Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2626 to 2650 of 4937 results

2626. The Reject

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

Her name was Vicky Harrison. By all appearances she was a beautiful 21-year-old perky blonde with a sweet personality, great ambition, and a seemingly bright future. Tragically she became another suicide victim. She killed herself after more than 200 unsuccessful job applications. She had dreamed of a career as a teacher or a television producer, but gave up hope for the future. A day after her 200th rejection, she wrote heartbreaking notes to her parents and boyfriend saying 'I don't want to be me any ...

2627. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Writer and Readers 1 By custom, Hellenistic letters began with a threefold formula: (a) the name of the sender; (b) the name of the recipient; and (c) an opening salutation. Greek writers followed the pattern “(a) to (b): greetings.” A NT example is the letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix (Acts 23:26). Jewish letters were introduced slightly differently. The opening sentence gave the names of writer and recipient. A second sentence invoked a blessing upon the reader. The three elements of (a) author, (b) ...

2628. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

To All of You 3:8 Finally (not to end the letter but to complete this passage) there comes a general exhortation to the whole Christian community, married and unmarried alike. Peter commends a set of attitudes which together depict what relationships within the Christian fellowship should be. Christian believers must live in harmony with one another, literally, “being of one mind” (a single word in the Greek). The term is intended to convey a unity of aim and purpose, a oneness in attitude. Idealistic? But ...

2629. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) There are no secret sins. But oh, we LOVE our secrets, don’t we? We have secret rendezvous, secret accounts, secret passwords, secret societies, secret meetings, secret diaries, secret pasts, and secret habits. Some of us even have secret desires and secret aspirations that we never share with anyone but our closest and trusted friends. All to ...

2630. Transfiguration of Our Lord

Matthew 17:1-13, 2 Peter 1:12-21, Exodus 24:1-18, Psalm 2:1-12

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Most Lutheran, Episcopal, and some other churches celebrate the Transfiguration on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, rather than on the traditional date of August 6. This tends to give theological definition to the end of the Epiphany season and the entire Christmas cycle, as well. The incarnation/manifestation note is sounded again in the Gospel for the Day, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." The word God spoke at Jesus' baptism is repeated here and is ...

2631. Don't Just Stand There! - Get Involved!

Luke 3:1-20, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Dr. John Thompson Peters

G.K. Chesterton one time said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. Rather it has been found difficult and not tried." It would seem strange that after almost two thousand years of history there should still be confusion about the real nature of the Christian religion, and yet there can be no question but that it is widely misunderstood and hence misinterpreted. Some men reduce Christianity to something easy, while others make it impossible. With our contemporary situation bringing ...

2632. Opposite the Treasury

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In the first parish I served there lived an elderly widow. She lived alone, except for about a hundred parakeets. She supplemented her meager income from her late husband’s Social Security by raising and selling those popular birds. Her health was none too good, and during the cold winter months she was rarely able to make it out to church on Sunday mornings, so I tried to visit her as often as possible. I recall making one visit on a cold wintry day. We talked about many things, read the Bible together, ...

2633. Are You In The Know?

John 10:27-29

Sermon

James Merritt

If there is anything this post-modern culture that we live in is sure of it is that you cannot be absolutely sure of anything. You can believe in many things. You can be passionate about a lot of things, but nothing can be known absolutely, especially in the area of spirituality and morality. I discovered this quote by Gandhi that serves to emphasize the almost universal uncertainty that is associated with religious belief of any kind. When he was asked why he tried to persuade people of his political ...

2634. God's Christmas Gift

Luke 2:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

There is a word that you have heard more in the last twenty-four hours and you will hear more in the next twenty-four hours than you will probably hear in all the rest of the year combined. The most used word in this time of year we call the Christmas Season is the word "gift." Some of you spent today, frantically searching for gifts, trying to find the right gift for the right person at the right price. So often, I hear the question "What do you get for the person who has everything?" I did some research ...

2635. The King on a Donkey

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you heard my story about the husband and the wife who had quarreled. It had been a high-pitch quarrel, each digging their heels in to preserve the position they had vehemently taken. Emotions ran high. Both were nursing their hurt feelings in defensive silence. As they were driving to attend a family wedding in a distant city — it was an uneasy and quiet trip, both of them starring straight ahead or out the window as the miles went by in icy silence. The angry tension between them was so thick you ...

2636. Many Parts, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: In a fashion parallel to the physical body, which God created with a plurality of parts with different functions, God grants a multiplicity of spiritual gifts in order for the Christ community to function as the incarnate body of Christ. Understanding the Text After giving a theological basis for unity in diversity, Paul now turns to a most memorable explication that stands out in a special way in the Corinthian situation. The multiplicity of spiritual gifts is designed to enable Christ’s members ...

2637. She Gave More than Bill Gates

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

I don’t know about you, but I love it when I see wealthy people giving their money away. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t see their giving as in any way sacrificial. They will still have more money in their possession than any of us will ever dream of. But still, it was quite a sight a few years back to see 168 billionaires (yes, that is billionaire with a b) worldwide line up with Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world, to announce that they will give ...

2638. Where do You Live?

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the irreverent comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is a send up of the King Arthur tales, there is a scene where one of the knights, Sir Bedevere is confronted by a group of villagers. It seems they have gripped one of the local women and claim she is a witch. It's very obvious that her long crooked nose is fake and has been tied on and she's been dressed up to look like a witch. Sir Bedevere questions the evidence and the people confess that they made it all up. But they still want to burn ...

2639. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Writer’s Purpose Restated 3:1 After his lengthy tirade against the false teachers and their perverted life-style so dangerous to the well being of his readers, Peter turns—one senses, with warm relief—to address his dear friends directly. He now reverts to his opening exhortation to them to foster their spiritual life (1:5–8). This is now my second letter to you, he declares, although whether he means 1 Peter or some other letter, now lost, is uncertain. Since Peter is evidently not able to visit his ...

2640. Out of the Box Gifts

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Three days before the first big winter storm hit, the phone rang. It was “Odie,” the local plumber, volunteering to come over and do some work. He offered to drain out the hot water tanks and outside pipes ahead of the blast of arctic air headed our way. “Odie” wasn’t trying to drum up any business for himself. In fact, if all our pipes burst he would make a lot of money repairing the damages. He was simply thinking of others and offering the gift of his unique talents to help out a family with a man with ...

2641. When You Have Everything You Need, Except What You Need (Managing Money)

Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In New England, there is the grave of an old Yankee skinflint. While he was alive, he offered his future heirs their legacy in advance if they would give him 12 ½% interest on it. When he died, they put this epitapth on his tombstone: Here lies old 12 percent The more he saved, the less he spent The less he spent, the more he saved Oh Lord, can Ichabod be saved? Now that’s a good question, and we could preach a sermon on that. You remember Jesus said on one occasion that it was as difficult for a rich man ...

2642. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Life is composed of a series of choices and experiences. Usually there is an easy way to accomplish a particular task and there is a hard way to achieve the same end. Many people experience addictions, burnout and nervous breakdowns not because of the sheer weight of their life, but because they fight life. Many people have trouble with college, not because college is hard, but because they fight college. Instead of doing something the best they can, and doing it as easily as they can, they fight the job, ...

2643. Advent 2: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Promise of Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

James W. Moore

This sermon is based on Matthew 1:18-25: Perhaps you have heard the one about the attractive young woman who boarded a plane in Los Angeles heading toward New York. The young woman was tired. She knew it would be a long flight, so immediately she asked the flight attendant for a pillow and a blanket. She hoped to be able to sleep most of the way to New York. Her head had just nestled into the pillow when an obnoxious man with a loud, booming voice boarded the plane… and sat down beside her. He tapped her ...

2644. Four Cornerstones

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Both Elizabeth and I hail from paper-mill towns. A few years ago the blue collar-redneck-good-old-boy logging town Elizabeth grew up in (Springfield, Oregon) found itself very interested all of a sudden in building sushi bars and trendy, high-tech fitness centers. Why? Sony Corporation seriously considered the town as a new factory headquarters site. Like every other economically struggling small town, the prospect of a large employer coming to town with deep pockets and wide wants encouraged the community ...

2645. The Thrill of Victory

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

The three astronauts, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise, were having a wonderful time watching planet earth become a sun-drenched white dot against the canopy of outer space, while the bright white moon was larger than they had ever seen it. Then, without warning, it happened. Lovell heard a small, but distinct, bang. Swigert felt an almost imperceptible shudder; then the master alarm began sounding in their ear phones. The pulse rate of all three astronauts shot up from 70 to 130. What they did not ...

2646. God's Prescription for a Healthy Christian

Jude 1:17-21

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard a story one time about a young doctor just getting started in his first practice out in the country. This was back in the days when doctors made house calls. Late one night he got a call from a farmer who said, "Doctor, come quickly, my wife is seriously ill." Well, grabbing his little black bag he hurried out to the farm. The farmer met him on the steps, rushed him into the house, and upstairs into the bedroom where his wife lay sick. The doctor took a look at her, told the farmer to step outside ...

2647. Lord, What A Bountiful God!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

An old prospector came into a saloon in frontier California and ordered a glass of milk with a shot of whiskey in it. While the bartender was fixing his drink, the old prospector wandered over to speak to some of his friends. Before he came back, a man came in wearing a black threadbare coat. He walked up to the bartender and timidly said, "Sir, I'm a poor traveling Methodist circuit rider. I've just made it across the desert. I'm bone dry. Could you let me have that foamy glass of milk I see you've just ...

2648. A Way Made Ready

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Darrick Acre

Have you been out to see the Christmas lights yet? It is time for the annual excursion, when you pack the car with people on a chilly December evening, and drive around to all the neighborhoods and parks made beautiful by cities or neighborhood associations with lights, lights, and more lights, in a variety of colors and hues. There are bright reds, blues, and greens; beautiful, pastel pinks and yellows; and of course the brilliant elegance of white. As you drive along, there are elves and carolers, Santa ...

2649. The Gift Of Sleep

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I think I've told you the story of the mother who was trying desperately to get her son out of bed, to get him up and ready for church on Sunday morning. None of you parents have that problem with your children, do you? The mother threatened, begged, cajoled -- but to no avail. "Come on, Son, she pleaded. Why don't you want to go?" "I'll give you three reasons, he said. One, the people down there aren't friendly. Two -- they don't like me, and three, they don't listen to what I have to say." Parents, have ...

2650. Re-thinking Our Mission

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A science fiction story is told about a planet which earth was attempting to colonize. This was a harsh planet with terrible weather and hostile inhabitants. Earth’s best men and women were gathered into teams and sent to do the job. Expedition after expedition came home broken, each one having failed. Finally a new manager was charged with the responsibility of making the colonization work. But something surprising happened. This new executive did not look for the strongest and most qualified people he ...

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