Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 376 to 400 of 1185 results

376. Boundaries or Frontiers?

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

... more restrictive limit, the lesser circumference, the tighter circle. God leads us through our deserts of bondage so we will long for faith. There he calls us to be holy as he is holy, separated from all that enslaves us. When I went to Europe to pursue my doctoral studies, I had planned a restricted thesis - just an elaboration of my earlier study on John Calvin. About six months into my studies, a book appeared in German, a doctoral thesis by a Dutch priest from Nijmegen on the exact topic I had chosen ...

377. Exodus Crossings

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

James G. Cobb

... , because you are not doing anything exciting." Moses answers, "Very well. I shall go down to the Red Sea, wave my right hand, the waters will part, and the Hebrews will pass through safely. Then I will wave my left hand, the waters will return, and the pursuing Egyptians will be swallowed up." The PR Director replies, "If you do that Moses, I can guarantee you four pages in the Bible." And so, apparently, the PR person was able to deliver on the promise and the pages of the Book of Exodus see this event ...

378. The Servant’s Credentials

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

... this particular candidate. He read the handwriting on the wall, and self-selected out of the process. I would like to think that the Holy Spirit was as active in that decision to opt out as the Spirit is active in the decision of others to pursue church occupations. Why do I share this incident with you? I share it as an illustration of the Church’s investment in a qualified and caring cadre of pastors, deaconesses and lay professional leaders. I share it today because I feel it illustrates our text from ...

379. Prayer

Matthew 5:1-12

Bulletin Aid

David MacKinnon

... . (pray that God would direct our responses as individuals and as a nation, pray specifically for our President and governmental leaders) 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (pray that as a nation we would pursue righteousness, leaving fear, hate, revenge and violence behind) 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (pray for the rescue-workers, and that He would help us to be merciful to those hurting, and to respond correctly in our hearts ...

380. Our Midian Moment

Illustration

Staff

... world out there. No bush is burning here, but God is present, and God is saying things to every listening heart. If any of us today have come with any feeling of defeat, if we have given up, I hope we can hear that same message God spoke to Moses: Pursue the high goal, and I will be with you; hold fast the great ideal; don't give up on your dream.

381. To Touch The Untouchable

Luke 5:12-16

Sermon

... be combated and healed. Dr. Brand developed surgical techniques which restored the use of hands and eyes. He accomplished much in removing the superstition from this dreaded and misunderstood disease. As he developed various methods of reconstructive surgery, he also pursued ways in which the human beings who suffered from this disease could be helped personally and psychologically. But as Norman Cousins has observed, there is one aspect of his work which is more important than all the others. Dr. Brand ...

382. The Christian Life Children

Luke 18:15-17

Bulletin Aid

... little children come unto me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Congregation: Remind us, Lord, how valuable our children are. We can hinder them by being needlessly strict or overpermissive, by neglecting them while we pursue our pleasures or by being too possessive and protective. Show us the balance and bless our children through us. Leader: Jesus also said, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." All: Give us that ...

383. The Strawberry

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Illustration

Staff

A Buddhist monk is fleeing from a hungry tiger. The monk comes to the edge of a cliff cutting off any hope of escape from the pursuing tiger. Fortunately for the monk, a vine happens to be growing over the edge. He grabs hold of it and begins to climb down the cliff, out of the tiger's reach, who is by now glaring at him from above. But alas, as the monk is climbing down, he ...

384. The Master Has Come - To Proclaim God’s Kingdom

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

... Whoever told you that you had a right to be happy? The ministry is no place for the pursuit of happiness ... it’s a place for the pursuit of the Kingdom of God!" Too many Christians are worshiping the gods of happiness. The Christian life is a call to pursue the Kingdom of God, and to realize it in our living. III A third thing we must do is respond to the urgent Gospel Jesus preached. Jesus also said, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." To "repent" means to turn around, to turn toward God, to travel in ...

385. Searching for Peace

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... But there is a peace that passes all understanding that comes even to the Christian warrior. This peace comes by allowing Christ to give us, in his love and grace, a still center in the middle of the world’s strife. This peace is reinforced as we turn to pursuing a life of service to our King. We can be at peace with God even if the world turns into shambles. There are basically two ways of living: for self or for God. The first one brings despair and emptiness. The second brings the peace that passes all ...

386. It Takes More than Sun to Grow

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... could not help itself. The fault must be placed here, if we are to place fault, either upon the nature of seeds in general or upon the sower for being so careless. The sower threw good seeds, we suppose, but did not throw them in the right places. Let us pursue this line of thought. One year when I was in graduate school at Indiana University I was able to rent a garden plot. The deal was that the farmer who owned the land, would plow it for us. He did. But he left clods so big that nothing would have ...

387. Pentecost 4

Psalm 100:1-5, Genesis 25:19-34, Exodus 19:1-25, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon Aid

... easy to deceive because he thought more of his stomach, his hunger, than he did of his birthright, so he sold it to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup. 3. A buy-out by the world. The "Life is just a bowl of cherries" attitude that many of us pursue results in the danger of a complete sell-out of our baptismal birthright, the kingdom of heaven. Can the world buy out our claim to the kingdom? 4. The kingdom-birthright is God's gift to everyone. Appreciate it, claim it, and cling to it in true faith forever ...

388. Pentecost 7

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 20:1-21, Psalm 19:1-14, Psalm 103:1-22, Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon Aid

... declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity." The gracious response of the faithful, in which they show love, mercy, and forgiveness to others, is connected to the glory of God in this prayer: "Grant us the fullness of your grace, that, pursuing what you have promised, we may share your heavenly glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." The love of God for people, which was incarnate in Jesus Christ, is what motivates and determines our actions toward others. The Psalm for the Day ...

389. Thanksgiving Day

Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 4:10-20, 1 Timothy 2:1-15, Luke 17:11-19

Sermon Aid

... for the gift. SERMON SUGGESTIONS Luke 17:11-19 - "Gratitude and a Gift from God." In his book about the Mayflower Company adventure, Saints and Strangers, George F. Willison tells how the first Pilgrim landing party in 1520 saw some Indians and pursued them in the hope of making contact and replenishing their supplies; the voyage from England to New England had taken sixty-days. Unsuccessful, they made their way back to the Mayflower, stopping long enough in a field where they had seen some strange ...

390. Three Arrows

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Sermon

We follow flights of arrows. We watch for them at intersect ions. We pursue them with haste as we speed our carts down supermarket aisles. We follow them up staircases at work, and down bleacher steps at the basketball gym. When we want to win friends and influence people, we males can often be found with an Arrow shirt on our backs. Females of ...

391. The Farmer and the Fugitive

1 Samuel 25:1-44

Sermon

... and turned away from him in skulking fear. His anger was a hammer striking the anvil of agony for Nabal and everyone he knew. David reacted to Nabal’s rudeness with anger of his own. He wanted to strike the farmer down with his sharp blade. He wanted to pursue a scorched earth policy and wipe Nabal’s farm off the face of the earth. All of Nabal’s troubles started when he said "no" to someone in need. Because he refused the crust of bread to a stranger, all of his power and glory would be taken from ...

392. A Queen Bee’s Sting

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon

... of a long marriage, we see the gradual disintegration of love between a husband and a wife. The writer of Samuel gives us short scenes from the marriage of David and Michal, two millenia before movies were invented. In the first scene we see Michal pursuing David with all the fanaticism of a Daisy Mae about to apprehend Lil Abner on the outskirts of Dogpatch. Sibling rivalry had made her jealous of her big sister Merab, who loved David. The callow shepherd from Bethlehem melted when he saw Merab, but Saul ...

393. A Dynasty of Destiny

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Dynasty and Dallas sit atop the slippery pole of the tube ratings. Catty Alexis and crafty J.R. pursue their juggernaut pace for the plums of power, prestige, and pelf. In Los Angeles, fervid fans still hoot and holler for a Bruin roundball dynasty built by Goliaths of the goalpost named Jabbar and Walton. The Windsor dynasty is assured of a successor, as Prince William toddles along a London ...

394. Epiphany 8

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Bulletin Aid

... energy, we may fulfill those holy roles rather than ones of our own devising. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Enabler God, we confess the awful extent to which we spend our precious time seeking status in the eyes of the world and pursuing power on the world's terms rather than striving to be servants and stewards of your Reign. Forgive us our foolish selfishness, O God, and empower us with your Holy Spirit to become what you would have us to be and to do what you would have us ...

395. Epiphany 8

Matthew 5:38-42

Bulletin Aid

... worthy citizens of your coming Reign in Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession God of perfect love, we confess that we fail regularly and miserably to emulate your righteous love as Jesus taught us to in word and deed, but instead pursue private and comfortable forms of personal piety that only make us look good and feel holy. Forgive us, O God, and set before us the Christ. Help us through your gracious power to conform ourselves to your standards and his example, and thus to become ...

396. Proper 22

Mt 21:33-46 · Php 3:4b-14 · Ex 20:1-20

Bulletin Aid

... you the axis of our lives, around which all other concerns and commitments revolve, and without which our lives turn into confusion and chaos. In the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen Second Lesson: Philippians 3:4b-14 Theme: Perfection pursued, glory given Exegetical Note Paul is apparently countering the contention of some among the Philippians who are claiming to have attained perfection and who, ironically, are living libertine lives as a result. Against them, Paul admits his own lack of, but hope ...

397. Oppression and Liberty

Psalm 100:1-5

Illustration

Brett Blair

... we will all sit down to a Thanksgiving meal. The holiday has been transformed by these last two months into a penetrating inventory of our lives. What you and I enjoy the rest of the world can only dream: life, liberty, and a chance to pursue happiness. To many in the United States these rights had become--before the events of September 11th--commonplace, and to a few they were even regarded as trite, but not any more. Those three rights (Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness) are once again relevant ...

398. Jailbreak at Midnight

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon Aid

CSS

... Mary made a good living from people who thought they were being given information about their future, as if Sister Mary knew anything about it. So people in Philippi 2,000 years ago weren’t really any more stupid than some people today. The slave girl pursued Paul’s group through the streets, crying, "These men are servants of the Most High God and proclaim to you the way of salvation." Maybe she had heard these words from Paul or maybe someone had coached her to say them. Perhaps she even had some ...

399. You Figure It Out

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

... but request alternate service. - Still others have said that a government which engages in war should be resisted actively. During the Vietnam Conflict, this movement grew in the land, supported in part by professing Christians. They argue that to let the government pursue a warlike policy is to participate in murder. We could make a Christian argument for any of these points of view. Wiser folks than any of us here have advocated any and all of these prespectives. There has been no success in attempting ...

400. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... basis of passive resistance. When some of his followers wanted to use violence to strike back at British troops, he said, "If everyone took an eye for an eye, the whole world would be blind." An old proverb says, "The person who pursues revenge should dig two graves." Justice calls for retaliation and revenge, but mercy wants forgiveness. Following Jesus’ example and teachings, a Christian tempers justice with mercy. In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, justice called for every laborer to get ...

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