Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1051 to 1075 of 4943 results

1051. A Womb With a View

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... experienced the terror and the confusion of Jesus' death and the wonder and exultation of his resurrection that the disciples were able to smash the windows of their wombs and deliver their fetal faith into the world. Freed from the constraints of the womb, they were at last able to take up the cross and follow the Christ.

1052. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rebuke of Jesus' first passion prediction appears to be the inspiration for Jesus' first discipleship topic learning to leave the self behind. Jesus defines true disciples as those who can drop their self-centered concerns and who are able instead to "take up their cross." Only then, Jesus insists, can a disciple truly "follow me." In verses 36 and 37, Jesus offers a pair of rhetorical questions that deepen the new understanding of "self" that his disciples must grasp. Clearly, Jesus does not consider ...

1053. Accepting Responsibility

Ezekiel 33:1-20, Ezekiel 33:21-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Restoration and Renewal (33:1–39:29): The first part of chapter 33 takes up verses 1–20. With its emphasis on Ezekiel as a watchman, the importance of one’s present situation rather than the past, and individual responsibility, there are reverberations of Ezekiel 3:17–19 and 18:1–32. In 33:2 God tells Ezekiel to speak to his countrymen, indicating that ...

1054. The Last Supper

Luke 22:7-38

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... to happen but reveals what the disciples have already done out of fear.” This is probably correct. The import of Jesus’ remarks is completely misunderstood by his disciples, who produce two swords. In a spirit of popular messianic enthusiasm his men are ready to take up arms. As Peter had said only moments before, they are ready to go to prison, even to death. Jesus, however, is no doubt disappointed (unless he took the comment of the disciples in a figurative sense) in their lack of perception and ends ...

1055. Sheep? Seriously?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... synagogue and temple, no longer unclean by ritual law. The man would no longer have to beg to survive. He could earn a living and support a wife, so now he’d be allowed to marry, have children, take care of his parents, and take up community responsibilities alongside the other men.”6 Fullness of life vaporizes when some group denies the well-being of others. Fullness of life becomes tangible when each group is recognized as having worth; not worth based on prosperity, worth based on simply being human ...

1056. The Man From Galilee II: The Transformation Of His Call

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... you fishers of men." Jesus spoke transforming words to many people. Later on, near the end of His life, He would finally say to Simon, "You are Peter (meaning the rock) and upon this rock I will build my church." To another He said, "Your sins are forgiven, take up your bed and go home." And, to another He said, "Go and sin no more." In so many places and to so many people Jesus spoke transforming words, "You will ... You are ..." Those are the words He speaks to us today: "Follow me, and I will make you ...

1057. Gluttony - Living By Bread And The Word Of God

Mark 6:30-44, 1 Timothy 4:1-16

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... is ranked as a deadly sin because food can be seen as a way to make us feel happy. Eating can become a way for us to avoid or solve our problems. You can use food to divert your attention away from problems, instead of trusting in God and taking up a life of responsibility for your problems. Again, as in so many things, the problem is not the food itself; the problem is in the way we misuse food to numb ourselves to our problems, misusing food to fill our emptiness, looking to food to satisfy our loneliness ...

1058. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

... John Hall has written: "The world's suffering is not going to be engaged by people in designer jeans frolicking and posturing in the wilds of Colorado in search of "the meaning of life" (their own!). It will only be met, and transformed, by those who take up the invitation to "come and die."4 Moses had lived the Egyptian life of designer jeans. He had searched for the meaning of his life in the Sinai wilderness. God was now giving him an invitation to come and die for Him. Ecclesiastes tells us there ...

1059. Carry Your Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... are doing the latter, you will be able to use only some of the material below. Lesson: Good morning! (response) Today I want to tell you something Jesus said and you tell me what it means and then we are going to see if you can do it. Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow me." What did he mean? (response) I have brought a big cross into the church this morning and I want you to try and carry it. Someone should assist the children in this task. Stand the cross up on its side and have the child crawl ...

1060. Learning to Be Graceful

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... made people realize the truth. How right he was. Jesus never preached the truth! He preached parables and stories which made people realize the truth. The crass, blunt truth is sometimes best left unsaid. Often as we ride on an interstate highway, we encounter a truck that takes up more than its share of the highway. The truck bears a sign, "wide load." These vehicles wear the sign to warn us that we have to make more room for them to pass in safety. In life, we all meet people who carry wide loads. I’m ...

1061. Ghosts - 1951

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It’s all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us just the same, and we can’t get rid of them. Whenever I take up a newspaper I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all so pitifully afraid of the light. It is with ghosts as with men; some are good ...

1062. THE JOY OF CHRISTIAN LIVING

Galatians 4:21-31

Sermon Aid

John W. Rilling

... live not under the Old Covenant, like Hagar’s children, but as free-born children of Sarah. How could a man turn his back upon Christ, and freedom, and joy (the very name of Isaac means LAUGHTER in Hebrew) and live in slavery and bondage? And he takes up the old refrain of scripture, "Rejoice ... break forth and shout!" We may not be impressed with Paul’s reading of history (though it is authentic New Testament reading). But there can be no doubt that one of the marks of Christian living is to be found ...

1063. Your Sins Are Remembered No More! You Are Free!

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... in Christ. To say that God puts the Law in us, and since the Law is fulfilled by Christ, it seems that we can read our First Lesson as a prophecy of Christ (the fulfillment of the Law) living in us. The New Testament refers to Christ taking up residence in the believer. Paul says that Christ is within him (Galatians 2:20), that Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17). Martin Luther picked up this theme to explain why salvation by grace does not lead to a lackadaisical attitude to Christian living. He ...

1064. The Life Question: What Are You Looking For?

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the woman taken in adultery, Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn you." Are we stymied in growth, stuck in our complacency, finding life dull and boring? Hear what Jesus would say to us: "But I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly...take up your cross and follow me." If you find what you're looking for and don't know Jesus, you'll still need more to make you happy. "He has taught us, but He has done more. He has not only spoken, He has died. He has not only shown us ...

1065. Trinity Sunday

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... two sections: vv. 1-4 and 5-9. The community refrain begins the first section (1b) and concludes the last section (v. 9), with the result that the praise of God's name throughout the earth frames the entire psalm. The voice of the individual singer takes up the middle portion of the psalm. Within this section, the central theme of the psalm appears to be the question of v. 4: "What are human beings that you are mindful of them?" Most commentators agree that this question and the description of the role of ...

1066. Discipleship: The Beauty and the Cross

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... spiritual life. The beauty of discipleship brings many significant responsibilities and some crosses. The life of discipleship is not easy; it was not intended to be simple. Jesus tells us succinctly, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). We may not always want to follow, for the cost may be high. But we must be totally confident that death, that is, our personal crosses, leads to life and the beauty of the resurrection. This ...

1067. What Part of “You Shall Not” Don’t You Understand?

Exodus 20:1-17

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... vulgarians may be at the gates of our lives, banging away, sure of themselves, but the Lord promises that his word will prevail. "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). In other words, when we Christians take up the weapons of the Spirit, we fight for the cause that will prevail in the end. We will not just be defending the gates of home and church. In partnership with the unconquerable Lord, we will knock down the gates of the barbarians and demons that ...

1068. The Cost of Non-Discipleship

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Discipleship makes us something. There are so many ways we unintentionally invalidate the truth of the gospel. Simply by going through the church calendar, we can see that Christians are asked to "give instead of receive" at Christmas, to "give up" something for Lent, to "take up their cross" at Easter and to "burn with fire" at Pentecost. We can make our faith sound about as appealing as castor oil - strong medicine that we know must be good for us because it tastes so bad. The truth, of course, is that ...

1069. Go

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... deal with the Who, Where, How and Why of the "E" word. the Who, Where, How and Why of the command to GO and make Disciples. I. Who A. The first is WHO? Unfortunately, most of us act like the out-of shape, overweight man who decided to take up tennis. He took lessons from a pro. He read several self-help books which advised him to "think positively" and "develop a winning attitude." A friend asked him how his tennis was going. With a positive, winning attitude in his voice, the man replied, "When my opponent ...

1070. The Story of Christmas

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... would pull off his mask, as it were, and reveal his true identity. Such trickery, however, did not appeal to the prince. Finally he hit upon the most noble solution of all. He would lay aside his kingly robe. He would move into her neighborhood. He would take up a vocation . . . say as a carpenter. He would live as she lived. He would get to know her friends, learn to talk their language. Hopefully, then, in the natural course of things, he would meet his beloved and gain her friendship, then her trust and ...

1071. A Blind Beggar and a Rich Scoundrel

Luke 19:1-10, Luke 18:35-43

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... again the deep social divisions that came to our attention in 18:14–30, and the issue of the salvation of the rich (18:18–27) is explored further in the story of Zacchaeus, which provides a poignant contrast to that of the rich ruler. It also takes up again, and brings to a climax, the recurrent theme of Jesus’s willingness to mix with “tax collectors and sinners” (5:27–32; 7:29–35, 36–50; 15:1–32) in order to bring them his message of salvation. The salvation here again of a man ...

1072. Sheba Rebels Against David

2 Samuel 20:1-26

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

Sheba’s Rebellion: 20:1–2 In many ways this incident is presented as an appendix to Absalom’s rebellion rather than as a separate story. Sheba, a Benjamite described as a troublemaker, perhaps thought he could take up where Absalom left off. This incident could have occurred toward the end of David’s reign, although happened to be there may indicate that it happened at the rather bad-tempered meeting between representatives of the northern and southern tribes relating to David’s return after ...

1073. A Song of Praise

Isaiah 26:1-21

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... in Yahweh rather than in its own prestige and security will find perfect peace. The last phrase is another of the prophet’s repetitions, literally “peace peace,” double “well-being.” This will include freedom from war but will also extend beyond that. The promise thus takes up that of 9:6 and applies it to any nation that turns to Yahweh. Verses 4–6 underline the point and again remind of the alternative. A tone that is quite different from anything we have read in 24:1–26:6, or for that ...

1074. Dying, We Live

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Paul, a Teresa of Calcutta or a Martin Luther King? The story which they lived and died and which we're called to live and die by is one of risk confronted, death embraced. What's more, Jesus calls us to walk the narrow way, take up a cross with him, daily. It's terribly risky business. Ask that bright company of martyrs who quite recklessly parted with goods, security, then life itself, preferring to be faithful in death rather than safe in life. But it's also terribly adventuresome, terribly invigorating ...

1075. Epiphany 7

Mark 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... word again, "Your sins are forgiven!" The paralytic heard the word and was set free. We will not give up either, Lord! We hear your word which declares that our sins are forgiven! Your forgiveness is true and, because of you, we are now truly free. Help us to rise, take up our pallets and walk! Amen.

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