Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 476 to 500 of 662 results

476. The Problem with ‘Hail Mary’ Moments

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ” or meekness. The notion that humility or gentleness was a positive virtue set the first-century Christian community firmly apart from the Greco-Roman culture. There humility smacked of subservience and weakness. But Christians were called to celebrate a humble spirit, imitating Christ who declared himself to be “meek” (Matthew 11:29) and who blessed the meek (Matthew 5:5). In today’s gospel text, Jesus celebrates the last being first and holds up a little child as the image of faithfulness for ...

477. Strength through Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and guide of our faith. Therefore, let us learn a lesson today of the need to appreciate variations in our world. Let us truly believe that strength comes through diversity. As we continue to walk as one people, rejoicing in our different talents, gifts, ideas, let us do so in imitation of Jesus, our brother, friend, and Lord. Amen.

478. Love - The Basic Christian Call

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... 13:7). This true story from World War II demonstrates the concept of love as articulated by Saint Paul in his famous passage from 1 Corinthians. The many manifestations of love are brought together by Paul who understood this powerful emotion through his imitation of Jesus and the latter's commandment of love. We are similarly called to love without reservation. Saint Paul begins his teaching by describing the many ways love excels all other virtues. He says one may be able to speak with great force ...

479. The Great Sacrifice of Love

Luke 9:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... 10:29-30 Albert Durer did not know it at the time, but his agreement to go to the mines would not only produce a world-class artist, but at the same time ended any possibility he had to be an artist himself. His act of sacrificial love was an imitation of the heroic sacrifice of Jesus, which Paul describes in our lesson today. May we have the courage to do likewise as we continue to walk the journey of faith, one that leads to death, but eventually to resurrection and eternal life. Amen.

480. A New Resolve

Philippians 4:1, 4-9

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... , then guard your thoughts. Ask yourself, "Is it true, pure, just, acceptable?" Third, guard your examples. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Is that arrogant? A little bit earlier, Paul said, "Join in imitating me. Let me be your example." Is that conceited? I don't think so. I think it is mentoring. Christian mentoring. We all need examples. When I’m confronted with a tough theological question, I think, "WWLD" "What would Luther do?" He would stand ...

481. Powerless People

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... when they turned to him. The message in this story has a number of applications for us today. In fact, it can be directed to three groups of people, all of whom may be listening to this sermon. First, if you have power over people, use it wisely. Imitate God by directing your power to help people under your authority and not to hurt them. If you use it to abuse powerless people, you have to realize that you will be held accountable for your actions. You may think the powerless will have no recourse, but the ...

482. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... her that she would receive on Christmas morning a doll much better than the one she was begging for. A doll that she would enjoy more than any doll she ever had. At that moment, though, in her demand for instant gratification all the little girl wanted was a shabby imitation of the gift her mother had already intended to give. Any of you ever had a child like that? Any of you ever been a child like that? Any of you ever been that way with your heavenly Parent? The writer of the epistle of James says to his ...

483. Jesus Tempted In Us

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... upon one who has power to be concerned for others instead of for oneself. He was posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace and his diary was printed with the title: Markings. He died carrying in his pocket a copy of Thomas á Kempis’ ancient book, The Imitation of Christ, and as a bookmark, a postcard on which was typed his oath of office as Secretary General of the United Nations. He set out not to dominate the world but to serve it. In him our Lord Jesus Christ was beating Satan for the third ...

484. Seeing Jesus

John 9:1-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... we can tell others the precious little we know. For it is precious — whether we share it in small towns, big cities, or a mall. And in every human difficulty we can now look and say, “What can we do about this?” When we do, we’re imitating God who looks at Jesus crucified outside of old Jerusalem’s walls. I imagine it this way. God sadly ponders Jesus’ lifeless body and says, “What can I do even with this?” [1]. Ben Macintyre, Josiah the Great: The True Story of the Man Who Would Be King ...

485. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ ...

486. Looking Down on God

John 13:1-17

Sermon

David O. Bales

... by Jesus’ life. His love becomes the standard. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (v. 34). Christians are commanded to love Jesus’ way, even if it includes a towel and a basin or a cross. Yet, we don’t just imitate Jesus because we admire his example. Our emulation comes from more. Jesus loves us and his loving us is the greatest reason, the largest motive, the strongest incentive for us to love others. We love because we recognize he loved us. Gratitude is the deepest ...

487. Apron Up (Mother's Day)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... your artists to create an “apron” aesthetics for your sanctuary.] Do you remember playing “Follow The Leader” when you were a kid? The “leader” called the shots. Whatever way the leader went, whatever the leader did, the “followers” were supposed to imitate. It was a fun game until some “leader” decided to do something, well . . . not smart. Jumping over a ditch was an adventure until someone didn’t quite make it and tumbled down and got hurt. “Following the leader” goes bad when ...

488. Where the Church Gets Its Power

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... It wasn’t one month later that in his reading Chuck came across this profound paragraph and I quote: “The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit that there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give his church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality but it is a permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable. It is democratic. You can tell people secrets, and they usually don’t tell others or even want to. The bar flourishes ...

489. The Nano-Punch of Pentecost

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the century. The “commissioning of the disciples” is not merely a historical event. It is a daily reality. Jesus’ disciples are first charged with the Holy Spirit — a force that bonds them together in a way that no other force on earth could possibly imitate. But there is also a second “zap” for disciples of Jesus, for those who would claim the directive to be in mission. That second “charge” is not just to affirm, but to attest. Not just to be charged up to witness certain things, but ...

490. How to Hug

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Mann’s posted a video online of Mann standing in the mall holding up a sign with “free hugs” printed on it and giving hugs to any passerby who expressed interest. More than 94 million people all over the world have since viewed that video and imitators all over the world have taken up Mann’s cause. What inspired Juan Mann to begin his free hugs campaign? In the months prior to this event, Mann had been feeling depressed and lonely as a result of numerous personal difficulties. However, he went to a ...

491. Get Out the Ticker Tape - Palm Sunday

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... were there just out of mere curiosity. They were just following the crowd. They saw the excitement and wondered what was going on and just started shouting like the others. Writer Eric Hoffer once commented wryly, “When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” We know that’s true. I read somewhere a story about a man in Utah who put this “follow the crowd” phenomenon to good use. He had bought a store but it was not doing well. No one came into his store to see his ...

492. You Are God's Child

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should . . .” Many of you felt liberated by those words. You felt affirmed. But, friends, those words, no matter how grand, are a pale imitation of the words of St. Paul when he writes in Romans 8, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought ...

493. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... , thy nearest, sat apart, And felt thy triumph was as mine; And loved them more, that they were thine, The graceful tact, the Christian art; Nor mine the sweetness or the skill, But mine the love that will not tire, And, born of love, the vague desire That spurs an imitative will. CXI The churl in spirit, up or down Along the scale of ranks, thro’ all, To him who grasps a golden ball, By blood a king, at heart a clown; The churl in spirit, howe’er he veil His want in forms for fashion’s sake, Will let ...

494. Right Answer - Wrong Conclusion

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... more efficiently and effectively than human beings. At that point the sci-fi horror movies of robots taking over the planet will have some credibility. But there are skeptics. The great computing science pioneer Alan Turing--about whom last year’s movie The Imitation Game was based--once said that he would call a machine “intelligent” when it was able to have a credible conversation with a human being. Of course, Turing didn’t even imagine that one day we would have Siri, the voice in Apple iPhones ...

495. The Wrong Gift

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... can finally see our true home, and like Luke, bring our friends along with us. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, there must live in each of us a touch of that homesickness, or we die a horrible death. Our trips "home" are only a pale imitation of the place we belong and merely a wayside rest stop on a restless journey to the real home of God's love and God's eternity. More than we know that is where we all truly want to go. Only in finding Jesus and the coming of God's ...

496. Horse Sense

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A horse can't pull while kicking. This fact we merely mention. And he can't kick while pulling, Which is our chief contention. Let's imitate the good old horse And lead a life that's fitting; Just pull an honest load, and then There'll be no time for kicking.

497. The Choosing of the Seven

Acts 6:1-7

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... language, have suggested that these Hellenists may also have been “Hellenized Jews”—that they belonged to a “liberal” synagogue, not holding as fast to the law and the temple as some. This suggestion rests on the cognate verb sometimes having the sense “to imitate Greek manners and customs.” But in most cases it means only “to speak Greek,” and in any case, it must be remembered that the Hellenists had returned to Jerusalem for no other reason than their devotion to the law and the temple ...

498. The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... :20; 28:1; Num. 26:59; 27:12–13; Deut. 32:50; 1 Chron. 6:3; 23:13). The phrase “Paul and Timothy,” which occurs often in Paul’s letters (cf. 2 Cor. 1:19; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; Phlm. 1:1), may imitate the word pair “Moses and Aaron,” which occurs over sixty-five times in the OT. With the mention of the addressees of the letter, we catch a glimpse of how Paul envisions his missionary enterprise geographically and ethnographically. Corinth is the capital of the Roman province of Achaia ...

499. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... the reader realizes that verses 2–4 refer to Paul’s own experience, for the apostle boasts in the experience. The reason for this use of the third person remains unclear, although many explanations have been offered. It is perhaps worth pointing out that Jesus, whom Paul otherwise seeks to imitate (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Cor. 1:5; 4:10; see below on 12:8), referred to himself in the third person as the “Son of Man” (cf. Mark 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38, etc.). In any case, Paul’s evasiveness in 12:2–4 is not ...

500. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... is, however, a strikingly dramatic way of expressing the nature of the love believers are freed to demonstrate. Paul may refer to slaves as a contrasting metaphor to freedom, but the concept also resonates with his self-understanding (1:10; 2 Cor. 4:5), in which he imitates his Lord, who took the form of a slave (Phil. 2:7). The life of believers is focused on emulating the life of Christ—the one who, as Paul puts it earlier in the letter, “loved me and gave himself” (2:20). In this way, not through ...

Showing results