Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2451 to 2475 of 3160 results

2451. The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After A Tragedy

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . It is a time to re-evaluate our life. It is a time to consider new possibilities. It is a time to consider the life-altering options Christ has offered to us. It is a time for repentance. We tend to think of “repentance” as some sort of “boo-hoo, I’m sorry” moment that will hopefully result in an individual change, a “metanoia,” a “turn-about” or “about-face” to a new life with new possibilities. We tend to forget that the option for repentance is wholly dependent upon God’s ...

2452. John 12:1-8

John 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... about to transpire and so with this act symbolically “prepared” Jesus’ body for burial by anointing him with this costly perfume. But it is Jesus’ words in v.7 that offer that interpretation of Mary’s actions. Rather than assuming Mary was some sort of spiritual savant, it probably makes more sense to read her action as one of extreme gratefulness for the restoration of Lazarus and her utter humility and servitude to Jesus because of that miraculous act. In near-Eastern tradition the head, not the ...

2453. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2454. P.S. I Love You

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , was seen as an all-inclusive, universal number. Jerome’s assertion was that this specific number demonstrated that all the peoples of the world (all the “fish in the sea”) were to be “caught” by the gospel. There are also all sorts of mathematical machinations, Gematria gymanastics, done with this unique number. The author’s original reason for citing this specific number is, textually, impossible to discern with certainty. What is clear about this number is that it is huge — larger than any ...

2455. John 21:1-19

John 21:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

2456. Fire from Heaven

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... some of his benefactions. Even though I can’t verify whether this story is true or not, it has become a favorite Pentecost story. Loth tells how Lorenzo love to provide the citizens of Florence with artistic and magnificent spectacles of many sorts. He produced many religious pageants with striking realism and effectiveness. On one occasion, he surpassed himself in staging a pageant of Pentecost. The descent of the tongues of fire upon the apostles, however, was just a bit too realistic. Actual fire was ...

2457. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... the many children of God who would be known as joint heirs with him in glory, as well as their Good Shepherd. After all, the Father and the Son are described in familiar, human terms to which practically any person who has experienced any sort of family or community life can relate. The Holy Spirit, however, is often described through comparisons with natural objects or forces. The Holy Spirit is compared to the invisible wind that “blows where it will,” sometimes violently, as a “rushing, mighty wind ...

2458. Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians 1:11-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to visit,” (“historein”) a verb that has the sense of a purposeful, fact-finding type mission, not just a casual dropping by. But Paul also stresses that this was a private visit with Cephas (although he admits to seeing James), not some sort of full blown apostolic conference. Furthermore, this visit lasted only fifteen days — hardly enough time to hammer out some new theological treatise. Paul’s point is that his mission to the Gentiles was not influenced by this brief interaction with Cephas ...

2459. Between a Rock and a Hard Rock Thrower

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2460. No Substitutes

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... an article titled “The Right to Be Different.” Here is what he said: “Psychologists attempt to help persons adjust to society. Big business and big labor try to fit the individual into the organization pattern. Advertising extols the virtues of conformity . . . This same sort of logic should have convinced Columbus that the world was flat and the Wright brothers that man could never fly. Thank God that some [people] of all ages have dared to dispute the majority opinion when it was in error.” Do you ...

2461. The Church Is the Place

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... it was time for Paul to move to another city to begin the process all over again. Corinth was a thriving economic center inhabited by people from all over the Mediterranean world. Corinth was also a major port city that was filled with all sorts of vices. There were people who were well off and others who were poor. It does not take too much imagination to realize that amid such diversity, problems would soon ensue within that church. Serious problems arose that threatened their unity and purpose. There ...

2462. Credible Witnesses

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... they reasoned that it must not be true. The apostle Peter knew better and sought to set the matter straight once and for all. Peter knew how dangerous it would be to discard this foundational truth. The church would open itself to all sorts of irresponsible behavior. Peter recalled the time when he accompanied Jesus along with fellow disciples, James and John to the mountain. While they were there a change came over Jesus. Then Jesus began speaking with two Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah. Like ...

2463. Lost, But Not the TV Show!

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... home. How did they finally find their way home? Anthony had an accident and ran into another car. The police came and helped them get back home. (2) Can you imagine that a man, of any age, who would not ask for directions? Amazing! People get lost for all sorts of silly reasons. Luke 15 is one of the most important chapters in all the Bible. It includes three of the most famous parables ever told. Each of the parables deals with something that is lost a sheep, a coin and a young man. The lost sheep may have ...

2464. The Healing Power of Faith

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... We read in Leviticus 13:45: “His clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’” The person with leprosy was judged by society to be dead the living dead, sort of like today’s fascination with zombies. However, the person with leprosy was alive. Nevertheless he had to wear a black garment so he could be recognized as from among the dead. He was banished as an outcast, totally ostracized from society earthly and heavenly ...

2465. Getting out of the Doldrums

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... was the reclamation and reiteration of Jesus’ own mission and message. Jesus’ parables, his public messages, delivered to a larger audience but always arrow-aimed at his disciples, reveled in paradox and reversed expectations. The first were to be last. All sorts of outcasts, sinners and lepers, tax collectors and woman of questionable status, Samaritans and even Gentiles, all were invited to sit at Table. His message was not a “Pro-test” but a “pro-Testament” message, a welcome to all who would ...

2466. Nicodemus: A Young Old Man

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

... mind swirled with thoughts not about the sundown but of a new dawn. He’d accept the birth from above. But he needed time, as a prince needs time to assess the damage a storm has caused a province. He’d be awake all night again, not sorting through his doubts, or reliving the lonely agony of Tamar’s death, but sifting through the evening’s conversation, trying to understand better what happened in talking with Jesus. Ahead in the dim light of a moon no longer obscured, a gust of wind gathered a wave ...

2467. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... for the 80% of the work in this church. I am grateful for you. We could not make it without you. Noted pastor and author Rick Warren asks, “Do you know what the worst sin is for Christians? It is not adultery. It is not murder. It is not some sort of sexual perversion. God tells us in Revelation 3. He says it’s ‘lukewarmness.’ No passion.” These people have the attitude says Warren that “God is just one of the things in my life. I have my social life and my career life and my sexual life and my ...

2468. Locusts Happen

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Tony Everett

... ? To the Lord. How do we do this? Most Christians are taught to do this through Lenten spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, mourning, and meditating. Isn’t that what Lent is all about? A time for renewing faith through spiritual discipline… time sort of like spring training for professional baseball or spring practice for college football. Doesn’t the word “Lent” actually have its origin in the Anglo Saxon word meaning “springtime”? Isn’t Lent like spring training for people who want to ...

2469. What Difference Does it Make?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Tony Everett

... Cornelius and his household were like many sincere, moral, caring people today; they were on the outside looking in at the faithful. As Gentiles, they were unclean; however, because they prayed and gave alms and believed in God, they were sort of “almost-but-not-quite” clean. They could not become Jews without first observing strictly proscribed dietary laws and following specific religious rites that included circumcision. They couldn’t become Christians without first becoming Jews. In many Christian ...

2470. Stuck in Park

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Tony Everett

... , as Jesus did. Finally, Paul shares the good news, as Jesus was, is, and will always be. In Jesus, God’s own self became flesh and lived among God’s people (John 1:14). Jesus did not use his carpentry skills to build some sort of shrine near his Nazareth home and then use high pressure gimmicks to get folks to join up. Instead, Jesus, walked among God’s people: priests and commoners, Pharisees and prostitutes, lepers and leaders, Roman soldiers and Jewish rebels, sick and healthy, Jews and ...

2471. Will this Be on the Test?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Tony Everett

... teachers prepare students to master specific skills and information needed to pass a particular test or should they prepare their classes with more general problem-solving skills and information that will help them pass tests of successful living in the midst of all sorts of life challenges? Of course there is no easy answer. Both methods of preparation are needed for growth and maturity in life. As you know well, life is a series of one test after another; written and oral, multiple choice and true-false ...

2472. In the Mood for Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you can remember back in the 1970s when mood rings were a big fad (sort of like the pet rock). They were especially popular with young girls. The theory behind the mood ring was that body heat fluctuates with the emotional state of the wearer . . . and the ring was attuned to the body’s temperature. None of this was ever established scientifically, of course, but, ...

2473. Fear of Missing Out

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ? While working, do you constantly check your email? Are you perusing Facebook throughout the day? As a general rule, do you know what’s trending on Twitter? If you’ve answered “yes” to four or more of these questions, you probably have some sort of FOMO – the “fear of missing out.” Today, most adolescents are suffering from the addiction, and it’s spreading to older generations more and more. Truth be told, we’ve all experienced a “FOMO” meltdown or two. A laptop battery expires on a ...

2474. The Voice-activated Life

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... megaphone The Voice. Peter’s first reaction to The Voice was misguided but a knee-jerk human one. He wanted to memorialize The Voice rather than megaphone The Voice. He wanted to memorialize The Voice with a monument, to etch this moment of faith in some sort of museum. Obviously, that was the wrong way to go. Twenty-one centuries after Peter, we are still called to a voice-activated faith. Today the voices we hear may not be declaring, “This is my Son,” but they are declaring “these are my children ...

2475. Voice Recognition

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Our brain has a huge “vocal directory” stored up, and can immediately identify the unique tenor and timber of a familiar voice, telling us who is giving us a call. That is why it is so frustrating when we get a bad connection or some sort of distortion on the line. It messes up our ability to recognize the voice of our caller. Even before he was arrested in the Olive Garden there were some problems with the connection between Jesus and his disciples. Those who faithfully followed Jesus throughout his ...

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