Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4964 results

4426. Waiting And Remembering

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... what or how often. Even as often as we do this, its meaning and purpose are sometimes not as clear as we would hope them to be. Leslie Weatherhead, that wonderful English Methodist, once told of talking with a member of his church about the meaning of ... so important? What exactly is it that we are supposed to remember? What difference does it make?" "Oh," came the disappointed reply, who was hoping for a question with a little more meat to it. "Well, let me tell you a story!" When I was in seminary we had ...

4427. The Day God Voted

1 Samuel 15:34-35, 16:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... did not and does not choose leaders on the basis of partisan politics. God chooses the people who will be best suited for carrying out the leadership tasks before them. When you cast your vote, will it be on the basis of political party? I hope not. Some years ago, Dr. Halford Luccock, that wonderful teacher of preachers at Yale, was complaining about the way our governmental decisions were being made. He said, "We have been treated in our own Congress to the amazing spectacle of men deciding their attitude ...

4428. When God Is Gone

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of Job," which has become a clich? in our culture we find is a bit overstated. Job is very unhappy, and he says he regrets that he was ever born. Have you ever felt that way? Probably. If you did, I hope you had friends who offered comfort and counsel, but I hope they did a better job than Job's pals. First, Eliphaz courteously suggests, "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap ...

4429. A Disaster of Biblical Proportions

Job 42:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... never to see again. In the aftermath of the horror, Steve Goodier offered these beatitudes: * Blessed are those who mourn for the tsunami's victims; may they find comfort in their pain and hope in their helplessness. * Blessed are those who found a way to survive; may they now find sufficient strength and healing as they reassemble the scattered pieces of shattered lives. * Blessed are those who tirelessly strive to give relief; may they be amply encouraged in their valiant efforts. * Blessed are those ...

4430. Where Would We Be Without...?

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... his "foxhole" promise and did become a monk, an Augustinian. In the providence of God, Staupitz became the younger man's spiritual director and counselor. During these years, Luther's soul was tossed about like a dinghy in a violent sea, thrust upward by appeals to hope in God, then smashed to the depths of depression by a sense of God's wrath. "If it had not been for Dr. Staupitz," Luther later said, "I should have sunk in hell." Staupitz taught Luther about grace, and that true penance is a condition of ...

4431. Simeon

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... pleased and honored to undertake. Although there are some differences in theology among us, all Jews share one thing in common: a hope for a deliverer ... the Messiah. Every member of the Sanhedrin, every Jewish man and woman in Jerusalem, everyone who fears God ... a not uncommon name in our day. The name means "salvation" and many a proud parent had chosen the name for their firstborn in hopes that he might be the one chosen to deliver the nation. But as I stood there listening to them, a voice inside of me ...

4432. Just Say the Word

John 1:1-9, 10-18

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... we are just now finishing. It is good news because of the end, because of Easter, because the agony through which the Word went for us led to resurrection and hope. Good news never arrives without some cost, without some struggle against that which would stifle it, snuff it out, some Herod seeking to kill it off, some crucifixion hoping to stamp it out. Without Easter, there would be no Christmas. It would have been just another baby born to another peasant woman in another out-of-the-way place, ignored ...

4433. Due for Renewal

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... wrong again!" Sir Francis Bacon once declared, "It is singularly amazing how long the rotten can hold together." People cling to false hopes, go through empty rituals, and celebrate the past to such an extent that often it has no bearing on the present. There ... to come is an openness on the part of God's people to hearing and speaking his word in new ways. Erich Fromm once said, "To hope means to be ready at every moment for that which is not yet born, and yet not become desperate if there is no birth in our ...

4434. Clearing Out the Pipes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Smylie

... a kind of personal roto-rooter. It's foolish to take on spiritual disciplines if we have no expectation or hope for growth, for change, or for transformation in our lives. And it's equally foolish to take on spiritual disciplines ... on his living body. Had she not let her son bear that cross, the mark of mortality, the ashes upon us would fill us with fear rather than hope. So here we are at the beginning of a journey. Where will it take us? Not so long ago I heard some sports radio guys talking about ...

4435. Speaking Peace

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Smylie

... or heal the brokenness of our poor planet with good intentions or powerful slogans or hard work or political clout. In and of ourselves, we cannot speak peace. But empowered by the breath of the Son of Man who can bring life when all doors are locked and hopes are gone, and empowered by the Spirit who hovered over the watery chaos at creation, and empowered by the Spirit of Jesus who bore and healed the brokenness of our planet, we can speak peace. Jesus said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me ...

4436. The Logical Conclusion

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

John Smylie

... bow down before us and serve us. The ascension of human flesh into heaven brought the greatest wound of all to Satan's pride. Of all the creatures and of all creation it is only this flesh that we bear that has been taken up into the Godhead. The joyful hope of the ascension is that we shall also be taken up, that our bodies, too, will be transformed and raised and united with the Father in the body of his Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the glorious inheritance to which we have been called in ...

4437. Be Not Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... for a tuberculosis patient as long as he or she has a fever. In the final stages of the disease, when the body has given up, the fever leaves and the patient soon dies. Fear may be a little like a fever. Fear is sign of life and hope. It can bring a necessary surge of adrenalin. But fear is still a problem. After a day of counseling appointments, I am convinced that fear runs rampant among us. I have several books on the shelves in my office that have stories of genuine heroes in them. These are people ...

4438. When the Impossible Becomes Imminently Possible!

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit" (John 15:5 NRSV). Does something in your life seem to hold no hope? Do your resources seem too small? Have you considered "the things Christ has in mind"? How We Can Discover The Things Christ Has In ... surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 NRSV). God, through Christ Jesus, "already has in mind what he is going to do" with you. Perhaps today you are in a ...

4439. Oh, The Things We Worry About!

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

... loneliness or hardship, and you may be in no mood to be thankful. May God especially bless you ... and somehow fill you with hope and praise. That is my Thanksgiving prayer for us this day; that God will fill our hearts with thanks and praise. "God of grace ... and not worry about anything else in this life. Today when you sit at the table, or tonight when your heads hit the pillow, I hope you will remember this: Don't worry. Don't worry! The God of creation will never leave you. And that's a promise. Thanks be ...

4440. It’s God’s Will?

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... . This will is rebellious by nature, it is bound by sin. Luther taught the third article of the creed by saying, "I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord or come to him." It is the work of the Holy Spirit. The only hope I have is Jesus who rescues me from death by paying the price for sin and choosing us, as Paul writes in Ephesians 1. This does not mean that God directs and causes every detail of our lives. Much of what happens grieves the very heart of God. But ...

4441. Witness: More than Judgment

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... guy with the black toupee with his wife at his side playing the guitar. Or the sweaty guy, wiping his forehead, rocking back and forth, and getting into this frothy, rhyming mantra. Or the one who is going hoarse, scolding the viewers about the best they could hope for was a front seat in hell. Have you ever seen them? Here's the confession part. I'm not watching them to steal sermons or to learn about delivery or even for personal edification. I watch with some comic disbelief that they think that their ...

4442. How Do We Make Sense of This?

Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 10:1-39

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... direct conflict with the values of the culture in which he lived. Jesus lived in a brutal time. Crucifixions like his were common. People were ruled by intimidation and fear. It was a time of domination and submission. That's why the Jews were constantly hoping for a Messiah who would come and deliver them from their oppressors. They were waiting for a powerful warrior, like David, who would defeat their enemies and put Israel on top again. But that's not what Jesus was about. The way that Jesus confronted ...

4443. Love in Action

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... need: We give items to help homeless families, we walk in the CROP Walk, we provide space for programs that help troubled teenagers, we bring groceries to stock a local food pantry, we collect money for victims of natural disasters. There are lots of things we could list. But I hope we don't think that lets us off the hook so we can just pat ourselves on the back for doing our part and move on with our lives. Once when my children were little, we had taken them to Disney World and on the way passed by some ...

4444. Loving God

1 John 5:1-6

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... have strayed away from the church, because the church and God are not the same thing. I'm talking about anyone who has removed themselves from the loving relationship God offers. It can happen for people in the church as easily as it can for those outside the church. I hope those of us who are inside the church are here because we want to grow in our relationship with God. We want to take the lids off our cups and let the love of God fill us to overflowing so that his love flows through us onto other people ...

4445. Doing Christ’s Work

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... and gave them a special kind of wisdom that transcended the conventional wisdom of the world. The Ephesians passage for today describes this as an enlightenment that came from of the eyes of their hearts. Through the eyes of their hearts they could see the hope to which he had called them, "the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of his power for all those who believe, according to the working of his great power" (Ephesians 1:18-19a). There is a wisdom that ...

4446. I’ve Got a Home in that Kingdom

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... than on the shifting sands of temporal categories. On these answers, Paul can build and maintain his confidence even as the storms of life rage around him and through him. Paul affirms that his confidence is not made by human hands. His confidence, his ability to maintain hope and heart, comes from the grace of Jesus Christ in his life. He has confidence because he has finally heard in a profound way that he belongs to God. He has gained a glimpse of home. In verses 6-9 of chapter 5, Paul speaks about this ...

4447. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... fellow human being is like cursing God. The gift of speech is one of the greatest faculties God has given us. With our words we can compliment someone, we can teach our children, we can give directions to someone who is lost, we can give hope to someone who is despairing, we can express love or fear or pain. Unfortunately, this wonderful gift can also be abused. We can use our faculty of speech for gossip, for slander, for complaining and negativity, or to express hatred and anger. When I conduct management ...

4448. Admitting the Real Truth

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... . We are bound in sin and in that sinful nature our relationship with God is severed and we cannot, of ourselves, make it right. For those who live in the darkness of this world, this seems to be bad news. To those who live without hope in Christ, this seems as though there is no hope. We are sinful, lost, and alone. But now, as blessed Martin puts it in our great battle hymn: But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God himself elected. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is he! Christ Jesus mighty ...

4449. Long Live The King

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... governed by such beginnings and endings. Each year the calendar of the church rolls on bringing us endings and beginnings. Today, on this festival of Christ the King, we celebrate the end of the church's year and signal the start of a new season of hope and expectation with the coming of Advent. This celebration of Christ the King is about more than endings and beginnings. This Christ the King Sunday is about more than the continuity of monarchs as in England. This Christ the King Sunday is about more than ...

4450. Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... those spirits are at work. Lest one think Paul had a rose-tinted view of daily community life (hardly!), the apostle next lists a series of imperatives that acknowledge the ups and downs, the hopes and horrors experienced by all people of faith. There will be times to “rejoice” in the hope of faith. There will be times that call for “patience” or “steadfastness” in the face of affliction, day-to-day suffering. Whatever each day brings, Paul affirms the continual need for perseverance in prayer ...

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