Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 601 to 625 of 1138 results

James 4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... the way you normally would talk to God and don't just talk with your mouth, talk with your head and talk with your heart. On the other hand, pray systematically. All prayers should contain several elements: praise, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession. I have found that variety is the spice of prayer. Have two types of lists as a prayer list. Have a daily list, that is, those are the things you pray for every day, and then have a divided list. For example: I pray for different things on different days ...

602. Do You See the Light?

Romans 1:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... has left those objects and reached your eye. Because the truth is the only thing your eye can really see is light. Light is an amazing phenomenon. It is the fastest entity in the universe traveling 186 thousand miles a second. It comes in a variety of sizes, frequencies and energies, on a continuum known as the electromagnetic spectrum. In that spectrum there are all kinds of light waves and light rays. The visible light that we can see represents only one one thousandths of a percent of that spectrum ...

603. Walking on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” (1) O.K., it’s an old joke. Still, some of us can appreciate the feeling of downright panic that these balloon passengers experienced. We’ve been there. Not in a hot-air balloon, perhaps. But there have been times when we’ve been really afraid for a variety of reasons. And it comforts us to read about the disciples of Jesus as they experience what it is to be afraid, too. They’re not up in a hot air balloon, but their situation is just as perilous. They’re in a small fishing boat on the Sea ...

604. Living By Faith In A Time of War

Judges 6:1-40

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... later. Today there are approximately 180,000 American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both of those nations held free, fair elections for the first time in modern history. Both countries have set up democratic, constitutional governments. For a variety of reasons, terrorists, motivated by a radical Islamic ideology, are fighting desperately against these emerging democratic governments. While there are many Americans, perhaps a majority, who believe that our invasion of Iraq was a mistake, most Americans ...

605. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... , and in the end, the fearsome things do not have the last word. Mary, fear not….the Lord is with you. Mary, fear not…the Savior will come. Notes: The James Russell Lowell hymn was dropped from the new edition of the United Methodist Hymnal for a variety of reasons, but those of us "of a certain age" remember it as one of those hymns which stirred our spirits. The full text reads: Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil ...

606. Bountiful Faith: Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles...Etc

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... of God It was a great joy to introduce you to my brother this week. I am just so proud of this congregation and am grateful for your gracious welcome. On Thursday he spoke for a conference gathering and used a DVD from their last stewardship campaign. It included a variety of persons sharing their witness. The one that stuck with me was a woman who said: Of all that God has given us, we enjoy the first 10% the most. That's the part we give away, and it's given us more joy than all the other 90%. That ...

607. Joshua: Why These Stones?

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... ?", tell them what God has done. I take great delight in our "Sunday Night Alive" and "Emerge" services. We live in a day when one size simply does not fit all, and if we are to effectively communicate the Gospel, we must offer a variety of worship experiences. In my college days in the '60's, we had groups singing what was considered "contemporary Christian music." Back then, it was built around folk music—Christian "hootenannies" and "sing-alongs." At Asbury College, instead of the Kingston Trio we had ...

608. The Revelation Code IV: The Fight at Frodo's Tower

Revelation 19:1-21

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Bassham. You can order it through our "Virtual Bookstore" at our website, www.fumcbirmingham.org. While you are there, if you would like to do more reading on the Book of Revelation, I highly recommend James Efrid's, Revelation for Today. There are a variety of websites which give background on Julia Ward Howe and the writing of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The specific reference I used for this sermon is http://womenshistory.about.com then search for Julia Ward Howe. She wrote her "Mother's Day ...

609. Out of Solitude

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... So let Sabbath come. Notes: The Jane Kenyon poem, "Let Evening Come," can be found on various websites...simply search for "Jane Kenyon." Some believe she is speaking of death, and she probably is, but as with all good poetry, it is open to a variety of interpretations and it certainly seems an appropriate invitation to Sabbath rest. This is the first sermon in a series related to the Lenten study book, Traveling the Prayer Paths of Jesus by John Indermark, available from The Upper Room and from the church ...

610. Romans 13:9-21

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... right in. At first glance the text presents a fairly unstructured, wide‑ranging series of general ethical admonitions. The generic literary description of this style of presentation is “parenesis.” Paul's apparent lack of any one theme and variety of admonitions seems to earn the description of “paranetic” for this passage. However, more recent scholars have discerned a common thread running through all of these Pauline imperatives (see D.A. Black, “The Pauline Love Command: Structure, Style ...

611. In Celebration of American Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:2-9, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Illustration

... there been more justification, more compulsive need than now. It is your Day of Thanksgiving, and when we feel the truth of the facts which are before us, that in three or four years the peaceful, peace-loving people of the United States, with all the variety and freedom of their life in such contrast to the iron discipline which has governed many other communities – when we see that in three or four years the United Sates has in sober fact become the greatest military, naval, and air power in the world ...

612. Apostolic Instruction

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... Can it be this has escaped vast multitudes, even in the churches? I strongly suspect the answer has to be in the affirmative. The numerous one-syllable words that come to us greet us much like prized roses in a garden filled with many varieties of flowers that are attractive but at a closer look are mostly lackluster. Saint Paul places his lesson, leading to victorious living, squarely before us. To every age his challenging invitation bids us to accept and practice ideas emerging from his relationship with ...

613. Modeling a Necessary Future

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... up barriers of caste, class, race, and religion, we need to expand this living, holy temple of God to be tolerant and inclusive. This is not to say we must all become an amalgamated, conformist glob of saccharin sameness. Not that. God celebrates variety even more than we do. It does mean, however, that we will practice tolerance and thoughtfulness. It does mean we will pray for diplomats and statesmen and peacemakers. It does mean we will work for peace, understanding, and harmony among the world religions ...

614. When Life Isn't Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... us into a new creation in Christ. The real question is, WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO WAIT TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF SALVATION? William James is usually thought of as the father of American psychology. In his book written in 1902, Varieties of Religious Experience, James defines conversion as “the process, gradual or sudden, whereby a person who is previously unhappy, inferior or wrong, becomes consciously superior, happy and right.” (5) Who wouldn’t want that? “Superior, happy and right.” We wouldn’t ...

615. Pray, Baby, Pray

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... fields, it may take a passive form, such as not contributing to the group effort. In health care, a seasoned professional may withhold vital information, which not only hurts the new employee but also affects patient care.” Namie identifies a variety of saboteurs. Any of these sound familiar to your own lurking black holes? 1) Belittlers, who hurl put-downs, demeaning remarks and disparaging comments. 2) Credit thieves, who steal your ideas and grab the glory when something is successful. 3) Finger ...

616. Chocolate Cake, Flooded Waters, and Baptism

Genesis 9:8-17

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... that it had kind of an odd taste. Nevertheless, he was hungry, so he went back for a second piece. "They'll never notice that two sticks are missing," he thought. This time he looked closer at the label on the jar. It read, "Puppy Pepperoni." 1. Because of a variety of uses of the term "baptism" in the Christian community, I will capitalize the term whenever it refers to the sacrament of Baptism.

617. Final Instructions

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... come now, today.2 There is sacramental heavenly food for the calling to witness today. The kingdom is not coming in fullness until a time in the future, but here and now, we get a foretaste of that kingdom in the word and sacraments and in a wide variety or other ways. R. S. Thomas, the Welsh poet-pastor describes the coming of Christ's kingdom today like this: The Kingdom It's a long way off but inside there are different things going on ... Festivals at which the poor man is king and the consumptive is ...

618. A Womb With a View

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... but a lifestyle all their own. Our living rooms become our wombs, our televisions, stereos, and satellites become our windows to the exorcised world. Even those who appear to be out in the world may actually be nurturing fetal faith. Wombs can take on a variety of guises; we seek sanctuary from the unknown in our jobs, in our addictive co-dependent relationships, in our ideologies, even in our churches. The disciples certainly appeared to be out in the world. They had hiked all over Galilee and were now on ...

619. Minding Your Heart

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... notions of integrity, respect, honor, loyalty and commitment. But driven by an uncontrolled heart, David acted upon his desire, impugning his relationship with his God, his country, and his people. For good or ill, heart-controlled behavior still dominates our actions in a variety of circumstances. Have you ever driven all night in a snowstorm just to get home for Thanksgiving? Is your credit card bill at the end of the month the best reflection of your spontaneous nature? Have you ever given in to the ...

620. Bethlehem's Two Roads

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... inns that utilized grottos or caves as part of their structure were always careful to provide only one entrance into their interior rooms for security reasons. Camping out in a small open-air cave, Joseph and Mary were easy prey, openly accessible from a variety of routes. But it was this same precarious nature of this shelter that made it possible for both shepherds and animals to approach them openly and gaze with wonder at the newborn child. After the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the Transformation Age ...

621. Home Alone

Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... jerk back and forth on this key log until the entire structure collapsed. The Russian word used for shaking the key log is also the word for agitation, meaning "to shake to pieces from underneath." Today American society is being shaken by a variety of forces pulling at several "key logs." One of the most "key" of these "logs" is the family. Among the log-shaking forces threatening the safety of our family structure are economic pressures - both of great wealth and of great poverty. In previous generations ...

622. Healing Aerobics

2 Kings 5:1-15ab

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our own agenda and timetables. But healing is a process over which we have very little control. Physicians continue to be mystified by the fact that patients suffering from the same illness and given the same treatments will respond in a wide variety of ways. The presence of God's healing spirit coursing through our bodies and our souls is the unprescribable variable that makes all healing possible. Rick Dale Moore, in his book, God Saves: Lessons from the Elisha Stories (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), has ...

623. Settle for an F

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or watch the hollow excesses of sex and stardom portrayed in Madonna's "home video" Truth or Dare? Fear of the too familiar feeds our negative image of marriage as well. We view marriage as an end - an end to unlimited freedom, an end to sexual variety, an end to personal choice. The idea of faithfulness and fidelity rubs the bar of this imagined bit even more abrasively against our rebellious spirits. Marriage would be a dreadful "place" to serve a life sentence if, indeed, it were, as the joke noted, an ...

624. FaithRace

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Sports Illustrated, 28 January 1985, 20). Each of our lives revolves basically around a certain question or theme or what used to be called "life verse." Each of us has one theme with many variations, one conflict with many skirmishes, one chord that is played in a variety of keys. In short, each one of us has a peculiar niche or groove. When we are in the groove, there is a robust engagement with existence. Life is lush with fulfillment and can be lived full-throttle. When we are out of the groove, however ...

625. Toys R Us. NOT!

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... its true status if it boasted "Profits 'R' Us." The key to its marketing success, of course, is that it gathers a vast amount of exclusively children's merchandise - from newborn's booties to the most sophisticated video games - all under one roof. Despite the huge variety of goodies crammed into each store they are all of one "type": kids' stuff. The temptation to develop only one facet of our character at the expense of all the others is usually fueled by a noble-sounding desire to be "the best" at some ...

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