Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1201 to 1225 of 1249 results

Justice was born outside the home and a long way from it; and it has never been adopted there.

Walter Cronkite

1202. How Do We Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... That was the moment I got my life back . . .” Forgiveness of another is the best thing we can do for ourselves. The story doesn’t end there. Mrs. Washington went on to develop a strong and lasting relationship with Ron Flowers. In a sense, she adopted him as her son. “Ron got out of prison in 1998 and visited Mrs. Washington weekly. He sat with her in church on Sundays, and she played a crucial role in his successful transition back to society. Now happily married,” writes Byron Johnson, “Ron has ...

1203. OK Boomer

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... to keep busy just for the sake of keeping busy. I have seen churches like that. They have a terrific calendar of activities, but very few of those activities are meaningful in bringing persons closer to the kingdom of God. Jesus did not mean for us to adopt a motto of the French Foreign Legion, “When in doubt, gallop!” He simply meant for us to give witness to our inner experience of his presence in our lives through outward service. During the Revolutionary War a young man is reported to have come to ...

1204. Blessed Is the Preacher

Humor Illustration

E. Eugene Williams

The longest sermon on record was preached by Clinton Lacy of West Richland, Washington in February of 1955. It took 48 hours and 18 minutes to deliver it. Small wonder someone proposed the adoption of a new Beatitude: "Blessed is the preacher whose train of thought has a caboose."

1205. Caesar or God?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... off making God first in your life, it will never happen. When Johnny Jennings was eighteen years old, he visited a children’s home associated with his church. He tells how moved he was when three little boys at that home ran up to him and begged to be adopted. Johnny was too young to consider starting a family at that time. But he knew God was calling him to do something to help. So, at 18 years of age he began collecting money to give to that children’s home. Since he didn’t make much money, he ...

1206. An Encounter with Jesus

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... to request a meeting with Jesus. They had come to Jerusalem to worship the one true God. They were obvious converts to Judaism. They had traveled many miles for this wonderful opportunity to attend the Passover feast and be a part of this religion they had adopted. They were Gentiles, not of any Jewish descent. The day was Tuesday following what we call Palm Sunday. Being from out of town and pilgrims from a faraway land, they would have been there to see Jesus riding into town on the back of a donkey ...

1207. Be Healed

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... exactly was going on? There is no good evidence to suggest that the writer of Mark believed Jesus was divine. At the outset he calls Jesus ‘The Son of God,’ but he does not explain what he thinks this means, and may have thought Jesus was adopted by God for special service, as the kings of Israel seem to have believed they had been when they were enthroned. Mark may have believed that Jesus received divine power at his baptism, but even that is only speculation. When the voice from heaven announces he ...

1208. Happiness Full Stop

John 15:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... my reward. The eternal reward is in the hands of my Father in heaven.” Dona wasn’t trudging through her ministry while expecting a heavenly reward. She found joy in serving the needs of God’s people today. Another man interviewed in the book said, “God has adopted me into His family, and I have experienced new life. This is reward enough for me. If there is an eternal reward, then it is only pan dulce de vida, the sweet bread of life.” Giving and receiving the love of God creates happiness now in ...

1209. The Mighty Mustard Seed

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... up any new hobbies when you retired from your job? Most people I know say they are busier in retirement than they were in their working years, so taking up a new hobby may be difficult. So, let me ask our non-retirees, what hobby do you hope to adopt in your retirement years? I ask this because I was inspired by reading about a retired Canadian man named Young S. New. New picked up an interesting new hobby when he retired. His new hobby was picking up spare change off the streets of his home city, Montreal ...

1210. Chosen and Appointed

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... their example of what the world can look like when people work together toward a common goal. “If you love the parent, you love the child,” John tells us in his letter. “As the father loved me, so I love you,” said Jesus. We are all adopted sons and daughters of God, said Paul. These are messages that assure us that being part of the family of God has nothing to do with genealogy, culture, type, or blood DNA, but everything to do with sisterhood, brotherhood, and the beauty of God’s creation. In ...

1211. The Good

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... -14] First, let's get out of the way any notion that this Pharisee and Publican story is an example of the virtue of humility. As Robert Capon says, it's not a parable about the virtue of humility but a story about religious futility. It is not exhortation to adopt a humble religious stance rather than a proud one; it is a warning to drop all religious stances. I want you to give this Pharisee here all the credit you can. I know the Pharisees get a bad press in the Gospels but forget any bad thing you may ...

1212. Why Did Jesus Come?

Luke 2:21-52

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... in our destiny. Christ’s sinless life would become our substitute for our guilty sinfulness. Christ’s death involves the removal of our personal guilt. Christ’s death would commute our sentences of spiritual death. Christ’s death would allow us to be adopted into the family of God. Christ’s death signals that once we have believed in Christ as our sacrifice for sin we can immediately experience new life in him. Christ’s death is an ongoing process as our relationship continues in him. Christ ...

1213. A Commitment to Hope

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... ways. The Good News is God has come to identify with us. Billy Strayhorn wrote about a girl by the name of Alice who lived in an orphanage. She was called to the office once again to be “interviewed” for a possible placement in a home seeking to adopt a child. Her hope wasn’t very high, because it happened all too often. She would hear voices on the other side of the door and they would use words like “slow” or “difficult” to describe her. Each time she would be asked in the office and there ...

1214. It's All About the Messiah

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... to find out the population of their Roman states and satellite lands. The Gospel writer, Luke begins the Christmas story with the quick mention of Caesar Augustus, who was the biological nephew of Julius Caesar and Augustus, who became Julius’ adoptive son. It was Augustus who led Rome’s transformation from a republic form of government to an empire that would last for 200 years. Augustus shrewdly combined military might, institutional building projects and lawmaking tenants to lay the foundation for ...

1215. One Life-Changing Word

Isaiah 9:2-7 · Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

King Duncan

... child to the couple. “Here, this baby is for you,” he said and then he left. It was an unspeakable gift. A young Native mother had given her own baby to fill the lives of the grieving couple. Native people in that part of the world call it custom adoption. (5) In the same way, one sacred night God walked down from His celestial throne into a dark and broken world with a baby in his hands. “Here, this baby is for you,” He said to all who would open their hearts to Him. Christmas. One magnificent word ...

1216. Deliverance through adversity

Sermon

Willie Soler

INTRODUCTION Throughout biblical history, both Old and New Testament times, adversity has been prevalent in many of the stories that we have come to recognize. Stories that depict the trials and tribulations that God’s chosen people, the Israelites, and the adopted Gentiles, have had to endure. However, since the beginning of time, God’s plan and purposes have always been to provide deliverance in some form or fashion. God’s unconditional love desires that we live free. Today, we can see adversity ...

1217. Passing on the Flame

Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . You see, we don't go to Church. We ARE the Church. Together we are called to safeguard the faith. Not by pointing out where others are being faithless, but by living the faith we proclaim, ourselves. We're called to live the covenant which we made, adopted and proclaimed at our baptism or confirmation. And like the baton in a relay race, like the Olympic Torch, we're called to pass it on. Our prayer for those joining the Church, for ourselves, and for Suzy who will be ordained Deacon Tuesday night, is the ...

1218. Hold the Candy

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Mary Austin

... a job, and gave you a place to live…I set about changing you, and you’re not that same person anymore.” I want to know, she said, if you’d like to stay here. “I’m in need of a son, and I want to know if I can adopt you.” He said yes and she did. The feeling of love is never going to be enough. It’s how we live. It’s true at home, and equally true in the church community. We flourish because of the gifts that grow from the work of love. Love is the ...

1219. Unspectacular Faithfulness

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Sermon

Will Willimon

... and a Jew, Esther is marginalized. Today's first lesson, from Chapter 7, introduces most of the key characters in the story of Esther. King Ahasuerus, who has brought Esther into his court, though he does not know she is a Jew; Esther, orphaned as a child, adopted by Mordecai, who tells her that she may be the only hope the Jews have for survival; and Haman, a lackey in the king's court who is plotting the extermination of the Jews. We are at Queen Esther's banquet. Even though the hated Haman is present ...

1220. Unspectacular Faithfulness

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Sermon

Will Willimon

1221. A Day of Passion, Praise and Prophesying

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... was reduced, and he couldn’t hire and train enough teachers to meet the needs of his community. When he told a local community leader about the problem, the man replied that he should encourage every new learner to teach someone else. They adopted the slogan “Each One Teach One,” and encouraged new learners to pass on their skills to others in their community. It didn’t take much encouragement because the new learners were so overjoyed and empowered by their newly acquired ability to read and ...

1222. I'm Going Fishing

John 21:1-19 · Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the family fortune, the need for us to feel valued too often devolves into an urge to “win” the upper hand of affection. We are by nature a competitive species. While we value fairness, everyone wants to feel they have been specially chosen. Whether an adopted child, a fiancé, a job candidate, or an award winner, being “chosen” comes with a feeling of value. One feels cherished, appreciated, lauded, seen. Who wouldn’t want that! So, it was a matter of pride for the Jewish people since the dawn of ...

1223. Have a Very Messy Christmas!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

... river to be baptized. We’ll save that debate for another day. Let’s just say Luke has made our familiar story a bit messier. Another tradition from the historians is that, because of their ages, John became an orphan. Some believe he was then adopted by a group known as the Essenes. The Essenes were a religious community that disagreed with the temple and spent their time writing and praying about the time when the real Messiah would arrive and the temple would be overthrown. Some believe that’s where ...

1224. Much Love. Hope Sent.

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... in life. At age 28, Gertrude Dyck moved to the United Arab Emirates to serve as a medical missionary at the first hospital in Abu Dhabi. Her flight to the UAE was only the second time she had ever flown. She quickly learned the language and adopted the customs of the local people. Her compassion earned her the nickname Doctura Latifa, or Doctor Mercy. (5) When Dyck started at the hospital as a nurse and midwife, infant mortality rates were at 50% and maternal mortality rates were 35%. Half of all newborns ...

1225. What We Learn from Love

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Love makes a plan. When you love someone, you build your plans around them. You become intentional about spending time with them, watching out for their interests, envisioning a future together. The Bible tells us that before the foundation of the world, God chose us for adoption as God’s children (Eph. 1: 3-6, 11), prepared a kingdom for us to inherit (Matt. 25: 34), planned for Jesus to offer his life as a sacrifice for us (1 Peter 1: 19-20), and promised us eternal life (Titus 1: 2). What an awesome ...

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