Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2326 to 2350 of 4962 results

2326. Don't Be Afraid Of The Light

John 8:12

Sermon

James Merritt

... and dug this man out and that is how they discovered this giant cavern. When they asked the man, "How did you hold on to hope day after day after day in total darkness?" He said, "There was one little pin hole ray of light that was coming through and ... of the world and He wants to use His followers, to so light up the darkness that they are in, that they can give other people hope, that they ,too, can leave the darkness and come to the light. You can shine light and even show light and still not do with light ...

2327. God's Christmas Gift

Luke 2:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... who give gifts. Has it ever occurred to you that the reason that we have such joy at Christmas changes as we mature? When you are younger (particularly your children and teenage years) the joy is the joy of anticipating getting gifts. You make your list and you hope that you get everything that you want and then wonder if you will. As a boy, I can remember lying underneath my Christmas tree literally for an hour at a time looking at all the gifts under the tree just imagining what was there. My mother had a ...

2328. Daily Homework

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... Unfortunately, what the Communists did by decree in 1929, we are doing today by default. [[1]] We told you last week of all that we hoped to get done in the year 2005. All of that is to make sure that as we are doing all those other things, in the ... been at this very long?" He said, "Well, I just graduated from the University of Michigan School of Business & Administration and I hope to eventually manage the western part of the entire company." The pastor said, "So you are a national organization?" He said, " ...

2329. April Love

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful." Well, those theories are all interesting, but when we are experiencing the first blush of love, I doubt very many of us are sitting there thinking, "I wonder what causes this wonderful feeling?" Rather, we are just hoping it will last. That feeling of being madly in love is what gave rise to the biblical book called the Song of Solomon. That this book is in the Bible always comes as a bit of a surprise to new readers of the scriptures. After encountering all ...

2330. A Pair of Ducks and Abundant Life

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... fiber until this tree grows into a mighty edifice giving shade to all. A tree does not worry about surrendering itself to the sun that bathes it. It can do no other. You and I, however, are confronted with a choice. Do we surrender all we are and all we hope to be to God? If we do, we can know this: God is the creator of beauty, and God can take our lives and make something beautiful out of them if we are willing to surrender them. Anything you save, you will lose. Anything you share, you will regain. And ...

2331. The Hill of Crosses

Mark 8:27-38

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... hill in 1961, then again in 1973 and 1975. But people kept erecting more crosses, until in 1980 their destruction stopped. Today the crosses number in the many thousands. They are different sizes and shapes, some simple, some ornate, but they immortalize Lithuania's troubles, misfortunes, joys, hope and faith. For them, the cross is more than a symbol in the church. It is symbol for the world to see. A symbol that will not go away. It is a symbol of sacrifice. A sacrifice that gives each and every one of us ...

2332. Taking the First Step

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... the boss. Now, this so-called friend will probably get the advancement that should have been his. He feels cheated, mistreated, and betrayed. Another person slips in and sits in the back with her head covered, and her outer garment pulled up around her face. She is hoping that no one will notice the bruises on her face and the darkness under her eyes. As she sits down, she recalls the recent events. Her husband hit her for the first time. He has such a temper. As she is sitting there in silence before the ...

2333. New Creations in Christ

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... he could not shake it off. The more he thought about it the more he wished for new eyes for himself. He began to think about the stranger hoping that he would return. If he did he would ask for new eyes, also. He worried about how he would make his request to the stranger so he ... our age, status in life, or primary day-to-day work we all can use new beginnings and must rejoice in the hope that Jesus' resurrection brings. Maybe we have felt stagnant in our prayer, our nine-to-five job, or our relationship with ...

2334. Itchy Ears

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... Athens done to you? When you itch, are you itching for the part of you that has been amputated? Was it something important, like your hope or your faith or your capacity to love? If so, scratch and scratch hard! Or let me tell you about Persephone. You know her as ... . How does he have the victory? Not by his earthly roles or upperworld distinctions, but by the power and grace of God. I hope these various characters are beginning to show you something about us. You see, in Peru, to be a shaman is to expect to ...

2335. Falling Short

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... the renegotiated positions ... instead of faith being that kind of complexity, it is a simplicity. It is inching toward the positive, not leaping toward the positive. It is leaning toward hope, rather than dwelling in hope. It is the assumption that God is in charge, not the certainty that God is in charge. Faith is inching, leaning, assuming, and hoping ... it is looking out the window toward the future more than it is staring fixed at the tangles of the present. It is grass waving toward God in clear wind ...

2336. Called by a New Name

Isaiah 62:1-5

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... that person. Moses wanted to know who God was at the most intimate level. We are synonymous with our names, in the sense that they identify who we are. People have been known to change their names precisely because they want the new beginning they hope a new name will bring. To change your own name is one thing; but having your name changed by God is quite remarkable. God initiated name changes for several of the important forebears of our faith. Abram and Sarai become Abraham and Sarah. Then Jacob becomes ...

2337. Ashes and Bugs

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... God's people, the memory of a plague of insects was still fresh; precious crops had been destroyed and hunger reigned. But God promised the people joy beyond disaster, and full gardens despite devastation. God's Word brings hope. In our own struggles, despite heartbreaking setbacks, there is the promise of hope, as well. And it all begins on this day, Ash Wednesday, that some of us will just plain forget about. Ash Wednesday comes in the middle of nowhere. Our worship cycle is built around Sundays. The four ...

2338. He Will Abundantly Pardon

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... suffered, who are victims — that's where we are called as God's people, as messengers like Isaiah, to spread the good news. We do not apply Band-Aids. We do not make things well with a word. But, we walk with those who are hurting in order to bring hope. Isaiah didn't turn to a people who were shell-shocked from invasion and captivity and say there was nothing wrong. He didn't say that as God's people we don't grieve. There is plenty wrong, and we do grieve, but he told us that in a broken ...

2339. God's Call for All

Acts 9:35-43

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... they also talked about how much they were going to miss her cinnamon rolls. Paul might have recognized this woman, when he wrote 1 Timothy 6:17-19: "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future ...

2340. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... the question of what you or I can do to help yourself and others who find themselves in the middle of life, good or bad, Jeremiah tells us: • the majority opinion is not necessarily God's will; • although punishment for sin is severe, there is hope in God's mercy; • God will not accept empty or insincere worship; and • serving God does not guarantee earthly security. My sisters and brothers in Christ, God comes to us in the midst of living. Jeremiah's call by God teaches how intimately God knows us ...

2341. Living the Vision

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... see to it that the right would prevail over wrong. Habakkuk knew, and we know, that God had been revealed to others in different times and places. That revelation, when it happened, would be such that the people of God would find new life and new hope regardless of their current circumstances. Within the Christian community we find that revelation expressed in the ultimate human vision of God, Jesus who is Christ. It is in the person of Jesus that the final vision has been written and made plain for all to ...

2342. A Day of Singing

Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... t all creation sing? And why shouldn’t we sing? After all, the God of all creation the God of the moon and the stars and the wind and the waves sings over us. Can you hear it? Listen closely. It is the song of everlasting love, hope peace and joy. It is the song of Jesus Christ. 1. Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies (Pantheon, 1998), pp. 47‑50. Cited by W. Gregory Pope, http://www.crescenthillbaptistchurch.org/oldsite/sermon‑9‑25‑05.htm. 2. (http://www.day1.net/index.php5?view=transcripts&tid=90). 3 ...

2343. Small Towns

Luke 2:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... in baby shower paper, but in Christmas paper. It bore a card that read, “To my daughter.” “This one is from my mom,” Cathy announced as she opened the gift. Inside was a quilt. She tried to smile as she held it up for all to see, but secretly she hoped her Mom couldn’t see her face. Her mother would know her smile wasn’t genuine. The quilt wasn’t very pretty. It wasn’t a “baby quilt.” It wasn’t made of pink, blue and yellow materials; it didn’t have bunnies or bears. It was just a ...

2344. Jesus: What's in a Name?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... with what to do. Will he expose her, making her a public example? He can never do that, he loves her too much. He is a just man, a godly man, so he takes the only course acceptable to his conscience. He decides to divorce her quietly, privately, hoping to cause as little a ripple in the community as possible. Even that decision, though it came out of the love and justice of his heart, didn’t set well. He continued to wrestle with it. In his wrestling, in the deep midnight watches and wakefulness of his ...

2345. Tears Are Our First Words

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... hated symbol of repression, that most revered symbol of communist power, came down after decades of being one of the most feared symbols in the world. It came down not in a hail of bullets and butchery. It came down through the unstoppable power of hope. Who can forget images of East Germans, mostly young people, standing on top of the wall, waving flags, hammers and screwdrivers and tearing wall down with their bare hands. And when The Wall came down, and the communist regime in East Germany came down, the ...

2346. A Squirrely Holiday

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... grateful. 'Where are you headed from here?' I asked. 'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.' 'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?' 'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible ... plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.' 'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.' 'I know,' I said, 'I ...

2347. God Is Not Far Away

Luke 21:5-38

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... me is that no matter how anxious the times we live in, God is not far away. The problem is that we are so afraid we miss God's presence. We let those who use scare tactics mislead us. We allow doom and darkness to dominate our lives rather than hope and light. Jesus is telling us that "to understand the world's troubles as omens of doom is to misread them. The world's tribulations and our personal trials can be understood as reasons for us to remain faithful ...

2348. Plenty Good Room

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... believe in God believe also in me. And on it goes with heart-touching love and tenderness. In this passage of scripture, John provides us Jesus’ most definitive word about himself, about Heaven, and about the human hope for life after death. Let’s look at those in reverse order. First, Jesus’ word about human hope beyond the grave. In this passage, John really opens to us the Holy of holies. He has begun the story in the 13th chapter, and this is the story of Jesus gathering with his disciples in what ...

2349. “Yes” to Faith

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... famous she became, Jane Adams remained a resident of Hull House, where she eventually died. (from God's Lessons of Life for Mom, Honor Books) As long as there are ordinary people, like Jane Adams, who are willing to give love to the ills of society there will always be hope. Jane Adams said "Yes" to faith and trusted in God to be with her. Mary and Elizabeth said "Yes" to faith and brought forth a savior. My we all say "Yes" to faith and allow God to make us instruments of ...

2350. A Bethany Blessing

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... them with Your presence, Your wisdom and your guidance, Let them be a sermon others can see. Bless their family both near and far. Bless their skills, talents and abilities May they be used to bring you glory. Lord hear our prayer today Fill them with faith and hope In the face of doubt and discouragement. Remind them daily they belong to you. God of Wonder, God of Grace Bless them with a Bethany Blessing To share the Good News with a hurting world Help them share the love of Christ Help them lead others to ...

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