Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1951 to 1975 of 3852 results

1951. The Big Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , with whom I am well pleased." So immediately he is tested by the devil to see if he has what it takes to be the Son of God, to be the Messiah. Which means, the temptations for Jesus serve as kind of a boot camp. Incidentally, Lent was originally established for new Christians, those who experienced a call. They were to spend forty days and forty nights preparing for their baptism. If at the end they still wanted to follow Jesus, then on Easter Eve they would be baptized as the sun was rising in the east ...

1952. The Cathedral Within

II Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... minuscule. The stock market seems to defy everybody's prediction, and keeps on going up and up. We used to talk about the richest people being millionaires. Now we talk about them being billionaires. I read this week that three of Microsoft's original founders have more wealth combined than something like two hundred of the world's poorest nations. And what's more, this generation will not only generate more wealth than any other generation, they will also inherit more wealth than any other generation. The ...

1953. This Nation, Under God

2 Samuel 7:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... enemies round about. Eventually both nations, Israel and Judah, be taken away in captivity. The author of II Samuel is convinced that the downfall of David's house, the division in the nation, and the invasion of foreign armies, is because they forgot their humble origins, that they depended on grace for their existence, and began to think that they had all of this power and prosperity by their own effort and virtue. So they now believed that they could do what they wished with what was given to them. So ...

1954. What Kind of Name Is That?

Luke 1:26-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

It is always interesting to discover the origin of names. I suppose most of you were named for a relative. Some are named for saints, or heroes, and some just bear the names that were chosen because they sound distinguished. Some names are unfortunate. I heard about a man who joined the Navy. His name was Tonsillitis Jackson. ...

1955. Where Do You Abide?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , and that won't change. Someday, I pray, you will change. But God will remain the same. There is an act in the baptism ritual that affirms that. In the early days it was setting a seal on the forehead of the baptizand with oil. It has its origin, incidentally, in Hebrew scriptures, in the Exodus actually, where the Jews were spared the plague by putting blood on the doorpost of their house as a sign, a seal, against the plague. So the Christians put the sign of the cross on the foreheads of those who were ...

1956. Where's Your Spirit?

Acts 19:1-7

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... ." Paul must have slapped his forehead in despair, saying, "Do I have to do everything myself to get it right." Then he asks, "What about when you were baptized?" Which is the clue that in the early Church, receiving the Holy Spirit was a part of the original act of baptism in the Church. So he says, "What about when you were baptized?" They said, "Well, we were baptized into John's baptism." Paul says, "Aha, that's the problem. John's baptism was for repentance." Whereupon he laid hands upon them, and gave ...

1957. While You Are Waiting

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... will feast with him at the banquet, like the bridegroom. As for the others, those who sleep, or are too busy with other things, or are not adequately prepared to wait, or those who just did not expect a Messiah to come, will miss out. So the original message of the parable, when it was first told by Jesus, was probably this: act now while the bridegroom is with you. The Church took this parable and found another meaning that spoke to their situation. Their situation was not having to decide whether or not ...

1958. Why Join the Church?

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , a perfect society. In much of science fiction the future is seen as the battle between the spiritual forces of wickedness and the evil powers in heavenly places. I don't believe that those powers are supernatural. I believe that they are human in origin I believe that they are the accumulated sin of generations that, in time, becomes a spiritual force in society. Social diseases are like physical diseases, they are manageable at first, but if you don't do anything about them, they soon become too powerful ...

1959. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... in today's Gospel as support for the virgin birth. However, the word for "woman" (almah) in 7:14 is "woman," "girl," or "maiden" who may or may not be a virgin. The Septuagint uses parthenos which means "virgin." Matthew chose to use LXX to prooftext the virgin birth. Originally the pericope had no connection with the prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus. How then can it be used for preaching on Advent 4? A preacher can use the passage in terms of the sign of a child, the child Jesus, as a sign of God's ...

1960. Baptism of our Lord

Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... vows. God is ever faithful and he needs not repeat his promises to us, but we forget or break our baptismal promises. It is similar to an infant's inoculation. After a certain period of time, the child must receive booster shots to make the original shot effective. Similarly, a Christian needs a booster shot to keep his baptism effective in his life by the reaffirmation of his baptismal promises. A special service has been prepared for this purpose. Outline: Why we need to re-affirm our baptism. a. A ...

1961. Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:1-11, Matthew 27:11-54, Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... suffers shame and disgrace: the pulling out of his beard and spitting in his face. The depth of Jesus' non-physical suffering was in his cry. "My God, why?" It is the only word of the cross reported by Matthew and the only word given in the original tongue, Aramaic. Outline: Consider the real hurt of the cross. a. Cry of loneliness - "forsaken." b. Cry of misunderstanding - "why?" c. Cry of alienation of sin - "me" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 1. Even Death On A Cross. 2:8 - Need: Jesus ...

1962. Easter 2

Acts 2:14-41, 1 Peter 1:1-12, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... Sunday. We are to deal with the second section (vv. 24-29) today. Christ overcomes Thomas' doubt by a personal encounter, but Jesus declares that faith is not based on concrete evidence, but on trust of the Word proclaimed by others. The original ending of John's Gospel (vv. 30-31) gives his purpose in writing the book. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS Gospel: John 20:19-31 1. The resurrection body. Dr. Edward Hobbs, professor of New Testament at Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union, told a newspaper reporter ...

1963. Easter 3

John 20:19-23, Acts 2:14-41, 1 Peter 1:1-12, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

1964. Proper 5

Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:9-13, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hosea 5:1-15, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... grace. All of his promises are for our good: mercy, forgiveness, deliverance, protection, and providence. His grace is shown not only in promising nothing but good, but in initiating the promise. We do not go to God and say, "Promise me you will bless me." No, God originates the promise. He comes to us with a promise and in return he asks us to trust him. 3. Faith (vv. 13, 16). When does the promise become a reality to us individually? It is when we accept the promise by faith. It is the hand that reaches ...

1965. Proper 7

Matthew 10:1-42, Romans 6:1-14, Romans 5:12-21, Jeremiah 20:7-18, Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... pericope, Paul reminds us of the corporateness of humanity. We are as one person. What one does affects the whole. No man is an island. One lives or dies to himself. Because of this, one person's sin can pollute the whole human race. We call it "original sin." One man's death on a cross means life for all who accept him by faith. Through this sermon people should get an understanding of the reason for their sinning and should look to Jesus for deliverance. Outline: It took only one - a. For sin to enter ...

1966. Proper 9

Gen 24:1-67, Zech 9:9-13, Rom 7:7-25; 8:1-17, Mt 11:1-19, 25-30

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . In this pericope Paul has a different opinion of human nature. The RSV translates our lower nature as "flesh," but the GNB uses "flesh" as "human nature." According to Paul human nature is under the power of sin and each person is the victim of original sin. If we live according to human nature, we sin and will die in our sin. In contrast, Christians have the Spirit of Christ and live according to the Spirit. People confront the decision to live according to their human nature or according to the Spirit ...

1967. Proper 11

Genesis 28:10-22, Romans 8:1-17, Romans 8:18-27, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... verse 39 he is identified as the devil who is the personification of the evil power in the world. We are not told where he came from, nor where he went after sowing the weeds. Is this not the case with our understanding of evil? We do not know the origin of evil, nor the end of evil. All we know is that evil is a reality in our world, a reality to be resisted and rejected. 4. Weeds (v. 26). Weeds are darnel which so closely resembles wheat that it is very difficult to differentiate the one from the other ...

1968. The One Thing God Can Not Do

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... young. And so they forgive him. Does that undo the deed? Most certainly not. It will haunt him the rest of his life. Forgiveness is important, but it does not undo the damage. That would be a good answer. Even God cannot undo the past. But back to our original question: What is it that St. Paul says God cannot do? St. Paul says, God “cannot disown himself.” Listen to his words to in II Timothy: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also ...

1969. The Offense of Grace

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... and fighting over family heirlooms. Yes, resentment and retaliation, judgment and blame are tightly woven into the fabric of our human nature. This negative reaction to the bad things in life is learned behavior in a world where self comes first. It is part of the original sin of seeing ourselves as the center of the universe. And it is the disease of the soul which Jesus comes to heal. When he eats with Zacchaeus, when he forgives and empowers the woman at the well, when he breaks bread with Judas, and ...

1970. Enduring the Trials of Faith

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... speech where the message will be revealed, suffers a severe heart attack. As he clings to life in a London hospital, Jean Marie receives a strange visitor. The man is young, about thirty years old, tall, strong, and speaks with a Middle East accent, although his origin seems a mystery. He wears a beautiful and ancient ring which has inscribed on it the Christian symbol of a fish. This man calls himself Mr. Atha. The stranger tells Jean Marie that he must persevere but that the message which he feels must be ...

1971. Defeat Transformed into Victory

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Richard Gribble

1972. Jesus, Our Rock Foundation

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... many varied ideas, personalities, and backgrounds, that such a utopian idea can never be reached. But, we are called to love all people, giving them the common Christian dignity that is their due as members of God's family, regardless of creed, national origin, ethnicity, or religious understanding. Jesus is the truth which is love and, thus, if we desire to follow, we must exercise the love which he exemplified. Lastly, Jesus calls himself the life, the only life that truly should have meaning for us. Fads ...

1973. His Last Command ... Our First Concern!

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... into an artist's studio where we may fairly affirm, "I'm here on temporary assignment with God. My talent and time and money are needed. God has personally called me here to be his representative." It's interesting that the great commission, written originally in the Greek, actually says, "As you go into all the world, make disciples." It has almost a casual or spontaneous air about it. And sure enough, search the scriptures as you might, you'll find the disciples nowhere starting "How to Witness" schools ...

1974. Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... Lord." Some background here: In the Greek, the word "elder" is presbuteros. We get the word "presbyterian" from that. It literally means the "gray-bearded ones," the older, more mature spiritual men. In the Old Testament the temple priests were the original physicians. In them was what medical knowledge there was. Priests quarantined lepers, taught people to wash in running water, burned contaminated bed clothes, and prayed for Israel's general welfare and health. When the text says elders "anoint with oil ...

1975. Will You Give Christ Your Supper?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... today. I know the pain. I go to offer students "the comfort with which I've been comforted in Christ." Experience A fifth and final loaf each of us has in our dinner pail that we can hand to Jesus is our experience. Four out of the twelve original apostles were fishermen and when Jesus called them he said, "Henceforth you shall be catching men." Just as they'd learned to read the fish, to wait in patience for a large haul, so their experience would serve them well in evangelism. At an opera in Belarus this ...

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