Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4551 to 4575 of 4681 results

4551. Resurrecticity

John 20:1-18 · Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... or word ending is attached to an adjective, turning it into a noun focusing on the character, essence or substance of the noun. It occurs to me that you may be thinking that you didn’t come here on this Easter Sunday to get an English grammar lesson, but bear with me as we go back to Erma and her parrot. Unfortunately, Erma did not have what? “Bird-icity?” In other words, she did not understand the character or essence of having a bird in the house. Thus, she didn’t realize that it wouldn’t live ...

4552. Provoked

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... up from the core of their self-righteous spirits. Dark cloud indeed! This was a storm like no other![1] It’s clear in Luke’s scripture (and Luke makes sure we realize this) that Jesus has just deliberately provoked this backlash. He poked the bear, so to speak. Why? Here’s where Jesus’ personality, the one we saw forming already when he was twelve years old, comes rapidly into focus. He’s not interested in being liked. He’s interested in proclaiming God’s mission. He IS the two-edged sword ...

4553. Hold the Candy

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Mary Austin

... do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy ...

4554. Summertime Praise

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... prayer, St. Augustine says that, despite our mortality, we ''still desire to praise thee'': ''Great art thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is thy power, and infinite is thy wisdom." We desire to praise thee, for we are a part of thy creation; we bear morality about us and carry the evidence of our sin.... Still we desire to praise thee, we who are only a small part of thy creation. Thou hast prompted us, that we should delight to praise thee, for thou hast made us for thyself and restless are ...

4555. True Worship

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

... student. To tell you the truth, when I got the letter, I had to think a minute even to remember him. I recalled him as a quite, self-effacing student in a preaching class of mine. He wrote to say that, for the past six years he had been bearing great resentment toward me. I had said things to him in class, criticisms of his sermons, which cut him very deeply, so deeply that he had considered leaving the ministry. He had gone home from my class tormented and enraged on many an occasion. He hated me. Yet he ...

4556. Rock Stars at the Top

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... come. He would lead his true followers out of the bondage of Egypt (sin) and create them as the delivered covenant people of God. As Reuben Welch observed, “And to this great new deliverance through the death of Messiah both the law and prophets bear witness.” Third, the character of Jesus represents salvation. The talk on the mountain revolved around his death, but the glory of his resurrection was the promise of the power for eternal life for all who would accept him. Salvation is God’s work as ...

4557. Selling the Cross

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... unflinchingly for their sake. That was the source of Jesus’ courage too. Jesus knew he was deeply loved by God; that was the source of his strength. And Jesus loved God and us deeply; that was the source of his courage. There was no pain he would not bear to show his love for us. And now he calls his followers to show that same level of courage in loving others in his name. In 1947, evangelist Bob Pierce held a series of preaching events with Youth for Christ in China. He got the opportunity to preach ...

4558. The Way of the Fox and the Way of the Lamb

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Jesus despite threat of injury, torture, or death, the way of people around the world still today, who would give up their lives for the sake of the gospel. Today, in this time of Lent, as Jesus slowly makes his way to face his accusers, and to bear the cross, may you feel the power of Jesus’ sacrificial love, and may you too follow the Way, Truth, and Life of God’s holy Lamb. [1] Interestingly, the “wolf,” who disguises himself as a sheep (false prophet) stands in opposition to Jacob (the true but ...

4559. The Long and Dusty Road

Luke 19:28-40 · Psalm 31:9-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . God’s plan for humanity would prevail, no matter how loudly Jesus’ foes might protest. Solid as a rock, God’s promise would be invincible. God’s Word would last forever. We began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday, the day in which we bear the dust of our origins and hear the words from Genesis 3:19: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” And we come now to Palm Sunday, in which God’s incarnational “dust” and God’s eternal “stone” collide in a beautiful ...

4560. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

... they are not our greatest men. Young man, remember that you never heard of a great man holding any political office in this country unless he took that office at an expense to himself. It is a loss to every great man to take a public office in our country. Bear this in mind, young man, that you cannot be made great by a political election. Another young man says, "I am going to be a great man in Philadelphia some time." "Is that so? When are you going to be great?" "When there comes another war! When we get ...

4561. Preachers, All!

Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Will Willimon

... to be preachers. They are the ones who speak on Sunday morning so that the rest of us may speak about Jesus Monday through Saturday morning. The preacher preaches, so that the congregation may preach. Like it or not, if you are a Christian, you are called to bear witness, to testify to the hope that is within you, to tell people about Jesus. I admit that I have an easier task of being a preacher than you have of being a preacher. When I speak, I am protected by this robe, this stole, and this granite ...

4562. The Gift

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... and stay out of politics. Isn't this what religion is, a bit of inspiration? Religion makes us feel better about our situation without changing it. But this was not the gift that they got. What they got was Jesus. Here was one who, as the scriptures said, would bear the government on his shoulders. He would be a prince, but a prince unlike worldly rulers. He is a prince of peace. He would be a disturber of the status quo, one who would call people to help him turn the world upside down. This is the gift ...

4563. Partners with the Divine

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... and service for the whole world? I believe that in this moment we are called to a deeper relationship with God. Maybe we are even called into a partnership with trust, love and common purpose. Maybe, just maybe, at the end of the day our partnership with the divine will bear the fruit of healing, hope, and salvation. Amen.

4564. Three In One

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... in his earthly life, but he had more wisdom to impart to his followers. He also decided to stop and pray for them (and us). In the midst of that, he admitted to the disciples that he still had a lot more to say — “more than you can now bear” (John 16:12). At that point, he reiterated to them that he would be sending the Holy Spirit — who he referred to as the Spirit of truth. That Spirit will “guide you into all the truth” (v. 13). This is a theme that runs throughout his discourse with them ...

4565. Fear and Blessing

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

... out into the woods and end it all at nineteen rather than go home with a B in Chemistry. No, the Psalmist is not right, if he or she presumes that blessing, happiness, and perpetual well-being is the automatic fruit of marriage, family, child-bearing, and parent-pleasing. Even good marriages, faithful families, and grateful children find the world a good deal more awesome than that. And yet, the Psalmist has a point: The “fear of the Lord” helps us make sense of it, helps us live the mystery without ...

4566. God So Loved

John 3:16-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

... -dinner martini or a chocolate bar that we are here. It was love that put us in this parade. We kneel not as miserable worms but as those brought to their knees by the sheer wonder of the gift. It was not to condemn us that our Lord bid us bear his cross, but to save us. We are here not as the lost but as the found. The cross is heavy, and clouds gather, and we shall have more days for honesty, more Sundays to examine our lives again and to pray for the courage to be truthful about all ...

4567. We Have Waited

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , this time soaring like a shout up from the grave, cascade of light pouring forth, all creation stupefied by the wonder of it. Resurrection. Wishful thinking? Pie in the sky? No. Not for those who have waited. God, having waited and waited with humanity, determined to bear the cross all the way, this God who wins victories through losing, goes to the limit of love, ahead of us into the night and through it. I'll tell you a mystery: One bright Paschal day, so Jesus' favorite prophet tells it, one day the ...

4568. Shameless!

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... on our own. We can figure everything out. We can put on our thinking caps and arrive at the best solution. Other times, we try the wisdom of the world. Occasionally, we’ll meet with the townspeople. Surely, they’ll have an answer for us. I think it bears being said that these various avenues may well be how God answers our prayers from time to time. But the point of the parable is this. We should go to him first. Because we are bold and audacious enough to believe he is the overall answer to any ...

4569. I’ve Come To Bring Fire

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... parables that chided them to be wary and ready for service at all times. Then he came out with the fire and brimstone statement. It may have been a shocker for many who were gathered there that day. He not only said he was going to bring flames to bear, but he wished out loud that the fire had already been ignited. He implied that the only reason this hadn’t happened as yet was because of the “baptism” he was about to undergo. His hands were tied until he had gone through that baptism. We can only ...

4570. Being Different

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John Jamison

... for the walk back home. But today, while she was at the well, Matthew told us an angel appeared to her with the message that she was going to have a child. God had selected her of all of the young girls in the entire world for the honor of bearing a child given her by the Holy Spirit. We remember this story every year and smile as we think of the great things that came from Mary’s role. She is remembered by many as one of the most important women in history. She is held up as a model ...

4571. Ponder This!

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

John Jamison

... deal with the beggars. The roads filled with travelers attracted every kind of beggar from throughout the land. Mary and Joseph would have been constantly approached by those with their hands out…the lame, the blind, the lepers. According to the laws, a woman bearing a child who is touched by the unclean should immediately bathe herself or risk becoming unclean herself. But there were no ritual bath-houses along the roads. Joseph did his best to protect her, but the roads were crowded. And as they passed ...

4572. Missing!

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a good amount of money and it holds relational and sentimental value for you. You may be overjoyed at finding a family heirloom that has been missing for years and has only just been recovered. Your child may cry rivers of tears on the loss of a cherished stuffed bear or rabbit. But all of these pale in comparison to losing someone dear to you. Think about it. How many of you can recall the sense of panic when you’re in a store, look around, and the child who was behind you one second ago has seemed to ...

4573. Out of the Darkness

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... if someone presses the wrong button—rests on faith in a Bethlehem newborn destined to live only thirty-three years?” (4) Yes, that is what we believe. The God of all creation came to a humble maiden in an obscure village called Nazareth and told her that she would bear a child. That child is the hope of this world. Of course, that child is not only the hope of the world; he is the hope of each of us gathered here this day. Just a few years ago a devoted pastor named Ron Mehl lost his twenty-three year ...

4574. Response Ability

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , redeem us, and save us from ourselves. But this covenant has another side. Our responsibility in this covenant is to love God first, and our neighbor second, to follow Jesus as his disciple, and to carry out God’s mission in the world –to bear the fruit of God’s covenant to all generations. We are justified in faith, but this does not free us of our discipleship responsibilities. In fact, it solidifies them. When we commit to God, in baptism, in confirmation, and each time we receive Holy Communion ...

4575. A Trick Resurrection

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her and the first born whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name is not be blotted out of Israel. But, if the man has no desire to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, “My ...

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