Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 801 to 825 of 2404 results

801. Lent 2

Romans 4:1-25

Bulletin Aid

... your people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession God of boundless mercy, we confess that we do not really put our faith in you and your grace, but try instead to make our fortunes and build our futures through our own abilities and achievements; and we admit that we lead pointless and pitiful lives as a result. Forgive us, O God, and give us the faith of our father Abraham and our mother Sarah, who centered their lives and placed their hopes in your promises, and found fulfillment in your ...

802. Tuesday in Holy Week

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Bulletin Aid

... we even find ways to baptize their opposites and call them "Christian." Forgive us, we pray, and teach us to look always to the image of the despised, defeated, and finally dead "loser" on the cross, and to see there our only true model of human success, triumph, victory, and achievement: a life given in selflessness to you and humankind. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen

803. Proper 4

Romans 3:21-31

Bulletin Aid

... TRUST IN GOD'S HOLY NAME! Collect Most holy God, only you are truly righteous and only by your grace in Christ Jesus are we righteous at all. Help us to take to heart the redemption that we have in him: that, the goodness that we were unable to achieve on our own merits, we may by your grace not only realize but reflect. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Merciful and loving God, we confess that we often fall into the trap of trying to justify ourselves and to make ourselves righteous on our ...

804. Proper 24

Ruth 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

... the writing, must have been an extraordinarily liberal idea, namely, that membership in God's chosen people should be open even to (hated) foreigners and that the God of Abraham could be their God, too. The fact that the book (named after this foreigner!) achieved canonical status suggests that the notion prevailed. Call to Worship Leader: Let us praise God as long as we live! People: LET US PRAISE GOD AS LONG AS WE BREATHE! Leader: We shall not entrust ourselves to humankind! People: WE SHALL RATHER FIND ...

805. Three Secrets of A Life Well Lived

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Brett Blair

... that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.” On that I would agree and so would Paul but it doesn’t have to mean that the victory is not achievable, that the fight is in vain, or the race is over. Far from it! So what are we to do? Here is the secret. Here is how you handle those times when you have been abandoned. Listen to the words of Paul once again and then I want to break ...

806. Steadfast and Faithful

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

... story. However, in marveling at the brilliance of their insight, we must not forget that in all of this there has been a trade-off. Our Judeo-Christian tradition, while it has freed mankind from a superstitious view of nature, has achieved this at the expense of divorcing religion from nature. Consequently, Western, technological society has been alienated from nature. The modern perception views nature as an object to subdue, something over which human beings are to have mastery. Indeed, the problem today ...

807. Christ Our High Priest

John 18:28-40, Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... was accomplished on the cross? The answer to that question is summarized in one word: Atonement. Atonement means a reconciliation of two parties. You can remember this by breaking down the word by syllables: atone-ment. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross achieves an at-one-ment of humankind with God. How did this happen? Down through the years, there have been three main interpretations of the Atonement, three theories about Christ’s saving work on the cross.21 Those who are familiar with SLR cameras ...

808. Death: Commonality Explored

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

... of 1982. It was used in the Ecumenical Centre Chapel in Geneva, Switzerland, in July of 1982. It was also used at the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver, Canada, in 1983. It brings to light the solid theological achievements of "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry," a document produced by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. Members of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches have found a deep richness in the service. Like many of my friends, I ...

809. Security: Deeply Personal

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

... on the miraculous, in search of security, discounting the God who comes to us personally, and learning, in shock and amazement, we have just been spinning our wheels. Yet, let the King say one word, and we sense in our totality a security beyond human achievement. The same great spiritual work captures the dynamics found in all of us: "Without a friend thou canst not well live; and if Jesus be not above all a friend to thee, thou shalt be indeed sad and desolate." The personal touch in Christ cannot ...

810. Don't Jump?

Luke 16:19-31

Drama

... be easier for me to talk. 1: I’m waiting. 2: O.K. O.K. Uh ... Love! That’s a reason to live. To have love. 1: Nobody loves me. 2: Somebody must. 1: Nobody does, and I don’t care to love anybody. 2: Well, how about work, success, achievement? 1: I’ve got all that. 2: You have? 1: This afternoon I left an office where I make $40,000 a year, I have a $50,000 home, two cars - it all bores me. 2: Wow! What’s going to happen to all that stuff? 1: It’s all ...

811. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... unity by an acceptable compromise. Although the issue arose again later in various places, particularly Corinth, the conflict within the church was now resolved. Coming about twenty-five years after the Pentecost event, it showed how far the Christians had come in achieving independent status as a world religion. Now there was a basis on which to settle the differences between the extremists on one side who wanted to cling slavishly to every little law, including the fringes of hair and the shawls and the ...

812. Advance into Europe

Acts 15:36-41

Sermon Aid

CSS

... caused divisions and contention in the Jewish community; and perhaps even the Greeks were not in a mood to welcome a new religion. In any event, from Antioch in Pisidia they zigzagged back and forth northwestward for 200 miles without recording any achievement or making any converts. From Mysia, in the extreme northwestern part of the Turkish peninsula, they tried to turn back eastward to Bithynia. In that region were important cities like Nicaea, famed in later years for the council which adopted the ...

813. Revival at Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Sermon Aid

CSS

... sort in Corinth. Paul’s later letters testify to the moral and legal problems which existed even in the Christian community. Among the pagans, life must have been truly licentious. Corinth was large, powerful, and wealthy. It had a history of military achievement and because of its strategic location and good harbor it was a center of naval and maritime strength. It had joined with Athens in wars against Sparta and later had been a stronghold in the battles of the Greeks against the advancing Romans ...

814. Striking Silversmiths Start Riot

Acts 19:23-41

Sermon Aid

CSS

... long a time as he had ever stayed anywhere. For all that time he had seen a constant stream of travelers from all over the world and he must have itched to get out to some of those places he had not yet visited. Perhaps now was the time to achieve his dream of going to the western edge of the world, Spain. As a matter of fact, when he wrote to the Romans he indicated this intention, saying he would "see you in passing as I go on to Spain." In addition, some unknown forces were affecting his life and ...

815. The Wolf and The Lamb Inside Us (Sermon Series 1)

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace. In that time more than 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken. How and when will the prophecy of Isaiah become a reality? Remember, the Bible does not say that Isaiah’s golden age will come through the achievements of people. It will become a reality when Jesus returns in the clouds with great power and glory for all the world to see. But until then, there will be wars and rumors of war. Nation shall rise up against nation. Therefore, we should be wise ...

816. No! I am not a virgin!

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

... it, the virgin birth means that Jesus came from God. He is God's Son. The emphasis is not primarily on Mary, but on the creative life-giving power of Almighty God. As Reginald H. Fuller, the theologian, expresses it, Jesus is not the product of human evolution, the highest achievement of the human race, but he is the product of the intervention of a transcendent God into human history.

817. Faith isn’t Easy - But it Works!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... of picturing the life of faith. Abraham went from Haran to Canaan - and there we see his pilgrimage leading him from the northern shrines of Shechem and Bethel, then south to the Negev and to Hebron - always trusting the promise. He was a pilgrim and a sojourner, achieving the fulfillment of the promise in part, but only a step at a time. It must have been a good life, as life always is when we obey the commands of God - but far from an easy one. Christian disciples are known as followers of "the Way." "The ...

818. Your Money and Your Life

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... between laying up treasures on earth and laying up treasures in heaven. We cannot have it both ways. "You cannot serve God and mammon," Jesus says. The conventional wisdom in our consumer society is that life’s end and happiness can be achieved by acquiring possessions. "Women," say our advertisements, "buy this perfume and you will find happiness with the man of your dreams." "Men, buy this car and women will compete ferociously for your attention." We sophisticated moderns tend to scorn the idol ...

819. Abraham’s Promise Perpetuated

Romans 4:1-25

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

... that Jim, who has served time in jail, Darlene, who has been married frequently, Ed, who is an alcoholic, and Trudy, who is a model of piety, are equal heirs of the estate. No attempt has been made to divide the estate according to our achievements or failures. And now, the will. "To all my children, Sons and daughters, I, the Lord your God, am a gracious Father. Though you have sometimes grieved me, sometimes worshiped me, often tickled me, and frequently misunderstood me and ignored me, I am your Father ...

820. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... early Christians. They had a faith stronger than ours; they trusted in God in all circumstances. They were willing to sacrifice themselves to a higher calling. That same faith should be our goal, but since so few Christians are able to achieve such faith, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s "agonized participation" provides an alternative when facing forces alien to the Gospel ... the Gospel which still calls us to peace and good will. For that "agonized participation," Dietrich Bonhoeffer paid with his life. He could ...

821. Doctor Thomas Dooley

Matthew 9:1-8

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... return to the United States, he had two goals before him: 1. To write a book about his experiences in Viet Nam, and 2. To assume a coveted residency in orthopedic surgery at the prestigious Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. In the course of achieving the first of his goals, he was led to abandon the second. As Dooley wrote his memoirs, he relived the suffering of "a great people distressed" - distressed by illness brought about by the vagaries of nature and distressed by horrible atrocities arising out ...

822. Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... the peace movement for personal gain or glory, they paid a terrible price. We’ve already cited the treatment to which they were subjected for their prophetic roles. Only a sadist would have been willing to endure what they endured in the hope of personal achievement. James and John wanted to sit beside the Lord’s throne when he came into his kingdom, not realizing the price demanded for such a reign. What we see in the lives of Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan is a beautiful example of what can ...

823. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 2

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

... and repeated it many times in sequence. For the performance, we turned up the recorder to its highest volume. The sound was deafening, but the effect was frightening and effective. Lighting Proper lighting in this production is critical. You should be able to achieve complete darkness. If you do not have a cross in the front of the sanctuary that lights up from behind, you should construct one. Because our cross had no lights behind it, we stapled three strands of clear, small Christmas-tree lights to ...

824. How’s Your Appetite?

Matthew 5:6 · Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... game, "Keep your eye on the ball," with the faithfulness of a minister celebrating Holy Communion. Disappointment can’t conquer him. If he fails a hundred times to shoot under par, he will return the next time with renewed courage, resolved to achieve. Failure just seems to whet his appetite for the next game. Jesus does not condemn our pleasure. He yearns for us to appropriate the same eagerness and interest and enthusiastic appetite, if you will, for his cause. The salesman will enlist artists, exploit ...

825. Facing Up to a Power Problem

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... influence in the city of Ephesus. It is impossible to follow in the way of Christ without the Spirit of Christ. Without the Holy Spirit, Christianity is a burden too heavy to be borne - a discipline too difficult to be obeyed - a goal too distant to be achieved. But, by the touch of the Spirit we are enabled. We can cope! Imagine my home, my office, my neighborhood, my nation, my world all shot through with God! You can have a nervous breakdown trying to be a Christian without Christ. A true experience of ...

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