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Showing 1876 to 1900 of 4914 results

1876. Christmas and the New Family

John 1:1-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

When Wilbur and Orville Wright completed their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, they sent home a succinct telegram. In minimum words it reported that their venture had succeeded, and concluded, "Home for Christmas." Whether they knew it or not, their achievement had ushered in a new age. Along with that, their "coming home" announcement might seem very mundane. But any of us who have longed to go home for Christmas will understand that the two subjects of the telegram ...

1877. Commitment (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Last September, Sandy and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. I could tell you today that it’s been 43 years of heavenly bliss, but she would correct me by saying there’s been a lot of hell in the mix. Like all couples we married for better for worse, for richer for poorer, and in recent years it has been a lot more sickness than health. Yet, relationships are held together by an invisible cord called commitment. Commitment is an island of certainty in a sea of change. We are not human butterflies ...

1878. You're a Treasure!

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“I want to be alone.” That was the famous declaration made by the early Swedish film star and glamour girl Greta Garbo (1905-1990). But it was that declaration that jinxed her search for solitude. A vast cast of has-been, over-the-hill actors and actresses struggled to stay in focus but swiftly faded out of the limelight and into obscurity. But Garbo, by her very insistence on alone-time, was hounded by media hangers-on until her death in 1990. To get a picture of Greta Garbo remained a paparazzi “holy ...

1879. Five Ways to be "Holy" During Holy Week

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Everyone else is doing it.” Do you remember those words? Do you remember begging your Mom or Dad for permission to do something they would ordinarily not permit by insisting, “But Ma, everyone else is getting to do it!” The typical parental response to such childish logic usually went something along the lines of, “Well, if everyone else jumped off a bridge would you do it too?” (Of course now that grown men and women actually PAY to go bungee jumping off of bridges, that argument might not have as much ...

1880. The Nano-Punch of Pentecost

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The soul has its seasons. “There is a time to be born, a time to die.” The Bible has its seasons. The biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first "new moon" of spring, when nature comes to life. The West has its seasons. The New Year begins in the depths of the winter, which is often when the new comes, in the midst of winter, the soul most often coming to life in the wintry seasons of life. The church has its seasons. In the church our “seasons” are not determined by climate changes or a ...

1881. Jesus Takes the Initiative

Luke 21:5-38, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 20:41-47

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The pretentious religiousness of scribes and wealthy worshipers and of the magnificent temple buildings contrasts with the simple devotion of a poor widow. Understanding the Text In place of the question-and-answer scenario of the first part of Jesus’s public ministry in the temple (20:1–40), we now have a series of pronouncements by Jesus that bring that phase of the Jerusalem story to an end. They begin with a response to the leaders’ hostile questioning, in which Jesus raises the question of ...

1882. David’s Faith Ignites a Victory

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: Faith in the Lord’s power to save can be the catalyst for victory. Understanding the Text In the previous chapter, Samuel anointed David as the new king. Having departed from Saul, the Lord’s Spirit came upon David, and the Lord sent an “evil spirit” to torment Saul.1Through God’s providence, David has arrived in Saul’s royal court and relieved Saul’s fears with his music. Now the stage is set for David to replace Saul. In chapter 17 the narrator continues to demonstrate David’s superiority to ...

1883. More Beyond

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Centuries ago, Portugal adopted a national motto. The motto read: “No More Beyond.” It was an appropriate statement since Portugal, at the time, was the end of the world. But later some adventurous persons sailed beyond Portugal and discovered a whole new world. So the question arose: “What do we do with our national motto?” After much debate, one person simply scratched out a word, and the new motto became: “More Beyond.” Whenever life tumbles in upon us, it is easy to have a “No more beyond” attitude. ...

1884. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

Destruction and Persecutions to Come (13:1-23) 13:1–2 Chapter 13 of Mark is one of the two large sections of teaching material uninterrupted by other things, the other block of material being the parables discourse in chapter 4. The present discourse begins with a prediction by Jesus that the temple of Jerusalem will be destroyed (13:1–2). This leads to a typical Markan scene in which the disciples ask Jesus privately for the meaning of his statement (13:3–4) and Jesus gives an extensive answer to their ...

1885. You've Got Spirit

Luke 3:15-22 · Acts 8:14-17 · Psalm 29 · Isaiah 61:1-4

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit." Let us pray: "O Lord, how can we know Thee: Where can we find Thee? Thou art as close to us as breathing and yet art farther than the furthermost star. Thou art as mysterious as the vast solitudes of the night and yet art as familiar to us as the light of the sun. To the seer of old Thou didst say: Thou canst not see my face, but I will make all My Goodness pass before Thee. Even so does Thy goodness pass before us in the realm of ...

1886. Going Home ― Part Two: Then And Now

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

John B. Jamison

Before we look at today’s passage, it will help if we take the time to remember a couple of old stories: The first story is about a time when God caused a terrible drought to cover the entire land. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel had built altars to other gods, like Baal, and had been hunting down and killing the prophets of God. The prophet Elijah was hiding in the wilderness when God told him to leave Israel and go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, an enemy of Israel. One day while he was there, ...

1887. Motives Matter

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Why do we do the things we do? Psychology offers us a group of standard motivations, such as survival, pleasure, autonomy, purpose/meaning, love/connection, reputation/respect, success, and power/control. The darker side of human motivation, particularly when our drives go unchecked, can include competition, envy, lack of empathy, materialism, power, control, validation, and personal gain. The way human beings express these motivations can vary according to our innate biology, our learned behaviors, and ...

1888. To Live Is To Dance

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

When you hear the word of the Lord, as we find in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, reading only the 7th through the 10th verses of that gospel. ‘So Jesus said again to them, truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that you may have life, and ...

1889. To Live Is to Dance

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1890. Proper 4

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Matthew 7:21-29, Romans 1:1-17, Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: A contrast between the righteousness of obedience and the righteousness of faith. The First Lesson from Deuteronomy presents Moses' instruction to obey God's laws by making them an integral part of their daily lives. The First Lesson, from Genesis, shows how Noah obeyed God by building the Ark. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches that everyone who hears his words and does them is like the person who built his house on the rock. In contrast, the person who hears his teachings and does not do them resembles ...

1891. Confession

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Job got what he wanted. He got a chance to present his case before God and to hear God's response. After hearing God's reply to him, he confesses that he said things that he really did not understand. There were things about God, creation, and human life that were just too wonderful for him, things that he did not know. His accusation before God now seemed to him to be ludicrous and unwarranted. But at no time did God ever chastise him for speaking his mind. It was those moments of desertion and ...

1892. The Christmas Cactus

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Christmas has a way of bringing back memories. One that came to my mind as I was preparing this message was when my family would be driving home at night in the car and my father would lead us in singing a song. To all of us family members who remember those fun, cozy journeys toward home, there are many layers of meaning to the words. The song goes like this: There's a long, long trail awinding, Into the land of my dreams, Where the nightingales are singing And the white moon beams. There's a long, long ...

1893. Our Helper

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Robert Beringer

There is an imaginary story in which the angel Gabriel asks the Risen Christ what is his plan for carrying the message of God's love to all the world. Jesus explains that he has asked Peter, Mary, John and Thomas and some others to carry that message wherever they go. As others hear and respond, they will carry the same message until the whole world knows of God's amazing love for sinners. Gabriel listens rather skeptically, and then asks Jesus, "But, Lord, what happens if Peter goes back to fishing, or ...

1894. Baptism of Our Lord

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 3:1-20, Isaiah 43:1-13, Isaiah 42:1-9, Acts 8:9-25, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 43:1-7 The nation of Israel is God's creation. This lection comes from 2 Isaiah written in the sixth century (540 B.C.) by an unknown author to the exiles in Babylon. To those in bondage this is a comforting message. Since Israel is God's people, he will rescue them from captivity. On this Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, we, too, in our baptism are made God's people by his gracious adoption. The Lord rescues us from the bondage of our sins. Lesson 1: Isaiah 42:1-9 God anointed his ...

1895. Salvaging Our Lives

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

If you have ever made an in-depth investigation of your family history, a genealogy, then you probably came across some ancestors who would qualify as so-called "black sheep of the family." Among my own ancestors my father came across a family will dating back to shortly before the Civil War. In that will it speaks of my great-great-great-grandmother selling off slaves. In fact, the will indicates that the slave family she owned was to be divided up at her death. When I first heard about this I was shocked ...

1896. Would That God. . .

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Would that God would give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us. (Robert Burns) This well-worn saying applies to the man in our Scripture. God was giving him the chance to see himself as another saw him. However, in this instance the other was Jesus, and that made all the difference. Through the eyes of Jesus, the man was privileged to see himself in the best possible light, the light of infinite worth in which Jesus views us all. Bartimaeus cried out for mercy. Rebuked by the disciples, he cried ...

1897. First Sunday In Christmastide

John 15:1-17

Bulletin Aid

David M. Oliver

Introduction to this Service Everyone is to bring an evergreen branch to worship. Extra boughs may be brought by church members and handed out to those who do not have any. The evergreen is a useful symbol for the Christian life. The focus of the message is to consider how we can remain "ever-green" and fruitful as people of faith. During enjoyable holiday periods, most of us are like the fresh-cut evergreen. The sweet aroma of our lives is readily lavished on everyone. After these periods of celebration, ...

1898. Living In The Resurrection Age

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: On this day, O God, we lift up our heads and shout the good news that your son Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In these moments, may we come to know in our hearts as well as our minds that Jesus lives now and forever. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Columnist Philip Yancey, in an article titled "A Russian Resurrection," writes of his visit in October 1991 to the former Soviet Union. He says ...

1899. The Infinite Becomes An Infant

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

The Miracle Of The Nativity Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is ...

1900. Into The Whirlwind

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Robert Allen

Certain events, no matter how long ago they happened, are forever etched in your mind. One such event that I shall always remember happened when I was in the third grade. It was late April, but it was not a beautiful spring day. Instead, it was a day marked by spring rains. It was a day that was dark and dreary. It was a day packed full of tornado warnings. Finally, late in the afternoon, the school bells rang at an unscheduled time. The teachers led all of the children into the hallways and told us to ...

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