Sermon Resources on Out Of Our Control

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The Control Drug

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 22:1–14, Exodus 14:10–31, Job 1:20–22; 38–42, Luke 1:26–38 , 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Psalm 131:1–2

Kate Bowler is a gifted scholar and writer who, as a young wife and mom, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer—kept going six months at a time thanks to immunotherapy. She writes honestly about how ...

blog

Waking Up to the Illusion of Control

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

With the New Year comes resolutions. But are your resolutions an attempt to assert control over your life, rather than submit to God's transformational plans? Alan Fadling offers his wisdom as a p...

blog

How Our Work Shapes Us

Author

Kara Martin

Keywords

Note: This was originally posted on February 15, 2017 on the Stirring Our Affections website. Does our working shape us? Depending on what you do, you might answer that readily in the affirmativ...

liturgy

Holy God, we can be so full of fear at

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Holy God, we can be so full of fear at times – afraid of the unknown; afraid of what is beyond our control; afraid of what is strange to us. And we know that fear stops us in our tracks, hinders our a...

liturgy

Holy and Merciful God, We acknowledge

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Holy and Merciful God, We acknowledge that this crisis has exposed our idols. We accept that we have placed our trust and hope in stability, in consistency, and technology. And now, as we recognize o...

liturgy

Almighty God, we bow before You, humbly

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Almighty God, we bow before You, humbly able to admit how small, fragile, and dependent we are. Unfortunately, for many of us, it takes a disaster to convince us that we are not in control. Over the p...

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Still Creatures

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:8-14

For all the gifts and abilities that God has given us, we are still his creatures who do not possess the divine control over life. But that limit is rejected in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The ...

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Author

Rabindranath Tagore

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 104:14, Isaiah 61:11, Hosea 14:5, Psalm 127:1, Genesis 2:9

No, it is not yours to open buds into blossoms. Shake the bud, strike it; it is beyond your power to make it blossom. Your touch soils it, you tear its petals to pieces and strew them in the dust. ...

liturgy

Heavenly Father We confess before you

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Heavenly Father We confess before you and before one another that we do not always trust your goodness. We are worried about losing control of our lives, and we are scared of what taking up our cros...

liturgy

Gracious God, sometimes I think that I

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Gracious God, sometimes I think that I can figure out all the consequences of my decisions. I can become overly impressed with what I perceive to be my strategic vision and analysis. Forgive me for my...

liturgy

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:7-10, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 40:31, Luke 10:25-37, John 11:32-35

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You are always and forever for us: We can’t run away from Your presence; nor out-sin Your amazing grace and forgiveness. We can’t exhaust Your unconditional love nor ...

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Surrendering a Daughter to God’s Care

Author

Trevor Hudson

Keywords

Let me share one more lesson I am learning about daily surrender. It concerns the way we relate to others. Daily we encounter people who express views opposite to our own, hold values with which we ca...

liturgy

Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:33, James 1:5, Philippians 2:3-4

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain Save us from the temptation to never engage Save us from the temptation...

liturgy

Almighty and loving God, all of us here

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, Romans 5:8, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 34:18

Almighty and loving God, all of us here today are hurting. Some of us are hurting as the result of circumstances beyond our control. Some of us are hurting because of our own choices. Some of us are f...

liturgy

Father God: It is sometimes hard for us

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Father God: It is sometimes hard for us to understand what You do. We are in trouble. We want You to come rescue us right now, like the cavalry riding over a hill or the Lone Ranger appearing out of n...

Quote

Author

Charles Swindoll

Keywords

Providence

Anything under God’s control is never out of control.

Quote

Author

Gregory of Nyssa

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:2-6 , Job 38:4-7, Isaiah 6:1-4, Psalm 104:1-4, John 1:1-5, 14, Colossians 1:16-17

What Moses saw in the burning bush was nothing less than “the transcendent essence and cause of the universe, on which everything depends, alone subsists.

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The Hand will Be the First to Burn

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Daniel 3:, Job 1:, Matthew 10:32-33, 2 Timothy 1:7, Psalm 31:24

Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), the archbishop of Canterbury from 1532 to 1556, played a pivotal role in the English Reformation. A key figure in Henry VIII’s break with the Roman Catholic Church, Cranmer...

liturgy

God, you come to us and meet us in the

Author

Ruth C. Duck

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:11-12, Isaiah 41:10, Luke 2:19, Isaiah 52:7, Micah 6:8, Acts 2:17

God, you come to us and meet us in the strangest ways: sometimes in the stillness at the eye of the storm or in the midnight of our lives; sometimes in the raging whirlwind or in the high noon of our ...

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Author

Dan Allender

Keywords

Crises serve to remind us that we are fundamentally not in control.

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The Center of Our Own World

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

He may have been the hardest person I ever counseled. He was self-assured and controlling. He argued for the rightfulness of everything he had ever done. He acted like the victim when in fact he was t...

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How Our Limits Help Us

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1, Genesis 18:10–14, Habakkuk 2:3, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:23–25, Psalm 27:14

We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it. But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re...

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Waiting Forces us To Reckon with the Deep Questions of our Identity

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re waiting in the grocery store aisle for two minutes. We listen to podcasts on our commute. We lea...

blog

What Pastors Need When Ministry Gets Hard

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Being a pastor can be a lonely and exhausting job. We’ve all had friends burn out, break down, mess up, or just barely survive in their ministries. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking ministry—answer...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 1:18-21 (Guide B)

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-21

Sometimes, even if we're "doing everything right," life just turns upside down and we're left scrambling to find our footing. This is one of those stories. In Luke's gospel, ...

blog

What Would it Mean to Remission Your Church?

Author

Josh Hayden

Transformation Starts With You Transformation of an established church requires transformation of the leader (usually before transformation can happen in the congregation). Simon Sinek wrote Le...

lectionary

Third Sunday of Advent

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Isaiah 40:null, Lamentations 1:2, Lamentations 1:9, Lamentations 1:17, Lamentations 1:21, Luke 4:18-19

Advent 2020: Tear Down the Heavens Dressed in Righteousness Updated & expanded for 2023 AIM Commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? Living as Captives Our text t...

Quote

Author

Emile Griffin

Keywords

Retreat

Making a retreat requires as certain kind of trust. We need to trust the Spirit. In contrast to vacations or holidays in which activities—planned sight-seeing, sports, entertainment, or events—are wit...

blog

The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:null

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or. what's a heaven for? " Robert Browning A part of our desire at The Pastor’s Workshop is to help pastors connect the stories in ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 2:1-20 (Guide A)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—complacency. As a child,...

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