Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 101 to 125 of 606 results

101. Holy Diet

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... him ..." Ours is a generation with its own various kinds of hunger. We may deplore, but yet enjoy, what Wordsworth called "this unaimed prattle flying up and down." We may question the American dream, yet acclaim anyone who is "on the make" and aggressively acquiring more and more things. We may take overweening pride in the products of American science and know-how, but we dodge the arresting question: "What's it all for?" Jesus heard the people ask, "Give us this bread always" (v. 34), which today would ...

102. Holy Believing

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... that Jesus underwrote all this with his own life. He never flinched, even from the Cross. He was indeed the bread of life; and all who would partake of it, i.e., all who believe Jesus and appropriate his person into their life, should discover they have acquired a quality of living which is never lost. It pours its essence into every community and in the ongoing destiny of the human race. This is not a matter of space and time; it is the world of our everyday experience being infused and absorbed by the ...

103. Illusion Or Reality?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... smoke if they know smoking puts them at greater risk for lung cancer? Let me tell you that Salem cigarette tastes good and I feel comfortable with it. Why do people continue to live irresponsible lives, placing themselves at extreme risks for acquiring AIDS? Sex feels so good and everybody's doing it. Our society is comfortable with sexual irresponsibility. Why do the rich continue to destroy our society, our educational systems, and our children by their greed, their selfishness, and their blindness? It's ...

104. The Needle’s Eye

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... to the right group, holding proper theological beliefs, and an exact cataloguing of experience. He calls us to be alive, causing life to blossom wherever we may be. These daily qualities, though highly prized by Jesus and readily desirable by us all, seem hard to acquire. How do we get them? Let’s look closely at the parable of losing the hand, foot, or eye. Perhaps it contains the key to entering the fellowship of Jesus. Suppose we are tempted to steal. We cut off a hand to prevent us from stealing ...

105. In The Presence Of God

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

... have practiced them all of my life. Now tell me Jesus, what do I need in order to gain eternal life?” We must keep in mind that eternal life with the Lord is the major objective for every Christian behavior. In fact, we spend our whole life trying to acquire this one objective. So, Jesus then said to the young brother, “If you would have eternal life, go and sell all that you have and give the proceeds to the poor, then come and follow me and you will have treasures in heaven.” As the story goes, the ...

106. Death by Suicide For Active Church Member

Psalm 139:1-24

Eulogy

Phil Barnhart

... do believe that those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord go to heaven to live with him forever. Ivan, without a doubt, made such a profession of faith and was sealed with the promised Holy Spirit which "is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it." (Ephesians 1:14) The Holy Spirit in Ivan's heart was God's down payment on the full inheritance of life eternal. Nothing can change that. Not a brain tumor. Not human weakness. Not a particular method of dying. John 14 speaks of ...

107. The Demons and the Counselor

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... He will not die if he does not get "better housing" or more vitamins. He will not expire of frustration if he is unable to buy the brightest and newest gadgets, or if all his children cannot go to college. His basic needs are few, and it takes little to acquire them, in spite of the advertisers. He can survive on a small amount of bread and in the meanest shelter. He always did. His real need, his most terrible need, is for someone to listen to him, not as a "patient, "but as a human soul. He needs to tell ...

108. Tears on Easter?

John 20:10-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... horrible loss. You can work hard and save your money, but death takes all of it away from you. Is that fair? A person can reach the heights of pomp and power, but death brings the mighty to dust and ashes. You may be a scholar and spend years acquiring knowledge, but death causes all of it to evaporate into nothingness. Death turns life into tragedy. It takes away the meaning of life. If death is the ultimate, if there is no cure for death, then we may just as well "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we ...

109. In Quest of a Treasure

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Larry Powell

... you lived. This is to have succeeded. Success, by the world's standards, is illusive. Success, by Emerson's definition, is within reach of us all. Jesus reminded us that by the world's measure, success is often thought of in terms of what we have been able to acquire, how much we have managed to accumulate. However, we never seem to have enough and do not take the time to enjoy what we have gathered about us. I am grateful to Emerson for his definition of success. I may not achieve it, but it helps me to ...

110. Monologue: Sarah

Genesis 20:1-18

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... through the land of the Negev. Abraham became afraid of the local king. He was concerned that we might not be allowed to pass through the land without problems. When King Abimelech saw me, he wanted to take me as part of his property, the way we had acquired Hagar. He thought I was beautiful, and my husband assured him that I was only his sister. I felt deep betrayal and humiliation. I had to follow King Abimelech into his home and I wondered if I would have to become one of his wives. I cannot tell you ...

111. Comfort the Disturbed/ Disturb the Comfortable

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Carl Jech

... indeed! The great psychologist, Erich Fromm, was perhaps the first to observe that the phrase "the pursuit of happiness" in the U.S. Constitution is a contradiction in terms. Happiness, he said, never comes when we go out with the deliberate intention of acquiring happiness. Happiness is always the by-product of other activities that are meaningful for us. We get busy interacting with other people and the world around us, and, lo and behold, suddenly we realize we are happy. It's the same way with ...

112. Enjoy Toil, but Its Accumulative Wealth is Vanity

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Approaching death finds us frustrated with what will happen to all we have worked for and saved. People: We wonder if it will be wasted, after we have worked a lifetime to acquire it. Pastor: God's gift of joy or labor is the toil itself which enables us to have the basics of life. People: The vanity of more wealth than we can use is obvious. We desire to concentrate on the joy we can have in a permanent relationship with God. ...

113. Woe to the Contented

Amos 6:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Selfish ambition leads to prosperity; prosperity leads to independence; and independence leads to decay of faith. People: We are not wealthy as such. But we have acquired many luxuries to which we give more attention than the Christian faith. Pastor: Amos warns us not to let a comfortable life interfere with our devotion to God. People: May God help us be more sensitive to any weakening of our faith due to the comforts we enjoy. Collect Eternal ...

114. Welcoming The New Millennium

Sermon

James Angell

... of Dr. Gillies' "answers" send the mind on journeys. Acknowledging a need for optimism, he said, "It is the duty of old men to lie to the young. Let them encounter their own disillusions," he said. "We strengthen our souls, when young, on hope; the strength we acquire enables us later to endure despair as a Roman should." He continued: "The process of life never stands still. The creation has not come to an end. Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the second week - the children of ...

115. Speak From Personal Experience

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

... help, he had to spend the night at the bottom of the well. During the night, in the midst of the darkness amid loneliness, he had a profound religious experience. The next morning after he was rescued he came running into town to tell others of his newly acquired faith, shouting "Come, fall down my well ... Come, fall down my well ..." Sometimes we get so preoccupied with trying to get people to see things our way that we neglect to point them to the One who is the Way. Sometimes we are so busy trying to ...

116. Is The Gospel Only For Women?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

... require the so-called "manly" virtue of courage. Aren’t women brave too? That’s why I don’t go for these distinctions. I think they’re sexist. Both boys and girls, both men and women can take Jesus as their model and not be ashamed of any trait they acquire from living in him. They can only be happy about it. Do you know of any other way of living with yourself and your neighbor and with God that will bring greater happiness? Do you know of any other way out of the hell of unrest and mistrust in ...

117. Real Security

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

... , especially, across the centuries, doesn’t he? A decade ago William Barclay wrote, in Daily Celebration: There never was an age which puts its trust so much in material things. We think we will be happy if we get more pay, if we get a new television set, if we ... acquire a car or a house of our own, if we manage this year to have an expensive holiday abroad, or something like that. And yet a man has signally failed to learn the lesson of life, if he does not see that it is not in the power of things ...

118. Jesus and the Rascal

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

... . Like this overseer of old, we modern overseers must give an account of our allegiance when God says, in the words of this Gospel, "Turn in the account of your stewardship." Our Father, we are constantly surrounded by the acquisition of, and the need for, material things. Help us to acquire them honestly and use them wisely, as in your sight. Save us from being rascally stewards of your bounty. In Jesus’ name. Amen

119. Proper 4

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... and waiting for you. Go!" Abraham must have heard some such voice, had some such urging, felt a tug that was irresistible. Even with the limitations of his sparse pasturage, in the midst of potential conflict with his pagan neighbors, Abraham had acquired position, wealth, and influence. It could not have been greatly different for him than it would be for us in similar circumstances. Undoubtedly, even in a pre-scientific time, his friends and close associates responded as we would respond today. "What's ...

120. Parable of Grading the Teacher

I Corinthians 13:1-2

Illustration

Staff

... other things than the lesson and he can't seem to explain the subject very well. Maybe he will learn after a few years, but it will be too late for us." Truly, giving grades is a real problem to teachers and many students do acquire knowledge more easily than others. But the skill of teaching depends on both the teacher and the students communicating with each other freely in the exchange of knowledge. Students, who are afraid to ask questions or who feel intimidated by severity, deter the process. Teachers ...

121. Repent!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... are punished by sin now. How do we escape this inner punishment of guilt, loneliness, and worry? One way is by changing our lives. Part of repentance is changing; we can find inner health as we reform outer habits. Repentance involves developing new styles of living, acquiring new habits such as - using the living room as a place to talk with loved ones instead of a place to hibernate with the T.V.; deciding the purpose of your life, for the next ten minutes, is understanding and helping the man yelling at ...

122. Practicing and Preaching

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

... pulpit. They're often the same tight-fisted people who should be embarrassed by such a discussion. The Bible is very forth-right in its mention of money. It claims we own nothing and hold all we have as a trust from God. The instinct to acquire that makes America tick made the prophets furious. Jesus, whom the Bible records more often talking about money than about prayer, said wealth always is one of two things - dangerous or damnable. To soft-pedal stewardship is to concede the field to mammon. There are ...

123. Jesus - the Holiest Name

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

... that the city accepted the change from 1069 to Michael Jo Holtz, and this constitutes legal recognition of 1069 as his name. Needless to say, the city attorney has been apprised of the situation and is taking steps to block this latest move of Mr. Dengler to acquire a four digit number as a new name.20 No one opposed the name Jesus for the baby boy born to Mary and his earthly father, Joseph. Nor were there any questions like the ones asked of Elizabeth at the circumcision and naming of John the Baptizer ...

124. Beginning a Ministry

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

... and will never see. But his mother, Ethel, is a remarkable woman who accepted his blindness when he was quite young and determined to do all she could to enable him to get along on his own in the world. She has not worked since Calvin was born and has acquired the ability to be an extraordinary teacher. "Child," she once told him, "one day I won’t be here and I won’t be able to pick you up - so you have to try to be something on your own. You have to learn to deal with this (blindness), and ...

125. A Noble Patriotism John D. Mauney, Jr.

Exodus 2:11-25

Sermon

... the Christ" in the fullness of time, and that he believed this faith held the promise of eventual reward. Moses was, indeed, well instructed in the wisdom of the Egyptians, but through it all he retained the faith of a noble, patriotic Hebrew. But all of this wisdom acquired through his years in the courts of Egyptian royalty did not destroy the in-bred faith of Moses. As Stephen says in Acts 7:23, when he was forty years old "it came into the heart of Moses to visit his brethren." So he went into the land ...

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