Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4926 to 4950 of 4977 results

4926. Sow's Ears And Silk Purses

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... beginning his ministry with such an invitation to drunkenness. Nor is it much comfort to construe the wine as unfermented grape juice. In the first place, the Greek word is wine, and in the second place any effort in those pre-pasteurized days to keep grape juice free from the yeasts of the air would have been futile. It was wine all right. Despite Mr. Welch, who first produced an unfermented beverage for Methodist communion services, the wine of the last supper was also precisely that -- wine. For those ...

4927. Why Be Good?

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... Lockhorns stay hitched because between cartoon sketches they must somehow forgive each other. Forgiveness must be offered and accepted a thousand times a day. Who among us does not drop the hurtful word, stand in judgment, throw the dart that is meant to wound, keep the upper hand by trying to make someone else feel slightly guilty, use any emotional device available to us to stay in control? Who among us has not been cruel, or heartless, or vengeful, all the time thinking that our cruelty was kindness, our ...

4928. The Hands And Arms Of Grace

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... and when the money ran out, so did the drugs and booze and the friends. He ended up working as a busboy for Wayne Newton, so he could pay off his gambling debts, and he had to eat the leftover food on the plates he cleaned from the table to keep alive. One day, while gnawing on a leftover rib, he realized how foolish he had been and wrote home to dad for help. Without a moment's hesitation and without reading the whole letter which was full of apologies and regrets, dad sent a first class plane ticket back ...

4929. Getting and Giving

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... saw how the young prince and princess had begun to share their gifts with all who lived in the kingdom, they finally trusted them to rule. The children never forgot the lesson they learned. Each year, their love led them to give a little more, and to keep a little less. And their hearts danced. I realize that the sermon this morning sounds dangerously close to being a stewardship sermon (and here you thought it was safe to come to church in spring). If that's how it sounded to you, then, perhaps, you have ...

4930. The Peace That Invades

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... Peace." How often the ears of the world have heard the vain promises: "This is the war to end all wars." How could we have dreamed the dreams of peace by building world organizations such as the "United Nations" and calling together "Peace Keeping Forces." How often we have listened to the rhetoric of world leaders claim that peace can be insured through greater arms, more powerful bombs, larger defense budgets. We have listened, we have acquiesced, we have nodded hopefully but peace still eludes us. Jesus ...

4931. Ashamed To Beg

Luke 16:1-15

Illustration

John G. Lynn

... to manage his office work force. Outside he was a friendly, generous person. In the office he was the same way and his workers flattened him out, like steamrollers over an asphalt road. He worked long, long hours; he holed himself up behind his desk to keep all the records accurate; he just about wore himself out. Finally his friends told him, "Steve, you'd better get out of that job. You're not yourself anymore. Those people are eating you alive and you're not getting anywhere." He protested, "But it's ...

4932. Before The Sun Sets

Ephesians 4:1-16

Illustration

Staff

... that had been bothering her for a week now. Why, she wanted to know, did he insist on stating his opinion publicly? Why couldn't he simply remain quiet instead of having to always speak? She had been brought up in a home where she had been taught to keep opinions to one's self. People didn't care what you thought. That's what she'd been taught by her parents. For all of her life she had followed their instruction. She couldn't remember a time when she had stated an opinion publicly. Granted, in their own ...

4933. A Double Recipe

John 6:25-59

Illustration

CSS

... . He was writing a piece for the parish newsletter and wondered what the committee had decided on the theme. "It will be bread," she replied. He was silent for a moment. "Bread?" "Yes. Jesus calls himself 'the living bread' and there is a lot in that phrase that will keep us busy. I can think of several things; the program called 'Bread for the World,' the meanings of the daily bread we pray for in the Lord's Prayer, the role of bread in our lives. The list is a long one." After the phone call was over ...

4934. Persisting In Integrity

Job 1:1-5

Illustration

... her chair. Bill's concerns were outlined on the top. Her eye scanned the first line. But then she raised her head. "What's really going on? What's the real issue? Why all these last minute needs? Is it pity? I'm not married and so he needs to keep me busy? Is it power? He's on the board and I'm not. Is it I'm a woman and he's the man?" She shuddered at that thought. "Is he hard-hearted? Genuinely ignorant? Doesn't he see his own pattern? His meeting isn't 'til next Thursday ...

4935. Out Of The Whirlwind

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... believe her? Do you believe the priest who says the same thing? Do you notice the big car he drives and do you notice that big house he has? ... What do you think of him? ... I shouldn't blame Jesus! I do, though, sometimes. He's right there -- the statue keeps reminding me of Him ... and I'm either upset with Him or I'm praying for Him to tell me why the world is like it is. (p. 91) Margarita's plight is much like that of Job. His friends were telling him all of these same old trite Sunday ...

4936. Expanding The Boundaries

Ruth 3:1-18

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... providence, is in the blood line, the genealogy, leading up to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. In this story we discover how, in all of the mundane struggles of ordinary day-to-day life, Ruth, the Moabite, plays an important role in keeping the promise and the covenant of God to Israel alive, thus bringing it to eventual fruition. Ruth, through her loyalty and faithfulness to Naomi, finds a surprisingly open future. Is God active in the ordinary, mundane everyday happening? Undoubtedly, the writer wants us ...

4937. God Remembers

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... received. We too must give back the grace we have received. This would include worship, which is the giving back of grace as praise. We are the recipients of God's grace so that we may become the dispensers, the givers of grace. If we attempt to keep grace as a possession, we will lose it. God's grace was manifested to Hannah in the person of Samuel, and he brought much blessing to her, as well as ending the plight of her barrenness and the disgraceful and hurtful taunting of Peninnah. Because Hannah gave ...

4938. With All The Saints

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... fellowship was a mighty force and power that no emperor or nation could stop. But today a malaise has come over the church. It has become defensive, producing a fortress mentality, a kind of spiritual protectionism. There is a widespread desire to hold, protect, and keep what we have by avoiding risk. The cry is, "Hold that line!" Let's stop the clock, call a time out, re-group, huddle, and do some serious thinking together. Let's consider one important question. How did we get here? We got here because ...

4939. Friendship? Yes, Please!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... . When the lead bird tires, he drops back and allows another bird to lead. The others are pulled along in V-formation with a helpful wind suction. And scientists even believe that the incessant honking is a form of verbal encouragement to stay together, to keep up. Thus can birds accomplish more together than they can apart. And this is what Solomon is observing in friendships. "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil."Encouragement Solomon not only points us to the synergy of ...

4940. Queen Of Hearts!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... God's characteristics. Verses 11-12 say of her, "The heart of her husband trusts in her. She does him good all the days of her life." If your oven worked nine out of ten times, would you have it? If your car worked every day but Fridays would you keep it? Of course not! And our empress of the domestic scene, Mrs. Proverbs 31, is steadfast. She is so daily. There is no lapse in her. Not all women are like this. Proverbs 12:4 says, "A good wife is the crown of her husband. But she who brings shame ...

4941. Take Up Your Ministry

Mark 9:38-41

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... are not on your own! God won't let you alone. When you realize that you are accountable not just to yourself or those you want to impress but also to God, it makes you nervous. As you realize that the embarrassments and mistakes you may have wanted to keep out of sight cannot be hidden from God, that ought to make you nervous! Or just when you thought you were most alone, when the demons and powers of the world have you most backed into a corner, when your lives seem most desperate and endangered, you ought ...

4942. Do You See What I See?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... goodness and righteousness are good and right if they are good for me, here is a place where right and wrong are not measured by the latest opinion poll." "Don't you see what I see?" asks Bartimaeus. "In a world where everyone else is trying to keep score, working to get one up on you and always arguing that they are right, as if their lives depended upon it, here things are different. Here you can afford to admit your mistakes, confess your sins, and acknowledge that you are wrong, because here you know ...

4943. Telling The Truth

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... too harsh, too impolite, too judgmental. Don't you dare shove your morality down my throat. I have rights! I am free! I can do as I please! But the truth of the matter is that we are not as free as we like to think. Always having to "keep up with the Joneses," always having to have the latest computer or electronic gadget, the latest SUV, the latest style of jeans or cut of hair -- I would hardly call that freedom. It seems that the great cultural orthodoxy to which we must all conform and which we dare ...

4944. Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory!

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... Saints' Sunday our thoughts turn to heaven and the eternal destiny promised to us in our baptism. We may not be about to march into battle but we surely are engaged in a kind of holy war. We are searching for a vision of glory that will inspire us to keep living and striving in a world in which our future is far from certain. Our talk about heaven is essential to the church's ability to talk of a future filled with hope. Without the hope of heaven can there be any hope for the future? How can we celebrate ...

4945. Having The Last Word

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... to let them have the last word. While in jail the Freedom Riders were often treated poorly and brutally in order to break their spirits. They were deprived of food or given lousy food. Noise was blasted and lights were flashed all day and night to keep them from resting. Sometimes even some of their mattresses were removed in order that all would not have a place to sleep. For a while it seemed to work. Their spirits were drained and discouraged, but never broken. It happened more than once and in more ...

4946. Miracle Four: Healing A Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... happened, and hear whatever was spoken, were a few scribes. Scribes were a group of highly educated secretaries to the religious leaders. As such, they were well-versed in Jewish law. Their chief occupation was to serve Jewish law and keep alive its traditions. They were considered people of importance and were even given seats in the Sanhedrin, whose religious decisions carried great weight. The scribes who witnessed the miracle immediately turned on Christ, criticizing his statement to the paralytic ...

4947. Miracle Nine: Healing A Deaf-Mute

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... for help. It is help we can give if we both hear and listen. Have we received the miracle predicted by Isaiah, "The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped"? (Isaiah 35:5). And He Charged Them Strictly That No One Should Know This · Christ had his reasons for keeping news of this miracle from spreading. He did not want to attract a crowd of the curious, eager to witness a miracle, but rather to attract those who had a spiritual hungering so that he could build his kingdom. And by now his fame had spread over a ...

4948. The Waiting Place

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

William L. Self

While we were keeping our eighteen-month-old grandson for the weekend so his parents could catch up on their sleep, my wife Carolyn and I were talking about this sermon. I had the idea, but it lacked something. Carolyn had taken Benjamin upstairs for his nap. About fifteen minutes later, she came bursting ...

4949. Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

... that big-time athletics will rescue them from the difficulty of paying tuition bills for their young quarterback. Every little league father has a dream of owning his own major league team. Newnan, Georgia, recently had to put security officers at the little league park to keep the parents from fighting with one another. Big-time athletics and its control of our lives start from the first Saturday morning a child shows up to play soccer until the day his health breaks and he cannot buy a ticket to go to the ...

4950. Praying With Bloody Knuckles

Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

... did not believe in electricity anyway.2 An out-of-date word that best describes this need is supplication. "Supplication means to ask with earnestness, with intensity, with perseverance. It is a declaration that we are deadly serious about this prayer business. We are going to keep at it and not give up."3 John Calvin writes, "We must repeat the same supplications not twice or three times only, but as often as we have need, a hundred and a thousand times ... we must never be weary in waiting for God's help ...

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