Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 551 to 575 of 2332 results

551. Gateway to Grace

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... planners and the sweepers and the bakers and the singers, in all the people and everyone — everything is happening here. We are called to prepare ourselves once more to be God's people, to put aside the constraints of the laws that worked for us in the desert of our lives, and run through the gateway to Grace, and our real home. Come, let us reclaim our past as Christians, recall the glorious story of how we were lost in the slavery of sin, and how we were reclaimed, renamed, and restored to our heritage ...

552. Tales of the Spiritually Stupid

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 18-22

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... , such foolishness is with us yet. Only a generation ago, Jeremiah's graphic images of quaking mountains and hills moving to and fro became a literal reality as men split the atom and its power was released in a mushroom cloud in America's southwest desert. Not long afterward, Hiroshima and Nagasaki became "cities laid in ruins." Images of the planet plunged into darkness with no light from the heavens have shifted from poetic language to an all-too-real possibility in our own world. In the days since then ...

553. Satan’s Talking Points

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . How can we avoid a bad attitude? How can we avoid growing an apocalyptic attitude? How can we keep a bad state of mind from becoming bad faith and a bad statement about our faith? In 375 CE one of the early monastic writers known as a “Desert Father” was the monk Evagrius Ponticus. Evagrius of Pontus spent much of his early life running away. He ran from sin and from the temptation to sin. He ran away from sophisticated Constantinople when he fell in love with a married woman, and fled to the holier ...

554. Are You Plugged In?

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." [39] And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. In the midst of all that activity, Jesus rose early and went to a deserted place, a place by Himself, so he could pray. It wasn't just to clear His head. It wasn't just to check in with God. It was in and through prayer that Jesus found the strength to do what he was called to do and the strength to be ...

555. Future Perfect

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... is Jesus/ None of them understood, that Jesus "had to rise from the dead" so He could be with us. And when the Risen Christ is with us, we bloom in splendor and glory just like Death Valley has done this year. And it reminds us that despite the desert times in our lives, the future is perfect because of the promise of our own Resurrection and the presence of the Risen Christ with us, now. As John Wesley said: "And best of all, the Risen Christ is with us." No matter what my English teacher might say, THAT ...

556. The Wise Men: Going Home Another Way

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended,that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice tries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together ...

557. A Very Present Help

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... two questions that seem to be on everybody’s mind today. Where is God? How can I help? Where is God? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God is a very present help. While God does not isolate us from trouble, neither does God desert us in the midst of our pain. As the Creed says, “We are not alone, we live in God’s world.” Though the mountains shake, the waters roar, the jets crash, and buildings crumble, the Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. It ...

558. The Bread We Daily Need

Luke 11:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... daily bread. When the children of Israel were delivered from the slavery of Egypt they thought they had it made. Their songs of freedom, however, soon turned to murmurs of complaint. Water and food were scarce in the desert. Some thought they had it better back in Egypt. Out there in the desert the Lord provided. At twilight quail landed. At dawn manna descended. This white-like wafer with a honey-like taste kept them from starving for 40 years. But this bread from the Lord had one condition. It was daily ...

559. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... streamed into our living rooms, and pleas for help are portrayed in our television screens before they are communicated to neighborhood rescue squads, what are normal people to do? Keep your heart tender and your prayers current. In the desert, Abbas and Ammas expressed their compassion for a hurting world by retreating to the desert to pray. Could that be a lesson for us? When we have done all we can do, let us trust God to do the rest. So, you who are hurting, and you are weary trying to help the hurting ...

560. The True Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lee Griess

... grace for us today. Jesus says, "I don't care how much trouble comes your way; the good shepherd will never leave you. I don't care how difficult times become, the good shepherd will never desert you. I don't care how helpless, how hopeless, how hapless your life may seem, the good shepherd will always be at your side. He will not desert you in time of need. For the true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." But that's not all. As we look at this text, we see more. Jesus says the true shepherd knows ...

561. Ecological Politics

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , and his hands are directing the choreography of a marvelous beastly dance. The bear is on its hind legs, not to swipe and strike but to gyrate with the tempo of the child's clapping. The snakes slither in pairs forming artistic designs in the desert sands. Above, the vultures and hawks swoop and turn and bank and dive in aviary formation. The lions and tigers nod their heads as if in rhythm to celestial instrumentation. Slowly, and with mesmerizing fascination, the adults creep back to their places by the ...

562. Can These Bones Live?

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... a moment now —?@a silent second or two —?@to comprehend that place that William Butler Yeats referred to in the "Circus Animals Desertion," as the "foul rag and bone shop of the heart." As we take stock of these spaces in our life, we need to remember ... . We can lift up our eyes and open up our hearts because God has breathed the Spirit upon us. God has called us out of the desert. The voice of the holy has brought us out and promises to accompany us on the journey. Can we be too bold? Can we shout too ...

563. Show Me What’s Real

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... . "Now if I have found favor in your sight," Moses told God, "show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight." Moses was seeking a sense of assurance that he and the people would not be abandoned in the middle of the desert where sand was the only thing that all anyone could see for miles and miles in every direction. It was at that moment that Moses realized that he could not continue without the daily presence of God. Left to his own devices many things could go wrong. The people ...

564. Forward March

Joshua 3:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... the living God who without fail will drive out from before you" all the people currently living on the land. Crossing the river would not be easy as is often the case with most major transitions in our lives. The people had spent forty years in the desert, dealing with sandstorms and scorpions. They were frightened at the notion that they would have to cross the river. The Jordan was neither deep nor wide, except when it floods. The river was only ninety to 100 feet wide and about three to twelve feet deep ...

565. All About Me?

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... my way out of a tight spot. Oh, and I'm there, too, complaining to Moses about the lack of fresh onions here in the desert and having to put up with this manna and quail diet. Now that I think about it, I am probably there urging Jesus not to ... birds that simply shove their young out of the nest for a crash course in flying, carry their young on their backs, catching the desert updrafts, until the day that the young eaglet can catch the breeze and soar for itself. The people have been brought along and now ...

566. In Spite of Evidence to the Contrary

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... the devil attacks Jesus' trust in the promise of his baptism. First, after Jesus had been starving for forty days in the desert, the devil shows him some rocks. "Jesus, if you are the Son of God, which I don't believe you are, because if you were, why would God ... let you starve like this in the desert. So prove it to me. Prove it to yourself. Turn these stones into bread. Flex your muscles. Show off your power. Prove to all that ...

567. There's Something about Con Men

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... had a tribal custom to choose a king for a year. But when the year was over, this king would be transported to a certain island and abandoned. The man’s delight instantaneously turned into distress. Things were great now, but soon he would be alone on the deserted isle. But then he hit on a shrewd plan. He was the king! He could order people to do whatever he wanted. So, over the next several months he sent members of the tribe to clear this other island. He had them build a beautiful house, furnish it ...

568. There Will Be Singing

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... your God will come . . . Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs . . . and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away ...

569. Wonder: It Is So Exciting

Matthew 17:1-9

Illustration

Brett Younger

In the comic strip Peanuts, Snoopy's brother Spike, the one who lives in the desert, is sitting with his back against a cactus, writing a letter that says, "At night the sun goes down, and the stars come out; and then in the morning the sun comes up again. It's so exciting to live in the desert." We've gotten used to sunrises and sunsets, mornings and evenings, the moon and the stars. We've gotten used to music and art, friends and family, joy and sorrow. We too easily grow accustomed to the wonders that ...

570. A New Creation

John 4:1-26

Illustration

Robert E. Coleman

... dismal scene. After a while the curious man seated across the aisle, asked, "Sir, what do you see in that wasteland that makes you smile?" "Oh," he replied," I'm in the irrigation business, and I was thinking if we could only get water to this land that the desert would become a garden." That's what Jesus is teaching His disciples. He wants us to see the world's people as He sees them. Every one of them is precious in His sight. By divine grace, they can become a new creation, made beautiful in holiness.

571. There Are No Magic Capes

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... to a land of paradise. He said the cape was on sale...not wanting to miss such a bargain I gave him my only dollar. The next panel shows Spike in a desert contemplating his environment. Then we switch back to Charlie reading to Snoopy: "So by the time you get this letter I'll be living in paradise." Then Spike is pictured again on the desert floor among the cactus, cape draped over his shoulders, saying, "Then again, maybe I've been had." Too many people have been had. There are no magic capes. There is no ...

572. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... not get away from the crowds: “they followed him on foot from the towns” (v.13). Jesus’ attempt to be “by himself” — a description in Matthew which when coupled with a traveling motif assumes the presence of the disciples — is a failure. His “deserted place” is already inhabited by “a great crowd” when Jesus steps ashore. If Jesus had been anticipating some quiet time, he immediately changes his plans. The presence of the huge crowd that had hot-footed it over land to beat Jesus to his ...

573. A Winsome Witness

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... been "cut off." He will have no posterity, no descendants. He is like the eunuch — no children, no family. It is almost as if the eunuch is reading his own story. No wonder he wonders. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, our friend meets another traveler on this desert road. We who are familiar with the story know that it is not an accidental encounter — God had sent Philip there to help this seeker in his search. Just as I want to credit the eunuch with keeping the faith in spite of obvious obstacles, let ...

574. When The Baker Becomes the Bread!

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... of five barley loaves and two fish (vv. 9-13). Jesus reminds the crowd that God provided bread for their forefathers in the desert (vv. 31-32) before speaking about another kind of bread as he repeatedly identifies himself as the bread of life: "The bread of ... miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' " Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not ...

575. When Israel Sang the Blues

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... . We thought we were safe here in Judah and in the holy city — Jerusalem. Abab: We didn’t listen to the prophets. We were ripe for the taking and the Babylonians swept over us like a great ocean wave and whisked us away. Geezer: I wonder, has God deserted us? Abab: Dunno. What’ll we do? Geezer: Nuttin’, I guess — hey, where are you going? Abab: When I get down, I pick up my instrument and play and sing the blues. Geezer: The blues? Abab: Yep. We call them laments. Geezer: Laments — what are they ...

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