Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4376 to 4400 of 4884 results

I'm working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at the same time. If I can just die after lunch Tuesday, everything will be perfect.

Doug Sanders

4377. Perspectives—A Puzzler

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... him instead of the lieutenant; the grandmother was flabbergasted to think that the young lieutenant would have the gall to kiss her granddaughter, but was proud of her granddaughter for slapping him for doing it; and the young lieutenant was trying to hold back the laughter, for he found the perfect opportunity to kiss an attractive young girl and slap his superior officer all at the same time!

4378. People of the Lie

Illustration

M. Scott Peck

M. Scott Peck wrote his book, People of the Lie, about those who appear virtuous but are in fact evil. Ironically, he says they are utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection, they are unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity. They worry about this a great deal. They are acutely sensitive to social norms and what others might think of them…They dress well, go to work on time, pay their taxes, and outwardly seem to ...

4379. The Difficulty of Being Right

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... the customer. While eating his sandwich the customer picked up the order slip and saw that the mistake was his. When it came time to pay the check the man apologized to the waiter and offered to pay for both sandwiches. The waiter's response was, "No, sir. That's perfectly all right. I'm just happy you've forgiven me for being right."

4380. In Which City Do You Live?

Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... the city of man. Suppose now we contrast that city--the city of man with the city of God. John in his Revelation describes a city coming down from heaven from God that is altogether glorious. It is an enormous city, 1500 hundred miles on every side. It has perfect symmetry and it is large enough for all who would to enter. It has a wall 216 feet high and 12 gates. The city rests on 12 foundations and on those 12 foundations are carved the names of the 12 apostles. This is the New Jerusalem. Within its walls ...

4381. Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

Luke 9:11b-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed . . . but the bull had no tail! (3) His chance was gone forever. That’s the problem with waiting for the perfect moment to seize an opportunity for ministry. We don’t have the spiritual discernment to know how God may be working in other people’s lives. And we can’t count on our own courage because it will usually fail us. So we have to grab the first ...

4382. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... and consumption and cultivation of the self over our relationship with God. Yet God is our Creator. The Way, the Truth, the Life. What good is our life if it is not reflecting God’s glory and conforming to God’s plans? Lewis Grant came up with the perfect term for what happens when we put temporary, selfish ambitions ahead of our love for God and others. He calls it “sunset fatigue.” When we come home at the end of a day’s work, those who need our love the most, those to whom we are most ...

4383. Time to Pick a Side

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... when he was a child. When he was 15, he moved in with his father. His father was not the kind of father most of us would hope a Dad would be. His dad encouraged Ron to smoke pot and party. For a while Ron thought he’d found the perfect life. But then, a friend invited Ron to church. This little church was alive with joy, and the pastor’s message connected with Ron, and he chose to become a follower of Jesus Christ. The joy he discovered changed his life. He stopped smoking pot and partying and began ...

4384. We Are Not Alone

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... the man declares. “Well you didn’t get it here!” the usher assures him. If Garrison Keillor (A Prairie Home Companion) has taught us anything, it is that Lutherans can take a joke, even if it is at their own expense. And, goodness knows, we aren’t perfect. But in this case, the calmness of our faith may not be a problem. The Spirit also moves quietly. The most common biblical metaphor for the Spirit is the wind. Winds range from tempests to breezes, and a summer breeze can move one’s heart as much ...

4385. Jefferson's Revision

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

Thomas Jefferson wrote these glowing words about Jesus: "his system of morality was the most benevolent and sublime probably that has been ever taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the ancient philosophers." We have much to be grateful for in Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence is one of the greatest and most consequential documents ever written. But when it came to Jesus and Gospel who was not mainstream at all. At best Jefferson was ...

4386. Warts and All

Illustration

Tim Temple

... and accomplishments. But the Scripture is not that way; it deals with people’s lives just as they are. Because of that, the Scripture shows us that very often He uses weak, sinful men and women just like us to accomplish His purposes. In fact, if He limited Himself to perfect men and women, He would have to do it all by Himself because He wouldn’t have anyone He could use. Not much would get done.

4387. A Mystery

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... that seminary never prepares you for! All I did was take a standard Lutheran service and change all mention of “Jesus, Son, and Redeemer” to “Lord, Father, and Creator.” And — poof! — there you have it... a Jewish/Lutheran service. I thought everything went perfectly until a tiny, beautiful Jewish grandmother came up to me as I ate dinner at the reception and said, “You did a wonderful job today, Pastor. But if you ever do this again, you may not want to conclude the table blessing at the ...

4388. Who's the Fool?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

George Reed

... not accumulate that amount of material goods while heeding the messages of justice or mercy. What Jesus is pointing out is the danger of greed, the danger of putting things ahead of God and ahead of people. Most of us probably feel that while we are not perfect, we certainly would not put wealth before God. We are not idolaters who worship a golden calf. We would not steal land from people and deprive them of their ability to provide for themselves and their family. Or would we? Do we? One does not need to ...

4389. Portraying Jesus

Illustration

Phillip Yancey

... Jesus. One tradition dating back to the second century suggested Jesus was a hunchback. In the Middle Ages, Christians widely believed that Jesus had suffered from leprosy. Most Christians today would find such notions repulsive and perhaps heretical. Was he not a perfect specimen of humanity? Yet in all the Bible there is only one physical description of sorts, a prophecy written hundreds of years before Christ’s birth. Here is Isaiah’s portrayal, in the midst of a passage that the New Testament ...

4390. In Need of a "Rally Monkey"

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... s heart finally gave out. He had outlived his doctors’ prognosis by at least thirty years, and brought the message of God to thousands of people around the world. (5) John Beekman exceeded every expectation other people had for him not because he had a perfect heart within him. He accomplished so much because he had opened his heart to Jesus Christ, and he allowed Christ’s heart to beat in his chest. When the disciples heard Jesus tell them to live exemplary lives and to forgive those who sinned against ...

4391. Understanding Outrageous Grace

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... will be exalted.” What does that mean, “he went home justified”? It means his sins were forgiven. He got exactly what he asked for—mercy from a holy, holy, holy God who knows that we can never be holy enough to deserve His mercy. So God sent His perfect, sinless Son, Jesus, to take away the penalty of our sins and make us holy in His eyes. And that brings us to the final point of this parable: if you don’t know grace, you don’t know God—because grace, the unearned gift of God’s love ...

4392. Déjà Vu or Divine Revelation?

Luke 23:35-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... soldiers and the mocking bystanders and pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And Jesus’ motto wasn’t “win or die.” It was “die and win.” Take on the burden of our sins and die in our place, as our perfect sacrifice, to free us from our enemy Satan and save us from the penalty of death forever. The second thief saw a King whose agenda was motivated not by dominance but by mercy and love. And finally, the second thief saw a King whose sacrifice was necessary ...

4393. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying ...

4394. Preparing the Way

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... life as it is. We are given the power to see without illusion and the courage to deal with life as it really is. Obviously, there are examples of physical miracles in the gospels, but we dare not stop there. People can have legs that are perfectly sound and still be made lame by fear, doubt, narcissism, or prejudice. Leprosy no longer makes us unclean and unacceptable in our communities but the same can’t be said about an arrest record, or a drug conviction, or a mental health problem. Experts tell us ...

4395. Surprised by Joy

Luke 2:8-14

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... would say, had you seen him, that he beamed. It was as though light was radiating from all around him, so complete was his joy. And he was laughing — laughing as though the whole world was laughing with him. So pure was his laughter, so innocent and perfect was it that I felt it warm my heart. I felt my eyes beginning to tear as I stood there, bathed in his wonderful, innocent joy. And not just me — others, adults all, were standing around, watching and listening, too. And one by one, they, too began ...

4396. When God Doesn't Answer

Illustration

Robert W. Bohl

... great sadness. There was a woman in her Sunday church School class, a teacher, who was always talking about how wonderful it was to walk and talk with Jesus. She would tell how everything she asked Jesus for she received. She prayed that her blueberry muffins would be perfect and they always were. Jesus, she would say, is wonderful to have around. She told of rushing somewhere to do the Lord’s work and she would say: “Lord you know that I am coming down here to do your work and I am running late so I ...

4397. Bad Habits

Illustration

Gregg L. J. Hemmen

Saint Teresa was approached by a young nun once and this young woman was confessing her sins. This young nun was overcome with grief over her sin and then Saint Teresa said something profound and liberating to her. “Sister,” she said to this young nun, “We know that none of us is perfect. Take care that your sins don’t turn into bad habits.”

4398. A Gift You Can't Afford

Illustration

Erwin W. Lutzer

... that salvation could come by walking the nine hundred miles to Delhi on his knees. But the missionary said that salvation was so costly that Jesus had to buy it for us. Before he left on his pilgrimage, the Indian gave the missionary the largest and most perfect pearl he had ever seen. The pearl diver explained that his own son had lost his life in getting this pearl from the bottom of the sea. The missionary thanked him, but then insisted that he pay for it. The Hindu was offended, saying that there was ...

4399. Like Clockwork

John 11:38-44

Illustration

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing “Up from the Grave He Arose” as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. The last lady was wearing shoes with very slender heels. Without a thought for her fancy heels, she marched toward the grating that covered that hot air register in the middle of the aisle. Suddenly the heel of one ...

4400. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

George Reed

... s reign being number one then we are free to receive and enjoy the good gifts that God desires us to have. Then we can receive the gift of family and celebrate it in all its goodness and offer forgiveness in all its failures. Without the pressure to make it perfect, we can accept it for what it is. When we have let go of money as ultimate measure of our worth and placed God and God’s love there, we can use the wealth, however large or small, that comes our way rejoicing that we have received it from God ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 4376 to 4400 of 4884 results

I'm working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at the same time. If I can just die after lunch Tuesday, everything will be perfect.

Doug Sanders

4377. Perspectives—A Puzzler

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

4378. People of the Lie

Illustration

M. Scott Peck

4379. The Difficulty of Being Right

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

4380. In Which City Do You Live?

Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23