Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 451 to 475 of 2962 results

Luke 6:20-31

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... ideas teach a new way of giving. They show us that giving is as much about attitude as it is about what is actually given. Jesus turns the world's ideas of what it means to be happy upside down. The very ones who the world has designated as poor and out, are the ones designated by Jesus as the rich! Wait, what does that mean? How can being poor, make a person rich? That just does not make any sense and it is an affront to our senses to be told otherwise. No money, no food, no friends, but blessed — Please ...

452. Mary and Joseph: His Obedient Servants

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... And now to have to treat her like a poisonous weed – the thought of it drove him mad.” (Alexander White, Bible Characters, page 14). Now, let’s look at these persons in the illumination of God’s Word, in the shining light of God’s providential design for the salvation of the world. What big ideas are wrapped in these persons? What do we see for ourselves as we see them as God’s obedient servants? Three truths: Obedience is the only proper response for servants of God. God will not forever leave ...

453. When Everything Becomes "Merely"

Luke 21:25-36

Illustration

John A. Stroman

... lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and ...

454. The Whole Family Survival Kit

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... when The National Geographic Society, IBM, and the Witt Family Foundation launched “The Genographic Project.” Although originally designed to trace the migration patterns of certain indigenous peoples, anyone could participate in the Project. All that was ... together squabbles are going erupt. In the case of the Genographic Project, the very group the study had been specifically designed to analyze, the indigenous peoples of various regions, took extreme offense at the project. They were incensed at the ...

455. A Miracle Child

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ? Let me repeat it, at least this. You are important. No matter how anonymous you may feel, you are a part of God’s drama of redemption and covenant. And we never know, we never know how God is going to use our obedience and faithfulness in his grand design, and that’s the reason I want to focus now on the anonymous persons in this drama, in order that looking at them, you and I might receive God’s call. Look at Moses’ parents now, who at this point are unnamed. Let your imagination go for a moment ...

456. Harmony and Humor: The Ties That Bind Christianity’s Many Christianities

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and that God’s plans for human redemption put them first and foremost. Jesus didn’t do that. Instead he sounded a new note, a more complex chord, a harmonic chord that resonated with God’s universe and God’s design. Instead of “enemies” or “others” Jesus intoned the music of forgiveness, acceptance, repentance, rebirth. Instead of isolating and ostracizing “the other,” Jesus encouraged and welcomed a “oneness” based on inclusion, not exclusion. We are more alike than we are different ...

457. Giving Up

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sense of control you imagine you have over your life? And once you give up and “throw in the towel,” will you find the strength to “throw your hat into the ring” and give it up to a new challenge, a new mission, a God-charted direction and design for your life? What would happen this Lenten season if instead of giving up red meat you gave up the command and control of your life and trusted the old rugged, red cross of the atonement. What would happen if this Lent you gave up thinking that the life ...

458. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... connection between God and the world to be “reconciled,” to find final healing. This reconciliation is only achieved by the actions of the wounded party. Human beings had sinned against God and violated God’s design for life. Only through the active outreach of the Grand Organizing Designer (GOD) can a new relationship can be forged. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross achieved that possibility for reconciliation, and God offers to all who respond in faith to the resurrection what Paul calls “the ...

459. What Matters In the Light of Eternity: “God Matters”

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... beauty of the earth can be celebrated. “We believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth.” When we believe, we see His handiwork in the stars at night and His majesty in the winds by day. When we believe, we celebrate order and design and purpose and meaning. The God who is, acts in the work of creation. II. God Is Personal, Loving, Relational, Righteous, Just In Verse 29 we read, “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver ...

460. Resurrected Glory (Series: Living on the Resurrection Side of Life)

John 17:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Eternal life for John was different. It had to do with quality more than quantity. Eternal life is Godly life, life as God designed it to be. Sandy and I talk a lot more these days. We are trying to make each moment count. The other night I said ... , “What if all this immortality stuff is a hoax? What if it is nothing more than a far-fetched dream designed to soften the blow of death? What if this life is all there is?” Without hesitation Sandy replied, “It wouldn’t change a thing ...

461. Let Everything That Breathes Praise the Lord

Psalm 150:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ? All are questions answered by the psalmist. I. First, where is God to be praised? The psalmist answers that immediately: “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in the mighty firmament of His power!” We begin here - in the sanctuary – in designated places of worship. Now I know we can praise God outside of the sanctuary. I had an unusual time of praise a couple of weeks ago. Paul Piper called and said he was flying down to Hattiesburg for business, and wondered if I would like ...

462. The Ministry of Unbinding

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... our love, we will demonstrate the fact that God loves them. Here is another set of grave clothes that bind many people – the dominating desire to please, to be what others want them to be. How often do we parents press our children into the mold of our design and desire? A lot of the time it is unconscious. I’ve worked hard against this in my own family. Knowing the natural pressures our children are under as preacher’s kids, Jerry and I may have gone too far in the other direction at times. Even so ...

463. The Shared Life of the People of God

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , but trust Christ alone for salvation) from the Israel of God This distinction seems right. Paul is speaking of two groups. No where else did he call the church the Israel of God but always used “Israel” to designate the Jewish nation. There is no reason to think he would use this designation for this solitary occasion. So Paul is including both the Christians and the Jews who have not yet accepted Christ in this prayer. Some translations are punctuated in such a way as to make the prayer one for ...

464. Characteristics of the Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Spirit at Pentecost. That’s the reason we’re spending time during this month of September, as we begin our Fall ministry here at Christ Church, looking at that church that came to birth at Pentecost. We began last Sunday by presenting a Design for Discipleship — a design that included two of the characteristics of the church. That early church about which we read in our scripture lesson today was first of all a learning church, and it was a church of fellowship. Today, let’s continue to look at that ...

465. The World's Best-Known Widow

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I had finished my hospital calls one day, and I could not help noticing a sharp-looking, late-model sports car which stopped at the traffic light alongside me. Visually, it was a thing of beauty! It sat there in sleek elegance, testifying by its design and engineering to its exclusive price tag - undoubtedly some where in at least the $55,000 to $75,000 range. Its driver’s identity lay hidden behind shaded windows. But the mere presence of it bespoke a certain air of individuality and distinction for its ...

466. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... butterflies will soon be free. In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. All of creation speaks of resurrection! Even now it unfolds before us. William Cullen Bryant reasoned, if the Father designs to touch with divine power the cold and pulseless heart of a buried acorn and make it burst forth from the prison wall, will he leave neglected the soul of a person who is made in the image of the Creator? If he gives to the rose ...

467. The Constant God in a Changing World

Psalm 48:1, 9-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , as well. How shall I spend my time, my money, my talents and abilities? By paying attention, we can discover the hopes and desires of God's heart. It's only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God's design, But I cannot unfold the petal, with these clumsy hands of mine. If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower of God's design, Then how can I have the wisdom to unfold this life of mine? So I'll trust in God for leading each moment of my day, I will look to God for guidance, in each step of my ...

468. When God Builds the House

Psalm 127:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... forget our calling. May we never forget our purpose for being. Offer them Christ. The Werner Art Center on the campus of Ohio State University is a fascinating building designed with a post- modern view of reality. The building has no pattern. There are staircases that go nowhere. There are pillars that support nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect his view of life that was mindless and senseless. A visitor to the center asked the guide, “Did they do the same thing with the foundation ...

469. The Real Real Estate

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the phone to their ear. The simple act of putting your iPhone to your head blocks the signal and causes calls to be dropped. Apple has been all over this issue. You betcha. The problem, they insist, is NOT a design flaw. It is an issue of user patterning. In other words, their phone design is not the problem, YOU, the consumer, are the problem. The “fix” that Apple is distributing is a free cover, a kind of rubber bumper think band-aid -which will protect the antennae from you, the faulty user, covering ...

470. A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... They do magnificent work. Some of them have made a real impact on society. Frank Lloyd Wright was at one time probably the world’s best known architect. On every continent he was recognized for his genius in designing great buildings. So it was no surprise that the nation of Japan asked Wright to design a hotel for Tokyo that would be capable of surviving an earthquake. When Frank Lloyd Wright visited Japan to see where this hotel, to be known as the Imperial Hotel, would be built, he was appalled to find ...

471. Hunger and Politics

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... s distant face. In other words, said Hull, we are all somewhat blinded, and we need to use things like the scriptures and the person of Jesus to help us take first steps toward making a smile happen between ourselves and God. In this, he echoed Matthew's design in writing the gospel. Those of us who did not originally stand with Jesus in that ancient wilderness are no less hungry than they were. We are all looking for meaning in our lives. To a person we are searchers on a quest for purpose or identity. The ...

472. Does God Have Fun?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... inside, uses its teeth to dig into the branch, and then it sticks its finger into hole and pulls out the bugs to eat! When God created each animal, he thought carefully about how each would be designed. Looking at the aye-aye, it’s easy to imagine that God was having fun when he designed it. Exhibit C: crocuses. (Show the picture of the crocuses.) Crocuses are flowers that grow from bulbs instead of seeds. They bloom fairly early in the year, sometimes while there is still snow on the ground. Many people ...

473. Dress For Faithfulness

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... could get up every morning and put on this special suit that would protect you and your family from the confusion, harshness, brutality and coldness of the everyday world? Well, we may not have a physical suit of armor but Paul describes a spiritual armor that is designed just for that purpose. The world tells us to "Dress For Success" but listen to how Paul tells us to "Dress For Faithfulness." Ephesians 6:10-20 (NRSV) [10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. [11] Put on the ...

474. Fighting Back Against Falling Back

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , it often happens that a weaver makes a mistake. But when a mistake is made, instead of pulling the work out to correct the error, the master-weaver finds some way to incorporate the error into the pattern. Experts say that the exceptional beauty of complex design in the rugs often is due to the skill of mater-weavers in turning mistakes into works of art. That’s integrity. Each of us has the God-given potential to become a uniquely beautiful masterwork of God’s creative art. We are apprentices to the ...

475. Broken Dreams

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

King Duncan

... auction block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a "bed-bug buster" or an "illuminated cat" that was designed to scare away mice. Then there was a device to prevent snoring. It consisted of a trumpet that reached from the mouth to the ear; and was designed to awaken the snorer and not the neighbors. And then there was the adjustable pulpit that could be raised or lowered according to the height of the preacher. Needless to say, this ...

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