Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 351 to 375 of 1138 results

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carl Jech

... church are good. But when we carry them too far, or in the wrong direction, there can be some unfortunate results. The church can slip into being an exclusive club in which the object is not to bring people in but to keep them out, not to rejoice in the variety of gifts and members in the body of Christ but to say "you can come in if you are like us! The task becomes not to shoulder our special responsibility to the rest of the world, but to brag about our special priviledge of being God's chosen people! A ...

352. "Crown Him Lord of all!"

Sermon

William Luoma

... cards. A nationally known credit card can easily get you a room, a meal, fill up your tank, or will be accepted for some of those impulse purchases. With nothing more than a small piece of plastic, and our signature, strangers will allow us to charge a variety of expenses. In that sense, the cards that we carry serve as our credentials. Think for a moment of a king. Today is the day we traditionally acknowledge Jesus as King. What kind of credentials would a person have to carry to prove that he was indeed ...

353. The Butterfly Rock

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Carl Jech

... ! Easter means that we affirm life, no matter what! Some have criticized Christianity for displaying mere wishful thinking in its doctrine of and belief in resurrection. Surveys have shown, however, that many people would actually prefer death to be the end! For a variety of reasons I'm sure, it seems that many would prefer not to "meet their Maker," not to face the prospect of eternal life! They would prefer to stay in their cocoons. They would prefer not to change. They would prefer to avoid growing ...

354. Prayers for Year A

Bulletin Aid

William S. Carter

... Spirit and fill us with new life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and rules with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, within our world today. Amen. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST · Matthew 13:1-9 [18-23] Father, around us is the infinite variety of life. Things go right and they go wrong. Thank you for your strong presence, making life livable. Renew in us the faith which can lead to activity and renewed life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and rules with you and the Holy ...

355. The Piety That Isn't

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Carl Jech

... in this sermon, Jesus is referring precisely to those who disfigure their faces as a way of showing how humble they are. Now most of us don't stand on street corners and many of us do not mark our foreheads with ashes, but in a variety of subtle ways we may well be guilty of "practicing our piety before men," contrary to the Spirit of Jesus. We Christians have been given a difficult challenge. We have been challenged to witness to our faith without being "triumphalistic," without being boastful about our ...

356. Winning Isn't the Only Thing ... It's Irrelevant

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Carl Jech

... their particular interpretation of Jesus is beyond question. To put it in classical terms, they are claiming that their "Christology" is the only valid way of understanding the New Testament - quite a grandiose claim when we realize that the New Testament itself presents a variety of Christologies. So it is both arrogant and naive to say that either Jesus was right or he was crazy. To believe in Jesus is precisely to renounce the style and the substance of arrogant claims. When we are down and out we may ...

357. Giving Away the Store

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

Carl Jech

... - channels of God's grace as shown to us in the Lord who becomes the servant of all! Whether we use the image of a channel, or of "giving away the store" is not really the main thing, of course. (We do well to use a great variety of images to express profound truths that are virtually incomprehensible in mere words!) We find another example of free self-giving in this story from Luke 22, where the householder apparently provides the "upper room" free of charge for use by Jesus and his disciples while ...

358. Becoming What You Are

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Carl Jech

... building, on the other hand, is associated with all aspects of life. All kinds of things go on at churches - baptisms, weddings, potlucks, many types of meetings, day care, choir rehearsals, funerals, worship services, confirmations. Churches are associated with life in all its variety and splendor, in all its sorrow and pain. The church reminds us that the story of Jesus is more about life than about death. John's Gospel tells us that Jesus will continue to be a living presence among us as a "Counselor ...

359. One Spirit, but Many Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... individuality to the total fellowship; that, united in Christ, we can be the church God wants us to be. Collect Benevolent God, our Father, who unites your children through the gift of your Spirit, and then enables them to serve you through a variety of spiritual gifts: Unite us by your spirit, that our many different gifts may contribute to our corporate service, rather than cause division and ineffectiveness. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession O Lord, we are quick to notice our differences ...

360. Make Way For Poets Of The Heart

Sermon

James Angell

... with the sun). A seeming disengagement from social suffering. Celibacy. For most of us, especially for non-Catholics, a strange world. Which is why we went. To see how those disciples could attract and apply to anyone healthy and fascinated by life's stunning variety. But on the tour bus that day (the 40 of us had been invited to look around and stay for dinner) one began to feel a mysterious, secret attraction. The inward journey. The career of the soul. Discoveries about God that lie deeper than attending ...

361. The Church Associated With Life

John 14:15-31

Illustration

Carl Jech

... associated with nothing but death. The church building, on the other hand, is associated with all aspects of life. All kinds of things go on at churches - baptisms, weddings, potlucks, many types of meetings, day care, choir rehearsals, funerals, worship services, confirmations. Churches are associated with life in all its variety and splendor, in all its sorrow and pain. The church reminds us that the story of Jesus is more about life than about death.

362. Remember Me?

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

... ends the passage with this thought: "Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." (Luke 13:30) Beware, lest you confuse a casual association with a meaningful relationship. Casual Associations Christ could have been talking about a variety of people who had a distant and casual relationship to him, but I want to focus on several and use them as illustrations. First, there are the curious. These people gathered around Jesus because they wanted to see what was happening. Fearful that ...

363. The Demanding Word

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... with the Evil One. See Christ crucified! See the demanding Word acted out there. It claims everything from us, as it claimed everything, yes life itself, from Jesus. This call of the cross is not a call to some harmless religion. No "now I lay me down to sleep" variety of religion here. Much more than "doing a kind deed each day." This is a total uprooting of one's life so that everything in our lives serves God and his purposes. What is the demanding Word of God saying to you and me right now? It's saying ...

364. A Crippling Spirit

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Brett Blair

... away from our families. It can even cause severe depression. In 1971, in Plano Texas, a woman by the name of Linda gave birth to a boy she named Lance. She did what many mother’s do with boys. She molded his temperament by involving him in a variety of sports. He soon showed a aptitude as an athlete and by the age of 13 his skills were confirmed when he won the Iron Kids Triathlon—a combination of swimming, biking and running. Three years later at the tender age of 16 he became a professional triathlon ...

365. The Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:23b-48, Exodus 10:1-20, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon Aid

... in the resurrection. Men do not usually die for a legend. If they had manufactured the story, they would not have been surprised by the resurrection. Even the Apostles had to be convinced by Jesus that he was really alive again. c. A variety of reports. The accounts have many variations but they do agree on the essentials of the resurrection story. If this were a composite creation of the disciples, they would have worked out their disagreements and conflicting stories. d. The power of God. The resurrection ...

366. Our Convictions Should Honor God

Romans 14:1--15:13

Bulletin Aid

... ; that we may use our convictions to speak in a united voice, giving honor to your great name. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession We belong to one church, Father; but we interpret discipleship in different ways, resulting in a variety of convictions. We hurt, rather than help one another as we defend our differences. Forgive us for the fractures we cause, when we ought to bring healing and wholeness to your church. Help us to bind ourselves together in Christian love supporting each ...

367. SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Deuteronomy 30:11-20, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:21-26

Bulletin Aid

... service we give be in cooperation, not competition, with other servants working with God. Collect Almighty God, who has called us to be partners in the service of your Son: Put a spirit of unity and cooperation in your church; that together we serve in a variety of ways to interpret your message of redemption to our world. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession We know you need many different kinds of servants, Lord. But we tend to regard different acts of service on different levels of ...

368. The Importance of Forgiving Others

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

... that he was betrayed as Christ was, but he could not say, with Christ, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." "Christ Delivered to the People" has Christ in the center of the painting, being shoved and pulled toward Calvary by a variety of people. Judas Iscariot, soldiers, common people, even two children pull on his clothing. Pilate sits in a corner of the picture, wearing a fool’s cap, washing his hands before a servant, who is meant to represent the common people. Pilate stands for The ...

369. Pilgrimage of Faith John M. Cobb

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

... of lengthy quotations and the device of reading the whole story (and adding comments) is there mostly for the sake of homiletic style. The emigration itself is well-known in the literature concerning Germans in Russia (Both Eisenach and Giesinger cite a variety of secondary sources); but to the average congregation in North America, even those with descendents of Russo-Germans (as is the case in Drayton Valley), the events described would appear most unusual, perhaps even bizarre. 3. Eisenach, pp. 53-4. 4 ...

370. Parking Lots and Traffic Jams

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

I don't know how you feel about bumper stickers. We don't happen to have any on our family car, but I must admit that I enjoy looking at them. There seems to be an almost endless variety, more than enough to match any mood or occasion. Some provoke thought or laughter, others advertise, and still others attempt to persuade. I don't need to share my favorites with you. No doubt you have yours just as I have mine. The other day I saw a bumper sticker ...

371. Possession is Nine Tenths of the Fall

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

... for compelling God, but divine gifts for use in glorifying God and loving people. It’s easy, though, for the practice of religion to become proud and arrogant, possessive of its status. We have experienced over the last decade the emergence of a variety of highly possessive and arrogant religious movements and people, both in Christianity and in other traditions. Even as the so-called religious right gained voice and political clout in the United States, so did right wing Islam in Iran and in other parts ...

372. The Beginning of a New Life

Ruth 2:1-23

Sermon

... waiting to be used in the harvest. It struck me, when I first saw how the Chinese work on these farms, that they would be dumbstruck if they were able to visit Machinery Hill at the Minnesota State Fair every August. The sizes and variety of farm machinery, the prices, would literally blow their minds. One wonders what would happen if a documentary on American farm machinery were made and shown in China. This much is obvious: Life on the collective farms would change very rapidly if such farm machinery ...

373. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... there is a hard way. So be it. 1. Norman Vincent Peale, "Why Live Life the Hard Way?" Foundations for Christian Living, 1965, Vol. 16, No. 13, p. 5. 2. Lawrence D. Reimer, Living at the Edge of Faith (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1984), p. 28. 3. William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (Longmans, Green & Co., 1915), p. 508.

374. Repentance

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

... on Sunday morning. Repentance goes far deeper than going through some prescribed behavior when one gets caught, is in a bind, or wants to start with a clean slate. In fact, John the Baptizer gave a strange twist to repentance. In most of Scripture, repentance expresses a variety of ideas: (a) a change of mind, (b) the feeling of regret or remorse, or (c) in the ethico-religious sense, the act of turning away from and back to God. The last of these is the most prominent and most significant in the Bible. In ...

375. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

... TO NURTURE. Several years ago I had a group called "Care-Givers." In the group, four or five people would visit, on a weekly basis, one elderly lady in the geriatrics program. Working from this earlier model, I have begun this year to create a variety of situations in which people can offer care to others. On an advanced level, some people do things individually. One lady plays the piano for an assembly program in the geriatrics building twice a week. One man visits another man twice a week and provides ...

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