Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1226 to 1250 of 4999 results

Psalm 17:1-15, Romans 9:1-29, Matthew 14:13-21, Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... giving a list of fifty of his names. The point of this list is twofold: one, the names embody the different kinds of power that Marduk possesses; and, two, possession of these names by the worshiper provides direct access to the god, ... the Israelites had experienced, the last of which was that the Christ came from them. Having mentioned the Messiah, Paul pronounces a kind of Jewish doxology and declares the "amen" in affirmation of God's working with Israel. Significance. Paul begins abruptly a new section ...

1227. Proper 17

Exodus 3:1-22, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... the New Testament can be used together in exploring what it means to hear and answer God's call. Where it is not used as a reading, the epistle may provide a model for the day's prayer of confession if it be used as a kind of checklist for examination of conscience. Or the prayer of confession might follow the epistle reading after a time of silent recollection. Worship planners might consider that prayers of confession are to be followed by some form of absolution or words of assurance and pardon. Verses ...

1228. Proper 29

Psalm 100:1-5, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... from the middle section of the chapter. Verses 11-15 describe how God will search out and care for the sheep. Verse 16 provides a transition from the image of God seaching for lost sheep (vv. 11-15) to the image of God judging between different kinds of sheep (vv. 17-22, the lectionary text has omitted vv. 17-19, which state a problem of power that exists between different sheep). Verses 23-24 end this section by describing how God will establish once again a Davidic shepherd. Significance. Christ the King ...

1229. Trinity Sunday

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... earth; On you, our Lord victorious The Spirit sent from heaven; And thus on you, most glorious, A threefold light was given. Having said so much about the action of the Trinity, it is perhaps more important to stress the being of the Trinity in order to avoid some kind of functionalist heresy. What the Church is involved in on this day is the praise of God for being God—no more and no less. This can be a day for the liturgy and the sermon to help people rediscover the mystery of the faith and to adore the ...

1230. Breathe on Me, Breath of God

Acts 2:1-4

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of a little 9-year-old girl. In telling that story, Nell Mohney showed us that she has a healthy relationship with God, a relationship built (not on fear or guilt or self-interest… but rather) on “doing your best and trusting God for the rest. That’s also the kind of trust Simon Peter must have had when he stood up to preach on the first day of Pentecost. “O God, help me, O God, please be with me.” God was with him. God’s spirit blew on that place… and He gave Peter the right words to say and ...

1231. Changed Lives - Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you. We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t you just go on and get lost?” God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man‑making contest.” To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!” But, God added, “Now, we’re going to do this just like I did back in ...

1232. How to Live a Sizzle-When-It-Drizzles Life

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... being, but also transformed their lives. Near the end of the book Martha writes: I have discovered that many of the things I though priceless are as cheap as costume jewelry, and much of what I labeled worthless was, all the time, filled with the kind of beauty that directly nourishes my soul. Now I think that the vast majority of us ‘normal’ people spend our lives trashing our treasures and treasuring our trash. She continues: Living with Adam, loving Adam, has taught me a lot about the truth. He has ...

1233. A Morning Greeting

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

Andrew R. Wolfe

... Bremo Road there in Richmond, and what he does is he simply waves to the passing motorists, waves ‘good morning' to them. He has become a kind of self-appointed ambassador of goodwill on that corner, and every day at 7:15 he's there and he stays until 9:00 A.M ... generally more generous in responding to his greeting than men are. One day he counted 180 women who waved back and only 75 men. A guy kind of thing, I guess. James went on to say, "You know, I just do it for the fun of it, and what I have found is ...

1234. The Supreme Worth of the Second Birth

John 3:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

... 6,000 in all of Judaism. They were ultra fundamentalists, straight as a gun barrel and just as empty. Nicodemus wouldn't smoke, he wouldn't drink, he wouldn't use foul language. You couldn't find a hint of scandal on him anywhere. If you would ask Nicodemus what kind of a life he lived, he would have told you "I don't smoke, and I don't chew, and I don't go with girls that do." The Pharisees never missed church, they gave a tithe of their income every week. Nicodemus was even a leading Bible teacher and ...

1235. Bridging the Generation Gap

Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... ago called "A Parent's Prayer." It's my prayer for me as a parent, and it is my prayer for you: Heavenly Father, make me a better parent. Teach me to understand my children, to listen patiently to what they have to say and to answer all their questions kindly. Keep me from interrupting them or criticizing them. Make me as courteous to them as I would have them be to me. Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me. May I never punish them for my own ...

1236. Never Let Them See You Sweat (Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... . When they come to the passion scene, they give it a homosexual twist. Pontius Pilate asked, "Art thou the king of the queers?" To which Joshua responds, "Thou sayest." I make it plain, without any apology, when a society will put on that kind of play, defend that kind of play, and pay to see that kind of play, we have sunk to our lowest depth. Prov. 25:28 says in the NIV, "Like a city whose walls are broken down, is a man who lacks self-control." Now in Solomon's day, every city was fortified by a thick ...

1237. Are You Going to Fish or Cut Bait?

Mark 1:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fisherman's General Board as a person having considerable experience. Now it's true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen's clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those ...

1238. Friends

Proverbs 27:6, 9, 17

Sermon

James Merritt

... ." I want to tell you, there is not enough gold in Fort Knox, nor enough oil in Saudi Arabia to buy that type of friendship. When I think about a real friend, a true friend, a friend that really deserves to be a friend, I realize from this scripture what kind of a relationship it should be. A true friendship will be a loyal relation-ship. The word "stick" refers to how the skin sticks to the bone, and this is a picture of how a real friend will stick closer to you through thick and thin, than your skin will ...

1239. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... that is incredible is that Jesus knew how He was going to meet their need before they even knew they had one. My Dad had that kind of a gift. I can remember several times growing up my Dad would say to me, "Son, you need a whipping." Well, I didn't ... had five loaves and two fishes, that would feed a lot of people." When you think about a loaf of bread, you think about the kind of loaf you see at a grocery store. These were actually wafers that were flat, hard, and brittle; about the size of a small pancake ...

1240. The Prosecutor Perry Mason Can't Beat

John 16:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... for us. A sinner cannot go to a righteous God alone, but he can go to a righteous God through His righteous Son the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, we're not righteous. We have sin, but Jesus is righteous. When we come to Jesus He gives us the God-kind of righteousness that makes us righteous before God. In fact, that is why He died on the cross. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21) John D. Rockefeller was driving ...

1241. For His Eyes Only

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... ever had you were never asked this question: "Why do you do what you do?" When people try to size us up and find out what kind of persons we are, they go to our methods, but never to our motives. I heard about a young lady who wrote this sweet note to ... eat." When that man left that courtroom that day there was a bounce to his step $47.50 in his pocket. Now that's the kind of attitude that God expects us to have with our money and with our possessions. But the problem Jesus talks about here was unique. The ...

1242. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Psalm 102:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... the music? Where are the men who call and ask for a genuine actual date? Where are the men who would like to share more than my bed, my booze, my food?…I would like to have in my life once before I pass through my life, the kind of sexual relationship which is a part of a loving relationship.4 Evidently she never did find that loving relationship, because long before she was murdered she wrote these words: “Who is going to love Judy Bucknell? I feel so old, unloved, unwanted, abandoned, used up. I want ...

1243. Where Is Love?

Hebrews 9:1-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... Old Testament for a good artistic rendering. In the days when Moses and the Hebrews traveled the desert the tabernacle served as a kind of divine "mobile home" in which the holy and transcendent God could travel with the chosen people, a "visual parable" to use ... area — was entirely the domain of the priests — the intermediaries sanctioned by God and ritually cleansed for service in God's house, kind of like divine butlers, if you will. It was in that holy area that the priests engaged in an array of ...

1244. Dots on a Screen

Hebrews 9:24-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... sight. Nevertheless, such dramas played a vital role in the shaping of the people's minds and spirits. Like the plays, television, and motion pictures of our own day, people's lives were touched and "cleansed." The Greeks called it catharsis, a kind of emotional purification. The audience of worshipers could be drawn closer to God as they watched and participated. And yet, like the veil in the temple, the barrier between divine and human reality remained. For all its powerful imagery the experience remained ...

1245. Our Prayers Are Our Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... , that movement was the result of persecutions. Roman stability and uniformity was predicated on rigid demands for civil duty and public order, and there was little room for divided loyalties or dissenting opinions. Those who professed, "Jesus is Lord" were not treated kindly in the realm that demanded "Hail Caesar." Gathering as we do to worship God, with the Christian flag on one side of the altar and the "Stars and Stripes" on the other, presents many of the same challenges in our world. Maintaining ...

1246. Floating on Your Back

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... my back as long as I wanted to, and that he would come back for me. My daddy always does what he says.” (1) An amazing story! Mary kept floating and kept trusting her daddy regardless of what the waves around her were doing. Mary had the same kind of faith in her daddy that St. Paul saw in the church at Thessalonica. Today Thessalonica is the second-largest city in Greece and is the capital of Macedonia, the nation’s largest region. But even in Paul’s time it was a prominent and prosperous city. The ...

1247. No Substitute

John 2:13-22

Sermon

David T. Ball

... be raised much more quickly, not like a building, but as a resurrection, just three days after his death. This passage moves along too quickly, so let’s slow it down. It occurs to me that we might think it’s a good thing, rather than some kind of abomination, for the faithful to part with a little of their money as an expression of their faith, symbolizing things like the transitory nature of material possessions — “You can’t take it with you!” I’m reminded of the old joke about how I’ve ...

1248. Plaque Buildup

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that "happy days are here again" and even "better times" were just around the corner. The classical "liberal" church, with its optimistic assessment of human nature, was ill-prepared for the second half of the 20th century. How could any of us foresee the kind of events that would claw away at these decades and leave our faith in human goodness and the doctrine of progress shredded beyond recognition? We are almost to the point of being numbed to the wickedness and death stalking our world. We watch the ...

1249. The Last Parable

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

James McCormick

... with someone who can neither see nor hear? Her mother cried out, “O, my precious little Helen, if there were only some way I could make my love known to you!” That’s God! If there is only some way…some way. He sent prophets and messengers of all kinds. Finally He said, “I will send my son. Surely they will respect my son. Surely they will listen to him!” Jesus was God’s last, best effort to communicate with us, finally to get through to us. How much more can you do than what God has done? What ...

1250. John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... himself and the reality of the kingdom. These "I am" declarations are neither an actual parable nor simply an allegory, although elements of both make up these utterances. When Jesus makes his declarative "I am" statements, he is offering a kind of "symbolic discourse" (see C.K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John, 2nd ed., [Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978], 367) that freely mixes together both symbolic and straightforward language. Verse 11, which opens this week's gospel text, introduces a ...

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