Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1901 to 1925 of 4963 results

1901. The Committed Life

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Bulletin Aid

... Leader: To live the Christian life is to put your faith into practice through your life style. People: To live the Christian life is to make love a reality in your attitude toward others. Leader: To live the Christian life is to stand firm in the Christian hope. People: May God fill us with his Spirit, enabling us to live the Christian life! Collect Gracious Father, who has called us in love to be your children: Inspire us with your Spirit; that we may be strong in our convictions to live the Christian life ...

1902. Proper 27

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Bulletin Aid

... believing in Christ, shall also be raised. Pastor: They shall be raised to life, and be forever with our Lord. People: Our hope is in Christ who assures us that we shall share in his resurrection. Collect O loving Father, who raised your Son in glory, and promised that ... same glory to all who believe in him: Keep us mindful of the hope you have given us in your Son; that, with our Christian friends who have gone before us in death, we may share in the ...

1903. Christmas Eve or Day

Isaiah 9:1-7

Bulletin Aid

... for Christ's return Call to Worship Pastor: God's grace has become known through the gift of his Son, Jesus our Savior. People: We celebrate our Savior's birth, and rejoice in the hope he has brought us. Pastor: Jesus came in the flesh to help us live godly lives, that our hope may be fulfilled when he returns in glory. People: Our hope is not only in his birth, but in his glory as Son of God, Savior of the world. Collect O God our Father, who by your grace has brought us deliverance from sin through ...

1904. Training Session

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... might happen to them. God, we know now, has given us entrance into the kingdom in Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection; he has saved us from sin and death, and that cannot be taken away from us. That, indeed, is the basic reason for being joyful and hopeful: our Savior, Jesus Christ, lives, and we live in him forever! If we believe in him, through the grace of God, there is nothing in life that can detract from our joy or prevent us from living a life that is a benefit and a blessing to others ...

1905. Magic Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... who left behind two little children, one just an infant. She said, ‘Of all people you would think I should be prepared and strong for this kind of thing. But I am not.’ I found myself thinking that there must be some mistake. I caught myself nurturing the ghastly hope that maybe it was someone else. I half expected to hear in the retelling of that story that there was a way it would turn out all right after all. But the news was final, a prelude to a week which would take us to another cruel death and ...

1906. Tears in Raniah

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

... we feel exile in our hearts, God has not abandoned us. When we feel lamentation and bitter weeping, as Rachel felt for her children, God is still with us. When we feel we do not even want to be comforted, God then sends his word: "There is hope for you ... He who scattered you will gather you and will keep you as a shepherd keeps his flock." Exile tests faith. Luther felt this. He felt it strongly in his forty-seventh year. The Emperor had convened the Diet of Augsburg attempting to force the Protestants ...

1907. Expectations of a Vital Faith James K. Cobb

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

... Testament Jesus says, "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending, I will be with you to the end of this present age." I tell you Christianity would be a dead faith without expectation of vital faith, if we had no hope for the present or future. Hope would be shattered, meaning would be lost, future would be empty. Whatever the situation, it is better to stand with Christ and for his way of life than to slink out of the moral struggle in cynical despair. There are some fixed stars that no ...

1908. Exodus Crossings

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

James G. Cobb

... and his creation never to desert or abandon even in the midst of the most desperate of all situations. And so, with the children of Israel, we celebrate the God who frees and delivers us, the God who sets before us a future full of promise and hope, and the God who accompanies us on our way. One of the most beautiful prayers in our worship speaks a summation of this text and passage: Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through ...

1909. Forgiveness Forever

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

... . Dear Son, I am writing this note because I love you. Right now it may be difficult for you to believe that anybody cares, but I want you to know that we do. Maybe it's too hard to read these words right now; but if that's so, I hope you'll pick up this letter in a calmer moment and try once again. I heard you storm into the house late last evening. I heard you slam the door and shout, "I hate him! I hate him and I'll never forgive him." I wish you had allowed your ...

1910. Easter Day

Matthew 28:1-10, John 20:1-18, Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4

Bulletin Aid

... name we pray. Amen. Hymns "Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain" "Sing with All the Sons of Glory" "The Day of Resurrection" Second Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4 Theme: Resurrection Living Call to Worship Pastor: Christ is risen from the dead, and lives among us, bringing hope and joy to all who believe in him. People: We rejoice because we have been raised to new life with Christ! Pastor: Such life is full of joy because we put to death the earthly desires which contradict God's will, and become new persons in ...

1911. He Lights Up My Life!

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

... to be outside the camp?) The people look on from the distance and see the familiar cloudy pillar hovering at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Moses is in there - meeting God - talking with him about them! What will the verdict be? Mourning spreads over the camp. Hoping to appease God's anger a bit they strip themselves of all their jewelry and wear it no more. They are just waiting to see what God will do with them. (Waiting for an unknown punishment for a known sin is not exactly a comfortable way to spend ...

1912. Communion Is Reunion

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

... what denomination, no matter how rich or poor, no matter what race or national background, when we come to the Lord's Table all of our differences and disputes should dissolve, so that we might celebrate that which unites us - our one faith, one hope, one Lord - symbolized by one loaf. But, too often even during this Holy Meal, Christians are divided because people prefer to emphasize their differences rather than our unity as one family in Jesus Christ. One Sunday morning a lady confided in her pastor that ...

1913. Communion Is Realizing Forgiveness

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

... forgiving love. To remind us that when Jesus Christ died, it was so we could be forgiven: "This cup is the New Covenant in My blood which was poured out for you and all people for the forgiveness of sin." When you rise from the Lord's table today, I hope you will feel refreshed. I hope you will realize that you are fully forgiven and free to start life again ... free from the past. I ...

1914. Communion Is Response to an Invitation

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... a Christian too." It's sad when people get the impression that the Christian life is one of sadness and sorrow because nothing is farther from the truth. Joy is a hallmark of our lives in Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him ..." And again in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 he said, "Be joyful always." That joy should especially be evident in us today because the king of the universe has invited us to come to his banquet and dine at ...

1915. The Dimensions of the Decalogue

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... the world. They will not take his name in vain, but will revere and honor the name of the Lord in everything they do. They will remember the Sabbath, not only because God rested on the seventh day of creation, but because he raised up Jesus Christ - and gave us hope - on the first day of the week, Sunday, the day after Christ rested in the bonds of death in the tomb. My wife and I drive by a large discount store every Sunday on our way to and from our parish church. On most Sundays, the parking lot of that ...

1916. A Day For All the Saints

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

... -possessing Love. I’m on my way, God’s way for me, so let it be. He could have been speaking for all who have placed their faith and trust in Christ in life and in death. Today, we remember such saints, all of them, and thank God for the hope we have beyond death and the grave. Perhaps the most wonderful blessing we may have in this life is to be able to face death calmly, even cheerfully, because we can believe that death has been overcome by Christ and life beyond the grave is a reality for us. For ...

1917. Steadfast Love

Lamentations 3:1-66

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship I am one who has seen affliction. . . My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, "Gone is my glory, and all that I had hoped for from the Lord. . My soul is bowed down within me. But this thought comes to mind, and therefore, I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "there fore, I will hope in him."

1918. Is There No Balm in Gilead?

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... in this land, they sang, “There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.” They understood that God’s role in this world had changed and so they made Jeremiah’s lament a song of hope and healing. Jeremiah ask, is there no balm in Gilead? The church sings that there most certainly is. III So you see God’s relationship is no longer to a nation but to a people—his church. Does that mean that God is not somehow involved in the affairs of ...

1919. The Collateral Damage of Our Attitudes

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

... any moment is watch the Mayor. Watch how this guy behaved. Watch how this guy conducted himself. Watch what this guy did. Listen to what this guy said. Rudolph Giuliani is the personification of courage. He's an amazing man and far better than we could have hoped for. To run the city in the midst of this obscene chaos and attack and also demonstrate human dignity... Who can do that? That's a pretty short list." It's amazing how events like this can change our perspective. Giuliani was vilified by many. Now ...

1920. The Gathering, The Scattering

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Various Authors

... head out, refreshed, to opportunities and battles waiting for us. Maybe we go back to where we started with new friends because the party was expanded. Maybe we go out with thoughts of the next opportunity to dive into a cooling pool the next time (and, we hope, that time will not be far away). Maybe we have learned some things about the others with whom we enjoyed the party, things we never would have known in other contexts. We remember a wise maxim, posted at the door of a gymnasium: "I learn more about ...

1921. Submission

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

... does not enslave us. Rather, it sets us free. The more we submit to Christ, the freer we are to live joyful lives of love and service. When giving ourselves to Christ becomes the most important consideration, we are made free to respond to the hurts and hopes of God's people, whoever they are and whenever they cross our path. Pete Maravich was free to play the game because he was totally submitted to what the game required of him. Lily Laskin was free to play the harp because she was committed to what ...

1922. A House for God

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... goes: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. Here is verse three: His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. Aren’t those marvelous words? They’re buried deep down inside me. I heard them so many times as a youth that I can never forget them. They are part of my very structure. I remember when I was a guest preacher at a small country church ...

1923. Searching for Peace

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... stuffed men. Now for the poem by Banks: I live for those who love me, Whose hearts are kind and true; For the Heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit too; For all human ties that bind me, For the task by God assigned me, For the bright hopes yet to find me, And the good that I can do. I live to learn their story Who suffered for my sake; To emulate their glory, And follow in their wake; Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, The heroic of all age, Whose deeds crowd History’s pages, And Time’s great ...

1924. Advent 3

Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:1-10, James 5:7-12, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

... on Jesus' answer to the disciples of John who asked him, "Are you he who is to come, or do we look for another?" - and is a fitting response to the First Lesson, Isaiah 35:1-10. It asserts that people who know and trust the Lord are happy and hopeful because they depend on the Lord God, "who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them," and keeps his promise forever. He is a God who gives justice to the hungry and oppressed, sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those ...

1925. Epiphany 4

Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 1:1-6

Sermon Aid

... magicians roaming about the world in Jesus' day; some of them did astounding acts of magic, and they drew considerable crowds. There can be no doubt that many people in the crowd that followed Jesus and his disciples to the mountain did so in the hope of seeing even greater miracles than he had previously performed. They went there to see a show; instead, they were given a lesson. They were taught, or overheard, a lesson taught by a master teacher. They discovered that Jesus spoke with a level of authority ...

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