Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3901 to 3925 of 5000 results

3901. The Kind of People Whom God Chooses

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

... for him to figure it out, and even then he had some misgivings. Did you hear what he said? “Get away from me, Lord. I’m not a good enough person for you.” That’s the way Luke tells it. If you listen to the Gospels of Matthew or Mark, the story is much shorter. Jesus said, “Come, follow me!” Immediately Simon Peter dropped his net on the sand and off he went. No questions in his heart. No doubts in his mind. No inner conflict. No sense of inadequacy. Immediately he went. But as Luke tells the ...

3902. Anything Better Than the Golden Rule?

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

William G. Carter

... said, “Do to others as you would have them do unto you.” But the gospel says, “Do unto others as God has done unto you.” Yes, there is something better than the Golden Rule, and it is the marvelous love of God. Love is one trait that marks a church full of God’s children. Around here, you might say there is a striking family resemblance. 1. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX (New York: Doubleday, 1981), p. 639. 2. Quoted by James F. Kay, Seasons of Grace (Grand Rapids: Erdmanns ...

3903. Having to Stay When You Want Out

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... 13). The grace appears in the nativity of our Lord. It stays with us as a teacher. It will return to us in glory. Titus rediscovered his Savior there in Crete. The past manifestation of God in Jesus of Nazareth and the future manifestation of God in hope and glory marked the boundaries of God’s plan of salvation. Today we celebrate the day of the birth of our Lord. The good news is the fact that our Lord stayed after the birth and will come to us again. So be it. 1. Beryl Cohon, Out of the Heart (New York ...

3904. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... away the old stuff you’ve gotten wrapped up in: “fornication, impurity, passion, evil, desire, greed, slander, anger, malice, and filthy language.” We can all understand that stripping away of our old ways. But what’s the next step? What are the distinctive marks of the new face? Once before, in antiquity, the Jews had faced the issue of having to put out the old. Her promised land, her Davidic Covenant, her temple, and her old language of rewards and punishments had been rendered useless by the ...

3905. Respect

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... has all the truth. We are a mixed bag of the necessary. When each part has equal concern for each other so that all suffer if one suffers and all rejoice when one is honored, that is respect. Respect for that which is different seems to be the defining mark of Paul’s entire ministry. The gifts he identifies among the Corinthians seem almost to be in conflict with each other, but we need to respect them all for we need them all in order to be the Body of Christ. When Jesus thought of community, he did not ...

3906. A Note to Fearful Hearts

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The frail, tired woman had experienced a sleepless night in her hospital bed. Aged wrinkles marked her face as she prepared to greet another day of tests, medications, and well-meaning visitors. It was early. The little rays of sunshine had just begun to dance through the cracks in the window blinds. She heard him next door. Every morning he practiced the same routine. He was ...

3907. Exposed!

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... Peter got real excited over this mountaintop experience. “Rabbi,” he said, “this is wonderful. It’s so good to be here. Let’s hold on to this forever. Let’s put up three shelters, three monuments, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:2-6). It was quite a scene and Peter wanted to make it permanent. Three permanent shelters with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in them; what a tourist attraction that would be! Hundreds of thousands of people would make a pilgrimage to that place. Yet ...

3908. God Notices

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... upon and the poor are ruined (8:4). Worship is half-hearted, something to be endured, something to pass the time until the marketplace is open again and the money can start flowing (8:5a). Amos contends that it is not the best of times. It is a time marked by dishonesty and deception. Amos has seen all these things going on in the culture, and God has now set before him a vision of a fruit basket (8:1-2). Amos sees a basket brimming with succulent, ripe, summer fruit. The lesson is clear. The fruit that ...

3909. True or False?

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... . Bludgeoned with allegedly pious words and sacred acts, God is pacified, not glorified. Rather than anticipating being swept up by something, someone bigger than themselves, worshipers assemble as if they had some place they’d rather be, as if they were marking off a checklist: God — “check.” Worship — “check.” What’s next? Know anybody whose religion is like that? People who speak all the right words but live all the wrong lives, who make the right appearances for the wrong reasons, who ...

3910. There Could Be, Couldn't There?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... needed, that they forgot all about who they were and whose they were. It is amazing that people loved by God, called by God, blessed by God would go after their own desires and whims and interests instead of the way that God had marked for them. It is astounding that those made in God’s image, would wrap themselves in images of their own making. It is incomprehensible that those created to glorify and enjoy God would instead glorify and gratify themselves. It is inconceivable that people given infinite ...

3911. Make Up Your Mind!

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... Baals of power, sex, money, popularity, and prestige. No wonder they were popular! The Israelites also paid homage to the true God. After all, he was the One who had delivered their ancestors out of bondage. To give up on him completely would be a mark of disrespect to their forebears. They could never fully give up on the God of their national heritage, and so they politely included him with quick nod-of-the-head acknowledgments as they went about their own business. As a result, the religion of the ...

3912. The Second Touch for the Out of Touch

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... with you? If you have not been there, the chances are you will. Almost all of us experience spiritual depression at one time or another in our lives. It seems to be part and parcel of the normal human experience. Until now Elijah’s life was uniquely marked by success. Everything he put his hand to seemed to prosper. When it seemed as though he should have been riding the crest of the wave, depression entered his life, proving that James was right when he said, “Elijah was a human being like us” (James ...

3913. The ABC Gospel

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... , Augustine Birrell said what he had heard and the contrast he had found. The man responded in a way that was temperate and kind, acknowledging that what he heard was once a fact. “What happened?” Birrell asked the miner. The man tipped his hat as a mark of respect and replied, “There came among us once a man whose name was John Wesley and we have not been the same since.” The testimony of John Wesley had impacted a whole community for Jesus Christ. Imagine what might happen where we live if once ...

3914. A Messenger of Promise

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... (Malachi 4:5-6). Jesus knew of that tradition. His disciples once asked Jesus if he knew that Elijah must come to prepare all things. Jesus answered that Elijah had already come, had performed his duties, and had paid the price for the ministry of preparation (Mark 9:10-12). Thus it is our Lord himself who identifies God’s messenger as John the Baptist. In the Holy Gospel for today (Luke 3:1-6), John the Baptist is identified as the one whom the Prophet Isaiah predicted. As such, John is pictured ...

3915. The Promising Child

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... have difficulty handling the protests of mothers who think that the behavior of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus was quite reprehensible. Mothers normally contend that no matter how impressive Jesus may have been with the teachers in the Temple, he gets poor marks for the anxiety he caused both Mary and Joseph. Any parent who has experienced the trauma of worrying about a lost child for any length of time can appreciate the fact that Mary immediately faulted Jesus for what appeared to be thoughtlessness on ...

3916. The Fruit of the Word

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... the earth or the thoughts of people. However, the prophet had also said that his audience should seek the Lord, because God can be found. God is not lost. God is near. God is near for all those who want to call upon him. Mark William Worthing, a professor of Lutheran Seminary in Adelaide, Australia, has given an account of how physicists and scientists view possible scenarios for the future of the creation. His book, God, Creation and Contemporary Physics, cites some of the likely dialogues between theology ...

3917. Keeping the Glow On

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... do that as a community, as a state, and as a nation. We fix certain moments in our history as being essential to understanding ourselves, what we are, and how we got here. Families have ways of recalling the important events in their lives. The marking of anniversaries of more than just birthdays can be very important in helping families to stress achievements and special acts of love and service. However, what is more akin to the revelation at Mount Sinai is what we may experience as a spiritual moment in ...

3918. Born Again and Again and...

Ephesians 1:1-14

Drama

Dave Marsh

... will save you once more!” Katie: Yeah! See? Exactly! John: I made that verse up. Katie: Oh. John: Let me read you the real thing: "And because of what Christ did, all you others too, who heard the Good news about how to be saved, and trusted Christ, were marked as belonging to Christ by the Holy Spirit, who long ago had been promised to all of us Christians. His presence within us is God's guarantee that he really will give us all that He promised; and the Spirit's seal upon us means that God has already ...

3919. Ready or Not ( A Drama about Commitment)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... : Fine. I got this map here. See? Vicki: (takes map) This is a map of Florida. And it’s from 1985! Have you even looked at this thing? Dave: Sure, I have. I think…. What have you got? Vicki: I’ve got the latest maps of Virginia plus I’ve marked all our camp sites and I’ve double checked everything online with MapQuest. Dave: Well, ok. Fine. But do you have one of these? Vicki: What is it? Dave: It’s a compass, silly. Vicki: This isn’t a compass! (pulls out the tape) This is a tape measure with ...

3920. The Spirit Has Landed

Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the Baptist. John was calling for the repentance of Israel. Jesus chooses to be baptized because he wants to participate with the people in their desires to be close to God. It’s a small thing Jesus does but what a big influence. It forever marks baptism as the way we Christians publicly declare our repentance and dependence on God’s grace. So the Spirit descends from the heavens, lands on Jesus and sends the following vivid snapshot: I First, in the backdrop of this picture all the people are baptized ...

3921. Think About It (A Drama about Diffusing Criticism)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... I taught them about the prodigal son and about how we can serve each other and how God loves us" and then you find out what they really remember is what’s on TV at 3:30 and where the latest in-line skates are, and how many home runs Mark McGuire and who’s leading in the Winston cup race and … Beth: STOP! (Dave freezes in position) Dear Lord, I know that you really love Dave. He doesn’t see the big picture. He doesn’t know. Please help me to tolerate him more. Amen. Okay, GO! Dave: …then you ...

3922. Resting In The Lord (A Drama about Church and Nature)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... sing out here just as well as I could at church. (clears throat) Dave (singing): Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see. 'Twas grace that made my tears for fears, and Mark Grace he plays first base; (starts squirming and looking around) and I don’t remember any more of this song, La la la la la la. Dave (v.o.): Okay, so maybe I can’t worship as well. But I mean, that’s no big deal right? I can still ...

3923. The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... IS THE PRINCE OF PEACE. I believe with all my heart that the way to a lasting peace resides in Jesus Christ – in what He came for and stood for and died for; in His intense pursuit of truth, love, and justice. That is precisely what this story in Mark 5 is all about. Christ walks into the tormented life of the Gerasene demoniac, this madman, who is at war with everybody and whose life is coming apart at the seams… and Jesus turns it around for him. He gives him the healing he needs… and brings peace ...

3924. Experience the Mountaintop But Don't Forget the Valley Below

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

... say. But to freeze that one moment in time shuts off the possibility of the next moment. In the Gospel reading for today we hear the writer of Luke give his version of the event which we call "The Transfiguration of Jesus." Matthew and Mark also contain an account of this strange occurrence, with some minor variations in the telling. It’s one of those rare moments we were just talking about, one of those mountaintop experiences of life, which somehow defy adequate description and challenge us to stretch ...

3925. His Trial

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... at the Festival season for the Governor to release to the people one prisoner of their choice. There was in the custody of the authorities at that time a man of some notoriety by the name of Jesus Barabbas. We know nothing of him other than what Mark tells us in his gospel. He is described as a man who committed murder in an insurrection. The Roman historian Josephus tells us that during that year an aqueduct was sabotaged near Jerusalem and a soldier was murdered, leading some to suspect that this was the ...

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