Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2576 to 2600 of 4914 results

2576. Peace And The Peacemakers

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

Richard Patt

There are few other speeches of Jesus in the New Testament that catch us more off-guard than this one. Nobody would deny that these are some of the most intense words of Jesus that we find in the Bible. It would follow that any reader of these words, including those who believe in Jesus, would probably want some kind of explanation. Frankly, the Lord seems to be shouting at the top of his voice here. A little later we will talk about the deeper meaning behind the words that capture our ears here, phrases ...

2577. Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide

1 Kings 9:1-9

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

After predicting a drought, raising the widow's son at Zarephath, challenging and slaying the prophets of Baal, Elijah the prophet is now on the run for his life from Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. Buoyant, strong, and confident, he has stood toe to toe with the powers that be, denouncing every evil. He has bravely articulated divine intentions, but now we find him fleeing for his life to Mount Horeb. See him now cowering in a cave hewn in the mountain's side, depressed and weary, afraid for his life. Elijah ...

2578. The Hands And Arms Of Grace

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

There is a wonderful story out of the Middle Ages that goes something like this. It seems people were putting pressure on the Pope, saying to him, "Your Holiness, this is the capital of Christendom. There ought to be only Christians in Rome. Let's get rid of the Jews." The Pope however, replied, "I don't know. Before I do anything, I will have a theological discussion with the chief rabbi of Rome. If the rabbi says the right things, the Jews will be allowed to stay. If he says the wrong things, they will ...

2579. When God Steps Out Of Shadows

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

William L. Self

Our daughter-in-law designs stage sets for the German theatre. I had always taken this sort of thing for granted until she came into our family. Through Birgit, I was exposed to the subtleties of mood and nuance, of color and properties, of fabric and dimension, and how it all blends with the writer and director to bring the audience to a special point. After seeing one production of a deeply moving play, the writer and director came from the wings to interact with the audience. Their purpose was to ...

2580. Just What The Doctor Ordered

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

A wealthy entrepreneur was consternated to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why not catch more than you need?" the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a bigger boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of ...

2581. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

Some stories in the Bible are so essentially visual that they almost demand that we act them out to understand them. Like the rest of the Bible, such stories are intended to be read and heard, of course, but they have the added quality of being vivid, pictorial, perhaps even theatrical, and they seem to release their full power only when they are seen in action. In order to grasp their truths, we are compelled to scramble up on a stage -- at least one constructed in our imagination -- to don a costume, to ...

2582. The Promise Of Belief

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

There are times in our lives when we are confronted with a challenge so overwhelming that we struggle to believe that even God can bring about a positive outcome. We recite scripture verses, think positive thoughts, ask our friends to pray for us, and look for the signs of God's positive intervention. We want to believe, but we still have lingering thoughts of failure. What is there about human nature that allows doubt to creep in and the fear of failure to ruin our faith? This state of unbelief has been ...

2583. Advent 1

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

Psalm Of The Day Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (C); Psalm 80 (E) -- "Lord of hosts, restore us." Psalm 84:8 (RC) -- "Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer." Prayer Of The Day Open our hearts, O God, to the incoming of your Spirit. Sometimes our days are long and we grow tired. Too often, we go for long periods of time with very little attention to your Spirit. Deep within us, though, is a hunger for the richness of that presence. Overcome in us, we ask, our dullness of mind, that we may know your presence and its saving ...

2584. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

For some it is ancient history. For others it is as fresh as yesterday. I speak of 1972 when the word "cover-up" came into our consciousness in a big way -- the cover-up by then President Richard Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Assured of a landslide victory in his election for a second term, Richard Nixon, overborne with anxiety, apparently felt that was not enough. So he authorized the so-called "Watergate Plumbers," headed by G. Gordon Liddy, to break into the Democratic Headquarters in the posh ...

2585. Reversing The Flow

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

One of the greatest challenges of life is to stay in touch with reality and hold on to hope at the same time. And let it be said, clearly and unequivocally, that precisely just such a stance describes the committed Christian. Some would boast of a strong faith, but would build it by ignoring the realities of the world around them. Others see clearly the reality of the world around them and therefore are unable to hold on to faith or hope in God at all. The biblical faith to which you and I are heirs does ...

2586. In The Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

"And the Word became flesh." We hear those words so easily that they are lost on us. We quickly associate them with the baby in Bethlehem's manger, and rightly so, but then we dismiss them without being startled or shocked or even mildly surprised. "The Word became flesh," the gospel writer says, and we yawn in agreement. Some of the Greeks didn't yawn. They were appalled at such a thought and quickly acted to correct what they thought of as a ludicrous, even sacrilegious thought. It wasn't that God could ...

2587. Rainbow In The Sky

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

"My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; so it is now ..." So wrote Wordsworth. Now we know why. God gave the rainbow, our text informs us, as a sign of the unfailing presence and love of God who assures that the darkness shall never overcome us. Most of us have known the exhilaration of a sudden burst of sunlight through prevailing darkness, a splendid display of color across the sky, and the promise again fulfilled that beyond all darkness is light and beauty. ...

2588. Proper 12

John 6:16-24, John 6:1-15, 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God fills us with the Bread of Life for our bodies and our spirits. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: 2 Samuel 11:1-15 (C) King David has consolidated his power and no longer personally engages in the risky task of doing battle with his enemies. Getting up from his afternoon nap, he surveys his capital from his balcony, when he spies a beautiful woman taking her bath; it is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David's valiant fighters. He has her brought to his palace and has sex with her. When she sends word ...

2589. Witnesses

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

In a play about the crucifixion of Jesus, playwright John Masefield creates a conversation between Pilate's wife and one of the soldiers present at Golgotha. The soldier tells Pilate's wife that he does not think Jesus has remained dead and buried. When she asks where he might be, the soldier replies, "He is let loose in the world where no one can stop him." Paul verifies this observation, as he recounts how many times Jesus appeared after the resurrection. No one was able to stop him, not even the guards ...

2590. 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 ...

2591. Lent 5

John 7:45--8:11, Psalm 126:1-6, Isaiah 43:14-28, Philippians 3:1-11, Luke 20:9-19, John 12:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fifth Sunday in Lent floods the mind with memories of when it was the beginning of the two-week celebration of the Passion of our Lord. Passiontide was the third period in the progression from Septuagesima Sunday to Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord. (The three "gesima" Sundays were the first period, the first four and a half weeks of Lent comprised the second part; Passiontide was the third section of Lent; Holy Week was the fourth part; and the Triduum, which originally was Good ...

2592. Proper 26

Psalm 65:1-13, Psalm 145:1-21, Psalm 32:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Haggai 2:1-9, Exodus 34:1-28, Isaiah 1:1-31, Luke 19:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The "count" of the Sundays in this period of the year tells those initiated in the mysteries of the church year that it is approaching its conclusion. This, the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, is the last of the Sundays of Pentecost to be used with any frequency over the years; Easter has to occur in March in order for the number of Sundays in Pentecost to surpass 25, including Christ the King Sunday. One might begin Tennyson's In Memoriam on this Sunday - for the church, not the ...

2593. In The Presence Of God

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

Have you ever wondered whether God was really present in your life? Times were hard and seemingly your misery was endless. You worked long and hard everyday and yet the need was always greater than your means. The pay raises never quite measured up to the escalation in the cost of living. You made more, were taxed more, but had less to spend. Then you cried, God where are you? The poem titled Footprints tells the story of a person on a long journey. Sometimes joy was felt along the way; things went well in ...

2594. Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

"So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place of a skull, which is called in Herbrew Gol'gatha. There they crucified him ... (John 19:17-18)." The story continues, and we know it well. He was crucified with two other criminals - one on each side. We know about the sign that Pilate hung on the cross - proclaiming Jesus (sarcastically) to be "King of the Jews (John 19:19-24)." We know about how the soldiers divided up his clothes (John 19:23-23). We ache when he thirsted, and they ...

2595. Epiphanies and Training Wheels

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

It was a hot, muggy Friday evening, the last night of Vacation Bible School, and I stood in the parking lot of the church, cooking fish that my father-in-law and I had caught for the big celebration dinner scheduled to begin in just a short time. I didn’t notice the young man who had come up behind me until he spoke. "You the preacher?" he asked. After checking to see if he was armed and dangerous and determining that, from the look of him, he was neither, I said, "Guilty as charged. What can I do for you ...

2596. Loving

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Larry Powell

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (verse 1) A gong has always impressed me as an almost unnecessary instrument. Each time a musician slams into one with a mallet to achieve the dull, disconcerting clash, I fully expect a secret passage to appear, or an oriental servant to fawn onto the stage. Cymbals provide slightly more flexible, functional accents of emphasis. However, both the gong and the cymbal produce but a single monotonous tone ...

2597. The Real Jesus is Channeling Grace

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Carl Jech

I made known to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Over the last couple decades we have heard critics decry what has been variously described as "civil religion," "religion in general," or "the religion of the American way of life." Recently, Dr. Robert Jenson, a professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, restated the criticism this way: "The God proclaimed in American Protestantism is ...

2598. Partners With the Eternal

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

"Bring them ... to me." - Matthew 14:18 One of the best known stories of Jesus concerns the feeding of five thousand persons. To assuage the appetites of that many people all at one time and place would be quite an achievement anytime, anywhere. But the achievement is infinitely great when it is accomplished with five loaves of bread and two small fish. I am sure a great many restauranteurs and homemakers would like to know how to make so little food go so far. I am sure it would be important to a lot of ...

2599. Proper 14

Lk 12:32-48 · Gen 15:1-6 · Jer 18:1-11 · Heb 11:1-3, 8-19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Jeremiah 18:1-11 Jeremiah's parable of the potter. For the balance of this church year Lesson 1 will deal with the prophets. Today is the first in a series of three from Jeremiah. To help us understand these passages, a review of Jeremiah may be helpful. Jeremiah served as a prophet in Judah for forty years prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. He considered Babylonia to be an instrument of God to discipline and purify his people until they learned to be faithful to him. Consequently, he was ...

2600. The Call for Justice

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Declan Walsh was a Marine officer in World War II in the Pacific. He began the practice of law, but stayed in the reserves. During the Korean police action he was re-called to active duty with the rank of colonel. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving his command when the Chinese army pushed into the conflict. He returned to his legal life and was named Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. His wife, Kate, was killed in an automobile accident in Washington, D.C., and Declan ...

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