Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 601 to 625 of 1230 results

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of affluence rather than by trusting obedience to the love of God. You may discover some person struggling to overcome a drinking problem and the whole family having to cope with the effects of that. Some family that seemed at first to be everybody's ideal may turn out to be a blended family made up of the leftovers from two painful divorces and the parents may be working very hard to put something good together under difficult circumstances. Still another family may have an adolescent child who is using ...

602. Beautiful Feet

Romans 10:5-15

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

... the absence of war, but a positive force, an opportunity for growth together, a situation where people are able to work together so all can accomplish a better life is certainly something everyone would recognize as a thing to be sought, at least in an ideal sense. But Isaiah doesn't stop with peace, as desirable as it is. Isaiah goes on to say beautiful feet also belong to those who bring good news, the part of the verse that Paul seizes upon. Isaiah continues with other thoughts, but Paul is content ...

603. Can't Help Dreaming

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... as a "loser," because you refuse to compromise, you refuse to be realistic, you refuse to change your dream, or to discard it in order to settle for less in this world. It is especially difficult in a time when success is defined as adapting your dreams and ideals to the smallness of the world. Quixote wouldn't do that. The saints wouldn't do that. Our Lord wouldn't do that. Our Lord was killed because he would not compromise his dream, the dream of the Kingdom of God. He taught us, "What does it profit ...

604. Here We Go Again

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... she created in her imagination what she thought the world was like. Her family recognized this, and wanted to protect her from the real world by not telling her what the real world was like, so that she could maintain this innocence, a vision of an ideal world. One day an eye operation was performed and she could see again. She was struck by two things: First, nature was much more beautiful than she had ever imagined it would be. Secondly, the faces of people were sadder than she ever thought they would ...

605. Landing Instructions

Isaiah 40:25-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... after her daughter's death, her mother finally found the courage to read her meticulously written diaries. After which she concluded that her daughter was simply ill-equipped to handle the reality of this world, the real world. She had fallen from the heights of idealism, onto the hard rocks of reality. In other words, she knew how to fly. Her parents raised her so she would soar, so she would reach the highest possible. The problem was they forgot to teach her how to land. The Greeks were right. Human ...

606. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... top. We are not a mountain top religion. It is always tempting to make Christianity that way, to picture Jesus as a "guru," a wise man, and his teachings as inspirational thoughts, and Christianity as just another one of the philosophies about life, giving us inspiring ideals. Jesus did not say that. Jesus would go off by himself to pray, but according to Luke, when he instructed the disciples, he came down from the mountain to be in the real world. That is where he said, "Blessed are you who are poor, and ...

607. Pre-Game Analysis

I Corinthians 9:19-27

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... said to the Philippians, "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, and become like him in his death, that if possible, I may obtain the resurrection from the dead." According to the Greeks, the highest life there is, the ideal human life, is the life of the hero. Paul says, Jesus is our hero. He lived his life perfectly, so he is our model. We are to live our lives patterned after his. We are to live heroically in our time. That's what the world needs, does it ...

608. Why Join the Church?

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the best sellers of all time. It sold millions of copies. It was written in the 1890s, and it looked forward to seeing what the world would be like in the 1990s, in the decade in which we are living. It envisioned people living in ideal cities, with beautiful environments crafted by human engineering, with culture freely accessed and used by everybody. No crime in the 1990s, they said, because everybody would have all their material wants satisfied, and there would be no need for crime. Everybody would be ...

609. Will You Be in that Number?

John 11:32-44

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , on this day John, or Mary, or Daniel, or Rebecca died. So this day will be like a saints day. You know the rest of the story of that wonderful monument. Millions of people have visited it. Do you know what they see? They don't see an idealized statue of a soldier, a generic representative of a warrior (although later on they did put such a statue nearby). What they see are names, individual names, 58,000 names. Everyone is there. When they dedicated that memorial they read every name on the wall, for two ...

610. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... no hesitation to do what he was commanded. Jesus had a godly "father" in Joseph, a good man. Not only was he obedient but he was compassionate. Out of compassion he had planned to put Mary away quietly and privately to avoid humiliation for her. Joseph made an ideal husband. In our Christmas story, we must be careful that we do not make Joseph a forgotten man. 3. Knew (v. 25). Joseph "knew" not Mary until Jesus was born. This infers that he did "know" her after the birth. If so, that ends the Roman church's ...

611. Proper 26

Matthew 23:1-39, Joshua 3:1-4:24, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Malachi 2:1-9

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... - v. 17. Old Testament: Malachi 1:14-2:2, 8-10 1. The Lay Priesthood (1:14-2:2, 8-10). Need: Today's three lessons deal with religious leaders. In the gospel Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In contrast, Paul's ministry is ideal. Lesson 1 deals with priestly failings. If this sermon were to be preached to clergymen, the message would be focused upon the ordained priesthood. Since the sermon is directed to the congregation, we need to show the laity that in their own way as believers, they ...

612. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Matthew 25:14-30, Zephaniah 1:4-13, Zephaniah 1:14--2:3

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... we learn that when Christ returns, we are accountable for our lives during the interim. But what kind of people should we be and what should we be doing when the Parousia occurs? The passage from Proverbs seems to be more appropriate for Mother's Day, but the ideal woman portrayed here points to the way we should be living while we wait for the second coming. Outline: A woman points the way for Christian living – a. Be a good family person - vv. 10-12. b. Be considerate of the poor - v. 20. c. Be one who ...

613. In the Darkness of Suspicion, There Is the Light of Devotion

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... was shining. The Wise Men were very wise. They came to give their devotion to the new king and would not be turned aside. In our world today, there is still a good bit of suspicion. It can poison relationships, goals, noble-endeavors, groups, and ideals. In the darkness of suspicion, let the light of devotion still shine on you. Hang onto this as we move away from Christmas. One year, as we were putting things away after Christmas, my wife said, “Well, Christmas is about over.” Our daughter replied ...

614. Through the Lens of God

John 4:5-42

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , including ourselves. Maum Jean became the Christ to that little boy, pouring out her love to him in abundance. Lent is a time when we seek to be transformed and to be renewed. Jesus provides the perfect example and today's celebration is the ideal environment to enter fully into this process. Let us, therefore, be renewed by breaking down the barriers of hostility, hatred, prejudice, and exclusivity. Let us build bridges of friendship, love, peace, and justice. Let us do what we can to build God's kingdom ...

615. The Price of God's Glory

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... run and hide from its manifestations? Or, can we realize that the road may be difficult, but for those who hold out, the greatest of all treasures, eternal life with God will be the reward? G. K. Chesterton summarized the dilemma in 1910 when he wrote, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." Jesus used his gift of free will to carry the cross of others and in the process set them free from all their burdens. We must be willing to do the same ...

616. Pentecost! Slow ... and Sure!

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Have you ever noticed how we preachers often promote the early church as if it were the ideal? "Why, they did a miracle a day in the early church." "When they had a prayer meeting, everyone came!" " They spoke in Greek then!" (As if it were some sort of superior language!) On and on we can go browbeating ourselves by comparison. Yet, when one really studies the Bible, ...

617. Redundant Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... still love all those who would wish our country harm. We CAN love those aligned against us, without approving their back-stabbing and back-sliding ways. We CAN love Red states. We CAN love Blue states. We CAN love those, who along with us, fall terribly short of God's ideal blueprint of love. The Apostle Paul even said that "We Can do ALL THINGS . . ." because of God's amazing, abundant, redundant love.

618. So You Want to Be in the Lead?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... about the early church being of one heart and one mind describes all sorts of squabbles and scandals (Luke 6:1; Luke 5:1-2)? I say it because Paul says there's quarreling among you (1 Corinthians 1:11). Leaders exist the same way the church exists: with the ideal of one heart and one mind, and with the reality of missteps and mistakes, squabbles and scandals.

619. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... vacationers who rest by doing new things in new places. Both types of vacationers are celebrating their time of rest in the way that suits them, relaxes them, fulfills them, and restores them. What kind of rest do you crave? What is your ideal resting place? In both cases this rest involves an emptying-out and a re-filling or re-fueling. A vacation empties-out our stuffy stockpile of routines, rat-races, and regulations. But a vacation - whether luxuriously languid or jam-packed and jack-hammered - fills ...

620. The Purple Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is not the kind of community envisioned, then created, by the first Christians. In today's text from Acts, Luke describes the relationships and the attitudes that bound together that very first group of post-Pentecost followers of The Way. If Luke's details are somewhat idealized it's because he's focused more on the incarnated gift of the Holy Spirit, and less on the weaknesses of the all too fleshly human beings. Luke is prophesying the church's way forward into the future. He knows the power of the Holy ...

621. How to Beat the Devil

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of skill, or style, or strength. No: at that crunch point everything comes down to timing. How long to hold onto the ball before the buzzer; how many times to pass the ball; how to work for what shot; how to keep the ball away from the other team. Ideally the team down by one point wants to make their winning shot with virtually no time left on the clock, giving the opposing team no chance to respond. Of course, waiting until the last second has risks. If that final shot misses, your time is gone, and the ...

622. The Seven Deadly Fears

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Deadly Fears would be something like this. This is my list. I encourage you to create your own list, or even better, to work on a list together with your people as your congregation's own personal Seven Deadly Fears. Since every church is different, ideally every church should have a different list of its Seven Deadly Fears. 1. Fear of the Unknown. Instead of a pioneering spirit or an adventuresome spirit, this fearful spirit would rather sit by the home hearth and never question what may lie beyond the ...

623. An Uncomfortable Comforter

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... direction. Hotels, spas, vacation cruises that promise to pamper and spoil now are our idea of true comfort. Too much to eat, too much to drink, too much to see, too much to do, too much of all good things--that is our comfort ideal. In today's gospel text, Jesus refuses to accommodate our 21st century Comfort Inn sensibilities. Jesus' disciples ask him to teach them an identifying prayer--a prayer that will uniquely distinguish them as his disciples. The identifying title Jesus provides them with is that ...

624. Crack Open Some Easter Eggs and Be Cracked Open

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you have already found Easter eggs this morning? Did you bring any to church with you? Can I see them? (It would be ideal if you could have some kind of Easter egg – paper-egg tattoos? eggs made by the kids? – to pass out to everyone this morning. If you do this, don't go any further until everyone has an Easter Egg.) How many of you still have purple and green and pink ...

625. Dead Man Walking

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... they're animated not just by the air within them, but by the winds that buffet and bolster them down the street. [If you can get a big balloon – like the ones they have at car dealerships – and blow it up at this point in your sermon, that would be ideal. Or if you're good at drama and calisthenics, you can act out what it's like for a flat, lifeless piece of plastic to come alive under the power of the wind, as Bishop Ulmer did so powerfully when I was privileged to hear him use this metaphor.] In ...

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