Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... His Son? Does his allegiance lie with self? Or with God? Can he put God first by following Jesus, in spite of the stigma that would present within his peer group and his fellow religious elite? Can he forego his wealth and all he has worked so hard to attain, in order to live a different kind of life? Can he stand up to his peers, his contemporaries, his desires? The man knows he can’t. Jesus knows he can’t too. The man goes away confused and dejected with much to think about. The thing is….none of ...

2. Uses of the Past

Philippians 3:4b-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... means, if you are a mature Christian, Paul is saying that you are going to be like me, and you will be ready to give up the past and journey into the future with Christ. But then he adds this line. "Only let us hold on to what we have attained." That is a fascinating line. In a letter in which all of his emotions seem to run over, a letter filled with crescendos of prose, mounting up, talking about "pressing on toward the goal of the upward call of Jesus Christ." Then he comes down to earth all of a ...

3. You Are Gifted

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... who follows Jesus is living a “gifted” life. The question is, what will you do with that gift, that gift of “life?” Because relationship is the meaning of all true life, the life that you have been given. The gift of relationship is not about attainment, or achievement, or besting, or best-selling, or climbing the ladder of success. The gift of relationship is about receiving that gift of life and truth and authenticity in Jesus that will transfigure the way you live your life –the way you live it ...

4. Calculated Christianity

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

... and us, to do the impossible and perhaps that is exactly the point. It is exactly the point because calculated Christianity is not about our grit or our smarts. It is about surrendering to God’s will, power, grace, compassion, mercy, and love. Discipleship is not about what we can attain, it is about what God in Christ does for us and through us and sometimes despite us. It is about knowing that we will try and try and try until we know we can’t do it, not on our own. We will try to be faithful, try to ...

5. An Affirming Presence

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... meaning. That out of the riches of his glory, he may grant you strength and power through his spirit in your inner being and through faith Christ may dwell in your heart in love. Now the way we are to attain fullness of being, or would you prefer a more modern term, wholeness, the way we are to attain wholeness is clear. Christ dwelling in our hearts in love. So we continue to talk about the shaping power of the indwelling Christ. Let’s do it today by focusing on the most fundamental of all our needs. The ...

6. Winning the Grand Prize

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul had one goal in mind, and he was straining with all his might to attain that goal, and that was to know Jesus Christ—to know him in his death on the cross and to know him in the power of his resurrection. No wonder St. Paul had such a lasting impact on the world. It makes a real difference in your life when you ...

7. Wind -- Word -- Spirit -- Community

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... , and community. There are mean-spirited words that can stir the ill winds that fragment community. There are redemptive words of hope and promise that can heal, build up, and include. We are called to be messengers, to traffic in words, to speak words that attain to the level of grace. I do not mean the self-consciously pious kind of words. I do not mean the "Hey, friend, are you saved?" sort of words. I mean words that build mutual respect, words that engender a vision of community, words that appeal ...

8. Peacemaking - Active, Not Passive

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

... provides a place of refuge and solace. In that quiet place, God nurtures the growth of inner peace which can then be carried out into the tumultuous world. Let's sum up where we have come, thus far, in this series:• It is possible to attain peace.• The possibility begins to find its reality in the desire for justice.• But the desire is not enough. Desire must be translated into action - peacemaking.• The intention to make peace finds its reality when we first, count the cost; secondly, make it a ...

9. Look Carefully How You Walk

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... God in Jesus Christ." So, like Paul, Wesley knew that he'd been laid hold of by Christ, but he would make no claim to have attained the fullness of what he knew was his by gift and promise. And that must be our stance -- that's the Christian stance. To be aware ... growing bodies. We need to be like that -- confessing with Paul that we know we have not arrived -- we know we've not attained -- but we press on. We continue to grow. For the Christian, life is never static. II. Move then to a second word. If the ...

10. Who is That Crouching at Your Door?

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... like state than Abel.* To acquire is also a symptom of envy and jealousy. The desire to acquire is strong. Kayin is a “fruit” of the soil. As at tiller of the soil, he is close to the ground that defines him. He is more concerned with attainment than with the fruits of the spirit. Abel (hevel) however means spirit or breath. He exemplifies the “inbreathed” spirit of God in best human form. He is a beautiful soul so to speak, but his life, like breath, will also be brief, transitory, fleeting, for he ...

11. The Holy Spirit As The Dove Of Peace

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... against the warlike ways of men and women. If we don't know what to do with them, we cannot easily forget them. During this service I asked myself, "Is it possible that we are practicing violence in the pursuit of goals that are attainable only by violence?" We should not set limits on the possibilities of nonviolence, or on the potential power in Christ-like living, when we have given it such little chance. The sayings of Jesus are parabolic, situational, metaphorical, and dramatic. They should disturb us ...

12. Another Kind Of Success

6-16, 2 Samuel 5:1-5

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... 's warrior celebrity par excellence. "And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him." This comment which concludes today's reading tells us something about the way the teachers of Israel thought about people who attained position and means. The old orthodoxy of the book of Deuteronomy shines forth here. God rewards piety. Position and the trappings of success were equated with blessing. Human proficiency reflected God power. That's the way ancient folk thought about the ...

13. Peace as Shalom

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

... .Shalom be to this house.City of Peace! In order to orient you as to where we are on the "Sevenfold Path to Peace" which we have been taking on this Lenten series of worship services, let's briefly take a look back. First, with the question, "Is peace attainable?" we determined that the answer lies within each one of us, for it is first in our minds that war and peace are made. Secondly, the path leads us to the desirability of peace, specifically as it grows out of our own need for justice, and the need of ...

14. Is This Life All There Is?

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

... showing them it’s not the doctrine that’s absurd but their question. They were assuming the life to come would be just like what we know now. Not so. He said: The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. It’s not easy for me to imagine that the ...

15. New Help on an Old Question

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

... and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife." And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses ...

16. One Thing

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... that splendid organization to help countless men and women enslaved to alcohol find strength and hope for living again. That is exactly what Paul meant when he said, "But one thing I do ..." It is also exactly what we as Christians must do, if we, too, would attain Christ-likeness. Jesus himself revealed such an approach to the life of discipleship when he taught his disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread ..." Daily bread is all we can consume now, and it is only in the daily doing of God’s ...

17. Hooray for Humility!

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... , obedient unto death, the terrible death of the cross. Can we ever think we are above our Lord? Martin Luther said, concerning humility: "God created the world out of nothing. As long as you are not yet nothing, God cannot make something out of you." Humility is hard to attain - the moment we think it is ours - it is gone. Did you hear about the student who was awarded a gold pin for being the most humble man in his college class - but it was taken away from him the next day because he wore it? We don’t ...

18. Song of a Priest

Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... their neighbors everywhere - in the marketplace as well as in the Temple, before the hearth as well as before the altar. A Psalmist’s Ten Commandments It is no small objective the singer is setting; and, good tutor that he is, he recognizes his only hope of attaining it is for him to be specific in his instructions. So he holds before his listeners ten commandments for worship that he has compiled from the law and the prophets (Psalm 15:2-5a). Worshipers shall not walk in the ways of the wicked, for only ...

19. Song of a Philosopher

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... regarding the daily happenings in the life of one person among many is too wonderful to hold; and, in a burst of gratitude, the psalmist cannot refrain from saying so. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:6) But attain that knowledge or not, the singer nonetheless realizes that the Lord’s watchfulness over him is not only protective. It is strengthening as well. What a difference it makes in our lives when we know that we never face our decisions or trials ...

20. Total Commitment

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Richard Patt

... a parent into a workaholic, making them strangers to their own children. Jesus says, "Cut off the hand that does such things. Amputate the foot that’s leading you in that direction. Pluck out the eye that only sees your success in career and job and professional attainment." You probably had your wife before your job, and you have your job for the sake of your family. Your job isn’t just for the sake of making a living, but to allow you to live with those to whom you gave your primary commitment - your ...

21. Now That School's Out...

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... your intimate friend..." One more thing about wisdom this morning (although there is so much more that could be said). Proverbs 8:12 - "I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I attain knowledge and discretion." Wisdom is honest enough to admit that it does not have all the answers, that there is still much, much more to learn. Wisdom still looks to "attain." I became a "fan" of Thomas Alva Edison during my years in Ft. Myers, Florida, where Edison made his winter home. Edison was a man of true genius whose ...

22. Grace The New Fashioned Way

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... 100 points but to indicate our need for help. There is mercy and forgiveness for all who will receive it. Even though we may not score a 100 points we can substitute his test score for our own. Because of what he has done, we are accepted. " We don't attain heaven the old fashion way. We don't earn it. It is a gift. That is of course the meaning of the word "grace." The theme of God's unmerited and unrestrained love for sinners was so important to St. Paul that the word grace occurs 101 times in writings ...

23. Rise Above It

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Scholars point to the advanced technological progress of nations in the colder climates of the world. Where food and shelter are easily attained, there is no drive to innovate, to problem-solve. We live in a hard world in order that we might grow to ... To will for us fullness and growth, He weaves into the tapestry of our lives both joy and pain. He will not give up until we all attain to the `unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the ...

24. On Being Picked For The "Rework"

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

King Duncan

... sovereign and merciful hands scooped us up and placed us back on the upper wheel to make of us His own workmanship. He wanted us perfect, and would settle for nothing less. He wanted to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ! Since we could not attain that standard on our own, He will start all over and do it in us. When Paul borrowed Jeremiah's image, he anticipated that some would blame God. "Well, Brother Paul, if God is the potter and I am a mindless, motionless chunk of clay, then let's reason ...

25. The Power Of A Focused Life

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... crisis, run out and buy a motorcycle, embark on a new career, or have an affair. Fortunately, most men learn how to let go of their regrets and reconcile themselves to the goals that they have attained. Another type of crisis is experienced by the man who reaches middle age and realizes that he has attained all his goals. What is there left to reach for? And has his success come at the expense of more important things, like his relationships with others? (8) This is the person who has focused too narrowly ...

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