Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 951 to 975 of 4963 results

951. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... to maturing selfhood and to maturing human relationships. "Christ is the steam under the lid." "The secret is this: Christ in you, the hope of a glory to come." The age-old question: "Who shall deliver me from the power of this death?" The answer: The grace ... have the last word; God has the last word. Don’t give up too easily. The profile of modern life scares me. But there is hope even in our breakdown. We are beginning to recognize the face of evil; we are beginning to resist it. Once more, black is black ...

952. Discerning the Way of God

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... said of a particular set of circumstances into which he had been drawn and badly entangled, "How could something that seemed so right and good turn out to be so bad?" This distortion contorts even the hopes that lie within us. Hoping for the coming of the Kingdom of God seems far less pressing or important than hoping that someday we will get all our bills paid or hoping that some day we will finally "arrive" in prestige or wealth or in whatever way we consider the ultimate mark of earthly "success." Our ...

953. The Excitement of Meaningful Living

John 10:10 · Matthew 6:33 · Ephesians 3:20

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... fully, to call the world back to wholeness of life. Dr. Richard Goodling, Professor of Pastoral Psychology at Duke Divinity School, quotes Daniel Day Williams, "What, then, does it mean to be saved? It means to have one’s life in all its good and evil, its hope and brokenness, restored to participation in the love of God ... a new relationship to God, and to neighbor, and to one’s self." Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, discovered that the wizard was not a wizard. She blurted out: "You are a bad man." The ...

954. A SUNDAY OF THE PASSION [PALM SUNDAY] SERMON-DRAMA

Drama

Tom Eberle

... . Toga: If you see that events are moving in that direction, will you take some action to prevent rioting and violence from taking place in Jerusalem? Judas: I still am speaking of a hypothetical situation, but if it appears that this is the end of our hopes that Jesus is the Messiah, I wowld certainly try to prevent any violence from taking place. Zebedee: May I conclude from what you are saying that you are willing to allow the crucifixion to take place, as a necessary sacrifice for the sake of the peace ...

955. Embalmed With Cardiac Arrest

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... blue and that trees are green, but they still don’t know what the sky or the trees really look like, because they haven’t experienced them. And yet, one young blind man who visited our home said when he left: "It was good to see you, and I hope I shall see you again." He was not resorting to wishful thinking. He was stating a vital truth. The most important things in life are not known or learned by scientific observation, but by experiencing them. How do I know what anger is? When I get angry. How do ...

956. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... As Jeremiah saw Nebuchadnezzar as an agent of God’s judgment, so the new prophet on the scene, Isaiah, sees Persia under the rule of Cyrus, as an agent of God’s restoration. The prophet in our text for today, proclaims to the people of God living in exile, the hope of returning home. It is not clear whether it is the prophet or one of his disciples who is preaching, but this is the word that is preached, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a ...

957. Pentecost

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, John 15:18--16:4, John 16:5-16

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... this Day of Pentecost to worship a God who restores the dead to life! People: WE MEET IN THE NAME OF A GOD WHO BRINGS HOPE TO THE HOPELESS! Leader: For ours is a God whose Spirit, in the vision of Ezekiel, brought a valley full of dry bones back to ... with your Spirit this day; that, like them, we too may depart this "upper room" refreshed and rekindled for a mission of faith and hope to the world. In the name of the resurrected and ascended Christ we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Inspiring God, it pains us ...

958. Waiting With Anticipation

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

David M. Oliver

... God's next move. We might call this "full-alert" waiting. Waiting involves all our senses, all that we have, and all that we are, our whole being. The goal is to recognize and be responsive to the will of God and the Word of God. The feeling is hopeful. The focus is on God being our Helper, Deliverer, and Guide. Let us sound our bells as a reminder to wait in this manner. (Pastor and people ring their bells.) "When God arrives on the scene with redemptive power, the response of those who have waited will be ...

959. The Gift

Drama

Esther Lense

... his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts." So, you see, God still held out his promise to us, and because we know that God never breaks his promises, we have the second gift of Christmas - hope and trust. They were God’s gift to the people of the Old Testament, and they are God’s gift to you in Christ, who was born on Christmas. The lights dim, and he leaves, while the senior choir sings He Leadeth Me. During this interval, stage hands ...

960. Sharing Brings Us Together

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... , while the people who had none the year before, now have a lot. It takes sharing, real sharing. In our lesson this morning, four people had all of the pencils, paper, envelopes, and stamps. Does that mean that only those four people can write letters? I hope not. I hope people will not only share with each other, but will also share their pencils, papers, stamps, and envelopes with some of you that have none. That way everyone can write a letter today. The next time I want you to write a letter, the people ...

961. Confrontation in the Temple

John 2:12-25

Sermon

George Bass

... Proffer had. Proffer offered himself as a "guinea pig" - and was accepted. The last part of his story reads: "Most of us guinea pigs (in the program) are satisfied. We have chosen to be subjects of experiments, and at the very least we and our families have been rewarded with hope. My little girl is almost five now, and I wouldn’t be reading her bedtime stories if I had not become a data point."15 He held on to life desperately and, so far, it has paid off. That’s our story, isn’t it? But it’s not ...

962. The Stranger at the Tomb

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

George Bass

... to find the entrance wide open, the slab moved away, and the coffin empty. What do you think your reaction would have been? Even if you remembered and rehearsed the words from the burial: "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection," you probably wouldn’t have expected to find an empty tomb, would you? And what if there were a white-robed stranger standing there? And what if the angelic visitor spoke to you? What do you think you would have done? The three ...

963. A Prayer for the Faithful

John 17:6-19

Sermon

George Bass

... thy name ... that we may be one ... Sanctify us in thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send Christ into the world, so send us, consecrated in thy truth, into the world with the good news of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, and the hope of his coming again to bring in the fulness of his kingdom in that day when the trumpet shall sound and the world shall see him coming ‘in a cloud’ as he promised long ago. Amen." 57. Peter L. Steinke, Preaching the Theology of the Cross. (Minneapolis ...

964. Religion in Focus

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Richard Patt

... and as he rises on the third day. Forgiving me, accepting me, Christ pulls my life together. Now I can live in daily confidence and hope. III You and I urgently need to have Christ and our religion in sharp focus, because the stakes are high if we don’t. ... . He knew clearly who he was - that divinely appointed Son who was called to bear the world’s sins and its lost hopes. Through his resolution and burden-bearing, defeat over death would emerge. New life would come for all the world! Because Christ had ...

965. What If It Is True?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

... will be compelled to say no to all these things because, if the angel spoke the truth, God has said "yes" and has led us into hope. But, Lord, that’s so hard! We just want a little peace in this sorrowful world; a few moments of joy and rest now and ... It means that, as we move through life cursing the decay and death in our bodies, we have an alternative to despair and disgust; it is hope and joy. But, oh what a risk to believe such things. What a cruel hoax if they were not true promises! Oh, Lord, if it ...

966. Little Ado

Mark 6:1-6

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... Sometimes in particular situations, we are ineffective. Our talents and expertise appear worthless, wasted. Then, when human hope wilts, it is time to remember God's hope for us. Come, let us worship the God of hope. Collect Let your awareness of our value, O gracious One, be a contagious lure that invites us to rediscover our sense of worth and validity. Let your faith in us empower our fortitude and rekindle our daring. Amen. Prayer of Confession Dear God, when we do our best but are ...

967. The Flow of Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... Things can change for me. I at least need to know that that is a possibility, and that I will not go on agonizing forever. I need to know that my suffering need not be a waste. Although I have no guarantees, I do have a basis for hope. And if I can hope, I can probably accept where I am much better. There is a wooden sign hanging over the entrance to the hospital building at the psychiatric center where I worked. It says simply, "It takes time." The sign was made and hung by a patient who struggled not only ...

968. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... about, that foolishness that is for Christ’s sake. A kind of crazy courage that belongs to and should mark us fools in Christ’s name. After the whirlwind of our time is reaped, there will be a still, small voice asking and speaking a word of hope through the Christian family. I am struck by the fact that in China after years and years of communism and all the efforts to put down the church, the church came back. It was underground; it was in the families. My colleague, Bob Lee, went to China recently ...

969. Praying for a Whole New World

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

William G. Carter

... and glory of the Son of Man. Confusion and distress among the people of God will turn to trust and security. Every tear will be dried. Every heart will be mended. And no fourth grader will ever again have a terrible, awful, no-good day. This is our Advent hope: a new world of wholeness and joy. It will literally be a whole new world. Jesus reminds us this new world will come only after the old world has passed away. We have no problem imagining the end of the world. Every year, the movie industry cranks out ...

970. Today

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... problems in perspective. Every time we see misery, injustice, and poverty, we can say, “Someday God is going to straighten this out. The day is coming when God will set everything right.” Just say the word “tomorrow” over and over again. It can galvanize your hope and strengthen your resolve. It can also buy a little time. One day, a wife said to her husband, “Honey, when are you going to wash those dirty dishes?” “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get to them a little later.” She said, “When will ...

971. When God Does A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... , “I will make a way for you in the desert so you may find your way out of the desert.” God is also doing a new thing by making streams in the wasteland. The wasteland is without fresh water. It is the place where dreams waste away. Hope and faith in God waste away. The great T. S. Eliot immortalized the wasteland with his poem: Where is there an end of it ... the soundless wailing, the silent withering of autumn flowers ... where is there an end of the drifting wreckage ... the prayer of the bone on ...

972. True Excellence

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... no. He does not love you. He owns you. Love has nothing to do with it. "Love does not insist on its on way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." A certain man tells about his father who several years ago had a blood clot to go to his brain and he was operated on. The doctors had to remove the part of his brain which deals with communication skills (reading, writing, speech ...

973. Long Range Planning

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... be content with forever looking down. He may look down a long time, so long that he almost forgets there's anything else, anything above, forgets that he was made for God ” until something happens, some crisis comes. And then he remembers and looks up.(5) That is our only hope ” to look up ” to be reminded of who we are and why we are here. Behind this world is a plan and a Planner. At the center of that plan is humankind. And this brings us to Paul's final word to us: Linking God's Plan for the world ...

974. In Search Of A Reason For Being

Hebrews 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... different. But wait, Fanny's not finished. "Teenagers today are different from the teenagers of my generation," she says gently. "Teenagers today are truly seeking God." Oh. Wow! Wouldn't it be wonderful if all adults regarded teenagers with that kind of affirmation and hope? There are many teenagers who are diligently searching after God. Some of them are in our church. This young man who came to Jesus was no teenager. He was a successful young businessman a sales rep for his company living in a large all ...

975. Freedom!

Romans 6:3-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... the door was slightly smaller than normal. Still, because of his size, he could not squeeze through to freedom. He was too large. Still there was hope. All he had to do to be a free man was to go on a diet. His brother even offered to restore his title and wealth ... , and convinced that life simply wasn't worth living. He had no family and certainly no friends. He was at the end of hope. As the congregation sang, he caught the strains of a hymn: "Saved by grace alone, this is all my plea. Jesus died for ...

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