Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 26 results

John 3:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... not been raised from the dead, your faith is futile and your sins are endless. We are to be pitied more than all people." Then Paul says, “but death has lost its sting. Death is swallowed up in victory. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory." So we make ... no-named person called Private Ryan. Finally there is Captain Miller, laying wounded and taking his final breaths, looking up into the eye of the private, saying just two words, “Earn it." The movie fast forwards and now Ryan is an old man. Once ...

2. A Time for Opportunity

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... qualities as a human being were devoted to serving it, and I was willing to sacrifice anything to it.” Michael Ryan finally perceived the depth of his sexual addiction one day while he was driving to his friends’ house in another ... make the most of every opportunity, we need to keep a clear head and we need to keep a positive spirit. And one thing more, says St. Paul: we need to give thanks in all things. He writes, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father ...

3. I Am Christ's

2 Corinthians 5:17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... intently -- as good nurses do. Suddenly she announced, "I hear somebody walking around in there." The adults smiled at this, but Ryan, matter-of-factly answered, "Why, that must be Jesus." That's the amazing promise, and one of the central claims of the Christian Gospel -- that Christ may live in us. Indeed that is Paul's definition of a Christian -- a person in Christ. In our scripture lesson today, Paul said, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come ...

4. Can A Christian Brag?

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... been Paul. He had been persecuted, beaten and imprisoned for his faith. Surely this was a greater sacrifice than any the Ephesians had made. But he did not even allow himself to boast of his works; he insisted that all are saved by grace. This is not to deny the importance of good works in the Christian life. It is to say that our good works flow from our acknowledgment that Christ died for us and by faith in him and faith alone, we are redeemed. In Steven Spielberg's movie Saving Private Ryan, a squadron ...

5. Saving Private Ryan

Acts 1:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Our church is adopting a brand new Mission Statement, and the very heart of that Mission Statement is to save the "Private Ryans" of this world and bring them into the family of God before they become a casualty of the war called life. This ... . 3:11, "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness." Ananias told Paul in Acts. 22:15, "You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard." You see, we are not to be a witness ...

6. Live and Let Die

Galatians 2:20

Sermon

James Merritt

... He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'" Well Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus." Well I understand this death to self is hard, but it must be done. I want you to see that this crucifixion is not a feeling it is a fact. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ." Just as Jesus died for you, when you get saved you die with him. Paul describes what happens in Rom. 6:6: "...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of ...

7. Those Kissing Christians

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... her little independent bookstore out of business. “It wasn’t personal,” Hank’s explains, “it was just business.” Ryan protests and proclaims, “That just means it wasn’t personal to YOU! Whatever anything is, at the very least, ... was born in Bethlehem — “a Savior, ‘tis Christ the Lord.” God’s kiss to the world was Jesus himself. The “God of love” Paul proclaimed could not bear to watch the people of the earth live without hope, redemption, and love. God’s kiss, the kiss of love ...

8. Are You Under Arrest?

Heb 5:11-13; 10:39

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... what they take to be the truth’s final word. In a sense people like that arrest themselves! It is this issue of arrest that Paul has in mind in this letter to the Hebrews, and J. B. Phillip’s translation of his words do an excellent job of bringing ... making - the prison of sin, the prison of illusion, the prison of despair. "A Lady Named Olive" is a modern parable written by Pat Ryan, and it is really the story of a jailbreak. A lady named Olive owned two shopping bags full of words. One bag was plain ...

9. Perks for Following Jesus

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus’ cup and being baptized with Jesus’ baptism means you are willing to pay a price no one else will pay. Liz Ryan is the former Senior VP of Human Resources for a Fortune 500 company. Out of her extensive business background, she wrote an ... a group of people who were willing to drink from Christ’s cup and be baptized with his baptism? Their names are not known like St. Paul’s or Simon Peter’s. But they are truly disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, and whether they sit at the right and left hand ...

10. We're On the Move Now!

Sermon

Ronald Love

... return of Jesus. Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, the denomination’s director of education, said, “It’s almost an embarrassment to be celebrating 150 years.” Michael Ryan, a vice-president, said, “In one kind of way it really is a sad event.” Paul expected the immediate return of Jesus, and this influenced much of his writings. In fact, Paul expected Jesus to return — the Second Coming — the Parousia — in his lifetime. This concept of eschatology — the theology of the end times — guided all his ...

11. Building God’s Kingdom: The Christian Challenge

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... can only happen through a process of conversion, as the Greeks called it metanoia or change of heart. This moves a step beyond confession. Paul ends this part of his teaching by saying, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." The apostle somehow knew what ... Jesus. Proponents of the Social Gospel in the Progressive Era, people like Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden, and John Ryan, and, more recently, in the 1990s college students across the country had it right when they collectively asked ...

12. Death Following Lung Surgery

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Eulogy

Robert Allen

... the pain. It does not dispel our grief. But, I believe that it does make the pain bearable when we remember that this life, the life of Curtis Ryan, was a gift to us, a gift to us that we shared for a little while, and we are able to thank God that we shared this life. ... if we learn to trust God even in the presence of death, then we can say as the Apostle Paul said: O death, where is thy victory?O death, where is thy sting?The sting of death is sin, andThe power of sin is the law.But thanks ...

13. The Lifesaver App

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a couple decades ago now come tripping off the tongue without need for an interpreter. In 1998 a new Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie made a big deal of an emerging concept. “You’ve Got Mail” highlighted the strange new world of “e-mail” ... other Christians. It seems that battles within families always have the hottest fire and the highest flames. That is why Paul calls the Corinthian Christians to stop claiming differences and to instead simply claim Christ. Whatever other affiliations or assertions we ...

14. Grace in the Midst of Judgment

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them." Paul summarizes in verse 17, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become ... threats against us have been erased. Just one more question must be addressed. How should we respond? In Saving Private Ryan, the character played by Tom Hanks makes the ultimate sacrifice for another soldier. As he lies dying, Hanks' eyes meet ...

15. A Circle for Dorothy

Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... comes to seek us as we are. And when God finds us, he claims us and names us as his own. "Remember," says St. Paul, "one time you were separated, alienated, strangers to the covenant... BUT NOW in Christ, you have been brought near by the blood of the ... the presence of God and the circle of God's people, we name them as part of the family: Ethan, Katherine, Peter, God loves you. Ryan, Dylan, Tyler, Leonie, you are a part of this family. Dorothy, you are my child, my own. Grace means God seeks us, and when God ...

16. Who's In Charge Here

Judges 21:24-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... is to be the head of the home, and the wife is to submit to her husband's loving leadership. Likewise, for parent and child Paul plainly says: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." (Eph. 6:1) c. Spiritually In the church God has also ... in charge here?" you can answer "God, and whomever or whatever He has placed in authority over me." [1] Vincent Ryan Ruggiero, Warning: Nonsense is Destroying America, p. 205. [2]Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Sixteenth Edition, p. 588. [3] Irwin lutzer ...

17. Security: Deeply Personal

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

... was a Jew, came to the Jews, and his earliest followers were Jews. By turning a deaf ear to our Lord, according to Saint Paul, "... through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles ..." we are faced with the God of us all who saw fit to ... living in the King’s castle all along, at times insensitive to our privileged place. Christian unity views that castle much as Thomas Ryan in Tales of Christian Unity, with a great house all on one level and rooms situated around a common dining room with one ...

18. Sovereignty: God’s Domain

Zephaniah 1:4-13

Sermon

... his dogmas. For the Church is the new creation and Christ is the only one who can fill it," says Thomas Ryan in Tales of Christian Unity. Our concepts, structuralism and dogmas - even with the best intentions - can show us what we sometimes ... and to tell him he can like it because that is the way it is! THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD comes glowingly alive for the church in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesisans. He tells us: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to ...

19. Are You Able?

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... called you Rev. Olds but ministers are not supposed to get sick." Since when? One of Steven Spielberg's best movies is Saving Private Ryan. Like the passion of Christ, the horrors of war some of you fought, is more pain than my mind can comprehend or my ... others on the floor. Churchill said, “If you are going through hell...keep on going." Persevere. Perseverance produces character, said Paul. A. Character Dokime—metal that has passed through the fire so that impurities have been purged from it. I can ...

20. Secret Savior

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... remember that movie? I’m dating myself here. But Tom Hanks who plays Joe Fox in the movie has driven Meg Ryan (who plays Catherine Kelly) out of business. He is building a book superstore called Fox Books. She owns a small bookshop ... Be the Lord and His Kingdom Daniel’s Prayer (Daniel 9) Jeremiah’s Prayer (Jeremiah 10:23-25) Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2:2-9) Paul’s Prayer for the Church in Ephesus (Ephesians 3:14-21) Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer and Fasting “And when you pray ...

21. Should Christians Always Oppose War?

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Should Christians always oppose war? Pope John Paul II sent a special envoy to Baghdad to support peace. The Pope did not believe a preemptive strike against Iraq met ... God's ideal plan. That brings me to point number three: WAR IS ALWAYS A TRAGEDY. One of the contributions of Stephen Spielberg's classic World War II movie, "Saving Private Ryan," was to remind us of the horrors of war. Our veterans know that truth all too well. Because of the awful suffering brought about by any war, our United Methodist Book ...

22. Straight Backs And Rekindled Dreams

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... amnesia-induced bliss. Then she handed him a copy of I Corinthians 13 and told him to live by its teachings. Do you remember how St. Paul described love in that chapter? "œLove does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or rude . . ." That's what it's like to ... p. 46. 3. Dr. Gary Rosberg, Guard Your Heart (Multinomah Books, 1994). 4. By Janice Anthony. Found in Joan Aho Ryan, Lessons from Our Children (Deerfield Beach, FL.: Health Communications, Inc., 1999), pp. 120-121. 5. “What Will You Leave At ...

23. Don't Let Your Tongue Bite You

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the problem of the tongue. I realize today that in our church family we would be evenly divided over whether or not Buddy Ryan should have been terminated as the Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles Football team. However, the reason he was fired was not his ... , degrading and destructive. We also at times use our tongues to win arguments rather than demonstrate integrity. Remember the Apostle Paul gave a great insight when he declared: "Even though I can speak in the tongues of men and angels, if I ...

24. Our Father...

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... daily bread, love, forgiveness, and mercy? In her study of the images of God grown men and women harbor, mental health nurse Juanita Ryan has found fearful, primal pictures populating people’s minds. “God is waiting around the next corner with a club to punish me.” ... :11)? Where is the God who has been revealed as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding love” (Psalm 103:8)? Paul wondered at “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18), the one who was ...

25. More Fully Understanding Christ

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... around us. This is what is referred to by the “fruits of the Spirit” in Galatians, chapter 5. The Apostle Paul writes, “. . . the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ... a non-profit named “1U Project,” is a great example of a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. In 2013, Wendy and her husband, Ryan, adopted a 15-year-old girl from a Ukrainian orphanage. Why did this young couple take this action? After age 15, children age ...

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