Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1101 to 1125 of 4963 results

1101. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the goal of “paideia” was to promote Greco-Roman civilization. In Paul’s context “paideia” is provided to the faith community not to develop an acceptable citizenry, but to “train” Christians in the ways of “righteousness.” The “usefulness” of scripture remains Paul’s central concern throughout all these activities. In the end it is his mission, and now Timothy’s mission to see that “everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (v.17). The gospel ...

1102. There Will Be Light

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... and green lights be banned from the city’s holiday display. Why? It was deemed that red and green lights are too religious, so they should not be part of a civic celebration. Later cooler heads on the City Council prevailed and the lights were allowed to remain. I doubt that most of us would think of Christmas lights as being too religious. Especially when we see them adorning the homes of people who verge on being outright pagans. But it reminds us of how potent a symbol light can be. “The light shines ...

1103. Dream Power

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you had a new baby and a questionable future? Believe that you should pack up a newborn and your wife and take a long journey into a foreign land because a dream angel told you it was unsafe at home. Believe enough in your dream to remain in exile until another dream called you back home. According to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ earthly Dad was not just some simple craftsman. Joseph was a big time dreamer. A dream-believer. A dream-activist. The “dream” Joseph embraced and enabled was not his own dream ...

1104. Trying Something New

Matt 4:12-22

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... a medal. Jansen won the one-thousand-meter race and did it in record time. Since Jansen had followed the wisdom of his coach, he had put his failure behind him and tried something new. We can play it safe and remain secure in what we know. Like the fishermen, our lives will remain in the darkness until we are willing to follow and move in a new direction. Jesus called the disciples to something that would not only give purpose and meaning to their lives, he called them to a vocation that would change ...

1105. The Garden of Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... was with Eve when she ate the forbidden fruit. Bear in mind that Eve was not present when God told Adam not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet, when the serpent tempts Eve, Adam does not speak up. But that’s not all. He remains silent and then watches Eve as she takes the forbidden fruit and eats it. Remember that God told them they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Only after Adam sees that Eve is still alive does he take some from her and eat himself. What a man. Instead ...

1106. Why Are You Here?

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... , which I had chosen to indicate our trust that as (human beings) probe into space, we are in fact acting in Christ. I sensed especially strongly my unity with our church back home, and with the Church everywhere. I read: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, will bear much fruit; for without me you do nothing.’” (2) I’m sure there were those who protested Aldrin’s actions. That’s the kind of world we live in. But the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is at the ...

1107. What Kind of Pillar Are You?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ruins. Time, decay, wars, earthquakes, floods have left us little to look at except a few of those stately pillars. The glory of the Parthenon, the grandeur of the Coliseum, are merely hinted at by the few remaining columns that still stand upright and intact, like the bones of some long extinct dinosaur. The pillars remain. But the people and powers that put them up long ago crumbled into the dust of history. In the ancient world pillars could be either a sign of welcome or a sign of warning: a portal into ...

1108. When to Take the Shirt off Your Back

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play. By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play. But this time, something went wrong. The story comes from Jack Riemer of the Houston Chronicle, who was there to tell the story. Just as Perlman finished the first ...

1109. Sex, Sex, and More Sex

Song of Songs 2:8-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the sea. And as their lives demonstrated, passionate love for another person need not eclipse God but can enlarge a life in ways that make room for God to be manifest - something I might have missed if those letters had remained undiscovered and my picture of my grandparents had remained incomplete.[4] Good point. Were it not for the Song of Solomon, we, too, might miss the fact that healthy desire and healthy discipleship are not mutually exclusive. Sex is a wonderful gift. God's gift, even. The creation ...

1110. The Living Advent Wreath (Trust: Purple Candle of the Magi)

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Isaiah 61:1-11

Drama

Frank Ramirez

... week. Faith, Hope, Love, and Trust, representing the four candles of the Advent wreath, enter one per week, then remain through the final weeks. They have mostly singing parts. Mary, Joseph, and Infant have nonspeaking parts and are seated ... We trust in God’s goodness and glory. We trust in God’s plan. Pilgrim: (laughs) There is no way they will fit into my bag. The bag will remain empty. But I no longer care. I have my answer for a skeptical world. And if there is no answer to a world at war, I cannot be ...

1111. When The Baker Becomes the Bread!

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me ... my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day ...Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. — John 6:54, 56 Whatever we are physically is the result of the food we have eaten. If we did not ...

1112. Tough Talk for Tentative Disciples

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... , the traitor, lying in wait for an opportunity to betray (see v. 70). This is hardly a textbook example for today's church-growth experts, some of whom would likely recommend damage control and intensive strategies to shore up support. Jesus, however, gives the remaining disciples an opportunity to walk away: " ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?' Jesus asked the Twelve" (v. 67). But wait, this is more than an invitation to walk away. It is a call to commitment. Tough Talk Today we often are reluctant ...

1113. I’ve Got a Home in that Kingdom

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... reading. Paul begins with a theme that permeates this entire letter. The struggle is difficult, but Paul does not lose heart. He remains confident because he has located his home, located it in his earthly ministry, and located it when he passes through the valley ... to be careful how we use his words in verse 6: "While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord." There remains in many of us who are Christian a sense that we prefer heaven to life on earth, and that is natural because of the slings and ...

1114. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... , the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold it. One of the quotable sayings, which I try to live by, is a statement made by Socrates: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." That's difficult for a preacher to remember. We are not accustomed to remaining silent. When Oliver Wendell Holmes was asked how one can get elected to a public office, he said, "To be able to listen to others in a sympathetic and understanding manner is perhaps ...

1115. Interceding for Us Now

Hebrews 7:23-28

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... that this Christ has not abandoned them, neglected them, forgotten them, or even ignored them. This Christ is not idle while seated at the right hand of the Father nor is he resting on his laurels after his great victory over sin and death. Rather, this Christ remains actively involved in the life of those whom he has redeemed, precisely because he has shed his precious blood for them. While he lives in glory as befits the one who is the king before whom every knee in heaven and on earth shall bend, he also ...

1116. Reconciliation Day

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... from Daughters and Sons. Of all that correspondence the vast majority came from people who, like Tim Russert, had nothing but praise to offer on behalf of their fathers. There was only one person who asked to remain anonymous. It came from a woman who was estranged from her father. She asked to remain anonymous because of the progress she had made at reconciliation. Inspired by Russert’s first book she writes about her struggle to find a way to open the door to her father, even a crack. She remembered ...

1117. A Four Word Memoir

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.” St. Paul couldn’t lose. If he lived, he ...

1118. God Enjoys AND Enjoins Us

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... were not trying to do and be good. The problem was that they had completely identified the “good” with the “process.” Instead of the person, they trusted Torah and Temple over the living presence of God in their midst. Twenty centuries later our problems remain pretty much the same. We love our church families, we love our church work, we love our church choir, we love our churches place in the community, we love our position on committees. But for many of us we are “addicted” to the artifices ...

1119. God Makes All Things New

Isaiah 61:10—62:3

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... of the people, both figuratively and literally. It is the opportunity to once again place Yahweh as the chief reason for the community's existence. History has proven that without Yahweh the community will die, but with Yahweh the community flourishes. Thus, while a choice remains before the people, the decision to follow God is readily obvious. As God made all things new for the Hebrews, so the Lord will make all things new in our lives, as well. Many things, people, and events estrange us from God and one ...

1120. The Divine Deal ...

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... seeks the help of the realtor. Naturally, the realtor will want to sell his listing. But the realtor must also be loyal to the buyer. What does the realtor do if he knows about a better house listed by another realtor offered for less money? Does he remain loyal to his client the seller (a loyalty putting more money in his pocket) or does he decide to take into consideration the interests of the buyer? The deals get messy. Made With Abraham God once made a deal with Abraham, a man of nineteenth century BC ...

1121. Death Meets The Lord

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... prophecy that envisions the victory of life in God over its archenemy, Death (with a capital "D"). Martin Luther said it well in his hymn, "Christ Jesus Lay In Death's Strong Bands": It was a strange and dreadful strife When life and death contended; The victory remained with life, The reign of death was ended. Holy Scripture plainly said That death is swallowed up by death, Its sting is lost forever.1 C. S. Lewis put the thought in modern language when he noted that Jesus is the David who knocked the wind ...

1122. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... so he mounted the fallen giant, drew his mighty sword from his scabbard and lopped off his head. Hardly the actions of a gaunt, bony, little underdog. The sword alone must have weighed a ton. The second reason we know he's not an underdog is that he remains true to himself. When Saul tried to load him down with a heavy tunic, a big, bronze helmet, a coat of mail, and a whopping sword, David knew immediately that he would be lost out there loaded down with this extra weight. The author of Hebrews must have ...

1123. Having a Good Name

Proverbs 1:20-33

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... about creeds and their use. I was not surprised to be reminded by him that Saint Augustine concluded his creedal book of thousands of pages with the words, "We have said this not in order to say something, but in order not to remain altogether silent." Mystery remains long after measurement collapses in the issue du jour. I also found my way to a book by Walter Moseley, Life Out Of Context. This book is a long essay about Moseley's redecoration of his own African-American living room. Moseley's previous ...

1124. The Place beyond Revenge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... others in leaving her office and going to the street to see a life-draining horror. Part of her neighborhood was crashing down around her. Linda put together the exhibit at neighboring St. Paul's. How has she changed in eight years? Not much. The horror remains close and precise. The exhibit gives her a frame for the chaos of the experience. She compares herself to the one elderly woman on the last Staten Island Ferry to leave the city on the original day. "We were all there in stunned silence, with orange ...

1125. Ignorance of the Bible

Illustration

Edward Farley

... Christian life, to basic disciplines of theology, biblical languages and ethics? Why do bankers, lawyers, farmers, physicians, homemakers, scientists, salespeople, managers of all sorts, people who carry out all kinds of complicated tasks in their work and home, remain in a literalist, elementary school level in their religious understanding? How is it that high school age church members move easily and quickly into the complex world of computers, foreign languages, DNA and calculus, and cannot even make ...

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