Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4301 to 4325 of 4936 results

4301. Now Try Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Two famous movie stars died this past week: Robert Mitchum, then four days later, Jimmy Stewart. Mitchum was a big name in the movies, a superstar, and extraordinarily productive. He must have made over 200 movies. In one year, I think it was 1944, he made eighteen movies. But Jimmy Stewart was a different kind of actor. Jimmy Stewart was in the pantheon that is reserved for those we lift up to be icons, mythical figures who represent what we believe in, and who act out on the screen the way we would like ...

4302. Now What Do We Do?

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Mark Trotter

4303. What Does It Really Mean to Be a Christian?

Mark 10:17-22

Sermon

James W. Moore

Recently, I ran across a fascinating list of unusual answers given by children on some tests at school. Let me share some of these with you. In answer to the question, “When was our nation founded?” One little boy wrote: “I didn’t even know it was losted!” Another said, “A myth is a female moth!” Still another said that Socrates died from an overdose of “wedlock”! Asked to describe the famous painting of Whistler’s mother, one student explained: “It shows a nice little lady sitting in a chair, waiting for ...

4304. The Fellowship of Joy

Philippians 1:3-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Ten years: a decade, 520 weeks, 3,652 days, 87,600 hours. A lot can change in ten years: less hair, more weight, deeper wrinkles. As I stand here this day, ten years to the day when I became pastor of this church, my mind is literally boggled at where I am today, and where we are today, and the journey we have made together over the last ten years. As I struggled to discern the message I should bring this Sunday, I had several different texts and thrusts dancing in my head, when sitting at the Executive ...

4305. Looking Out for Others

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Being able to synthesize in such a way that harmony can be the outcome is among the many things the Apostle Paul does well. The often-pesky church at Corinth desperately needed such a skill, written and practiced in charity. To follow his inspired advice comes as a gift to all of us, 2,000 years ago or today. The individualistic Christianity, largely the work of Protestants, has been and is both a bane and balm, for us. To do our own thing is commendable and perhaps essential but it can prove utterly ...

4306. Was It Really Necessary?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman was getting swamped with calls from strangers. The reason? A medical billing service had launched an 800 number that was identical to hers. When she called to complain, she was told to get a new number. “I’ve had my number for twenty years,” she pleaded. “Couldn’t you change yours?” The company refused, so the woman said, “Fine. From now on, I’m going to tell everyone who calls that their bill is paid in full.” The company got a new number the next day. This is the day on the church calendar when ...

4307. The Kindness of Strangers

1 Kings 17:8-24

Sermon

Stan Purdum

In 1994, a 37-year-old man by the name of Mike McIntyre decided to confront his fears and the shaky path his life was taking. Living in San Francisco at the time, he left his job, his girlfriend, his apartment — all the trappings of his life, and decided to hitchhike across America, heading for Cape Fear, North Carolina, a location he selected for its name, which symbolized his fear of many things in life. He put a few things in a backpack, but to help him with this confrontation with his fears, he left ...

4308. 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 ...

4309. Conversion or Credentialing?

Acts 9:1-5, 10-12, 17-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It's been an eventful week in the Olds' household. Sandy and I flew in from vacation last Tuesday and immediately drove to Lexington, Kentucky to participate in the service of ordination of our son, Wes, who is now a full elder in our denomination. As I recessed from that service a long-time friend of mine asked, “Howard, which was the best, your ordination or the ordination of your son?" Without hesitating, I replied “Need you even ask?" It is a moving and humbling experience to see your son or daughter ...

4310. Boast in Our Suffering

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

The phone rings in the middle of the night. There is only one reason why someone would call you at this time of the night, and it can't be good. The deadpan voice of the police officer tells you the horrible news rather matter-of-factly. Your imagination runs wild. You were not there, but you can hear the tires screeching, the metal smashing, the glass breaking, and the sirens whining. It was not supposed to end this way. She had so much of life yet to live. Your boss calls you into his office. Other ...

4311. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

It is one of the great adventure stories of all time. A man named Thor Heyerdahl wanted to test the theory that people from South America could have settled the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific long before Columbus sailed to the New World. So Heyerdahl took a small team of men to Peru, where they constructed a raft out of balsa logs. These logs were tied together with rope much as a group of sailors might have done in earlier, less sophisticated times. Heyerdahl named the raft the Kon-Tiki. He and ...

4312. Will You Dance the Metanoia with Me?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every generation has a signature dance. You might even say that every generation must live with its own “dorky dance” stigma. Anyone remember the “Twist?” The “Conga?” The “Hokey Pokey?” The “Funky Chicken?” About fifteen years ago you could not go anywhere — a party, a wedding reception, a baseball game — without being bullied to “Do the Macarena with Me.” The Macarena might have been a good ice-breaker at youth camps, or a way to get your blood moving again during the Seventh Inning Stretch. But is was ...

4313. Be Shrewd

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Have you heard of the carnival barker who kept yelling “Alive! Alive! Here! Here! Did you ever see a two-headed baby? Come in! Come in!” The gaff is that they don’t have a two-headed baby inside the tent. They only asked if you ever saw one. This is the kind of shrewdness being celebrated in today’s Scripture reading. Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012), the Mexican novelist and playwright whom some called “the soul of Mexico,” gave a long interview about his writing shortly after he turned 50 and began to ...

4314. Hezekiah’s Illness

Isaiah 38:1-22, Isaiah 39:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

A More Equivocal Response to Two Further Challenges: The background of these two further events is, again, Judah’s rebellion against Assyrian sovereignty. Yahweh’s promise of healing for Hezekiah also includes deliverance from Assyria (38:6), and an alternative chronology to the one presupposed in the Introduction does have Hezekiah living on for fifteen years after the Assyrian invasion, until 687/686 B.C. But a number of considerations suggest that the events in chapters 38–39 took place before those in ...

4315. The Faithfulness of God and the Covenantal Curses on Israel

Romans 3:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: God’s faithfulness is actually demonstrated through the covenantal curses on Israel. Understanding the Text In Romans 2 Paul showed that Israel’s attempt to obey the law is, ironically, the reason that they are still in exile and under divine judgment. Romans 3:1–8 therefore anticipates, in diatribe fashion, three Jewish objections to that notion: (1) there is no advantage to having the law, (2) God has broken his promise, and (3) God is unfair to punish Israel (see table 1). Historical and ...

4316. Stopping the Spread of Hell

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

A month ago I had a conversation with a clerk in a store on Main Street. She told me she had had an argument with a pastor years ago and got so angry she never went back to church. She said, "Don't you think I can be just as good a Christian communing with God in the beauty of my backyard as I can be if I were going to church?" I took a deep breath and said, "No. I don't. I'm not at all sure that we can be God's people without putting ourselves in the midst of God's people. I need those other people to ...

4317. Mary: The Handmaiden of the Lord

Luke 1:38-45

Sermon

Charley Reeb

This morning I want to tell you how to get blessed by God. We all want God to bless us. This morning I am going to tell how to get that done. How many of you want to be blessed by God? Me too! Now when I say blessed I am not talking about the prosperity, name and claim it gospel that’s popular. I am not talking about saying a prayer and having a million dollars in cash show up in a briefcase at your doorstep. When I say bless I am talking about God showing up in your life in a way that transforms you. I am ...

4318. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Discipleship

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Where's Waldo? In this series of children's books by Martin Handford, Waldo is a cartoon-like young man wearing a bright red and white striped shirt and a matching cap. On each set of facing pages, Waldo appears in different colorful situations, and each time, children are asked to find him. Sometimes there are other characters wearing caps, or other objects that might be striped red and white designed to fool young readers, but that's all part of the fun of finding Waldo. In this part of Mark's gospel, if ...

4319. Characteristics of Christ That You and I Need

Mark 8:27-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember a delightful story Pastor Chuck Swindoll once told about a missionary who was sitting at her second story window when she was handed a letter from home. As she opened the letter, a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill fell out. She was pleasantly surprised, but as she read the letter her eyes were distracted by the movement of a shabbily dressed stranger down below, leaning against a post in front of the building. She couldn’t get him off her mind. Thinking that he might be in greater ...

4320. The Secret to Happiness

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Since this is Mother’s Day we want to honor all our Moms. We are more grateful to you than you can imagine. Our message for today is on the “Secret to Happiness.” I believe that I could say without fear of contradiction that one of the secrets to happiness is to have a good Mom. That’s not always possible, but for those of us who have been so fortunate, we can say that it is one of the great blessings of life. And so today we salute those women who have loved us and poured their lives into ours. In 1816, a ...

4321. A Letter in Time

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

John B. Jamison

Let’s just be honest about it. What we are all trying to do here is difficult. We can pretend it isn’t. We can pretend that it gets easier. We could stand here and say, “If you just try harder, and believe more, the bad stuff will all go away and the really good stuff will start to happen. It will all get easier if you just believe.” The problem with that is that, for a lot of us, we spend most of our time wondering, “Okay, just when is that going to happen? How much harder do I have to try? How much more ...

4322. A Misguided Game of Hide-and-Seek

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

Because he was a rather large kid when we were growing up, I often thought that Jonathan could have made a good bully. His body played the part at any rate -- his pudgy physique forever pushing and shoving against the crowded confines of his wardrobe. Of course, he would have had to lose that goofy grin which always allowed him to look like he was trying to laugh at a joke that he didn't really get. And it probably would have helped if he'd done something with the way he walked, which had a clumsy, awkward ...

4323. The Season Of Expectancy

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

Liturgical Color: Purple/Blue Theme: Announcing, to Mary, the birth of Jesus. Mary accepts the message, though probably with little understanding of what this will mean in the years ahead. THE COMMUNITY PREPARES Choral Invitation The choir which began, three weeks ago, at the rear of the sanctuary, now places itself in the chancel. The choir which began in the chancel places itself at the rear of the sanctuary. The chancel choir sings, with joy and exultation, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"; the other choir ...

4324. Fifth Sunday of Lent

John 12:20-36

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting Leader: Jesus said, "Whoever serves me must follow me." Congregation: Lead me, Lord, lead me in righteousness; make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety. Leader: And Jesus said, "Where I am, there will my servant be also." Congregation: Lead me, Lord, lead me in righteousness; make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety. Leader: And Jesus said, "Whoever serves me, the Father ...

4325. The Prodigal Nation

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Erskine White

Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. (Luke 15:21) I once knew a young couple, a husband and wife, who won the grand prize on a TV show called "The One Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid." One night, they showed me a videotape of the show and I saw them there on television, jumping up and down and screaming like people do on game shows. They won more money than they had ever imagined, an American dream come true. But winning all that money really ...

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