Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2151 to 2175 of 4962 results

2151. Biblical Insights for Being a Christian Father

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... when the golf courses are full. Because of this cultural shift from the biblical model to the Hollywood perversion, a movement has arisen in America for biblical fatherhood and manhood called Promise Keepers. I am getting information about this movement--and hope to set up a local chapter here at First Church, Schuylkill Haven. Recently, Dr. John Ed Mathison, a distinguished United Methodist pastor, shared this report in a weekly newsletter I received: Senator Sam Coats, from Indiana, stood before 62,000 ...

2152. Making a Difference

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... nothing like a fig tree. But isn't that why we're here? We have come together here with the yearning to know the touch of the living God. We come to "retreat" from the chaos of the world around us so we can read scripture, reflect, and pray. I hope you will see that, despite his relative anonymity, we do have much in common with Nathaniel. We also know about Nathaniel that he was a man "in whom there was no deceit." In modern English, that means he was a person who sought to be honorable and decent. He was ...

2153. Easter Transportation

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... George takes special care of Lennie, whom we would describe today as being significantly challenged. George is the keeper of Lennie's hope. Early in the novel George says to Lennie: "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the ... on and George responds: "You got it by heart. You can do it yourself." But Lennie, wanting to ride on the shoulders of George's hope, says, "No, you. I forget some a' the things. Tell about how it's gonna be." Back and forth it goes, with George telling Lennie ...

2154. What Gets Into People?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... understanding, but Thou knowest the way for me. Christ does know the way. He is the way. He is the Great Physician. He is the Great Counselor. He longs to be our Great Friend, helping us in our time of need. What gets into people? There is hope in all of this. Sometimes Christ gets into people and that’s the best Good News of all. 1. Lewis Early, “Mickey Mantle Mini-Biography,” www.themick.com (accessed July 29, 2003). Cited by John C. Maxwell, Today Matters (New York: Warner Faith, 2004), pp. 154-156 ...

2155. It's Happening!

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... a small, discouraged group of fugitives without a leader. Now was the time to provide them with a message that would give them hope in times of discouragement and sustain them in the face of future persecution. His words have a message, not only for his ... . We are being cautioned, in these words of Jesus, to be patient. A third thing these words of Jesus do is to call us to hope. We are ignorant of the process, but the word of Jesus is that growth is taking place. "The Kingdom of God is like a mustard ...

2156. The Healing Touch

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... Jesus was aware that power had gone out of him. At Jairus' house Jesus was laughed at when he said that the young girl was not dead. Those who reach out to touch others will find that there is a price to pay. For example, the writer who hopes to leave something for posterity is aware that one doesn't just sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Writing is ten percent inspiration, but ninety percent perspiration. Hemingway was lucky to write three pages a day. I have seen the pages of poets as they write ...

2157. Heart Transplant

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... night you have other questions. Who was the person whose heart is now yours? Was it a man or a woman? Was he or she white, black, Asian, something else? Was the person Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist? What did the person do for a living, what hopes and sorrows did he or she bear? How did the person live, and how did he or she die? What does it mean that you bear a living portion of another person's body there within your chest? What does it mean that you live only because another person ...

2158. With a Bang or a Whimper?

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... which lifts us out of our darkness, sorrow, and night into the wonderful joy of the light of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But our Christian faith also "puts us into the world" in a new and deeper manner. When we live in the strength of our Advent hope we do not draw away from the world with its great need, but, fortified by communion with the living Lord who is "out of this world," we go into life to minister to its need in Christ's name. What a splendid halo this wonderful privilege drapes over this ...

2159. Growing Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... up there?" This business of "having faith" in God is a huge issue. It is a huge issue today. It was a huge issue long before Jesus came. It has been a huge issue in the intervening centuries. Think about your own life. How often have you prayed and prayed, hoping against hope that God's will and yours would be in sync? And how often has it turned out that they were not? I don't have to give examples. You are even now reeling them off in your memory. There are many who would be sitting here in this sanctuary ...

2160. Stop the Offerings!

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... the one offering of himself and that is enough!" Think of it. Growing up, knowing the pang of guilt, just like we do, but then regularly going to the temple with a dove in hand or buying one there, giving it to the priest and watching the blood fly, hoping that this time that nagging guilt would go away, the heaviness of spirit might disappear, peace might finally come. But if the report of Luke in the book of Acts is any indicator, it didn't happen. The law and associated guilt from not being able to carry ...

2161. The Joy of Shared Truth

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... joy may be complete." There really is a tremendous joy in finally connecting with another person with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a great exhilarating rush of joy in knowing that another person has gotten a glimpse of the possibility of hope and peace through putting one's hand in the hand of God through Jesus Christ. Our world is desperately searching for the real and the true. And one of the things that makes the search so difficult is the media and Hollywood, which are making the ...

2162. First Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... . The young man went to prison, and upon his release decided to head home. The boy hitchhiked his way back to Pennsylvania. As he climbed the final hill and started toward home, he saw the outline of a small cottage in the distance. He was filled with hope. But something was wrong, there was no light burning in the window! At this point, the renowned author jumped to his feet and shouted at the aspiring author, "You young upstart! Put that light back."1 The "light" which Isaiah wrote about has not and will ...

2163. Morning Has Broken

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... and the car was not damaged, but there was no way they could get the car out of the ditch without help. It was cold, dark, and desolate at 2 a.m. in the morning. There was no light anywhere. My friend and his companion decided to walk the road hoping to find a house from which they could make a phone call for assistance. Struggling in the cold darkness, they walked several miles but could not find a house or see a light. As they rounded a curve in the road, they spotted a glimmer of light in the distant ...

2164. The Paradox of Death

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... us closer to or further from God. As Kierkegaard wrote, it is our decision; faith is our choice. It is free choice that allows the suffering servant to lay down his dignity and ultimately his life for others. The Lord was able to find promise where no hope was present and to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. His attitude toward death was anything but shameful. On the human level Jesus most assuredly was fearful of his death, but his faith and confidence in his Father were so great that he could go ...

2165. Death Leads to Life

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... master plan would bring to fruition their needs and would most importantly bring them home. We must learn the same lesson. The crosses of life will not be pleasant; we will suffer. But, as paradoxical as it seems and is in reality, the cross must be our only hope. Let us today fully enter into Christ's suffering. Let us humble ourselves and die to self, at least to some extent, so that others might benefit. It is the Lord we follow; it is Christ we seek to emulate; it is Jesus who brings us today through ...

2166. To Live Is To Dance

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... for the church. But listen. The world is our agenda. It is our agenda. It doesn’t set our agenda, but it is our agenda. Unlike many religious leaders, Jesus lived in the world and he loved the world. He loved it so much that he died for it. I hope a lot of you heard Billy Graham on that special news program the other night, this past week. I was thrilled to hear Billy Graham talking about not only a need for a freeze in the building up of nuclear weapons, but a soft agreement that would eventually lead to ...

2167. A Guiding Presence

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’re a normal person, and I’m sure you are normal, just hearing that guidance comes through prayer doesn’t offer much hope. You’ve heard that too many times. How many times have you sought guidance in prayer only to experience a despairing silence. ... believing that if I mis-walk, he will provide on course corrections. That’s enough to know. It’s enough for me to know. I hope it’s enough for you to know. The only thing that is left, if we would experience the guidance of the indwelling Christ, is ...

2168. A Converting Presence

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it did not know Christ. Beloved, we are God’s children. It doesn’t appear what we shall be in the future, we only know that when we reality breaks through, we will reflect his likeness, for we will see him as he actually is. And everyone who thus hopes in him, purifies himself as Christ is pure.” That’s the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Take the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts, and make them acceptable in your sight. For you are our strength and our redeemer oh Lord. Amen. In ...

2169. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all glorious Father, may give you the spiritual powers of wisdom and vision by which there comes the knowledge of him. I pray that your inward eyes may be illumined so that you may know what is the hope to which he calls you. What is the wealth and the glory of the share he offers you among his people in their heritage? And that you may experience the resources of power open to us who trust him. That power is measured by his strength and might, which ...

2170. Why I Believe In Tithing

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... preaching is not so much the preparing and the delivering of sermons, as it is the preparing and the delivering of oneself. I hope you know by now that there is nothing I take more seriously than my call to preach. And there is nothing I invest ... practice tithing because it enhances my performance in the cause of God’s kingdom. Now I don’t know whether you tithe or not. I hope you do, because I want everyone to share the joy of Christian stewardship. But more than my desire, is God’s will and way for ...

2171. Who Are You Waiting For?

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the word of a prophet knowing what Israel was waiting for, knowing that Israel needed the word of comfort of hope. They were in exile from their homeland, suffering in captivity, homeless, homesick, heartsick. They were guilt stricken because they knew their ... tax collector was up a tree escaping from the crowd, a crowd that could never accept him. He wanted to see Jesus, but he had no hope of Jesus seeing him. But God is like a Ford, he has a better idea – Jesus saw him and called him down to new life. A ...

2172. Participants In The Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the form of a servant. A Church that is always exalting the Lord and being strengthened by him. A Church that has been given the hope that he who began a good work in you is going to bring it to completion. A Church that has the signs of the ... . And we’re always in need of keeping the new status, and the new life God gives us together. This illustration is a simple one, but hopefully it will make the point. A down and outer, you may call him a bum, comes to you in dire need. His dirty, ragged dress is ...

2173. Gospel Through The Person

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Gandhi. I beg you – I beg you, see that movie before it leaves the city. Here is one of the most dramatic, historical examples of the power of a person. Now let’s look at verse 20 of our scripture lesson. Verse 20. It is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether I live or whether I die. Now that’s the Revised Standard Version of the verse. Now listen to my choice translation of this particular ...

2174. Constantly Abiding

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... me. This is what Paul was trying to teach the Colossians. The secret is simply this, Christ in you, yes, Christ in you, bringing with him the hope of all the glorious things to come. And this was his own testimony in Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer ... forgiveness, and he frees us from the fears of tomorrow, by his constant companionship. He goes with us, and is the hope of all the glorious things to come. So we can live in the now and hang loose. A final principle which ...

2175. Walk By Faith Not By Sight

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... could go on and on. You are on the not-yet side rather than the victory-side of God's faithfulness. It's difficult for you to believe what I'm saying. But believe it you must: God is faithful. Not to believe is an awful alternative that offers no hope. So I press on to my next point. II. There's another affirmation: God calls us to faith. Not only must we believe that God is faithful, we must respond to God in faith. In the sermon last Sunday, we talked about the nuclear truth of New Testament Christianity ...

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