Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 976 to 1000 of 4977 results

976. Grace: Amazing or Mystifying?

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... sin abounds even more grace abounds, shall we continue to sin so that even more grace will abound? And the answer is of course not. How can we who are dead to sin, asks St. Paul, continue to do sin? Still, on a theoretical basis, the answer is not quite so clear in Scripture. Grace is both amazing and mystifying. Through faith in Christ we are washed totally of our sins. They have been buried in the depths of the sea never to be retrieved again. It is as if they never existed. And yet, God is a righteous ...

977. ENRAPTURED OR INSANE?

Drama

Angela Akers

... know the crimes of which you''ve been charged. How do you plead?" Leader: "Not guilty." Judge: "There is quite a lot of evidence against you. Are you saying that you are innocent?" Leader: "No, your Honor." Judge: ( ... . It was such an electrifying moment, it could not be contained." Judge: "Well, I will take that into consideration, but you caused quite a commotion this morning. I have to charge you with disturbing the peace." Leader: (raising his voice) "Good! Good! Then we are guilty ...

978. In the Meantime: Between the First and Second Comings

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

David Busic

... all nations.” God will be the one to settle any disputes among various peoples. “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore,” (vs. 4). This is quite a scene. Will it really take place? Dare we hope? We cry, yes! And yet, what do we do in the meantime? That is the relevant question. A question presented to us in the here and now, more than memory and more than a dream; it confronts ...

979. God’s Body Language

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of Christian Science certainly leans in the direction of Gnosticism. Most popular piety has a Gnostic Christ who never really quite touches this earth. When British mystery writer and lay theologian Dorothy Sayers’ famous cycle of plays “The Man Born ... seriously defective theology of the Incarnation. The Word was made flesh’- how many of us dare believe that? Some listeners were quite incapable of believing that Christ laughed, said Good Morning,’ or was in any sense fully human.” So it seems that ...

980. To Who Can We Go?

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... words to be taken literally. He said plainly, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63) When Jesus spoke those words He was moving into a realm of ideas which is quite strange to us, though it would have been familiar to His first listeners. In ancient times animals were offered on altars as a sacrifice to a god or gods. Part of the flesh was given to the priests, and part to the worshipers so that they could make a ...

981. How Free Are We?

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of people escaped to the West, only to defect from their defection and return to the Soviet Union because freedom was frightening. They are like the man who quit his job sorting potatoes. The job was simple. All he had to do was to sort potatoes into three piles: large, medium, and small. But he soon quit, saying, “The decisions are killing me!” Authoritarian governments and authoritarian religions have one advantage: they eliminate the necessity of having to make decisions, of having to think for ...

982. Aren’t All Religions Basically Alike?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... over a rather storm-tossed body of water separating the two peninsulas. But then the State of Michigan came along and built a bridge from one side to the other. Michiganians call it “Big Mac”—not to be confused with the hamburger of the same name! It is quite a feat of engineering, and most difficult to ignore. Since that bridge was built it is much easier to visit the Upper Peninsula. I suppose, if one tried to do so, one could swim the distance, but why would one want to do so? Now that the bridge ...

983. Son of Thunder, Son of God

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... John wished to “bid fire come down from heaven and consume them,” but they were rebuked by Jesus. Very early on, Jesus had to remind them that He and his followers were called to save, not destroy—a lesson which some of Jesus’ followers haven’t quite learned even yet! (Have you ever seen one of those “Kill a Commie for Christ” bumper stickers? It is enough to make an atheist out of you!) I remember that during the debate over school prayer back in the sixties, one congressman who did not want ...

984. Jesus and the Baptists

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of the Dead Sea. You may have heard about the community of monks who lived there called the Essenes. Scholars speculate whether or not John may have been brought up by them. Since his parents were elderly when he was born, (Luke 1:7) they presumably, died when he was quite young. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus tells us that it was the custom of the Essenes to do just just such a thing: adopt an orphan boy and raise him as one of them. (WARS OF THE JEWS, 2.8.2) We do know that John, like ...

985. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... on, so much we wish we knew. It is clothed in the aura of an ancient time, and an ancient way of looking at things that is quite foreign to most of us. It is even a spooky story-for where does it take place? Among the tombs. At night. It sounds like something ... God pity the British Empire if it is to be run on the principles of the Sermon on the Mount!” We might not be quite so open about it these days, but one wonders whether Jesus would receive any more welcome in the corridors of Congress? Or in our ...

986. On Being the Greatest

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Lord’s Supper, believing that when Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” He was referring not only to eating and drinking, but also to washing one another’s feet. Many years ago I participated in such a service, and I can assure you that it was quite a humbling experience. It does get one close to one’s neighbor. I am not sure that Jesus intended the act to become a ritual to be reenacted down through the ages, but I am sure that he intended that the same spirit of service toward others was ...

987. Only the Abba Knows

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... coming to an end tomorrow, but I wasn’t born yesterday!” Paul had problems with apocalyptic people in New Testament times, too. Some of the Christians in Thessalonica, for example, believed that Christ was going to come and wrap up everything any day now, and so they quit their jobs and sat around waiting for the day. So Paul had to write to them: “We hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.” (II Thess. 3:11) He also said: “If anyone will not work, let him ...

988. What the Maid Said to the Fisherman

Mark 14:66-72, Mark 14:53-65

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... is open your hearts to receive that love!” One of the world’s favorite hymns was written by a man named John Newton. Let me tell you about John Newton. He was born in 1725, the son of a Mediterranean sea captain. His mother died when he was seven. He quit school at age 10 and went to sea with his father at age 11. At 18 he was “impressed,” compelled by force to enlist on a British man-of-war. He was en route to becoming an officer when he deserted, was caught, was whipped publicly, and put in irons ...

989. The Unfinished Story

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , I believe that I have witnessed three out of these five “signs.” I believe that the casting out of demons is something quite different from the wild scenes in movies such as “The Exorcist”—and I have seen the demons of hatred, cruelty, racism, etc. cast ... the 4th century, testified that the best Greek manuscripts they knew ended with the eighth verse. (2.) Their style is quite unlike Mark’s, and (3.) Their contents are obviously a patchwork, mostly drawn from Luke and Acts. What happened to ...

990. The Road to Somewhere (I am the way, truth, and life)

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... never landed where you are now.'' Then, he waved his hand and left saying: ''If you ever get out of this well, be careful to follow my teachings next time.'' Then," he said: "Buddha came and looked into the well at me and said: ''My child, you must quit the condition in which you find yourself. Relax, fold your arms and meditate. Soon you will find Nirvana, which is the peace we all desire.'' I called out: ''Father Buddha, if you would help me out of this well, I could follow your teaching, but I cannot ...

991. I THIRST: The Fifth Word

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ourselves what we are hungering and thirsting for. In C.S. Lewis'' great work, the Chronicles of Narnia, in Book Four, titled The Silver Chair, he tells the story of a young lass named Jill who finds herself in a far away land. She is lost, lonely and quite thirsty. She thinks she hears the gentle sound of a small stream nearby and follows the sound to its source. She finds the stream quickly, but there is a great lion named Aslan between it and her. Here is a hint--Aslan represents the Christ figure. Let ...

992. Dealing with the "F" Words of Life

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... cooks breakfast. Not many Messiahs do that! A God who turns tombs into wombs of new life and new beginnings. What a privilege to belong and be claimed by such a God! I am overwhelmed to think that God objects when I am ready to throw the towel in and quit. I rejoice that there is more grace in God than sin in us. THIRDLY, JESUS CHRIST CAME TO THE LAKESIDE TO LEAD HIS DISCIPLES FROM A PARALYZING DEFEAT TO A NEW DIRECTION OF SERVICE AND WITNESS FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Dr. James Moore tells the story of a ...

993. Honestly, Are You Worried about Tomorrow?

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ''t trust the government, the bank or our company, but place our trust in God. God is our source and supply. God is our strength. We live in this world giving from a perspective that we are trusting God. The point of these two quotes is quite simple and one truth alone seems to pulsate from them. Only those who are willing to face up to the present will find the power they need to survive. Many people carry unbearable loads because they have already borrowed from tomorrow. In doing that we cause anxieties ...

994. Whose Servant Are You? (Part II)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... in the stills taken from the film. I have no doubt whatsoever as to the explanation: holiness, an expression of love, is luminous; hence the haloes in medieval portraits of saints. The camera had caught this luminosity, without which the film would have come out quite black, as Ken Macmillan proved to himself when he used the same stock in similar circumstances and got no picture at all. "Mother Teresa is, in herself, a living conversion; it is impossible to be with her, to listen to her, to observe what ...

995. A New You in a New Year (Part X)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... 1993 anew with God. Have you ever noticed that your car''s windshield is fifty times larger than your rear view mirror? It is quite simple--we are to spend 50 times as much energy and time looking forward than looking backwards. When you drive on Route 78 or ... my life. I look back. I remember how different life a year ago was, The slow, quiet erosion of the days has gone on, and I am not quite the same person I was, for better or for worse. I have had a whole year to grow in love or to fall out of love, to ...

996. Saintly Citizenship - Earthly Responsibilities

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... Thursday service. That evening Judge Oliver knelt and washed the feet of a black woman and then kissed her as a symbol that he shared the spirit of Jesus in John 13, of loving persons unconditionally. There was a reporter there who witnessed this. He made quite a bit about it in the press, and as a consequence, according to the story, Judge Oliver lost the opportunity to become the Chief Justice of Apartheidsville. The black pastor wrote him a letter. He apologized. He said, "I''m so sorry for what happened ...

997. Peace or Pieces

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... O''! Give me a `Y''!" and then shouting, "What''s that spell?" The Philippians would respond, "JOY!" Paul would then command: "Focus on that thought." Now, verse five: In this verse, Paul is telling the Philippians to be patient, to hang in there, do not quit. Others might be looking at you to see how a believer responds in this circumstance. Pastor Ben Haden, recently on a "Changed Lives" program, shared a powerful testimony about a man who was told by a family doctor that he had cancer and would not live ...

998. Trusting the Truth

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... like to decide what I most need, what I will do next, what I want to accomplish, and how others will think of me. While being so busy running my own life, I become oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within me, pointing me in directions quite different from my own. It requires a lot of inner solitude and silence to become aware of these divine movements. God does not shout, scream, or push. The Spirit of God is soft and gentle like a small voice or a light breeze. It is the spirit of love ...

999. The Taming of the Tongue

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... my good woman, there is something about you which is altogether too long and which has annoyed me and many others for quite some time, and since one good turn deserves another, I would like your permission to shorten it." Startled, the woman said, "Certainly ... images James uses in describing the power of the tongue: in verse three it is compared to a bit in the mouth of a horse. Nothing is quite as scary as a horse out of control--like a bull in a china shop. In verse 4, the tongue is compared to a rudder on a ...

1000. The Tenacity of Trouble

James 4:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . This is why we submit to God and flee from the devil. We don''t trust the tempter, but we do trust God. Finally, in verses 11 and 12, we learn that we must be careful in judging others and finding fault. The reason for this should be quite obvious, but we are often blinded by our own inability to see the TRUTH. Our knowledge and insights are always partial and limited. Let me explain it this way: A distinguished theologian tells the story of a young man who was walking home from work late at night because ...

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