Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 376 to 400 of 1230 results

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Wilson, a man who barely a year earlier had been heralded as the new world Messiah, came to the end of his days a broken and defeated man. It’s a sad story, but one that is not altogether unfamiliar. The ultimate reward for someone who tries to translate ideals into reality is apt to be frustration and defeat. There are some exceptions, of course, but not too many. It happened that way to Jesus. When he emerged on the public scene he was an overnight sensation. He would try to go off to be alone and the ...

377. A Community of Love

John 14:15-31

Illustration

Carl Jech

In a sermon titled "A New Vision," Dr. E. Howard Satterwhite of Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, compared the ideal of a Christian community of love, with a marriage in which the romance has faded, the honeymoon is over, and the relationship has become a labor of love requiring simple tenacity, "hanging in there." Describing his vision of Christian love at close quarters he said, "We should lose the illusions ...

378. Members of a Family

John 17:20-26

Illustration

John M. Braaten

The genius of God's plan is obvious. If we recognize that we are all members of the same family, if we acknowledge that God desires to hold us in a single peace then, ideally, we will stop fighting with each other and destroying one another and instead begin standing with one another and working together to bring people to Christ and to become an answer to prayer for those who cry out to God for help. However, if your family is like my family, ...

379. Independence Day - The Mission of the Mighty

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is right of the people to alter or abolish it.” Well, some of the folks said that they thought it was very radical, much too radical. Some said it was silly idealism. Quite a few said that it was probably written by some communist. Others thought it was the work of some counterculture group. They were only 13 out of 122 people who recognized it as part of the Declaration of Independence. All right. We are free people ...

380. Life's Third Dimension

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

... this line as far as we can, lengthening the time-line, putting as much distance as possible between our birth and our death. We think somewhat, also, of course, in second dimension: many people do have a genuine concern for life's breadth - education, idealism, maturity. But what of the dimension of depth? This is imponderable almost - the realm of spirit, of soul, the inner quality of what we really are. Of this our real personhood consists. There is every evidence that it is in this dimension that we ...

381. Barefoot in the Palace

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... has been slumbering throughout human history, waiting for its explosive moment. The second reason is the democratic tradition, born in ancient Greece, nurtured by the Reformation and Renaissance, and injected into the American tradition by our British heritage. These social ideals have pressed for their acceptance and, like arty spiritual truth, they await their day, not to be denied, pushing against all confinement. II Deeper still, we can understand that the barefoot ones who claim the palace are part of ...

382. Is The Gospel Only For Women?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

... most women think that no man can ever understand them, yet no woman has ever felt that Christ could not understand her womanly feelings. He goes on to observe, "It is one of the glorious facts of our religion that womanhood finds all its ideals realized in him." That leads me to dare to say that if these are "womanly" - these Beatitudes - then women have no better model than this man Jesus, the ultimate in "womanly" qualities of being poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness ...

383. Tomb for Sale

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

George Bass

... (life, love, memory, the existence of the universe, the infield fly rule), remains a mystery. But many gerontologists believe that, absent disease or imprudent living, an individual ages according to his or her genetically controlled ‘clock.’ A scientist says that, ideally, we should live fairly healthily and then go ‘poof’ rather than go into slow decline or a nursing home." Will says that "longevity is a triumph of the spirit" and not just of physiology; Ward "was picking up steam - and stumps ...

384. Are There Any Questions?

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

... hungry, and above all, just plain honesty. He was right, of course, and there could be no argument. Christian values are sometimes more in vogue with atheists than Christians. The only new life he could understand was the new life he intended to create. His ideals were high, his goals were noble. And his assessment of the little difference that the faith reflects in many could not be contradicted. But I have followed his career with interest, and after a long series of distresses, he is in the fold again ...

385. Believing is Seeing

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... and pains. We cheer the tax reform that promises more disposable income. As someone once or twice was known to say, "Progress is our most important product," and we are on the move. But as our expectations soar, disappointment deepens. Visions of the Kingdom evaporate. Ideals dampen to realities. The mood of the Emmaus disciples takes hold again. "We had hoped ..." What, then, shall we say to this - this sudden burst of pyrotechnics as the church on this last Sunday of the church year, the day of Christ the ...

386. Remember Me?

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

... . We are called to strive to love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. That’s the target, the goal, the narrow door. Meaningful Relationships When you and I turn toward this goal, we strive toward the highest ideal that Christ has for us. In that sense, we share Christ’s hopes and dreams for us. We strive to go where he wants us to go and do what he wants us to do. The goal that Christ has for our lives and the goal that we have for ...

387. Overcoming Life's Obstacles

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

... enough to expand our horizons? What profound possibilities for achievement belong to those who follow a vision! In this respect we must admire and nuture the dreams of our young people today. Youth is a visionary time of life. Let us treat with respect their fresh idealism, their great plans, their unspoiled look to the future. Of course, if we are going to dream, our dreams need to be God-pleasing. We have to admit that often our goals are selfish and our dreams self-serving. We may be interested to have ...

388. You Are Worth Much!

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... we want to know how much money stands behind a name. The world wants to know how young you are. How much do you match the prancing glamorous images that the world creates for you to emulate in TV commercials and beauty pageants? If you don't come near those ideals, you're not worth very much! No, the world won't tell you as a Christian what your true value is. So God can use you and me to tell each other what we are really worth. Let's get used to the idea, then, of telling one another that ...

389. If Only We Would Let God Mold Us ...

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... moisture in thyself, lest, becoming hard, thou shouldest lose the marks of His fingers." The potter and clay image has caught the imagination of many through the years. One was Adelaide A. Pollard who wrote the beloved hymn, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord." She pictured the ideal response to God as a willingness to be molded according to the divine design. Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Thou art the potter; I am the clay. Mold me and make me After thy will, While I am waiting Yielded and still ...

390. The Day of Pentecost

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

... back to the tenth or even the eleventh century B.C. Jeshurun appears to be a poetic name for Israel; its root is found in a word meaning "upright." It would seem this name was dusted off and used in order to inspire Israel to see herself in her ideal role; to conceive of herself in her true character, as seen in the light of how God pictures her to be. In any event, Deutero-Isaiah wants to know Israel is not forgotten and will not be dismissed lightly as God's failure, simply because she cannot keep her ...

391. Parable of Five Cities

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

... cities in quest of her one true love. She found him in the first city and fell completely in love with him, but she was wrong and he left her in the City of Disappointment. Her journey took her to the next city, where she again thought the ideal was at hand; but, in this city called Rebellion, she found only bitterness. Once again she set forth and found a beautiful love called respect. This was the City of Dignity. Again she set forth to find her true love and there she found some happiness in the City ...

392. The Second Sunday in Lent

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... will guide us to where cross the crowded ways of life, where the hungry cry for bread, even the crumbs of our Eucharistic banquet, where children are the chief victims of war, where the dignity of individuals, regardless of race, sex, age, or class, is an ideal and not a reality. It's enough to make one question the wisdom of getting baptized. It certainly doesn't sound as though this kind of baptism can only be described as "the feeling of being right with God." Transfiguration seems pretty good, of course ...

393. Good Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... constant source of recovery and restoration. He makes a life controlled by love not only real, but attractive. As we stand beneath his cross today that sacrifice will call us back from our inferior and grudging ways, making us ashamed of our narrow idealisms and urging us to occupy the larger spaces of Christian freedom and divine dependence. We can discover, in Christ, the safeguard God has given us against those times when we are tempted to find reasons for staying where we are, for proceeding no further ...

394. A Wandering Aramean

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... Goliath, his beautiful psalms, his mighty kingdom. But David was also a philanderer - he chased other men's wives. And when he caught them, as he did Bathsheba, he wasn't above knocking off the husband so he could marry the woman. Not exactly the ideal ancestor to imitate. What about the prophet Elijah? Strong and brave, to be sure, but also a bit crude. The Bible says one day some city boys followed along behind the aging Prophet, calling him "Baldy." Elijah promptly summoned two she-bears who tore forty ...

395. L’Chaim!

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... liberality. We must delight in each other. So shall we keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And the Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us as his own people. During this time as a nation, we have often strayed from these ideals. Those who have held up before us our national hypocrisies and errant ways ought not be driven off or silenced. They had best be listened to. And since we believe that we live by grace and not by works, it is fitting for us to renew our confidence and stir ...

396. Seeing as the Lord Sees

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

... saw there a heart that was open to the heart of God with which he could make connection and with whom he could do significant things. David is still considered to be the great king of Israel. Some of us have named a son David, not because David was the ideal human being, but because he was the man after God’s own heart, seeking to do God’s will. That is what we hope for our children. Seeing how important it was that God saw in David something that might not have been visible to the human eye, and seeing ...

397. Is Repentance Necessary?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... when you know what is good you can do it. Or what you really need is just the right psychological system. When you have the system, you can follow it and you can be free. No one is more disillusioned than an idealist who discovers that the ideal does not work. Some people try drugs - legal and illegal. Others try alcohol. Some try sex, or some other kind of escape for dealing with the reality of their own self-negation. I am convinced the reason people do these things, play these games, and follow these ...

398. How Did It Come to This?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

... at that time. At that tender moment, the only thing that matters is how a person lived their life. III How have things come to this asked the prophet? A third reason it got to this stage was that Israel ended up sabotaging their own ideals. With their choices, attitudes, and behavior they became their own worst enemy. All of their toiling to develop the nation turned to naught, when they turned their backs on God. I saw a man who was getting reading to jog. He was doing some stretching exercises ...

399. PARABLE OF MY NAME

Proverbs 22:1

Illustration

Staff

... of someone with a great reputation has an encouraging influence on the namesake. It is true that Bible names are related by the bearers of such names to their historic meanings. It is natural and it is good that we should want to make our reputations measure up to high ideals and noble achievements. Parents ought to wisely choose their children's names with consideration for what it will mean among their playmates and friends and associates in the future.

400. Easter 2

Acts 5:17-42, Revelation 1:4-8, Revelation 1:9-20, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

... no reason to believe. When we cannot see, when the future is unknown, we have faith that the unseen and unknown truly exist. Lesson 1: Acts 5:27-32 1. Rather (v. 29). Christians have a twofold responsibility to obey: God and State. Which would we "rather" obey? Ideally there should never be a time when a choice was necessary. The State should require only what God commands. In the event that the State orders us to do or not to do what opposes God's commands, the Christian takes a stand with the Apostles and ...

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