Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2451 to 2475 of 4997 results

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... round to face her. "Madeline," he said to her, "I don't know how to say this, but have a bad day!" He was the best kind of friend, Madeline told us, for he truly cared about her. He did not wish for her to experience the nastiness of life. Yet, he did ... out of the repentance that comes to those who realize the insufficient, incomplete, inept, and inconsistent state of their hearts. Only a very kind and truly great friend could see that sometimes what we need most is a bad day that will help us turn our hearts ...

2452. Investing in God’s Future

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... or bent out of shape by the failings, sins, and errors of this person in their life. Every human being who ever lived has the kind of impact a quarter of a million dollars has. And some of us have much more. That's a frightening thought. Many of us spend ... Really, it's the only language people know how to talk. So, Lord, I had a chance to witness for peace, but I was kind of scared somebody might identify me with those flower children, and I jes' buried the whole thought."8 I jes' buried the whole thought. ...

2453. From “Uh-oh” To “Ah-hah!” — An Axe, A Stump, And A Shoot

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Tony Everett

... righteous branch. In the new creation, natural predators will live in peace with their usual victims: wolves and lambs, leopards and young goats, lions and calves, bears and cows, babies and poisonous snakes, will live together in peace (Isaiah 11:6-9). Now what kind of world is that? What kind of vision is that anyway? When is this ever going to happen? Aren't our lives, our communities, our very existence barely hanging on in the midst of one giant mess? Are we not living in the midst of so many "uh-ohs ...

2454. Headed in the Right Direction

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... , and steadfast love or forbearance. I hope it almost goes without saying that we have often placed far too much emphasis on God's mercy as a gooey kind of all-accepting love and forgiveness. In the last few years, a new kind of American religion has been described by researchers who claim it is particularly prevalent among young people. I think it crosses age boundaries. It has been termed "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." According to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this ...

2455. Showing Up

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... upright, bold, confident, and empowered. This is not the false confidence of those who have never examined themselves and seen their own sin, but it is the confidence of the renewed and transformed person in Christ. When we show up in our society as that kind of person, turning away from selfish and self-serving misunderstandings of the gospel and embodying the unbelievably open grace of God, we will be effective agents for drawing all persons to Christ (cf John 21:31-33). The nations will make their way to ...

2456. Caught in the Middle

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... as formalized a process as that of canonization in the Roman Catholic church, but if I suggest to the church board that they include my portrait in the new stained-glass windows along with Luther, Calvin, and Wesley, it will become clear that there is some kind of process at work! The root idea of this word (hagios) is the sense of being different from others not in terms of being set apart from most Christians but because of belonging to God. This was the adjective by which the Jews of New Testament times ...

2457. Hidden in Plain Sight

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... We already know that some in Corinth saw no point in Paul's preaching and teaching. They just didn't get his meaning. Others did, and of these, some were greatly changed by it while others were changed only a little. Paul has words for each kind of person. There are no three words in English to match exactly these three Greek words but we can try. At the lowest level is the "unspiritual" person, sometimes translated "natural" person, who is deaf to the gospel story and blind to Christ — and quite content ...

2458. By Whose Standards?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... the conclusion that Paul is trying to put himself above evaluation, as it were, we need to see that he is actually saying that rather than courting favor with the Corinthians by playing popularity games, he is putting himself firmly on the hook of the kind of evaluation that matters most. Has he not just pointed out that, "It is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy"? This is reminiscent of the story Jesus told in Luke 12:42-44, "Who then is the faithful and prudent manager (oikonomos ...

2459. With Our Own Eyes

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... translation in The Message, "We saw it with our own eyes." I use this story because I think it captures the essence of the attitude with which both are told. We all know that conversation stoppers are sometimes used with a sense of superiority, as a kind of "can you top this?" Someone shares that they are going to see The Lion King in Philadelphia and their conversation partner feels the need to respond, "I saw the original production in London," or "I have seen the show five times." What good purpose has ...

2460. Oddballs for God

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

... wrote a letter to a person named Diognetus in which he explained our Christian life as being "in the world, but not of the world." Our modern US, on the contrary, seems to take for granted that Christianity is a religion that only makes a good person better, kind of like a lodge. The people we live around, especially in the western US, assume that Christians are really no different than anyone else. We're not aliens. We're in the world. We're not exiles. We're of the world. We're certainly not oddballs for ...

2461. So, Explain It to Me

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... compassionate, this generous? Perhaps some day we will know the answer to that question. But even if we never find out, it won't matter. She was your typical awkward adolescent. She was convinced that she was an ugly duckling, fat and plain and surely never the kind of girl that any boy would ever give the time of day. But she went to the dance anyway, hoping against hope that that one particular boy she had secretly had her eyes on for months would pay attention to her and, hope against hope, might even ...

2462. Seeing God Work for Good

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Larry Lange

... children of God" (Romans 8:19-23). That's how the apostle Paul might have described what Larry showed me that wintry March day. But now Larry had no money and no time for experimentation with sustainable farming techniques. Conventional methods were a better guarantee of the kind of fiscal yields necessary to save his farm. "Our land has been in our family for four generations, counting my sons," said Larry, hanging his head and shaking it. "If we don't make it this year, we'll lose it all." If that weren't ...

2463. We Are the Champions

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Larry Lange

... encouraged the Romans not to be conformed to the world and its way of telling stories. There is more than sound advice in the lesson. The apostle Paul offers us hope when we are caught up in good guys versus bad guys stories. In these kinds of stories, the characters are conformed to and locked in to pretty established roles; the plot is pretty predictable: The good guys are the heroes and champions and the bad guys lose. The Christian story is infinitely different. According to the apostle Paul elsewhere ...

2464. The Armor of Light

Romans 13:8-14

Drama

Larry Lange

... how we are to live. The cross is a sign of the failure of the law as a way of life, because it was law-abiding religious people who put God on a cross. But the cross is also the sign that it's love that fulfills the law, the kind of love that sacrifices self for others. Harry: I don't see the cross, Margaret. Margaret: You don't need those stupid things to see the cross! In fact, you can't see the cross at all if all you're doing is looking for Jesus to come back to ...

2465. A Man Named Useful

Philemon 1:8-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... strict fundamentalist pastor. When she moved out of her home and filed for divorce, her father refused to talk to her again. She was never welcome in his church and her family cut her off and acted as though she were dead. She herself had grown up in that kind of rigid legalistic faith and the divorce itself tore her apart, as divorce always does. She said she finally came to the conclusion at the end of it all that divorce was indeed a sin. “When you look at the damage it does, you can’t come to any ...

2466. Absolute Devotion

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

James Merritt

... the king was stunning. From spell bound silence they moved to absolute terror. They realized they had no walls thick enough and no defense strong enough to protect themselves against that kind of commitment and that kind of devotion. Spontaneously they rushed through the gates to surrender themselves to Alexander the great. That is the kind of surrender and sacrifice that Jesus is asking for. One thing you have to say about these terrorists, they are willing to die for what they believe. The tragedy is that ...

2467. Football Versus Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... tries to score points and the defense tries to stop the offense of the other team. In love, we work together. Whether we’re talking about the love you feel for a friend, the love you feel for someone in your family, or a boyfriend and girlfriend kind of love, there is only one team. When you love someone you work for each other, not against each other. God wants us to work together. When people play football, they’re always trying to knock other people down. Two players run into each other, and knock ...

2468. There's Something about Con Men

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... about a con man that captures the imagination. There have been several successful weekly television shows through the years in which the hero is a former con man now using his creative skills for the greater good. Jesus once told a parable about a man with that kind of wily disposition. He, too, was something of a con man. Most of you know the story quite well. There was a rich man who had a manager for his estate. The manager, unfortunately, was a bit lax in his oversight of his master’s affairs. The ...

2469. Silly Putty, Play-Doh and Potter's Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... our faith? Well, just like Silly Putty, some of us are like Play-Doh. Play-Doh is pliable and shapeable. It doesn't bounce, it just kind makes a thud and splat when it hits. And it doesn't transfer images or words like Silly Putty. But it does keep its shape. You ... eventually break if pushed too far, the same thing can be said here. But you get the point. How we give ourselves to God determines the kind of medium God has to mold. We can be Silly Putty, Play-Doh or Potter's Clay in God's Hand. God want's us to ...

2470. Tears, Perfume and Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the dock. They had rowed all night long and gotten nowhere. That's the way this woman's life had turned out. She was getting nowhere because she was "Damaged Goods." She was probably a prostitute. We know that because a decent woman never let her hair down in public. Kind of like a decent woman in the 1880's and 90's never showed an ankle. Never. The decent woman would only let down her hair in the privacy of the bedroom, in the company of her husband. But of course this wasn't a decent woman. She was a ...

2471. Fresh Grilled Forgiveness

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." [19] (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me." Jesus had instructed them to go to Galilee and wait. And they did. But sometimes waiting can be very taxing, so in his frustration and anxiety Peter had to do something, so he did ...

2472. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Betrayed"

John 13:21-30; Matthew 26:14-16; 45-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to do was put the rope in Jesus' hands. In the very early church, the Apostle's Creed had an extra phrase in it. One that we don't use very often. It says that after Jesus was crucified, dead and buried, "He descended into hell." There are all kinds of theological reasons why we don't include that in the Protestant version of the Apostle's Creed. But there is an interesting legend that goes along with that phrase. It says that Jesus did indeed descend into Hades for the purpose of finding Judas. Jesus went ...

2473. Reversal of Fortune

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter! In the . . . in the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider." That's the kind of person Jesus was talking about: the kind of person who doesn't give a hoot about anyone but themselves or what they can gain, no matter what it might cost someone else. And the Woes aren't just about money. It's about religious attitudes that cause people to look down ...

2474. What'll You Have?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... replied, "Oh, but that's exactly what you gave me yesterday!" (2) Have you ever noticed that's there's really only two kinds of restaurants in the world? There are those places which offer an all you can eat buffet. In these places, you pay your $ ... have SOME authority because we know that prophets are from God. But prophets always seemed to speak in allegories and have all kinds of hidden meanings and double entendres. Their messages never seemed that urgent. It was good moral teaching but it just didn't ...

2475. Remember: No Deposit, No Return

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 31] Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, [32] and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. [5:1] Therefore be imitators of God, as ... us and lives like a bad case of ugly. And unfortunately it affects every aspect of our lives. And after awhile, it begins to stink. Kind of like shrimp or chicken. Ever notice, even if wrap it in something or even put it in Ziploc bag, that the odor of the ...

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