Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 726 to 750 of 1185 results

726. Loving Our Enemies, Christian or Crazy?

Matthew 5:43-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... blows up a crowded bus in Israel. Israel responds by destroying an entire Palestinian village. The Palestinians react with more suicide bombers. Who is going to break the cycle of hate? B. Hate destroys the hater. A Chinese Proverb puts it succinctly, “Whoever pursues revenge should dig two graves; one for the avenged and one for yourself." Sadly, over the years I have watched it happen. On every church roll are inactive members who have neither died nor transferred but over time just fade away. Some of ...

727. The King on a Donkey

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... communication, the ass is a symbol for awkwardness, dumbness, blundering ineptness, non-sophistication. Yet, an ass plays a key role in the drama of Palm Sunday at which we’re looking today. So the sermon title is a question: “A king on an ass?” To pursue the question, let’s focus at three points. One, at the lowly creature, the ass, Jesus Himself, and three, at the crowd. I First, let’s look at the that carried Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus isn’t breaking new ground here; He is following in a ...

728. Heart Religion

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Mohammedan must pray to God a certain number of times each day. To do so he carries his prayer mat; wherever he is he will unroll the prayer mat, fall upon his knees, say his prayers and then go on. There is a story of a Mohammedan who was pursuing a man with upraised knife to murder him. Just then the call to prayer rang out. Immediately he stopped, spread out his prayer mat, knelt, said his prayer as fast as he could; and then rose and continued his murderous pursuit. The prayer was simply a form and a ...

729. Workaholism

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

Michael Parker

... by 16 to 20 percent over the last 40 years. The exception is the United States, which has remained more or less static. This is not a recent phenomenon. As long ago as 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of the "feverish ardor" with which "Americans pursue their own welfare," and "this strange unrest of so many happy men, restless in the midst of abundance" (Bk 2, chp. 13). A recent academic paper from professors from the University of Texas and the University of Michigan argues that working long hours for ...

730. Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... out onto the dry sea bed is the last “faithful” action taken by the “stiff-necked” people of Israel. Yes, they ultimately put their faith in God’s ability to hold back the waters so they may cross in safety. But it is the pursuing Egyptians who first expressed their faith in words: “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt” (Exodus 14:25). Less questionable is the faithfulness demonstrated by Joshua and the cadre of marching horn blowers who precisely ...

731. Choosing a Master

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... 't control him. His friends and colleagues say he is always smiling. He has turned a burden back into a joy.6 Jesus tells us to seek first the dominion of God. The values of God's dominion include generosity, self-discipline, and love for others. In pursuing those values we find freedom from the things that enslave us. As an affirmation of the goodness of life, of stewardship for our bodies and as an expression of love to others, let us break free from our slavery to food, clothes, and money. Let us serve ...

732. Faith to Follow

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Lee Griess

... and anguish. It involved risk and hurt and the man decided that love cost too much. He decided not to allow himself to be hurt. The risk was too great. The man looked around him and saw people strive for great goals. He saw men and women pursuing high ideals, but he saw that the striving was frequently mixed with disappointment and the ideals often carried a great cost. And the man decided that great goals and high ideals were too costly for him. He decided the risk was too great. The man looked around ...

733. The Road No One Wants to Travel

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , he tells us, not a destination. We cannot sit down at one spot, however lovely it might be, and hug ourselves into some "... happily ever after." Moreover, life is a pilgrimage, Jesus tells us, not a tour. It is lived in the footsteps of the Master. It is pursued in the purposes of the Ragman and his associates. It is carried out in the mission of the church. Here is the road no one wants to travel. Yet, if you choose not to walk it, you will never find yourself. What does this mean for you personally? I ...

734. Why Is God Unfair?

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . These are college students who have already been around the block once or twice, and they know the rules of the game for getting good grades. Because the course is a biblical survey, there is a lot of material to cover, and little that can be pursued in depth. Yet, I want my students to think theologically, so I place before the group every year one question that I tell them will be on the final exam. I will ask them to give me some comprehensive ideas for why these writings are collected into ...

735. I Love a Parade

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... . We rebel. Most of us don't like the idea of anyone being "the boss of us." We'd rather go our own way and make our own decisions. In fact, our nation is the product of a rebellion, and we hold dear the notion that we are free to pursue our own happiness pretty much anyway we want. Yet that freedom, for we who claim Christ, is tempered by the radical obedience that leads this parade into Jerusalem and to the cross. The truth is that this freedom to do whatever we wish is really a kind of slavery. Paul ...

736. Converting to Christianity

Acts 2:14, 36-41

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... of sobriety. A boxer is not likely to be a convincing proponent of nonviolence. Neither can a nontransformed Christian invite others into lives of thorough change. Indeed, could Peter have issued the call so powerfully if he himself were unchanged? Could Paul, after pursuing the new church to persecute it, have become the apostle without having a new mind? If we hope to bring others to Christ, it must be through our own authentic faith journey of repentance and conversion. It's really that simple — not ...

737. The Ladder from Our House

Genesis 28:10-19a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... . We ought to note, however, that there is nothing in Jacob's demeanor as he camps out that night to suggest that he had a guilty conscience or desired to mend his ways. He may have been apprehensive for, as far as he knew, his brother could have been pursuing him. He was probably despondent. And since he wasn't at home, there was no chance of him actually receiving the inheritance he had won by treachery. Yet, he does not appear to be sorry for what he had done. We may be able to identify with Jacob at ...

738. Do You See What I See?

Exodus 14:19-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... , after giving his own people a good head start, the Lord must have removed the barrier from in front of the Egyptians. For while they were kept away from the Israelites through the night while the wind blew, pharaoh's chariots were suddenly free to pursue the Israelites down into the dry bed of the Red Sea. Then the Bible reports that the Lord "threw the Egyptian army into panic" and "clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty." At that late moment, the doomed enemies of God's ...

739. Appointment with Thunder

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... flies, through disease and darkness, from blood in the Nile to blood on the doors, God won. And the Israelites marched out of Egypt free, encumbered only with the plunder of the Egyptians. It turned out, however, that their deliverance was not complete, for they were pursued and trapped by pharaoh at the banks of the Red Sea. Yet, God's saving power and saving grace were not depleted: He rescued them from pharaoh at the Red Sea as decisively as he had rescued them from pharaoh back in Egypt. And then, from ...

740. A Change of Mind

Exodus 32:1-14

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... wandering off in the wrong direction and becoming lost. We need to be reminded daily of our journey, that we are God's children, that we belong to Jesus, and that something is expected of us. The ancient Israelites escaped from the pursuing Egyptian army by miraculously crossing the Red Sea. They followed Moses into the wilderness where they would journey to the promised land. However, not everything went well for the people, they complained about being hungry and thirsty. They questioned Moses' authority ...

741. Show Me What’s Real

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... position that Moses probably would not have chosen for himself. God had called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt to the promised land. The journey into the wilderness had not been without incident. The Israelites dramatically escaped from the powerful pursuing Egyptian army through the Red Sea. Soon after that, the people began complaining and wondering why they were in the wilderness in the first place, with some expressing a desire to return to familiar surroundings in Egypt. They grumbled about food ...

742. The Victory Is Ours

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... had begun journaling as a young girl. She wrote about things that happened as well as her dreams of seeing the world. "All my journal entries ended with a prayer for God to help or teach me." Her love for the theater led her to college to pursue her dream. That year the movie, The Color Purple, was released, with Whoopi Goldberg in the lead role. "I was blown away by its story of a girl who overcomes adversity to learn to love herself," LaChanze reflects, "I felt a special connection with her because she ...

743. Forward March

Joshua 3:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses." The people would trust Joshua as they and their ancestors had Moses. Forty years before, the people dramatically crossed the Red Sea, escaping from the pursuing Egyptian army to freedom. It was a defining moment for the people that they told and retold to their children and grandchildren throughout their long journey. Most of the people who crossed the Red Sea decades before had died by this time. When the people ...

744. Set Apart at Christmas

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... useful because the Pharisees of Jesus' day were set apart by their religious devotion (somewhat misdirected as it may have been) but not by non-participation in society. In fact, as a relatively small lay movement, most Pharisees supported themselves by normal jobs and pursued their extraordinary devotion to the law on their own time, as it were. Paul, we know, was a tentmaker or leather worker; Nicodemus may well have come to Jesus by night in John 3 because of his day job. Because modern-day Hasidic Jews ...

745. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... a plan for your life." I am troubled because of two tendencies I have often seen. One is to understand the phrase, "God has a plan for your life," almost like the ancient Greeks understood the words of an oracle: It is a mysterious prediction to be pursued. Nicky Gumbel, of the Alpha Course, tells the story of the Cockney who could not decide to which of two girlfriends to propose. One was Sally and the other was Maria. He was attracted to both. Although not a religious person, he stopped into a church one ...

746. Radiate Love

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... might change their lives. B. There's on old movie, 1940, starring Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogard and Ann Southern. Brother Orchid is about Little Johnny Sarto, a big time racketeer who grows tired of the gangland activities. He tries to quit and pursue his quest for real class and refinement. After a not so successful trip to Europe Johnny finds his old haunts and colleagues not so welcoming. Johnny finds himself a marked man and narrowly escapes being murdered after the Humphrey Bogard character Jack ...

747. Do You Call That Nothing?

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Staff

The French Jesuit scholar Claude Fraguier pursued a case at law for 20 years that his friends continued to tell him he had no chance of winning. Finally and firmly a judgment was made against him. With the decision his friends reminded him of their counsel with the admonishment that he could have spared himself much sorrow ...

748. A Commitment That Is Entire

Matthew 13:44-46

Illustration

Leonard Mann

A goal that is worthy deserves and demands a commitment that is entire. An Olympic athlete must be committed to training; a great violinist must be committed to practicing; anyone who pursues a goal must be committed to the disciplines the achievement requires. After hearing a famous pianist, a lady said to him, "I would give anything to be able to play like that." He replied, "I'll bet you wouldn't give five minutes a day." Another said to a master ...

749. A “No Surprises” Easter

John 20:1-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Surprise! And the rest, as they say, is history. Or at least the history of our faith. That Mary wanted to hold on to him is not unusual. We always cling to the familiar, especially in upsetting circumstances. But Mary had work to do, a mission to pursue. She would become the world's first witness to the resurrection, that death, what the apostle Paul would call "the last enemy," had been defeated. Good news indeed. It is a story we have heard over and over and over again. It is not surprising anymore, but ...

750. Becoming Like Jesus

1 John 3:1-7

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... a select group of people who are better than the rest of the world, because we know that's not the case. We are every bit as sinful as people are outside the church, maybe even more so. What we are dedicated to, and what we support one another in pursuing, is the process of becoming more than what we are. We're not defined by artificial labels like Christian. We're defined by whose we are. We're defined by Christ. Our lifelong calling is to become more and more like him until the day when we see him face ...

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