Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 801 to 825 of 2332 results

801. Lent 5

John 11:1-16, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:1-17, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... of God. Such a believer has freely given over her mind to the flow of the Spirit, trusting that God will lead her to new depths of truth. Her body may be nearly dead but her brain (mind) is alive (vv. 8-11). Epistle: Romans 8:11-19 Just deserts. The litany we hear constantly in this present age goes something like this: I demand my rights! Give me what I have coming! They want what they feel they have earned. Paul reminds us of the danger of demanding our rights, insisting on our wages. "The wages of sin ...

802. Pentecost

1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Joel 2:28-32, John 7:25-44, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13, John 20:19-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... vivid for those at the temple festivities because, every day during the feast, water would be drawn from the Pool of Siloam and taken to the temple. That practice was to portray God giving the children of Israel water from the rock, as they journeyed through the desert. Water remains the prime symbol of life and Jesus takes it unto himself. Gospel: John 20:19-23 (RC, E, L) This is John's Pentecost story. The setting is not out in public, as in Acts, but in the Upper Room, where the disciples were cloistered ...

803. Easter Day

John 20:10-18, John 20:1-9, Colossians 3:1-17, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... but joy comes in the morning. We're all in the family. The risen Lord instructed Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples that "He was ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (v. 17). Most of them had failed him, deserted him and disappointed him during his hour of need, but they were forgiven. They were still children of God, still brothers and sisters. That's the wonderful news that the risen Christ has to tell each and every one of his disciples. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Epistle: Acts ...

804. I Am The Real Vine

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

... anyone may haunt the minds of those who refuse to appropriate what has been accomplished. With so many dysfunctional families where children have trusted parents, only to discover that the parents cannot be trusted; with so many cases of physical and emotional desertion; with so many cases of divorce where spouses fear being hurt again if they trust someone, fear keeps many out of the kingdom of God. "Believe, just trust me," God says. Fears of expectations also keep some people as outsiders to real ...

805. I Am The Servant

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

... , no one said anything. After all, it was a strange time and Jesus had said and done so many upsetting things, one couldn't blame Mark too much for forgetting the socially appropriate gesture of the host, washing his guests' dusty feet. The holy land is desert country. It left travelers with very dusty feet. Every Jewish host knew his obligation to start with a foot washing before serving a meal. The host saw himself as a humble servant of his guests for this purpose. But Mark was doing something else. He ...

806. The Warrior And The Shepherd Are One!

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... be touched by the AIDS victim, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, assist the homeless, and shepherd the defenseless among us, we soak ourselves again in the thought and language of the Bible. We prepare the Lord's road; we build God's highway through this desert of human exile for so many of our brothers and sisters. We move out of our old highways with their deep valleys and lumpy hills, rough surfaces and dusty corners. And as we fill up our world's valleys and work on its dangerous corners, we ...

807. Death Shall Be No More

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... one night, unable to sleep, I went to the sanctuary of the church I was serving. The time was close to midnight. The room was dark, save for a shaft of moonlight through the skylight windows. Too distraught to kneel or sit quietly, I paced the deserted room, praying for an answer. Suddenly, I sensed a presence. Not a physical presence, not one discernible by sight or hearing, but a presence. I have always been skeptical of this sort of thing, passing up the sensational books that spoke of such reports. But ...

808. Times Of Refreshing

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... we did or failed to do that eroded our marriages. Our dishonesties in our work. The subtle betrayal of friends in ways they'll never know. Oh, yes, that's a great part of what Peter knew. He knew what you and I are like. He's the man who deserted his friend in the garden, who lacked the courage to bear witness in the courtyard. He knew. But he also knew the miracle of a new life, a gift from the forgiving God. Perhaps this will sound cynical in view of our modern optimistic estimate of human character (an ...

809. Persevering In The Faith

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... must have been! And the child has been walking ever since. Can we see a parallel to the nature of God? Can we possibly believe that a God of love who would be eternally patient and forgiving, as we see God revealed in Jesus, would ignore our suffering, would desert us in our losses, our infirmities? Surely not. But there's a price to be paid. Jesus paid it. God surely suffers in the way that mother surely suffered. But it's how it all works. We will make it through. Over and over again, the gospel promises ...

810. Liberating Truth

John 8:31-41

Sermon

William G. Carter

During the 1960s, Sherwood Schwartz wrote and produced a number of hit television shows. One of the most popular shows was Gilligan's Island, a comedy about a handful of pleasure cruise passengers who found themselves shipwrecked on a desert island. Every episode featured the castaways of the S.S. Minnow facing a wacky new adventure. The show was an immediate hit of the 1964 season. Each week, a lot of otherwise thoughtful, intelligent television viewers tuned in to hear the Skipper say, "Gilligan, drop ...

811. When We Feel God Has Moved And Left No Forwarding Address

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

... ." He explained that he had allowed his little son to go to the neighborhood store all by himself for the first time. In other words, he was teaching his son to experience the growth that would help him take some initiative in doing something for himself. He had not deserted his son. He was nearby even though his son did not know it. In a loving way this father was giving his son some room for growth. So sometimes when it appears to us that God has moved and left no forwarding address, it does not mean that ...

812. The Demanding Crowd

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... . The remarkable thing is: regardless of how or when we come -- God is there! The Need to Withdraw The demand of the crowd upon Jesus' life was great. So much so that "in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Jesus realized he could not give out to others anymore. He went someplace where he could be alone, away from the cries of the needy, the demands of people, the insistence that he do something. Jesus was not trying to get ...

813. Resist Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... the wilderness could be regarded as a place to be feared. If God was there, so were the wild beasts and all sorts of demons. The wilderness was the arena where one could sense dramatically the presence of both. The wilderness was a huge set where the desert storm of the battle of the godly and the demonic could take place. That is precisely why Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. The battle lines had to be drawn between the one who thought he was holding sway in the world, the pretender ...

814. The Servant of All's Second Prediction

Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:33-37

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... is sure that he won't be the man. That's an honest response from men with hardened hearts! After the meal had ended and they had sung a hymn they went together to the Mount of Olives. There Jesus said to them: "You will all become deserters" (Mark 14:27). Other translations read, "You will all fall away." Remember Jesus' explanation for the seed sown on rocky ground, "... they have no root ... when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away" (Mark 4:17). These words of ...

815. Son of David, Open Our Eyes

Mark 10:46-52

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... just as much attention. People have different needs at times like this. Some pastors will be contrasting the beggar Bartimaeus who sees and follows Christ with the disciples who still do not see what Christ is doing as he travels to Jerusalem and who will desert him there. If this is the direction of the sermon, then a prayer of confession may be an appropriate response for a church that is once again blind to what Christ is doing in our world. Drama and Movement A solo dancer could let the congregation ...

816. A Solitary Witness

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... truth even if it costs me my life." A few people called him a martyr. In 1987 a memorial mass was conducted in Linz, Austria, culminating a three-day observance that would have been his 80th birthday. Other people have called him a deserter. They cited his family responsibilities. They said his act became a condemnation upon all those who did not express a conscientious objection. Still other people saw it only as a senseless waste of human life. Historian Reinhold Schneider wrote: "When the commission of ...

817. What Triggers Your Panic Button?

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... any one who becomes a person of character is lost in some sea at some time or other. The question is, what do you do about it? There is a story about a World War II bride who followed her new husband to an army camp in the California desert. Before long, she regretted her move. The heat and dust were terrible. Her soldier husband was allowed very little time at home with her. She grew bored and lonely, for the only neighbors were Indians who spoke little English. When she felt she could stand it no longer ...

818. Winners Losers

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... makes life worthwhile has a solid core of human truth in it. Solidly founded in love, we become free. As long as the loved one is there for us we can, in the words of countless love songs, “move mountains,” “travel unexplored deserts,” “conquer all obstacles,” “in all times to be content.” The recognition of love empowers a person to keep going with good will, courage, and confidence, almost no matter what. 2.) Courage is another quality that grows through continuing. Courage is not just ...

819. Here They Come, Singing

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... is described in Jeremiah. “I will make them walk by brooks of water,” God promises, “in a straight path in which they shall not stumble.” Here are three blessings for the journey of God’s people. Brooks of water will accompany their path. In the desert which they must cross, water is of paramount importance. God will provide it. A second blessing is that the path will be straight. It will not meander all about, making the journey twice as long. The path will be the straightest distance between two ...

820. Forever and Ever

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... and ever. They cover every area of life, every person, and every situation. This is due to the fact that nothing or no one is beyond the concern of God. Think of a few promises God makes to you and me. When we are lonely and feel all alone and deserted, he promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It is always good to have a friend stand with you, but the one you really need to see you through is God. According to this promise, you never have to walk alone. Then there are times when we are ...

821. God’s Great Final Day

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... his life. The same will happen in the end to every little tin-horn dictator on earth. God will cut him off. The poet, Shelley, wrote a sonnet about such a boastful ruler, based on fragments of a gigantic statue found lying in the Egyptian desert, bearing the inscription, “I am Ozymandias, king of kings.” Despite the great king’s achievements, Shelley observes, the statue’s broken face and trunkless legs are all that remain of the once-great ruler or his kingdom. There were three other beasts in the ...

822. Charlie Used To Do That

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

The people said, "Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' " Jesus answered, "What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven." Jesus is referring to the fact that even when God gave the whole ...

823. What Do You Mean, "Repent"?

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Thomas Long

... bringing with him, for the modern reader, his Hollywood-shaped image. Out of Central Casting, by way of Wardrobe, John stands there with his tumbleweed hairdo, animal skins draped over his out-sized frame, popping honey-dipped locusts as his rough baritone howls like the desert wind to the gathering crowds, "Repent!" A God and a History, a Community ... but what a haircut! There is a truth, and there is a falsehood, in this portrait of John. The truth in the image is that John is intended to jar the readers ...

824. Stilling The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... is on the work of the church. They forget or reduce human measures, or they become impatient with the individual needs of these serving people. Asker: Jesus, what does this miracle tell us about God? Jesus: Some ask, "Where is God in the chaos?" God does not desert us when waves threaten to swamp the boat or when the pressure of responsibilities pitches us nearly overboard. God might not be obvious in the chaos; however, as our trust that God is with us grows, we find God present with us in the chaos. Part ...

825. Proper 8

Mark 5:21-43

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... again. We had turned her over to God. Now it was our responsibility to care for her again and to give her nourishment. I realized from this that parents must be in partnership with God in raising their children. Even when we are most alone, God does not desert us. Ultimately, God is in charge. Interviewing The Woman Asker: When I read your story, I heard you crying this Psalm all those years of waiting and suffering: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to ...

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