Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 551 to 575 of 2404 results

551. Down A Garden Path

Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... then, that we say at Lent's beginning and the beginning of each day that we ourselves are powerless to direct our lives in the way of peace and fulfillment! It's not what we want to believe about ourselves. From our early years we are taught to achieve, to excel, to succeed. And the measures of success have always been clear: good grades, athletic skill, a pretty face, a successful career, a luxurious house. As the years have gone by, we've learned, often the hard way, that we are not in control. Our fears ...

552. You Can Be Less Worried

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... and MD Magazine.) To become "worry free"? Not likely. But it is entirely possible to become increasingly less worried, particularly about peripheral issues. It is possible to become less dominated by our fears and more motivated by our faith. "Less worried" is a reasonable and achievable goal. Jesus had a lot to say about worry and how to deal with the sort of anxiety that takes the joy out of life. Perhaps better known than any other word on the subject is his famous passage from the Sermon on the Mount ...

553. Week Of Ash Wednesday

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... is much like spring training in baseball. This is a time given to us by the Church to prepare ourselves. We prepare for a goal and we need to hone our skills to succeed. Our readings today describe what the goal is and what we need to do to achieve it. The goal for all Christians is not difficult to determine. The prophet Joel speaks God's word and says, "Return to me with your whole heart, ... rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God." There is no magic or new revelation ...

554. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... preacher in tolerable health made a difficulty of six miles." And off he tramped on foot to keep his engagement!3 At the end of this description of such a full and busy life, the biographer tells us the secret of Wesley's resolve: "His ability to achieve was due in the main to a temperament which was remarkably steady and self-possessed. He never seemed to hurry or to worry, and he always made time in his busy day to be alone with God." Those words could easily have been written about our Lord Jesus ...

555. When Life Doesn't Go According To Plan

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... Both events feel the same. It is not the occasion that makes the day. It is the loving relationship we have. Therefore, a funeral feels the same as a party." That is the bottom line. What makes life go according to plan? Is it accumulating wealth? Achieving worldly success? Getting our own way? No, of course not. What makes life worthwhile are the loving relationships we make with God and one another. Everything else pales by comparison. This is the fact that makes a difference: You are one of God's stories ...

556. The Essence of Spirituality

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... a moment to experience God? How could we ever find a moment to pause and see the wonder of God all around us? Unfortunately, our technology has taken most of the wonder from our life. Not much amazes us. Consequently, with all we have, with all we have achieved, with all we are capable of doing, many lead lives of quiet desperation. As the late humorist, Isaac Singer put it, "The second half of the twentieth century is a complete flop. The poor wish to be rich. The rich wish to be happy. The single wish to ...

557. Recalling, Remembering, And Rejoicing

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions" (Deuteronomy 8:14b-15a). It is an eloquent recitation of the Almighty's achievements, to be sure. But you have to admit that, at least initially, it seems a rather curious choice of subjects for a farewell sermon. I mean, here the Israelites are preparing for a new life. However, instead of setting their sights toward the future ...

558. Two Sons: A Parable

Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... a dispute where people have differences of religious beliefs, ideologies, philosophies, or values, a conflict can only be resolved fully by some party having a change of belief. When people come to agreement, they use the mechanism of reconciliation in which the parties achieve unity and no conflict exists. In the case here neither was willing to change and so the conflict was postponed and came back later in a worse form. The leaders decided to use the mechanism of elimination of the opponent. Only, as we ...

559. Toward A More Sensuous Christianity

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... Some of Paul's chief headaches were caused by some of the enthusiastic factions, particularly at Corinth. From 1 Corinthians 1:18 to 4:21 Paul confronts some of the Corinthian Christians who describe themselves as "the spiritual ones." They had achieved a higher plane of spirituality, they knew a higher wisdom, and they even despised the low level Christianity of Paul, among others. In 1 Corinthians, there were those whom Paul described as possessing a superior knowledge in order to justify their ...

560. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

... of violence, the world nevertheless glorifies Jesus. Even when it is trying to reject God, the world ironically worships; it cannot help itself. The very stones cry out. Pilate cannot help himself; he postures and persecutes, but, like Pharaoh of old, he achieves nothing other than magnifying the saving power of God. He cannot help himself; he literally cannot help himself. Only the one who stands before him accused can trully help him. Somewhere in his soul, he senses this. Pilate the cowardly bureaucrat ...

561. Confidence To Spare

Psalm 27:1-6, 13-14

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... widow reported later that for three months before the accident, all he had been thinking about was falling. He was apparently putting all his energy into not falling instead of into walking the tightrope. Just as a surplus of confidence can help a person to achieve great heights, the loss of confidence can produce failure and tragedy in any area of life. B Today our scripture text is from Psalm 27, and this psalm exudes confidence. It is one of many psalms of new orientation -- the third and final type of ...

562. Love Without Limits

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... about his mission to the Jewish people. The Jews were a minority group. They had been kicked around for centuries by other nations who were bigger and richer. In some ways, Jesus was like Malcolm X, who decided that the only way black people were going to achieve any dignity was to do everything for themselves. There is a scene in the motion picture, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, in which Malcolm X is walking across a college campus on the way to a lecture. A young white woman sees him and runs after him ...

563. Prayers for Family Days

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... attached to us? Please remember, O God, that we've grappled with this call to duty before. We've dedicated sleepless nights and grueling daytime hours to its resolution. At various times we believed we made progress in reaching the goal of our call -- at least we achieved a partial answer. It seems we have done enough, certainly our share. We've become weary and we want to rest. Is it so bad that we ask this after months and years of struggling to succeed? This brings us to the matter of success. Why does ...

564. Prayers for Memorial Day, Election, Thanksgiving

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... and friends our faith reveals those beliefs that enable us all to live in respect, honor, and protection of one another. Here we imprint our children, our educational practices, and worship activities with those values that will empower our world to achieve and sustain peace. Our gifts, Eternal God, seem meager measured against the needs of our world, but not our faith. What you have made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son overcomes even the most wretched of failures committed ...

565. Take Dead Aim

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... , president, and so on. Dr. Bob Rotella, Director of Sports Psychology at the University of Virginia and consultant to many of golf's greatest players, explained the efficacy of goal-setting (Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, 1995): A person with great dreams can achieve great things. A person with small dreams, or a person without the confidence to pursue his or her dreams, has consigned himself or herself to a life of frustration and mediocrity. The sage of Proverbs put it this way, "Where there is no vision ...

566. Every Shot I Ever Hit

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... strokes of golf and life: In the strict economy of golf, each stroke counts exactly the same. It doesn't matter that athletically and aesthetically a 280 yard drive that carves the heart out of a narrow fairway bordered by hazards constitutes a far greater achievement than a six inch putt. On the scorecard -- the same! Some of the game's best known bromides root in this uncompromising reality. For example, "It's not how you drive but how you arrive." He concluded: "Long or short, a stroke is a stroke. They ...

567.

Drama

Betty Lynn Schwab

... As Christians we are called by Christ to live out -- with a sense of genuine urgency -- Christ's freedom. We are called to love God above all other people and things -- to love God more than our spouse or child, more than our job, more than our achievements, or money. When we love God that way, with all our heart and strength and mind, we are truly and deeply free. Reader 1: Let us pray together. Congregation: Holy God, God of the Passover and of the Exodus, God of the crucifixion and the resurrection, may ...

568. This Is Athletics -- Check Your Christianity At The Door

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Decisions For Christ Decisions for Christ are sincere at the moment, but too often actions befitting such a decision are much more difficult to achieve. Using the sports arena as a springboard, these dramas place the struggles of the Christian walk into a teenager's everyday setting where they can relate in a very real way. Scene I Setting: In the church parking lot after a youth meeting fall bonfire Characters:JOHN: Teenage boy, football ...

569. This House In Its Former Glory

Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... were people. Humans. It's dangerous to assume otherwise. I'm sure this is one of the reasons Jesus picked such ordinary people for apostles. He didn't want us to have an excuse when it came to following in his footsteps. The apostles and disciples achieved great things, stared into the face of death, and accepted martyrdom. But the stories in the Gospels make it clear they were just regular folks. It is God who is revealed in our weakness. In what they imagined were the shadows of giants, those who had ...

570. Yes, It Becomes Unclean

Haggai 2:11-17

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... listeners. He wants to lead them somewhere with their consent. Sanctity, Haggai is suggesting, has always been seen as something that is difficult to acquire. It cannot be passed on. Each individual as well, in order to become holy, or separate, must dedicate oneself to achieving this goal. I've heard it put this way: "God has no grandchildren." We may all be children of God, but none of us inherits this condition. We join the family by choice. Haggai's next question, "If one who is unclean by contact with ...

571. Obedience To The Lord

Micah 6:1-8

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... Confession Lord, so often we have chosen to think first of ourselves, seeking Your blessings for our own comfort and gain and not so we could share Your blessings with those in the world around us. Forgive us, Lord, and help us move our focus away from what we can achieve for ourselves to what we can do to serve You and those who need Your word. In Christ we pray. Amen. Hymns "What Does The Lord Require" "Be Thou My Vision" "Lord, I Want To Be A Christian"

572. The Season Of The Resurrection

Luke 24:44-53

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... the new things that struggle within me to be born. I know and have seen the power of love, when I am brave enough to let it happen. I have experienced the warmth of communication, when I have been willing to risk myself. I have felt the satisfaction of achievement, when I have put myself on the line for personal and social need. We pray that together we may let ourselves come alive in the power of Christ. We pray that together we may become whole people, growing in the power of love and commitment to a new ...

573. The Season Of The Evangel: Epiphany 2

John 1:43-51

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... acceptable, nevertheless demand our ultimate allegiance. We worship our possessions, our work, our loved ones, our hopes for the future, as though these things could satisfy our deeper needs. Forgive us, Lord, for the way that we evangels try to manipulate you to achieve our worship of these false gods. We pray for strength, wisdom, and energy to serve the lesser gods of our own making, instead of making these things a means of our glorifying and praising you. Forgive us, Evangel, and create a new spirit ...

574. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... "For the Bread Which You Have Broken." Stewardship Challenge (For the extremely courageous) The stewardship of the sacrament: the church exists, not for our enjoyment, or comfort, or security; it exists for the doing of God's work in God's world, for the achievement of God's purpose in his world. One pastor said to his congregation that it is blasphemous to regard the hosts of nominal, lukewarm members of existing churches as members of the body of Christ. Good for him! Hymn of Commitment "Living Word of ...

575. On Getting Out Of The Way

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... of us. If I have to be the best at whatever I do, I won't do much. The Guinness Book Of World Records describes in graphic detail just how far this fascination with being number one can go. The most bizarre record of human achievement is in the category of eating. In one year a certain chap consumed ten bicycles, one supermarket cart, seven television sets, six chandeliers, and one Cessna airplane. Even religion has its record holders. Guinness reports that the longest recorded sermon lasted 120 hours. The ...

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