Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1651 to 1675 of 2404 results

1651. What the Trinity Does

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... are limitations. Everyone who has ever lived has had limitations. Some of us regard Albert Einstein as perhaps the smartest man who ever lived. Did you know that when Einstein died, he left an unfinished manuscript? This manuscript was to be his crowning achievement, his attempt to create a “theory of everything,” an equation that would unlock the secrets of the universe and perhaps allow him to “read the mind of God.” But, if he had truly discovered those secrets at the heart of the universe, he ...

1652. Anything to Declare?

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... I declare.” If you wanted to express wonderment or approval to something someone else said, you’re response was “Well, I declare.” Said of course with that certain mountain twang. My hero is that 19th century Scottish bard William McGonagall (1825-1902), who achieved notoriety for being such a bad poet, partly by doing such things as rhyming “fair” with “I do declare.” In fact, I’ve always suspected Jesus had some Appalachian in him when in the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids, he had the ...

1653. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it with the requirement in Leviticus 19:18 to “love your neighbor.” Jesus immediately affirms this response as correct. Indeed, if this man will put that law into practice, if he will “do this,” then he will “live.” That is, he will achieve the “inheritance” he seeks. But this lawyer now reveals that his initial question and response were not really the heart of what concerned him. Luke declares that this legal expert wants to “justify himself,” that is, affirm his own take on Leviticus ...

1654. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1655. What Really Matters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... every morning or every night. He just said, “This can help you, if you will let it.” Now lying in his own bed, decades later, this father felt a twinge of regret. He knew he gave his daughter all he could give, but despite all the wealth and prosperity he achieved in his own life, it amounted to nothing compared to what his own father gave him. Quietly climbing out of bed, he made his way to the attic. He found the dusty old box his father’s Bible was in. He pulled it out and smiled. It was exactly as ...

1656. The Lord’s Prayer and The Stones-Serpents-Scorpions Story

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... motion is your legacy.” Are you just pouring concrete or building a skyscraper? Every one of us wants to leave a “legacy.“ Something that outlasts our biological lives and can somehow continue to declare “I was here.” For a very few this is achieved through intellect or infamy, greatness or great sacrifice. But for those of us who know we are not Augustine or Martin Luther, or Christopher Columbus or George Washington or Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King, Jr. — we still have a gateway to a ...

1657. The Gift that Matters

Hebrews 2:5-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... no one has gone before leading the way to God the Father. We discover through Jesus that God desires to be in relationship with us, “in bringing many children to glory.” It is through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that he achieved the goal God set before him, making “the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Perfection signifies completeness. Through his suffering and death Jesus Christ gained “glory” not for only himself but for “many children,” in fact all people ...

1658. The Best Gift of All

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... give him the seasonal peace he was looking for. Nothing seemed to be working for Derek. Not ready to give up, still feeling empty, Derek found a church that offered a late candlelight service. “Sometimes it takes a moment or more of desperation to achieve the kind of clarity necessary to hear God’s voice,” Derek reflects. Christmas finally hit him as the congregation sang a carol. At that moment he explains, “I felt relieved and forgiven and free.” It was then that he received what he was looking ...

1659. Lift High the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... power of the cross is that only God is able to take people who appear to be insignificant, or weak, and transform them. Paul was a living example of someone who underwent a major life transformation. God is the source of all our human achievements. God deserves the credit. If we are going to boast, Paul suggests let us, “boast in the Lord.” Jane Johnson Struck experienced one of those uncomfortable Holy Spirit moments in church one Sunday. As she stood singing with the congregation, “I suddenly felt ...

1660. Philemon 1:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... their economy going. Slaves were at the mercy of their masters, but they were also cared for and often coddled by their masters. Those who successfully gained their “freedom” often found themselves without any structure or stability to help them achieve true independence. Rather than being set “free,” they were cruelly set adrift. But Paul has no such “freedom” in mind for Onesimus. First and foremost, Paul claims Onesimus as his “child,” a baptized convert whom the apostle declared was his ...

1661. Refresh Your Heart

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

1662. A One Sentence Legacy

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... say the same. But those other words, “Some of us are going to do something about it,” is an inspiring one sentence legacy. What will be your legacy? What one sentence would you want to define your life? Are you living right now so that that legacy may be achieved? “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? . . . Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and ...

1663. Powerless People

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... near-poverty, he never dreamed as a young boy that he would get a college education, much less a seminary degree that would enable him to post “Dr.” in front of his name. Of course, he had a number of people to thank for his educational achievement. His mother encouraged him, even though she didn’t have any money to give toward Fred’s education. With four brothers and two sisters, Fred never intended his parents to pay for his college education anyway. In his last year in high school, he had learned ...

1664. Thanksgivings to Remember

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Argile Smith

... 8, Moses wanted them to remember how God had blessed them by giving them the land. If they didn’t take time to remember and thank God for his blessings, they would forget about what he had done and give themselves the credit for their achievements. In his message, he followed the simple line of thought. If God’s people remembered him, they would bless him and reap the reward that came with expressing their gratitude. However, if they forgot about God, they would suffer the consequences that would always ...

1665. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... glory of the coming of the Lord. I have a dream this afternoon that the brotherhood of man will become a reality. With this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair. . . .With this faith, we will be able to achieve this new day, when all of God’s children‑‑black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics‑‑will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old, “Free at last! Free at least! . . . Thank God almighty we are ...

1666. Can You Hear the Music?

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Who doesn’t like an “attaboy!” when they do something good? It’s why we have “honor society” in school. It is the reason we have scholarship awards as we head into college. “Attaboy!” stands behind all those accolades high achievers get throughout life — Rhode’s scholarships, purple hearts, Silver stars, gold statues, merit raises for school teachers, making partner in a big firm, getting re-elected (in any organization, at any level). “Attaboys!” reward the gracious, good, above-and ...

1667. A Faith that Leaves a Legacy

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

... will be the best part of heaven.” (7) It will be the best part of heaven. And the best thing of all is that it is free. It is a gift. No one understood that better than Paul. The crown of righteousness is not something you earn, something you achieve by your own striving, but something that God bestows upon you. Paul was to receive the crown of righteousness because he had given his life to be a soldier for Christ, because he had been an athlete for Christ, and because he had been a steward or manager for ...

1668. Jesus Tempted In Us

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... meet his immediate needs instead of trusting God: “You hungry?” Satan said. “Just turn these stones into bread.” Albert Schweitzer earned doctorates in theology, philosophy, and music. He was renowned in each discipline. He was on the road to further achievement and greater acclaim. But he read the gospels about our true brother Jesus. He returned to college for six years to become a medical doctor. Then Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor Schweitzer went to the unhealthiest climate in the world to care ...

1669. Remembering Jesus

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

David O. Bales

... As Emma Atkins showed with her longer broom, sometimes we suffer because we can’t imagine better ways to do things. At other times, as the rich man, we forget there are other ways to do things. So in worship we practice remembering Jesus and how he achieved lasting change for humanity. He loved us, even to death. Along with our memories of the earthly Jesus we all bring our personal memories of experiences in which God’s grace has reached us. I’m a bookish person, so no surprise that a special memory ...

1670. The Path of Joy

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... times in the New Testament including Acts 4:11 in which Peter uses it as a prophecy of Christ. “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone . . .” The capstone is the finishing touch on the top of a building or a monument; it is the crowning achievement; it is the culmination of all that has gone before. That is what Christ is to us. But, before he could become the capstone, it was necessary for him to be rejected. Then we read one of the most familiar and best loved verses in scripture: 24 ...

1671. A Topsy-Turvy Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... church worlds of the last thirty years. If you are not the “top dog,” in other words, no matter how far you travel your journey is just going to be a “tale of tails.” Striving to be “top dog” is the goal we are encouraged to achieve from our earliest childhood to our graduate school education. No one wants to be the “under dog” or the “low dog.” Being “on top” means getting the best grades in school, in order to get the best opportunities, the best treatment, the best salary, the bst ...

1672. Will this Be on the Test?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Tony Everett

... another chance? Beginning soon after birth (some folks might say soon after conception) children are measured and compared to arbitrary standards of physical, mental, social, and even emotional well being. Parents and grandparents share pictures and compare achievements. Physicians measure and chart. Professional educators establish entrance specifications and performance expectations. As we progress through life, measurements of what we know and how we grow determine how others relate to us as well as how ...

1673. Great Balls of Fire!

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a fire that offered both light and warmth to the cold darkness of night. It gave our ancestors an idea. Figuring out how to keep a fire going, without the thunder and lightning, was the beginning of human civilization. Taming “fire” was the first great human achievement. In 1957 a young musician named Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the first to be called a member of a new genre called “rock and roll,” recorded a huge hit. Primarily a piano player, Jerry Lee pounded out at hit called “Great Balls of Fire ...

1674. Good News about Sparrows

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The message of the Gospel is that we need fear neither life nor death. We need fear neither tomorrow nor today. We can live faith-filled lives, lives bolstered by our knowledge of God’s love for us and God’s presence with us. This is the secret of achieving great things for God. We operate best in the world when our lives are built on a rock-solid confidence that the world is a benign place and that behind the world is a benign Creator who watches over us and will never forsake us. Claude M. Bristol ...

1675. Appetites and Desires

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... wrote a lot of theological essays. But among all his amazing spiritual gifts, he probably never wrote a truer insight into the human spirit than in this Romans’ text. Our appetites drive us. They can drive us to dream, to work hard, to achieve, to strive for personal excellence. But those same appetites, if not steeped and serviced in the Spirit, ferment into something toxic. They become an insatiable striving for more for more riches, more personal power, more fame, and a “name” that will live beyond ...

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