Sermon and Worship Resources

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Lk 19:1-10 · Gal 6:1-10 · Is 61:1-4

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." This is not a step inward in our own journey of life and faith. It is a step outward which we take after we have recognized where God has led us in this journey. It is, in religious language, the call of the missionary. It is the call to share the good news. For some it is the good news found in sobriety. But it is a step for anyone caught ...

2. Getting Our Lives Out Of Hock

Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... out of hock. Have you seen this serenity edition of the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs? I recommend it, not just to people in recovery, but to everyone. It's a great devotional Scripture resource, and scriptural support for the twelve steps of AA. We can all use the 12 steps as a guide for growth and construction. Listen to them: One. We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol that our lives had become unmanageable. Two. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity ...

3. The Guilt Offering

Leviticus 5:14--6:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... , confession of sin to others and to God helps give the sinner the courage and the resolve actually to change. Among the “Twelve Steps” of the AA program is “Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs” (step 5). One must also be ready to have God remove these defects of character and in fact ask God to remove these shortcomings (steps 6–7). It takes a great deal more courage to verbalize one’s faults to others than simply to understand them within ...

4. Death of the Unchurched For a Recovering Alcoholic

Eulogy

Alan Bacon Bond

... some high blood pressure problems some years earlier, showed no signs for alarm. He simply failed to wake up one morning. The family was unchurched and seemingly bereft of spiritual resources until it became evident that most of them were participating in twelve-step recovery programs. It was then evident that the most useful resource to assist them in their extreme grief was to put them back in touch with their Alcoholics Anonymous programs which had already helped them deal with other crises. We are here ...

5. Repentance and Forgiveness

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... arranged." And Wendall did it. He agreed to go into treatment for his alcoholism. In treatment he encountered Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A. for short. A.A. has a remarkable record of success in dealing with alcoholics. The A.A. creed has twelve steps to it. Wendall was soon being asked to confess the first step. It wasn’t easy for him. Wendall Hayes had always been a strong man. It pained him deeply to think there was anything in the world that was beyond his power to do. But, finally, the words of the first ...

6. Speak Up for Forgiveness

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... work of survival;" (c) "talking and listening;" (d) "making love;" (e) "healing;" (f) "gifting and volunteering" (chapters 10-13,15,17). "Twelve Step" Recovery Programs are very familiar and very effective in overcoming various forms of addiction. Wangerin's "Six Step" Forgiveness Program can be similarly effective in repairing and restoring relationships. Taken together, the "Six Steps" enable us to offer forgiveness so complete and so genuine that when we are finished, a shattered relationship has been ...

7. Stand Tall

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... you want me to try it," Robert said after a long pause, "I'll try it." Robert built the program over nine months, drawing on sources personal, clinical, and spiritual. From his experiences with group therapy, he stressed mutual support and the twelve-step framework. Robert added his own personal touch as well as a Christian perspective to the program. His church continued to support him by sending him to several conferences on counseling and alcoholism. As Robert shared his past with others in the program ...

8. Martyrs, Monsters, and Miracles

Acts 9:19b-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... --somebody who will believe in us and stand by us. Even more important, we need the gracious love of Christ. The most popular and successful programs in this country for helping people change are twelve step programs that help people conquer such things as alcohol and drug addictions. All effective twelve-step programs begin with belief in a "higher power." Most people find that they cannot change their character without God's help. It might not be as dramatic an encounter as Paul experienced on the road ...

9. When Being Good Is Bad For You Or Breaking The Chains Of Co-dependency

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... have to "take care" of others; but the "taking care" has a sick quality to it. Melody Beattie has written three classic books on this subject: Co-Dependent No More, Beyond Co-Dependency and Getting Better All The Time, and Co-dependents Guide to the Twelve Steps. She defines co-dependency as "being affected by someone else's behavior and obsessed with controlling it." Do you see the possibility? Being good can be bad for you, even though the heart of Christian living is selfless love. II. That brings us to ...

10. Just a Crazy Story

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Larry Lange

... in their eyes. One by one, they began to tell him their stories. When they had all spoken, one of the squatters looked at Zack with a pitiful, grateful smile, "We want to follow you, Lord! We want to go down into Seattle and start a homeless shelter and a twelve-step program for meth addicts, so we can save them like you saved us. If we can't get your car started, we can take our truck down. Soon as it's light." They all agreed, nodding their heads, some of them saying, "Amen." One by one, they rose up and ...

11. Is Repentance Necessary?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... he still lives." One of the most successful organizations about which I know in our society, which accepts people who are in bondage but who want to be free, is Alcoholics Anonymous. It will tell you by its teachings that repentance is not easy. It takes twelve steps at least for recovery. It begins with an acknowledgment of your true condition that life is out of hand. You cannot control it. You cannot manage and make yourself do what you really want to do at times. Isn’t that what Jesus said - "With man ...

12. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

... and more lies to cover their footprint of dishonesty. The next chapter of this gut wrenching storm includes court dates, court fees, lawyer’s fees, and fees for random drug tests, ankle bracelet monitoring devices, and driving the person to their twelve-step group and counseling sessions. The loved ones automobile drivers’ license has been suspended, so guess who is their new chauffeur? Also, there are the numerous amounts of statewide phone calls to treatment centers that may or may not be covered by ...

13. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the last straw. Their venomous tongues would be repaid in kind ... with more venom. And people began to die. They come to Moses. They finally admit that they have done wrong: "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you" (v. 7). Aha! All the twelve-step programs tell us that the only way to correct a problem is to recognize that you have it. They agree that their mouths have gotten them into this trouble. "Now Moses, please, please, please pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us." So ...

14. The Greatest Good News Of All

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... Moore. One day in May, 1979, Moore, who looked like she must be eighty-five years old, opened the door of her New York apartment and stepped nervously into the hall. She put her cane out in front of her and hesitantly felt for the first step on the staircase. Her legs moved gingerly, awkwardly. Down one step . . . two . . . three . . .all the way down twelve steps. So far, so good. When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she saw her landlady who exclaimed, “Oh, I’m sorry, I was expecting somebody ...

15. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... before Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander and other men of the high priests family, they are asked “By what power or what name did you do this?" Peter's response is clear and simple, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Jesus saves." The second step of the AA Twelve Step Program is this: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. That's salvation. For Christians that higher power is Jesus Christ. Ted Turner said in a USA Today interview, “When you look in the mirror ...

16. Growing In Self-esteem

Psalm 81:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... own responsibilities. We do it in order that we might honestly face up to our feelings -- feelings that we may have kept buried for years. You may do this with a counselor or a trusted friend, or a pastor, or if you are in a Twelve Step Program, you'll do it in step four as you work with your inventory. But, friend, the dynamic that will make this work is your willingness to claim what Jesus thinks of you and how He loves you. Two, as you face and feel the pain of past experiences, forgive everyone involved ...

17. A Radical Faith

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... we can hold, point to, and count, and say, "I have achieved this goal," or "I have fallen short of it." Luther chose the monastic rule to find salvation. We rush to seminars, or workshops, or to books, where there is another rule outlined for us, often in twelve steps, or four rules, something simple that, we are told, if we only follow, we will find our dreams. I suggest to you it is the same thing. Luther gave himself totally to the monastic rule in the belief that it would lead him to God. He said, "If ...

18. Wearing the King’s Clothes

Colossians 3:1-11

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

... same time do things you know are contrary to what the Bible teaches. Your spiritual life will be sucked out of you. Your walk will be filled with disappointment, guilt, and discouragement. That is why you must confront it. One of the basic principles in a twelve-step program is admitting that you have a problem. Recovery cannot take place until you are honest with yourself and confront your failings. Once you do, then you can begin dealing with it and reclaim your life. At that point, you can put on the new ...

19. Can You See Where We're Going

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

William G. Carter

... have gone, he chose to follow Jesus to the cross. There's a woman who received eyes to see. A few years ago, with the help of Presbyterian mission money, she helped to establish a halfway house for women who are recovering drug addicts. She schedules twelve-step groups, arranges for child care, and generally tries to get the women back on their feet. In a lot of ways, you would never expect her to be involved with such work. She is even-tempered, gentle, and articulate. But something happened a few years ...

20. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the last straw. Their venomous tongues would be repaid in kind... with more venom. And people began to die. They come to Moses. They finally admit that they have done wrong: "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you." Aha! All the twelve-step programs tell us that the only way to correct a problem is to recognize that you have it. They agree that their mouths have gotten them into this trouble. "Now Moses, please, please, please pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So ...

21. Strong Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... their lives. And no wonder. On that hillside long ago Jesus gave his followers a foretaste of the heavenly banquet that is yet to come ” a banquet prepared from the foundations of the earth for those who believe in him Alcoholics Anonymous and many other twelve step groups have helped people in many ways. The individual seeking help must first have the ability to acknowledge his or her inadequacy and powerlessness. A certain man has been sober for 8,774 days. He doesn’t even seek to reduce it to months ...

22. The Cost of Being Christian

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

... not get there. The reason he claims single-heartedness in our devotion to him in life is because he wants us to be whole and to experience life in all of its fullness. A friend of mine was telling me how his life had been transformed by following the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. He said at first his life was simply dried out. He was sober, he was no longer using drugs and alcohol, but he was not happy. He did not feel fulfilled. He was still doing a lot of "stinking thinking." It was not until he ...

23. Pay Back Time

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , not a dog-forgive-dog world. Pay back time! Someone has suggested that these sermons from Christian pulpits about forgiveness should include some instruction as to how to go about it. Good idea. Here are some points from the literature of one of the Twelve-step programs: 1) Write down in black and white the reasons why we are angry with (someone)...Writing clarifies emotions which have been confused and buried in us, sometimes for years. Also by setting down our grievances in black and white, we place a ...

24. Make a 119 Call

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it is a good day to hold hands with your loved ones as you enjoy the simple act of being together and watch a football game. There is only one way to get through the horror of an event like 911: day by day. “Twelve Step” recovery programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous or Gamblers Anonymous, all emphasize that recovery is a day-by-day, sometimes even an “hour-by-hour,” journey. That is why alcoholics and addicts are always “recovering,” never fully “cured.” They know that every single day is a ...

25. Were You There?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He disguised himself as mild-mannered Clark Kent, but his vulnerability was just an act. Underneath was the man of steel. Superman came to help people who were weak and needy; but he himself was never afraid, never confused. “Superman never joined a twelve-step recovery group,” says Ortberg, “even though he had lost both his biological parents and the planet he had called home. He never joined a lonely hearts club, although he was always alone. He never got into therapy, even though he wore blue ...

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