Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 651 to 675 of 2404 results

651. Praying To Win

John 14:5-14

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... school and the team, but he also made it very clear that church, family and relationships with friends came first. His supportive style of coaching and his caring personality fostered a team spirit that, for many of us, resulted in great individual achievements. We knew that he cared about us more than he cared about winning, and that made all the difference. There were many of us in those years who excelled beyond personal expectations and abilities because of the support and encouragement that we received ...

652. Jerry's Faith

Luke 7:1-10

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... not understand how God could allow this. Her death left me confused and angry. I became more of a doubter than a believer. I came to the conclusion that I could only believe in myself. I pushed myself, I worked hard; I became an over-achiever and eventually a workaholic. This program propelled me to financial success, but it was accompanied by personal failure. I learned that the love of money can bring financial gains that are accompanied by personal loss. I became an empty person. I couldn't stand success ...

653. Vitality For Today

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon Aid

Clement E. Lewis

... changes in physical performance, and that many of the things that mattered in youth and early adulthood are less important now. We begin to consider the needful economies of life, including provision for the later years of our lives. Personal maturity, spiritual fitness, and summary achievement begin to take on new meanings for us. We may even begin to consider what people will think and say of us when we have arrived at retirement, or finished our course of life. It is important that each and all of us, as ...

654. Prayers for Divine Signs

Mark 13:1-31, 1 Samuel 2:1-11

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... Ancient in years, Offspring of time and eternity, timeless One, we are grateful for the moments in time when we are given a glimpse of eternity -- when the poignancy of poetry or story give us full appreciation of love; when the coming together of people achieves fulfillment of true community; when a high moment of music or other living art gives us a vision of ageless beauty; when a prophetic word or action discloses the vision of truth. Be worshiped, O God, now and ever. Amen. Prayer of Dedication True ...

655. Are You Convinced?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Larry Powell

... of going to the big leagues and becoming star athletes by excelling at their position. Can you imagine how many major league pitchers have come and gone without ever pitching a no-hitter? Scores of them never came close. No-hitters are extra-special, an achievement amounting to a dream performance by a champion athlete. Why then was the no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox a bittersweet experience for Andy Hawkins? Because he lost. That's right, he lost. How does a pitcher lose a no-hitter. Because his ...

656. Tears And Ointment

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Larry Powell

Senator William Proximire (D-Wisconsin) regularly delights the general public by awarding his now-famous "Golden Fleece Award" to some government committee or agency which, because of some redundant high-dollar project, has achieved recognition for excelling in flagrant, wasteful, unnecessary spending. Senator Proximire gets our attention because he illuminates a subject of interest to us all: how money is spent. We do not like to spend more than we have to and have little tolerance for irresponsible, ...

657. Taking Life Seriously

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... to live them. We realize that no one can do our living or our dying for us. Feelings of inadequacy and guilt inevitably come from trying to live them. Especially when we compare our lives to others or look to external standards of conduct and achievement. "Sin" is a word often used by religious authorities which underscores these feelings. The church frequently plays on our feelings of guilt and fear, using them as leverage to gain conformity. The promise of heaven is used as the carrot. The threat of hell ...

658. Christ the King

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

George Paul Mocko

... end of his life, surveyed, as he pondered the meaning of the destiny of God's chosen people - a failure of leadership. And, because of that failure, that God-given destiny is unachieved, unrealized. As Jeremiah strains to understand this, he knows God will have that achievement. The leadership problem will be solved. He is not exactly clear how. His picture of that king to come is still shrouded in fog. But fog-shrouded as Jeremiah's vision is, it still does provide us with some insights into the nature and ...

659. Beware! Caution! Danger!

Acts 14:8-20

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... right when he said, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ crucified." All persons who work for Christ would do well to remember that "God is a jealous God and his glory he will not give to another." This is not always easy to achieve; this shifting of attention away from one's self. A lot of the messenger's effectiveness, be it preacher, teacher, singer, worker, or whatever representative of the gospel, comes from his personal qualities. Marshall MacLuhen, mass media expert, said, "The medium is the message ...

660. Death Of A Dream - Birth Of A Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... long let us harbor our distorted values. Humans, left to go unchecked by the God to whom we are all accountable, will never, on their own, break away from the addiction of power and prestige and profit. It seems that no matter how much you achieve it is never enough. Dr. Leonard Sweet, in his book, The Power of the Spirit, said, "The dominant concept of power today revolves around money, muscle, multitudes, and might." Those unholy and unhealthy ambitions become a cancer in the soul, that eats away at the ...

661. Ascension

Acts 1:1-11, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... , two men in white asked them why they continued to gaze up into heaven. They were commissioned to carry out his great commission. There is a legend telling how Gabriel met Jesus at the gate of heaven when he returned from earth. "What have you achieved?" the archangel asked. "What results have you left behind on earth?" "I have left," answered Jesus, "11 men who believe in me." "Is that all?" demanded Gabriel. Jesus answered, "It is all." "But what if they shall fail you? Have you no other plan?" Gabriel ...

662. What's a Good God Doing In a World Like This?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

James Weekley

... gardening, yard sales, and jazzercise." What is the "good," that peaches-and-cream quality philosophers have punted around for centuries? What is a "good" child or even a "good" marriage? My wife, Rosalyn, and I agree that whatever it is, it can't be achieved overnight. It never comes easy. Although there can never be a perfect marriage, we can at least work for good ones. Eliminating the negative, pessimistic "me" helps clear the way. Consider also our country. In recent years we have come to idolize our ...

663. Turning the Corner on the Very End

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James Weekley

... with life as business as usual. We transplant organs, perform experiments above the earth's atmosphere, and have almost mastered the art of cryonics - that is, the perpetuation of human life in the laboratory. But beneath our masks of sophistication and achievement, we have failed to create that which keeps the mind alive, the heart burning, and the soul hoping - eternal life! We ask, "Is death really a dead-end? Does death ultimately ground our happiness, bury our aspirations, and decay our hopes? What ...

664. The Song in Search of a Voice

John 20:19-23

Sermon

James Weekley

... habitation upon this planet. All of us want peace. Then, when a few of us finally assume power, we cannot resist piaying with the military hardware at our fingertips. We try to convince others that "shootum up" conflict is the only way to achieve domestic tranquility. Dr. David Ennals, a past director for mental health in Great Britain, informs us that "Life is a complete and utter bombardment of stress factors - more so than any other age. Stress affects the apparently happy, healthy people just as much ...

665. The Kindergarten Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Erskine White

... son with his more immediate problem, which was taking that enormous step on the ladder of life from kindergarten to first grade. Don't kid yourself: kids worry! Do we learn from children how not to be so competitive - how to be happy with our own gifts and achievements and not to be so obsessed with what the next person has? Well, consider the plight of poor Charlie Brown (in Peanuts), who is walking with his friends on the way to school one morning. It is "show and tell day," and Lucy is asking Linus if he ...

666. The Lion, The Lamb And Herod’s Rage

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

... tells us that this is how it was even at the very first Christmas. The massacre which took place in Bethlehem shortly after Jesus’ birth was ordered by King Herod, known as Herod the Great. He was a killer from a family of killers - an evil, bloodthirsty man who achieved great power yet was always in fear for his life. Herod was not a Jew, but the Romans put him in power to rule over the Jews. As soon as he gained the throne, he had all of the (Sanhedrin) priests killed and installed his own priests in ...

667. The Vanities Of Work

Ecc 2:1-26

Sermon

Erskine White

... very well: the Preacher who. wrote Ecclesiastes. We ought to find him quite interesting; he is one of the most modern personalities in all the Bible. In fact, here is someone very much like you or me. He is a successful man by any measure of worldly achievement and he knows how to enjoy the pleasures of this world. But like many people today, he is also restless. He is looking for deeper meaning and greater fulfillment in life. He is honest about himself and even a bit cynical about his world. He is not ...

668. Who Do You say He Is?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Erskine White

... behind Me, Satan. You see God through the eyes of the world; you don't yet see the world through the eyes of God." "Who do the people say I am?" Perhaps the most popular religion of all says, "Jesus, you are a part of my Lifestyle. You help me achieve my goals in life and You give me the inner peace and self-esteem I need to enjoy the fruits of my success." "And yes, I know I'm supposed to follow Your example in return, Jesus, but You have to understand that life is more than just religion. I ...

669. God's Gift Of Life

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Erskine White

... every stage of life. It will mean bearing a cross, because we would be contradicting cherished orthodoxies and sacred cows of liberals and conservatives alike. But we would also be granted a moral power in this debate which thus far, neither side has managed to achieve. Like many of you, I have seen my children being born. I have witnessed how precious life is and how fragile life is. I have witnessed the miracle of a child whose inward parts were formed by God, a child intricately wrought from the depths ...

670. Wedding: The Bondage of Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... sake of love. Now this idea runs counter to current pop psychology which encourages men and women to assert their independence. The special relationship of wife and husband is seen in terms of self-serving rather than in self-sacrifice. Marriage is viewed as a vehicle to achieve personal objectives rather than as a means to pursue mutual goals. That is why what I say to you may not be very popular in some circles, but it is Christian. Paul says that in marriage you are to be subject to one another, so you ...

671. Wedding: Creating a Happy Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... health, but no one gets through life scotfree. You will need to be constant in prayer for each other. So, ________ and _______, you are already acknowledging that there are possibilities for hurts as well as happiness in marriage. That's why achieving happiness is such an extraordinary blessing. A recent Gallup Poll reported that only twenty percent of all couples interviewed evaluated their marriage as being happy. Only one out of five! How tragic, when we know that every couple begins their life together ...

672. How To Be a Lover

1 John 5:3

Children's Sermon

Object: two lists, both of which are entitled "How to Love Your Parents." One list includes impossible requirements; the other includes items anyone can achieve. Good morning, boys and girls. Have I told you lately that I love you? Well, let me tell you right now. God loves you, and I love you. I really do. I want you to believe that, and remember it. Maybe some day when you are older and you need ...

673. Blind Lead the Blind

Mark 7:31-37

Children's Sermon

... above a whisper. Next, divide your students into two groups - "blind" and "deaf." Give your class the instructions which you have prepared for the completion of the planned task. Your students will be tempted to cheat (don't let them), and probably will not even achieve a clear idea of their goal before your class time is over. If they become too frustrated, you may want to end this portion of your session early and take time to discuss the implications of the experience. If your students seem to be making ...

674. Gifts for God

Mark 12:41-44

Children's Sermon

... come up with a plan for spending and saving. Let them make their own choices, but help them understand how a few cents saved each week now can add up to a lot of money later. Help them set their own priorities, set goals, and plan ways to achieve them. Discuss with each child how much should be offered at church each Sunday. Again, leave this decision to each child. Explain the tithe and help each child determine what ten percent of his or her income would be, but let each child decide whether to give that ...

675. Proper 6

Galatians 2:11-21, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 2 Samuel 12:1-31, 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Psalm 32:1-11, Luke 7:36-50

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... , our Lord. Christians are new persons in Jesus Christ; they live a new life, the life of the Lord, who dwells in them and supports their faith and ministry. But this new life is a response to the gospel and God's grace, not a means of achieving forgiveness and justification before God. Christians live the godly life because they are aware of what God has done for them and, gratefully, give themselves to him and his work in the world. They are freed from sin, yet they cannot sin deliberately as though there ...

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