Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4026 to 4050 of 4939 results

4026. Jesus: The Only Way To God?

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

These words attributed to Peter, "There is salvation in no one else," raise a difficult issue. If one misunderstands, it could lead to the idea that the only way to know God is through Christ. This would be offensive to our many friends of other religions throughout the world. True, one can correctly infer from Peter's words that there is something unique about Jesus, something which makes the experience of a relationship with Jesus not only special, but according to those of us who lay claim to that ...

4027. Who Do You Say I Am?

Mark 8:27-30

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

The Community Gathers to Celebrate (Leader 1 and Leader 5 should be at microphones in the front of the sanctuary. Leader 2, Leader 3 and Leader 4 should be sitting in the pews, and just shout out their response from there.) Leader 1: Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Leader 2: John the Baptist! Leader 3: Elijah! Leader 4: One of the prophets! Leader 1: Then Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Leader 5: "You are the Messiah." Leader 1: Then Jesus began to teach them about the ...

4028. It's Performance That Counts

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Nothing aggravates me more than buying something that does not work when I get it home. Whether it is purchased at a local store or through the latest mail-order catalog, if the item does not live up to its advertised promises, I feel cheated. Most people do not mind spending money on those objects of their desiring, some of them necessary, others frivolous, provided they live up to the expectations which were made on the packaging. At one time or another, I suppose, we are all tricked by the slick ...

4029. The Majesty Of God's Love

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Today we celebrate Jesus' ascension into heaven. Our gospel lesson from Matthew does not directly speak of our Lord's ascension, but it does provide some clues regarding its significance. It has to do with Jesus' great commission ("to make disciples of all nations [Matthew 28:19])" and its relationship to the Trinity. Somehow Jesus' ascension represents an internal divine commitment by God that he will not quit until everyone is wrapped up in his love. Here is the story. According to Matthew's version, on ...

4030. Children of the Eighth Day

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

It’s a long way from the bottom to the top. But that is the call of the Christian life. "That like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4b). The title of this chapter belongs to Thornton Wilder. In his book, the scene opens on New Year’s Eve, 1899, just before the new century is born. A group of men are sitting around the stove in a country store. Dr. Gillis, the community seer, is facing the question, "What will the new ...

4031. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

Currently J. Benton and Faye French Tulley Professor of Pastoral Psychology, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, California, and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, EDWARD V. STEIN has been contributing books and articles to the field of pastoral care for a number of years, especially in the area of guilt formation and therapy. He has also engaged in considerable post-doctoral training in family therapy. The family in our day and time - ambiguous and needed, imperfect and hopeful, ...

4032. Trouble in the Manse

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

There once was a retreat attended by the clergy of a community for the purpose of establishing support groups. To kick things off the leader broke the participants up into groups of four and instructed them to confide in one another. In one group, a rabbi broke the ice by saying, "I'll begin by sharing one of my most disturbing problems. Occasionally I slip out of town and give in to my craving for pork - I stuff myself with bacon, sausage, ham, pork chops, and sometimes even baby back ribs." At this point ...

4033. No Longer Damned

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

The text for today is Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." I'm not sure all of you were paying attention, so I'm going to say it again. The text for today is Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." You know, this is really important, so I'm going to say it one more time. Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." You know what ...

4034. God's Dirty Job

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Do you ever have family TV night? How do you battle for control of the remote? Or are there any choices everyone can agree on? In a lot of households there is one that crosses all generations. It’s on the Discovery Channel. It’s called “Dirty Jobs.” This surprising hit has host Mike Rowe taking on a new, disgusting, you-never-even-thought-of-doing-that “dirty job” each week. He has cleaned dairy farm floors. He has plucked stinging blood worms out of low tide muck. He has scrubbed out penguin enclosures ( ...

4035. Just Know Him in His Victorious Resurrection

Acts 13:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

Billy Graham once said, "If I were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the Resurrection because that is the heart of Christianity." The British philosopher, C. E. M. Joad, was once asked, "If you could ask one question, and be sure of getting the right answer, what would it be?" Without a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead?" That indeed is the question of all questions. To say that Jesus Christ died is one thing. Even to say He died on a cross for the world's ...

4036. Team Work is Dream Work

Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

What I want to talk to you about today is something that God desperately desires for his people. It is one thing that Satan fears and works day and night to undo. It is something for which Jesus himself prayed for just before He went to the cross. It is the one thing the bible says that will convince people that the church has something the world does not. It is the one thing that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is meant to accomplish. What is it that I am talking about?—UNITY. Now when I speak about unity ...

4037. What Is A Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

A local businessman was teaching a Sunday School class of fourth grade boys, and he was really trying to impress the class because his son was a member. So during the lesson he asked the class this question: "Why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" Well, there was dead silence. Not one boy or girl spoke up. He asked the question again: "Boys and girls, why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" There was still no response. Finally, the man paused, scratched his chin, and said: "Now ...

4038. An Unnerving Experience

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman from a military family tells a humorous story. Her father was stationed at the naval base in New London, Connecticut. Then he received orders that he was to be transferred to Hawaii. The family excitedly prepared for the move. Since dogs and cats have to be quarantined for 120 days upon their arrival in the Hawaiian Islands, they sent their family cat ahead of them. Then the father’s orders were canceled. The family didn’t realize their circumstances were of particular interest to anyone else until ...

4039. The World Is Not Enough

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

We are all familiar with the television show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Well USA Today recently said the answer is: "Everybody." In an article entitled, "Everyone wants a shot at being a millionaire," I found out that we are a country drowning in millionaires.[1] The estimate is there are now close to 15 million Americans with assets of $1 million or more[2]; while just ten years ago there were fewer than half that number. Billionaires are multiplying even faster. In 1983 Forbes counted 13 American ...

4040. The Dream Work of Teamwork

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Sermon

James Merritt

Apollo 13 reminds us that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, but it does take a team to have success. If you watched that video carefully you noticed that there were actually three levels of people involved in helping to devise a contraption that would keep the air pure enough for the astronauts to survive until they could get back to earth. B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes Magazine, once said, "You spell success T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K." That is truth in every area of life. Show me a successful coach ...

4041. God Is Rock Solid

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

The phone rang in the pastor's office. On the other end of the line, a still, small voice was asking for help. The unidentified woman didn't say much. She simply said that her world had been turned upside down and she didn't know where else to turn. Many of us can identify with that woman. We have lived it at times. One day your husband comes home and announces he wants a divorce. You get a phone call that your son has been in a car accident. Your daughter tells you she is moving in with her boyfriend and ...

4042. No Small Parts

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters (in order of appearance) First Child (Lead Angel) Second Child (Lead Shepherd) Third Child (Mary) Fourth Child (Second Angel) Fifth Child (Third Angel) Joseph Director (Mrs. Cassidy) “Real” Joseph (RJ) Mother (offstage voice) Costumer Stage Manager Narrator Second Shepherd Third Shepherd Angel Choir Props Scripts Robe Angel costume parts Sewing accessories Notes This is another play that would work well with multigenerational casting. The Director, the “Real” Joseph, the Stage Manager, and the ...

4043. Trust

John 4:43-54

Sermon

James Merritt

If you have ever been to a circus you have seen elephants tethered to a chain that is connected to a stake in the ground. You may not realize that that stake is only eighteen inches long and that elephant can easily pull that stake up, because a grown man has to pull the stake up to free the elephant. Now if a grown man can pull up the stake, why doesn’t the elephant pull that stake out of the ground and free himself? Well, when that elephant was a baby, he did not have the strength to pull that stake out ...

4044. The Transforming Power of Grace

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

A minister friend told of exercising outside on a particularly warm summer morning. "It was a magnificent day," he said. "I was running on the sidewalks of tree-lined streets. I chose the route because of the beauty of the neighborhood and the abundance of shade to shield me from the sun. "As often happens when exercising, I was lost in thought. When I run, my legs get more oxygen than my brain. Often that causes me to fantasize on my personal possibilities. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking, ...

4045. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 4) A father tells of putting his 4-year-old daughter to bed one evening. He read her the story of the Prodigal Son. They discussed how the younger son had taken his inheritance and left home, living it up until he had nothing left. Finally, when he couldn’t even eat as well as the pigs, he went home to his father, who welcomed him. When they finished the story, the Dad asked his daughter what she had learned. After thinking a moment, she quipped, “Never leave ...

4046. Christian Success and Christlikeness

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: When the Christian faith is reduced to a mere complement to cultural norms, churches come to affirm the very things they should despise and despise the very things they should affirm. Understanding the Text First Corinthians 4:6–13 ends Paul’s response to the deeper and broader issues in the report coming from Chloe’s household. Paul brings the tension between Corinthian ideals and true Christian ideals into their sharpest contrast yet by pointing to his own situation. Everything about Paul, both ...

4047. Faith is a River That Flows

Genesis 19:1-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Faith is a river that flows. May our prayers be reeds that cling to the rock From which springs somehow the living waters." I’ll bet all of you remember the first time you climbed the “big slide.” I mean the “BIG” slide, that one that you looked at as a child and thought –that’s awesome. But scary! Real scary! I mean, it’s WAY high, and it’s a long way to the bottom, and okay, wow! On the one hand, you are filled with that weird exhilaration to climb up there and have that experience of the wind whipping ...

4048. Proving Your Love

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

"We sometimes say that money talks," writes Robert McCracken, "and that’s for sure! A person can tell a great deal about another when he learns how he earns his money and how he spends it. For then you know a great deal about his motives, his standards, his desires and what his real religion is all about." When we investigate the New Testament we find that one-third of all Jesus’ parables and one-sixth of all his teachings have to do with money and material possessions. Jesus approached life from the ...

4049. When Nothing Is Everything

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

I was startled by a recent analysis of per capita charitable contributions by state. Massachusetts, with the fourth highest personal income in the country, ranked last in charitable contributions. Mississippi, forty-ninth in income, ranked first in actual dollars contributed. Mississippians gave, on average, about forty percent more to charity than did their Yankee cousins! Converted to percentage of income contributed to charity, the disparity was even greater. Another fact emerged: Wealthy people tend to ...

4050. Good News Among The Rubble

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

The family heard the tornado warning on the radio. They turned on the television; the radar map showed the storm was headed for their town. The wind picked up and rattled the windows. The sky became dark. They went out on the front porch and looked at the sky. And then they saw it: a funnel cloud swaying along the ground like a hungry elephant's trunk sucking up everything in its path. They made a run for it -- the father, the mother and two small children. They lay flat in a nearby ditch. They heard the ...

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