Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2651 to 2675 of 4935 results

2651. Doing What Matters?

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

John B. Jamison

Let’s begin with a question. If you met someone who was hurting, who had lost their job, or were maybe afraid of losing their home, or were worried about their children, if you truly wanted to show God’s care for that person, what could you do? While you think about your answer, let’s remember the story Luke tells us today. A lot has happened in a very short time. Jesus was baptized, he began gathering disciples, he performed a miracle at a wedding in Cana, he went to Jerusalem and caused a major ...

2652. God Is Like...a Face

Genesis 33:1-11 · 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

God is like …a face. What a strange idea. Of all the understandings of God we’ve explored thus far in this series, this is surely the most farfetched. What can it possibly mean to think of God as a face? To answer this question we must consider the breadth and the limitation of human imagination. You and I have minds that can take us beyond the time and place where we are. We can imagine what it might have been like to live a century ago, a millennium ago. We can move, in our minds, from where we are not, ...

2653. Easter as an Earthquake

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Will Willimon

“Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” John says that they got to the tomb on Easter morning, and it's empty. Then, they go back home. Go back home? Reminds you of the two disciples in Luke on the way to Emmaus. “Some women told us that Jesus had been raised from the dead, but we had already planned to have supper over in Emmaus, so we couldn't change our reservations...” A man is raised from the dead and you ...

2654. Jailbreak at Midnight

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon Aid

CSS

Twice Paul’s ministry brought him into direct confrontation with commercial interests. The first such incident took place at Philippi, the second at Ephesus. Both of these were Graeco-Roman cities with a materialistic western culture, different from that of the Orient. In the East there was a slower pace of life and a greater accommodation between religion and commerce. Jesus had often lashed out at the selfish rich and even physically drove the money changers from the temple without arousing the kind of ...

2655. When Religion Becomes a Laughing Matter

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

John E. Harnish

This is not how we usually think of worship (image of newspaper ad): "The splitting of the gut, the slapping of the thigh, and the peeing of the pants." But if the topic is Sarah and Abraham, it makes perfect sense. I can't do better than to share Frederick Buechner's description of the scene: The place to start is with a woman laughing. She is an old woman, and after a lifetime in the desert, her face is cracked and rutted like a six-month drought. She hunches her shoulders around her ears and starts to ...

2656. A Humbling Moment

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

Pastor Michael Hartwig of Valparaiso, Indiana, tells about visiting a man in a nursing home who had been instrumental in starting the major industry in town. When he died, Pastor Hartwig was asked to do the funeral service. Hartwig was nervous, because he knew their church would be packed with dignitaries. The service went well, and on the way to the cemetery he began to turn in his Bible to the passage he was to read at the grave side. While he was turning to I Corinthians 15, the funeral director ...

2657. Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

As a gospel writer Mark isn’t know for being a “detail man.” In fact, Mark’s gospel reads almost like the “Cliff Notes” version of Jesus’ life. And yet, so skillful is Mark’s compressed compilation that every storied moment, every key metaphor and every essential message of Jesus’ mission are portrayed with power and passion. Because Mark’s narrative offers slimmer pickings of detail than the other gospels, it is all the more significant when he does provide particulars of time and place. In the opening ...

2658. Skull Hill

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What kid doesn’t love to splash in a mud puddle? Do you remember the squeal of delight as the wet, dirt-filled explosion splattered all over you? For how many of us was our first “culinary” experience creating mud pies — artfully decorated mud balls, frosted and festooned with leaves, grass, and weeds? But for most of us the love of mud quickly fades as we grow up. The biggest “tell” for this dirt aversion have you ever gotten invited by a friend to come and spend an evening at their “pottery class?” Have ...

2659. The Pastor Who Created A Monster

Haggai 1:1-15, Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

As Pastor Jenkins walked through the church fellowship hall he could not help overhearing part of a conversation between two members of his congregation. What he heard troubled him. The members were standing in front of the big thermometer sign that the building committee had made. Five years ago the church had begun a fund campaign for a new sanctuary. The building committee had painted a big thermometer on a four-by-ten-foot sheet of plywood. The measurement markings on the thermometer were labeled, not ...

2660. Make Scriptural Hope Your Own

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Snoopy of Charlie Brown comic strip fame is typing a novel. He begins his story, "It was a dark and stormy night ..." Snoopy always starts his stories in this manner. Lucy looks at what Snoopy has written. She goes into a tirade, putting down Snoopy for such a silly beginning. Doesn't Snoopy know that any good story starts with the words, "Once upon a time ..." The last frame of the comic strip has Snoopy starting his story again. Now he is ready. He types, "Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night ...

2661. Letting God

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Mary, Joseph, three Shepherds and three Kings. The shepherds may be of either gender. Length: 15 minutes MARY and JOSEPH are seated together on stage. There are three other stools near them, two on MARY's right and one on JOSEPH's left. There is a cradle on the floor next to them. MARY: Joseph, I want to tell you how grateful I am that you were with me during the birth of the child. I really don't know what I would have done without you. JOSEPH: I was glad to do what I could, but I'm afraid it was ...

2662. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

As the van rolled down the interstate, Kitty Wells' hillbilly alto rattled the radio speakers; "When you're lookin' at me," she belted out, "you're lookin' at country." In the van were ten of us, all seminary seniors, heading away from our rural South Carolina campus toward the big city of Atlanta, and Kitty Wells had it right: If you were looking at us, you were looking at country. It was not that we urbanly-challenged folk actually wanted to go to the city; the faculty was forcing us to do so. Terrified ...

2663. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Moses was a master of masquerade! He lived a good portion of his life in disguise. From the time he was three months old he went into hiding. At three months he was placed in a basket among the Nile reeds. The infant princess Elora Danan, in the movie Willow, was placed in a basket made of river sticks which quickly became a boat. The little boat was pushed off from the shore seconds before the Queen's death dogs converged on the child's caretaker. Her basket was an escape to a safe land. Moses' basket, ...

2664. Proper 6

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42, Genesis 18:1-15, Exodus 19:1-25, Romans 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God's people are commissioned for mission. God told Moses, as recorded in Exodus 19, that the Jews were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In the Gospel, the Lord empowers the apostles to go out and proclaim the gospel and minister in his name. That is our calling too. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 18:1-15 (C) Three men appear to Abraham as he sits by the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham extends gracious hospitality to them and one of the men reveals himself to be the ...

2665. The Better Part

Luke 10:38-42

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Visual Aid: A basket suspended by its handle from a strong rubber band; a work glove; a small bag of toys such as marbles, a doll, and a stuffed animal; a mathematics textbook; a music book; a baseball; a can of pet food; a Bible; a box to hold all this stuff. Lesson: Stress; making choices; helping one another. As the children come to the front of the sanctuary, I take the work glove and basket out of the box and ask one of the taller boys if he will help me out this morning. He agrees, so I hand him the ...

2666. What Does Jesus Expect of Us?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Donald Macleod

And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the ...

2667. Walking The Familiar

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

There was still a slick of morning moisture covering the path into the town as Eli and Samuel walked by Nathan's orchard, crossed the small stream, and finished the prescribed sabbath day's journey to the synagogue: in length, 2,000 cubits. By our modern standard of travel it was not far. It was about 1,000 yards. They walked at hurried pace. Their prayer shawls were pulled tightly around them, which helped protect them from the morning chill. Sabbath. The day of rest. In Nazareth the gathering was a ...

2668. Pie in The Sky

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

[People] of Galilee, why do you stand looking at heaven? (Acts 1:11) When people are confused or afraid, when they feel that things are out of control, or when they feel helpless to overcome the problems which confront them, they often resort to "pie in the sky" religion. They look for Jesus to come and fix what they can't fix for themselves. They figure that one day, as if by magic, Jesus will make everything right for them in the "sweet bye and bye." That's a bit like what the disciples are doing in our ...

2669. This Life Is Yours To Live!

Ezekiel 18:1-32

Sermon

Keith Hammer

There is a wonderful device that all of us have in our homes that reveals to us the solution to all of the problems we have in life. Some of you may think I am talking about the Bible, but I am not. While the Bible does reveal to us the spiritual truths that will make our lives whole, there is another more fundamental device that shows us who it is who can solve all of the problems we face every day. The answer is simple. It is a mirror. If you gaze into it, you will have the answer to all of the problems ...

2670. A Handful Of Dandelions

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

Topic: Mother's Day, motherhood, joy of children Characters: One woman Props: Bouquet of dandelions Scene: A house, no scenery needed Mother: (She is holding a bunch of dandelions in her hands) All through high school, I couldn't wait until prom night when I would get a corsage of beautiful flowers. They smelled so sweet. I still have some of those things pressed away in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Filed under the letter of the boy who took me. I guess I'm a little silly about it all. I think it's ...

2671. Choices

Drama

J. B. Quisenberry

Prelude Opening Skit (The setting is a modern living room with the Father working at a small table to the right and two children playing on the floor center stage. The choir enters singing a traditional Christmas Hymn and wearing hats and scarves to suggest outer wear. They proceed toward the left side of the altar area. A door bell rings, and the oldest child crosses down left and pantomimes opening a door.) Oldest Child: Look! Christmas carolers! (The other child runs to door.) Dad, come quick! There are ...

2672. You Can't Start a Car With a Cross

Sermon

Ron Lavin

"We beseech you in behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20) Recently, I reached into my pants' pocket for a loose car key I had put there earlier. "Quarters. Dimes. Pennies. Ah, there it is." I was in a hurry. I tried to put the key into the ignition lock of the car. Then I saw that it wasn't a key at all. It was the tiny aluminum cross that we distributed recently at church. "You can't start a car with a cross," I said out loud. As I dug back into my pocket for the car key, found it, ...

2673. Monologue: Silent Silas

Acts 15:22-35

Drama

Robert F. Scott

There was a man named Silas. We read of him in Acts and in several of the Epistles. Yet in the whole of the New Testament there is not one word from Silas himself: not a word that he said, not a scrap of a letter in his own name. Was he silent? We know he was not. He was a prophet for Christ; he exhorted, taught, preached, prayed, and sang. Of all that Silas said, what was it and what was it worth? The First Epistle of Peter was written by the hand of Silas. If we were to ask Peter, what might he say? ...

2674. Praise God For Adversity

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

Praise fills the pages of the Bible and dominates our hymnals; but, it is often difficult to find it in us as Christians. Praise is not easy to define. Most Bible dictionaries include it under the general classification of prayer, and it is frequently associated with the act of thanksgiving. In our First Lesson today, the author of Second Isaiah presents praise as the only response that a faithful people can make; because there is nothing else that God requires or desires. God is about to do a great deed. ...

2675. Whatever He Says - Do It!

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Text: John 2:5 - His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' Talk about hang-ups! All you have to do is read this Gospel narrative that was read today, the narrative of the first miracle that Jesus performed, the changing of the water into wine, and you immediately produce two groups that have hang-ups. The first is, of course, made up of pietistic teetotalers. We're confronted by the fact - the undeniable fact - that Jesus provided alcoholic beverage for a party where the supply was ...

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