Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4957 results

1201. A Glory Revealed as Eternal Life

John 5:16-30

Sermon

... us in its cold grip demonstrates God’s wrath and judgment over human sin. Paul writes in Romans 1 that although we perceive that there is a God, we do not honor him or give him thanks; but, becoming empty in our thinking and darkened in our minds, we claim to be wise but in reality are fools. Therefore "God gave us up" to the consequences of our rebellion. We are "free" from God, to be sure. But freedom from God only results in slavery to the tyranny of Death and all his works: not only natural or violent ...

1202. "Good Friday People In An Easter World"

Mark 15:37-47, Mark 16:1-6

Sermon

... afraid to follow your Son from cross to grave. For the centurion who crucified him, yet believed; for Joseph of Arimathea, who condemned him, yet claimed his body for burial; for the women who stood by his cross when all the men had fled. Forgive us, when we need the ... ? Yet he did! And finally, another faithful person came to the cross that day. He came when Jesus was dead. He came to claim Jesus’ body for burial in his own tomb. His name was Joseph of Arimathea, and he is honored in our memories for his ...

1203. Acceptance: The Keynote

Ruth 2:1-23

Sermon

... from Ruth. Let Others Decide Your Merits Naomi’s daughter-in-law was under scrutiny. What would be said about her work? Was she doing a good job? To be accepted means others have decided in your favor. How glorious it is to lay one’s claims before Christians learning others labels and be greeted, "We accept you in the name of Jesus the Christ!" Tale of Two Cities: A Study of U.S. ARC Covenants tells us of three areas where Roman Catholic and Episcopal congregations lived together in covenants. Despite ...

1204. Faith, Love, and Fakers at Ephesus

Acts 18:18-28

Sermon Aid

CSS

... like a forerunner of the worst relic-worship of the Middle Ages. Maybe Luke tells us about this simply to lead into the delightful incident of the downfall of the Seven Sons of Sceva. This septet was among the itinerant Jewish exorcists who claimed to possess magical healing powers. Such groups traveled around like the snake-oil salesmen of the American frontier, promising a cure-all and then hastily leaving town after bilking the gullible people. As opportunists and fakirs, the Seven Sons of a Jewish rabbi ...

1205. Rome at Last

Acts 28:11-16

Sermon Aid

CSS

... truth of the matter is that this story could never have a logical, clear and totally satisfying ending. It is the account of "some acts" of "some apostles." It gives us a newsman’s picture of various events in the early years of the Christian church, but makes no claim to be an encyclopedic and all-inclusive record. There were other acts by other apostles and there still are. It is believed that Luke lived on for many years and that the date of the writing of this book was about A.D. 75, after the fall of ...

1206. The Wolf and The Lamb Inside Us (Sermon Series 1)

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... across the country. It is the opposite of the gaudy and tacky style that is popular in many places. The single candle in the window is beautiful in its simplicity. It declares that in this home and in these hearts, Jesus Christ comes first. Anytime a person claims Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, he or she resembles that single candle, a sentinel for the Kingdom of God, a clear sign to the world that one day Jesus will return in glory. Then the wolf and the lamb will lie down together. “Every knee shall ...

1207. It Isn’t Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

... on their luck can have another chance at least to rise up to the level of the others in the same community. In the midst of everything, we all know without doubt that there is one great leveler who treats all sorts of people equally: Death claims everyone, although some seem to get more time before surrendering to him. It isn’t accidental that one entire branch of our nation’s federal government is devoted to justice. Few of us would argue about the wisdom of spending large sums for police protection, a ...

1208. God Can’t Keep a Good Secret!

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... and TV carried warnings about canned Alaskan salmon. If we had a 7 and ¾ ounce can of salmon, no matter what brand, we were to throw it away! If it had certain letters on the back, we could return it to the store and claim a refund, but the warning claimed that those little, harmless-looking cans of salmon might contain a deadly poison called botulism. You can’t smell or taste the botulism poison, but if you eat the salmon, you will probably suffer from paralysis and likely die. It seems the poison ...

1209. "Sneak Up On ‘Em!"

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... make definite decisions for Christ. If Martin Luther had said at the Diet of Worms, "I am inclined to think ..." he never would have launched a Reformation. It was his positive, "Here I stand, I can do no other!" that gave him his power. It is a stupendous claim that Christians make: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." It would be a lot easier to suggest that Christ is only one way among many to God, that he offers truth ...

1210. Power to the Faint

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... haunt us? What can we do about it? Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) As we come to him in penitence and faith, we can claim his forgiveness, his mercy which is new every morning and fresh every day. We can look to the cross and claim the free grace and pardon of God. We can know that all our sins were washed away, that they have been made white as snow, that they have been blotted out. He has buried our sins in the ocean of ...

1211. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... God is not finished creating his universe or his people. Contrary to popular opinion, God has not finished his creation, for scientists claim that our universe is expanding at the rate of twenty-six million miles per hour. Likewise, the creation of an individual is ... a product and child of God. Here is the real source of a person’s dignity and true worth. It is not in the value we claim for ourselves but in the nature of our being God’s product. It goes back to the nature of the Father God. He is good. He ...

1212. Stuffed Bodies and Skinny Souls!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... too many, the church is not the place where people are going to be spiritually fed. Longing for guidance for their lives, thirty-two million Americans have turned to astrology. In 2,000 daily newspapers, people find horoscopes. By consulting dead stars, astrologers falsely claim they can predict and determine the day-by-day direction of a life according to one’s birth. Longing to get out of this mundane world for a lift, people are turning to drugs and alcohol. It is reported that forty million Americans ...

1213. Christian The King

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... they feel smart, better, and great. One explained, "You’re king for a moment or even two. And you can be that again and again." Another user says, "Cocaine is ego food. It feeds the ego like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life." A third drug addict claims, "I wanted to feel like a kingpin, the life of the party. You get to feeling you are bulletproof." Still another drug user reports, "The cocaine high is the way you would feel if you did something with your life. You think, for the first time in a long ...

1214. Stephen’s Stones

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... he certainly didn’t see Saul becoming Paul. He didn’t see how God would use this death for all time to show that he lets wicked things happen to his own, but uses those very evil deeds in his own way. Stephen could hardly see the millions who today claim the name of Christ, for he was one of a very few. He had no strength in numbers. He was not even one of the disciples. No organ music carried him into the arena victorious. Just squeals and shouts, and angry men, and flying rocks, and broken flesh, and ...

1215. The Role of an Angel

John 20:10-18

Sermon

George Bass

... sorry she was dead and in such a place as this." Mary Magdalene had no fear of seeing anything like that in the tomb that had claimed Jesus. Why didn’t she look into that open grave when she had the chance? All we know is that she quickly turned and ran to ... -law, who had died in Spartansburg General Hospital under an assumed name; the relatives who had no knowledge of the death did not claim the body, so it was placed in a corner: "It was out of the way," said the mortician, "and nobody was stumbling over ...

1216. Salvation Through His Suffering

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... realm? It all stands or falls on how we answer, as to whether his suffering and death had this victorious climax. If he didn’t, he was the greatest imposter who ever lived. If he claimed to be God but couldn’t conquer death, then it is all a heartless hoax. And all the mountain of evidence doesn’t add a thing to his claims - but only to the enormity of the deception! What good would there be in a God who promised life but couldn’t keep his word? In a cross that could forgive but could not save ...

1217. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... . Do you remember "Bat Man"? Now that’s the way to fight evil - or so millions of people think. David Chaney wrote a piece on this in Together Magazine. In Gotham, evil was evil and visible and had a label on it. The "joker," the "Riddler," the "Penguin" all claimed to be evil. The target was clear; you knew whom you had to fight. The Bat Man and Robin came sailing over the buildings of Gotham and took care of the situation. And that was that! Why hasn’t God thought of that? God moves so slowly. He even ...

1218. Discerning the Way of God

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Hubert Beck

How do we know what God wants us to do? It must be assumed that anybody claiming in any way to be godly must ask oneself that question regularly. One need not be ... itself. Now that seems to solve the problem, does it not? How can we say it complicates the problem? A key word for what happens when God’s forgiveness looses us from the claims of sin is "freedom." On the one hand God releases us from the ultimate demands of sin, but on the other hand he releases us for service to him and the glorification of ...

1219. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... . She had often sat at his feet and listened attentively to his teachings. Martha had frequently spent hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove to prepare appetizing meals for his visits. She was always willing to serve. The two sisters, however, make no claim on Jesus. They do not say, "We have been worthy students and servants as well as close friends of yours; therefore, grant this favor for us." They did not use their friendship as a fulcrum on which to lay a lever of stress that would successfully ...

1220. The Only Fact That Really Matters

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... , even as did Job, "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (Job 20:25). We must confess in joy and awe, even as did Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). When Horace Bushnell, the great Christian pastor-theologian, was a student at Yale, he claimed to be an agnostic, even as do many youngsters today. Someone started a revival on the campus, and after a while, Bushnell concluded that he was the one person who was preventing a great spiritual awakening among the students. One day, alone in his room, he began ...

1221. THE WITCH OF ENDOR

Drama

Marcia Miller

... illegal, for one thing. SAUL: But I’m the King. I’m the one who decides what is illegal and what is legal. LUCAS: Come, Leumas, you claimed to know the way. Let’s get on with it. LEUMAS: I know the way to the hut of the witch. But I didn’t promise ... it’s all right? LUCAS: He isn’t making it legal for everyone. But if she is truly a medium of high reputation, as you claim, she’ll accommodate us. SAUL: Let’s get on. [They begin to exit.] LEUMAS: There is no need for mediums, for I am the Lord ...

1222. What Do You Think You’re Worth?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... . On the other hand, this view of being nothing before God leads to a good thing - the highest and most difficult virtue; humility. The Christian has no reason to be proud, for he is nothing and he has nothing that God has not given him. He has no right to claim anything. He has no right to expect God to answer his prayers and do his bidding. I have no right to expect anything good from God as though I deserved it. I have no right ever to get angry with God or complain about bad luck. As I appear before ...

1223. On Leaving Your Signature

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... . He has left his mark. One loving heart sets another aflame. In the book of Revelation, we read this intriguing line: "... his name shall be on their foreheads." That has always fascinated me. The symbolism means that a man who has been claimed by God and who responds to that claim is a marked man "... his name shall be on their foreheads." By our response, we become the living documents of the One who, at the beginning, made us for his own. The difference, as we have already said, between paper and people ...

1224. A Higher Form of Love: The Good Neighbor

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... called the "prophets of love." We know that two of these prophets were named Hosea and Jeremiah. Hosea was particularly adept at preaching a God of love who continually loved Israel even after she had prostituted herself before other gods. No, friends, we cannot claim that Jesus is unique because he preached love. Yet Jesus of Nazareth will always hold center stage when we speak of the concepts of human and divine love. Why? Jesus came to earth and clarified the true nature of love. He articulated a higher ...

1225. Learning to Be Graceful

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... kind of man Paul was. His statement, "I am all things to all people for the sake of Christ," is not to be construed to mean he was wishy-washy or a fence-sitter. Paul was a very graceful person. He never stuck to the "simple gospel," claiming that only he knew Christ, but went out seeking the presence of God in many cultures. There is much childish behavior among Christian adults. Sometimes in our insistence that only we are right and that the church must do exactly what we want, we lose consciousness of ...

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