Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3526 to 3550 of 4999 results

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... be given at the drop of a hat for nonaffiliation with a church by many people. It is, in itself, a form of "self-righteousness." I recognize many valid reasons people may give for not being Christian, and they are not mere "excuses." This particular kind of alibi, however, hardly holds water, for it suggests that somewhere they know of groups that do not have strife. It must be granted, of course, that some groups do have little negative activity because they either drive out dissidents or else do little ...

3527. The Righteousness God Requires

Micah 6:1-8

Bulletin Aid

... us! Pastor: God has saved us to live a new life; a life of righteousness, love, and fellowship with him. People: May the worship we give to God be this kind of life, lived in thanksgiving for our salvation. Collect Gracious God, you have demonstrated your love in so many ways to accomplish our salvation. Make clear our memory of your kindness to us; that we may respond by living in accordance with your will, without any false appearance of sincerity. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession ...

3528. Journey to the Cross I: Jesus And The Demon-Possessed Man

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... As Pogo put it: “We have met the enemy and he is us!!” One day a young father was shopping in a crowded super-market. His three-year old son was with him. The little boy was riding in the grocery cart... and he was misbehaving terribly and causing all kinds of problems. Every time the father would put something into the cart, the little boy would grab it and throw it back out. If the cart went close to the shelves, the three-year old boy would just rake stuff off onto the floor. At one point, the little ...

3529. FOLLOW THE LEADER

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... a split second. It is difficult to follow our Lord’s lead when our eyes and minds wander away from him by focusing on ourselves or on plastic goals and desires. By plastic, I mean things that lack substance compared to love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness which the Bible describes as the fruits of knowing Christ and following him. If you haven’t tasted joy for awhile and peace is something you have been longing for, consider getting your eyes back on the Leader. We do that by getting back into the ...

3530. The Forgiven and the Forgiving

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... wise to the new spirit, the forgiving spirit, by the grace of Christ who has forgiven us and who makes it possible for us to forgive others. This is simply reflecting the "goodness, the kindness, the mercy of Christ" - the mercy that has saved us. Now we are the agents of love and forgiveness, and he whispers, "Lo, I am with you" - even in this kind of world. We are called to receive and then to be Christ’s forgiving spirit in the life of our world, but we say that people don’t want to be forgiven. "If ...

3531. On Being a Beautiful Christian

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... . She didn’t really like children. If I had had to depend on her for Christian influence, I would have gone in the other direction. She was temperamental - "ninety percent temper, ten percent mental." Someone suggests an experiment: Speak to a three-year old with a kind, gentle voice, saying, "You little brat. You mean little rascal. I am going to break every bone in your little body." The child won’t mind at all. Now, change to a gruff, loud voice and say, "Come here you sweet little angel. I love you ...

3532. "I Don’t Want to Be Perfect - Or Do I?"

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... talked for an hour. He wanted to know what happened after death. He was hungry to know about the real meaning of life - where was it going, what were its values, does God really care, can God really take care of us. This little fellow was revealing the kind of good soil where a life of faith and goodness takes root and grows. John Wesley believed in the law of the sower as he sought to lead England back into Christian life. Thousands were converted under his preaching. He came back to see them. Hundreds had ...

3533. Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise

Romans 11:33-36

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... read the following excerpt from a little book entitled, The Conversion of Chaplain Cohen. The conductor called, "All visitors off the train!" (and) David looked at his aunt and uncle - she, with hands chapped and hard from selling fruit and vegetables outdoors in all kinds of weather, the face ruddy and round and invariably smiling, the heavy body more accustomed to half a dozen sweaters at one time than a single coat, the hair the color of moonlight now, but the eyes still bright; he, with his slight wiry ...

3534. Genuine Imitations

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... the Coca-Cola Company was afraid that Pepsi Cola had come so close to imitating its product that consumers wouldn’t know the difference unless they were told which was the original and which was the imitation. Imitation in the business world may present all kinds of legal and ethical problems for competitors, but in the world which Christians hope to win for Jesus Christ it is no problem at all. The more effectively we imitate Christ by letting our words sound forth, our faith go forth, and our deeds show ...

3535. A SERMON DRAMA FOR CHRISTMASTIDE

Drama

Tom Eberle

... Female: Now let me try again. We have been arguing about you like someone would debate whether Paul Bunyan actually existed. But I think you are saying that your reality is of a different kind. Male: But you are unreal in the same sense that Paul Bunyan is unreal. Gabriel: I will only admit that if you are willing to admit that the kind of reality I am talking about is more important than your question of whether I exist like Paul Bunyan. I am part of the reality about God. I am part of the picture painted ...

3536. Must We Have All the Answers?

Gn 2:9 · Deut 30:19-20 · Job 52:5

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... his presentation left something to be desired. The conviction that we can and should have all the answers to life’s every question is really the main theme of the Genesis story, and the issue is focused on the tree laden with the forbidden fruit. He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. (Genesis 2:9, GNB) God’s garden ground rules call for restraint ...

3537. Dessert in the Desert

Deut 32:10-12 · Ez 37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... if he had been weaned on a pickle." 1 The feeling of emptiness is also a symptom that we are dwelling in a religious wilderness. In our culture it is not, for most of us, a material emptiness of any magnitude. It is a much more insidious emptiness - the kind of emptiness that is unaffected by the size of one’s house, or the vocational position that one has or does not have, or by the number of friends that one has or does not have. The emptiness that we are talking about is indeed more lethal than going ...

3538. How Fares Your Christian Sight?

Is 6:8-10

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... ability to put roofs over our heads or clothes on our backs. The failure is a failure of desire. It is because we the people do not wish - because we the people do not know what it is that we should wish - because we the people do not know what kind of world we should imagine, that this trouble haunts us. The failure is a failure of the spirit: a failure of the spirit to imagine, a failure of the spirit to imagine and desire.3 The great visions of the Bible have a galvanizing effect on us. They motivate and ...

3539. Are You Still Frightened of the Dark?

Genesis 1:1-5 · John 1:4-5 · Psalm 139:11-12

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... dark. They are convinced that there is a robber inside their clothes closet. They are sure there is some kind of ethereal character lurking about in the basement. Beyond a doubt, they are of the conviction that there is a ... darkness that we call night, they remind us that all manifestations of darkness can both compliment the light and serve us in our religious growth. The Dark is kind and cozy, The Dark is soft and deep; The Dark will pat my pillow And love me as I sleep. The Dark is smooth as velvet, And ...

3540. Leah

Genesis 49:29--50:14

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... , for holding the chief place in Jacob’s heart; God, for having permitted her prayers to go unanswered. Yet, here we see the greatness of Leah. Rather than bitterness, she holds kindness; in place of hate, there is love. Hers is the patient, understanding devotion that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians. Her love, indeed, suffered long and was kind. A little girl who, admittedly, was anything but beautiful was told by her mother, "My dear, God did not give you good looks. You will never have a glamorous face ...

3541. The Witch of Endor

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... a state mental hospital. The note was on rough tablet paper. It had been burned, not torn, from a larger sheet. Scribbled on it, "Thank you for the valentine." The woman who was symbol of sin and vice was the last to render kindness too dying man. Strange, how we discover light amid gloom, kindness in caves. It was Micah who said, "... what doth the Lord require ... but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." (6:8) It was Jesus who spoke "... whosoever shall give ... a cup of cold ...

3542. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... parade as he thought of Jerusalem's many lost opportunities. Perhaps he sensed that many of the folks cheering for him that day would be shouting "Crucify him" before the end of the week. He was deliberately presenting himself as a king, but not the kind the world knew. He would wield no worldly, political power. Rather he was fulfilling precisely the prediction made about him by the prophet Zechariah in the Old Testament. He would rule from a cross. From the Palm Sunday story, let me lift up several truths ...

3543. A New Life

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... morning and I want to tell you that they are dead. Yes, sir, I brought you nothing but some broken egg shells and they are dead. Look at that poor old egg shell and see how it is kind of cracked and uneven. The poor thing would have made someone a good breakfast, but the only thing that is left is a cracked, uneven, kind of pale white egg shell. Now you know this eggshell reminds me of Jesus when he came down from the cross. He probably did not look much like he did when he was walking around the hills ...

3544. Sinner to Saint

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... was "converted." Later his wife was asked if she noticed any change in Zeke since he supposedly got religion. She said, "Well, before he carried his jug of whiskey on his shoulder when he walked down town, but now he caries it under his coat." This is not the kind of change Christ makes in our lives. This change goes to the very depths of our beings. There is a radical change of heart. The changed person is a new being in Christ. The change may not be sudden, but there may be a slow, gradual change as the ...

3545. Converting the Converted

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... . People, unknown to you, watch you from day to day. They see something in you they do not possess. It is your sweet attitude. They see in you a quality of life they covet for themselves. They notice how you are unselfish, always putting others first. Your kindness and unselfishness speak to them in Christ. They want to be like you. Some day they may ask you what makes you tick, what is the secret of your radiance. Your good example will bring them to Christ. Why should we be partners with God in bringing ...

3546. The Cross Way of Life

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... told a correspondent, "My priorities are God, husband, children, and country. I would die for all of them." This is the kind of relationship that Jesus would approve as one who was walking with him on the cross road of life. The cross ... and exceptional. In our text Jesus is talking about every follower of his making a sacrifice by losing his life for Christ’s sake. This kind of sacrifice is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience but a daily experience. It is not a sacrifice of death but a living sacrifice ...

3547. Not For Sale at Any Price

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... go there some day but not just right now! To have the kingdom of heaven is a life in God, with God, and for God. It is that kind of life, that puts heaven on earth. We live in a happy relationship with God as a child of God, and we live according to his will. It ... creeping, crawling, red-eyed soulless beasts. They bite and claw, scratch, and screech." The person with the kingdom is saved from this kind of inner hell. For the one in the kingdom of heaven there is the peace that results from being one with God ...

3548. Claudia Procula, Peter, and Centurion

Drama

Jon Joyce

... : Did he raise the sword against Rome? CENTURION: Not yet, my lady. They say he was going to ... PETER: [His control of his status gone, he blurts out all in his impulsive way.] No, he wasn’t going to lift a sword against anyone. He’s a kind and gentle man, the Master. He teaches love and patience. It doesn’t make any sense, what is happening. He never hurt anyone, ever. He did just the opposite. He healed people and helped them tolerate their lives a little better. I don’t understand ... [He breaks ...

3549. The Bible, Your Mirror? by Dr. Lawrence L. Lacour

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... understand ourselves from the full biblical pespective. This full biblical view begins with the book of Genesis. Here we learn what kind of persons God created us to be, what we are by nature - what Paul Tillich called "essential man." In the creation ... I shall be, but I shall be like him. That is enough. I shall see him as he is! Every pastor sees demonstrations of this kind of faith. Recently one of our dedicated members, who had been facing death for some time, talked about it with her daughter and me. ...

3550. In the Spirit's Tether

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... upon as a new race ... Jews, Gentiles, and People of the Way. Celsus, a pagan critic of Christianity in the second century, was compelled to conclude his bitter attack with these complimentary words, "But behold how these Christians love one another." That fellowship, that new kind of love, was unknown in the ancient world. It marked them as a different breed, and as a force to be reckoned with. They were bound to each other and to Christ the Head of the whole Body. They were held together in the Spirit ...

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