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Showing 426 to 450 of 1185 results

426. In Search of Self

Judges 2:6-3:6

Illustration

Larry Powell

... to a low self-esteem. Robert Schuller has written a new book titled Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, in which he proposes that the reason we are willing to settle for second and third best is because we have such a low opinion of ourselves. We will not pursue that observation here, but will simply remark that low self-esteem is a contradictory attitude to the picture of humanity presented in the Scriptures: "created in the image of God," and "the child of a king." 3. We have embraced what I refer to as a ...

427. And Their Eyes Were Opened

Luke 24:13-35

Illustration

Larry Powell

... midst of their own journey, becoming a part of it himself, and in the end, baptizing it with his blessing. Those of us in the church believe that this is still the way Christ often comes into our lives. Off on our own journeys, pursuing some goal or objective, totally submerged in our own concerns ... determined, ambitious, outrunning the spiritual life while in full stride toward that which we hope to achieve. And then, it happens. In half-step we are arrested by the sudden awareness of another presence ...

428. Song of a Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... the divine assurance is neither passing nor passive. He accepts as his own the aggressive promises of God; and in the acceptance he faces life unafraid. He may not know what the future holds, but he knows who holds it. He is actually crying: Surely, goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6) The benevolence of grace, the poet has discovered, is woven into the fabric of life; and we can escape it no more than we can elude our ...

429. Song of an Historian

Psalm 78:1-72

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... he not brought Israel to his holy land and settled her tribes in their tents? (Psalm 78:52, 53a, 54, 55). The roots of rebellion, however, go deep; and the nation had still made no attempt to rout them out of her heart. So she continued to pursue her wicked ways, making God furious. As a result, withdrawing his presence from her, God delivered her into the hands of her enemies; and sweeping, indeed, was the havoc they wrought upon her. No marriage songs sounded in Israel’s tents, for her young men were ...

430. Song of a King

Psalm 101:1-8

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... one of strong character can so frankly address his own soul in the presence of those whom the Almighty has called him to lead. Yet not for a moment does this king flinch from doing so. Temptations of pomp and power notwithstanding, he is determined to pursue the ways the Lord has set before him without compromise or caprice. Indeed, he will begin the pursuit with the concerns of his court, knowing only too well that people are what they allow in private. The monarch will engage in no clandestine activities ...

431. Song of a Pilgrim

Psalm 122:1-9

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... , is to share the divine purpose in a personally meaningful way. And does not that in itself constitute the greatest good one can experience in life? As for himself, the author of the One hundred and twenty-second Psalm will devote the remainder of his days to pursuing two objectives. First of all, he will seek to strengthen Jerusalem by undergirding the Temple through both his prayers and his witness. And second, he will do all the good he can in all the ways he can for all the people he can that it may ...

432. Song of a Commoner

Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... cannot keep his gratitude to himself. Indeed, so remarkable is his experience that all the kings of the earth must be told about it that they may spread the message of God’s mercies! (Psalm 138:4). Consequently, he has nothing to fear. His enemies may pursue him, but they cannot overcome him. And that is not all. He will confidently confront them in the strength the Lord has given him. The psalmist is fairly bursting with his conviction. So he hastens to the Temple court where, bowing toward the altar, he ...

433. We Know Jonah

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... stand in the way of our doing what God calls and prods us to do. Our more probable reaction is to just claim to be too busy, or allow inertia to be the pocket veto against our doing anything. Still as we try to escape it the call of God pursues us, and offers us another chance to go and show forth the very God of forgiveness and reconciliation and compassion that we talk about. And the epiphany of God comes afresh in us whenever the light of God in us pushes back a bit farther the curtain of darkness that ...

434. The Ten Commandments - Part 1

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the god of popularity, to focus on the spectacular rather than true mission. It is a temptation that we should all carefully avoid. B There is secondly the false god of hedonism, or the seeking of personal happiness. We live in a society that pursues pleasure and seeks to avoid struggle. These persons see the church as a kind of religious spa, and they evaluate it upon what personal benefits they receive. True, the Bible does speak of happiness. In the Beatitudes, the word blessed can be interpreted happy ...

435. The Path of Integrity

Drama

William Grimbol

... , for within this penitential period we discover the purity and truth of our Selves ... our Selves freed of the flab of image and illusion ... our Selves stripped of the camouflage of worldly wisdom and societal standards of success ... our Selves finally free to pursue the simple decencies and acts of compassion and caring and sharing that give our lives the only satisfaction and integrity we can ever know or genuinely feel. As we partake, on this Maundy Thursday, of a simple stark meal ... a symbol of ...

436. The Path of Dignity

Drama

William Grimbol

... the easy life ... which lusts after recreation without re-creation ... which passions for the right to be immune to the pains and problems of our lives ... dignity is in danger of becoming a word which is obsolete. The righteous life, the life which pursues peace and justice and equality and liberty for all ... the life which thrives on unconditional loving, and ceaseless efforts to forgive and to be forgiven ... the life which yearns for a closer relationship to God, and a deeper commitment to the people ...

437. A Man Who Laughed at God

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... at Dan, near the source of the River Jordan. He divided his men into three groups and launched a surprise attack under cover of darkness. He confounded the much larger army into chaotic confusion. They fled in complete disorder and panic. And Abraham pursued them almost to the city of Damascus. Not only were Lot and his family delivered, but also the other prisoners as well. And in addition, all the stolen plunder from Sodom and Gomorrah was recovered and returned. This interesting incident (I wonder if ...

438. A Shepherd Who Became a Sovereign

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... kill him, so David fled for his life. For the next period of time, he lived in the wilderness as a fugitive, constantly on the move. He stayed primarily in Philistine territory, trying to avoid Saul. The king, with detachments from his army, persistently pursued him, seeking to track him down and murder him. David gathered about him some three or four hundred dependable followers, and always managed to stay just one jump ahead of Saul and his soldiers. This period as a fugitive, almost as an outlaw (David ...

439. When Nothing Can Be Done

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Thomas Long

... is why we American Christians often find our faith weak and our religious expression trivial when contrasted with the vibrant discipleship of Christians around the world who live in places of persecution. Where there are still plots to be hatched, angles to be pursued, human stratagems to be tried, faith struggles to survive. The leper was cut out of all the plots. He had no angles, possessed no stratagems. All he had was leprosy ... and the damning verdict ringing in his ears, "I’m sorry. Nothing can ...

440. Discipleship - Path to Fulfillment

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... is quite another. The selfish quest is unworthy of Christians, whom Christ calls to self-effacing discipleship for the sole purpose of glorifying the Father. II. That is where the priorities of the Kingdom are to be found, in discipleship. When men and women pursue recognition, Jesus points to the path of discipleship. On that path they are called to accept whatever experiences are alloted them by God, experiences equal in severity to those endured by Christ. "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or ...

441. Let’s Climb a Mountain

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... , "This is the trail." They warn the hiker that she must proceed straight ahead, without straying to the right or left, to keep from losing her way. The beatitudes in this, the second cluster of three, tell the traveler to continue to show mercy, to pursue purity, and to strive for righteousness. A. They applaud the compassionate for their works of mercy. "The merciful are the men and women who banish all feelings of revenge and ill will out of their hearts and who seek to cultivate an attitude of love ...

442. Waiting

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... , and that our supreme good lies in the harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto.* * William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, (New York, The New American Library, 1958), p. 58. The Mosaic heritage puts it more concisely. God gave us the law that we might pursue life and not death. In the early days of scripture the law was a collection of specifics that must be obeyed. From the time of David onward, the Law became an over-arching principle of God’s governance, the sum of all the revelations ...

443. Movin’ Around Room

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... one thing to pull them out of their despondency. But, they have come to know if they stay as they are the ten inch leash can only guarantee a kind of death. Without movin’ around room they will die inside, if not all over. They must be free to pursue options and courageous enough to take on possibilities which may turn out to be new things for them. Jesus gives us a beautiful illustration of this. He confronts the crippled man at the Pool of Bethzatha (John 5:2-9). This cripple had been locked in for 38 ...

444. Proper 20

Job 26:1--31:40, James 3:13-18, Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:33-37

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... its mysteries; that we, too, may become truly wise in our recognition of you as awesome Creator, and filled with understanding in our attempt to lead righteous lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Merciful God, we confess that we do not always pursue wisdom or seek understanding, and that when we do, it is often for their own sakes rather than in order to become more godly. Forgive us, we pray. Help us to keep our sights on true wisdom and understanding, so that in the search for these ...

445. "The Sawdust and the Circus"

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

... others, the sight of the fire tended to force the crowd to panic. But most of the circus employees did not panic because they had a purpose, and their purpose was to preserve life. Now we Christians have no disaster march and I don’t want to pursue the analogy too closely because I don’t happen to be among those who think of Christianity as a fire escape, a religion that exists with the negative purpose of saving us from disaster. Jesus again and again talks about the joy of believing, and He stressed ...

446. THE RECONCILED LIFE

Hebrews 9:11-28

Sermon Aid

John W. Rilling

... wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." And in the end he was right. As the drama moves inexorably to the final violent curtain we see Lady Macbeth sleep-walking, her guilt pursuing her even into her dreams and hear her cry; "Out, damned spot! out I say!" 2. THE GREAT ACT OF RECONCILIATION In order to make abundantly clear what it was that Christ did when he appeared as a high priest of good things to come the sacred ...

447. Strengthened For Life

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... men who were complete failures in life. All of these men knew tragedy and heartache. My father knew these men well and shared the story of their lives with me when I was a young teenager. He told me that two of these men felt that God wanted them to pursue a certain course for their lives, but they both turned their backs upon God and sought their own goals. The other man was brought up in a deeply religious home, but as a young man he left the church and vowed he would never return. These men, talented men ...

448. The Technicolor Sign

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Larry Powell

... theological significance because God had blanched it into the personal experience of an individual whose perspective enabled him to gather it in. No longer was it something "natural, which happens all the time," but rather a "sure sign" from God. Let us pursue the matter further. The rainbow was: 1. A Sign of the Covenant Every rainbow is a universal covenant made with Noah, his three sons, and every living creature. In consideration of the fact that Noah’s sons are sometimes symbolically regarded as ...

449. When Ten Equals Two

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Larry Powell

... in the least concerned with such engaging matters as theology or morality. This is not to condemn the sloth for being unable to do what it was not designed to do, but rather to distinguish the animal kingdom from humankind, which was designed to specifically pursue what the animal cannot - theology and morality. Aristotle concluded, "It is characteristic of man that he alone has any sense of good and evil, or just and unjust, and the like." And in one of the pivotal verses of the entire Bible, we read, "So ...

450. In Quest of Fire

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

... holds no monopoly on degeneracy! The priests, the stewards of the "fire," trustees of the "match," had not only forsaken their calling but "quenched the fire." It is not our business, however, to carp about a spiritually insipid priesthood nor a sinfully corrupt generation. To pursue this course would only bring us full circle to what we already know: "All men have fallen short of the glory of God." The point we are after is: How does an entire generation manage to neglect the Spirit of God to the extent ...

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