Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1451 to 1475 of 2157 results

1451. Are You Paying Too Much For Your Whistle?

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . To be “popular” at all costs can cost our kids their self-identity, their independent mind, their unique personal curiosity, their spontaneous compassion. We parents might chastise our children about chasing after “popularity.” But we have an adult version that is just as bad, if not worse. That “game” is called “fame” and a socially acceptable “success.” Is your “whistle” a house in the “right” neighborhood. Is your “whistle” a membership in the “right” club? Is your ...

1452. Like a Waving Flag

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it goes back, and then it goes back.” In March of 2010, some Canadian artists like Justin Bieber and Drake, Avril Lavigne, Fefe Dobson, Kardinal Offishall, Nelly Furtado, and more, got together and recorded this song as a relief effort for Haiti. It is the Canadian version of the Michael Jackson “We are the World,” though it is becoming a global anthem that is inspiring our kids to raise the flag of causes in their lives. Here is the song. Listen to the words carefully, as it moves from joy and hope ...

1453. My Name Is Legion

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... end of the story, and I think you’ll see why s I move along. “But He (Jesus) refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” The King James Version uses the term, “great things.” “Tell them of great things the Lord hath done for thee…” That’s where we need to begin. We need to begin there, because I believe that many of us are out of touch with the powerful dimension of Christ’s work in human lives ...

1454. How To Handle Criticism? Keep Moving

Luke 9:51-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... making critics into crispy critters. Jesus’ “rebukes” them and their eager offer to fight fire with fire. The kingdom Jesus is gradually revealing as he journeys with his disciples to Jerusalem won’t be brought about by the world’s versions of power and might. Those who criticized Jesus, who hesitated to follow him because they had other pressing duties, other responsibilities and other relationships, they missed his message. The kingdom Jesus preached, the path of discipleship Jesus offered, wasn ...

1455. What Happens When You Are Not Number One?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... said another Psalmist (Psalm 75:8), when he was thinking of the fate in store for the wicked and the disobedient. The cup then speaks of the experience allotted to men by God. The other phrase which Jesus uses is actually misleading in the literal English version. He speaks of the baptism with which He was baptized. The Greek verb baptizein (as used here), means submerged and it is regularly used of being submerged in any experience. For instance, a spend-thrift is said to be submerged in debt. A drunk man ...

1456. The Prayer Life of Highly Effective Christians

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” That’s a truncated version of the prayer as we know it, but all of us can recognize the beauty and the power of the prayer that has meant so much to so many in their spiritual development. Then, Christ sets out to explain elements of the prayer. And this is where ...

1457. Active Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

Peter L. Haynes

... his direction, attentively reaching out? How does forgiveness become a reality if we don't step into it - and how are we to step into it if we're not walking in the direction of, toward the One from whom forgiveness flows? The Lord's prayer, whether it be the version Matthew remembers, or the one Luke recalls, encourages active movement toward God on our part.

1458. Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . The failure of this man’s plan and the fragility of life itself are revealed by the divine response to the farmer’s scheming. The short form of Jesus’ parable could be summed up as “People plan, God laughs.” Or in the more familiar longer version: “Want to make God laugh? Tell God your plans.” The rich man’s new grain-stuffed mega-barns will never be built. His old, inadequate barns will never even be torn down. There will be no future filled with eating, drinking, and merriment. Instead ...

1459. Light and Hope for the New Year

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... with those plunged into the deepest part of the darkness. Jesus reveals this light to us. He is the one who comes down to this darkened world. John does not give us an intriguing birth story as Matthew and Luke do. John uses the language of abstraction, but his version is just as thrilling in its own way. John says, "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14). God's creativity, God's sense of order, God's direction of the universe, God's wisdom became weak, human flesh. If we think oil and water ...

1460. Those Who Most Need a Blessing

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... dominion of heaven has come near (Matthew 4:17). Matthew refers to the dominion of heaven, rather than the dominion of God — as the other gospels do — because strict members of the Jewish faith avoid saying the word "God" whenever they can. The New Revised Standard Version reads the "kingdom of heaven" as a translation of the Greek. Kingdom is not a wrong translation, but it makes what Jesus is talking about sound like a place. The dominion of heaven is as much a time as it is a place. The dominion of ...

1461. The True Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lee Griess

... our text for today, Jesus makes it clear when he says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me." This is a great word of promise and a great blessing for us. But we dare not hear it only in the Reader's Digest version that says only, "I know my own." Because the whole blessing of this verse comes in saying it through to the end, "I know my own and my own know me." Do not miss that! I know my own and my own know me. We cannot know the voice of ...

1462. and Forgiveness Come Easy When You’re Filled with The Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... followers. He told his disciples he was sending them, as his Father had sent him (John 20:21). Christ is sending you and me! And then, John says, Jesus breathed on them; he gave them the Holy Spirit! (John 20:23). There you have it. According to John's version of the gospel, the disciples had the Holy Spirit even before Pentecost. So what? What's the point of all this talk about the Holy Spirit? If you don't believe in speaking in tongues like the Pentecostals do, what does the Holy Spirit have to do with ...

1463. Wonderful Opportunities for Mission

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... end of the world.1 As a result, it follows that what Matthew reports is intended to paint a picture of our day. Jesus' word in the gospel was addressed to Matthew's contemporaries long after the resurrection, just as it is addressed to us. "Expect persecution," Matthew's version of Jesus says. "It won't be so easy carrying out the mission I have for you. But it is urgent! Don't dawdle, for the end of all time is coming." Mission is a challenge, but let's get to it, church. It's urgent! The church, if ...

1464. When You’re Free (In Christ), Sacrifice Is No Burden!

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

It takes a lot to be a Christian; you have to make your share of sacrifices. That is the popular version of Christianity. Megachurch pastor, Rick Warren, teaches, on the basis of our gospel lesson for today, that "each of us will have to give a personal account to God." Eternal rewards are at stake if we have served others with our lives.1 That is only part of the story. ...

1465. Life’s Purpose Is Often Hidden!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... segments of their lives are what Luther calls "pretended sinners." What does this all mean for the way you live? The first Protestant Reformer says that you will see grace more clearly, be a preacher of a true grace. That is in line with the original version of the parable of the weeds. Its point, recall, was to proclaim that God is realizing his kingdom, is working good among us, despite all the weeds. The pressure is off people who live the life of brave sinning. Brave sinners no longer need to cover ...

1466. Hunger and Politics

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... Moses, was divinely protected. Once again Matthew's Jewish Christian audience would draw out the parallel. In fact, Matthew reaffirms this comparison by relating that when Jesus began his public teachings (ch. 5) he first climbed a mountain, and then delivered an updated version of the covenant stipulations which were earlier mediated by Moses to Israel at Mount Sinai. Jesus must be the new Moses for this new age in which God's people find themselves. In other words, Matthew wants us to know up front and ...

1467. Kingdoms in Conflict

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... few people seemed willing to show up at the try-outs. There is a scene in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, where a partnership is forged among those who would accompany Frodo on his journey to destroy the ring of power. The movie version makes for a very gripping visual illustration, and the original literary text is equally as moving. What comes through is a sense of selflessness as the bond that unites these creatures. Furthermore, each subsumes his will to the greater cause, and trusts an unseen and ...

1468. Dressed for the Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Chris Ewing

1469. Investing in God’s Future

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... , that is evil — not, trying and failing and screwing up hopelessly. That is tragic, but it is not evil. Evil is having the means to do something, and choosing not to. Clarence Jordan, a famous activist in the southern States, and author of the Cotton Patch Version of the New Testament, wrote: I've heard so many sermons preached on this idea: "Give your talents to the Lord." They got that thing backward. The Lord gives the talents to us ... What are these talents? Are they money? No, Jesus had no money to ...

1470. Kiss The Chef! Thanksgiving Day

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... Day and every day, never pass up an opportunity to kiss the chef. Amen. 1. From The Color Purple by Alice Walker (movie 1985), as quoted at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/quotes. Language slightly altered for pulpit use. 2. The New Revised Standard Version counts 213 uses of "thank" and its derivatives (64 in the New Testament of which 35 are in the letters of Paul, and 149 in the Old Testament), and 436 of "praise" and derived terms (402 of these in the Old Testament), according to BibleWorks ...

1471. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... Christianity does have a great deal to say about how we live in the present. In fact, the Bible doesn't say very much about the future in its meaning of the time ahead on earth in a person's life. In the old King James Version of the Bible, the word "future" does not even occur. Nonetheless, underlying Christianity's focus on serving God in the present is the confidence that God's kingdom will eventually come. And living morally and spiritually today sometimes means delaying or even rejecting some pleasures ...

1472. Sentimental Slaves

Exodus 16:2-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... very good to Hubbell. Better than they actually were. I know that my sentimental reflections on earlier times in my life are equally gilded. But let us adjust our picture of reminiscences just a bit. Imagine friends who are remembering fondly a time gone by: their version of "the good old days." They cannot say with certainty which year was best, for they were all so good. Then rewind the tape and discover the lost era for which they long. It is not the halcyon days of high school or the vibrant years ...

1473. Are We There Yet?

James 5:7-10

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... are to respond with patience, willing to suffer loss rather than to injure the reputation of the church. You will recall that Matthew 18 explicitly warns that we may not always prevail. Reconciliation is neither easy nor guaranteed. Unlike Margaret Thatcher's version, we may not "get our own way in the end." So Paul's instructions to the Thessalonian believers were absolutely clear: "Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Thessalonians 5:13). In order to achieve this peace, Paul instructed the Thessalonians to ...

1474. Set Apart at Christmas

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... himself a doulos of Jesus Christ, a term that is difficult for translators. The NIV translates it "servant," while the NRSV does the same in its main text but with a footnote indicating that the Greek would more properly be translated "slave." Some versions straddle the fence by using something like "bond-servant" to remind us that most of the slaves in Rome were economic slaves, whether they had sold themselves into bondage or been sold by others. Slavery did not carry all the negative connotations that ...

1475. A Little Theology at Christmas

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... should not expect too much real theology in this work, often dismissed as an idealization of Victorian Christmases. But why then its enormous popularity, even among Christians? I would suggest it is because in its own somewhat (but not totally) secularized version of things, it is in synch with the gospel summary in this epistle lesson. Ebenezer Scrooge was certainly an individual who needed a change of heart: Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping ...

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