Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 87 results

1. Praise The Lord!

Psalm 148:13

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... tolerate some spontaneity, especially when they knew Mae Ella was trying to conform. But what would the Bishop and visiting pastors think? The board was solemn, indeed, as they made their preparations. Another Bishop's Winter Retreat was carried out as impeccably as always after the beginning of the New Year. With tastefully-chosen Christmas decorations still in place, awaiting the arrival of the magi, forty-five pastors were enveloped in the hospitality of Bethlehem Church. Mae Ella Grant was one of the ...

2. God's Vision For The Church

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... lives, bringing them together at the moment that was right according to God's plan. When you have experienced God's hand in your life in such a way, planning for the future can never be the same. God's unexpected ways and God's impeccable timing leave you wondering why you were ever reluctant to relinquish control in the first place. And God has a way of bringing two unsuspecting individuals together who turn out to be a mutual blessing for each other. Such a reciprocal blessing could never be orchestrated ...

3. Nobody Owes You Anything

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Richard Patt

... son, you will recall how Jesus spoke about a similar situation. After the heartwarming reunion of the younger son and his father, the older son comes in from laboring in the fields. He was one of those who appeared obedient and upright; his motives appeared impeccable; his devotion to his father seemed genuine. But when he is pressed to live out the total humility Jesus had in mind here, he breaks down. He cannot do it. He scorns his prodigal brother, and begins complaining at the top of his voice to ...

4. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... is rich, young, and a ruler. And most of all, he is pious. He takes his religion seriously. He is committed to God, or at least he thought so. He is good at keeping the commandments. He is a good person. He treats his neighbors well. The guy has an impeccable track record. Notice that Jesus doesn't challenge him. He doesn't accuse him of faking it a little here or there. He doesn't call him on the carpet for not being as good as he appears to be. This guy is good. Even Dr. Laura would be pleased ...

5. Hear, Hear

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... . There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really challenged him. Nobody would speak against his belief because he had a ...

6. Be Wise In The Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... with this specific question. Paul had definite ideas about wisdom and was not hesitant to share them with his Corinthian friends. First of all, Paul recalled his own preaching among them. He came not as a Greek sophist trained in the latest oratorical methods employing impeccable logic and persuasive appeals. He did not pretend to be someone he was not. On the contrary, he came to them, in his own words, "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." What he had to say was not his own brilliant insights ...

7. God’s Flowing and Our Ebbing

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... issues. We center on what ultimately doesn’t matter and fail to be transported into the presence of God. Just as the windows on our automobiles need not be squeaky-clean in order for us to have the necessary visibility to drive, so worship does not need to be an impeccable production in order for us to see God. When it is with all our hearts that we truly seek him, God will come even if every jot and tittle is not in place. This is to say that in worship there needs to be a straining and a stretching ...

8. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... because they violate the laws of nature. They object to the idea that the supernatural invades the natural. Thomas Merton described the closed system of modern science: "Science can do everything, science must be permitted to do everything it likes, science is infallible and impeccable, all that is done by science is right. No matter how criminal an act may be, if it is justified by science it is unassailable (Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, p. 78)." In a closed system of naturalism, there is no room for ...

9. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

10. The Proof Is In The Fruit

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

James Garrett

... you 28 years ago I told you that I loved you, and I said that if I ever changed my mind I’d let you know.” Once Jesus told of a man who was liturgically correct. He stood in the proper place, said his prayers. His form was impeccable. But his heart wasn’t in it. The prayers were words to impress others. Another man that day did everything wrong. He stood far back, and just mumbled mercy, mercy, mercy. And his prayer was heard, and answered! Jesus Christ makes the heart pump faster and louder than ...

11. And Who is my Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... University of Berlin, was convinced that change in the condition of the American black could be effected by careful scientific investigations into the truth about the black in America. So he proceeded. His research was flawless and his graphs and charts impeccable. After waiting several years and hearing not the slightest stir of reform, Dr. DuBois had to accept the truth about Truth: its being available does not mean it will be appropriated. Overhearing the Gospel That brings me to my second observation ...

12. Preaching Your Life

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... . A dignified elderly lady first helped me see this. A few Sundays after I was installed in my first parish, I preached a sermon which I thought had all the marks of great oration - at times witty, at times forceful, with pacing and grammar impeccable. After the service this lady came to me and, with a single phrase, both deflated and inspired me. "Pastor," she said, "we would see Christ." We would see Christ. Since Peter, on that Pentecost, first talked in the crowded street of Jerusalem, this has been ...

13. Who is Greatest Among You ...

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

... inscribed with scripture - were always larger than necessary and their clothing distinctive. They revelled in recognition - seats at all the head tables, center front pews in church, being called "Doctor" and "Deacon" and "The Reverend." They were impeccably pious. They prayed ostentatiously before every meal; they carried their Bibles with conspicuous pride; they expected and received public credit for every donation; they lived for the applause of their admirers. Yes, few people would have denied ...

14. Leadership: the Moses Model

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

... denominational terms and will guide their people accordingly. Join me for a look at a third characteristic. Persistence Moses was a persistent fellow. Christian unity loses its vitality and focus unless it has those leaders who will persist. Perfect planning and impeccable academic degrees do not necessarily see us through the quicksand of ecumenical dialogue; it always takes persistence. At any of many points in his ministry, the Lord of the universal church could have quit. He didn’t. The often errant ...

15. Looking For God?

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... with the naked, sick, and hungry to the extent, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the east of these, my brethren, you have done it to me." In the movie, Gandhi appears at the beginning as a well-dressed young lawyer, wearing an impeccable business suit as lawyers of his day did. Later, he identified with the common people by discarding the lawyer’s suit for a homespun native cotton robe which looked like an oversized diaper. Likewise, Jesus identified with the poor and outcast to the extent that one ...

16. The Grace of Disillusionment

Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... sinners, and the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous. I speak at some length of Luke’s famous parable because in our lesson from Matthew, we witness what might be called the "de-Phariseeification" of Peter. Like the Pharisee, Peter believed his faith was impeccable. He was so sure of himself that he could say in Jerusalem he was willing to die with Jesus. Of course when the hour of testing came, he failed miserably, and the layers of his pride were peeled off like onion skins until nothing ...

17. Men of Distinction

Acts 11:19-30

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

For a number of years nearly every magazine carrying advertising showed handsome men in various prestige poses and labeled them "Men of Distinction." They were usually found in an elegant setting of impeccable decor, dressed stylishly, and bearing all the distinguishing marks of affluent, successful men of the world. There was a thoroughbred kind of casualness in the demeanor and an aura of "we have arrived." The ads had a compelling quality. The subliminal message fairly screamed that if one used the ...

18. Goodness Is Not Good Enough

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... that the young man was as extremely uncaring and unfeeling as Scrooge, at the time he sought from Jesus the secret of eternal life. But the peril of his becoming so was present. In his youth, Scrooge, too, had been a person of high ideals and impeccable conduct. He may even have possessed a warmer heart than the rich young man. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, the ideals faded, and the tender heart turned to stone as it bowed to the god of gold. It is entirely possible that in his declining years the ...

19. Man Of Sorrows

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Larry Powell

... Pilate then asked them, "And what shall I do with Jesus?" Loudly came the reply: "Crucify him!" And so it was that Barabbas was relased while Jesus was beaten and handed over to be crucified. A story has been told of a prominent, highly-respected man of impeccable character who threw himself in front of a team of runaway horses to save the life of a street urchin. Bravely, with no thought for his personal safety, the man had dashed into the street and, with a desperate lunge, managed to shove the lad safely ...

20. Faith As Healing Energy

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... Ayers, professor of Philosophy at Oxford. Dr. Ayers was an evangelistic atheist. It appeared that he wanted the whole world to be atheistic. He spoke brilliantly on the theme, "The Concept of God is Entirely Unnecessary for Moral and Ethical Living." He spoke with such impeccable logic that if I had started where he started I would have come out where he came out. But my presuppositions were quite different. After speaking for an hour and a half, Dr. Ayers paused, took off his glasses, and looked at us. A ...

21. Not Far From the Kingdom

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... Stephen’s death. It has always been my hope that Nicodemus did become a follower, and the new birth became a reality. For indeed he was "not far ..." Paul A young Pharisee was desperate in his pursuit of God’s approval. He prided himself on his impeccable background. He was "circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee ..." (Philippians 3:5). He proudly stated, "I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age ... so ...

22. Why Prophets Get Under Our Skin

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... , will do for the kingdom of God. When it comes to faith and faithful living, God has no grandchildren. Each of us has to stand on our own. Is it any wonder a lot of people wanted to see John dead? To the ancestrally elite and the religiously impeccable he was scathing. "You low-down, wriggling snake in the grass, who warned you to flee the wrath to come?" John knew there was nothing more obnoxious in the nostrils of God than puffy pride not only in ancestral lineage, but in religious heritage. That is why ...

23. Been There, Done That, No Thanks!

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... new believers to be circumcised as well as baptized. They wanted to force new wine into old wineskins. St. Paul was adamantly opposed. His response was, in effect, "Been there. Done that. No thanks." He reminded his listeners that his own credentials as a Jew were impeccable. As an infant he had been circumcised on the eighth day. He was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews. He had been a Pharisee, a zealous advocate of his faith, so zealous that he persecuted Christians. But that was ...

24. On Being Mistaken For A Mannequin

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

... hope. We must not keep silent. Fulfilling the Great Commission means sharing Jesus Christ with those around. It means speaking up and guiding them to forgiveness of sins and salvation." (6) Leighton Ford puts it like this: "There are too many churches with impeccable credentials for orthodox theology whose outreach is almost nil. They are sound, but they are sound asleep . . . It is far too easy for the Church to become a sort of religious clique where Christians retreat from the world," says Ford. (7) The ...

25. Christ The King

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... subject to its law. It is the claim that the laws of science are sufficient to explain the universe." This "theory of everything" causes people to stop and ask: "If laws of science can explain everything, then where does God fit in?" Hawking's credentials are impeccable. When he speaks, people listen. They believe him. For those of you impressed with Dr. Hawking's observations, I share the rest of the story: "Even if we had a TOE," Hawking admits, "we would still be left with one final question. What is it ...

Showing results