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Showing 701 to 725 of 1185 results

701. First Things First

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... do in this present age. This happened in Thessalonica not twenty years after Jesus died, and Saint Paul met the issue head on. Some of the folk there got so caught up in expecting and predicting the imminent return of the Lord that they had ceased to do any work and degenerated into idle busybodies who prattled only about the future (2 Thessalonians 3:11). Paul rebuked this tendency to let an over-interest in "the last things" divert us from faithfulness to "the first things." It was exactly the temptation ...

702. More Time

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... we need. Indeed, so much for so little because, after all, it is all a gift from whom all blessings come. Our Lord tells us that unless we repent we will perish. He also wants us to know, after a time, we are to bear fruit or cease to exist. Prominently brought into play is a troublesome, but always present, meaning of justice. We have our doubts about people and situations. Did they get what they deserve? Go back as far as you like in our Judeo-Christian tradition and the always challenging phenomenon is ...

703. Call to Oneness

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... love, we have sought to practice ecumenical discipleship. Our failures are there for others to view but so are our successes! We continue to pay a price for this discipleship but we do so in love for the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit does not cease working. As a backdrop of the unity for all Christians, we look worshipfully at the Father/Son relationship and catch a glimpse of what we are to be. While there is an incomplete view and some darkness, we are never left totally in the dark. Human loving ...

704. Lean on Me

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... mile in her shoes. The fact is that the widow was not going to allow that judge to sleep at night until she was granted justice. In fact, that widow became a model for the early Christians. She was the perfect example of the need for prayer to be without ceasing. She showed that prayer is not a last resort; it is a daily Christian nutrient. We need it, it makes us strong. Her life is an example of a strong faith lived out as a witness to the world. It is surely fair to say that for some, the judge ...

705. Putting Eternity to the Test

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... the glory of God. If ours is the God of the living, then God has called us to live. We have been created for life, not death. That is not a denial of the physical limitations that our finite human body has, it is a declaration that until that body ceases to function, we are to live for God. That means that our faith is an active faith, and a lively faith seeks to do God's will. We are called to take what we have been given and share it in love with all who will listen. There are people ...

706. Claiming Our New Life in Christ

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

... in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit." When we go deep in Christ, we will find all the resources we need to find joy in life and remain confident even when trials and seasons of difficulty come our way. Paul continues with the image of building on the foundation we have received in ...

707. It All Begins with Prayer

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

... individuals. He says to pray for government officials, for teachers, for friends, and for the people who run the markets. He wants Timothy to be praying for everyone he runs into during his day. This goes right along with Paul's encouragement to pray without ceasing. Paul sees every encounter as an opportunity to invite God into the situation. What a wonderful way to live. The truth is that everyone we know is either struggling to remain faithful to Christ or hasn't been introduced to him yet. Everyone we ...

708. The Senseless Rejection of Common Sense

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

It has never ceased to amaze me the senseless rejection of common sense that the US Press and some academics engage in. A magazine cover story (Time Magazine) read, "What Divorce Does to Kids." That was the title. The caption read: "New research says the long-term damage is worse than you thought. Should ...

709. Who?

Acts 5:27-32

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... followers of Jesus had no intention of following this order. As Luke tells us, "As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah" (Acts 5:41-42). So where will you stand with regard to the prophets in our midst? Will you criticize every idea simply because it is new? Will you stand against people who call us to social and economic justice ...

710. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... his prisoners had bolted and that he would be held responsible with his life for their escape. He prepared to kill himself. Paul and Silas assured him, however, that everyone was still inside the prison. What happened next was that the prisoners and jailer ceased to look at each other as population groups and started to see each other as people, and when that happens, church happens. This is jailhouse rock with a vengeance. One earthquake, two prisoners, and a whole family of changed lives. And who knows ...

711. The Undoing of Babel

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... of Babel is often read on this Sunday of the year because it stands in contrast to the events of Pentecost. At Babel, the people started out with the ability to understand one another in a common language. They lost that ability and communication ceased. At Pentecost, people who did not speak the same language understood the gospel message clearly. That reminds us that one goal of Christianity is to help us understand one another and to communicate without filters. But that is only part of the story. Jesus ...

712. As Seen from the Solitary Broom Tree

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Stan Purdum

I'm not sure when the term "burn out" ceased being only a description of what happened to a campfire when you ran out of firewood to a term describing the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, usually coming immediately after an extended period of overwork, but the expression seems to fit that later situation, doesn't it? ...

713. Tales of the Spiritually Stupid

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 18-22

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... law officer could write a book on these. The following one came through the grapevine from a patrolman in Ohio in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He was assigned to security detail at a New Orleans Wal-Mart that had been looted. Several days after the flooding ceased, a man brought a plasma television back to the store's customer service department. He'd "picked it up a few days earlier" (those were his words). But when he took it home and plugged it in the television didn't work, so he was bringing it ...

714. What a Deal: Investing in Hope

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... not fail. God will continue to abide with us beyond all of it. Our bodies will grow old and die, but our lives are held in Christ. Our sinful actions will continue to create barriers in our human relationships, but Christ will never cease to offer forgiveness. Our social institutions will crumble and fail, but God's providence will continue. Political movements and military strength will rise and fall, but God is still the Master of history. The sun, moon, and stars will eventually implode into nothingness ...

715. Jesus: What's in a Name?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... have engendered…we fear for the value of the money in our pockets that stand symbolically for food and shelter. “We fear the growing power of government to take all these things away from us. We even fear our scientists and their discoveries. We fear, and never will we cease to fear...we are in the winter; we have never left its icy breath.” Now that’s a perceptive observation, but I want to affirm what Eisley did not—that we can leave the icy breath of our winter of fear. That angel on one of the ...

716. Good News about Death

John 11:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... rest upon His promise, just to know, “Thus saith the Lord” 0 how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust His cleansing blood, just in simple faith to plunge me ’neath the healing, cleansing flood Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease, just from Jesus simply taking life and rest and joy and peace. I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; and I know that Thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end. Trusting Jesus, Louisa Stead later went as a ...

717. 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... before God” in personal and communal prayer, is suffused with this great joy and thankfulness. In v.10 the apostle uses the Semitic idiom “night and day” first to emphasize that this praise-praying goes on continually, without ceasing. The second quality of this praying is its intensity. Paul’s prayers are offered “hyperekperissou” or “earnestly.” Likewise the verb used to describe this praying, “deomenoi” (“to pray”) emphasizes the insistent nature of this praying activity. As Paul ...

718. Set An Extra Place

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... this Thursday is all about. At the beginning of Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul writes: Ephesians 1:15-23 (NRSV) [15] I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason [16] I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. [17] I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, [18] so that, with the eyes of your ...

719. Altar Your Prayers

Mark 1:29-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... one, now's the time to begin developing that daily discipline. If you have a prayer life, now's the time to be more focused and listen to God. All Stewardship begins with prayer, so pray. Or as the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians, "pray without ceasing." In that way you will be like that youngest daughter and be able to say to God, "I give you me."

720. Thursday: Broken Bread And Broken Trust

Mark 14:10-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ) The sudden movement, the noise, the sound of the kiss, I didn't know what but it startled the sleeping disciples. And that's when Peter jumped up with sword swinging. In startled anger, He wanted to defend Jesus. But even more, Peter wanted the events of the evening to cease unfolding. He didn't want to be put to the test. He didn't want to be put to the test and fail in denial. The sword swung. The blood flew. And the ear of Malchus fell. V. The Healing (Sword and Bandages) I think it's curious that we ...

721. The Wedding Was Saved, but the Marriage?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... of God is revealed. It is said that the writer Leo Tolstoy experienced that kind of transformation. He told about it in a book titled, My Conversion. Tolstoy wrote, “[When] faith came to me; I believed in Jesus Christ, and all my life suddenly changed. I ceased to desire that which previously I had desired, and on the other hand, I took to desiring what I had never desired before. That which formerly used to appear good in my eyes appeared evil and that which used to appear evil appeared good.” Before ...

722. Never Too Old For God: Abraham And Sarah

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... he said, "There, in the tent." [10] Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. [11] Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. [12] So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" [13] The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now ...

723. The Adventure Begins

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 're going to talk about the Bible today. Let's look at the passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 1:15-23. [15] I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason [16] I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. [17] I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, [18] so that, with the eyes of your ...

724. The Eighty-Yard Run

Luke 5:1-11

Illustration

James Garrett

... respective faces. These failures don't have to be endings. They can be the avenues to experience God's grace more widely and more deeply. Jesus of Nazareth gets into the boat with the three defeated men. He sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had ceased teaching, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Put out into the deep our lives are often fenced in by low expectations. The worst sin is to aim too low.

725. Isaiah 55:1-9

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of eating and drinking (Deuteronomy 8:7ff; 12:15) is echoed in these verses where the physical is used as an image for a deeper, spiritual connection. For a desert people, what could be a better image of satisfaction and unlimited fulfillment than never ceasing waters. For nomadic people used to subsisting on the merest basics, what could be more opulent than a table awash in milk and wine, as well as the life sustaining water? With such a feast freely available, why would God’s people ever consider ...

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