Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4151 to 4175 of 4963 results

4151. God Is with Us in All the Seasons of Life

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... more concerned than the children. It is as if the validity of treasured childhood memories depends upon these rainbow hues never changing. Our fears of adult life, of the decisions we must make, the roads we must follow or avoid, do not depend on the world remaining the same as we have always known it. Don't wake Jesus up! This is not the way for the church to recover its identity as a "peculiar people." The Spirit of God reaches every generation differently, and God's spirit can use the more postmodern ...

4152. Be Healed, Be Held

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every morning all humans do the same thing. We get up, take a shower, brush our teeth, and then decide what we are going to wear. Generally in western culture it remains true that “Clothes make the man,” or in the name of a popular website, “Clothes make the girl.” Got a teenager? Then you know what I’m talking about. Then you know oh-so-purse-painfully how important it is to have the “right look.” To wear the “right duds” ...

4153. I Want My Dollar Back!

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... s eyes, he had been robbed and he wanted everyone to know it. His parents tried in vain to quiet their son, but he was insistent, “I want my dollar back!” Everyone in the congregation was fighting a losing battle against laughter. Throughout the remaining strains of the organist’s meditative tune, the only thing most worshippers heard was, “I want my dollar back!” Eventually, his parents gave Nathan another dollar to hold and he was content enough so that the congregation could make it through the ...

4154. Andrew’s Life

John 6:8-9; Matt. 4:18

Illustration

Daniel W. Brettell

... Andrew crucified. But even during his agonies, as he hung on the X-shaped cross, Andrew continued to spread the Gospel, exhorting passersby to turn to Christ for salvation. So after a lifetime of serving Christ in the shadow of his brother, his fate was similar to theirs, and he remained faithful to the end, endeavoring to bring people to Christ—right to the end of his life.

4155. Where Is Your Pebble?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... celebrities in Hollywood. (1) Anglican Bishop James Cruckshank was once asked by a student, “What is the first thing we should do when we start with a new church?” Bishop Cruckshank immediately replied. “Once you arrive, go to your office, sit down and remain there until you realize that what your church is doing is the most important mission in the community. And then give thanks that Christ has called you to be part of it.” (2) The “most important mission in the community” I ask again: how ...

4156. The Coat Off Your Back

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... mistake," her friend said. "Don't get upset, Barb. You see, one of my Advent devotions asked how we might help our neighbor; how we, who are blessed, can be a blessing to others." Barb smiled and said, "Well, God just answered your prayer." In the remaining days of this Advent season, pray that God interrupts your plans and gives you the opportunity to be Christ's presence to others. I assure you, God will answer those payers. Remember the young accountant who wouldn't take off his coat and give to someone ...

4157. A Concert of Praise

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... " (Matthew 11:28 NCV). Having lived among us, Jesus knew humanity's sinful, stubborn nature. That's why Jesus had to die to save us. Harold had gone to church with his wife for 37 years. Stella had raised their two sons as Christians, but Harold remained somewhat committed to his Jewish faith. Over the years pastors invited him to join, but he would always say, "Not until Uncle Saul dies. He'd be really upset with me if I converted." When Hurricane Katrina struck, a local owner of a restaurant challenged ...

4158. Fire! Fire!

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... darkness has not understood it. — John 1:3-5 (NIV) As our Lord is the light “of” the world, Jesus calls us to be lights “to” the world. That is why we were created. There will be some who refuse to let Jesus light up their lives. They remain tightly wrapped up in themselves and the things of the world. But there will be others with hearts on fire, unwrapped by God’s love and grace. As we approach the New Year, let us join together in making resolutions that will draw us closer to the light: to ...

4159. The Ashes of Our Lives

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... is not only interested in saving us, but also in helping us in our daily activities. When Jesus came to call the second time, he met the fishermen on their level and helped them in their work. The result? They didn't look back but left their nets and remained with Jesus until his death. We must do the same. Leave the ashes of our past behind and commit our future to Christ. How rewarding that will be. When Ed sold his partnership in the Pimple Shop, as it was affectionately dubbed by the town's people, he ...

4160. Forgive as You Have Been Forgiven

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... . Even if she didn't, he would be free. When we refuse to forgive, we place a wall between us and God. Forgiveness is the cornerstone in our relationship with God. Because God has forgiven our sins, we must now forgive those who have wronged us. To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. Think of some people who have wronged you. Have you made a conscious effort to forgive them? How will God deal with you if he treats you as you treat others? When Jesus ...

4161. Go, Climb A Mountain!

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... , but yours be done." God's will, giving up his life, but only by dying could he give us life here and for eternity. As the hikers looked out from Mount Kilimanjaro, they knew they had experienced the most memorable time of their lives. They remained silent, basking in the accomplishment, letting it all sink in. They understood that when they came down, their story would not sound as exciting to others. They had not personally experienced the thrill of victory. When Peter, James, and John came down from the ...

4162. Oh, Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... their return and act on it. When a child comes back from camp singing old and new songs and filled with a strange enthusiasm for Christ and the church are we ready to receive, affirm, and channel that energy? We must be connected and remain faithful in our connectedness. And not only with humanity. The parable of the mustard seed is a naturalistic image. The tree in the ancient world represented the interconnectedness of all things. The ecology of a tree included the birds, animals, and insects who ...

4163. Holy Ground

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... a brand new relationship. God calls us into a new relationship and there's no telling what it means. Jesus offers himself in love on our behalf. There's no telling where this will end. Nearly 2,000 years into the Christian experiment we seem to agree that communion remains essential. We disagree about how it is to be performed, with whom, when, and how often. We believe this is what Jesus told us to do, and that's good enough. In a sense we're all correct. Anytime God's people come together to obey Jesus ...

4164. Another Mary, Another Martha

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... one is beyond God's saving love. Martha's can change, an apostle like Peter who ran away and denied Jesus can change — and we can change. Others are ready to quantify and qualify, ready to limit the depth and breadth of God's love — but we remain convinced, like the apostle Paul. [I am convinced] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of ...

4165. That We May All Be One!

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... in the home and in church, though they spoke English with the world at large. As the Civil War approached, both Dunkers and Mennonites who lived in the Shenandoah Valley found themselves the object of scorn and persecution because they remained staunchly against slavery. Mennonites practiced baptism by pouring. Dunkers dunked new members three times forward in the river. To them the differences, not the similarities, were what mattered. In 1851, a Mennonite writer named Joseph Funk translated and edited a ...

4166. Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... the real issue." What is the real issue? Consider the little boy playing hide and seek. He ran quickly and found a remote cabinet in the house. This ought to be the best place of all, he thought, as he climbed in and closed the door. He remained absolutely quiet. But his sister saw his shoelace sticking out under the closed cabinet door, followed it, and found her brother. Excuses like shoelaces are to be followed and eventually they will take you to the real source and issue. A man I knew did not worship ...

4167. When the Going Gets Tough ... the Tough Start Praying!

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

... asked you to pray and bring your umbrellas. I'm a little afraid that some of you might pray for rattlesnakes. I'm actually afraid that I might pray for rattlesnakes! But most of all ... most of all I'm asking all of us to please pray that we will remain in communion with each other. We're going to be all right. We're going to move mountains and we're going to continue to learn what it means to be a part of the body of Christ — to learn what God wants us to do and be — and how ...

4168. Be a Night Light

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... His Light, and in the end they killed Him." "The fools, the crazy fools! They don't deserve ‑‑‑‑" "Neither you nor I, nor any other angel, knows why they were so foolish and so wicked. Nor can we say what they deserve or don't deserve. But the fact remains, they killed our Prince of Glory while He was Man amongst them." "And that I suppose was the end? I see the whole Earth has gone black and dark. All right, I won't judge them, but surely that is all they could expect?" "Wait, we are still far from ...

4169. How Many of Us Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... pay particular attention to how long a family has lived in their city. The general assumption is that a family cannot claim to be native Charlestonians until they have lived in Charleston for at least three generations. And that means being born in Charleston and remaining in Charleston until “death do you part!” He says that at a dinner party, he met a man whose accent was definitely that of Charleston. Never having met him before, he casually asked the man if he were a native Charlestonian. With a sad ...

4170. Ready Or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... for someone who is mean-spirited, miserly, and miserable. But the Scrooge of Dickens' A Christmas Carol repented and by the end of the story becomes a generous warm hearted benefactor. Why do we remember only the rotten in him? Is it because the world remains unconvinced of the possibility of change? Or perhaps it is that misery loves company. If no one else can change, neither should I be expected to change. John says that is wrong! In that context, we begin to get a better understanding of his talk ...

4171. The Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... human need that cry out to be addressed. Some are called to be hands and feet, taking on that special servant's role in seeing that those needs are met. Some are called to be the brains of the church, seeing that our affairs are properly administered and that we remain faithful to the mission that God has given us.Some are called to be the heart of the church, those who so evidence the love of God in their day-to-day lives that we cannot help but want to join in fellowship together. In a way (and I almost ...

4172. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... industrious young man, laboring for the success of the family business. He was conscientious and dutiful. He might have given some thought at some time or another about striking out on his own. Every boy does. But his duty to father and family won out and he remained to do what was expected of him. He was a righteous young man ... a little self-righteous, really. But he was virtuous enough to be able to claim that he was righteous to his father without Dad laughing at him. Then nobody ever laughed too much ...

4173. Getting Directions

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , no prospects. It was a historic church, having been in existence since 1851. It had been the spiritual home of distinguished leaders of both church and state, but recent years had seen it fall on hard times — families had moved away, remaining members were aging quickly, finances were slim. About all that held the little band together was the listing on the National Historic Register, the cemetery next to the church, and a summertime ministry that offered a weekly outdoor worship for vacationers ...

4174. Lust

Galatians 5:16-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it not as freedom but as license. Perhaps Shakespeare was right on the mark in comparing lust and love in his poem "Venus and Adonis": Love comforteth like sunshine after rain, But lust's effect is tempest after sun; Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain, Lust's winter comes 'ere summer half be done; Love surfeits not; lust like a glutton dies; Love is all truth; lust full of forged lies. Discounting the rhetoric of that, what Shakespeare makes clear is that lust is deadly because it looks so much ...

4175. Repressive Religion

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... need to be shocked out of the old and into the new. Logic and reason usually does not work. Jesus could have spent all day arguing with the synagogue leader about whether or not it was legal to heal this woman on the sabbath while she remained ill. (How many church meetings are discussions about what should be done, rather than actually getting things done?) The healing took place before the discussion about whether or not it was the right thing to do. It is similar to so many situations that arise where ...

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