Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1226 to 1250 of 4938 results

1226. Tales of the Spiritually Stupid

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 18-22

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... wisdom." In this we have confidence. When times are at their worst, when all we see in our church or community or in the mirror brings us to the brink of despair, we do not lose hope because God did not lose hope for the world. Because Christ does not give up on us in our foolishness, neither shall we give up on ourselves or others. Releasing our folly and clinging to Jesus we find forgiveness and hope for new life, not for ourselves alone but for the entire world. In this we have joy.

1227. Unstoppable Determination

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... not be stopped because of his faith in Christ. Indeed, he wrote, “I live, but not I, but Christ Jesus liveth in me.” (Galatians 2:20). Pressing toward the mark. Struggling toward the goal line. “You’ll have to shoot me to stop me.” Not giving up in the face of any obstacle. “If I couldn’t kick it out of the end zone, I’d make the tackle.” Out of such persistence are purposeful lives made. 1. Dan L. Flanagan, http://www.asiweb.com/community/churches/stpaulsumc-sermons/stpaul06-22-03.asp ...

1228. Endurance

2 Corinthians 11:24-27, 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... entering kindergarten or college. On the top of that list is endurance. What do you wish you hadn't quit? College? Do you wish you would have finished that degree? How about the piano? Do you wish you had not stopped those lessons? What about exercise? Did you give up too early? What about a job that would have led to something or a hobby that once brought you great pleasure? What do you wish you hadn't quit? A marriage? Do you wish you would have tried harder? What about God? Maybe you gave up on God long ...

1229. A New Beginning

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... dramatic evidence of God working in our lives does not materialize, it inevitably leads to feelings of "disappointment, betrayal, and often guilt."[1] When actual experiences do not live up to our expectations over a long period of time we start to give up on ourselves, others, and even God. Those feelings of disappointment with God probably occur far more frequently than we are willing to publicly — or even privately — admit. The advice to "just try harder" simply won't do it for us. An edited ...

1230. God Cares

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Argile Smith

... who have been victimized, it will express the reality that he really cares for the people who have given themselves to him. God expresses his care in yet another way. He demonstrates it in the way he leads his people (vv. 23-24). He doesn’t give up on us, and he provides leadership so we can grow in our relationship with him. Continuing to use the imagery of sheep to elaborate on God’s ways with his people, the prophet proclaimed that they could look forward to the arrival of a new shepherd. Notice ...

1231. Suffered under (Saint) Pontius Pilate

John 18:28-40

Sermon

David O. Bales

... to truth: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (8:37). This mystifies Pilate. So, Pilate just gives up and allows public opinion to pronounce the verdict against Jesus. Pilate doesn’t understand what Jesus says about truth, and it’s foreign to our way of thinking also. Jesus and Pilate are speaking Greek, the common international language. Pilate doesn’t have a Berlitz ...

1232. What Difference Does it Make?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Tony Everett

... declared to Jesus, “Even though I must die with you, I will never deny you” (Matthew 26:35). A few hours later, Peter cursed in the shadows and denied Jesus three times (Matthew 26:64-72). Hypocrite! Sinner! Jesus did not give up on Peter. He does not give up on us. Sometime after that first Easter morning Peter became a leader among the first Christians teaching, healing, and preaching the good news of a risen, living, and forgiving Savior. However, in Peter’s mind, there was a hitch — a condition ...

1233. The Nazirite Vow

Numbers 6:1-21

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... fellowship offerings—and they “sacrifice” things that ordinary Israelites can do. They cannot eat grapes. There is nothing inherently wrong with eating grapes. But while one is a Nazirite, grapes must be given up. Similarly, special dedication to God today may involve giving up some good things in order to keep one’s commitment to God. Since Nazirite commitments often are made as the result of answered prayers, the public display that one is a Nazirite is in turn a public testimony to what God has ...

1234. A Happy Ending

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... are in an unhealthy relationship, but it’s convenient and you fear being alone. Maybe you have grown out of your present job, but the routine of it is all you have ever known. Maybe you feel called into full-time ministry, but don’t want to give up your lavish lifestyle. Perhaps your faith is growing into new ideas, concepts, and experiences, but the rigid beliefs of your past will not allow you to embrace growth. Do yourselves a favor. In the name of the God and the person God calls you to be, embrace ...

1235. Despair, Hope, Easter, and Pentecost

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... would be more appropriate. Yet can you believe that on the first Easter, this is exactly what God did? By calling for the disciples and Peter to meet him in Galilee, God manifests mercy, patience, and a hope for our kind that is absolutely unbelievable. He did not give up on the people who crucified his Son! He still had affection and hope for them! This is the kind of God who made himself known at Easter — the power and the mercy "who can make the things that are out of the things that are not, and who ...

1236. It's Not About Me

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... to merge without resolving the building issue. They just kept struggling with bills they could not pay. And then, in a moment of courage and wisdom, the new Session took a leap of faith. They voted to put both buildings on the market and give up the building that sold first. By removing logs of judgment about those “other” people, they became clear eyed enough to see a vision of re-energized ministry within the community around them. It was a vision realizing that flesh and blood was more important ...

1237. Why Can’t I Have It All?

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... His resurrection promise, His putting himself on the line to eliminate our poisonous sleep of death and to restore us to life is God’s True Love Kiss to all of humanity. For all of our efforts at risk aversion, Jesus takes the greatest risk of all –He gives up His life to redeem ours. And in doing so, Jesus again invites us into relationship with Him. We get a second shot at putting entitlement behind us and assuming a role as a worthy disciple, a mature human being, and servant of God. In coming to us ...

1238. A Stand-in for Royalty

John 18:33-37; Revelation 1:4b-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the universe. Whoever would have thought that a baby born in a stable in a little out-of-the-way town would one day become heralded as the King of kings? Even today we struggle with Jesus’ identity. It’s unbelievable that the Almighty God would give up His Heavenly Throne to take on human flesh and human weakness and human struggles. There is a thought-provoking piece titled “They Missed Him!” that could easily apply to us today. Here are just a few quotes from it: “They were looking for a Lion ...

1239. I Am Somebody!

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Victor Frankl. In spite of the horrors and the odds, he survived. Around him, next to him, each day of his ordeal, dozens, hundreds, thousands of fellow Jews and others died, many of them, of course, in the ovens — but many others were killed by giving up hope, losing heart, overwhelmed by horror and fear and hopelessness. Frankl survived, he said, because two forces sustained him: one was the certainty of his wife’s love. The other was an inner drive to rewrite the manuscript of a book he had completed ...

1240. Whom Shall We Obey?

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... know a minister whose son, Scott, had a tumultuous adolescence at best. As a teenager, Scott was as rebellious and wild as you would want to imagine. And every inch of the way his parents struggled not to lose the battle. They struggled not to give up. And the battle in their home raged on relentlessly. Scott wore his hair down to his shoulders. And he messed around with drugs ... a lot. First, he tried marijuana, then amphetamines, speed, LSD. They were living a nightmare right in their home. Finally, the ...

1241. I Hate To Rain On Your Parade, But

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... wouldn’t do it. There’s no forgiveness there. Would it not take some action on the wife’s part – reaching out, taking his hand, taking him into her arms? And yet how costly that would be! She would have to give up something of herself, wouldn’t she? She would have to give up her anger and resentment at having been betrayed by someone she loved. Can you imagine that happening? Can you imagine engaging in an act of forgiveness like that? I have to confess that I’d have a really tough time with ...

1242. Which Way?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

... impossible for us to see how drawing on an arsenal of tools which look completely impotent - compassion, nurture, patience, even shedding blood when it’s appropriate - can be powerful, redemptive, healing, saving. Jesus’ words to Simon Peter still ring out. If you would live, give up the life you think is strong. Take the one shaped by a cross. Don’t let the man-made values of this age distort your judgment or your vision. Let God template you with crucifixion. And if healing comes when blood is shed ...

1243. 'Nevertheless': A Word of Faith

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... in a marriage that is in critical condition. For a long time one or both spouses have not been able to say with sincerity, “I love you." The marriage seems to have been a sad mistake. But could God be calling you to say, "NEVERTHELESS, we will not give up without a struggle!? We will pray fervently, get counseling, and fight for this marriage. When we took those vows before God, saying 'for better or for worse, till death do us part,’ we meant those words. Could there still be time for a miracle in this ...

1244. Lift High The Cross

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... . So lift high the cross! Look upon this cross and see there the sign of our healing, the sign of our salvation. Among other things, the cross is the great symbol of God’s continuing faithfulness to us. This God who refused to give up on the Israelites of old, will not give up on the baptized ones of the present. Yes, lift high the cross! Let it remind us that our God knows that living can be hard and our suffering can be great. Our God in Christ has experienced wilderness living. God has appreciation and ...

1245. We Wish To See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... and for me on Calvary’s tree. He gave up his life that he might cast out the ruler of this world. He gave up his life that he might draw us to his grave and through his grave to victory over death. Jesus Christ, in turn, asks us to give up our life to him. "I have given my life to lead you from death unto life," Jesus says to each and every one of us, "therefore, I ask you to give me your life unto death. The one who lives life loses it, and the one who hates life in ...

1246. A Mountain Of Meaning

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

... magic." Then one evening during a storm, the ship sank while the magician was performing. The parrot and the magician ended up in the same lifeboat. For several days they just glared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Finally the parrot said, "OK, I give up. What did you do with the ship?" The parrot couldn’t explain that last trick! It was too much to comprehend, even for a smart parrot. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for ...

1247. The God of the Unlikely

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... pagan people. But when the anger and frustration subsided, underneath was a love that would not stop. Up the mountain Moses wearily climbed once more to intercede for his foolish friends. He even offered for God to blot HIM out if necessary rather than give up on these children. For forty years the wilderness wandering had continued. Now it was done. Soon the people would make a new home for themselves. As Moses looked back, it must have struck him how unlikely this all had been, and the only explanation ...

1248. Of Rubble and Trouble

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... have nothing to fear. Jesus says improvise ("Do not prepare your defense in advance"), trust ("I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict") and, to borrow from Winston Churchill, never, never, never, never give up ("By your endurance you will gain your souls"). This is how people in the midst of rubble and trouble bear witness. Yes, there will be awful times, major collapses. The lights will go out. But despite all that, the good news is that the ...

1249. Destined To Have A Great Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... the bad things. If, when we have a setback, we interpret that setback to mean that we are a loser, a failure, that we are somehow hopeless and that our lives are never going to work out no matter what we do, we are probably going to give in and give up. But if we interpret a setback as momentary, a fluke, only a pebble and not an insurmountable boulder, then we are more apt to seek to turn life's lemons into lemonade. Isn't this what the life of faith is really all about? Faith acknowledges that we are ...

1250. What Makes A Family?

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... been difficult because I would have thought, She's just being noble. But without missing a beat, she looked me right in the eye and said, But you're still you and I love you.' And that saved my life right there. That put an end to any thought of giving up. Then my three kids came in ” besides Will, I've got Alexandra, who's 12, and Matthew, 16. And I asked myself, How can I possibly leave them?' Of course I've had moments of feeling sorry for myself. I look at pictures of our boat and at people who ...

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