Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 976 to 1000 of 4957 results

976. Walking On Our Hands

John 8:31-41

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... not relinquish tradition easily.2 But Jesus' opponents had perverted their tradition. It had become hardened and impervious to change. It served the past rather than being open to the present and the future. They had become slaves to the very system they claimed as the source of their freedom. Their fierce loyalty to their descent from Abraham had enslaved them. Since they believed that physical descent from Abraham was all that was needed to put one into right relationship with God, their ears were deaf to ...

977. Food For The Body And Food For The Soul

John 6:25-59

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... is a surprise to some and an offense to others. The remainder of his discourse on bread grows out of his answer. What a bold claim Jesus makes: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be ... for the body. Now he is challenging them to see him as more than the supplier of bread but as the bread of God itself. This claim of Jesus is not easy for many of the hearers to accept. Some say, "Is this not Joseph's son, whose father and mother we know ...

978. Doubters All, Part II

John 13:31-38

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... . Buddhism is atheistic. Islam is unitarian. And Judaism is still seeking their Messiah. Many "roads" but obviously not leading to the same God. GERRIE: But they all claim to be true. TOMMIE: Right. Therefore they can't all be true. GERRIE: That's logical. But that has to include Christianity, as well. TOMMIE: Fair enough. Other religions claim humans can secure and retain God's favor by correct actions. Christianity doesn't. Remember, we already talked about being born into sin. GERRIE: Right. Born into ...

979. The Rebirth

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). This reorientation to and preview of God's kingdom begins in baptism. We are baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In baptism we are claimed and cleansed; claimed by the Father as his sons and daughters; cleansed by God for his service and witness. In baptism we begin to know the fullness of the eternal God. Baptism is spiritual rebirth. Baptism in the name of the Trinity is the planting of the seed ...

980. Himself The Real Presence

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... Jesus was making that he was all that we need to have real life, here and forever. We would not be hungry and we would not be thirsty, that is, we would be fully satisfied if we accepted Jesus' claims, Jesus' word and work. Now he goes beyond metaphor, beyond figures of speech. He says, "I am speaking of my flesh. I am referring to my blood. The flesh that developed in nine months in the womb of Mary. The blood that coursed through my veins and cheeks in the ...

981. Children, Just Forever

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... the little ones of God? When once we have stumbled -- and we have over and over again -- what use to cry, "Out, damned spot! Out, I say." "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten" our hands, or our feet, or our eyes. How hollow sounds the claim, "Every day in every way I am getting better and better." How much more realistic, although even more impossible for us, are the lines from Eizabeth Akers Allen: Backwards, turn backwards, O Time, in your flight,Make me a child again just for tonight. Matthew's ...

982. A Ministry Of Hospitality

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Richard Patt

... Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Finally, today's Gospel reading brings us the parable about the wedding guests. Jesus warns us that if you immediately claim a place of honor at such a gathering, you had better be prepared to experience some embarrassment when a more honored guest is ushered to your seat, and you are forced to take one of the undesirable spaces at the back of the hall. Then ...

983. A Tale Of Two Cities

Amos 7:1-9, Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... the power to affirm or quench the prophet's desire to speak the truth on behalf of God. We today need to retrieve such moral authority in doing God's will and work as both priest and prophet by standing on and speaking the truth. We must claim our authority and vouchsafe our right to speak that truth whenever and wherever God's Word demands. The offices of priest and prophet need not be diametrically opposed. Those who are called and anointed of God can maintain their temples and still bring a word of hope ...

984. Proper 24

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8, Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 119:1-176

Bulletin Aid

William E. Keeney

... against the widow. We are to assume that the widow had a just cause. The righteousness of her grievance has no impact on the judge. He is self-centered and calloused. The logic of her case in no way moves him. He may have considered the claim of the widow too trivial to require his attention. In treating the parable, a person may want to elaborate the story on the basis of some incident of delayed justice which fleshes out details for the modern hearer. 3. Discrimination Against Women. It may be harder ...

985. The Limits Of Love

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... of one of his most famous stories was a Samaritan. Women play an important part. He heals the daughter of a Roman soldier. He had dinner with a traitor -- a tax collector. Every time you cometo the borders of love, Jesus penetrates them, and claims God does too. And that was tough to swallow for those who were certain that the divine blessing could not possibly extend beyond their own kind. Jesus addressed the question early in his ministry. It was at his first public appearance in his hometown synagogue ...

986. The Peace That Invades

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... in the garden looking quietly up at the sky. Silently, the father stood beside his son and took his hand into his own. Looking up at his father, the little boy said, "It's going to be all right, Father. God is hanging out the stars again." The father claimed that faith was born in him at that moment and his spirit was flooded with peace. He recalled the words of Jesus, "When things are at their worst, look up, for your salvation is at hand."(1) That kind of peace the world can neither give nor promise. It ...

987. God Remembers

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... remembered Hannah! In her darkest moment she made her greatest discovery. God did not forget her. God heard her cry, sensed her misery, and answered her prayer. What God did for Hannah, God can do for you. We learn from Hannah the persistence that is needed to claim God's grace. Hannah was persistent because she felt she had lost God's attention, which is reflected in her prayer, "O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me" (1:11). Jesus taught us that we already ...

988. Baptism And Self-Esteem

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... sons and daughters. Given the flaws of which we are all too aware, given the blemishes of which we are perpetually embarrassed, given the sins of which we are continually ashamed, this seems to be an incredible and outrageous claim for the church to make. It would be were it not for the one who is making this incredible claim on our behalf. He comes with the highest authorization. He is Jesus. He is God's very own Son. He is the one who comes among us to make public the secret, to reveal what has been all ...

989. Miracle Six: Stilling A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... best to ride out the storm. When Christ demonstrated his power over nature, it is little wonder that his followers who witnessed it were amazed beyond words. It was further proof of what an unusual person was in their midst. It furthered his claim to being more than human, to being in fact the son of God. His divinity was amply demonstrated, and when the storm abruptly ended its fury in obedience to his command, their frightened hearts became calm. Undoubtedly A Miracle · Many people, even some preachers ...

990. What Are You Looking At?

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... . Colossians 2:13-14 says, "He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross." Who do you know that is ignorant to the claims and truth of Jesus? There are plenty in this day of the apostles renewed. Ignorance is not an excuse, but it does give us a beautiful opportunity to tell others the truth. As the airplane was filling with passengers before takeoff, a lady saw a vacant seat ...

991. Accepting Responsibility

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... brothers, who suggested in court that their father's abuse drove them to murder both their father and mother. Children also play the blame game. One little girl was seen hitting her younger brother. When confronted with her behavior, the girl justified her action by claiming, "He made me do it. He wouldn't give me my doll." The truth is that all of us often try to avoid responsibility for our behavior. And when bad things happen to us, we automatically look to blame someone else, something outside ourselves ...

992. The Heart Of The Matter

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... -training the dog. They have read a lot of books on the subject and talked to many people. One thing has been mentioned several times. Experts claim that the dog really wants to please its owner. It wants to do things that result in praise rather than a scolding. And, for the most ... this creates problems. We are not as intimate with the Lord as we need to be. But in the new covenant, Jeremiah claimed that all God's people will have firsthand, full knowledge of God. That's a promise. The third promise for the ...

993. Simply Simon

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... a shot at me with that little remark, but I'm not sure. But then, Jesus really stepped out of bounds. He said to that woman, 'Your sins have been forgiven.' "I don't care how holy a person claims to be. I don't even care if he can walk on water. There isn't anyone in the world who can claim to forgive sins. That's a matter for God and the high priests. From that moment on, I really had my doubts about this Jesus. "Believe it or not, Jesus then had the gall to say to the woman ...

994. To Ransom The Prisoners Of War

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... be restored. What a message of hope! Can we believe it? Is it possible that we are that loved, that valued, that anyone would, of his own free will, enter into such an agreement on our behalf? We cannot clearly see what is happening here, but we can claim it for ourselves, even now, this minute. Like prisoners in the darkest dungeons, robbed of even the simple touch of a human hand stretched out in kindness, we may be blinded by the light of the sun, but we may even now walk out into that brilliance. We ...

995. The Peace Treaty

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... God: Hat in hand, God's ambassador approaches us, telling us that God has surrendered. Although our lives are nothing of what we had hoped and expected, lacking any great accomplishments to show for our time spent here, and although we have refused to take seriously the claim God has on our lives, God does not want to be our enemy, but our friend! God does not despise us; God loves us. God does not enforce our separation; God wants us to be at one with him. To accomplish this, God sends as ambassador this ...

996. You Can Be Intelligent

2 Chronicles 1:1-17

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... . One rolled over on her son during the night, suffocating the baby. So, stealthily she exchanged infants while her friend slept. When morning came, the second woman found a dead infant in her bed but knew it was not her own. The first, of course, claimed innocence and protested that the living baby was hers. Solomon quickly surmised the situation and asked for his sword. "I will give each woman half of the living child," he decreed. At that one woman protested. "No, let her have him. By no means slay the ...

997. They Drew Back And Fell

Drama

Dann J. Ettner

... ?Why didn't He run the other way and organize an army which mightdo battle with us Romans? I'm not saying they would haveprevailed, but they could have tried. No, I cannot believe that this Jesus was anything more thanone of those zealous Jews who had great claims about the power oftheir God who had led them through the Red Sea and into thepromised land. A God like that would have had a better way tosave His people than to just die on the cross. I say this eventhough I have heard some say that Jesus died ...

998. The Good Soldier

John 20:1-9

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... the establishment. It always ends that way. LUCIUS: So now, here we are. Guarding his tomb. FLAVIUS: Yes. What's the problem there? Are they worried he's going to get up and walk away? LUCIUS: Nothing so dramatic, although apparently he did make some claims in that direction. FLAVIUS: That he would walk out of his tomb? LUCIUS: Something like that. FLAVIUS: (Glancing over his shoulder) Eeeww! LUCIUS: Not that it could ever happen. But I think they're afraid his followers will come and get the body and hide ...

999. The King Of Hearts

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... in front of the crowds and smashes a clay pot, as a sort of object lesson, if you like, of what will soon be in store for all of them if they don't shape up. And inasmuch as he's thrown in jail shortly thereafter, I suppose you could claim that the prophet pays a price for his angry reprimands. But then again, by not heeding them, so do the people of Jerusalem! Jeremiah had said that the judgment of the Lord would come marching into town one day, and sure enough, just as he predicted, it is the Babylonian ...

1000. Give To God The Things That Are God's

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... and give to God what belongs to God." As Jesus spoke the words, "give to God what belongs to God," standing right before him were those on whom the image of God had been embossed. The Pharisees, teachers of the law of Israel, children of Abraham whom God had claimed as his own, had been created from the very beginning in the image of God. In the image of himself, God had created them. They belonged to God. Those in whose eyes Jesus looked as he spoke were the coins of God. "Give to God what belongs to God ...

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