Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 401 to 425 of 1354 results

401. Divorce-Proofing Your Marriage

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

... , "What God has joined together, let not any man put asunder." (KJV) When Christians enter marriage, we must be willing to make a life-long commitment to the partner. We must close the door on divorce. We must be committed to working on our marriages and defending them against all the enemies that seek to destroy them. I once had a couple ask me to marry them. As we were going through the counseling sessions, they asked me if they could write their own vows. I permitted them to do so with the stipulation ...

402. The Cross And Our Shadows

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carl Jech

... the daughter yells at her mother. "Take your missionary attitude and shove it in your ear!" the man yells in exasperation at the friend who has been pressuring him to take up jogging and vegetarianism. Now, of course, it would be quite easy for me to defend sermons, preachers, and missionaries. It is easy to give a lot of flimsy excuses why we don't like sermons, preachers or missionaries, and just as easy to expose the way in which we use these excuses to remain in our comfortable, self-centered ruts. But ...

403. Peacemaking - Active, Not Passive

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

... III." The main plot was the build-up of arms, the developing war between the U.S. and the Soviets, and the contentions between the hardliners and the moderates. The subplot was an individual battle between a Soviet company of soldiers and an American unit defending an oil pipeline pumping station in Alaska. The two commanding officers decided, in that remote outpost, that if peace was to start anywhere, it had to start with them. Just as they shook hands to make peace, one of the Soviet's lieutenants blew ...

404. Whose Work Is It?

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... have struggled alongside Paul and the rest of us in the work of the gospel. We need you to be of one mind. EUODIA: Yes, I see how important that is. CLEMENT: Good! Now, Euodia, tell Syntyche what's bothering you. EUODIA: She already knows. SYNTYCHE: (Trying to defend herself) I don't ... EUODIA: She knows that I haven't been feeling very well lately ... SYNTYCHE: I can't ... CLEMENT: Syntyche, let Euodia talk. EUODIA: And yet she keeps asking me to do more and more. I'm so tired. It's not enough that I have ...

405. Monologue: Rahab

Joshua 2:1-24

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... God had taken them out of Egypt. Supposedly, he parted the Red Sea so they could go through it. That's impossible. Nevertheless, we knew they could do nothing to us because they were ragged and poverty-stricken and we in Jericho had our walls and our many gods to defend us. The mayor of our town told us that spies had been sent out to us from the Israelites and we should be on the lookout for them. I imagined a squadron of men would be searching our town. That night, I heard a frantic knock on my door and ...

406. Monologue: Esther

Esther 1:1-22

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... to the banquet pompously and joyously, pleaded for his life. Naturally, he even claimed to be my friend. He was hung on the gallows he built for my Uncle Mordecai. The king then sent out a decree allowing the Jewish people to be able to defend themselves against anyone who might fight them. Our fear of annihilation and destruction had been removed. My dangerous mission had been accomplished and the Jewish people had been saved. My Uncle Mordecai became second in command to the king and was honored and well ...

407. God is About to Strike

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... the conversion of Paul was the conversion of a radically religious person. Paul was the best of believers. Paul was a master of morality. He lived out every letter of the law. He was a superior student of the Scriptures. He was a dedicated defender of the demands of the law. Yet - he was converted. For most of us, this fact undermines the very foundation of our understanding of the concept of conversion. From the social point of view, we associate conversion with rogues, reprobates, prostitutes, and law ...

408. Encouraged in Faithfulness

Hebrews 12:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... with perseverance the race you have set before us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Prayer of Confession We are your church, O God, but we are still affected by our human characteristics and frailties. Forgive us for taking our eyes off Jesus, who defends us against all that would weaken our faith. Strengthen us with determination to live the Christian life with sincerity. We pray through Christ our Redeemer. Amen. Hymns "O For a Faith that Will Not Shrink” “Faith of Our Fathers” “He Who Would Valiant ...

409. Strengthened for Faithfulness

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: The Christian life demands our best, and more. That is why Christ strengthens us to be faithful in our discipleship. People: We need his help in order to be defended against all that weakens our faithfulness. Pastor: We can be sure our Lord will give us the endurance we need to stand firm in the faith. People: We pray for that kind of strength, not only for ourselves, but for all Christians, that our Lord's church may remain true ...

410. Be Alert Against Sin

Colossians 2:6-23

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... of Confession Our Father, we are sinners saved by your grace. We want to remain in your salvation, but sin is always at our doorstep, trying to reclaim us. Forgive us for our careless attitude toward temptation which lures us back into the grip of sin. Defend us with the power of Christ, that we may be stronger against the evil forces of sin. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen. Hymns “Christian, Dost Thou See Them?” “Go to Dark Gethsemane” “I Want a Principle Within” “In the Hour of Trial ...

411. Seek Ye First the Lord

Isaiah 55:1-13

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Let all who seek the will of the Lord enter God's house for worship! People: Only in serving the Lord will we find true meaning and joy in life. Leader: The Lord alone is our sustainer and defender no matter what may come. People: Then let us seek the will of the Lord in every path of our lives. Leader: Let joyous praise and song abound as we worship the Lord our God! All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect Almighty and merciful God, in Your ...

412. Iniquities of the Unfaithful

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... ! Collect Almighty God, in Your mercy and grace You have not forsaken us even when we do not fight for the justice and righteousness for which You called us. We thank You, O Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession Lord, so often we have not defended the poor or fed the hungry, instead we have focused on making our lives more comfortable. Lord, we have even allowed ourselves to think that if we are doing well the world is "just fine." Forgive us, Lord, and call us again to do battle against the ...

413. To See Your Face Is Like Seeing The Face Of God

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

James Angell

... ways and places and people and history that dissolved all false boundaries between the secular and the sacramental. • I was married in 1942, as a commissioned ensign, soon after Pearl Harbor. I had taken vows at the old Chicago Post Office to help defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Yet love's vows have always seemed like the most important, and the years that followed, including the births of our four children, produced their own solemn, beautiful moments of grace. • I had my ...

414. The Same New Jesus

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... the coronation of his kingly power over all creation - can be condensed to one simple truth; "Christ is Lord and he is with us." The same Christ who lived and died, the same Christ who was resurrected and ascended in kingly power is our daily companion and friend, our daily defender and protector. Rejoice! Christ lives forever in us, with us, and for us. We are strengthened by his power. We are engulfed by his glory. We are truly alive in him, and he is alive in us.

415. Independence Day - The Mission of the Mighty

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... setting forth the causes which have impelled us to this mighty revolution and the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God. I am fully aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states; yes, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory.” The Father of our country was no naive dreamer or empty-headed revolutionist. He knew the cost of freedom in toil, blood and treasure. One hundred years after that ...

416. An Everyday Theology

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... criticism so that their materials do not offend the prevailing mood. The ordination of a bishop in the Church of England is met with furor because he holds a "non-bodily view" of the resurrection. Creationists, mistakenly thinking they are defending the faith, hold state legislatures hostage to their twisting of science and Scripture. Media Christianity is at best a bundle of bland and inoffensive platitudes, a package of uncritical theologizing that drives more deeply the wedge between the gospel and ...

417. Mission to Unbelievers

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... the justice of plant closings in his city. This group, supposedly, has been responsible for some actions that were calculated to embarrass and obstruct a system that takes little regard for decisions bringing unemployment and hopelessness upon workers. One need not defend this pastor’s style or tactics. Perhaps his Bishop had no other choice. But it is clear that his witness threatens any comfortable assumptions that we may have about the separation of belief from worldly witness. Such Amos-like courage ...

418. Do I Give Up Praying Too Soon?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

... Study Bible observes this was clearly not a Jewish judge, since all ordinary Jewish disputes were taken before the elders and not into the public courts. Larger disputes went before a three-judge panel, one of whom was chosen by the plaintiff, one by the defendant, and one by a neutral body. Since there was only one judge here, Barclay concludes it must have been a Roman magistrate, one of those who probably was looking for a bribe or who would bend under pressure from someone with influence. The Jewish ...

419. Christ Has Set Us Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... it coming. Judas must have slipped just a few coins into his pocket only now and then, but eventually he was so enslaved by greed he was willing to barter the life of Jesus for $15. A few years ago Watergate befuddled us. How could the defendants be so obsessed with winning the election at all costs and overlook clear statements in the Constitution protecting the rights of individuals? Perhaps some of them are still wondering how they fell for it. Yet at the time they say it seemed the most natural thing ...

420. Is The Gospel Only For Women?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

... found their way blocked because they were women. So they searched the Scriptures and found that throughout the Bible there’s support for saying that in Christ there’s neither male nor female, that we’re all one in him. And so they began to defend women’s rights, to justify their speaking up for black people’s rights. I find another remark by Dr. Weatherhead to be insightful: An amazing thing that, although Christ was a man, and though most women think that no man can ever understand them, yet ...

421. No Little Bit

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

... it doesn’t pay to be a good guy. They figure that with a record, they don’t have to go to Vietnam. They can’t get to you (she was addressing Mrs. Johnson) and they can’t get to the President, and so they rebel in the streets. Without defending either Miss Kitt or the juvenile delinquents, we merely observe that this is what can happen when people come to believe they don’t count. If I were to put a caption over the pictures I’ve been sketching for you, it might be something like this: It’s ...

422. The Witness and the Witnesses

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

... you punish or rehabilitate? And in this case Clarence has done a miraculous job of improving himself. It’s incredible what he’s done working with Alcoholics Anonymous. In the past year he has completely turned himself around." The judge who sentenced the man defended his actions on the basis of a similar argument. They would both say that the man was convinced, as well as convicted legally, and that was what brought about the change in his life. In the Campo Verano, Rome’s "active" cemetery, there’s ...

423. The Day You Were Healed

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

... them? Or how do we account for this when we are healed, that God gets little more than casual recognition, an incidental "Thank the Lord," while our personal fitness or the skill of medics or our high tech progress draw the commendation? Or how do we defend the notion that the good gifts of the Father’s kindly hand are listed as our human right, while the Giver of the gifts is thoughtlessly ignored? Someone has said that God is credited with every hook and slice along life’s fairway, while we take ...

424. Fasting: Foolish or Fruitful?

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

... think it would be wise and beneficial to practice fasting this Lent, the season of repentance and fasting? Suppose you do fast in the right way. The right way means that you will truly turn from your evil ways and will do what you can to help the poor, defend the innocent, and work for a more just social order. What benefits can be derived from a sincere and strict program of fasting this Lent? One value that will come to you is self-mastery. When you fast, you learn to say "No" to yourself. It is usually ...

425. Fixing The Fox!

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... our enemies. In the first place, Jesus wants us to confront the enemy. When you confront the enemy, you learn who he is, how strong he is, and what his tactics are. This is wise, for if you do not know your enemy, how can you attack him or defend yourself? That is why our government has a CIA, to get all the information about the enemies of the USA. Each branch of the military has an intelligence corps to report to authorities where the enemy is, how strong he is, and what his movements are. Then we plan ...

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