Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3201 to 3225 of 4681 results

3201. An Invitation to Joy

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... the other hand, Bob Cratchet, who understands the real reason for the season, is up against incredible odds. Cratchet is the owner of a small spice company in East Orange, New Jersey. He wants to mail his customers Christmas cards picturing the three Magi bearing gifts to the Christ Child with, of all things, a Bible verse inside. Scrooge, dreaming of a green Chri$tma$, tells Cratchet that the Magi on the card should be portrayed carrying the spices Cratchet's company is selling instead of their traditional ...

3202. The Light of Christ

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... so that all nations might turn from darkness to light. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and so are we, his people. Just as Isaiah brought the message of God's light and salvation to his dark times, so may you as God's people today, bear witness faithfully to Jesus, the holy child born within your hearts this night. You are the light-bearers who have answered the call of the gospel and whose task it is to "proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 ...

3203. What's in a Name?

Isaiah 43:1-7

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... to reason. We know that God is present with us at all times and in all places, even when we don’t “feel" God's presence in the way we would like. Water can feel warm and soothing, or as freezing cold and discomforting as a polar bear swim in January. Water is an element that cannot be destroyed by normal means. It can only change form, from liquid to solid togas. It has even been known, on occasion, to cause great destruction, by flood or tsunami. The psalmist reminds us that, "The Lord sits enthroned ...

3204. What's in a Name?

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... to simply give, and to resist the temptation to give in. Give to the work of the church. Give to others. Give up because you want to be able to give more, and because you refuse to give in to our culture of wealth, power, acquisitiveness, envy, and greed. You bear great names — the names of Abraham and Jesus, and the God who is, and the promise of what is to come. These names make life worth living, and other lives worth saving. Amen.

3205. Abraham Believed God

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... if I let you down." This is what God is saying, as well. It is a solemn pledge from the Creator to the created. Both covenant and pledge are instigated and guaranteed by God. Like the hymn says, "What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?" This is a staggering promise — that a man and a woman in their old age could and would still have a child and, more importantly, a future with hope. Is this what we show to our seniors? Think of the people we know in ...

3206. Essentials

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... must accomplish. These words speak to Isaiah's time, but they also point to the mission and ministry of Jesus. Indeed Jesus says: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We are so weary, we bear such burdens, we are in such pain, but we ignore the teacher, the one who comes to show us the way. It is not a way around pain, or without pain, but through pain. We see clearly the images of the trial and torture of Jesus in the words of ...

3207. God's Call for All

Acts 9:35-43

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... from Acts 4:32: "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common." Several other scriptures speak to the necessity of mutual aid. These include: Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." — Galatians 5:14 You do well if you really ...

3208. Wisdom's Delight

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago." Taken literally, that verse means that Wisdom was birthed prior to the creation of the world. What's more, in that same chapter, Wisdom, which really is an attribute of God, is personified as a woman. Bear in mind that Wisdom is not really a separate individual, but a characteristic of God on whom the biblical people put a female face to make it more understandable. We do the same kind of thing when we take a characteristic of our own and speak of ...

3209. When Desire Goes Bad

1 Kings 21:1-21a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... , about coveting. In short, covetousness is predatory thinking. We could paraphrase this commandment as "You shall not harbor thoughts that can lead to breaking any of the aforementioned commandments." This prohibition is different than the commandments against stealing, bearing false witness, murdering, or committing adultery, for those address specific behaviors that are to be avoided. The tenth commandment, on the other hand, begins with what is in our minds, where the sequence of feelings, thoughts, and ...

3210. The Sign of God

Amos 7:7-17

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... , of course, that questions of this sort are much more significant than simple ones like, "Should I wear my green shirt or my gray one today?" What we decide about which shirt to wear, and other questions of that ilk, generally has no bearing at all on the direction of our life. But what we decide about jobs, marriage partners, and relocating often makes a considerable difference in how our lives go. Some Christians maintain that for these bigger questions, these life questions, God wants us to make ...

3211. A Father's Heart Cry

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... grief firsthand. Earlier chapters tell of his courtship and marriage to an unfaithful wife and the impact of children born into the affair. "Jezreel," "Lo-ruhamah," and "Lo-ammi" bore the impact of the infidelity — much like "not-pitied" children of broken homes bear the emotional scars today, emotionally disowned as "not my people." And, like many of today's youngsters they acted out their anguish in rebellion. Those of you with less-than-perfect children might, perhaps, have an inkling. But a few of you ...

3212. Star-spangled Justice

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... of God and country (that is another sermon entirely!), we must also give fair recognition to the good and noble things America has inherited from the faith traditions of our founding ancestors. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia's Independence Hall bears the inscription: "To Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land," but many civil libertarians who would separate church from state forget those words are straight from the Hebrew Scriptures. Before Congress ever passed a Labor Act or Thomas Jefferson ever penned ...

3213. The Hard Task of Truth-telling

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... task, they gain strength that can last a lifetime. Jeremiah was one such youngster. We don't know exactly how young. The Hebrew word can mean any age from infant to teen. Little else is known for sure beyond a few brief verses beginning the book that bears his name. He came from Anathoth, we are told — the village to which David's friend and priest, Abiathar, was banished by King Solomon. We can only speculate how, or if, such history played a factor in Jeremiah's own tension with royal authority in his ...

3214. Tales of the Spiritually Stupid

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 18-22

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... corruption, of economic injustice and ecological abuse. His pleas fell on deaf ears. In an earlier time, when Assyria had assailed Jerusalem, the walls had held, the supplies lasted, and the political winds had shifted before full power could be brought to bear. When the enemy departed many rejoiced that Yahweh had come to the rescue the chosen people, sparing the throne of David. Yet even as they gloried in God's power, they neglected God's covenant and its moral demands. The people continued their ...

3215. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... us that much, even unto death, is never going to let us go, not ever! Friends, "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your son, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Amen.

3216. Afflictions and Faith

Mark 10:46-52

Illustration

John Wesley

One of the greatest evidences of God's love to those that love him is to send them afflictions, with the grace to bear them. Even in the greatest afflictions, we ought to testify to God that, in receiving them from his hand, we feel pleasure in the midst of pain, from being afflicted by him who loves us, and whom we love.

3217. Small Towns

Luke 2:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... secretly she hoped her Mom couldn’t see her face. Her mother would know her smile wasn’t genuine. The quilt wasn’t very pretty. It wasn’t a “baby quilt.” It wasn’t made of pink, blue and yellow materials; it didn’t have bunnies or bears. It was just a patchwork quilt sewn of materials that were of all different colors and patterns. Holding the quilt up, Cathy noticed a note tucked in the bottom of the box. Not realizing the note was intended to be private, she set the quilt aside, picked up ...

3218. Simeon and Anna: The Quiet of the Country

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . They were translating the prophet Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek. “All went well for the first six chapters of the Evangelical prophet. But when they came to the seventh chapter, and to this verse in that chapter, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” Simeon at that improbable prophecy, threw down his pen and would write no more. “How could this be?” demanded Simeon. And wit!’ all they could do, the offended scholar would not subscribe his name to ...

3219. Angels and Shepherds: Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... breath one screams, “No! No! Please not me, I can’t take it!” That which seconds ago was a privilege becomes a unfair demand. Why should I be the one asked to give up marriage and career? Why me? Why may I not lie with a man I love and bear his children? I have only one life; how can you ask me to sign it away as if it meant nothing to me? Then she concluded, “As I lay there (in the garden of that retreat house) in tears, my ears and my hair full of autumn leaves, I knew ...

3220. Good News about Death

John 11:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... brave when you know there’s no sting involved. (3) Christ has taken the sting out of death. Wrote St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The death of a loved one crushes us, but we can bear up under its weight. Why? Because Christ is the Lord of life and death. Death has no dominion. Though we are dead, we shall rise again. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead, so are those who are in Christ resurrected to new life. This is the great good ...

3221. Hebrews 9:24-28

Hebrews 9:11-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the past and in the future. Yet that is exactly what the resurrected Christ's presence does. The testimony of the Hebrews’ author is that Christ removed all human sin “by the sacrifice of himself,” and that this sacrifice though offered only once was “to bear the sins of many” (v.27). In fact “the many” is an open-ended number. Christ's saving action was taken for the sake of any and all who are “eagerly waiting for him” (v.28). For those who hear the story of Christ's sacrifice and ...

3222. The Good News about the Future

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... when. But of even more relevance to each of us, there will come a time when God will come for us personally. Maybe you would like to know when that time will be. Most of us, I suspect, would rather not know. It would be too heavy a burden to bear. We would prefer to leave such things to God. That brings us to the second truth we need to acknowledge: God is still in charge. There is much in life that is beyond our control, but nothing is beyond God’s control. And God is our Abba, our Daddy. He ...

3223. Christmas: Before And After

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... going to have a baby. This was something of a miracle in its own right, because Elizabeth was quite elderly, at least by biblical life spans. In this scene, we imagine the meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, after Mary just received the news that she was to bear a son. Elizabeth: I’m glad you came over. I haven’t been getting out much since my third month or so. This body just isn’t prepared for these kinds of changes. There’s a reason why only young people are supposed to have babies. Mary: Like ...

3224. The Word Made Flesh

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... . (Mother and the young children exit left. Esther starts to leave, then takes a step back.) Esther: One thing, though. This baby will be different, right? Father: Well, Isaiah does say, “The Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” That would certainly be a bit unusual. Esther: Just so I know what to look for. (Esther and Mother exit stage left. Father returns to his scrolls. Mary and Joseph come up the center aisle. They have already been to several inns and ...

3225. Good News about Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... , regardless of the circumstances, Alpine Rescue always responds to a call for help. Not once, says Yancey, have they lectured a hapless tourist, “Well, since you obviously ignored the most basic rules of the wilderness, you’ll just have to sit here and bear the consequences. We won’t assist you.” Their mission is rescue, and so they pursue every needy hiker in the wilderness, no matter how undeserving. A whistle, a cry, a flashing mirror, a bonfire, an “SOS” spelled out in pine branches, a ...

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