Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1501 to 1525 of 4963 results

1501. Tales from the Field

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... lays eyes on what appears to be a tremendous feast of bread, cheese, fruits, and grains. But no sooner do they sit down to eat, that a cat appears, and they must quickly scamper away and hide in a tiny, uncomfortable hole in the wall, where they must remain until later. As soon as he is able, the country mouse declares, he is returning home to his field, declaring that the city’s mouse’s “feast and heaven” is an illusion, but in his home in the field, he is truly free. This story, though Greek, has ...

1502. Sword of the Spirit

John 6:56-69 · Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a sense in the gospel of John, in which Jesus describes himself as the Son of Man, and again the Bread of life. And no one can come to him unless it is granted by the Father. While most refuse to recognize him as the rightful “king,”Jesus’ inner 12 remain steadfast. Jesus asks the 12 if they too will fall away from following him. Simon Peter replies, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:67-68 ...

1503. Not Guessing

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... his name yet. Will you be able to tell them if you’ve put Jesus into a safe box where no one gets disturbed, or asked to go the second mile? Our church must remain accessible to those with emotion, those who are broken, those who are suffering, those who are ready to call aloud to Jesus. Our church must remain accessible to the blind, those unable to hear, those with disabilities and inabilities and different abilities. In all of this remember the words of Jesus. Be of good cheer, rise up, he calls you ...

1504. Devour And Conquer

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... off the hook. We should feel inspired to give more, and aspire to give all of ourselves to the work of the gospel, to the good news of Jesus Christ. After all, some day in the distant future an archaeologist may be digging through our trash. Instead of finding the remains of our dinners, which we’ve stuffed down the garbage disposal or sent to the landfill, they may find our pay stubs and a copy of the record of our church giving, the original of which was sent to the IRS. They may be able to look at the ...

1505. I Shall Rise Again!

I Corinthians 15:19-26 · Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... dying. In Greek mythology, Aurora, goddess of the dawn, fell in love with Tithonus, a mortal youth. Zeus offered her the gift of anything she wished for her mortal lover. Aurora chose immortality. He would live with her forever. But she forgot to ask that he would remain young forever. So he just grew older and older and could not die. The gift she prayed for became a curse. What use is life if we lose our dignity as human beings? There are things in this world more precious to us than our lives. Archibald ...

1506. Easter Makes Us One!

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... or at meetings, we don’t typically socialize or even live near each other. The census bureau has provided statistics demonstrating that despite minority growth and increased minority dispersion to the suburbs, the average white resident lives in a neighborhood that has become only modestly more diverse and remains markedly “whiter” than its respective metropolitan area population. In small towns, the average American in these locales lives in communities that are 80% white. Meanwhile Sunday worship ...

1507. Provoked

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... dark, never-ending void that can never be filled. These folk appear to be perpetually inconsolable, unquenchable, unappeasable people, who simply cannot or will not feel joy no matter who they are with or what they encounter. They are receiving too many “perks” remaining exactly as they are. Sometimes the benefits these folks are reaping are clear to us. Sometimes they aren’t.But you know when you’re in their presence because their souls feel like a vacuum, sucking the life out of everyone who dares ...

1508. The Lonely Prophet

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

Sermon

King Duncan

... use us in spectacular ways. But our greatest usefulness to God is in our servanthood, in our desire to love and serve and witness as Jesus did. Please don’t let loneliness or fear or frustration quench the Holy Spirit of Jesus that is working in you. Remain faithful to the calling to grow into the image of Jesus Christ, and trust the outcome to God’s good and powerful plan for you. 1.“Meet Japan’s New Minister daily_brief/news-opinion/meet-japans-new-minister-loneliness. 2. “Rent-a-person who does ...

1509. The Steady March Forward

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... It was too late to look back. They were caught in the now. We all have these moments in our lives. We all have our doubts, our fears, and our misgivings. In our days of weakness, we are reminded of the call to set our faces toward Jerusalem — to remain resolute in the things of Christ. It’s not easy being a disciple in the twenty-first century. It never has been easy. The early disciples were the first to discover this truth. As we grow in our Christian faith, we understand more and more that there are ...

1510. The Lawyer

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... music. Many of the Levites whose talents were not in the field of music were designated to be temple guards. In any case, this particular Levite may well have been headed to Jerusalem to participate in holy worship as well. He, too, would have found it necessary to remain in a state of cleanliness. Thus, he passed the dying man by moving to the opposite side of the road. In the cases of both the priest and the Levite, they were either assuming the man was dead, or they weren’t going to take the chance he ...

1511. The Foreigner

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . As they believe, they are God’s “chosen” group of people, they believe that God’s healing is a given. After all, they are who they are. The Samaritan however, when healed, although restored mind, body, and spirit, will remain outcast from Galilee. He will remain a Samaritan, disliked, mistrusted, avoided, and snubbed by the conventional Jewish community. But not from God. Humbled, his gratitude that God behaves differently than anyone he’s ever known, will spill from his lips in praise and laud ...

1512. Persistence And Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... years hiding in the forest. But a French journalist named Morrieu could not forget what happened. He remembered that in this tiny French village Nazi soldiers under the command of Engle had killed the villagers. Morris went back to the village and reminded the remaining people what had happened and that Engle and his wife were hiding in the woods, not far from the village. Their ire having been stimulated, the villagers decided to attack Engle and his wife that night. Morrieu wanted to hear more details of ...

1513. In the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... In the end her mission is complete as she reaches the High Places and receives her new name of Grace and Glory. Even her traveling companions are transformed from Suffering and Sorrow to Joy and Peace. Through all of her adventures and misadventures, the Good Shepherd remains her consolation and best friend. And so it is on our way through life. On unexpected pathways and in the wilderness of trial and temptation, we too can trust God to lead us onward. Inspiration and comfort may come to us in the words of ...

1514. Transformed

John 4:5-42

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... less a strange woman. A Jew would not speak to a Samaritan, or share a drink out of the same vessel. Most Jews would have taken a different route to avoid traveling through Samaria. But Jesus was like no one else. He did not move away, and instead of remaining silent, he asked the woman for a drink, and continued to engage her in conversation. He spoke of the gift of God, of living water, and eternal life. He told her to call her husband, then come back, and when she said she had no husband, he somehow knew ...

1515. When the Way Means Staying Home

John 11:1-45

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... that they pray will grow into a church. Another family spent some years in overseas ministry, and have now moved to a nearby community to take on pastoral responsibilities. Several young adults are away at school. As much as I would love for them all to remain as part of the congregation, I know that God is calling them elsewhere at least for now. In response to the call of Jesus, Peter and Andrew left their fishing nets. The sons of Zebedee left their father with the family fishing business. Matthew left ...

1516. When the Way Is Hard

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... there too, and is with you now. God holds you in the palm of his hand. Good triumphs over evil. Life has conquered death. Resurrection is coming. We give thanks to you, God almighty, for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So much of this story remains a mystery to us—how you could become human in Jesus Christ, who lived, suffered, and died such a cruel death, and then rose again with new life. The earth shook in response, yet the death and resurrection of Jesus form the sure foundation of our ...

1517. To Cross Over

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... Mr. Linden comforts the dying child Johnny Fax he recites the poem, “Jesus loves me! this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” In 1861, Dr. William B. Bradbury put the poem to music. It first appeared in 1862 in his hymnal The Golden Shower. The hymn has remained unchanged to this day. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. It is this love of Jesus that allows us to overcome our insecurities and live in hope. It is our faith in the love and presence of Jesus that provides our security in ...

1518. Don't Be Afraid

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... least enough for us to live the image that we would like to project to God, to others, to the world around us, even to ourselves. Human beings prefer to live in a world of half-light and shadows. We want to see the light. We don’t want to remain fully exposed within it. We want to project ourselves into the light bit by bit, as we feel safe to do so. The minds of humans depend largely on images. We create images of how we see ourselves and our world, and we project images of ourselves to those around ...

1519. Sharing God's Vision

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... opportunities offered to poorer children. As he said, “. . . what happens is the people who have money can buy themselves the best education in the world, and because of that, they remain having a lot of money, whereas the people who don’t have very much money barely learn how to read and write and therefore remain not having very much money.” He created Duolingo as a free learning app because he wanted every person on earth to have an equal opportunity to learn another language, especially ...

1520. With Peace for the Fearful

John 20:19-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... , and since then many authors have offered variations on the theme. A single door stands locked from the inside, and must be forced open. The room has no chimney for escape to the roof, no false walls to a secret passage, no trap door. The only window remains bolted from the inside. Yet the poor man or woman lies dead on the floor, obviously the victim of foul play. In print, on stage and screen, a locked-room mystery centers on who did it, and how. Our scripture reading for today presents another kind of ...

1521. Professional Angel

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Ronald Love

... articulate the meaning of a Christian’s calling to sacrificial service. Recorded in the tenth chapter of John’s gospel is the best overview that Jesus provides of his self-understanding of fulfilling the role of being the good shepherd. A shepherd would remain with each sheep in his flock for a lifetime, developing an eight to nine year relationship. In that time the shepherd would come to know each sheep by name and the sheep would recognize its shepherd’s voice, responding to none other. Regarding ...

1522. Keeper of the Keys

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and to be led by those so loyal to God, so humble in nature, and so committed to learning and growing, that they may be called “administrators” of the church – keepers of keys. They are your people who value their open communication with God and who remain teachable and unrigid in their thinking, yet steadfast in their faith and trust in the authority and power of Jesus. They are the ones with vision for the kingdom that Jesus intended yet look to God’s wisdom in the opening and shutting of doors ...

1523. Seize the Now

Philippians 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... the release of hostages in Beirut, Lebanon, Terry was himself taken hostage and confined to a Lebanese prison. He was chained to the wall of a windowless cell for 23 hours and 50 minutes every day. He was tortured and fed just enough to stay alive. And he remained in captivity for 1,763 days until he was finally released and returned to the UK. Terry reports that one of the ways he kept his sanity was to celebrate the communion service every day. He saved a scrap of bread and water from his one meal. And ...

1524. Trick Questions

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Steve Molin

... you worship here every Sunday, but you find yourself in a wilderness place now, running away from the God of your childhood. Maybe you are one who has put up all the defenses, asked all the hard questions without finding any answers, and life has remained a riddle. Or perhaps you are an elder Pharisee; you know scripture, you’ve memorized scripture, but for some reason, the joy has gone. Whatever your circumstance, you’re here today to hear the great good news that Jesus has been your near companion all ...

1525. Guiding Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... unity, peace, blessing, and change. Jesus’ message is clear. Jesus––the shining star, the Light of the world –came to unite all people and reconcile them to God and each other. Who are we to say otherwise? Today, just as long ago, Jesus remains our guiding star. He remains with us in the person of the Holy Spirit to bless us and guide us toward inclusivity, harmony, love, and peace toward all of God’s people. In a world today, in which Israeli and Arab continue to struggle against each other, in ...

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