Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1151 to 1175 of 3099 results

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

And again another scripture says, "They shall look upon him whom they have pierced." - John 19:37 On the cross, our Lord must have looked at the faces of his executioners and experienced the sharp frustration which comes from being subject to principalities and powers beyond one’s capacity to shape or control. For a time, he must have felt like a helpless victim of cruel, cosmic circumstance. You and I, then, should not have too much trouble empathizing with the crucified Jesus. We, too, are beset by ...

1152. Job’s Joy

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... your thoughts." If Job, great and innocent sufferer from the Old Testament, could have had access to these words from Isaiah, perhaps his suffering would have been lessened. We all know a little about this man of misfortune, blameless before God, but nevertheless the subject of personal tragedy. We mistakenly feel he was filled with patience. We have a phrase, "The patience of Job," and by it we refer to the ability of this man to bear his suffering tolerantly, nobly, and without complaint. But it is all a ...

1153. Father Damien

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

Leprosy is no longer the scourge of humanity it once was. This is mainly a tribute to the drug penicillin, which has practically eliminated leprosy from this earth. Before that miracle, however, men and women stricken with the disease were subjected not only to the reality of great suffering, slowly leading to death, but also to the tragedy of exile from their communities and separation from those whom they loved. Lepers were the living dead. Ancient Egyptians called leprosy "death before death." In the ...

1154. General William Booth

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... believed, and sought to practice, the truth that people would best find God when they were loved by their fellow human beings. Salvationists were sharply tested in this requirement to love. In the early days of the movement the Army numbers were often subjected to intense physical and verbal abuse. Whether their bodies or their spirits were assaulted, General Booth taught his people to respond to every epithet and every blow with a smile and a simple "God bless you." Finally, William Booth’s ministry was ...

1155. Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... they experienced in seeking to end the hate-inspired strife in Northern Ireland. If Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams did create the peace movement for personal gain or glory, they paid a terrible price. We’ve already cited the treatment to which they were subjected for their prophetic roles. Only a sadist would have been willing to endure what they endured in the hope of personal achievement. James and John wanted to sit beside the Lord’s throne when he came into his kingdom, not realizing the price ...

1156. A Person Approved by Christ

John 1:43-51

Sermon

George Bass

... it appears according to what we know about it. This is the moral of the (child’s?) tale, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ When the emperor rode naked through the streets, only a child proclaimed him to be without clothes, while the rest of his subjects forced themselves to believe, because they had been told so, that he wore his finest clothing." In other words, the child cannot deceive (at an early age, at least); a child is truly without guile as was Bartholomew. In this respect, he was really a child ...

1157. Do I Dare Be Different?

Matthew 5:10; 10:1-42

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... down the street beneath one, people threw rocks and dirt at him. He was different. He did the world a lot of good by inventing the umbrella. Yet, when he did it, it was different and the world did not like the difference. People who are different are subject to suspicion and disliked by the world. By the world, I do not mean some autonomous body "out there." I mean us, our world. Our world likes patterns and labels. We like to put a mark on persons to classify, categorize and pigeon-hole them. We do this ...

1158. Pardon for Sin

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... hear repeatedly. Because we daily sin, we not only incur guilt, but actually earn condemnation and perdition on account of our transgressions. "The wages of sin is death." What we deserve is real and actual. The story is told of a certain tyrant who sent for one of his subjects and said, "What is your employment?" He said, "I am a blacksmith." "Go home and make a chain of such a length." He went home; it took him several months, and he was not paid for all the time that he was making it. When he brought it ...

1159. Overcoming Self

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... attaining the mind of Christ. And then we have the hope of victory. From then on, even though every day there is still that struggle with selfishness, we recognize what it is, we confess it, we ask for deliverance from it, and we seek to hold it under subjection. But until Christ literally occupies our souls and through his Spirit, empowers us to grow in sanctification, I don’t think we even really see our pride. We see it in others! And there’s not one of us who likes to hear people brag or boast about ...

1160. The Strength of Poverty

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... be plain from the beginning that when we speak of the strength of poverty we are not speaking of a poverty imposed by external circumstances, a poverty that robs people of their place in life because of societal injustices or personal misfortune. When people are subjected to poverty by another, they have been used by their fellow-man, and God says through Mary, when she is carrying the Messiah, that these things, too, must be answered for before God if we do not put our hand to correcting such injustices ...

1161. Discerning the Way of God

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... the consequence of this sin that has so beset and befuddled us, and the grace of God that would so lovingly give us reprieve from our fate under sin. In the cross God has dealt with sin and death and opens for us a new possibility. Life is no longer subject to sin even though sin nags mercilessly at our heels right to our dying moment. To hold firmly to the Lord of Life who gave himself into death, however, is to have Life as a viable alternative. That is what we mean by the word "faith," to take seriously ...

1162. CHEEK-TURNING POWER

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... are more sophisticated but no less harmful as we unleash a lethal tongue, or verbally stab people behind their backs. God reminds us in the epistle that love is not resentful. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us some pretty tough advice while he was alive. On the subject we are considering, he says, "But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Jesus states that the mere fact that we have been wronged does not give us the license to do wrong. Followers of Jesus are not to retaliate ...

1163. IN DOUBT? FAITH IT!

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... from one location to another. In fact, he says, "Nothing would be impossible for us." As Jesus talks to us about a mountain-moving faith, some of us possess a mountain of doubt. It has been my experience that those who doubt more than they believe try to subject God to the limits of their own reason. They want God on their terms, according to their own rationale. They seem to say that if they were God, things would have been done differently. And right here, I believe, is the crux of the problem. They see ...

1164. LOVING UNCONDITIONALLY

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... and celebrate that Jesus was different. He was a sinless man among sinful men. While men hold on so tightly to life, he was willing to give his up. The customary behavior of crucified men was not to pray for the forgiveness of those who subjected them to crucifixion. Coming back to life again after being in the tomb for three days was definitely not the natural order of things. An infinite God becoming a finite man, this is perhaps the most unusual, if not unnatural, happening of all. The Bible tells ...

1165. HOW TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... decision? We considered the variety of alternatives; often we discussed the decision with our family and friends. Sometimes we prayed over it and sought God’s direction. "What would God want me to do?" we asked ourselves. Unfortunately, there is much confusion about the subject of the will of God. The words, "It is the will of God," are used too freely. A catastrophe happens and people say glibly, "It’s his will." We sometimes do inappropriate things and pass them off by saying God willed that we did ...

1166. DEFUSE YOUR FUSE

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Not all murderers are behind bars. Even churches are full of them. We all know that those who kill bodies are subject to punishment by law. Jesus tells us that it is just as much an act of murder to lash out at someone with our tongue as with our hands. A tongue can destroy lives and reputations as effectively as a tornado can wreck a town. While destruction is accomplished in ...

1167. HAVING A REALLY GOOD FIGHT

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... feelings rather than destructive fighting. Although space doesn’t permit us to consider all the suggestions for what I call "good fighting," let me mention just a few. Discover what you are really fighting about. What’s really underneath it all, then stick to the subject, don’t bring up past history. No name calling. Remember you are fighting with the one you love - hurt her and you are hurting yourself and your marriage. Back to the Mills Brothers ... if we are able to hurt the one we love more than ...

1168. The Only Fact That Really Matters

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... of conversation, the President suddenly looked Graham squarely in the eye, and said, "Billy, I want you to tell me why you believe in heaven, and why you believe in the afterlife." Dr. Graham declares President Eisenhower talked with him many times on the subject after that, including his last conversation with him in Walter Reed Hospital shortly before his death. "It was quite evident that he not only believed in an afterlife," said Dr. Graham in the course of a radio interview, "but he was looking forward ...

1169. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EPIPHANY

Drama

Tom Eberle

... of Epiphany can be made richer by the understanding contributed by the Eastern Church. Epiphany is the celebration of the God who has come to us. To use a detail from the Magi story, it attacks the notion that truth is a matter of subjective star-gazing. Truth is not something we stumble across, but something which searches out and discovers us. Epiphany is the celebration of the reaching out of God which challenges the Socratic assumption that truth lies within reach of our own enlightment. In a playful ...

1170. A SUNDAY OF THE PASSION [PALM SUNDAY] SERMON-DRAMA

Drama

Tom Eberle

... a manner that his followers not be excited and provoked into a futile fight with the police. Commentator: Our time is up. We thank Judas Iscariot for being our special guest this week on Meet The Press. We like to devote one program a year to the subject of religion for the sake of our viewers who have an interest in that area. Next week we will have as our guest the Roman Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. From the stature this man possesses on the national and international scene, you can be certain we ...

1171. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR PENTECOST

Drama

Tom Eberle

... upset? What’s so bad being stuck in the middle of the air when you really aren’t going anywhere in the first place. Voice 4: It’s bad enough being here. But now I have to listen to one of you turn philosopher. Voice 3: Not to change the subject, but I miss the stewardesses. Voice 4: Well, I miss the ground. Voice 2: Hey! We keep forgetting about that voice. H.S.: I’m still here. Voice 3: Tell me, what do you do for a living? H.S.: I am living. Voice 3: You am what? H.S ...

1172. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR ALL SAINTS’

Drama

Tom Eberle

... American Country of Honduras. He is a member of the Order of St. Francis we have just encountered. Box: [man approaches the box] I’m glad you’re here because I want to ask you about the price of bananas. Minister: I believe that is getting away from our subject. Cypher: No. That is quite all right. What about it? Box: They’re 29 cents a pound now. A few years ago they were only 10 cents. Cypher: If you think that is bad, what about the fruit grown right here in the United States? How many varieties of ...

1173. Holy Handicap?

2 Cor 12:9

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... that there is a staggering number of people in our land who are handicapped and who have not always been treated as justly as they deserve to be. Their voices are just beginning to be heard and the titles of three books on the subject, all published within the last five years, suggest that there is rumbling afoot in the community of the disabled that is not going to be prematurely or forcefully quieted. The three titles are these: The Hidden Minority, The Quiet Revolution, and The Unexpected Minority ...

1174. Must We Have All the Answers?

Gn 2:9 · Deut 30:19-20 · Job 52:5

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... of age I may have to wear bifocals. Technological improvements have made sight available to many of us who otherwise would have but little, but those improvements do not change the fact that our eyes, as well as every other organ in the body, are subject to the process of decline. Not only, though, are we incapable of omniscience. Ironically, we often do not use what we already know. Frequently we know the answer but resist following its dictates. An individual, for example, wakes up in the night with a ...

1175. Are You Under Arrest?

Heb 5:11-13; 10:39

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... window of Nicodemus’s religious attic and allow the fresh air to blow through and remove the cobwebs! Parenthetically I would add that many no doubt well-meaning Christian men and women have taken these very words - "You must be born again" - and subjected them to the same religious sterility that was bringing Nicodemus to Jesus in the first place! In effect, Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, "Look, Nicodemus, you have unwittingly placed yourself in a religious prison and thrown away the key. Let me return ...

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