Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 701 to 725 of 1795 results

Mt 23:25-36 · 2 Ti 2:20-26 · Ps 51:1-14

Sermon

John A. Terry

... we are right or wrong, most arguments reflect our willingness to have God correct someone else's failures. However good our intentions, Paul has other advice. We do not win people to the way of Christ by winning an argument between us and them. I believe the style of "invitational evangelism" is more appropriate. We do not club people over the head with the truth, nor badger them into repentance. We wait for God to let the person hear. Since we do not know when God is going to do that, we may freely and ...

702. No Room In The Inn

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Brett Blair

... any hint that the chief priests were accommodating to him. They didn't stretch out their arms and welcome Jesus into their clerical profession. In fact, they did everything they could to keep him out; they weren't about to adjust their comfortable life styles and position in the community because of the claims of Jesus. But it went far deeper than that. They earnestly thought that he was wrong and it was their duty to oppose him. They organized themselves and like politics, religion can also create some ...

703. See the Light, Be the Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... . I dreamed that several members of this congregation and I arrived at the pearly gates at the same time. Saint Peter told us we would have to wait at the gate until our transportation arrived. He said that each of us would be getting around in heaven in a style related to the way we lived on earth. After a few minutes, a Lear Jet landed there in front of us. It was one of those fancy corporate models. The door opened and we could see that the plane was equipped with every kind of gadget you could imagine ...

704. New (Testament) Math

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... as high as seven times. That seems mathematically correct and merciful to me. What do you think, Jesus?" Jesus got that mischievous gleam in his eyes – the one he always got when he was about to teach something profound in a very down-to-earth style. "I am so glad I picked you as one of the twelve, Peter," Jesus said. "Why is that, Lord?" Peter asked, hoping he was about to receive praise but remembering that humiliating incident at Caesarea Philippi. "Because you provide me with so many teachable moments ...

705. And Who is my Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... second observation this morning. The first observation is that we know Gods law: Love God and Love you Neighbor…. 2. But We Want To Limit the Requirements. V.29 This fellow knew all to well the law…but he wanted to debate the law and justify his life style. He did not want to be confronted with the task of keeping the law. A businessman well known for his ruthlessness, not a nice fellow at all, once announced to writer Mark Twain, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb ...

706. Mom Taught Me to Share

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... s foot. You have to be sure you have all the bases covered! Having gotten the attention of his audience with his left-handed compliment about their extreme religiosity, Paul starts to set the record straight about this "unknown god" of theirs. Paul’s style is flawless. Knowing that many of listeners are educated, scientifically-minded men, and knowing of their interest in where the human race came from, Paul tells them that the God of whom he speaks created heaven and earth and everything in it, including ...

707. Does Love Make You Sorry?

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... . We are a sin-saturated society with the least consciousness of it. Some of us deny we have done anything wrong, like a young lady who said to her father, "Why should I apologize? I have done nothing I am sorry for." For others, sin is a normal life-style. One and a half million Americans are living together sans marriage. They call it "living together," but our grandparents would call it "living in sin." Or, it may be that we do not call wrongdoing a sin. A parent looked at her son's report card on which ...

708. The Cross And Our Shadows

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carl Jech

... his wild hair and strange diet, Jesus with his unusual lifestyle and questionable parentage. In the name of "standing for something" will we stumble over Jesus? In the name of a narrow-minded "morality" will we exclude everyone who refuses to become "like us?" Let our "missionary style" be a relaxed sharing of the grace of God revealed in Jesus, the Christ. Let us focus on whom needs to hear this message and feel this message in the way we relate to them. Let us focus on who needs to be included and onto on ...

709. Clean Heart, Dirty Heart

Matthew 15:1-20

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... the back of your hands. My mom always told me to wash the back of my hands. Rinse them in the bowl. There. They are all clean. (response) They are still dirty? Where? (response) Show me with your hands how you do it? (response) Comment on the different styles. Now, properly wash your hands. Hey this is pretty good. My hands are really getting clean. Can someone help me with the water? Poor it slowly so I can rinse my hands.Hold up your hands. Can someone tell me how our hands get dirty? (several responses ...

710. When Life Closes In

Matthew 26:17-30, Matthew 26:36-46

Sermon

Robert Allen

... web with intricate care As it hung suspended somewhere in mid-air. Then in soft, idle luxury he feasted each day On the small, foolish insects he enticed as his prey. Growing ever more arrogant and smug all the while He lived like a "king" in self-satisfied style. And gazing one day at the sheer strand suspended. He said, "I don't need this," so he recklessly rended The strand that had held his web in its place. And with sudden swiftness that web crumbled in space -- And that was the end of the spider who ...

711. Some Illusions (Symbols) Are Better Than Others

Acts 14:8-20

Sermon

Carl Jech

... a man who said he now had his business on his mind virtually twentyfour hours a day but that he was nevertheless happier than he was when working a simple eight-hour day. In other words, the "business-success" promoters try to get you committed to an aggressive style of life wherein you become a certain type of person. How many such people realize that they may be selling their soul to a way of life? It's easy to imagine people getting in over their heads and needing to be saved from their "success." Paul ...

712. Winning Isn't the Only Thing ... It's Irrelevant

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Carl Jech

... the New Testament - quite a grandiose claim when we realize that the New Testament itself presents a variety of Christologies. So it is both arrogant and naive to say that either Jesus was right or he was crazy. To believe in Jesus is precisely to renounce the style and the substance of arrogant claims. When we are down and out we may like to think of the Gospel as a way of gaining control, certainty and security in our lives. But the Gospel of Jesus is not a "gospel of having" - of having all the ...

713. Love Is Down to Earth

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Carl Jech

... approved custom? Some commentators have expressed shock at this apparent callousness on the part of Jesus toward the poor. Does Jesus, at least as John sees him, believe that poverty and suffering are inevitable and that efforts to eliminate it are hopeless? (The Buddhist-styled group called Eckankar does teach that it is a sinful waste of time to try to reform this world because only the next world matters.) When Jesus says that we will not always have him with us as we will always have the poor, we ...

714. Comfort the Disturbed/ Disturb the Comfortable

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Carl Jech

... against the letter of the law, suggesting that to follow the spirit is even more difficult than following the letter. Jesus is constantly pictured as entering into controversy. He is not afraid of stirring people up with his teaching! We should imitate the form and style of what Jesus was about, but some of the actual content of what we say and teach will be new. Jesus got involved in social issues aplenty, but we will look in vain for his comments on what to do when pastors in Pennsylvania become involved ...

715. Giving Away the Store

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

Carl Jech

... example of free self-giving in this story from Luke 22, where the householder apparently provides the "upper room" free of charge for use by Jesus and his disciples while celebrating the Passover. The message is abundantly clear that the self-emptying, self-giving style of Jesus is contagious. Love really is love only when we give it away! "Maundy Thursday" means "command Thursday," and the command referred to is not only the command to share the bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus, but also to love as ...

716. Jesus Meets Buddha and Confucius

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Carl Jech

... in Crisis over Justification by Faith." One of the points made was that the emphasis of the charismatic and pentecostal movements upon the subjective experience of "feeling the spirit" is in danger of transforming Christian faith into a Buddhist-style emphasis on spiritual knowledge, at the expense of the ethical concerns embodied in the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. In other words, Christianity is always tempted to give up its distinctive contribution to theology - the radical notion ...

717. God is About to Strike

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... safe. This tragic short-circuiting of the power of the Word of God prohibits us from ever being converted into energetic believers, and it robs us, not only of knowing the full joy of a dynamic faith, but also of experiencing a truly Christian style of life. For example, take forgiveness, and love, and service to others - actions which characterize the active will of God in our lives. Without enthusiasm, these actions never quite measure up to what the New Testament is talking about when it uses these words ...

718. The Messiah is Greater than the Baptizer

Luke 3:1-20

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... . Collect Father in heaven, whose Son came as the promised Messiah to deliver us from our sins and fill us with the Holy Spirit: Guide us into that life of the Spirit, that we may witness to the sincerity of our repentance with a life style that gives glory to you through service to our fellow man. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession Forgive us, Father, when we have boasted of our church affiliation, without being very Spirit-led in our living. Bring us into communion with Christ ...

719. The Foolishness of God is Wiser than Humans

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: In our society of advanced technology, the life of Jesus is still a goal beyond the achievements of humanity. People: The ways of God do not always seem to be appropriate for our life styles; consequently we pay too little attention to God's will. Pastor: But the truth is that God's foolishness is wiser than the ways of humanity. People: We know that is true, especially in the gift of his Son Jesus, whom we will strive to serve. Collect Loving Father, whose ...

720. Self-discipline Is Required

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... condition for the demands of Christian living. Forgive us for our relaxed attitude and our apathy towards the self-discipline that ought to be a part of everyday living. We pray for renewed spiritual strength as we discipline our hearts and minds, and correct our life styles to the demands of Christian living. We pray through Christ, who gives us the eternal victory. Amen. Hymns “A Charge to Keep” “He Who Would Valiant Be” “O Jesus, I Have Promised” “Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated"

721. Our Conduct Must Prove We Are Citizens of Heaven

Philippians 3:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... to our desire to stand firm in the Christian Life. Collect Eternal God, source of our existence, and strength of our being, whose Kingdom is known on earth by those who claim citizenship: Grant us the desire and self-discipline to express our faith through our life style, that body, mind, and soul, we may belong to you. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession Dear God, faith is so hard to put into practice. We do not want to live as enemies of the cross. But we confess our conduct does ...

722. God Shows His Glory to the Nations

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... who suffered for sins such as ours, to claim us as your children. Hear us for his sake. Amen. Prayer of Confession Father in heaven, we are your children, but we adopt other loyalties that replace your supremacy in our lives. Forgive us for developing life styles that do not reflect our commitment to Christ your Son, who is our deliverer. Have compassion on us, and grant us renewed faith to receive your Son as Savior and King. In his name we pray. Amen. Hymns “Eternal Son, Eternal Love” “Lead On, O ...

723. Peter is Reinstated by the Risen Lord

John 21:1-19

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... the church. People: We love the Lord, and want to give him our best service, for the nurturing of his church. Collect O God, our Father, whose son suffered because of man's denial, yet offered forgiveness with a challenge to serve him: Call us from our life styles that deny his Lordship over our lives; that the genuine love we feel towards Christ may be expressed through a life of service in his church. We pray in his name. Amen. Prayer of Confession We love your Son, who is our Lord, Father, and we enjoy ...

724. God's Power to Change Lives

Galatians 1:11-24

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... Pastor: The Christ who revealed himself to St. Paul and transformed his life can do the same for us. People: We pray for Christ to visit us, and remake us to be his faithful disciples. Collect Almighty God, whose powerful love is able to change the life style of even the worst of sinners: Remold us by your love to become new persons in Christ, ready to share our faith with others. We pray through Christ, our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession Our Father, we have convinced ourselves to believe that we are what ...

725. We are God's Children through Faith in Christ

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... our union with Christ, that we may not only be your faithful children, but also accept our brotherhood with all who are your children. We pray through Christ, the author of our faith. Amen. Prayer of Confession Dear Father, we know we are your children, but our life style makes it difficult for us to be what you have created us to be. We know your laws can show us right from wrong, but they cannot help us do the right. Forgive us for our weak union with Christ your Son, which hinders our enjoyment in being ...

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