Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 326 to 350 of 662 results

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... - control not self-control, but more of that later. Then, there is our relation to others, "Live a life that is upright." To be upright in all our relationships is to be honorable -- to be sincere -- to be devoid of sham. "Sham," according to Webster, is "an imitation that is meant to deceive." It is like two thin layers of veneer over inexpensive wood to make a table or a wall appear better than it is. Sham is harmless when it is confined to furniture, but when it appears in people it is deadly. Appearance ...

327. A New Look for a New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... , Saint Paul reminds us that we most resemble the God we worship when we extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us. He writes, "And, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1). Be certain of this, there is nothing in his terribly needy world that bears the gracious impress of the Son of God so surely as forgiveness. James Hilton, in Time and Time Again, demonstrates wholesome ...

328. What It Takes to Do the Job

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... because I did it? We all have a person like John in our lives. Somebody, a friend, a family member, a person we don't even know is influenced by our example. If we live as an example to others by following the example of Jesus Christ, then those who imitate us will be led to the light of Christ. Job #1. What is your Job #1? Oh, we know that we can't just try to put on a happy face to make a great witness for the Lord. People see through that. But if whatever we do this Lent ...

329. Grace in the Midst of Exasperation

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... . They still reside within us and they remain exceedingly powerful. But Christians can experience victory over those desires because of a higher law, a greater power. That greater power is mediated by the Holy Spirit. Whenever someone chooses to become an intentional imitator of Jesus Christ, a brand new set of desires is placed inside them -- and so is the Holy Spirit, God's own Self living inside our hearts. Christians receive an entirely new nature -- a whole new level of passion and insight concerning ...

330. Grace in the Midst of Guilt and Shame

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." The miracle of this grace is that Christian disciples -- those who have received Christ's gift of new life and enrolled as his intentional imitators -- cannot sin themselves out of their relationship with him. Our sins cannot separate us from God. Nevertheless, our attitudes toward our continuing failures may create the impression that God has fled -- especially if we are unwilling to accept God's ...

331. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... desire to experience authentic relationships. Deep inside we long for true community: for relationships in which we can express our real feelings, be accepted for who we are, and give and receive genuine love. But most of us settle for a pale imitation of the real thing. Peck calls this cheap substitute "pseudo community." Most of us are involved in marriages, family relationships, and friendships that hover safely near the surface. We hesitate to speak what is "unsafe." Open discussions about hurt feelings ...

332. The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... 's channel on TV? He said: come around here and look at this, I want to show you something. He put the light on two rings--the one I had just bought and a phony diamond. Then he gave me his jeweler's eyeglass. He said look at this cheap imitation and look at what you just bought and when I did I was amazed. My ring sparkled. The counterfeit was dull and had no luster. Jesus said: now here are two shepherds. Outwardly there seems to be no difference. The skin of both has been bronzed by the sun and ...

333. To Live Is To Dance

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... me about during those first years, he fell into the trap of seeking to pattern his life after some superstar type Christian whom he loved and appreciated. Even adopting their vocabulary and their communication style. Now that’s a common story. Too often we try to imitate other persons whom we set up as examples of Christian living and we squash, we squash our own unique gifts. Steve Miller had a marvelous image. He says we’ve sought to turn the church into a trumpet corps, when it really out to be an ...

334. A Guiding Presence

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is soon depleted. I have discovered the indwelling Christ is a guiding presence, because Christ in me means something quite different from the weight of an impossible ideal. Christ in me means something far more glorious than the oppressive struggle of seeking to imitate Christ or to follow in his steps, which you have been admonished to do all your lives. Christ in me, means Christ bearing me up from within, giving me power and perspective, permeating my being so completely that intuitively I can sense his ...

335. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us. Indeed, to live a spiritual life means to become living Christ. Do you get that? You, each one of you, is to become a living Christ. It’s not enough, it’s not enough to try to imitate Jesus as much as possible, it’s not enough to remind others of Jesus, it’s not even enough to be inspired by the words and actions of Jesus. The spiritual life presents us with a far more radical demand, the demand to be living Christs here and now in ...

336. In The Beginning And The End...God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters." Incandescent amazement! It's interesting to note that the Hebrew word used here for "created" is one that is used only of God in the Bible. The truth is, the word implies utterly beyond human imitation, or comprehension. The world in all its complexity did not come into existence by chance. The odds are too great for that. Someone has said that if you put ten pennies minted in consecutive years into your pocket, the odds of taking them out in order ...

337. A Fragrant Offering

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... characteristic of our walk -- our greatest need: Love. Isn't that a beautiful description in Ephesians 5, verses 1 and 2 which we read a moment ago? Paul calls us to the Christian walk and he does it in an unforgettable way. Listen to him again: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." That's the image I would like to lodge in your mind -- living a life of love which was expressed in its ...

338. The Promised Messiah

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... Isaiah 55:8), and how true that is of the God to whom the Bible witnesses! In our society, we adulate those whom we think are successful or talented or distinguished in some way. Many teenagers look up to a famous sports figure and try to imitate him on their own playing fields. Many viewers tune into the television program that interviews someone who is famous and rich. Fan clubs gather around Hollywood stars, and the faces of the so-called "beautiful people" look out at us from every magazine cover. Even ...

339. The Glory of Christ

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... glory of Christ, just as Israel was to reflect the light of God's presence with her. The church's words and proclamations are to point to Christ's work and to declare Christ's redemption. The church's actions are to mirror Christ's love and to imitate Christ's deeds of mercy. The church's worship is to be directed toward the glorification of Christ, praising him for all he has said and done for all peoples everywhere. In short, the life of the church is to reflect that of its Lord -- his love, his sacrifice ...

340. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of Christ active in us, the mysterious source of new vitality by which we are made aware that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us . . .. Indeed, to live a spiritual life means to become living Christ’s. It is not enough to try to imitate Christ as much as possible; it is not enough to remind others of Jesus; it is not even enough to be inspired by the words and actions of Jesus Christ. No, the spiritual life presents us with a far more radical demand: to be living Christ here and now, in ...

341. Generic Christianity Is Not Enough

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... between what was done or said in that church and the gruesome painting that dominated the entrance to the sanctuary. [That painting] had issued a warning: Remember, Christian soul that thou hast this life and every day of thy life God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, a soul to save, a body to mortify, sins to repent of, virtues to acquire, hell to avoid, heaven to gain, eternity to prepare for, time to profit by, neighbors to edify, the world to despise, devils to combat, passions to subdue, judgment to ...

342. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... my struggling to minister for Christ. Over the years since, I have continued to ask myself, “Do I want to be holy?” And I have constantly reminded myself that I am as holy as I want to be. Paul calls us to be nothing less than “imitators of God.” (Eph. 5:1); this is possible through the Holy Spirit. THE GIFT OF ASSURANCE One of the primary works of the Holy Spirit is providing us the ongoing assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ. This was powerfully witnessed to in John Wesley’s Aldersgate ...

343. What Making a Difference Looks Like

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... fault to the need. Mercy does not wait for the other to come groveling but reaches out, making it easy for the other to receive the gift. Mercy is as close as we can get to the heart of God. Mercy is a spiritual victory. As John Chrysostom preached, “Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.” 6 Mercy is a breath of heaven’s air. My own awareness of the power of mercy has been expanded by a prayer I sometimes pray a hundred times a day, often aloud when no one is around but more often in my heart in ...

344. What Is Required of Us?

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... of the commandments which are called moral.” We are to welcome and study the whole of the Old Testament. It was the raw material out of which the life and teachings of Jesus were quarried. It is rituals and ceremonial regulations are not to be imitated, but its moral commandments and its vision of who this holy God of love is are absolutely binding upon us as Christians. Read the Book of Proverbs and gain wisdom; read the Song of Solomon and learn about passionate love; read the Psalms and learn how ...

345. Getting Your Politics Right

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... Lord whatever our location, be they pleasant and protected as they are here in America or intense and pressurized as they are in China and behind the veil of Islam. We are praying and looking for the kingdom of God and will settle for no earthly imitations or approximations, noble as they may first appear. We are not naive about the world in which we live. Our insights into universal sin and radical evil make us distrustful of all great promises and grand schemes to heal the wounds of this world apart from ...

346. To Live Is to Dance

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

347. Letting Go

Acts 7:55-60

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... turns a routine execution into a near lynching. And the last thing he says is, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." He let go his life serenely. He even let go his anger and hate and self-pity and everything else, and clung to Jesus -- even to imitating the last words of Jesus, "Father, forgive them." This is a great example of what Jesus is talking about to the disciples in today's Gospel Lesson. You know the way. The way is Jesus. When Jesus says he is the way, doesn't that change the direction of ...

348. What Are You Looking At?

Acts 1:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... we look over our shoulder, on the off chance that this moment, this instant, is the one in which you return in glory. You can't blame us. But mostly, we're faithful. We bear your gospel now to the world as we carry our cross in imitation of you. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Without any doubt the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, Vindicated in spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among Gentiles, Believed in throughout the world, Taken up in glory. Amen. (based on 1 ...

349. He Bends Down

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship "Let us imitate the Lord, who at the very time of His Passion was not more proud but more humble." -Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage Collect Lord God, this day we are gathered to share fellowship, service, and suffering. Let us be true to you, kneeling as you knelt, girding ourselves with a towel, ...

350. At the Crossroads

Genesis 28:10-91a

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... he told you all the things he would do in your honor if things worked out. We recognize ourselves in Jacob - receiving boundless promises of grace and salvation, and hoping to work out a response if time and finances suit. We will try once more to truly imitate your love in our relationship with you and with the sisters and brothers here and around the world. Surely this is the gate of heaven. This time we want to walk through. Amen. Hymns "Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing" "Nearer My God To Thee" "My Faith ...

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