Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1151 to 1175 of 1249 results

1151. His Name Is John

Luke 1:57-66, 80

Sermon

King Duncan

... . But there are some couples who want desperately to have children. Often these are some of the best people in the world. They are able both financially and emotionally to be the very best of parents, but nature does not cooperate. Some will choose adoption. Others will choose to focus on each other and accept their childless state. A couple named Elizabeth and Zechariah fit in this latter category. They were an older couple and, like Abraham and Sarah, they had no children. Zechariah was a priest of the ...

1152. Am I Eating Manna or Bread from Heaven?

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

... the invitation given something like this: "All baptized Christians are welcome to receive communion at this table." Then a word or two of instructions are given before the service continues. On the surface this sounds very open and inclusive. I have, however, adopted a slightly different wording, but with a significantly different meaning. I say, "All are welcome to receive communion at this table." I came to this understanding and practice this way. Early on in the planting of this church I was still so ...

1153. You Are What You Eat

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

... the decades, they have remained unchanged. To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life. To encourage the daily living of the golden rule in all human relationships. To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards. To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship. To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic ...

1154. Filling the Emptiness Within

John 6:24-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... 15 million records worldwide by the time he was 21. Then, as easily as the money came, it went--much of it for cocaine. Gibb had sought treatment in 1985 and by all accounts had finally put drugs behind him when he returned from L.A. to Miami, the adopted home of his older BeeGee brothers, early in 1986. But, by that time, his fortune had gone, and he filed for bankruptcy. His debt totaled $1.5 million. And then, just five days after turning 30, Andy Gibb was dead. The official cause of his death was listed ...

1155. Could the Pharisees Have Been Irish?

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... David, under his wing. As they became closer and closer, Winneger’s heart went out to the boy. He offered David the opportunity to come back to New York City with him. David accepted and Winneger went through all the necessary paperwork and officially adopted David. Winneger was active in the New York Jewish community. An acquaintance of his, a curator of the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, saw the menorah. He told David it was a very valuable historic, European Menorah and should be shared with the entire ...

1156. What To Say When You Roll Out Of Bed

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

William G. Carter

... It is no wonder. The primary obligation for every good Jew has always been to love God with the heart, with the center of all passion and trust. That is the primary purpose of human life. When we were baptized in the name of the Jewish Jesus and adopted into the promises of Israel, we were given the same script to follow. These words name our primary allegiance and bind us to our greatest responsibility: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." II The law teaches us, "You shall love the Lord ...

1157. How Intelligent Is God’s Design?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... of public religious activism, Christmas is like a celebration from another world. It is difficult, after all, to see a case for intelligent design in Bethlehem. Who would believe that the wise and powerful God of intelligent design would adopt the vulnerability of a shivering infant as his incarnational calling card? ... Christmas is more mystery than design, more unintelligent than intelligent, more question than answer... And deep spiritual questions should be the foundation of faith in the public square ...

1158. Living Between the Times

John 17:20-26

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... to include how we are one nation that has been formed by people who came from many places, who are of many races, who speak many languages, who practice many religions. We are E PLURIBUS UNUM — Out of many, we are one. The 250th anniversary of adopting that motto is in the not-too-distant future. It seems a good time to assess, “How are we doing at being faithful to our national motto?” At the very least, I think we can agree that we have significant room for improvement. Some social commentators ...

1159. Only One Plan

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... any other plans?" And Jesus answered, "I haven't made any other plans. I'm counting on them." Twenty centuries later, He still has no other plan. He's counting on you and me. High on God's "To Do" list is the evangelization of the world. His early disciples adopted His priorities and devoted themselves to reaching the world. Christ counted on them, and they delivered. Have we done as well?

1160. A Loving Parent

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... tear from their eyes.” A woman named Rose saw her entire family, except for her two little daughters, slaughtered in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Now she is a widow among many widows with little money. But she refuses to be defeated. She has adopted two orphans and simply trusts God to provide for the food and school fees for her family of five. She translates Christian literature into the local language and organizes an annual conference for other widows. Rose weeps as she tells me her story. But for ...

1161. In Search of a New Life

Revelation 21:1-5a

Sermon

King Duncan

... to be liberated from our inferior dreams? “Behold, I make all things new.” Does anyone remember the ridiculous country TV show Hee Haw? One of the stars of that show was named Lulu Roman. Lulu Roman grew up in an orphanage. Her greatest dream was to be adopted and have a family who loved her. She remembers sitting in her closet in the orphanage and crying each time a car pulled away with another child. No one ever came for her. Lulu had a thyroid problem, and was a heavy child. Her weight made her a ...

1162. What Super Power Would You Choose?

Luke 10:1-11, 7-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... and happy life. And then one day they were watching a news show about orphans with HIV/AIDS in Romania. Susan put in for a six-month leave-of-absence from her practice. That January, she flew to Romania. Eventually the Belfiores adopted five children from that orphanage. So what happened to the Belfiore’s comfortable life? Bill Belfiore describes it this way: “The children are incredible, and our life right now is beyond anything we could have imagined. They bring aliveness into our lives and ...

1163. We Are Not Alone

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... two-year relationship had just ended, and friends and favorite teachers just walked away. There was nothing for me to do but leave school and move back to my parent’s house with nothing to show for the time I’d spent in school but a wonderful cat I’d adopted named Marlowe. One night, with everyone gone, I opened the door to let Marlowe in, but he just stood there. His mouth had a cut on it, so I figured he’d been in a fight. I took him up in my arms and called a veterinarian, who agreed to ...

1164. If Your Cry for Help Is Loud Enough...

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... story, isn’t it? That’s our story too. “I’m back. THANKS TO GOD.” God didn’t just save us so we could go back to our old lives. God didn’t just save us for our own comfort and satisfaction. God saved us so that we would be adopted into the family of God and made citizens of the kingdom of God. And God saved us so that we could pass on that blessing of hope and joy and love and new life in Jesus to everyone we meet. Rise and go, your faith has saved you. Rise and ...

1165. Surprised by Joy

Luke 2:8-14

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... to see how all of that righteous indignation, that anger, bitterness, and resentment jibes with the hope, peace, joy, and love that are represented in the candles of the advent wreath. It’s hard to reconcile that sense of victimization that we insist on adopting when someone wishes us a happy holiday with the “good news of great joy” that was announced to the shepherds on that first Christmas Eve. Look at the scripture passages that are attached to this season. There’s no escaping it: It’s about ...

1166. Freeing Those in Bondage

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

George Reed

... sabbath. It is a window into the mindset of Jesus about ministry. The first thing we notice in this story is that Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the sabbath. This sounds like such a traditional means of worship and teaching to us. Many Christians have adopted the term sabbath for Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and talking about Jesus being in worship on the sabbath makes us feel more connected to him and better about what we do on Sunday mornings. It seems like a really big affirmation that it is okay for ...

1167. The Smell Test

Illustration

H. A. Ironside, Litt. D

... odor!” So the herders skinned the lamb that had died and very carefully drew the fleece over the living lamb. This left the hind-leg coverings dragging loose. Thus covered, the lamb was brought again to the ewe. She smelled it once more and this time seemed thoroughly satisfied and adopted it as her own.

1168. The Gospel in Miniature

John 3:16

Sermon

King Duncan

... way about you. But God didn’t wait for us to love Him. God knew we would break His heart. God loved us knowing full well that we would never be able to return His love. His love was truly unconditional. A very compassionate woman named Rene Denfield adopted a little girl from the foster care system in her city. Three years later, a caseworker called and said she had another child Rene might be interested in. He was just a toddler, but he’d already suffered a great deal in his short life. The little boy ...

1169. You Are My Beloved

Mark 1:10-11

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... to believe it if you have had a lifetime of negativity and have been plagued with self-doubt and low self-esteem. But just think of where who you are starts. It starts in your baptism. William Willimon says, "In Baptism we are initiated, crowned, chosen, embraced, washed, adopted, gifted, reborn, killed, and thereby redeemed. We are identified as one of God's own, then assigned our place and our job within the kingdom of God. The way for a Christian to find out who he or she is, is not to jump on the rear ...

1170. Re-Gifted but not Returned

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... of that acceptance when you were old enough to learn it. If you were baptized as an adult you spoke for yourself and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life. At that point, you officially became a Christian. That is, you were adopted into this huge family called the Christian faith. Later, at confirmation, you decide which branch of the Christian faith you are going to live with — the Methodist branch, or the Lutheran branch, or the Presbyterian branch, or whatever. Baptism is a symbol, a celebration ...

1171. Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... in the grand scheme of things and they are the ones who are the oppressed minority. They have renounced the arrogant violence of their oppressors and, because of that, they are, at best, neglected, and, at worst, abused. This beatitude is not so much about adopting an attitude of meekness as it is about accepting the fact that we are not in control of all that happens around us. Like the “poor in spirit,” the meek are those who rely upon God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ...

1172. The Cure

Luke 4:31-37, Luke 4:38-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... gods and goddesses to help the physician uphold ethical standards in practicing medicine. Its accompanying symbol, the pole with winding snake wrapped around it, was also a Greek pagan symbol. As with many borrowed customs, however, physicians adapted as they adopted the oath as an initiation for all doctors. We know “The Hippocratic Oath” today as an oath of ethics for medical practice. The symbol’s biblical equivalent harkens back to Moses, who, upon God’s command, made a brass serpent swirled ...

1173. The Healer

Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ” of Paul, who underwent many medicine issues, due to his intense persecution.^ But throughout this time period, medicine was not seen as science, but as an art. And for the Jewish people, the ultimate healer was God. Many of the Jews adopted Greek medicine, but The Essenes were seen in Jesus’ time as the ultimate “Therapeutists.” They were celebrated for their treatment of diseases and their centers for healing and hospice. They, as well as Jesus, believed that a Jewish physician was spiritually ...

1174. Unreasonable Mercy

2 Kings 5:1-27, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... We don’t know if she was stolen from her family, or if out of mercy, Naaman took her to live with them, when her family was killed. But in whatever case, the girl responds not with bitterness or mourning or hatred, but shows love for her “adopted” family. And advocates on his behalf. God too responds in kind to us, even after Jesus’ death at the hands of his peers. Still, the Holy Spirit continues to advocate on our behalf, so that we, unworthy and undeserving as we are, become recipients of God’s ...

1175. One Stone Faith

1 Sam. Chapters 16-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , God acts within, and God’s power is unleashed. The power of scripture then is in the incarnation, and in its ability to bring readers/speakers into relationship with God through them as “living stones” of God. As Paul put it, we become then “adopted sons and daughters” of the Father. The stone as metaphor also has a pilgrimage note to it. When rocks are found in water –particularly flowing water, they are smooth and rounded. Over a long period of time of immersion, they are changed in form ...

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