Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 51 to 75 of 164 results

Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... who can be saved?” And Jesus gave that answer: “What is impossible for mortals if possible for God.” That’s the message of Reformation Christianity to which Martin Luther called us. “After years of trying to gain salvation by living an exemplary life, he experienced what he called Anfechtung. It is translated “temptation,” but we would recognize it as depression. As therapy, a wise counselor in the monastery assigned him to the new university at Wittenberg to teach Paul’s letter. So Luther ...

52. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... crunch, munch…”I don’t know nothin’ about Neihbur and Heidegger…” crunch, munch…he finished the apple. “All I want to know is: this apple I just ate – was it bitter or sweet?” Dr. Tillick paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.” The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillick and said, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus ...

53. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... of truly tasteless jokes, bad pick-up lines, the revelation of secret prejudices, roadside encounters with the law, and bad mug shots.” Just ask Mel Gibson, a fellow Christian. Using your gifts to make great movies about the suffering of the Christ is no guarantee of exemplary behavior, is it? And if you see this as a shot at Mr. Gibson, you misread me. His is just the most recent and famous example of why we must not just admire Jesus but actually learn to do what he says, lest we embarrass him now ...

54. Night Moves

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... ," they often succeed in this life, and sometimes spectacularly. Just as often, they will lose it all, and then get it back again. We wish the story were written differently because Jacob is not the most admirable character. His character is not the most exemplary. We wish these biblical stories were written in a way to say that that kind of behavior does not prosper. But the Bible is honest, always honest, always realistic about our human life. The fact about life is that "Jacobs" generally get what they ...

55. A Fool and His Money

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... be a moral society, not necessarily personal wealth. The equation of wealth and righteousness was also taken on in the Old Testament by the Book of Job. A tale about a rich man who was righteous altogether, zealous in morality, loved his neighbors, exemplary citizen, devoutly religious, and he ended up suffering the most devastating tragedies in his life, and in the lives of his family, beginning with the elimination of his wealth. So the assumption that wealth is the reward for righteousness was wrong. But ...

56. All Keyed Up

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , to spread the word of the gospel through your words and through your service. That is another thing we learn about the Church from the New Testament. The mission of the body is two-fold: First, it is to build-up the body, because the Church is to be an exemplary community in the world. The Church is here as a microcosm of the Kingdom. People ought to look at the Church, and say, "That's the way life ought to be." As Jesus said, we are "a light set upon a hill"; "the leaven in the loaf"; "the salt" that ...

57. Let's Get Serious

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in this offering. But first, they gave themselves to the Lord." I tell you, that is heavy-handed. I mean, comparing the Corinthians lackluster, unimpressive record of giving to the Church's most exemplary stewards. They have less, but they gave more. They suffered more than the Corinthians, but they keep on giving. They don't make excuses. In fact, they beg Paul for the favor of participating in this offering. He tells the Corinthians that. Which ...

58. For Those Who Can't Pray

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... lesson. The scene is the River Jabbok. Jacob is on his way to face his brother, Esau, from whom he has been estranged for years. His brother Esau, the last time they were together, threaten to kill Jacob because of his treachery. Jacob has led a less than exemplary life. He has lied. He has cheated his way to the top. Now he is there, at the top. He's got everything that he wants, except self-respect, a sense of worthiness, a feeling of genuine fulfillment about his life, and a right relationship with God ...

59. I Thought You'd Never Ask

John 1:35-46

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... about where you are. I suspect a lot of people are reluctant to be evangelists, to try to approach anybody else, because they know that they haven't arrived. They think that before they can relate their faith to anybody else, they've got to live an exemplary life; or be quick with the answers, the easy, certain answers about theological questions. Well, if you were Andrew or Philip or Nicodemus, or if you were the woman at the well, and somebody asked you one of those questions, you know what you'd say? You ...

60. If I Were a Rich Man

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... always immediately. You can see it clearly if you read history, but not so clearly if you read the daily newspaper. There it often appears otherwise. There are those who prosper, who get all the breaks in life, and they are far from being exemplary citizens. And there are other wonderful, beautiful, almost saintly people, who have all kinds of calamity visit their lives. So Deuteronomy has to be qualified. But in Jesus day they did not qualify it. They took Deuteronomy raw. They believed that wealth was a ...

61. Is There Anything I Can Do?

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... have two coats. You can share with those who have none. And you have food, so do likewise. And if you are not proud of what you are doing, the way you are living, even though it is permissible as far as this world is concerned, but it's not exemplary, then stop it. And if your inner life is empty, think on what is excellent. Fill your life with excellence, and wait for grace. For the time is rushing on. I heard somebody say, "I am almost fifty, but I just graduated from high school." "Time like an ever ...

62. Pre-Game Analysis

I Corinthians 9:19-27

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. He is talking about living the Christian life with a kind of discipline that characterized the athlete and the hero. If heroes are supposed to live an exemplary life, if that is what it means to be a hero, then, Paul says, that's what we are supposed to be. That is what we are here for. This is in the 9th chapter. In the 12th chapter, the last verse says, "I will show you a more ...

63. They Grow Up Fast

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... ?" Mary is going through that same confusion. I point out to you that the Church honored Mary, not for her great wisdom, which she didn't have. They honored her for her faith. Mary is, for us, the model of faith. But I would suggest that she is equally exemplary as a model of a parent, for the same reason the Church lifted her up as the model believer. She is the model parent, because she hung in there for her son. She stayed by her son even though she never understood him, even though he broke her heart ...

64. What Kind of Name Is That?

Luke 1:26-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... and the Tares, and the parable about the log that's in your eye and the splinter in somebody else, that teach that instead of judging other's behavior, you should turn inward to see first if there is not something in your life that is not exemplary. Therefore to be Christian means you cannot be self-righteous. And most of all, if we take Jesus' parables seriously, you take most seriously the last parable he told, the summary parable, in the Gospel of Matthew. If we take that seriously, then we will feed the ...

65. Will You Be in that Number?

John 11:32-44

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... in, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in." This is All Saints Sunday. It's really All Souls Day. Yesterday was All Saints Day. Both days were created because the early Christians wanted to honor and remember ordinary, exemplary persons, people of faith who lived their lives faithfully. They did not honor kings or queens. In Rome, before the Christians, it was only Caesars, the royalty, who were honored. But not after Christ. No longer are royalty honored simply because they are ...

66. Easter 4

John 10:1-21, Acts 6:1-7, Acts 7:54--8:1a, 1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... to Jesus as our "great shepherd." The Hymn deals with the Shepherd's love. In the Gospel, Jesus is both shepherd and the door of salvation for the sheep. We see in Lesson 1 the life of the sheep under their shepherds, the apostles. Because of exemplary and redemptive suffering of the Shepherd, the sheep repent their waywardness and return to him. Easter 4 and the Easter Season What does Easter 4's theme of sheep and shepherd have to do with the Easter season's message of the resurrection? On the surface ...

67. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... thing one can give to another is a good example. Paul imitates Christ and offers himself as an example of the Christian life. What a daring thing to do! Who would dare to set up his life as an example to be followed? It indicates that Paul had an exemplary life, not perfect, but a life dedicated to becoming like Christ in all things. It is not a "do your own thing" but "do as I do." PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46 1. Whose World Is This? (21:33-43). Need: The modern person has lost sight ...

68. Proper 26

Matthew 23:1-39, Joshua 3:1-4:24, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Malachi 2:1-9

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... to enter a new land with dry feet. Old Testament: Malachi 1:14-2:2, 8-10 The wider ministry. Old Testament: Micah 3:5-12 The wicked disapprove of a true prophet's message. Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 For the Thessalonians Paul worked hard, led an exemplary life, preached the Word, and longed to see his people again. Paul reminds his people in Thessalonica how he worked day and night in order not to be a financial burden on them. Also, he reminds them he lived a life that was worthy of imitation and, in ...

69. Proclaiming Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... honesty, we probably make a discovery that brings a sense of failure. We want Christ as Savior and Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls but are unable or mostly unwilling to move beyond that. The way things are is just fine. Others note our exemplary lives and we feel fulfilled. When we are making an obvious contribution on behalf of Christ and the church, why grow anymore? Some even say that if it isn't broke, why fix it? Common sense and pride say to leave well enough alone. So, our proclamation ...

70. Birthpangs of the New Age

Romans 8:22-23

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

71. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of liberal Christians ever since Abelard(1079-1142), who was virtually a contemporary of Anselm's, first proposed it. Abelard’s theory doesn't picture the Devil as an extortioner, or God as an executioner, but does portray Jesus as little more than an exemplary figure who, hanging on the cross, inspires belief and altruistic behavior in the onlooker. In the words of the hymn: See from his head, his hands, his feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down: Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose ...

72. Make Disciples

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... text gives names but not a lot of details about the Twelve that Jesus originally called. We know that four of them were perfectly prepared for a life of active ministry as fishermen. We know that one of them led a morally exemplary lifestyle before his calling the tax collector Matthew. We know that one of them had a temperament that Jesus felt perfectly comfortable confiding in Judas the betrayer. Oops. Perhaps not such a practically "perfect" group after all. But despite their background, profession ...

73. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Paul turns his attention again to Timothy. To highlight the disparity between the unbecoming conduct of "impostors" and what Paul expects Timothy to embody, verses 10 and 14 begin with the declaration su de - "you however" or "but as for you." Paul expects exemplary conduct from Timothy based on the presence of two critical forces in his life - the witness of the tradition and his own knowledge of Scripture. This young man's faith had been nurtured through the guidance of both his mother and his grandmother ...

74. Healing and Wholeness to Many

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Urban Legend

... original Greek ...CRUNCH, MUNCH ..." I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger ...CRUNCH, MUNCH...He finished the apple. "All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, was it bitter or sweet?" Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: "I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple." The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, "Neither have you tasted my Jesus ...

75. Proper 15

Psalm 80:1-19, Isaiah 5:1-7, Luke 12:49-56, Hebrews 11:29--12:2

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... are thankful for the human parents, pastors, teachers, elders, and friends, who have been speaking your Word to us and have been useful to you in the process of our discipline. We value the peaceful harvest of an honest life. All praise to you, spiritual Parent, exemplary Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. PRAYER OF DEDICATION Use your church, bold Jesus, to seek justice for the weak and the orphan, to see that right is done for the destitute and downtrodden, to rescue them from the power of those who are evil, and to ...

Showing results