Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 651 to 675 of 4964 results

651. Run Away Bride

Exodus 24:1-18, Matthew 22:1-14, Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... then again, people have all kinds of reasons for the music that they choose. So off I played. But when it got to be about quarter ‘til the wedding hour, the pastor discreetly whispered to me, that the groom was getting nervous, as the bride had not yet showed. Hoping she was merely caught in traffic, we didn’t yet worry too very much. But when at 5 to the hour, she still had not showed and no one had heard from her, the pastor again whispered, “you’re going to need to keep on playing.” So, on I ...

652. Holy Goat!

Leviticus 16:1-34, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... (Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20) The Story of Gideon’s Conversations with God and the Sign of the Fleece (Judges 6) Psalm 18: Praise Be the Rock Psalm 25: In You I Put My Trust Psalm 34: Taste and See that the Lord is Good Psalm 42: Put Hope in God Psalm 98: The Lord Has Made His Salvation Known Psalm 103: Praise the Lord My Soul Psalm 135: God’s Signs Paul Preaches: Christ Crucified is Our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-31) The Goat of Atonement “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy ...

653. Heart Shaped Stone

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is talking about the idea that we can successfully live by our expectations, that we can expect our relationships, our world, our hopes, our lives, our God to conform to our own mores and standards. For when we expect Jesus to be the way we ... ,” a “round peg in a square hole.” He will ask us to put aside our own expectations, and to follow Him into new ones, to build our hopes and faith upon a stone that is not the kind we are used to, but is exactly the opposite of what we might expect Him to be. That ...

654. The Museum of Failed Products

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... with his children. What are some of the implications of this covenant relationship? What does it mean to our lives today? There are two implications that glare at us. The first implication sounds a little negative, but I hope you will give it serious thought. Here it is: God is disappointed—even in the best of us. I hope that doesn’t burst your bubble. It is a central truth of Scripture. God is disappointed even in the best of us. The funny thing is that some of us don’t look at it that way at ...

655. Jesus' Tears

John 11:32-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... only show us his human side, but they also tell us that Jesus knows how sad we are when we lose someone we love. That’s a good thing to remember as we celebrate All Saints’ Day. We grieve for them, but not as those who have no hope. We know where they are. We haven’t lost them. We simply await that day when we will be united with them in our eternal home. 1. Cited in https://www.tonycooke.org/funeral-resources/goinghome_stories/, Tony Cooke Ministries. 2. Harari, Yuval Noah. Homo Deus (p. 29). Harper ...

656. What Are You Bananas About?

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... island of ‘Ata and discovered the six boys, alive and well. The boys’ families had already held funerals for them. They had given up hope of ever finding them alive. They called the rescue a miracle. But how did six teenagers survive for more than a year on ... after the death and resurrection of Christ. Even though they were persecuted daily and lived through many perils, they did not lose hope. Why? Christ had assured them that he would return. In the meantime, he would be with them in the presence of the ...

657. A Sympathetic High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... always rejoice, always sing, fear nothing, always be free from care, and always glory in God.[6] How does a God who suffers with us make a difference? What is the outcome for daily life of this joy? This joy leads to gratitude and a hope that conquers all the uncertainty, the suffering, the sadness we are enduring in life. Again Martin Luther helps us see the matter more clearly: We do not preach about the passion in order for people to become ingrates; but rather that they recognize our heavenly Father ...

658. I'm Going Fishing

John 21:1-19 · Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Jesus chose to lead the others, and a mission he could not run from, hide from, or retract. Jesus in his exchange was asking Peter to resume his mission, the one he consented to, and the one he was called to –a mission to heal the hurting, to give hope once again to the downhearted, to reassure the disappointed, to restore the lost. Now was his time. He cannot do as he wishes, he has now come to maturity as a disciple, and he must now do as he has committed….even unto death. In Jesus’ name now Peter ...

659. Get the Grinch

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... how you think of God. I don’t know what kind of religious upbringing you had. But one thing I do know is that God loves you and doesn’t want to add more stress to your life. In fact, he wants to take stress away and give you love, hope, peace, and joy. The reason why you’re so tired and fatigued and stressed out all the time is because you’re trying to live on your own power. God never meant for you to do that. God wants to give you the power you need. That’s why the ...

660. If It Had Been a Snake

John 1:29-42

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... really is. And two of John’s disciples see it too. They immediately leave John and begin following Jesus. What did John see? And how would it change our lives if we could see Jesus for who he really is? The first thing John saw was that Jesus is the hope of the world. Let’s look back at Genesis 3 for a moment. After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they experienced shame and fear and separation from God. To cover their shame, God made clothes for them out of an animal’s skin. From the very ...

661. What, Then, Would You Be?

2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... . Often by listening to the life story of another individual, and especially the hardships they have overcome, our own lives can be transformed. Johnny Cash, having once himself been in prison, made it his mission that throughout his career he would sing in penitentiaries, hoping his life story and the words of his songs would reconcile others to the good life. On New Year’s Day he performed in San Quentin Penitentiary, and there was an inmate in the audience who heard his message. The early years of this ...

662. People of the Rolled Stone

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the punchline to God's eternal life anecdote. It is God's great "GOTCHA" in God's conspiracy of Grace to bring us life and hope. Without the Good News of the resurrection, the cross and Christ's death make no sense at all. Without the Good News of Easter, ... . It gives meaning and purpose to the sordid events of Holy week. Now, because the tomb is empty there is victory and power and hope in life. During the Civil War, a Union soldier from Ohio was shot in the arm during the battle of Shiloh. His captain saw ...

663. Failure

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Will Willimon

... his death, his son Rehoboam shows absolutely no wisdom and this failure leads to a division of God's people into North and South. The story strains forward, looking to the horizon of history for a new David who could help make God's ideal a reality. Josiah hopes to renew the covenant God made with Israel, to take up the promise, but he meets an untimely death, a failure effected by an Egyptian king. In the face of so many failures, so many defeats, how could God also not be defeated? There is then another ...

664. Ready!

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the hand of God putting the stars back in their skies one by one.1 A promise of healing and wholeness. “Through Tears — With Hope.” That is the church. We need one another. If you recall the story of creation from the first chapter of Genesis, you will ... and floods and terrorist bombings, we see miracles as little babies are found alive in the rubble, children reunited with parents after all hope had been lost. We learn that the great God of heaven can take even awful things and bring good out of them. ...

665. When The Fat Lady Sings

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... fig tree to which Jesus refers in today's Gospel. It may be the dead of winter, but the signs of new life are upon us. As that tree becomes tender and puts forth its first new shoots, we are sure and certain that summer is near. We wait with hope, between the times, already knowing that the summer has begun even though it has not yet actually arrived. I once heard a preacher describe the battle of New Orleans as an example of what it is like to live "between the times," in the already but not yet, with the ...

666. Light In The Land Of Shadows

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... in the decisions of the great powers. The text goes on to point not to the triumph of the new king's military armies but to the power of "justice" and "righteousness." This new king will rule not in self-aggrandizing power but in the best hopes of the old Mosaic covenant. The key will not be found where the world has traditionally found light -- in the center-stage brightness of power, success, and prosperity. The people will not have to walk over to the armed light of another political rally as resplendent ...

667. All The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... is not fully here but is real, visible, already broken onto our horizon. Now we venture into the life we most profoundly longed for, not the life we've settled for. Not the keeping on that passes for life, but rather the life for which we have hungered and hoped, the life God intended for us. All this is possible because we know that God has the power to bring life from death. Such an event should be no less wondrous just because we have heard the story so many times. Still, let's try translating the story ...

668. Surviving The Present Trials

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... a son, who has no idea of the meaning of human loneliness. God does understand. He's cried in the dark, too, while his well-meaning friends snoozed nearby. Peter offers us another suggestion, as well. He says in our letter today that God has given us hope -- hope that the trials and suffering and grief we face will be used to refine us as gold is refined. Not that God wants us to suffer, but our sufferings may be used to make us finer than we were, more refined, more gracious, more understanding of others ...

669. A Most Important Dawning

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... religious motions and fail to reach out to the Lord at our side, does not remove the Lord's presence there. Thomas H. Troeger once said this: "To undomesticate God, to see God in places where we are convinced God would never be, is to be able to hope and believe again." Isaiah saw into the future when it would dawn on the nations how great was the God of the Hebrews. And when it dawned on them, they would not keep themselves from pouring out their praise and presents in adoration and worship. The wise men ...

670. Climbing Rainbows Through The Rain

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... as in the days of Noah. This is not what God intended in creation. And just as in the days of Noah, when that happens, we can expect two things: God will bring judgment and moral corrective, and we can expect God to be merciful. Therefore, never give up hope for the betterment of the human community. That is the word of God which comes to us from this account of Noah and the flood. Over 110 years ago a blind Scottish minister named George Matheson published a poem in a church magazine. Later it was put to ...

671. The Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.30 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will."31 Among the passages from Job expressing God's hearing our cry are the following: "For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off, when God takes away their lives?" (Job 27:8). "Will God hear their cry when trouble comes upon them?" (Job 27:9). "Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it" (Job 35:13). Among the Psalms ...

672. "Friend, Why Are You Here?"

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... worship. Some habits are bad for us. But some habits are good ones, and the habit of regular worship is one that is good. Believe me, I'm very grateful for those faithful men and women who have made a habit of coming to church every Sunday. But I hope that mere habit isn't the only thing that brought you to worship today. Others may perhaps be here because they want to support the minister. Another very noble motive! No preacher likes to preach to an empty church! Far be it for me to discourage anyone from ...

673. "Friend, Why Are You Here?"

Sermon

Alex Gondola

674. Prayers for Family Days

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... childhood ties from them. We thank you for our fathers, even when they failed to meet our needs or care for us as we had hoped. As disappointed and angry as we felt in response to their failure to love and provide for us, we now choose to cling to the ... to our sons and daughters. How we delight in our children and grandchildren who succeed in the drama of life. We pray that faith, hope, and love will characterize their days upon this earth. In the name of the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen. This morning, O God our ...

675. The Mechanics Of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... prayers? 5. How do you feel about read prayers or impromptu or extemporaneous prayers? 6. Does including all sorts and conditions of people here and everywhere make a prayer too long in this modern age? "Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any ...

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