Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1226 to 1250 of 2404 results

1226. Easter 7

John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11, Psalm 68

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the Father and himself. This oneness includes the disciples. As the Son is one with the Father, the disciples are one with the Son. This oneness, Jesus prays, should also be true with the Disciples, one with each other. Christian unity, then, is not a human achievement, but a divine reality based on relationships. Epistle: Acts 1:6-14 1. Power to witness (v. 8). Jesus promised to send the Spirit who will give the disciples power to witness all over the world. In Hebrew the word for "spirit" is "breath." One ...

1227. Pentecost

John 20:19-23, Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:3-13, Psalm 104

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... in Jesus as Lord. We do not choose Jesus, but through the Spirit he chooses us as disciples. The Spirit calls us to believe and follow Jesus. We are made Christians by the work of the Spirit. To say that Jesus is our Lord is too difficult for human achievement. 2. Same (vv. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11). Six times in this pericope Paul uses the word, "same": same Spirit, same Lord, same God. The repetition emphasizes that there is only one Spirit just as there is only one God and one Christ. There are different groups ...

1228. Proper 12

1 Kings 3:1-15, Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... Solomon's pearl of great price. 2. Wisdom (v. 12). Because Solomon asked unselfishly, God gave him wisdom to govern his nation. Wisdom comes from above; it is a gift of God. Intelligence is a natural endowment. Knowledge is the result of hard, human achievement. However, one can be intelligent and knowledgeable but not wise. Wisdom means insight, common sense, and good judgment. Only God can give wisdom - not a college education or a Ph.D. degree. A psalmist said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...

1229. Proper 16

Matthew 16:13-20, Romans 11:33-36, Romans 12:1-8, Isaiah 51:1-16, Exodus 2:1-10, Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... are not given the name of Moses' mother, father, and sister, nor the name of the Pharaoh or the Pharaoh's daughter. Nor is there any mention of the Lord's name. There must be a reason for this. Is it telling us that this birth was not a human achievement but a mighty act of God? Though God's name is not given, we are to see God's hand of deliverance through works and not words. The focus is upon what God is doing to deliver his people from oppression. Epistle: Romans 11:33-36 1. Depth (v. 33 ...

1230. Lessons for Year A Proper 27

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... time to wise up. The gospel urges us to be virgins. Paul in Lesson 2 would not have us to be ignorant. Lesson 1 tells us how to get wisdom and her blessing. People need to learn about wisdom, for many have erroneous ideas that wisdom is a human achievement through education and the exercise of reason. Today we learn that wisdom is the female counterpart of God who is wisdom and gives wisdom as a gift to those who seek her. God is wisdom and we receive it only by revelation. Thus, the poor and uneducated can ...

1231. Call Waiting

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... But it is the question that forms the foundation for understanding "call" for understanding vocation. The question is: "What are you looking for?" Now, please note what the question is not. It is not what do you want to do? What do you want to produce or achieve or prove? It is not what do others expect you to do? No, the question is: "What are you looking for? What is important? What is it that will fill your life with purpose and joy and meaning?" After struggle and discernment, the writer Chaim Potok was ...

1232. Transformed in Christ

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... that the removal of a certain habit will cost. All of us need to transform our faith practice; there is always more that can be done. We need to do a better job of eliminating sin and resisting temptation. We can make great strides toward the achievement of these goals through our daily prayer. Our conversation with God must be central to the life of all people of faith, yet too often the busy contemporary lifestyle we lead causes us to find and make excuses for not taking time to pray. Transformation means ...

1233. The Price of God's Glory

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... should one suffer? Why would anyone willingly pay the price of the trees so as to enter into God's glory? We hear an answer in the gospel we have heard proclaimed. In Saint John's portrayal of the crucifixion, the high point and greatest achievement of Christ's life, is his death on the cross. Contrary to what most might see, namely the resurrection as Jesus' greatest triumph, Saint John sees the suffering Christ as the epitome of the Christian call. Jesus not only goes to the cross willingly, as depicted ...

1234. Enduring the Trials of Faith

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... are directed toward the betterment of God and God's people or simply to assist ourselves and a few select others. All that we say and do must in some way be the work of God. This is a great challenge in a world that centers on self-achievement and satisfaction. The work we do, and the lives we lead, are part of God's master plan that necessitates, at times, that we negotiate hurdles that are trials of faith. The familiar story of Thomas' encounter with the resurrected Lord is, like the events in the life ...

1235. Defeat Transformed into Victory

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Richard Gribble

1236. Jesus, Our Rock Foundation

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... but we must pass through Jesus the gate that leads to the Father and eternal life. Today we are challenged to build our life in every aspect on Christ. We seem to be concerned with many things and work feverishly to accomplish many goals and achieve many accolades, but if we are not firmly grounded in Christ, we will fall as rapidly and unexpectedly as did Charlie Atlas. The eschatological discourse of Jesus in Saint John's Gospel (chapters 13-17) presents some of the most profound theology of the fourth ...

1237. Try This on For Size!

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... tailor-made just for him. Such helmets can cost as much as a thousand dollars. The cost is worth it, however, because the well-fitting uniform insures the player's maximum safety and performance. God is likewise concerned with your safety and performance. He wants you to achieve your maximum capability as a person. This is why he offers you a yoke that is a perfect fit. He knows that if you work the right job, marry the right person, make the right salary, live in the right neighborhood, and so on, you will ...

1238. How to Love God

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... the place where an individual became aware of God. Here was a place from which worship could be directed to Christ! Consider the Apostle Paul for a moment. Think on this scholar's intellect. Examine the work of his brain, the deep, piercing theological insight he achieved. What a strong mind! And what a service of love he rendered to the Lord! Why, much of the New Testament is the work of his own mind. Books like Romans, Galatians, and Corinthians are ours because Paul loved God with his brain. Today, the ...

1239. The Man in the Tree

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... to evaluate how many persons each one of them knew well enough to remember the first name; the answers ranged from 800 to 1,200. Many adults remember more than 1,200 persons by name. The politician James Farley boasted of knowing more than 7,000 and achieved a certain fame by this kind of memory which he had cultivated for professional reasons. But knowing the name does not necessarily mean knowing the person. (3) God knows each of God’s children by name. God knows our needs. God knows the road we’ve ...

1240. Prime Time Waiting

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time of waiting isn't a time of inaction, but is a time of heightened activity and intentionality. Christians are called to be active waiters, not passive sit-and-stew, sit-and-soak meditaters. In many eastern philosophies a meditative state is achieved by emptying oneself, a kind of going blank in order to experience the quietness of the cosmos. But in the Christian tradition (and Christian mystics didn't always get this right), kenosis (emptying) is effected by intentional plerosis (filling). God doesn't ...

1241. The Ladder or the Wheel

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... wheel, you see a central axle with the spokes of the wheel radiating out from that center to make up the wheel's circumference. Jesus' drew a similar picture for us in today's text. Instead of the Pharisee's up-and-down ladder of success and achievement, Jesus proposed that there's only one center--only one rabbi, one Father, one teacher. God is the one and only at the center of all life. God is the spoke of our existence from which everyone and everything radiates. It's our role as disciples and followers ...

1242. Don't Fit In, Fit Together

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or is overwhelmed by outside influences, the result is bad for the body. The result is unfitness. Because our bodies aren't machines but living organisms, they can change certain functions, adapt and form new ways of fitting together if necessary, even achieving new levels of fitness. Example 1: People who live high in the Andes or Himalayan mountains live and work and function in a much thinner, less oxygen rich atmosphere than people at lower elevations. Their bodies adapt. Example 2: Free divers descend ...

1243. So You Want to Be in the Lead?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... made of his own feet hitting the lunar surface, the only other photo of Armstrong on the moon is a reflection of him seen in Aldrin's helmet glass--a picture of him taking Aldrin's picture. At this consummate moment of technological achievement, it was still human mistakes and squabbling that set the most memorable words and pictures into the history book. Today's Old Testament text describes the Israelites' third, and most vicious, round of grumbling and grousing against Moses' leadership abilities. In 14 ...

1244. Show Me Your Passport

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Being a receiver becomes a sign of weakness, neediness, helplessness. As adults the only person we ever really feel comfortable receiving from is ourselves. Being a citizen of the gospel isn't about taking the most comfortable position, or doing the most important tasks, or achieving the most accomplishments. Being a citizen of the gospel means that the needs of others and the community itself determines our course of action. When it's time to give aid we must give aid. When it's time to give thanks for the ...

1245. Live and Learn

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... get out of there. If the answer to both is yes, you're right where God wants you to be. About twenty years ago Benjamin Bloom of Northwestern University reported the results of a study that explored how long it takes to achieve "world-class competency" in something like swimming, tennis, neurology, sculpting, piano. Called the "Development of Talent Project," the findings revealed that at least ten to seventeen years were required. "For example, in a study of the winners of the Chopin International Piano ...

1246. Why Are Christians Such Bad Tippers?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... choose these little ones for this great mission. He choose a seemingly insignificant, could-never-accomplish-anything number for this world-transforming mission: Twelve. He started with just twelve. What could a dinky dozen insignificant followers ever hope to achieve? One of my favorite things to do each year is monitor the themes of the various commencement speeches delivered at American colleges and universities. My favorite 2005 commencement speech was delivered by none other than Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks ...

1247. Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... from constant back-pain. The devil's arm became a symbol of oppression and injustice. Because of Chavez's understanding of relational power, the UFW was the first truly effective farm workers' union ever created in the US. One of United Farm Worker's proudest achievements was the banishment of the devil's arm from California's fields in 1975. It didn't come easy. As many times as Chavez's life was threatened, Chavez refused to let his bodyguards go armed. At his death, state flags were lowered to half ...

1248. Are You Willing to Be a Donkey?

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... wonder why the donkey is the only animal in the Bible that speaks? Karl Bart at his 80th birthday party offered this testimony: "In the Bible there's talk of a donkey, or to be quite correct, an ass. It was allowed to carry Jesus to Jerusalem. If I have achieved anything in this life, then I did so as a relative of the ass who at that time was going his way carrying an important burden. The disciples had said to its owner: 'The Master has need of it.' And so it seems to have pleased God to have used ...

1249. How to Beat the Devil

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... more perfect for assaulting the human soul and psyche than at the moment of our greatest weakness, it's at the moment of our greatest strength, the moments of our greatest success, our times of triumph. Riding the crest of a wave of achievement and applause is as upending and overturning as crashing against the rocks of despair and discouragement. Nothing fails like success. At both moments - our sublime highs and our soul-sucking lows - the devil lurks and lunges, biding his time and finding fertile ground ...

1250. Deep Faith

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... life began was based on a very simple fact. A pregnancy was believed viable and a baby was deemed alive when the expectant mother felt its quickening – it's first movements. Until that moment of quickening, there was no way of knowing if the pregnancy might be achievable or if a miscarriage had occurred. But a baby who had quickened, a baby who had stirred with enough vigor to be felt by its mother, was believed to have had its body and soul brought to life. Once this unique, new soul moved within its ...

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