Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2201 to 2225 of 4997 results

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... the story, we have a hard time believing that grace can come to us so easily if we have not paid some kind of price for it. Therefore, we have to create some kind of an obstacle course of demands that we have to follow in order to achieve the right to God's grace. And ... not only a sense of peace, but also the assurance that all is right with God. He goes on to give a kind of formula that leads a follower of Christ to that peace. He says that "suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and ...

2202. King of the Mountain

1 Peter 3:13-22

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... you are keeping him off balance. Then you jump up and push your rescuers off along with him. It's not a game for the kind-hearted or for those with a strong ethical belief in friendship. When you play "king of the mountain," it's every person for himself or ... sending him away without giving him the chance to play beautiful music in our cathedrals? Now some of us cannot make music of any kind, and others of us can play chopsticks, if we're lucky. But none of us can duplicate the works of the Master, nor can ...

2203. The Gifted

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

... spiritual experience is better than all the rest. There is not one expression of the Spirit which is more charismatic than all the others. The Holy Spirit is more generous than any individual can know. The Spirit touches different people in different ways, creating all kinds of different experiences. By this point, a dyed-in-the-wool Presbyterian like me may start to get a little nervous. I mean, what if these spiritual experiences get out of hand? Well, not to worry. After all, Paul is the one who coined ...

2204. No Idea

Philippians 4:1-9

Sermon

Rick Brand

... They looked to the church to help them agree in the Lord. The church at Philippi probably had no idea it would hear that assignment when they came to worship. They probably did not expect Paul to mention that embarrassing stuff in the middle of his letter. That kind of announcement expects us to do something. It makes us responsible. Maybe that is why we always want happy stories and pretty music and never want to hear a negative word in our worship. So and so are in the midst of a nasty divorce; we need to ...

2205. Further on Up the Road

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Sermon

Rick Brand

... where we spend eternity, heaven or hell, depends on how we respond to Jesus, so we had better accept Jesus Christ now because we never know when we will die and have to face that judgment. There are some who still talk about life after death, but what kind of influence does it have. Presbyterian Church of Ireland, when it reaffirmed its faith at the beginning of the new millennium with a statement of faith, said that the church "exists to love and honor God through faith in his Son and by the power of his ...

2206. Say What?

1 John 3:5-6

Sermon

Rick Brand

... in sin. This dimension of sin is never left behind completely until we are made perfect in glory. Sometimes sin is manifested by a kind of deceitfulness. Scott Peck, in a book called The People of a Lie, suggests that one of the marks of evil is that it ... John suggests, once we enter into that relationship of knowing we are not masters of our own fate and lords of our own destiny, that kind of sin is no longer our demon. Our challenge is to discover how we can live so that life might become more like it ought ...

2207. The Power of God

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Rick Brand

... tells them about what he prays for them. He doesn't just pray that they will continue to be strong in the faith and continue to love all of God's people. His great thanksgiving quickly turns into a prayer of intercession for the church. Now what kind of things do you think Paul prays for? Paul says he prays first for them to receive the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of revelation which will reveal to them the personality and power of God. Paul prays that the church will receive ...

2208. He's Here Somewhere

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... He is enormously popular. He's obviously righteous. He's a natural leader, the most respected person in the country. He's the kind of person who God would undoubtedly choose to be the leader of the nation, and to lead some uprising that would throw the ... the nearest United Methodist Church, and looked for the pastor. It was a country church, just a tiny, unremarkable place. The kind of place that ministers, at appointment time at the Annual Conference, kid one another by saying, "Hey, I hear you were ...

2209. Honoring the Fathers

Hebrews 11:17-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

2210. Imagine a World

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... starts familiarly, like you've heard this before. But then it turns, ever so subtly, so as to draw you to a conclusion that is a surprise to you, that you never expected. The best definition of a parable is to say that it gets you to imagine a different kind of world, a world different than the one that you are accustomed to. It opens your eyes so that you can see things that you had never seen before. So with the parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus is saying, imagine a world where the sinners, the lost, the ...

2211. Let Us Pray

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... on your wall. The main criticism of the letter from the beginning was that it is not like Paul's letters. Paul's letters dominate the New Testament. They have an enormous theological depth to them. In the eyes of some, not only does James not have that same kind of depth, but James, it is thought, might even contradict Paul, and Paul's main theme, "We are saved by our faith in God's grace alone." Which is why Martin Luther, in the 16th century, wondered why the Letter of James was in the New Testament at ...

2212. Lord of the Dance

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of life that they lived. But look who the Messiah eats with. The Messiah, when he came, was supposed to be at banquet with members of his Kingdom. So wherever Jesus eats, those are the people in his Kingdom. He eats with all kinds of people, indiscriminately. Which means, everyone has the opportunity of getting into the Kingdom. Or in language we would probably use, it means that everybody can get to heaven. Because we do not get there by our own efforts, we get there by grace. Now let me quickly point out ...

2213. No Fear

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... don't want that. I want to face death with courage, boldness, and hope, because I know that though I die, I will live, because of the victory given to me through my Lord Jesus Christ. There is a hymn in our hymnal written by Natalie Sleeth. I get all kinds of notes, incidentally, about the hymns. I get notes saying, "Why don't we sing some contemporary hymns?" Well, this hymn was written in 1985. The hymnal was published in 1989. That is about as contemporary as you can get. On the other hand, I get as many ...

2214. Now What?

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

2215. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... So that is what we have done. Let me create the setting for Luke's version of the Beatitudes. It is here in the sixth chapter that Jesus begins to teach. He outlines what it means to be a Christian, what it means to live as a Christian in this kind of a world. Up to this point, through the first five chapters, he really hasn't taught anything. In fact, up to now, he has hardly said anything. It has all been action, very little dialogue. He has healed the sick and he has sparred verbally with the Pharisees ...

2216. The Extended Family

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... will eventually happen to a society, when that wisdom is not taken care of and listened to. The problem in our time is not so much children disobeying parents, the problem in our time is parents forfeiting responsibility to provide children with the kind of structured environment that is necessary to raise children into responsible and happy adulthood. We know that Jesus was raised by strict, orthodox, Jewish parents, and he honored his mother and his father. The other scene is from the Gospel of John. It ...

2217. What If He Shows Up?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , bring up all the exceptions to a thesis. We would never get to the point. You would be here all morning, and you wouldn't want that. So I am forced to generalize, for your sake. There are several kinds of generalizations. My kind of generalizations are called "sweeping generalizations." That's the kind I always use. I recommend it to you. I have a further confession. Not only do I use sweeping generalizations, but I also contradict myself. That's been pointed out to me. Someone will say to me after a ...

2218. What If It Is True?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of the newspaper. Luke is different. His story is wonderful. And it is really about Mary. She is so engaging. It is a lovely story about a young girl, almost like Cinderella. She is a lowly maiden, chosen above all the women in the world, and who, with the kind of response that Jesus described in his teaching to us as child-like, the trust that is necessary for us to enter into the Kingdom of God, she says in response to the angel's announcement, "Let it be to me according to your word." Such innocence. In ...

2219. You Have Outwitted Me

Hosea 11:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... . The cross didn't answer the question of human suffering. But, they said, the cross is a sign that God has suffered with us. Therefore the cross is a sign of a new covenant. God has suffered. Therefore they knew that they were known. They knew that God understood the kind of life they had to live. That is why the cross is so important to Christian faith. It is a sign of a covenant. Jesus said, "When I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself." And it happened. Wherever the Church went it held up the ...

2220. A Discussion Among Angels

Matthew 24:36-44

Drama

Matthew Powell

... : I know. But by suffering he will understand the meaning of all sorrow and pain and he will be able to comfort everyone who cries. His own tears will be for the healing of sad hearts. And those who are healed by him will learn for his sake to be kind to each other. Uriel: But if the Son of God becomes a true man, he must first be a child, simple, lowly, and helpless. It may be that he will never study at the great universities. The masters of earthly wisdom will despise him and scorn him. Gabriel: I know ...

2221. Willibald Krautman's Trip To Heaven

Matthew 11:2-11

Drama

Matthew Powell

... silly fool? You were moaning and groaning as if somebody had cut off your ear. Willibald: I have been in heaven. Wife: A funny kind of heaven where you yell and scream like that. Willibald: You don't understand. I will tell you all about it sometime. Storyteller: But ... season, he lost a large sum of money - at least his wife believed he had lost it. Willibald became friendly and kind to everyone and no longer spoke impatiently. This year, he finally told his best friend - yes, he now had one - the whole ...

2222. Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves

John 1:1-14

Drama

Matthew Powell

... ! That is a long way off. How do I know what you might do in all that time? Birds are always looking for something to eat, and you might eat up some of my acorns. Narrator: The little bird hobbled on. Bird: It may be that the willow will be kind to me. Gentle willow, my wing is broken, and I could not fly south with the other birds. May I live on your branches until the spring? Narrator: The willow did not look so gentle then, for he [she] drew himself [herself] up proudly and said, Willow: Indeed, I do ...

2223. Christmas Every Day

John 1:1-14

Drama

Matthew Powell

... Claus have a chance at the stockings. Storyteller 1: In the morning she was up the first of anybody and went and felt the stockings, and found hers Little Girl: all lumpy with packages of candy, and oranges and grapes, and pocketbooks and rubber balls, and all kinds of small presents, Storyteller 1: just as she always had every Christmas. Storyteller 2: Then she waited around until the rest of the family was up, and she was the first to burst into the living room, when the doors were opened, and look at the ...

2224. Proper 21

Exodus 17:1-7, Ezekiel 18:1-32, Philippians 2:1-11, Philippians 2:12-18, Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... and dying on a cross. Humility is expressed by considering others better than yourself and being concerned more about others than yourself. Arrogance and pride divide and cause trouble while humility draws together into a unity. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32 1. What Kind Of Sinner Are You (21:28-32). Need: The Bible testifies to the fact that all are sinners, whether in the church or in the world. In that event, why be a Christian? If all are sinners, even Christians, who can be saved? It ...

2225. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... and absolute. 2. I am (v. 2). The basis for the commandments is "I am." From this the commandments flow as water from a fountain. The Laws reflect the person who gave them. Morality is the result of religion. "Be holy as I am holy." How we live indicates the kind of God we have. It also means that when we break a Law, we do it not only against society but against God. Stealing adversely affects human victims, but at the same time stealing is a sin against God. 3. Shall (v. 3). Each Law in the Decalogue uses ...

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