Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 351 to 375 of 4884 results

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Firstly, you can tear one of the leaves off a clover threesome and leave the other two still related, but if you pull one of the strands out of a plait, the whole thing collapses. Inasmuch as there is a Trinitarian God, this threefold revelation makes perfect sense, and obviously the same thing applies: You cannot have any two of the sources without the third because the whole thing falls apart. At times, when plaiting, it is important to look at the whole pigtail and check that the hair has been reasonably ...

352. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... been the dominant force and figure in amateur golf circles for years. Because of this history, there is virtually no way to tell how much "natural" talent for golf Tiger Woods may have. His whole life has been so steeped in playing, practicing and perfecting the game it is impossible to distinguish his talent from his training. They are one. This is a culture that takes as much delight in putting professional athletes up on pedestals as it does in watching these icons topple off their lofty perches usually ...

353. Make Disciples

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... disciples each and every day to set out on that same mission. Where do all these disciples come from? The list Matthew provides in today's gospel text gives names but not a lot of details about the Twelve that Jesus originally called. We know that four of them were perfectly prepared for a life of active ministry as fishermen. We know that one of them led a morally exemplary lifestyle before his calling the tax collector Matthew. We know that one of them had a temperament that Jesus felt ...

354. Isaiah 42:1-9

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that also keeps the time frame of this text in question. Although the Divine Word declares in verse 1, "I have put my spirit upon him," this phrase may be understood as either being cast in the "prophetic perfect" (indicating a future event), or in the "past perfect," describing the state of a servant already present. Whatever his identity, whenever his arrival, this servant is clearly in God's supreme favor. Other biblical "servants" of God are not necessarily groups or individuals who please God - such ...

355. A Burden or a Song

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

... with you. When I was reading the scripture a few moments ago, how did you feel? Jesus talks about turning the other cheek, going the second mile, returning good for evil, loving our enemies. And as if all of that were not difficult enough, Jesus concludes by saying, “Be perfect”. Now, how does all of that feel? Does it feel like a huge load to carry? Does it come across to you primarily as an obligation? Do you feel like you have to measure up to all of that in order to be loved by God? Are you afraid ...

356. Memories of Home: The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... one will measure him by his Big Brother’s yardstick. No one will make him feel bad for being who he is and for not being who he isn’t. The younger son travels to a far country. He has a good time. Until his money runs out. Then the perfect storm strikes. Just when he becomes broke, a famine hits. There’s no food. Grain isn’t left in the field for the poor, because there is no harvest. No one gives him anything. He remembers that his father’s servants have food enough and to spare. There is enough ...

357. The Comforts of "Thy Rod and Thy Staff": Rulership or Relationship

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... fuse together, but to fit together . . . to take different shapes and sizes and “fit together” into one harmonious unity. Not a unity of one voice. But a unity of many voices following the voice of the ONE who knows and follows the Father in perfect harmony. True “religion” leads to “harmony,” to concord, not to combat and contention. There is a symbol for this. We began the exegesis of this text by mentioning how from Sunday School on the symbol of the shepherd is the crozier, the shepherd’s ...

358. Thorns of Grace

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then ...

359. Heaven: One Way And One Way Only

John 14:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... all that, if religion could get you to heaven, then there simply is no explanation for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, nor the fact that He bothered to come to earth to begin with. It is because He did come and did live a perfect life and did die a perfect death that He could say, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Me." So the answer to the question, "How do you know Christianity is true and all other religions are false?" is relatively simple. If ...

360. The Freedom to Interpret

John 8:31-36

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... . The freedom that can be found in Christ may also elude us from time to time. But, Jesus will not elude us, and therefore, his truth and freedom, although sometimes difficult to find, will be there when we need it most. Having this truth will not make us perfect. We will from time to time, at least figuratively, have to fall on our swords, too. We make mistakes and then say, "I'll never do that again!" In the guilt and shame that follows, we think or say aloud once more that we will "never do that again ...

361. Developing a Glad Attitude

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

... be happy. He adjusted his attitude and found a reason to be happy in that situation. And so it was all along the way. You and I can learn from Paul. This is what he was telling Timothy. You don't have to wait until everything in your life is perfect to begin praising God and tasting joy. We can find it now by simply looking at things a little differently. The truth is that if you have been saying, "I'll be happy when...." then you will never be happy. There will always be something that gets in the way ...

362. LOST? Looking For Love

John 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 1 John 4:7-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11] Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. [14] And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. [15] God abides in those ...

363. Jonah: Run!

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Cricket as a conscience. There's no Geppetto or there's certainly no Blue Fairy. But this has all the humor, drama and pathos of any Disney movie. So, let's look at the story. I had an English literature professor tell the class that he thought this was the perfect short story. It's only 4 chapters long and only contains 48 verses. But let's look at Jonah 3 as our reading today. [1] The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, [2] "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it ...

364. The Gift Unwrapped

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... wrong people. Conclusion But as we unwrap this Gift of God, we look at it and realize that by God's standards and to our advantage, everything about that very first Christmas was perfect. God coming in human flesh, was the right gift. God came as "one of us. Just a slob like one of us." As Joan Osbourne said in her song. And that was the Perfect gift. Given at the right time. I mean really. Look what we would do with it now. Instead, God chose a simple time, where like a seed, like a baby, the Word could ...

365. The Family Album

1 John 3:1-3

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the testimonies we've seen and heard over the last few weeks. We are growing Saints. That's what ministry is all about. That's what Stewardship is all about. Stewardship empowers the ministry which empowers and enables the Children of God to become Saints who are being perfected The Biblical witness for giving is the tithe or ten percent. Everything we have and are comes from God and is really God's to begin with, and all God asks is that we return a portion as a means of giving thanks. And God said that ...

366. Justification and Grace

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... along the road of life. Judaism answered the question this way: A person can attain a right relationship with God by keeping the law fulfilling all the works of the law, a person will be right with God. Condemnation is implicit in this, or no one can live in perfect obedience, keeping the law, So, Paul concluded, salvation is not a way of works, but a way of faith. When we appear before God we are anything but innocent. We haven’t kept the law, we can’t keep it. We are utterly guilty, and yet God treats ...

367. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Stars,” you know that a dancer is only as good as their partner. Paul’s partner Epaphras in many ways embodied all four of these lessons: he was a trusted partner of Paul in church planting whose teaching was so skillful and his timing so perfect that the church at Colossae was thriving. When saints “grow,” they grow together. Saints grow as partners, as a team, as a congregation, as a community of faith. Being a “team player” isn’t always easy. Fred Astaire was lauded as the most graceful ...

368. Why Did You Bring Us Out of Egypt?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... any pain that comes from love's wounding. All those who step into leadership are also human and imperfect. Take Moses as our example! He was wanted for murder, a questionable character under even the best circumstances. Martin Luther King Jr., it has been learned, was less than perfect in his life. But still, it is clear that he was a man of God sent to lead God's people out of the sin of racism. Indeed, look at the people who God tends to lift up for leadership. Was Saint Paul worthy of the trust of ...

369. Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... few courageous souls drop their hands. They aren't so sure anymore. I ask them again, "Whoever thinks you are a saint, raise your hand." Aha! They now know what answer the pastor is looking for. The right answer is "No." No one is a saint. No one is perfect. So, no one raises a hand the second time I ask the question. They know better now. They have learned their lesson well. Then it is time for the punch line. Then it is time for the surprises. Then it is time to make the outrageous announcement. Then it ...

370. Heroes of Faith

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . [12:1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Let's look at this passage through the words; WITNESSES, WEIGHT, WORK AND ...

371. Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... cultures, where lineage meant everything. To be solidly planted in one place, in one heritage, with one people, WAS a big deal. Both Luke and Matthew begin their gospels by providing a genealogical journey back through generations in order to demonstrate how Jesus fit perfectly into the history and people of Israel and the long established plans of God. In Matthew’s case the gospel writer starts with Abraham and works his way forward to “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called ...

372. “Your Honor:” Jesus’ Honor Code of Turning the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... “lose face.” Jesus isn’t looking for a way we can “save face.” Jesus isn’t advocating we “face off” in battle or “about face” and run in retreat. No, Jesus asks us to look our “neighbor” in the face and outface our enemies with God’s perfect law of love. It is easy for us to get on a moral high horse when confronted with the horror of “honor killings.” Here’s the truth: we all could stand accused of abusing the “honor system.” It is easy to see a wicked and warped world ...

373. Your Honor: Jesus' Honor Code of Turning the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

374. Wrong!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... It is an edifying thought, to know that before God I am always in the wrong.” Nobody, ever, has gotten it all right. There are NO “Immaculate Perceptions.” There are no perfect solutions, or perfect answers, either. Every solution, no matter how “perfect,” creates its own new problems. Every answer, no matter how “perfect, generates new questions. The church can count on new “wrongs” with every new year. That does not mean we have failed. That does not mean the gospel is false. It DOES mean ...

375. Interceding for Us Now

Hebrews 7:23-28

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... space are erased. Here, on this altar, the church on earth of which we are a part and the church in heaven are joined together in the one, mystical body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here, on this altar, Christ comes once again as the perfect risen Lord, to participate in that perfect sacrifice that he has offered once for all on our behalf. Here, on this altar, Christ lives risen among us, interceding for us once more before the throne of God. For we come to this table not because we are worthy, not because we ...

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