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Showing 126 to 150 of 4964 results

126. What is Possible When there is Hope

John 20:10-18

Illustration

Donald Dotterer

... . We've been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back; he's responding to treatment. It's as if he has decided to live." The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher. It all changed when he came to a simple realization. With joyful tears, the boy said: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a boy who was dying, would they?" This wonderful story invites us to celebrate ...

127. Our Hope for Years to Come

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... that we use to organize, plan, and remember. We mark milestones in our history. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We remember significant events. We keep track of the passage of time in order to preserve the past, make sense out of the present, and find direction and hope for the future. Two Bible passages remind us that God does not measure time the same way we do. Psalm 90 (the basis for "O God Our Help in Ages Past") says: "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or ...

128. We Have This Hope

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... : The Lord our God is holy. Amen. Collect Almighty God, our Father, we give you thanks for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. By his life, death, and resurrection he has removed the veil that kept us from really knowing you, and given us the promise and hope of eternal life with you. Keep us ever mindful that we live in your sight, and through your Holy Spirit may we try to commend ourselves to everyone's good conscience, that through us they may come to know you. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Eternal God, we ...

129. Jesus: The Hope of a Godly Family

Psalm 127:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

... in the church, you will have victory in the city; when you have victory in the city, you will have victory in the state; when you have victory in the state, you will have victory in the nation. So I want to give you three reasons why Jesus is the hope of a godly family. I. Only the Lord Can Begin a Godly Family It is not coincidental that Psalm 127 and 128 are together. For they actually form a two-part exposition on the family; and they cover the four major stages through which a family passes. It is like ...

130. The Arrival of Hope

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... building for the congregation Pastor Kumalo serves. Further, the elder Jarvis offers to build a dam for the village of Ntodsheni, so that the people might have year-round access to fresh water. The very rumor of what is to be done sends a shock wave of hope throughout the village. There will now be water for irrigation. The people will be able to raise cattle. And because there will be abundant food and milk for their families, the young people of the village will no longer have to drift off to the cities ...

131. Don’t Hope…Decide

Mk 10:1-12

Illustration

King Duncan

... years total, married twelve of those," the man replied, as he gazed into his wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" The man turned around and said, "Two whole days!" Hargrove was stunned. "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!" The man stopped smiling and said, "Don't hope, friend . . . decide!" And that's it, isn't it? For most of us it comes down to a decision. "Till death us do part." It doesn't happen in every relationship, but that is still the ideal that ...

132. A Symbol of Hope

Mk 12:38-44

Illustration

King Duncan

... they returned they saw something that stayed with Ruele Howe all those years after. Beside the charred remains of what had been their house, his mother had laid out lunch on a log. She had placed a tin can filled with wildflowers on the log. It was a symbol of hope in the midst of tragedy. This is the Christian faith, isn't it? She didn't try to cover up the disaster with flowers, but in the midst of that gloomy scene she had placed a symbol of ...

133. The World’s Only Hope

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

G. Ray Jordon, Methodist preacher from North Carolina and teacher of preachers at Emory University, wrote years ago, "The hope of civilization is that we shall be able to produce enough Christlike men to save it." That is the world's only hope. It was when Jesus first walked along the Sea of Galilee. It still is today.

134. Hope: Return and know God

Hosea 6:1--7:16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God wounded them in the past, they can be sure that he will revive the wounded if they seek God. God will leave a blessing (rain and fertility) for his people, but they must first come and return to him (6:1–3). Immediately after this offer of hope is God’s sad, lamenting response (6:4–6), indicating that relatively few people actually pray the prayer of repentance in 6:1–3. What can God do if the people do not respond to his offer of restoration? God has warned them and punished them, but nothing ...

135. Don’t Be Deceived By False Hopes

Amos 5:18-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... will escape God’s wrath and not suffer judgment, Amos addresses three issues that might be false sources of hope for the people in Israel. First, the prophet questions the audience about their beliefs about the day of the Lord ... and invite his Hebrew people to enjoy his eternal kingdom, where the Messiah will reign as king forever. Amos announces that this is a deceptive hope, for that day will actually be a day of darkness for Israel. On that day the Israelites will be lumped together with God’s enemies ...

136. God’s Word of Hope to Israel

Micah 4:1-5, Micah 4:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Lord in the present. Thus, Micah speaks for the people of God and reaffirms their commitment to trust and obey the Lord, even though the nations follow their own false gods. The opening phrase “in that day” marks the beginning of a second oracle of hope (4:6–8), reminding the reader once again that Micah is focusing on the future. God will intervene and restore his people whom he has punished. They are weak (lame, exiled, grief stricken) because of God’s punishment, but God brings strength out of ...

Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve, And hope without an object cannot live.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

138. We Live in Hope

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

... ? This day of all Christian days, we can celebrate the certainty that we are forgiven, redeemed, and undeniably connected to the salvation of being in Christ. Easter is the good news of all the Christian faith. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we have the hope, no the certainty, that the resurrection is also for us. Death had been defeated for all time. Have you ever been at the bedside of one who is actively dying? There are machines, people, prayer, and grief. There is the essence of the living person ...

139. The Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... scripture reading. Readers: 4 people - 2 long-married couples Key: 1 and 2 = first couple 3 and 4 = second couple All: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 1: By his great mercy he has given us a new birth 2: into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1: and into an inheritance that is imperishable, 2: undefiled, and unfading, 1: kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith 2: for a salvation ready to be revealed in the ...

140. God is Faithful - The Provider of Hope

Romans 14:1--15:13

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... is the Christ who came to give us life! All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O Lord, as we move through this season of Advent, renew our vision of the task You came to place before us as Your Church. Touch again our hearts with light, hope and joy. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, so often we have tended to take the salvation You came to bring the world for granted and we have forgotten the price You paid that we might have eternal life. Forgive us, Lord, and where there are ...

141. Hope For Those Whom Life Has Cheated

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... 2. 3. Dr. William P. Barker, TARBELL'S TEACHER'S GUIDE, (Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook Church Ministries, 1994). 4. Dave and Jan Dravecky, WHEN YOU CAN'T COME BACK, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), pp. 70-71. 5. Charles R. Swindoll, COME BEFORE WINTER AND SHARE MY HOPE, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985). 6. THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON ANNUAL 1994-95, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), p. 211. 7. LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, Lexington, Kentucky, Monday, August 15, 1994, p. C2.

142. Hope For The Future

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: Let us praise the Lord, our God! People: He has come to the help of his people and has set us free. Leader: He has provided for us a mighty Savior, People: a descendant of his servant David. Leader: Our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Come, let us worship him! Collect O Lord, we acknowledge you as king of our lives, and praise you for ruling over us like a tender shepherd. Your judgments are just and righteous, and your mercy is beyond our comprehension. We ...

143. A Word of Hope for a Hard World

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... by Dr. King’s family, so I can’t give you the complete text. It is a pity because it would lift your spirits like it lifted the spirits of those who first heard it. In the speech, Dr. King asks how long will it be until the hopes of his people would be realized. “How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?” he asks. “I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because ‘truth crushed to earth will rise again ...

144. The Power of Belief in a World of Lost Hope

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... . He himself had known the power of a resurrection. He had learned to live life abundantly--even without his legs. Needless to say, the young soldier's own resurrection began that moment. Easter isn't just about dying. It's about the power of belief in a world of lost hope. It is about knowing that no situation is beyond God's redeeming power. Note: There is no historical reference to this story. Treat it as a parable.

145. Our Hope, Our Terror

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

... off, back into the ocean. Watching her swim slowly away and remembering her nightmare ride through the dunes, I reflected that it is sometimes hard to tell whether you are being killed or saved by the hands that turn your life upside down. Our hope, through all our own terrors, is that we are being saved. Sometimes God's blessing does not come until daybreak, after a full night of wandering in the wrong direction. Our job is to struggle with the terrors, neither surrendering nor stealing away until they ...

146. The Joy and Hope of Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... his best-selling book The Road Less Traveled, begins with the statement, "Life is difficult." In a sequel to that book, he begins by saying: "Life is complex." Both statements are of course true. Life is both difficult and complex, but Advent is a season of hope. The prophet Isaiah cried out to God, "O that Thou would rend the heavens and come down . . . ." We affirm during this season of the year the most basic teachings of our faith that God has come down into our world through the person of Jesus Christ ...

147. Where There's Death, There's Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Robert Deffinbaugh

One woman in the crowd is singled out by the gospel writers. She was a woman who had suffered from some kind of hemorrhage for twelve years. Her suffering was much more than physical, though that would have been enough. She suffered as much from her ‘cures' as she did from her case of bleeding. From various sources we are informed as to the nature of some of these ‘cures.' Pliny's Natural History reveals the generally low condition of medical science in the world at that time. Physicians were accustomed to ...

148. Where Is the Hope?

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Steve Zeisler

... up, got divorced, spent time alone rediscovering themselves, met someone new, fell in love and repeated the pattern habitually ever after." A sad grim outlook and sadly real. It is hopeless, and far from what God intended. More than ever, our children wonder what marriage is and what they might hope for in a relationship.

149. Calamity and Hope

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... his audience was Judah, in the southern kingdom. Whoever he was, Joel speaks forthrightly and forcefully in this short and powerful book. His message is one of foreboding and warning, but it is also filled with a sense of what might be, a real sense of hope. Joel states that our Creator, the omnipotent judge, is also merciful, and wants to bless all those who put their trust in God. Joel begins this book by describing a terrible plague of locusts that covers the land and devours the crops. He warns that ...

150. Light and Hope for the New Year

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Early January always feels like a fresh start. The Christmas whirlwind has settled down. We still have a fighting chance to keep our resolutions for the new year. Cartoons always depict the New Year as a baby, full of possibilities and innocence. We hope that with a new year we can leave the baggage behind us, stretching toward a brighter future. The gospel of John begins when everything was new, before the creation itself had any baggage. John begins when the only thing that existed was the Word. We ...

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