Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 426 to 450 of 4943 results

426. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Faith

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... , together with the rhythmical structure of the passage, may indicate a pre-Pauline formula which has left its mark also on Acts (Bruce). This is not to say, of course, that Paul could not or did not make the language his own. There is ample evidence of his readiness to take up a form of words from the tradition and to incorporate it into his own writing or preaching (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:23–26; 15:3–8).

427. Jesus Predicts His Death

Mark 8:31--9:1

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... that Peter’s attempt to persuade him not to follow a path of humiliation was a genuine temptation that had to be rejected forcefully. 8:34 Deny himself: This means that the disciple must be willing to lose all for the sake of following Jesus. Take up his cross refers to the practice of making the condemned person carry the crossbeam upon which he was to be tied or nailed at the place of his execution. Death by crucifixion was a Roman execution by state authorities, familiar in ancient Jewish life on ...

428. Haunted

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and anxiety. Sounds like a “fun” message, right? It may not be a fun message, but it’s an important one, one that allows us to look at the inner landscape of our minds and discern what “monsters” and “disembodied voices” we’ve allowed to take up residence in our heads. The story also helps us to understand “sin” in a different way than perhaps we have before. The passage begins with a haunting! Herod is spooked. I mean really spooked! He believes he’s seeing a “ghost.” And it’s ...

429. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Mark 9:30-37 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Psalm 1

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... come to visit — to people who do not have homes to which they can welcome us in return. Jesus told his disciples that there was no quid pro quo offered to those who follow him. And yet… and yet… I assure you that there is compensation to taking up one’s cross and following Christ. And there is compensation for those who agree to serve as deacons and elders in this congregation. Let me very clear about this right now — the compensation I speak of is not monetary. No one will make any money by being ...

430. I Love My Church

1 Chronicles 29:3

Sermon

James Merritt

... to come to church, even come every Sunday, and still neglect the church. There are many people who come to church and basically just take up space. The only thing they do contribute to the church is their presence. They don't give, they don't work, they don't ... Empire has stood for; no survival for the urgent impulse of the ages; that mankind will move forward toward its goals. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. But the way ...

431. Are You Able?

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... this Holy Week. Are you able to drink the cup I am going to drink? asked Jesus as the disciples shuffled for position. Can we walk the road Jesus walked, the Via Delarosa, the way of sorrows? Can we eat the bread of brokenness? Can we take up the cross and follow Jesus? Sobering questions, serious questions, the kind of questions that crack open a hardened heart and lay bare the tendons of the spiritual life. The kind of questions to be asked on Maundy Thursday. In a Tom Wilson cartoon, Ziggy is looking ...

432. Metaphors Be with You

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... what it looks like to live a full, robust, authentic, eternal life. And he voluntarily went to the cross, and gave his life, so that we might come to know on that third day after, that death has no power over us, that our lives are gifts of God to take up and lay down as we choose. I don’t suppose we can talk about bread as a metaphor without thinking of Holy Communion and the bread and wine that are part of that powerful, metaphorical ritual that is to the Body of Christ what the spine is to our bodies ...

433. Behold The Man Who Tried To Be King

Matthew 21:1-10

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... were curious. They just wanted to find out what was going on. Allegiance to him cost nothing. However, all along the way Jesus had been saying it does cost something. It costs everything. So it was that he said, "If any man would come after me let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. He who tries to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it. No one can serve two masters for he will hate the one and love the other." Like the crowd in Jerusalem on that ...

434. Magnify Your Ministry!

Romans 11:11-24

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ..." (6:14). Like Jesus, Paul saw his ministry as his cross to bear and he bore it gladly. He took Jesus’ words personally and seriously. "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Paul’s attitude of personal responsibility must he a pointer for all of us who would follow in his footsteps. We Christians are called to be modern counterparts of Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to help carry ...

435. What Do You Think You’re Worth?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... ourselves? Jesus said that we must hate ourselves as a condition of being a follower of his. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate ... even his own life he cannot be my disciple." At another time, Jesus taught that a disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him - if he wanted to be a disciple. It is denying self, not affirming, exalting, confirming self but saying "no" to self. That doesn’t sound very modern, does it? The greatest Christians have all had a very low opinion of their ...

436. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... receive his Gospel. Today, in the twentieth century, the issue of world poverty is still with us. Our present political tendency to close off help to the poor in America makes it even more important that the non-profit part of our society - like our congregation - take up the clothing and feeding of our land. Surely Francis’ embrace of the poor calls us to embrace the poor of our world. Not only the world’s hungry - as if starving people are not enough to care for! We must also be concerned about the ...

437. The Path To Real Success

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... into action. In the comic strip, BEETLE BAILEY, the general looks at his office staff, who are leaning on their elbows at their desks, and immediately changes a wall sign from THINK to ACT. Jesus says to us, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." I wonder if it's even possible to speak to this generation about self-denial. After all, we are the ME generation. "I've got to find myself," we say. "I've got to do my own thing. I will buy only the finest ...

438. Proper 19

Exodus 13:17--14:31, Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... the human enemies who try to thwart the freedom of the people of God. NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS The lesson from Romans works to establish the basis of Christians accepting other believers who are markedly different in their patterns of piety. The reading from Matthew takes up the theme of forgiveness, making the point that we are to be boundless and Godlike in extending grace to others. Romans 14:1-12 - "Acceptable Despite Real Differences" Setting. The lesson for this Sunday comes in the larger section of Paul's ...

439. Food For Thought

1 Peter 1:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... troubles that daily living brings. The reason why Peter said we are to "gird up the loins of our mind" is because, in his day, men wore long flowing robes. Whenever they would walk, particularly if they needed to travel from one place to another quickly, they would take up the ends of their robe and stick them in a belt or, what was called then, a girdle. This is the picture Peter is painting here. Today we would say "Roll up your sleeves." In other words, get your mental act together; fix your focus on the ...

440. Once Save - Always Saved

John 10:27-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... they would never "backslide." A Christian may stumble, he may slide, he may stagger, he may trip up occasionally, and he will sin sometimes. But he will never lose his salvation because of it. I read about an eighty-five year old woman who decided to take up skydiving, and after she attended instruction classes, the day came for her first jump. Strapping on a parachute, she stood awaiting her turn to leap out of that plane. But when she looked out at that ground, 8,000 ft. below, she lost her nerve. Finally ...

441. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... have to be recuperated and refreshed but there are right and wholesome ways of this occurring. It can't be done by breaking the Ten Commandments, just to test their validity! Vacations are not vacations from God. We can't stop running the race and then take up where we left off two or three weeks earlier. When we do our observations of others and ourselves, don't we usually find the erosion is little by little? The monster who desires our soul is generally a timid little shrewd fellow. The Judas Iscariots ...

442. Prophets or Professionals?

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you actually know and care about, you respond to the caller with conversation. Before you know it, you've spent 10 minutes listening to a long-winded sales pitch. If the caller is really good, he or she then tries to make you feel guilty for taking up all his or her time by listening, and shame you into signing up for whatever the person is selling. Being polite doesn't help. Politeness only eggs the person on. Being firm only makes the caller more determined. The only recourse we are really left with ...

443. We Hold These Truths To Be Essential

1 Peter 3:8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... this fellowship? Just move with it. But, let me be perfectly honest with you. We will settle for nothing less than helping you be formed in the image of Jesus Christ. This same Jesus began saying to people, “If you want to be my disciple, then deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me." It was the same Jesus who said to people, “You have got to reshape your mind and your thoughts." And it was the same Church who began to say, “Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus, our Lord." It ...

444. Good Gossip

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... called to be, in front of the whole community of faith. Only those who have managed to “bridle” their own tongues, to voluntarily put a bit in their own mouths, turning control of themselves over wholly to another master: only those individuals should take up the title of “teacher.” “Teachers,” however they are defined by the title, are those whose voices resonate and influence far beyond themselves. Gang leaders in every city, who live the creed of violence and cruelty as the only way to garner ...

445. To the Rescue

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... lot of biographies. When you read the biography of any famous person, even if they are dead, they were somehow unique, unusual, or different. It will only be a very tiny part of their story, but four biographies were written about Jesus and the story of His death takes up one-third of each of those biographies. Why is the cross so important? Why is the cross the symbol of the Christian faith? What is it about the cross that enabled Jesus to come to our rescue? For that answer we turn to another book of the ...

446. In Awe of Christ

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the glory that awaits us. The disciples viewed that glory in a deep and dramatic way, and it transformed their lives. That is what is important to us today. Before we can be transfigured, we must be transformed. Before we can put on his glory, we must take up his cross. Before we can be resurrected we must be willing to die. But how does it happen? How can that transformation take place in our lives? There are three important steps. First of all, we are transformed when we see Jesus as he really is. It ...

447. Generic Christians Or Disciples?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... significant for Christ in their everyday lives. (2) They are no longer generic Christians. They are on their way to being disciples. This brings us to a second important truth. Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." THERE IS A COST INVOLVED IN FOLLOWING JESUS. William Hinson tells about a breakfast he had with a man who had a very prosperous business. The businessman recently had become a Christian. It did not take him long to ...

448. Beware of Crowds

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... won't find him among the crowds in Galilee where he is working miracles. But if you want to know who he is, then you will find him in Jerusalem, on a cross. And furthermore he told the disciples, "If you want to know who I am, then you must take up your cross, and follow me to Jerusalem." He said that to disciples, not to the crowds. The crowds are in Galilee. The crowds are filled with people who are sick and have great needs. Jesus had pity on them. He did whatever is necessary to heal them, and made no ...

449. Dying to Live

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... sentence of death.” Levine answered: “We communists are always under the sentence of death.” That is another thing that it meant to be a communist, said Chambers. (What was that Jesus said about “IF any man come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow.”) The Russian was a pre-communist revolutionist named Kalyaev. He was arrested for a minor part in the assassination of the Tsarist Prime Minister, von Plehve. He was sent into Siberian exile to one of the worst prison ...

450. A Vision of Beauty and Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... passage read, “The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” In the Garden of Eden, God set forth the original design for humanity. God created Adam and Eve to live in a relationship of trust with God and with each other. When we rejected God ...

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