Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1126 to 1150 of 2962 results

1126. Leading the Way

John 10:1-21

Illustration

Lee Griess

... an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an acceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that ...

1127. Christ and Time

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... of redemption, then a holy remnant of Israel, and finally the one man in whom redemption-history centers. From that point on there is progressive advance from the one to the many: the apostles, the church, redeemed humanity, redeemed creation. It is most appropriate, therefore, to designate the years of world history as B.C., before Christ, and A.D., anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. Jesus Christ is the pivot around which the ages revolve. He is the realizer of God’s plan for the universe, he is the ...

1128. The Home Under God

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... she is sad, because her hour of suffering has come; but when the child is born she forgets her suffering, because she is happy that a baby has been born into the world." Appreciation of motherhood is thus a sound Christian attitude, and we do well to designate a special day for according mothers the recognition which they deserve. Mother’s Day has a tenderness all its own. It is fitting to celebrate it with flowers, for mothers do their work in just that way. As quietly as a flower, or as the sunshine ...

1129. The Priesthood of All Believers

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... out the church’s mission. The church cannot accomplish its mission unless the high status and mission of Christian laymen are fully recovered. The word "layman" itself is derived from the Greek word "laos" which means "people." It is used in the New Testament to designate specifically the Messianic people. To be a layman, then, is the highest honor that the New Testament knows. It means to be a priest and a king, a Christ man and a Kingdom man. The distinction between a minister and a layman is utterly ...

1130. The Communion of Saints

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... s people." In celebrating All Saints’ Day, attention needs to be called to the word "all." Historically it refers to the fact that the medieval church, which accorded deep reverence to those whom it regarded as having achieved full sainthood and designated special days to many of them, set aside one day for remembering all its saints. The church of the Reformation, with its strong stand against worshiping the saints, drastically reduced the number of saints’ days but continued the tradition of observing ...

1131. The Gospel for Labor Day

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... is performing an act of worship, for God wants floors to be clean. In doing our daily work we are contributing our share to the high enterprise of which God’s will is the controlling purpose. When we see our work as part of a divine design which would be incomplete without our contribution to it, then our work will take on new dignity and worth. We shall be co-workers with God. Washington Gladden, a pioneer for social justice, realized that changing outward conditions will not bring about a better society ...

1132. Christian Thanksgiving

Philippians 1:1-7

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

"I thank my God," says the Apostle. That is what we are asked to do, and our national tradition designates one day each year for this purpose. For Christians, however, giving thanks to God is not confined to a single day or to a special Thanksgiving service of worship. It is the keynote of all our worship. This was known already to the worshipers in Old Testament times. They said, " ...

1133. Dealing With The Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

James W. Moore

... , exposing the prejudices… the walls that existed in society during Bible times; walls that included a few privileged people, but excluded and shut out most. As you moved through the Temple toward the High Altar (the Holy of Holies), there was a series of walls designed to hold people back from God. The first wall held back foreigners…people of other races and nations. They could go inside the Temple but only to this first wall. The second wall held back the women and children. They could only come into ...

1134. The Gifts of the Left Hand

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... and left, whether it’s the hand of God in the last judgment, or the slightly sinister left hand - "la main gauche" - the hand that is bumbling or in bad taste. All of us have received left-handed compliments. Even politically, some people have the gall to designate "the left" as the more suspect. In this meditation I want to invite your left hand to stumble around with me in some unfamiliar territory. I want to see whether we can advocate the gifts of the left hand as vital to our total giftedness, and to ...

1135. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... is unpopular in your family, on this campus, in this church, or in the local chamber of commerce, and find out how it hurts to be misunderstood. You will be a "dupe" or an "egghead" or a "pink" or a "reactionary" or some other suitable epithet, designed to cripple or destroy your influence. And so many of us settle for never rocking the boat, at the cost of great internal upheaval - with a diverse array of physical ailments to prove it. The courage to disclose myself to another is derived from my awareness ...

1136. A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

MORTON T. KELSEY is an Episcopalian priest, now a professor emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. He is nationally recognized and sought after as a theologian, psychologist, educator, priest, and man of prayer. The last designation in particular reflects the intense interest Kelsey has sparked by reintroducing and reintegrating the spiritual-meditative-mystical tradition of the church into modern life in general and professional pastoral practice in particular. Isaiah 11 contains the classic passage of ...

1137. Preconceived Ideas - Sermon Starter

Mark 8:27 - 9:1

Illustration

Brett Blair

... received a phone call from Attica State Prison in upper New York. A riot had taken place and rebelling prisoners were now in control of Cell Block D taking a number of guards hostage. Rev. Tyndale was requested to sit on a Board designed to start bargaining negotiations between the prisoners and the authorities, negotiations quickly broke down, the result is history. The prison was stormed by police and when the smoke cleared 41 dead bodies, both guards and prisoners, lay scattered across the courtyard in ...

1138. Preconceived Ideas

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... a phone call from Attica State Prison in upper New York. A riot had taken place and rebelling prisoners were now in control of Cell Block D taking a number of guards hostage. Rev. Tyndale was requested to sit on a Board designed to start bargaining negotiations between the prisoners and the authorities, negotiations quickly broke down, the result is history. Police stormed the prison and when the smoke cleared 41 dead bodies, both guards and prisoners, lay scattered across the courtyard in the worst ...

1139. Mary's Acceptance

Luke 1:26-38

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... acceptance. Move us forward beyond fear to expectation as it dawns upon us that we are an important part of your plan. Guide us in the right way our lives should go. For the sake of Jesus. Amen. Prayer of Confession When you come into our lives, O great Designer, you change our future. When you walk with us, what at first seemed inconceivable and impossible by ourselves takes on a trace of hope and then a sense of certainty. Help us to listen for your plans for us and to recognize the ways you are with us ...

1140. Advent 1: Won´t You Let Him Into Your Heart?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

... to share with you what was really happening that Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1965. The young man’s name was not Joseph and the young woman was not really named Mary... and she was not really expecting a baby. This true incident was designed to be a kind of "political demonstration" against the commercialization of Christmas. Since there had been a "No Vacancy" sign up for several hours, this modern-day Mary and Joseph fully expected to be turned away. In fact, they wanted to be turned away ...

1141. Happy New Year?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... ink spot that had fallen on it. When Ruskin asked for it, the lady wondered what he would want with a ruined piece of cloth. Some days later he brought it back to her. Starting with the ink blot as a center, Ruskin worked out a beautiful pattern and design. The handkerchief was now more beautiful than ever. That is what God does with our blunders. Knowing this, we are happy to have a God like that. In his mercy God takes the unfortunate things that befall us and make us better persons out of them. Years ago ...

1142. The Inner Galaxy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... , reserved elevator crowd began cooing and smiling and kitchee- kitchee cooing as if on cue. And all that from only one floor to another! Is it any wonder actors hate to act with babies? They upstage even a Robert Redford or a Demi Moore. God has designed human beings to procreate by the act and ecstasy of love -- an appropriate way for beginning that miraculous, new inner galaxy of an embryo and human being. For the body itself is an inner galaxy -- the womb and the fetus growing within it -- a galaxy of ...

1143. Giving Everything: The Widow's Might

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the verses which immediately follow the story: Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus walks out of the Temple, condemning it to destruction, because he has seen with his own eyes the final straw: the devouring of a widow by the very Temple designed to care for her. In allowing the widow to give everything away without any thought to care, the leaders of the Temple beg for their own destruction. For these reasons this is a very poor text to use for a stewardship message. This is really ...

1144. What a Star Can't Tell You

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... , or swat a golf ball, and end up speaking a prayer of adoration. God has given us a beautiful world. There is no desert so desolate that you do not see God’s fingerprints from creating it. Beyond the world, there are solar systems of intricate design and stars still uncharted. The immense size of creation can invoke awe, and turn us toward the intelligent Creator who made it. That is what prompts the familiar story of the Wise Men. The magi search for Jesus because they have seen a sign in the world ...

1145. Your Sins Are Remembered No More! You Are Free!

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... claim that too much stress on God forgetting our sin may send a message that we can go out and sin, since it will be forgiven anyway. The sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther had a great response. He wrote: For our sins are not forgiven with the design that we should continue to commit sin, but that we should cease from it. Otherwise it would more justly be called, not forgiveness of sin, but permission to sin.3 Jeremiah’s reflections on the Law that God has written in our hearts serve to underline ...

1146. Make Up Your Mind!

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... , much like the dogs in the street. Instead of being a beacon of hope, light, and leadership to the world, America will drift off as Rome, Greece, and old Israel did before us. British school children a generation or so ago were taught a phrase designed to heighten their national pride. That phrase was, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” Watching the lowering of the flag over Hong Kong a couple of years ago, a friend of mine, who grew up in Britain remembered East African Church and business ...

1147. Bad News from a Good Man!

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... It belongs to God. It was not the land that was important to Naboth but the principle of inheritance behind it. What principles guide your life? What is more important to you than money or possessions? As Christians we have a book of principles that was designed for our benefit. What place do those principles play in how you do business and live life? Let us learn anew to appreciate those old standards that have stood the test of time and come to us in the Bible. Will you notice what happens with unresolved ...

1148. Days of Promise

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... lived through the difficult time of the Restoration. The people managed to survive with the leadership of the Maccabees when the Hebrew faith was made illegal and the Temple was profaned. The Hebrew people have endured in spite of the many holocausts designed to destroy them. So also the Christian Church has survived periods of turmoil and persecution. The Christian community has also survived the threats to the faith from within that come from efforts to contort the message of grace by turning the gospel ...

1149. A Messenger of Promise

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... to make the confession for which John called. We cannot hope to celebrate the Birth of our Lord at Bethlehem with any kind of meaning unless we understand that at our birth we were destined to be the children of wrath and condemnation. The days of Advent are designed to be days of contemplation of why God was willing to take the drastic action of making his only Son incarnate in order to make the sacrifice on the cross for our sin. God decided to take on this move, because there was not one human being in ...

1150. Light for Beauty

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... as promised, but they did not seem to be as aglow as the prophet had hoped. We can understand that. There are times when no one would have the slightest clue that we enjoy the privilege of being the people nearest and dearest to God’s heart. Epiphany is designed to help us understand that God has rescued us from the guilt and shame of being nobodies who have deserved to be outcasts from God’s attention. Instead, our Lord Jesus Christ had to die and be risen from the dead for us so that God’s love ...

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