Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2426 to 2450 of 3926 results

2426. Discipleship: The Beauty and the Cross

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the contrary, as British poet Francis Thompson calls him, Jesus is the "Hound of Heaven" who always seeks our souls and never leaves even one stone unturned in his diligent search for us. If God goes the extra mile for us, then we must do likewise to support his work and ministry and thereby to build God's kingdom in our world. Discipleship is also associated with martyrdom. This need not be and most times is not a physical death, but it will often bring much spiritual suffering. We are asked not to count ...

2427. The Cost of Being a Prophet

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

George Reed

... agree on the means by which injustice must be changed. We will not even always agree whether or not it is a case of injustice. We must love and respect one another in our differences. What we cannot tolerate is allowing ourselves to be drawn into supporting systems that foster injustice. Most of us will never have to face the executioner's axe because of standing up to the powers that allow and even promote injustice in our world. The worse that we will probably suffer for taking our stand for justice, and ...

2428. Coming Apart So We Don’t Come Apart

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

George Reed

... time to be refilled. Even Jesus was not able to go about his work of ministry without taking time to be alone in prayer with God. We are certainly not able to function without that re-centering in God. We need to find ourselves held in the everlasting arms that support us and hold us up when we are ready to fall. We need to be filled and refilled with the Spirit that filled Jesus. We cannot do the work that is before us on our own. Many of us find it hard to take the time to be apart with ...

2429. Does Easter Make a Difference?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... they were blessed to be a blessing. They withdrew from the world in order to return to the world of needy people with spiritual power from the communion of saints. In our day, a man named John was a recovering alcoholic. "I need my Alcoholics Anonymous group to support me and keep me from going back to the bottle," he said, "but I need my church community to inspire me and help me realize that Jesus is the center of my life and other people need my help." In addition to sharing with the needy boldly, and ...

2430. Man Proposes; God Disposes

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... God, some strange and terrible things based on self-deception have been proposed and acted upon. The inquisition is an example of evil illusions leading to suffering and death. Jews were ruthlessly persecuted by so-called Christian leaders. The promotion of and support of slavery by some Christian groups is another example. So is prejudice in all its ugly forms. At times prejudice has crept into churches and the personal lives of otherwise good Christian people like the shadowy, ugly monster it is. In other ...

2431. With Friends Like These ...

Job 38:1-7 (34-41)

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... Dying, Bury the Dead and Mourn as a Jew (New York: Schocken Books, 1998). 3. Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Random House, 1995), p. 30. 4. Augustine, Confessions, trans. Albert Outler (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1955), p. 11. 5. You may need to mention that support groups and twelve-step organizations are different in that they are created to operate on the premise of equal sharing, which is most appropriate and necessary in those situations.

2432. The 2 Love Laws

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a number on our peace of mind as well as our pocketbooks. And the economic crisis is nothing compared to the catastrophe of global warming. A rise in global temperatures of just a few degrees puts all the ecosystems, all the life-supporting structures of this planet, seriously out of equilibrium. Entropy will increase exponentially with each degree the earth warms. Some people are looking with great hope towards the upcoming elections as if the answer to entropy lies in politics. But changing political ...

2433. Only 60 Seconds

Matthew 25:14-30

Illustration

... and president of Godfather's Pizza, Incorporated, is an African-American man who was raised in poverty. He credits his hard-working father for his success in life. Throughout Herman's life, his father worked three or four jobs at a time in order to support his family. In addition to his father, Herman Cain also found inspiration from Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, a former president of Morehouse College. Dr. Mays taught Herman a poem that has guided him through the ups and downs of life. It is as follows: "Life ...

2434. Living the Faith – Star of Peace

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... Germany, regardless of the fate facing them there. The captain, recently converted to Christianity, cannot in good conscience do so. And so he hatches a plan to unboard the passengers by night along the coast of the United States, hoping then to arouse public support to keep the refugees in the US. But the Coast Guard catches wind of what the captain wants to do, and at every step thwarts his plan. Weeks pass, and finally the American authorities determine that their only resolution is to have the captain ...

2435. Returning God's Call

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... God's Call [Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989], 10). Sam Reimer heard the same call that came to Samuel the prophet. But Sam Reimer's call never materialized into a prophetic mission because the community of faith surrounding him failed to support him. If old Eli, despite his shortsightedness and personal failures, had not counseled the young Samuel on recognizing and responding to God's call, how could the fledgling prophet have learned to open his mind and heart to receive God's words? C ...

2436. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... argument lends strength to Anselm's theory of the Atonement - the cross makes us face our sins. There is something in us that resists life, that rejects peace, that chooses ignorance and perversity. Yet the cross and Christ as a symbol of love also lend support to Abelard's view of the Atonement - the cross makes us face our Maker. The ultimate mystery surrounding God is love, not power or wrath. As philosopher Thomas Talbott puts it so eloquently: "In the universe as God has actually created it, good can ...

2437. Heresies of the Heart

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... now seen as a legitimate complaint and an indisputable reality. Heresies of love range from despair to vindictiveness to perhaps the most heretical attitude of all, indifference. "God doesn't love me" is a heresy running rampant through people's souls. Support groups, selfhelp therapies, stressed-out schedules stretched one more hour to include a stress management session, are all ways we try and cope with the sinking sensation that we are unloved. It is perhaps the most difficult heresy to relinquish, and ...

2438. Thank You, Magic Dragon

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... P.J.'s favorite gifts was a large green plush toy dragon, who quickly became the embodiment of the gift-giver and P.J.'s constant companion. As P.J. grew sicker, "Magic Dragon's" attentions never waned; notes of encouragement and support arrived continuously. The treasured toy dragon accompanied P.J. to the hospital, sympathetically sporting the same bandages and sharing all the painful, unpleasant treatments with this little boy. Tragically, despite all efforts, P.J. lost his battle with leukemia. At his ...

2439. MegaGrace

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... be made manifest in our gracious hospitable reception of each other. Individuals living in grace should naturally create communities with Tyndale's "harbrous disposition." God's grace is enough to sustain the fragile ties of community and give them the strength to become a life-saving, life-enriching net of supportive relationships.

2440. The Ultimate Athlete

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to distinguish between war and the warrior. Nowhere has there been a word of ill-will directed at the military men and women who are the players in this deadly contest. Despite this renewed respect for the soldier and the need to "Support Our Troops," it is still difficult to feel entirely comfortable with militaristic images of the Christian. As St. Augustine once wrote: "You run well but off the track." Our heightened sensitivity to the violent tendencies implicit in military images revealed themselves ...

2441. The Golden Calf and the Golden Table

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is worthless - a lifeless idol, a "piosity" not a piety. True piety, James insists, will be evidenced by a life lived in obedience to the demands of God's word. The tangible results of this kind of faith (in James the example is the support of widows and orphans) can easily be placed on the golden table of the right worship of God. While James focuses on the idolatry or faithfulness of individual worshipers, the same choice confronts the gathered church. The church itself can be idolatrous, reveling in ...

2442. Interior Decorations

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... take - she would soon discover herself repugnant and pregnant, and even more embarrassing, pregnant during her engagement period. She would be forced to travel on a weary journey during the last month of her pregnancy. She would give birth in a strange place with no family to support her and no midwife to assist her. For a delivery room she had a cave cut out of a mountain, and for her baby's first cradle, a "slobber trough" manger. The son God had "favored" her with had a death sentence on his head shortly ...

2443. Bethlehem's Two Roads

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are the wrong race, the wrong color, the wrong religion, and the ones who fall down on their knees before the child, while the chosen ones, the mainliners, are busy keeping the public order. Learn from the wise men that the insiders are busy supporting the status quo, politically and economically, in the very halls of power and authority, while the outsiders are giving lavish and generous gifts to a baby. Buchanan notes that the first ones to greet Jesus are not the insiders, members of the chosen people ...

2444. When a Church Should Go to Hell

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... we would surely perceive as "blessed" that Jesus intones a somber "woe to you." For Jesus the issue is one's relationship to God and God's kingdom. It is easier for those who are meek, "push-overs" or impoverished to realize the need for God's strength and support in their lives. For those who are enjoying the strength of a healthy body, home and bank account, the need for God's intervening hand is not so obvious. Each of us has areas of our lives where we think we are doing great. Progress seems steady and ...

2445. Who Is the Good Samaritan?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of "success or avoidance" (26). The "bronze dream" that attempts to incarnate this ethic is rooted in possessions and self-preservation. In the bronze dream, persons try to hold and possess their own identity; and they try to hold and possess the resources and supports by which that identity can be sustained. In other words, the bronze way seeks a mode of life which promises maximum security (81). If this "bronze" ethic dominates all our actions, it is little wonder that the story of the Good Samaritan is ...

2446. Help Wanted: Only Shunammites Need Apply

2 Kings 4:8-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... so much as fear that closes and locks doors today. The second factor behind the Shunammite woman's hospitality is suggested by her response to the prophet's offer of intervention. This woman lived with the comforting knowledge that a strong, supportive kinship community was watching out for her. She lived among her "own people." Whoever she welcomed into her home also enjoyed that protection, and yet shared in the responsibility for her well-being. Under these circumstances no stranger would dare harm ...

2447. Christ the Apple Tree

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... while we remember that it will also be a tree that will serve to crucify him. Consider the story of the three trees talking among themselves about their futures. The first said it would like to be made into a cradle, so that it might go on living as a support for the new fragile life of a baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a ocean-going ship so that it might go on living carrying important cargo and seeing new lands. The third tree longed to stay right where it was, existing only as a tree, but ...

2448. A Star-Cross Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Nepal. I made donations for the four operations in my four grandchildren's names. The other gift was something to wear or use made in a cooperative craft shop in a poor village in a Third World country. All my Christmas gifts were purchased from catalogs that support this same kind of giving. My feet never hurt, and my soul felt better. No big gift-wrapped package under the Christmas tree with a card from grandfather. It was a hard thing to do. I felt like the Grinch who stole Christmas, even though I know ...

2449. Good Advance People

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

Alex Stevenson

... had a very good friend. The problem was his friend wasn't very good. Often times the advertisements were muddled and even wrong. Once during a whistle stop tour no one showed up, not even the mayor of the town they were in and the mayor was a supporter. The problem was that this advance man had failed to tell anyone that the candidate was coming. The others who worked for the candidate began to wonder why he kept this guy around. In the last days of the campaign it all fell apart. In the end the candidate ...

2450. Dare Care

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... danger today lies with safety; the benefits lie with risk and speed. We must give up the church's "safety-first," risk-free approach to ministry and mission. We need to embrace a more entrepreneurial, risk-taking, failure-embracing strategy. Can we support the more imaginative and energetic self-starters in our midst? Social systems are not unlike biological systems; they work not so much by trial and error, but by trial and success. The disciples risked ridicule and retribution by proclaiming the gospel ...

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