Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3851 to 3875 of 4963 results

3851. We Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins

1 John 1:5-2:2

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... who is faithful and just will forgive. When it comes to forgiveness, God takes the initiative. God invented forgiveness as a remedy for the past that even He could not change. Forgiveness is of God. “Either our sins have been forgiven by God or they remain in us as sin." When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy they ask, “Who can forgive sins but God?" Of course, they are right. To err is human; to forgive is divine. Arthur Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter, with his unconfessed and unforgiven sin ...

3852. The High Price of Short Cuts

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... to see Jesus? It was not for gain or worldly pleasure. He had all these. Zaccheus was not only a tax collector, he was a chief tax collector. When the world has given all its pleasures and you have more plaques than will fit on your walls, there remains a hunger in the heart that God alone can satisfy. Jesus sees Zaccheus lurching there, a little man up a tree. He calls him down. He invites himself to lunch. Before dessert is served, Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house. For the Son of Man ...

3853. Does Christmas Make Any Difference?

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... is for good people to do nothing.” How could six million Jews be beaten, starved, tortured, and murdered in the heart of European civilization less than a hundred years ago? Did a few evil people have that much power, or did good people choose to remain quiet? How could the Church tolerate the blatant sexual misconduct of priests and pastors for so long? Are there that many pedophiles in full time ministry or did good people just keep quiet, hoping it would go away? In a world where the rich get richer ...

3854. News Too Good To Tell

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... about a transfiguration with radiant faces and glowing garments and visitors from the dead, we become more than a little suspicious. What is going on here? Would somebody explain it to us so that we can get it into our scientific minds? All along the question remains: Are we willing to let ourselves be engulfed in mystery, inspired by glory, transformed by encounters of a divine kind? That’s what the transfiguration of Jesus is all about. Come with me today and let us take a little closer look. I. THE ...

3855. What is the Connection Between Church and State?

Mark 12: 14-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... these social problems. Let me explain what I mean by telling you three stories, one about my son and two about my sons in ministry. Two years ago our son, Wes, was assigned to a hopeless parish in a poor section of Lexington, KY. The handful of people remaining in that church was hostile and offensive. One woman met Wes at the door his first Sunday and informed him that he would not be there long for they intended to run him off like they had the previous two pastors. Wes asked for prayers. When a homeless ...

3856. What Is the Future of United Methodism?

John 2:12-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , many United Methodists living. They look at one another and continue to say, “We still don’t count numbers.” I wonder if a bishop and a general board executive will be consoled by that argument when they wake up one day to discover they are the only remaining members of this denomination. That is denial as far as I am concerned. ‘All of this has been said before,’ say those with their head in the sand. It has been said before: Richard Wilke said it in his book And Are We Yet Alive? twenty-five ...

3857. The Power of a Personal Commitment

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... minded to varieties of ways to worship God. It’s a matter of taste, not a matter of truth. Frankly, we are way behind the curve among large mainline churches on this matter. Here is where we are headed. 8:30 and 10:55 worship services will remain essentially unchanged. Saturday night worship needs another fifty people and a solid music component to move it to the next level. The Monday night Loop is an exciting worship service for young singles in this community. It has not come to pass. It has come to ...

3858. The Lord's Unanswered Prayer

John 17:20-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , the Episcopalians formed a procession and marched out of the building in decency and order. It's World Wide Communion Sunday. Christians around the world will bow in elaborate cathedrals and open air meetings to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. Yet the body of Christ remains so divided that I as a minister of the gospel would not be allowed to participate in many of these Holy meals. And that's what I would like to talk about today. I. CHRISTIAN UNITY IS AN ANSWER TO PRAYER On the night that Jesus ...

3859. When God Builds the House

Psalm 127:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... to the world, whatever they may be, that they are things that will last and stand in the storms of time. In 1992, hurricane Andrew destroyed thousands of homes in South Florida. In one area where the wreckage looked like a war zone, a house remained standing, fully anchored on its foundation. A reporter asked the owner, “Why weren't you blown away?" The owner replied “I built this house myself. I built it according to the Florida hurricane code. Where it called for 2 x 6 roof trusses I used ...

3860. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , indeed respectful, even responsible, request. Before taking Jesus up on his offer, may I “bury my father?” Jesus’ surprising response draws a deep division between those who would follow him and “proclaim the kingdom,” and those who remain unchanged, unconverted, untouched by the good news of the kingdom. These are the “dead,” those who choose spiritual “death” over the new life-changing, life-sustaining “way” that Jesus offers. Likewise the third encounter in this series emphasizes ...

3861. You Must Give Everything to Me

John 14:1-4

Illustration

... ?" In the course of the next few days, on a long train journey, they were wondering what provisions would be made for them when they arrived to their destination. One stranger told them that there was no place to accommodate them where they were heading. During this time, their guide remained quiet, not offering any word. However, when they arrived, they found that everything had been arranged for them. They guide quietly said to them, "Perhaps you will trust me to prepare for you ahead in the future."

3862. The New Road

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... restricting the sacrament and selling indulgences. He was brought to Rome and tried for heresy. On July 6, 1415, he was burned at the stake. This quote from John Huss now hangs on a wall in the Museum of Literature in the Czech Republic. “Woe unto me if I remain silent. For it would be better for me to die than not to take a stand against great wickedness, as this would make me an accomplice to sin and hell." III. CONSIDER THE ROAD OF DYNAMIC FAITH. “And having been warned in a dream not to return to ...

3863. The Road of Peace

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , and religious leaders who bounce between piety and depravity, are not people who lack ethical moorings or sensitive consciences. They know right from wrong. They preach about it and teach about it, but they have so compartmentalized their lives that what they believe and how they live remain miles apart. The road to peace is integration of the self, so what I say and what I do, will become one, not two. II. IF WE WANT PEACE, WE MUST MOVE FROM THE HOUSE OF HATE TO THE HOUSE OF LOVE. In a Peanuts cartoon ...

3864. The Exalted Christ

Mark 9: 2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... London that reached out to the worst. That Christian mission became the Salvation Army, which declared war on poverty and homelessness. Or, as William Booth said: “While women weep, as they do now. I'll fight. While children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight. While there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end." That was one hundred years ago. It seems like the kind of war all of us could get behind, the war on poverty, the war on homelessness ...

3865. Ezekiel: The Problem of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . The nights are long. And we respond much like Ezekiel did, ‘O Lord, can these bones live?' And Ezekiel's response was ‘I don't know. Only you know, Lord; it's in your hands. I don't know if there is any life left in these bones, any hope remaining in this valley. If there is any hope in the midst of the valley of dry bones, Lord, it's in your hands.' It's all too much for our small minds to comprehend. The valleys are real. II. ORGANIZATION IS HELPFUL But it's in a valley that this ...

3866. Make Disciples—Intentionally

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... ARE PEOPLE CHECKING OUT THE SCENE. What will help them most is a genuine friend. Curiosity killed the cat, but curiosity has caused many persons to turn their lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There is a spiritual vacuum in the soul that remains when the world has given you more than you can imagine. That curiosity, that vacuum, that yearning for something more is none other than the voice of God. And it finds expression in multiple ways. A toddler climbs up into his grandfather's arms. They ...

3867. Be Silent

Luke 1:11-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... prayer—a prayer of the heart, the hunger of the soul—a haunting question of a lifetime. He'd prayed it thousands of times before. It was the prayer of every Jewish man. It was a question really. “Why, O God, have Elizabeth and I remained childless?" That's when it happened. Zechariah got a nine-month sentence to silence. I. SILENCE. At first it seemed like a curse of life. Sometimes we are stunned to silence. Zechariah is stunned to silence. The angel Gabriel showed up in person. He gave Zechariah ...

3868. Come and See

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... needy. Some of you know that. Some of you are surprised by that. You who doubt that need to hear it the most. Right at the core of our being there is a hunger for something that is hard to define, almost embarrassing to confess, but which still remains when the world has given us its finest things and every tangible fear has been driven away. There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every human being. The least likely of all visitors to the manger that first Christmas had to be the shepherds. They ...

3869. Males or Females?

Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... teaches them to be passive and bored to death. Men have settled for killing time and it's killing them. Howard Macey says, “The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed." May we catch the wild side of God in our faith. The church needs men as spiritual leaders; the family needs it, the world needs it, your church needs it. II. THE CHURCH NEEDS WOMEN TO BE SPIRITUAL LEADERS. The refugee Aquila had a wife whose ...

3870. By Belonging

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... do is to check out of the community of faith. I know it's tempting, isn't it? When people are hurting they sometimes drop by the wayside. But that is the absolute last thing we want to do. Henri Nouwen says it so well. “So much of our pain remains hidden even from our closest friends." How often do you go up to someone and say I'm anxious, I'm needy, I'm angry, I'm bitter. I need your help." There is vulnerability in that confession that makes us fragile. So, as self-reliant people, we would rather ...

3871. Hot Air or the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... adjoining room. “A man from Ripley's Believe It or Not wants a picture of someone on fire for the Lord. Would you send it to him?" In spite of numerous communication books, seminars, periodicals, workshops, and practice, the number one problem between couples remains communication and conflict resolution. Isn't it interesting that it is still hard to understand and to be understood? How can the Holy Spirit help us understand and be understood in moments like this? I want to suggest a couple of ways. A. It ...

3872. Being Open to the Impossible

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... 5,000 ate and were satisfied, and then 12 baskets full of broken pieces of bread and of the fish were taken up. In the 8th Chapter, it’s the miracle of feeding 4,000 with 7 loaves, and after all had been fed and were satisfied, 7 baskets full remained. The interesting thing about the story of the 8th Chapter of Mark is that not long after He had fed the 4,000, Jesus and his disciples got into the boat and started to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then it happened. Everyone became hungry again - it ...

3873. When to Worry

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

... if one of these 7 things happens to you: Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles. You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes out of the city. Your twin sister forgot your birthday. Your car horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway. The bird singing outside your window is a buzzard. Your income tax check bounces. Your wife says, "Good morning, Bill", and your name is George. Other than that you don't have anything to ...

3874. Workaholism

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

Michael Parker

... annual average of 1,421 hours per year, the French 1,564, the Japanese 1,784, and Americans 1,804. All of these nations have cut their annual hours by 16 to 20 percent over the last 40 years. The exception is the United States, which has remained more or less static. This is not a recent phenomenon. As long ago as 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of the "feverish ardor" with which "Americans pursue their own welfare," and "this strange unrest of so many happy men, restless in the midst of abundance" (Bk 2 ...

3875. Anti-intellectual Christianity

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

Wallace H. Kirby

... the wisdoms of science, biblical criticism, or the prevailing arts) we are overlooking the fact that we are creating a new mission field: those who drop out of the faith because it appears too simplistic, obscure and anti-intellectual. According to Cohn Morris, the pulpit is one of the few remaining places in our society where serious issues are discussed. It may be that neither the pulpit nor the church lives up to this high calling, and we should not let such a judgment easily slide by.

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