Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2301 to 2325 of 4977 results

2301. Winning Isn't the Only Thing ... It's Irrelevant

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Carl Jech

... the claims of Christ or calling Jesus a liar, are really just bragging that their particular interpretation of Jesus is beyond question. To put it in classical terms, they are claiming that their "Christology" is the only valid way of understanding the New Testament - quite a grandiose claim when we realize that the New Testament itself presents a variety of Christologies. So it is both arrogant and naive to say that either Jesus was right or he was crazy. To believe in Jesus is precisely to renounce the ...

2302. Throw Your Heart at the Sky

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Carl Jech

... learn how different personality types interact with one another. We might begin learning to get along much better with one another if we become aware of the fact that, for example, the personality type of most clergy is quite different from the personality type found among most parishoners. Most clergy are Intuitives (focusing on hunches, speculation, inspiration, fantasy, ingenuity and imagination), while most parishioners are Sensates (focusing on guidance from past experiences, realism, and down-to-earth ...

2303. Praise God For Adversity

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... our lesson tells us, "... that they might declare my praise." Praise is easy when we have been blessed. It is easy to sing a stately and exultant doxology when we are in a comfortable church, surrounded by an affluent and a friendly congregation. It is quite another thing to praise God when we find ourselves in a family where there is constant friction. It is not easy to praise God when we are numbered among the unemployed, or the divorced, or the physically crippled, or the mentally handicapped. It is not ...

2304. God is About to Strike

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... full joy of a dynamic faith, but also of experiencing a truly Christian style of life. For example, take forgiveness, and love, and service to others - actions which characterize the active will of God in our lives. Without enthusiasm, these actions never quite measure up to what the New Testament is talking about when it uses these words. Forgiveness, without enthusiasm, becomes a duty that is grudgingly done. Love becomes just another law to be obeyed. Service becomes a slavish demand, which we practice ...

2305. Renounce Worldly Pleasures for Heavenly Home

Luke 16:1-15

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: The pleasures of this world are so attractive that we invest quite heavily in them. People: The pleasures of this world make life enjoyable. That is why they mean so much to us. Pastor: But some of the pleasures we value so highly prevent us from receiving real life that God wants to give us, not only in this world, but in ...

2306. The Life of Discipleship

Luke 17:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... man. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Prayer of Confession You ask us to be forgiving, Father, and we hold grudges. You challenge us with strong faith, and we stumble over our doubts. You call us to be servants, and we prefer to be volunteers so we can quit if the demands become too great. Forgive us for our cautious commitment and undisciplined discipleship. Guide us into faithful living, that we may be the disciples you have called us to be. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen. Hymns "A Charge to Keep I Have ...

2307. The Other Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

... at home and did the right thing. Well, they knew who Jesus was talking about then. He was talking about them. They were the ones who had never left home and besmirched the family name. But the sad fact is this, like the elder brother, they didn’t quite understand that they too were prodigal sons in need of redemptive love. And they didn’t really understand that the Father loved them too. Now the older brother has gone down in history as the villain of the story. He presents a mean picture to us. A ...

2308. Make Way For Poets Of The Heart

Sermon

James Angell

... Purpose of his leather belt. But his face was Too interesting for that diversion. Thus, I chose Excursion into his monkish heart. That's why I came to Gethsemani. "Man's God's trophy," he said. The rest I've mostly Forgotten. That's quite enough for fourteen lifetimes To think about. God's trophy. Polished, proud. But I remembered that sometimes trophies get dropped And golden heads get broken off. The private quest - the search through solitariness for immediate communion with God is as old as the Bible ...

2309. Reuben:The Rooster With a Reminder

Matthew 26:69-75

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... stick by him no matter what happened. Jesus told Peter that it was a nice thought but that he would pretend not to know him three times before the rooster crowed. Well, as you know the soldiers came and arrested Jesus and took him away. At first Peter put up quite a fight, so good as a matter of fact that he actually cut off one of the soldiers ears. Jesus told him that this was not the way that Christians did things, and he healed the man who had lost his ear. Then Peter followed the soldiers and Jesus ...

2310. The Stewardship of Money in the Modern Church

2 Corinthians 9:11, 12

Sermon

Dr. John Thompson Peters

... as "evil" but necessary. The church apologizes for her need for money and again and again compromises the truth by making ridiculous statements about her need for money under a meretricious spiritual facade. Modern man's most sensitive nerve is his pocketbook and it is quite clear that the church has failed him in not having given more direct teaching in this area where he lives most of the time. If these things be true, the time is over-ripe for a factual and dynamic overhauling of the church perspective ...

2311. Living Passionately

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... the neutrals. And they are the most guilty of all! Their passionate commitment could have swung the whole thing either way. But they chose to do nothing! They just weren't interested! Well, our Lord has no place in his church for spectators. He put it quite well. There can be no neutrals. There can be no fence straddlers. There can be no associate members. There can be no fringe Christians. "You are either with me or against me, and if you are not gathering, you are scattering." There is no neutrality. Okay ...

2312. What Makes Us Human?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... do. You are not here to worship yourself, nor am I, any more than I am standing here in this pulpit to express a personal opinion. You won't want, then, to drop the "Thees" and "Thous" any more than the dignity and good order of worship. You won't quite be able to say, "Come, you Almighty King," or "Christ, you Lamb of God." You want to stay at the distance that dignity and good order demand and reverence inspires. We bring here but one thing, a gift of love to God in response to his unspeakable love for us ...

2313. Natural Or Supernatural?

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... ulterior motive, such as this girl who writes: "Dear God: My teacher read us the part where all the Jews went through where the water was and were saved. Keep up the good work. I'm Jewish. Love, Paula." Well, in these years, it's become quite difficult to explain, or to explain away, the miracles. Oh, we come up with some good, reasonable-sounding, everyday explanations, like there's nothing unusual about Jesus changing water into wine. He does that every year. The rain falls, the water falls upon the earth ...

2314. Speak From Personal Experience

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

... . If Christ can use me, I know that he can use them! The only thing that really matters is whether or not Christ is living in your life amid making a difference in the way you live. In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul was said to have caused quite a stir when he preached the reality of Christ and the Resurrection. It certainly was hard for anyone to ignore him or his message, because not only did he know what he was talking about, he knew Who he was talking about. We are never going to be able to ...

2315. Epilogue: Some Early Witnesses to Christ

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

... is not wanted, and so, he left. But before he left, he told the man to go home and witness. Home is the hardest place in the world to witness. But not only did the man witness at home; he went to ten other towns as well. He had quite a dramatic conversion story to tell and he became an effective evangelist. And then there was the woman who, because of her disease, had been a social outcast (Luke 8:40 ff.). She had consulted with all the best doctors about her physical disorder, but without success. She had ...

2316. Waiting for Jesus

Romans 13:11b

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... God and singing hymns about Him. Paul had so much time to do the things that he wanted to do because God took all of his worry and problems and answered his prayers with joy and love. The next time I have something that bothers me, I am going to quit worrying and start praying. Then I will have time to get the gifts, the turkey, and the right tree. I will be at church on time and I will be glad whether it snows or there is sunshine. This is going to be a beautiful week without any worry. LET ...

2317. Getting The Facts

1 Corinthians 15:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... 't know who made the bigger splash, but maybe our friends can help. Now first I'm going to drop Stanley into the water. Stanley is like the Ten Commandments. Wow, that was some splash! Now we will try Wilbur. Wilbur is like love. Oh, that was good, but not quite as big a splash as Stanley. You might think that Stanley won, except for one thing: Stanley made a big splash and then went right to the bottom. But Wilbur Wood made a pretty big splash and now he is still floating around on the top of the water ...

2318. Romanticizing the Cross

John 13:1-17

Illustration

... that flying really gives him a high. If I could not fly this war would really be a drag, he says. He brags that every time he flies a couple of missions they send him back to Japan for several weeks of R & R. The war to him was really quite a lark. Then one day a Korean child is brought to the MASH unit and her arm has been horribly mangled in an air attack. The young pilot is taken back. Even though it was not his plane that did it, for the first time he must face his own ...

2319. Mommy, Was That God?

John 14:15-31

Illustration

John M. Braaten

I recall the story of a little girl who, when trains were popular transportation, was taking her first train ride with her parents. As night descended, the mother took the girl, who was clearly quite anxious, and placed her on the upper bunk of the sleeper. She told her little one that up there she would be nearer to God and that God would watch over her. As silence enveloped the young lady she became afraid and called softly, "Mommy, are you there?" "Yes dear," ...

2320. The Same New Jesus

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... of our acceptance by God the Father, extension of our Lord's presence into our lives; finally, the Ascension means coronation. The Ascension crowns our Lord with glory, majesty, and power. It is one thing to assert that Jesus has been raised from death; it is quite another thing to assert that he now shares the sovereignty of God over heaven and earth. Most of our thinking about Christ is in the single dimension of his common humanity - a babe born in a barn, a friend of fishermen, a rural rabbi who walked ...

2321. Trifling with the Trinity

John 16:5-16

Illustration

Brett Blair

... Thomas Nelson, her publisher, quickly canceled the publication of her book that was then scheduled for release in one month. All of this because she trifled with the Trinity. If you are confused as to why her words got her into so much trouble, that is quite understandable. The church has struggled to explain how God can be both One God and three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Where Mrs. Shamblin went wrong was in her statement that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were not equal in leadership. In ...

2322. The Role of the Father (Father's Day)

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . In Matthew 7:11 Jesus speaks the following words: “If you then, who are evil, can give good gifts to your children....” Now, lets stop right there. What did that say? It begins by calling parents evil. That is not very flattering, but it is quite truthful, albeit blunt. We know we are not perfect, we know that we make mistakes, we misjudge situations, that we do good things sometimes for wrong reasons. In other words, we are sinners. It is a basic theological component of Christianity and it says to ...

2323. The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... a very interesting thing has happened. A lawyer has asked a question which in effect says: “What is the outer perimeter of my responsibility? At what point am I no longer liable? Where does it cut off.” In effect he is asking: where can I quit loving? The answer that he probably wanted was: All faithful members of the Jewish faith or all members of the Jerusalem Bar. That’s where you can stop being a neighbor! So, what about Jesus answer--this Good Samaritan parable. Jesus is in effect saying, “Look ...

2324. People Get Ready!

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Brett Blair

... for those servants who are ready for the master not because there is the threat of punishment for un-alert behavior but because there is the promise of a lavish master who upon his return graciously gives to his servants. Sets them down and serves them! This is quite a different picture of a master and a servant. One where the rewards are beyond measure and grace abundant. That’s the kind of promise that our Lord has given us upon his return. He will sit us down at his banquet table, and satisfy the needs ...

2325. Saving A Church

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

... she said that. I’m hanging it up. What’s the matter with you, I asked. Well, she answered, this is my last Sunday. I thought that she was retiring from the choir. She had been in it about 30 years. No, she said, I’m not retiring I’m quitting. She said: I finally accepted the question that has been haunting me for years now. I looked out at all of the people, the ushers, the pastor. And it just finally sunk into me——who cares. Who cares whether or not I am in the choir. Who cares whether or ...

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