Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 301 to 325 of 972 results

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... that added to the seriousness of what Jesus had done: in the Jewish tradition, "there was an opinion that it was not permitted to anoint an eye on the Sabbath," and "one may not put fasting spittle on the eyes on the Sabbath."18 So the exclusive concern of the Pharisees with their religious rules blinded them to anything except the legal implications of the act, and some of them immediately concluded, "The man who did this cannot be from God, because he does not obey the Sabbath law." Note that at this ...

302. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... of the borrowing was in the opposite direction."6 It is their opinion that Luke used John’s account of raising the dead Lazarus to create the ending thrust of his parable of Dives and Lazarus. John as Teacher Raymond Brown sees in John’s exclusive record of the raising of Lazarus another instance of the "pedagogical genius" of John. Setting the stage for the crucifixion of Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels view the condemnation of Jesus to the cross as a reaction to his whole career and to the many things ...

303. Forever His

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... first of all to their husbands or wives, or in these days of easy morality, to their live-in companions. A popular song of the seventies was entitled, "You Belong to Me," and its theme was that the object of the singer’s love belonged to him exclusively. Certainly this is not all bad because the emphasis is upon commitment and fidelity in marriage or in love affairs. That is why in the traditional marriage ceremony, the minister asks both the bride and groom, "Wilt thou have this man (or woman) to be thy ...

304. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR PENTECOST

Drama

Tom Eberle

... church. The two dramas for the Pentecoct season each emphasize one aspect of this relationship. The Pentecost Day drama accentuates the gift of the Spirit, and the All Saints drama the community in which that gift is lived. However, neither does so to the exclusion of the other, but only to complement the other. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR PENTECOST Prelude Call to Worship: [The choir reads from the rear of the congregation. The voice is someone seated in the congregation.] Acts 2:1-4 Choir: "While the day of ...

305. Winners, Losers and the Gospel

Mt 16:25

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... to one and all that winning is "ipso facto" good and losing "ipso facto" bad. I need not remind you of the sad fact that from this assumption it is but a short distance to that predicament where individuals begin to see themselves as winners or losers exclusively. In the area in which we live, there is a very fine network of cross-country ski trails, and those trails are well marked. If one gets off the beaten track, there are markers which, if followed, will allow one to regain a sense of direction. The ...

306. Can a Christian Go to Hell?

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... life. Our record in putting faith into practice is not good and leaves much to be desired. Many times we church people do not act like children of God. We are more like wolves than sheep. Will we as nominal Christians have to face the judgment of exclusion because of our lack of Christian morality? Pierre von Paassen in his book Days of our Years, tells of a little hunchback, Ugolin, who lived in a small French village. He had a hard time because he was a monstrous looking creature. Children would not play ...

307. God Is No Gentleman

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... . He did not get his hands dirty (or his white gloves); he did not associate with others outside his own class; he drew a circle about himself, abandoning the world to its own fate. The lot of the common people was not his concern. He was an exclusive separatist in every sense of the word, and his total life evolved around his own small artificial world, detached and cut off from the realities of real life itself. The metaphor infers that, if God were truly a gentleman of the old school, it would be assumed ...

308. It’s Not So Bad To Be A Beggar

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... church, walking, leaping, running, shouting, and praising God. (I can’t blame him for that, can you?) The service that day probably didn’t have much dignity, but it probably didn’t have any apathy either. Propriety is to be desired, but not to the exclusion of expression. Orderly worship services are my personal "choice," but may God help us not to stifle his working among us. Aren’t you a little tired of those who never get "turned on" for God? They are excited over a hockey game, a football game ...

309. Justification and Reconciliation

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... to save us by grace alone, not because man is a sinner but because the sinner is a man, and God’s way with man is the way of grace. Man-centered salvation by the works of the law and God-centered salvation by grace are thus mutually exclusive. What a terrific struggle Paul the Pharisee must have undergone before he could confess: the law is not the way of salvation. In the light of the law the zealous Pharisee discovered only the wrongness of his best efforts. He was set right with God when he discovered ...

310. Salvation as Hope

Romans 13:8-14, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... rejection of Christ by the Jews, he declares that "God’s wrath has come upon them finally and completely" (1 Thessalonians 2:16). "Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus," says Paul, "shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Far from teaching that all men, whether they have faith in Christ or not, will be saved, Paul draws a distinction between those who "are being saved" and those who "are perishing" (2 Corinthians ...

311. Strained Gnats

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... of an ecumenical conference."4 It is easy to forget what is most important in the life of a church! Individuals also may get things out of proportion by undue attention to some things. For instance, one may concentrate on one’s job so exclusively as to forget about family obligations or the need for spiritual development. One may become so interested in athletics as to neglect responsibility to the church. One’s hobbies may occupy his or her interests to the detriment of service to others. Straining ...

312. The Evangelism Of Emphasis - 1946

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... conviction as to what he thinks life is all about: character integrity - in the individual, and in society. Anything, however good in itself, becomes dangerously evil if it is allowed to usurp the place of highest priority which belongs exclusively to quality of character. Things, material possessions, are necessary and enjoyable; but they must not be emphasized so inordinately much. Our perspective of values becomes hopelessly distorted. Life’s meaning gets lost; and like lost sons everywhere, we then ...

313. Is The Social Gospel Out Of Date?

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... be unpatriotic, not to say downright subversive, to anything but acquiesce piously, impotently, ignominiously - and hide what little light there might be under the bushel of silence. So we tacitly agree to ignore these controversial matters and put exclusive emphasis on personal evangelism - an evangelism so personal that it dies aborning, because evangelism can only thrive in the life-giving atmosphere of healthy social relationships. Scant wonder the Christian Church is so innocuous at the very moment ...

314. Please Pass The Salt

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... some salt and help the process along. We salty Christians ought to make folks thirsty for that living water which is Jesus Christ. Are you the only Christian in your office? If so, don't moan and feel sorry for yourself. Instead say, "Hot dog, I've got the exclusive salt franchise in my office. Jesus has trusted me to represent him to all these lost folks. What a privilege! I'm going to pass the salt." The tragedy is that so often we stay in our little Christian enclaves and never mix it up with those dear ...

315. Well, What Did You Expect?

Acts 12:1-19a

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... the Name of Christ. The answer to some of our prayers would require a world of whimsey and caprice, instead of a world of law and order expressed in the love of God. Well, what do we have a right to pray for? Certainly not for some special, exclusive consideration at the expense of others. When I was in combat, I was never able to pray a prayer with a group of men asking for their safety and protection. With men being killed and wounded all about us, why should WE receive special consideration? I think of ...

316. Molehills and Mountains

Matthew 6:25-34, Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... that he might possess it," He is setting a price himself. He is putting first things first in our scale of values. After Christmas, Easter, and all the other holidays, our stores usually have sales. I saw a store one time in Chicago that was so exclusive and expensive that they were much too dignified to admit that they had anything so common and bourgeois as a sale. A small, neatly lettered card in the window announced that they had "Post-Season Price Adjustments." I thought about the fact that that’s ...

317. Chapter X

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... been like that not only from the turn of the century, but from the time of Eden. Even there, though man was surrounded by a garden full of trees filled with all the fruit he could eat, he ate his heart out over the fruit on two trees that belonged exclusively to God. Until he had that he couldn’t rest. If only he could have what God had, then he could be happy. In the time when the Commandments were given it was herds, and slaves, and tents that men dreamed about piling up. When Abraham came down the pike ...

318. COUNSELOR

1 Chronicles 27:32; Ezekiel 7:14

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... even possible that the counselor was next in power to the king himself. These were worldly men of high intelligence, good education, and polished graces, as indeed they would have to be to be in such an honored position. Nor were they exclusive to Israel. We find them mentioned as serving the rulers of surrounding nations: the Pharaoh of Egypt (Isaiah 19:11), Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon (Daniel 3:2, etc.), and the Persian Artaxerxes, whose seven counselors (Ezra 7:14) probably correspond to the "seven princes ...

319. HUNTER

Genesis 25:27; Proverbs 6:5

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... guide or leader of a safari. Many people hunt for sport, but hunting to provide food for the family table is almost a thing of the past, even though it does come in handy for some mountain-hemmed peoples at times. But the profession of game hunter is limited almost exclusively to those who guide greenhorns through forests and swamps in search of thrills and adventure. Rather a far cry from the ancient concept!

320. The Kingdom of God Is a Party

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , there were guests invited to the wedding but they would not come. In fact, they abused the messengers who brought the invitations. So the king sent his servants out into the streets and invited to the wedding party anybody who would come. I hate exclusive-ism. I glory in the wideness of the Gospel's invitation: Whosoever will may come. So often, the church looks like a sanctimonious social club. In many towns and cities you can type a church by the social class which attends. To our everlasting disgrace ...

321. Making a Name for Ourselves

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... towards self or God. Is the primary emphasis of your life self-promotion or God-promotion? When your epitaph is written, would you rather say that you were president of your company or a spiritual leader for your home? Obviously, the two are not mutually exclusive. But which part of that epitaph gets your best thinking and energy? Are you building a tower of Babel or a spire pointing towards God? Some people spend most of their energies trying to become successful at work, to fulfill their own ego needs and ...

322. Putting Lent into Focus

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... Gospels every week in Lent and select also one great saint and read his or her biography - a Livingstone, a Schweitzer, a Mother Teresa - and see in them what our poor nature can become? Another thought: Lent must not become a season focused exclusively upon the individual. We need the comradeship of fellow Christians in our pilgrimage from recognition of our frailties to the level of victory. As someone once said: "The New Testament knows nothing of a solitary Christian." The ancient prophet speaks of this ...

323. Song of a Priest

Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... too well that people fashion themselves after their concept of God. As they believe the Lord to be so they become. Let them think of the Almighty as lax and they are lax in both their daily and devotional lives. Let them think of him as exclusive and they will never broaden their vision. Moreover, he realizes, too - to quote a modern scholar - that "nobody can arrive at the right place whose directions are wrong." Thus, the reason for which the pilgrims are coming to the Temple is of primary importance. As ...

324. God’s Great Promise To Sarah!

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... among women and children has reached alarming proportions. Two out of three poor adults are women. According to the study by the President’s National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity, by the year 2000 the American poor will consist almost exclusively of women and their children. Surely another important area for equal recognition is using inclusive, non-sexist language. Some of us don’t like the notion but language does reflect our attitude toward women. Our language needs to be subordinate ...

325. Bridges, Not Walls!

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... . There’s no support for division. Rather just the opposite is true. We have a Roman soldier running out to give a warm greeting to Peter. We have Peter being warmly received by people he was forbidden to associate with. We see Peter’s exclusive attitude changing to an inclusive one. We have Peter preaching an inspirational sermon, with the happy result of the gifts of the spirit and baptism. That is one happy ending! This warm, beautiful story of people changing and becoming open and accepting of other ...

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