Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3276 to 3300 of 4986 results

3276. What It Takes to Do the Job

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... from our parents, from our teachers, from our politicians, and even from our pastors. Job #1 is being home on time, keeping your room clean, not talking back, doing your homework, getting an A, paying your bills, being successful, supporting the party, staying off drugs, knowing your Bible, loving your neighbor, keeping your nose and all other parts clean. The list is long. Of course when you get inside the heads of individuals and move away from the “ought” of authority figures to the real desires ...

3277. Growing Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... the earth or the stars in the sky would finally come true. Then this. It made no sense at all. Yet, Abraham was obedient, and took Isaac to the land of Moriah (Genesis 22), fully prepared to sacrifice him on an altar there. At the last moment God stayed his hand, and a ram appeared to be sacrificed instead. This dramatic event was never forgotten and Saint Paul referred to it again and again in his letter to the Romans in his discussion of faith. Can anyone imagine the kind of faith in God Abraham must have ...

3278. The Amazing Holy Week Equation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... ). To have the mind of Christ is to have an empty head -- well, sort of. At least there is the intent of leaving room, the intent of filling it, or making it available for God's thoughts, not just our own. So what is it for you today? If we stay in A.D. 33 and wave palm branches, but don't make the connection of our obedience to God's will today, then this will have been a hollow event, an empty diversion on a gorgeous day. You've thought about it. You've prayed about it. You intend to ...

3279. Do You Hear What I Hear?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... one kind of nest. One kind. I have often thought, when peering through a pine tree at a robin's nest, that here I am, a reasonably intelligent man with lots of schooling and degrees, yet I could never make a robin's nest that would hold together and stay in a tree, unless, of course, I was allowed to use duct tape! The passing on of the skill of building a particular kind of nest from generation to generation of birds is truly an awe-inspiring miracle. If that skill were to be lost somehow -- well, it would ...

3280. The World's Still Point

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... more specific?" "I give them Jesus," she repeated. "Mother," went on the questioner, "we are so very much aware of your fine work. I want to know about something else ..." Mother Teresa said quietly, "I give them Jesus. There is nothing else." Mother Teresa was able to stay focused on "the least of these" and was able to inspire others to do the same because, while she was not afraid to speak out on matters of policy and root causes, she had a center. She had a still point. A good question for us this week ...

3281. Grace in the Midst of Limited Resources

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... work to welfare, earning enough to take care of the immediate needs of our own households. But let's be honest. A good many Americans are enjoying surpluses that far surpass our daily needs. We already have what we need to be fed, to be clothed, and to stay dry. Now ... what shall we do with the rest? Sociologists are starting to talk about a new group on the American scene. They're called Children of Rich Fathers. For the first time in our history -- for the first time in the history of any country -- a ...

3282. Grace in the Midst of Unanswered Prayer

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... knees. She begged Augustine to come to Christ, but he rebuffed her at every turn. Ultimately he determined to skip town and sail toward greater adventures in Italy. Monica spent a sleepless night pleading with God to block his path. "Please let him stay here in Africa so that one day he might find and serve you!" Her prayers went unanswered. Augustine sailed away unhindered ... only to come under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who mentored him into a spiritual life that would bless and transform ...

3283. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... denominations move along warily with each other for years, doing their best to submerge deep theological rifts, until external societal pressures force the most sensitive questions to the surface. A half dozen ethnic groups in the Balkan Peninsula are forced to stay together in a pseudo community called Yugoslavia for most of a century. When the veneer is removed, dividing walls that are older than anyone's great-grandparents are suddenly in plain sight, while peace-keeping troops struggle to enforce the ...

3284. Don't Forget What You Look Like

James 1:19-27

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... endangered if they allowed such a monopoly to continue. So they called in other specialist bakers and perfumery experts from Alexandria in Egypt to replace the two families. But things did not go at all well. The new bakers were unable to make the Temple loaves stay fresh all week, like the showbread of Garmu; and the incense of the Alexandrians did not send its smoke up in a perfectly straight line like the Abtinos incense. So the Temple heads called in the heads of the two old families, but they refused ...

3285. Yes, No, Someone Else

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... assumption. This "yes" was a human "yes" without divine consultation. Maybe David crossed a line from being full of God to being full of himself. There is a clue found in 2 Samuel 7:2: "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." On this Fourth Sunday of Advent it would be well for each one to be reminded that God had a plan for our world. This plan was not conceived in the mind of man, but in the heart of God. No Nathan leaves David with a "green ...

3286. The Gospel According to Johan

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... then mean for the Church? It asks those of us within the body of Christ to examine our attitudes toward those who are outsiders. This story warns us of a "Scrooge" attitude which conveys the message, "We are on the inside, and you are on the outside, so stay on the outside because we insiders don't want anything to do with outsiders." The story of Jonah reminds us that we exist for the sake of the people of our world. Who cares? God does, and God's people should. The story of Jonah ends with a question ...

3287. Going Down to Look Up

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... went to the town dump with the trunk of his car full of books. "I was the first car there, waiting outside the gates when they opened." "Whatcha got there?" the toothless man in charge of the landfill asked. "An old life," I said.1 Naaman had a choice to stay a leper or to become whole. He chose to become a whole person. In so doing he dropped his old life. Naaman's choice is ours. It is the choice of being obedient or disobedient. That is always the choice, isn't it? The choice is that of humbling ...

3288. Going, Going, Gone

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... Is Passed to Elisha For ten long years Elisha has worked in the shadow of the ministry of Elijah, and now it is time for Elijah to be taken up to heaven. It is interesting that Elijah tried three times to get away from Elisha. Three times Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here for I am going to go to the next town." Elisha refused to obey him. Why did Elijah not want Elisha, his successor, to go with him on his farewell journey? That is a hard question. It seems to me that Elijah, who was a loner, wanted to be ...

3289. Obedience to God's Plan

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , or fun-filled route to the completion of his work. He knew that ultimately there was one and only one way to do what the Father had asked of him and that was by following God's plan. As our Lenten journey continues let us seek strength from God to stay on the correct path and to avoid obstacles and pitfalls which tempt us to another route. May we have the courage to follow God's plan faithfully, as did Jesus. May we have the courage to follow the narrow road and the one less traveled -- the only path that ...

3290. The Paradox of Death

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... can only come from death. If we are willing to continue the Lenten journey with Jesus to the end; if we will walk with him -- then we too will find good through evil, triumph through defeat, and life through death. Let us, therefore, continue our walk with Jesus; let us stay close to him and in the process find life without end!

3291. Jesus Brings Us to New Life

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... out in a special way to those who were despised by society at large. He did many wonderful things, cured many of diseases, forgave sins, and demonstrated love in every word and action of his life. After three years of active work, Jesus, who mostly stayed in the northern section of his nation, ventured south to the capital city of Jerusalem. There he entered the city one Sunday morning in great triumph as people shouted, "Hosanna!" and laid palm branches on the ground for him. But later that same week those ...

3292. A Passion for Christ (New)

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... father of the family lives in constant fear of losing his possessions. After a few of his things were stolen, the father determined that he would not leave the house again. He doesn’t travel or go on vacation. He doesn’t even visit friends. He stays home and protects his valuable furnishings and paintings. (2) It’s been said before, but it is still true. At first, we own our possessions. But before long, they own us. Perhaps Peter would focus on our self-satisfaction and our disregard for the needs of ...

3293. Led by the Spirit of God

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... been around a person who is from a moneyed family? They expect to live a certain way. We are generalizing, of course, but it is so often true. People who have been raised with a silver spoon in their mouth usually expect that silver spoon to stay firmly in place all their lives. In their eyes, that is their birthright. And often they will turn this into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They will be successful because they expect to be successful. Now, suppose you and I felt a healthy sense of entitlement because ...

3294. When the Storms Come

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... , an era of boundless optimism. But after two world wars, the Holocaust, and numerous genocides, as well as the terrible specter of international terrorism, few people would now dare to say, "All's right with the world." Worse, as author Philip Yancey notes, "God seems to stay in his heaven despite all that's wrong with the world. Why doesn't He do something?" (2) A Romanian man filed a lawsuit last fall against God for allegedly fouling up his life. The suit states that the man was promised a good life in ...

3295. No Other Name

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... slowed significantly when the Red Sox were in the World Series in 2004. During especially crucial match ups, such as Game 7 of the league championship series and the final game of the World Series, emergency-room traffic fell by up to 20 percent, as fans stayed glued to their TV sets. "It's as if when they look at the TV and see what's happening, they say, ‘My infected lung, it's not so bad,'‘' reported one emergency room physician. Researchers say that people apparently have a flexible idea of what ...

3296. The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... a shepherd for hire. On an ordinary day you could never tell them apart. But let trouble come. Let a pack of wolves appear and then the difference comes out. The counterfeit runs, because it is only money to him. He has no ownership. But the real shepherd stays. Jesus said in our text: I lay down my life for my sheep. That is the difference between the real shepherd and the counterfeit. Here is the good news friends. I don't care how much trouble comes your way; the good shepherd will never leave your side ...

3297. Waiting for God

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy had been staying at his grandparents’ house for several days. Now he was waiting for his mom and dad to pick him up. The homesick boy sat in the old swivel rocker all morning, staring and staring out the picture window. From that window, he could see down the long, gravel road. He ...

3298. To Live Is To Dance

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... has problems with that and sings about it, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a flower and pin it down. Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her, many a thing she ought to understand. But how do you make her stay and listen to what you say? How do you keep a wave upon the sand. Oh how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moon beam in your hand. Isn’t that a glorious picture of freedom and joy, of life as a dance. Now ...

3299. A Guiding Presence

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... and responsive to that presence, I have known wholeness of life, a vibrancy of spirit and joy. And my ministry has been marked by an obvious spiritual quality that genuinely blessed others. But when I’ve been slack in that intentional effort of staying alive to the aliveness of Christ in me, then my joy diminishes, my confidence deteriorates, what accomplishments I experience seem ponderous and hard gained, and I discovered that no matter how noble my purposes, I am often without power or my power is ...

3300. A Converting Presence

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . A person of prophetic vision, pastoral concern, and practical wisdom. His humor and lightheartedness was captured in the fact that the first thing he asked me when I entered his office was, if I had come to collect the three month rent on the stay of the little Catholic girl her in our sanctuary. Well, back to Brother Juniper, his humor and humanity prick holes in the balloons of over pious religionists. One cartoon pictured Brother Juniper with two little boys at the zoo, and they were looking at ...

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