Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 876 to 900 of 4963 results

876. Connected to Christ: I Am the Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... inspired Jesus'' words in John 15 about the vine and the branches. Everyone who heard this analogy understood it. A vine supplies the necessary food, nurture, and environment for a branch to live and blossom. It is only when we are connected to Christ the vine that our lives remain healthy and full of vitality. It is a reminder that we are not the bread--the light--the door--the shepherd--the life--the way--we are only a witness to the One who is all of these and more. Christ is the center of our faith. We ...

877. Living the Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... a time when the discussion of Christian ethics has been more necessary and more relevant." "Second, there is an element of permanency about the Ten Commandments. Ethical systems have their day and cease to be, but the Ten Commandments remain. Whatever may be thought of them, they remain the basis of any system of ethics. For that very reason they have to be reinterpreted in every age. Every generation has once again to work out their implications and to consider their demands." What might surprise you is ...

878. The Other Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... today. Percy Bysshe Sheely, one of Great Britain''s noteworthy writers, in 1817 wrote a piece called, "Ozymandias." In this writing, Sheely details an encounter with a traveler from an ancient land, who in a journey across a desert, discovers the remains of a marble statue. All that remained were two feet and the trunkless legs. Near them on the sand was the shattered remnant of what had been the head. On the broken slabs of stone was found the following inscription: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ...

879. Thanks for the Memories

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... remember. On Memorial Day, we will remember many things. We will remember those who gave the supreme sacrifice that our land might remain free. We will remember the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We will remember the great document penned on July 4, 1776 ... comes back, she has with her a rather large box, and she says, "We''ll get married and I''ll live here, but this box must remain in our home and you must never look in it." He says, "That''s okay. No problem there." The days went by, and you know what ...

880. Are We on Speaking Terms with the Almighty?

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... in Matthew''s gospel, "Lord, teach us to pray," they knew the importance of talking to God--not at God. The more we pray--that much more of God''s presence becomes real to us. When there is communication with our friends--those friendships remain vibrant and real. However, when communication fades, so does the relationship. The biggest obstacle in modern times is not that God has stopped hearing our prayers. The biggest obstacle is that we have stopped listening for God''s direction. In his book Directions ...

881. If You Are Willing

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... we care about people. And we feel we ought to be able to provide an answer. We want to bring people comfort and hope. But, as St. Paul says in First Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly . . .” There are some things that remain in the area of mystery, even to those who study God’s Word comprehensively. But I wonder if this little story of the man who was healed of leprosy and couldn’t keep quiet about it doesn’t at least hint at God’s dilemma. Jesus’ compassion reflects ...

882. The Holiness of the Sacred

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... to do. Jesus knew the law. Listen to the "holy" law about how to deal with lepers: The leper who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry, "Unclean, unclean." He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp. -- Leviticus 13:45-46 (RSV) It was the religious establishment that set up those rules. And many in the church today still want to follow some of ...

883. Height Advantage

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... satellites, in terms of humanity's ability to communicate with the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ. Now I am fully aware of how removed this may seem to be from your everyday life. It may not seem relevant to the exam coming up this week or the bills that remain unpaid or the problem you are having with your boss or spouse or child or parent, but it is, in fact, directly related to all of these matters. Is it not true that the natural reaction to hitting a brick wall of fear or anxiety or frustration is to ...

884. Grace in the Midst of Exasperation

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... conscious desire. But other desires -- to be petty and small-minded and cynical -- are never very far away. Sometimes the darker desires win an overwhelming victory. Then we think, "Why did I do that? What's wrong with me?" The answer is that our inner natures remain a bundle of contradictions. We agonize, "Am I really a different person? Has anything about me actually changed? How can I truly say that I belong to God?" For this reason it is crucial to remember, every day of our lives, God's guarantee that ...

885. Grace in the Midst of Guilt and Shame

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... relationship with him. Our sins cannot separate us from God. Nevertheless, our attitudes toward our continuing failures may create the impression that God has fled -- especially if we are unwilling to accept God's solution to the dilemma of ongoing guilt feelings. Some Christians remain under the spell of the spirit of heaviness. Feelings of forgiveness have never come, or at least haven't stayed. Why does this happen? Far too many of us awake in the morning as if the cross never happened, or as if God's ...

886. Joy to the World

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... of a glorious future. In chapter 62:1-3, we suddenly hear God's voice. God is no longer silent and these three verses are a sign of fresh resolve on God's part. God will remain active and engaged until Jerusalem has been vindicated and rescued from oppression. The message of Christmas is that God has not remained silent, for in Jesus Christ the silence has been broken. With the coming of Christ there is the promise of restoration and renewal. This causes us to respond, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come ...

887. A Christian Style Of Being And Doing

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... found it true -- perhaps all of you -- as I have: when I pray for another from whom I may be estranged -- it may be my wife, my children, a friend -- it doesn't matter who it is -- when we pray for another person from whom we are estranged, we cannot remain the same in our feelings and in our separation from that person. When I pray for another person about whom I genuinely care, or even for a person I may not know, the power of love and caring is so generated within me that it flows out into the life ...

888. A Love For All Seasons (ii) (communion Meditation)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... How many times do we take the Prodigal back?" In response to the question, I said that the Gospel is weighed on the side of patience and forgiveness. And I've just been saying that it is certainly weighed on the side of hope. Still the question remains, how many times do we take the Prodigal back? I also said that we would talk today about balancing the weight of the Gospel against the notion of tough love. We discussed that question last week in the context of drug dependency. And, nowhere is the question ...

889. The Rest Of The Story

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , with great patience, encouraged her to kneel, arranging her hands so that she could cling to the altar rail. When he had succeeded in getting her into position, he smiled at her, as though congratulating her on her achievement. Then he knelt beside her. For a few minutes, they remained there in prayer. Then he took a candle, lit it, and gave it to the child. She held it for a moment, then placed it on the altar. The old man picked her up again and carried her out of the church. Cronin couldn't help it. He ...

890. Saying Yes To Forgiveness

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... without hurting each other -- but, we can't keep on hurting each other and survive a relationship without forgiveness. So, you get the point. Saying yes to forgiveness offers freedom to the other person and claims freedom for yourself. Because if you remain estranged, if you remain separated from another, you hold both yourself and the other in bondage. I've said four things:One, saying yes to forgiveness is saying yes to God.Two, saying yes to forgiveness is our clearest witness to the fact that we are ...

891. Sweet Little Jesus Boy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Christ offers power. ...if we know who he is why do we dry up in our separation and estrangement when he has reconciling love to give. God is in Christ reconciling. He can bring us together. You don't have to get that divorce. You don't have to be remain estranged from a parent or a child. Christ can bring us together. ...if we know who He is, why do we wallow in self-pity, defeat, and despair when he could lift our spirits, our hearts, our heads with meaning and hope. They didn't know who he was. That ...

892. The Baby Leaped

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... , others joined in until the whole group was singing at the top of their voices and the puzzled jailers felt the entire cellblock vibrating with the sounds of a joyful gospel song. When they went to see what was happening, the prisoners triumphantly pushed the remaining mattresses through the cell bars, saying, ‘You can take our mattresses, but you can’t take our souls.’" Tom Long says, "It was the hymn singers who were in jail, but it was the jailers who were guilty. It was the prisoners who were ...

893. The Waster

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... , however, we are never told what the older brother decides to do. The story ends but it doesn't end. You can almost hear the voice of Walter Cronkite saying, "YOU ARE THERE." Will we RSVP to a party thrown by an unfair God? Or will we stubbornly remain outside? In a world where God does not play fair, this parable forces us to make a choice. Who is the real "prodigal" here? Who is the real "waster"? From the beginning Jesus says that this is a story about two brothers. Which one is the authentic prodigal ...

894. Equipping the Whole People of God: Penultimate Questions

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... its meaning. Peter was writing some Christians who were facing slander and persecution. They were Christians in dispersion – exile. This was a circular letter, to be passed from group to group. Its purpose was to fortify these Christians and enable them to remain steadfast in their Christian commitment. Listen again to a portion of what Peter said. “Once you were no people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” These Christians knew what ...

895. The Nature of the Church and Christian Discipleship

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the whole church in Estonia, I could have just as well been in one of the New Testament churches – maybe one like those to which Peter was writing. The devotion and commitment was so obvious. Under constant oppression and persecution, these humble Christians remained faithful and continued to seek creative ways of expressing their faith during all those years of persecution. I hope I will never forget that crowded church on Sunday morning. I hope I will carry forever in my mind the picture of those people ...

896. Last Words Are Important

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... : 36 million Americans (14% of the population) live in poverty. Of those, the portion living in our urban centers has increased from 30% in 1968 to about 47% today. Are we going to them? And are we going to the 57% of the 36 million poor who remain in rural America? Seventy million individuals in the United States are under the age of 18—are we going to them? Nearly one million foreign-born people immigrate to this country every year. Are we going to them? Thirty-two million people in America speak some ...

897. Don't Fade Out On the Amen and the Hallelujah

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... slaves – slaves to habits and passions and fears: slaves to what pulls us down and distorts our very essence as human beings. If anything or anyone other than Christ occupies the throne of our life, we remain bound by guilt and shame and condemnation – we need to remember that God has rescued us from the powers of darkness -- and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son where we have redemption – the forgiveness of our sins. When we remember that – and keep Christ on the throne ...

898. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a hut on the mountain, looking after the sheep, and each day I would wake to pray before dawn in all weathers – snow, frost, and rain. I remained as a slave in Ireland for six years. One night when I was asleep. I heard a voice speaking to me. It told me that a ... of Yahweh” coming down from heaven. It is so overwhelming that he falls on his face. But the Lord will not let him remain there: “Son of man, stand upon on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And the Lord does speak. The message, which ...

899. The Privilege and the Price

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... announced to his disciples, and then a warning, “but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot....” In other words, “If you as my followers don’t remain distinctive, then you deserve to be trampled, and will be.” Either the real deal or road-kill? Which is it? We can’t make ourselves salty; that is Christ’s gift to us. But we are to keep ourselves salty, and that is our task with his help ...

900. Loving Like God Loves

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... you,'' she said. The burglar apologized for what he had done. Then he yelled out the door to a woman in a pickup truck: "We've got to unload all of this. This is a Christian home and a Christian family. We can't do this to them." As Hartman remained on her knees, the burglar returned furniture he had taken from her home. Then he took the bullets out of his gun, handed the gun to Hartman, and walked out the door.”14 Praying for our enemies is incredibly disarming. It is not enough to avoid them and not do ...

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