Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 976 to 1000 of 2332 results

976. Is God With You, Or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... hopefulness, her kindness makes it bearable for all those around her. We wish we had someone like her for every ward in this hospital!" Did my mother's difficulty mean God had left her? Of course not! And if I could ask her today, "Mother, did you mind? Did God desert you in your trouble?" From the portals of heaven's other side she would answer, "It was all right, child. God does all things well. And he was with me, even there!" She lived out the truth of the great Isaac Watts hymn she used to love so well ...

977. Trouble on the Mountain

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

... mighty acts. No one even bothered to look toward the mount where Moses had gone. Had they cared enough to look, they would have seen the glowing red flames on the mount. And even worse, when confronted with their defection, and asked for an explanation for deserting God to espouse the worship of a bull, all they could offer was a lot, of lame excuses. Who would ever believe such shallow excuses to justify their disobedience? They said, "What happened to this man Moses?" They knew where he was; he was on Mt ...

978. Judgment and Justice

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

... a new life that propels us into the world to worship God by serving others. Religion as a refuge, as Savonarola’s Lenten hymn suggests, can be more than that. It begins: Jesus, refuge of the weary, Object of the spirit’s love, Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above. It concludes this way: Jesus, may our hearts be burning With more fervent love for thee; May our eyes be ever turning To thy Cross of agony; Till in glory, parted never, From the precious Savior’s side, Graven in ...

979. What the End Will Be Like

Zephaniah 1:4-13

Sermon

... . And he adds, How shallow is the stage on which this vast drama of human hates and joys and friendships is played! Whence do men draw this passion for eternity, flung by chance as they are upon a scarcely cooled bed of lava, threatened from the beginning by the deserts that are to be, and under constant menace of the snows? Their civilizations are but fragile guildings: a volcano can blot them out, a new sea, a sandstorm. Saint X, as he is called, found part of the answer when he was forced to land on an ...

980. Being Different

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... What god can deliver you?" Jesus made it plain to us. When he knelt in prayer for the last time with his little handful of friends, he made no plea that they be sheltered. He knew they would be stoned, slain with the sword, destitute, afflicted and would wander the deserts and mountains of the earth. There was no cheap and easy way to be a Christian. There still isn't. It takes real character to be a Christian. If you hear but one theme in this sermon, hear this one: if you are to be a Christian, you have ...

981. The Housing Problem

Luke 11:14-28

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... with the Greek verb meaning to "tear apart" or "divide." In antiquity the people blamed every influence which tended to tear them apart on demonic invasion. The demons were fallen angels and no one was safe from them. They inhabited the sands of the desert, as well as the depths of the oceans. No place and no time was safe from the things which tore people apart. Alan Richardson claims, "Christianity conquered the other religions of the ancient world partly because of its success in casting out the fear ...

982. Repairing Your Broken Dreams

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... came. Mr. Tanimoto dove instinctively into a garden and wedged himself between two huge rocks. A powerful blast of wind and fire blew over him. It knocked him unconscious. When he came to and got on his feet, the city was flat as a desert. Sixty-eight thousand human beings were killed instantly. Only 30 members of his 3,500-member church were still alive. Rev. Tanimoto began to rebuild his crucified church. He arranged for the spiritual adoption of 500 Hiroshima orphans by North American families. As a ...

983. Consecration Prepare the Way of the Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Leader: The voice of one calling in the wilderness said, "In the desert prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God." Congregation: Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Leader: "I baptize you with water for repentance," called John in the wilderness. "But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, ...

984. Consecration Sheep and Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

... creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me water, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I needed clothes and you provided. I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you didn’t desert me." Right Side: When did we do all these things, Lord? We were so busy. There were the neighbors to care for, co-workers to encourage, relatives to comfort and church members to help. Did we miss you in all this activity? Leader: "Whatever you did for one of these ...

985. Forty Long Days

Mark 1:9-13

Children's Sermon

... waiting for something important to happen to you, then the days seem to go by very slowly. The forty days that I am talking about this morning, the ones that I marked on the calendar, are the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness. The wilderness is like a desert, and it is a pretty awful place to spend much time. It can be very hot in the daytime and very cold at night. There are no trees, but a lot of rock. There are wild animals that are always looking for something to eat. There is very little ...

986. The Ministry of Refreshing

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Various Authors

... powerful theology, they are probably without equal in Christian literature. But they are letters, and as with all letters, in some ways the most interesting parts are the personal touches. Often Paul had to write with disappointment of the many fair-weather friends who deserted him in time of trouble. Often Paul had to warn against enemies who were out to burn him and other Christians. But other times Paul could write of those persons who did him great kindnesses. One of these is Onesiphorus. This is what ...

987. Responding to Christ's Birth

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

... a wide range of astronomers, fortune-tellers, priestly augurs, and wandering magicians. Since Matthew depicted the Magi as having seen a star, it is highly possible that they were astrologers from beyond Palestine. In the Old Testament the "people of the East" were also desert Arabs. These nomadic Arabs often had wise men as a natural part of their envoy. Proverbs 30:1, Proverbs 31:1, and 1 Kings 5:12 refer to the wisdom that was commonly associated with these wise men. Likewise, astrology was not unknown ...

988. Fog-Clearing Moments

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... followed him even when they did not understand. They stayed on the road with him, even when the fog was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. That is, they stayed with him until the cross loomed large and heavy. Then they deserted. But, until then, they followed though the way was not clear. Perhaps the story of the Transfiguration gives us a clue to understanding the disciples' ability to follow, even when they did not understand. Jesus took four of the disciples with him to a high mountain ...

989. Studying under the Greatest Teacher

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... yet. Maybe you find yourself in pain or see some part of yourself being dismantled. Perhaps you have been rejected by someone you have loved. Maybe you have had a recent significant loss in your life. Whatever may be going on, please know that Jesus was deserted by the very disciples he loved and taught. Jesus suffered temptations and overcame them. Jesus died like we will die. He understands you wherever you are and however you feel. But we must see that being a follower of Christ is not an easy journey ...

990. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25, Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon Aid

CSS

... It is from this perspective that this text is assigned to the Fourth Sunday in Advent. The Roman Catholic lectionary reading ends at verse 14, but the other three in this study include verses 15 through 17, which describe how "the land will be deserted," as well as the special character and characteristics that this child-king will have. He will know "how to refuse the evil and choose the good" and will usher in restoration of a bygone era. But the liturgical/homiletical intention in assigning this reading ...

991. Epiphany 2

Psalm 40:1-17, John 1:29-34, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon Aid

CSS

... , forget that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and deliverance from death and the devil?) Scene two: The next (third) day - Jesus appears again, this time to John and two of his disciples, to whom John says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." 1. The disciples desert John the Baptizer and follow Jesus Christ. 2. Jesus asks them, "What do you want?" 3. They answer, "Rabbi, where do you live?" (Seeking an invitation to spend some time with him?) 4. "Come and see," Jesus replies. They do and spend the day with ...

992. Easter 2

Acts 2:14-41, Psalm 105:1-45, 1 Peter 1:1-12, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

... the death and resurrection of your Son you have fulfilled the promise to Abraham, Joseph, and Moses to redeem the world from slavery and to lead us into the promised land. Grant us living water from the rock and bread from heaven, that we may survive our desert pilgrimage and praise you forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. THE READINGS Acts 2:14a, 22-32 When the new lectionaries began to appear early in the 1970's, there was some unanimity on the choice of Acts 2:42-47 as the First Lesson, but some ...

993. Proper 16 & Pentecost 14

Isaiah 22:1-25, Psalm 95:1-11, Psalm 138:1-8, Isaiah 51:1-16, Exodus 5:22--6:12, Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon Aid

... For Us?" 1. That was the question of the children of Israel during the Exodus. There was no water for them, their families, or their cattle, at Rephidim. "Why did God bring us out of Egypt - to die of thirst?" Several excellent stories about thirst in the desert are included in Antoine de St. Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars. See, particularly, the end of the "Prisoner of the Sand" chapter. 2. Afraid for his life, Moses sought out the Lord. He simply asked God what he should do, and the Lord answered him. God ...

994. Proper 27 & Pentecost 25

Psalm 50:1-23, Psalm 43:1-5, Psalm 63:1-11, Amos 5:18-27, Hosea 11:1-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

... upon us: For his sake, prosper the work of our hands until he returns to gladden our hearts forever. Psalm 63:1-7 (R) A lament of this kind could only come from a people who live in arid lands and are familiar with the conditions of the desert: "my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water." But the psalmist touches the lives and experiences of all devout people, when he declares that God's "lovingkindness is better than life itself." This, therefore ...

995. Christ The King

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, Psalm 95:1-11, Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon Aid

... slightly different arrangement of verses, for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Roman Ordo, Cycle A. Please see the comments on Psalm 95 that were made for that Sunday. The Psalm Prayer (LBW) Almighty God, neither let us go astray as did those who murmured in the desert, nor let us be torn apart by discord. With Jesus as our shepherd, bring us to enjoy the unity for which he prays; and to you be the glory and the praise now and forever. THE READINGS Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 (R); 34:11-16, 20-24 ...

996. An Inventory of Blessings

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

Perhaps Daniel Defoe gave us some good advice through his fictitious character Robinson Crusoe. The first thing that Crusoe did when he found himself on a deserted island was to make out a list. On one side of the list he wrote down all his problems. On the other side of the list he wrote down all of his blessings. On one side he wrote: I do not have any clothes. On the other side he wrote: ...

997. Giving Thanks Before Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Brett Blair

... to sit in a dingy prison cell in Rome and write: “First, I give thanks to God, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Perhaps Daniel Defoe gave us some good advice through his fictitious character Robinson Crusoe. The first thing that Crusoe did when he found himself on a deserted island was to make out a list. On one side of the list he wrote down all his problems. On the other side of the list he wrote down all of his blessings. On one side he wrote: I do not have any clothes. On the other side he ...

998. April Showers

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Sermon

... emerge from the contest with the triumph. Homer’s heroes - Achilles, or Ajax, or even Nestor, never show fear. Yet the Bible dares assert that the Lion of the tribe of Judah - the greatest warrior in Israeli history was scared out of his wits in the desert. Centuries before Freud, the court historian who wrote our story knew that one of the most basic human emotions in a crisis is fear. Yet, like a leitmotiv in a Wagnerian opera, the words FEAR NOT conquer the minor key of despair, and rise to a crescendo ...

999. A Dynasty of Destiny

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

... terror of the Babylonian blitzkrieg. Why, then, did this story win popularity among a people beaten black and blue? After all, David’s sons had ended up between a rock and a hard place. David’s kingdom had disappeared under the sands of a desert resounding to the beat of Babylonian hoofbeats. It was as if magician David Copperfield were not making cards disappear, but was ordering that hope fade like an old pair of designer jeans. An everlasting kingdom for David’s house? A kingdom of peace and ...

1000. Promising Words

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

... foes. Tender moments are captured in snapshots of a lamb helped by a shepherd boy eager to remove a thorn from soft flesh. Memories of home are stirred as the king sees the faces of Jesse and his brothers. Flashcubes pop as David recalls the shepherd God who has never deserted him on his rise to power. As David prays in the Tent of the Ark of the Covenant, I too remember the path I have traveled in my cursory study of this man of God. I recall that, David had risen to lead a flock when there was no king ...

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