Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 501 to 525 of 4964 results

501. Why Not a Christian Live 8 for the Environment?

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... redemption and wholeness. This whole world God made suffers because of human sin. But for those who receive God's redemptive act made personal in Jesus the Christ, there's hope. Paul envisions this hope as the first-fruit of the Spirit - a honey sweet sensation in our soul that brings the flavor of forgiveness and salvation to our lips and fills our hearts with hope. But first-fruits are also what we must give back to God. It's our way of acknowledging that all goodness and bounty in our lives come as a ...

502. Lent 5

John 11:1-45 · Romans 8:6-11 · Ezekiel 37:1-14 · Psalm 130

Sermon Aid

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

... two-part miracle is an answer to the assumptions of exiled Israelites, who are quoted in v. 11 as saying, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely." The point of the story is that God has left the land to be with God's people in ... and from the presence of God. Rather, with God leaving the land to journey with Israel, the people once again acquire direction and hope, because God is now able to lead them back to the promised land of rest. For the prophet Ezekiel this is no less ...

503. Proper 11

Mt 13:24-30, 36-43 · Rom 8:12-25 · Ps 139 · Gen 28:10-19a

Sermon Aid

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

... will bring us. With the ideas of life, the Spirit, relationship to God, eschatology, Christ, and suffering before the Romans, Paul speeds up his argument by moving into a new gear in vv. 18-30. Now Paul's topic is life in the Spirit as a life of hope. Paul has been focused on the community of Roman (and other?) Christians in vv. 1-17; but now his vision of the operation of grace through the work of the Spirit becomes cosmic in scope. This passage is difficult, because we are not adept at thinking in such ...

504. Great Joy

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... joy. Jesus comes into our desert places to bring rejoicing and gladness. Jesus comes like an unexpected artesian well, bubbling up with hope like pools in a dry land. Jesus comes as the crocus of spring, blossoming through the crust of winter snow. Jesus ... loneliness. There is more to be said and more work to be done. But the song of Advent gives us the courage and the hope to move in confidence through the challenges before us. It makes firm the feeble knee and strengthens the weak hand for the work ahead ...

505. Moses: A Traveling God in a Pop-Up Camper

Exodus 13:17-22, 33:7-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... , it became the symbol not only of God with them, but of their life together. It was made sacred not only by God's presence, but by the presence of God's people….together. We come together here to build our world of faith, to nurture our hopes and dreams, to share our joys and sorrows, our tears and laughter. We come here to bless the most sacred moments of our lives—birth, marriage, death—and the space is made sacred in the gathering of the people together… common ground. I have experienced it just ...

506. Zechariah II: Thy Prayer is Heard

Luke 1:5-25

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... we come to worship in the first place. It is the basis for the message of the season, the foundation of our faith. It is the hope that there is, in fact, a God who is there, a God who is here, a God who listens, a God who hears. The Gospel begins ... and know them as the word for us, the word of assurance, the word of confidence, the word of God's faithfulness, the word of Advent hope. It is the word which undergirds all the other words which are to come: Do not be afraid Thy prayer is heard. Amen. 1. A Room ...

507. Our Ultimate Destination

Revelation 21:1-6a

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... could keep Jesus in the tomb. God will once again "tent" or "tabernacle" with human beings, and human beings will once again commune with God face-to-face with nothing to keep us apart: no tears, no mourning, no crying, no death. When we are confident in the hope of "that bright land to which I go" we will not be deterred by the distractions along the way — not by the temptations of safe and comfortable lodging on the side of the road, nor by the fears of rough terrain or hostile forces that stand in the ...

508. The Parable of the Choices

Matthew 21:28-31

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... opportunity to knock, push on the door of the present. The present is the abiding place of hope. Hope cannot live in the past because the past is known. Hope cannot live in the future because in the future it will be realization, not hope. Today is where hope is. And there's so much to hope for. We can be so much more than we think. Armed with hope, we are never too young, nor too old. Strengthened with hope, we need not fear failure. The Psalmist promised: "though we stumble we shall not fall headlong, for ...

509. Apocalypse Wow!

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... life, where are they? If there is a significant path, where can it be found, and where does it lead? Where is hope to be found? Apocalyptic writings in the Bible attempt to answer questions such as these. Apocalyptic literature is "hardtimes" literature, confronting ... the cross of Christ. All the saints of God, past, present, and future, can rejoice with Isaiah and Paul in this remarkable hope finally made real. Christ's rule began in Palestine. His throne was a cross. He now rules in our hearts and will ...

510. Joshua People Obey and Serve

Joshua 1:6-8, 24:14-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... vow to be part of a family who cares for each other. Sometimes we don't do a very good job at all of that but our hope is that others will see the love of God as expressed in Christ in our lives. When that happens, within that family of faith we are ... devote two hours a month to practicing safety drills, man overboard rescue drills and the like to prepare for events like this which we all hope will never happen. It would be easy to say, "Oh, you know for the last six months all of our drills were perfect, we ...

511. Cross Eyed: Triumph

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... because the tomb is empty our lives can be full. Because the tomb is empty our lives can be full. Full of Grace. Full of mercy. Full of love. Full of the knowledge that no matter what we have done, the Son of God offers us forgiveness rather than condemnation; hope rather than despair; and life eternal rather than death. We might have come empty today but we'll leave full. If we stoop, look into the empty tomb and believe B. Now I have to warn you, there are a lot of things in the world to distract us from ...

512. Are You Able?

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... soul. People could care less about your successes but they notice how you handle suffering. Paul says in Romans 5:3: We rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. III. SUFFERING TEACHES US PERSEVERANCE Hupomone—fortitude, courage, endurance, guts, spirit that won't give up. Sir Winston Churchill took three ...

513. Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thanksgiving is sounded. What Paul and Timothy are thankful for is nothing less than the familiar trinity of Christian graces — faith, hope and love. Their faith is both “in Christ Jesus” and a visible reality because they are living as a community “in ... is that even as the gospel has “borne fruit” among the Colossian Christians, it has enabled them to express faith, love and hope to each other, so the gospel is equally at work everywhere and on everyone. Again, Paul’s text sounds the chord of ...

514. The Porch Light's On

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Tony Everett

... tunnel, and it isn't the train of the tempter or the semi of Satan. That light is a baby in a manger; a guiding star of hope; a messiah on a cross; a folded shroud in an empty tomb. That light is the glory of God's own self. In our text, Isaiah proclaims ... , God's Epiphany message, to all God's children, shines brightly tonight. The good news here is that God's true light of everlasting hope has already come into our midst. The light of Christ has arisen upon us. The glory of the Lord has appeared to us and ...

515. Power Sharing

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

... in verses 17 and 18 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints." Maybe the most exalting knowledge we need to learn, accept, and cherish is that all Christians are saints. In the New Testament, every believer was a "saint," even those Christians ...

516. Romans 15:4-13

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the promise of the “root of Jesse” as the one who will “rule the Gentiles” and offer to all those outside of Israel the same “hope,” the same promise of inclusion, that is now a reality because of Christ. It is this omnipresent “hope” that leads to Paul’s second “prayer-wish” in v.13. Out of that common “hope” all the faithful within the diverse Roman Christian community may participate together in “joy and peace in believing.” Jew or Gentile, “strong” or “weak,” all ...

517. Wiping Away the Tears

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... . One line as the mother listens to the whimpering of her hungry babies, bellies empty, with no home to go to, and no hope left. One line when the cell door has been slammed shut, the isolation begins, and the darkness descends. One line when the doors ... in time brought them to rest with him until the day of resurrection. In that promise of a new heaven and earth, we therefore place our hope on this day of promise, the promise that in time, our God will come to us and wipe away every tear from our eyes. All ...

518. Being Two People at Once

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... of our homes and very unkind inside. We may be lazy at work and full of energy at home. We may have a secret habit and hope that no one ever finds out. We may pose as a man of God but also have lust and also use violence. There are a great ... day at a time, one story at a time. We can receive the same power, the same forgiveness, and the same casual beauty. What is our best hope? To learn to want what we do have and stop staring at other people's roofs! The grass will always be greener on the other side ...

519. Christmas 2

Psalm 147:12-20, Jeremiah 31:7-14, John 1:(1-9), 10-18, Ephesians 1:3-14

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... . Take our griefs and our disappointments and mold them into experiences that let us be at peace in your presence. Amen. Benediction Leader: Tradition says this is the Christmas season. People: Our bodies and souls have set this time to tell the stories of hope, joy, and relationships. Leader: We have told the stories of Jesus and John, of Mary and Elizabeth; we have remembered the curiosity of shepherds and the insights of sky watchers. We have sung like angels! People: We go from sanctuary into the world ...

520. Risky Business

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... to him had a misunderstanding of his master’s character. He saw his master as cruel and vindictive. Maybe you and I do too. God is not a cruel judge who vigilantly watches to catch us doing something wrong. God is a loving Parent watching us to cheer us on, hoping to see us make our life count for something wonderful. This brings us to one last thing to be said. Today is a good day to begin investing your life in something that will make a real difference. If you are one who has been burying your gold in ...

521. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... sailors with whose help he had terrified the known world, would be dead. (3) And this made this strong king cry. Without Easter, what else is there to do when we contemplate the loss of someone we love but to cry? Without Easter, there is no hope of being reunited with them. There is a beautiful story about comedienne Gracie Allen and the importance of life beyond the grave. I realize that many younger members of our congregation never had the chance to see George Burns and Gracie Allen together. They were ...

522. Don't Give Up Now!

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:2

Sermon

... church to willingly allow themselves to be hauled into coliseums and be fed to lions and wild beasts and be set on fire and used as streetlights all because they would not recant their faith in Christ. Hope says, “Though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil.” Hope says, “This, too, shall pass.” Hope says, “I will not give up or despair, for all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Do not lose heart! This is our ...

523. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Faith

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... associates the thought of judgment with the risen Jesus. The resurrection attests Jesus to be “the man (whom God) has appointed” for this purpose (Acts 17:31). In Acts, the thought of Jesus’ coming is expressed as a threat; here it is held out as the hope of our salvation. Notice the use of his human name both here and in Acts: thus Paul identifies God’s appointed savior and judge with the man of Nazareth. The present tense who rescues should not be overemphasized. As a title it must be understood ...

524. A Call to Persevere

Hebrews 10:19-39

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... in the community of faith. There is a need to spur (or “stimulate”) one another on toward the basic Christian conduct of love (cf. 13:1) and good deeds. It is worth noting that we have encountered the three great virtues of faith (v. 22), hope (v. 23), and love in three successive verses (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13). The mutual encouragement that our author has in mind can occur, of course, only in the context of Christian fellowship. But some, perhaps even in this community, had been neglecting to come together ...

525. Praise and Prayer

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... but the Bible story portrays God living in real relationship with people and discovering things about them as these things emerge, in the same way as happens in any relationship. God thus experiences the surprise and the sadness of things not turning out in the way one hoped. God also therefore must confront the need to adapt to that and make decisions in the light of it. God then perhaps also experiences the surprise and the joy of things not turning out in the way one feared, and the need to adapt to that ...

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