Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 526 to 550 of 2404 results

526. The Taught Can

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... easily. You don't have to take second place to these scribes and priests and elders." Clearly the problem was in the definition of terms. "Messiah" for Peter seemed to mean some sort of political leader who would restore the kingdom to Israel. Messiahship could be achieved by a popularity ploy which would make his fame pay off, which would perhaps get people to declare him king. We think of Jesus as a "can do" person, but clearly here he was first of all a "can teach" rabbi. His words are stern. They ...

527. The Fear Of Taking The Plunge

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Richard Patt

... same goes for the mind. The healthier and happier relationships are in younger years, the more joyous will be memories of them as we grow older. We will then have few regrets and will rest in the satisfaction that earlier days were filled with achievement and pleasure. We will grow older with a sense of fulfillment, not frustration. This positive kind of storehousing in earlier years will serve us well in later years. Whether we realize it or not, our minds are automatic storehouses, not unlike any computer ...

528. The Advent Of Our Lord

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... we have been the oppressor in the past and now learn to stand in solidarity with people who are oppressed will we be able to hear this gospel. We are the ones who have practiced heartless competition, who have traded on privilege and deemed it to be achievement, who have used an inordinate amount of the world's resources for ourselves, with little thought to our children or the rest of the world. We are the ones who have too often used guns rather than diplomacy, who have winked at the sins of our client ...

529. A Tree Well Watered

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... , political strategy, and national alliances is seen as folly and self-destructive. Such trust in human control is seen as a turning away from the Lord. It is not just trust in human armaments that is judged, but also trust in human wisdom, human technology, human achievement. All of this conflicts with the conditions of the covenant, which call upon Israel to trust in the faithfulness of the God of the covenant. Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in ...

530. Anticipation Proclamation

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Tony Everett

... -four-hour crisis availability, and willing to accept less than the recommended minimum compensation package. Seniors are stunned. After class, one told her professor, "They anticipate that I will be a Messiah." Great anticipation, but neither realistic or achievable. The second question for these seminary students is: What do you expect from parishioners in your first congregation? Their answers are theologically articulate and conceptually sound. They focus on the theme of living out one's baptism as ...

531. New Name, New Status

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Tony Everett

... an enormous task of rebuilding. The walls of the fortress city of Jerusalem lay scattered in broken pieces. The once magnificent Temple was in ruins. Any possibility for restoration appeared to be hopeless. Instead of a renewed national status similar to that achieved under the kingship of David and Solomon, the nation was in helpless disarray. Instead of the Lord's leadership in renewal, it appeared to the people that they had been abandoned. The name of once proud Judah became Azubah, or "Forsaken." The ...

532. How Long Will You Limp? (Because God Is Tired Of The Bull)

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... translated to the people in terms of their self-understanding of what their god could do through them instead of for them. Thus theologically speaking, the priests of Baal never conceived of their gods in terms of their personal power and strength, and what they could achieve through faith and trust in Baal. We must remember that the basis of this challenge by Elijah was a raging drought in the land. Elijah's demonstration of God's power through fire was a reaffirmation of God's ability to show forth God's ...

533. They Didn't Have To Do It, But They Did

Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... have to risk life and limb to missionize parts of Asia Minor and other territories by starting new churches. He didn't have to brave insults, hardships, snakebites, shipwrecks, and virtual starvation, but he did. His love of Christ compelled him to do the implausible and achieve the impossible. Paul didn't have to go to jail, but he did. He didn't have to make such sacrifices for Christ, but he did. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X didn't have to give their lives for the black struggle ...

534. A Tale Of Two Cities

Amos 7:1-9, Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... he who dares cry out for the Jews dares permit himself to chant in Gregorian." This same truth may be applied wherever there is desolation and oppression among the people. The church must cry out, "Thus saith the Lord." But such is difficult to achieve if the priesthood is corrupted by the political power. We need not only an active priesthood of all believers but equally, in the words of James Luther Adams, a "prophethood of all believers." Numerous churches have lost the respect of the world because of ...

535. Turning Point

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Illustration

John R. Steward

... home injured or in body bags. People were genuinely concerned and it was somewhat uncertain just how things would work out. Then the war began with the fighter jets bombing Iraq. In only two or three days, the Americans had obtained air superiority. When air superiority was achieved, there was no longer any doubt as to who the victor would be in that war. However, it was not at that moment when the war was over or when the killing would stop. It was the turning point in the war when we knew for certain ...

536. The Blind Guiding The Blind

Psalm 92:1-15, Luke 6:46-49, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Isaiah 55:1-13, Luke 6:37-42

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... it. It is harder for you to live lower than what you want to be since you have stated to others your highest purposes. Is it perhaps a difference between the demand you place on yourself as opposed to a claim you make as to what you have achieved? To pretend that you have already arrived when you are not truly aspiring to get there is perhaps the crux of hypocrisy. Homily Hints 1. Good Disciple-Teacher Relations. (v. 40) Jesus says that a disciple is not above the teacher. What should our relationship be to ...

537. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... Life. (vv. 28-33) Too many persons start out with high ideals, but have not reckoned on the cost of realizing them. They end up with many high ends never reached. A. Starting With High Purpose B. Abandoning Purposes Midway C. Settling for Low Achievement CONTACT Points to Ponder 1. Family Values. "Family values" has become a political slogan. It is used as a shibboleth to determine whether a person is correct on a variety of issues. People on both sides of issues, such as abortion, planned parenthood ...

538. The Results Of Resurrection

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... by accepting this result of Jesus' resurrection. We will never have Jesus standing in our homes. We do, however, have opportunity to be heir to the legacy of the peace which can come only through God. A misconception rampant today is that people may achieve peace if they simply ignore their problems. A young executive sat nervously on a plane for his first business trip. The plane taxied down the runway, but it slowed down and turned around. The young executive inquired of the problem. A flight attendant ...

539. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... Shanghai, China, where thousands of people stood six hours in the cold rain waiting to come in and worship the Jesus "who for their sakes became poor so that by his poverty they might become rich." The statement, "Blessed are you poor," is not some religious goal to be achieved; it is a fact. Where does that leave us, we who are not poor? How do we share the blessing of poverty? Obviously we will not choose, most of us, to abandon what we have and take on the mantle of poverty. But there are things we can ...

540. The Sponge And Wine

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... medicinal or sedative effects the sour wine was to offer. To be sure, the total effect had to be minimal in the face of what Jesus had endured. In that regard, it only serves to emphasize that there really is nothing that we can contribute to achieving our own salvation. Jesus had completed and finished what had to be done for the salvation of the world. He had refused sedation before entering that struggle with Satan, death, and hell. Now that it was over, he could be indulged. So the best that the lady ...

541. God Remembers

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... and vexation all of this time." She cried out in her misery, saying to the Lord, "Remember me." Many have felt the same anxiety and vexation that Hannah felt. The barrenness that you labor under may be the lack of accomplishment and achievement. One's sense of "worthlessness" can result from the inability to reach one's goals and ambitions, instead experiencing constant defeat and setback. The unkind words and caustic criticism of others, like Hannah constantly received from Peninnah, can cause you to weep ...

542. Friendship? Yes, Please!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... denied the individual. Or as Solomon put it in the text, we find "good reward for our toil." Example: Geese flying south for the winter leave the Hudson Bay in Canada and fly non-stop to the Chesapeake Bay. Using their famous V-formation they can achieve speeds of over fifty mph! Flying alone, however, a goose can only go half the speed and for hour and a half flights before resting. Why the difference between a flock and an individual bird? Scientists point to a phenomena they call synergism. In formation ...

543. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... to impress Jesus and become one of his gang. His question betrays, on the one hand, his anxiety and, on the other hand, his arrogance. He thinks he can do it, if Jesus will only tell him how. The man probably has good reason for his confidence. He has achieved all the symbols of success. According to Matthew and Luke he is rich, young, and a ruler. And most of all, he is pious. He takes his religion seriously. He is committed to God, or at least he thought so. He is good at keeping the commandments. He is ...

544. Miracle Three: Healing A Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... places each of us in the shoes of the leper. Even though we do not have leprosy, the miracle is not irrelevant to us. Today we still have seemingly unconquerable health problems. Cancer can strike anyone; and only a percentage of cancer victims are able to achieve recovery. AIDS is another form of modern-day "leprosy." It is spreading fast and is a threat to everyone. In such instances we are dependent upon Christ to answer our pleas for help, and to receive his mercy. The answer is not always what we wish ...

545. When God Steps Out Of Shadows

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

William L. Self

... bring the audience to a special point. After seeing one production of a deeply moving play, the writer and director came from the wings to interact with the audience. Their purpose was to disclose to us what they had in mind, how they went about achieving it, and to reveal the behind-the-scenes thinking of director, writer, and set designer. What was hidden was revealed. What was implicit became explicit. That is not unlike God in this portion of Jeremiah's word to the captives. Where his purposes had been ...

546. Held In His Arms

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... collector's passing and his only son dead those paintings would be sold at auction. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled this day; greatness would be achieved as many would hope to claim, "I have the greatest collection." The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting of the man's son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent ...

547. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Abiding and Acting · Two major figures in church history demonstrate the results of meditation and devotion to Christ, abiding in him. A. Bernard of Clairvaux was a monk who was part of the movement of the Medieval period that tried to achieve a mystical union with God. He is noted for his steps to mystical union which he composed. The story is told that he was riding a donkey along beautiful Lake Geneva. Anyone who has been there knows the magnificent scenery that surrounds it. That ...

548. Seeds And The Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... to heal and help. The Holy Spirit has helped Christians to realize their full personhood as they have reached out to meet the needs of others. The world needs the harvest of righteousness which changes the conditions that prevent persons from achieving their full possibilities. 4. Postponed Harvest. We live in an age of expectations of instant solutions. We have instant soups, instant coffee and tea, instant TV dinners, and instant solutions to complex problems or situations on television. This mood tends ...

549. The Pastor Who Created A Monster

Haggai 1:1-15, Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

... into confusion as well. The building project is not the goal of our life together as a congregation. To build a new sanctuary is certainly a good thing and an important thing to do. I believe that it is a God-pleasing thing. Work, family, personal achievement -- these are all good things, but they are not the goal of our lives." Pastor Jenkins looked over the congregation and sensed that he had everyone's attention. He said, "God is the goal." He continued, "The central point of the Haggai text is not that ...

550. The Gift of Wisdom

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... and to forget and to clutter their lives with many things, "Blessed also are those who have not seen and yet believe." Who is Thomas' twin? You are. And I. Yet by grace we may also be made wise, fools that we are. This is not a wisdom we achieve, but a wisdom we are given. We may bear the scars of the disappointments and betrayals and failures of our years, but faith that has triumphed over such challenges is greater witness still. What do you see when you look at your hands? We all see something different ...

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