Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2426 to 2450 of 4957 results

2426. That's Our God For You!

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... Not at all the way we would expect God to demonstrate his might and power, but that's the way it was and that is how we know what our God is like. In practical terms that means that this suffering King, who rules in love, comes to lay his claim on your life. Your entire life, is subject to his Lordship, not just a portion of it. Dr. Alvin N. Rogness, president emeritus of Luther-Northwestern Seminary explained it this way, "This means that we have to do more than shout a few hosannas or sing a few songs in ...

2427. The King Who Came To Die

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... ? The Old Testament tells us that it didn't take long for the man and woman to discover that the Lord God wasn't the only one vying for their loyalty. There were many other pretenders to the throne, would-be rulers who claimed their allegiance. While God was open and laid everything on the line, Satan teased, and taunted, and tempted Adam and Eve, subtly appealing to their self-glory, promising great things - pleasure, prosperity, even the prospect of being like gods themselves! They were duped, choosing ...

2428. Redeeming Grief

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Eulogy

Charles L. Koester

... He was born, he lived, he died, he rose, alive again! His empty tomb proclaimed that we are not empty. His ever living presence within us can fill us with the very presence of God. ____________ is with God her Father, through Christ, the one whom she claimed as her Savior. She has more life today than any of us who are here. The certainty of our faith tells us this, strengthens us, comforts us, and yes, redeems our grief. "He who believes in me shall never die, but shall have everlasting life," said Christ ...

2429. Expectations of Hope

John 12:20-36

Eulogy

Daniel M. Shutters

... us taking place is not the end of the story. There is Easter event, a feast of victory. We look forward to Easter in hope because of a faith which is not based on our own accomplishments, no matter how good we believe we are. The faith we claim is based on something much more solid and firm ... the Christ. The cycle of birth, life and death in which we ourselves are caught, as Christ was caught, has a different bottom line than we anticipated in our moments of distress. I believe, as _____________ did, as ...

2430. The Blessed Hope of Everlasting Life

Philippians 3:1-11

Eulogy

James G. Cobb

... increase in you the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to your strengthening in faith, to your growth in grace, to your patience in suffering, and to the blessed hope of everlasting life." ... renewing and increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit: When our Lord entered her life and claimed her as his own child in baptism, she was set to live among the people of God. In the midst of this company, she would learn about our Lord and his example of love. He would ask her repeatedly to become a channel of his love in all ...

2431. The Secret Of Effective Living

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

Robert Allen

... wisdom does not speak as a tired cynic, but as one that has learned to rejoice. It is so easy for us to become cynics because there are so many problems in this world. There are hungry children in the Sudan. There are wars which rage and have claimed 145 million lives since the end of World War II. There are tragic events which come our way in life and leave us numb and hurting. We could allow these problems to make us into cynics. But, the wise person learns to overcome the problems and difficulties of ...

2432. God Moves In Mysterious Ways

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Robert Allen

... did it?” the Mother Superior asked. “We don’t know his name,” the sister said. “But, he said that he spoke with you about it before you left on the trip.” The Mother Superior’s eyes widened as she asked, “Do you mean that carpenter who claimed to be the best carpenter in all of New Mexico -- the carpenter named Joseph?” How much legend has been mixed with that story of the miraculous staircase is anyone’s guess. But, you can see the chapel for yourself in Santa Fe today. It stands just ...

2433. The Call To Ministry

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

Robert Allen

... man passed the rope to his companions and four of them hung on as they were dragged to safety. When the chopper headed back a third time to rescue the baldheaded man, who had twice passed the rope to others, he was gone. The freezing water had claimed another victim. Gene Windsor, the paramedic on the helicopter, said, “I’ll never forget his pale, upturned face as he watched us moving away with the others. He knew that he probably would not be there when we got back and all I could think of were ...

2434. Selling One’s Soul

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Allen

... fact that he will be “the great emperor of the world.” But, little by little, the years slip by and Faustus realizes that he has sold his soul for all eternity for only 24 years of pleasure. Finally, in the last hours before Satan returns to claim his soul, Doctor Faustus realizes what a bad bargain he has made. The agonized cry as he contemplates the thought of eternal hell is very moving. Doctor Faustus says: God forbid it but (I) have done it; for vain pleasure of 24 years hath Faustus lost eternal ...

2435. Marked In An Empty Tomb -- The Cross Is Still There

Sermon

George Bass

... the third week after Easter a couple of years ago, local newspaper headlines announced: “Come hell or high water, atheists set for conclave.” The national convention of American Atheists was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a state wherein 95 percent of the people claim to believe in some sort of god and more than half of the population is supposed to attend church every week. It seemed ludicrous that the atheists would meet in this city but, apparently, they wanted to make known their “beliefs” to ...

2436. Marked For Death

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

George Bass

... mean anything; that God had raised him from death to life again; that the final horizon had been overcome.”3 But where did Jesus get the spiritual resources to face such a destiny? He got them from his knowledge of God’s word and the fact that God claimed him when he was baptized in the Jordan: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And that’s the source of the courage we need to live and the strength necessary to face the difficulties of life, particularly death. The late and great ...

2437. Marked At The Cross

Sermon

George Bass

... go to church with regularity, but that over 70 percent attend worship on festivals, as well as participate in baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Strangely enough, 89 percent of the people surveyed believe in some sort of spiritual power, and 71 percent of the people claimed that they prayed every day. Their prayers were mostly for power to cope with life, to survive from day to day, and, especially, for healing. There was no evidence given to show that they pray for their enemies in the spirit of “Father ...

2438. African-American Spirituality: The African's Gift To America

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... to, and finally overcome the problems he or she faced. This has always been an important part of our spiritual belief: our ability to overcome hardship; to face trials head on and to make life better; to turn disadvantages into advantages and to claim the spiritual victory to press on towards the mark. Many scholars speak of the expressive needs of African-American spirituality, but the adaptive needs - that is the ability to face, adapt to, and overcome great odds - are an equally important element of our ...

2439. Hostage Crisis

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... them, Jezebel issues a death threat which sends Elijah fleeing for his life. Before, when of God, he was a spiritually free man. We see him standing boldly on Mount Carmel denouncing the gods of Baal and their pagan blood rites. He is the man of the hour, claiming his mountain as a fortress for the God of Israel. He is undaunted, undashed, and undenuded. He stands strongly as a man of God, confident in God's power to save, redeem, and deliver. But after destroying the prophets of Baal, we find in 1 Kings 19 ...

2440. When Is It Tolerable to Be Intolerant?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... of people they produce, by what these do for human need, and how limited really are our little ideas in the face of Christian truth. Bare intolerance has no place in Christian thinking for, as Dr. Barclay commented further, "Everyman in need has a claim upon us because every man is dear to Christ." II Second (vv. 43-48), Jesus indicates the dangers that lie in tolerance, in laissez-faire, in indifference to things as they are regardless of their obvious insufficiency. Always Jesus set before his disciples ...

2441. Holy Believing

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... believe Jesus and let his person operate within your life. When you and I consume bread and allow it to go through our digestive processes, its nutrients nourish and strengthen our whole body system so that we can work, think, and aspire as human beings. Jesus claimed to be the Bread of Life. His life, if accepted and received by us, would provide what is necessary for our souls. Paul experienced this working of the person of Christ within his own life when he wrote: "... I live; yet not I, but Christ lives ...

2442. Are Greatness and Christianity Compatible?

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... is, for some, a matter of "How can I shine?" rather than "How can I serve?" Jesus took the concepts of "ambition" and "greatness" and put them into the framework of human conduct, and showed how this ambition to serve alone produces a type of greatness that claims our enthusiasm and contributes mightily to the common good. We read: "He took a child and put him in the midst of them." How simple a gesture! Yet, often Jesus did this kind of thing. In so doing, he moved a critical matter from the realm of ...

2443. Doing Our Homework

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... Go and learn what this means,” Jesus charges. And here is what they were to go study: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” With that, the Pharisees leave, leaving us to wonder if they ever learned their lesson. Where does that leave us? None of us would claim to be so unenlightened as those Pharisees appear to be. At the same time, I take it that this homework assignment is ours as well. I imagine that Jesus’ disciples must have looked at each otherwith shrugging shoulders as the party of the Pharisees ...

2444. Moving Words

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... Christ are charged to acknowledge him not just with lips but also with hearts and minds. Everything hinges on and depends up on our acknowledgement of Christ as Lord of our lives. It is not an easy admission nor a casual assent. Such acknowledgment means we claim him as our final authority, the last word, the determining factor in our decision making and in our use of time, energy and resources. This is not a word for those willing to rest on the existing conditions, but rather for those who have been so ...

2445. How’s That Again, Jesus?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... few things I must do: get an education, find a job, discover the right mate for life, have children, join the club, play all the business games, join a church, and save for retirement.” The mistaken belief that such thoughts generate is that joining the church and claiming faith is simply part of the maturing process. “Just add Jesus” seems to be the slogan many modern churchgoers live by. We can go on pretty much as we have been, doing what we want to do, and “just add Jesus.” But if I hear Jesus ...

2446. “Lucky” Is The Saddest Word

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

Keith Hammer

... He says that it was a message like a “fire burning deep within me.” He could see how their apostasy was leading them toward a situation where their good life would be destroyed and they would be led away into exile. I believe it’s time that we who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior take another look at our participation in all kinds of games of chance. It has become a much deeper issue than one of simple morality -- that is, that it’s sinful to gamble. What is happening to our society is that we are ...

2447. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... We all endorse certain sentiments that come our way in life. Some entertainers and coaches earn more from their endorsements than they do from practicing their professions. One of the saddest stories of scripture to me is that of Joseph of Arimathea who came to claim Jesus' body. He was recorded as "a secret follower of Jesus." He wouldn't endorse Jesus in public but he followed him in private. He missed the essence of God's revelation to his world. One day in Paris, Voltaire, who was generally regarded as ...

2448. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... to return to a pre-feminist perspective. White males fear having to turn over their hopes of getting a meaningful job to the dictates of the EEOC. Now the men's movement has grown in numbers to stand side-by-side with the women's movement, both claiming discrimination. And they're both pretty angry about it. I suggest that the place to begin is in learning to face our fears. If anger comes primarily from fear, then it's our fear we have to deal with. My friend Frederick Buechner40 says that the unwritten ...

2449. Illusion Or Reality?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... liars in the history of the world was Baron von Munchhausen. The Baron could really tell them. He was so good at fantasy that he got away with most of his lies. One of his big lies concerned an experience he had while walking in a bog. The Baron claimed he fell into quicksand. When he had sunk up to his neck and the situation looked desperate, he said he worked the miracle by grabbing his hair with his hands and pulling himself out.22 Some of our illusions in the face of our human predicament sound equally ...

2450. Trial-and-Error or Grace

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. One good way of getting at the meaning of “meek” is from its opposite -- those who are powerfully arrogant. Today, studies in ecology make clear the truth impacted in this Beatitude. The powerfully arrogant claim the earth. It belongs to them; therefore they have the right (“I own it”) to plunder and exploit it. Having used it up, there is nothing left for an inheritance. I find cosmic irony in the Iran-Iraq war. Blessed with bounteous natural ...

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