Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1701 to 1725 of 3926 results

1701. How Fares Your Christian Sight?

Is 6:8-10

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... our salvation with a few rotten apples thrown in. Perhaps the matter would not be so important were perceptions only perceptions, but please remember that we act out of our perceptions! If we see ourselves as weak individuals, helpless and in need of unending support from other persons, then we are going to act out of that view. We will develop as unnecessarily dependent persons. If we see child-rearing as an ownership proposition that extends into our children’s adult years, then we are going to expect ...

1702. What Is Your Holy Week Address?

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... addresses where people choose to live. First, we have the dismal events that lead to Maundy Thursday. Those hostile to and threatened by Jesus - his style and his messages - finally gain the upper hand and their poisonousness even infects Jesus’ intimate inner circle of supporters. The mood here is one of tension. Tension had been in the air for weeks, and tension was surely present at the final meal shared by Jesus and his cadre. After supper that tension follows Jesus and his companions to the garden of ...

1703. Mary of Nazareth

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... home. Other children were born: James, Joses, Juda, Simon, and daughters. (Mark 6:3) Perhaps Jesus’ public ministry was delayed until his thirtieth year due to Joseph’s death. As first son, Jesus became head of the household, and Mary’s chief support. The carpenter shop was undoubtedly the means of livelihood. Even after the public ministry began, Mary had yet to comprehend fully this extraordinary offspring of hers. At the wedding in Cana he gently remonstrated, "Woman, what have I to do with thee ...

1704. Phoebe

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... village, Cenchreae was center for business and commerce, a crossroads between Europe and the East. It is easy to recognize Phoebe. She was Greek, probably a widow. Possibly it was a financial necessity which forced her to become an active businesswoman - somebody had to support the children. Like Lydia, she knew her way in a man’s world. She learned to stand toe to toe with her male competitors, but unlike George Sand, did not wear masculine attire, nor, like George Eliot, assume a man’s name. She did ...

1705. THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Drama

Marcia Miller

... the Promised Land all of the tribes were allotted land. All of the tribes, except the Levites. That’s our family. SARAH: Why didn’t we get any land? That isn’t fair. THE LEVITE: We are allowed to take care of the tabernacle. We are the singers; our support comes from the tithes of other tribespeople. Had you been a boy - but I’m glad you’re a girl - you would have inherited a place of service just as I did when I became a man. SARAH: What’s that? [She points toward the JEW.] THE LEVITE: [He ...

1706. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... some 2.5 million people were in or around Jerusalem. If you want to feel what that was like, try to imagine four COGIC- sized conventions meeting simultaneously in Memphis on Elvis's birthday! The crowds were enthusiastic but, as the politicians would say, Jesus' support was broad but shallow. The big money, the power structure hated him. Many in the crowds were not really yelling "Hurrah for Jesus." They were using his parade as a way of saying, "Down with Rome!" I can imagine a nervous Roman officer on ...

1707. Can We Really Get Along?

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... we may all be blue, royal blue, Duke blue. But that's just my humble opinion. Let's make two resolutions today: first, that we will seek to find common ground with persons who are different from us; secondly, that we will refuse to support any cultural or racial custom that cannot be backed up by scripture. Up until very recently if you had asked people across America what are the racially troubled cities of our country, they would have mentioned Los Angeles, Detroit, Washington, D.C., New York, Miami ...

1708. Sinner to Saint

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... text is a one-verse biography of a man who came a long way from sinner to saint - Matthew. He was a tax collector, a publican who in that day was considered a super-sinner because he was a traitor to his country by collecting taxes from the Jews to support the Roman government. Jesus came to him where he was and made him an apostle. Now the world knows him as Saint Matthew. It was a long way for Matthew, too, from being a sinner to becoming a saint. Do you think it is possible for you and me to ...

1709. It Takes Two to Preach!

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... You say a lot to a preacher if your eyes are looking out the window, or looking at the preacher. Your restlessness in the pew sends a message to the pulpit. Looking at your watch during the sermon tells the preacher you are bored. Your attitude can support or detract from the spirit of the speaker. If you are with him, if you are encouraging him, if you are praying for him, this will be felt by the preacher and will encourage him. Behind every great preacher is a great listening congregation. The responding ...

1710. This Grace In Which We Stand by Dr. Gene E. Bartlett

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... book not because he has knowledge which he wants to share, but because there is a recognition which he needs to have. Many a sexual exploit is not love as much as the search for some confirmation of one’s worth and powers. Yes, even a social cause supported can be for the sake of finally feeling good about oneself. Who can measure the agony of such graceless living, the law of a secular day, preaching the bad news of the demand to be self-sufficient? Again, the family relation gives us our picture. If you ...

1711. The Bible, Your Mirror? by Dr. Lawrence L. Lacour

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4, 5) What did Eve do? She ate. In doing so, she misused her freedom and disobeyed God. Furthermore, she did what all Eves do - she solicited support for her position, persuading Adam to eat also. What happened to Adam and Eve? Feeling guilty and ashamed, they hid themselves. When the time came for their usual tryst with God in the garden, God called, "Adam, where are you?" The guilt-ridden couple did not answer ...

1712. The Cunning Craftsman, God

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

... an impressive record this is. The man is honest in his business dealings, sets fair prices, gives value for value received. He is a model husband. To top it all, he is an exemplary churchman, devout in his religious duties and astonishingly generous in supporting the church budget. Yet in reality, his prayer had a hollow ring. In it we find every shibboleth of superiority and sanctimony. There is no compassion, no love, no sympathy, no concern for his poor brother standing by in obvious and abject misery ...

1713. The Poor - With Us Always?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... next day, he told the youngsters that God had always looked favorably on the sport of tennis. He then proceeded to open his Bible and read: "And Joseph served on Pharoah’s course." In spite of the humor, such manipulation of Scripture to support our own insecure behavior is dangerous. Especially harmful is our failure to comprehend Jesus’ injunction to assist those in poverty, for ours is a world infested with poverty. One-fifth (1/5) of this nation’s citizens live marginal or sub-marginal existences ...

1714. Keeping Our Promises

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... our communities are breaking down today, because promises are being broken. Church is one of the communities to which we belong. Church is held together by a group of promises made by those who join - a promise to attend, to study, to financially support, and to participate. Unfortunately, many people never take seriously these promises. You and I are a religious community. Whole groups of people enter and leave this religious community. Are you a person of your word? Do you promise the moon, in an effort ...

1715. Defended By the Divine

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... us of almost the last kindness that was done to Jesus before his death. He was in the house of a man called Simon, the village of Bethany. In Palestine, the people usually did not sit to eat - they reclined on low couches - resting one arm to support themselves, the other hand to take their food. So it was that anyone coming up to someone at mealtime would just naturally stand well above them. Mary came to Jesus with an alabaster vial of precious ointment. It was the custom to pour a few drops of perfume ...

1716. God’s Generosity Resented

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... the right of every man to work, and the right of every man to a living wage for his work." I think it’s a lot more profound than that - it pictures our God as concerned, caring about our welfare. When we are embarrassed, unable to support ourselves, feeling frustrated because of helplessness in our situation, God hurts for us and wants to help. There is a basic kindness here that is beautiful. There is also encouragement in this story. God comforts us. He reassures us that those who came into his kingdom ...

1717. For Those in Church: Joy and Service

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... ? Does it threaten, or forgive? Does it have a sour face, or a smile? If our Christianity depresses us, scares us, worries us, haunts us, it probably is not true Christian religion. The religion that Jesus presented to the disciples was one of support and comfort, peace and love, forgiveness and joy. "It is this that made the future of Christianity," said Matthew Arnold, "its gladness, not its sorrow ... its drawing from the spiritual world a source of joy so abundant that it ran over upon the material ...

1718. Christ the King

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... our King says that when we help someone, we are helping him; and when we refuse to help, we are refusing none less than the King! Consider again, with this additional information, your saying a hard "no" to the last appeal that your church made to you for help and support. It seems odd. Yet, it is so, isn’t it? If you give something to my son, you have given to me. If you refuse my children, you have refused me. Our God is the Father, and when we help his children, we help him. His children are our fellow ...

1719. Paul Today

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to everyone" (1 Corinthians 15:28). This hope is not a vague surmise but a "solid weight of glory" which supports Christians in their present struggles. It does not lead to morbid brooding or idle dreaming but energizes us for responsibility and service. It is significant that Paul concludes his magnificent presentation of eschatology in 1 Corinthians 15 with the words: "Therefore, my beloved ...

1720. Numbered Hairs

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... labor lost to society when a person dies. But Reginald L. White wrote a letter to "The San Francisco Chronicle" in which he pointed out that our society’s price tags on persons depend upon whom they are. He gave some interesting statistics to support his view. For instance, he said that in 1967 the United States paid 33 dollars for each Vietnamese child killed in an accidental bombing, while we got $100,000 from the Israelis for each American killed when the intelligence ship "Liberty" was torpedoed. On ...

1721. Unlimited Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... memory, that he would even have to be taught to read again. "He’s forgotten his past, his identity," he said. "I’d hoped that seeing you would bring it all back." It did not, but when he was able to go, Laura took him home, loved him, taught him, supported him, knowing all the time that if he ever got his memory back, he might hate her and refuse to see her again. But a year later the doctor received a letter from her telling him that Steve had recovered from amnesia. There had been a bad hour while he ...

1722. EPISODE 5: THE FIFTH WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

... my own life. [He exits.] THOMAS: Judas! JESUS: Let him go. Another spirit is in him. Are you also going to leave me? PETER: Lord, where can we go? We don’t understand, but we’ll stay with you. JESUS: Oh, good Peter. You are both my burden and my support. How badly Satan wants you. But I have prayed for you that your faith doesn’t fail. JOHN: We’ll all go with you, Lord. THOMAS: Anywhere you say. JESUS: To the park, then. My time has come. *****

1723. Trumpets in Church on Easter, The Very Idea!

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

... . I had just gone back into No. 1 room when it happened. Over the rattle of machinery I heard Frank Scarbro's yell. "Larry! Boys! Come on! There's water in here!" It roared out of No. 3 room in what seemed like a solid wall, knocking down support timbers, tearing up huge slabs of slate. "Up here," Frank’s voice called again. "There’s a high ground here." I crawled toward him. Six of us gathered there. That meant that four men were missing. We waded out to the edge of the tunnel, shouting to the missing ...

1724. When Your Sister or Brother Stumbles

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Sunday School class or growth group for someone to stand up and say, "Our brother Bill has asked me to say to you that he has made some mistakes for which he is deeply sorry. He is assured of God's forgiveness and he longs for your support and prayers and affirmation." Then the group could share and words of encouragement. Isn't that what restoration is supposed to look like in the Christian church? I have a friend named Blanche who grew up during the days of Great Depression. She has written a delightful ...

1725. Thorns and Roses

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Was Given Me..." What was this thorn? We don't know. It was some very painful, chronic affliction. Sometimes Paul was totally disabled by it. Some cynic has suggested that Paul's thorn in the flesh was his wife, but there is no evidence to support that. The best guesses are that the thorn was epilepsy or migraine headaches or a malarial fever common in the eastern Mediterranean area. Notice that Paul refers to the thorn as a "messenger of Satan." The Bible teaches that all diseases and death came into the ...

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