Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 51 to 75 of 391 results

51. Christ The King

John 18:28-40, 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Daniel 7:1-14, Revelation 1:1-3, Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... absurd! This Jesus, charged as claiming to be the king of the Jews, possessed none of the trappings of kingly power. 4. Sermon Title: King Of Truth vs. Cult Leaders. Sermon Angle: When religious leaders assert absolute powers over the lives of their adherents, you can be sure that they are not servants of Christ, the king. Such leaders rule through deception, guilt and intimidation. Take Jim Jones, the founder of the People's Temple in Guyana. Loyalty to him meant renouncing family, selling all possessions ...

52. It's Hell, I Say: Herod Speaks

Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Dr. Raymond Bailey

... , the Hitlers, etc., were just like me. We thought we were doing good! A narcissist like me can't comprehend any morality that is concerned with the common good, unless it is also good for the ruling class. What was good for Herod the Great was good for all my adherents. As I lay dying, however, my life did pass before me -- like a judgment of God -- gentle, but oh so firm and certain. For the first time, I "heard" the screams of the bereaved. I felt the sorrow of those I had hurt. I felt the sadness of the ...

53. Life As An Investment

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... that the guiding principle for our lives should not be government investment, but rather ''invest in yourself.'' From his perspective, this is the only way that an individual can improve his or her personal economic well-being. So no matter which political persuasion you adhere to, it does appear that the principle of ''investment'' will be one of the leading ideas of the 1990s. And rightly so, I think. For it is through the spending of our time, talents, and money in ways that lead to future productivity ...

54. The Conversion of Saul

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... and to help others come to faith?" So, let us use Saul's experience to guide us in our attempt to find Christ and then to assist others to become followers of the Way. The Way, people of Christ - that's the description of the Christian faith and its adherents, used a number of times in Acts, even before they were called Christians. This term was not always meant as a term of approbation to be called of the Way. Often it was a slur against the believer in Christ, for the pagan priests were convinced that the ...

55. A Letter From Paul

Sermon

Erskine White

... you. "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). I am told that the unbelievers in your land adhere to a secular gospel of supply and demand, of self-interest and survival of the fittest, because of the vast material rewards this worldly god produces. This is a matter of great seriousness to me. Remember that what you call "secularism" I have called "idolatry," and ...

56. Beyond Denominationalism

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... we lift our praise to You and cry with all the hosts of heaven, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.” During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we thank You for the unity of the church which is already a reality:for our unity in our adherence to the Christian faith, for our unity in our common hope, and for our unity in our love for You and for one another. We confess, our God, that we have been instruments through which divisions in the church have been perpetuated. Forgive us for the hatreds we ...

57. Playing By A Different Set Of Rules

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... and societies. Today, there are those voices across the church, in all corners of the world, that would want to become very proactive by pulling up all the weeds. Of course, the weeds that are visible are those things or persons or concepts, which do not adhere to the proper standards, nor pass some litmus tests of acceptance. Like human weed-eaters, some want to take to the fields and wipe out all that is seen as ugly, harmful and against their well-defined, one-issue agenda. Now before we all rush out ...

58. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... ultraviolet light at the surface of earth made it look like Mars today. The key to survival, with deadly ultraviolet light reaching the waters of earth, was sunbiock Stramatolite micro-organisms secrete a kind of extracellular glue that helps them stick together and adhere to the ocean floor. At an optimum depth in the ocean, not so shallow as to be fried by ultraviolet rays, and not so deep that too little light was available for photosynthesis, an amazing thing happened. The daughter cells of one-celled ...

59. Saved By Grace

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

... . The Sin Of Disobedience The impatience of Israel did not justify disobedience. Because a person has a difficult time with the unknown is not justification for disobeying the laws of God. The law was a measurable guide for our salvation. God intended for us to adhere to every law without the right, on our part, to choose whether we would be in compliance or not. The law was definite and void of an exception to the rule clause. Remember the admonition of Jesus, “Let your communication be yea, yea or nay ...

60. Focus Your Faith

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... ." Do these two different reflections sound familiar? Have you ever felt like these two friends of ours? I know that I have. In fact, I wager that you have, too. Competent social analysts tell us that this kind of religious individualism has all sorts of adherents in contemporary American society at the close of the century.1 Almost everybody has at least some periods in their life when they think that they can find God best on their own (in nature, through interactions with other people, in the goodness of ...

61. Who Are You Going To Be When You Grow Up?

John 1:19-28

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: To teach servitude to Christ and adherence to his message. Props: Items representing adult vocations--hammer, cowboy hat, stethoscope, stuffed animal, toy race car--and a bible. Lesson: Good morning! (response) I want to show you a few things this morning and I want to ask you two questions. First question is this: What do you want ...

62. Monologues: Disciples Redeemed

John 20:10-18, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Drama

Raymond I. Keffer

... used]) "I am Paul. When I appeared before these disciples to attest to my conversion to Christianity, James, son of Alphaeus, the spokesman for the disciples, welcomed me. He tried to remove doubts that these disciples still had about me by telling of my adherence to Mosaic Laws in all my preaching and works. The others were moved by the Holy Spirit and accepted me. I was commissioned by them to work with the Gentiles following the commands of Jesus to minister in His name throughout the world. "I visited ...

63. Jesus, Mary, Gustav Mahler, Brother Martin, and the Magi

Luke 20:9-19

Sermon

Carl Jech

... X forced a lot of us to ask if we might not be using "a lily-white Jesus" to oppress people of non-European races and cultures, and he hoped that Muhammad might better symbolize black independence. The great composer Gustav Mahler was an adherent of Nietzsche, and not "typically devout," but he was deeply spiritual in his own way. His great "Resurrection Symphony No. 2" is one of the great contemporary statements of the Christian theme of resurrection. It would be impossible to calculate how many people ...

64. Trifling with the Trinity

John 16:5-16

Illustration

Brett Blair

... at the heart of the church's historic teaching that Jesus Christ, in his very nature, was both fully God and fully man. It's a mystery which we accept through faith. Yet Shamblin tries to argue her point by saying that Christians grieve Jesus if they adhere to doctrines not found in Scripture. She says, "If God wanted us to refer to Himself, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as the 'trinity,' He would not have left this word completely out of the Bible." We must tread carefully when these kinds of claims ...

65. Let God Be God

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

... of "Why?" when he thundered at them concerning their misdeeds. And he immediately began holding them responsible for the use of these capabilities. Assess these unique human capacities carefully and you will see that we are not limited to what is concrete and adherent, to what we can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. We can go beyond the physical senses to visualize the unseen, to ask questions, to seek answers, and to pursue meanings. When humans name things they are ascribing values, which means that ...

66. The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Lk 9:28-36 · 2 Cor 3:12--4:6 · Ex 34:29-35 · Deut 34:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the veil of legalism and see Christ face to face. B. Drop the veil of unbelief, and Christ will be mirrored in your face. 2. Nothing to Hide. 4:1-2. Need: Various religions appeal to mystery as a means of attracting adherents. Ancient mystery religions had a mystery revealed only to the initiated. Gnosticism claimed to have a secret knowledge. Roman Catholicism attracted her people by the mystery of the mass, the elevated host, and transsubstantiation. In modern times Christian Science has a mystery - "the ...

67. What God Sees

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

... principality of its Protestant dissenters. "I would rather have thorns and thistles on my fields," he said, "than Lutherans on my land." To his astonishment, after he introduced repressive measures, 19,000 peasants defiantly registered as adherents of the Augsburg Confession. Leopold’s response was arrests, prohibition of meetings, and the suppression of baptisms, marriages, and funerals for Protestants. On Reformation Day, 1731, he gave all Protestants this ultimatum: "Become Catholic or leave." Thirty ...

68. Judgment and Justice

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

... ’s [gospel] is that Christianity involves simplicity and humility. These are often the rarest of human virtues but without them the words of justice and peace are impossible ... As with any world religion, Christianity offers options on how to live. Not many adherents, in fact, do live this religion: Gandhi of India, a Hindu who studied the gospels, was asked what he thought of Christianity. He replied that he was still waiting to meet his first Christian ... "History," says McCarthy, "has seen only one ...

69. Responding to What We Hear and See

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... many voices that appear to be so promising, so alluring, and so full of power. The danger is that we will listen only to those voices that promise us more privilege, security, and power. The danger is that we will listen only to those voices that teach us to adhere to the "Doctrine of More." And, the greater danger is that we will not hear the Voice of the coming One beyond and above the noisy crowd. If we get caught up in the busy trivia of this season, then we will rush headlong into oblivion. Only when ...

70. Proper 5 & Pentecost 3

Matthew 9:9-13, Romans 4:1-25, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Genesis 22:1-19, Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 50:1-23, Hosea 5:1-15

Sermon Aid

... after Pentecost. God's promise to bless all those who keep his commandments continues to be announced by the biblical elements assigned to the propers of this Sunday. The Gospel for the Day illustrates, as part of its theme, one example of complete and total adherence to the commands of Christ; when Jesus said, "Follow me," to Matthew, he meant it - so did Matthew, and he immediately obeyed the Lord. The Prayer of the Day This prayer, which was assigned to the First Sunday after Trinity in some of the pre ...

71. Loyalty: Imperative Ingredient

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

... frustrating the highest and best in ideals known to humankind. We can hear his voice saying, "Pull together, my friends, pull together." I invite you to ponder the story from Ruth and note some highly significant reflections which come from an adherence to loyalty. Universality is present and Christ’s church can benefit. Tragedy Can be Overcome Volumes have been filled with the betrayal of Christians against Christians. This tragedy has an early beginning. We only have to open the pages of Holy Scripture ...

72. Do You Believe In Easter?

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... beliefs that they know are false. Thousands of First Century Christians suffered and died in agony rather than deny the truth of resurrection. The second proof of resurrection is the change of the Sabbath Day to Sunday. For 1500 years the Jews had faithfully adhered to Sabbath observance from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. It was a biblical commandment, one of the top ten! Yet in a matter of a few weeks, at least 10,000 Jews had begun celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday, the day of resurrection ...

73. Paul in Chains

Acts 21:27-36

Sermon Aid

CSS

... and tolerant person. Paul was a skillful orator. He knew he had a very limited time to make his case, for the patience of the crowd would not last long. So he began in a conciliatory fashion, speaking of his Jewish training and his strict adherence to the law. Mention of the revered scholar Gamaliel as his teacher was a clever thrust. He told of his conversion on the Damascus Road, of the miraculous restoration of his sight, and of his baptism. Two interesting deviations occur in this speech. The first ...

74. Paul’s Midnight Ride

Acts 22:30--23:11

Sermon Aid

... of influential Jewish families, representing the parties of the Pharisees and Sadduccees. The Pharisees were the highly orthodox group, including the religious purists and most of the scribes. They regarded themselves more righteous than others because of their strict adherence to the law. The Sadduccees, on the other hand, were more secular in their outlook and included wealthy merchant families and politically active Jews. Their political know-how enabled them to elect most of the high priests (including ...

75. The Sin of Judging

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... People who have been forgiven much, themselves forgive and pardon much. Perhaps as we go about living lives without an unduly judgmental spirit, we can thereby show to others just how much we realize that we ourselves have been forgiven. Then let us strive to adhere to Paul’s admonition to Timothy, "Be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity," (1 Timothy 4:12) and remember what Luther states in the Small Catechism: We should fear and love God that we may ...

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