Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1251 to 1275 of 1285 results

We have a problem. "Congratulations." But it's a tough problem. "Then double congratulations."

Candor is always a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate.

A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.... A determinate purpose in life, and a steady adhesion to it through all disadvantages, are indispensable conditions of success.

William M. Punshion

1254. All You Can Do is Laugh

Genesis 18:1-15, Genesis 21:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... winter, new life emerging from dead seeds. Faith knows that God’s absurd miracles can always transcend the absurdity of sin and evil, restoring meaning to the meaningless and hope in the void. So laugh people of God! Let your laughter rip forth, burst out, bubble up, double you up, because God is here even in the midst of your turmoil and your fear, even in the midst of your worry and your pain, telling you that a miracle is just around the corner. And get this! Laughter is contagious.It’s communal and ...

1255. A Game for the Young

Humor Illustration

George Burns once said, "Tennis is a game for young people. Until age 25, you can play singles. From there until age 35, you should play doubles. I won't tell you my age, but when I played, there were 28 people on the court just on my side of the net.

1256. The Complex Human

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

If you look at a strand of DNA, you will notice what scientists call a “double helix,” two strands winding around each other with connectors in between that contain the make-up of each biological person. If Jesus were a biologist today, I imagine that’s how he might describe the human spirit. For his example of the human spirit as explained by Matthew in chapter ...

1257. Perfect Twins

Humor

A comedian talked about walking down the street one day when he saw a man who was his perfect twin, an exact double of himself. He stared at the man for a few seconds, then walked on by him. One of his friends asked him if he followed the man or tried to find out anything about him. The comedian replied, "No, I didn't like his looks."

1258. Doorkeepers for Disruption

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... suggestion of voluntary change or innovation, new ideas, or new interpretations. And yet the Holy Spirit is all about stirring the waters and moving us out of our comfort zones, sometimes with a good, strong kick. In times of trouble, when we most want to double down and hide ourselves under the covers of complacency and safety, God is most calling us out into the storms to disrupt the forces of darkness by pointing to God’s present Light. We are the doorkeepers for God’s disruptive presence. We are the ...

1259. Mutual Submission

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

... themselves dedicated to the ideal of two people sharing a life and a home together. By 1980, exactly the same percentage of people felt the same way. Yet in this same decade, from 1970 to 1980, the number of single households doubled, expanding so fast that many observers predicted that the conventional couple was doomed to extinction. Even marriage, the most intimate of human relationships, is viewed by many as a contract negotiated for the mutual benefit of autonomous individuals who relentlessly scan ...

1260. Victorious, Victims

Luke 6:20-36

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Oh how lucky are you who weep. How fortunate are those of you whom people hate, exclude, revile. Leap for joy those of you who have cancer. How lucky are you unemployed. How blessed are those going through marital crises." The congregation does a double-take. What? Blessed? Lucky? Those who are hungry? Unemployed? Sick? What is this? Thus begins Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. Generations have found comfort in the words of this sermon, and well they should because these are words of blessing to ...

1261. For The Love of God is Creative

1 Corinthians 2:6-12 · Psalm 8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , regionally and even locally different. We are all different. There is no one else in the whole world just like us. In some folks you can see a family resemblance. My little brother and I look a lot alike. But we're different. I even have a doppelganger, a double, someplace. I met him in Coast Guard boot camp. His name is Bill Posey and he's from Oregon. In boot camp they gave you a buzz haircut and you didn't get to have any facial hair. Everybody looked alike. Except for me and Bill, we looked just ...

1262. A Fruitful Life

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... waiting to see evidence of our growth. But just as the fig tree is living on borrowed time, so are we. Life is short. Any good we would do in this world needs to be begun now! Sharon Carr was studying at Emory University with a double major in English and religion when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Sharon’s attitude of faith and hope in facing her diagnosis inspired her classmates and professors. In the year after Sharon’s diagnosis, she wrote poems and short meditations about her struggle to ...

1263. In The Presence Of Christ!

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... . (Note: Other Protestants might amend this term accordingly, claiming instead that Christ is present among us in our celebration.) How can Christ be present “in, with, and under” the bread and the wine?[2] What sense does this make? Are we engaged in meaningless double-talk here? And of what benefit is receiving this sacrament? What difference does it make in everyday life? Let’s be clear. The sacrament is a mystery. We cannot fully explain what happens and how. Yes, it’s a mystery, but then we can ...

1264. The Easy Peasy Guide to Success by S. De Vil

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... means to reject popularity, great-ism, success-ism, and to embrace suffering and even failure in the name of Jesus.[2] Instead, we must open ourselves up to authentic relationship and the willingness to engage in sacrificial giving. Like “Honest John” the double-faced fox in the Pinocchio story, Easy Peasy Discipleship is the stuff of “liars” and “untruth tellers.” The “devil” himself is a person of “lies,” who tells us that we can take an easier way to discipleship, that we don’t need ...

1265. Get Your Third-Class Tickets Here!

Acts 1:6-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Sunday morning, she would fill up her car with children and young people who had no other means of transportation and bring them to Sunday school. Thanks to this woman’s dedication, there were Sundays when the number of young people present was doubled. Unfortunately, there was some grumbling among those with first-class tickets about the rowdiness that could occur when so many unattended children were present. There were some in the church who even thought that they should focus only on adults and not ...

1266. Unbound

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... this one would be a doozie. [Hold up a mirror.] Let me ask you a question this morning. Is the image you see in this mirror real? [Allow people to ponder/answer.] For one thing, unless you’re holding up what’s called “True Mirror,” a double reflecting mirror, what you see is backwards from the way other people see you. But secondly, the more important question is, is the image you are seeing reality? Or something else? How do you see yourself in that mirror? It’s always interesting to compare the ...

1267. The Potter's Secret

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the clay would be tempered and kneaded. This was done by feet, much as those creating wine would stomp the grapes. Assistants to the potter would knead with their feet until the clay became soft and pliable. Then the potter would take it and shape it on his double wheel, made of stone and wood. With just the right amount of water, the potter would shape the clay with his hands until he created the desired object. Then he would allow it to dry until it became hard and leathery. At that point, he would fire ...

1268. The Foreigner

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you feel like a new person, like you can do anything! That must have been the feeling that the lepers had that day when Jesus called them over and then sent them on their way. Then why does only one of them come back? Why does the “foreigner” return, double back, and return to Jesus to express his heartfelt thanks to God? And the others do not? I like to think of this as a “distance” problem. We see in this story 10 men, all lepers. Apparently 9 of them are local Jews. One (1) is a Samaritan. Jesus ...

1269. The Way of the Lord

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... he knew they would fall asleep when he asked them to keep watch, and they would all flee when he was arrested. The gospel of John notes that Jesus “[h]aving loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (verse 1). There’s a double meaning here. How long did Jesus love his disciples? He loved them to the end — all the way to the cross, all the way to the end of his life and beyond. And in what way did Jesus love his disciples? He loved them to the end, or to the ...

1270. The Hedge

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Jesus isn’t “what does the law say?” The question for Jesus is how can you be more relational and compassionate as human beings with each other? Whether it’s anger with a brother than needs resolving, compassion and ethics in dealing with others, a double standard that you apply differently to yourself and others, or even lack of authenticity toward God, Jesus calls for us to commit to loving in a way that is authentic, true to God, self, and others, and honest in practice. In our world today, often ...

1271. Living at Cross-Purposes

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... goal, and then changed your mind? Have you ever thought, “Maybe I bit off more than I can chew. This is going to take more time, more energy, more of me than I expected”? And then anxiety steps in. And regret. And we have two choices at this point: double-down on our commitment to that project or goal or walk away and admit that we weren’t prepared to give our best effort. That’s not an easy choice to make, is it? Back in 2019, history professors in the U.K. translated a letter from the 14th century ...

1272. Seeing is Believing…or Is It?

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... had not had faith, could he even had listened that day a week later? Would he have witnessed what he did? Could he have been the apostle he later would become? Or did his mind, even a mind that focused on the practical and empirical, do a “double take” when he felt with his own hands the nail marks and wounds of Jesus? That was enough to not only confirm perhaps what he believed or hoped, but to change his inner vision to one accepting of supernatural truth. You see, here is the one “paradox” about ...

1273. Glimpses of Eternity

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Will Willimon

... to hear that God's Messiah must also suffer and be killed. Worse, Jesus tells those who would be his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (9:23). They suffered a double shock to their preconceptions of bow they were to be saved: Jesus must suffer in order to be obedient to God; they must suffer in order to follow Jesus. And the transfiguration on the mountain occurs right after this doubly distressing pronouncement. It's a strange ...

1274. The Subject Is Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Steve Molin

... ; even the rabbi would tell him that. “If a man sins once, forgive him. If he sins again, forgive him. If he sins a third time, forgive him. But if he sins a fourth time, do not forgive him.” In an overly generous offer, Peter more than doubled the legal requirement; “Shall I forgive seven times?” Surely, Peter was expecting a pat on the head and a warm smile from Jesus, but instead he heard these words, “Not seven times Peter, but 77 times.” In other words, there is no longer a limit to how ...

1275. Investment Choices

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Steve Molin

... serious responsibility. And he left the various sums based on what each employee’s ability was to handle such responsibility. Then the man returned, he called each employee in to account for what was done with the boss’s wealth. The five pounds of gold guy doubled his money, and the boss was pleased. The two pound guy did the same. But the servant with one pound merely brought back the boss’s gold; didn’t gain any, didn’t lose any, because he buried it for safekeeping. The owner called the servant ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 1251 to 1275 of 1285 results

We have a problem. "Congratulations." But it's a tough problem. "Then double congratulations."

W. Clement Stone

Candor is always a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate.

Wilhelm Stekel

A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.... A determinate purpose in life, and a steady adhesion to it through all disadvantages, are indispensable conditions of success.

William M. Punshion

1254. All You Can Do is Laugh

Genesis 18:1-15, Genesis 21:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1255. A Game for the Young

Humor Illustration

1256. The Complex Human

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

1257. Perfect Twins