Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4026 to 4050 of 4963 results

4026. Jesus Would Do What?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... going to see something in a story that you and I do not. On Saturdays the custom at the Erickson house in Peoria, IL, is for Ken Erickson’s wife to clean out leftovers from the refrigerator. One Saturday, she gave the one remaining portion of tortellini to their 6‑year‑old son, Jeremy. However, their 8‑year‑old son, Matthew, also wanted some of the tortellini, so bickering ensued. After several unsuccessful attempts to mediate the dispute, Ken decided on a theological approach. Hoping to convince ...

4027. Needing a Change of Heart

Matthew 21:28-32

Illustration

Brian P. Stoffregen

... and verbal. They both have been unfaithful to each other. Couple B live together. They had no public ceremony. They signed no marriage license. They spoke no vows in the presence of witnesses. However, their life together is a loving and affirming relationship. They have remained faithful to each other. Which couple would you say is doing the will of God? Both need change of hearts - couple A in the way they act towards each other and couple B in their attitudes about the importance of the words in a public ...

4028. Cheering for the Underdog

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... she contracts a fatal disease. Here is what is really disturbing. Yancey notes that some researchers report a seventy percent breakup rate in marriages in which one of the partners has a terminal illness. In one group of thirty people which was studied, no marriages remained intact longer than two years. (3) Talk about kicking you while you’re down. Life can sometimes be very cruel. People we love and depend on for support can sometimes be very cruel. There are times when all of us are underdogs. Few of ...

4029. The Water Witcher

Matthew 11:1-19

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... you around. Joey: But ... it’s true ... Grandpa said so ... Slick: I don’t believe in anything I can’t understand, touch, or see — so there. (exits) (Grandpa and Joey go back to painting silently.) Joey: It is true isn’t it, Grandpa? (Willard remains silent.) Joey: Water witching and all that? Willard: (looks at Joey, puts down paintbrush, goes over to the pump and pumps a glass of water, smiles, drinks, smiles, drinks again) It’s good water, isn’t it Joey? Joey: Sure is. (smiles and drinks ...

4030. I Looked in Your Eyes

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... , since it was bitterly cold and there were no bridges, he would have to catch a ride to the other side. After a lengthy wait he spotted a group of horsemen approaching. He let the first one pass, then the second, third, fourth and fifth. One rider remained. As he drew abreast, the old man looked him in the eye and said, "Sir, would you give me a ride across the river?" The rider immediately replied, "Certainly." Once across the river, the old man slid to the ground. "Sir," the rider said before leaving. "I ...

4031. Jesus Brings New Life

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... was increasing. In December 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, First Secretary of the Communist Party in Poland, ordered a massive military operation and imposed martial law. Solidarity leaders were arrested and the organization was driven underground where it remained until 1989. Yet, the indomitable spirit of Walesa, his lieutenants, and thousands of workers could not be broken. Eventually, the Polish government, weakened by its inability to crush the union, was forced to initiate a series of round ...

4032. Jesus Will Lead Us Home

Isaiah 40:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to assist us. Saint Paul's letter to his traveling companion, Timothy, makes this clear: "If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:11-13). This Advent season we wait for Jesus to come to our world. He came to die and set us free; he came to lead his home. Let us demonstrate faith and courage as did Ernest Shackleton and his brave ...

4033. Baptism: The Light Shatters the Darkness

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . Not only did God see that the light was good, he saw a sense of urgency in its creation. The darkness would allow no differentiation in time; without the light the future manifestations of God's creation, plants and animals, and of course human beings, would remain in a perpetual state of indifference. The light would provide vision by which the rest of God's creation could guide its daily existence. Thus, it was absolutely necessary at the outset to create the light so God's plan for the world could go ...

4034. You Are in Good Hands with God

Isaiah 40:21-31

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... our weakness and lifts our eyes to possibilities. The Pauline author puts it this way: "If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:11-13). In short, we must go to God and rest in his company. Amen.

4035. Hope Lifted Up

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... delivered from sin, death, and the devil. Visitors to Jerusalem today go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to see an enclosed marble chapel many believe marks the spot of the tomb of Jesus. At the other end of the structure are the remains of the hill of Golgotha, barely visible behind stone walls. The visitor is offered the opportunity to "see" the place where the cross was raised, raised to inspire abiding faith. Emperor Constantine came to the Roman throne at the beginning of the fourth century ...

4036. Salvation Has A Name!

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... embrace Jesus?" There are those Christians who might seem a tad liberal if they note that Jesus announced salvation to all people. In ways that we may only understand when we see "face-to-face," Jesus is still the only name, the only way to salvation. It remains the business of the believer to proclaim Christ as redeemer to anyone who will listen. It is God's business and the business of the Spirit to take it from there. It would be strange indeed if a person profoundly loved by someone else had no interest ...

4037. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... along in a linear fashion. In straightforward, respectfully historical fashion, the second coming will conclude and wrap up all things. Maybe the world will be turned upside down but it will not be turned inside out. Don't panic; things, for the time being, will remain what they seem to be. But God's re-creation will go ahead according to the rules; believers can be rest assured that God's historical game plans have not been changed. The most important earmarks of the believer are joy and anticipation. The ...

4038. Being Two People at Once

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... the life being offered. New life is always being offered to us — including how to live without Bathsheba or how to live as an ordinary chess player rather than a champion. Consider the butterfly. These insects know a lot about becoming new and remaining colorful without descending into lust and violence. In An Obsession With Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair With A Singular Insect, Sharman Apt Russell, says this about butterflies: "A bag of goo crawls on a leaf, obsessed with eating. It hangs upside down ...

4039. Small Sin, Large Grace

2 Samuel 11:26-27, 12:1-13a

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... stories. Christians are not the only ones to come up with cockamamie ideas about human significance and rebirth, as you know. So let's admit that the preacher could be seated after breathy repetitions of the words "cosmos" or "galaxy," but that instead she will remain risen, as an act of praise to the human spirit. You see, David comes back from this horror. He manages a new and useful life after his double insult and injury. He manages to have new life. He is a living example of resurrection before ...

4040. Finding the Good Woman Part in Us All

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... the Holy Spirit, but an agent nevertheless, has told Mary Magdalene's story in such a way that the poor woman has been on the cover of Time and Newsweek, is the subject of a movie, and I could go on. Despite the happy ending of Brown's book, women remain hidden. For years, I kept a tab on my refrigerator of how many women were on the front page of the New York Times. It wasn't pretty compared to the number of men. The good woman in Proverbs is a striking contrast to all these roles. She is not ...

4041. Your God Shall Be My God

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. There is a famine in Judah, but they hear that there is bread in Moab, so they seek refuge there. While there, Elimelech dies, but the sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Both marriages apparently remain childless and, after ten years, both the sons of Elimelech die, leaving the three widows, Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah, alone with no support. The theme, so far, is one of emptiness and barrenness — empty bread baskets, empty wombs. There was no social safety ...

4042. From Emptiness to Fullness

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... , empty pockets — but she puts in everything she had, all she had to live on. It challenges us to consider the very meaning of life. At the same time, her story also complicates our consideration, for we realize that, despite her sacrificial offering, she remains just a poor widow. There is no sudden reversal; the temple treasury does not suddenly pour wealth in her lap as though she had hit the jackpot. There is no kinsman/redeemer waiting in the wings — except for the Lord himself. Jesus has already ...

4043. Are You a King?

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... always pulls back, remembers the covenant, forgives, and restores. But the historical realities were harsh and the hope for the Davidic rule became more distant, more poetic, but no less hopeful. The intensity increased, even while the likelihood became dimmer. The promise remained along with this high, royal theology. The early church took this Davidic portrait and used it for its Christological affirmations Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in ...

4044. A New Perspective

Illustration

Staff

... I've ever had." "I didn't think that by fulfilling my goal in life my dream that would create such a stir," he later told The Times, "and make people laugh." Walters abandoned his truck-driving job and went on the lecture circuit, remaining sporadically in demand at motivational seminars. But he said he never made much money from his innovative flight and was glad to keep his simple lifestyle. He gave his "aircraft" the aluminum lawn chair to admiring neighborhood children after he landed, later regretting ...

4045. Speaking for the Lord

Illustration

James Packer

... an ambassador because he knew that when he proclaimed the gospel facts and promises and urged sinners to receive the reconciliation effected at Calvary, he was declaring Christ's message to the world. The figure of ambassadorship highlights the authority Paul had, as representing his Lord, as long as he remained faithful to the terms of his commission and said neither less nor more than he had been given to say.

4046. Laws of the Lighthouse

Romans 8:38-39

Illustration

Staff

... assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." "Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on ...

4047. Backward Christian Soldiers

Illustration

Staff

... , Many bodies we, Having different doctrines, but Not much charity. Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight, With the cross of Jesus, Nearly out of sight. Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane, But the cross of Jesus Hidden does remain. Gates of hell should never 'gainst the Church prevail, We have Christ's own promise, but we think it might fail. Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight, With the cross of Jesus, Nearly out of sight. Sit here then ye people, Join ...

4048. Watch the Borders

Illustration

Steve Farrar

... comment into a solemn warning. Note: This tale has been passed around as a way to portray how others feared Hoover's reputation for being tough so much so that they dare not question him. Whether it’s a real account of an actual incident or simply a concocted anecdote remains a mystery.

4049. Always Improving

Illustration

Staff

... , achieved tremendous popularity in America. Yet, said Paderewski, "There have been a few moments when I have known complete satisfaction, but only a few. I have rarely been free from the disturbing realization that my playing might have been better." The world considered Paderewski's playing near perfection, but he remained unsatisfied and kept constantly at the job of improving his talent.

4050. In Your Own Backyard

Illustration

George Sweeting

... its nose into the brook, the man saw a flash of light from the sands of the stream. He pulled out a stone that reflected all the hues of the rainbow. The man had discovered the diamond mine of Golcanda, the most magnificent mine in all history. Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own garden, then instead of death in a strange land, he would have had acres of diamonds.

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