Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 1263 results

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... wrappings left to testify? Why does Jesus eat fish in some of the post resurrection accounts? Why is Thomas’s story so important to tell? Jesus’ appearance (within the enclosed room with the doors locked) cannot be explained away ... volunteer who will don the blindfold] For many of us, this cloth is a blindfold of our own making. It is the blindfold of doubt. Doubt is a powerful inhibitor to seeing the truth that may be right in front of us. In fact, you could say that doubt is a snare that binds us to a ...

2. Fleeced

Judges 6:1-40, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... fleece is the metaphor used to communicate with God. When Gideon is reassured, he goes into battle equipped with the confidence and assurance of God’s power and presence. The metaphor of the fleece is significant. The Israelites are a nation of shepherds. And Jesus is signified by both Lamb and Shepherd. When Thomas seeks to touch and see Jesus, the Lamb of God, he is needing the same reassurance as Gideon, who uses the fleece to communicate with God. The need to “touch and see” is revealed as a human ...

3. Easter 2

John 20:24-31, John 20:19-23, 1 Peter 1:1-12, Acts 2:14-41, Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... ) Jesus was attested by God. (2) Jesus was rejected by humans. (3) But God raised Jesus, showing God's power, God's plan, and God's presence. (4) To all this, Christians are witnesses. This linear logic may guide the sermon, but the last ... risen Lord. Verses 19-23 are an account of Jesus' appearance to the disciples in the locked room, vv. 24-29 narrate the skepticism of Thomas, and vv. 30-31 outline a new type of faith. The text can be outlined in the following manner: I. The Appearance to the Disciples: ...

4. EPISODE 2: THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

... JESUS: Which is the greater word? To say "Your sins are forgiven," or "Get up and walk"? Still, to show you that I have God’s power ... [To the MAN in the wheel chair] ... Get up and walk. [The MAN stretches his limbs, runs his hand over his face, moves ... Lazarus from his sleep. PETER: Wake him? Did you say wake him? JESUS: So that you may believe. JOHN: But if he’s already ... THOMAS: It can’t be done. JESUS: Peter ... PETER: Yes, Lord? JESUS: What are people saying about me? PETER: Some call you a ...

5. Easter 2

Acts 2:14-41, Psalm 105:1-45, 1 Peter 1:1-12, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

... , and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Believers, who have been baptized into Christ's death, also anticipate in his resurrection and the new life ... hand in his side, I will not believe," to the man of faith who cried, "My Lord and my God!" That man he called "Doubtless Thomas," the person that God would make of all of us. The text lends itself beautifully to a biblical narrative sermon. The risen Christ can go ...

6. Pentecost

John 20:19-23, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13, Psalm 104:1-35, Numbers 11:4-35

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... even by this distribution of power and questions in vv. 21-23 whether there is enough food anywhere to feed this group of 600,000. God's response to Moses provides the immediate context to the lectionary text: "Is the Lord's power limited?" (v. 23). The question ... evening, Jesus appears to the disciples, who are overjoyed (vv. 19-23); but Thomas was not present (vv. 24-25). In turn, Jesus appears to the disciples and Thomas, and Thomas believes (vv. 26-29). Verses 30-31 of John were likely the original ...

7. Eleven Plus One

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... went like this: "There were 12 disciples, Jesus called to help him, Simon Peter, Andrew, James his brother John, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon, Judas, and Bartholomew." The song then ended: "Jesus calls you, too. ... his friend Nathaniel, and talks him into meeting Jesus, using common sense. Philip's "let's-get-down-to-business," nuts-and-bolts mentality often lacked the vision of Christ's power and purpose. Philip would have selected a well-known, well-established, well- ...

8. Fire in the Hold

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... those first Christians had not had room for Thomas' questions? We need to have room for uncertainty, questioning, and growth in our communities, and we also have to empower at least some of us to spread what we have found. If we spread the word, we must then welcome others, in various states of questioning, understanding, and belief, into our fellowship. So I think a more important question than "Do I have God's Spirit within me?" is "Am I willing to receive God's power?" "Am I willing to open myself up to ...

9. My Laughin’ Place

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Sermon

Bill Mosley

10. Children Of Dust Or Children Of God?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... truth to shape your life. It happens also through prayer and through fellowship with other believers." And Graham ends his letter with these words: "Never take your eyes off of Christ." (6) Never take your eyes off of Christ. That's what it's all about. "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God." 1. Thomas Long in Ten Great Preachers, edited by Bill Turpie (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), pp. 90-91. 2. Life Support System Publishing, Inc., 1999. 3 ...

11. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... preceding the dream. So God was speaking to me again, and on that Wednesday morning I renewed my commitment to the Lord. The word from Thomas Fuller, which I had underscored in a book I had been using in my devotional time, and which had been God’s word for me, came alive. It if didn’t hint at irreverence, I would say, “The word became flesh.” “Let not your will road, when thy power can but whisper.” I yielded to him, I let go and I let God. I canceled my trip to Russia. I said to the Lord ...

12. A Reminder to God...and to Us

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... a promise and sticks by it. Some of us are still inspired by the promise that the late actor Danny Thomas once made. It occurred during his early years in show business when he was suffering setback after setback. During one ... faithfulness of good friends. Some of you have experienced it in those dark hours when you most needed God’s power and you discovered God was there. God is a promise keeper. Willie’s mother was right when Willie was returned to her unharmed. God keeps His promises. And He doesn’t ...

13. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

... loves before trying to transform it, where they learn that God does not empower the church before it is ready for power, God's power. The city is the place where disciples must prepare for the cause of Christ before championing it. The city is not ... justice." Now that is definitely a city story, full of the clamor and conflict of the metropolis. In fact, the meditative monk Thomas Merton would probably have said that this is a typical city story involving recognizable city types like a godless judge and a ...

14. Believing Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in the crowd, allowing Jesus to replace the twin brother he had lost. But then Jesus died, too! Thomas’s faith was shattered! That was the last straw! When the disciples gathered in the Upper Room that ... power to convert other skeptics. Note this about the story: Although Christ invited Thomas to touch Him, there is no record that he actually did so. Merely meeting the Master was sufficient to convince him. From that day forward, Thomas’ faith was no longer second-hand. He had met the risen Christ. Thomas ...

15. Easter 5

John 14:5-14, John 14:1-4, 1 Peter 2:4-12, Acts 7:54--8:1a, Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... both the Lord's ways and the psalmist's trust in God. Then, vv. 7-8 express the psalmist's joy in experiencing the extrication for which vv. 1-5 asked. Verses 15-16 are a statement of full confidence in God and God's power to save. Significance. This psalm is a powerful appeal for ... explicitly into the present time by exploring how Jesus is both a place, and a "way" in which disciples must move. Thomas asks how disciples can know the way of Jesus? Jesus' response is that his very person is in fact the way to ...

16. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... . It will read, “Warning! Reading this book with no intention of obeying it is hazardous to eternal life.” The medieval spiritual writer Thomas a Kempis put the same warning in the form of a prayer: “Let not thy Word, O Lord, become a judgement upon us ... inwardly they no longer delighted in obeying Jesus in small things. And because their beliefs did not change and the Spirit’s power did not lift, they thought they were still O.K. Pillars of orthodoxy, anointed servants of God, all the while marching ...

17. Living With The Birth Pangs

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

... sought other things to do. The age of commercial sail ended with the THOMAS LAWSON, and steamships began to rule the seas. (1) Change is not easy whether ... s project, and a little mouse was elected to sneak up and peek into the cave when the rabbit's back was turned. There she discovered that the mystery of the rabbit's thesis had not only a solution but also a moral. The mystery's solution is that the cave contained an enormous lion. It was not the rabbit who was to be feared but the rabbit's powerful ...

18. When Christians Pray

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... . What happens when Christian pray? Great things happen. Why? Because we have God’s power, God’s presence and God’s purpose. What more could you ask for? 1. Cited in Charles L. Allen, All Things are Possible through Prayer (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1963), pp. 52- 53. 2. You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2006), p. 45. 3. What really counts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005), p. 163. 4. Taken from www.benwitherington.blogspot.com; November ...

19. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... inauspicious start for the church. Yet in the second pericope of today's text, Jesus reappears to the gathered disciples, this time with Thomas in their midst. This resurrected Jesus cannot be stopped by locked doors or even Thomas' locked heart. He once again proclaims "Peace" to his disciples a greeting that testifies to the upgraded nature of their Spirit-enhanced relationship. Despite their failure to pass along the good news to Thomas, the power of the Holy Spirit has not left them. The peace of Christ ...

20. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Peter Jesus appeared again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias in this way. Gathered there were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said ... to Jesus. Even at the point of his death, after all he had accomplished, he knew, that all of the power and glory was the Lord’s. Sometimes to carry one’s cross is to be nailed to that cross. In Jesus’ words: “Simon, Satan has deigned to have you…But I have ...

21. Lent 5

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44, John 11:45-57

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... v. 16). There was no doubt in Thomas' mind when he called upon his fellow-disciples to follow Jesus to death. When Jesus announced he was going back to Bethany-Jerusalem where his enemies were plotting his death, Thomas wanted all to go with him to ... from the dead, he showed the people the glory of God through God's power of resurrection. Jesus interpreted his passion and death as evidence of God's glory. His glory is manifest in his power over death and in granting eternal life to believers. 3. A promise of ...

22. Not Far From the Kingdom

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... that atmosphere, that circumstance, whereby we can best hear God’s voice, experience God’s presence. Your chances of hearing God are much better in a church that in a tavern (this does not limit God’s power; it means the spiritual acoustics are better in some places ... my blanket, my pony, my son. Now, I give myself." He was "not far from the kingdom of God." 1. See Warren Thomas Smith, Augustine. His Life and Thought (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980), p. 47. 2. The Journal of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M. ...

23. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... with observation”), and the context suggests that what will not be observed is a geographical, political kingdom, not the kingdom’s power. Such an observable kingdom is not coming, at least not soon. Thus, Jesus states in v. 21 that no one will ... the wife of Lot, who turned to look at “what was behind” and perished (Gen. 19:26; Luke 17:32). 17:34 In the Gospel of Thomas (see note on 17:21 above) we find this interesting parallel (61a): “Jesus said, ‘Two will rest on a bed: the one will die, and the ...

24. If You Are Willing

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’t it? If God is all loving and people are suffering, then God’s power must be limited somehow. Otherwise God would have set the world right long before now. And that’s what some conscientious Christians believe. Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a best-selling book ... Jerry Walls The Asbury Herald, Volume 112, No. 2 & 3, p. 6. 5. Richard Exley. Strength for the Storm (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 18. 6. Vance Havner, Playing Marbles with Diamonds (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1995), p ...

25. The Gift of Purpose

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . But once he found his purpose, his life was empowered beyond measure. III. Practice A. Mary inspires us to move beyond simply acknowledging our Purpose and having our lives Empowered. She challenges us to tap into the Power of our Purpose and put our Purpose into Practice. Thomas S. Haggai tells about an old man who, year after year, had a line of customers waiting for him to shine their shoes at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. You know, the famous hotel with the ducks who come down in the elevator at 11 ...

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