Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2426 to 2450 of 3852 results

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

... are all men and women, boys and girls sons of God. Paul could have used the word “children of God,” but he wants to emphasize that we have attained this exalted position because when we were “baptized into Christ we were clothed . . . with Christ.” Christ the original Son of God, with a capital “S” has made us sons of God, with a small “s.” The point is this: we now have access to an intimate relationship with God. No longer are we bound to the Old Testament Law. Since this is Father’s day ...

2427. We Hold These Truths To Be Essential

1 Peter 3:8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... to their prayer." Easy entry. High expectations. We are in the business of producing Christian disciples. Let it be an anchor for our lives. Let me say a fourth thing. We are Wesleyan in our theology. It has been said that he never had an original idea in his life. At best, he was a folk theologian popular among the common people. He would rather synthesize than ostracize any day. He promoted and was criticized for the high idealisms of Christian perfection. But, however you want to explain it, all that ...

2428. Turning Evil Into Good

Genesis 45:1-8a, 50:19-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... me, but God intended it for good." Will you reflect with me on that statement for a moment? I. YOU INTENDED TO HARM ME When I first believed that “all things worked together for good," I was extremely naïve concerning the nature of evil. While my family of origin was far from perfect, I was safe there, protected from the evil one and seldom acquainted with grief. There were no TV's in those days to disturb our peace. The most sinful thing I thought you could do was to smoke and chew, or run around with ...

2429. The Difference Disciples Make

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I was big enough to read the Bible, I knew the meaning of that statement. Salt of the earth people lived in our community. They were moral, stable, dependable, solid folk who had as much concern for others as they had for themselves. In the little town of my origin, my father lies today in a hospital. It is very unlikely that he will ever live an independent life again. My father is far from perfect. But, he is a salt of the earth kind of person. Orphaned at age 11, he could have lived his days resentful ...

2430. The Uniting Peace of Christ

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . The Church continues to be the most segregated eating place in America. Across society, fear has driven us to flock behind gated communities, separate the haves from the have-nots, draw battle lines between conservatives and liberals, judge people by ethnic origin, and condemn people by religious affiliation. Worst of all, we have slipped into the sad habit of demonizing those different from us. Watch the current political ads. Are candidates really as bad as their opponents would have us believe? Are the ...

2431. Jesus’ 10 Commandments

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... will nurture more love. The more love you pour out, the more love you will have to pour forth. Love is the greatest and most perfectly renewable resource we have access to in our lives. 5) Be Merciful “Mercy” is one of the most original and revolutionary notions ever introduced into the course of human history. And mercy comes from the Hebrew prophets and Jesus. We must show mercy, because of the miraculous mercy God has shown us. The other name for “mercy” is “grace.” God’s grace brought ...

2432. The One in Whom We Glory

John 12:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We come today to the final words of the Lord's Prayer. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. If you are a good Catholic, you know that phrase is not in the original Lord's Prayer. Of course, the Catholics are right. It was really a second century addition. If you are a good Methodist, you cannot receive your daily bread, be forgiven of your sins, and delivered from the evil one without exclaiming, For thine is the kingdom and the power and ...

2433. Let Go of the Stone

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... stone of fear and embrace a life of faith. III. LET GO OF THE STONE OF BEWILDERMENT AND EMBRACE A LIFE OF BELIEF. It is suggested that Mark's Gospel is the earliest of the Gospels and that these first eight verses are the original resurrection story. If it is, then it is really not very hopeful. The words that are recurring here are “scared," “trembling," “bewildered." Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb because they were afraid (Mark 16:8). Bewildered means confounded ...

2434. Singing With the Saints of Glory

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... me ask a second question. Why should I consider a gift at this time? There are four reasons. 1. You were not present for the Fulfill the Vision Campaign and you want to be a part of this exciting future. 2. You are able to do more than you originally planned. 3. You would like to honor or memorialize a friend or loved one with a lasting gift that will serve generations to come. 4. Funds raised now will lessen any indebtedness to be incurred with renovations. So what on earth are we going to do for heaven ...

2435. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... pig, but a son. He still has a home even though he is away for a while. This realization becomes the basis for his choice to live and not to die. When we are tempted to wallow in our low lostness we will be wise to touch base with our original goodness, to choose life and come home. What can we do about a loving God who welcomes his children home? We can accept His grace; we can respond to it and rejoice in it; experience it and live it to its absolute fullest. In John Grisham’s novel, The New ...

2436. Amos: The Problem of Justice

Amos 5:18-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... you would have others do unto you." Life may not be fair, but we can be fair. We can treat others the way human beings deserve to be treated. This is especially true as we work through the ramifications of immigration. Profiling people because of their ethnic origin is wrong. As we rush to enforce the laws, let us not succumb to a new wave of prejudice. To be righteous is to love one another, especially our enemies. Wesley challenged his followers to pray for the Holy Spirit to perfect us in love. The real ...

2437. From Greed to Generosity

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in a bloody civil war. Then Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase sent a letter which in part said, “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in his defense. The trust of our people should be declared on our national coins," so originated the words “In God We Trust." Why? Because what's impossible for you and me is totally within the realm of possibility for God, for with God nothing is impossible. Even rich people like you and me can get in the kingdom of God. Thank God for ...

2438. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , he turned to me and said, "She's beautiful, isn't she? I just wish I could hold her in my arms one more time." That's eros and that's good. Love Is of God - agape. It's gift-giving rather than self-seeking. It's charity in the original sense of that word. Such love is agape love, it is godly love. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. Not because he should, he did it because he could. Then Paul in this old ...

2439. Work

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , faithful in prayer." All are saturated in love. If I have any regrets about life, it's that it has taken me so long to accept love and that it's been so difficult for me to express love. You see, those words were never spoken in my family of origin. I was told when I did wrong, but I was never affirmed for doing right. I don't blame my parents for that. They did the best they could, but love experienced and love expressed is critical material for building a life that really matters. Build your life out of ...

2440. By Humbly Doing Good

1 Peter 5:6-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , anxiety, loneliness and other symptoms related primarily to stress. Four out of five adult family members see a need for less stress in their daily lives. One-half of all diseases including ulcers, high blood pressure, and cancer can have stress related origins. Unmanaged stress is a major factor in homicides, suicides, child abuse, spouse abuse, and aggravated assaults. Americans are spending 64.9 billion dollars a year trying to deal with the stress in their lives. What can we do? A. WE CAN RUN ...

2441. Every Man Our Neighbor

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

John Wesley

... the human race, but a small number whose sentiments and practices are so much our own, that our love to them is but self-love reflected. With an honest openness of mind, let us always remember the kindred between man and man; and cultivate that happy instinct whereby, in the original constitution of our nature, God has strongly bound us to each other.

2442. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... own. It is the solitary strength of self that God’s power gives to each and every dancing saint. Strength of faith, strength of character, strength derived from family, friends and the faithful, make each one of us unrepeatable, irreplaceable originals. TRUST: If dance partners don’t trust each other, nothing works. Without trust, timing is hesitant. Technique is stilted. Teamwork is impossible. Trusting one another, giving thanks for the unique gifts and creativity that our dancing partners bring to us ...

2443. The Curse of the Impossible

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... hopelessness is to make it hopeless. To approach anything in the spirit of faith is to make it a possibility.” II Now, let’s see that truth in a specialized Christian context. We discover it in the attitude of the father of the afflicted child. “Originally he had come seeking for Jesus Himself. Since Jesus was on the mountain top he had had to deal with the disciples. His experience of the disciples was discouraging. His faith was badly shaken, so badly shaken that when he came to Jesus all he could ...

2444. Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... first born is the achiever, the middle sibling goes along, and the baby craves and gets all the attention. The oldest and youngest often have this love/hate rivalry says Dr. Leman. Leman must have been an older brother himself. He says the original title of his book was “Abel Had It Coming.” (2) Differences in sibling performance is at least partly because each sibling is treated just a little differently from earlier siblings. One woman said she has five siblings, three sisters and two brothers. One ...

2445. Making the Situation Worse

Luke 12:13-21

Illustration

Charles Hoffacker

... over inheritance, but one that all of us need to hear. He says: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Clarence Jordan's translation of this verse brings out its original earthiness. Here's what Jesus says according to Jordan: "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions." In these few words, Jesus rejects much of what keeps our ...

2446. Exactly How Wide Is It?

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... intimate kind of experience. That’s what a narrow door implies to me. But Jesus takes it one step further. He says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.” The phrase “make every effort” in Greek is agonizomai, which originally meant “engage in an athletic contest” or “to fight, to struggle.” One commentator translates the phrase like this, “Strain every nerve to enter.” In other words you need to strive mightily to squeeze through the door. It is, then, extremely narrow ...

2447. Light and Hope for the New Year

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... world. This darkness is a mystery in God's creation. John doesn't explain it or tell us where it came from. The darkness just seems to pop up in verse 5. It sounds almost like a virus that somehow gets past the best filter. John's silence about the origin of the darkness seems appropriate. Despite the best efforts of the best minds, we don't know why evil exists or where it comes from. It is just there. That's the way John says it. The darkness is just there in verse 5. If we don't understand this ...

2448. A Strange Way in and a New Way Out

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... that practice lies the strangeness of this passage. The Old Testament authors ridiculed the idea that the stars had any influence on life. The future unfolded with God's providence and our own choices. The belief that the stars exerted power over people originated with the Babylonians, the staunch enemies of the people of Judah. Astrology, then, was a foreign belief system, one that the Old Testament writers tried to steer the people of Israel and Judah away from. In the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis ...

2449. Who's Who

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... takes away the sin of the world. John makes sure we know who Jesus is and what he does. The next group of characters to appear on the set are the disciples. Only the gospel of John tells us that at least some of Jesus' disciples originally were disciples of John the Baptist. Matthew, Mark, and Luke write as if Jesus chose his disciples at random. In John, Jesus' first disciples make a shift in loyalty. The Baptist himself encourages this shift in loyalty, by pointing away from himself and toward Jesus. The ...

2450. The True Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lee Griess

... mass of white wool. What will they do now? Smith thought. How will the shepherds ever separate them out? To his amazement, when they had finished drinking, each shepherd gave out a cry. Each let go his unique call, and almost by magic, the sheep divided back into their original folks. Jesus says to us, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me." Tony Campolo loves to tell the story of a particular census taker who went to the home of a rather poor family in the mountains of West Virginia to ...

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