Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1251 to 1275 of 4963 results

1251. No Ignorant Brethren

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

Rev. Kenneth H. Sauer

... be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," and then he moves immediately to the supremely practical, beginning chapter 16 with, "Now concerning the contribution for the Saints." The early church was concerned that its members not be ignorant of the hope to which they were called, and not ignorant to the practical tasks that lay before them. "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them," says Paul. This same Word is addressed to us today. Let us not be ...

1252. What Makes Us Human?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. You want to be impressed? Well, then, think! Allow the awesome fact to seep into your consciousness that you, my friend, stand in the presence of your Creator! That's an awesome fact before which I shrivel. I hope you do. You are not here to worship yourself, nor am I, any more than I am standing here in this pulpit to express a personal opinion. You won't want, then, to drop the "Thees" and "Thous" any more than the dignity and good order of worship. You ...

1253. Barefoot in the Palace

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... of all that prevents the full joys and powers of life. In the New Testament, the Resurrection is not just a personal message of hope. It is also God’s statement that he brings to life all that dies under the various tyrannies we devise against one another, protecting ... will win and injustice is doomed. It is well that we should learn to read the resurrection as an affirmation of the hopes of the barefoot ones, in addition to the affirmation of personal life and death. So this action of God is also written ...

1254. Watching Jesus

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... keeping the civil peace. He went around talking loosely about a "Kingdom of God," seeming not to care that such words might provoke the wrath of Rome. An arrangement with Caesar had been put together and, if it was not all that the devout of Israel might hope for, at least it allowed some freedom for the peculiar faith that claimed the Jew. Half a loaf is always better than none. This was understood by almost everyone, from High Priest down to the poorest of the poor. But Jesus didn’t seem to understand ...

1255. Counsel for Discouraged Disciples

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

... his grace we are invited into partnership with him in pursuit of this purpose. If we are tempted to impatience in the process of achievement, let us rest assured that there is purpose in his patience. Let us trust him and not lose hope. Ours is a religion of hope, you know. Unlike the pessimism in other great religions, the message in the Christian Gospel is a positive one, affirming life, the world, and the goodness of God. This is why Christians have the reputation of being incurable optimists. For all of ...

1256. What Shall We Do With This Baby?

Drama

... hands and hearts. May we be aware as never before of our human responsibility for your heavenly plan. Please grant us the will to love anew every child born on this earth. May the old familiar story of the birth of your son renew the hope that each child can live according to your plan. In the name of the infant Jesus who lived and died to become the Savior of the world. Amen. Meditation (from pastor or program director) Other options follow Individuals and families in our church have already responded ...

1257. Proper 5

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

... with the demand to sacrifice his only son and heir. The mind of most modern people boggles at the seemingly cruel demand this story lays before us. Isaac was the pride and joy of the old man, the child of his advanced years. Moreover, Isaac was the sole hope of the promise God had made to Abraham - he would be the father of many nations. To the modern person, it seems sadistic beyond measure, even in a test of faith, to ask that this child be sacrificed. We need to recognize the greatest gifts of God can ...

1258. Hunger, Health, and Happiness

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

... in her dark world. One of the public nurses told her to come to the nursing station the next day, and they would have food for her children. Yola could not believe her ears and thought this to be another idle rumor. Such rumors were always being circulated. She hoped against hope. The next day she was there at the appointed time and there was food. There was milk for her children and flour for her table. It was being doled out in very small allotments, but it was real. She was told that this was going to be ...

1259. The Ladder of Success

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Paul Hegele

... s killed himself. To "get out of the race" is to try to avoid the tempest by crawling down onto the ledge of a crevice; we hope we don't fall all the way. The feeling becomes more frequent the older we get, the shorter our future becomes. How many of you ... let's be honest with ourselves. Such contentment is little more than a consolation prize. If it were simply up to our wishes - our hopes - whether we go far up the ladder of success or get off, then we had better be prepared for a fast, steep climb. How ...

1260. Preaching Your Life

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... faith of the preacher - my faith - to which you can respond yea or nay. It's a self-disclosure in words and like other self-disclosures in words - "1 love you," "I hurt," "I believe" - it begs a reply, begs you to take a stand, and, it is hoped, share that personal faith. Faith begins in us when we hear others speak of their faith - the pastor, a Sunday school teacher, a parent, a college roommate. Their words may be awkward, their thoughts simplistic, but a message gets across. And more than a message - an ...

1261. The Preposterous Prescription

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

... . Just for a moment, try to imagine what it is like when you go to a doctor for help because of a serious medical problem. After an examination, the doctor says, "I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do for you." There’s no medicine, no treatment, no hope. You and I would try another doctor. But what if the answer was the same from that one and yet another? Some of you can empathize with the person or the family that receives that kind of news. A few of you have been there yourselves, and have experienced ...

1262. Not Blind but Seeing

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... went to the Cross. His gift of himself is the great work of God that means "the eyes of our heart are opened to the hope to which God has called us." (Ephesians 1:18) God be thanked for our eyes which see. God be eternally thanked for the vision which is ... , "If I had only seen then what I can see now!" That can be a sentence of despair but it can also be a word of hope that we can, indeed, see now. In spite of all our natural vanity, we still become our own worst critics, and when our spiritual vision grows ...

1263. The Emmaus Stranger

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... way today - through the word of mercy and the meal of grace. We sometimes walk through stretches of our lives when we are on this side of Emmaus, when the dominant force that moves us is the events of the past which turned out so differently than what we had hoped. But we do come to our own Emmaus-like destinations when our prayer for Jesus the Lord to abide with us is answered abundantly. In all of our journey, our walk is by faith. Our calling is to keep on trusting him, even when we can’t discern his ...

1264. The Cost of Being Christian

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

... stoned him to death for that. It cost him something to be a Christian. It cost Stephen his life. It is my perception that the effort to limit Jesus, and the preachings of Jesus, to that which gives you a good feeling in your heart and helps you have the hope of heaven is still very strong. Let a preacher spend too much of his time on what Jesus demands and expects more than he does on what Jesus has to offer and the preacher may be asked to go somewhere else. No one would have wanted to crucify Jesus, nor ...

1265. Proper 25

Lk 18:9-14 · 2 Tim 4:9-18 · Sirach 35:12-18 · Deut 10:12-22 · Zeph 3:1-9

Sermon Aid

... City." In Zephaniah's day, Jerusalem was that kind of city. In verses 1-5, Zephaniah enumerates her sins. He could have been describing New York, Chicago, Atlanta, or Los Angeles. What can be done about it? Who will convince the city to repent as Nineveh did? Is there any hope for our sinful cities? In this series on the prophets we see the same pattern time after time. Outline: The life-cycle of a city A. The calamity of sin - vv. 1-5 B. The judgment of God on the city (cf. Sodom and Gomorrah) - vv. 6-8 C ...

1266. Christians Trust in God

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... winter is a terrifying thing. We huddled around contraband radios, trying to catch the news that would tell us how near or how far our liberators were from our position." As dreadful as their conditions were in that prison camp, he and his friends never lost hope: "We never doubted for an instant that we would be finally free from the threat of death. Free from hunger. Free from the literally lousy conditions in which we lived in which there was seldom enough water to wash our hands, let alone take a bath ...

1267. Desert Springs

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

... tearing at our hearts from time to time. We will feel there is no road to walk, that each step is dangerous. All this is Word. Then the Word comes in a fresh way - through a sympathetic listener, whose listening itself is a gushing spring of renewed hope. It comes through a few moments spent reading a prophet like Isaiah, whose poetry and prayer is a highway through a barren land. The Word comes in the comforting, or not so comforting but still truthful, Word that someone whispers to our ears. God’s Word ...

1268. Proper 6

Genesis 25:19-34

Bulletin Aid

... the ungodly Call to Worship Pastor: Because sin controls us, God offers his love to us even as we sin. People: There would be no hope for us if we have to become righteous before God would accept us. Pastor: God has taken the initiative to save us through the death ... died for us. Amen. Prayer of Confession We are your children, Father; but our sins make us your enemies. Our only hope is our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has died in our place. Forgive us for our sinfulness which separates us from fellowship with ...

1269. The Penalty for Betraying God’s Trust

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

... a part-time mayor. In addition, she calls regularly on about a dozen elderly people in their homes, giving them injections and other necessary care. Her kind of loving service must be pleasing to Christ. It is indeed what he expects of all baptized people who believe in God and hope to see his face in his everlasting Kingdom in his good time. It is pleasing, not because she does it, but because she does it as an expression of her faith without any pietistic show - in the name of Jesus Christ. Moses lost his ...

1270. A Joyful New Beginning

John 20:1-9

Sermon

... , which is that death is not the final word in life. In the story of Christ's rising from the dead we receive a hope that can sustain us and uphold us no matter what happens to us, no matter how difficult our circumstances become in life. People who ... , though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:25)." My friends in Christ, our hope is grounded in the gift of eternal life which we receive this day - it is our way out of the valley of darkness and despair ...

1271. The Master Has Come - To Build His Church

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

... , worship invitiation, or catchy sentence. Instead, there were these words: "Karate Classes Every Tuesday." I thought to myself (after I got the car back on the road), "What does that have to do with church? What good would that do a person coming by here looking for hope, help, light, love?" Breaking someone’s face with the side of your hand has absolutely nothing to do with the message of the church. A church has a message about Christ or it is not a church. Do you know why the message is so important ...

1272. Strength to Overcome Suffering

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

James R. Tozer

... teaches it and Christ is God." Lincoln found the perseverance to trust God in times of affliction. Lincoln could see the tumult of his day in the light of God’s purposes. 3. Become stable in personality. "Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." (Romans 5:4, 5) God can work through times of suffering to produce stable character. In the New Testament ...

1273. Epiphany 7

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon Aid

... a tooth for a tooth" ethic is not acceptable in the kingdom of God; that is a human standard, based on a "revenge motif." If God operated that way, not a single human being would have a chance of belong-ing to the kingdom and receiving the hope of heaven. 2. Jesus expects his followers to act toward others the way that God is toward them. He knew there would be opposition and persecution, even martyrdom, of the disciples and others who believed in him, and actively participated in the work of the kingdom ...

1274. Lent 5

Psalm 116:1-19, John 11:38-44, John 11:17-37, John 11:1-16, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon Aid

... . Suffering and death may try to reduce and take away this gift, but the Spirit works in human beings so that this will not happen. Those who know that the Spirit dwells in them and has given them life are able to face the future with confidence and hope. John 11:1-45 (47-53 - Lutheran) The story of the raising of Lazarus is intriguing and puzzling. First of all, Jesus heard the news that Lazarus was gravely ill, in danger of dying, but Jesus deliberately waited and did not go to Bethany until after Lazarus ...

1275. Proper 4

Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Genesis 12:1-8, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31, Psalm 31:1-24, Psalm 33:1-22

Sermon Aid

... Christ, and you give your martyrs strength. Watch over your people who come to you now, and strengthen the hearts of those who hope in you, that they may proclaim your saving acts of kindness in the eternal city; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Psalm ... . Without the cross of Christ, all persons are condemned to death and separation from God forever. 3. Faith in Christ is our only hope of salvation - only he can save us, and he has done just that. He has won the kingdom for us, and he even helps us ...

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