Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 990 results

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

There are many inadequate views regarding the essential nature of the Protestant Reformation. Some consider Luther as an ecclesiastical rebel who sought to overthrow an ancient church organization. Nothing was further from his purpose. He pleaded only that the gospel of Christ be given free course within the church. The Reformation was not a summons to attack the Roman Catholic Church but to affir...

102. Proper 4, Pentecost 2, Ordinary Time 9

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Litany Divide the congregation into two voices. I: From the corners of the earth you gather us in. II: From the darkest corners of our lives you call us to the light. I: You bless us with your holy commandments. II: You bless us with your abundant grace. I: As we await your coming, let us live in your grace. II: As we await your coming, guide us through every storm. I and II: May our lives be livi...

103. Proper 4

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter--Psalms 46 First Lesson--This is a story of judgment and salvation that will become a parable of the church. Genesis 6:11-22 Second Lesson--Paul makes clear to the Romans that the good news is not that God is tolerant of moral negligence but that there is provision for salvation through faith. Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31) Gospel--Jesus warns against hypocrisy, which will be ex...

104. Reformation Day

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It’s Sunday again! As before, we gather here because we believe that truth sets us free. We are followers of Jesus and children of God. People: In Christ, we are set free from the power of sin. Leader: The Holy One promises to write divine law in our hearts and to be our God. People: We will be forgiven and freed from guilt. Leader: This is cause for rejoicing! Let us sing ...

105. The Roman Road

Illustration

Staff

The Roman's Road to Salvation has been a traditional way of leading persons to faith in Christ for many years. Here is a brief outline of that plan. Every human is a sinner. Romans 3:23 God's penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of sinners. Romans 5:8 Each person must put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9-10, 13

106. The Categories of Salvation

Illustration

Brett Blair

Often you see bits of logic like the one below in christian literature. Take a look: There are four basic categories of salvation: Those who think they are saved, but aren't. Matthew 7:21-3 Those we think are saved, but aren't. 1 John 2:18-19 Those who are saved, but don't act like it: Corinthians. Those who are saved, and they act like it. I would agree with the basic tenets here but of course...

107. Justification and Reconciliation

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Two fundamental and interrelated concepts in Paul’s message of salvation are justification and reconciliation. When the apostle speaks of salvation in terms of vicarious sacrifice and redemption, he is describing salvation as a purely objective salvation-occurrence. The saving sacrifice has already been made. The redemptive deed has already been done. The victory over the forces of evil has alread...

108. Unconditional Love

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

Have you ever stood at the side of a baby's crib, just watching the little chest go up and down, the tiny fingers curl and twitch just a bit, the tiny mouth make sucking movements? At such times, the heart just melts, doesn't it? We cannot help but love this little bundle. What has that baby done to deserve such love, such an upwelling of protective feelings? Nothing, really -- it just was lucky e...

109. The Gospel Of Our Calling

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

A friend related to me how, when he was a youngster, he spent a lot of time on the other side of the block all wrapped up in touch football and whiffle ball and hide-and-go-seek. But there were other important events going on for which his folks knew he needed to be present, like going to church, mealtime, bedtime. So, they blew a whistle to call him home from the other side of the block. God al...

110. What Does It Mean To "Believe"?

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

One of the most misunderstood terms in the New Testament is the word, "believe." We ministers preach on the word from time to time, and often-times never stop to tell what it means. This is especially perplexing to unregenerated people who do believe whatever they are told to believe, but who still do not consider themselves saved or born again, spiritually. Maybe you grew up under such circumstan...

111. Growing Faith

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

It's an old joke, but an insightful one: A man slipped off the edge of a cliff, and just before he fell the hundreds of feet to the valley floor below, he grabbed a protruding branch. There he was, dangling precariously from that little branch, afraid that any second it would pull out from the side of the cliff. "Help!" he began to cry. "Help! Is anyone up there?!" Finally, after no answer, he be...

112. Romans 4:13-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul's powerful words about "justification by grace through faith" in the first three chapters of Romans tend to capture all our attention. But by chapter four, Paul reveals that there is more to the divine formula than "justification," "faith" and "grace." There is also "hope." Paul uses Abraham, the undisputed patriarch of all Judaism, as the prime example to support his arguments. The exalted p...

113. For Example

Sermon

David O. Bales

If you're going to study a subject or learn a profession, a good strategy is to investigate one of the earliest theoreticians or practitioners. If you study physics, you might start with Albert Einstein. There were others, but he's a good beginning. If you're interested in drama, you could turn to William Shakespeare. Other playwrights are around, but he'll give you a good start. If you're conside...

114. Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Do you know your ancestors? We are a fluid people. We move from town to town, state to state, region to region. Some of us have roots. But a great many of us have wings. For those of us “on the fly,” it is even more important to know our ancestors, to know who we are, if we don’t always know where we are. It was much the same for the first century Jewish audience Paul was addressing in today’s R...

115. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Unlike the Mosaic covenant, based on obeying the Torah, the Abrahamic covenant is based on faith. Abraham becomes Paul’s star witness that justification is by faith alone. Paul marshals five arguments to refute the commonly held view that Abraham was justified by his good works: theological (4:1–5), hermeneutical (4:6–8), historical (4:9–12), logical (4:13–17a), and experiential (4:17b–2...

116. Abraham Justified by Faith

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Paul links his rejection of boasting (3:27–31) with Abraham, whom he describes as the fundamental paradigm for God’s people, the prototype of justification for both Gentiles and Jews. Paul argues in 4:1–16 that Abraham was justified by God not on the basis of works but on the basis of faith. Abraham was regarded as the first converted Gentile (from Ur of the Chaldeans, Gen. 15:7) and as the first ...

117. Abraham Justified by Faith

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Abraham as the Model of Faith Chapter 4 is a test case of righteousness by faith. In 3:21–31 Paul presented a position statement on salvation through faith in Christ’s sacrifice of atonement. In chapter 4 he sends the class to the laboratory, as it were, to test that thesis. Here we find the compressed and nuclear thesis of 3:21–31 developed in the discursive style of Jewish midrash. Midrash was ...

118. In Spite of Evidence to the Contrary

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

The scriptures talk about "faith" in many different ways. One of my favorites is the letter to the Hebrews (11:1) where "faith" is described as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." A similar notion of "faith" is utilized by Saint Paul in today's second reading from Romans (4:18). Paul calls it "hoping against hope." Or as I would like to paraphrase it, "in spite ...

119. The Lenten License to Steal, Drink, Lie and Swear

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The world is divided into two kinds of people. Those who like cruises and those who don’t. Or to be more precise: those who think a cruise is a foretaste of heaven, and those who think a cruise is the aftertaste of hell. The world is divided into two kinds of people. Those that suck the life out of every day, and those that let every day suck the life out of them. The world is divided into two k...

120. Abraham’s Promise Perpetuated

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

The sermon reflects upon the message of Romans 4:13. "The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith." Ladies and gentlemen, members of the family of God’s estate, welcome to this meeting wherein we shall read the details of a large inheritance promised to all of us years ago. In his grace fu...

121. Faith A New Potential for Life

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

"(Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith ... and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:20, 22). Faith was the only thing that made Abraham different from the other inhabitants of Ur of the Chaldees. They continued in their blindness and unreality. Abraham left home because he was sure there was a real God somewhere, not one of ...

122. Against All Hope

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy was taken to the dentist. He had a cavity that needed to be filled. “Now, young man,” asked the dentist, “what kind of filling would you like for that tooth?” The youngster thought for a moment and replied, “Chocolate.” That young man is a positive thinker. It seems to me that we don’t hear as much about positive thinking as we used to. Some of you will remember when, under the in...

123. Never Too Old for an Adventure

Sermon

King Duncan

James Michener was over eighty years of age when his epic book, Alaska, was released. He had been thinking about writing such a work for over forty years. Why did he wait so long? The explanation seems ridiculous, but at age 40, he was afraid he might be too old to withstand the rigors of an Alaskan winter, which hovers at 50 degrees below zero along the Yukon River. His rule had always been never...

124. Can We Really Trust God?

Sermon

King Duncan

When Communist forces invaded Vietnam in the 1950s, Hien Pham, like many Vietnamese Christians, was arrested and jailed for his beliefs. After his release from prison, Pham made plans to escape Vietnam. He secretly began building a boat. Fifty-three fellow Vietnamese made plans to escape with him. One day, four Vietcong soldiers came to Pham's house and confronted him. They heard he was planning ...

125. Getting Stronger Every Day

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: We grow strong in our faith as we give glory to God. Props: A feather, a rock, a dictionary, a chair, and a heavy table. Have the objects placed on the table, except for the chair. Lesson: Which one of you is the strongest? (response) Let’s see who is the strongest. I’ve got some things for us to lift. I’m going to start us off with this. Who thinks that they can lift this feathe...

Showing 101 to 125 of 990 results