Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 676 to 700 of 4957 results

676. Who Is Jesus Christ?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... bright the sun; and if you look closely, you will see that the soles of his feet do not touch the ground. Obviously, that is a far cry from the Jesus we meet in the Gospels! Still, there arose in the early Church certain teachings which claimed that Jesus never really became a human being. He never hungered, or thirsted, grew weary, tired, or suffered. Against these false teachings the early Church drew up its Creeds, its statements of faith. In fact, the words of the Creed Born of the Virgin Mary, were ...

677. So Who Needs A Shepherd?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... 23rd Psalm came out? Like this: The Lord is my Probation Officer, He will help me, He tries to help me make it every day.... When Jesus called Himself the “Good Shepherd,” there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that He was making a Messianic claim. He was making a comparison between Himself and God. Those who heard His words would recall the prophecy of Isaiah 40:11, where there is an even more apparent parallel between Jesus and the promised Messiah: “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will ...

678. Is Conscience the Best Guide?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ," which was created for those who have lied, cheated or stolen, and who now wish to salve their consciences by returning to someone the money which they had gotten dishonestly. The "Conscience Fund" was established by Congress in 1811 when an anonymous donor who claimed to have defrauded the government sent five dollars to the Treasury Department. He said that he could not live with his conscience until he had paid the debt. This reminds me of the story of another gentleman who sent in some money to the ...

679. Only a Carpenter

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to be Jesus’ followers are His “brothers and sisters and mother.” We are His family. Commentator Lamar Williamson writes of this passage: “In our context today, ‘His own people’ is best understood as the group that formally claims Jesus as its own, claims to be his, and feels some proprietary rights toward him; namely, the church.”(Interpretation: MARKS, p. 116) The question is: do we understand Him any more than they did? Mark’s solemn words ought not to cause us to ask “Why did not Jesus ...

680. Connected to Christ: I Am the Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... gospel--Jesus speaks these words not only to the nation of Israel--but to a wider audience--the world. We have read and reflected on these awesome claims: I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35) I am the Light of the World (John 8:12) I am the Gate for the sheep (John ... can I tenderly ask you to consider the following question? Is there anything or anyone that is in competition with God''s priority claim on your life?" You see, we love God with all of our heart because God knows that devotion given to any person ...

681. Looks Like We're in for Stormy Weather

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... all that important who others say Jesus is, but who do you say Jesus is? Is He a nice, historical person that fills the pages of encyclopedias? Or is He the sovereign master of the seas? This story demonstrates the supernatural power of God that can be claimed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrates who God is! Notice Jesus didn't write a book or issue an office memo or compile a complicated instructional manual, but He demonstrated firsthand the power of God. I don''t know about you, but I learn ...

682. Singing in the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... all that important who others say Jesus is, but who do you say Jesus is? Is he a nice, historical person that fills the pages of encyclopedias? Or is he the sovereign master of the seas? This storm demonstrates the supernatural power of God that can be claimed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrates who God is! Notice Jesus didn't write a book or issue an office memo or compile a complicated instructional manual, but He demonstrated firsthand the power of God. I don''t know about you, but I learn ...

683. We Are Christ's - That Is Enough

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... from outside of him over which he apparently had no control. A great deal of speculation has taken place in modern times about what an unclean spirit really is. Some experts say it's what folks called "mental illness" back in those days. Other experts claim that people back then regarded all illness as being the result of some form of possession! Oddly enough, things haven't changed much since biblical times. Granted, we live in an age of modern medicine. But we still are subject to maladies which defy ...

684. Recovering The Essence

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... economy. Is it not increasingly clear that we will live together somehow or we will all perish together. What the Bible says is literally true, God has made of one blood, all the nations of the earth. We bleed the same color. As mature Christians and citizens especially, if we claim to be one nation under God, we should put a world horizon around our faith. If we’re going to do that, we’re going to have to begin in the little world where we live. It’s one thing to talk about the world. We need to be ...

685. The Rejected Cornerstone

Luke 20:9-19

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... dead. I read the writings of the great patriots and the great religious leaders of the past. I knocked and knocked on their doors, too, but still there was no answer for me at all." And then, he said, "I began reading this New Testament, and I found that it claimed that its author was alive. And so I knocked at the door one more time, and sure enough I found the living Christ! He came into my soul and he filled my hungry heart with peace!" (Dr. Norman Neaves). Do you think that too simple? I ask you, have ...

686. More Tolerable For Sodom And Gomorrah

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... most telling encounters between a person and God. Abraham interceded for Sodom. He asked God if fifty righteous people could be found -- would they be destroyed along with the whole city. That struggle of intercession and pleading went on as Abraham reduced his claim time and again--if thirty righteous folks are found--if twenty are found, if ten, if five. There is a marvelous word in Abraham's argument with the Lord that says something about Abraham and his understanding of God. Listen to the twenty-fifth ...

687. Growing In Self-esteem

Psalm 81:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . You may do this with a counselor or a trusted friend, or a pastor, or if you are in a Twelve Step Program, you'll do it in step four as you work with your inventory. But, friend, the dynamic that will make this work is your willingness to claim what Jesus thinks of you and how He loves you. Two, as you face and feel the pain of past experiences, forgive everyone involved. "As strange as it may sound, resentment and hate keep us chained to the people and the pains of the past. Only forgiveness and love ...

688. Dealing With Guilt And Shame

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... do I don't do; and the evil I don't want to do, I'm always doing. Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body doomed to death?" -- this body of guilt and shame. But, do we go on with Paul and claim with confidence what he claimed, verse 25: "I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!... verse 1 of chapter 8: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." We don't have to be victims of guilt and shame. Benjamin West, the renowned artist, tells us about how ...

689. The Baby Leaped

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... great so that you could boast about your greatness. The Creator made you great so that you could help others who are not as strong as you." And from that day no one ever heard the chief boast again. (3) The most amazing claim that Christians make is that God came into the world in the form of a tiny baby. It is also the most appealing claim that Christians make. God could have overwhelmed us with His power and majesty. Instead God came to earth in the person of a helpless babe. No one would make up such a ...

690. Salvation Oracle

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... of the person is pronounced, and that person becomes God's child. No longer does the baptized person belong to the world. No, he or she belongs to God, and the promise is that nothing can snatch the baptized person out of the loving hand of God who has claimed her or him. To be sure, evil may come and tribulations may abound in a baptized person's life. As our text says in verse 2, we may "walk through the fire" of trial and suffering, we may be almost overwhelmed by the "waters" of a chaotic and violent ...

691. The Two Ways of Life

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... our society. Persons can have it, or they can leave it alone. It's all a matter of personal opinion. There is no particular opprobrium leveled at the person who claims to be an agnostic or atheist, nor is there considered to be much advantage to claiming that one is a Christian. To be sure, at election time, every politician will claim to be deeply religious in order to secure the faithfuls' vote. But otherwise, everyone goes his or her own way, believing or unbelieving, church-goer or Sunday-golfer. It's ...

692. Alive In Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the Christian life, and Paul uses a striking word to describe our new life in Christ. I referred to this word in the liturgy of Brother Samuel. “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God “ (Col. 3:3). Can you image a more stupendous claim -- that we can live our lives in Christ -- that Christ can live in us? Do you hear what I’m saying? This is extravagant, radical, but I believe it is at the very heart of the Christian faith. II Now the second thing that being alive in Christ means ...

693. My Prayer For You: Barefoot Days of the Soul

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... selves, the temptation to sin. But it is an ongoing struggle. You have experienced it – and you know how awful it feels. …to give in to the temptation to lie, or simply not to tell the whole truth. …to allow sexual lust to tease your mind and claim your attention; perhaps even to go all the way and allow the lust to conceive and bring forth the sin of adultery or fornication …to harbor racial prejudice that prevents you from being the “good neighbor” Jesus calls us to be. …to give in to your ...

694. God Outwits Us

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... messing up in life—instead of exacting a payment from us—He pays the price. Julian of Norwich was on target when she made the fantastic claim that “it is God’s will that I see myself as much bound to Him in love, as if all that He hath done, He hath ... more than you can ask, think, or even imagine. Here is a word from Teresa of Avila that we need to hide in our hearts and claim on those dry days, when our way seems like a desert, when we feel empty and alone, and are wondering how we are going to make ...

695. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in a cast – the first child of the sister of one of our students – for a student pastor who is focusing his first big conflict in the church – for a group of our students on a mission trip to Venezuela -- for three professors in South Africa. I make no claims about the working out of these prayers in the lives of the people for whom I pray – but hardly a week passes that I don’t have some word of affirmation and some testimony from one of them. My point, however, is this: My life has changed, the ...

696. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... church, asked, “Well, Maxie, what can we expect of you in the future?” It had to be the Spirit working within me. I heard myself saying, “You can expect me to be consistent with what I feel the Gospel is calling me to do.” I wish I could claim that I have always been that clear in my convictions, and always that strong. It simply hasn’t been the case. All of us – when we are honest – probably would confess that our need for job security has shaped our ministry. And that becomes a handicap for ...

697. Peacemaking and Self Control

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... his wisdom and peace wherever we go. But if we are just as short-tempered as the world around us, as quick to take offense, claim our rights, and get mad over the smallest personal issues, what good are we in a world that is looking for answers and finding ... time to punch the pause button and dial a question up to our awareness, What am I angry about, and is it really worth it? Jesus claims the right to do two things: first, to tell us what the law of God means, and secondly, to take each of us on a journey ...

698. Fire Falling from Heaven

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... the "fires" of life to punish and purify. That backgrounds this passage of scripture. That is not, however, the point Jesus is making. This is not a simple observation about how God can work through devastation to strengthen. In Luke 12:49-56, Jesus claims that the gospel is so radical that the world will experience it as fire raining from heaven. Those who follow his teachings, Jesus warns, will be considered revolutionaries. Jesus tells those of us who strive to follow him even today that when his message ...

699. Further on Up the Road

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Sermon

Rick Brand

... faith for its promises of glory and joy in heaven as "pie in the sky by and by" suggests that those who make that claim do not believe in a by and by. Throughout history there have been many who would be willing to trade seventy years of trouble ... had done its work. Death had destroyed them. They had been captured by the power of death and they were gone. When Jesus came to claim his own, he would take those who were living and waiting, and those who had died in the Lord would simply be left behind and ...

700. A Tale of Two Dancers

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of David. Michal was not surprised. The story of David and the ark is a paradigm of how all nations want to claim divine approval, divine blessing. In David's case, a divine approval and blessing is embodied in the symbol of the Ark of ... . This is the King. This is the Messiah. This is God with us." With that announcement we have come full circle, for as the Christians will now claim, God is with us, just as David did with the ark. We don't have the ark, but we have the incarnation. So it is different, but ...

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