Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 301 to 325 of 1185 results

301. Celebrating Eucharistic Time

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... and brothers in the faith. For much of Christendom the Eucharist has become the most acceptable format for the worshiping community. It affirms our life in this world of joys and sorrows, successes and failures, rejoicings and pains. It instructs and encourages us to pursue life with faith, hope and love. And it relights the torch of hope for eternity. We need to treat our limited earthly life span with greater respect. The advice of the Psalmist, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts ...

302. You Can Never Go Home Again

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... going. And they want to tell you because their life revolves around the tomorrows. You compliment them, you praise them, you do everything in your power to make them feel that you believe in them and that they will succeed in what they have chosen to pursue. That is not what we heard in the Gospel. The hometown people rejected Jesus. They did not accept him, even in the Synagogue. The moment Jesus appeared in the Synagogue to read and speak, it seems like the place became a noisy hall. “Where’d he get ...

303. What Can I Do for You?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... not promise anyone that prize. We know that if they tackle meaningful jobs with great spirit, they may find, to their surprise, that they are happy doing what they do. Happiness comes along with a willing spirit and an upbeat confidence. It is not to be pursued just for itself. Like the bluebird of happiness, when held tightly, it dies; it must be let go if we are to possess it truly. Jesus had a curious way of teaching. Sometimes he was direct. Often he was indirect, ironic, even caustic. “Help!” the ...

304. David and the Devil

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... sleep. They asked him what was wrong. He replied, “Three things torture me. First, whereas before I could not keep from thinking I must have her love or I cannot live, now I cannot stop thinking that if I lose her love, I cannot live. Second, the more I pursue her the more she wants to get away; she has created a separate territory in the castle for herself. Third, she has grown cold; the flame of my love cannot warm the dungeon of her heart.” Just so with David. The Devil duped David into thinking that ...

305. Gunda

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... come to the United States with nothing but immigration papers. Shortly after that she had married. Gunda and her husband William raised four children, and put them through college. Will had died 10 years ago leaving Gunda with more time than money to pursue her community volunteer efforts. Paul's thoughts continued to gravitate and meditate on Gunda. "Now that woman has power," Paul thought to himself. He recalled two years ago when this small, stooped woman in a faded dress and well worn pumps was awarded ...

306. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... is known for his piety and the holiness movement that arose from his life. The name Methodist comes from a club which his brother Charles started at Oxford and which John joined. It was a life of methodical prayer and scripture study. John pursued such contemplation throughout his life. Again, he was amazingly productive and active. He preached two to four times every day, preaching more than 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. He traveled 4500 miles per year carrying his message throughout the country, most of ...

307. Eating Living Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... us to begin anew every day in faithfulness. C. Hope for the Future. We live without fear of all the evil forces in the world because we have a living hope for eternal life. 6. Living to Eat or Eating to Live. (v. 58) A. Living to Eat. Pursuing the pleasures of the flesh. B. Eating to Live. Living according to the spirit. C. Fed to Serve. We eat to serve purposes larger than self-interest and carnal desires. CONTACT Points of Contact 1. Cookbooks are among the best-sellers of publishers. For some publishers ...

308. Tying Up A Strong Man

Mark 3:20-30, 1 Samuel 8:1-22, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Mark 3:31-35, Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... then in actuality that was his god. Our god is revealed by where we vest our highest values. What determines what we do shows our real loyalty, our real god. If we only do what our impulses and desires prompt us to do, we worship our own nature. If we pursue the values of money and property over persons, Mammon is the god we worship. If we see violence and the force of arms as the highest power, then Mars is our god. If the domination of people and political power is our highest value, than Satan is our god ...

309. The Victory Of Faith

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... have each other to lean on ƒ It gets a little easier with each day. Your letter and gift, because it was from Christian people my age, really meant a lot. Thanks so much. Sincerely, Becky.1 Amen, Becky! You have experienced the victory of faith. Since this event, Becky has pursued a career that engages her in the rehabilation of criminals. Faith enables us to conquer the world. May we all share such a faith and know the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 1. Used with permission..

310. An Outcast · The Woman Of Samaria

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

Intent on avoiding even the appearance of competing with John, whose disciples the Pharisees had goaded into a quarrel with his own, Jesus decided to withdraw from Judea to pursue his mission in Galilee. To do so, however, he must either travel by way of Perea, fording the Jordan twice as many of his countrymen did, or cross the full length of Samaria, which divided the two provinces. It was a choice of no mean significance inasmuch as the Jews ...

311. A Quiet Man · Andrew

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... overheard the disciples discussing the place for which they were heading. Or the direction the small vessel took on departing Capernaum may have alerted the throng to Jesus' destination. Whatever the case, however, the multitude hastened to catch up with him. Some pursued him in other craft. The larger number traveled afoot around the tip of the lake and actually arrived at Jesus' appointed refuge -- the fishing village of Bethsaida -- before him (Mark 6:33) since the distance was shorter by land than by ...

312. A Wilderness Prophet · John The Baptist

Jn 1:6-8 · Mt 3:1-12

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... the sordid affair -- and tricked into making her an infamous promise -- he had John beheaded. (Mark 6:19-29) It was an act to haunt Herod day and night. For try as he may he could not blot the horror of his deed from his mind. So persistently did it pursue him, in fact, that when Jesus swept into Galilee to take up the work John's witness had prepared for him Herod was terrified at the thought John had returned from the dead to wreak vengeance upon him. (Luke 9:7)

313. A Family Member · Salome

Mt 20:20-21 · Mk 15:40; 16:1-2

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... on killing him. Such a violent display would have sent a lesser woman scurrying to the sanctuary of the family quays. But not Salome. Instead, what she witnessed only sharpened her resolution to support Jesus all the more. It was a daring resolution, for in pursuing it she knew only too well that she was defying two deep-seated prejudices of the day. For centuries Israel had identified wisdom and authority with age. Gray hair was a badge of knowledge. (Job 32:7) It was a maxim embraced by all the nations ...

314. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Sermon

John C. Bush

... Phillips: "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience -- it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. "Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all ... when truth prevails. "Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading ...

315. Wedding Sermon - The Solid Rock On Which We Stand!

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... text that one house was larger than the other, or even more expensive. Matthew makes no mention of one being thrown together rather hastily, while the other took years of skillful planning. There are no soil samples taken, no environmental impact studies pursued, no insurance policies signed. The only difference recorded here is not so much in how these houses were built, but in where. However, I am beginning to wonder whether there is something even more significant which separates these two builders. True ...

316. Proper 15

1 Kings 2:1-12, Psalm 111:1-10, Ephesians 4:17--5:21, John 6:25-59, 1 Kings 3:1-15

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... your grace, we speak our praise. All praise to you, God of wisdom, beauty and truth. Amen. PRAYER OF DEDICATION Creator and giver of all good things, we bring our offering of thanksgiving and declare our intentions to turn from evil and do good, to seek peace and pursue it. Teach us how to revere your name more fully through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. PSALM 111:1-10 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works ...

317. Are You Convinced?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Larry Powell

... a three-point charge. The first few days in the new pastorate resembled the ritual commonly observed by a new pastor and his flock as they introduce themselves and "size each other up." This particular parish had historically been served by young pastors pursuing a college education. The parishioners had made their peace with the fact that as soon as one pastor would complete educational requirements and graduate, a new student pastor would appear on the scene. It was my second day on the job. I walked ...

318. But God Can

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

Larry Powell

... , is simply a new beginning." I suppose the antithesis of this continuing decimal theory would be to say, "Man is a period, or an exclamation point. This and nothing more." It will be much more to your relief that I do not wish to pursue this. I just find the symbols of decimals, periods, and exclamation points interesting because I have often thought that a fitting symbol for God would be the ampersand - that peculiar little symbol (&) commonly used in place of the word "and" - for whatever is proclaimed ...

319. Tears And Ointment

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Larry Powell

... Dewey, seeking to be helpful, said, "Faith is the tendency toward action, the matrix of all formulated creed and the inspiration of endeavor." Walter Rathenau said, "Faith creates the mood in which events are determined." Do you begin to see why we do not wish to pursue a definition of faith. To do so would only tangle us up in our own feet. And clearly, the question is not, "Are there degrees of faith?" We yield our curiosity about this question to those folk who are inclined to ponder such things as "how ...

320. Know What Time It Is!

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... inheritance. The world is not changed, but we see it and ourselves in a new light; a kingdom light. A Zen story characterizes life as a Buddhist monk fleeing from a hungry tiger. The monk comes to the edge of a cliff cutting off any hope of escape from the pursuing tiger. Fortunately for the monk, a vine happens to be growing over the edge. He grabs hold of it and begins to climb down the cliff, out of the tiger's reach, who is by now glaring at him from above. But alas, as the monk is climbing down, he ...

321. Christ the King

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

George Paul Mocko

... I shall follow. I will put my trust in that same never-failing grace that he did. And, as I do, miracle of miracles, it turns out to be there and real, as he said it would be. I will put my feet on that path of responsible love and pursue it. Even though, from time to time, under the pressure of all kinds of fears and angers, I have to rein in, talk to, and remind myself, confess and pray and be restored. Again, miracle of miracles, as he said it would, it works far better than anything else. So ...

322. Proper 13

Mt 14:13-21 · Rom 8:31-39 · Ex 12:1-14 · Ps 143

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... and was not perturbed by the people's interruption of his retreat. Because of his divine power, he was able to take a minimum amount of food and satisfy a maximum number of people. Psalm of the Day (Psalm 143:1-10). The Psalm deals with a person pursued by enemies. He feels his life is crushed to the ground. Then he remembers what Yahweh did for the Israelites when they were in Egyptian captivity. As they were delivered, so he prays that he, too, may be delivered from the bondage of his enemies. Prayer of ...

323. Fish Miracle

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-13, Luke 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... , a fresh water lake 13 miles long and eight miles wide, 680 feet below sea level. Jesus' Galilean ministry was centered around the lake. Capernaum, his headquarters, was located on the sea. The gospels tell us that Jesus often crossed the lake as he pursued his ministry. Today's miracle concerns Peter, who is known through church history as "the Big Fisherman." It was the occasion for him to have a change of career, from catching fish to catching people for Christ. To this day restaurants located on or ...

324. The Love Of Evil

Psalm 52:1-9

Sermon

Erskine White

... and our wishful thinking and gives us a straight answer in very simple terms. We choose evil because we love evil more than good! We love "lying more than speaking the truth," and we love "boasting of mischief done against the godly." We get what we want with evil. We pursue it and we know what we are doing as we do it. We enjoy it. It feels good. We think we need it. As the old Prayer of Confession says, "Lord, have mercy on us, for we do what we ought not to do and fail to do what we ...

325. Wedding: The Bondage of Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... to current pop psychology which encourages men and women to assert their independence. The special relationship of wife and husband is seen in terms of self-serving rather than in self-sacrifice. Marriage is viewed as a vehicle to achieve personal objectives rather than as a means to pursue mutual goals. That is why what I say to you may not be very popular in some circles, but it is Christian. Paul says that in marriage you are to be subject to one another, so you can no longer say, "It's my life; I can do ...

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