Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4884 results

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... (“katakyrienien”), literally “lording” over others. This is the accepted way of the world. But Jesus then offers an about face: “But it is not so among you” (v.43). Jesus’ “not so among you” directive is not to some future oriented age of perfection. It is a call to the missional order his disciples here and now must embrace. The world’s top-down directive is not now, nor ever shall be, the way of Jesus’ disciples. Instead Jesus offers what his listeners may have heard as another ...

3827. Hebrews 7:23-28

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in such an exalted state. The division between what has been and the new reality available to disciples is a division between the age of “the law” and “the word of the oath” (v.28). The law, which no one, not even the appointed priests, could keep perfectly, is part of the prior covenant. “The oath,” God’s promise that Jesus is our “priest forever,” and Jesus’ sacrifice “once and for all when he offered himself,” has forever changed the final possibilities for all men and women.

3828. From Self-Help to God-Trust

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3829. Acts of God?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

... happen to be living in a region where disaster strikes. The God we meet in the pages of scripture is not this vicious, violent, judgmental, capricious Force in the world. Instead, we meet a very different God in Scripture. John tells us that God is love and that that perfect love of God casts out all fear. II Let’s now move from the acts of nature to the acts of man. For all that nature has done to wreak havoc upon the earth mankind more so. Luke 13 offers a chilling look at how Jesus might address man ...

3830. The Lost Five Commandments

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... fifteen commandments, and five got lost?” What are the “Lost Five commandments,” the “Other Five Commandments?” We can all wonder what was on that “lost tablet” and can nominate whatever five commandments we would like to add to God’s “perfect ten.” So this is a very personal list. I think that those lost five commandments had something to do with condemning the human compulsion to create “piles.” Besides football and fuzzy sweaters, one of the great fall traditions is jumping spread ...

3831. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and tradition have provided Jesus with numerous titles, each of which resonates with certain people at different times. The image of Jesus as the good shepherd presents the Lord as the compassionate one who seeks out the lost, even going so far as to leave 99 perfectly good sheep to fend for themselves while he searches for us, the one who is lost. When Jesus describes himself as “the way, the truth, and the life,” he helps us understand that he is the guide to all that we need, all that will sustain ...

3832. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... our leg. Unless we cut the chain we will always be hindered in our ability to move forward. Saint Paul says at the climax of the reading that we must envelop all of these virtues and qualities of his message in love, “which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (v. 14). Love is much more than eros, romantic love. It is also fileo, the love of brothers and sisters, and the greatest form of love, at least from the perspective of the Greeks, agape, the concept of service to others. We must bind our ...

3833. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to properly build the kingdom. Another special hidden gift is our inheritance from Christ. This gift is nothing less than life. Following in the footsteps of Jesus, we will find the fullness of life today. Obviously, there is no guarantee that every day will go perfectly. From the fall of Adam, we live in a difficult, problematic, and sinful world. We are all participants in this reality. Yet, following Jesus will give us the fullness of life today. Guided by the light of Christ we will be able to maximize ...

3834. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and tradition have provided Jesus with numerous titles, each of which resonates with certain people at different times. The image of Jesus as the good shepherd presents the Lord as the compassionate one who seeks out the lost, even going so far as to leave 99 perfectly good sheep to fend for themselves while he searches for us, the one who is lost. When Jesus describes himself as "the way, the truth, and the life," he helps us understand that he is the guide to all that we need, all that will sustain ...

3835. Obedience: Our Gift to Jesus

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... pleasure.... I have come to do your will, O God. — Hebrews 10:5b-7a We learn that Jesus' arrival, the great event we await, abolishes the first idea, namely that of sacrifice and offerings, and establishes a second, the idea of obedience. The perfect example is the obedience of Christ himself to the will of his Father by offering his own body. Jesus' sacrifice, in obedience to his Father's will, transformed the world, bringing us the possibility of salvation. The Christmas season, upon whose doorstep we ...

3836. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to our leg. Unless we cut the chain we will always be hindered in our ability to move forward. Saint Paul says at the climax of the reading that we must envelop all of these virtues and qualities of his message in love, "which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (v. 14). Love is much more than eros, romantic love. It is also fileo, the love of brothers and sisters, and the greatest form of love, at least from the perspective of the Greeks, agape, the concept of service to others. We must bind our ...

3837. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3838. Christ: The Victor over Death

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , Eleanor, and his parents, he enjoyed life and all the fun associated with being a child. With the help of his mother, Maggie, he read all seven books of C. S. Lewis' epic The Chronicles of Narnia. He loved to role play and considered himself a perfect Saint George, pointing out to his parents that he was half English. However, as his parents would often say, he fit the model of Saint George more because he always wanted to do what was right. When Nicholas was seven years old his family took a vacation ...

3839. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... others. There are habits we exhibit that are harmful to our health. We know what these problems are; now we need to have the courage to change. All of us, to some extent, through prayer, need to be transformed in our relationship with God. Lent is the perfect time to root out sin and do our best to resist temptation — those near occasions of sin. We must do what needs to be done to improve our prayer life — our daily conversation with God — and stop making excuses for our failures. All of us must seek ...

3840. Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... our latest promotion, our four-star schools, our beautiful church (or at least the new one that is rising out in the parking lot). Who needs Jesus ... except to maybe fill in the blanks, cover the mistakes, and pick us up when we slip? After all, who is perfect? We have to be appropriately modest because we all know how everyone is turned off by arrogance. God forbid that we should not be liked! The problem gets worse. When we insist that there are parts of our lives that are pretty darn good after all and ...

3841. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... like to win. We are proud of the fact that we do it fair and square. We can point to our great successes and manifold victories. We have a fine collection of trophies and medals to show for it: a big house in the right neighborhood, the perfect family with children all above average, a successful career and lifestyle that suits our lofty status. But all good things must come to an end. The glory of victory is always passing. The recent teary-eyed retirement announcement of Brett Favre, one of the greatest ...

3842. But…!

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

I think anyone who has tried to teach a class or make a presentation to a group has experienced something like this. You have a perfectly planned lesson. You have your presentation all worked out. Then as you begin, there is always this one student, this one participant, this one character in the audience who interrupts you and begs to differ with what you have to say. "But pastor, what about this? What about that? I ...

3843. Heaven on Earth

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Many years ago when I was going to prep school in Milwaukee, the students loved to walk past a nearby factory from which often emanated some simply wonderful smells. The factory made a product whose name seemed to perfectly fit the heavenly aromas that would occasionally fill the atmosphere of the neighborhood. The factory made Ambrosia Chocolate! For a chocolate lover like myself, there could be no better name for such a delectable food. You see, in ancient Greek mythology ambrosia was the name of the ...

3844. The Utmost Patience for the Foremost Sinner

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... inside of us. The sins against us that hurt the most are the ones that someone got away with or that no one ever noticed. How dare anyone bring up our sinfulness when we have been so sinned against! Besides, our sins aren't that bad! We're not perfect by any means, but what we do is piddly stuff, right? A psychologist conducted an experiment in which he asked people to describe a time they had hurt someone. Then, they were to describe a time when they were hurt. When the subjects described a time they had ...

3845. Saint and Sinner

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... works for this bondage we call sin. Step One: Admit that you are powerless over sin. Let's take off the mask. Let's stop playing games. Let's no longer pretend we are actually nice people and God is going to grade on a curve. I may not be perfect, I may not be a Mother Teresa, but compared to the other people I know, I am pretty decent. Nonsense! Stop the lies. Each one of us silently jingles in our pockets the nails from the cross. I put him there. I nailed him there. I crucified Jesus. I am ...

3846. The Things Close to Your Heart

Mark 13:1-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to a person. Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord; Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word. Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own; Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone. Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust; Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost. Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast; Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast. Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer; Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care. Once 'twas what ...

3847. The Temple of Doom and the Bridegroom

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3848. Send the Bill

Humor Illustration

... the bank." "Do you have a relative who could help you with the payments?" asked the irritated nun. He said, "I only have a spinster sister, and she is a nun." The nun became agitated and announced loudly, "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God." The patient replied, "Perfect. Send the bill to my brother-in-law."

3849. Strengthening Your Grip On Prayer

1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... the results. My friend was nervous because he was afraid that he would have to have to purchase at least one hearing aid and as bad as his hearing was maybe two would be needed. The man entered the room and informed my friend that he had "perfect" hearing. There was nothing wrong with his physical hearing. He said that my friend's problem was not uncommon especially among men. He said that my friend's wife's voice was being tuned out! He had what the expert called, "selective hearing!" The expert said ...

3850. The Good Works We Leave Behind

Acts 9:36-43

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... other people," another chimes in. "This robe," says another woman, drawing attention to the one she's wearing, "I'm sure she was making this robe for herself. But when I visited one day and commented about how pretty it was, she held it up against me and said, ‘A perfect fit! It's yours!' " On and on the stories went. You and I don't get to hear those stories. And the fact is that we don't really know Tabitha. Scripture does not follow the story of her life or even any portion of her life. Indeed, the ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4884 results

3826. Not So With You

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3827. Hebrews 7:23-28

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3828. From Self-Help to God-Trust

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3829. Acts of God?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

3830. The Lost Five Commandments

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3831. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3832. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3833. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3834. Rejoicing Brings Peace

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and tradition have provided Jesus with numerous titles, each of which resonates with certain people at different times. The image of Jesus as the good shepherd presents the Lord as the compassionate one who seeks out the lost, even going so far as to leave 99 perfectly good sheep to fend for themselves while he searches for us, the one who is lost. When Jesus describes himself as "the way, the truth, and the life," he helps us understand that he is the guide to all that we need, all that will sustain ...

3835. Obedience: Our Gift to Jesus

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3836. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3837. The Hidden Gifts of Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble