Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4972 results

1201. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... six hours in the cold rain waiting to come in and worship the Jesus "who for their sakes became poor so that by his poverty they might become rich." The statement, "Blessed are you poor," is not some religious goal to be achieved; it is a fact. Where does that leave us, we who are not poor? How do we share the blessing of poverty? Obviously we will not choose, most of us, to abandon what we have and take on the mantle of poverty. But there are things we can do. First: We can celebrate with the poor the ...

1202. How to Affair-Proof Your Marriage!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... This is the adventurism, the flirtation, the infatuation of an illicit romance. The deceptive sweetness of forbidden fruit. Like a moth drawn to a flame, we fly closer. "I'll just carry her bags up to her hotel room. That's all." "I'll just stay ten minutes and leave. I can handle it." We now begin to live in a fantasy world. We wonder how it would be. We undress them in our minds. Our thoughts are ripe with the pleasures of them. Romans 13:14 warns, "Make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires ...

1203. How To Treat Your Enemies

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... to remind David of. And this is what God would remind us of today. In Deuteronomy 32:35 God warns, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay." Leave It To God! So, what does David do? He's been slighted. His temper has flared. He's mustered the troops and gone out to ... noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God ... No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so ...

1204. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... week and doesn't miss a Promise Keepers' rally. He's probably got a cute perky wife, two children, and a nice house in the suburbs. But all is not right. Something still bothers him. He knows deep down that these "gods" are leaving him empty. His monetary success still leaves him wanting. His anxiety and doubt are betrayed in the question he asks Jesus: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" At first, he seems to be doing all the right things. He recognizes that his life is still empty ...

1205. Baptism And Self-Esteem

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... just forget the whole thing. We all know that The Man isn't really going to let this council do anything." The other prisoners nod in agreement. It seems as though a weight has been lifted from them. Just as they begin to rise from their chairs to leave, Brubaker steps out of his office. "Where are you guys going? Is the meeting over? What have you decided to do?" Again the prisoners look surprised and befuddled. They can't believe it. This guy is for real. The council is no joke. It really is going to be ...

1206. Miracle Five: Healing A Withered Hand

Mark 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... do we please? The question really is, "What good do we do on the Lord's day?" To keep the Sabbath holy is to let it produce acts of love on our part. It calls for a positive, not a negative, discipleship. People can attend church and, like the Pharisees, leave the worship of God without having love in their hearts. Hearing of God's love for us, as revealed in Jesus Christ, is to arouse love for all God's people in our own hearts. The Sabbath Was Made For Humankind This is not a license to do absolutely ...

1207. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Christians

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

William L. Self

... in Sunday Bible study and prayer, but the modern mind rebels. We want a surface cleansing; we don't want to change our souls. In the words of Thoreau, "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root."2 We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior and get to work on the roots, the understandings from which our attitudes and behaviors flow.3 We too must wash in the old river Jordan. We affirm that washing ...

1208. Failure Is Not Final

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

William L. Self

... his home and hearth for a life of infidelity. She pursues other lovers but soon presents a picture of frustration and despair as she is disposed of by her uncommitted lovers. However, though she chose to leave Hosea's home, he never let her out of his heart. He yearned for her and passionately sought to find her and return her to the family with tender, loving kindness and affection. This story of the tenderness and devotion of Hosea searching and finding Gomer is used by God ...

1209. To Be Continued

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... , unless Jesus left the Holy Spirit couldn't come: "When the Holy Spirit comes on you...." (v. 8). And second, unless Jesus left he couldn't come back someday in the future: I "will come back!" (v. 11). Not going, but coming! God had a higher purpose for leaving and he had to take something away to give something greater! Is that not just like God? The physical Jesus could only be in one place at a time. His Spirit whom he sent can be everywhere at once. Through the ages. Across time zones. In every church ...

1210. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... ? · Not only vines but also other fruit trees need to be pruned. The secret of pruning is to cut back excess growth so that the sap can give life to new growth where fruit develops. The pruning should also let in as much sunlight as possible so that the leaves can store the energy of the sun. The pruning needs to allow space for the fruit to mature. If you want large fruit such as peaches, pears or apples, you should also thin out the fruit so that more of the nourishment goes into those that are left. "

1211. Seeds And The Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... does it come? A. Watching for Growth. After proclaiming the Gospel the need is to wait for signs of response. B. Timing of the Invitation. Persons who are ready to respond need to be invited but not unduly pressured to come into fellowship of the church. C. Leaving the Final Harvest to God. Judgment about who is ultimately saved is God's prerogative, not ours. 3. The End is in the Beginning. (vv. 31-32) A. The Beginning Point May be Small. The spoken word may seem insignificant but can be powerful. B. The ...

1212. Buying Swamp Land For God

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... in the most dramatic manner. I'm sure there were some who thought these people were crazy for doing these things. They would have asked questions like these: "Why does Abraham want to leave town and go to some unknown place?" "Why would Moses put his liberty and life in jeopardy by going back to Egypt?" "Why would James and John leave their father in the boat and follow this stranger?" When you do crazy things, you can expect people to wonder about your sanity, or at the very least, your sense of direction ...

1213. Remembering Who We Are

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... in our lives. It reminds us that we are called to be people who live by faith, not by the assurance of a barn filled to overflowing with grain and corn. This kind of faith is what enables the trapeze artist to leave one trapeze bar and reach for another being swung his or her way. It is to leave the security of one place in order to take hold of something else. To give in this way, with our first fruits, is to show God the honor and glory that is his due. It is to demonstrate that we are people ...

1214. The Demons Within

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... gone on in many a century. And the problem is that we don't want to mention it because demons are part of the mythical past. We in our scientific world do not believe in demons. That is because demons are powers that take away our control and leave us at the mercy of powers outside ourselves. Now, I realize in saying this that there are those of you who are immediately thinking to yourselves, "Oh-oh! The pastor has just stepped off the deep end (again). He's turning into one of those religious cultists who ...

1215. God Works Wanders

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... again, or fail again. Still, God says, "Go to the place I will show you." An Arab proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." With modest beginnings we surrender our wills and our lives to God. A small company of travelers leaves one little village of an unknown name in a forgotten country. And yet, from that quiet beginning, of which the world took no notice, began the story of God entering history by his covenant with one nation and then, in the fullness of time, by the new ...

1216. God's A Catcher

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... cast him out. To an outcast, perhaps blindness wasn't so bad after all. Foolish man. You wouldn't catch us bitter for new challenges. We'd never long for old sins. Or would we? Last week we spoke of the need to trust that God has called us to leave those aspects of our lives which are hurtful to us and others, and to trust in his guidance and grace. Does that mean that our lives are then easier? No. In fact, as for the Hebrews, it is often more difficult. At least it seems more difficult because we have ...

1217. The Hope Of Peace

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... against us. And then, to our amazement, the judge smiles and says our case is dismissed, that he understands why we behaved as we did. We are acquitted! We need not go back to the relentless self-questioning, the sense of failure, the fear and confusion. We will leave this courtroom by another door, a door that leads to closer fellowship with God and others. It does not make our present life perfect. At this point, we have only "the hope of sharing the glory of God." It is a thing in the future, not a state ...

1218. You Can Be Less Worried

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... do but failed to do it because of what others might think. The sad truth, though, is that regardless of what we do or leave undone, we really cannot greatly alter other people's opinions of our lives. What matters most, of course, is not what others think when ... wish we had the faith to live up to. The best we can reasonably do in this world is to live one day at a time and leave the rest up to God. Too often too many of us become trapped in the past or seduced by the future to the point that we miss ...

1219. Let's Live

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... and I, as Isaiah was called: to speak a word of truth about our world, our town, and ourselves. We may not be called to speak it so vigorously, or so loudly, or so angrily as Isaiah. But if we leave here week after week believing that we were simply called here to hear the truth then we leave here without the truth. For truth is not just in saying the right words, or in understanding the right theories, or even in believing the right doctrines of the church. Truth is in doing the right thing whether what we ...

1220. The Just Live By Faith

Romans 3:19-28

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

... : Martin Luther stickers or monk stickers Lesson: The just shall live by faith. Good morning, boys and girls. Do you have bulletin boards at your school? (Response.) What are they used for? (Responses -- To tell you what's going on, for putting up posters, for leaving lost and found notices, and so forth.) Do you ever read them? What's the most interesting thing you've ever read on the school bulletin board? (Responses -- take two or three.) We have bulletin boards at the church, too, where we put up lots ...

1221. Our Helper

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... the first disciples, and many of us like Philip will have no peace in our hearts until we respond to that call. I remember a classmate of mine in theological seminary. He had been very successful in the business world, and resisted for years the call of God to leave his position in his company, and come to seminary to train for pastoral ministry. He said simply, "I am here, only because God's Spirit would give me no peace until I answered that call." That is the work of the Helper in the lives of all women ...

1222. Foreshadowing

John 12:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... shelter for the homeless. JUDAS: You made a grave error in judgment, Mary. You should have remembered what the Master said. JESUS: Leave her alone. She has done a good deed here today. JUDAS: But, Lord! I don't understand. Should we help the poor ... helpful, managing the money. Now I see that I'm not needed. Very well, if that's the way you want it. He stands indignantly and leaves in a huff. MARY: Did I do something wrong, Master? JESUS: (Drawing her up to the empty stool beside him) No, Mary. You've done what ...

1223. A Special Night

Exodus 12:1-30

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... lamb with unleavened bread which showed how much of a hurry they were in. DAUGHTER: Because they didn't have time to wait for it to raise. FATHER: Exactly! They were supposed to eat this meal dressed in their traveling clothes so they would be ready to leave the moment God gave the word. SON: That's pretty exciting. DAUGHTER: And then what? FATHER: And he told them, "This day shall be a day of remembrance to you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, throughout your generations you shall observe ...

1224. A Lesson From A Shell

Proverbs 10:7

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

... the beaches of the oceans. The little creature who lived in the shell is gone, but the shell remains. We do not live in shells, but there is a lesson for us here in the shell. Each day, we leave something of our self behind, for good or bad. When we are kind to others and try to make other people happy, we leave a good memory behind that adds beauty to life. Once the day is over, we cannot change that memory. It is like the shell: what we have done is set. Remember, with each new day, you have a ...

1225. Forgiveness Of Sins

Ps 51:1 · Jer 31:34 · 1 Jn 1:7

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

... new in our lives. In fact, the Bible says He blots out our sins. He remembers them no more because the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. I'm going to give you this eraser to remind you of this story -- but remember, though an eraser may leave a bit of a smudge behind, the cleansing which God applies to our sins leaves us wholly clean and makes us just like new again. (Give the children the erasers.) (Prayer of thanks for God's cleansing.)

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