Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2226 to 2250 of 3160 results

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... cupboard under the stairs. [When he does, you proceed to] lock the door [of the cupboard] with Jesus inside and very probably you nail it shut just for good measure. You then proceed to decorate [the door] possibly with a cross and a candle and maybe even some sort of liturgical cloth for the appropriate time in the church year. And every time you walk past the cupboard under the stairs, you bow to it reverently and say a prayer. The net effect of this is that you’ve got Jesus, in your house, in your life ...

2227. We Need God

Lk 12:22-34, 49-53

Illustration

King Duncan

... parents. He himself once wrote of his father's wise and loving advice to him before Jimmy went off to fight in World War II. In a letter, Alex Stewart wrote, "My dear Jim boy, Soon after you read this letter, you will be on your way to the worst sort of danger . . . I am banking on the enclosed copy of the 91st Psalm. The thing that takes the place of fear and worry is the promise of these words . . . I can say no more . . . I love you more than I can tell you. Dad." Part of the 91st Psalm reads ...

2228. New People, Not Just Nice People

Luke 12:49-53

Illustration

Wallace H. Kirby

... into new creatures. It is the warmth of the spirit of Christ that accomplishes this. This is not something we can do for ourselves; it is the New Testament insistence upon grace and gift, not work and merit. We cannot make ourselves into the sort of persons who are recognizable as sons and daughters of God; the heart of the Christian testimony makes this clear. Not even a courageous and serious understanding of the first fire, Christ's judgment, can remedy our impoverishment before God. It takes the second ...

2229. Letting Go of Our Nets

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Did they have any idea what they were getting themselves into? Peter, Andrew, James, and John had no crystal ball that day when Jesus called them. When the call came, they were going about business as usual: casting nets, pulling them back in, sorting and salting the fish, taking them to market, and maintaining their equipment. However it was that they became fishermen, they had not chosen an easy profession. Yes, I've seen the bumper sticker: "A Bad Day Fishing is Better than a Good Day at Work." These ...

2230. Having Fun with The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... you lose yourself in that big picture, the dopamine, which stimulates feelings of pleasure and happiness, will start to flow. You'll enjoy it. These brain dynamics and an appreciation of how God and his love permeate all you do also help us understand the sort of teaching or modeling of righteous living we are to do with potential converts. When they see you and me single-mindedly dedicated to the things of God and our (Great) Commission, a little of Jesus' single-minded devotion to God, a sense that grace ...

2231. Life’s Purpose Is Often Hidden!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... 4. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), pp. 62-63. 5. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002), pp. 282, 284. For examples of the sort of visible, material prosperity that is promised by Prosperity Gospel preachers like Gloria Copeland and Paul Crouch, see Bill Press, How the Republicans Stole Christmas (New York and London: Doubleday, 2005), pp. 221-222. 6. Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus Christ and Mythology ...

2232. A Honeymoon at Church Camp: A Real Homecoming

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Tony Everett

... . I will get stuck. But you, oh, my beautiful svelte, sweetheart, can fit easily. Please would you do this for me?" By now Rachael was not just aggravated, she was downright angry. "Wally, there's fifty years of muck and slime in that well. Who knows what sort of ugly things live down there? It's just fifty-cents. It's not worth it," replied Rachael. And she stomped back to the cabin and crawled into bed. Wally remained, sadly gazing helplessly down into the dark depths of a lost dream. We will return to ...

2233. The Porch Light's On

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Tony Everett

... tasks and the lack of enthusiastic support from the people who had remained. It would be easy to simply give up and get used to it. Maybe this happens to us as well. In difficult, dark, disappointing situations that assail us, we first follow any sort of light — gimmick — promise — that appears to offer a little bit of hope. We try anything that might suggest even a temporary relief from the stress and anxiety of life. Some of us spend a good portion of our income on unneeded material things. Some ...

2234. The Three Dimensions of Life

Genesis 6:1-22

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... that he had some brothers and sisters. Methuselah had a son named Lamech and had some other sons and daughters. And that's about it. The most notable fact about him seems to be the number of years he lived. I guess longevity is an achievement of sorts, provided, of course, he was a good man. But suppose he was a scoundrel. Suppose he beat his wife (or, in his case, probably a whole succession of wives) and abused his children. Suppose he was the ancient world's equivalent of a Mafia "Godfather." In those ...

2235. Choosing to Love

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... who does this is Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel. The servant speaks with her family, who in turn, asks Rebekah whether she wants to go to Canaan to marry Abraham's son. She agrees, and travels to Canaan with the servant to meet her husband to be. Sort of the ultimate blind date! When Isaac meets Rebekah, he seems quite satisfied with the selection. He proceeds to marry her, and then, the Bible says, he loved her. He married her; then he loved her. Given the circumstances, the Bible has the order of things ...

2236. The Ladder from Our House

Genesis 28:10-19a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... , believe-in-yourself, and a host of other titles on spirituality that are far afield from Christianity. You see, many people are hungry to believe, to connect with that which is beyond themselves, but they don't know the way. As a result, people swallow all sorts of stuff — everything from astrology to crystals to UFOs to Elvis sightings. People want to connect with a "higher power" but have no idea of how. Then, too, even among those of us who have some inkling that Christ is the way, some of us perhaps ...

2237. A Blessing in Disguise

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... . And indeed, for his early years, it continued to be his older brother, Esau's, heel that Jacob kept grabbing. There was an occasion when they were both young men living at home that Esau came in from the fields and found Jacob in the kitchen making some sort of stew. Esau was hungry, and so when he walked inside, smelled the aroma, and saw the food, he asked Jacob for some of it. Jacob responded by suggesting a trade: He would give Esau a bowl of the stew if Esau would give Jacob his birthright. The ...

2238. The Names by Which He Is Known

Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... Samuel 3:4); Martha, Martha (Luke 10:41); Simon, Simon (Luke 22:31); and Saul, Saul (Acts 9:4). Next, the Lord introduced himself to Moses. This strongly suggests that Moses had not heard the Lord speak to him prior to this occasion. Introductions are the sort of thing that only occur once between two people, unless they have forgotten each other; and that doesn't happen with God. While the record we have of Moses' early life surely assumes God's providential hand in his life, there is no earlier indication ...

2239. Sentimental Slaves

Exodus 16:2-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... own vomit,' and, ‘The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud' " (2 Peter 2:22). Lot's wife may be the poster child for this tragic flaw. The stench of Sodom and Gomorrah's wickedness was so great that it evoked a rare and apocalyptic sort of judgment from God. Before the catastrophe hit, however, Lot and his family were forcefully rescued by angels. And yet, as they fled from the place (which perhaps they ought to have left voluntarily years before), Lot's wife looked back, and it proved fatal. Why look ...

2240. A Vision of Hope

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... concern was for themselves ignoring the pressing needs of widows and the poor. Israel's past shepherds failed; they exploited the people in order to care for themselves. With restoration those "fat sheep" will be held accountable for their actions or inactions. God will sort out those who disrupted the peace of the community. Justice would prevail one day soon. God had not forgotten about the people living in exile. Like a shepherd, God would act to save the flock and bring about justice. Only God is able ...

2241. Not All of This Is Me

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... so much?" Most of us do not live in life-threatening situations; we never go to bed hungry, and there is plenty of food in our refrigerator. We have fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of winter. Our closets are overflowing with clothing and all sorts of other stuff. Prosperous people might forget the gift giver and think everything they have is a direct result of their labor. Moses was aware of this problem as he addressed the people, "When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live ...

2242. No Partiality

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... years later, in 1985, Falwell backed the newly elected (and final) apartheid regime of P. W. Botha in South Africa because it claimed to be a theocracy. He even labeled then Archbishop Desmond Tutu "a phony" for speaking against apartheid. He sort of apologized after donations to his ministry deceased by one-half million dollars a week and President Reagan imposed an embargo on South African gold coins. The catastrophically bad news is that there are many contemporary Christians who agree with Falwell ...

2243. All About Me?

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Since we all know that one of life's cardinal rules in the twenty-first century is that "it's all about me," I am sort of reluctant to admit this: The Bible is not all about me. Not that I am not there in plenty of places. I am there with Adam pointing the finger at Eve, trying to pass off the blame for my sin to someone else. I am there with Cain, feeling ...

2244. Fido’s Dilemma

Romans 6:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... not try something different at your morning service? Why not drag out all the dirty underwear? Why not start out by exposing for all to see all that we did wrong this past week, our failures, our mistakes, our misdeeds, and our sins? And do not do this as some sort of "let's make a deal." This would not be a case of if we sincerely repent of our sins, then God will forgive us. No. Rather, we need to start our service by remembering our baptism. We need to start by making the sign of the cross, the same ...

2245. Freedom and Slavery

Romans 6:15-23

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... going Christians are uncomfortable with Paul's radical understanding of sin. Our culture assumes (along with many Christians) that sin is essentially a "choice." We should not be surprised given our society's commitment to individualism and personal freedom. It assumes that humans inhabit some sort of morally neutral place. We are sitting on a fence and have a choice as to which side of the fence we will come down on. One side is sin and the other is righteousness. We are at a crossroads. We have a choice ...

2246. Children of the Heavenly Father

Romans 8:12-25

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... is coming. And so, we live with hope. We wait with patience. How can Paul talk this way about suffering? How can he make something that is so negative sound so positive? Is Paul being insensitive here, not taking seriously to reality of suffering? Is this some sort of "Pollyanna," pie-in-the-sky fantasy? I don't think so. Paul is not ignoring the reality of suffering and pain. He knows what it means to hurt. Certainly his life was filled with suffering and pain, even if he was not himself able to experience ...

2247. Just a Crazy Story

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Larry Lange

... 150. It was then that all of them started hearing the voices that had been a distracting background racket for Zack all along. Voices in ten bazillion languages suddenly became discernable to Zack and to all of them. The sound was a beautiful, mournful, joyful, singing sort of sound that they all gradually understood was the sound of the million worship services that were beginning one after another to the east of them as the new day was dawning. They sat up the rest of the night enraptured by the sound of ...

2248. A Vision Vanished

Philippians 3:4-14

Sermon

Larry Lange

... people had simply assimilated the church as a way of placating their oppressors. Arnold just got up and left. He felt like he'd just been ground up to a grisly pulp, he was so angry and confused and embarrassed. He stormed past the ladies, and with a sort of grim satisfaction, he saw them all jump when he slammed the door. They heaved a collective sigh of relief when he had gone, and again when the pastor actually stuck his head out of his office assuring them he was still alive after an encounter with such ...

2249. Reasons for Rejoicing

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... divisiveness. I would certainly hate for another Christian church to be reading about my mashed-potato debacle 2,000 years from now. Visitors and church members alike are turned off by bickering within the body of Christ. Ideally, churches should be filled with the sort of sacred fellowship that turns a house of worship into a place of rejoicing. A Boy Scout camp hosts a well-publicized tug-of-war every spring. Scout troops train and prepare to pull together on their end of the rope to win the competition ...

2250. How, Then, Shall We Live?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... expecting visitors, we would have been ready. Both we and our house would be looking much better. Instead, we have to invite our guests into a home where piles of clutter are visible on the furniture, apologizing profusely for the mess. We haven't taken time to sort out things and put them in their proper places. We are wearing our oldest, faded, shapeless sweats with a rip at the neck, and our hair is uncombed. And, we were relaxing, oh so comfortably, when there was work to be done. Ben Austin had long ...

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