Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 901 to 925 of 4884 results

Matthew 12:38-45

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... school, I had the proper amount of social popularity. I belonged to the proper clubs, and I had the proper number of dates at the proper times. Now, here I am in college preparing for life - LIFE - and I am a perfect example of an all-American phony! Every thing that you see is a perfect shell, a lovely veneer, an unpressive facade, all produced and directed by a great American home of a great American society. And what’s inside? What’s inside? NOTHING! There is nothing of WHO I am, or WHAT I am, or ...

902. Hungry for Anything?

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... are born until the day you die - and I don’t care who you are - you yearn, you long for those who are yours in love. You can never get beyond that hunger. But this desire to love and to be loved also has eternal significance. No matter how perfectly you love someone or they love you, there is still a central core within you that is UNsatisfied, that belongs to God alone. That isn’t theological - it’s a psychological fact - that only as you love God can you love your wife or your husband or your child ...

903. Chapter II

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... way he acts toward us. Hence the Commandments are not based on a principle of "Do as I say!" In them God is asking us to "Do as I do!" In the New Testament Jesus pressed the same idea. His words, "You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), are cut from the same cloth. The Greek term teleios means "to be fully developed," "mature," "complete." It means to reach a level of maturity where a person is able to respond responsibly. It describes a person whom God expects to ...

904. Growing Up

Judges 17:1-13

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... and moral chaos are the only results when everyone does as he pleases. A generation or two ago it was popular to trace the degenerative influences in our country to some alien philosophy. We can always blame our ills on the Communists - they’re always a perfect scapegoat. We hear that much of our racial and campus disorders have been Communist-inspired. Perhaps there have been some rabble-rousers, but why is it so hard to admit that we could be guilty since we’re cut from the same mold as Adam? The ...

905. Parents, Tend Those Lambs!

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the country. When you get to an isolated spot, stop the car and ask your old friend to get out. Then close the door, drive away, and leave him there." In other words, Dr. Callahan is urging us to quit beating up on ourselves because we are not perfect. If you are humble enough to admit your errors and to receive God's forgiveness, he can make a magnificent parent out of you. The power you receive from him will be more important than the gifts you have. Be gentle with yourself. A SECOND ADMONITION FROM THE ...

906. Broken and Beautiful

Luke 18:9-14, Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... thankful I am that I'm not loitering on some street corner, a no- count drug abuser, or living off welfare. I thank you that I'm not a homosexual or an abortionist or New Ager or Hollywood pagan. 0 Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way." But there was another man in the temple that day, said Jesus. He stayed out in the remote area, the Court of the Gentiles, not feeling worthy to come into the sanctuary. He was a tax collector- --which meant that he was an unpatriotic thief and ...

907. Friction Points

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... s classic admonition as recorded in Romans 12:02, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Here is the crux of what the Bible is telling us: We Christians ought to stand out in this pagan culture, not as supercilious, condescending prudes, but as unapologetic representatives of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it ought not to bother us that we don't fit ...

908. Do You Really Want to Dive?

Illustration

Leslie Bush

... and looked at my mother. "I can’t." The lifeguard broke in from across the pool, "Maybe you should wait until she’s a few years older." "She’s big enough now," Mom returned. To me she said, "If you wait until the water’s perfectly warm or until you’re perfectly ready, you’ll be waiting forever. You’ve got a chance now. Do you really want to dive?" "I want to dive, mom." "Good! I know you can." I crouched back into position and took a deep breath. "Tuck your head more," advised mom. I tucked ...

909. Peter’s Second Sermon

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... . Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, ... When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways." (vv. 13-26) The crucial issue is repentance, not perfect health! The issue is a changed heart, a new direction to lives that have become too focused upon self. Repentance is the attitude that puts God back into the center of our lives. As you heard during the Lenten season, this is no quibble about trifles. Jesus ...

910. Receiving God's Good News

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... and lift high the meek so that we might learn about Your love. Help us, God, to seek Your word for our day and not to judge Your people. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, sometimes we have been so intent on being perfect and demanding perfection in others that we have lost the qualities of mercy, grace and love. Too often we have been quick to judge the ministries and works of others rather than listening for Your guidance in our own lives. Forgive us, O Lord, and help us to remember ...

911. The Garden: All Things New

John 20:1-9

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... and became the worst of gardens. The second was, for a little while, the worst of gardens, but it became the best of gardens. And so it is, to this very day. The first garden is the place known as the Garden of Eden. It was a perfect place. Those who lived there had everything they needed, every beauty, every dream. It was the best of gardens. Still today its name symbolizes all that is wonderful. But through human selfishness and ego, it became the worst of places. Or at any rate, the worst of decisions ...

912. A Man Who Laughed at God

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... He did possess his faults and defects; he did express his weaknesses and shortcomings; he did make his mistakes and errors. So many of the Bible people are like this; they are not gods to be worshiped, angels to be venerated, nor paragons of perfection to be slavishly emulated. They are real persons. They are like us: mixtures of good and evil; a constant conflict between the higher and lower natures: earthly passions struggling with heavenly aspirations. No wonder we can easily identify with so many of the ...

913. The Glory and the Cross

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... time with the music. Our hearts were united as we sang chorus after chorus. The Bible camp leader led us in prayer. We added our own prayers. No one wanted to leave the campfire. The moment was just too perfect. "It is well to be here," I thought to myself. I felt as if I had, at that very moment, a glimpse of God’s glory. I wanted to stay beside that campfire forever! Many of you have had a similar experience. I am certainly not the only person to ...

914. A Streak of Common Sense

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... prophecies do not come true. Simply, they are not of God. A true prophet, no matter how pedestrian he may seem, is one whose prophecies will come true, for they are of God. True prophets spell out the long-range consequences of not obeying God, while they make perfectly clear the daily demands of faithfulness if they are to obtain God’s favor. Thus, the law is not a burden; it is a gift of God to insure the continuance of genuine common sense, if the people truly desire to achieve God’s favor. The favor ...

915. Lent 5

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 12:20-36

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... , it still offers a poignant glimpse at the humanity of Jesus in a moment of anguish, and at a prayer in the face of impending suffering that is heard and yet does not alleviate the suffering but rather makes it an occasion for growth (in this case to perfection). Call to Worship Leader: We are here in the name of Christ, the source of our salvation! People: WE ARE HERE IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WHO SUFFERED AND DIED FOR OUR SAKES! Leader: Let us remember that, before his death, Jesus prayed in anguish to God ...

916. People Are Different, People Are The Same

Drama

Marge Passamaneck

... . and Mrs. Stein gave David a box. He tried to open it carefully, but his excitement was too great. He ripped the box open. Inside was a baseball mitt. DAVID: Oh, boy. My very own glove. NARRATOR: David put it on, pushing his fist into the pocket. DAVID: It’s perfect. I’ll be the best second baseman on the team with this. NARRATOR: David gave his mom and dad a kiss. With his glove still on, he gave his parents a box. DAVID: I looked a long time for this, and saved all the money myself from my allowance ...

917. The Gift

Drama

Esther Lense

... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. "Love never ends; as for prophecy, it will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease, as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowlege is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to ...

918. Facing the Glory Road

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... put it, "We have every fear, except the fear of God." Well, no one has said that it was going to be an easy thing, following Christ on the glory road. I don’t find anything anywhere in the gospels that tells us that Christianity was the way to perfect peace and security and plenty and prosperity; and I get SICK at the corruptions of the gospel that imply this! If this is why you’re hanging around the Kingdom of God, then your disillusionment is going to be just as severe as that of the twelve. They were ...

919. He Ought to Stick Out!

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

... , only that you want him. He did not say you would not stagger and fall flat on your face in sin, only that you want him to pick you up and guide you when you do fall. Nor did he say you must be perfect to obtain his spirit. But he did say his spirit would work his perfection within you. Ever so slowly, when Jesus is the guest of our life, he begins what we think is a household remodeling job on our life. Actually, he is tearing down the old house and building it anew. Paul put it this way ...

920. Blessed With Peace

John 14:15-31

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... edge of the water, he noticed something sparkling in the sand. It was a pale, delicate shell. He stood there, completely captivated by it. Finally he picked it up. It was so delicate that the least pressure of his fingers would crush it. Yet it was undamaged and perfect. He was puzzled by this fact as the waves roared in upon him. How could a shell remain intact and unbroken in the midst of the tons of seething water? Suddenly it dawned upon him that the shell did not panic, fight the forces of the water ...

921. Lord of the Sabbath

Mark 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... of the Lord! People: For in our weakness is God's glory most clear. Leader: For none of us stand perfect before the presence of the Lord. People: Yet through God's mercy and grace we are each most welcome and loved ... might finally see how to live by love. We praise You, Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, how often we ask You to make us perfect before we can share the good news of Your love with the world. And how often we cry out for You to meet our conditions instead of trusting ...

922. Forced by the Spirit

Mark 1:9-13

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... : (ENTERS ALONG WITH SHARON) So, did you have a good Time on your vacation? We saved a lot of work for you. SHARON: My vacation was terrible. KAREN: That bad? SHARON: It sure was. KAREN: You went to the perfect vacation spot -- the tour brochure said it was "the garden spot. The perfect place for a relaxing vacation." SHARON: More like a wilderness than a garden. KAREN: What could have gone wrong? A wilderness? SHARON: Yes, a wilderness. Let me tell you, enough went wrong to make it difficult. KAREN: Well ...

923. Academics, Fanatics, and Other Disciples

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... the shortened form of "fanatic," he was taken aback. His long-neglected wife, a football widow of the first rank, wondered aloud why it was perfectly acceptable to be a football fanatic and not a religious fanatic. "Because," replied her husband without thinking, "unlike a religious fanatic, a football fanatic can be perfectly harmless." "Yes," said the long-unnoticed football widow, "I can vouch for that!" Nevertheless, we are rightly concerned about religious fanaticism -- a religious devotion and fervor ...

924. Standing Room Only Religion

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... crashing out. Until one day, after some counseling, they just decided to forgive each other. Yes, they had wronged each other. Yes, they had hurt each other. Yes, they had been angry at each other for not being perfect, for not living up to their projected expectations of what a perfect spouse should be. But then it dawned on them that they were destroying no one but themselves. They had been anxious, dyspeptic, angry, hard, curt, and hostile and not infrequently sick. And no wonder. And then they learned ...

925. God Dwells With People

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... leadership they needed. David was the strong beginning; his descendants continued it. It is good to recall that the New Testament, right from the beginning (Matthew 1), emphasizes that Jesus was the "son of David." The instructions to David in this narrative were not perfectly clear. He would not be given permission to build a temple, but his offspring would. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I ...

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