Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing all results

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

You and I have received a higher calling. Every person here this morning is going to be challenged to live according to a higher calling. A few years ago, my daughter and her husband lived next door to a difficult family in Columbus. There was a large lot separating their two houses, which belonged to the neighbor. Although the neighbor was quick to claim the property and run off our grandchildr...

2. Antidote for Bad Times

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

A minister waited in line to get his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. A station attendant was helping direct traffic to the pumps as they became available, but there was a long line of cars in front of the minister. Finally, the attendant motioned him to a vacant pump. "Reverend," said the young man, "I'm sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last mi...

3. Be Careful How You Live

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. — Ephesians 5:15-16 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Ephesians 5:19-20 Be very careful, then, how ...

4. Heavenly Wisdom

James 3:13—4:8

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

The audience was awed when the world famous violinist announced before the concert that he would be playing one of the world's most expensive violins. His composition was played brilliantly. The master violinist played the number without a mistake. The audience was thrilled. Then the musician took the instrument and smashed it on the floor. The strings and wood flew across the stage. The audience...

5. Living in The Present

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Just stop for a moment and take a look at how many opportunities are yours today, right now, this moment. Think about where you are — this church, this group of people, the person sitting beside you. Think about the one behind you and in front of you. Consider how your presence might affect each of these people. Think about what your presence here stands for in this congregation and in this commun...

6. Love That Surpasses Knowledge

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17b-19) Burned into my memory is the image of my father, a few days before his death, clinging to his well...

7. Sleeping in on Sunday

Ephesians 6:10

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Physical feats of strength impress us. We admire those who can bench press over 300 pounds or run a marathon in less than three hours. Mental prowess is also impressive. We respect the intellectual giants who discover new formulas. And, yes, we also venerate spiritual leaders like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi. Hopefully, this respect and veneration will lead us to take the nex...

8. The Ear, the Tongue, and the Temper: A Lesson in Spiritual Anatomy

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Today's lesson is from the book of James. James identifies himself only as a "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." In the early church it was thought by some to have been written by the Lord's brother. It was written later than most of Paul's letters because, James says, of "foolish fellows" whom he describes as the "ignorant and unstable." They had distorted Paul's message of love and fa...

9. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Has anything ever gotten you into more trouble than your tongue? Have you ever wished you could take something back after you had said it? Oh, let me confess, I only ask this rhetorical question because it has happened to me. I know the sense of shame and regret at having spoken too soon before I could stop myself. Someone has said, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold...

10. Words That Wound, Words That Heal

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Often we fail to recognize the power of our speech, our language, the words we use. A public speaker once began his address by commanding his audience to "stand up." Then he said, "Turn and face the back of the church ... now turn and face me." Finally he commanded them to "sit down." "The point I am making," he explained, "is that words have power. They can make things happen. They can be bullets...

11. Yielding to Spiritual Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23, James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Peter Drucker has conducted management seminars for both businesses and churches. He says, "Leadership is not magnetic personality. That can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people; that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its no...

Showing 1 to 11 of 11all results