Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 801 to 825 of 4939 results

801. When Too Much Can Be Too Little

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... symptoms. Jesus revealed to the rich young man the heart of his shortcomings. His "stuff" blocked the staff of life. His love of stuff blocked his way to genuine discipleship, to the kingdom of God. Jesus challenged the man to give up his trust in things, to relinquish his hold on what he held, to give up his control, to take up God's security. In exchange, Jesus offered the rich man a place as one of his disciples. Here was an offer from the Messiah to travel with him, live and walk with him on an ...

802. The Lord's Anger Against Israel

Hosea 13:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... , death and Sheol have no more power. God is sovereign still, and Christ has won the victory over them. But human sin has not been passed over any more in that victory than in Hosea. No, the wages of sin is still death, and God has paid the penalty by giving up his Son to die on the cross. Perhaps Hosea’s words can help us realize the enormity of the punishment that might have been ours except for the sacrifice of our Lord, and the immensity of the love that has saved us.

803. Timeout at Tiberias

John 21:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... friends to church and none of them showed up. You prayed and prayed for a miracle in your life and so far you can’t tell anything is happening. Can you feel Christ putting his hand on your shoulder and telling you to stay focused and faithful--and not give up? Life is not about going from victory to victory. Life is about learning and growing as the Holy Spirit works in our life. Failure is simply part of the process. This is not to say that failure does not hurt. Of course, it hurts. And the greater the ...

804. When I AM Speaks, You'd Better Listen

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... or the football game. I don't remember any of the meals we ate. But these bills prove that I did all that. Since I don't remember any of it, I know I'm out of control in my life. I give up. I acknowledge that I can't handle my life. I can't control my drinking. I give up control to you, Lord." From that point on, as "Hap" arose every morning, he prayed, "Dear Lord, I can't handle my drinking. I commit my life and my problems to you. Without you being in control, I will only mess things ...

805. A Remedy for Rejection

Luke 4:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... people, depression passes given enough hours and days and weeks. The desperate person, if he or she will simply hold on a little bit longer, will live to see the ultimate worth of life. That is the word that must always be spoken to rejected hearts. Don’t give up. Better days will come. I was reading recently about the tragic ending to the life of Kurt Cobain of the rock group Nirvana. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle by an electrician who had come to install a home security ...

806. When What You Signed Up For...

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Fourteen years passed in which Roger thrived on the police force. Then one day while he was studying his Bible, Roger heard God tell him, “Roger, I want you to leave police work and go into the ministry.” If God spoke to you today and told you to give up the life you love and start over in a new career, how would you respond? Roger struggled to understand and obey God’s leading. But a few weeks later, he finally prayed and turned every part of his life over to God. He even asked God to take away ...

807. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... of the key lessons she learned from growing up in the cult was that she “became an expert at being afraid.” (5) Sadly, that’s how many of us respond to a world of tragedy. We become experts at being afraid. And fear turns to anger or giving up or withdrawing from the world. And all three responses keep us from seeing how God is working out His plan for creation: His plan to redeem all things through Jesus Christ and establish the Kingdom of God. And that’s tragic because even though today’s Bible ...

808. What's In It For Me?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... someone who has wronged you? They have kicked you in the shins. They have hurt you. You have every right in the world to demand some justice. You deserve some sort of payback. But to forgive is to forego your legitimate right for justice. To forgive is to give up your right to get even. To forgive is to die a little. To forgive is not to demand your "pound of flesh." To forgive is to drink the cup. To forgive is to be baptized with Jesus' baptism. It is so difficult for congregations in this world not ...

809. Tempted By Good

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... not have to grasp at straws or clutch for power. He had it all along. It was different from what most people would have thought, but he had it. He was tempted to gratify an ambition, but he resisted. Even so, the devil was not ready to give up. A third temptation came. III. Some Temptations Are To Exploit A Close Relationship With A Shallow Acquaintance. This was the most subtle of the temptations. The devil even quotes scripture in this one. If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here. Then he ...

810. Permission To Daydream

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... free to envision it. Because we know the future belongs to God, we are free to see ourselves as part of it. We must not give up our dreams. We are called to dream the dream of God. It is important that we envision the future in this way because the act ... forces would like nothing better than for us to be content with the way things are, or to be so discouraged that we give up hoping for a better day. Teachers sometimes correct their students for daydreaming. But God gives us permission to dream. God gives us ...

811. "But Some Doubted"

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... others will tolerate. Some try to find it by acting crazy, and some try to find it by being perfect all the time. But none of those things work. And when we find they don't work, we end up either burnt-out, dead or in jail -- or we just give up and decide to turn ourselves over to God. Paul learned it the hard way. Some of us have to learn it the hard way. The easiest way to have that power is to give ourselves, our lives, our families and all we possess back to God, to whom they belonged ...

812. Proper 18

Romans 13:8-14, Romans 13:1-7, Ezekiel 33:1-20, Exodus 12:1-30, Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... the whole people of God seek his will. If the whole church cannot bring about repentance or forgiveness, verse 17 states that the offender should be to them as a Gentile or tax collector. This verse is troubling. It seems to suggest that we should give up on people or exclude them. This does not reflect Jesus' attitude toward sinners. He was accused by his enemies of associating with such people rather than the good people. Thus, this is not an injunction to leave sinners to roast in their juices but to ...

813. The Gospel Of Our Calling

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... on a larger scale between nations. More than one bad turn of fortune in our personal lives and we can begin the downward spiral of despair, thinking life is not fair and no one is for us and what's the use of it all. We can get sick and give up on God and on ourselves. From such daily distractions we need to be called to more important events going on. And so, God calls us, as no one else can do. He called Abraham from out of his daily routines in Ur to risk a journey into the future. His ...

814. Is He Really Coming?

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

... by the triumphant return of Christ, who will subdue every opponent. In other words, the message of Christ's coming gives hope to people who struggle through the problems and defeats of life. If we didn't have this assurance, we might be tempted to give up the struggle. Or we might be driven to a frenzied effort to overcome the world's evils by ourselves. This would inevitably lead to despair or cynicism. But we can endure almost anything if we are sure something better awaits us - if we have hope ...

815. Reflection Time

John 1:1-18

Sermon

... we discover between Christ and ourselves from this perspective. A few years ago, Ellen Goodman wrote a column for the new year, "Forswearing the credit card habit." For the past several years, she writes, she has been observing a kind of financial Lent: "I give up plastic (credit cards)." But she has been disappointed in herself and has determined that it has been a "phony" exercise: "To be frank, my plan was born out of a desire to strengthen my moral fibre as much as my financial picture." It hasn ...

816. Promise or Threat?

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

... answer is found in the words of our Lord himself. He says, "But he who endures to the end will be saved." (v. 13) The New Testament Greek word translated "endure" literally means, "to stand one’s ground in affliction." It means to remain steadfast and not give up even in the face of difficult odds. The answer is to persist in faith and hope. The answer is to believe that no suffering or heartache can last forever. The answer is to confront the gloom and doom of this life with the assurance that Christ’s ...

817. Proper 27 & Pentecost 25

Psalm 50:1-23, Psalm 43:1-5, Psalm 63:1-11, Amos 5:18-27, Hosea 11:1-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

... 4, 8-9 (L) The writer tells, concisely and in his own way, the history of the People of Israel before the Lord their God. Theirs is the tale of a covenant accepted but broken again and again over against the faithfulness of a God who will not give up on his people. What he says also applies to Christians who, in baptism have entered into an everlasting covenant with God; they are saints but also sinners and need to die and rise daily with Christ. Because they are "sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with ...

818. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... admonish ourselves or others to do better and to try harder to live a Christian life, but to let the Spirit work in us to make us after his likeness. God is not finished with us yet. Will he ever be finished with us? The fact is that God never gives up on us. We may fail and disappoint him. We may slip and backslide, but God does not lose patience with us. When life on earth is ended and the earth vanishes, the Bible tells us that God will make for us a new heaven and earth where our creation will ...

819. Jeopardy, by Jeremiah

Jeremiah 23:9-32

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... that infantile faith around. A lot us prefer milk to meat, but God’s chosen are weaned. Jeremiah was chosen before he was born, Before he was even formed in the womb! (Jeremiah 1:5) Think of those implications! God’s chosen are changed. Jeremiah had to give up his feeling of inadequacy, and he had to speak up for the angry God who had deep designs. As surely as Jeremiah was chosen and changed, God also changed the history of Israel through him. It’s one thing to pretend that all changes in our faith ...

820. Called into Friendship

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... his pride, admitted his sins, and sought his help and strength. He opened the door to a new friendship and in that new relationship his life was transformed and became worthwhile. If Jesus Christ is not your closest and dearest friend, examine your life. Give up whatever is standing between you and him. Only with him as your friend will your life become exciting, and your days worth sharing. You will know for yourself the words of Jesus: "You are my friend." Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that you ...

821. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... ." These are stiff requirements which the Master lays down as he speaks to us about the cost of discipleship. If we are honest with ourselves, we must confess that we have been poor disciples. We have rendered only lipservice when he has asked us to give up our self-centered life for a life of self-forgetting service. We have said to Christ, "Lord, Lord," but we have not done what he has commanded. How, then, can we become real Christians, authentic loyal disciples of Christ? How can the saltness of flabby ...

822. Good Christians

Luke 13:1-9

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... can't think of anything else to do with it so maybe we should just throw it away. Does anybody else have any ideas? (Let them answer.) Well, what does your mother do with houseplants that don't grow? (Again let them answer.) We could throw it away and just give up on it. What do you think of that idea? (Let them answer.) We could fertilize it, give it plenty of good light, water it once a week, and keep it just a little while longer. This little twig may surprise us and start to grow a lot of oranges. Jesus ...

823. Whoever Would Have Thought?

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... It is often easy for us to lose patience and wonder what the use is. We don't see anything coming from our efforts and be ready to give up. But wait! The parable of the scattered seed teaches us that just when we are ready to give up some seed will sprout. Just when we think nothing will happen, growth will take place. We need to be patient and not give up, because sometimes growth takes longer than we expect. God works in ways we don't understand, often hidden from view. And we have to be patient. Clarence ...

824. Show Me The Fish!

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... they really needed to know. Let me ask you, do you have that kind of complete trust in Christ that you would forsake everything for him? I believe there are many of us who would answer, yes I would. If Christ came to me personally and asked me to give up everything for him, I would do it. Permit me please a followup question. Would you live daily for him here and now? Let me tell you a true, but humorous and slightly scandalous story that comes out of the early days of the church. When the father of Origen ...

825. People Who Inspire Us

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... says Arnold, “She had found something she was willing to live for, and even to die for, and that made all the difference in her life." People who have something to live for, and even to die for, who experience great suffering but never give in or give up, give us hope that we, too, can stand tall in the hour of testing. That is why Paul praised the church at Thessalonica. By their courage and faith and joy they were giving witness to their confidence in Christ. An unknown author puts it into perspective ...

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