Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3401 to 3425 of 4884 results

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

John Jamison

... what we sow. Imagine the young child growing up in a house where you did not reap what you sow. The poor child never knew what was going to happen next. No matter what he did, he could never predict the outcome. He could behave as a perfect gentleman, only to end up getting yelled at and sent to his room, or worse. When he misbehaved, even in some really horrendous ways, it might be overlooked, or even somehow rewarded. Acceptance and rejection were given out randomly. Attention was paid or not paid, but ...

3402. Whose Inheritance Is It?

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... "this" is the Holy Spirit speaking, we often travel through the following matters. We remember our baptism — we have a visit from our humility — we acknowledge our lemon side — we give thanks to God that we might be able to be a saint and not be either holy, perfect, or superior to others. The shiver of grace in the saint begins right here: God might use us! We know this use may be a mistake, that God may have placed a bet on the wrong horse. Many clergy and many saints shiver. We shiver — and then ...

3403. The Hard Sell

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... well-accepted Christian practice. It is time to move boldly (or humbly) away from showing others we belong to Christ and to please watch what we do! Away with worship attendance mostly to be seen. Away with prayers having more to do with others hearing our perfectly spoken words. Away with giving all of our money in checks, so there is an accurate record for the church and the IRS. Away with ushering and greeting to show we are active in the church. Bring on the anonymity for which our blessed Lord calls ...

3404. Bystanders or Standbys

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... first vertical nature of our relationship with our parents. We always feel like we need to reach “up.” As men and wo-men of faith, as “ish” and “ishah,” there is another vertical relationship we never outgrow. Both Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 make it perfectly clear that humans were part of the creative process initiated by the Creator, by the God of the universe. There is a creative, caring power that eternally stands above and beyond us. That is why the posture of prayer is on our knees. That is ...

3405. You Can Be My Husband

Mark 10:17-31; 1 Pet. 3:7

Illustration

Communication. It's difficult. Of course, the perennial complaint of women is that men don't communicate their feelings. A little girl and a little boy were at day care one day. The girl approached the boy and said, "Hey Billy, want to play house?" He said, "Sure! What do you want me to do?" Sally replied, "I want you to communicate your feelings." "Communicate my feelings?" said a bewildered Billy. "I have no idea what that means." The little girl nods and says, "Perfect. You can be the husband."

3406. Mark 10: 35-45

Mark 10:35-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of power that Jesus now presents to his disciples and the way it is supposed to be “among you” (v.43). The use of the present tense “estin” (“be”) makes Jesus’ declaration a command: “it is not to be so among you.” With perfect parallelism Jesus presents his alternative — those who wish to be “great” must be “your servant,” those who wish to be “first” must be “slave to all” (v.44). While “diakonos” is also used in the New Testament to designate “deacon,” the term ...

3407. Operation Omega

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes we can get things so perfectly wrong that we don’t have even a hint that we’ve stepped in it again. Here’s one example: Drive through any town or suburb in America and you will see signs announcing the names of local churches. There will be a “First Presbyterian, a “First United Methodist,” a “ ...

3408. Good News about Ambition

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

Back in 2003 Jim Hager of Oakland, California, earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. He accomplished this feat by eating 115 M&M candies in three minutes with chopsticks! I don’t know how long it took Mr. Hager to perfect this skill of eating M&Ms with chopsticks. And I certainly have no idea why he undertook this task, but I do know this all of us have our dreams. Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States says that when he was a small boy in Kansas, he ...

3409. Looking for an EZ Pass

Mark 10:35-45

Illustration

David Beckett

... is like a debit card for your car, only quicker. No more stopping at the tollgate, the narrow gate. Jesus says, I am the narrow gate. There's no quick way in. There's no shortcut. If he wasn't the Christ himself already, he'd be the perfect patron saint of tollgates. Sometimes it seems that everybody wants the easy way to the front of the line, a quick way to glory and fast track to success. Including James and John, the brothers Zebedee, who want front-row seats numbering two and three. Put yourself in ...

3410. Home at Last

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... and how we are to relate to one another. According to the prophet Jeremiah, people will know in their hearts right from wrong and want to keep the law. A Savior is coming who will atone for all our sins. The psalmist declares, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, and giving wisdom to the simple. It is more valuable than gold and sweeter than honey" (Psalm 19:7, 10). Martin Luther reminds us that the law is also full of God's grace. "The law says, 'Do this,' and it is never done. Grace says ...

3411. Past, Present, Future

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... power." Stuart writes, and adds that greed "is not a badge of honor. It is the signature of a dying society." Isaiah wanted his people to walk away from greed and power. So did Jesus whose Sermon on the Mount invites us to an even more perfect system, if we are willing to become a peculiar people who reject power, the trappings of the culture, and the temptation to excuse ourselves because "everyone else acts that way." It means walking away from a culture that values power and prestige over the community ...

3412. What Are You Looking At?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... tells us Jesus is very present. This ascension into heaven shapes the way we look at the world. It causes us to look back to the ministry of Jesus so we may find a pattern for our own, but it also encourages us to look forward to the perfect kingdom God will institute. It opens the door for the Holy Spirit to enter the world more fully, to become the center of our lives, invisible, yet always moving among us, never seen, often felt, always known. Thanks to the ascension we, like the disciples, must move ...

3413. Wisdom's Delight

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... is a way of saying that the wisdom that dwells in God also dwells in Christ. The writers of Proverbs did not have the benefit of knowing Jesus, as they lived centuries earlier, but from their point of view as expressed in Proverbs, they found it perfectly acceptable to urge people to seek wisdom rather than always urging them to seek God directly, for the reality is, seekers cannot go far toward wisdom without finding God. In one of his books, E. Stanley Jones tells of New York City psychologist, Dr. Henry ...

3414. A Father's Heart Cry

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... the infidelity — much like "not-pitied" children of broken homes bear the emotional scars today, emotionally disowned as "not my people." And, like many of today's youngsters they acted out their anguish in rebellion. Those of you with less-than-perfect children might, perhaps, have an inkling. But a few of you, who have perhaps personally parented persons who are hell-bent on self-destruction, are better positioned to grasp the heartache of God amidst Israel's spiral toward disaster. While the airwaves ...

3415. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... be reminded of Jeremiah and his message. Like most prophets, he was not universally listened to or agreed with, but that did not change his message. Nor should it change the message of salvation as found in our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus' life and ministry are a perfect example of individual and communal responsibility. He lived his life in a way for all to see how one should conduct the living of life while sharing that life at the same time. Getting back to the question of what you or I can do to help ...

3416. In the Waiting Room

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... his body in the world, called to do his work. The church has been serving the world in Christ’s name for two thousand years. Now is not the time to let up. We hear criticism of the church. Some of it is justified, some is not. We are not perfect. Some of what we do is very mundane. A pastor once said, “I sometimes fear going into heaven to stand before the Master with his nail-pierced hands. When he asks, ‘What have you suffered?’ all that I will be able to show him is a paper cut from folding ...

3417. Wouldn’t It Be Great?

Mark 12:28-34

Illustration

David Beckett

... and found an ancient lantern. One man picked it up. As he began to rub it and clean it, a genie popped out and said, "Well, since you have been good enough to release me, I will give each of you one wish." The first man said, "Oh, that's perfectly marvelous. I'm a cattleman from Wyoming and I wish I were back on my ranch." Poof! He was back on his ranch. The second man said, "Well, I'm a stockbroker from New York, and I wish that I were back in Manhattan." Poof! He was back in Manhattan ...

3418. Hebrews 9:24-28

Hebrews 9:11-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... waves of quantum mechanics. The author of Hebrews was faced with trying to communicate the new work of God to an audience that preferred the old, familiar rituals and images. The old covenant, the first testament between God and Israel might not be perfectly adhered to or enacted. But its rhetoric and its requirements gave the Hebrew people their sense of uniqueness, and carved out a particular place in the past, the present, and the future for their lives. In the Epistle to the Hebrews the author ...

3419. The Widow’s Mite for $39.95

Mark 12:41-44

Illustration

Brett Blair

... quote the Scripture we just heard, "While our limited supplies last, you may order the 2,000 year old Widow's Mite for only $39.95 plus shipping and handling. Remember this is the genuine coin mentioned in the Holy Bible and it makes a perfect gift for your child, grandchild, or favorite clergyman." The advertisement makes it sound like your buying the actual coin the widow dropped into the receptacle. Of course, you are not. It doesn't exist. Harder still is to purchase the woman's attitude of generosity ...

3420. Love Finds a Way

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... haltingly, sings the first verse of “Silent Night” in German. [Note: Don’t worry if the children struggle with the German. Remember, within the context of the play, it’s the first time the Austrian Choir is singing the song. It shouldn’t sound perfect.] After finishing the German verse, the contemporary choir and the little ones that sang at the beginning of the play don scarves and join the Austrian Choir to sing the first verse in English. As the last notes fade, lights dim slightly.) Mohr and ...

3421. “Unto Us A Child Is Born... Next, On Omar”

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... I’ll go check on our next guests. (exits stage right) Omar: (to the Wise Men) Sorry about that. Please, continue. Wise Man 3: The prophecies say this king will be “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” I think the humble setting couldn’t have been more perfect. Wise Man 1: There is a lot of truth in that, I guess. Anyway, we gave the child our gifts. Wise Man 3: And we told the parents what Herod had said. But then, as we were starting back, I had a very troubling dream. An Angel warned me ...

3422. Miracles? No Problem!

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... : Trust me. You have found favor with God. And we never question the Big Guy. Please, if you’d just put down the broom I could explain. Mary: Okay — you can explain. But please don’t walk around too much. I just washed the floor. Gabriel: Perfectly understandable. May I sit? Mary: Please do. (Gabriel sits on the edge of the platform. He takes a moment to regain his composure, pulls out a handkerchief and mops off his forehead. Mary remains standing, leaning on the broom a bit.) Gabriel: Now as I was ...

3423. Christmas Eve at Angel School

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... go to Bethlehem and see this wonder that God has made known to us. Shepherd 1: But, what about the sheep? Shepherd 2: Oh, just leave them. I think God will watch them. Lead Shepherd: Right. On this holy and special night, I’m sure they will be perfectly safe right here. 4th Angel: (coming down off the platform) I’ll take care of them. Shepherd 3: Have you ever watched sheep before? 4th Angel: No, but it can’t be any tougher than watching them. (points to little Angels) Shepherd 2: You see. I told you ...

3424. Because God Said So, That’s Why!

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... come to bring us out of the darkness and into God’s light. David: (to King Melchior) Please, may I give the myrrh? King Melchior: Yes, I think you should. (David places the myrrh at the baby’s feet. He stares down at the baby.) David: He’s ... perfect. King Balthazar: A very true statement. Esther: Aren’t you glad you came now? David: Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t believe. King Caspar: I think we should thank God for keeping his promises. David: Thank you, God. Any other promises I should know? I’m ...

3425. Good News about Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... the Bible is saying is that Jesus is identical to the Father. Christ is the same substance of the Father, the same nature. If you want to know what the Father is like, look at the genetic reproduction of the Son. There is only one.” (4) What a perfect analogy. What is God like? Look at Jesus. On one occasion the disciple Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who ...

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