Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 451 to 475 of 4999 results

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... thing that’ll keep my head up. If I don’t remember who I am in him, I’m done.” (5) It was important for Mary J. Blige to find Jesus. I believe you will agree with me on that. But, you think to yourself, “I don’t have her kinds of problems. What difference does it make to me whether I become one of Christ’s followers, rather than being just an ‘of course’ Christian? What difference does it make whether I become one who really is affected by Christ’s presence in my life?” Let me ask you ...

452. Homesick For a Future: New Life for the New Millenium

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... how it is as a pastor. I was a part of the lives of many people, and they were a part of mine. It was the kind of congregation that most ministers dream of serving. I loved my people. I felt loved. I was secure. I had meaning. I was “on top” and ... and a promise of a new race, our spiritual understanding is severely blurred; we are sick, perhaps sick unto death. It was this kind of call and witness of scripture that led John Wesley to say that the distinctive mark of a Methodist Christian is “holiness of ...

453. In the Wrong Place At the Right Time

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... life does to us that really matters, it is what by the Holy Spirit we do with what life does to us that makes the difference. A lot of it has to do with how we see life and time. In the Christian view of reality there are two kinds of time: preparation and fulfillment. We get this from the Bible, from the Hebrew understanding of time. The Greeks saw time as a series of neutral modules void of any connection or sign or significance -- just one thing after another with no meaning. The Romans thought life was ...

454. Peacemaking and Self Control

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... 't love him.’ That lawyer put his finger on one of the great challenges of the Christian life: Everybody wants to be loved, but on the other hand, many never experience it. That's why we need to learn to love as Christ loves, unconditionally. We can't manufacture that kind of love. It only comes from God; and it's a love that draws people to Christ. I prayed with that attorney. The next morning, he told his partner, "I've become a Christian, and I want you to forgive me for all I've done to you, and to ...

455. Loving Like God Loves

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... your enemy is an enemy of God just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy precisely because he can find nothing in you that gives glory to God. Perhaps he fears you because he can find nothing in you of God's love and God's kindness and God's patience and mercy and understanding of the weakness of men. Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God. For it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and sensuality and selfishness that have killed ...

456. With a Song in Your Heart

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

James L. Killen

... that hymn with confidence has plenty to be happy about, no matter what is going on in his or her life. Can you sing that kind of a song? It makes a difference what song your heart sings. A certain man who served in the Air Corps during the Second World ... make that choice in the absence of any conclusive evidence about which is the "right" song. A big part of choosing a song is choosing what kind of life we want to live. That gives us good reason to dare to believe what God has shown to us about the meaning of ...

457. Removing Obstacles

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... perceive to be the "in" group in the church, do you resent those who are? Do you let that resentment get in the way of your participation in the life and fellowship of the church? Are there some members of the church you wish would go away? Are there some kinds of people you hope will not come to your church? These attitudes can be very subtle. They can work in our lives without our ever recognizing them for what they are. But they can play havoc with the ability of the church to witness to the love of God ...

458. Dealing with Criticism

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

James L. Killen

... vicious criticism that comes from people who believe that what you are saying or doing will somehow be to their disadvantage and will say or do any mean thing they can to discredit you, whether or not it is true. It is not always easy to know which kind of criticism you are receiving. Some of the most heroic people, in this regard, are those people of high principles who go into politics in the hope of making a difference for the good of all people. They must know when they venture out into that commitment ...

459. If I Were a Rich Man

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... devastating critique of the popular notion of how you get it. Money is a tool, an instrument, the means to an end. You can do all kinds of things with money. It is often said, "Money is the root of all evil." That comes from the Bible, from I Timothy, only that's ... the good man. Once more, he can prove it. He's got wealth, he's got the credentials, which was to say, he was living the kind of life God wants him to live, and therefore God has blessed him. In Mark he is simply referred to as a "man" who comes to ...

460. Joy to the World

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... before the sun set on Friday, the beginning of the Sabbath. The Law prohibited burying anyone on the Sabbath, so they just put his body in this tomb. Now these women came to do the proper and decent thing. They did it, I suspect, out of habit. They were the kind who just take care of those things. They assumed that it was all over. It had ended on Friday. They got to the place where he was laid, Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. He is not there. An angel is there. The angel announces, "He is risen. Go tell the ...

461. Moving on Up

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... Don’t even think about it...” Now that’s status. That is what wealth can bring to you, that kind of power. Even churches are ranked according to status. It is everywhere. It’s endemic. It’s ubiquitous. Status consciousness ... was really proud of it. He was also proud that as this person with all these credentials, he was volunteering to help the poor. It was the kind of thing people would sit up and take notice of. He arrived at the premises of the Catholic Worker. He asked to see Dorothy Day. He went ...

462. Stay in the City

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , God loves us as his children, and calls us to lead a life that is worthy of our birthright as heirs of eternal life through Jesus Christ. That is how they did it. Just a handful of them, who stayed in the city and received power to live a different kind of life, a life that attracted others to the Church. Then I asked myself, is it too naive to assume that the Church could do that today? Do you think that it will ever be said again of Christians, "They are turning the world upside down"? Well they did it ...

463. The Sin of Being Less

Colossians 3:1-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... can't do it. I'm not strong enough." It is a sin to despair. "This has happened to me, and there is nothing I can do about it." Now I want to be sensitive to the fact that there are people who are so deep in bondage of one kind or another that they cannot walk out of that bondage alone. But they can still do something. They can still reach out to somebody else. This church has a NewLifeCenter with counselors to take the hand of those who reach out for professional pastoral counseling. There is such a thing ...

464. You Can't Win them All

Matthew 10:2-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... consistent in Jesus' teaching it was to give away everything that you have to the poor, take up a cross, and follow me. That is not the kind of advice that you frame and put on the wall. Jesus did not promise success in this world. He promised that we would triumph over this world ... , like success, that demand so much from us. By the "world," he meant false promises that lead you away from the kind of life that God created you to live. And by the "world," he meant the deception that seduces you into believing ...

465. Two Worlds

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

James McCormick

... at? “You and I are living today in a world God did not make. He allowed it, but He did not make it.” I. What kind of world am I talking about? First, it’s a hungry, sick, and hurting world. Thousands of people die each day from starvation or disease ... a world God did not make. He allowed it, but He did not make it.” II. The question is, what can we do about it? In our kind of world, it’s easy to feel helpless, to feel that the world is running us instead of us running the world. It’s easy to feel ...

466. Thanksgiving Is a Choice

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

James McCormick

... his whittling and spitting, “I imagine you’ll find these people to be pretty much the same.” The next day another family came to the town and found the same local man sitting on the fence. They asked the same question with the same response, “What kind of people live in the town you just left. They replied, ”They were warm people, friendly people, helpful in every way!” The man on the fence replied, “Well, I imagine you’ll find these people to be pretty much the same.” You see, no matter ...

467. In Life Nothing Works but the Impossible

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... .” Jesus saved Joseph---from doubt, despair, and grief, while he was still in the womb. We think of the baby Jesus as a sign of “Emmanuel”—-a sign of “God with us”—but not as a powerful, saving figure. The baby Jesus is just a kind of “baby God.” But that is not what Matthew’s gospel tells us. God’s saving power worked through the word-made-flesh, the divine-made-human, even as that “human” part was still being formed. Maybe that great theologian Will Ferrell, playing the crazy ...

468. Proper 16

Exodus 1:1-22, Matthew 16:13-20, Romans 12:1-8, Psalm 124:1-8

Sermon Aid

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

... the result of our own musings as it is the outcome of the work of God in our lives. These four characteristics or dimensions of faith are the basis of the words of Jesus to Simon Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!" As we manifest the kind of faith expressed by Peter, we too can count on hearing the blessing of our Lord. Yet, Matthew structures this passage in such a way as to show us that faith is not merely static, not merely something we have that brings us a divine blessing. Having recognized ...

469. Changed Lives - Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the songs he learned there was the old Gospel tune, “He’s The Lily of the Valley.” So for a while that song became a kind of mantra for him, and he’d be singing it on his dog walks: “I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me, He ... of the songs he learned there was the old Gospel tune, “He’s The Lily of the Valley.” So for a while that song became a kind of mantra for him, and he’d be singing it on his dog walks: “I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me, He ...

470. When Tragedy Strikes

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

James W. Moore

... to his family, to his friends, and to his God. Daily, he lived the faith of loving God and loving other people. Jerry knew how to say "I love you" and "thank you." He knew how to encourage others, especially those who needed a gentle touch or a kind word or a tender hug. He saw the one who was being excluded… and he had the courage and the ability to reach out and gently bring that person into the circle. He was always thinking of others. Last Sunday evening when the medical examiner in Colorado called ...

471. I Love My Church

1 Chronicles 29:3

Sermon

James Merritt

... House of Commons to give his first address, this is what he said: I would say to the House, as I say to those who have joined this Government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.' We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war by sea, land, and air with all our might, and with all the strength God can give us: to wage war against a ...

472. Mom: The Heart of a Godly Family

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... future, and because of her faithfulness she does not fear the future. The fact of the matter is, God's hand is on the godly woman in a mighty and a powerful way. p. Demeanor "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness." (v.26) Nobody sets the atmosphere in the home more than the mother does. She does not yell, scream, or raise her voice (at least, not too often). Her voice is like soothing music which sweetens the atmosphere of the home. She says the right thing because she ...

473. With Malice toward None, With Charity for All

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James Merritt

... , but being perfect in our love. Now I know that there are many who look at a statement like this and say, "That is impossible," but I know it is not. Because whatever God demands from us, God delivers to us. You see, I have told you before, the only kind of love that can love our enemies is a divine love. But guess what? When the Lord Jesus comes into your heart and you become a true child of God, and therefore, like your Father, you have that love. Rom. 5:5 says, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the ...

474. Toward the Cross

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to Jerusalem today, he would still weep—weep for a city and a world which can't see and doesn't know the things that make for peace. Jesus comes…riding on a donkey. 2. AND JESUS COMES, RIDING TOWARD THE CROSS. The first question of this day was, "What kind of a Messiah will he be?" And as he mounts the donkey, the second reasonable, logical question is, "How far will he go?" The question really goes all the way back to the beginning of his life, all the way back to the beginning of the Gospel. When God ...

475. Give me a C...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... " sounding cheers. Have you ever been swept up in a wave? No, not an ocean wave at the beach, but the kind of "wave" that sweeps through a football stadium, or the baseball stands or a hockey rink. It's an exhilarating crowd ... on an apparent weakness as a source of strength. This is called the "we were so poor..." boast. Middle-class adults are most prone to this kind of bragging. In order to make ourselves feel good about where we are on the economic ladder, we emphasize just how deep the hole was that ...

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