Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 176 to 200 of 975 results

176. Courage to Break

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... embarking on a foolish path? This time of discernment must end in a time of “brokenness” for Jesus, in which he declines the “easy way out,” digs in the heels of his faith in God as his fortress and foundation, and is ready to yield to hunger, famine, and even death on a cross –if it means God’s will. Jesus’ greatest strength in this passage in which we see him resisting the powers of temptation and avarice come from his sense of brokenness. Broken will. Broken self-assurance. Broken desires ...

177. The Passion of Our Lord

2 Corinthians 5:21

Sermon

... to be sin who knew no sin, so that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God; behold, now is the day of salvation." And finally, with a last surge of strength, Our Lord says this: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit": humanity yields to divinity, suffering to victory, death to life. Following Our Lord's last words, in order that the Sabbath be not profaned, the soldiers now go, on Pilate's orders, to break the condemned men's legs. This is the normal method of ending a crucifixion, by ...

178. Out Of Our Control

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... or the quality of our teachers. Some of us "self-made people" started life with an enormous advantage. Now that we are adults, though, we can choose. We can set goals, chart courses, work hard, persevere. Still, there is a margin of life that does not yield to our control. We speak of being in the "right place at the right time," or perhaps the "wrong place at the wrong time." A couple happened to be sitting in a restaurant in New York City. They overheard two Wall Street types discussing a certain stock ...

179. Lord, Is It I?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... t even begin to think of that possibility, can we? It violates everything we feel, the thought of it tears at our hearts — that we would betray Christ. But think the roots of sin are in all of us. The gravest sins have their beginnings in our yielding to very common motives. Don’t let that pass over your mind too quickly – the gravest sins have their beginning to very common motives. Think of how many people are killed in a domestic conflict because of anger – really the kind of anger that all of us ...

180. Known By Our Love

John 13:31-35

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... short. Ordinary faces beautiful, Houses into homes, Picnics into banquets, Wilted daisies into bouquets, God into sacrifice and sinners into saints. The poet ends with a challenging query. Doesn’t it make you wonder what might happen to you If you yielded to God’s love? (source unknown) Love has the potential to change everything. Experiencing love in your life can change you. Loving another person can change that person. Even you loving another person can change you. In fact, even loving your enemy ...

181. Called To Pull Down; Called To Rebuild

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... of self-assertion, self-fulfillment, self-made men and women. Our common cliches are "do your own thing" and "I did it my way." Jeremiah makes it clear, however, that such autonomy is illusionary. Kings and commoners, princes and paupers, all eventually must yield to the call of God. Jeremiah must have sensed that this powerful claim of God brings tension and conflict, for he immediately resists. He did not claim sinfulness as his excuse, as Isaiah did (Isaiah 6:5). He claims inadequacy: "Ah, Lord God ...

182. Sowing Good Seed - Father's Day

Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... quickly established the natural hierarchy and reduced the violent behavior of the younger bulls. "The new discipline, it turned out, was not just a matter of size intimidation," says Raspberry. "The young bulls actually started following the Big Daddies around, yielding to their authority and learning from them proper elephant conduct. The assaults on the white rhinos ended abruptly." (3) Raspberry's point was that young males whether they are wild animals or human beings need Dads. Those of us who grew ...

183. No Weedless Garden

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... ask. When they are told the source immediately they surmise that the householder wants them pulled out and destroyed. "Then," they ask, "do you want us to go and gather them?" Often, I suspect, our attitude is much the same. We expect other sections of the yield to be weed free and we get quite upset when they are not. Sometimes this upset breaks out in verdicts and judgments. Backbiters, Luther says, are not content just to know when a sin has been committed (or when a weed has been spotted). They rush ...

184. The Remnant Year

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... and temptations, cares and catastrophes were handled with faithfulness and courage. In due time the covenant relationship became too much for them. They fell again and again, preferring their wills rather than his. Rich, they pridefully manipulated the law. Tired, they yielded to the easiest way out. Defeated, they became despairing. They acted as if they were no people of God at all. Rather, God was their private possession to be used at will. From time to time God looked upon them, ready to chastise ...

185. Evangelism: Three-Phase Youth Ministry

Drama

Ken Davis

... . The two messengers stood close, shouting their opposing words. Then, the one with the vital message put his arm gently around the volunteer's shoulder and leaned very close to speak directly into his ear. Almost without hesitation, the volunteer began to yield to his instruction. Occasionally he paused to listen as the opposition frantically tried to convince him to turn around. But then, by the gentle guidance of touch, the one with the vital message led him on. A moment of frightening realism occurred ...

186. Touched By the Third Phase

Drama

Ken Davis

187. Nicodemus: A Young Old Man

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

... fear behind the face, then depart quickly to arrive home before the wind blows more bitterly. If Jesus can’t sense the searing heart problem, Nicodemus will dismiss his suspicions about the man’s powers. He’ll return, almost relieved, to his sad, old world, yielding to his original faith as threadbare as it is, assuming that faith can’t do much more for anyone. Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (v. 5). If Nicodemus was ...

188. Prayer and Worship

1 Timothy 2:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the church’s mission by living “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (2:2). Men are called to holiness and peace (2:8). A picture of men raising angry fists at one another over who is to teach and what is to be taught needs to yield to a picture of men lifting cleansed and peaceful hands in prayer. The picture recalls Psalm 134:2, with its call for temple servants to bless the Lord in the night. But a reference to Malachi 1:11’s “in every place” sets the men’s prayers in the ...

189. Jacob Meets Esau

Genesis 33:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... could take these gifts without any sense of depriving his brother. More significantly, in accepting the gifts Esau would affirm that God’s blessing was on his brother’s life and that God had intended the blessing of Abraham to go with Jacob. Esau yielded to Jacob’s pressure and accepted the gifts. In this act Esau humbled himself, for he honored Jacob’s desire and relinquished any claims he had against Jacob. This gift sealed a bond between them, a bond that had not existed in their youth. 33 ...

190. Trust that Leads to Transformation

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The greatest advancements in science medicine, political policies, economic growth all have in common an element of the unknown. Information brought leaders to a precipice a decisive movement in time and place. But it has always been some unseen force some yielding to that which lies beyond the provable and knowable that has enabled history's greatest leaders to take that last step forward into new, uncharted territory. Everyone told Columbus he would sail off the edge of the world . . . but on trust he ...

191. Unity and Hope

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... drama. Our closing verse serves as Paul’s desire, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we live out our faith fresh hope is instilled in us which yields to joy. Amen. 1. Patty Kirk, “Slower than Christmas” Today’s Christian Woman, December 23, 2008. 2. Delilah, Love Matters (Ontario Canada: Harlequin, 2008), pp. 43-47. 3. “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, #431.

192. The Magic Ingredient

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... year,” he would say. This went on for ten years until the businessman celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. As usual, his associates begged him to share the secret formula with them so they could continue the business after his death. Finally, he yielded to their insistence. “In addition to the things which I use which are commonly known,” he said, “there is one secret ingredient that I package with every bottle.” By this time, everyone at the party was listening with rapt attention. “What is ...

193. Peacemaking - Active, Not Passive

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

... happens inside of us ultimately affects the world around us. The acquisition of world peace starts with our individual and collective inner peace with God. Secondly, comes the desire for peace ... not simply an unruffled calm sea of humanity acquiescing, or passively yielding, to the intimidations of a greater force, in the sense Poland has peace, but rather peace which is rooted and grounded in God's justice. By these first two steps, I have sought to persuade you that peace is attainable and desirable.It ...

194. The Ninth Commandment: Liar, Liar

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... recognize the truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself as well as for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in order to divert himself, having no love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal, in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying, lying to others and to yourself." Remember, the nation of Israel had just been delivered from the harsh life they ...

195. How Intelligent Is God’s Design?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... the foundation of faith in the public square... Mystery suggests a call to public action in search of God’s ways... science, with all its majesty and achievement, has only one thing in common with religion: When it reaches its most profound questions, it, too, yields to mystery.[2] I have come to believe in my own journey of faith that God lives in the questions. I believe that seeking understanding with my mind is the preparation I need to trust with my heart. I believe that faith is the frontier beyond ...

196. God's Eminent Domain

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... not our culture chooses to acknowledge it, God is Lord of all creation and ultimately our human destiny is in God's hands alone. It's a good thing. Left to our own schemes we know the mess we can make. We can either deny this reality or we can yield to the Potter's hand. We can continue our futile efforts at self-domination, which can only end in brokenness and ruin, or we can work within God's eminent domain and experience the joy and peace of being who God envisioned us to be. "Am I not free to do ...

197. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , stuck it in my face and said: “Here’s something for your pity party.” If anyone had a right to attend if not host a self-pity party, is was blind/dear Helen Keller. Yet she wrote, “Self‑pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” How did Paul turn a pity party into a praise party? He shows in this text how each of us can become a “Praise Magazine.” The word “magazine” comes from the Arabic “makhazan” — literally translated as ...

198. Face To Face With The Tempter

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... was that way for all of us. Russian novelist Feature Dostoyevsky made the Temptation scene a centerpiece in his master work THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. Ivan Karamazov calls the Temptation the most stupendous miracle on earth: the miracle of restraint. If he had yielded to the Temptation, Jesus would have been a very popular figure, not just with Satan but with all Israel. He would have established himself beyond dispute. Imagine for a moment stones turned to bread to feed the hungry, a spectacular descent from ...

199. Roll Call

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of us life is one long battle for control. First with our parents, then with our teachers, then with our employers ” even with ourselves. That is the humbling effect of a bad habit. We discover we can't even control ourselves. We have only one hope ” to yield to God's control.When we are able to do that, we can rest assured that God will take care of us. William Hinson recalls the time when his children were younger and one child's pet died. Dr. Hinson says that he practiced "replacement therapy." When ...

200. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” Prophets speak the Word of God but seldom see immediate results. Not only do they not see the fruit of their ministry but often suffer as a result of proclaiming what God has placed on their hearts. Patience yields to trust. In the same way we place our trust in God. We do not know what the future holds for us; yet we place our trust in God. While we patiently wait we follow James’ advice to “strengthen your hearts.” We strengthen our hearts by keeping ...

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