Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 301 to 325 of 4977 results

301. The Miracle of Salvation

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... provided. And oddly enough that escape comes in the form of a cross. I I suppose that the first thing we must say about the cross is this: IT DEFINES OUR GUILT: IT SHOWS US THE DEPTH OF OUR SIN. We’ve said all along that miracles are often quite ordinary in appearance to the non-believer. It is only through the eye of faith that God’s intervention in history is shown. Even though many of us have misunderstood it for a long time we’ve recognized that the cross is so connected with God’s miracle of ...

302. Which Self Are You?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... forget that he wasn’t a mud turtle. And no matter how many mud turtles there were, he didn’t belong in the mud! He knew it! Here are some sentences that we hear quite often. We use them ourselves. Think about them, what they are saying: "I don’t feel quite myself today." "I was nearly driven out of my mind." "I said to myself, ‘Now pull yourself together.’ " "I’m sorry I did what I did. I just wasn’t myself." "I’m ashamed of myself." "I forgot myself for a moment." Or the plaintive cry that ...

303. THE NEIGHBORHOOD GAP

Sermon

William McKee Aber

... in defense of the faith? One hardly has to be an expert on ecumenism to note that the Catholic Church is in a turmoil. (Protestants are too, of course, but we’re a bit more used to it; we never took our ministers and General Assembly quite as seriously as our Catholic neighbors once took their priests and pope!) Ever since Vatican II, though, the Catholic Church has seemed to its people to be shaking at its very foundations. In the undergoing of renewal - which I applaud as a fellow Christian - the ...

304. The Forgotten

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

... man of the Nativity. He could indeed be absent from most of our scenes at Christmas and few would even miss him. I suppose this fact is something that those who are the "man of the house" can understand. For generally, the male member of the house is quite at ease in the background and not at all unhappy when he is overlooked at the wedding reception or forgotten at some dress up society affair. When it comes to many of the high points of life the father figure is something of excess baggage. Just consider ...

305. The Seekers

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

... stories about a fourth wiseman who was always just one step behind the Christ to the time of the Crucifixion. One legend has it that the Three Kings were of three different generations and came from a small Persian village. One of the Kings who made the journey was quite young really just a prince and upon finding the Christ he discovered him to be a young man just his own age. The second king of middle years discovered a Savior of his own age. And the Old King found in the Christ a companion of his old age ...

306. Extended Light

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

... us that we can and do share in its coming and that in some measure we are part of that victory. This writer has had a similar experience during the weeks when this little book was in preparation. Suddenly it was necessary to have a quite serious arterial operation and for a while death was a distinct possibility. The most trying part of this was the night time. Nights seemed endless as I tossed restlessly, wakefully. The typically drab hospital room had no window through which the sun could shine directly ...

307. The Boss

Mark 1:1-8

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... of being humble is not popular and probably never will be, but it is biblical and necessary for God's approval. Summary: Gus's boss treats him like a slave rather than a person with good ideas. Al, Gus's friend, talks to him about quitting and going elsewhere where he would be appreciated. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: A business setting Props: None Costumes: Contemporary, business Time: The present Cast: Gus Al -- his friend AL: (AL AND GUS ENTER) What a meeting! My twelve-year-old could chair a meeting ...

308. The Passing of the Peace

John 20:24-31

Sermon

George Bass

... lived in Lent." He might simply have said that "our powerlessness stems from our failure to realize that the Christian life is lived in Lent." We have to remember that on this side of the cross, or else the risen Lord and his mission in the world will not be quite real to us. True faith, born of recognition of our plight and true repentance in the face of the good news, finds us conformed to Christ, not the world, and ready to carry on with his work. At the very end of his lectures, D. T. Niles said, "Let ...

309. Whom Do You Sit East Of?

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." What nobility! What honor! What sacrifice! Besides, everyone loves a martyr. He can see it already: "Jonah Memorial United Methodist Church." There was quite a struggle to get back safely. The sailors rowed hard to bring the ship back to land - pulled mightily on their oars: pulled and pulled and pulled. (Interesting, isn’t it, how godly these pagan sailors are ...) And where’s Jonah while all this ...

310. Will the Real Prophets Please Speak Up?

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... to the times when God had sent an Amos, an Hosea, an Ezekiel. Those were the good old days, when the word of the Lord was heard in the land. But now they were gone ... and the long wait for the messenger of the Lord had begun. Our problem is quite different, it seems. We may be living in a time when the word of the Lord is restrained. But there is a "prophet" on every street corner. They are everywhere. We live in a time ridden with "prophets." There is a real over-supply problem, prophet-wise: all of them ...

311. Paul of Tarsus

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... to tell people about the dead carpenter he’s begun to advertise. One reporter suggested that the way he’s been behaving he may not have totally recovered from the fit he suffered on the Damascus Road. It would appear that a rational person would have given up and quit by now. Any of our listeners who wish to make predictions on just when the young fanatic will throw in the towel are invited to jot down their guess on a postcard and send it to us here at the station. We’ll see whether we can cook up ...

312. Partners in the Impossible

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Richard Patt

... Samaritan. This parable is still in effect for Christians. In fact, it is the state-of-the-art story for God’s people who want to he partners in the impossible. To get us started, there is little more we need do than take Jesus’ question quite literally and quite seriously. "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" You know where the answer lies. 4. Finally, there is a need for us to be God’s partners in the seemingly impossible task of healing the world. By that I don’t just mean ...

313. The Father Who Wanted His Son To Succeed

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... the centuries who sought to reach that glory, too. Or can we forget the temple on Mount Zion, the building and the worship ritual that were his most magnificent achievements? "Be all that you can be!" - and Solomon was all that he could be. But Not Quite All Not quite, we have to add. The history of succeeding years reveals that this is not yet what God had in mind when he made covenant with David for a throne that would endure forever, nor is this the glory of his kingdom. There is still another Son of ...

314. The Struggle of Faith

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... either personally or in the experience of those we love. Sometimes these rough places occur because of negligence or evil-doing on our part; at other times they occur because of circumstances over which we have little if any control. In any event, all of us know these times quite well as the sun goes behind the cloud and we walk through the shadow of despair. Indeed, it is likely that for most of us these times become the most crucial of all times, and it is certain that they happen to all of us at one time ...

315. No Fifth Wheels in God’s Economy

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... that a person doesn’t have to worry about receiving. I am talking about where you are at right now, in the present. You can view your singleness at this point in your life, as a gift from God. "Some people," Jesus said, "are made eunuchs, (that is, are quite able to function without direct sexual relationships) for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to RECEIVE this, let him receive it." There is a lot more in the text I would like to explore, but I will leave it, simply noting that Jesus ...

316. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... d been speaking in the central valley of California, I started to drive home and realized that I was lost. I drove for quite awhile, looked for lights to ask information; they were all out; all the farmers had gone to bed. The service stations had ... will be left to listen to the young people lament, "I don’t want to bring children into this lousy, mixed-up world." Well, that is quite a manifesto, I think, from a comic. It makes me think of Robert Hudnut’s book Surprised by God. He told about going into a ...

317. The Healing of the Man with the Withered Hand

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

James W. Moore

... but we don’t think it will work. We rely on power plays, hostile threats, political strategies, and bureaucratic systems. We plot against one another. We flog one another with cruel words and deadly gossip. We crucify one another… trying to get our way. We don’t quite trust love yet. We don’t think it will work. Well, let me tell you something, He showed us it works -- on a cross!! There, He showed us that love, not laws or practices, or systems that love is the most powerful thing in the world. If ...

318. The Healing Power of the Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of Easter. Through the miracle of Easter, God is saying to each one of us, “Don’t stop! Don’t be afraid! Don’t give up! Don’t get discouraged! Keep on playing! I’m here, surrounding you with my love and strength, and I will help you. Don’t quit on Me now! That’s precisely what the Risen Christ said to the disciples on that first Easter and that’s precisely what He is saying to you and me here and now. Easter reminds us to keep on trusting God, come what may… because He has the power to ...

319. A Religion that Shows

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a wreck...a ruin. What kind of religion is that? Put your money where your mouth is. Fix the place. You would not want to call a house like that your home; why would you expect God to want to." That was Haggai's message. But the prophet did not quit there. He went on to say that if these impoverished people (and that is what they were - impoverished) if they would have faith enough to dig deep enough into their pockets to get the job done, if they would let their religion show by what they were willing to ...

320. Winning over Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to concern ourselves with the clothing that OTHER people need. The message of Jesus seems to be here that the way to overcome worry about yourself is to begin to worry about others. That is what kingdom living is going to be about. Actually, WORRY is not quite the word to use. He would not say WORRY about others, because the word "worry" has the connotation of someone's sitting around and brooding about something, and that is certainly not what he would want us to do. CONCERN is a better word. That has some ...

321. Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... last float of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, there was not jolly old Saint Nick, but a wild-eyed John the Baptist dressed in a glorified burlap sack? Even the perpetually perky Katie Couric would wince as she offers parade commentary from her reviewing stand, not quite sure what to say. But this is not mid-town Manhattan and this is no Macy's extravaganza. It has been something of a parade though, as people trekked out to the desert to hear this strange man. He IS an astonishing preacher, we have to ...

322. Doing Battle with Demons

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the choir. Reluctantly, the pastor did as he was asked. He told the man that church members were saying that he could not sing, so he should quit. To which the man responded, "Well, Reverend, the people say that you can't preach, but you don't hear me telling YOU to quit." Hmm. Then Pastor Hill got serious. He told us we can celebrate or despair our differences, but never to forget that we are still one people - God's people. Ending his message on a resounding note, he reminded us that, as Presbyterians ...

323. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Sonny not only does not get the fatted calf, he doesn't even get a goat. Go into Junior's party? You must be kidding!" It was quite a speech. The tears of joy that had shone in Dad's eye just moments ago had dried now. He wanted to reason with his first-born ... return that he comes running to meet us. But if that is the only point of what Jesus was trying to get across, why did he not quit after verse 24, and move on to some other subject? I think the answer is that there is a whole lot more Sonny in most of us ...

324. Lips And Hearts

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... to read a story recently that was datelined Cambridge, Massachusetts. It seems that somehow a finely crafted red granite bench has mysteriously appeared in a public park. And no one - or next to no one - knows who put it there. Not only is the bench quite attractive, but it bears a passage from Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel ORLANDO. The inscription chiseled atop the 4-foot surface of the bench comes from Chapter 5 of this novel. It reads like this: "There are wild birds' feathers - the owls, the nightjars. I ...

325. Sons And Daughters Of God

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... are all sons of God, though faith." (25-26) Did you hear that? In Jesus Christ we are all sons and daughters of God. We are not losers at all. We are not unlovable at all. In fact, because we have met the Master, we are really quite beautiful. Antonio Sanchez was only five years old when he was sent to a Mexican prison for juveniles after allegedly murdering his baby brother. Tony's parents, who had beaten him with chains and tortured him with fire, deserted him and disappeared after telling police he was ...

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