Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 226 to 250 of 4938 results

226. As The World Turns

Matthew 4:12-17

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A piece of charcoal and a white handkerchief Good Morning, boys and girls. Jesus told people to repent. Repentance means to turn around--to quit doing things that hurt you and hurt other people. Everybody needs to repent from time to time. For some people repentance will mean choosing different friends because some friends will lead us to do wrong. Let's use an example. If you rub an unclean object with a clean one, what happens to the clean one? Let's try it with this handkerchief and this piece ...

227. Don’t Turn Down a Sure Chance

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

One of the most popular places in Memphis is Tom Lee Park, a beautiful open space alongside the mighty Mississippi. If you have lingered there long enough to read the plaque, you know that the park was named for an African-American man named Tom Lee. One day in 1925, a steamer with lots of passengers aboard sank in the river, just below Memphis. Tom Lee saw the tragedy. He jumped into his small boat and with great courage and determination headed toward those drowning people. He rescued 32 people of them. ...

228. Tell the Cats to Turn Around

Luke 4:21-30

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

We despise people who challenge our cherished myths and kick us out of our comfort zones. The truth is that when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to the spirit of Christ. Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of a previous generation. He was conducting a crusade in a particular city. In one of his sermons he said something critical of the labor conditions for workers in that area. After the service, several prominent businessmen sent a message ...

229. No One Knows What They Will Be Tomorrow

Matt 13:24-30, 36-43

Illustration

Charles Hoffacker

Sometimes we are wheat and sometimes we are weeds. St. Augustine, in commenting on this parable, makes this point when he says: "There is this difference between people and real grain and real weeds, for what was grain in the field is grain and what were weeds are weeds. But in the Lord's field, which is the church, at times what was grain turns into weeds and at times what were weeds turn into grain; and no one knows what they will be tomorrow." ["Sermon 73A.1," quoted in Manlio Simonetti, ed., "Ancient ...

230. One Good Word - Thanks!

Lamentations 3:1-66

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

When Mark Twain was at the peak of his writing career, it is said that his magazine and journal articles were worth $5 a word--a great sum of money in those days. One enterprising Harvard graduate student sent Mark Twain a letter: "Dear Mr. Twain: Enclosed please find $5. Please send me your best word." A few days later, the student received a telegram with this single word response: "Thanks!" "Thanks" may be the most valuable word in any language. It is certainly the word that dominates our thinking ...

231. The One Who Came Still Comes; The One Who Spoke Still Speaks

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Michael Milton

Ladies, what would you think if your husband came home with a box of Valentine candy and twelve long stem roses? In July? Well, he certainly would get your attention! Today I am doing something I love to do—preach about a familiar seasonable passage, out of season! Why? First, it is the next text we come to in Mark. But, second, liberated from the church calendar and from some of the expectations and trappings¾helpful and unhelpful¾we are free to explore deeper meaning and richer application for our lives ...

232. One Life-Changing Word

Isaiah 9:2-7 · Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the most popular and heart-warming stories ever told is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This story describes the lonely and mis-lived life of Ebenezer Scrooge. (1) The story opens on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Scrooge‘s business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an ageing miser, dislikes Christmas and refuses a dinner invitation from his nephew Fred. He also turns away two men who seek a donation from him to provide food and heating for the poor . . . and ...

233. Becoming One of the Beautiful People

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

We all want to be recognized, appreciated, made to feel important. We all want to be somebody. A banker was visiting a customer's farm. He nodded to a figure in the farmyard. "I suppose that's the hired man," he said. The farmer replied, "Naw, that's the first vice president in charge of cows." All of us what to be recognized. All of us want to believe we are important. Alex Haley, the author of ROOTS served in the Coast Guard during World War II. Because of his race, Haley's jobs were limited to the ...

234. What Happens When You Are Not Number One?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In his book, Hide or Seek, James Dobson tells of a time when John McKay, the great football coach at the University of Southern California, was interviewed on television, and the subject of his son’s athletic talent was raised. Son John was a successful player on his dad’s team. Coach McKay was asked to comment on the pride that he felt over his son’s accomplishments on the field. His answer was most impressive: “Yes, I’m pleased that John had a good season last year. He does a fine job, and I’m proud of ...

235. That We May All Be One!

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

In the nineteenth century, most American denominations felt pretty smug that theirs was the real faith. Some might have grudgingly admitted that not everyone would be cast into outer darkness for the sin of worshiping in the wrong building. But overall it was a time when theological differences as well as points of practice separated people. Having said that, some denominations had a lot in common, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Take the Mennonites and the Dunkers, otherwise known as the German ...

236. Ruth, One whose Faith Does Not Turn Away

Ruth 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, let all who would be faithful to the Lord gather now for worship! People: We will not turn away from the Lord who has shown us mercy and love. Leader: For there is no other to whom we might turn. Only God is true. People: And we celebrate the wonders and mercy of the Lord God Almighty. Leader: Then let us lift our voices in song and praise for God's forgiving love. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, truly there is no other like You, yet You extend to us Your ...

237. Turn Your Other Cheek

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

I think of Jackie Robinson and the real service he provided to millions of people - players and fans alike - when he broke a long standing barrier and opened the big leagues to black athletes. As Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, prepared Robinson to sign a contract, he wondered if the young player would be equal to the challenge. Would Robinson be able to stay out of fights, both on and off the field? Could he behave in such a way that he would neither arouse black fans nor openly antagonize ...

238. Turn the Light On

Luke 6:12

Illustration

Staff

In a letter to his friends, hymn writer Wendell P. Loveless related this story: One evening a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn't know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted ...

239. Christmas Turns Everything Upside Down

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Illustration

Ian Chapman

A preacher tells of the time when a woman, her arms filled with Christmas presents, came out of a department store and bumped right into him. It was a good, solid bump, and all of her parcels dropped on the sidewalk. As he bent down to help her pick them up, she said, more to herself than anyone else, "Oh, I hate Christmas. It turns everything upside down." And so it does. Christmas turns the world topsy-turvy because it is centered in a baby, and babies change everything! Just watch a doting grandmother ...

240. Close the Door to Turn on the Light

Mark 6:30-44

Illustration

King Duncan

One evening years ago a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth, but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn't know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted his plight and said, "Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have ...

241. No One Over 12 Inches Wide Need Apply

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Jonathan Romig tells about a place he likes to go caving near his home town of Estes Park, Colorado. Someone has defined caving as the art of safely moving through a natural cave to a destination and returning to the surface without hurting yourself or the cave. Caving is also known, of course, as spelunking. Many people find caving challenging and enjoyable. However, it is definitely not for those who suffer from claustrophobia. The place Pastor Romig tells about is a mountain in Colorado called ...

242. Step One - Honesty

Luke 8:26-39 · Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

This past summer I read an article that caused me to make a significant change from my usual practice of preaching from the lectionary. The article, titled, "Coming to Grips with Drug Abuse," made the point that neither clergy nor parents need to be experts on drug dependency, though we do need to be well informed. We need to understand what it means to describe chemical dependency as a disease. Therefore I am going to talk about addiction for a time before I talk about today's Scripture readings. But what ...

243. Not One is Upright

Jeremiah 5:1-31

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Poor and Great, All of Jerusalem Depraved (5:1-9): This oracle is a dialogue between Yahweh and Jeremiah. Yahweh first challenges Jeremiah to go out into Jerusalem to discover a single righteous person (5:1–2). Jeremiah then argues that the good people are among the leaders, not the poor who are in the streets. He is quickly disillusioned (5:3–6), and finally, on this basis, God proclaims that his coming judgment is just (5:7–9). 5:1–2 The challenge goes out, presumably to Jeremiah in the light of the ...

244. The One and Only Original Sin

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a culture where even the atheists claim to have a "spirituality," it's time for the church to soul out. Until March of 1997, the approaching Third Millennium sneaked up on us like some great, fun adventure. For intrepid entrepreneurs, the year 2000 promises huge sales in commemorative junk. Party planners have been plotting big New Year's Eve blowouts for years. Except for those nerdy computer types who are wringing their hands and predicting crash and burn for all computer systems that use just two ...

245. One Feisty Woman

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Roy Howard

We could begin by noting that this is one feisty woman. Or, at the risk of irreverence, we could begin by noting that Jesus is one rude man. Rather than focus on one or the other, I suggest we explore the relationship enfolded in this remarkable gospel story and then ask about the implications for us. That the encounter between Jesus, the Jew, and this woman, a Gentile, even occurred was remarkable enough, but the fact that Matthew chose to tell it, and not erase it from history, makes it astounding. After ...

246. Two Are Better Than One

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

Sermon

Sandra Herrmann

Well, here we are -- despite whatever trepidation you may have felt over the last few weeks or days, the time has finally arrived for you two to stand up before your family and friends and to announce your vows for everyone to hear. This is no small thing. In a world of change and uncertainty, when people move and change every aspect of their lives not once but three or four times in their lives, where the bonds of matrimony are easily severed when things go wrong, and every other marriage ends in divorce ...

247. One Life To Live

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In the movie The Truman Show, Truman Burbank believes his life is no different from anyone else's. He has one life to live, just like the rest of us. But one day he begins to notice peculiar things happening. For example he notices things that happen exactly the same way every day. This causes him to get suspicious that something strange is going on. What he doesn't realize is that every second of his life from the day he was born has been telecast live to the entire planet. He is the star of The Truman ...

248. A Happy Ending

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six: When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly Me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as ever. So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.[1] This is a cute poem, but beneath its adorable rhyme lies a very sensitive issue for all of us: resistance to change. The truth is that most ...

249. One Bride For Seven Brothers

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

You are middle-aged or older if you remember when the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was first released. It was an exuberant, fast-paced musical about seven brothers on the frontier of the United States who were all looking for brides. Such "commodities" were rare in their part of the world. But, of course, in the end each brother got his bride. The story in our lectionary passage for today is about one bride for seven brothers, but the end of the story is not as happy and upbeat as was the movie. ...

250. Such a Good Time

Matthew 17:4

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A bag of popcorn or peanuts. Lesson: So Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is a good thing that we are here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Good morning, boys and girls. Tell me about some place you have been where you had really good time. (Let them answer.) What place did you visit where you wished that you did not have to leave and come home very soon? (Let them answer.) I just love to go to the movies and watch a very good ...

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