Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 28 results

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

What Christ has been and done for us we must do and be for others. Our life in Christ and our ministry in his name are inseparable. A spirituality that does not lead to active ministry becomes an indulgent preoccupation with self, and therefore grieves the Holy Spirit and violates the presence of the indwelling Christ. Paul's powerful prayer in Ephesians is a profound expression of our call to liv...

2. Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There's a new morning ritual. We've only engaged in this ritual activity the last few years. But let's acknowledge how our morning rituals have changed in a very short time. The ritual? Actually it's not just a morning ritual. It's an all-day ritual. But it's most heavy in the morning: deleting the overnight invasion of junk e-mails. In this massive assault, there are always two or three cut-rate,...

3. The Church: The Dwelling Place of Wonder

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere along the way, I think I got it from one of my heroes, Bishop Gerald Kennedy, I connected a drama critic’s definition of the theater with an understanding of the church. “The theater,” said the critic, “is the dwelling place of wonder.” Isn’t that marvelous? “The theater is the dwelling place of wonder.” But it’s really a better definition of the church than it is the theater. Think abou...

4. Doing Christ’s Work

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

My mom's hands were never idle. She was always doing some kind of needlework or craft. She would go from painting Christmas ornaments to crocheting an afghan to knitting baby booties to embroidering a pillowcase. She did it all. Whenever we sat down to watch television together, I was always amazed that she could pay attention to the program and count stitches at the same time. When I was a young...

5. Power Sharing

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

Modern people are fascinated with power. We fiddle with a switch on the wall and it delivers the results from dynamos in dams and atomic reactors. We domesticate nature's powers in order to light the den, vacuum the carpet, and brew the coffee. Power is at our fingertips. Technology has opened endless possibilities, chugging along from wood and coal fired steam, converting to petroleum, accelerati...

6. It’s a Good Thing He’s Gone!

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Today I want you to participate in the proclamation of today's message. Perhaps it will help you to remember the spectacular event and its significance that we are commemorating today. Today is perhaps the most misunderstood and forgotten holiday of the entire Christian church year. Today, forty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the church for millennia has commemorated the ascension of Jesus...

7. Caring for Others: The Christian Vocation in the World

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Richard Gribble

When Bobby Smith was a youngster, his family lived near Mrs. Hildebrand, a widow, who at 95 years of age, was in constant pain and crippled by arthritis, which ravaged her body. Living alone, she could only take a few steps at a time with the help of her cane. Every week when Bobby's mom went to the market, she took her son who would always deliver groceries to the old widow. The family car would ...

8. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson for the message is found in Paul’s letter to the Church at Ephesus. The 1st chapter, the 15th through the 23rd verses. This is the word of the Lord. “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ th...

9. We've Got a Friend in High Places

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

It was one of those events that you can never forget witnessing. A skyscraper was going up. Hundreds of people paused daily to glance up at it. One day they watched as a giant metal beam was raised to be placed high on the enormous steel skeleton of the skyscraper. And then something terrifying occurred. As the girder came near, a workman leaned out from the sixteenth floor to seize it. The spe...

10. Open the Eyes of My Heart

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Author James W. Moore tells a wonderful story that appeared in an Atlanta newspaper some years back. A young mother was trying to get her young son to take some liquid medicine. The little fellow was being stubborn as only a child can. He closed his mouth as tightly as he could, shook his head furiously from side to side and even hit at the spoon with both hands. He was not going to take the medic...

11. The Adventure Begins

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A third-grade Sunday school teacher was giving a lesson on the commandment, "Honor thy father and mother." "Now, does anyone know a commandment for brothers and sisters?" she asked. One sharp girl raised her hand and said, "Thou salt not kill." (1) A first and second grade class Sunday teacher says that when she asked what the two main divisions of the Bible are, one little boy responded "The Old...

12. The Name Of Names

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

Mark -- warlike Shirley -- bright meadow Jennifer -- fair lady Jeffrey -- God's peace Jesus -- God saves What's in a name? Ever since God gave Adam the privilege of naming all the creatures, humankind has had a fascination with names. Names are important. Parents take great care when they select a name for their baby. They know the name will be with this new person for a lifetime and will ide...

13. The Two Faces of Thanksgiving

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Brain science has now discovered what The White Queen in “Alice in Wonderland” always knew: "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards." The most recent research in cognitive science, which is a fancy name for the science of “how the brain works,” reveals that remembering the past and visualizing the future use the same neural mechanisms. Memory and prophesy are flip sides of the same ...

14. The Heart Has Eyes

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our lesson from Paul's letter to the Ephesians is one of the majestic passages in the New Testament. It pictures Christ now Lord of the universe, and we, the people of faith, are the inheritors of the gift that he has given to us. Paul uses the most extravagant language to describe this. In fact, it is the language that was reserved for royalty, for the Caesars, used at national festivals, and roy...

15. The Power of God

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Rick Brand

The professional observers and media pundits suggest that now Bill Clinton has only his place in history to work toward. He will now be judged against the giants of the past, Lincoln, Truman, Wilson. That is one of the ways that history works. We judge the current events by the standards set in the past. Current NBA stars are now being set against the stars from the last fifty years. Madonna versu...

16. The Eyes of Your Heart

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

John Edward believes that people don't just die, but that they "cross over." That's nothing earth shattering to Christians because we believe that, too. We believe Jesus taught it and promised it. We believe scripture tells us that is what happens to us when we die. Before Jesus left his disciples he told them he was going to his Father's house to prepare a room for them. He told the thief on the...

17. You've Already Won a Valuable Prize

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a recent interview with Bill and Melinda Gates, the richest couple in the world discussed their commitment to funneling millions, even billions of dollars into wiping out diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera. These age-old scourges have periodically decimated human populations since before recorded history. They flourish in poor conditions, bad water, and especially at the sites of ...

18. An Exquisite Attitude of Gratitude

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

On a grey Friday in January 2007, during the peak of the early morning commuter rush, an unassuming young man entered the L’Enfant Plaza train station in Washington D.C. As the crowds rushed by, the man found a place to stand out of the way of the foot traffic. He opened the violin case he carried. He threw into the case a few coins and dollar bills to “prime the pump.” And then he proceeded to b...

19. Legacies of Power

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Power is one of the marks of public success in today's world. We all know about power because we have experienced it, whether we were on the giving end or the receiving end. Power is difficult to define because it comes in so many different shapes and sizes. The very word power elicits different emotional responses in each of us. How we respond to power depends on who happens to have the power, a...

20. Set An Extra Place

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Leonard Sweet in his sermon, "The Exquisite Attitude of Gratitude" writes: "On a gray Friday in January 2007, during the peak of the early morning commuter rush, an unassuming young man entered the L'Enfant Plaza train station in Washington D.C. As the crowds rushed by, the man found a place to stand out of the way of the foot traffic. He opened the violin case he carried. He threw into the case ...

21. Height Advantage

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

One of the key inventions of the modern world is the geostationary or geosynchronous satellite, many of which are now orbiting the earth today. The fancy term "geostationary" means that the satellite's orbital velocity exactly matches the rotation of the Earth under it. Therefore it remains stationary in the sky, typically orbiting about 22,000 miles above the earth. The first operational geosynch...

22. They Said 'Yes!'

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Do you remember the first table grace you learned? You can join with me if you want. God is great, God is Good Now we thank Him for our food. By His hand we all are fed, Thank you Lord, for daily bread. Amen. Where did you learn that prayer? Who taught it to you? Your folks right? Who taught it to them? Their folks. I have no idea when that little ditty of a table grace was first written, but al...

23. Whose Inheritance Is It?

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Donna Schaper

The Holy Spirit gives us our inheritance. It does not come from our parents or grandparents, our nation or our race. Our inheritance is a gift from God. We have it as a dominion and domination. Domination — when we get first things absolutely first — is not a bad thing! Once we know the source of our inheritance, no other gods can rule us. Saints are the people who know this. Saints know who gave ...

24. The Final Word

John 11:25-26; Ephesians 1:12, 18-19

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

Several years ago, I was asked to perform a funeral for a brother of a member of our church. I'll call him Jason. When I don't know the person, I usually gather the family together and ask them about their most vivid memories of the person. Most of the time, the next hour is filled with laughter and tears and fond memories. When I asked Jason's family about their memories, there was this awkward ...

25. Toys R Us. NOT!

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a "Toys ''R'' Us" world that wants the gifts without the Giver, Christians are people who ask for the Giver, not the gifts. Hope is Us. Love is Us. Faith is Us. Toys "R" Us? Not! Two years ago the tacky tabloids had a field day when the beautiful, young, troubled Christina Onassis committed suicide, leaving behind her five-year-old daughter. In a phrase that probably encapsulated much of that ...

Showing 1 to 25 of 28 results