Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1851 to 1875 of 3852 results

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... they don’t pay attention to the menu any more, they just ask for hot dogs. (1) Well, you get the idea. Not everyone is cut out to play football. Not everyone will be happy as a sailor. And not everyone was called to be among Jesus’ original twelve disciples. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon ...

1852. It's Happening!

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... . They would be a small, discouraged group of fugitives without a leader. Now was the time to provide them with a message that would give them hope in times of discouragement and sustain them in the face of future persecution. His words have a message, not only for his original disciples, but for us as well. The first thing these words of Jesus do is to remind us that we are called to do something. He spoke of seed to be scattered. If the Kingdom of God is to become a reality, we who are aware of God's ...

1853. Have You Gone Far Enough?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... ventured to say that Jesus Christ never lived. Actual evidence that Christ was a real man is found in 27 different New Testament documents. And non-biblical proof of his existence is to be found in the writings of Polycarpa, Justin, Origin, Tacitus, Lucian, Josephus, Pliny, and the Jewish Talmud. All of this evidence, and more, has led scholars like Harvard University Professor Clifford Moore to say that Christianity "... was founded on positive, historical, and acceptable facts." Man So, what do you think ...

1854. Birthing the Kingdom

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... that (mercifully) did not come to pass. End of the world prophecies are nothing new, of course. They were around for centuries before our Lord was born. They exist in most major religions and cults. And every time a new disaster -- of natural origin or human construction -- is inflicted on the world, a fresh spate of doomsday predictors makes the rounds. The cynic in me figures that someday, someone is bound to guess right. It was weirdly refreshing to hear one recent prophet of doom apologize for ...

1855. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... aware that something unusual is happening, but he does not know what it is. He is missing the message heard by his masters, the shepherds. In depicting the difference between the dog and the shepherds, the artist was true to the Gospels' portrayals of the original Christmas story, for in them there are profound differences of observation! The Wise Men saw a star which others did not notice, not even the shepherds. The shepherds heard a song to which the Wise Men were deaf. And neither the star nor the song ...

1856. Too Good to Miss

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... hear that question at Christmas time! It is true that Lent (the word coming from the old Anglo-Saxon word "Lencten," meaning "spring") began as a time for self-examination, the number forty coming from Jesus' forty days of temptation in the wilderness. But originally, way back within a hundred years or so after Jesus' death and resurrection, it was very brief, including only a forty-hour period of fasting, then later a week long. But the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. assumed a forty-day Lenten observance ...

1857. Grace in the Midst of Suffering

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... cutthroat co-workers. And there is no escalator to move us past it all. So why does God let all this happen? What is the cause of our suffering? Here's an honest answer: The Bible does not tell us. If we choose to spend our time agonizing over the origins and meaning of pain -- why, why, why -- we will inevitably be very frustrated. Here is what the Bible does tell us: God is in charge of the universe. God permits our pain. And God is in that pain with us. We never go into a nightmare or through a nightmare ...

1858. Grace in the Midst of the Crush of Time

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... This speaks to the notion of the Sabbath. God worked for six days at the beginning of creation -- then God rested. For us to cease our work one day out of seven is to be like God. God doesn't suggest a Sabbath. It is mandated as one of the original Ten Commandments. Our Sabbath doesn't have to be on Sunday nor even on a weekend. But one-seventh of our time during each week should be reserved to pray and to play. God's design for time also invites us, third, to Abandon Annually. In Old Testament times there ...

1859. First Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... nasty, profane ways -- all for the love of a baby! The good news of Christmas is that in a baby there is life-changing, redemptive power. Isaiah gives this child four titles and each title is comprised of two words. 1. Wonderful Counselor: In the original Hebrew "wonderful" means, "not of this world." A counselor was one who applied wisdom to all situations, even the government of the people. This son would apply the wisdom of God to the human situation. The Church has seen the wonderful counselor as Jesus ...

1860. Joy to the World

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... buried. Not many people go downtown anymore. There is something sad about a town becoming deserted. It's eerie! You can easily find a place to park. Buildings are empty, beckoning for someone to put them to use again and restore them to their original intention. This is nothing compared to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was deserted. The strong walls, which had held back invading armies for years, had been pulled down. The HolyTemple, the house of God, had been desecrated and was now only a shell ...

1861. The Gospel According to Johan

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

Have you ever encountered a real "Scrooge"? I'm speaking about a negative, critical, carping, demanding, selfish person who cannot stand to see other people happy and enjoying life. You remember that the original Scrooge was a figment of the imagination of Charles Dickens, the great English author. Out of the imaginative mind of Dickens comes "A Christmas Carol" whose main character is one, Ebenezer Scrooge, whom Dickens calls, "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" ...

1862. Sometimes It Is Okay to Be Absentminded

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... for some odd reason he was creating distress and unhappiness in the lives of people. One day it dawned upon the man that he was miserable and making everyone he came into contact with miserable. The man began to pray and asked God to restore him to his original state. The story concludes with the man's memory, as well as the memory of all the people he had contacted, being restored. The story simply ends with the man praying this prayer, "Oh, God, keep my memory green!" God wants the memory of his people to ...

1863. The House of Hope

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... of God's reign over all and our devotion to him. God's wedding gifts of righteousness, justice, loving kindness, and mercy come to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Singing is heard because of the recommitment of a husband and a wife to their original wedding vows. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years by the South African government. While he languished in prison he never lost his hope for a new South Africa. As the day for his release drew near, Mandela's only daughter was allowed to come ...

1864. Going, Going, Gone

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... influence to promote godliness. Elijah trained Elisha, who in turn trained the various schools of prophets who then became equipped to teach the people. These prophets were men who spoke to men the "word of the Lord." F. B. Meyer has stated that the original word for "prophet" meant "bubbling over." Elijah was a "bubbling over" mouthpiece for God, and as such, he activated others to be the same. His ministry began with his testimony before Ahab where he affirmed the very meaning of his name, "The Lord, he ...

1865. Preparing for Our Homecoming

Joel 1:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... plan their homecomings in life properly. The Hebrew people were very familiar with homecomings; they experienced significant ones over the course of their history. The first major homecoming was led by the great deliverer Moses who brought the Hebrews back to their original "promised" land after 430 years in Egypt. While Moses had petitioned Pharaoh on numerous occasions to let the Hebrew people go, he had always been frustrated in his efforts. Thus, after the last plague and the death of all the firstborn ...

1866. Obedience to God's Plan

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and routine duties of our human existence. We want to do things our way! While there is certainly no crime in being innovative, many times our wishes lead us toward goals and conclusions that are inconsistent with the ideas of the one who gave us the task originally. This is true not only with our day-to-day duties at home and work, but consider all the ways we have done everything we can think of to circumvent God's plan. The divine plan for us as a community and individuals is revealed in many varied ...

1867. Teammates in the Cause of the Lord

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... proclaimed the message of Christ to the world. Lastly, the community was special in that the grace of God rested upon its members. God was with this group of men and women in a special way. It was to this group that the Holy Spirit was originally sent. The community life of these first followers of Jesus was not imposed upon them, but rather, was voluntarily accepted. This was the way these men and women chose to live their lives of discipleship. The ideas that Luke expresses as part of the communal life ...

1868. Replacing a Fallen Comrade

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jews. So they were bound by the traditions and culture of Israel. There were now more than 120 of them on the roll--the number of Jewish males required by law to form a synagogue. But now there were only eleven leaders in the organization. One of the original twelve had been a traitor. So they needed to find a twelfth apostle--one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. It's not unusual for leadership to change in a church. Pastors leave. Lay people get transferred in their work. Sometimes it is a healthy ...

1869. And God Breathed Into Man

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is of the same substance as the animal and vegetable world, formed of the "dust of the ground". His existence is dependent upon the breath of life which he has only as the gift of God. Even the name by which he is called is derived from his humble origin. The Hebrew word for man is Adam; the word for ground is Adamah. III. We are creatures among creatures, yet we have been given dominion. Now a final word. We are creatures in the image of God -- God has breathed his breath into us and made us living souls ...

1870. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... others, and how we treat others will be the measure of our judgment. “As you did it unto one of the least of these, you did it unto me.” So we can’t be sidetracked from the call. We can’t be diverted from it, because it came originally from Jesus, who even insisted that we would do even greater things than he did because he was going to the Father and would return in spirit to be with us, filling us with power. Giving us wisdom and insight, comfort and companionship, and guiding us into truth. Now ...

1871. Reconciliation: Our Gift And Our Ministry

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to share with the Moravians, those simple people whose faith seemed so deep and real. It was marvelous being in that place, and seeking to relive in memory the early groundings of our father in the faith, John Wesley, and to read some of the original correspondence between him and the founder of that community, Count Zenzendor. But the real serendipity came when we left Herrnhut one day and visited a little city about 40 miles away. The City of Gurlich, which is now on the East Germany, Poland border. Our ...

1872. Christmas Is On Top Of A Steep Hill

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... peace as you promised, for my own eyes have seen your salvation.” For Simeon, Christmas was at the top of a steep hill. And Simeon is not only the personification of the longing, groaning hopes of Israel, he incarnates our modern longing and need. Get the original setting in mind. There was not a Jew alive when Jesus was born who did not regard his own nation as the chosen people. Yet the Jews saw quite clearly that by human means, their nation would never attain to the supreme world greatness, which they ...

1873. Working Out Our Salvation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

William Muil describes a time he visited one of those old colonial houses up in New England. The house still retained the furniture and the atmosphere of the 18th Century. The guide was the last descendent of the original owner of the house. As Muil was walking through the house, he noticed a beautiful old rifle over the fireplace, and reached up to examine it. The old lady pulled his arm down and said, “Please don’t touch it, it’s loaded and it may go off.” Then she ...

1874. Getting It All Together Inside

Psalm 51:1-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Whether speaking psychologically out of the universal need to be at peace with oneself, or religiously out of the certainty that inner conflict comes when we violate God’s image that has been stamped upon our soul. This is superb insight. Though ancient in origin, it is as fresh as this morning, whether we act as therapists or counselors or preachers or trusted Christian friends, truth in the inward, and wisdom in the secret heart are essential for wholeness. And whether the feeling comes out as guilt or ...

1875. Constantly Abiding

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

As I grow older, and hopefully wiser, I’m more convinced that despite the limitations of my early life, the soil in which my roots originally grew was rich and fertile. The richness of love in our home was more powerful than material poverty. The warm concern, the gentle care, the self-sacrificing for their five children gave us a heritage dollars can’t buy. Though glaringly limited, the faith we shared in the little country ...

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