Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2226 to 2250 of 4997 results

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (KJV) That is our hope. God cannot disown himself. God can do none other than love us and forgive us. God is faithful, no matter who we are or what we’ve done. We’ve seen that kind of love on a human basis and it always inspires us. Maybe you saw the recent movie about singer Ray Charles. Ray Charles never let his blindness interfere with the pursuit of his music career. His mother would never let him indulge in self-pity or helplessness; she ...

2227. The Embassy at 6601

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... . And he tells us that the law of love can best be fulfilled, not through rules, but through relationships. The word that Jesus uses means a particular kind of anger. He is not talking about short bursts of annoyance or frustration. Rather he is talking about the brooding, pervasive kind of animosity that can eat away at us - a kind of leprosy of the soul. This toxic poison destroys relationships and leads to malicious gossip, to character assassination, and to the destruction of lives and reputations. Now ...

2228. Worry and Wonder

Matthew 6:24-34

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... to God, Jesus asks us to do two things. First of all we are to look at the lilies of the field, which, as weapons of mass destruction loom over us, seems like a preposterous suggestion. But again, word study is important. Jesus is not describing some kind of Buddhist bliss. The word is "look, study, scrutinize" the patterns of nature around you. Look and learn. The lilies he refers to are generic wild flowers, bright poppies that flourish and dazzle for just one day and then are thrown into the oven as fuel ...

2229. In Our Pastor's Success, So Is Our Own!

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... sense of their value. I once worked for a tough church. I couldn't do anything right. The grumbling and gripes were never-ending. So were the politics. After four years of patience, I shook the dust off my feet and moved on. The next church was so kind, so receptive. I kept wondering why they liked me and the other did not. Then I understood. It's in the first four beatitudes of Matthew 5. The one church was not poor in spirit, mournful, meek, or hungry and thirsty. The other, however, was all these things ...

2230. Do You Get It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... have to get under it. God goes as far down as possible, taking on what was considered the most agonizing and disgraceful kind of execution, what one early Christian teacher called "the utterly vile death of the cross." When he cried, "My God, my God ... will they give in return for their life?" We will have real life if we recognize what it is and distinguish it from an illusory kind of life. Those who think that life is defined by enriching themselves at the expense of others and who cling to power and wealth ...

2231. Don't Make Me Come Down There

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... that day, Wallis says he will never forget she prayed these words, “Lord, we know that you’ll be coming through this line today so, Lord, help us to treat you well.” (4) That’s how we are to look at life. Wherever we see injustice or need of any kind, we are to understand that it is Jesus who is being victimized. “When did we see thee hungry? Or naked? Or in prison?” And the Master answered, “When you did it unto the least of these, You did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40) That’s what the story ...

2232. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... attendance. For the many schools and corporations whose fiscal calendar ends on June 30, it's a month of deadlines, hoped-for-donations, and hold-your-breath budget squeakers. June can be just plain busy. June can leave you jaded and evacuated. But the start of July signals a kind of collective sigh of relief. By the Fourth of July we settle into a new set of routines that aren't routine. We stay up later because it's not even dark until well after 10 p.m.. Or we get up earlier because dawn arrives around 4 ...

2233. I Like Brussels Sprouts, but...

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our 11am worship hour to be the most segregated hour of the week. But not enough to actually do something about it. Despite Jesus' example of summoning all kinds of people to come and "follow me," and despite 2000 years of practice, time enough to follow Jesus' example, we still continue to worship with our kinds of people rather than with all kinds of people and all of God's people. We like brussel sprouts. But not enough to actually eat them. Like the little girl rolling the offending brussels sprouts ...

2234. Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... venture," as D. H. Lawrence put it in 1924. Christians need to learn how to exercise power. One of the best definitions of power I've ever heard is this one: "Power is the capacity, ability, and willingness to act." But the kind of power we need to exercise is relational power. Not unilateral power, but relational power. Unilateral power sees 100 people sitting in this sanctuary. Relational power sees 50,000 people sitting in this sanctuary. Cesar Chavez knew the meaning of relational power. Chavez ...

2235. Night Vision

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... breakfast cereal. A dreary week of dark wet skies had made sunlight a distant memory, so this moonlit breakfast was the brightest, fullest light we'd seen in days. This moonlight breakfast was a surprising gift in the midst of endless days of darkness. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who like to drive at night. And those who hate to drive at night. How many lovers of night driving do we have here? How many haters of night driving do we have here? Driving in the dark requires two different ...

2236. The Seven Deadly Fears

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... religious zealot. In others, my Bible is treated almost as if it were a stick of dynamite (which it is: TNT - The New Testament). Traveling as clergy used to get you a little lee-way, a smidgen of respect. Now to be identified with any kind of religious vocation - minister, missionary, priest, rabbi, nun, mullah - sends alarm bells of fear and suspicion throughout security systems. What happens to us when we let fear have free reign in our minds? In our lives? In our country? A small-town minister is strip ...

2237. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sweet on the first reading, but ring increasingly off-key upon repeated study. Anyone who has more than one child knows you can't abandon one part of the family in order to insure the safety of the rest. Anyone with multiple responsibilities of any kind - being a parent, an employee, a business owner, a citizen, a consumer, a child, a guardian, a voter - knows you can't totally divest yourself of one identity in order to fulfill the obligations of another. Perhaps this is why Jesus' parable posits a flock ...

2238. Low Carb Christianity

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... save the world. Discipleship is no call for milk-toast types to blindly follow well-worn paths towards piety or inner peace. Discipleship is a call to strike out on new, even unexplored routes as directed by the divine will for advancing the kingdom. We need a kind of spiritual Atkins diet, a Low-Carb Christianity, to keep us fit for the rigors of such a road. There's no room for a soft, squishy, comfort food Christianity. In a disciple's diet, only high protein, meaty fare will see us through. Do you claim ...

2239. A Brand New Church Out of an Old Brand

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus? · Does it hear like Jesus? · Does it touch like Jesus? · Is the spirit of Christ crucified incarnated in you as you make your choices? The continuity of spirit is the heart of any successful brand design. Each of Christ's churches is a kind of product that must successfully continue the heart of the brand that Christ bore for each of us on the cross. All those people who responded that they associated the word "Christian" with terms like hypocritical, boring, and judgmental surely got a hold of ...

2240. The Problem with Busybodies

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... that made a big difference in how she lived. Following graduation she returned to California where she became a writer. She used cocaine and was addicted to alcohol. She slept around, got pregnant and had an abortion. Now and then she kind‑of attended a small Presbyterian church. I say kind‑of because she stood in the doorway in the back and listened primarily to the choir, a group of five black women and one Amish‑looking man, who sang sweet gospel music. She always left before the sermon. One night ...

2241. To Be a Pilgrim (Thanksgiving)

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... homeland God has promised. To be a Pilgrim is to have the courage of our convictions, to turn thanks into giving, and to cling to God’s promise that the best is yet ahead of us. There’s power in that kind of Pilgrim faith. Power to build a new society. With that kind of faith, I wonder, what might you and I do? 1. William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation: The Pilgrims In America, edited by Harvey Wish (New York: Capricorn Books, 1962). 2. John R. W. Stott (quoting Robert Bellah), "Christians, Salt, And ...

2242. Eleven Plus One

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you give them your personality characteristics, and they'll select a car for you that embodies your personality. So let's give it a try. You tell me what you think of when I give you the name of a disciple, and let's see what kind of car you'd pick. (Say names and listen to responses) Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathaniel, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas. Caldwell and I did our own picking. Let's contrast what you and the computer chose with what Caldwell and I selected ...

2243. From Black Holes to Red Holes

Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Is Jesus YOUR singularity? Has your black hole been turned into a red hole? Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb? Ask who has a cross on. Ask people to come up or stand up and show different crosses. Every time you see a cross, of any kind it should flash into your mind/heart/soul that, "God loves me this much." Have people say out loud, when someone different shows their cross, "God loves me this much." You may want to compare your people's crosses with the flags they are wearing. Have them show the ...

2244. Generations

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... remembers asking his mother what a bumper sticker meant that read "Impeach Nixon." Acronyms like LAPD and PTL spell mistrust and misdeeds for busters. They especially don't trust boomer-produced items and ideas. Skeptical and pragmatic at the same time, busters trust their own kind most readily. They want to buy and read and ride in things produced by their own. They want to worship in services led by their own. Opposed to sham and insincerity, if one is to grab the attention of busters one must "Get Real ...

2245. Murphy's Law and Messiah's Law

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ," the city has fined her for using the trash can for her own 'private' purposes." (Reason, June 2001, 18.) Or here's some more evidence. The wife didn't object to mowing the lawn. But she at least wanted to mow the lawn with a mower that worked. So she kindly and subtly told him that if she was to continue mowing the lawn, she needed a lawnmower that worked. But let me let her tell you what happened. "Last year, when the power mower was broken and wouldn't run, I kept hinting to my husband that he ought to ...

2246. Someone to Watch over Me

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... only one emotion – joy! The son who was dead to his family is suddenly back and must be welcomed into its midst with celebrations and rejoicings. Could you dance and feast and party with such joy? Could you invite your friends and family to join in this kind of celebration when they knew what your son had done to you? Would they even come to such a party? And it is not just the youngest son who benefits from the unconditional love of this father. The elder son insults the father's hospitality, belittles ...

2247. Straw Polls and Soul Quakes

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... available to each and every believer only as they are to be used "for the common good" (verse 7). There are no superstars. There are no super-spiritual gifts. There are only members of one unified body. Spiritual gifts are not distinguished by degrees, only by kind. And all gifts must work together for the good of the body. Pentecost was an earthquake in time, 7.0 on the Richter scale. It's epicenter was the place there the disciples were gathered to keep the Jewish feast of Shavuot, the bestowal of Torah ...

2248. The Lamb's Book of Life

John 1:29-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to replace their parents, but to simply find out the genetic rock from whence they were hewn. Forget talk-show derangement. It's less and less necessary for us to see pictures of mom and dad in order to figure out who passed on what kind of traits or characteristics, weaknesses or strengths, to make up our individual genome. In a very short time, adopted children will no longer be able to argue that they need to know their biological parents in order to discover their medical history. All the information ...

2249. True Disciples

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... – fans of The Grateful Dead band – often turned their lives upside down in order to follow the band. Dropping out of school, jobs, and families, roaming from town to town, following the concert itinerary, raking up as many events attended as possible (kind of like a bird-watcher's life list), these single-minded fans developed their own culture, dress, set of values, and lifestyle. They genuinely became a unique subgroup within late 20th-century culture. Truly they became Dead Heads. Yet as radical as ...

2250. How High Is Your Faith Quotient?

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... hearts the essence of the divine being, divine love, divine commitment. If this is a new test, however, as usual, God cheats in our favor. The new covenant is no less than the ultimate crib-sheet. Taking pity on our puny ability to establish and maintain any kind of covenantal love and loyalty, God promises to give us all the answers in advance. No longer will human intellect or will have to struggle to keep the covenant. The whole law will all be written on our hearts in love. To keep the new covenant we ...

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