Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 901 to 925 of 1795 results

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... we have figured out the kind of people God should work with - our kind of people, or the kind of person we think should be his kind of people - God up and makes a refuge in Egypt! We seek, even if unconsciously, to fence God in to certain methods and styles, and he blithely demonstrates that the whole world is his. If he wishes, he can use the pagan Cyrus as easily as the godly Moses. He chooses, at times, to provide a refuge in Egypt. There is pathos in it sometimes, and humor at others. A white man with ...

902. The Jericho Road: Where the Action Is

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... rarely happened to Bartimaeus; and he healed his eternal soul by his saving graciousness. Because we have programs and institutions to care for people’s physical and financial needs, and to counsel their problems, we too easily assume that all is well. Bartimaeus, 1987 style, still may not know his worth, and his soul may still go untended and unsaved. Zacchaeus, the dishonest tax man, no longer is shut out of society. As I rode down one of our finer streets recently the driver of the automobile pointed ...

903. The Garden: All Things New

John 20:1-9

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... not long ago, she was a despised creature. They said she had seven devils. This was a way of saying that she was as completely and hopelessly evil as anyone could imagine. It is usually assumed that she was a woman of the streets, but that her style of immorality was so corrupt, so irrational, that she must have been driven by some inner demon. Indeed, a whole covey of demons. One day she had met Jesus. Perhaps to her astonishment, he neither condemned her nor sought to exploit her. Then, a miracle happened ...

904. What God Requires of Us

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

... to keep the Law. Am I not right, Nicodemus? Nicodemus: (thoughtfully) Perhaps there are some misguided leaders who have turned the Law into a burden. But I am not sure. Obed: Listen, that man is dangerous! He has to be stopped! He told all the people that our style of dress and the keeping of the Law of Moses was done purely for show. He said we were going to hell because we have misled the Gentiles by converting them to Judaism. Aaron: He said that the altar was more sacred than the gifts that we place ...

905. Hot Tubs and Fishing Trips

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Thomas Long

... the pampered and affluent landscape of pop culture so roundly satirized by Cyra McFadden in her novel The Serial. The book is set in a laid-back, fern-bar-saturated community of beautiful people, all of them frantically fine-tuning their social styles to the rapidly changing zeitgeist. For example, two of the characters plan a party around the renewal of their marriage "contract" and send the following invitation to their friends: Kate Smith and Harvey Holroyd request your presence at a Spring Festival - a ...

906. Discipleship - Path to Fulfillment

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... Are you able to follow the path of discipleship? Yes? Then at the end of the path - indeed, all along the way - you will find fulfillment and cause for thanksgiving. Are you willing to be a servant? Good! You will be great in the eyes of God. It was the style of ministry Christ adopted. "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." He asked no more of others than he demanded of himself. 1. William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, The Daily Study Bible Series ...

907. All-Out Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... , and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen One day a man came to a pastor’s office and uttered that prayer, in substance if not in style. The pastor had just performed the wedding ceremony for his son and his bride. The father was accompanied by two youthful witnesses, who signed the marriage documents. When the pastor asked for the maiden name of the bridegroom’s mother, the father broke down and wept. His ...

908. Happiness Is ... the Kingship of Jesus

John 18:28-40

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... especially vulnerable at Passover, when devout pilgrims flocked by tens of thousands to Jerusalem. The pilgrims far outnumbered the Roman garrisons then, and Jesus could easily have recruited a vast army and overwhelmed the legions of Caesar. But that was not Jesus’ style, and he made that clear: "My kingship is not of this world." Men and women, in recent history, shed light on the peaceable character of the kingship of Jesus. Harry Emerson Fosdick cited Mahatma Ghandi as an example: ... for us moderns ...

909. When Things Don’t Work Out, What Then?

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... that what we have to do in the area of physical health? If things are not working out for you in matters of health, the doctor will tell you, "You’ve got to change your diet. You’ve got to change your outlook. You’ve got to change your whole style of living. Unless you do this, you will die." Now, in that circumstance, we can’t blame God if we continue to be sick. We have not changed what we should change to see God’s good purpose of health realized in our lives. When things don’t work out ...

910. "The Sawdust and the Circus"

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

... . Circuses, however, seem to be only the little road shows hardly worthy of the title, or else the spectacular extravaganzas that play at Madison Square Garden or the Civic Arena that even with elephants, trapeeze artists, and clowns seem not quite up to the style of the old big top. Needless to say, most of our thoughts about evagelism are nostalgic ones. For better or for worse, the very word "evangelism" connotes to us the revivalism of a by-gone era - Billy Graham notwithstanding. Now, I would hope that ...

911.

Drama

David E. Ullery

... not listened to him ... (He pauses, as Claudia looks at him, not knowing what to think) Come, dear, I know that you have been greatly impressed by him and that some of our servants are among his followers. It makes no difference to me this is just another "style" that will pass. Claudia: Don’t misjudge him, Pilate. It might give you great cause for regret. And, since you know so much, I suppose that I need not tell you that Caiaphas will likely be here before long. Sergius: He is on his way now, my lady ...

912. The Generation Gap

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

William McKee Aber

... all over the furniture!" They never heard them; they couldn’t get beyond appearances! This is not to suggest that the loss of good manners is to be applauded but it is to say that we should take people seriously, even though their wearing apparel and hair style is not quite what we’re used to. Beards do not really negate brains - although I confess that I can’t really present an unbiased viewpoint on that one! We must take seriously what is being said, and what is being said is simply the fact that ...

913. THE MARRIAGE GAP

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

William McKee Aber

... of snappy answers such as "shortest book on record" and such. The fact of the matter is, however, that such a book would be perfectly legitimate - for a nun, and any other woman, who does have a sexual life in that her thinking, her emotions, her style of living, is that of a woman. There is a difference between the sexes, of which the physical difference is only a part, and with these differences one should be prepared for conflict! G. A. Stuttered-Kennedy, a great preacher of another generation, once said ...

914. Surprise, It's Christmas!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... born in poverty and obscurity. He is a simple boy of Nazareth, rambunctious and learning the trade of carpentry along side his father. He is unnoticed for years while living in a family of little means. He is not a member of the religious class but a self styled preacher like John the Baptist. He is a prisoner refusing to answer the accusations of a judge. He is a common criminal like the two he was crucified along side. He is buried and except for a few fanatics is dead and forgotten. He is so natural. So ...

915. Job - A Probe Into the Shadow World of Despair

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

... to sleep, the hours drag; I toss all night and long for dawn ... My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver’s shuttle" (Job 7:3, 4, 6). These are words from this morning’s encounter with Job. The poetry, the style, the intelligence, and the insight into and identification with suffering, both physical suffering and mental-spiritual confusion, are of high genius and are marked by personal experience. Job is a haunting challenge that you as well-educated Christians must be able and willing to ...

916. The Father Who Wanted His Son To Succeed

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... became his own undoing in the branches of an oak tree. His fourth-born, Adonijah, plotted to secure the throne and had himself anointed king ahead of Solomon in one of the most comic, if not tragic, scenes of scripture. He was later liquidated, gangland style, as a threat to Solomon. There was the child born to Bathsheba who had been conceived in his adultery and who, upon his birth, took sick and died, just as the Prophet Nathan had predicted. And all the rest - Ithream, Elishama, Japhia, and Eliada - who ...

917. Man, Where Are You?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... in the lights, and each of us is in the leading role. We begin to see that certain scenes in our lives are repeated in the story and we recognize the naked male and female who, in their embarrassment, are hiding in the bushes, trying on the latest style in fig leaves. We recognize the voice that we hear strolling through the garden in the cool of the day, for we have heard it many times ourselves (if we have not destroyed the conscience altogether): "Man, where are you?" The Fall The story is disturbing to ...

918. The Heart of The Gospel

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

[While the following sermon may be adapted to the usual solo style of the parish parson, it could also be used in the more dramatic form. The copy indicates a role for seven resonant voices, strategically placed at various locations in the church, not visible to the congregation. The lines should be carefully rehearsed so that they are spoken with effective accent, ...

919. What Was That About?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... mentality persists and where the possibility of final judgment is at least acknowledged, why bring that up? It seems to me we have some judgments to contend with now, and these are quite enough without becoming exercised about a judgment on some distant day. Self-styled judges are in great supply. Don’t tell me there’s another waiting in the wings to nail me at the end of history. In particular, what shall we say to this - this ancient vision of a psychopathic character named Daniel who admits it in ...

920. Letting Go

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... of being in the world. It is the self as subject, as I, who may be free from the self, that is, from any particular way of being in the world. It is the self as subject, as I, who seeks to break through the obstacles to relationship in our styles of relating in order to be in communion with the Thou of another. It is the self as subject, as I, who knows the terror of no longer being in the world and it is I who seeks to overcome the threat of death. While it is the self as ...

921. When Jesus Speaks Your Name

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... totally new possibilities; new horizons. providing one with a new sense of who he is, and what the meaning of his existence is. An encounter is not to be confused with the process of identification - a gradual copying and assimilation of another’s style of life. Nor is it a mere transference of past experiences on to the present. Rather in such an encounter with the Christ, something novel occurs - something that has never happened before - one is awakened to potentialities, his self is not only reshaped ...

922. Thomas Didymus: An Honest Skeptic

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

The reality of doubt and its relationship to faith is dealt with by HELEN TERKELSEN (see biographical note preceding Like Trees Walking) in her particular unique style in Thomas Didymus: An Honest Skeptic. Since Easter is a week behind us and the life everlasting is a long way out in front of us, I’m going to ask you to visit a little room in Jerusalem where there is a handful of frightened people from up country ...

923. Preconceived Ideas

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... came into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that the world through him might be saved.” Third, there are others who see Jesus as the great spoiler. These people think Jesus taught a long list of “thou shall nots.” Jesus cramps their life style. And, unfortunately, these people have plenty of examples in the church to point to, to prove that they are right. These are lifeless, colorless Christians who never smile, and seem as if they have no good news to share. They feel that it is wrong to ...

924. What Must I DO to Receive Life?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

... heard it. He could not reshape his priorities. To love God and love your neighbor in such a sacrificial and self-effacing way was beyond him. I think he knew all along what was missing. He knew where his heart was. He did not want to give up his life style. He did not want to part with his wealth. And when he retained his wealth he relinquished eternity. Amen.

925. Why Prophets Get Under Our Skin

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... . Francis Mirabello, a Philadelphia lawyer, spoke in Bermuda this fall at a conference regarding offshore money. He said, "I talk to a new client interested in expatriating every week. Many people can't pay the federal tax rate and live in the style they want." Some believe that what Judge Learned Hand called "enforced exactions" have come to be virtual confiscations, especially when it comes to estate taxes up to fifty to sixty percent. And, say Forbes authors Robert Lenzner and Phillippe Mao, "The exodus ...

Showing results