Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4490 results

3826. What about Laws and Rules?

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Mike Ripski

As you’ve listened to my sermons have you ever experienced whiplash? Have you ever been following along and then suddenly it feels like I’ve tried to take you somewhere new without any warning or preparation? I jumped from A to C without first going through B. Well, I learned it from Jesus. Jesus has healed, made whole, given new life to those whose lives were cursed. He’s teaching them about this new life they’ve experienced. He’s telling them that God wants this new life for everyone. Jesus says to these ...

3827. Christ Is Willing to Heal

Luke 4:18

Illustration

Let me share a story about Michael Wayne Hunter who was put on death row in California in 1983, in San Quentin Prison. After his third year on death row something happened. One day he was getting ready to spend time exercising when the guard said, "You're going to miss Mother Teresa. She's coming today to see you guys." Yea, sure, he said, "one more of those designs they have on us." A little later he heard more commotion about it and thought it might be true. Another guard said, "Don't go into your cells ...

3828. Easter 3

Luke 24:36-49, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Acts 3:11-26

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 3:12-19 The people of Jerusalem assembled at the temple were astounded at Peter's healing of a lame man at the beautiful gate. Peter explains what and how it happened. The miracle was caused by faith in the name of Jesus whom the people in ignorance killed, but whom God raised. The crucifixion and resurrection, however, were not by accident, but by God's plan foretold by the prophets. What can the guilty people do about the cross? They are to repent and to receive forgiveness and ...

3829. Proper 18

Proverbs 22:1-16, Mark 7:24-37, James 2:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 It is obvious that this pericope was chosen because of its close relation in content with Lesson 2 which cries out against the unjust treatment of the poor. The most precious value of life is a good name which should be desired more than wealth. Yet, the rich are not to be condemned, for they, too, have been created by God. The person who shares what he has with those who have little is promised God's blessing. Epistle: James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17 The ...

3830. The Holy Trinity

John 3:1-21, Romans 8:1-17, Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-8 Isaiah's experience in the temple occurred in 742 B.C., the year King Uzziah died. For the nation it was a time of mourning as well as confusion and concern, for the king was considered a "son of God," God's vice-regent. At the same time the Assyrians were on a rampage and changing the map of the area. In the midst of these troubled times, Isaiah went to worship in the temple and had an experience with a sovereign God who caused him to confess his sins, receive ...

3831. I Am the True Vine - Sermon Starter

John 15:1-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

It is fascinating to me that in our Protestant religious culture, such a strong emphases is placed upon literal interpretation. Interestingly, Jesus so often did not speak literally, but figuratively. He spoke in allegories and images. He painted word pictures. Instead of literally coming out and saying what he meant, he so often would tell a story and let people draw their own conclusion. Indeed, these hidden messages of Jesus frequently frustrated his disciples. They wished that he would speak literally ...

3832. Easter 3

Psalm 116:1-19, Luke 24:13-35, Acts 2:14-41, 1 Peter 1:17-21

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 116:1-4, 12-19 First Lesson - Peter's sermon is a call to repentance and a promise of salvation to his hearers and their children and those still at a distance. Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Second Lesson - In his letter Peter extols the sacrifice of Christ as God's gift of immeasurable worth. 1 Peter 1:17-21 Gospel - The appearances of the Risen Christ bring surprise and joy. Luke 24:13-35 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. ...

3833. What Is Your Name?

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

Sometimes things don’t work out the way they should. Then, again, maybe they do. Esau and Jacob This seems especially true with regard to twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, hairy, ruddy, red complexioned. Thus he was named Esau. Esau relied on his brawn rather than his brain. Had his name been based on who he was instead of how he looked, his name should have been "Easy-Going," "Laid Back," or even "Slow." His was not a Type-A personality. He had no desire to be his class’ President and ...

3834. American Idol

Exodus 20:4-6

Sermon

James Merritt

With 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, suicide bombers, Osama Ben Laden, need I say more? Homeland Security is maybe the number one concern facing this nation right now. We have already established that the Ten Commandments are all about Homeland Security, because the greatest way to secure the homeland is to secure the homes in that land. That is exactly what the Ten Commandments were given for. Remember these are not arbitrary rules; these were family laws. They were laws given by God to His family (the Nation of ...

3835. Name Dropping

Exodus 20:7

Sermon

James Merritt

God's Name is so important to Him that it makes the "Top Ten" of the commandments He wants his family to live by. Most every one of us here very likely have some type of an alarm system in our home. We have that because we want to make sure our homes are secure. That is why we are in the middle of a series on the Ten Commandments that I have entitled "Homeland Security." Remember that the Ten Commandments are God's rules for His family. The Ten Commandments were not given to establish a relationship with ...

3836. The Freedom to Interpret

John 8:31-36

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

Reformation Sunday is one of those unique times in the church year when we take a moment to remember a movement that changed the religious landscape forever. It is within this landscape that we find John and his gospel message this day. How does this story of Jesus and Abraham relate to Reformation Sunday? First of all, it is important to see that Jesus' followers would be encouraged by this passage because it places them in the position of seeing that Jesus had faced what they were facing; some members of ...

3837. In the Waiting Room

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed how uncomfortable people are when nothing is going on? The great pianist Rachmaninoff tells of giving a piano recital when he was very young. He began with a Beethoven sonata that had several long rests in it. During one of those long rests, a motherly lady leaned forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said kindly: “Honey, play us something you know.” There is an awkwardness in silence, in waiting. Do you remember your first date? Do you remember those long, painful periods of ...

3838. I Am the Ressurection and the Life

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Edna Lashon tells the story of visiting with a friend of hers whose husband had died. They went out the graveyard where the husband had been buried and they began to share together memories of their life and their relationship it was a meaningful time as they probed in memory and got in touch with all the joyful times of their life. But then there was silence. No one seemed to have anything else to say. All of a sudden, Liz the little daughter of Edna Lashon’s friend, sprang from the group and suddenly ...

3839. Choosing The Right Gift

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Here we are. Christmas Eve, Eve. In the past month we've spent who knows how many hours shopping for just the right gift for friends, family, our Tree of Angels children. I'll bet all the crowds of shoppers are starting to make you a little nuts. As you wade through the crowds to get that one last item, does your mouth go a little dry? As you stand in the express line with your four items while the person in from of you as at least forty do you start to twitch all over? When you hear "Grandma Got Run Over ...

3840. Chocolat

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

John Woods

The film Chocolat is based on the book of the same name. The film relates the story of a small French town during Lent. Everyone is trying hard to avoid rich foods but what should open at the same time? A chocolate shop. It is agony to walk past the shop with its velvety chocolate smells. You can't help but think that the townsfolk had missed the point – especially when one of the most self-righteous characters breaks into the shop and gorges on the chocolates inside. Lent is not about that kind of ‘self- ...

3841. Live and Learn

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When Moses appeared before Pharaoh, demanding that the Egyptian god-king “let my people go,” he threw down his staff in Pharaoh’s face and it was miraculously transformed into a roiling, writhing serpent. Pretty impressive, right? Well, some of the servants and royal attendants surely gasped in amazement. But one group of onlookers was completely bored. Who were they? The royal magicians. They snickered and summarily dismissed such a basic parlor trick. Trained magicians — whether in the court of Ramses or ...

3842. One Lord, One Table

Exodus 20:1-4

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Growing up, there was a family who lived across the street from us by the name of Wallace. There were six kids, one girl and five boys. Their yard was the cut through yard to get to the rest of our friends houses. Mr. Wallace loved to grow things. He always had a garden and grew tomatoes, lettuce and carrots. But his favorite was peaches. The Wallaces had a double lot and he must have had three dozen peach trees. He sold many of the peaches to a local grocery store. But Mr. Wallace also had red and purple ...

3843. Do You Love Me? - Sermon Starter

John 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

Let's begin with Simon out on his boat fishing alongside the other disciples. He is brooding, thinking deep thoughts not quite sure what to make of all that had happened. Then there is a flashback. He recalls how some months earlier he left his fishing nets at the seashore to become a follower of Jesus and how Jesus liked him and included him and changed his name from Simon to Peter (Petros, the Rock) because Jesus felt that Simon was strong, stable, and solid like a rock. But then all of a sudden, things ...

3844. What Difference Does It Make?

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I ran across a story this week about a seven-year-old granddaughter who said to her grandfather, "In this family we are kind of serious about God, aren't we?" Grandpa said, "Yes, we sure are." And the little girl asked, "Why?" Grandpa wrapped the little girl in his arms, hugged her real close and said, "So that I can hug you and tickle you and try to tell you how much I love you and how glad I am that God gave you to us." The little girl grinned and said, "That's cool." I'm not sure that hugging and ...

3845. God's Chosen People: Partners

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A certain society matron took a course in First Aid. A few days after completing the course, she was an on-the-spot witness of a bad auto accident. Occupants of the car were thrown out by the impact and lay seriously wounded on the street. Later, describing the accident to a friend, the matron said, “It was awful, awful — and it happened so fast, right there in front of me. Tires squealed, breaks screeched, and all of a sudden there was the grinding crash. The next thing I knew people were lying in the ...

3846. Let God Be God - As if It Could Be Otherwise

Exodus 7:14-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

John Newton once wrote, “If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your own head.” (Gerald Kennedy, Fresh Every Morning p. 8). Now I don’t expect you to understand the richness of that statement at this point —- but I hope it gets your attention. If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your head.” Today, I’m going to talk about God. No what’s new about that, you ask. There’s nothing ...

3847. Characteristics of the Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In one of his novels, William Faulkner wrote, “That which is destroying the church is not the outward groping of those with in it, or the inward groping of those without, but the professionals who control it and have removed the bells from its steeples.” (quoted by Dr. Lovitt H. Weems, Jr., at his Inaugural Address as President of St. Paul’s School of Theology, December 11, 1985.) I don’t know everything that Faulkner meant by that. He may have been talking about the fact that the professionals within the ...

3848. Luke 8:26-39

Luke 8:26-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

How long has it been since you did something that took you out of your “comfort zone?” Whether it was a good experience or a bad experience, it was definitely a new experience. And new experiences bring new perspectives, revealing some new information about yourself, others, and life. Jesus and his disciples moved out of their “comfort zone” in this week’s gospel text. For the first time in his public ministry Jesus travels outside of Galilee. He ventures out of territory populated primarily by Jews. ...

3849. Our Father...

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

If you’ve listened to fairy tales, or if you’ve watched early classic Disney cartoons, one thing becomes unsettlingly clear: a lot of “poor little” princes and princesses shared a common family tragedy. In an overwhelming number of these stories the mothers were gone, dying long before the child in question could be influenced by them or even remember them. The single dads in these tales almost always had dreadful taste in women the second time around — bringing a whole host of evil stepmothers onto the ...

3850. In Whose Likeness?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Okay, teacher, you think you're so smart — is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor? Talk about your loaded question! If we're talking about the law of Rome, the law of the imperial government, the law of this part of the world, of course it's legal to pay taxes to the emperor — it's illegal not to! And just in case Jesus was hoping to fudge a bit on the answer, there are among his questioners members of the Herodian party, supporters of the puppet king, toadies to the Roman government, here listening to ...

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