Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 626 to 650 of 2404 results

626. Bread of Another Kind (Bread of Life II)

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... to answer: shall I give my life to the anti-poverty program or to that “something else” which is obviously not clear to people yet? Shall I give my life to start welfare programs or shall I give my life to motivate people to solve their own problems and achieve higher goals? The crowds were demanding that he do the first. His inner being compelled him to do the latter. Why not do what the people want? They are hungry. It’s only a political issue, anyway. But by now it had become a life-and-death issue ...

627. Celebrating the Marvel of Growth

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... he is even more excited and shouts to himself, “Do it again!” I believe I am created in God’s image. He has placed me in a marvelous world. It is exciting and wonderful to be alive. It is exciting when we graduate from one level of achievement to another. We are fortunate when we can get up each morning and go to our schools, offices, fields and factories as active participants in God’s wonderful, marvelous world. The message of the Gospel is quite simple and direct. The church of Jesus Christ had a ...

628. Leading as Loving

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... or hostile aggressive opposition. “Laissez-faire” leadership likewise proved frustrating and ineffective, both in accomplishing the task of the group and in providing good internal relationships. The performance of the “democratic leader” was superior in task achievement and personal relationships as well.(Foundations for Purposeful Church Administration, p. 168) Over the years I have known ministers who have chosen to view their parishes as feudal estates over which they reign. The style of ...

629. God’s Kind of King

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... church.” St. Cyprian in the fourth century claimed, “Extra ecclesiam nula salus” or “Outside the church no salvation.” This does not refer to a particular church or denomination. At a prayer meeting a man asked, “Pastor, is it possible to achieve salvation outside the fold of the Episcopal church?” “It is conceivable,” the pastor replied, “that there might be that possibility, but no gentleman would avail himself of it.” There is no salvation outside the Christian church because it is ...

630. Renewal of the New

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... than all Germany. Do you expect your princes to take up arms to defend you? No! And where will you be then?” “Then as now,” replied Luther, “in the hands of almighty God.” Where can we get a faith like that? It is not a human achievement but a divine work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit creates faith. But where does one get the Spirit? He is identified with the Word as it is preached, taught, read and administered in the Sacraments. And where is the Word proclaimed and administered except primarily ...

631. Wisdom In A Proverb

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

... shrewdness, good sense, sound judgment, moral understanding, wisdom. The collection of proverbs under Solomon's name is the major portion of the Book Of Proverbs and gives it its distinct tone: proverbs that teach how the good life is to be achieved. Yet there is difficulty with this collection of Proverbs in relation to our search for wisdom and understanding. Proverbs are individual sayings which really should be considered separately. Someone has said, "To read through the sayings is like trying to have ...

632. Living By Faith And Trust

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... that a simple affirmation is all that is necessary. "Do you believe in Jesus?" "Yes, I do!" "Fine, you're a Christian!" With the words, "I believe," or "Jesus is Lord," or "Jesus saves me," then all that is needed has somehow been done. The achievement has been made. Heaven is assured. The lifestyle, the attitudes, the behavior beyond that affirmation do not matter essentially, for the "acceptance of Christ" has assured all that really matters - so some people say. Back in the Middle Ages it played out as a ...

633. Where The Lord Dwells

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Charles Curley

... all the people." Our God is a God-on-the-move; God constantly moving around among all the people. And a God-on-the-move can come into our lives in the most unexpected, unpredictable and, yes, inconvenient ways. God can take times of triumph, success and achievement and, just when we have attained our goals, allow us to see how hollow and meaningless they are. On the other hand, God can take our failure, our pain and disappointment and help us grow and prosper even in loss. Not all the time, in either case ...

634. Tough Faith In Tough Times

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... intervene in some way?" When we hear of the massacres of innocent people including children in Rwanda and Burundi, we shiver at the horror of it all and wonder why the people of those lands cannot see that ancient rivalries are preventing them from achieving prosperity in the modern world. Closer to home, we see the blight in our inner cities; we deplore the violence that is so frequently related to the drug traffic in areas of poverty. Since our orientation is toward problem-solving, we look for immediate ...

635. There's A Man Going Around Taking Names

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

... placed in the box and put on trial. Students in school must produce their papers, grades, and SAT scores "for the record." In a career, one is always having to demonstrate competence and justify actions. A stockholders' meeting places the achievements of the corporate officers on trial. Single people and divorced people are often accused in the court of gossip of being unable to maintain long-term relationships. Parents enroll in "effectiveness training" seminars, lest they be found guilty of inadequate ...

636. They Also Serve Who Wait

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Thomas Long

... to be over and the child to be born, for death. It is never easy to wait. It is hardest of all to wait for God. Not many can bear its harsh discipline. Not many can attain its delicate balance of action and hope. Not many can achieve its deep wisdom. Not many can endure its long and dark hours. Therefore, since the demands of waiting for God are so great, there is always the temptation to transform waiting for God into something else, something less. There are some who would change waiting for God into ...

637. Easter 4

Psalm 23:1-6, Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24, John 10:1-21

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... drive people from behind with threats and punishment. It tends toward tyranny. Another type of leadership is the shepherd-servant style. It assumes the burdens of people. It demonstrates by a life lived at a level above the flock what should be done to achieve higher purposes. It relieves the hurts and pains of the followers. It invites people to follow because they want to do so rather than forcing them by fear and threat. Jesus as the suffering servant and the good shepherd provides a model for Christian ...

638. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . Illustrative Materials 1. Abiding and Acting. Two major figures in church history demonstrate the results of meditation and devotion to Christ, abiding in him. A. Bernard of Clairvaux was a monk who was part of the movement of the Medieval period that tried to achieve a mystical union with God. He is noted for his steps to mystical union which he composed. The story is told that he was riding a donkey along beautiful Lake Geneva. Anyone who has been there knows the magnificent scenery that surrounds it ...

639. Proper 12

John 6:16-24, John 6:1-15, 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... in Alabama over 300 marketable uses of the lowly peanut. The fact that you probably didn't learn at school was that Carver was not only a great scientist but a great Christian who spent two hours every morning communing with God through prayer. He credited his achievements not to his own genius but to his Creator, who gave him the ability to multiply the uses of the peanut over 300-fold. Be gentle when you touch bread. Let it not be uncared for, unwanted. So often bread is taken for granted. There is so ...

640. Proper 23

Job 23:1-9, 16-17, Mark 10:17-31, Hebrews 4:12-16

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... was trying to tell him that righteousness is defined by what you do, not merely what you don't do. Respectability is not enough. The rich man was very good by human standards, exceedingly respectable, but that isn't enough. We can achieve respectability by leading a relatively good life, supporting our community and being a good neighbor. Respectability is granted by humans. God demands righteousness, the willingness to abandon all at God's beckoning. Righteousness is a gift of God. SERMON POSSIBILITIES Old ...

641. The Importance Of Asking The Right Questions

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... the dead. Real life is life on the edge, always at risk, always vulnerable, always demanding that we live by faith and not by sight. That we live by trust in God rather than trust in our bank account. That we live by hope rather than by achievement. That we live for others rather than for ourselves. The Sadducees who came to Jesus brought a similar kind of question. Their question is an attack question. It's a question designed to destroy the other person's viewpoint so that one's own viewpoint wins without ...

642. The Selection Of Matthias

Acts 1:12-26

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... become the Church as You meant us to be. To be Your Church we must be united, and we praise You, O Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, too often we have forgotten You called us to work together if we are to fully understand and achieve Your will for us as the Church. At times we have even thought that the talents of others are so much more important than ours that You really do not need us in Your service. Forgive us, O God, and help us to remember that all of our gifts are ...

643. The Righteousness Of God

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... ? Is the flaming sword at the gate to Eden God's last act? Will we ever find peace with God, when our sin stands between us and the sword is drawn over us? If peace is to come, it will not come by our hand. If reconciliation is to be achieved, we will not be able to negotiate it. We are like a downed airplane, unable to take flight once again on our own. During World War II, the Kee Bird, a B-29 Flying Fortress, fell out of the sky and belly-flopped in the arctic wasteland of Greenland after ...

644. Crossing the Desert and Finding Sand

Luke 18:18-30

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... ooo ... Bartender: I saw you on TV. Great run. Let's see your medal. Quite a thrill, eh? Chad: (Glumly) You know it was then. It was great ... but ... Travis: But what? Chad: Now what? For years I dieted, trained, disciplined, worked out, ran hard, achieved my goal ... but now what? Bartender: (To Travis) I think he's actually depressed. Travis: You're right -- Father -- (laughs) ... What about her? (Points to a sad Selma) Bartender: Dunno. Comes in every day from the desert. Orders a Gin and Grin. Says she ...

645. Boaz: I Am Blessed!

Ruth 4:13-22, Ruth 3:1-18

Drama

Dr. Raymond Bailey

... papers with the courts. We had a simpler system. A man gave away his shoe to the other one to whom he transferred his rights -- in the presence of eyewitnesses. The system worked. I became the husband of Ruth. That is my claim to fame -- not my own achievement -- but as her husband -- You know the rest. She had a son, Obed, the father of Jesse, father of David the shepherd king. That means also that the Messiah, your Jesus, is one of my descendants. That means that David the King had the blood of an outcast ...

646. A Big Fisherman · Peter

Mt 16:13-20 · Jn 1:35-42

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... alive? (Luke 22:31-33) Unnurtured decisions, Peter realized, dim and die. Accordingly he organized the church and set up a program of training that was to enable the Lord's followers to win the world in 300 years. That Peter took no small part in this achievement personally is attested by the fact he established what one scholar calls "a long history of travel" as he marched in the church's vanguard seeking the heathen wherever he could find them. One day he was in Samaria, the next Lydda, then on to Joppa ...

647. Life As An Investment

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... company, one which would make computers available to every person in the world. However, Mr. Sculley was comfortably and safely entrenched as president of the Pepsico Corporation, the makers of the soft drink Pepsi. In this position, John Sculley had achieved everything that a man could want Ä power, prestige, public recognition, an enormous salary and a secure future. The thought of a career change requiring a move to the West Coast frightened him. He was concerned about losing pensions and deferred ...

648. Inner Experience (Wedding Sermon)

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Mary Lu Warstler

... to grow as individuals, but you must also grow as a family unit. Growth is sometimes painful. Each of you will find that you must give up something of your past in order for the future together to be as God intends it to be. Each new level of achievement will bring you closer together in love as you work together at growing in love and maturity. Love is the key which unlocks the mysteries of relationships. God is love and therefore, all love is from God. Love is not just a "feeling" that we have. Love is a ...

649. "The Bitterness Of Betrayal"

Mark 14:43-52, Psalm 55:1-23

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

... quiet of our hearts, when our love for him dies for lack of loving. Sometimes he is betrayed when one is too frightened to stand for what is Christian, or to stand against what is dehumanizing in the world. If eventually the first disciples achieved positions of prestige in the church, it was not because they had been brave, courageous or loyal when these qualities were most needed. If eventually these people lived worthy lives it is because sometimes God is able to work wonders-- even with those who have ...

650. Delivery

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... Manuscript Freeing oneself of the manuscript is one of the most difficult tasks for most pastors. Two things are true: (1) Preaching with minimal reliance on a manuscript is a learned skill, not inborn. With effort anyone can do it. (2) There is no one way of achieving it. You have to learn what works for you. It does take time and effort, but it may be the best time you've ever spent. The obvious solution to avoid reading sermons is the worst solution: Not write the sermon out at all. There are occasions ...

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