Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1801 to 1825 of 4997 results

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

... , we might even be able to identify with both. Our part, in the whole process of growing in grace, is to recognize our lives are tainted, we are saved by God's grace alone, and - like the sons of Isaac - though we might be dominated by different kinds of sins, none of us can boast of our superior moral character. In our better moments, that realization has a beneficial effect on us, because it helps us to recognize the power and the glory and the redemption of the world are not ours, never ours, but ...

1802. Nervous Hands

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

... nervous hands Whether our hands actually tremble or not, we know that inside of us there is a lot of trembling, because there are all kinds of fears. We are afraid to fail. We are afraid that something is going to be presented to us that we cannot accomplish. We ... to be accepted by others. To be certain that we will be accepted, so that our fears will be set aside, we do all kinds of things to put ourselves into what we think is the right position to remove the threat. We try and build secure lives that ...

1803. Parable on Love and Friendship

Hebrews 13:1-25

Illustration

... to me, I will pay no attention to them." Bill replied, "We all like friends who know us and we all need the recognition of persons who understand us. But community friendship with a sense of welcome to all is what makes a happy community. I want to be the kind of a friend who can help a stranger gladly as well as be trusted by those who are close to me." Dick snorted, "You can sure be a sucker, a sucker for a soft touch with that attitude. Where did you get that idea? Let the strangers prove themselves or ...

1804. The Violence Within, The Violence Without

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

... face of the earth. I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will punish the officials and the kings’ sons. And I will punish those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud. That’s hardly the kind of talk our children hear in Sunday church school. What a torrent of outrage and anger! What a volcanic eruption of vitriol! The devastation is to be complete, nothing and no one is to be spared. God will pass judgment on all that he has made. God ...

1805. The Time Is Coming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

... hero some five hundred years later. How many of us would have been happy to have lived at his time or to have lived with him, I’m not sure. Prophets are a driven people, driven by none other than God himself. We are not used to their kind of certainty, nor an accountability which answers to God alone and is beholden to none among people. But today’s text lets it be known that the prophet is not always talking tough. Yet the fulfillment of today’s splendid text seems no nearer realization than did the ...

1806. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

2 Kings 13:10-25

Sermon

... talking about. Elijah came first. He was a stern, forceful, solitary man. He was the man who prayed to God for fire on Mount Carmel, as he was pitted against the prophets of Baal. He was the man who defied King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah is not the kind of man you’d find at a ball game or a birthday party. Elisha, the man we are considering today, came after Elijah. He succeeded Elijah and was given the mantle of leadership. He was more of a gentle man, one who could be firm when necessary, but more ...

1807. A Moment of Brightness

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... word of explanation - the real meaning of the symbol became apparent. But one lady standing alongside us spied that button and reddened with anger. She directed her question to the button-wearer, "Why do you cover up my Jesus?" I have no idea what kind of button would have plesed her - maybe a battery-powered number that would blink out the message in neon lights: "JESUS ... JESUS ... JESUS." Her angry question about "my Jesus" made me want to shoot back an answer, "... because, lady, there is more to Jesus ...

1808. The Family of God

John 10:1-21

Children's Sermon

... things to be happy about, I just naturally like to smile. I like to smile not only when I'm in church but when I'm other places as well. Someone also asked me if there were two kinds of crosses in the Christian Church. Well, there are really many kinds of crosses and maybe some day we'll bring in the different kinds. In some churches we see a cross with Jesus on it, while in other churches. the cross is empty. Let me explain why. Some people like to think about the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us by ...

1809. Good Fruit...Good People

Matthew 7:15-23

Children's Sermon

Object: A good apple and a rotten apple. Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever noticed how you can tell what kind of a person someone is by the things that he does? Do you know what I mean? A person who is mean does mean things, and a good person does good things. Have you ever ... tell that they do not know of God. Think about the difference between the good and the bad fruit the next time you eat a big, juicy apple. Then remember that there can be two kinds of people, too. It's up to you to decide which ...

1810. ADVENT 1

Jeremiah 33:1-26, Luke 21:5-38, 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon Aid

... - the perfect man Jesus, the glorious Son of God, the judge of all the nations, the savior of the world! The important point is that we cannot measure up by ourselves and our efforts. In the text Paul makes clear that it is God who will make us the kind of people we need to be at Christ's coming. Will we allow God to prepare us? Outline: Measure up to what? a. Love - not only fellow- Christians but all men - v. 12 b. Holiness - not only before men but before God - v. 13 WORSHIP RESOURCES Prayer of the ...

1811. Proper 22

Lk 17:5-10 · 2 Tim 1:1-14 · Am 5:6-7, 10-15

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... : An American president and vice president were forced to resign for moral reasons. Can we believe in God and not be disillusioned? Outline: The kind of faith we want - A. A real faith - what happens when we lose faith - Lesson 1 (v. 12) B. Keep the faith - Lesson 2 ... live. It is a life that is more than physical breathing. It is a life of quality, purpose, and meaning. We are seekers after this kind of life. The text tells us how we can find it. Outline: If you want to live - A. Seek the Lord - v. 6 B. Love ...

1812. Proper 25

Lk 18:9-14 · 2 Tim 4:9-18 · Sirach 35:12-18 · Deut 10:12-22 · Zeph 3:1-9

Sermon Aid

... Gospel: Luke 18:9-14 1. You Are Known by Your Prayers. 18:9-14. Need: How we pray and what we pray for shows what kind of people we are. We are ever trying to learn to pray aright. We are concerned about what to pray for. This is a secondary ... City? 3:1-9. Need: A city can become so corrupt that it is known as "Sin City." In Zephaniah's day, Jerusalem was that kind of city. In verses 1-5, Zephaniah enumerates her sins. He could have been describing New York, Chicago, Atlanta, or Los Angeles. What can be ...

1813. Pentecost 27

Lk 19:11-27 · 1 Cor 15:54-58 · Isa 52:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... God's deliverance. God comes to his people and assures them he is there to do a mighty act once again to free them from their enemy. God loves his people and desires to free them. His honor and integrity are at stake, because his people are captives. What kind of a God is one who allows his people to be slaves of a godless nation? This sermon is needed by people today who are in difficult or hopeless situations. Because of God's promise of deliverance, they can have hope. Outline: God is here A. To know ...

1814. Epiphany 8

Lk 6:39-49 · 1 Cor 15:51-58 · Jer 7:1-7 · Isa 55:10-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... The heart of a person is compared to a tree. The condition of the heart determines the nature of the tree. And the kind of fruit depends upon the kind of tree: A peach tree does not produce apples. A bad heart produces evil fruit. Our basic human problem is the heart. ... is not in the preacher, not in his/her personality, wisdom or techniques. For this reason, Biblical preaching is the most effective kind of preaching. 2. Victory (v. 11). God's Word has a built-in victory. This is because God is in his Word ...

1815. The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... ultimate sacrifices. If they had not paid the price of discipleship with their very lives where would the church be? Geographically Christianity is the most widely diffused of all faiths, and a third of the earths 6 billion people claim Christ as their Lord. What kind of church would we be if the 12 had put down their crosses? Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a ...

1816. Joseph’s Dream

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

... , as the Son of God. The Christ, born two thousand years ago, was to be a true and genuine "Tomorrow’s Child" for all time and all people. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" - that’s incarnation. Joseph affirmed Mary’s experience with Gabriel in an kind of "So be it. Let God do his miracle. We will abide by it." They were probably more aware than we are that every birth is a miracle wrought by God. God, in a sense, is the ultimate magician, continuing to work his miracles of creation in our ...

1817. Beginning a Ministry

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

... a loss it would have been to Christ and the Church, had they been unable to qualify to follow Jesus. Aside from such considerations, Jesus was asking for trouble when he failed to tell them what they would be doing, when he neglected to give them a kind of job description. Some of the trouble that occurred later on, such as their arguments over who was the greatest among them, might have stemmed from the lack of a job description. Such a procedure today would be deemed inexcusable; no person qualified for a ...

1818. Second Lesson

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

... of activity out of his disciples; more than that, he told them they were "the salt of the earth." They could give life the special quality that makes it worth living, not only by works of love, mercy, and kindness, by being what Christians are meant to be, but also by communicating the good news to all the people they met. That means, the disciples were "the light of the world." Their faith in Christ and his Word, in that pagan society, were like a beacon guiding a lost ship ...

1819. Magic Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... something that even other magicians won’t be able to figure out how I did it." Actually, it was God who did the magic act on the mountain, and he needed no props beyond the natural surroundings and the four men. Even the best magicians need props of some kind to do magic tricks. Henning’s latest tricks do, but he attempts to use simply what is at hand: "For one trick, I’m going to borrow three finger rings from members of the audience and link them together. For another, I’m going to take a piece of ...

1820. God's Push

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

... ways we need to work at local mission. We need to reach out to folks right around us. We need to show in clear ways that we, as a congregation, care about our community. We need to be inviting, to find ways to be appealing to people who have all kinds of reasons why they should not bother with church and faith and Jesus Christ. Even our painting the interior of our sanctuary to make it more attractive can be and is, I believe, part of the total effort. So is our putting up church signs to let people know we ...

1821. The Choice

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

... him. He was trouble for the Romans. The sick were for him. He was their chance to feel good again. But this time the question was, "Who do you believe me to be?" Who? Someone who'll simply do what you want? Most of us would be content with that kind of Jesus, one who gives us what we want because we know what is best for us. Peter's answer was quite another story. When he replied that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God," he was going beyond, far beyond, what anyone else was saying. Everyone ...

1822. Teachers Without Chalkboards

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

... appearing before an examination committee of the Church. The group and I conversed for a while and then the questions began. Some questions were theological and some were practical. I seemed to be able to answer both types to the committee's satisfaction. Then, as a kind of final question, the president of the Church asked me about the Church's mission. "What is it that the Church should be doing?" he asked. "What is its task?" My searching mind settled on Matthew 28, at least on most of it. "The Church," I ...

1823. Invincible Harvest

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... tell if you were listening." Perhaps it is because of experiences like this that preachers tend to focus on the soils in Jesus' parable of the sower. As a boy, I think that is all I ever heard about from this parable. There are four kinds of soil which correspond to four kinds of listeners. The path soil, the rocky soil, and the soil filled with thorns are non-productive. Only the good soil brings forth grain. "You must be good soil," I was told. "You must listen. You must let the words you hear take root ...

1824. Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

... we consider the vertical dimension, the God to human. Then it won't stand up in God's high court! The Psalmist asked, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?" His answer to his own question indicated his awareness that some kind of scrubbing up had to occur; "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:3, 4) When I was a child, our mother had a wonderful way of making us know God was holy ...

1825. One Commandment is Enough!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... give. He could demand, on the basis of his might, compared to our weakness, we submit to him. But God never coerces. He wants service only from those who offer it willingly to him, out of hearts filled with gratitude and appreciation at his mercy and kindness, that we long only to give more. The Commandments were never meant to be a list of stale prohibitions to squeeze the life juices out of us. They are not prescriptions and restrictions to bind us and make us miserable. They are not a set of limitations ...

Showing results