Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1151 to 1175 of 2332 results

1151. Light of the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

William G. Carter

... ’s never a doubt who Jesus is, because he tells us. Usually he does so with a statement that begins with the words, “I am.” Put him in a situation and he will clarify who he is and what he has come to do. You can put him in the desert surrounded by people who are chronically unsatisfied, and Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). You can put him in the midst of people who are confused, people who ...

1152. What a Star Can't Tell You

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... she was saying is that nature can reveal the presence of God. It is possible to take a walk on the beach, climb a mountain, 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 ...

1153. There Could Be, Couldn't There?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... for themselves. They just simply overlooked the ways God had led them through the wilderness, through those times of darkness and doubt and confusion and uncertainty, the ways God had pulled them out of the deep pits, the ways God had sustained them in the barren desert where nothing can live for long, the ways God had walked with them through the valley of the shadow of death. They probably just forgot, that’s all. Still, it’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Turning away from God when God had given them ...

1154. "...Yet"

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good” (4:22). Between the anger he hears from God and the waywardness he sees among the people, Jeremiah catches a glimpse of what is to come. It is a horrifying vision. In it, the fruitful land becomes a desert and the cities are laid to ruin (4:26). There is no one left, no thing left, even the birds flee (4:25). The mountains quake and the hills move to and fro (4:24). The heavens have no light (4:23). And, as for the earth, it is waste ...

1155. While He May Be Found

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... ecclesia. Come, all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Come, poor sinner, to the cross of Christ. Come to the grave of Christ. Come to the tomb of Christ. Come to Gethesemane and Golgotha. Come to the living waters. Come to the desert valleys. Come to the table of life. Come to the Lord of life and see what he will do with your life! But are we too busy to come? Too preoccupied with our lifestyles, responsibilities, and other concerns to come? But it is precisely we who need to come ...

1156. The Spirit Has Landed

Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... to be baptized since there was no sin in his life for which to repent. But he submits to John's Baptism of Repentance anyway. Why? To identify with our sins. He joined in the popular movement of his day. It was a grass roots movement started by a desert monk named John the Baptist. John was calling for the repentance of Israel. Jesus chooses to be baptized because he wants to participate with the people in their desires to be close to God. It’s a small thing Jesus does but what a big influence. It forever ...

1157. The Healing Power of the Cross

Luke 23:26-43, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23:44-49

Sermon

James W. Moore

... and grief at the Smith home. There was a knock at the front door. Joe’s parents went to answer it. A man was standing there with a note that read: “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I’m so sorry my son killed your son. I’m blind. My husband deserted me. And I’m trying to raise eight children alone. I didn’t have $8.00 for a yearbook. Please forgive.” (Signed) Tim’s mother.” Tim was arrested. When he went to court, his mother could not afford a lawyer to defend her child. And do you know what ...

1158. Christian Liberty

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... prayed and he wept. He told his disciples you are blessed when you weep. Jesus died hated. Caiaphas, the greatest religious authority in Israel called him a blasphemer. The crowds wanted a murderer freed before they would see Jesus pardoned. And his disciples deserted him. Looking at his disciples he said blessed are you when men hate you on account of me. The beatitudes are a wonderful description of what disciples are suppose to be like. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are you ...

1159. His Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Egypt in the breaking of bread. They would remember his broken body and shed blood. Later that evening in the Garden of Gethsemane he agonized in prayer at what lay ahead for him. 6. On Friday, the fifth day, following betrayal, arrest, imprisonment, desertion, false trials, denial, condemnation, beatings and sentencing, Jesus carried his own cross to “The Place of the Skull,” where he was crucified with two other prisoners. 7. On Saturday, Jesus lay dead in a tomb bought by a rich man named Joseph. 8 ...

1160. His Trial

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , she offers to put the town on its feet again, but then she stipulates her price. The life of the town’s leading citizen must be taken. It was he she contended who made her pregnant when she was a young girl and then mercilessly deserted her. The town fathers are of course shocked by her criminally insane demand. Murder a man, they said. Do you think that we are all barbarians? Gradually, however, their thinking begins to change. One after another the various segments of the community--law, school, the ...

1161. Liberty And Civility

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... played out than on the streets of Baghdad and the mountains of Afghanistan. The people of these two countries are being handed a wonderful gift: A chance at democratic sovereignty. You and I will never know whether the blood and treasure we have spilled in that eastern desert will have been worth it. For, I maintain that it will take 100 years to really see the fruits of this effort. I pray that the calmer heads will prevail in the end and democracy wins. If it does then we have witnessed a world revolution ...

1162. Sight for Blind Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... but could never have known before. No wonder you could not sleep. As night fell, you stared out the window, looking up to the heavens and seeing those millions of twinkling stars you had heard about...that glorious moon shining down so brightly in the desert sky. You looked out across the city and saw the candle light flickering in hundreds of courtyards as darkness began to descend. Over and over, you looked at things that everyone else takes for granted...but to you, each view was special. As you scanned ...

1163. God's Not Done With Us Yet!

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... over mineral rights); in the process of the skirmish, Abe's nephew Lot was captured. Word came to Abram about the situation, he hastily put together a mini-army, dashed off to do battle, and quickly routed the enemy and rescued Lot and everyone else. Desert Storm #1, I guess. But God was not done with Abram yet. After things settle down again, our hero's heavy-duty faith begins to waver a bit, and he commences wondering about this great guarantee of beaucoodles of descendants considering the fact that, at ...

1164. Family Feud

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... flying his kite, King George, III, and the Declaration of Independence. They KNOW the story. But it is so much fun, they are content to have it told again and again. Now, the lights are dimmed and the curtain goes up. The scene is a desert pasture where several shepherds are lazily grazing their flocks. Center stage is a well where the sheep will quench their thirst. A large stone covers that well to prevent any one shepherd from taking more than his share of the precious water. Suddenly, from stage ...

1165. The Bush Is Still Burning

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... power that comes when the natural meets the SUPERnatural. The bush was probably an ordinary bramble bush, the most usual kind of vegetation in those parts. The fire would not have been that remarkable because spontaneous combustion is not unheard of in a dry, hot, desert country. But a fire that burns but does not consume? Hmm. Moses comes over to investigate. Suddenly, he hears his name: "Moses, Moses!" The voice is coming from the bush. Moses leans in, his head cocked to one side in wonder. "Here I am ...

1166. The Ten Commandments #5: Honoring Parents

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a commandment be necessary? To be blunt, in the ancient world, it was dangerous to grow old. In some of the cultures that surrounded the newly-freed nation of Israel, aged parents were sent off to die of starvation and exposure in the desert. They had, quite literally, outlived their usefulness, so Sayonara. In giving the commandment, God was insisting that the Israelites not pick up this horrible habit of their pagan neighbors. If, at their heart, these Ten Commandments are God's outline for establishing a ...

1167. The Ten Commandments #7: No Adultery

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... him to save herself from such terror, eventually marries a fine, loving man, makes a home with him, has children, is active in church and community, and they live happily ever after. Is she an adulterer? Or consider the strange innocence of a man who deserts his wife, disappears without a trace for years, is meanwhile divorced by his wife, finally comes back home to find her happily remarried, forces her to have sex with him, and then takes off again. The "no divorce ever" rule would mean that this is ...

1168. A Mother's Gift

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... molasses. The questions of children raced through her mind: "When will we get there?" "How much farther?" Now they had come to the crest of a ridge, and just below, the travelers saw their destination. Surrounded by hills except to the southwest, the high desert sun washed over the roofs of Shiloh. Here and there a few fig trees dotted the landscape. Pastures and watering ponds were scattered nearby. There, in the center of the town, were the courts of the Tabernacle, where the children of Israel had been ...

1169. Dealing with Depression

1 Kings 19:9-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... work out in the end." But the Lord does not say that. The Lord does not say anything. Just silence. You can picture the prophet looking around him after that emotional volcanic eruption...the scrub brush, the tree he was leaning against, the pale blue desert sky. "Is anybody there? Does anybody care?" Finally, Elijah took that time-honored way of temporary escape - he fell asleep. Why should Elijah be so terribly depressed? After all, as much as anyone alive he had seen the evidence of God's power. He had ...

1170. When God Is Gone

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , among whom that migrant farmworker would have felt very much at home. Then at the end, the bloody death - an execution quite unlike the quick, sterile lethal injections or gas chambers we know today, one that stretched on for hours in front of a jeering crowd. Deserted...by family, by friends...even "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." Ultimate abandonment. But wait. Those words were as well known in Jesus' day as "Mary had a little lamb" in ours - they ...

1171. The Shepherd Psalm

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... my companion. "I fear no evil; for you are with me." Once I remembered that, I was able to be confident in the face of adversity. Why? "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." The rod was a gnarled club the shepherd used as a weapon to defend against desert marauders, both animal and human. The staff was the crook that could be used to rescue one who had fallen from the path. Yes, it IS a comfort to know that your protector has the tools at his disposal to do the protecting. My shepherd has done such a ...

1172. Hungry People

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Jesus, our powers are not unlimited, as his were. "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." Fortunately for the Twelve, and for us, the story does not end with Jesus asking the seemingly impossible of the disciples, then wandering off into the desert leaving them stranded. "You give them something to eat," he said. And the disciples answered, "How? " We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.' Then Jesus said softly: Bring them here to me.' ...He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke ...

1173. Good News in the Ashes

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... this provided only 36 days of fasting (because Sundays were not supposed to be fast days). So, in the 7th century, four days were added before the first Sunday in Lent in order to establish 40 fasting days, in imitation of Christ's fast in the desert. The custom of using ashes today is from an old ceremony. Christians who had committed grave faults were obliged to do public penance. On Ash Wednesday the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days, and sprinkled ashes over ...

1174. The Handwriting on the Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... rampant with the oppression of those less fortunate. He foretold the coming of the forces of Babylon and recommended national surrender, and called Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's emperor and Judah's most despised foe, the "servant of the Lord." He even incited his compatriots to desert to the enemy. He was hated by his family and friends; he was forbidden to preach in the temple; he was arrested and placed in stocks; he was threatened with death; he was beaten and imprisoned; he was dropped down into a cistern ...

1175. Tough Love

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... picture of the love of God. Tough love...but love nonetheless. That love became evident in a special way some 600 years after Zephaniah's time. It came in the form of a little child, born in the most humble surroundings, raised in a carpenter's home in the little desert town of Nazareth, who taught of a coming kingdom where justice and righteousness would prevail, and who was crucified for his efforts. Jesus died that we might live. And that is the toughest love of all. Amen!

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