Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 251 to 275 of 813 results

Matthew 11:1-19

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... there. I tell you what we could do. Sure, we could have you turn some water into wine and feed a bunch of people with five loaves and a couple of fish. People will go for that. I'm working with a manufacturer right now on a new line of toys with pitchers that turn water into wine, well, it's not really wine. We don't want to make winos out of children. Anyway, listen. It should be a big seller. And maybe we can have a line of Jesus wines. We'll have to work on that. Here's ...

252. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... see the fear in your eyes," he said, as he reached for a picture of his fellows. Four of them appeared to be elementary school age and one a preschooler. The image showed them all decked out in war paint and two in camouflage clothing holding toy rifles. "The guns were from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas," he said, rolling his eyes. "They're from Oregon," he added, as if that meant something. What a season! We go to such great effort to make this a festive, exciting, meaningful, and memorable time. We ...

253. Moving At The Speed Of Light: At The Jordan

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... , and the Holy Spirit. At Cornelius' home in Ceasarea, many were baptized. Each Sunday many are baptized. Jesus At The Jordan Recently, two girls were seen by their mother "playing Bethlehem" with "Holy Family" stick figures they made in Sunday school, and a toy limousine. "What are you playing?" asks Mother. "Bethlehem," one responds. "This is baby Jesus; these are baby Jesus' mommy and daddy; and (lifting the modern motor vehicle) this is what the star from the east rides in." Jesus rode no limo when he ...

254. Christmas 1

Hebrews 2:5-18, Colossians 3:1-17, 1 Samuel 2:12-26, Luke 2:41-52

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... of the old year. 4. Christmas 1 finds people still in the throes of the busyness of Christmas: cleaning up from the Christmas party or reunion, eating Christmas dinner leftovers, exchanging gifts that were the wrong size or color, children fighting over new toys and gifts, taking down the Christmas decorations, and planning a New Year's Eve party. Many people are exhausted, harried, and thankful Christmas comes but once a year. In planning a sermon for Christmas 1, the preacher needs to keep the picture of ...

255. Father's Day

Psalm 78:1-72

Sermon

Brett Blair

... watch television." The most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: go watch television. If not now, when? Later. But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate at the very earliest of ages. We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she wants the most, which is our time. Now, she is fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Honey, do we need to sit down and talk? Too late. Love has passed by.” The person who wrote these words ...

256. When God Asks The Unreasonable

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... parent who simply concludes, "I didn't want to stay married for the sake of the children. I decided I wanted my freedom." Children are a gift from God, but unlike many other gifts, they are not intended for our amusement. Children cannot be treated as toys or used as vents for our anger. We have a responsibility for those lives. Parental joy emanates from seeing children learn and grow. Their lives are not ours for the taking. Indeed, we sacrifice too many of our children. We no longer believe that the Lord ...

257. Envy - Where Is The Grass Greener?

Gn 4:1-26, Mt 20:1-16, Philip 4:10-20

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... all just a matter of a different time, and different people, and not a matter of some advantage one had over the other. They were both loved by their parents, and they were both lovely people. Envy seems to be a given in growing up. Children envy other children's toys. I remember very clearly when I was eight years old envying a ten-speed bicycle my friend got for Christmas. I only had a three-speed. I was envious. And so I didn't like to go bicycling with my friend. But if I did, I would pedal like crazy ...

258. Gluttony - Living By Bread And The Word Of God

Mark 6:30-44, 1 Timothy 4:1-16

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... very same media that bone-skinny is beautiful. So we are given a double message that centers on food. In addition, our children are given the message that food is the way to be happy. On Saturday morning the commercials for kids' cartoons are not predominantly about toys; they're predominantly about food: cereals and fast foods. "Here children, eat this, and you'll be happy." Gluttony is ranked as a deadly sin because food can be seen as a way to make us feel happy. Eating can become a way for us to avoid ...

259. Presents And The Gift Of Presence

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... each other at gift-giving time, and how delightful it is when the tables are turned. The joy comes when the father, who has a closet full of yellow ties and a bookcase loaded with basketball videos, is found perusing the collections of trains in the local toy store. He decides to buy a very expensive train, one with real smoke, a real whistle, and enough track to drive anybody crazy putting it together, but we shouldn't worry. The train is not for him. He says it's for his grandchildren! John Vannorsdall ...

260. Proper 7

Mt 10:16-39 · Rom 5:12 – 6:11 · Jer 20:7-13 · Gen 21:8-21 · Ps 86

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... arrived home, I proceeded to look for the ring. It wasn't on the counter. It wasn't on the dresser or in the jewelry box. I looked frantically. Maybe one of my daughters saw this shiny rock, and picked it up as a play thing. We looked in the toy boxes, in the recreation room, down in the basement where they played, outside. We hadn't the foggiest notion where to go from here. I hadn't prayed about it. I thought, God has more important things to concern himself about than my ring. But one day, in desperation ...

261. Christmas 1

Galatians 3:26--4:7, Galatians 3:15-25, Colossians 3:1-17, Hebrews 2:5-18, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... maid and the confidant of their son, about ten years old, who at first bitterly resents her intrusion. He hungers for intimacy and warmth from his parents. The problem is that the mother is so caught up in her own grief and the father with his toys that the boy's feelings are totally discounted. For both of them, individual happiness is paramount. The needs of their son will have to wait. He and Clara become best friends. In the end, both parents find other loves and he is confronted with having to choose ...

262. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... to share one incident that happened when I was eight years old.2 In the neighborhood there was a bad kid. He was a bully. He was nasty. He always had to have his way. But we still played with him -- because he had everything. If there was a new toy from India, he had it. If there was a new game from Africa, he had it. One day when I was at his house, I asked him how he got everything he wanted. "It's easy," he said. "First, if your parents say 'no,' you stomp your feet and wave ...

263. It Is Blessed To Receive

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . A man had mixed memories of Christmas. As a child, he began planning for the holiday in February. He scribbled out a wish list for the following December 25 before the winter snow melted off the ground. Each year he listed a full page of toys which he wanted more than anything else. Then he waited impatiently for Christmas. His annual anticipation was tempered by the presence of his mother, who insisted on thank-you notes for every gift received. Every present under our Christmas tree was just the visible ...

264. Cats, And Mice, And Mercy

Matthew 5:7

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: A stuffed toy cat and a catnip mouse. Lesson: Mercy; grace. Before I have even said, "Good morning," to the gathered children, one of the younger ones (who is anything but shy) asks, "Know what?" Wondering where it will lead, I answer, leaning on my faith that God is in charge of this ...

265. Crumbs

Matthew 15:21-28

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... him was that she didn't need very much. All she was asking for was what no one else would want or miss -- just a crumb. So Jesus gave her what she needed. "You know, sometimes we have things in our lives we don't want -- not crumbs exactly, but toys we don't play with anymore, clothes we've grown out of and don't wear anymore, things we might throw away that someone else might use. Things that seem like trash to us may be a real treasure to someone else. This story about Jesus and the woman tells ...

266. Tears

John 11:17-37

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... something I really care about, I guess," she replies. So as not to put this one child too much on the spot, I turn my attention to the group at large and ask, "What are some things you might lose that would make you cry if you lost them?" Favorite toys are among the initial responses, but as I prod a little more the family pets are brought up. "Well, why would you cry if you lost your dog or your cat?" "Because we LOVE them," the children answer, seeming surprised that I would have to ask. "Yes, because you ...

267. Snow Forts

Ephesians 4:32

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... you can FIGHT with each other?" I ask with mock incredulity. "No, we're not REALLY fighting; we're playing." "Oh, I see. You go to all that trouble to PLAY like you're fighting ..." Grins begin to appear on the children's faces as they recognize that I am toying with them. "Well, if you've taken all the time and effort required to build a snow fort to play in, I assume it lasts a LONG time -- maybe even all winter?" "No!" the children protest. "The walls melt when the sun comes out." "Oh, I see. So if the ...

268. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Drama

Jerry Eckert

269. I'm Really Sorry

Mark 6:12

Children's Sermon

... sent them out, two by two, on visits to talk to people to tell them about God's love. They also were telling people to repent. Do you know what repent means? (Response) Repent means to be sorry for all the wrong things we do. If you take someone's toy and your mom and dad see you, they might say, "Give it back and say you're sorry." You might give it back and say you're sorry. But you might not really mean it. You might really just be mad. When you do something like break a window with ...

270. A Sleeping Bag God

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... one thing, and what they want is something quite different. We offer what we think they want and what they need is light-years away. A husband offers something material, but his wife is hoping for a gift from the heart. A parent offers a child money or toys, but the child wants not gift, but parent. Paul Tournier, in The Meaning of Gifts, tells of a husband who had a collection of pipes. Each time his wife had a birthday, he would offer her a pipe “to enrich the collection.” For an unknown reason, her ...

271. Forgive One Another

Ephesians 4:26, 32

Children's Sermon

... were best friends. Every day in the summer they would get together to play. Sometimes they would play games outdoors like kickball or Mother May I. Sometimes they would draw on the sidewalk with colored chalk. Sometimes they would play in a backyard playhouse with their toys. One day something happened while they were playing that made one of the girls upset with the other. For some reason they started to argue. One of the girls told the other that she had enough of this arguing. She said that she was going ...

272. God Is Our Partner

2 Corinthians 6:2

Children's Sermon

... it without a partner. He tried tetherball. He couldn't do it without a partner either. Just as he was ready to go home, one of his friends arrived. Now that he had a partner, he found that he could play on the teeter-totter, and all the other playground toys. When he had a partner, he could do many things. Our lesson this morning tells us that we have a partner who helps us with the work of the church. That partner is God. God can't win the world alone! God needs us to help. God needs people like ...

273. Made New By Getting Lost

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... concerning what the communists were going to do with him, his wife, and two children. They said, "You can only take 200 pounds with you." The family went home and began arguing about what to take. The conversation got heated around typewriters, vases, and toys. Finally they worked it all out and packed 200 pounds on the nose. The army men came for them and asked if they were ready. "Yes, we are," they replied. "Did you weigh everything?" They answered affirmatively. Then the soldiers asked, "Did you weigh ...

274. Made New By 180 Degrees

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... required." Well, that meant to someone like me, "You are going to be up all night and lose any religion you got from that Christmas Eve service." Or on other occasions, I would find the instructions at the bottom of the box after having put most of the toy together. My kids still laugh to this day about the tricycle I was assembling that turned out to be a small swing set. The best story I have ever heard was about parents who got a treehouse to assemble for their kids, but it had instructions enclosed for ...

275. Fourth Sunday In Advent - Joy!

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Bulletin Aid

David M. Oliver

... , "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts." In contrast, conventional wisdom suggests, "You only go around once in life. You have to grab for all the gusto you can." "The one who has the most toys at the end wins." We know that pride comes before the fall. Why is it that we insist on being stubbornly prideful, and self-sufficient, even when we know that it is counter-productive? Mary's relationship with God is starkly different. It was characterized by ...

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