Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 126 to 150 of 1522 results

126. When Religion Becomes a Laughing Matter

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... apartheid would come to an end, or that Irish Catholics and Protestants would sit down together, or people would hold hands from one end of Woodward to the other, or that our measly little pennies could amount to health and wholeness in Ghana? It's impossible. It's ridiculous. It's laughable. It's the laughter of disbelief, and we have all laughed it from time to time, haven't we? 2. But the laughter of disbelief soon turns to the laughter of faith assured and promises fulfilled. Now Sarah and Abraham ...

127. Houston We Have a Problem

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... what would become in the annals of American space travel our finest hour. That is the title of a series of messages that I am beginning today on the Book of Nehemiah, because Nehemiah was all about a man who faced what seemed to be an impossible task, and unsolvable problem, an unbelievable challenge and because of it - experienced "His Finest Hour". If you think about it, life is a lot like Apollo 13. You can be cruising along in that cozy little space ship of your life, enjoying the scenery, except you ...

128. Mary and Joseph: His Obedient Servants

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it home now. Do you think the Lord is demanding a lot of you? You’re having to wait – no clear guidance has come for you in your next move (“Let it be to me according to your Word.”) You are feeling a call – it seems impossible. (“Let it be to me according to your Word.”) God is asking you to do something difficult. (“Let it be to me according to your Word.”) You have been put down in a hard place. Your circumstances and surrounding are depressing, sometimes almost unbearable, yet God ...

129. Where do You Live?

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... me 80 suicides and 500 push-ups. Please leave my gym." Cruz is crushed. He's worked hard every day to try to complete the impossible task, but he failed. Coach Carter turns to his team and says he'll see them tomorrow. As the coach turns to leave the gym ... is all about. That scene teaches us a couple of things. One, like Timo Cruz, the task of standing accountable and blameless before God is impossible. There is no way we can be perfect and not sin in a fallen world. We can give it our best shot, but we will ...

130. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... stretch us to it? Is not that a God-given gift to all of us? We are never satisfied with where we are. We want the next step. We want to stretch beyond. We want to see something more. Something inside us makes us want to push the envelope, dream impossible dreams, beat unbeatable foes. And rightly so. I was thumbing through a book put out by Life magazine of the last thousand years in pictures. I ran across a map drawn by a Spanish priest in 1220 A.D. Jerusalem was at the center of the world then. The ...

131. The Holy Way

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Tony Everett

... . In our wilderness, there is never enough time, never enough money, never enough understanding, and never enough love. Our hands are weak. Our knees have grown feeble. Our hearts have become so fearful (Isaiah 35:3-4) that a way out seems truly impossible. Where are those scary, wilderness spaces deep inside your souls? Where are those spaces in which your hands weaken, your knees won't support you anymore, and your courage just surrenders? What traps you in the prison of doubt and broken dreams? What ...

132. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The crowd that had been standing around watching this exchange got it. They realized how impossible it is to trust God like this, about as possible as a camel passing through the eye of a needle. In their frustration and ... ruler and us, the readers of this story. Jesus exposes to us all just how captive to the power of sin we are. It is impossible to escape its hold on us regardless of how hard we try. It is no wonder then that Paul in today's reading cries, "Wretched ...

133. The Final Exam

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven Molin

... them "How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a man to enter the kingdom of God." "Then who can do it?" the disciples wondered. "Humanly speaking," Jesus answered, "it is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." Let's review: The young man wants to gain God's approval and go to heaven, but how can he be certain? Follow the commandments. Been there, done that, he tells Jesus. Okay, here's something you haven't done: Give away ...

134. Genuine Hope

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... What if you were a 99-year-old man, married to an equally old woman who has been barren all her life, and God comes to you and promises you that you're going to be the ancestor of a multitude of nations? You know what you're hearing is impossible. But this isn't just some fortuneteller looking into a crystal ball who is speaking to you; it's God. Abraham believed that it would happen as God promised. We call that faith, trusting in the promises of God, trusting that God is going do what God has promised to ...

135. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... step on board.” One of Harriet’s Underground Railroad stops was at her parents’ cabin. She and her fellow travelers would hide out in the barn. Because Harriet’s mother was given to outbursts of screaming and crying whenever she was happy, it was impossible for them to let her mother know they were there. Instead, they subtly alerted Harriet’s father to their presence. Before Harriet’s father entered the barn, he put a blindfold over his eyes. He knew the authorities would come to ask him if he ...

136. Claimed, Framed, Changed

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Tony Everett

... sin. Stirred up emotions can, indeed, motivate us to change our ways of thinking and behaving… to repent. However, remember that emotions fire up fast and soon fizzle away, most often resulting in no change whatsoever. We are just not able to change all by ourselves. That’s impossible. Paul describes his own captivity to sin in these words: For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do… wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from the body of death? Thanks be to God through ...

137. Framed, Changed, Challenged

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Tony Everett

... did not. They had begun to appreciate the new respect from other teachers and students. Every day we challenged each other. It’s surprising, but we actually seem to like each other… most of the time anyway.” Hmmm… something ridiculous, humiliating, and impossible that changes everything. Sounds a lot like the crucified and risen Jesus, doesn’t it? On the cross Jesus framed us in the center of his love. Through his resurrection Jesus changed us from a people with little meaning and purpose into a ...

138. God Is Not Dead

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... ever conceive of God would, at best, be a bad picture of God. First of all, an image is local, God is universal; an image is temporal, God is eternal; an image is material, God is spiritual; an image is impotent, God is omnipotent. But not only is it impossible, it is also improper to represent God through some image. There are only two kinds of gods you can worship. You will either worship the God who made you, or you will worship a god you have made. You will either worship the creator God, or you will ...

139. She Had Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... to take effect and, almost miraculously, Walter learned to walk again. But that wasn’t enough for Walter. He set a goal for himself not only to walk, not only to run. He set a goal for himself to break the world record for the high jump. It seemed impossible, but guess what? The time came when Walter Davis entered the Olympics and broke all records for the high jump. (4) General William Booth once said, “God loves with a great love the [person] whose heart is bursting with a sublime passion for the ...

140. Can Two Become One?

Matthew 19:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... God sees a brother and a sister He sees two. When God sees a husband and a wife He sees one. Jesus does in marriage what is impossible in math. You all know that in math 1+1 always equals 2, but in marriage 1+1 always equals 1. All of this is going to ... the first equation in “I do” math: In Marriage 1+1= 1. Let me give you a sneak preview. This is why divorce is practically impossible in the eyes of God. Go back to the math that you learned in school. Do you remember what a prime number is? It is also ...

141. Dealing with Difficult People

1 Peter 3:8-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18) That’s what you tell them. For, you see, all of us can be difficult. All of us can be abrasive and insensitive. All of us can be impossible to deal with. And how did Christ respond to us? With unbelievable love, grace and mercy! We repay evil and insults with a blessing because that is what Christ has done for us. So often we forget this. When we are dealing with a difficult person we forget we ...

142. Gratitude and Coping

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... as I do what happened as a result. Somehow, with God's help, that little became enough! What had seemed so impossible to the disciples as they looked exclusively at the problem, became a possibility through the decisive action of Jesus. He was ... The point I am laboring to make is that Jesus' way of coping, radical as it may seem in comparison to our ways, is not an utterly impossible pattern. The things he did that day in the face of an enormous problem are things that any one of us could do if we would allow ...

143. The Sound of Joy

Genesis 17:1-27, Genesis 18:1-15, Genesis 18:16-33, Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to draw other nations to God. It’s awesome, isn’t it, that Abraham and Sarah’s son, the foundational stone for God’s larger mission should be called “Laughter.” His name not only emphasizes the power and sovereignty of God to do the impossible ….what is beyond human comprehension, but also the name symbolizes the joy of God, in that there are those among humanity who will obey, follow, trust, who believe that “little can become large when God is in it.” (Sweet) The metaphor of laughter is ...

144. The Raising of Paul

Acts 14:8-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the wounds of the world, ready for you to do miracles in His Name. When the people pray, the Church becomes the most powerful force on earth –a veritable tsunami of love and healing. We as a church are not asked to do impossible things. We are merely asked to call upon God to do impossible things. And God does and will. This week, let’s start as a church to be that gathering of praise that Jesus asked us to be in the world. It all starts with people. It all culminates in prayer. In a bowl on the ...

145. Dealing With Difficult People

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... blessing.(NRSV) So as followers of Christ, we are called to respond this way — to respond to evil with goodness. It is not a suggestion, or an idea, or an option. It is a command from Christ. We are called to this! But if the idea seems difficult or impossible, you need to know you will receive a blessing by responding this way. What is the blessing? Let’s keep reading. Read 1 Peter 3:10-11. The writer of 1 Peter was quoting a psalm there. It seems like a tall task to always seek peace, especially when ...

146. Confidence, Joy, and Hope

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” “By God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge.” Let those words sink in. God had a plan from before the foundation of the world to let Jesus offer his life as a perfect sacrifice for humanity, to destroy the power of ...

147. Equipped for Our Calling

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

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... God establishes God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” His teaching, preaching and healing bring the truth and power of God to the people. And now he expects his disciples, a bunch of average guys, to do the work he is doing? It would be impossible for them—and for us—to do what Jesus is asking. Unless Jesus somehow equipped us with his own spirit and power, we could never fulfill our calling as his followers. So the first thing Jesus does is equip us with his spirit of compassion. Our Bible ...

148. The Fork in the Path

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... not?” needs an answer. We know the rest of the story. They do accept. The mission was fraught with danger, death, torture, and more. And yet, they prevailed. Still, they did not go into it unprepared. If you remember the “Mission Impossible” series, Phelps is not sent into his mission without some special equipment, some instructions, some warnings, and some information about what to look out for. Jesus provides a similar preview. Jesus also gives his disciples the ultimate brass ring. No matter what ...

149. Raising Power

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... morning, just as the sun was rising, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James came to the tomb to anoint the body with oils and spices. They worried as they went about who might open the tomb for them to do this ritual. They knew that the stone was impossibly heavy and large. Yet when they arrived, the stone had already been rolled back! Sitting inside the tomb, they saw a man in a white robe sitting on the right side of the slab. And Jesus missing! Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that would ...

150. The Fear Of Taking The Plunge

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Richard Patt

... them for the sake of his own personal spiritual welfare and encouragement. Nothing can destroy and no moth can eat through his trusted storehouse! In a similar vein, I am acquainted with a host of elderly people whose poor eyesight makes it almost impossible for them to read Scripture or a hymnal anymore. But they too have a treasure of memorized Bible verses and hymns that they have known since childhood. They have instant recall of a valuable storehouse that brings comfort to their souls. Elderly people ...

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