Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3251 to 3275 of 4963 results

3251. A Protecting Grace

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Glenn L. Borreson

... . Paul wrote, "speaking the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15) It involves the discomfort and even the pain of speaking words difficult to say and hearing a message hard to accept. Approached with honesty, deliberateness and care, however, it is a way that is full of hope. It has a chance to restore what was once broken, which is, after all, the intention of the four steps given by Jesus. Even that fourth step - regarding the other "as a Gentile and tax collector" when he or she doesn't listen - may not mean ...

3252. Proper 7

Matthew 10:1-42, Romans 5:12-21, Genesis 28:10-22

Bulletin Aid

... Jacob's Ladder" Second Lesson: Romans 5:12-19 Theme: Jesus' grace and Adam's sin Call to Worship Pastor: We are all like Adam, in that we are naturally inclined to sin. People: And our sin, like Adam's sin, leads to death. Pastor: But God gives us hope through his Son, Jesus, whose death gives life to all who believe in him. People: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the sin we share with Adam. Praise his name! Collect Eternal God, who conquers the power of sin in each generation by your ...

3253. Proper 9

Matthew 11:25-30, Romans 7:7-25, Exodus 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

... creatures, Lord, afraid we may drown in the tern pest of life. Forgive us when we focus only on our fears, and become deaf to the hope our faith would instill in us. Help us to see clearly your hand of mercy in the past; to feel your touch of love in ... read your laws, our sins become all the heavier. But your Son has come to share your grace; that we may not be burdened without hope. Forgive us, God, not only for our sins we carry; but for neglecting the grace of your Son which would relieve us. Lead us into ...

3254. Ready or Not

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... bloodstain. Below the stain, sketched by someone's finger dipped in blood, were the words: "God doesn't kill." Esquivel later writes about hope and about grace. In that cell he felt the strong and abiding presence of Christ's Spirit. He also felt surrounded by brothers ... and sisters in the faith, surrounded by walls alive with acts of faith and hope. "Bars can't lock up the spirit, infinite presence in every one of us."4 Surely this also is to find life. To ...

3255. No Weedless Garden

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... they did not know about themselves. But while he despaired over their weediness and withdrew in bitterness, the people of God lived in hope. Whatever decay, ugliness and impariment there are, they will not last. The day shall come when the field will be a single unbroken mass ... of wheat. It is in the coming of that day that God's people hope and for which they pray. They do so by the promise of Jesus himself. My grandfather may have agreed with my claim that ...

3256. The Promise of Wholeness

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

... by our baptism. We are a people living out of the promise of God towards the future that God promises us. God has said we are God's people and in that new creation we are being pulled and pushed toward the future of God. It is our faith and hope in this promise of our Lord that sustains and nourishes us on our journey. The promise of God's future to us does not negate the present. God's promise does not gloss over the fear, frustrations, anxieties, and despair of our lives. God's promise does enable us to ...

3257. The Promise of Emmanuel

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

... s coming which we anticipate is a coming in concern for those persons whom we forget and deny and overlook. But God is with us, also, to free us from our unconcern, to forgive us for our sins of omission and commission, to open our futures so we might live hopefully and faithfully. In the coming of our God there is a creative power set loose. This power of God with us calls us beyond ourselves to be aware of our sisters and brothers in need. God with us challenges us and enables us to let our lives become a ...

3258. The Promise of Redemption

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

... pressure cooker of life. We also await, with great anticipation, the final action of God to fully complete the promised salvation. Whenever we gather at the Lord's Table, we are fed food that forgives us, food that revives us, food that empowers us to hope and trust in God. This hope in God enables us to help one another bear our burdens, to share our lives together, and not to allow the present powers which exile us to determine our existence now or in the future. We do bask in the glow of Christmas joy ...

3259. A Renewed Call

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Have you ever been blue, worried, discouraged, disappointed about a task or job that you agreed to do, were asked to do, or called to undertake? Have you begun the task or assignment or mission with great hopes, high expectations, and tons of energy only, somewhere along the way, the hopes and expectations seem to be trampled and the energy just flows away into weakness and futility? Then you know something of the experience of the servant of the Lord in today's Old Testament Lesson. Yahweh God had called ...

3260. Is God With You, Or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... turned the radio on, but when my sisters, Ruth and Marge, and I tiptoed to her doorway, we found mother, with her head raised on two pillows, singing again! I think I will never hear such simple, sweet music again this side of heaven. The songs she sang were "Whispering Hope," "Rock of Ages," and "In the Sweet By and By." Did God leave her in her dying hour? Does he ever leave us? No, God keeps his promises and when he says he will walk with us through the "valley of the shadow of death," he does just that ...

3261. Communion Is Remedial

Matthew 9:1-8

Sermon

... . But there is one, and only one, physician who has the remedy which will set us free from our sickness of sin and that is the Great Physician - Jesus Christ. He is the only giver of forgiveness. He is our only source of salvation. He is our only hope for healing. So we must not permit anything to prevent us from meeting the Great Physician at his table of grace. When I was the pastor of Trinity Church in Georgetown, South Carolina, I noticed a curious thing. There was a lady who never came to the altar for ...

3262. Miracle In the Bethlehem Inn

Drama

... you stay? Adam: I don't know, but I feel that I must ask Father. Joseph: We have traveled so far. We had to come to register. We hoped the baby would be born before we had to leave. But it wasn't. I am afraid for my wife. She is so young and so small. ... : Is that your uncle? Adam: Yes. Remember Papa said we could not be in the presence of God without it making a difference. Lela: I sure hope it makes a difference to the world. I wish I could see the future. Adam: I'm not sure we would really want to, but for ...

3263. Mi Casa, Su Casa

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... of God sharecropping tenant farmers. When the owner sends servants to collect his rightful share of the harvest, the tenants beat, stone and slay them. To a second wave of servants they do the same. And finally even the landlord’s son they kill, hoping thereby to gain his inheritance. The penalty for their wicked conduct is clear to all: eviction and death. Equally clear to the audiences of Matthew and Jesus are the abundant references to another biblical parable: Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard. Here the ...

3264. R.S.V.P.

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

... and love. Some will respond, others will not; what God will ultimately make of that is God’s business, not mine. Mine is to issue the call with all the love, graciousness, courage, urgency, and patience I can muster. This is beginning to sound like a sermon! I hope these meanderings of the mind and soul are of some help to you. Let me know where you take it (or it takes you!) from here. Peace Mark October 16 Dear Sue So some of the parents have suggested to members of Church Council that your phone calls ...

3265. The Servant’s Credentials

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

... pastor of the synod did not think himself above the world of mops and brooms and dirty dishes? That the hands which took the bread and blessed and broke it in the previous evening’s eucharist were now engaged in sexton’s work? I hope he noticed. And I hope he was scandalized by what he saw. For it would be the scandal of servanthood. And that is not far from the gospel. From the earliest stratum of tradition, the Christian church has understood the mission and ministry of Jesus in light of the Servant ...

3266. The Love God Wants

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

... and sentimentality of love, and exhorting them to be more loving; but there was little love in Gantry himself, only an all-consuming desire to build a religious empire and garner its fame and fortune. In the end, Gantry perished, and with him the hopes of those whom he manipulated. In dramatic contrast, Jesus was the personification of the very thing he commanded. Thus, persons who are in Christ, those in whom Christ’s Spirit dwells, are delivered from their own inability to love completely by the One who ...

3267. The City Unshakeable

Psalm 46:1-11, Hebrews 12:25-29

Sermon

... to us as a people is high. I believe we will find comfort from each other. We will probably find at least some of those behind the crime and may even, in the long run, be able to make terrorism so costly to perpetrators that it will diminish. I certainly hope so. But whatever comes, if we trust God, our citizenship in the city unshakeable remains secure, and that helps us live in this world with ...

3268. Our Midian Moment

Illustration

Staff

... Midian when that remarkable man, Moses, had his life turned around. Having failed in Egypt to lead his people out of their slavery, he now felt defeated. He had abandoned his high goal; he had given up his great ideal. He was a shepherd now, keeping Jethro's sheep, hoping nobody would find him in the mountains to which he had fled. But God found him. And God turned him around. Out of a burning bush God said, in effect, "Moses, don't give up on your dream." Your ideal is good, your goal is worthy, said God ...

3269. The Trading Post

Illustration

... you can leave here something you may have brought with you - all anxieties or enslaving doubts or unbearable burdens. If you have brought any of these, put them down and leave them here. As you go from church this morning, I hope you can take with you something that perhaps you did not bring - certainly you can take more of love, a greater measure of peace, a stronger faith, and increased strength for your journey. This would be a nice trade, don't you think? And it isn't so difficult, really. ...

3270. The Perspective Glass

Illustration

... an instrument is now known as a telescope or a binocular, but Bunyan called it a Perspective Glass, and very logically so, for it was a glass by means of which one could get perspective on dim and distant things. Anyway, looking through this glass, Christian and Hopeful are able to see beyond the Dark Valley - and yonder on a high mountain they see the Heavenly City in all its wonder. Seeing it, they are able to overcome the perils of the valley, and make their way on through to victory at last. You know ...

3271. Being Turned, We See

Illustration

Staff

... of trouble and tribulation, and John is a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos. But he writes, "I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet talking ... and I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and, being turned, I saw ..." What John saw gave him hope and courage and new heart; it gave him the assurance that at last all battles will be won by the Lord, that ultimately the victory is on the side of truth and right, of beauty and love. It would be a good thing, I suspect, if most of us - perhaps ...

3272. A Pause for Direction

Illustration

... hill. I do not know how smooth or rough the road may be. I will not know which road to take the next time I must make a choice. So please help me, Lord. I want to go the best way through regions new and strange to me. And I hope at last to arrive safely home. So here I am, Lord - willing to listen, eager to learn." Have you ever thought of your Sunday morning worship experience as a stop for directions? Well, it really is, you know. And when you go from this stop today, I ...

3273. For Those On The Outside

Luke 8:40-56

Sermon

... come to God seeking happiness. We may seek fulfillment in a higher paying job, or a more prestigious position. For others it may be obtaining the right degree from the right college. For a nation it may be gaining military superiority. We may hold the vain hope that changing politicians will solve all of our problems. It may be any number of things, but we seem to be people who are constantly seeking security in things other than God. Like this woman, we are often reluctant to seek Christ except as a last ...

3274. The Holy Spirit The Comforter

John 16:5-16

Bulletin Aid

... , whatsoever I have said unto you." Congregation: The Comforter reminded the disciples of Jesus’ words and helped them fully understand what those words meant. Now he brings us understanding. Leader: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Congregation: Send your Comforter to us, Lord Jesus. When grief threatens to crush our faith, when doubts are multiplied by disappointments, send your Holy Spirit to uphold ...

3275. Consecration Hold Fast

Titus 1:1-16

Bulletin Aid

CSS

... that faithful word and hold fast what is good. Leader: Scripture is a solid anchor to grip in a world of shifting values. If opposition continues despite our testing and exhortation, how do we remain faithful? Women: Hold fast your confidence in God and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Men: Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Leader: Lord, may this your people be found holding fast until the very end. By your grace we can overcome any obstacle.

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