Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 176 to 200 of 4915 results

176. Show Us the Father

John 14:8-17, 25-27

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

Philip put forth what seemed like a really good request. “Show us the Father.” He added, “That will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Yes, that would be great. If we can just see the Father, we’ll be cool. We’ll have all the inspiration we need to keep plugging away. We’ll be set for life. We’ll be good. This reminds me of the old Steve Martin movie, “The Jerk.” There’s a scene in which Navin (Steve Martin) is breaking up with his wife, Marie (Bernadette Peters). She tells him to leave, so he begins to walk ...

177. A Powerful Sacrament

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. William Culbertson, president of Moody Bible Institute, is an Episcopalian. So naturally he enjoys a joke at the expense of his Baptist friends. He tells a hilarious story about three rather notorious characters who had been converted and were to be baptized by immersion in the local Baptist Church. The whole community turned out. The little church had only one small dressing room which opened from the baptistery (the pool in which the men would be immersed at the front of the church). The dressing ...

178. When Jacob Got a Vision

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

The storyteller is talking about great men and women of vision. He is a park ranger dressed in a green uniform matching the Ponderosa pines that surround the campsite. Campers from many states and a couple of foreign countries sit fascinated in the park's natural amphitheater. Soon they will go back to their tents, cabins, and recreational vehicles to reflect on images dancing in their heads of Chief Crazy Horse battling General George Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, of Gutzon Borglum sculpting a ...

179. Self-Fulfillment Through Self-Sacrifice

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God calls us to develop our gifts and genius to the max. But we can only find self-fulfillment through self-sacrifice. Why is it that some of the most creative work in advertising and imaging promotes beer or sports items? A recent string of commercials for Miller "Lite" shows that its promoters are right in touch with what captivates our postmodern culture and tickles our postmodern fancy. In these ads, the classic "tastes great" vs. "less filling" two-in-one idea is taken one step further. Patrons at a ...

180. What Power Has He?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On the 21st day of December in the year of our Lord 2003, when George Bush was President of the United States and Phil Bredeson was Governor of Tennessee and Ann Dunn was Mayor of Brentwood, the people of Brentwood United Methodist Church gathered to worship Jesus Christ, the newborn King. Somebody is surely thinking so what, why all the details? A similar question might be asked of Dr. Luke as he opens the narrative of Jesus Birth. “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be ...

181. Walking On the Knees

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Donald Zelle

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in thy eyes, O Lord God; thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast shown me future generations, O Lord God! And what more can David say to thee? For thou knowest thy servant, O Lord God! Because of thy promise, and according to thy own heart, thou hast wrought all this greatness, to make thy servant ...

182. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Being Rich

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

How would you like to be rich? The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol has offered a $10,000,000 Prize. A recent email read, "Want a six-figure second income? Get rich now!" A local financial institution was giving away copies of the international bestseller by David Bach: The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich. Many of these offers go straight to my recycling bin or get automatically trashed by my spam filter. But The Automatic Millionaire -- in spite of its rather ...

183. Portrait Of A Powerful Servant

John 13:1-17

Sermon

John M. Braaten

Jesus loved to paint portraits for the soul. He did it through his actions as well as his words. Indeed, his whole life was a powerful illustration. On the particular night to which our texts bear witness, the image Jesus will etch into the memories of his disciples will be so powerful that they will never again be able to think of him without reference to this event. Writer Walter Wangerin suggests that the atmosphere of that evening was shrouded in mystery and filled with intrigue. There was the meal ...

184. The Power of a God-Shaped Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I have a potential gift for you this morning. There are two marvelous readings shared from the sacred scriptures, and the truth they both profess is the POWER OF A GOD-SHAPED ATTITUDE! Do you remember the lyrics we learned as children which went like this: "Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been? I''ve been to London to see the queen. Pussycat, Pussycat, what saw you there? I saw a wee mouse under her chair." Now London is a splendid and enchanting place to visit. Imagine a city which includes places like ...

185. Breaking Through

Acts 2:1-21 · John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. (Isaiah 10:27) Summer is coming soon! And with it, all of God’s creatures come out to work their magic in and among us on the earth. One of God’s fascinating creatures is the spider. How many of you have been going on your way or coming into your doorway, and you without knowing it walked right into a spider’s web? You ...

186. Great Grace Was Upon Them!

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Let us pray: Lord, help us to be faithful in our devotion and worship during these tempting days of spring and summer. Light within our hearts the flame of gratitude that in this complaining and selfish world our light may shine. In the power of your love, enable us to tell the difference between desires and necessities; between enough and too much; between making a living and making a life. Help us to follow your Son in the freedom from the idolatry of things. In Christ’s name. Amen. I am glad you are ...

187. The Power to Rise Again

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A church organist made a horrible blunder on Easter Sunday. He failed to set his alarm and managed to sleep right through the first service. The congregation forgave him. His colleagues teased him. The senior pastor pondered it all in his heart and one year later phoned the organist at 4:00 a.m. When the organist answered the phone, the pastor said, “It's Easter! Christ is risen! You should do the same!" It's Easter. Christ is risen and best of all, we can do the same. As the early Church scrambled to ...

188. God’s Great Promise To Sarah!

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Confession is good for one’s soul. You are about to hear a personal confession. My mother, who was a pioneer farmer’s wife, was treated as a second-class citizen. Oh, she had the right to vote and was secretary for our school district for most of my young, adult life and was in charge of family finances. She commanded respect from husband and children - yet in no way did she receive equal treatment. In my childhood on the farm, men had to do certain things, most women had to be able to do (and in many ...

189. The Power of a Personal Commitment

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

While my farmer father only had a fourth grade education, he was a wonderful story teller. One of his favorite yarns was about a chicken and a pig who encountered a hungry man beside the road. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, “Why don’t you and I go together and give this man a great ham and eggs breakfast?” The pig pondered the proposition for a moment and then replied, “For you that would be a contribution; but for me that would mean total commitment.” On this Sunday when we are asked ...

190. Death through Adam, Life through Christ

Romans 5:12-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

This section concludes the first major part in Paul’s letter, while preparing for the second part, in which Paul explains the reality of the revelation of God’s saving righteousness in the life of believers. In this section, Adam stands for the sinfulness of all humanity (1:18–3:20), while Jesus Christ stands for God’s solution to the problem of the human condition (3:21–5:11). In 5:12 Paul sets up a contrast between two men. One man is responsible for sin in the world, resulting in death, which has spread ...

191. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." It is sayings like this that shatter any notions we have of Jesus being simply another Mr. Nice Guy. These are tough words. They have been a flashpoint for controversy in the church for centuries. They have ignited heated debates about the role of money in the Christian life. These tough words of Jesus have usually provoked two kinds of reactions. One interprets Jesus' words to mean that you ...

192. Is God Showing through You?

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Do you remember how fascinating and fun transparency books were? Especially grizzly, gross, and so, of course, great, were those that showed what lay inside the human body. Those books, with their series of clear pages that overlaid one on top of another--adding the veins, the arteries, the muscles, the internal organs the nervous system--revealed a hidden world to curious kids. Now there are moving, revolving, 3-D images kids can call up on the family computer, images that are much more accurate and ...

193. Desperation to Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Roland Jaffe’s brilliant and beautiful film, “The Mission” (1986) tells the true story of the Spanish Jesuit missionaries who served the indigenous (Indian) populations of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay during the first half of the eighteenth century. The “Jesuit Reductions,” as history has dubbed them, were mission stations created by the Jesuits to bring Christianity to the natives through education and medical service. They were independent of the Spanish government — though protected by it. The plot ...

194. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Suppose reliable word came that within hours this area of the country would be attacked by enemy missiles. Orders from the military broadcast over the emergency stations tell us to evacuate our town and literally run for our lives. Perhaps we would quickly plan some strategy of escape, maybe with some close friends and relatives. Or we might hold a hurried congregational meeting and decide to leave in some sort of protective caravan. No matter what our specific response, all of a sudden we would experience ...

195. Parable Power

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Each one of us is in the midst of writing our own gospel our own Good News story. Have you ever tried to retell a funny story or joke that previously split your sides only to see it fall flat as a pancake the second time around? The same setup, the same characters, the same punch line that left yesterday's lunch crowd holding their sides and wiping their eyes, leave today's prayer breakfast yawning as they sip their coffee. We've come up with some standard comebacks to cover ourselves and explain these ...

196. Selling Out

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

When I was in Israel several years ago, I took one of the boats that crossed the Sea of Galilee. When we reached the far shore, we were whisked by bus to a place near the ancient city of Gadara. In its heyday, Gadara was an urban area — one of the cities of the Decapolis. It was at the southern end of those Ten Roman Cities of fame. Gadara is no longer a city. In fact, it is nothing but a few ruins now. The place of interest for us weary pilgrims was nothing but some rocky crags. Nearby stood the ruins of ...

197. The Three Poison Pills of Position, Prestige, and Power

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!" The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in ...

198. "But, Lord, I Didn’t Want To Be Saved in That Way"

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

The encounter between Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria and a leper, and the prophet Elisha is quite a treat. The story opens with Naaman bringing a fortune in gifts which the king had provided him to buy the healing powers of Elisha. It concludes with Naaman asking for "two mules’ burdens of earth" so that he may sacrifice to the true God when he returns home. Two stories from my own life came to me when I began to unpack this text. When I was in seminary there was a young professor whom ...

199. The Power of Encouragement (Part VIII)

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Clarence Thomas who, as many of you know, is now a Supreme Court Justice, acknowledged that one of the persons who had a great influence on his life was a nun by the name of Sister Mary Virgilius Ready. Judge Thomas says it was the encouragement that he received from her that helped him to overcome poverty and racism and become someone. Newsweek magazine wrote about her and others who served in the school that Clarence Thomas attended. The article said: "The nuns who lived in the black areas of town were ...

200. Through the Heart of Jesus

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, just in case any of you men need something to panic about. Just a friendly reminder for any procrastinators who might be in the house. Tomorrow’s big day reminds me of an article that came out last year about candy hearts. You know those candy hearts that are bright pink and orange and yellow, and they have sappy sayings stamped onto them—“Kiss Me,” “Hot Stuff,” “Be Mine,” etc. The original candy hearts with sayings—their official name is “conversation hearts”—were the ...

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