Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1026 to 1050 of 1795 results

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... -it-or-leave-it fashion. I remember an automobile salesman who bargained faithfully for a time, then said, "This is my last offer," and, as he said it, walked away from me. Perhaps it was only a good sales ploy, but I was impressed. That was John's style. "I have something great to offer," he seemed to say, "and you'd better grasp the opportunity now that it has come to you." Sometimes our hunger for repentance fails to achieve its goal. We need to do more than simply say, "I'm sorry." Repentance needs some ...

1027. Epiphany: A Faith to Work Miracles

John 2:1-11

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... the message. He responded, not to a statement of fact, but to the implied request for help. "Why are you asking me?" Jesus countered. "It's not my time." Mary proceeded as if she hadn't heard Jesus' objection. From the human point of view, hers was the style of many a mother: while you complained that you were not going to school, Mother continued to pack your lunch. From a faith point of view, Mary was doing what we need to do more often: she was riding over the objection without giving it undue credence ...

1028. Epiphany:The Joy of Fulfillment

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... about the way of life they had chosen. If they hadn't, they wouldn't have put their lives on the line so freely for their beliefs. It is sometimes pointed out that, though the four Gospels and the several epistles are so different in style, and though they clearly come from a wide variety of authors, they have one characteristic in common: the quality of certainty. There is no querulous tone, no hesitancy, not even a reasonable caution -- just this grand, "I know whom I have believed...." They may differ ...

1029. Promises, Promises

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... . A despot in Africa, who is interested only in gaining wealth for himself, can ruin the economy of his nation and plunge his people into poverty. An immoral president in a democracy can undermine the morality of a society and make it think that any style of life is acceptable, because even its president is abandoning ethical rules. A thieving and lying political or religious leader can lead his or her followers into equal deception that mimics the leader's perfidy. The same was true in the life of biblical ...

1030. Tasks For The Living God

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... , you have noticed that at 16:11-17, the story is told using "we" (also in 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1--28:16). That sounds as if a companion of Paul, perhaps Timothy or Silas, is writing the account of their journey. Perhaps they are, although the style is no different than that found in the rest of Acts. But the "we" accounts certainly give us the impression that these are real stories of actual happenings in the first century A.D. And you can believe that they are. Paul has arrived at Philippi, and he founds ...

1031. Get Rid of the Junk

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... Nome would depend on which time of year you visited. Nine months of beauty. Three months when the junk underneath comes through. Many people are like that, aren’t they? See them in some situations and they impress you with their maturity, their grace, their style. See them in other, less guarded situations, and all the junk underneath comes out. The well-dressed businessman, a pillar of his church, a leader of men, but when he goes home at night, abusive of his wife and neglectful of his children. The sad ...

1032. Alive In Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Paul gave powerful witness to it over and over again: “I have been crucified with Christ; I am now alive in Him.” To be a Christian is to change. It is to become new. It is not simply a matter of choosing a new lifestyle, though there is a new style. It has to do with being a new person. The new person does not emerge full-blown. Conversion -- passing from death to life -- may be the miracle of the moment but the making of a saint is the task of a lifetime. The new process of saint-making is to ...

1033. Compassion Fatigue

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to be Christian – loving out of the love of God, loving with the love of God, continuing to love until we give up the last ounce of our being on behalf of the Kingdom. I believe this is what Hope Foundation is all about – putting flesh on this style of love and compassion. Making ministries of love and compassion possible. But we all know it, don’t we. Ministry to the least of these, seeking to reach out with compassion carries with it meaning and joy. This is the high calling of God that is ours in ...

1034. Imitators of God

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... awareness now and then. John was a Scot Presbyterian preacher. During a part of my tenure as the World Editor of The Upper Room, he was the editor of the British edition of The Upper Room. He was a marvelous preacher in the classic style of the Scot Divines. I remember long walks in the evenings through the streets of Edinburgh – and Glasgow – and Aberdeen. I remember extended hours across the table in a café over coffee – talking and talking and listening and listening. We were never together ...

1035. Homesick For a Future: New Life for the New Millenium

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... tables become altars where the cup is shared. Love absorbs spilled sins like your thirsty napkins. On your neutral ground God becomes incarnate without the flutter of angelic wings. That’s the new language. It’s the meaning of the continuing incarnation. It’s the life-style of the Christian disciple. We hear you Nicholas. “I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew what I needed. I needed a new land, a new race, a new language…” IV And now hear this; “And although I couldn’t put it into ...

1036. Fulfill Your Ministry

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... characterize all our ministry, whether pastors or not. Would you turn to your neighbor now and say, “I must preach the Gospel.” II Paul’s next word may be an elaboration of his charge to preach the Word, but it also describes a style and a stance for our preaching, teaching, and presence among our people. Listen to him: “Be prepared in season and out of season.” The word here translated “Be prepared” is also translated as “Be ready,” “be urgent,” and “be instant.” The New Revised ...

1037. How May We Come to God?

Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... didn’t matter that she had shared this passage on our previous visit and the visit before that and the visit before that. I’m not even sure she remembered that she had shared it. She got joy and strength in reading it to me. In her choppy reading style, never cultivated for public reading, for she did not go beyond elementary school, she would begin Psalm 24: The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the ...

1038. A Prophet Among Them

Ezekiel 2:1-3:15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1039. Our Journey With Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is – a follower. We often talk about our walk with Christ. You see, there’s nothing static about the Christian faith. To be a Christian is to change. It is to become new. It is not simply a matter of choosing a new lifestyle, though there is a new style. It has to do with being a new person. A new person does not emerge full-blown. Conversion – passing from death to life – may be the miracle of the moment, but the making of a saint is the process of a lifetime. The process of saint-making is to ...

1040. Partners In the Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... suffering humanity. But not many of us want to be servants like that do we? We have the notion that Christianity centers in service but I submit to you there is a vast difference between the way most of us serve the willful decision to become a servant after the style of Jesus. Most of us serve by choosing when and where and whom and how we will serve. We stay in charge. Jesus calls for something else. He calls us to be servants, and when we make this choice, we give up the right to be in charge. Then ...

1041. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in growing conformity to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration) To be a Christian is to change. It is to become new. It is not simply a matter of choosing a new lifestyle, though there is a new style. It has to do with being a new person. New persons do not emerge full-blown. Conversion, passing from death to life, may be the miracle of the moment, but the making of a saint is the process of a lifetime. The process of saint-making is to work ...

1042. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... present, he never had a chance to get into the water. Let’s stop just for a moment and consider why Jesus asked the question – “Do you want to be healed?” I believe that in asking that question, Jesus was being consistent with His nature – with His style of relating to us. He doesn’t violate our personhood, or trample upon our freedom. He doesn’t command us, He doesn’t force us, He doesn’t invade, He invites. He invites us to be saved, to be healed. He invites us to participate with him in ...

1043. The Authority of Scripture: God's Breathed Word

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... awareness now and then. John was a Scot Presbyterian preacher. During a part of my tenure as the World Editor of The Upper Room, he was the Editor of the British edition of The Upper Room. He was a marvelous preacher in the classic style of the Scot Divines. I remember long walks in the evenings through streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow and Aberdeen. I remember extended hours across the table in cafés over coffee – talking and talking, listening and listening. We were never together without my probing ...

1044. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1045. Going Hard against the Grain

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... No, No; anything else comes from evil.” We are to walk in the light, not in the shadows. Tell the truth, which means you have to know what it is, and tell it in love even when it’s hard, which means that you have to know what love Jesus-style requires. And when we become people for whom speaking truth in love is important, we little by little change the world around us because we have changed. In our circles of influence we build up a culture of trust, where, as they used to say, a man or woman’s ...

1046. A Kingdom Investment Policy

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... spoke the words is present to those who notice and listen, even after the fact! For the Christian, and this is one of our peculiarities, life is lived under the constant gaze and within the encompassing reality of the Triune God. Generosity and honesty are always in style in this kingdom; they are, in fact, twin indicators that one is in touch with the grace of God which is working to make us a different kind of people, people who live with open arms and open hearts and open wallets under an open heavens ...

1047. The God Who Must Be Pursued

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... is, we're not the one's teachin' Radio; Radio's the one been teachin' us. Cause the way he treats us all the time is the way we wish we treated each other even part of the time.”19 Love and mercy and kindness and service are always in style. They come from God. Know anyone like that here at Duncan? I know several. I may preach, but they are our teachers, because in them verse 12 is lived out, “So whatever you wish men would do to you, do so to them (first); for that is the heart of ...

1048. Grace for a Complaining People

Exodus 16:2-15

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

Bob Hope died in 2003 at age 100. Before Bob died, his wife Dolores asked him where he wanted to be buried. And Bob, in his usual comedic style, answered, "Surprise me!" One night when Bob was in his prime he reported his activity for the day. "Today," he said, "my heart beat 103,369 times. My blood traveled 168 miles. I breathed 23,040 times. I inhaled 438 cubic feet of air. I ate three and a quarter ...

1049. Living in Denial

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... might, the hard‑bitten reporter cannot keep himself from being persuaded by the testimony of these artless people, obviously as thunderstruck by developments as Tennell himself. “And so he begins to piece together his program, in “60 Minutes” and “20/20" style: commentary and interviews interspersed. And he puts it together intending to persuade, and thinking that when people hear his witnesses they will begin to believe it too. But he is sadly mistaken. The TV higher‑ups are as cynical as ever ...

1050. Are You Trying to Prove Something?

Genesis 12:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the great churches in America. Ferris was one of the great preachers in his day. He had a marvelous ability to present profound, sometimes difficult, ideas in very simple language that everybody could understand. And he was disarmingly honest. That was another characteristic of his style. He was not afraid to admit that he didn't have all the answers. That is hard for anybody to do, especially hard for a preacher to do, especially standing in a pulpit. But he would do that. He even stressed that there may ...

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