Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 926 to 950 of 1795 results

926. When the Word Comes to the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

... a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a reputation for wit and wisdom. Course 2: Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling. We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation, acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys an unmistakable aura of sanctity. Course 3: Efficient Office Management. There is nothing that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a tight ship ...

927. Role Reversal: Baby and Priest

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... the object of derision for society’s penchant for spending lavish sums of money on cut flowers instead of memorials to the church, suddenly becomes our ever-present friend in a time of last-minute decorative need. The executive, whose income and life-style provide the meat for a few homilies on greed, becomes our number one hope for “making” the church budget. The cult of America’s new religion, football, becomes the backdrop for our trips to college bowl games and ultimately climaxes down the road ...

928. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... Christians can resonate. There is a certain throwing away of past practices that eventuates in every productive life. One year I decided to use the time after Christmas to rid myself of my old clothes. With great zeal I threw the old, out-of-style ties, shirts, sweaters, and pants into the trash. Right there, amid the mangled and torn Christmas wrappings, the faded, dry greenery, and the cracked and broken decorations, sat my old clothes. They no longer served me. I no longer believed in them. They had ...

929. Why Earthly Powers Need No Longer Enslave

Daniel 7:15-28, Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... selfishly exercised power). Teachers have power over students (through the grading system). You go to work every day because if you did not the company could fire you or at least not pay you. We buy the clothes we do, wear our hair in the particular style we have, buy the goods we own, because the media exerts a significant power of influence over us. Indeed, increasingly the power of the media dictates the character of our family life and our values. Consider all the talk about the impact of rock music and ...

930. Obeying God Rather Than Men

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... is the axis of the power struggle of darkness and light. Some people want to run the church man’s way rather than serve the church God’s way. Man’s way says we don’t talk about the Holy Ghost because he has gone out of style. We don’t believe in basic Bible study because it is too fundamental. We don’t emphasize all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because we think only certain types of gifts are acceptable. The “strict orders” create a perpetual confrontation between people who say “what ...

931. You Shall Receive Power

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... Ghost power — the power to heal, redeem, renew, and save lost souls for Christ. The church needs Holy Ghost power to proclaim boldly the Good News of Christ in a dying and crazy world. Where is the Holy Ghost power of the church? Has the Holy Ghost gone out of style? Is it now just a figment of the imagination? Do we not hear much about the Holy Ghost anymore in the church because it is no longer fashionable to be holy? What happened to the power to say no to evil, to stand up to the enemy in ways that ...

932. The Promise of Baptism

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... of Nearer, My God. Many of his critics have been among the theologians who have had great difficulty with his rightist opinions. It is not that conservative viewpoints are not welcome, but Mr. Buckley has a penchant for delivering his thoughts in a cavalier style that betrays a snide manner of talking down to people. However, his book Nearer, My God is not offensive in its approach to Mr. Buckley’s confession of faith. A baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic from his youth, the author reveals a studied ...

933. Lift Up Your Heads!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed! It’s the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed! It's the Word the shepherds heard: Redeemed! It's the assurance Mary received: Redeemed! It's the star the Wisemen followed: Redeemed! [Depending on your style you might omit the repetition of "Redeemed" at the end of each sentence but allowing it at the end of this paragraph.] You and I have been trapped by sin, but Christ has purchased our pardon. He who has this hope in his heart will sing ...

934. Lift Up Your Heads! - Sermon Starter

Luke 21:5-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

... song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed! It's the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed! It's the Word the shepherds heard: Redeemed! It's the assurance Mary received: Redeemed! It's the star the Wisemen followed: Redeemed! [Depending on your style you might omit the repetition of "Redeemed" at the end of each sentence but allowing it at the end of this paragraph.] You and I have been trapped by sin, but Christ has purchased our pardon. He who has this hope in his heart will sing ...

935. There Is Hope (A Christmas Communion Meditation)

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Brett Blair

... and increasingly on Judea. This was putting him out of favor with his superior, Caesar Augustus. This bode nothing but ill for Israel. Without question, there would shortly be Roman soldiers within their midst for the first time in decades. That was Caesar’s style. When things were going well he allowed a lot of latitude, but when problems developed he came down with the hammer. The hammer this time was the tax and the tax registration business was not business as usual. This was a frightening first. And ...

936. The Healing Of Simon's Mother-in-Law

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

James W. Moore

... . We don’t know what to do with her. She’s emotionally ill. She needs help.” Well, I met with Betty and they were right about her self-esteem. It was non-existent. She walked all slumped over. Her hair was dirty and scraggly, her clothes unkempt and out of style. She wore no make-up. She could not look me in the eye. Most of the time she stared at the floor and when she looked up, her eyes darted like a scared rabbit. She was in a pitiful state. She looked like that Ruth Buzzi character on the old ...

937. Christian Liberty

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... that our very culture here in the United States, and any other place that has a great deal of commercialization to it, is teaching us to live rich. We are occasionally presented with the images of the poor but we never are tempted to assume that life style. It is shocking to read Luke’s Beatitudes as an admonition to live unencumbered by worldly wealth. But as soon as we are reminded that Jesus calls us to sacrificial living we are immediately reminded of the next car we ought to by and the next meal ...

938. The Temptation To Pass By On The Other Side

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... 's characters used, ridiculed, and made fun of everyone they met. The four of them were the Priest and the Levites of our modern world. We climb the ladder of success and FedEx gives you the world on time. This is our attitude. Stopping to help someone crimps our style and requires too much of our time. Looking back on it I can't help but wonder if the script for that final episode was taken right out of Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. George says that he never heard of that one. Truth is, the law isn ...

939. Diabolical Political Skills

John 17:20-26

Illustration

Glenn E. Ludwig

... arena ... People call company politics a "game." But it's a game you have to play, like it or not, if you want to survive and succeed. Listen to the contents of this book that is going to put me at the top of the corporate ladder: Style -- rather than performance -- is the key factor in determining who makes the boardroom. When teamwork isn't the answer How to make points with the boss without being obviously on-the-make. How to learn needed inside information without being unethical. And it goes on and on ...

940. Neighbors Who Never Met

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

... ’: it’s Latin for “Rich Man” as he has been called for centuries] Dives would have felt very comfortable living in our present time. He was a progressive kind of a guy. He was self-indulgent and this is the age of self-indulgency. The contrasting life-styles of these two men is so obvious that you can’t miss it. Dives was a connoisseur, a lover of the arts, one who knows and appreciates fine living, four star restaurants. We are told in vs. 19 that he habitually dressed in purple. Purple was known ...

941. Who You Gonna' Vote For?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , “Today salvation has come to this house.” But when we first meet Zacchaeus where is he? He is up a tree. An appropriate place for a man who is confused and lost. Put before anyone of us which path would we take? To continue with the wealthy life style or to turn our resources toward the poor and right the wrongs we have committed. Let me tell you what I have observed over the years. The greatest obstacle to our salvation is not the act of giving away our wealth or our possessions. It is seeing our ...

942. Beating Babel

Acts 2:1-13, Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... likely to hear what they want to hear than what they don't. Any wife who has ever asked a husband to mow the lawn during the telecast of a World Series game could say Amen to that. It is the Tower of Babel, 21st century style. Unfortunately, the problem is just as bad in the church. There are communication gaps all over the place...gaps between denominations, gaps between the pulpit and the pew, gaps between young and old, gaps between rich and poor, gaps between liberal and conservative. If anyone wonders ...

943. The Grief Grinch

John 11:17-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... as they had passed her lips. A few words from Jesus seemed to comfort her and, at His request, she went back to the house to get Mary. I wonder if Martha cried. The Scripture does not say anything about tears from her. Perhaps tears were not her style. Remember, Martha was the worker. When Jesus had come to visit them on a previous occasion, Martha was the one who had busied herself with all the household chores, getting things cleaned up, fixing dinner and so on while Mary was content to sit at the feet of ...

944. The View from the Mountaintop

Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... church, hear a sermon, come home, take the younger children out, get on a stump or a log, and almost repeat the morning's message word for word. His family said that, not only would he recall the sermon, but he would also mimic accurately the preacher's eccentricities of style and voice.(8) Lincoln had his own ideas about what preaching ought to be. Later in life he reportedly said, "I do not like to hear cut and dried sermons. When I hear a man preach I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees!"(9 ...

945. Is God Like Daddy? - Father's Day

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Daddy? Quite a question. It would be beautiful if all the children here could say an absolute YES to that, but we know that is not true. "Family responsibility was a major theme of the Million Man March in Washington, as it is of the revival-style meetings of the Promise Keepers, an evangelical group that has been filling stadiums all over the country."(1) It was years before Martin Luther was able to call God "Father" because of the awful memories of his own father while growing up. One would hope that ...

946. Rejoice

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... ; his wife and two boys were at home in New Jersey, and he was desolate. Professionally, too, things were less than aces. While he could still get a gig whenever he wanted, he felt that with rock growing ever more dominant, his music was slipping out of style. For Bennett, at 39, the outlook was decidedly blue. He didn't have to be alone in his room. He could have gone out, could have enjoyed some music. One of Bennett's closest friends in life, Duke Ellington, whose orchestra had backed Bennett on many an ...

947. Finding Glory

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... displayed a particularly tacky set of imitation French Provincial living room pieces which Jenna knew were made around 1940 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It is European of course," she stated, "and has been in our family for generations. It is priceless." "What style is it?" Jenna asked. She answered haughtily, "It's French Pretentious, of course." (4) I'm sure there is a lot of French Pretentious around, and Dutch Pretentious, etc. Some people glory in family tradition. People glory in different things. I ...

948. On Fooling a Mafia Don

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... tried on his new suit, the tailor explained that wing-tipped knees were the latest fashion in the great capitals of the world. As proof, he pointed to his assistants: each of his assistants now wore trousers with the identical sewn design. The don left, happily in style. (1) Now let me ask you a question. Did the tailor do wrong in misleading the Mafia boss? Most of us admire the tailor's ingenuity, but technically he did lie. His lie probably did no harm and probably kept him from physical harm but it was ...

949. What's This World Coming To Anyway?

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Randolph W. Barr

... not?" asked Wayne. "Are you too much of a politician for that kind of straight talk?" "No, Wayne," Pastor Smith answered. "This is too close to home for me. The elder brother didn't die 2,000 years ago as far as I am concerned. Part of that personality or style or whatever is still a big part of who I am and how I act. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my church work that I get to thinking that no one else can do it or that no one else cares as deeply as I do. I get ...

950. Comfort My People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Have you ever noticed that people are funny? It makes no difference what time of the year, people are funny. Maybe you read the story in the newspapers this time last year about a young Romeo in France who was trying to woo his girlfriend Santa Claus-style. Attempting a surprise visit to his girlfriend while her parents were away, the youth climbed down the chimney of the girl's home. On his way down, he became trapped in the narrow flue and called for help. Firemen, alerted by the girlfriend, said they had ...

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