Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2501 to 2525 of 4957 results

2501. God's Bag of Cookies

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... be with us. All our lives, we’ve been helping ourselves to God’s bag of cookies. Whether we realize it or not, whatever cookies we have are cookies that come from God. Have we acknowledged the source of the gifts with which we have blessed, or do we simply claim them as our own and dare anyone to try to take part of it away? My friend Brett Blair shares the following story: Once at a church meeting a wealthy member of the church rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. "I’m a ...

2502. Another Tricky Question

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... , making speeches, and hugging all those children?") came to Jesus one day with a tricky question. Or should I say ANOTHER tricky question? Members of the religious establishment of Jesus’ day were constantly trying to trick him into making some statement or claim that would damage his popularity with the general public or get him into trouble with either the Roman government or the leadership of the synagogue. In today’s gospel reading from Matthew, one of the Pharisees comes to Jesus and says, "Excuse ...

2503. Get Ready, Get Set...Wait!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... gladly tell you, in a convincing manner, that this is the time Jesus talked about in scripture, that the world is going to end any day now, and you’d better be ready. And who knows – they might be right! But I have to wonder if these folks who claim to speak for God have read the warning Jesus is giving his disciples here in Matthew’s gospel. Most often what is missing from their pronouncements of coming doom and gloom is a reminder that our concentration is not to be on the future, but on the present ...

2504. Here Comes the Judge!

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... One for you, and one for you, and one for you!’ Then, for her own meal, she licked the inside of that banana peel." Jackson concludes the story, "And I will always believe that I saw the face of God that day." In a world where "religious" people, claiming to speak for God, often appear to know so much, to have such clear and firm ideas about exactly what’s right and exactly what’s wrong, who’s going to Heaven and who’s going to Hell, isn’t it refreshing to hear of those whose sole motivation ...

2505. Hard Times May Drop In For A Visit

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Joann Hary

... end! Some of you out there have gone through a loss of your business or your family farm, had a pregnancy you were so hopeful about that ended in a miscarriage, gotten word that your son or daughter's marriage was in trouble, or have had a car accident claim the life of your best friend. All of us have lived through those times, and we have lived through them. And as we lived through them, we cried out to God, wondering whether God was even there. And our bones felt dried out, cut off! In fact, even right ...

2506. And Who is my Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... shall love your neighbor as your self Every one knew what the law required! I would like to make three observation about the lesson this morning: 1. We Know God's Law: Love God and Neighbor. V. 25-28 There is nothing new about this law. We cannot like George claim "I never heard of that one." It is as old and the stars and as familiar to us as our own need to be loved. We know this law—we cannot not deny its existence. Someone has observed that Knowledge is exploding at such a rate--more than 2000 pages ...

2507. Where is the Nearest Sycamore Tree?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... Abraham" thing? It wasn’t a compliment. Think about it: who were the children of Abraham? They were Israel, all those wayward sinners who time after time turned their backs on God, proving that they were sinners in need of a savior. Being a "son of Abraham" isn’t a claim to fame. It simply makes Zaccheus just one more sinner in need of a savior. Jesus came to eat with and drink with, to seek and to save, the lost. If you’re not lost, or you don’t THINK you’re lost, you don’t know that you need ...

2508. When You Least Expect It...

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... world. God loves, because God is love. Now if someone should ask you to prove that this story really happened, don’t even try it. Many theologians today think that the Emmaus story never happened. There are three different villages in the Holy Land that claim to be the ancient village of Emmaus. But there is no record of any village called Emmaus in any ancient source. The only place in the New Testament where we hear about Emmaus is here in Luke’s gospel. One theologian says, "Emmaus is nowhere, and ...

2509. The Elders

Drama

William Grimbol

... a simple man, a very poor man, with a very simple message. He isn't harming anyone. DAVID: Lies do all of us harm. They erode our culture and our faith. What is so simple, anyway, about calling yourself a Messiah or a miracle-worker? NATHAN: He does claim both! RUTH: So what? What he lives is exceptional, and what he teaches is extraordinary. RACHEL: He poses no threat to my faith. RUTH: Unless his loving manner and methods are frightening to you both. DAVID: The only threat I see in him is that he is a ...

2510. Death Stinks

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... I’m talking about today, right now." Resurrection is a present reality, not a wild futuristic fantasy, born in desperation from the minds of a grief-stricken people. The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, says that this is the central claim of Christianity, that Christ’s own resurrection and his power to raise others is absolutely critical for the Christian faith. And we trivialize the resurrection when we tell folks they have to believe in EVERYTHING we believe in in order to be considered ...

2511. Easter is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Acts 1:1-11, Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... . Invite people to come to church with you. We don’t have any trouble talking with friends about anything else. We can sit and talk about the weather for half an hour, and yet we say we cannot spend 5 minutes telling someone for which we claim to have feelings about the most important decision they will ever make in their lives? Something is wrong with this picture. Now, those early followers of Jesus didn’t make a mad dash back to Jerusalem and start preaching on street corners. They returned to join ...

2512. You Don't Give a Damn

Luke 4:14-30

Illustration

James Garrett

... genuine morality. We are called to action, not to fancy words. Jesus preached a short sermon. But what a sermon. He clearly denotes the kind of ministry he came to pursue. It is to be a ministry to the poor and outcast, the blind and unaffirmed. Jesus made a bold claim that day. I am the Christ! Salvation has become real and visible today.

2513. How Soon Is "Soon"?

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

... , and famines. The sun has been obscured by eclipses and volcanic eruptions; meteors of all sizes have fallen to earth. The forces of evil have often overcome the followers of God. Many false prophets have arisen throughout history, including individuals who claim to be Christ. Christians have fallen away from their faith. Does this mean the signs have been fulfilled so the end will come immediately? Or is there more to come? Some interpreters argue that since the entire world has not been engulfed ...

2514. You Can't Start a Car With a Cross

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... to the gift of salvation in Christ. Keith Miller, the author, tells of a forty-year-old woman who shared her past with a Christian fellowship group. Reconciliation with God, herself and others did not come easily for Alice. Reconciliation came under circumstances some claim turned them "off" to God and people. Alice tells of being raised in an orphanage. She remembers not being very pretty. She also remembers wanting to be adopted into a family. "I tried too hard to please everybody who came to look me over ...

2515. No Tears for Me, Please

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... our discipleship. He wants us to follow him in cross-bearing. He had a cross, and to follow him means to bear one also. Do you remember Jesus said, "If any one would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me"? Bonhoeffer claimed that when Jesus calls us to follow him, he bids us come and die with him. Discipleship means the voluntary assumption of a cross. And the world is full of crosses. Each Christian has a cross to bear. Because the world is evil, a Christian cannot avoid a ...

2516. WHAT IS MAN?

Sermon

Larry Powell

... of the people who championed the cause FOR capital punishment some months ago, further proposing that we "bring back the guillotine." Then, last week, he proposed that convicted murderers be executed in the identical manner by which the victim's life had been claimed. I wish to make only one observation about the learned Senator; he is consistent. Whatever else, he is consistent. Consistency has its merits. At least, it enables us to know what to expect. Inconsistency is what drives one up the wall - the ...

2517. The Household Leader

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

... as the leader of the home, then you must be with them at home! lf you are not there for your young child to bring you a broken toy to mend, you cannot expect that child to come to you later for help with a broken heart. Too many fathers claim they are too busy to spend time with their families. There was a man I read about who was an earnest church worker. He was a very successful businessman who was making lots of money. One day he said to a friend, as though he were proud of it, "You ...

2518. Peace Through Sacrifice

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

... from the valley, traversing the hill to the Golden Gate. Ancient tradition holds that it is through the gate which the King of Israel entered to assume his authority. Some centuries ago, the Moslems bricked up the gate, so no one could go through it and claim kingship over them. Even while I was there I saw a Moslem guard chase a tourist away from it. Jesus entered through the Golden Gate, and was carried up the ramp on the inside by his young animal, to the level of the Temple courtyard. Most certainly ...

2519. Encounters With Christ I: Jesus & the Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Sermon

James W. Moore

... as a Man. He says “The man Jesus did this for me.” Next, He calls Jesus a Prophet. He says: “To be able to do this he must be a Prophet.” Then in that intimate moment at the end he sees Him as the Son of God. And finally, he claims Him as “The Lord of His Life.” Look at this now… The closer he gets to Jesus, the more time he spends with Jesus,… the clearer he sees God! And that’s the way it works for us, too, because you see, that’s what it means to have Christ ...

2520. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Bulletin Aid

Robert G. McCreight

... . (Reduce The Sanctuary Lights To The Level Of ONE). Narrator: The years of Israel's life in covenant with God became decades, and then centuries. Each new generation grew farther from the promises of the covenant - both in time and in practice. They claimed to be the people of light, but many turned their backs on God and his righteousness, living as do those possessed by wickedness and sin. The darkness that existed before the time of creation seemed to represent the oppression and unwholesomeness of the ...

2521. The Entrance Into Jerusalem

Mark 11:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... : (Consolingly) I'm sure she did. HAMATH: Do you think he really might be the Messiah? RIBLAH: Who? Jesus of Nazareth? HAMATH: Of course, Jesus! Who else have we been talking about? RIBLAH: You don't have to get huffy. He's not the only fellow floating around, claiming to be the Messiah. And you know what happened to the others. All put to death in various unpleasant ways. HAMATH: Yes, but, well, do you? Do you think this Jesus is the Messiah? RIBLAH: I don't see where it matters much one way or the other ...

2522. Raised Voices

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... some miracle, we should arrive there, you and I would probably be long dead. And then what's our guarantee that the people who live there now would let us in? REBECCA: But the Lord says ... HANNAH: Are you sure that's the Lord talking? Or is it just Moses, claiming to be the mouthpiece of God? You know how much he wants this to happen. REBECCA: (Desperately) We all do! HANNAH: Speak for yourself, Rebecca. I do not think this is a good idea. At all. And I'm sure this is none of God's doing. REBECCA: Why ...

2523. Mary Of Nazareth

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ephesians 1:15-23

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... through the bitter and lonely night. Alone in the darkness, Jesus had three private, illegal trials with the Pharisees, all accompanied with beatings. I was helpless to do anything. During the early morning he was sent to Pilate accused of the crime of claiming to be God's son. Pilate tried him and had him beaten again. Unable to find anything wrong with his prisoner, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas. Herod found Jesus guilty and had him returned to Pilate. Pilate was pressured by the screaming, irrational ...

2524. Monologue: Rahab

Joshua 2:1-24

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... rumors about an unusual, traveling group of people called the Israelites. You are aware of the fact, I'm sure, that we had always had many gods in Jericho. Some were better than others, some smarter, more alert and so on. These Israelite people only claimed to hold allegiance to one God who was invisible. Often, we could hold our gods in our hands for convenience. It was hard for us to understand the concept of one, sovereign god. Not only that, but these people kept to themselves. They were separate ...

2525. Monologue: Esther

Esther 1:1-22

Drama

Lynda Pujad

... . Then, I straightforwardly asked for the safeguarding of the lives of my people and of myself. At that time, I exposed Haman for the murderer that he was. Haman, who had come to the banquet pompously and joyously, pleaded for his life. Naturally, he even claimed to be my friend. He was hung on the gallows he built for my Uncle Mordecai. The king then sent out a decree allowing the Jewish people to be able to defend themselves against anyone who might fight them. Our fear of annihilation and destruction ...

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