Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2576 to 2600 of 4945 results

2576. The Shadow

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

At Dolphin Cay, our home on Orcas Island, Washington, we have standing just outside our front door an old ship's binnacle--a 3.5-foot tall wooden post fitted with a maritime compass and leveling weights. But in the black of night, with the dim, blue-black porch light burning behind it, this benign binnacle takes on an insidious nature. Coming down our hallway anytime after midnight, it looks as though some rather short, stocky person is peeking in at us from just outside the front door. Even though we know ...

2577. The Full Advent: Whoa! No Way? Wow!

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This Sunday marks a new “season” in the church calendar. After a series of twenty-four Sundays defined simply as “After Pentecost,” the church community around the world is now called to focus on a new turn in our journey. Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation for the “coming” (adventus) of Jesus. But mostly during Advent we do strange and ridiculous things. We put up a tree in our living room. Not too long ago our ancestors even used to light the tree with burning candles, which burned many ...

2578. Song of the Sabbath

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 7:18-35, Mark 2:18-22, Mark 2:23-3:6, Mark 3:7-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: Visuals of Hubbel Space Photos and/or eclipse photos [Begin running about 30 or more Hubbel photos as you begin your sermon. If you want to take an especially creative field trip, deliver your sermon inside of a conservatory or planetarium with stars above and the Creation story displayed.] Part of the “human” in human being is to be fascinated with space. We lie back and imagine images in the sky we call constellations. We count stars. We contemplate life on other planets. We attach astrological ...

2579. A Living Memorial

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Maundy Thursday can and should be one of the most meaningful days on the Christian calendar. It brings us face-to-face with the heart of the matter -- our sin, the estrangement from God it causes, and the cost of reconciliation. For much of the year, even faithful and good Christians can avoid facing the painful reality of sin in our lives and our need for a dramatic remedy for that sin. On this special day, we see clearly the pain and agony of what Christ faced. The suffering of Christ was essential ...

2580. Anybody Listening?

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

William G. Carter

His name was George, and he sat in the back row of the sanctuary on the preacher's right. A permanent scowl was chiseled on his face. His posture announced to all that he was a man not easily pleased. Ushers tip-toed around him. Whenever his name came up in conversation around church hallways, someone would always ask, "Why does a grouch like that keep coming to worship?" No one ever came up with an answer. One thing was certain -- George was particularly hard on preachers. "I have heard hundreds of ...

2581. When The Odds Are Against Us

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

I recently had the privilege of introducing Maya Angelou who addressed a luncheon honoring Cecil Williams at Perkins School of Theology. Ms. Angelou, a world renowned poet, writer, and actress, is author of the best-selling book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and is perhaps best remembered for her poem, "On the Pulse of the Morning," which she read at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton on January 20, 1993. As I listened to her eloquent and challenging address, I was especially ...

2582. Till Death Do Us -- Unite

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

Praise be to the Death Conqueror! God had done miraculous things for the widow and her family through the Prophet Elijah. Enough flour and oil to live on through a drought. Then this widow's son became sick. He eventually died. "Why, O prophet, have you let this happen?" she asked. But God wasn't done bestowing miracles on this family. Elijah, harboring the same question for God, stretched himself on the boy three times -- and he became a fence-climbing, dog-chasing son again! A second widow had heard ...

2583. Training Wheels For Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Another world, another day, another time. The bright sun cast its long dark shadows along streets filled with carts and animals, never once falling on automobile, trolley or McDonald's litter in the gutter. Another world, another day, another time. Yet the sounds of people were there, even more evident without the sound of motor cars. The shouting of a young man, the call of an elderly woman, the bawling of a young child. But in the darkness of an entryway to a home on that busy street we see a door open, ...

2584. Cultivating Our Garden

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

I remember a news program which showed the release of a number of wild turkeys into the wilderness of southwestern United States. They were seeking to reestablish a strain of turkeys in that area. In order to track them and understand how they were doing, a little radio was affixed to the back of each of the turkeys. Can you imagine being able to sit at a screen and follow the whereabouts of all those turkeys? How would you like to have a tracking device affixed to your back, so that your family, and your ...

2585. The Oil For Squeaking People

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Let me remind you of two biblical narratives which concern the announcement of unexpected births. In each case, the husband and wife are beyond the age when pregnancy is expected -- yet the Lord tells them that a son will be born to them. In the New Testament book of Luke, we are informed of how an old priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were to become parents of the fellow we know as John the Baptist. Zechariah was at work in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem when an angel appeared to him. ...

2586. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

It is difficult to find anyone who has a kind word to say about hypocrites. Nobody likes a hypocrite; no one wants to be around one; the last thing one would want to be called is a hypocrite. Hypocrites are, by definition, deceptive, two-faced and treacherous. If discovered, hypocritical politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways ...

2587. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

Adam and Jesus were both good and created in the Image of God. It was not inherent evil or original sin that blinded Adam. We read that "God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good"; that included fish, birds, cattle, creeping things, and Adam. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Nothing was lacking. Everything was going along just fine. How like us. All our needs are met and supplied. Chances are very good we have a weather-tight house with a ...

2588. Something New, Something Old

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Matthew 13:31-36a, 44-58; Isaiah 49:1-6 The story is told of an American service man visiting a South Sea island during World War II. His friendly host proudly brought a copy of the Bible out of his hut and said, "This is my most prized possession." With obvious disdain, the GI replied, "Oh, I've outgrown that old stuff!" The islander, whose tribe had recently accepted Christianity and undergone significant changes from their former lifestyle which included cannibalism, responded, "It's a good thing for ...

2589. For I Have Chosen You!

Haggai 2:20-23

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

When I was a kid the night before Christmas was the longest night in the world. There were only one or two clocks in our house as a general rule, and eventually eight of us kids. To forestall endless repetition of the question "What time is it?" our parents loaned us one of the clocks, and many times we'd sleep in only one or two rooms, waiting together. Each in turn would wake, and quietly, so quietly, attempt to turn the luminescent dial towards ourselves, believing it possible that we would not rouse ...

2590. Moving At The Speed Of Light: In Corinth Or Cana?

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

It is hard to know what more can be said about marriage. Weddings are stressors. The planning, the showers, the many opinions, the money, the lists, the social pressures ... who can survive a wedding? The summer before my teenage bride and I were wed in our September nuptials, we worked as lifeguards at a local swimming pool, making buckets of money. We were between our sophomore and junior years in college and had all the worldly possessions that one would expect from two who had partially furnished two ...

2591. The Expectant Parents--And An Unexpected Baby

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Some time ago I read a story in a church newsletter written by a pastor in Tennessee. He told about his congregation's being in a new sanctuary for their first Christmas there. It was going to be a great Advent Sunday. The choir had put in extra time working on their music. He had prepared a sermon on "The Unexpected God." The church was full that Sunday, and the service began with the singing of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Just as the affirmation of faith ended, a boy announced from the back of the ...

2592. Lent 1

Lk 4:1-13 · Rom 10:8-13 · Deut 26:1-11 · Ps 91

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Upon entering the Promised Land the people are to present the first fruits and to rejoice in Yahweh's goodness. Deuteronomy deals with the time of King Josiah's reforms in 621 B.C. One of the reforms was the centralization of worship in Jerusalem's temple. One of the three compulsory pilgrimages to Jerusalem was the Feast of Weeks when a basket of first fruits was presented to the priest, placed before the altar, and the worshiper responded by re-telling the ...

2593. Proper 17

Hebrews 13:1-25, Jeremiah 2:1-3:5, Luke 14:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 2:4-13 Yahweh protests Judah's faithlessness. Jeremiah takes no credit for what he says to his nation: "Hear the word of the Lord." In this passage Yahweh asks why they have deserted him for gods that were no gods. Why did the nation desert him after he was so very good to the nation in leading them through the wilderness for a land of plenty? Priests, rulers and prophets turned against God, and therefore Jeremiah was shocked. The people of God are guilty of two sins: ...

2594. End times

Mt 24:1-14 · 1 Thess 3:7-13 · Jer 26:1-6 · Ps 105:1-7

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1-6 Jeremiah is commanded by God to stand in the court of the temple and warn the nation to repent of their sins or be destroyed. This is at the onset of the reign of King Johoiakim, placed in power by the Egyptians. It is possible that the prophet chose this time because of the crowds flooding into Jerusalem for the coronation ceremonies. A fuller rendition of Jeremiah's temple sermon is found in Jeremiah 7:1-7. Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 Paul gives thanks to God for ...

2595. Proper 11

Romans 8:18-27, Isaiah 44:6-23, Genesis 28:10-22, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The mystery of good and evil. In Genesis, Jacob tricks his brother and flees from his wrath. In Romans, Paul bemoans human moral weakness. The Gospel parable deals with the mystery of the weeds growing together with the wheat COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 28:10-19a (C) Upon hearing of Esau's plan to kill Jacob after Isaac's death, Rebekah spirits Jacob back to her relatives in her native land. It is an unsettling time for Jacob, leaving home and a fugitive. Jacob stops for a night at Bethel and in ...

2596. Teach Fear To Say Its Prayers

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

It occurs to me that faith and fear have at least one thing in common: both are highly contagious. You and I are delicately impressionistic, vulnerable to the contagious influences around us. And our lives are formed, conditioned, shaped by the influences to which we have the most exposure. By our very natures, we pick up the vibes from the strongest people around us. If everybody else is afraid, then we are likely to be afraid, too. You have to be a strong person to keep faith if those around you are ...

2597. Here They Come, Singing

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

When six nations of eastern Europe were freed from the domination of totalitarian Communism in 1989, there was wild celebration by the people in the streets. They sang, they shouted, they marched, they danced in the streets, they laughed, they hugged each other. This was the happiest time of their lives. They were freed from decades of living under uncompromising dictatorships. Now they could speak out openly about how they felt, and they could march and shout their protests to a hated regime. It was a ...

2598. Gunda

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

In the movie, Days of Thunder, Cole Thunder (Tom Cruise) when asked by his girlfriend why he races 200 miles per hour NASCAR stock cars, haughtily answers, "I want to be able to control that which is out of control." Our text for today raises the question: Are we unable to control anything? "What gives life is God's Spirit; man's power is of no use at all." A little while later in the film, while in the middle of a heated argument because Cole has just previously chased a taxi cab, recklessly and violently ...

2599. Marriage: Endearing And Enduring

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

For A Medical Student Life has a way of challenging us with new beginnings. Some are well planned like this marriage. But many are unplanned, even unpredictable, like an illness, a forced job change or any other unpredictable thing that requires major adjustments. But in all cases new beginnings provide us the occasion to assess and reassess where we are in life. We are here today celebrating a beginning for __________ and __________. The bride and groom will pardon me if I sound a bit crude, but it may ...

2600. The TV Audience

Sermon

Michael Rogness

Our sermon consumers are used to VCRs and Super Nintendo Ÿ strong visual images Ÿ they watch and then rewind. For our preaching, that certainly means it is a different generation of people out there listening. It has definite implications for what we say and how we say it.11 -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger I talk with many laypeople about sermons, and the comment I hear most often is: "Sermons are bo-o-o-oring!" This comment is of course not new in church history. Perhaps Eutychus thought the same thing about ...

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