Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 526 to 550 of 972 results

John 11:4-6, Philippians 3:4-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... light which only Jesus can bring. We need to put away the old and bring in the new. We need to be transformed in Christ. First, we must seek transformation in our attitudes. Too often we think in narrow, provincial, and exclusive ways. Jesus clearly demonstrated a more inclusive and broad understanding of life. Rather than restricting people, Jesus welcomed all, but most especially those whom the world had summarily rejected: the sick, the poor, foreigners, and sinners. Jesus never labeled certain people ...

527. No Box Seats in the Kingdom

Mark 10:35-45

Illustration

William G. Carter

... congregation with almost thirty thousand members. It was the crowning achievement of a preacher career. First Baptist Church occupies five city blocks in downtown Dallas. It houses two schools, a college, and a radio station. The church gave him a nice home, memberships in exclusive country clubs, and luxury box seats for Dallas Cowboys football games. They weren't box seats for the kingdom, but in Dallas a box seat for one is as good as a box seat for another. But something went wrong in Gregory's ...

528. Who Will Go?

Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... explained, "have the gift of imagination, and imagination has no physical boundaries." Prophets are like artists, helping us to see what we had been looking at but had not noticed. Jesus did not call any rabbis or priests to be his disciples. He called laypersons exclusively. God calls disciples from all walks of life to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. The church is called to equip disciples and to send them into the world to accomplish God's work. Some of you, I know, have found your ...

529. Jumping through Hoops

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" (Acts 11:17). That's the question Peter asked of himself — and by extension the question asked for us as well. Yet the quest for the pure church — and by pure what the person usually means is exclusive — is not only fruitless, it is un-Christian. We hinder God by creating barriers, not recognizing that we become a laughingstock when we do so. In this story it seems as if Peter's opponent at least gave him an honest hearing. That is what we expect ...

530. A Brain, A Heart, A Home, The Nerve

Mark 12:28-34

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... the lion wanted courage. And through it all Dorothy was looking for a home. Like us, they were not complete persons. Each one needed something to balance out their personality or their lives. Like us, they seemed to emphasize one part of the personality to the exclusion of another. But it is only when a person develops wholeness that they truly find themselves. Only in wholeness are we at home with ourselves and with God. Our Scripture passage for today reminded me of the song from the Wizard of Oz. In the ...

531. I Am the Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... you have Israel being referred to as the vine, and even more, as the vineyard of God. But how shocking it must have been for those disciples when they heard Jesus. In one bold unadulterated, undiluted, unreserved claim, Jesus swept aside the smug complacency and the proud narrow exclusiveness of the Jews who thought they were it. They were not only the vine in their mind, they were the vineyard of God. And yet, Jesus said to them, that isn’t so. I am the true vine. And those who love me, not those who are ...

532. A House for Our Home and a Home for Our Faith

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to it and talk about the fact that families are to provide for us a house for our home and a home for our faith. Now when I talk about families today, I want you to know that I’m not talking about the typical what we call nuclear family exclusively. I’m not talking about that family that which represents the mother and the father and a child or two children or three children. I’m talking about other forms as of families as well. I’m talking about the single-parent family and we have many of those in ...

533. Plenty Of Room

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I just read a short piece about someone traveling across country, staying exclusively in Bed and Breakfasts. At one B&B which had six bedrooms, this traveler noticed these two signs side by side on the check in desk. The first sign read: "Please introduce yourself to your fellow guests since we are one big happy family." Next to it was a sign ...

534. Haiti

Job 1:6-22

Sermon

Brett Blair

... something good will come out of this. Or, it is punishment for sin. They are wrong. You cannot pin this on God. We must learn what Job eventually learned. That as good and great as you might be or the Haitian people might be, no one has an exclusive and closed relationship with God. No one does. There is nature and nature means chaos which at any moment can intrude. And Satan and all the evil he inspires had nothing to do with whipping up this earthquake or any other natural disaster. III There is a final ...

535. Harmony and Humor: The Ties That Bind Christianity’s Many Christianities

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that resonated with God’s universe and God’s design. Instead of “enemies” or “others” Jesus intoned the music of forgiveness, acceptance, repentance, rebirth. Instead of isolating and ostracizing “the other,” Jesus encouraged and welcomed a “oneness” based on inclusion, not exclusion. We are more alike than we are different. We share more than we disagree. Our hearts hurt, our hands help, our backs bend, and our feet hurt—all in the same way. Paul loved to use the human body as an ...

536. Is God For Real? (Series: Read Faith For Real People)

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... believing, all of us know it’s a case of mistaken identity. I am not God. Neither are you. God is God! God doesn’t need Democrats to define him or Republicans to promote him. God is neither an American nor a Korean. No religious denomination holds exclusive rights to His name. God is a God who ACTS - INTERVENES – GETS INVOLVED. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the midst of slavery, God called Moses to set his people free. In the midst of evil, God sent his prophets pleading ...

537. Follow Your Mentors (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... .” I believe our mayor is correct. Our mentors are significant others who cross our paths along the journey of life. In the last chapter of Romans, Paul makes a list of some thirty-four people who have helped him along his missionary journeys. The list is not exclusive; it is suggestive of many others. I want to point out that the list includes at least eleven women. How is that for a man who takes a hit from feminists who want to make him a male chauvinist. I know Paul told Timothy that women ought to ...

538. Is It Okay To Laugh In Church?

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

James W. Moore

... joy fullest.” (Fosdick, Manhood of the Master, pp. 11-12) The Bible is indeed a radiantly joyful book. Here is a second thought… II. JESUS WAS ARADIANTLY JOYFUL PERSON. Unfortunately, our Lord has been too often pictured with a sad face. Artists have almost exclusively portrayed him as the man of sorrows. This is unfortunate because nothing could be more false to the character of Jesus than to picture him as sad and gloomy and all bleached out. To the contrary, everywhere he went, Jesus carried with Him ...

539. Being and Doing as the People of God

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... fundamental inward disposition. His teachings bore not upon what we should do but we should be. Following this line of thinking, people could accommodate Jesus’ teaching to their own standard. In every instance, when the emphasis has centered on either being or doing to the exclusion of the other, a distorted identity has emerged. Being and doing cannot be separated. Let’s try now to get this down to where we live, so that we can go from i today with something solid to hold on to in our minds, something ...

540. Who Will Cast the First Stone?

John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... our salvation and the salvation of the world, and it collects dust on our bedside tables. But back to my main point. This passage we are considering today does pose technical problems for Bible scholars, and we could argue either for its inclusion or exclusion here in the Gospel of John — the evidence really is not conclusive. But I come down at the point of John Calvin. There is nothing here “unworthy of an apostolic spirit”. (Calvin, Commentary on... John, p. 319). Therefore there is no reason why ...

541. Lessons from the Ordinances

Exodus 21:2-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... day of the week. (Have I told you my story about the woman who was awakened early by the garbage truck?) That’s not the peculiar people I’m talking about. The word peculiar is defined by the dictionary as “having a character exclusively its own - unlike anything else or anything of the same class or kind.” (The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 992) In that sense, Israel was a peculiar people, in a particularly special relationship with Jehovah, unlike the relationship of anyone ...

542. The Shared Life of the People of God

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... he does not mean “on such occasions as are opportune,” but rather “as long as we have the opportunity to do so.” Then he adds especially to those who are of the household of faith (Vs.10). Do not misread this. Paul is not talking about exclusive concern. The Gospel is universal. Paul has underscored that fact throughout the epistle. Even so, the focus of Paul’s ethics is pastoral. He is oriented to and motivated by his concern to “build up” the body of Christ. He is not limit ing “doing good ...

543. The World's Best-Known Widow

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... calls one day, and I could not help noticing a sharp-looking, late-model sports car which stopped at the traffic light alongside me. Visually, it was a thing of beauty! It sat there in sleek elegance, testifying by its design and engineering to its exclusive price tag - undoubtedly some where in at least the $55,000 to $75,000 range. Its driver’s identity lay hidden behind shaded windows. But the mere presence of it bespoke a certain air of individuality and distinction for its owner - paused briefly as ...

544. We Hold These Truths To Be Essential

1 Peter 3:8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , some bedrock beliefs that will guide us with the light from above. In times like these, we need an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll. I would like to articulate some of these anchors. It is not meant to be an exclusive list. You may have additional thoughts of your own. Let these five things provide a foundation for the future. We are a Biblical fellowship. In all matters of belief, worship and Christian life, let the Bible be our guide. The word of God does contain all ...

545. Turning Evil Into Good

Genesis 45:1-8a, 50:19-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a state of mind. A Hindu showed up and said—Your pit is for purging you and making you more perfect. Confucius said—If you would have listened to me, you wouldn't have been in the pit in the first place. A Reporter said—Could I have the exclusive story on your pit? An IRS agent said—Have you paid your taxes on your pit? A Realist said—That's a pit. An Idealist said—The world shouldn't have pits. An Optimist said—Things could be worse. A Pessimist said—Things will be worse. Meanwhile, Jesus ...

546. Is There More Than One Way to Heaven?

John 4:19-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a pronouncement calling people to worship in spirit and in truth. The woman then says, “I know the Messiah is coming." Jesus responds, “I who speak to you am he." Why did Jesus say that? Isn't that a rather arrogant statement? Isn't that a rather exclusive proposition? I AM the MESSIAH. Jesus was rather persistent about it. “You who have seen me have seen the Father. I and the Father are one." In the intimate conversation at the upper room on the night before Jesus dies Jesus says, “I am the way ...

547. The Fellowship of Kindred Minds

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... he had accumulated, the places he had traveled, churches he had built nor the people he knew. He had it. He just didn’t need to flaunt it. This soldier of the cross was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a zealous and faultless Pharisee, educated in the exclusive school of Gamaliel. He had personally sailed to every known port in the Middle East building a church in every place. Instead of mentioning all of that, Paul says simply, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” The foundation of all fellowship is ...

548. How to Make Heaven Our Home

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... he offered this answer, “Only the persons whose final standard is not their reason, their principles, their conscience, their freedom, or their virtue. But those who are ready to sacrifice all this when they are called to be obedient and responsible in action in exclusive allegiance to the Kingdom of God.” Bonhoeffer had a lot of problems with the Church of his day that sought ways to compromise and live into the Hitler regime. He reminds them and us that to stand firm is to be faithful. Sojourner Truth ...

549. Jesus’ 10 Commandments

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... gifted. And incomplete. Only when we return to our Creator, when we reconnect our soul to its source, that we can be whole. 2) Love the World by Loving Your Neighbor The only way to the universal is through the particular. Jesus preached almost exclusively to the small Jewish community in Galilee. Yet he preached to the whole world. His message is universal because it is particular. Jesus radically redefined one very common word: “neighbor.” It is our challenge to see that we are all neighbors, that we ...

550. We Believe in Jesus Christ

John 20:19-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , though they die, yet shall they live." Christ, Himself, is Christianity. IV. HE IS THE WAY AND TRUTH. Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This statement sounds rather arrogant, exclusive, narrow-minded and bigoted. I know of no statement more hotly debated today in Christendom than this question: Is Christ the way to salvation? After all, isn't everyone trying to get to the same place? No, not really. Buddhists are trying to get to ...

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