Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 51 to 75 of 173 results

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

W.E. Sangster once told about being invited to a party held to celebrate a wedding. He arrived late and knew nobody there except the friend who invited him. He subsequently played the role of a mere spectator to the evening’s festivities. Everyone, he noted, seemed to be in high spirits. They danced and shouted and sang and laughed and played games and indulged in all sorts of entertainment. They...

52. Third Sunday in Advent

Psalm 145:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-12

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55 First Lesson—God's People will be gathered with great joy from times of grief and uncertainty. Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 Second Lesson—As the farmer must patiently wait for passing seasons so the sufferer must be patient in anticipation of final relief. James 5:7-10 Gospel—Jesus reassures John the Baptist that truly Messianic ministry is happening and pays h...

53. Proper 9, Pentecost 7, Ordinary Time 14

Psalm 145:8-14, Zechariah 9:9-13, Matthew 11:1-19, Romans 7:15-25a

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Confession And Forgiveness Leader: We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. All: Blessed redeemer, we do not understand our own actions and at times we do the very things we hate. We confess to you our disobedience and our rebellion. We confess to you our self-centeredness and scapegoating of others. We confess to you our slavery to sin and our falling to temp...

54. Advent 3

Psalm 145:5-10, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-10

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Gathering Prayer: Litany Of Expectation Leader: Waiting in our darkness, All: slammed doors and stifled cries, Leader: a phone that doesn’t ring, All: a child who hasn’t returned home, Leader: waiting in our darkness; All: we remember your promise, and we are not alone. Leader: O God of all the ages, we pray that you would come to us who long to see you, who long to hear your voice. Breathe life i...

55. Proper 9

Genesis 24:1-67, Psalm 45:1-17, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, Romans 7:7-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 45:10-17 First Lesson - The arrangement of the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah is made by Abraham through an emissary. Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58- 67 Second Lesson - Paul describes the conflict within us as between the old and the new nature. Romans 7:15-25 Gospel - Jesus describes the contradictions in the behavior of his critics and his happiness at the response of the si...

56. You're Watching What?

Matthew 11:1-19, Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has said that cleaning with kids in the house is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos . . . Isn’t that so? Another person has said that behind every good marriage is a great house cleaning service. Speaking of cleaning your house, let me ask you a question: what is your go-to technique for relieving stress? Just about everyone feels overwhelmed with stress from time to time. A me...

57. Prisoners of Hope

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

We humans are really good at excuses. We’ve had lots of practice since Adam and Eve started the ball rolling by first blaming each other, then the serpent, and finally even blaming God for their rebellion against their Creator. Give us enough time and we can justify or rationalize away just about anything we do, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Let me give you a true-life exa...

58. The Art of Critique

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Today, as our world continues to become ravaged by COVID-19, people are feeling anxious, impatient, frustrated, and critical. We are less busy with the things that normally hold our attention. We are bored with staying inside, refraining from seeing the people we love and doing the activities that animate us. We are sick and tired of being “sick and tired!” The more cooped up we feel, the angrier...

59. He treated me with dignity

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian minister who teaches at Regent College in Vancouver, tells the story of wanting to discuss some feelings and energies he was having that he believed had to do with God. It was the summer after Peterson's second year of college. His first two attempts at finding someone who would listen to him didn't work out very well. Peterson tried talking to his pastor, but after...

60. The Controlling Emotion of Fear

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Johnny Dean

Years ago H. A. Williams was one of the leading preachers and theologians of the Church of England. He titled his autobiography, Someday I'll Find You. That may seem like an unusual title for an autobiography, but if you read the book it begins to make sense. You see, there was a period in Dr. Williams' life when he was almost totally incapacitated by phobic anxieties. He was afraid to go into th...

61. He is the One We are Looking For

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

You see, God through Jesus Christ is still bringing good news to the poor. He is still bringing those who were dead back to life again! He is still healing those who were broken! In the May, 1982, issue of Guideposts magazine, Norman Vincent Peale tells of a woman who came to him for help. Her husband had been killed in a tragic car crash, and as a result, she felt numb, hopeless, and "broken. P...

62. A Style in Mistakes

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

The only way we ever really know any of the masters, the real geniuses, is by knowing their style. Suppose you hear a strain of music that you have never heard before, but in just a minute you say, "that's Brahms," or "that's Beethoven." How do you know? That's their style, the way they do it. No one else does it quite that way. We had quite a controversy some time ago when somebody gave two wonde...

63. Answering Criticism

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

Think of the things that were said about Lincoln by his contemporaries - the calumnies, the caricatures, the unjust criticisms. But consider the accurate estimate of his style today. With what insight he wrote, when he said, "If I were to try to read, must less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how and I mean to ...

64. Swimming in Tiny Circles

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

Grady Nutt used to tell the story of taking a goldfish out of a bowl and placing it in a large body of water. He said that for several hours the goldfish would continue to swim in little, tiny circles because it had not yet learned of the vastness of the pool." Are you the one?" John the Baptist asked. Evidence came back to John that suggested Jesus was the one, the messiah, but it was still impo...

65. A Contented Man

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

Illustration

David E. Leininger

A story is told of a king who was suffering from a malady and was advised by his astrologer that he would be cured if the shirt of a contented man were brought to him to wear. People went out to all parts of the kingdom after such a person, and after a long search they found a man who was really happy...but he did not possess a shirt.

66. Our Value in God's Eyes

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

Illustration

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of two hundred, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the $20 bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do th...

67. Don’t Miss Life

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

David E. Leininger

Frank Lloyd Wright, the world-famous architect, told how a lecture he received at the age of nine helped set his philosophy of life. An uncle, a stolid, no-nonsense type, had taken him for a long walk across a snow-covered field. At the far side, his uncle told him to look back at their two sets of tracks. "See, my boy," he said, "how your footprints go aimlessly back and forth from those trees, t...

68. Knee Deep In Alligators

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Johnny Dean

Did you ever hear the expression, "When you're knee-deep in alligators and copperheads, it's hard to remember that your primary objective was to clean out the swamp?" That's how I imagine John the Baptist must have felt as he stared at those damp, cold walls of Herod's dungeon, day after day, knowing in his heart that only a miracle would allow him to leave that place alive. Wouldn't you be scared...

69. Timing Is Everything

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Mark Trotter

I was reading about steamships. It was a wonderful article in which the author said that the dream of a self-propelled ship had been a dream of humankind for hundreds of years. Then one day the time came when it was theoretically possible, but it was still not practically possible. The dream was kept alive for another hundred years or so by inventors and experimenters, some of whom were considered...

70. The Time of Preparation and the Time of Fulfillment

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Mark Trotter

Hugh Redwood was a British journalist. He described a time when he was under a terrific strain and pressure because of terrible decisions that he had to make. He didn't want to make them. He didn't know which way to turn. One day he was invited to give a speech in another town. His host arranged a little reception before the event in his house so that he could meet some people. During the receptio...

71. Reacting to Critics

Matthew 11:2-12; 15:1-2

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

The pastor John Maxwell tells a story about a salesman who went to his barber for a haircut. He told the barber about his upcoming trip to Rome. The barber was a rather acidic fellow. He had only negative comments to make about the airline the salesman had chosen, the hotel where he was going to stay, about Rome in general, and even about his hope of having an audience with the Pope. A month later...

72. Times Were Hard

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Trace Haythorn

The times were hard. The government, a huge bureaucracy that provided so many important things like roads and military support and the justice system, was hopelessly out of touch with the people. And the religious establishment wasn't much better. It seemed so focused on preserving the status quo that it had little or no vision for what might yet come to pass. When a prophet spoke out, they were v...

73. One Beggar Telling Another Where to Find Food

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Steven Molin

Paul Tillich was one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, the "father of existential theology" was he. And yet, when he was asked to define what a Christian is, he said "Oh, that's easy; a Christian is simply one beggar telling another beggar where to find food." The Christian Church in the 21st century does not see itself as beggars telling other beggars where to find food. Rather, I...

74. If God Knows I’m Worth It

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

There was a nurse who served faithfully in an isolated clinic in West Virginia's mountains. A physician from the nearest city would come out one day per week. He noticed how the nurse gave far more of herself than anyone could expect. He knew how substandard her salary was. One day he said to her, "Nurse, why don't you get out of this backward, isolated community and go where you can earn a good s...

75. You Can’t Blame John

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

You can't blame John. After all, he's in prison. In prison. Let those two little words sink in. He's in prison. A not so nice place to be. In prison. The very man who had attracted a flurry of attention in recent years because of his no-holds-barred announcements of a new world order that was just around the corner; this one, this man, this fiery preacher who shook up everything and everyone with ...

Showing 51 to 75 of 173 results

51. Unnoticed at Your Own Party

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

52. Third Sunday in Advent

Psalm 145:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-12

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

53. Proper 9, Pentecost 7, Ordinary Time 14

Psalm 145:8-14, Zechariah 9:9-13, Matthew 11:1-19, Romans 7:15-25a

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

54. Advent 3

Psalm 145:5-10, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-10

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

55. Proper 9

Genesis 24:1-67, Psalm 45:1-17, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, Romans 7:7-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

56. You're Watching What?

Matthew 11:1-19, Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

57. Prisoners of Hope

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

58. The Art of Critique

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

59. He treated me with dignity

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

60. The Controlling Emotion of Fear

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Johnny Dean

61. He is the One We are Looking For

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

62. A Style in Mistakes

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

63. Answering Criticism

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

64. Swimming in Tiny Circles

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

65. A Contented Man

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

Illustration

David E. Leininger

66. Our Value in God's Eyes

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

Illustration

67. Don’t Miss Life

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

David E. Leininger

68. Knee Deep In Alligators

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Johnny Dean

69. Timing Is Everything

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Mark Trotter

70. The Time of Preparation and the Time of Fulfillment

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Mark Trotter

71. Reacting to Critics

Matthew 11:2-12; 15:1-2

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

72. Times Were Hard

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Trace Haythorn

73. One Beggar Telling Another Where to Find Food

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Steven Molin

74. If God Knows I’m Worth It

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

75. You Can’t Blame John

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

Showing 51 to 75 of 173 results