Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3426 to 3450 of 4986 results

3426. Some Things Ought Not to Happen

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

James L. Killen

... learned differently and at different rates. If they were both allowed to learn in their own ways, they would both turn out just fine. In fact, it did turn out just that way. Both boys graduated from excellent universities and did well in their careers -- and they stayed friends all of their lives. That story could have turned out very differently if the parents had not been wise enough to give each son his unique place. Can we imagine God feeling that way about all of God's children? What would it mean for ...

3427. When Jacob Got a Vision

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... covenant and a promise for the future. Jacob acts immediately on the vision, rising early in the morning to pray, to commit himself, and to go his way. Jacob is able to clarify his purpose and mission. It's late. The ranger bids the few campers who have stayed by the campfire a good-night, a sweet sleep, and a wonderful new day tomorrow. "The number one spiritual need in America today is the need to have clarity about one's purpose and meaning in life."2 There is great power in purpose and meaning. George ...

3428. An Incredible Encounter

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... Was this a call to conversion and change? Was this a test to see if Jacob's faith was sterling or sawdust? Was this struggle with God a gracious rehearsal for what Jacob might experience when he soon faced Esau? How could Jacob even stay in the ring with Elohim? Here God is not described with all the godly attributes as all-powerful, all-knowing, omniscient, and omnipresent. Yet grace appears amazingly when God "mixes it up with Jacob," challenges, convicts, evaluates, and judges him. When the stranger sees ...

3429. Bloody Lintels — Broken Bread

Exodus 12:1-14

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... two combatants -- the mouse and the lion. Then it's gnats, then flies, sick livestock, boils, incessant thunder and hail, locusts, and darkness. The tug-of-war gets nasty -- back and forth. "Yes, go. No, you can't. Yes, get out of here. No, you've got to stay." Finally the time is up. No more games, no more tricks. The final plague comes. It's the plague of death of the firstborn -- the most devastating plague of all. The Pharaoh/Hebrew clash began with the birth of Moses when the Pharaoh did not spare the ...

3430. The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-14

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... milestone. Just before Moses left, the people were consecrated in a big ceremony. Everyone was in a worshipful mood, assuring Moses that "everything the Lord has spoken, we will do" (Exodus 19:8). Things were going well when Moses went up the mountain. Then Moses stayed longer than anyone expected. The waiting got to the people. They seem to have fed each other's fears. They all got anxious at once. When they went to Aaron, they went together, as one body. No voice of reason seems to have emerged to ...

3431. Filling Moses’ Shoes

Joshua 3:7-17

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... engineer. He told the group of boys that he did not know much about the Bible, but that they would learn it together. Bishop Oden says that he can still see Cooper's rough hands lovingly turning the pages of the Bible as he taught. Cooper stayed with the boys for three years, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. Out of that class of troublemakers came three clergy (one of whom was a bishop), a theology professor, and a conference lay leader. God worked through a railroad engineer, even if he didn't feel ...

3432. Healing the Pain from the Past

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... and blissfully stroked her whiskers against their outstretched hands. She was comfortable with people. My friends were quite willing to provide for the cat's few needs: food, fresh water, a potent flea collar, and some affection. For the most part, the cat stayed outside, springing up to greet them when they returned from work each evening. They let the cat in occasionally, grateful that she understood the idea behind a litter box. Cleaning day revealed a trauma from the cat's past. When a broom appeared ...

3433. Passing and Failing

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... they take qualifying exams for doctoral study. Whether we are in school now, or just have the bad memories, we don't like tests. Oh, and teachers have to grade them, so even they don't like them. No matter what our opinion of tests is, they are here to stay. You have to take tests to get into school, and you have to take tests to get out of school. We can't get out of it. As if all of that weren't enough, when we get to Deuteronomy, we find out that God gives tests! This passage from ...

3434. Return to the Shepherd!

John 10:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... live and breathe and move in our midst. Alleluia. Alleluia. Amen. Prayer Of Confession (sung to the tune of "Savior Of My Soul") Sheep can go astray. We had lost our way. Praise to you who searched and found us. You upon the cross astound us. Freed from sin, we stay By your side this day. Hymns "Lord, With Devotion We Pray" "Revive Us Again" "He Leadeth Me"

3435. Grace Has Appeared

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

James L. Killen

A little baby was born nearly 2,000 years ago under very unimpressive circumstances. He was born to poor working people living in an oppressed country. He was born while the parents were on a journey that was required by a tyrant, and they had to stay in a stable instead of in a home. The baby was laid to sleep in a trough from which cattle usually ate. And yet, Christians down through all of those years have believed that there was something very special about that birth. We have believed that, in that ...

3436. The Incarnation: What and Why?

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... the first practice, a cynical team member asked, in the hearing of the whole team, "How long are you going to be here, one week or two?" The coach answered in the hearing of the whole team, "I am here for my whole career if the alumni will let me stay. I believe you can win and I am here to help you do it. Don't wonder about me. I am with you. I am going to be here. Are you?" At first, the team didn't believe him. But he acted like he meant it. He came to each ...

3437. Dealing with Criticism

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

James L. Killen

... than issues are in competition. If you know who you are, if you know that you are a child of God, then you will know that your status and your personhood are not in jeopardy. You don't have to prove anything or to win anything for yourself. You can stay focused on the issues and let people say what they will. The second reason is that you need to be free to ask if you really are right. You need to be able to own your ambivalence, to listen to the sincere opinions of others, and to evaluate the evidence ...

3438. Abraham Believed God

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... God. It wasn't always easy to follow through on their belief, but they all believed. Noah had to watch the destruction of humankind. Moses had to take the harsh judgment of his people as he led them for forty years. Then he had to stay behind as they crossed over into the Promised Land. David became a great king of God's people, but the road to greatness was paved with treacherous curves. John the Baptist before Jesus, and the disciples after Jesus, all sacrificed their lives for believing God. Jesus ...

3439. Light Is as Light Does

Ephesians 5:8-14

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... he was approached by the older pastor who offered some advice: "You know, I think that when a person finishes with a confession, you should say something on the order of, 'I agree it is terrible what you have done, and I would encourage you to stay away from that kind of behavior from now on ...' instead of saying, 'WOW!' " Saint Paul tells us, "For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light ...

3440. Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... , we continue to believe that tomorrow is a possibility. Go to any rehabilitation hospital and you will find people with all sorts of needs and ailments. When people enter a hospital like that, they find out quickly that they have to work to get better. A stay in a rehab hospital is not an easy vacation. Patients learn a lot about themselves that they didn't know they were capable of doing. They find hope. As long as possibilities exist for them, there is hope. Even people who "are dying" are helped to ...

3441. Because

1 Peter 1:1—2:3

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

3442. Sheep that Count

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... choices. I'm sick and tired of following someone else's footsteps all the time." Edgar's mother didn't understand this talk, or where it had come from. All she knew how to do was what she had always done. And that was to follow the shepherd, stay in the flock, and be kept safe and healthy. That seemed like quite enough for her. She told her son what all the elders had always said to her, "The grass may look greener over there somewhere, but without the shepherd, its taste will seem quite bitter." But Edgar ...

3443. The Gifted

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . The other day I tried out my one-point sermon on somebody who dropped by the church office. He wanted to hear a preview for Sunday morning. Maybe he figured if I could sum up my sermon in a single line, he could turn off the alarm Sunday morning and stay in bed. In any case, I told him what I wanted to say. I said, "If the church is honest and true about what it takes to be a truly Christian church, it will say without reservation that it is charismatic." He looked at me for a minute and raised ...

3444. Struggles, Death, and Christ

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

... of that sacrifice would be to his gain. This life is something that might be nice, or comfortable, or full of opportunities to serve Christ, but it is something that also keeps us away from Jesus. While Paul finds it necessary to remain in the flesh, to stay alive for the moment, he regards it as far better to be able to live with Christ, in other words, to die. Paul's attitude toward death is something that most Christians find difficult to accept. Our difficulty is sometimes used as an accusation that our ...

3445. Always?

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Rick Brand

... confidence that where we are doing the will and purpose of God, God will not forsake or abandon. We work and live in the steadfastness of hope that the one who has given new life in Christ will be the one to whom we go in the end. It has stayed with me through the years. The scene from the movie The Hiding Place about the ten Boom sisters. Corrie and her sister Betsie were talking with the other women in a concentration camp about the love of God and inviting the other women to share in that love. "You mean ...

3446. The Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

Rick Brand

... keep us alert and awake, as those who are living and working during the daylight. We are not like those groping in the dark, unable to see, afraid to move, unsure of the next step. We are to be people who are alive, alert, awake, and aware. We need to stay that way. This promise of the Second Coming of the Lord is not an invitation to laziness. It is not an excuse for idleness. The promise of Christ's return is not excuse for indifference. It is the promise of his coming that makes us much more eager to ...

3447. Say What?

1 John 3:5-6

Sermon

Rick Brand

... the Frank Sinatra theme song sin: "I did it my way." Nobody's going to tell me what to do. There is a sense in which this is quickly becoming our culture's favorite sin. Listen to our ads: "You got to break some rules. Nobody says you have to stay on the roads. Just do it." Yes, there are rules, but rules are made for whimps. Rules are for the other guy. The stop sign on the corner is not intended for us. Others are supposed to stop, but we live here. We know the community; we'll just drive ...

3448. The Power of God

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Rick Brand

... story was about the power of that small act of charity to change things. The woman is now constantly on the go. She is being invited all over the world to be honored for her act of love. She has flown in airplanes for the first time, stayed in the finest homes, eaten whatever her heart might desire, met governors, mayors, and celebrities who have all wanted her autograph. There is a frightening and awesome power in the power of goodness, in the power of compassion, a power which cannot be grabbed or wanted ...

3449. A Radical Faith

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... young Luther, and then next week the mature Luther and the legacy that he left to all of us. Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, a little town in what is called Saxony in Germany. Jean and I were there just a couple of weeks ago. We stayed in a "pension" just a few feet away from Luther's "geburthaus" house, the place where he was born. We also walked a few blocks beyond that to the church in which he was baptized the day after he was born, on November 11, 1483. It was St. Martin's ...

3450. Can't Help Dreaming

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... speak with such power? The answer is, they have a vision of who we can be, and of what the world can be. They have been transformed by a vision. Immediately the revolution began. The revolution was that people no longer kept their place. People no longer stayed in the pigeon holes that the world placed them in. They refused to conform the hugeness of their vision to the smallness of the world. I love that story about Ruth Gordon, the actress. She was discouraged from going into acting from the time she was ...

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