Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2001 to 2025 of 5000 results

2001. For the Life of Betsy D. I. Smylie

John 12:20-36

Sermon

John Smylie

... respond by keeping his laws. It is the means of keeping that covenant which Jeremiah prophetically saw would be transformed. No longer would the law be written on stone tablets, but on the heart. No longer would there be a need of intermediaries; each one would know the Lord for himself or herself. But that is a very scary transformation to imagine — to have surgery done upon one's heart, to have to face God on a one-to-one intimate level is an awesome proposition. It is much easier to view God's law as ...

2002. Speaking Peace

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Smylie

... in this small community. Yes, they had scattered at his arrest in the garden. The one who did stay nearby so he could find out what was going on, Peter, ended up denying that he knew Jesus at all. He who had promised he would never deny his Lord, denied him three times. Most of them hadn't even been witnesses to the crucifixion; they were already far away from that place of horror, not wanting to be snapped into it themselves. Now they were hiding behind closed and locked doors. Yet, even behind those doors ...

2003. Reconciliation: The Heart of Love

Hosea 2:14-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... once again take Israel as his wife: "And I will take you for my wife for ever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord" (Hosea 2:19-20). In a very real way, God is holding out hope that Israel will once again return and be the nation that it was intended to be. Reconciliation is always possible. God has made the first step; now Israel must respond. When considering the concept of ...

2004. Were You There?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... himself. That’s not surprising. Can there be any sin more grievous than betraying a friend? Judas was there when they crucified my Lord. Simon Peter was there as well. When the soldiers came to take Jesus, Peter tried to defend him with his sword. He struck ... of God, and God’s sending his son into the world to save humanity from its evil ways. It was Nicodemus to whom the Lord spoke those words about not being able to see the Kingdom of God unless he was born again. I find it heartening that Nicodemus ...

2005. Anatomy Of A Testimony

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... says, "then here is what you need to say and do on that occasion." It may seem premature — even impertinent or naive — but I suspect that Moses learned it from God. Way back when Moses first encountered God, at the burning bush more than forty years earlier, the Lord told him, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain" (Exodus 3:12). At that point in the story, Moses had ...

2006. God All Along

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... a young man, he is asleep on the ground near Luz: just an overnight stop along the way between the home he has to flee and the relatives' home that will be his refuge. But that non-descript spot becomes for Jacob "Bethel" — the house of God — as the Lord appears to him there in a dream. Many years later, on the return trip between those same two homes, Jacob is met again by God along the way. That previously unheralded spot becomes "Peniel" for Jacob — the place where he saw God face-to-face. We see ...

2007. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... the artist holds to create or destroy is implicit in this scene from creation. So much has changed since the day the Lord God created the man and woman and planted a garden in Eden. No sooner than had that garden been planted, it seems that ... flawed. This first sin, creatures rejecting their identity as God's creatures, is at the core of all sin and brokenness. Isaiah quotes the Lord God who names this core sin for what it is: You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall ...

2008. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ” found in Isaiah 8:14-15 — the stumbling block that becomes the corner stone for a new pathway to God (Luke 10:17-18). And finally Simeon makes his words very personal. Neither worldly salvation, nor the will of God, nor the presence of the Lord’s Messiah, is the focus of Simeon’s final words. Rather he addresses Mary and declares that even as the people of Israel will be divided, so will “sword piece your own soul too” (v.35). Division and dissension will devastate Jesus’ own family, even ...

2009. Mary AND Martha, Heart AND Home

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... thing” is Jesus himself, the one whom Martha had welcomed into her home. Martha, fixated on fixing stuff, forgot that the most central act of hospitality is to focus on the invited guest. Of course, the fact that in this case the guest is “the Lord” makes this focus a lifetime attachment, not just for a momentary meal. Martha had welcomed Jesus into her home, but Mary had welcomed Jesus into her heart. With the Martha and Mary story following on the heels of the Good Samaritan parable, Luke’s text ...

2010. The Widow and the Unjust Judge

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ? *Why don’t you spend as much time in prayer that would save your life as you do in these frivolous, unfruitful pursuits and past-times that demean your life? *Rather than making a noisy clang, why not make a joyful noise? *Why not sing prayers and praises unto the Lord, who loves you and is waiting to grant you your heart’s desire? *Why do you have more faith in your own manipulation and in the ways of the world than faith in God's mercy and God's means? *Why do we want to "assure" an outcome we can ...

2011. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... and good that we celebrate his birth. But Christmas is but a part of the entire Christ event. It is not only about the coming of Christ, but it is also about the coming of God’s Kingdom when Christ shall reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever and ever. This is not humanity’s dream, but God’s dream, a world in which all people will live in perfect harmony together. Human beings have made many attempts at building a perfect world a utopia, but none have been successful. Maybe you are aware ...

2012. A Straying Heart

Psalm 95:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice ... The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care . . . These verses tell us what we ...

2013. Locusts Happen

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Tony Everett

... and not your clothing. — Joel 2:12-13 So… where do we turn when there’s nowhere to turn? To the Lord. How do we do this? Most Christians are taught to do this through Lenten spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, mourning, and meditating ... and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). In the midst of life’s overwhelming locust swarms, the overflowing love of the Lord comforts and strengthens us for the daily journey. The ashes of shame placed on our foreheads today reveal the cross of victory ...

2014. Breaking News: The Middle East

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... gone, the Tower of Babel has been built and destroyed and all of a sudden in the biblical narrative we read these words: “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I ... go back to the very beginning of the story in Genesis 12 you will find that God made three specific promises to Abraham. “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I ...

2015. Family Re:Union - For the Love

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... that they will enjoy living there and keep what they gained. Here is what He says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I ... about a mother that was putting her little six year old girl in bed and she said, “Darling, why don’t you pray that the Lord would help you love Him more?” The little girl looked up and said, “Mommy, you want me to pray that God would help me to ...

2016. Ignite: Set On Fire!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... had to be everything what the early church was. Here is what they had and what we have. I. We Have A Mission To Fulfill Luke tells us that Jesus, having been raised from the dead, has spent forty days with His disciples. Now, that they have this risen Lord on their hands, they are not sure what they are supposed to do next. He tells them, interestingly, to do nothing except wait. They don’t know it, but He is about to ascend into heaven. While they are waiting around, they ask Him what seemed to be an ...

2017. Trust

John 4:43-54

Sermon

James Merritt

... pronounce; they will take it to a druggist they don’t know, and go home and take it and expect to feel better the next morning. Now if you can have that kind of faith in a doctor and a druggist, how much more can you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! III. When Grace Summons, Just Trust Now I want you to notice what happened to this man beyond this miracle: “Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father ...

2018. An Invitation to a Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Friend. Then one day as an old man Mortimer Adler lay sick in a hospital bed. A friend came to pray for him, and while his friend was praying, Adler found tears streaming down his face, and he found himself praying. He knew only one prayer the Lord’s Prayer. He found himself praying it day after day and believing the words of that prayer. He said the leap of faith was, for him, not a “jump to conclusions” based on insufficient evidence. It was a leap from assent to devotion. He had always known there ...

2019. Changing Times

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... thing Billy Graham has termed “The Hour of Decision.” T. S. Eliot said this kind of time is “the moment that gives the meaning.” It is the sense of time held by the prophets of the Old Testament when they spoke about the coming day of the Lord. Isaiah helps us think about the blessing of having our times in God’s hand. Peter urges us to make the most of that time, especially in days of Advent when we expect another divine invasion. Mark’s gospel opener bridges Old Testament and New, pointing to ...

2020. A Family Celebration - Maundy Thursday

John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... behalf. We are those who acknowledge that we are sinners saved by the grace of God poured out in Jesus Christ. But one thing more. The Lord’s Supper is connected to the Passover. It is a reminder to us of the lamb that was slain from the foundations of the earth. As ... The blood of the lamb has been spread over our door. It is the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. We have gathered this evening to feast on him, not as strangers but as his family. And thus we take now the bread and ...

2021. Joy Giver

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... the Savior. In the Old Testament, that word always refers to God who delivers His people from disease and defeat and death. That word and that title belongs to God and God alone. The Prophet Isaiah recorded God’s word to him when he said, “I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11, ESV) Yet, according to Luke this little baby that was born was the Savior. Yes, that little baby was God. Listen, “Savior” not only tells us who He is, but it tells us what we are, because who ...

2022. It Was a Dark and Stormy Evening! Father's Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... the wind died down and it was completely calm.” Jesus can still the storms in our life. This is the message of today’s lesson: Jesus cares and he can still the storms. “Jesus got up,” says the writer of Mark. Thank God for that. The Lord who keeps us will not let the storms overcome us. Says the Psalmist, “He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (121:3b-4). Jesus got up and rebuked--literally ordered--the wind and the waves ...

2023. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... left the glass, she turns Once more to set a ringlet right; And, even when she turn’d, the curse Had fallen, and her future Lord Was drown’d in passing thro’ the ford, Or kill’d in falling from his horse. O what to her shall be the end? And ... of place That made me dream I rank’d with him. And so may Place retain us still, And he the much-beloved again, A lord of large experience, train To riper growth the mind and will: And what delights can equal those That stir the spirit’s inner deeps, When ...

2024. Peace Comes to Our Hearts

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... has walked where angels trod? And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.” How can we possibly get our minds around something like that? And yet it is part of the magic of Christmas. “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near,” writes St. Paul. Let me give you an example of gentleness. Once there was a soldier in the Israeli army. He was on patrol in an area of occupied Palestine when he felt a rock strike him in the back, then another and another. He whirled ...

2025. A Complicated Disciple

John 18:15-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s denial of Christ. The story is well known to us all. At the last supper Jesus tells Simon Peter that before the cock crows three times, he will deny him three times. Prior to this Simon Peter has just pledged his allegiance to Christ in his normal, assertive style, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” And who can deny he meant it? It was the kind of outburst we have come to expect out of Peter. None of the Gospels record the expression that was on Jesus’ face when he answered ...

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