Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4376 to 4400 of 4999 results

Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... important difference. Schwarzenegger's character, the "terminator," had been transformed - or in this case re-programmed - into a kind of guardian angel for the ever-pursued woman and child. Other equally death-dealing villains awaited the ... found so entrancing about the little toy "transformers" is that the robot-aliens usually changed from being body-shaped creatures into some kind of vehicle. Their transformation was usually into some weapon-like transport - a tank, a plane, a car - which was capable of ...

4377. Speak Up for Forgiveness

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of master/slave expectations. To help facilitate this new behavior, Wanagerin's final step in the process of forgiveness is to establish or re-establish a covenant between ourself and the one forgiven (111-13). This enables us to define what kind of behavior will be expected from each other in the future. Human beings always need guidelines, limits, known expectations in order to adjust their behavior accordingly. A covenant, with its reciprocal nature and its mandate for a faithful commitment, brings a ...

4378. ...More...

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 'success.'" And more is what America and the world is running out of. The indecent discrepancy between the rich man's lifestyle and Lazarus' life-struggle was appalling. But for a long time Americans have considered themselves pretty much delivered from that kind of fearful inequality. That's why we have lumped nearly everyone into this country's great "middle class." Of course there have always been a few exceedingly rich individuals. And of course, any realistic person knows that a certain number of poor ...

4379. FaithRace

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... : An exultant Joe Montana commented after the classic Super Bowl XIX how "We got in sort of a groove. Once you get going like that you gain confidence, and it carries over to the defense, and then back to the offense. It is a snowball kind of thing" (P. Zimmerman, "The Niners Were Never Finer," Sports Illustrated, 28 January 1985, 20). Each of our lives revolves basically around a certain question or theme or what used to be called "life verse." Each of us has one theme with many variations, one conflict ...

4380. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in all circumstances.” Paul next turns to a particular problem, an issue of great importance to this Christian community. The Thessalonians appear to have had, as one commentator puts it, “pneumatic concerns.” Paul does not go into detail about exactly what kinds of spiritual activity are in danger of being “quenched.” But clearly there was an element within the church ready to douse any spirit-fanned flames. Paul now notes more precisely that the Thessalonians are not to “despise the words of ...

4381. Divine Humility

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

King Duncan

... John Wesley in heaven?" "No," answered Whitefield. "That's what I thought you would say," his questioner replied. "But you don't know what I mean," said Whitefield. "Wesley will be so far up there near the great Throne, I will never see him." Such an answer takes a certain kind of divine humility. John the Baptist, in spite of his own popularity, sought to direct attention not to himself but to Jesus. That ...

4382. Five Steps to Takeoff

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sing a song called "Letting Go." It was written by their lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist Steve Wiggins. [NOTE: This CD is available at your local Christian bookstore. Try playing it at the end of the sermon. To aid those who might have trouble understanding the words in this kind of music, make them available in print, or use an overhead and put them on a screen.] I am a man who hides his feelings. I don't think I can keep from revealing All the thoughts inside of me That are out of control. So Lord, I ...

4383. Dare Care

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of faith. Faith is but another word for "risk." God is the biggest risk-taker of them all. Albert Einstein could not come to terms with his own theories because he said that God couldn't have built this kind of risk into the universe. God couldn't have created a universe with this kind of indeterminacy and unpredictability and chaos. "God does not throw dice," Einstein said. Well, Einstein, you were wrong. And late in life you came to see how wrong you were. God does take chances. God created you and me ...

4384. Soul-Scrubbing

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the sweet smells that attract others to them. But the perfume can never fully mask the odor that lurks about the spirit of arrogance and boastfulness. Eventually the bad smell seeps in and under everything they do. Humility, the sense of self-smallness, is a kind of stack-scrubber for our souls. It takes our greatest weaknesses, our smelliest selves, and binds them to the power of Christ. True humility scrubs our souls and transforms our spirits into a breath of fresh air. There is no false perfume or faked ...

4385. The Monster Under Megan's Bed

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , as they "feel" their way through a new CD-ROM game. The ease with which even the youngest children seem to pick up and master the most advanced technological gadgetry suggests that these Megan mks (millennial kids) may be developing in the human species a kind of automatic electronic intuition. Unlike adults, the Megans of the world seem to know instinctively how to work the microchip. Children "save the day" for us adults as we try to lumber alongside them into the millennium-III, 21-C future. In today's ...

4386. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... be stored as glycogen," Allen reminds us. Spiritual fitness is not going to happen by doing an hour of prayer push-ups every day, and reading 20 chapters of the Bible a day, or attending five meetings at church every week. More plausible is the kind of heart training suggested by James, who counsels us to accept the irritations and trials of life with joy, "because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:3). 2. Mind Training or Mental Toughness: An Ironman/Ironwoman course is ...

4387. The Ride of Your Life

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and give the uncontrolled escalator a final destination. The real problem with getting on the slide, treadmill, roller coaster or escalator is that these are all rides we try to control with our own agenda and keep under our own power. Jesus offers to take us on another kind of ride altogether a ride where we are empowered by our "trust in God, who raised [Jesus] from the dead and gave him glory" (1 Peter 1:21). Instead of those dead-end lifestyle rides, Jesus offers to take us on a trip as exhilarating and ...

4388. Anywhere Goes

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and abandon it to high-decibel secularism. Rock music is an easy target for Christians to hit. By definition, it is almost more horrifying than glorifying. It is easy to find examples of music that are unacceptable, "not our kind" or beyond the pale. But the church cannot fall back on this kind of attitude. We are not given the luxury of cordoning off whole segments of society and judging them not worthy of our attention. Alas, the church has often gained a reputation for doing just that. In one survey ...

4389. Grow Old Grace-fully

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the yippie-turned-yuppie, has a new mantra. "I used to say, don't trust anyone over 30. Now, I say, don't trust anyone under 50." The fact is that even as the '60s saw the blossoming of the civil rights era, it also honed a new kind of prejudice ageism. Although the '60s were not alone in shrugging off the 60-somethings, the picked-up pace and increasingly disposable lifestyle of these latter days of the 20th century has practically made growing older a sin. This is not just a cosmetic skirmish against gray ...

4390. The Secret of Living Is Giving

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... spans have withered and shrunk like grapes into raisins. If something doesn't grab us immediately, we simply flex our index fingers and remote our way out and on to the next message. All public speakers are prisoners of our need for quick, in-your-face kinds of communication. Speeches and sermons are no longer composed to inform and inspire so much as they are sliced and diced into "sound bites" media-designed snack food that too often only sounds good and stays fresh for the three seconds of on-air time ...

4391. A Match Made in Heaven

Isaiah 61:1—62:12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... firmament, a place completely unknown and unknowable. The earth simultaneously wet and dry, swarming with all sorts of creepy, crawly things. But God was able to top the divine self and to create once again two things totally different: "God created human-kind...male and female he created them" (Genesis l:27). Not only are men and women pleased and cursed by their essential otherness (Remember the wonderfully titled bestseller Men Are From Mars: Women Are From Venus?). God also had the outrageous audacity ...

4392. Stone Testaments

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... carefully placed on top of the grave marker. Sometimes these stones will be lined up across the top, like some kind of train. These stones have a specific, commemorative meaning, a meaning that binds that individual person to the whole history ... some memory in your life that hasn't been remembered. Look inside and ask yourself what in your past may be keeping you from becoming the kind of person God has made you to be. Once you've fastened your mind and spirit on this event or person, look up and connect ...

4393. Just Say Know

Philippians 3:4b-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... " how to help your clients avoid legal troubles? Then your client list will be lengthy and lucrative. Do you "know" how to read people and their reactions? Then your political career will net you considerable influence and success. Without a doubt, certain kinds of knowledge can bring in beaucoup bucks. But even as we become more educated, as electronic wizardry brings us into immediate touch with more raw data and more "knowledge" than any previous generation ever dreamed of, people are beginning to sense ...

4394. The Five Adjectives of a Noun Christian

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... without verbs, especially the Christian language. But that's another sermon. Here are just a few suggestions for the kinds of adjectives we should use to modify - that is, strengthen, enliven, invigorate - our already established noun consciousness and ... limits. Do we want to be changed into the likeness of God? Then we must love like God loves, and Jesus said that by this kind of love, "People will know you are my disciples." They'll know we are Christians by our love, by our Calvary-Love. 5. I want to ...

4395. Taking Risks

Luke 1:26-38

Illustration

... in 80,000. The point here is that there are risks in everything that we do. That is also truth with the issue of faithfulness to God. However, when we think about the issue of faithfulness to God, one would think that Christians would feel more comfortable taking the kinds of risks that God asks us to take. Yet, how many of us would have been willing to have taken the kind of risks which Mary took when she said yes to becoming the mother of the foretold Messiah? Our text looks at the risks that Mary took.

4396. The Christmas Touch

Luke 2:29-32

Illustration

Robert L. Crouch

... touch. He understands that the cause for which he came into our fallen world is the cause to which this frail fellow had committed his life. Since embracing the Savior as a teenager, Bill carried in his heart a concern for all kinds of people in all kinds of places. The races of the world have been equally important to him. Ever since graduating from Wheaton College, this North Carolinian walked his talk around the block and across the seas. William Franklin Graham was a living example of what it means ...

4397. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... mimic their own parents' behavior and attitudes. God has shown us the divine attitude towards all creation with the sacrifice of Christ for its sake. Paul's directive that we imitate this behavior is then no small undertaking. Those deceptively simple qualities of kindness and a forgiving nature are in reality a call to let membership in the body of Christ change the sinful heart of humanity into a commitment to selfless, sacrificial love. Relating the Texts From the Old Testament comes a classic story of ...

4398. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that Christians must likewise do the word especially those words of Christ which reflected his ethical teachings. Only by doing the word does James see Christians as truly obeying the word. James' use of the mirror in verses 23 and 24 is an example of the kind of inconsequential results that are gleaned from those who hear but do not act. The demands this word/law makes are spelled out by James in verses 26 and 27. Verse 26 gives the negative example of what constitutes false religion or empty piety. Verse ...

4399. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... verse 13 by counseling "gentleness born of wisdom." True wisdom will be demonstrable through attitudes of gentleness and meekness and by actions that work out that wisdom in deeds promoting the health of the community. In verses 1416 James clarifies exactly what kinds of attitudes he holds to be harmful to a community. Not all powerful, dynamic leaders are beneficial to the whole. With examples like that of the church at Corinth probably known to him, James is acutely aware that it is possible for "spirit ...

4400. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the one which turns death into a selfless act of divinely inspired devotion. Switching to a didactic style for verses 47, Paul now gives not a definition of love but a description of the ways of love. Verses 4, 5 and 6 create a kind of negative confession, a popular ancient confessional form. Note again that while we, and the Corinthians, naturally assume that the attributes Paul lists describe the character of Christ, the list is just as applicable to God. A Jewish audience subscribing to the affirmation ...

Showing results