Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1101 to 1125 of 4972 results

1101. Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:16-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Sidonian home. There he has contributed in a small way to the war that the LORD is now waging upon the worship of Baal, while leaving the drought to do most of the damage. The time has now come for his reappearance on the main stage—for the great battle ... rising from the sea. Though small, it is enough to assure Elijah that the drought is over (cf. Luke 12:54), and after warning Ahab to leave or get wet, he races him to Jezreel in the power of the LORD. As we might expect, in view of the story so far, he ...

1102. John Mellencamp and the Danger of Procrastination

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... and John, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. It always has amazed me that the first four disciples of Jesus’ responded to his call without any seeming hesitation. He was asking them to leave their livelihood, leave their families, leave the community they grew up in for an adventure the result of which they could not see--and immediately they heeded his call and followed him. That says a lot about how Jesus came across to people, but it also says much about ...

1103. The Bethsaida Boys

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Jamison

... was happening. Even more, they apparently didn’t even run by the house to say “so long” to their wives and kids, leave a forwarding address, or anything. All of that was apparently left for Zebedee to take care of. I’m guessing that Zebedee ... a deep breath before he said, “Guys, remember that anyone who is not out there actively working against us, is actually for us. So leave the guy alone!” Another time Jesus walked up to a group of people who were angry and yelling at some of the disciples, and ...

1104. A Cross-Shaped Life

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... was faith -- action was not important. On the other side, were those who believed that real faith is always active. The conflict between the two sides was theological and ethical, and on both sides it was so intense that some people were even leaving the church over it. Yet both sides claimed, "I love God." In spite of their conflict with one another, both sides claimed this vertical dimension of love between themselves and God. Both sides claimed to be following what Jesus gave as the first commandment ...

1105. Searching for Happiness

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... $999.” Then, jerking his head around nervously he says, “I’ll take 90 bucks, cash.” The cars start to edge forward and the other drivers start yelling. The thief delivers his final pitch: “Okay, man, I’ll let you have it for $45. Take it or leave it.” And the driver takes it, knowing its hot merchandise. When asked about how it feels to rip people off, selling them empty boxes, one of the men justified his actions by saying, “Hey, man, I’m not beating an honest man. No one buys something ...

1106. Of Mice and Men

Hebrews 10:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... . . . Some of their bags were quite heavy. The hassle of lugging this bag of potatoes around with them made it clear what a weight they were carrying spiritually, and how they had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget and keep leaving it in embarrassing places. Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime. That is how guilt works. If it is allowed to sit in our hearts it deteriorates to a nasty slime . . . and who wants to carry around a nasty slime? Guilt motivates ...

1107. Holy Happiness

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... the ways of the world, we will quickly shrivel up and die. But rooted in the moist promises of God, we — in the words of the prophet — “shall not fear when the heat comes,” and “in the year of the drought, we will not be anxious” and “our leaves will stay green and our branches will bear fruit.” I think Jesus is saying two things to us today. First of all, he is saying that when we live out of vulnerability and need — out of our emptiness and not out of our fullness — it is then that we ...

1108. Blago and Radnan, Two Lost Sons

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... it? And when she finds it will she not call all the neighbors and tell them how excited she is? In that same way, there is great joy among the angels when one sinner repents. “Or when one not-too-bright sheep wanders off will not a caring shepherd leave the rest of flock untended to search for that lost one until he finds it? Will he not put the found sheep on his shoulders and dance back to the rest of the flock whistling a happy tune? In heaven, there is more rejoicing over one repentant sinner than ...

1109. They'll Know We Are Christians by Our...

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the kind of openness we are to have to others. In 1999, Scott Ginsberg attended a convention at which all the participants were encouraged to wear a name tag. We’ve all been to meetings like that, and you rip off the name tag the minute you leave, right? Except Scott didn’t. He thought it might be fun to keep his name tag on and see what happened. What happened was quite refreshing. He found that people paid more attention to him, called him by name and introduced themselves because of his name tag ...

1110. A Prayer to a Good, Good Father

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... questions are above my pay grade. The best answer I can give you is to trust God whatever occurs because God loves you and is working to make all things work to your good. In other words, pray, knowing that God hears your prayers and loves you, and leave the results to God. I once read about a woman named Barbara Bartocci who was searching for the perfect birthday card for her husband a few years ago. She came across a promising one. On the outside it read: “Sweetheart, you’re the answer to my prayers ...

1111. Free From What? For What?

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... s right — when they heard that they were to be delivered from their captivity. This is the state we live in. We are seemingly held prisoner by many things: bodies that let us down, habits we can’t break, debts we can’t shake, jobs we can’t stand or leave, pasts we can’t let go of, futures we can’t fathom. But we are like the British and American prisoners: our chains can’t bind us if we remember that the war is over; the victory is secured. When Christ died and rose again, the enemy was forced ...

1112. Seeing God

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... see God and God’s will for him more clearly. And he realized that God was calling him to get up and go, to leave his successful football career to become a pastor. As Napoleon says, “. . . I walked away from the game to serve God and to serve people ... God now than on the life you left behind. It’s not easy marking out a new direction for your life. It’s not easy leaving certain opportunities or comforts or relationships behind in order to do God’s work and live in God’s will, but sometimes we are ...

1113. The Gospel in Miniature

John 3:16

Sermon

King Duncan

... ornate, or pretty, or gold or silver. It was “a rough, splintery thing, stained with gore.” George Bennard was under the influence of our text for the day, John 3:16. “I saw the Christ of the Cross,” he said later, “as if I were seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form and act out the meaning of redemption.” We all know John 3:16. Let’s say it together: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life ...

1114. Learning to Walk in the Dark

Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... US Southwest border, a group calling themselves the Samaritans gathers at a local church to fill gallon jugs with drinking water. Later they will drive to a stretch of desert on the US side of the Mexican border. They will hike into the barren, waterless terrain, leave the jugs of water where they will be found and hike back out again. This is a high traffic area for those fleeing from the terror and violence in their Central American countries. This is land where one can lose one’s way even in daylight ...

1115. By the Sea

Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-42, John 1:43-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... -4) was that all people would return to God and receive the abundance of God’s blessings: and “every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree.” The fig tree as metaphor has a rich history. The fruit of the land –its fruit blossoms before its leaves. That Jesus sees Nathanael under a fig tree and then calls him the only righteous Israelite (not Jew but Israelite) is a metaphor for the coming of these times. “Now I will sing to my well-beloved a song….of the vineyard” (Isaiah 5:1-2) The fig ...

1116. Moving On

Luke 6:12-16, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... not welcome them and wash the dust of the road from their feet, they weren’t to worry about it, but to just “kick off that dust” on their way out! Additionally, kicking off the dust was an affront. It was a habit often done when leaving a gentile (used loosely…for gentile could also mean a Jew who was not upright and “in” right relationship) place. It was a “cleansing” process. The cleansing in this case was similar to Pilate’s washing of hands. It is a clearing of responsibility from one ...

1117. Little Ones

Luke 18:15-17, Matthew 19:13-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... child be harmed, he tells a parable: “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is ... the face of my Father in heaven. “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is ...

1118. The Gardener

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... story is Mary. Peter and John see Jesus’ empty grave clothes, and although they are amazed, they still don’t quite get it. They leave to ponder and debate what’s going on. Mary however stays. As Eve before her, she is the curious one, the daring one. ... House, the second Adam, the Son who cannot be killed, but who will dwell in the eternal garden. And we will dwell with Him. Jesus leaves behind the rags, and is restored in a new body. He is a part again of God’s holy garden. And his breath will soon ...

1119. It's Okay to Cry

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... be that we haven’t tried, there are times when the answer is simply, “nothing.” Sometimes, you just can’t move a boulder no matter how hard you try. Sometimes it’s not for you to move. Sometimes, there are things (and people) you just need to leave to time, prayer, and God. No matter how much it hurts. Even God expresses frustration and sorrow. Look at the scriptures. The Hebrew scriptures are filled with God’s frustration at a people who do not move, who refused to budge. Can God make them move ...

1120. Masks Off!

John 7:25-45 and 8:11-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the family, especially the eldest son. His brothers don’t believe in who he is, and so goad him to prove it and show his disciples what he can do during the time of the festival. After all, he is a public-figure “wanna-be,” they say. Jesus leaves after they do, no doubt stopping at Bethany, the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, and then proceeding on to Jerusalem in secret. He lays low initially, but then when the time is right, he goes to teach in the Temple courtyard to a divided crowd. From there ...

1121. Translucent Grace

Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36, Revelation 1:9-20, Revelation 2:12-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered ...

1122. She Waits

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ! This week, we read of Jesus’ ascension. Jesus’ disciples, no doubt, are wondering why, when he just returned, does he need to leave again! Jesus tells them, it is good for Him to go. He is going to prepare a place for them. His father’s ... need to surrender our needs and wants to a kind of marriage relationship, in which everything about our lives will in some way change. We leave our old life behind, and we engage in something vitally and totally new. And we enter into a new place, a new home, a new ...

1123. The Catch

John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25, Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... as well. Right? Maybe you have a toy that belongs to your child in there. Or maybe you are carrying your husband’s wallet for him. Or maybe you threw the baby’s bottle in there. Or maybe that’s where this church bulletin will go when you leave today. You carry with you at any given time, not only things of yours, but things of others as well –others for whom you bear a responsibility to care and carry. Does anyone also have business cards that others have given you? A gift perhaps that someone has ...

1124. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the ... and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in ...

1125. Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you need to put it into the kiln and fire it, so that the colors and textures become fixed. If that pottery is not fired, and you leave it lie without being used for a long period of time, it will dry out, become brittle, and it will finally break. If you drop it, it ... .” We might say too, “These bones are the people of Jesus’ Church.” It invokes a shudder, no? For God does not leave us, we leave God. And a people without God, without Jesus, is a people cut off from its life source, a river run dry, a ...

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