Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1926 to 1950 of 3852 results

1926. Strategic Planning

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... off course just a few degrees. As we keep flying, that little discrepancy in our direction is amplified over time and distance. And so we don’t arrive in Europe at all. We arrive somewhere in North Africa. Just a few degrees at our point of origin produces a large variation in our final destination. That, in essence, is the vector principle. Small changes at one point in your life produce major, life-affecting results later in life. Let’s suppose that a person decides at age 35 to jog two miles every ...

1927. A Holy Way for Us All

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... of death and the thirst of sin. We can begin now to inherit the goodness of the new age of the kingdom. Our text not only applies to our lives now, however. It also holds out before us the picture of a glorious future. Intended originally for the people of Israel, dispersed throughout the Mediterranean world, this pronouncement by Isaiah pictures the time when the covenant people are gathered once again to the temple on Zion in Jerusalem to praise their Lord in joy and gladness (v. 10). God will prepare ...

1928. A Reassuring Prophecy

Isaiah 7:10-16

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... and bear a son and call his name Immanuel (v. 14). As we know from our gospel lesson, the New Testament understood that as a prediction of the birth of Jesus Christ, reading “young woman” (‘almah in the Hebrew) as “virgin” (parthenos) from the Septuagint. Originally, of course, the reference was not to a virgin or to Jesus. Rather the young woman was simply the wife of the prophet or, more probably, the wife of the king himself. And “Immanuel” was very likely a name that lots of women gave to ...

1929. Loch Ness, Locusts, and Bread

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... fast, a retreat. Just six months ago our society was in total immersion in the Christmas season -- it started even before Halloween -- but in all the commercialism and the glitzy decorations and children's movies, and the syrupy songs, somewhere in that mess there is the original idea, the cause for the celebrating, that God sent his Son Jesus to become one of us in the Babe of Bethlehem. That God shares in the plagues of locusts and the hunger and suffering and pain, and even death, but also the growth and ...

1930. Those Parentheses

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... of all! Peter's parentheses do not explain what you must do for Jesus to be Lord. He is Lord. And the parentheses of Peter's own life said that, too. Will our parentheses amplify? George Ives was the father of Charles Ives, America's most original and extraordinary composer. Both father and son were church organists all of their lives. George Ives was himself an extraordinary man. He encouraged people to sing out in their own way and not worry about being in tune or such minor details. Once a young music ...

1931. When Jacob Got a Vision

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... values we want her to learn," says Carol. A sample congregational vision and mission statement reads: "As the Body of Christ, St. Mary's Community Church invites all people into a transforming relationship with the living God." The original Salvation Army mission statement was: "Make citizens of the rejected." Disneyland's mission is: "To provide people happiness." Parenting vision and mission statements can be especially helpful in identifying values, core beliefs, and direction. Diane Loomans wrote: If ...

1932. An Incredible Encounter

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... is no greater risk than to offer one's life. Walt Disney was a risk taker and a great visionary. Charles Swindoll tells the following story about Disney: "Several years ago I met a gentleman who served on one of Walt Disney's original advisory boards. What amazing stories he told! Those early days were tough; but that remarkable, creative visionary refused to give up. I especially appreciated the man's sharing with me how Disney responded to disagreement. He said that Walt would occasionally present some ...

1933. A Deliverer Is Born

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... is Passing Over": Courage, my soul, and let us journey on, Tho' the night is dark and it won't be very long. Refrain: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The storm is passing over, Hallelujah. One refrain of Tindley's hymns was transformed into the greatest of all freedom songs: Original version: I'll overcome some day, I'll overcome some day: If in my heart I do not yield, I'll overcome some day. Transformed version: We shall overcome, we shall overcome We shall overcome some day; Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe We ...

1934. Saved (Again)!

Exodus 14:19-31

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... Christ's redeeming work on the cross, and that made personal in our baptism, we are redeemed, saved, forgiven, chosen, gifted, honored, and commissioned. The Apostle Peter sees the flood as a parallel to baptism in 1 Peter 3:20-22. Once again, people in the original story were saved from water, not by water, but both the flood and the crossing of the sea put an end to wickedness and the beginning of salvation and new life. Peter sees the cleansing in baptism as spiritual, not physical, when he writes: "And ...

1935. Ten Friends Drive Us to the Promise

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... speaks, the command is not a suggestion, but a call for a lifetime of ceding all authority over to Yahweh. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods" (Exodus 20:2). Origin, the second-century North African theologian said, "What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God." There is only room for one God just as there is only room for one bride at a wedding. A young pastor ...

1936. Healing the Pain from the Past

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... them, but they just won't go away. They clutch on to our souls with both hands, refusing to let go. With all the emotional strength we have, we keep them stuffed down, but when we are tired or stressed, they bubble up to the surface, bringing the original pain right along with them. The pain itself is bad enough, but we get weary of dealing with pain. The weariness with our pain is a source of grief. As someone said, we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. This pain is a lonely experience, leaving ...

1937. The Model of Success

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... buy things. These people see in that a terrible danger to human life and society, so they have organized to change it. The way they are doing it is to buy less and give more. Thus the title, "Your Money or Your Life." The original investment club was the Methodist Society. John Wesley, the founder of the MethodistChurch, began preaching to the poor in England. In one generation Wesley converted them by the gospel of grace that is our heritage in the Reformation. He organized them into societies, they were ...

1938. Credit Where Credit Is Due

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... and word of life which is God's gift and not our creation. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Like your children who forgot who sent the manna, who sustained them in the wilderness, who brought them to the promised glory, so we too forget that all good things have their origin in you. We take credit for our successes and cry aloud to you when we are visited by misfortune. Forgive us, and help us to see our ups and downs in the light of your salvation. Amen. Hymns "We Plow The Fields And Scatter" "Holy Manna" "I Am ...

1939. One Degree As God’s Relation

Acts 17:22-31

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... We worship you and praise your name for that glory which is evident in the world we share. We see our handiwork, manufactured, crafted, and designed, all around us as well, and we recognize that these things, as clever as they might be, have their origins in you as well. We strive to praise you through our possessions, recognizing you as their source, even as the world worships these things. Our computers, our cell phones, our cars, our audio and visual toys, these things enrich our lives, but if we worship ...

1940. Thank God for the Church

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

James L. Killen

... Jew who actually persecuted the church. But after his conversion, he became the chief missionary to the non-Jewish world. He had learned how to articulate the teachings of the Christian faith and to interpret them to people from all sorts of national and religious origins. You remember when Paul came to Corinth. It was a number of years ago. He was on one of his missionary journeys and he recognized the openness to the gospel and also the strategic importance of this place for the spread of the Christian ...

1941. A Name Not Taken in Vain

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . If the Triune God is essentially self-revealing, the people of God are called as witnesses to God's words and deeds. Christian faith always points beyond itself to the God who lives and speaks, for it is in the life and word of God that we find our origin, purpose, and destination. I suppose this is why the preaching and teaching ministries of the church have become so dear to me, and probably why they demand so much of a minister's time and energy. I also suspect this is why I have come to believe that ...

1942. No Shame

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28 (29-31)

Sermon

William G. Carter

... Christ. * My colors are clear. * I am his disciple. * And I am not ashamed.1 That, my friends, is the great open secret of our salvation: "I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (Romans 1:16). 1. Original source unknown.

1943. Say What?

1 John 3:5-6

Sermon

Rick Brand

... always been important scripture to people because it preserves the beginning good and reality of creation. Creation began as God's good work, and creation was created well, is good, and worked properly. The story of the fall provides an explanation for the origin of evil without making the Creator directly responsible for it, and at the same time it gives humanity a place and responsibility of immense consequences. The creature's actions had an amazing impact on the creation of God. When the story becomes ...

1944. A More Perfect Union

Habakkuk 2:1-5

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... in the Old Testament lesson. "The righteous shall live by faith." That is the source of Paul's famous phrase found in his Letter to the Romans particularly, "The just shall live by faith." It became a battle cry for the Reformation, and it came originally from Habakkuk. But in this same passage is a wonderful phrase that I thought was appropriate for the Fourth of July: "For still the vision awaits its time." The prophet sees himself standing on a wall, the common image the prophets used for themselves, as ...

1945. Beware of Crowds

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of the house. "They brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And he healed the sick, and cast out demons." And then this verse. "He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him." They knew him because supposedly demons have supernatural origin. Jesus is the Son of God, so they recognized who it was. They recognized that their rule on earth is now over, Jesus has come to cast them out. So why the secrecy? I mean, he had it made. It was all over, really, like the landing at ...

1946. How's the Old Complaint?

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... doth provide For our wants to be supplied. The dependability of nature, according to the Bible, is a gift given to us by God. The place we live, this land which is ours, is a gift to us by God's providence. It is that sensibility that is the origin of Thanksgiving in America. And it comes right out of the Old Testament, the covenants that God has made with us always to be faithful to us, even when are unfaithful. That's how the pilgrims saw their life. e e cummings has a wonderful poem about this gracious ...

1947. I Thought You'd Never Ask

John 1:35-46

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... forty years. And I know the reasons, and many are legitimate. Evangelism has gotten a bad name from the way many people conduct it. They do it in ways that you and I would never think of doing it. So I want you to see the way it was done originally. This is the model, this is the template for all Christians. "Come and see. I've found what I've been looking for. So come and see. Maybe it's what you're looking for." And we've made that even easier for you in this church, with the video ...

1948. Lateral Thinking

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... obey Leviticus, "Love your neighbor." They knew they were to love their neighbor. Jesus is telling the Jews, "The Samaritans are not your enemies, they are your neighbors." Which is brought home by Jesus throwing the question back to the lawyer who asked the question originally. Jesus asks, "Who is your neighbor?" The lawyer answered, "The one who showed mercy." The scene ends with Jesus saying, "Go thou and do likewise." Which means he brings it back to a moral lesson. That's all right. We need that. But I ...

1949. Scandalous News

Luke 4:16-30

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... from the prophet Isaiah, the 61st chapter. Isaiah, in this passage, is promising that there is going to come a day that the Jews call the "Jubilee." The term is from the Book of Leviticus, which says every fifty years all land is to be returned to its original owner. It was a reference to land held as collateral. All prisoners, especially those in debtors prison, are to be released. All indentured slaves are to be set free. In the Year of Jubilee, all of creation is to be restored. Life is to be put back ...

1950. Stirring Things Up

Mark 13:1-8, Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... a pretty word. It conjures up what we don't want to be associated with. But the word "cult" has another meaning, a technical meaning, important for understanding the Letter to the Hebrews, from which our text for this morning's sermon comes. "Cult" originally referred to the formal worship practices of a religion. It is what happens at the altar: the chanting of the priest, the elements of the sacrifice, the vestments that the priest wears, his gestures, the candles, the incense. All that makes up the drama ...

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