Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 401 to 425 of 4490 results

401. One Breathwork, Many Bodyworks

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The world is becoming more global while at the same time more tribal. Pentecost gives us the key to living in a world that is becoming more different and more alike at the same time. We live in a time when our horizons are both expanding and contracting. Never before has it been so easy to be in direct contact with people from all over the globe. Uplinks, downlinks, e-mail, tele-conferences, Internet, bulletin boards all these various electronic pit stops (and sometimes potholes) on the information highway ...

402. Trinity Sunday

Matthew 28:16-20, Psalm 8:1-9, Genesis 1:1-2:3, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 8:1-9 First Lesson - This is the beginning of the book of beginnings. Genesis 1:1-2:4 Second Lesson - Paul sends closing greetings to the church at Corinth. 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Gospel - Jesus gives his great commission to the eleven remaining disciples to insure continuity of the faith. Matthew 28:16-20 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. People: We bow down ...

403. Conflict Resolution (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

To live above with those we love, Well, that will be glory. To live below with those we know, Well, that’s another story. Wherever two or more people gather in the close quarters of family, church, work, or community, conflict is bound to happen. The Bible affirms that from cover to cover. Jacob did not get along with Esau. King Saul tried to kill David. St. Paul wanted nothing to do with his former traveling companion Mark. The letters of the New Testament are full of advice on resolving difficulties. So ...

404. Commitment (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Last September, Sandy and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. I could tell you today that it’s been 43 years of heavenly bliss, but she would correct me by saying there’s been a lot of hell in the mix. Like all couples we married for better for worse, for richer for poorer, and in recent years it has been a lot more sickness than health. Yet, relationships are held together by an invisible cord called commitment. Commitment is an island of certainty in a sea of change. We are not human butterflies ...

405. When God Is Like a Mother

John 14:15-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Two occasions of celebration bring us together at worship today. On the Church calendar today is Pentecost Sunday, a day to celebrate the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, a day to sing ‘Happy Birthday, Church.’ On the secular calendar today is Mother’s Day. God could not be everywhere so he created mothers; or as Erma Bombeck used to say, “Mothers need 180 movable parts, 3 pairs of hands, and 3 sets of eyes.” So, Mom, today is your day to bask in the sunshine and let someone else fix lunch. When ...

406. Resurrected Obedience (Series: Living on the Resurrection Side of Life)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. I’ve been singing those lyrics since childhood. In more recent days of adulthood, I’ve been trying to live them in the very core of my being. I. Trust Trust means to have confidence in, rely on, depend on, believe in A. In God We Trust. We inscribe those words on our money. Do we embrace these words with our lives? God has set his people free. He has placed before us all the benefits and delights of belonging to His ...

407. Thanks for the Memories

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When I was the student pastor in Woodlawn, Kentucky, the biggest Sunday of the year was not Easter, not even Christmas. The crowning Sunday of the year was Memorial Day. The church owned a little cemetery and people came from near and far to remember their ancestors, eat fried chicken, and tell tall tales. It was such an important day of the year that I was never allowed to preach the sermon. We always had a guest preacher from Louisville or Lexington. My, how times have changed. Who uses Memorial Day any ...

408. When We Get Where We’re Going, Where Will We Be? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It was the middle of the summer. We loaded our family in an old station wagon, the one with wood paneling down the side, and headed to Florida for a vacation. About ten miles into the trip, we heard the chant that all parents hear when they take children on vacation. “Are we there yet?” “How much longer?” “If you keep asking we will never get there.” You know, normal family conversation. Then about 50 miles into the trip, our 10 year-old son, Wes, posed a question I can never forget. “Dad, when we get to ...

409. Could We Start Again, Please? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

John 3:1-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed until he found the real problem. And there he landed. He did that with the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus and landed on the question of integrity. “All that I have stolen, I will repay four-fold.” He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the subject of marriage. “Go call your husband.” And here in John 3, Jesus does that with the powerful, prestigious, political Nicodemus by ...

410. Follow Your Calling (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Back in the 1980’s, popular author Stephen Covey said the key to managing life is distinguishing between the urgent and the important. Urgent matters clamor for our attention. Important matters shape our lives. Before cell phones and Blackberries became a part of our anatomy, Covey warned that a phone call most likely will feel urgent, but it may not be very important. On the other hand, a call from God is both urgent and important. Two critically important questions every person must ask and keep on ...

411. Am I My Brother’s Keeper? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” As I read those words, once more, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, I wondered if we Americans believe that any more. Do we really want the world’s huddled masses yearning to be free? Our founder, John Wesley, had a unique way of weaving personal holiness and social concern into religious conviction. ...

412. Follow Your Mission (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For centuries we have called it the Great Commission. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts all refer to it. Christians in the first century lived by it. Missionaries in the 20th century devoted their lives to it. Will Christians in the 21st century embrace it or ignore it? That is my question today as we take into consideration the parting words of Jesus to believers. “Go into all your worlds and make disciples intentionally.” That is my paraphrase of the Great Commission and therein lies the mission ...

413. Impossible Possibilities

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

As Max Lucado tells the story, the visiting professor was about half way through his lecture when a young man in the auditorium stood up and started firing questions: “Are you telling us that God almighty really became Mary's little boy?" “Yes," said the professor. “Are you really asking us to buy into a religion banked on a young girl's dream of divine pregnancy?" “Yes," said the professor. “Are you insinuating that the life of Jesus then actually affects me now?" “Yes," said the professor. The young man ...

414. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Would anybody here like to live forever? At the crossroads of faith we come today to discuss the question of immortality. Yes, Virginia, there is a heaven. Yes, Jim, you can live forever. I believe that with all of my heart. Yet to explain the unexplainable and to describe the indescribable and to peek through the shadows of earth and catch a glimpse of eternity is often more than our grieving minds can grasp and our questioning intellects can assimilate. We, like Mary and Martha, may be more inclined to ...

415. Building a Lasting Legacy

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

First, let me just say I am honored and deeply humbled to be your pastor and to have this special moment in the life of this church. I am grateful to my staff that has been here all morning long, to all of those who put this moment together, and for hundreds and hundreds of lay people who have made this day possible. Once to every man and nation, comes a moment to decide. Today is a decision day for this congregation and I pray that God himself will be our guide. When Jesus wanted to drive home a truth, he ...

416. How Can This Be?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It has been said the best thing about Christianity is that no one could have guessed it! That the Omnipotent became an embryo, the Infinite an infant, the Almighty, a tiny child nursing at his mother's breast, is more than our small minds can comprehend. So the biggest challenge of Christmas is not busyness but belief. Will we let our mundane minds dance with mystery? Will the wonder of it all take precedent over the weariness of it all? Will the good news of great joy that Christ the Savior is born leap ...

417. What Would Jesus Say About Modern Churches?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The Church is of God and shall be preserved to the end of time as the visible body of Christ on earth. The local church remains God's best hope for humanity. For a lifetime now, the Church has captured my heart, my mind, and my deepest devotion. After all these years I can still join Timothy Dwight in saying: Beyond my highest joys I prize her heavenly ways. Her sweet communion, solemn vows, her hymns of love and praise. I love the Church. Because I love it so much, I want God's very best for it. So I ...

418. Checking Out the Scene

John 1:35-42

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It is the mission of the Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus said it plainly: “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” By the waters of baptism we are claimed and cleansed. Along the river of discipleship we are shaped and formed into Christ-likeness. Salvation is God’s free gift to us. The best we can do is to receive it with grateful hearts. Discipleship is a life long ...

419. The Power to Belong

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At the tender age of 11, I stood before a crippled preacher in a tiny country church, professed my faith in Jesus Christ and became a full member of that congregation. My devout mother doubted I was old enough to know what I was doing. A few skeptics seemed sure I was not sincere. That was 49 years ago. I still love Jesus and I still believe the local church is God's best hope for humanity. So on this Sunday that we have set aside for membership and confirmation, I want to talk about the power of belonging ...

420. Why Am I a Christian?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Christian theologian C.S. Lewis once said that Christianity is a religion that you could not have guessed. It is not the sort of thing that anyone would make up. That the Almighty would humble Himself and become a human being in order to suffer and die on a cross to bring new life to His own creation, well, who would have thought it? How odd of God. Yet, it is here that Christians are distinct from other religions of the world. So, I want to begin this series of sermons on world religions by asking myself ...

421. What Can Christians Learn From Jews?

Genesis 12:1-3

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Three Jewish gentlemen immigrated to New York from Europe. As they parted company to pursue different lives in the United States, they made a covenant to meet again in 20 years. Twenty years passed and the three men gathered for a reunion at a New York hotel. The natural leader of the group said, “I came to this country and had no idea what to do. I thought and I thought until I realized my last name was Goldstein, so I decided to go into the gold business." “Interesting," said the second man. “I was ...

422. Ezekiel: The Problem of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached about daughters prophesying, young men seeing visions, and old men dreaming dreams. The Church was born not on what was, but what can be when the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of the faithful. Maybe it is still true that dreams and visions more than facts and functions shape the future of our faith. One of the most visionary prophets of the Old Testament was a priest named Ezekiel. He lived about 2,600 years ago. He witnessed the terrible siege of Jerusalem by the ...

423. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How can a person express their love of basketball, chocolate, their children, God, and their spouse with a single four-letter word - love? That's what I would like us to consider today. In the early part of the 20th century a Jewish philosopher by the name of Martin Buber tried to distinguish between human connections that are mainly "I-It" relationships and those interactions which are primarily "I-Thou" relationships. In "I-It" relationships we seek to acquire and possess. In "I-Thou" relationships we ...

424. This Little Light of Mine

Matthew 5:14-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Do you know how many T.V. evangelists it takes to change a light bulb? “One, but for the message to continue, send in your donation today." How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb? “What? Change a light bulb? My grandmother donated that light bulb." How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? “At least 109, one to change the bulb, 100 to serve on various committees to decide what company should supply the bulb, and 8 to decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken." ...

425. Finding Plenty in the Midst of Scarcity

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For the past six weeks or so, our staff and a host of volunteers have been in the business of hosting conferences and conventions. Your new and newly renovated facilities are being put to good use. When you invite 800 or a 1,000 people to be your guests, the bigger question than where are we going to meet is the question of where are we going to eat? While we have contributed to the restaurant businesses of Brentwood this summer, we have also fed a host of people out of this facility. Eight hundred people ...

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