Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4963 results

1376. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... their wedding day. She remarks, "It seems like only yesterday that my mother tripped George as we walked down the aisle." George says, "I guess your family didn’t approve." "Oh, sure they did," Gracie replies, "In fact, they applauded her when she did it." (2) I hope your mother-in-law didn’t trip you on the way down the aisle. But sometimes families can be a challenge. For most people, marriage is a challenge. Some Pharisees came to Jesus and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" Why ...

1377. The Divine Opportunity

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... which they had sought for a long time. His was a message of judgment; but in the judgment was opportunity. And opportunity was wrapped up in the word repent. I. John’s Message of Judgment and Opportunity. This was John's message, and it was a message of hope. "Repent," he cried, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." With the word repent, John was telling the people that they need not remain as they were. We are not held captive to our failures, our past, or our inadequacy. We can repent. We can get rid ...

1378. If I Have Not Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... love physically, in your hugs and in your touching. And fellows, your wife needs it. Women, so does your husband. Parents, so do your children! I hope you have gotten it – if I have not love I become less than human. II And now this: If I have not love, I die. Now ... no record of wrongs, Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes always perseveres.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7 – NIV) A friend introduced me to a book of essays written by Richard ...

1379. God Outwits Us

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... accepting us where we are, but by not leaving us as we are. One of our ongoing failures is that we do not acknowledge our sin—our fallenness. We fail to take sin and its power seriously. Charles A. Spurgeon put it bluntly, “A man might as well hope to hold the north wind in the hollow of his hand as expect to control by his own strength those boisterous powers which dwell within his fallen nature.” (All of Grace, page 33). Spurgeon goes on to say: Salvation would be a sadly incomplete affair if it did ...

1380. The Proof Is In the Pudding

Luke 7:18-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... m grateful. Enough said. His love for us is so rich and full and pure and I could go on and on. As I taste it, strength and grace flow in me in ways I have only dreamed about. The proof is in the pudding. Talk about “hope for the children.” Tammy is that hope for the children on the streets of Bangalore. “Go report to John what you’ve seen and heard; the blind receive sight, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the Good News is preached to the poor.” The proof ...

1381. The Gospel

Colossians 1:3-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... those letters. So, think how those Colossians must have felt when they received this letter from Paul, and he addressed them in the way he does – thanking God for their faith – for the love that they show to each other and to all the saints – and for the hope that they express. Paul is celebrating the power of the gospel. So I want us to look at that. The gospel – what it is and how it works in our lives. Paul would say immediately that at the heart of the gospel is Jesus Christ – in fact he ...

1382. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Ephesians, he contends that each of us is graced according to the measure of Christ’s gifts. This is in the context of his wonderful notion of the church, verses 4, 5 and 6: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Then there is that marvelous description of vocation in the Church: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some ...

1383. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing ...

1384. The Curriculum of God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... overcame me. And in the hour or two we spent that day at lunch, he poured into my heart such vision, such ideals, such hopes, such a new attitude toward life and patriotism and the meaning of things, as I had never dreamed men had. After that, I was ... the effect Jesus had on people up close? Love that looked into your soul and stirred up the deep waters of all your hopes and dreams. Holiness that made you ashamed of every sinful thought and deed. Joy that made your petty pleasures seem small and manageable ...

1385. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... leading to a new groove of better habits and deeper character and, in the end, a different destiny. Get off the road of destruction and learn the path that leads of life. Take Jesus Christ as the center of your world. Learn him, because without him there is literally no hope. And since I am seeking to walk this path with others, we will reach back and take your hand, as someone did for us. Let’s go together to a new life. You know the song, “Oh, who will come and go with me, I am bound for the promised ...

1386. In the Cross of Christ We Glory

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Michael Milton

... His precious blood dripping down his sinless brow, but this weirdness to man is the wonder of God, it is the glory of God, it is the hope of this filthy sinner. I have no other way to God but through that cross. My father died when I was a child. At the end of ... she could never figure out the power behind that joy, and she thanked me for sharing the secret of her joy. I saw a look of hope within that girl’s eyes as I pray she, too, looks to the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ is the secret of God now made ...

1387. All Keyed Up

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... way of being the Church is gone. Christendom is dead. It is not coming back. Admit that. Then, get a new attitude about your life. Be hopeful, be optimistic, face the future with great expectation. You can see what is happening in our world today as the end of an age, or ... though it was in their power to leave. He asked them to stay and care for the sick, bury the dead, and give hope to those who had not yet been infected by the plague. The amazing thing about this is that the Christians had just undergone a ...

1388. Discipline

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... , speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.” (4) The truth of the matter is that all of us learn things best the hard way. Nancy Guthrie begins her book HOLDING ON TO HOPE with these words: “Two weeks after the neighbor’s house burned down, I gave birth to a daughter we named Hope . . .” Hope was born with a fatal genetic disorder. She lived slightly more than six months. The experience was devastating for Nancy and her husband. Guthrie writes, “Early on in my journey, I said to God ...

1389. The Subject Is Salvation

Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19

Sermon

James L. Killen

... in which the Bible will stretch that understanding. Now here is something for you to file away for future reference. It was love that made God call all things into being, and the love that is at work in God is the model of the order into which God hopes to bring all things. That needs more attention than we can give it right now. Just remember it and think about it when you have the chance. Let's go back to the flood. Where did that come from? In the understanding of the ancients, there was no guarantee ...

1390. A Deliverer Is Born

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... , we shall overcome We shall overcome some day; Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe We shall overcome some day.2 Songs written by Black Americans that connect and have a universal appeal to every human heart have great themes of hope, cheer, and joy amidst the pity and sorrow. Amnesty International estimates that there are more oppressed people in the world today outside of the Communist era than at any time in history. Oppression can come from religious fundamentalism, dictators, or oppressive regimes ...

1391. Passing and Failing

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... abundance. He went to complain. He was discouraged because he realized that he could never crack into the top one percent of household wealth in the country.2 If the test questions for adversity have to do with despair and bitterness, with holding on to hope, the test questions for prosperity have to do with selfishness and arrogance. As Moses admonishes the people, "Do not say to yourself, â€˜My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is ...

1392. Removing Obstacles

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... in" group in the church, do you resent those who are? Do you let that resentment get in the way of your participation in the life and fellowship of the church? Are there some members of the church you wish would go away? Are there some kinds of people you hope will not come to your church? These attitudes can be very subtle. They can work in our lives without our ever recognizing them for what they are. But they can play havoc with the ability of the church to witness to the love of God and to bring people ...

1393. Still Under Construction

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

James L. Killen

... to be worked with. By the time he wrote the letter to the Romans, which embodies the most mature statement of his teachings, Paul was able to speak eloquently of the process of growing into Christian maturity, a process through which God leads us. He spoke of the hope that "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of children of God" (Romans 8:21). If you really get to know a congregation of the church today, you may have an experience very much ...

1394. Being More than Civil

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... . If that is true, then it ought to make a difference in how we live together. We ought to live together in peace. The common understanding of peace is that it is the cessation of hostility, the absence of violence. Perhaps in a society that is all that we can hope for. Perhaps it's the only kind of peace that we can have, as when the riots erupt in a city, or in a nation, such as what we are witnessing tragically in Bosnia today. Peace means that's what we pray for, that they would just stop fighting, and ...

1395. Laugh It Off

I Corinthians 1:18-20, 26-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... caused you such suffering and pain in your life. In comedy the appropriate response is to laugh, and to have hope, and expect surprises. You can understand the impact the Christian Gospel had on that first century world. The apostles went into ... are going to lose. But if life is a comedy, then you fight knowing that there are going to be surprises, so you don't give up hope. You know that at the end there will be a wonderful surprise. In the Book of Proverbs there is a wonderful tribute to a woman. I often ...

1396. No Fear

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... love abides in you, for perfect love casts out fear." I say, no more of this natural business. I don't want to die a natural death, like a plant. Just fade, wither, and flop over. I don't want that. I want to face death with courage, boldness, and hope, because I know that though I die, I will live, because of the victory given to me through my Lord Jesus Christ. There is a hymn in our hymnal written by Natalie Sleeth. I get all kinds of notes, incidentally, about the hymns. I get notes saying, "Why don't ...

1397. Now What?

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

1398. What's The Use?

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... creation, including all of us, is going to happen. Not even death can stop God's will for us now. That is what the belief in the Resurrection really meant. It was not just an open tomb. The Resurrection was the recreation of the world. It was possible now to hope, and to dream, and to work for good in this world, for equality and for peace. It meant those things that Jesus is about are the things that God is about. So the things that Jesus stood for are the things that are going to win in this world. That ...

1399. Where Can I Find the Church?

Acts 2:1-8; 4:32-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the hungry. We give shelter to those who don't have shelter. But those are ministries of compassion to relieve immediate suffering. I suspect that what we have now is an opportunity to do so much more, that is, to help people help themselves out of poverty. I hope that you will stay and see if it is possible for us to do more as a church than we were able to do under the old system. We have no choice, really, not if we take Pentecost seriously. Pentecost has a message we cannot ignore, because Pentecost ...

1400. In The Darkness of Oppression, There Is the Light of Salvation

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... people just missed it entirely. You need to receive him in a gracious way. I was out one afternoon trying to find the home of one of our church members. I knew I was in the right neighborhood, but I could not find the house. I knocked on a door, hoping to find someone who could tell me where to go. An older man opened the door and before I could introduce myself to him, and let him know that I was from the United Methodist church, he said, “Hi! Come in!” It was a gracious welcome to a stranger. Would ...

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