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Showing 1101 to 1125 of 1679 results

1101. Lent 5

John 11:1-45 · Romans 8:6-11 · Ezekiel 37:1-14 · Psalm 130

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The two Old Testament texts for the Fifth Sunday in Lent provide stark contrasts between death and life. Ezekiel 37:1-14 is the eerie story of the dried and wind-blown bones that spring back into life as though we were watching a movie backwards. Psalm 130 is a penitential prayer. Ezekiel 37:1-14 - "Can Bones Be Brought Back to Life?" Setting. The primary setting of the book of Ezekiel is the exile. The prophetic oracles and visions in the book are addressed to a displaced people, who ...

1102. The Truth about Truth

John 8:31-32

Sermon

James Merritt

I honestly don't believe that I will ever preach a more important sermon than this one. I hope after I introduce my topic, your ears will perk up, your back will straighten up, your eyes will light up, and you will focus your attention on me with laser-like intensity. Listen carefully to the next three statements: There are no absolutes. All truth is relative. You have no right to force your idea of right and wrong on anyone else. Currently, sixty-two percent of American adults believe these statements to ...

1103. Good Christian Men Rejoice

2 Corinthians 8:9

Sermon

James Merritt

Seven centuries ago a Christmas carol, often sung today, was written in Latin, with a Latin title that meant "With Sweet Shouting." The great composer, Johann Sabastian Bach, liked it so much he arranged it for the organ, and John Mason Neale later standardized the hymn in English. In English the title was changed to "Good Christian Men Rejoice." The first stanza tells us what every Christian understands about the season called Christmas. Good Christian men, rejoice, With heart and soul and voice; Give ye ...

1104. The Revelation Code III: The Mark on Harry's Forehead

Revelation 13:11-14:7

Sermon

John E. Harnish

The date was June 6, 2006….or 6/6/6….and there was all kinds of anticipation. Not as big as the turn of 2000 and Y2K, but given the times, it couldn't pass without notice. The internet was awash with frenzied doomsday predictions. Heavy metal rock bands and right-wing religious publishers used it for self-serving marketing. One website, with what it calls a "rapture index" which calculates the likelihood of Christ's return, said it was time to "fasten your seatbelts." Some pregnant mothers tried to speed ...

1105. Gift of Positive Thinking

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

For generations the "power of positive thinking" has been touted throughout our land. It is among the most popular and utilized thoughts and themes we have ever known. Cutting across all strata of social and economic patterns it is generally a principle espoused. While the influence generated is obvious, secular and less than desirable ways of life have utilized it. It is frequently taken from a Christian basis and becomes a means to achieve ends that at a minimum are questionable. Of course, there are ...

1106. Proclaiming Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

It is not easy to promote someone else. Human nature rises up against it. If we believe in our self-worth and capabilities, why should we try to sell someone else? Yes, and why should we seek to gain acceptance of a religious leader, who will eventually cause us trouble. For example, Jesus for some was not only an irritant; he was an anathema as well. As usual, Saint Paul is not much interested in whether you like or accept him as a person. His driving mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. He and ...

1107. Birthpangs of the New Age

Romans 8:22-23

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

1108. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus was unrelenting in his forward thinking. Consider how much time he spent teaching about the kingdom of God, which was both now and not-yet. What pleasures from God are being poisoned in our lives because we cannot escape a life of constant regret - the "if onlys," "wrong turns," "yes-buts," and "sour notes" of woulda/coulda/shoulda thinking? We've all done it: enraged or insulted, frightened or confused at someone or some situation, we have stood there sputtering and fuming or have fled in tears and ...

1109. Dare Care

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

If we want transformation, we must risk chaos of the chrysalis. Risk is another word for faith. Remember your first science project? Or more precisely, what is the first science project you remember? Often, one of the first science projects children undertake is to watch a plain little caterpillar spin a cocoon about itself until it is completely shrouded within a chrysalis. The wonder of transformation is made real to the children when, days later, an entirely different creature a beautiful butterfly ...

1110. Soul-Scrubbing

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God hates nothing more than spiritual pride and arrogance. God loves nothing better than humility in the people of God. The fireworks are over. But the smell of sulfur still lingers in the air, and every now and again, the sound of one lonely, leftover firecracker snaps the sound barrier. Many of us no doubt stuffed ourselves at a big Fourth of July picnic and got sunburned watching a Fourth of July parade. On the fifth of July, the whole country is somewhat bleary-eyed from staying up late to watch the ...

1111. A Demon Speaks Out in Church

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Our lesson for today may be quite disturbing to some of us. It takes place in Capernaum. It was the Sabbath and Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. The people who heard him “were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Suddenly, however, there was an unexpected disturbance. A man began to cry out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God!” I imagine the other ...

1112. Jesus Radical Prescription

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

We’re still sitting on the hillside with those whose lives Jesus’ has changed with the miracle of God’s love. He’s teaching us about God’s new world, where God’s love reigns. Jesus has just told us that he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. For example, “The law says, ‘Do not murder.’ But I say that not killing someone doesn’t go far enough. God is concerned about how you feel toward others, how you perceive them, how you relate to them. Therefore, beware of your anger toward others. Beware of ...

1113. Easter 7

Acts 1:12-26, 1 John 5:1-12, John 17:6-19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 The church is living between Jesus' departure and the coming of the Spirit. The time has come to fill the vacancy caused by Judas' suicide. The one to be chosen as a replacement is to be one who shared the experience with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension and one who can witness to the resurrection. Two men met the qualifications: Joseph and Matthias. God and not the church elected Matthias. The church merely asked the ascended Lord which of the two ...

1114. Lent 5

Psalm 130:1-8, Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 11:1-45, Romans 8:1-17

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 130:1-8 First Lesson - The prophet is given a vision of hope for the restoration, the resurrection of Israel. Ezekiel 37:1-14 Second Lesson - Paul writes of the spiritual resurrection from the death of sin that the Spirit can perform. Romans 8:6-11 Gospel - In the account of the resurrection of Lazarus, John records some of the most profound promises of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 11:1-45 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also ...

1115. What Do I Do - When I Don't Know What To Do?

2 Kings 4:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

I had graduated from college and thought that I wanted to go to seminary, but I began to have doubts about whether or not that really was what I should do. Even if it was what I wanted to do, I had been going to school non-stop for sixteen years and I was burned out. Quite frankly, I was at a crossroads in my life where I didn't know what to do. Should I go on to seminary or not? Was I really called into the ministry or not? If I didn't go to the seminary, in the meantime, what was I going to do? For the ...

1116. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

I am wondering right now how many frustrated people are in this building, or maybe watching by television, whose memories hearken back to parents that you could never totally please. Most every one of us in this room knows someone that is driven to succeed to the nth degree, because they are haunted by the ghost of unrealistic expectations that one or both parents placed on them. There are others in this room who live in perpetual sadness because of a parent that never showed them the affection and the ...

1117. Boasting and Praying for You

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Sermon

Donna Schaper

Recently, I was asked to give a prayer at the area chamber of commerce meeting, with these instructions: "Make it brief, and don't mention God too much." How am I supposed to do that? I can't stop boasting about God. God's work is so impressive to me that snowflakes don't even describe it. Nor do hummingbird's nests. Nor fireworks. Nor breakfast. God is so grand to me that I have to boast. What I most like to boast about is theology. Nature is second only to theology. Most of us understand how to boast ...

1118. The Intimate Gospel: The Word became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

We’re beginning today a series of sermons on the Gospel of John. Earl Palmer rightly calls this gospel, the intimate gospel. Because that’s what it is. It’s the personal story of John of the personal Christ. We’re going to be doing during the next few weeks, maybe more than a few weeks, we’re going to be doing what I call ‘preaching through this gospel.’ Now this will not be a verse-by-verse or a chapter-by-chapter study of the gospel, but rather we will hit the high spots. In fact, I have an idea that we ...

1119. Putting Ourselves into the Picture

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A doctor and his nurse responded to the anguished plea of a farmer, who was calling the doctor to attend to his wife who was desperately ill. The doctor with his ever-present black bag along with his nurse, were ushered upstairs to the bedroom where the woman was. The farmer stayed with his family in the parlor downstairs. After a few minutes, the doctor came down the stairs with a kind of troubled look on his face and asked for a screwdriver. After some time had passed, the nurse came down the stairway ...

1120. Living In ‘Oddville’ With ‘Peculiar’ People

Romans 12:1-2, 19-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

As that little game show opening points out, we have a hard time distinguishing who's a Christian and who isn't. It seems that Christians have developed the ability to blend in so well with the rest of society that it's hard to distinguish us from the rest of the world. In the John 15:19, Jesus says, "If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own....you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world...." Eugene Peterson's The Message might make that a little clearer ...

1121. The Color Wheel of Blindness

John 10:22-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the “driver’s license,” they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test. It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last — suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going! For most drivers, ...

1122. Holiness of Heart and Life

Romans 2:21-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

At Stanford University there is a psychologist named Festinger who has a theory which he calls “cognitive dissonance.’ If you teach at a university like Stanford, you are supposed to use big words like that. As strange and new as it may sound, it’s very simple. It means that there is a big gap between my ideals and my actions, what I believe and what I do, my goals and my deeds. There is a difference between the image I have of myself and the image I try to project for other people and that discrepancy is ...

1123. The Harvest of the Spirit, Part 1

Galatians 5:16-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... .” II Look at it what the great preacher G. Campbell Morgan called “the sublimest statement… concerning the issue and finality of Christianity”, verses 22 — 23: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self—control. Have you noted that Paul did not use the plural. He doesn’t say fruits of the Spirit, but rather fruit of the Spirit. He has talked about the works, plural – the works of the flesh; but now he concentrates on ...

1124. Liberated Women

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

Barbara Walters, of Television’s 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the current Afghan war. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands. She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. From Ms. Walters’ vantage point, despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to walk even farther back behind their husbands, and are happy to maintain the old custom. Ms. Walters ...

1125. In the House of the Lord

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If you saw the “Places in the Heart,” starring Sally Field, you will probably never forget the closing scene. Many in the audience and most critics could not believe what they were seeing. The scene is set in a small and simple sanctuary lit Texas. Everyone who figures in the movie drama is seated there in the pews. The camera moves in on the preacher at the pulpit, and he reads the moving cadences of the apostle Paul’s great hymn on love from 1 Corinthians 13.-We hear again how faith, hope and love ...

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