Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3376 to 3400 of 4963 results

3376. Not For Sale at Any Price

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... of fine pearls." For him, it was a lifelong search. Day by day he looked at pearls, sizing them up, passing judgment on them in the hope of someday finding the very best pearl. If we are going to find the pearl of the kingdom of heaven, we, too, must be in ... of the grace of Christ. There are things more valuable than money, things money cannot buy: friendship, love, honor, respect, faith, hope. Money is "sold" to a subordinate position to get the kingdom of heaven. Apply this to the field of religion. We ...

3377. Incalculable Riches by Bishop Roy C. Nichols

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... Last summer (he is speaking of the summer of ‘74), my wife and I celebrated our fifty-second Wedding Anniversary. But we are not growing old, we are just going on to Glory." Now, if you know Guy, you will know he wasn’t simply talking about the hope of heaven, (although that expectation should be a lively one among the community of the saints.) What he was saying was that each day he lived he was finding in the gospel more excitement, more reason to be alive, to express himself, to be a Christian. Some ...

3378. The Bible, Your Mirror? by Dr. Lawrence L. Lacour

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... ! We shall see him as he is. Does that blow your mind, or sound unreal? Do you have trouble believing this? If so, let me confess that I served as a minister for quite some years before my thinking and feeling got together about the Christian hope. I preached that Jesus Christ had conquered death. I believed myself forgiven. But could the one who died and rose again really come through with "eventual" life? Consider, for example, those comforting words of Jesus, "I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2 ...

3379. Miracle On Main Street by Dr. George A. Buttrick

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... into the unknown. Our life is beset fore and aft by mystery. Jean Paul Sartre tells us that at death we walk into nothingness. How does he know? He may be very surprised ten seconds after death. Nobody knows, if by "knows" we mean by scientific measurement. But people hope. The train stopped on the Utah desert in a little town. The only green spot on the landscape was the cemetery. How else do we know God? By judgment. Whatever the mystery of evil, we can’t wash our hands of the wrong we do. Here’s an ...

3380. On Leaving Your Signature

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... words of Saint John the Revelator: "... his name shall be on their foreheads." The ones of which he speaks are those who continue to leave their signature on others because they are faithful to the signature that they themselves bear. This is the hope of fulfillment, the expression of intended purpose. We are gathered as a congregation to rejoice in our personhood, to thank God for his blessings, to ask for new strength to live creatively as we were intended to do, to acknowledge our shortcomings, to seek ...

3381. The Cunning Craftsman, God

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... made perfect only in weakness. What utter sadness ... this sham of a man with a pretense of a prayer, worshiping at the altar of self. His very sanctimoniousness isolated him from humanity and heaven. His look of superiority criticized an unfortunate, seeking a word of hope or a hand of help. His pride of bearing and being set him apart from the affairs of his day where the polished surface of his self-excellence needed to get scratched and smudged in the struggle of humanity. And so our Lord dismissed his ...

3382. To Be Perfectly One

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... s soul? If a fellow man or woman has no clothes to wear and nothing to eat, and one of you say, ‘Good luck to you, I hope you’ll keep warm and find enough to eat,’ and yet give them nothing to meet their physical needs, what on earth is the good of ... that the world may know that Thou hast sent me and hast loved them, even as Thou hast loved me." That love, expressed in hope, is the bond that unifies all Christendom ... no matter how remote. The gospel of our unity has a way of reaching even the most ...

3383. 2 + 3 = 4?

Luke 16:1-15

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... from some of the people in her class. Do you know what these things are? [Show them the notes and let them guess.] These notes have answers on them. [Show them the inside of the note.] The person cheating was giving the answers away to other people with the hope that these people would be his friends. This person thought that the other boys and girls would like him if he wrote the right answers to the test on pieces of paper and gave it to anyone who did not know the answers. Of course, the person cheating ...

3384. Worrying Is No Fun

Matthew 6:25-34

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Boots, raincoat, umbrella, sweater, hat, sunglasses. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we’re going to have some fun and I hope you will learn something, too. How many of you like to worry? Not many, but I’m sure that some of you are good worriers. I know someone who worries so much about the weather that he ... we are happy, and we have more time to do the things that we like to do. Let God take care of his world and enjoy every moment that he gives you to live in it. I hope you will all do that.

3385. Virtue Won’t Hurt You

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... ? The moralists in ancient Greece and Rome adhered to four fundamental virtues - wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage. Christianity took over all four virtues, but realizing that these virtues speak chiefly to man’s relation to himself and his society, added three more: faith, hope, and love. Since a straight line is the measure both of itself and a crooked line, it seems that we should spend as much time speaking of virtue as of sin. Unfortunately this has not necessarily been the church’s case. We ...

3386. How To Be A Saint In A Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously about the flight when they revved up the engines and taxied out to the end of the runway. He kept desperately hoping for a last-minute cancellation of the flight - surely someone would notice this weather is too bad to fly in - and was about to be reassured when he heard the voice of a man coming over the intercom system of the plane. "Now," he thought, "they ...

3387. For Losers And Cowards

Judges 6:1-40

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... Midianite hordes descend upon them; and finally cry to God for help. This, then, is the existing situation when Gideon enters the account. How like us he seems! GIDEON DIDN’T HAVE MUCH CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF When we first see Gideon, he is hiding in a cave, hoping the Midianites won’t find him. Most of the crops have been plundered and destroyed, but what he has somehow managed to save must now be winnowed. So Gideon is in a cave, threshing wheat in a wine press, trying to get enough grain for flour for ...

3388. The Unemployed Embalmers

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... Magdalene herself had felt his healing touch as he brought her forth from immoral, evil insanity. They had seen him bring life out of death. They had seen every promise that he made come true. He had never given them a false word, a false promise, or a false hope. We don’t know exactly how many times he told them that he would rise from the dead, but in the Gospel narratives alone, there are seventeen times that he says so. And he never speaks of his death without following it with the fact that he would ...

3389. Life: Sacred or Stupid?

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... he?" "Loose upon the world, my lady, where neither Jew nor Roman nor Greek nor anyone else can stop his Truth and his Life." That’s where the Risen Christ is now - loose in the world! Yes, in many places, his presence causes conflict, but everyplace, his presence means hope. I know, through the Risen Christ, that my world and my life in it are real and worthwhile. I know, through Christ, that my life is of value to God. I am God’s son, as you are God’s child. Because Christ lives, I shall live. I know ...

3390. Numbered Hairs

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... know, or cannot know well. But this is no problem with God. Jesus was affirming that God has no difficulty knowing all of the circumstances of each person’s life, all of his or her desires, needs, problems, purposes, goals, aims, motives, intentions, fears, hopes, joys. Ignorance on God’s part is out of the question. Indifference is out of the question for God, too. One can only be indifferent about that which is of no interest to one. And counting hairs implies interest! Billy Graham received a letter ...

3391. Drastic Surgery

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... thinks of life as the supreme good, as Jesus must have. The main character in the novel, The Stranger, has been sentenced to die because of a murder he has committed. He is planning to appeal the decision of the court, but he does not want to build up his hopes too much. So he tries to find ways of consoling himself. One of the ways he finds is to remind himself that "it’s common knowledge that life isn’t worth living anyhow."5 Jesus saw it differently. It is true that he saw humankind and the world in ...

3392. Mighty Faith

Matthew 17:14-23

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... , his father asked him if he saw any crossroads. He thought he might be able to direct him down one of them and ease his pain some. But Jim answered solemnly, "No crossroads."3 Life appears that way at times, but the person of faith keeps looking and hoping, believing he or she will come to another road soon. Helen Keller lived in a world of silence and of physical darkness. Many people pitied her because she did not have the full enjoyment of her bodily senses as they did. But she said, "It is because they ...

3393. Cheering Stones

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... still mends broken men."2 That’s cheering for Christ! The need of the world for Christ is so great today that someone must cheer for him. Someone must give voice to the recognition of his greatness and of his power to mend broken lives, to resurrect dead hopes, to set persons on the right path again, to enable them to live with dignity and purpose and wholeness, and to move our world in the direction of peace and brotherhood. People need to hear this good news today. They need to be told what Christ can ...

3394. The First Murder - 1940

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... dig for buried treasure and I don’t know how many novels I have read where that was the theme. And the most rewarding field conceivable is the Bible, for in it are riches that no man can estimate. I hope you will follow me as I seek to study the so-called bad characters in the Bible. I hope you will discover how much good is buried in these bad men. Now there are certain necessary precautions that must be stated to avoid misunderstanding. First, as we seek to do our study, we must always remember that it ...

3395. EPISODE 2: THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

... . JESUS: Do you believe that I can help him? WOMAN: Yes ... yes ... we believe it, mister. We have to believe it. There isn’t much hope anyplace else. JESUS: [To the MAN in the wheelchair] Poor man. You can’t speak and tell me your name, but I know you. I ... ’s plan. PETER: No! It can’t be! We won’t let it happen! It would be the end of everything we’ve dreamed and hoped for ... liberty and justice and a new kind of world where we can hold up our heads. You promised us something new. We want the ...

3396. The Wonderful "T" Word

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , Says The Lord Of Hosts, If I Will Not Open Up The Windows Of Heaven FOr You And Pour Down For You An Overflowing Of Blessing." Here is what the Bible promises about tithing: if you tithe in hopes that the Lord will cause your stocks to split and your sales to double, forget it. It won't work. If you tithe in hopes of buying your way to heaven, forget it. Those tickets are not for sale. They are free, paid for on Calvary's cross and received by us through faith. But if you give 10 percent of your income ...

3397. A Reason For All To Be Thankful

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... in the lives of those who love God, he can take even the worst tragedy and bend it to some good purpose. Now, Let's Catch The Reflection Of A Second Truth From This Mighty Verse: God's Promise Is Exclusive It's not for everybody, even though God hopes that all persons will discover it. This promise is only for those persons who love God and are trying to fit into his plan. The verse reads: "In everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." If God does not ...

3398. Family Reunion

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the church as a massive temple reaching all the way to the heavens. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of that structure. The apostles and prophets are the foundation blocks. And each one of us is a block or stone or brick in that structure. No gold brick, I hope, but a vital building block. Each time a new convert trusts Jesus for salvation, a new stone is added to that glorious temple. The third metaphor describing our unity in Christ is family. Verse 19 tells us that we are part of the household of God. Do ...

3399. The Stepfather of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... is then to have a Joseph kind of faith. Some people have troubled marriages, and the hurt of them is sharpest at Christmas. At one time the marriage seemed so right; there were so many dreams. But now, with dreams being battered by a harsh reality, there seems so little hope. Where is God now? How hard it is to have a Joseph kind of faith. Some people have been looking for the right life's partner, but another year is almost gone and Mr. or Ms. Right hasn't come along. Does God care? In this wide world isn ...

3400. Like Buoys In The River

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... in our church sent us a kind note of welcome. In it she said, "I know you miss the ocean. I hope you like the river." Indeed we do. When I gaze out upon the mighty Mississippi I can almost see Huck Finn and ... He wanted to hear the driver ask, "Why in the world did you ram my car?" Then he could reply, "Well, it felt good to me so I did it." I hope to re-introduce the Ten Commandments as God's gracious guideposts toward the good life. Because God loves us, he gave them to us. To follow them is to keep covenant ...

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