Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 1935 results

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... changed. It became for them like a gentle breeze stirred by a fan on a hot summer day; or, like sitting on a porch, or under a tree in the cool of the evening. You could feel the wind/Spirit as if throwing open the windows for a spring-time airing of a house closed for months against the cold and dark of winter. The act of breathing on them was followed in the same motion with the word that was the gift. “Receive the Holy Spirit!” There are no flashing signs, no loud sirens and no gimmicks to hook the ...

2. A Breath of Fresh Air

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Tony Everett

... of Switzerland and let us live in Sun City.” What happens when congregations seem to be drained of all vitality and vibrancy? What do you do when you run out of energy? What happens to dry bones when the Lord breathes new life into them? God’s breath of fresh air is more than a bus tour and a rocking chair for God’s people. What signs of new life and energy do you see around you at home, in your parish? God’s exiled people were so dried up that they couldn’t see anything but devastation and couldn ...

3. Hot Air or the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There was a big spring festival in Jerusalem that day. It may have been similar to Dogwood Days in Atlanta, the Strawberry Festival in Dayton, or Mule Day in Columbia, Tennessee. This agricultural festival was called the “Feast of Weeks" and it took place every spring on Pentecost, 50 days after the Jewish Passover. Jews scattered throughout the world returned to Jerusalem for the celebration designed to emphasize the goodness of God. As people do at community festivals, everyone was having a good time — ...

4. Spiritual Resuscitation

Romans 8:6-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... with some water and tossed in the frankfurter to boil while I got an inning of exercise before my snack. It was a clear day, the air just washed clean by a rain. I don't remember the score or who had the best hits. I do remember the state of the ... it's almost, as Paul would say, a part of you. You are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in you, like air. You can say just like air because "air" is the Bible's word for Spirit. The Old and New Testaments each have one word that means wind, breath, or spirit. God ...

5. We Serve a Risen [and Rising] Savior

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 20 years of his life. Sometimes evil and death go on the offensive, while good and resurrection sleeps. Slavery. Apartheid. Genocide. Ecocide. Gendercide (100 million girls are missing in the world today, the demographers tell us). But whatever dissonance hangs in the air, the melody of life can always be restored, new harmonies can always be struck, the forces of death can be defeated by a new generation of resurrection practitioners. The history of resurrection faith is not a litany of failures. It is a ...

6. Walking on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... a pastor,” she said. “Do something religious!” “So,” says Ortberg, “I took up an offering.” (1) O.K., it’s an old joke. Still, some of us can appreciate the feeling of downright panic that these balloon passengers experienced. We’ve been there. Not in a hot-air balloon, perhaps. But there have been times when we’ve been really afraid for a variety of reasons. And it comforts us to read about the disciples of Jesus as they experience what it is to be afraid, too. They’re not up in a hot ...

7. Convinced Beyond A Doubt

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... the astronauts. One of the younger scientists steps forward and says, "Sir, we don't know if it will work or not. We believe it will, and right now, that's all those men up there have. Sometimes," he adds, "you have to have faith." As we know, the air filter worked, the astronauts survived, and they made it back to Earth in one piece. But their story might have turned out very differently if they had not been willing to trust their instincts, if they had not had faith in what they were doing, if they had ...

8. A Violent Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... that we will understand the work of the Holy Spirit better if we think for a few moments about the nature of wind. Wind is necessary for life. As Dr. Donald B. DeYoung notes in his book, Weather and the Bible, “Wind is moving air, and this fresh air is needed continually for life itself. Even seeds often require wind for their dispersal and subsequent growth. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, the source for all life . . .” (4) The word for wind and Spirit is also the same word for ...

9. The Earth Is the Lord’s ... And Don’t You Forget It!

Psalm 24:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." - Genesis 1:26-28 That is pretty straightforward. Humanity is placed in the role of middle management. Does that mean we are free to do anything we want? There is some disagreement on that. Of course, there is ...

10. The Truth About Miracles

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Suddenly he realized that the tire was hard. Somehow and in some way that is impossible to explain, the tire was holding air. He stood up, confused and happy. He remembers yelling out loud, "Oh, thank you! Oh, thank you!" He made two more deliveries ... was putting his key into the lock when he heard a hissing sound. He turned back to the bike and watched with amazement as the air quickly left the blownout tire. The miracle was over, and the tire went flat. (3) I tell that simple story for this reason: My guess ...

11. Grace in the Midst of Exasperation

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... is flowing faster along one side of an object than the other, the pressure along that side will decrease, and force will be exerted toward the low-pressure side. That's what gives airplane wings their lift. Every time a jet is ready to take off the air traffic controllers don't have to say to the pilot, "You'll be cleared for take-off just as soon as we suspend the law of gravity." The law of gravity is never suspended. It is always operational. Planes are able to fly simply because they are empowered by ...

12. Soul-Scrubbing

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -smallness, is a kind of stack-scrubber for our souls. It takes our greatest weaknesses, our smelliest selves, and binds them to the power of Christ. True humility scrubs our souls and transforms our spirits into a breath of fresh air. There is no false perfume or faked sweetness in the air surrounding a humble Christian. In a humble believer, only an atmosphere of purity and, if we are lucky enough to detect it, the slightest whiff of the sweetness of Christ's own Spirit are breathed out on the world. How ...

13. Remember Your Baptism

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... symbol of Jesus being at God’s “right hand.” God’s work that can only be accomplished through Jesus’ presence in the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus saves, but Jesus doesn’t save only by himself. Jesus needs us. It is the Church, the windblown, air-borne, Spirit-filled body of Christ, that gets this work underway, everyday. The Holy Spirit is like manna. It cannot be hoarded or saved-up for another day. “Saved-up” Spirit doesn’t become better, or richer, or more potent. Unshared Spirit grows stale ...

14. What the Trinity Does

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Christ. He lay down his life to reconcile us to one another and to God. He is the bridge, in C. S Lewis’ words, that crosses the chasm between who we are and who God wants us to be. Winston Churchill was honoring members of the Royal Air Force who had guarded England during the Second World War. He recounted their brave service and he declared, “Never in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few.” A similar sentiment appears on a memorial plaque in Bastogne, Belgium. That is the ...

15. Waiting in Life's Waiting Rooms

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... trusting in something beyond physical dynamics. Soaring is not so much about skeletal structure or wing to body ratios as it is about trusting something unseen, trusting what you know by faith, not by sight. For birds this is the warm thermal streams of air that can keep them aloft and headed in any direction they wish to go for hours at a time. For those of us who remain faithful and “on watch” during this season of Advent and beyond, our “thermals” are our “rejoicings,” our “prayers” and ...

16. Don't Worry--Give Thanks

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... are not to worry? It is because we are valuable to God. Do you believe that you are valuable to God? The God who created the heavens and the earth and everything that exists upon it cares about you. What are you worried about? “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Then he adds a very practical admonition: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” No you can’t, but you can sure take many hours ...

17. The Keys To Happiness -- Purity Of Heart

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Alex Gondola

Most Americans are increasingly interested in issues of purity, aren't we? We want to drink pure water. And there is a legitimate, growing concern about the quality of our groundwater. We want to breathe clean air. So Congress has passed (on our behalf) stringent Clean Air Acts. We want to consume pure foods. "Natural" foods are big sellers right now, aren't they? So much so that one supermarket, probably selling foods with preservatives and additives, still calls itself "Purity Supreme." We would like our ...

18. The Christian's Tears of Failure

Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... may, but not us! It is like the boy who considered himself to be an excellent batter. One evening he asked his father to come to the backyard that he might demonstrate his skill. He held the bat in one hand and with the other threw the ball in the air. He swung as hard as he could but missed it. The lad shouted, "Strike one!" Again he threw up a ball, took a mad swing, and missed it. He yelled, "Strike two!" With confidence, he threw the ball up for the third time, swung at it for all he was ...

19. Out of Doors: Nature and Supernatural

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... of this world which we human beings do not see, perhaps cannot see, except as we are touched by His hand. So we do not acknowledge his Lordship because we have not seen in nature what Jesus of Nazareth reveals. The lilies of the field, the birds of the air, the seed in the farmer’s hand, even the weeds and brambles that crush out the grain, all speak of eternity as we walk with him. He lived with nature, and he brought new meaning to both its simplicity and its beauty. But there is more than that. He ...

20. A Ministry of Encouragement

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... out love in a world of hate, hope in a world of despair, kindness in a world of cruelty. That’s who we are and what we’re about. Oh, I know. Some churches have been known for the foul smell of criticism and negativism that has permeated the air, the stinkin’ thinkin’ we were talking about earlier. But usually it’s just a handful of people who are the most critical. A farmer went to a restaurant owner to find out if he wanted to buy a million frog legs. When the proprietor asked where he could find ...

21. To Care for the Earth

Leviticus 25:1-7

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... , about how in his words, "All things are connected like the blood which unites one family." What he said strongly echoes the Bible''s view. "How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land," he asked. "If we do not own the freshness of the air, the sparkle of the water, how can we buy or sell them?" The chief went on to say, "Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the children of the earth. If we spit upon the ground ...

22. God Shaves With A Borrowed Razor

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... was, "He's a Jew!" Soon afterward, the war broke out in Poland and Turski escaped to England where he joined the British Royal Air Force. One day as he was returning to England from a war mission, his plane was hit and he crash-landed just after he ... field near the border, I made my way to Warsaw where a friend helped me escape to Scotland. I found that you were in the Royal Air Force." "But how did you even know my name?", Turski asked. "Well," said the man, "I saw it written on the corner of the flight map ...

23. The Curriculum of God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... settles, the fog evaporates, and we get a clear glimpse of the Son who is the spitting image of the Father. In his presence the air is clean and crisp; we breathe freely again for the first time. In Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit that enlivened him, God has ... from that boyhood drama. On horseback, the trail boss would lift his hand, index finger up, make a rapid circling motion in the air, then point ahead with these words, “O.K. boys, head ‘em up, and move ‘em out.” It was a call to a long ...

24. The World's Greatest Cover Up

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... thought about the ritual. "The sight of a portly old poop baring his blubbery butt (at least) is not most folks' idea of a great way to start the day." (With thanks to Howard Hanger, "Elementalism," Vision, 1 February 2002, 1.) But Old Ben was convinced that the body needs air. And one of the reasons we get sick in mind and body, he surmised, is that too much of our life is spent covered and clothed. He contended that because the body is alive, like every other living entity, it needs ...

25. Come On Baby, Light My Fire

Matthew 3:11-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... you twenty-four-seven. You cannot hear Him, but He hears your innermost thoughts. You cannot feel Him, but He never leaves your side. Air is a force with incredible strength. It can snap a tree into. It can demolish a building in seconds flat. Energized by a hurricane ... you can't smell it, you can't really measure it or weigh it, but it keeps you alive every minute of every day. You take air away for five minutes, at best you will be brain damaged; at worst you will be dead. We can't live without it, and yet ...

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