Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3901 to 3925 of 4963 results

3901. The Names by Which He Is Known

Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... to be burning, it was not burning up. Moses moved toward it to take a closer look, at which point the Lord called out to him from the bush. The Lord began by calling Moses by name. We may take that for granted, and yet it remains an unnecessarily personal touch. Calling someone by name may be required in order to get a person's attention, the Lord already had Moses' attention there at the bush. He could have begun speaking without personally naming Moses, much as the angel over Bethlehem began speaking ...

3902. Forward March

Joshua 3:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... seen them this far, believing that God would not let them down. They put their fears behind them and then took those first, bold steps. They had finally arrived. Generations come and go, however, the nature and purposes of God's saving action remains the same. Recent decades have seen many churches decline in worship attendance and membership. Many churches keep doing the same thing hoping that the result will be different somehow, but the church continues down the path of decline. However, there are some ...

3903. Reversal and Victory

Judges 4:1-7

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... defeated. Deborah composed and sang a hymn telling of this significant victory that is found in the next chapter, Judges 5. It is a poetic song of celebration commemorating this victory in rather graphic detail. Deborah, the Israelites' first woman judge, remained in her position for forty years and according to scripture, "The land had rest forty years." Deborah had accomplished the seemingly impossible. God has an uncanny way of choosing the right person at the right time to bring about God's desires ...

3904. A Vision of Hope

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... in. Linda would be glad to pray for her every day asking her old friend to also pray for her. These two women connected, sending each other simple, heartfelt prayer requests each day. Each day they would pray for each other. "Though my circumstances remained unchanged," Connie shared, "it wasn't long before my burden began to feel lighter. Instead of turmoil, I now felt comfort and peace. My prayers began to reflect quiet rest in God's presence rather than preoccupation with my concerns." After one month ...

3905. Not All of This Is Me

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... , just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes." In our materialistic world, we never seem to have enough, we always want more, we never seem to be satisfied. The question for us to ponder this Thanksgiving is, "How can we remain faithful when we have so much?" Most of us do not live in life-threatening situations; we never go to bed hungry, and there is plenty of food in our refrigerator. We have fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of winter. Our closets are overflowing ...

3906. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... process of maturing, growing, and deepening in relationship. You'll be happy to know that thirty-some years later, Tim is not still a little boy, nor do he and I relate in the same way we did then. But we are still father and son, the relationship remains while it changes. Scripture makes it clear that we are expected to grow and bear fruit. Jesus spoke about it in parables. Paul, in Romans 12, calls us to undergo a process of transformation of our minds. Last week's lesson from Hebrews reminds us that both ...

3907. Caught in the Middle

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... by the number of active UMs who are as ignorant of the scope of our denomination as was the Brittain family of the extent of the late '50s McDonald's franchises. They may be quite active even at the district or conference level, but somehow just remain unaware of what is happening elsewhere in our world, which now includes everywhere. Not long ago I heard that there were more Anglicans at worship on any given Sunday in Nigeria than in the British Isles. I am sure there are similar figures for most so ...

3908. A Disconcerting Sight

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... implies development. There is a popular brand of theology that assures us that "God has a plan for your life" and seems to imply that all we need to do is sit back passively and wait for God to work things out. Paul would refer to that as remaining babes in Christ, or so it seems to me. Others dislike this idea of Christian growth, of striving toward the goal, because it seems to set up a spiritual hierarchy that strikes us as, well, unchristian. Does this not foster a kind of competitiveness of those who ...

3909. Will It Last?

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... loss of life in Phang Na, Thailand, was at a brand new resort geared to Scandinavian visitors (this part of Thailand is sometimes called "Scandinavia's Hawaii"), which was holding its grand opening on December 26, 2004. The devastation was almost total, but the foundation remained. This "good news" was hard to remember as we walked the beach five months later and found a piece of clothing in one spot and a child's toy in another. Paul was confident in the foundation he had laid but had some questions about ...

3910. Dust and Ashes Wednesday

2 Corinthians 5:11 – 6:13

Sermon

David O. Bales

... like you battle when you're cultivating a field on a windy day or like you breathe as you fight the wind on Main Street in late winter. Ashes like the ashes the breeze always seems to spiral around the campfire and into your eyes or like the ashes that remain after you're cremated. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. It's how we started. It's how we'll end. We start as basic elements and we end that way. Dust and ashes at the two extremes of our life, and at our beginning ...

3911. Spiritual Judo

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... a quadriplegic, in a wheelchair, paralyzed from her shoulders down. She endured terrible physical, mental, and spiritual suffering. She experienced anger and deep depression. She considered suicide. But she continued to pray. Even if such praying only threw questions at God, she remained open to God. She slowly received and accepted the grace of God that awaited her, allowing her the strength not only to survive but to serve God and others with her limitations. She learned to draw and to paint with a pencil ...

3912. Spiritual Resuscitation

Romans 8:6-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... the Holy Spirit helps us to corral the evil desires that Paul calls the "flesh." We meditate upon Christ's turning us toward a new direction in life, eternity's direction. As we follow Jesus, we'll never become totally free of what Paul calls the "flesh." We remain contaminated. I think of the farmhouse I grew up in, the one I filled with frankfurter smoke. Some of that carbon must still be lodged in my lungs, and I'm sure some still impregnates the house's ceiling. Yet, by the miraculous gift of God's Holy ...

3913. The Ordinary in God’s Hands

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

David O. Bales

... , Leo Tolstoy, portrayed this witheringly in a story, "The Death of Ivan Ilych." "The life of Ivan Ilych," he wrote, "had been most simple, and most ordinary, and therefore most terrible." Paul proclaims, however, that because of God's grace life doesn't have to remain ordinary nor need we despair that we're ordinary. The way God uses the ordinary makes common things useful and ordinary people holy. So it's not unspiritual to talk about the church's need for money or to bring our financial offerings to ...

3914. A Friday We Call “Good”

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

David O. Bales

... worship, cling tightly to our hope in God, and encourage one another in the ways of Jesus Christ. After we've met the great and good God, the faithful God who keeps promises and grants us unlimited access through Christ, and after we encourage one another in the faith, then remaining hopeful and continuing to gather regularly for worship isn't that hard to do. In fact, going to worship expectantly now is natural for us, because we experience again that worship has become supernatural. Amen.

3915. Oddballs for God

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

... maintain reverence and joy in life, knowing that this isn't the only or the final world they'll live in. Peter reminds them who they are in order to renew their wonder and reverence because of God's love shown through Jesus and to encourage them not merely to remain in the faith but to progress in the Christian life. God is never going to let us stay as we are. God is always in the process of changing us. There's that dirty word, "change." God doesn't confirm us in what we've always trusted, or the way ...

3916. Righteous!

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... He always fell short. He never was able to do enough and be sure that he was righteous. He refused to accept the rationalizations of anyone. His conscience would not let him rest because he knew that he was still falling short. The righteousness of God always remained out of his reach. He was never quite able to possess it. After a while, he began to wonder what God was doing to him. God seemed to be cruel and demanding. At times, Luther sounded like that great observer of modern American life, Woody Allen ...

3917. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... convinced us that we are not right with God. Back to Matthew 18 and Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant. This parable is introduced by a very interesting question from Peter. Peter wants to know how many times he has to forgive another in order to remain in good standing with Jesus. He thought he had all his bases covered by suggesting seventy times seven. Peter's question was just the pious arrogance of an original sinner. It assumes that he has got to do something, forgive so many times, in order to ...

3918. Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... has got to get us off. And that is exactly what God does in Jesus Christ. Paul's stunning change in language in verse 9 reflects just that fact. He begins with a big "But." We may be stuck on the merry-go-round, but we do not need to remain there. With a startling announcement that almost seems to come out of the blue, Paul declares, "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you." (Notice all the present tense verbs!) Here we are spinning around on the merry ...

3919. Children of the Heavenly Father

Romans 8:12-25

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... is not perfect. All too often parents are without children and children are without parents. One such remedy for this imperfect situation in this imperfect world is adoption. It is not the norm, but it is better than growing up as an orphan or remaining childless. Paul's first-century world was no different from ours in that respect. Adoption was not preferred but a satisfactory way to rectify and improve a problematic situation. A slave who had been torn away from his parents and family could become a ...

3920. Seeing God Work for Good

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Larry Lange

... from the highway across his neighbor's field squinting and frowning. The black clumps of earth overturned by the last plowing were infested with what appeared to be white mold. It looked like frost, but cold as it felt, it was too warm for frost to have remained on the ground. "It's not frost," Larry was saying. "It's chemicals. And salt. The standing water from the snowmelt and the rain last week brought them to the surface. When the wind blows and dries things out, the salt and chemicals are left behind ...

3921. How Beautiful the Feet

Romans 10:5-15

Sermon

Larry Lange

... home to be with them. Second, it was synod policy never to do any kind of pastoral care in your former parish, and that if anything like this were ever to happen again the only right thing to do was simply call him. The new pastor did his best to remain calm and polite, and to all appearances, Pastor Kyle agreed with the policy and said that he was just trying to help and that he was sorry for any problems he may have caused. Then he left. "Where's Pastor Kyle?" Judy badgered the new pastor after he said ...

3922. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

... means fruitful labor for me" (Philippians 1:22). When the apostle Paul had discovered that there was fruitful labor for him even if it wasn't the kind of grand, glorious, gospel globetrotting he had been doing, then he could write, "I know I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith" (Philippians 1:25). The apostle Paul was able to find new purpose to his life despite his weariness, his disappointment, his uncertainty, his incarceration, and his desire to die. He was even ...

3923. Reasons for Rejoicing

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... locations in the ancient world.1 Lydia, a prominent businesswoman, had been Paul’s very first convert in Philippi. Her home became the gathering place for new Christians in the city. Lydia's leadership and support of the congregation have remained constant (Acts 16:14-16). The women of Philippi are respected leaders in both church and society. Pastor Paul is especially concerned about a conflict between Euodia and Syntyche, two leaders at First Church, Philippi. Independent and assertive women, Euodia ...

3924. True Blood

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... out (Gen.49:11). The new covenant brings life. The old blood cults took life. The initiates into Mithrism were left with nothing but bloodstains and a steak dinner. All those beautiful, buffed-up “vampire” bodies may be called the “undead.” But they only remain vital by constantly feeding on life. When Jesus, the Lamb of God, offered himself as the final and complete sacrifice for the sins of the world, his gift to us was eternal life. Jesus banished the need for blood-letting by breaking the power ...

3925. Making Sacrifices

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

King Duncan

... to Berlin, he was still writing visas and shoving them through the train windows into the hands of the refugees who ran alongside. Ultimately he saved six thousand lives. Sugihara was not only a courageous Japanese; he was also a committed Christian. He spent his remaining days in Japan, humbly selling light bulbs. When his story was finally told, his son was asked, "How did your father feel about his choice?" The young man replied, "My father's life was fulfilled. When God needed him to do the right thing ...

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