Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: young, youth, son in the faith, pastor, genuine faith, committed, guidance, practical, sound teaching, pastors, church leaders, instruction, good conduct, reputation

Showing 1 to 25 of 3311 results

1. Practicing Righteousness

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... this hidden righteousness when we daily ask that our lives be buried with Christ so that Christ’s righteousness may live and grow in us. Our text makes it clear that Jesus says NO to all the ways in which we try to publically practice our own righteousness. But Jesus says YES to the practice of hidden righteousness. Jesus says YES to the new life that is created in us in the dark and secret working of God within us. Jesus says YES to a new life that he sees even when we and those around us see nothing ...

2. Practicing the Presence

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and John and a successful missionizing arena in Samaria in order to wander by himself down a hot road in the middle of nowhere, a road headed vaguely towards Gaza. Philip doesn’t have a “plan.” Philip doesn’t even have a map. Philip only has a “practice” — a practice of acting according to the directives of the Holy Spirit. It is only because he lets the Holy Spirit guide his feet and guard his focus that he finds himself in just the right place at just the right time. No one could have ever ...

3. A Community of Practice, Not a Community of Perfection

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Even as close to Jesus as they were, their instruments were squeaky and squawky, out-of-tune, and without many glimmers of harmonic grace. Throughout their special one-on-one tutorial time with Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, they still needed to practice. Jesus spent his ministry on earth healing, eating, conversing and teaching. He healed a lot of people, he taught some profound lessons and he told some great stories. Yet his hand-picked disciples didn’t learn squat until after he broke out of the ...

4. The Practice

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to change. He begins to grow. His transformation is heart-warming, as he learns to trust his coach, his teammates, and most of all to value himself. What we learn from both of these examples is that compassion is a practice. Forgiveness is a practice. Love is a practice. And all of these take an enormous amount of patience, commitment, reservation of judgment, empathy, and understanding. And yet, this is what relationships are all about. Jesus reminds us, as he did his disciples long ago, that it’s easy ...

5. The Upside Of The Practice - Performance Equation

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... your wife to make a different kind of sandwich every now and then?" The man replied, "I make my own lunches." We make our own lunches. The point is we can't reach our goals without working to reach them. Ben Hogan often said, "Every day you miss playing or practicing is one day longer it takes to be good." Every day we're not praying and working to reach our goals is one day longer it will take to reach them. Every day we're not praying and working to be His in all things at all times is one ...

6. Gratitude Takes Practice

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to much stay alive to the blessings that are being bestowed upon them daily. It all comes down to this bottom line: Gratitude Takes Practice. It doesn't come natural for most of us. We have to stay alive. We have to keep our eyes open and our hearts ... We can't make it on our own. There is no Superman. We better fasten our seatbelts. And one of the ways to do it is to practice gratitude. One of the lessons I seek to teach in my Workbook on Living Prayer is that God does answer prayer. You say, who needs that ...

7. The Pitfalls Of Practicing Piety

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... into the ministry, but we are like you; we want to be loved and accepted and therefore must confess that our good deeds can be motivated more by a desire to be liked by our parishioners than out of love for them or the Lord. However, this practice of piety isn't reserved only for the clergy. When any one of us examines ourselves carefully, we are sure to find that we are secretly living with the thought pattern of reward and punishment. That is, deep down, the motivation for our kindly, unselfish acts is ...

8. Practicing God’s Presence

Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... not run from God but look for God's hand at work. We do not abandon each other but we come together— to worship. We sing, we pray, we praise, and we intercede on behalf of each other. What would our daily lives be like if we, like Brother Lawrence, "practiced the presence of God" in the here and now? If we sought daily to do God's will "on earth as in heaven"? Well, it would be heaven on earth, would it not? In the communion liturgy of the church we recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread as ...

9. Is Christianity Practical?

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... it, not how to rise above the world as most pagan religions try to teach us, but to raise the world. He was not giving us the ideal answers to life. He was living the real answers! Does the system still work? Is Christianity still real and practical? Let's look at a couple of places in our world. The Communists say that the cure for oppression and injustice in the world is the death of capitalism, the end of private property, and the establishment by revolution of the rule of the proletariat or the worker ...

10. The Downside Of The Practice -- Performance Equation

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. He nodded agreement in exasperation. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them. Moreover, he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. Stern-faced with practiced dignity, the president strutted toward the couple. The woman said, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was killed accidentally. So my husband and I would like to ...

11. Lady of the House / The Practice of Joy

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with God in intimate relationship. We don’t always get it right the first time. But it helps when we smile, sing, laugh, play, eat together, pray together, worship together, love together. By doing these things, we are “practicing” the joy of being in God’s presence together! The practice of joy. The practice of presence. This is what being a follower of Jesus is all about. There are always many things to be done. There is strife, grief, and sorrow in this world. And in the lives of our friends and ...

12. Practicing What We Preach

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... not criticize them for the message they taught. Indeed, he felt their message was very important. He said to this disciples, “Do whatever they teach you and follow it.” But then, he quickly added, “Do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” In other words, they were people whose deeds didn’t match their words, whose conduct was inconsistent with their creed, and whose actions were out of step with their alleged beliefs. No wonder he called them hypocrites, which causes me to ...

13. Practicing and Preaching

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

... ll be stoned to death - few Christians make such a sacrifice today. I mean what happened to Stephen before his death. Remember? Acts says, "And Stephen (became) full of grace and power (and) did great wonders and signs among the people." So enthused did he become by practicing his faith, he couldn't resist gathering people to preach to them. In doing this he discovered the secret to a vital faith - acting in the name of Christ will lead to a fervent love of Christ. My friends, I give you the same commission ...

14. Practical Tips For Powerful Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to do something. It is just laying hold on God’s willingness. Charles Allen, that late, great preacher in Houston, says that “the main job of the church is to teach people to pray.” I hope to help in that regard today, by offering some practical tips for powerful prayer. Our scriptural focus is Matthew 6, a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. First, in verses 5 and 6, Jesus taught: PRAY TO YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER, NOT TO PEOPLE. Now, some of the politically correct folks in America have been trying ...

15. We Serve a Risen [and Rising] Savior

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... empty tomb was the growing ground of a fertile womb. From that open cave came the fullness of faith that could stare down Rome. The first generations of Christ-followers did not just face challenges — they faced them down and outfaced them. For all who “practice resurrection” the tomb is not just empty. In fact, the last thing the tomb is is empty. No, the tomb is filled with the promise and possibilities of new life, of new faith. The tomb is really a womb. And in every tomb of destruction, disease ...

16. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... not as a matter of show but as your pastor to encourage you to follow me as I follow Christ with stumbling steps. Not all can fast; some have medical reasons that prevent such a discipline. But they can help the rest of us find other ways to practices the disciplines of self-denial for the sake of the kingdom of God. How about fasting from TV and media for a week? What hours might be freed up for something other than mind-numbing entertainment and useless information? Might we then have time to get to know ...

17. For Those in Church: Joy and Service

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... verse written upon it is that from Psalm 118 (14): "The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Notice that the third panel says that the Lord is not only my strength, but my song. We sometimes do not emphasize enough, in the way we practice our Christianity, the fact that God is our song. We need to sing the joy of being in Christ when we worship as we live our lives throughout the week. Certainly how we conduct ourselves here at worship in this building puts up signs for others to see ...

18. Why I Believe In Tithing

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... through the Holy Spirit, God is here, and we’re all confronted with his word, his presence, and his power. Every sermon should have some aspect of a personal witness to it. So I’m preaching today on the theme, “Why I Believe In and Practice Tithing.” Let me lodge three words in your mind now, which will help you remember next week what I’ve said today. Those three words are precedent, perspective, and performance. First, note this. The precedent for tithing is set in scripture. I believe in and ...

19. The Politics Of The Saints

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... 's a pretty tough program, isn't it? These words of Jesus are very hard for us to hear. Even harder for us to put into practice. Maybe if we were all Mother Teresas, we could, but we're just ordinary Joes and Sallys. We're just trying to provide for our families ... true. It is a call to obedience and action; to live in the light of God's truth, in the light of God's reality; to practice the politics of God's domain even in the midst of the politics of this world. And when we dare to take the risks such action ...

20. The Politics Of The Saints

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

21. He Can Quench All Your Thirsts

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' - he said to the man who was paralyzed - 'I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home.' And immediately he rose before them. . ." (Luke 5:24-25) Throughout the Bible, God gave both practical and spiritual help without neglecting one in favor of the other. It's still true today. Some of God's gifts today are tangible and real. A young man and a young woman, both of whom are praying for the right person to marry, are brought together accidently ...

22. Some Things We Can Do, God Can't

2 Timothy 2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... to sprinkle. His mother is ironing. She says to Jimmy, "I sure hope it doesn't rain much. You have been anxious to begin practicing ball." About 3:30 it really begins to rain. By 4:30 it is raining a downpour. She looks over to Jimmy: "Jimmy, I ... and raincoat, grabs his umbrella, and swims over there. "Jimmy, what are you doing here? Can't you see it is too wet? We can't practice in this weather." Jimmy looks up at his coach and says, "I told you I'd be here, coach." "Poor Jimmy!" says Craddock, "He hasn't ...

23. A Broken Vessel for Jesus

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Michael Milton

... we hear that before? This is the teaching of Christ: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35, ESV). What is that going to take? How do we put that into practice? It simply means that you and your will must be removed from the driver’s seat of your life. You must allow God in Christ to be Master. That must happen in order to be saved. That must happen throughout a Christian’s life in order to be content. Who ...

24. Every Day God Enables

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... some, but we're only here for a short time compared to spending eternity with Christ. Scripture says Jesus is preparing that place for us right now, so that where He is we can be also. That's God's desire for us. So, Every Day, God Enables us to Practice our faith so that we CAN live in this world but not of it. II. Enables Us to Persevere A. Second, Every Day God Enables Us To Persevere. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world." Jesus knew that we would ...

25. Natural Or Supernatural?

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... mother's womb, just as you and I, a man who lived and walked the dusty roads of history, just as you and I - the Christ of God. And that same glory of heaven can shine at every human face and life, if we will only let it. In hard, practical terms, this is the only real way we can escape the boredom, the horrible defeating monotony of our materialistic, our natural existence, to live close to this mountain and, whenever possible, to live on top of it. There are only two ways to conceive of God in our day ...

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