism, suspicion, vengeance. We do not have to become like the sea creatures of the deep who make bizarre adaptations to survive severe cold ...

2986. Entrustment

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... temporarily abandoned and vulnerable, constancy prevails. We retain enough of a sense of our personal worth and the worth of others eventually to convert disenchantment and disappointment into challenge. Constancy enables us to bend with the shifting winds and still remain rooted to the earth that nourishes us.1 Entrustment is necessity; but it is also release. Summer is still the traditional time for vacations. Often families and individuals begin to think about summer travel plans early in the new year ...

2987. No Angels, No Shepherds, No Star

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... full of fear that I’ve got to bring the message that they no longer need to be afraid.” The angel said, “And how are you going to do that, since they’re so fearful?” God said, “There’s one place on earth that people are not afraid: that one remaining place is a little baby. My people on earth are not afraid of a baby. When a baby is born they rejoice and give thanks without fear because that’s the only place left in their lives where they’re not afraid. So I will go to earth. I will ...

2988. A Higher Calling

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... inmates at a maximum security prison in Delaware. One young inmate was deeply affected by what he learned in the Prison Fellowship Bible study. When a judge reviewed his case and unexpectedly set him free, this young man asked to be allowed to remain in prison until he had finished the study. About a year after Colson’s first visit to the Delaware prison, he returned for an Easter morning service. Dozens of prisoners stood outside the chapel and held up signs announcing, “Come to the Chapel,” and ...

2989. It's Happening!

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... tells of an incident that had profound meaning for his life. He was being brought down from his prison to the Court of Bankruptcy, between two policemen, when he saw an old acquaintance waiting in the crowd. "He performed an action so sweet and simple that it has remained with me ever since," wrote Wilde. "He simply raised his hat to me and gave me the kindest smile that I have ever received as I passed by, handcuffed and with bowed head. Men have gone to heaven for smaller things than that. It was in this ...

2990. The Fox

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... are now. It's not that Lyons is such a bad place to end up, but I became used to a lot more luxury when I was Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea in Palestine. All that has been taken from me now by the Emperor, and I am consigned to remain here on the fringes of the Empire for the rest of my life. My family has exercised power in Palestine for many years. My father, Herod the Great, was King of the Jews. He wasn't even a Jew; he was an Idumean. My mother was a Samaritan, so I ...

2991. To a Life Beyond

John 6:51-58, Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... grog. There were a few murmured conversations, occasional outbursts of ribald laughter. Few but the king noticed when a tiny sparrow flew in the open window, pecked at a table scrap, circled the hall several times, then winged through another open window into the remaining night. The medieval king rose, and to no one in particular, began to muse, "Our lives are like that lost sparrow. We come from the darkness of who knows where, flit through the lighted banquet hall of life snatching at morsels, then we ...

2992. The Making of a Saint

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... way to explain this properly is to step "outside the story" and look to that other tomb, that other set of grave clothes, that other death. The same Jesus whose voice called Lazarus from death into life, the One in whose presence no dead body could remain dead, because he was the Lord of Life -- this same Jesus shared our death. And on the third day his grave was opened, his burial clothes were laid neatly aside, once and for all, and he emerged not merely resuscitated, but resurrected. His human body and ...

2993. The Answer Waiting for a Question

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... to his father's house. A pastor friend tells of standing in a quiet cemetery behind his first parish, in a small town in Illinois. With him there were two others, a heartbroken father and a funeral director holding a small white casket containing the remains of an infant boy. The little child, a firstborn, had died only a few hours after birth. The mother was still hospitalized, too weak to attend the short service. The pastor read Jesus' words: "In my Father's house are many dwelling places," along with ...

2994. The Face that Launched a Thousand Lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... the appearance of his face changed" (Luke 9:29). Matthew describes it: "And his face shone like the sun" (17:2). For those few dazzling moments, God's presence was not only felt, it was seen. What a moment! How we wish we were there! No wonder Peter wanted to remain on the mount. A little girl, who was afraid to go to sleep in the dark, wanted her mother to stay with her. Her mother told her God would be with her, so she did not need to be afraid. "Yes, I know, Mama," the girl said, "but I want ...

2995. Learning from the Spider

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... . Just to say the name God doesn't mean that we're talking about the same entity. Jesus came to introduce us to who God is. And while many of the struggles in this world, such as with morality and the existence of pain and suffering and evil remain the same, knowing who God is, knowing with whom we are dealing, makes all the difference. Jesus was always saying, "You have heard it said, but I say ..." -- six times in Matthew alone. If that is true, then our task is clearly to continue to focus on maintaining ...

2996. Grace in the Midst of Unanswered Prayer

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... . He lifted up his grandson and placed him back into the playpen. "Please, Grandpa, play with me!" the little boy pleaded. What could he do? It would be wrong to overrule the restrictions that had gotten Jeremy into the playpen to start with. One option remained. Grandpa crawled into the playpen, taking a little boy's restrictions upon himself. That is what Jesus did for all of humanity. He came down and experienced the junk of our lives, the thorns that stab human flesh, and the dark drama of hearing the ...

2997. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... who don't share your faith or your enthusiasm for it. He is Lord over every division of opinion or experience or background that we have ever known. What is grace in the midst of dividing walls? It is the assurance that even while we have remained entrenched on our side of a barrier, Jesus has declared us worthy of being his lifelong learners, and has dispatched us to be wall-removers in every part of the world. At the 1996 Promise Keepers gathering of 42,000 pastors in Atlanta, an assembly that represented ...

2998. Sweet-Smelling Fragrance

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... cooking food. To attract diners, the food must be more than delicious. It must also be "attractively displayed." All significant entities have to be made to reconcile with one another to create an attractive image. Otherwise, even the best of things remain odorless, colorless, shapeless, and bland. That which is most pleasing and effective bears the presentation mark of its chef, designer, or owner. The text for today points toward the challenge to make the church over into the likeness of God through the ...

2999. Don't Forget What You Look Like

James 1:19-27

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . We in the church are coming to a realization of this fact. Through the centuries confession became frowned upon by psychiatrists and clergy because it went to a pathological extreme and became a symptom of disease. Yet confession, in its proper context, remains one of our most effective methods of obtaining relief from guilt. In this respect we have much to learn from the early church. But notice this important fact: the early church did not end the process of guilt resolution with confession. The ...

3000. Lift High the Tree

John 12:20-36

Sermon

George Bass

... into homes, nursing homes, and factories, as well. Their interest in Catholicism stems from the help Roman Catholics gave them when they were forced from Tibet after the Chinese invasion of 1950; there were 760,000 monks in Tibet before that but only 300 remain there now. These three were among 400 monks who fled to India and were given sanctuary. No attempt is being made to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith, but one has to wonder what impact the death-resurrection, Tree-Tomb, faith of Christendom ...

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