Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1876 to 1900 of 4972 results

1876. The Marvelous Meaning of the Cross

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... cost?" On that fateful day, when the sun hid its face in shame, when He cried out from the top of the cross, "It is finished." What had He done? It hardly seemed like a triumph. When He ascended into heaven, leaving a 33-year history of God trying to speak to humanity, "What did He leave behind?" What is the marvelous meaning of the cross to a world that scorned His coming and chose to worship Him only when He was gone? Why would the Apostle Paul declare, "God forbid that I should glory in anything except ...

1877. What Do You Do When the Lights Go Out?

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Mike Jackson

... cry out in loneliness – feeling that we have been forsaken by all, including God – this child is more than a friend; he is joined to us in eternal love as a father or mother loves their child and will never let them go. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is named Prince of Peace – for those of us who are paralyzed by anxiety and fear, filled with doubts and worries about the future – this child is God’s gift of peace, shalom, wholeness; he fortresses our troubled hearts with his faithful ...

1878. The Adventure of Discipleship

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... Jesus' calling of his first four disciples. It is about the first people who were called to hold the job which we hold today. Mark's story is not very elaborate. It is short and to the point. There is a certain note of adventure as the four men leave their fishing business to go with Jesus, but there is not much in the story that seems terribly upsetting. What the story doesn't tell about is what those men were getting in for by becoming followers of Jesus. To find out what was really in store for them ...

1879. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... being shepherded leads us to, in turn, shepherd. A shepherdless flock is an endangered and very vulnerable one. You have come today because you are a part of this flock and want to be cared for in a pastoral way ("pastor" being the Latin word for shepherd). You will leave in a few minutes and tomorrow some of you will be in classrooms, some of you in offices, some of you in shops, and all of us in neighborhoods and homes. Into those places you will not carry rods and staffs. But you can carry with you the ...

1880. Time Out!

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... , touch him. Particularly those who had a serious need. In today’s story, Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. By the way, do you think of Simon Peter being married? Obviously he was. Wonder how his wife felt about his leaving everything and following Jesus? Maybe she was an understanding woman. I wonder, though, if it was a source of conflict. Sometimes we may think we don’t have time to serve Christ. Too many family responsibilities. Christ has heard that excuse before. Anyway, Simon ...

1881. With a Little Help from My Friends

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... bridge and you saw a young man pacing back and forth and crying. If you were a person of faith might it not cause you to reach out to that young man and thereby possibly prevent a tragedy? Left to our own motivations, we might not see any reason to leave our comfort zone and reach out to a stranger, but as people of faith, might we not feel Christ pushing us to forget about ourselves and care about someone else? Four men brought a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus. When they couldn’t find any other way to ...

1882. Is Anything Unforgivable?

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... it. Their consciences are still sensitive to right and wrong, goodness and evil, or else they wouldn't be worrying. And if they are sensitive, they are not blind to the light. It is this very awareness that we are not all that we could be, that our conduct leaves something to be desired, that leads to our salvation, to our right relationship with God. This awareness is a sense of sin, and it is a healthy thing to have. It doesn't have to be the conviction that one is the worst person who ever lived, or that ...

1883. The Hillside and the Basket

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... ? Jesus was testing Philip, even as he still tests you and me today. He was educating the disciples to do what they could and leave the rest to God. He was illustrating the universal law: Resources and powers are given to those who use what resources and powers they ... not to look at the multitudes or the lack or what lines one's own pockets. Look at Jesus. Give him what you can. And leave the rest to God. I asked a church that had recently hired a new pastor, "How is it going?" And I'll forever remember the ...

1884. King Forever!

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... What An Exit! You must admit that Jesus knew how to make a stage exit dramatically. Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud could make a grand Shakespearean exit. But only Christ in his ascension could leave the stage of God's drama of salvation in such a way as to leave his apostles throughout history feeling affirmed, acquitted, under authority, and assured. In Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta there is a magnificent ascension window over the Lord's table in the chancel. Every time you worship in ...

1885. Have You Gone Far Enough?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... him as Savior? No. For he is more. He is Lord of all the universe, King forever! Many Christians treat this last credential of Jesus as entirely optional. According to their line of reasoning, one may receive Jesus as Savior from sin, from death and eternal punishment, but leave off with the Lord of life and master part. This is sort of like buying into Christ for the "fire insurance" he offers, but rejecting him as boss of our earthly lives. Yet, if Jesus is who he says he is, then nothing of his claims is ...

1886. With a Bang or a Whimper?

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... there won't be any table; Don't pull the tablecloth over you, 'Cause there won't be any tablecloth; Don't throw yourself flat on the floor, 'Cause there won't be any floor; And don't, under any circumstances, try to leave the city, 'Cause there won't be any city left to leave. Simply pause for a moment to adjust your shroud And make your way leisurely to the nearest cloud. These words were written with tongue in cheek, surely. But they do give us pause. Perhaps you are wondering, "Why would pastor choose a ...

1887. Ah, the Sweet Mystery of Life

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... or sustain us in just such time of testing. Permit me to make this simple suggestion. You have grappled with your problem with every resource at your disposal. Having done so, it is time to place it into the hands of God. Leave it to the love and power of One who has promised that he "will never leave us nor forsake us" (Hebrews 13:5) saying: "Lord, I have thought and I cannot find the reason and the way. I cannot grasp thy purpose, but with my whole heart I trust thee. May thy will be done." An unknown ...

1888. People See Through Us

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... James began to hammer home a message people did not want to hear. God in Christ is the Martha Entenmann of the church. People see through us. They really do! There is a see-through box top that covers every congregation. I wish James would just leave us alone and not call attention to what has been the ever-present problem, favoritism, within our church families. Most of us would like to reside in secure churches wrapped in white paper boxes tied up with red ribbons. Heck, the Lutherans even have red doors ...

1889. The Achilles' Heel of the Church

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... lift a finger to try to regain wandering children, or husbands, or wives, or even lost Christian friends. When people err, we tend to leave them alone. When people think they know it all, err from the truth, and try to impose their will and their way on ... tend to wait on them to "come to themselves" before making a move toward them. If they never "come to their senses," we just leave them alone in the name of "tolerance." Then, if they come around on their own, we run down the road like some silly clown, with ...

1890. And When You Pray

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... gifts and favors. Well-meaning church theologians haven't helped much either. Their definitions and discussions on the matter often leave us cold and confused. I even heard one well-known theologian in a seminar say: "Prayer is basically man ... come in a-hopin' to get a bargain?"2 Rucker got to the heart of the matter our hearts. And that’s where I’d like to leave it tonight. Prayer is being in communion with God, not something to be used when needs arise. Prayer is being in relationship so that God can ...

1891. Humility

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... flight in St. Louis, and insisted on changing it. “You won’t make your connection,” he insisted. “I’m going to put you on the later flight out of St. Louis.” Ashcroft looked at his watch, then glanced at his ticket. “If we leave when you say we’re going to leave, I’ll make the connection,” he argued, “and I want you to honor my ticket for the earlier connection.” “No, you won’t make the connection,” the agent stated flatly. “I can’t put you through if we know you’ll miss ...

1892. Yes! (Easter Sunday)

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... died yet,” his grandmother explained. David was obviously stunned by his grandmother’s explanation because, that night, he couldn’t stop talking about the excursion. “Mom,” he said with wide eyes, “some of the people buried there in the cemetery aren’t even dead yet!” (2) Leave it to a six-year-old to put a different twist on things. But Easter puts the grandest twist to the story of all. Easter says that the people who are buried there who are in Christ are not dead at all. They’ve simply ...

1893. Come On Down

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... don't understand what you want. What I'm doing is none of your business. I paid my way. I'm not cutting under your seat. Leave me alone!" What the fanatic (and the egotist) will not accept, but what you and I cannot forget, is that all of us are in ... sinners. Advent also answers the question, "How can we be saved?" The prophet reminds Israel and us that our own efforts to save ourselves leave us like a filthy rag, contaminated and impure, so awful that one dare not touch it. In our own strength we are like ...

1894. Preparing for Our Homecoming

Joel 1:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... event of great delight. When we become older, homecomings become more complicated. If we are returning home to the place of our birth or the setting in which we were raised, there is much preparation that is necessary. First, we have to find the time to leave our present routine in order to travel and physically go to another location. There is a need to calculate the cost of this event, not only monetarily, but more importantly emotionally. If it has been a long time since we have returned home, there may ...

1895. Have We Kept Our Contract with God?

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... with God, but this cannot be for the true and loyal disciple. God, as Francis Thompson's immortal poem, "The Hound of Heaven" suggests, never ceases to be our advocate and will leave no stone unturned in searching for our soul. We, therefore, cannot take an attitude of partial participation. We can either follow Jesus all the way or leave the road somewhere along the journey; the choice is ours. Yet, we know, because we have been promised, where the journey will end. Saint Paul reminds us, "What no eye has ...

1896. A Passion for Christ (New)

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... whose family lives on a luxurious ranch in Montana. They have all the things that money can buy. But the father of the family lives in constant fear of losing his possessions. After a few of his things were stolen, the father determined that he would not leave the house again. He doesn’t travel or go on vacation. He doesn’t even visit friends. He stays home and protects his valuable furnishings and paintings. (2) It’s been said before, but it is still true. At first, we own our possessions. But before ...

1897. Led by the Spirit of God

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... by that squeeze of the hand that he began to weep. He shook a little. He tried to get out of the room and, as he was leaving the room, he bumped into this woman who was coming into the room. She says, "He's been waiting for you. He said he did not ... and talk to Jesus and hold Jesus' hand. But he said, ‘No. Once a month Jesus comes and holds my hand and I don't want to leave until I have a chance to hold the hand of Jesus once more.'" (8) And, in truth, he was holding Jesus' hand. "Wherever two or more are ...

1898. The Right Word For Memorial

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Fulghum is right. Most of what we need to know we could learn in kindergarten. I don't diminish that. And so much of what we learn in kindergarten is practical, elementary Christian teaching, though the government does not want us to call it that. But we can't leave it there as Christians if we are going to appropriate the Memorial word. Something else is here. In Jesus, we have our way to be and do. And that's not found anywhere else with such clarity and contagion. In Jesus Christ, we have our way to be ...

1899. An Affirming Presence

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... length and height and depth of the love of Christ and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge.” I like that. And to know it, though it is beyond knowledge, so may you be filled with fullness of being, the fullness of God himself. Does it leave you somewhat breathless? It does me. Speechless, almost, if I didn’t have to preach. The climax and the summary of it is the final sentence. So may you attain to fullness of being the fullness of God himself. Bold. Mind boggling. Unbelievable. That we may attain ...

1900. A Healing Presence

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... on earth, as well as to heal, I say to you,” and here he spoke to the paralytic, “get up, pick up your bed, and go home.” The fellow sprang to his feet, picked up his bed, and walked away. Leaving no doubt about the power of Jesus to forgive and to heal, and leaving no doubt that Jesus connected forgiveness and healing. So there is a connection between spiritual health and our physical and mental well being. And the healing that most of desperately need, has to do with our minds, our emotions, our ...

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