Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3001 to 3025 of 4972 results

3001. Ready Or Not -- He Comes

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... Opportunity To Regain A Sense Of Wonder Dag Hammarskjold said, "God does not die on the day we cease to believe in him, but we die on the day our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance of God's love." It is at that point that wonder leaves our lives. When was the last time you really got excited about something? How long has it been since you got a lump in your throat or shivers up your spine? We seem to have become so dead to feeling, so void of wonder. Television, radio, sonic booms, traffic ...

3002. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... he had prepared for his special, anticipated guest. She ate with relish, for she was hungry. Refreshed, she went on her way. As night came a lost child, crying bitterly, into his shop. The cobbler was annoyed by the child's presence, because he felt it necessary to leave his shop and take the child to his home. As he returned to his shop he was convinced that he had missed his Lord. Sadly, he sat down, and in his imagination he lived through the moments with Jesus as he imagined they might have been. He ...

3003. By What Authority?

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... They felt that what he said was true and trustworthy. Belief always involves action on our part. The disciples left their nets, boats, hired servants, and family to follow Jesus. The same is true for us. Our belief involves action on our part also. We can leave the old behind and begin again as new "creatures in Jesus Christ" because we too can take Jesus at his word. His word is trustworthy. Now Jesus begins his public ministry. He comes preaching the gospel in Galilee, "Repent and believe in the good news ...

3004. Permission To Daydream

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... and bad times. God is sovereign. The second thing Joel had to say was that the people of God have a promising future. No matter how bad the plague was, God had good things in store for the people of Judah. God promised the rain would return, the locusts would leave, and the harvest would be abundant. The catastrophe would not last forever. This is a word for us as well. No matter how bad a situation may be for us, we have a future filled with promise. There are no limits to the things we can do with God's ...

3005. The Other Resurrection

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... have another miraculous resurrection of an individual without much fanfare or comment: a miracle that ranks right up there with walking on water and bringing sight to the blind, but which gets less than exciting press coverage. I have a feeling that we tend to leave it alone because we get embarrassed by it. You see, this is a miracle without much explanation or theological intrigue. It happens so quickly that we read it, swallow hard and move on. Just think about how it all happens. Jesus is continuing his ...

3006. Ya Can't Make Me

Luke 9:57-62, Luke 9:51-56

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... rest." To the man who tells Jesus that he will follow as soon as he has buried his father, Jesus says, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And to the third man who asks to say farewell to those he will leave at home, Jesus says, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." We have three cases where it does not look good for the hesitant. Excuses will not make it when the call of Jesus sounds. And we are ...

3007. Our Defense In A Stone-littered World

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... preached. And his preaching was powerful enough not only to encourage believers but to threaten enemies. Had Stephen heard how Jesus had reassured his disciples the night before his own death? "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me...Peace I leave with you...not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Haven't we all wondered how we would fare should we be called upon to lay down our lives for our faith? Haven't you tried to imagine ...

3008. Whose Work Is It?

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... only we had actually known Jesus! I'm sure that would have made a world of difference. EUODIA: Do you really think so? I'm not so sure. It seems as if even the brothers and sisters who did know him are having a difficult time adjusting to his leaving. SYNTYCHE: At least we have Paul to show us the way. EUODIA: Yes. That's right. Dear Paul! So what does his letter say? CLEMENT: (Reading) "Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and ...

3009. The Pastor Who Created A Monster

Haggai 1:1-15, Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

... place it right next to the pulpit. Pastor Jenkins began his sermon by giving the people a little background on the prophet Haggai. He told them how the Jerusalem temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians and many of the Jews had been forced to leave their homeland to go and live in Babylon. Then, after a number of years, the Babylonians were overthrown by the Persians. Once the Persians were in control of things, Cyrus, the king of Persia, not only published a decree allowing the captive Jews to return ...

3010. Whose Work Is It?

Philemon 1:1-7

Drama

Pamela Urfer

3011. Too Good To Be True

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

... . God continues to look beyond our sin, no matter how many times we mess up. God continues to reach out to us, to love us and to forgive us no matter how many times our sin angers and disappoints God. God promises to be a heavenly parent who will never leave us to pay the fine ourselves when we break the law. We ask ourselves if it is really possible to have such a parent? Well, such a thing would definitely be too good to be true, except for the incredible good news that it is true.

3012. Cultivating Our Garden

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... has said in Romans 7, is precisely the difficulty, not just in knowing what to do. It is worship which, at its best, puts us in touch with God's Holy Spirit and with each other and with God's Word, so that we will be motivated to leave the sanctuary and do something for Christ's sake! Even without overtly religious words and actions, watching the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony always makes me want to run out and do something to unite our broken world. Worship does not just motivate, but at its best, it ...

3013. The Christmas Cactus

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... the winning ticket in the trash makes up the road surface, though it may be a dramatic part of the scenery. Some of you must have a Christmas cactus. What a gorgeous plant that is. Dainty, bright red blossoms sprouting out on the end of the dark green flat leaves. It was right in the midst of the desert of political unrest, poverty, and religious cynicism that God sent Jesus to live and to be a blossom of hope and truth, the means of connecting us once and for all with our Creator, who loves us more than we ...

3014. Daring To Trust The Roots

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

There is so much uncertainty in life that most of us look hard and long for as many "sure things" as we can find. A fisherman goes back again and again to that hole that always produces fish and leaves on his line that special lure that always does the trick. The fishing hole and the lure are sure things. A gardener finds it hard to switch from tried and true varieties of vegetables. Blue Lake or Provider green beans, Silver Queen white corn, Beefsteak tomatoes, Detroit Red beets all ...

3015. Awake, Christ Is Coming

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... come. He delayed no more. He "put on" Christ by faith and became a new person. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the chapel door in Wittenberg in 1517 it was the right time for something new to happen. When Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on that Montgomery, Alabama, bus in 1956, it was the creative moment for the American civil rights movement to spring to life. When we are open to the possibility of Christ being present in even the most unlikely situations, transforming things can happen to ...

3016. Focus On The Son

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... for all the money in the world. Her inspiration is simply daily worship, the time she spends with Jesus. She and her sisters spend an hour in worship every morning focusing upon their Lord through prayer, reading the scriptures and sharing in communion. When they leave their place of worship in the morning they have their "game face" on; they are more focused than any National Football League football team that takes the field before the Super Bowl game. They know who they are and what they are called to do ...

3017. The Ash Account

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Charles M. Mills

Lent is a season of reflection. It comes from an Old English word meaning "a lengthening." As the days of spring become longer, nature sings a song of renewed life, energy and growth. The emerald tinted leaves, the gentle wafting breezes, the richer blue azure of the sky all harmonize their beauty in spring's eternal symphony of life. During Lent we Christians are called upon to reflect together on the final weeks of Christ's ministry. We remember his betrayal, arrest and suffering upon the cross. ...

3018. Accepting The Call

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... reply to their knock, and found the guy half passed out on the bed. They tried talking to him, telling him their own stories of recovery, but got no response. One of the fellows pulled out a pocket testament, and laid it on the table beside the bed. "I'm leaving this Bible for you," he said to the man, "because maybe you'll come to and read it in the morning. My number is on the inside cover. I'll come and see you whenever you call. I want you to know life doesn't have to be like this ...

3019. Working In The Family Business

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... people have been able to endure enormous pain and accomplish great deeds by offering it up to God in this way, and we benefit from their spiritual sacrifices. Some other denominations would look at this business of offering spiritual sacrifices as a call to leave our homes one or two evenings a week to volunteer our services to those in need. We might work at a shelter for battered women, tutor a borderline student, teach an adult to read, visit at the local jail, campaign for safer neighborhoods, serve ...

3020. Share Your Unique Story

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... connection between his ecstatic dream and the strangers at his door. God is asking him to enlarge his boundaries to understand that God's plan of salvation is not just for the covenant people of Israel but for the Gentiles too, that is for the whole world. Peter leaves with the messengers and eventually arrives at the house of Cornelius where he is greeted warmly, if not idolized. Peter put his host at ease by assuring him that he, Peter, is just a man as he is. But Peter does have a message he wants him to ...

3021. Surviving The Present Trials

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... If God has been able to put away the ultimate evil from us, then we may hope that the temporary evils that beset us will polish us like a gem. For no gold may be wrought without going through fire hot enough to burn away the surrounding rock, leaving the gold molten in the bottom of the furnace. No gem can sparkle without going through untold pressure for millennia, only to have someone chip away at the surface of the stone, so that it can reflect back the light it receives. Chipping, sanding, intense heat ...

3022. Giving Better Than We Expect

1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... what Jesus has taught us, whether they claim to follow him or not? How much more, then, should we Christians attempt to model ourselves the same way? As our scripture for today says, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps .... When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly." Of course, this way of life is not easy ...

3023. Signed, Sealed And Delivered

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... , ate the same bitter herbs, drank the five cups of wine, and had small children ask the same basic questions ("Why is this night special above all other nights?"). Both meals began with the same breaking of unleavened bread (to remind them that they had to leave Egypt with such speed that they could not wait for bread to rise) and the same prayers; but suddenly, at his table, Jesus broke the tradition. Instead of the bread of the passover, he renames the bread in his hand: "This is my body .... Do this ...

3024. Opening Your Heart To Jesus

Revelation 3:20

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

... read it to you. (Read Revelation 3:20.) (Depending on your purpose or where and how this message is used, here you might make a personal appeal to children to open their hearts to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. The application at this point is very personal and I leave it to you.) (Prayer that we might be responsive to Jesus when He wants to come into our lives and be with us.) (Give each child a wallet card of Sallman's Christ at the Door. They come with various texts or calendars on the reverse side.)

3025. Choosing Sides

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... gets to be lots easier, because some decisions are pre-made. We don't have to think about whether to be faithful, loving, loyal, kind, trustworthy, joyful, patient or truthful. We don't have to think through the temptations that confront us. We have already decided to leave the paper clips at work, to buy our own pens, to avoid washroom gossip, to put in an honest day's work rather than watch the clock and goof off, to not nurse resentments, to not return angry words for angry words, to treat others as we ...

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