Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4101 to 4125 of 4943 results

4101. Making the Mystery Work for You

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... , I had a full time job assisting in a parish. I had two part-time evening jobs, trying to pay and catch up on bills. My father taught me a rule that has always worked: Give it all you’ve got. I gave my part-time boss 100%. Then I continued to give 100% in my academic and career pursuits. It makes no matter whether you are in your youth, your senior years, or in between, these rules will work for you. Start where you are. Strive with all your might. Stretch every muscle, emotion and desire within you to ...

4102. Celebrating Eucharistic Time

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... for freedom, a people on the move to meet God. The early Christians were on the move, too. They met in each other’s homes and in hidden basements. They were always on the watch for their persecutors. And so the ritual of the Lord’s Supper continued in the tradition of what they had known for over a millennium. This tradition of a people on the move with God was good for the early Christians, since they perceived themselves as temporary residents in this world. They were on their way to heaven, God’s ...

4103. What’s a Sunday For?

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... to me. I felt like it was designed for my need. During your sermon my sixteen-year-old daughter, who is preparing a report for school, was taking notes and she nudged me saying, ‘Mom, are you listening to what he’s saying?’ “ The mother continued, “I just completed my divorce last week. It’s been a heavy time. But you helped me put things in perspective.” I felt good that we had stimulated some real life-nurturing reflection for that mother and daughter. Reflect on who you are, where you ...

4104. Jesus: The Ultimate Ordinary

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... order which maturity requires is to discover in the course of experience whether another order might be preferred. If so we move to that but not in a distracted way. We cannot find order without pursuing it in an orderly fashion. We continue performing the everyday good works, keeping the fellowship, maintaining the values, distributing rewards, keeping health of body and mind until these become just ordinary daily practices. What in Jesus was ordinary in this way? When he met people who were living out ...

4105. Giving with Open Hands

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... , appreciation for an attitude or a simple desire to make another happy. Marriage would no longer be the primary institution for founding a home if the self were not given wholly with open hands. There is neither bargaining nor bartering. Parents continue giving themselves unconditionally, with open hands. The great heroes of the world St. Francis, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the widow in our text all gave unconditionally. And, of course, Jesus gave unconditionally of himself to save us all. Gifts ...

4106. God’s Flowing and Our Ebbing

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... to become inclined to share forgiveness. (Alive Now! May/June 1981, p. 42) Has the seraphim of God drawn near to you and me, carrying the burning coal of forgiveness, only to find our hands defensively outstretched, desirous of keeping that distance from God that insures our continuing misery? Are we ebbing when God would have us flow? Send Me Hence the resolution of it all for Isaiah: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send ...

4107. Runaway Lives

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... to everybody differently. It happened to the Gerasene demoniac in the tombs; it happened to Saint Paul on the Damascus Road; it happened to the man ill at the pool side after a grip of thirty-eight years. But it has happened, is happening and will continue to happen. And a good place to begin is to ask God to come alongside, leap onto these runaway forces in us, and bring them under control. Hosea’s picture of God encourages us: I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely ...They shall ...

4108. A Song Sung Blue

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... ” “I Hate Myself For Loving You” “Fallen Angel” What David is doing is done all the time. Laments over Laments It’s done all the time, but one easily gets the impression that even in the Christian community a community that continually hears the psalms, knows about Jesus’ teachings on grief and knows full well that crucifixion preceded resurrection there is sometimes subtly related the not-so-subtle suggestion that Christians should always be joyful and that if they must be sad, they should ...

4109. I Saw a New Heaven

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... , new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” This suggests that we can have Heaven on earth to a certain degree when Christ lives and rules in our hearts. It will not be perfect, for there is always sin on earth, but the joys of Heaven can continue to increase on earth among those who hold Christ in their hearts. He keeps changing their lives into more and more of his likeness. This is what the Lord’s Prayer means when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ...

4110. God’s Kind of King

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... of your life. A pastor was teaching his little girl to sing, “Praise him, praise him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.” Then “serve him,” then “love him.” When he stopped, his daughter said, “Daddy, you forgot to crown him.” So they continued, “Crown him, crown him ...” Have you, by any chance, forgotten to crown him the King of your life? This Christ the King Sunday is the time to do it! And if you crown him King of your life, you will receive the promise made by God in ...

4111. Read the Directions

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... his body over us to protect us from certain destruction. He didn’t survive then, nor did he get a Carnegie medal for heroism. but he saved our lives. Later, by God’s miracle, he did survive in his resurrection. Now he lives on high, and we continually pin our medals on him medals of praise and adoration and thanks and love. When Jesus asked his disciples in today’s Gospel, “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter answered with one of the greatest four-word replies ever spoken, “You are the ...

4112. Stooping Is a Divine Posture

Isaiah 23:1-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... her own volunteers to do the job. It changed the atmosphere of the whole hospital. Not only every patient, but every corner of the hospital, was graced with fresh flowers. Although Judith Garden has died since she started this program in 1974, the program continues to this day, carried on by the support of others. Christ stooped to serve so that the world might be reconciled to God. The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament beautifully describes the result: “Let us then with confidence draw near to ...

4113. God’s Great Final Day

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... to the Father. It was a coronation scene. He had fought the enemy on Calvary and won the victory. This was certified by his Easter Resurrection. Now he had ascended to his Father’s throne to receive his eternal Kingdom. Daniel’s vision continues, “And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” In other words, the ruler of this Kingdom is omnipotent, and his Kingdom is universal, embracing all peoples of earth. This Kingdom does not ...

4114. Learning The Basics

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... way," Paul has done something extremely new! He has taken the cultural assumption of his day, "so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything," and given it a new twist. We must continue on and read more. "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ." (5:21) "Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy." (5:25) In a world where husbands by law and custom ...

4115. The Spiritual Organ Of Corti

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... to keep his promise, not for salvation's sake but in response to God's gracious gift of physical life. That was 20 years ago. My friend is still active in the same church where he became a member in response to God's intervention in his recovery. He continues, to this day, to serve gladly and diligently. He tells me that the Lord God gave him back his hearing. Now he can go and tell others about Christ, the spiritual organ of corti, who enables all who are open, discernment of the kingdom. "At once the man ...

4116. Wisdom In A Proverb

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

... said, "To read through the sayings is like trying to have a conversation with someone who always replies with one liners. The first few may serve to amuse, but after a dozen or so, it gets boring." One stops listening. One stops reading. Proverbs is not designed for continuous reading. Even our short text for today is a case in point: A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver and gold.The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is maker of them all.Whoever ...

4117. Walking Through A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... , off in the distance I saw a brilliant light shining. It was like a huge diamond set amid a small pine forest. The sunlight danced as it was reflected back to my window in the plane. As the plane circled around for the approach, those diamond lights continued to send strong beams skyward. What could be producing such brilliance and beauty amid the forest land? As the plane got lower on the approach I saw that it was a junk yard. Those diamonds set amid the pines were the mangled metal and broken glass of ...

4118. Path To A New Life

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... whoever believes in him should not perish" - should not be limited to earth and time - "but should have eternal life." Nicodemus was on the road moving into that spirit world. He had sought Jesus, even if in secret. The gospel story tells more. Nicodemus continued on that spiritual road, for John mentions Nicodemus twice more. Once this nighttime student defended Jesus before his fellow Pharisees. It was a bold stand, taken in the beginning of the plot to have Jesus silenced. And later, as the body of Jesus ...

4119. Have You Confronted Christ?

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... had never said. Jesus' statement has produced hard emotional scars upon some sensitive persons. Not many months ago I had a conversation with a man who was deeply disturbed. He was emotionally sick. He needed professional counseling - much more than I could provide. What he continually talked about was his belief that he had committed that eternal sin, that unpardonable sin. He never shared what it was or what he believed it was. "I just can't speak it," he said. It was a thought that he had held since his ...

4120. The Presence Of The Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Charles Curley

... those two men: the angry one who told us he had the Spirit, and the gentle one who never claimed it in so many words, but seemed more filled with the Spirit of God than anyone I have ever met. I suppose that is part of the reason why I continue to have trouble with a great deal of the traditional religious language which is being thrown around more and more these days. It has always seemed to me that our deepest beliefs are to be lived, more than they are to be talked about. I am concerned that we remember ...

4121. What Kind Of King Is This?

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon

Charles Curley

... matter what the day brings, you can dance a bit with God. You can dance a few steps here and there, a few words of praise or prayer, thanksgiving or intercession. It all fits together: the thing is, you don't put it off. David knew that life is one continuous, everflowing stream. Life is not compartmentalized into a bunch of isolated little puddles, where in this one I work, in that one I'm with my kids, in the one beside that I play and sometimes I'll get to the quiet one way over there where I'll spend ...

4122. Tough Faith In Tough Times

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... in patience for God to act, even though in our limited time frame, we may not see God's will accomplished like we would like to see it. Such persistence in prayer is what faithfulness to God is all about. It means refusing to give in to appearances and continuing to trust God to act in his way and in his time. It may appear that God does not hear. It may appear that we are alone and without supernatural help. It may appear that injustice and evil are prevailing. But faith dares to go on praying, to grasp ...

4123. Shepherds And Bathrobes

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas Long

... toward the couple as they made their request for lodging. He then dutifully recited his one line, "There is no room in the inn." But as Mary and Joseph turned and walked wearily away toward the cattle stall where they would spend the night, the boy continued to watch them with eyes filled with compassion. Suddenly responding to a grace which, though not part of the script, filled the moment, he startled himself, the holy couple, and the audience, by calling, "Wait a minute. Don't go. You can have my room ...

4124. Let's Have A Fruitful Christmas Season

Drama

May Dembowski

... creamer toward MAY) Yeah, sit down and take a load off your feet. MAY: (Taking coffee and saying "thanks," then fixing it) Well, that time is here. Every year it gets here sooner, and I have to admit, I'm getting to dislike the whole thing! (ALL continue to sip coffee naturally throughout conversation.) MARCY: What whole thing? You mean Christmas? MAY: Yes, I mean Christmas! JANE: Shame on you. How can you say that about Christmas? MAY: Oh, it's not that I really don't like Christmas. After all, I know why ...

4125. Lent 2

Mk 8:31-38 · Rom 4:13-25; 8:31-39 · Gen 17:1-7, 15-16; 22:1-18 · Ps 22

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... grief for her family and that the passion she felt for her lover would turn to resentment for having betrayed her family. She would remain in the fertile, but less than exotic, corn fields of Iowa, with her solid, but less than exciting, husband, who continued to love her. Francesca was temporarily unfaithful to her husband but, in the end, kept her covenant. It's about time, Hollywood! Old Testament: Genesis 22:1-18 1. Sermon Title: The Test. Sermon Angle: When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, it ...

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