Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2676 to 2700 of 4934 results

2676. Apron Up (Mother's Day)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This Mother’s Day sermon is based around the metaphor of the “apron.” We encourage you to invite your parishioners to wear an heirloom apron to church on Sunday, or to at least have you, your ushers and worship leaders wearing aprons from family traditions. This sermon also encourages people to tell their own “apron” stories, or to invite someone who has a particularly meaningful apron to come forward and tell the story of their apron on behalf of all the other aprons present. Release your artists to ...

2677. On the Ropes: Round 1 - Doubting God

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

On Saturday, March 25, 1911 at 4:40 p.m.—just ten minutes before closing— a fire broke out on the top floors of the ten story Asch building in New York. 145 of the 500 employed there died that day, trapped in the building by locked doors and collapsed escape ladders, or jumping to their deaths from the eighth and ninth stories. The investigation of the tragedy resulted in rules like fire exits and sprinkler systems that have since saved many lives. But that did not save the lives of people’s sons, ...

2678. The Failure

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

James Merritt

You have ever known one, or you were one, or you still think you are one. You went to school with them. Maybe you grew up with them. Maybe you live with them. Maybe you even think you are married to them. They are easily identified by the labels that we put on them such as: losers, rejects, nerds, geeks, or failures. They get mocked, bullied, ridiculed, and made fun of. They are ostracized and isolated. They are on the outside looking in and nobody ever offers to let them in. You might say they are “On The ...

2679. A Rebellious Nation

Isaiah 1:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Introduction--Jerusalem Judged and Restored: Chapter 1 introduces both the message of Isaiah ben Amoz over three decades and the book as a whole. The people have paid the penalty for abandoning their relationship with Yahweh (vv. 2–9) and need to own the fact that they have perverted their life with Yahweh by practicing religion but not justice (vv. 10–20); judgment can then be a creative purging that restores justice as well as the relationship (vv. 21–31). 1:1 The fact that the word vision always denotes ...

2680. God and Mammon

Luke 16:16-18, Luke 16:1-15

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Our heavenly well-being depends on how we have handled the possessions entrusted to us here on earth. Understanding the Text Two more parables (16:1–8a, 19–31) follow the three in chapter 15. In the light of the interpretive comments on the first parable in 16:8b–9, both parables make a connection between life on earth and life in heaven, and the focus in both is on wealth and how we use it, a prominent theme in Luke that has already been given sustained attention in chapter 12 (summed up in the ...

2681. Christian Success and Christlikeness

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: When the Christian faith is reduced to a mere complement to cultural norms, churches come to affirm the very things they should despise and despise the very things they should affirm. Understanding the Text First Corinthians 4:6–13 ends Paul’s response to the deeper and broader issues in the report coming from Chloe’s household. Paul brings the tension between Corinthian ideals and true Christian ideals into their sharpest contrast yet by pointing to his own situation. Everything about Paul, both ...

2682. Propriety in Worship

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

This section of the letter takes up a disruptive situation in the life of the congregation at worship. Paul addresses the men and the women in the congregation concerning their manner of dress, although he comes to that point via a complicated route. While the issues are practical—dress and behavior at worship—Paul frames the matters in genuinely theological terms, not only mentioning God and Christ but also bringing into consideration the meaning and implications of creation and nature. In brief, Paul ...

2683. Be Holy

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Believers’ Response in Conduct 1:13 Do the readers now appreciate the magnificence of God’s far-reaching salvation plan in which they have been caught up? Then their response has to be a wholehearted commitment to their new life in Christ. They are to prepare their minds for action, that is, they must put away any distractions which would hinder their growth in grace and their being available to carry forward God’s work of salvation in whatever way he may indicate. The Greek is literally “gird up the ...

2684. Slow Burn

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. (Ephesians 1:18) “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50) Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:49) Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow? (Job 6:6) Prop: large salt ...

2685. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We all walk with a limp. Our walk with God is a broken gait. Or at least an uneven one. God is always in the lead. Always sure. Always strong. We (on the other hand) walk with God weakly and imperfectly. Sometimes even disastrously. But as long as we continue to walk, we remain in relationship. And that’s what’s most important. In life, our limps and our scars tell our stories. Stories of the struggles we’ve survived. Stories of the wounds we’ve suffered. They leave a visible trace upon our person, a ...

2686. The Gracious Dream

Genesis 28:10-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

We were having this Bible study on the book of Acts, eighth chapter, I think, where Philip is visited by an angel. And someone spoke up, "Angels, angels. What are we to do with all these Bible stories about angels? I've never seen an angel. Nobody I know has ever seen an angel. Can stories about angels be relevant to modem people?" Her question touched my recent experience. I told her about it. Just the day before, a student had made an early morning appointment with me. I knew her somewhat vaguely. "After ...

2687. Remember

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Losing someone is hard. All of us at one time or another have lost someone in our lives, someone truly dear to us. Perhaps through death, perhaps through divorce or the ending of a relationship. Perhaps our children have grown up and left the nest. Perhaps a friendship has ended. No matter how we have lost someone, our brains will go through a complicated process that we call grief. Grief essentially means our brain is trying to adapt to a new reality in which someone who was a significant part of our ...

2688. Can You See Where We're Going

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

William G. Carter

A cigar-chomping realtor was driving around a young couple to search for their first dream house. After listening to their concerns about mortgage points, maintenance costs, and school systems, he decided to give them a bit of advice. "I've been selling homes for 23 years," he said, "and I've discovered only three things matter when you're buying a home: location, location, location." To prove his point, he drove the couple to see two homes. The paint was peeling on the first house, and the driveway was ...

2689. Proper 10

Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 1:1-14, Amos 7:10-17, Psalm 82:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Neighborly Samaritan The parable of the neighborly Samaritan demonstrates the enduring and provocative power of a good story. The language and point of the parable have worked their way into our language. People who have never read the New Testament or have no idea whatsoever of who a Samaritan is are influenced by it. Many states have what is referred to as a Good Samaritan law. It relieves persons who give aid to an accident victim of liability. In their attempt to render assistance in an accident ...

2690. The Man With Two Umbrellas

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

William L. Self

The late Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton, who for many years preached at the Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, tells a wonderful story about the man with two umbrellas. He said that when he crossed the Atlantic one summer he noticed a dark-skinned man sitting in a deck chair, reading the Bible. One day he sat beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity, but I am a minister. I see you come here every day and read your Bible. I assume you are a Christian, and I am interested to know how it ...

2691. Decisions, Decisions

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

Think of how many decisions you make in a day: What do I wear today? Should I take a different route to work due to construction? Should I have a bagel or an English muffin for breakfast? Should I talk with that person about yesterday or just blow it off? Which child is it that had flute lessons today? Should I get a quick twenty out at the ATM machine at lunch or after work? Do I need to pay bills today or can they wait until tomorrow? Do I have enough energy to run today or not? Should I drive to the ...

2692. The Heart Of The Matter

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

A number of years ago a man owned a red Ford Pinto station wagon. He bought it when he was going to college, and kept it for quite some time. In its last few years of service, the car had several thousand dollars put into it. The owner had to replace the engine; he had to put in a new transmission; and he had the whole body repainted. It looked good on the outside, but it had some serious problems on the inside. The heart of the matter was that it was really on its last legs. When he finally bought a new ...

2693. How Costly Grace? Or Does Spelling Count?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

As long as men and women and boys and girls have inhabited this planet, they have sought to control their lives in whatever ways possible. In order to have a better harvest, they have experimented with different crops, different fertilizers, and different methods of planting. In order to kill more game for food, they created more and more advanced kinds of bows, more accurate arrows, more deadly traps. In order to protect themselves from neighboring tribes they produced walls and moats and castles, and ...

2694. Don't Be Stupid

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

I ordered a new book this week. Hope it comes soon. Because God needs to read it! It's called Your Executive Image. As CEO of all that is, that's Creator, Executive, Overseer; as CEO of anything and everything that matters to you and me, God needs to keep up appearances. And it really doesn't do God's image any good for him to go around calling people "stupid children" (Jeremiah 4:22). Yet, Jeremiah tells us, God said of his people in Israel "... My people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid ...

2695. 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. ...

2696. Hard Questions!

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Children sometimes ask cute questions, but often they are also incisive. In Children's Letters to God, a child inquires, "Dear God, Where does everybody come from? I hope you explain it better than my father. Ward." Another child queries, "Dear God, Did you mean for a giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? Norma." Then, there are those persons who, in the presence of larger questions, can think only of the obvious and mundane. Yellowstone Park Rangers report that, at the place where Old Faithful ...

2697. I Want To Go South, Lord

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

August 8, 1982 Comment: One of the great figures of Genesis, Abraham,amazed me the first time I read the story of his argumentwith God over His plan to destroy Sodom. With that in mind,I got to wondering how Abraham might have handled hisanxiety over how his obedience to God was paying off. Ichose a time early in his career when that anxiety wouldhave been high. The first time I did this story sermon, a friend let meuse a classic old black telephone that dated from the early'40s. With it, I conducted a one ...

2698. Death Of A Dream - Birth Of A Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Genesis 11:1-9 This Old Testament lesson is a story of failure, but there is a great truth for all of us in it. I had a dear friend who used to say, "Every man is my teacher. I either learn what to do from him, or what not to do." It reminds me of a cartoon, which showed a bum sitting on a park bench; his clothes were tattered and torn, his toes were coming out of his shoes - the stereotypical hobo. Beneath the picture was the caption, "No man is completely worthless - he can always serve as a horrible ...

2699. Proper 7

1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 63:1-11, Zechariah 12:1-9, Luke 8:26-39, Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The preacher, who hopes to make the most of the lectionary and the church year during the long season of Pentecost, has to be cognizant of the kerygmatic accent marks that are built into the church year. Sunday is always the "little Easter," a celebration - if muted, at that - of the death and resurrection of our Lord; it is also the Ogdoad, the eighth day, or the day of new creation. Thus, the church is reminded that it and the people of God have been made new by Jesus Christ, and that a ...

2700. Proper 10

Colossians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:1-14, 2 Kings 2:1-18, Deuteronomy 30:11-20, Psalm 69:1-36, Psalm 25:1-22, Luke 10:25-37

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Churches in the Northern Hemisphere will be acutely aware of the fact that the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost will occur in late summer. Many pastors will be deeply concerned about attendance and stewardship in their congregations if they themselves are not on vacation. At the same time, it is only a month to Labor Day, the beginning of school, Rally Day, and all of those other activities which return life, including "church life," to normal, once more. In all of this, the kerygmatic " ...

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