Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4943 results

3601. What, Then, Would You Be?

2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... who witnessed the miracles of Jesus and yet refused to repent Jesus said unto them, “If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” The early church continued this practice. Ash Wednesday begins the liturgical season of Lent which lasts forty days, representative of the forty days Jesus spent in the desert enduring the temptations of Satan. In the early church on Ash Wednesday those Christians who committed grave faults ...

3602. Mandatum

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... twelve disciples as a sign of humility and service. The significance of this ritual is far reaching as it is considered by the early church as the act that instituted the priesthood of his disciples. With this act of humility the disciples were consecrated as priests to continue the ministry of Jesus after his death. This act went beyond the giving of the keys of the kingdom to Peter, for all the disciples were to be priests, and this is the forebear of ordination as we know it today. Though you may not be ...

3603. All We Are Left With...

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... is it? If this is all we are left with, I am content with it – love.’” (2) This was the last night of Jesus’ life. He had one thing left to say. “If this is all we are left with, I am content with it---love.” Our Bible passage continues: “The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from ...

3604. The Greater Gift

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in which way Jesus is speaking to us. When God still today looks upon those who are suffering through no fault of their own, God speaks compassionately, offering the best of the kingdom to those who already have undergone enough pain and yet continue to bear the kindest and most loyal of hearts to both God and others. To those who criticize, judge, and condemn, believing themselves righteous, better, or more worthy, God desires a repentant heart, a heart God will always receive with joy and celebration ...

3605. How Does Prayer Work?

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... life; he prayed before choosing his disciples; he prayed as he served and healed other people; he prayed as he felt the demands and pressures of his ministry; he prayed as he faced the cross; he prayed as he finished his work on the cross. Jesus is continually praying. Prayer was as vital to Jesus as was taking his next breath. Jesus could not have accomplished what he did on earth without the power of prayer. It was out of his own consistent prayer life that Jesus gave us a powerful lesson about prayer in ...

3606. The Just-In-Case God

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... life to sharing the message of Jesus. Please don’t miss the power of his message: God has made Himself known to us. God wants to have a relationship with those who seek Him. And now is the time to decide: will you continue to live as if there is no god? Will you continue to believe in some higher power that doesn’t require any relationship or commitment? Or will you search for the one true God who created you and wants a relationship with you. The time to decide is now. 1. “23 of the Best Backhanded ...

3607. Singing the Lord's Song

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven. Melissa Arney, one the active young leaders of the congregation in Groesbeck shared that she and her family were driving along in their van one ...

3608. Broken

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... resurrection and the reason behind the entire sacrificial theology –as he explained it to the Emmaus disciples in the scriptures as they walked the road. I have always liked to call Jesus the master of the “teachable moment.” Even after his death, he continued to follow up his teaching of scripture with real-life encounter. In this case, himself. His presence. And his wounds. He is the miracle. Although the breaking of the bread is important metaphorically, just as it was the night of the Last Supper ...

3609. With Challenge And Invitation

John 10:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... into chapter ten with Jesus’ response. This reveals Jesus’ parable as something much more than a tender portrait of God’s care. Instead of a stand- alone story, it’s a continuation of the Pharisees’ dispute with Jesus. They had already questioned the man who had miraculously received his sight. They had questioned his parents to confirm that their son had actually been born blind. Then they questioned the man again, and when they were not satisfied with his answers, they put ...

3610. Invincible

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Truth is Jesus, manifest among them, with them always to show them the way and the truth –about themselves, their mission, the world, and himself. When they abide in him, and he in them, when they continue to invest in relationship with him through the presence of the Holy Spirit, he will continue to advocate for them, guide them, and have their backs –forever and always. Last week we talked about Jesus in terms of the “Way.” In our scripture for today, we see Jesus teaching his disciples that he ...

3611. Converts Or Disciples?

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

... the fullness of what it means to love God and neighbor. I am with you until you fully discover just how much God loves the world. He is with us, just as the angel promised at Christmas. Just as he himself declared after Easter, Jesus Christ is with us. His continuing work is to make us into the kind of people who share God’s love and justice with every person under heaven, to the point that they, too, will share that love and justice with others. That, if you ask me, is the meaning and the promise of the ...

3612. When Everything That Matters Has Been Torn Away

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... my instruments, and that is what brought us in through this overcast to a safe landing.” (8) Joseph knew he was a child of God, and he knew God could be counted upon. He had implicit faith in God when everything around him had fallen apart. And his continued obedience to God under the worst circumstances led him into a position of great honor and power. But that’s not the end of Joseph’s story. It gets even better. We’ll talk about that next week. But the final insight we can draw from this chapter ...

3613. Don't Flaunt It

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... the bakery this morning and there in the window were those wonderful goodies. I prayed, Lord, if you want me to have one of these delicious coffee cakes let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery. And sure enough,” he continued, “the eighth time around the block, there it was.” Many of us can identify with the fellow at two points. First, if we’re genuintely interested in change, we must first recognize our rationalizations for what they are -- mere foolishness. And second, we must ...

3614. We Have All Become Nicodemus

Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

Ronald Love

... the Protestant Reformation that rejected many of the theological positions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to his dismissal as a professor at Oxford University in 1381. In 1384 he died of a stroke and was buried. The Catholic church continued to view Wycliffe as a heretic because of his challenges to the doctrines of Roman Catholicism. Condemned as a heretic, at the Council of Constance in 1415, Pope Martin V ordered that Wycliffe’s body be exhumed and burned, the same punishment for ...

3615. God's Will for Your Life

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... of God’s will? Would you like to know what God’s will is for you? I can tell you absolutely, without hesitation or trepidation, what God’s will is for your life. It is right here in I Thessalonians 5. St. Paul writes: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” There it is from God’s word in black and white. God’s will is for you to be joyful, to pray without ceasing and to give thanks in all circumstances. Now ...

3616. God's GPS

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... out of the truck and walk a few feet ahead of them. What Bob saw there stopped him in his tracks. A few feet ahead of the truck was a deep, cavernous split in the earth, a fissure that was not visible from a short distance away. If he had continued driving, he would have likely driven into it and been badly injured or killed. The rancher owned this land and knew it well. His insistence on riding with Bob wasn’t an effort to control him; he was trying to protect him. If it hadn’t been for the landowner ...

3617. Will God Be With Us?

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” Do you hear the deepest yearning of Moses’ heart? In his opinion, there is no blessing that compares to knowing God and God’s ways. Do we believe that too? Clinical psychologist Larry Crabb writes in ...

3618. Remember...

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... hugs. Meanwhile her husband is so wrapped up in his medical practice that he, too, adds to the neglect. Her family’s ongoing lack of gratitude finally kills something in Delia. She has tried so hard to be the perfect wife and mother, but they continually fail to appreciate her efforts. Then, the day comes when Delia just walks away. She disappears. Can you blame her? “Once her family realizes she is missing, they have a curiously difficult time describing Delia to the police. They just can’t seem to ...

3619. Avoiding the “F” Word

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is not the person who harmed us, but ourselves, our own body and soul. We need freedom and healing from the disease of “anger and pain” that is eating us alive. To heal ourselves from the harm that was caused to us requires us not to continue to harbor anger toward the person who hurt us but to let go of those powerful, detrimental, brain-eating emotions that are causing us so much harm. Forgiveness is not about freeing someone else, but about freeing ourselves to be the healed and whole people God ...

3620. The Rant

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , that we have decided to despise. Jesus is passionate about God’s people. Jesus is passionate about love. Today, we celebrate the Sunday that we call “All Saints Sunday.” All Saints Day we honor those people of faith who have come before us, as we attempt to continue to walk in their footsteps. They were the ones who taught us how to be Christians, how to show love, how to behave, and how to walk with God. Many of them taught us in Sunday School, in youth group, or simply by their behavior. Think of ...

3621. Going and Doing

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Steve Molin

... least, you did it to me.’” It’s important to note that Jesus does not say, “You fed thousands. You clothed millions. You visited throngs of needy people.” What he said was whenever you did it for one of the lowly ones, you did it for me. Jesus continues the parable by turning to those on his left; ‘When I was hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or imprisoned, or sick, you did nothing for me.’ And the people on the left were astonished! ‘Lord, when? If we had known that it was you, we’d have fed ...

3622. Simeon (A Monologue)

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would be classed with the Pharisees. We too hold to the importance of the Torah, but we believe that God made no effort to give all information about everything that would ever happen to Moses. We believe that God is continually revealing himself / the world to us, and that continuing revelation needs interpretation. The people of this day need to know what their heavenly Father requires of them in this day. If people hear the law read in the temple or their synagogues, they need to be able to understand ...

3623. Guiding Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... our guiding star. He remains with us in the person of the Holy Spirit to bless us and guide us toward inclusivity, harmony, love, and peace toward all of God’s people. In a world today, in which Israeli and Arab continue to struggle against each other, in which churches continue to ban those they see as unworthy of their pews, and in which some Christians turn up their noses at the Hebrew scriptures as unworthy of their attention –Jesus begs to differ. This Epiphany, may your epiphany become the opening ...

3624. Ambassadors For Christ

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... built a church. When he left Corinth, Paul knew every person in that church, and they knew him. It felt as much like a family as anything else. As he continued his travels into other cities and countries, whenever he was confronted with difficult times, he thought about Corinth, the people of that church, and he found the strength to continue his work. As he stared out the window, he thought about those people from that church in Corinth. He was trying to understand what had happened, what had changed, and ...

3625. A Parable in Mime

Luke 15:20-24

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... a list with detailed instructions for work around the room. He gets busy doing the tasks. Younger Son Clown comes in receives a similar list and does a task or two but then begins to daydream. He displays a detached look while unenthusiastically continuing to work. Father Clown gently touches him and reminds him of his tasks. The Younger Son Clown straightens a chair or two and then dreams on. Younger Son Clown excitedly turns to Father Clown and indicates that he wants “stuff.” (money, property, and ...

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