Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4957 results

2276. The Poor In Spirit

Sermon

John A. Terry

... was tragic because he was enslaved by the love of money. Instead of the way of the world which glorifies the lifestyles of the rich and famous, God singles out the ones who feel like losers, and showers grace upon them. Christ came to lift up the lowly, to claim them as God's beloved children and to transform them into God's faithful servants. The poor in spirit have a teachable spirit. They are receptive people who know they need God's help and are ready to receive the help God gives. They know their own ...

2277. The Meek

Sermon

John A. Terry

Psalm 37:1-11Matthew 5:1-12 This is not the beatitude of anyone claiming "I am the greatest." In fact, like all the other beatitudes, we have to wonder how practical these words are. What business could survive being meek? This is not a slogan you are likely to find above the door to the Stoc_esermonsk Exchange on Wall Street. Meekness will not win ...

2278. The Persecuted

Sermon

John A. Terry

... that there is just so much theological shelf space, that product differentiation is not viable for go-as-you-please Protestants. Currently, none of the mainstream Protestants -- your Lutherans, your Episcopalians, your Southern Baptists, your Methodists -- can really claim more than a ten percent market share. He says, "My strategy is to consolidate the various brand names, even the strong flagship brands like Southern Baptist, into one identifiable Exxon-like entry. The target audience here is Mom ...

2279. Doing The Right Thing

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... a cartoon some time ago in which a teenaged girl had a friend over, and she said, "I have to apologize for the condition of my room. My mother made me clean it up." Teen music preferences can be aesthetic, but also are a form of rebellion. Someone claimed he was over at the high school cafeteria the other day. He said one student dropped a tray of dishes and seven couples got up to dance. That's all normal breaking away. But the fact is, unless we make some terrible mistakes, our kids will eventually return ...

2280. Jesus: The Only Way To God?

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... friends of other religions throughout the world. True, one can correctly infer from Peter's words that there is something unique about Jesus, something which makes the experience of a relationship with Jesus not only special, but according to those of us who lay claim to that relationship, something above and beyond that known to others outside this faith. But surely, it would be heartless to insist that some little boy who grows up on the streets of Bombay believing that cows are divine, or a tiny girl ...

2281. Written On The Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... offered for people like that: "He paid his debt to society." Sorry, it doesn't work that way. We still know what kind of man he is. It takes a lot of exemplary living to offset a dishonest act. People remember. And once a person reveals himself as dishonest, later claims to having changed can sound empty since the person who will steal and cheat may easily lie. This is not to say we don't give such a person another chance. But reality is, we keep a close eye on such a person and his or her reputation is ...

2282. Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... marketing-inspired image of the person as consumer diminishes us. Pornography dehumanizes our personhood. The adulation of the lifestyles of the rich and famous proclaims an inadequate message about what it means to be a successful human being. Indifference to the claims of Divine justice and righteousness triggers social dislocations and chaos. "Yet!" "Yet!" What a crucial little word Isaiah inserts in his account. It reminds us of the crucial little "But now" that Paul shouts out in the third chapter of ...

2283. No Particular Place To Go

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... of her life that she realized she could not escape from her past. Pat courageously turned herself in and began serving her earlier conviction. Something very unexpected happened while Pat was in jail. "I have found God in my life stronger than I ever imagined," she claimed. Pat realized that God had been with her to help her face the wrongs and to deal with them. While in prison Pat made new friends with people she never thought possible. "The love of God and these friends make each day bright," she said of ...

2284. Leaving A Legacy

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... . "No one like you has been given before you and no one like you shall arise after you." Solomon would be the wisest man in the world. In fact, Solomon no sooner returned to the palace when he was asked to decide a dispute between two women who both claimed the same baby as their own. Solomon in his wisdom was able to determine which woman was actually the mother and gave the child to her. Because Solomon knew what to ask for and what to reject, God was pleased with him and granted his one request, and God ...

2285. Lasting Impressions

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... . After all, we might argue that we are our own persons; we do not need anyone telling us what we should or should not do. Yet our actions do have a rippling effect: what we do influences another and another. It is for that reason that the wise teacher claimed, "Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of anger will fall." The truth is that when we do something wrong eventually it will come out into the open, and in the process other people will suffer or be hurt as a result of our actions. We ...

2286. When All Is Said And Done

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... of the world, as much as he speaks of a world that is coming to an end. One hopes we can hear the difference. For, in a world like this, human institutions like the Temple crumble apart stone by stone. It seems an inevitable part of this age. But Jesus claims this worn-out world is passing away. In a world like this, there are people who stand up to tell the truth, who speak good news, and who point to what God is doing. As a result, they are abused, beaten down, and betrayed by those close at hand. That ...

2287. It Is Blessed To Receive

Sermon

William G. Carter

... discovered on the road he did not have a priest like the others. Where else could he go, but back to Jesus? Whatever the reason, the text offers no explanation why he returned to offer thanks and others did not. While nine former companions moved ahead to claim their future, he paused, turned back, and said, "Thank you!" There is no obvious reason for his return. No one prompted him to do it. Neither did anyone urge him to say thanks. All we know is this man, more than anybody else, knew how to receive ...

2288. Choose To Be Chosen

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... -- that is far more than saying, "Sorry," far more than "promising to do better." Repenting implies acknowledging that we cannot choose ourselves, accepting the good news that we have been chosen and accepted by God. Humankind's most grievous fault is the arrogance which claims it can play life's game on its own. The hundred percent turnaround which is repentance is confessing that it is only by grace, by God's choosing and enabling, that we can participate in life as God wills it to be lived. Repentance ...

2289. Flesh For Our Life

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... you suppose Jesus ever marvelled at his own flesh? He who was both God and man, and knew it. Well, of course we cannot possibly know how he thought about being incarnate as one born in flesh. He who had seen God, had thought it no arrogance to claim equality with God, who had come from God, who was God -- did he ever consider how far beyond all possible human expectation it was for people to experience God walking around on two feet, eating bread, drinking wine, touching a little girl's hand to lift her up ...

2290. How To Plant An English Garden

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

Sermon

William G. Carter

... his ministry, "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:7). When Jesus speaks of God's kingdom, he points to God's rule in all of life. There is a gracious governance to claim. Divine care is extended over the entire creation. All heaven waits for the creatures of earth to acknowledge God's generous dominion. The affirmation will not happen, except by the work of God taking root and bearing fruit. All we can do is sow the seed, then ...

2291. Time Taken, Life Restored

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

William G. Carter

... house and raised the little girl from the dead. But that merely suspends the problem; it doesn't solve it. Because we all know that for every person who ever gets healed of a disease, someone else will die. For every person who can push through the crowd to claim the power of Christ, somebody else stands close at hand, having just lost a daughter or son. I guess we need to take some time away from the story to sort it out. Some people get well. Others do not. What can we say about that? Sometimes the words ...

2292. From Rejection To Redemption

Ruth 3:1-18

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

... member, it became the responsibility of the next of kin to redeem the situation. In fact, Naomi and Ruth had apparently forgotten that there was an unnamed kinsman who had the first right of refusal to the heritage of Elimelech which would have allowed him to claim Ruth as his wife. However, he allowed his obligation to pass to Boaz (4:6) and Boaz said to the elder and all the people: "Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged ...

2293. Jesus Transfigured

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... attention. One would have expected that they would have engaged Jesus in some meaningful dialogue about the resurrection from the dead and how he would accomplish that. One would think that they would have been excited about that kind of news, because Jesus was claiming that he would be able to defeat the worst enemy of all, death. But there absolutely were no indications at all that these three disciples understood them or remembered when Jesus was crucified that he had promised to rise from the dead. Our ...

2294. Easter 6

John 14:15-31

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... God Is Glorified Easter 6 Lord, we are aware that many people who consider themselves to be religious, in fact prefer an"unknown god." Some form of god exists for them but they do not want to make any kind of personal commitment. In this society which claims to be religious, many hearts are far from you. It seems safe to hold God at a distance and to keep religion impersonal. Lord God, you could demand our love; instead you invite us to know you through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, we have come to know ...

2295. Faith That Overcomes Obstacles

Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 15:1-20

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... . Sometimes we act as if it is conditional, as if it is based upon our performance. We often try to label people as more or less deserving of your mercy. This becomes a no-win situation. It is not possible for anyone to stand before you and lay claim to special consideration. Our hands are empty. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to gain access to your mercy. Through Christ, you have clearly shown us that you love us just the way we are. When we truly believe this, we will change into people with ...

2296. Proper 22

Matthew 21:33-46

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... of the story was not Christological; nor was it primarily allegorical. Rather, it was a simple, if shocking, "Kingdom" parable, whose point was the value of the coming Reign of God and the extraordinary, even desperate measures that the lowly should take in claiming it as their own. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns Our Father, By Whose Name O Jesus, I Have Promised Come, Gracious Spirit, Heavenly Dove Breathe On Me, Breath Of God Lord Christ, When First You Came To Earth Whatever God Ordains Is Right ...

2297. Separation of Church and State

Matthew 22:15-22

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes The conversation depicted here must be understood in its original setting, in which the distinction between state and religion was blurred in a number of ways, not the least being the claim of the Roman emperor to be divine (and so designated on coins)! Jesus' famous dictum about "rendering," therefore, is a cleverly "safe" way of dealing with a question meant to entrap him, but also a profound statement about the appropriate separation between the secular and the sacred provinces, and thus ...

2298. Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... religious motions to gain the approval of others. The second person is a "reverse hypocrite."1 This person goes through no religious motion so that he or she cannot be accused by others of being hypocritical. For example, consider the Sunday morning golfer who claims that he or she can be closer to God on the golf course than sitting in church. The preacher can then point the worshipers to the similarity between the two types of hypocrisy. Visuals Ask one of the creative people in the congregation to ...

2299. What's Inside

1 Corinthians 1:28-31

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... You know, the arguments among the Corinthians would be about like someone today boasting that he is a Methodist, and someone else bragging that she is a Baptist and that's better, and then a Presbyterian and a Christian Disciple both jumping into the argument claiming that they are better than either of the first two -- NONE of which really matters. What matters is what's inside of them, hearts transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, and that no matter what denomination they might outwardly be a member of ...

2300. The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John A. Terry

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