Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 4426 to 4450 of 5000 results

4426. To Be Continued

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... Jesus imbued the disciples with boldness to go forth to witness, to cast out demons, and to declare the kingdom of God. Now the Holy Spirit does the same to all his disciples who name the name of Jesus. Jesus went. The Spirit came. The Lord gives; the Lord takes; blessed be the name of the Lord! But sometimes we just want Jesus back. It's not easy to see him go and trust in God's higher purpose. We're like the fly crawling on one of the great pillars of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. What does ...

4427. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... Martin took off his army cloak and wrapped it around the beggar's shoulders. That night he had a dream. In it he saw a vast multitude gathered in heaven and Jesus stood among them, clad in a Roman army cloak. One of the angels asked, "Lord, where did you get that Roman army cloak?" Jesus answered softly, "My servant Martin gave it to me." This Advent Jesus stands among us, although disguised. If you turn away the addict, the beggar, the elderly, the lonely, the refugee, or the powerless, you may be ...

4428. Permission To Daydream

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... its mission. We live on this side of Pentecost, after the Spirit has been given, which means we have the power to carry out our calling. But we also live in expectation of the final fulfillment of this marvelous vision that will come on the Day of the Lord. Because God is sovereign, and because God has given us the Spirit to do God's calling, we have a future filled with promise. Nothing in life can defeat us, if we draw our strength from God. Finally, because God is sovereign, and because we have a future ...

4429. Clear The Way!

Luke 3:1-20

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... ? JOHN: No, I am not the Prophet. SECOND: Well, then who are you? Give us an answer to give to these people. (Indicating the audience) What do you have to say about yourself? JOHN: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord!" The CHURCH OFFICIALS nod to each other and step away from their stools a little way to confer in whispers. JOHN sits smiling out at the audience in an off-duty way. The OFFICIALS return. FIRST: Then why do you say you can baptize if you are not the ...

4430. Awake, Christ Is Coming

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... about the end of the world. On the other hand, we who identify with the mainstream of historic Christianity ought not to be hesitant in affirming our hope in the return of Christ. Make no mistake about it, Paul lived in anticipation of his Lord's appearance at the last day. Using the images of sleeping and awaking, darkness and light, the apostle, however, does not speculate on minute details about the end time but rather directs his readers to the imminent need for ethical righteousness. As warriors going ...

4431. Accepting The Call

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... have to say about theirs. So we prepare ourselves. We prepare ourselves to hear the word of God for our own lives. We prepare ourselves to listen for the voice of God in our own affairs. We prepare ourselves to speak simply, gently, from our own experiences, not lording it over others, but speaking from our weaknesses as well as our strengths. We prepare ourselves to speak of the "hope that is in us." We prepare ourselves to speak out of the very depths of our own life's pains to the hearts of those who are ...

4432. Learn To Wait Creatively

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... ; the One who can judge everyone fairly is near at hand, even at the door. To further buttress his appeal, James cites the patience of the Hebrew prophets who in their suffering did not give up but continued to tell forth the Word of the Lord. Is not James trying to teach us to wait creatively? What is involved here is not simply tarrying but waiting creatively. There is a profound difference. The latter suggests a dual type of waiting, what I call patient waiting and active waiting. The Advent season ...

4433. What's The Point?

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... enjoying the God who made us. We used to assume that every Presbyterian learned that along the way. Perhaps we need to learn it again. The 19th century hymn writer Fanny Crosby put it this way: "To God be the Glory, great things He hath done! ... Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the People Rejoice!"2 Give Glory to God and be joyful; that's what life is all about. And as Saint Irenaeus put it in the 2nd century: "The Glory of God is a human being who is fully alive."3 Simply put, the purpose of life is ...

4434. Week Of Ash Wednesday

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the goal is and what we need to do to achieve it. The goal for all Christians is not difficult to determine. The prophet Joel speaks God's word and says, "Return to me with your whole heart, ... rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God." There is no magic or new revelation here. God desires that we return to our creator, the one from whom we came in the beginning. We are to be reconciled to God, as St. Paul says in the Second Reading, so we might become the very holiness of ...

4435. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... that I keep in a prominent place in my study which helps me remember the importance of making time for rest: Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach ... it was her "Time Out With God." For this woman, her "time out" is an early morning priority. It is a time alone with the Lord in which she reviews every single item that she can foresee on her daily schedule. Her prayer time is a seeking for guidance and wisdom ...

4436. Divine Naivet

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... scary God who will get you if you're not good." How different from, for example, Saint Paul's words in Romans, chapter 5:8: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." God sent us Jesus to express the Lord's amazing divine naivet, which loves us so much that sins are overlooked enough for us not to get stuck in defensiveness and guilt, so that we might have the heart, the self-esteem, and the motivation to keep trying and keep growing in our walk with the ...

4437. Empowered By A Vision

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... is in this place. I can feel his mighty presence. The Holy is not distant. The traffic between heaven and earth is as heavy as the shopping center parking lot on sale day. Listen, I can hear the brush of angel's wings. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place." For hundreds of years this story has been a source of insight and inspiration for faithful people. We give it the shorthand of "Jacob's Ladder" and it is familiar as a song sung in Sunday school and youth camp. You might not know Sara Adams ...

4438. Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-21

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... has no bitter springs and no sad aftermath. In the beauty of nature, in human friendship, in family life, in the joys of common tasks and familiar relationships, may we find satisfaction, that we may live not only with integrity, but with radiance. We thank you, Lord, for the heritage which is ours in Christ, and for the great tradition that your Church has handed down to us. Make us worthy of our inheritance. Let us not because of any infidelity or lack of character hurt it by our mishandling. We pray for ...

4439. The Upside Of The Practice - Performance Equation

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... for Nancy much sooner than her family, friends, and I would wish. Certainly, we will see grieving tears as testimony to God's goodness expressed through her. Undoubtedly, we will witness to her resurrection and the promise of eternal reunion. And we'll beg our Lord's comforting consolations for those remaining. We'll also ask why God took Nancy from us instead of recalling a few cranks, kooks, and cruel characters. God knows the passing of some would evoke the refrain, "Ding! Dong! The witch is dead!" So we ...

4440. Judas, The Obscure

Drama

Peter C. Garrison

... that you knew he was making up his life as he lived it. But did he have to live a lie? Matthew remembers our Lord telling us, "Let your words be, 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one." But Judas was never ... the hatred of the false student who would purposely miss the teacher's point out of evil spite. Yet I know now our Creator Lord never gave up control of the situation -- of creation, even though he was betrayed and killed by this creature and his muddled motives. Jesus ...

4441. Ananias And Sapphira, Liars

Drama

Peter C. Garrison

... more than the church, more than the truth, more than God. Peter: That's it. We can't afford to "put the Spirit of the Lord to the test." In short, we can't afford to buy God. Joseph: Besides, he gives himself freely to us in Jesus. Peter: Amen to ... 22a-25 A Prayer Starter Dear God, it is true that you became flesh and dwelt among us, full of truth and grace in Jesus our Lord. Keep me in this truth and help me to bring others to this truth so that we may live in truth together now and forever. Suggestions ...

4442. The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... . The Suffering Servant comes to bear the cares of others. The servant then comes to accomplish God's mission and thus becomes the incarnation of God's redemptive covenant. What does Good Friday mean for us? Yes, Good Friday is the day that we remember the crucifixion of our Lord; it is a day when we should pause to reflect upon the events of Holy Week, and the tragic events leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It is a day when we must examine our faith and loyalty and ask if we would be among ...

4443. The Church

Acts 6:8-15, Acts 6:1-7

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... now. I think we could use some help from God. (PRAYING) Dear Father, we are in need of some answers to our problem of a dwindling congregation and maybe what's worse, dwindling income. It's not for ourselves we ask, Lord, it's for all the cutbacks we've had to make in our help to the missionaries. Dear Lord, just give us the answers we need, in the name of our dear Savior, Amen. JIM: I just hope we can come to a conclusion soon. PETE: John, what other suggestions do you have for us? JOHN: Actually I was ...

4444. For I Have Chosen You!

Haggai 2:20-23

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... shared our frailties. I think the real problem is that none of us really understands the nature of divine time. We speak of eternity, but assume that heaven runs on Eastern Standard Time. It's true. There's an unspoken assumption that God and the redeemed of the Lord are watching the earth. God is not bounded by linear time. Eternity probably contains all moments. All time is accessible from that one point. I liken God's perspective to a film reel. If we hold the reel in our hand we can turn to any frame ...

4445. The Saints of Eternity

Revelation 7:9-17

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... of Christ will meet in heaven from all across the ages. Leader: Those we once knew and who have finished their race will be there. People: Those who are with us now carrying the banner of Christ will be there Leader: And those we have not yet known, if the Lord tarries, will be there. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, Your almighty hand holds all of eternity, and in Your wonderful love You have called Your Church to cross the bounds of time and space and join You. Thank You ...

4446. Living Witnesses

Acts 2:42-47

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... go. Leader: Just as Jesus gave even his life that we should have life eternal, People: Let us each proclaim our faith in Christ through all that we do. Leader: And let our hearts be filled with praise for God's redeeming love. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, You have shown us Your mercy and Your love through the life and works of Jesus, the Cross and the Resurrection. Give us the strength to be living witnesses for You. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession ...

4447. God's Covenant

Genesis 12:1-8

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... ! Collect O God, You have always been faithful to Your covenants and have blessed those who have been faithful in return. Keep us mindful, O Lord, of the faith to which we are committed. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, so often we have heard the good news of the New Covenant yet when it has come time to keep our part we have been unfaithful. Forgive us, Lord, and begin to build in us a new strength that will give a clear witness before the world of Your redeeming power and handiwork. And ...

4448. God Sees The Inner Person

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... : God cares little for one's outer appearance; God sees into our souls. People: But we are even yet sinners, who have failed in so many ways. Leader: In Christ you are God's beloved so enter and fear not God's love. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, You see clearly into our souls and know even the things we dare not tell ourselves. We give You our praise that You have shown us Your mercy and called us to serve You. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession ...

4449. God the Redeemer

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... all the Universe and the giver of all life. We ask You to search the soul of Your church and, where we have need, breathe into us new life and vitality. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, in so many ways we have walked away from the tasks You created us as Your church to be about. Forgive us, Lord, and where there is need, lead us to be about filling it; and where there are the wounded in our world, help us to be about providing Your healing; and where the darkness of sin abounds, lead us ...

4450. Service of Recommitment to Christian Service

Isaiah 6:1-13

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... of Christ celebrate. Leader: But there are some who have heard and turned away. People: And some who have never heard the good news Christ came to share. Leader: Then let us recommit our lives to sharing the Gospel for all to hear. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O Lord, we come before You just now accepting the responsibilities You would place upon us as part of Your church today and we ask You to walk with us and lead us in all that we do. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession ...

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