Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 1138 results

Romans 12:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... flood would have swept us away. All: Blessed be the Lord. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (based on Psalm 124) Collect Lord who made the platypus and the aardvark, you seem to delight in variety and surprise. We pray that we might feel your delight in the variety of worshipers who come to your holy church this day as we seek to accept each for who she or he is, becoming your body in witness to the world. Amen. Prayer Of Confession God of history, we confess today that as your ...

102. Worthy of God

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Rick Brand

... showed us lives that were lived worthy of the God who calls us in Jesus Christ. The remembrance of the saints reminds us of the variety of ways people live and also that joy and blessings are to be found as one focuses on the desire to live a life ... . Every gift brings with it the possibilities of blessings and grace, of responsibilities and obligations. Every gift opens before us a variety of responses and only some of those responses are seemly and becoming to the gift. To hang a Rembrandt painting in ...

103. The Real Dish Network

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... at 3 o'clock in the morning? How many of those six hundred channels do you suppose we all end up actually watching? What are we looking for as we channel-surf across all those digitally-processed frequencies? It's not that more isn't better. Choice, variety, and change are some of the most sought after benefits our postmodern culture can offer. Ask some struggling poor family in what we call the third world if they wouldn't like to be able to choose something other than rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ...

104. Mystery

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... spirit we call religion. In most religions there are those whose duty it is to keep the secret and guard the mystery of purpose and being from all those outside their fold. In the first century there was tremendous growth in the number and varieties of theses so-called mystery religions. Each group centered itself around a different secret, a unique story, a separate god or being, which offered the seeker a way to find out the true meaning of their lives, and promised fulfillment and forgiveness. Religious ...

105. Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Matthew 9:9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to them as well. After calling his fishermen disciples, the only other “calling” recorded in Matthew’s gospel is his own (9:9). In today’s text Matthew is described as a “tax collector” (“telones”), one who was employed to collect the great variety of taxes levied on the people by the regional ruler, Herod Antipas. Jesus’ call comes to Matthew while he is busily engaged in his work. He is in the “tax booth,” collecting the government’s cut from the merchants and traders bringing ...

106. What Ever Happened to Norman Rockwell?

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... of the era and called us to a broader vision: His well-known "Freedom of Worship" is one of the "Four Freedoms" which he painted during the Second World War. All four hang in our hallway. It shows not just Christians, but the broad variety of religious traditions, all part of the American dream, with the words "each according to the dictates of his own conscience." His glorious vision of the multi-racial, multi-cultural world in which we live includes over thirty distinct faces, nationalities and costumes ...

107. Romans 12:1-8

Romans 12:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the Roman's "renewed mind" is to be toward the "good," "acceptable" and "perfect" that is, toward an image of pure holiness that God offers believers. The first step in this transformation, Paul notes, is a call to humility (v.3). Amid all the variety and independence of the Roman Christian communities, Paul calls all members to recognize the basic equality they share as members of one body the body of Christ. Just as Paul calls upon believers to use their own wills to offer up themselves as sacrifices ...

108. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... spiritually gifted insight that reveals "Jesus is Lord" is an utterance that could only come from the genuine Spirit of God. Next, Paul carefully addresses the still confusing fact that while there is only one genuine Spirit, its presence is manifested in a variety of ways. This diversity-in-unity is, in fact, the greatest strength, the most unique gift, of the Holy Spirit. Instead of forcing an unvarying unity of experience on believers (as required by so many other first-century cults), the Spirit of God ...

109. Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the ways of the world and the affairs of humankind. As a genre, proverbs are common to every spoken tongue and offer universally recognized truths in the form of a short saying, maxim or aphorism. Egyptian proverbial wisdom can be found in a variety of "instructions," including that of Kagemni of the Old Kingdom, as well as Ptah-hotep and Merikare, and may have formed a basis for some of the biblical texts in Proverbs (see Pritchard, Ancient Near East Texts, 412ff). "The Proverbs of Alfred" was published ...

110. Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... : the shoot out of the stump, the branch out of the roots, the rod of the mouth, the breath of the lips and righteousness as a belt around the waist (vv.1-5). This is followed by the description of a pastoral scene in which a variety of animals are paired to convey an image of peace: the wolf, leopard, young lion, bear, lion, viper and young viper are juxtaposed with lamb, kid, calf, cow, ox, nursing child and weaned child. By making use of such traditional images, Isaiah skillfully attracts the attention ...

111. Pentecost

John 14:8-17 (25-27), Acts 2:1-21, Romans 8:1-17

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... . We rejoice in the work of translators that have made the OldTestament and New Testament speak our language and more than a thousand other languages of the world. We sing your praise in many accents, in many tempos, in many harmonies, knowing that you love variety. How wonderful is the diversity in nature that you have created, God of beauty, truth and love. Amen. PRAYER OF DEDICATION Eternal Spirit, on this special day we give our offerings freely and gladly in the knowledge that you are at hand. You are ...

112. Call to Oneness

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... practical matters in the Christian faith. If we do, we have missed truth intended for us and given in the holy scriptures as supreme revelation. After all, there were many writings competing to be in the New Testament and this gospel made it! Love of this variety is so pure and noteworthy it tends at times to boggle the imagination of those claiming to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ. How do we attempt to understand in an elementary respect our quandary? We beg for our wills to have superimposed upon ...

113. Where Do We Grow from Here?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... lean back in confidence on that solid truth Paul put so clearly: “To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Each is gifted, that’s one facet of the truth Paul is sharing. Another facet is that there is a variety of gifts. Did you hear the story of the art teacher who was introducing second graders to the world of creativity? She wanted them to draw and paint as they saw and imagined things. So, as an exercise one day, she “turned them lose” and urged them to ...

114. Getting in S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... all different. Some of us are extroverts, others are introverts. Some of us love routines. Others of us can’t stand the same old thing. Some of are thinkers. Others of us are feelers. There is nothing right or wrong about it. God loves variety. Therefore, he has made us with a variety of personalities. Think about it. Jesus took an accountant by the name of Matthew, a banker by the name of Judas, an impulsive extrovert by the name of Peter, an introvert by the name of Andrew, a deep thinker by the name of ...

115. What Would Jesus Say About the Media?

Mark 9:1-9

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... does television impact the values of society as you see it from the media perspective? Mr. Mueller: Television obviously is a mass media. The idea is to attract a mass audience. We all share values. But we also share a wide variety of values. So television portrays a wide variety of values. The values portrayed, in say The Osbournes, are much different than those portrayed by Touched by An Angel. But are they worse or better may depend on your particular values. Media in many ways is criticized, and some of ...

116. The Power of a Personal Commitment

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I had made a promise? That taught me a lesson I will never forget. People need to keep their promises.” We have made a commitment in this congregation to multiple, principle worship services. Just as grocery stores offer an ever-widening variety of food, so churches need to become open minded to varieties of ways to worship God. It’s a matter of taste, not a matter of truth. Frankly, we are way behind the curve among large mainline churches on this matter. Here is where we are headed. 8:30 and 10:55 ...

117. The Road No One Wants to Travel

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , but on some occasions they are more serious than others. Certainly that is true in Matthew 16. Just before these verses Jesus had asked his disciples what people were saying about him. Did they get it right? Did they know who he was? They gave back a variety of answers, and Jesus didn't seem too surprised. But to his disciples' chagrin, neither did he drop the matter there. Instead he pressed the query home in a very personal challenge. "Who do you say I am?" he demanded. There was no room for fudging on ...

118. Dare to Be Different

Romans 13:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... exploiting and abusing others, but in excluding them by insisting that our way is the only way; that our opinion is the only valid one. The purpose of Christian community, Paul argued, is not to achieve total homogeneity, but to accommodate a wide variety of persons into the household of faith. Now the challenge to "dare to be different" is not just to be different from the surrounding pagan world, but to be different from one another in matters of belief and lifestyle, while still accepting and supporting ...

119. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... of how hard he tries, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." The Bible uses a variety of images to describe the nature of sin. It can be a beast crouching at the door ready to pounce on its victim, you. It can be an ... free from the power of sin to serve our neighbors and care for the world around us. That tension can be expressed in a variety of ways. Not only captive and free but also lost and found, dead and alive, repentant and faithful, ... sinner and saint. Little Johnny ...

120. The Master's Tools

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... to proclaim the gospel. He uses Brothers Hammer, Screw, Plane, Rule, Sandpaper, and all the other tools. After the day’s work, when the pulpit is finished, Brother Saw arises and remarks, “Brethren, I observe that all of us are workers together with the Lord.” God is a God of variety. In nature, what a diversity of animals! Every snowflake is different, every fingerprint, every face. Likewise, God is a God of ...

121. Gift

2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... but also to encourage the wealthy Corinthians to contribute as generously as possible. 8:1 The direct address of the Corinthians as brothers marks the transition to the new subject of the collection for Jerusalem. The word charis runs like a leitmotif throughout 2 Corinthians 8–9, displaying a variety of senses (cf. 8:1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 19; 9:8, 14, 15). Here it is used in the sense of the grace that God gives people so that they can abound in good works (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 9:8). The collection was ...

122. One in Christ

Ephesians 2:11-22

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... the summit of a building to crown its completion. Some believe that this is a more fitting explanation of the thought in Ephesians, where Christ is the head of the body (1:22) and the church grows into him who is the head (4:15). The variety of interpretations of the difficult imagery and syntax should not distract the reader from the central message of this passage. The apostle is showing that the church consists of three significant elements: (a) the Gentiles, who are now part of God’s people, and the ...

123. Freedom From Human Regulations Through Life With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... by Christ (Mark 7:19) and declared nonbinding upon the Gentiles (Acts 10:9–16; 15:19–29). One gets the distinct impression that the regulations threatening the Colossians were all man-made traditions. People in the ancient world would abstain from certain foods for a variety of reasons (cf. Rom. 14:17, 21; 1 Tim. 4:3). The Colossians are not to be bound by rules with respect to food (what you eat or drink) or the religious calendar (a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day). It is ...

124. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... ,” and so it has come to us in our Hebrew Bibles. The physical object leaned upon is of little significance; what matters is the attitude and pose of worship that points to Jacob’s faith. 11:22 Joseph’s faith can be abundantly illustrated from a variety of episodes in his life. Understandably he became much celebrated for the character of his life (e.g., Philo, On Joseph; Testament of Joseph; Josephus, Ant. 2.9ff.; Ps. 105:17ff.; Wisd. of Sol. 10:13f.; 1 Macc. 2:53; Acts 7:9f.). Joseph’s faith not ...

125. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... ? Was it not because he acted in righteousness and dependability through faith?” but Jews referred to him far more frequently this way, e.g., Isa. 51:2; 4 Macc. 16:20; Matt. 3:9; John 8:39; m. Aboth 5:2). The tests of Abraham are referred to in a variety of late Jewish literature, e.g., Aboth de. R. Nathan 32; m. Aboth 5:3; Jubilees 17:17; 19:8; Pirke R. Eliezer 26–31, as is his great charity: Testament of Abraham, recension A, 1.17; Targum Ps.-Jonathan on Gen. 21:33; Aboth de R. Nathan 7. Translation ...

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