Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 926 to 950 of 4963 results

926. How High Is Your Faith Quotient?

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... was a test designed to drive out the dross – the sin and faithlessness, the disobedience and evil – that had so fouled the first covenant. But as Jeremiah's text today reveals, no matter how sweeping God's judgment against the Hebrew people might be, what remained at the bottom of the cupole, the testum, could never be entirely pure. The impurities that spoiled the holiness of the people and their covenant-keeping abilities were part of the basic molecular make-up of men and women. But God determined to ...

927. Who Put It There? (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... has offered each of us to share in. The long-range vision is eternal glory. The suffering is only a part of the journey to that goal. No wonder 1 Peter urges his listeners cast all your cares on God, for God cares for you. "Rest assured we remain under the mighty hand of God." (5:6-7) Suffering is part of what makes Christians Christians. It lets us know we are still on the right track, a track the world rejects and often times violently resents. We do not know what form Christian suffering may take in ...

928. Living Outside the Box

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as some might call him, "know-it-all Paul" admits that "I do not reckon myself to have got hold of it yet" (Philippians 3:13 NEB). If Jesus instructed his own hand-picked disciples to accept their limitations, to wait for wisdom from on high, to remain open to the new insights and knowledge that time and the Spirit would reveal, on what basis can we claim full disclosure or complete understanding for ourselves? On what basis can we be arrogant and condescending? To be open to the future is . . . to be open ...

929. Go Meditate!

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that, food flies through the air and some of it onto plates. It's chaotic and crazy and completely believable. It's the way big family meals really look! Throughout all these different family images, whether saccharine-sweet or disorderly real, the theme remains the same: the family together at table, sharing what families always try to share, love for each other. Family love doesn't always look pretty and perfect. Sometimes it's sloppy and messy. Sometimes it's loud and obnoxious. Sometimes family love ...

930. Trust that Leads to Transformation

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... confident in her son and entrusts the situation to him. Jesus' words suggest he's looking far beyond the wedding feast in Cana, even all the way to the cross on Golgotha. But Mary remains focused on the needs that surround them at the moment, as her indirect directions indicate. Perhaps only a mother could get away with micro-managing the wine-shortage problem without ever telling her son what to do. Although Jesus' first response to the problem reveals no inclination to deal with ...

931. Do You Have a GPS - A God Positioning System?

Galatians 3:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that connects us to the divine. A lifetime of supplication, of communication builds an unbreakable connection between us and our God. Fourth Track: CONTEMPLATE 4. Contemplatio Contemplation. The joy of prayer is that after opening the door to communication with God, the portal remains open, allowing God's presence to flow into us. It is in this fourth track of the Lectio Divina that the presence of God may most transform, refashion, renew our being. The text we have read, studied, and prayed now comes alive ...

932. What Happened to the Leftovers?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or Home Depot for more stuff, would have scandalized our ancestors. In today's gospel text Jesus sounds like Martha Stewart. He commands his disciples to gather up all the remaining food from the multitudes. He was insistent that nothing be lost (verse 12). Some scholars cite with the well-documented Jewish tradition to gather up all the remaining food at the conclusion of a meal (for instance see H.L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zem neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch (Munchen: C.H. Beck, 1926 ...

933. Tiny Pencils

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Kindness can consist of--as one of the Sonderkommandos has said--telling them where to stand so as to die more quickly. Within fifteen minutes, every single person in this closed, claustrophobic room is dead. The claw marks fingers have made remain on the walls. Bodies are mangled, clumped, broken, crushed. By the time the door to the shower room is opened, the corpses are unrecognizable--bones, flesh, gaping eyes and mouths, grotesquely twisted limbs. The Sonderkommandos remove their gold teeth and cut ...

934. Nothing but Christ, and Him Crucified

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

James McCormick

... in our kind of world. Jesus tried it and you see where it got him. It got him dead!” That’s what we would have thought if the story had ended on the Friday of crucifixion. But that’s not where the story ended. Jesus did not die and remain dead. On that first Easter morning, Jesus got up from death and walked back into life. And we see from that, that love and truth and righteousness – all those beautiful things we see in Jesus – those things are not weak and vulnerable as we thought on Friday. In ...

935. 2 Peter 3: 8-15a

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that new creation while they wait. The week's 2 Peter text closes by reminding readers that even as the burnt offerings and sacrifices brought before God by Israel were to be perfect and without blemish (see Leviticus 1:3; 3:1), faithful Christians must also remain without spot or blemish. (Second Peter had already described the false teachers as blots and blemishes in 2:13.) The delay of the parousia is a time of God-given grace, enabling believers to hone their holiness and build up their faith in God's ...

936. Through the Wilderness

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... is guiding her pilgrimage, despite the fact that Moses early (v. 2) tries to remind her of God’s leading. And we, who repeatedly hear in our churches that God is with us and guiding us, seem always to think not of God, but solely of human matters. We remain on our profane and secular level, and never see God’s working among us. May I remind you, then, that God is guiding your individual lives and the life of this church on a pilgrimage toward his good kingdom? That he has redeemed us all out of slavery ...

937. Advent 4

Psalm 80:1-19, Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... provide clear markers for separating the psalm into three parts: vv. 1-3, 4-7, and 17-19. Section one is a plea for help; section two raises the question of how long God will remain angry with the people of God; and section three is a promise that if God comes to the aid of his people, they will remain faithful to God. All three sections conclude with the congregation joining in with a petition for salvation. Significance. The lament of Psalm 80:1-7, 18-19 provides a fitting conclusion to Advent and a ...

938. Christmas 2

Psalm 147:1-20, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Ephesians 1:1-14, John 1:1-18

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... the remnant, the oracle completes the reversal that was started in vv. 7-9. When the blind and lame reach the land and live in the aura of God's goodness, the prophet tells us that there will be no more languishing and whatever mourning or sorrow remains will be transformed into joy and gladness (vv. 12b -13). Second, in being directed to the nations, Jeremiah 31:10-14 functions more as a declaration by God to the power structures that dominate our world, rather than a call to celebrate as was the case in ...

939. Lent 1

Mt 4:1-11, Rom 5:12-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... David and his son Absalom in II Samuel 19 provides an illustration. In this story David is being defeated by Absalom, who desires his father's throne and is in the process of taking it with a superior army. When defeat looks inevitable, David's remaining loyal troops go out to fight to the death for their king and, surprisingly, they defeat Absalom in spite of the odds. So far so good. Yet upon returning victoriously to the city, they find David mourning his lost son rather than praising their victory ...

940. Changed Lives: Adam and Eve

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... out the hard way. The 22-year-old secretary discovered a pair of old handcuffs that her boss had brought to the office. She couldn’t resist trying them on. “Next time, I’ll ask first if there are any keys,” Miss Hickey said. She remained handcuffed for two hours until firemen working with electric cutters freed her. (1) That illustrates one truth about temptation. It’s usually easier to get into something unwise than to get out. There are all kinds of truths about temptation. Sometime back the New ...

941. Birth into a New World

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... barely contain his contempt for such foolish ideas. Suddenly the "believer" of the twins is forced through the birth canal leaving behind the only way of life he has known. The remaining unborn twin is saddened, convinced that a great catastrophe has befallen his companion. Outside the womb, however, the parents are rejoicing. For what the remaining brother, left behind, has just witnessed is not death but birth. This, Wolpe reminds us, is a classic view of the life beyond the grave--a birth into a world ...

942. The Three Approaches to Life

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James W. Moore

... days, they had three different kinds of tickets you could buy… 1st class, 2nd class or 3rd class. A First Class Ticket meant that you got to sit down. No matter what happened, you could remain seated. If the stagecoach got stuck in the mud… or had trouble making it up a steep hill… or even if a wheel fell off, you remained seated… because you had a First Class Ticket. A Second Class Ticket meant that you got to sit down until there was a problem… and then you had to get off and stand to the ...

943. When Mountains Are Not Moved

Mark 11:20-25 (26)

Sermon

James McCormick

... have set up.” Do you hear it? Even if God did not deliver them, He was still their God! There was the Apostle Paul, praying numerous times to have his thorn in the flesh removed. In a sense, his prayer was unanswered in the way he wanted because the thorn remained. But in a larger sense, his prayer was answered. God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you.” And Paul found it to be so. Then there was Jesus. He did not want to die. He prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me ...

944. The Gift of Newness

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... have been blessed not so that we can indulge ourselves, but so that we can be a blessing to others. I am sure that we cannot long remain close to God if we turn our backs on others whom God loves. As I read the New Testament, what jumps out at me is that ... opened and in walked Butch. He sat down quietly on the back pew and listened to the sermon. When the service was over, he remained in his seat until all the other people had left. Then he came down front to talk with his friend. “Doc,” he said, “who ...

945. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or suspicion that it has been part of an amazing story. For example, I have somewhere at home (probably in a dresser drawer) a chunk of the Berlin Wall and a pebble from the Adriatic Sea. More importantly, I have elaborately imagined life-histories for each, which will remain with me long after the stones themselves are lost or sold for a mint on e-Bay. I am willing to bet that, somewhere in your life, you have a “story-stone”. Maybe it’s the big rock in your engagement ring, or maybe a bright pebble ...

946. Who Are We, Really?

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... that I had directed my question to the wrong person. My question should not have been put to God. My question should have been put . . . to the church.” (2) “Why do you not do something?” And it is true. There are many times when the church has remained silent in the face of unspeakable evil. I’m certain that many times in our history the world has directed that question to us: “Why do you not do something?” I’m equally certain that God directs that question to us as well. “Why do you not do ...

947. Just Know Him in His Victorious Resurrection

Acts 13:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

... were killed. Their severed ears were sent to Genghis Khan's clan, gruesome proof that the secret was safe.1 Now the interesting thing about that article is this: Though we know the remains of Genghis Khan are somewhere, we don't know where the tomb is. But with the Lord Jesus Christ we know where the tomb is, but there are no remains. When I was in college, a Baptist college at that, one of the religion professors made this statement in his class: "If they found the body of Jesus Christ in a Syrian tomb ...

948. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... will accompany you everywhere...and forever; forgiveness won't erase it. Your fall will give others license to do the same. The inner peace you enjoyed will be gone. You will never be able to erase the fall from your (or others') mind. This will remain indelibly etched on your life's record, regardless of your later return to your senses. The name of Jesus Christ, whom you once honored, will be tarnished, giving the enemies of faith further reason to sneer and jeer.[7] II. The Grievous Sin against Marriage ...

949. Let Me Tell You about the Birds and the Bees

Proverbs 5:15-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... also leaves the scar of spiritual defeat. God can forgive sexual sin. But you study the life of King David and you will find that he was never restored to his former power or position. The tree of promiscuity always bears bitter fruit. Though the wound heals, the scar always remains. May I just stop right here and say a word to all of us dads. There is something I have pasted in the front flyleaf of my Bible that I cut out of a book that I want to share with you. Following is the incomplete list of what you ...

950. A Deserter in God's Army

1 Timothy 4:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... man. The fire in his heart had been snuffed out by the soft velvet of this world. Glowing embers of love had become cold ashes of indifference. Golden dreams had turned to gray disappointments. I believe both God and Paul had great plans for Demas. Had Demas remained faithful, he might have written one of the books of the Bible. Perhaps he was being groomed to take over Paul's ministry. But the only thing you can say about Demas is "what might have been." Damon Runyon once wrote an old piece entitled, "The ...

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