Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2726 to 2750 of 4943 results

2726. Meeting Jesus At The Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

John N. Brittain

The familiar story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well is loaded with meaning. It is a pattern for considering our meetings with Jesus at various times in our lives. The story begins with Jesus asking this woman to perform a simple task, well within her ability: to get him a drink from the well. She did, after all, have the equipment. But she didn't want to do it and was able to provide some good reasons why she shouldn't. Every day of our lives, Jesus Christ asks us to do specific ...

2727. Proper 14

Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Jonah 2:1-10, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:1-5; 10:5-15

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favor, was deeply resented by his brothers. One day, Jacob sent Joseph out in the field to find his brothers and they ...

2728. Something To Do While The World Falls Apart

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

A number of years ago, leaders in a church decided to track down the congregation's drop-outs. They combed through the membership list, put together a list of names, and sent out volunteers two-by-two to knock on doors and invite the absent members back to church. As is often the case, the volunteer visitors discovered that most of the people visited had found other things to do on Sunday morning. One person said, "I would come back to church if it didn't conflict with my tennis time." Another said, "We ...

2729. 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 ...

2730. Death Stinks

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Johnny Dean

All of us have been there, or will be there someday – where Mary and Martha are in the story of the death of Lazarus. Having prayed as hard as we can for the recovery of someone we love, we find ourselves grieving their loss, wondering what we will do without them. Or we will find ourselves wondering where Jesus is, trying to comfort a sorrowing family member or friend, wondering what in the world we could possibly do or say to take away some of the pain this loss is causing them, to make their sorrow ...

2731. The Last Days

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: PREACHER and CONGREGATION, three WOMEN and three MEN Length: 7 minutes Seven stools are arranged in a "V" shape leading away from the audience with the PREACHER's stool at the apex. The PREACHER takes his stool first and settles himself self-importantly. The members of the CONGREGATION file in slowly and take the remaining stools. The CONGREGATION will keep their eyes on the PREA CHER throughout their time on stage but their stools should be arranged so that they will not have to turn their faces too ...

2732. Holy Tares!

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said, to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us ...

2733. Advent 1: Won´t You Let Him Into Your Heart?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

Anybody here old enough to remember the decade of the 60s? It was the decade of protests and demonstrations. Let me tell you about one very unusual demonstration that took place in the mid-sixties. It happened in December of 1965. It was Christmas Eve in 1965 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The innkeeper at the local Holiday Inn had had a busy day. It was late now… and he was at the main desk alone. Although the inn was filled up with Christmas travelers, he had graciously sent most of the workers home to be ...

2734. Same Question, Same Answer

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

“Preacher, why don’t you tell me what you want me to do?” She stood with a frown on her face, while the rest of the churchgoers shuffled out the door. The preacher was taken aback. The sermon had seemed to go well. For once, he hadn’t tripped over his tongue or turned down an obscure alley. Yet the woman wouldn’t let him off the hook. “I’ve wanted to ask that question for some time,” she said. “As you know, I come to church just about every week. I have heard a lot of interesting sermons, and learned some ...

2735. What Can We Count On From God?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

James W. Moore

Recently I received an e-mail message that was entitled “Things I Really Don’t Understand.” It had a list of questions for which there seems to be no clear-cut answer. Here are a few of them: Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice? Why is abbreviation such a long word? Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio? Why is a boxing ring square? What was the best thing before sliced bread? How do they get the deer to cross the highway at ...

2736. Who Is Your Lazarus?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A judge in New York City was mugged. Later he called a press conference. He made the following statement to reporters, "This mugging will in no way affect my decisions in adjudicating matters of this kind." An elderly woman stood up in the back of the room and said, "Then mug him again!" She wanted to make sure the judge got the message about what is happening in the streets of our cities. An old man was trying to lead a contrary donkey down the road. A passer-by stopped him and commented on the way the ...

2737. Resisting The Power Of Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A silly story has been going around about a young man who was hitchhiking through one of our Southern states. A farmer driving an old pickup truck stopped to give him a lift. As they rode along, they got to talking about the local moonshine whiskey. The young man said he didn't drink very much. Moonshine would probably be too strong for his tastes. "Nonsense!" said the farmer. "You gotta try some." He fished around behind him and finally produced a small jug. "Here," he said, handing the jar to the lad. " ...

2738. Facing Difficult Decisions in Life! Part VI

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

J. Wallace Hamilton, one of the great voices of Methodism, once shared an old story that I want to use to open our sermon today. "An old Chinese farmer had one prized workhorse for his small farming enterprise. For example, when it was time to plow, he hooked the animal up to the plow and it broke the ground for planting. When it was time to take the harvest to the market, he would hitch the horse to a wagon. When he wanted to travel any great distance, he would put a saddle on it and ride the horse. The ...

2739. Tripping the Tempter

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we continue our study of the book of James. Last week we examined James 1:1-4 and verse 12, and discovered some ways we can "TACKLE TROUBLES TRIUMPHANTLY." Today, we''re going to look at another word beginning with the letter "T"--Temptation. Once again, James does not say, "If tempted," but in verse 13, "When tempted, no man should say, God is tempting me.''" Yes, not one of us escapes temptation, and behind this ugly "t" word lies the source of many of our personal problems and corporate ills. We ...

2740. Grace in the Midst of Guilt and Shame

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

At the beginning of his ministry Jesus had a chance to impress the people he grew up with. According to Luke, chapter 4, Jesus was invited to stand up and read the Bible in his hometown synagogue of Nazareth. And why not? He was the latest sensation. His reputation as a teacher was starting to get around. He was the local kid who had made good. There must have been smiles and gentle ribbing as Jesus got up to read the Scriptures on that Saturday morning a long time ago. "Remember when he was just a child, ...

2741. Faith for Troubling Times

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Two-year-old son Jack leans on his father’s knee. His rumpled baseball jersey bears a fresh spaghetti sauce stain from that night’s dinner. "Daddy, tell me a bunny story." Rob tears his gaze away from the computer screen. "What was that, son?" asks Rob. "Tell me a bunny story," says Jack. "One with a truck in it." Rob sighs as his glance swings back to the screen. His paper is due in two days. His professor tries to be sympathetic, but there are only so many times she’ll let her students stretch a deadline ...

2742. What We Want for Our Children

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Some helpful person has made a list for men--a list of “What NOT to Buy Your Wife for Mother’s Day.” I realize this is a little late, but just in case any of you men were planning on running out to [Wal-Mart] this afternoon, this list might help: 1. Don’t buy anything that plugs in. Anything that requires electricity is seen as utilitarian. 2. Don’t buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in 7,000 that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. “Do I ...

2743. Slaying the Green-Eyed Monster

Proverbs 27:4

Sermon

James Merritt

Channelview, Texas is a neat middleclass suburb of Houston. It is a typical bedroom community of nice homes, nice cars, and nice families. Competition is fierce in all sports, but recently the competition got more than a little intense—not in football or in basketball, but in cheerleading. Amber Heath and Shanna Holloway lived right around the corner from each other. They had been friends for years. Amber was president of the Student Council and Shanna was Vice President. Their mothers were also wonderful ...

2744. Sunday Of The Passion (Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY This pericope constitutes the third of the four servant songs in Isaiah. Yehweh's servant hears his voice and is therefore fortified with determination to suffer mental agony in terms of ridicule, false accusations, humiliation and shame. He suffers confidently because he believes Yahweh will vindicate, help and pronounce him innocent. Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 Paul is pleading for unity in the Philippian congregation. He uses Jesus as an example of humility. In this pericope, Paul shows the ...

2745. The Passion of the Christ – The Rest of the Story

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

James Merritt

The number one question asked in this country for the last six weeks is - "Have you seen ‘The Passion'?" If the answer is "No" the next question is "Are you going to see it?" If the answer is "Yes" the next question is - "What did you think about it?" There is no question that Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, is as the Spanish put it, en fuego – it is on fire! In Hollywood parlance it is a blockbuster. Geologists would give it a "10" on the Richter scale. Motown would say, "It is off the ...

2746. Daily Homework

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

When I first started school, I wasn't like most kids in several respects. First of all, I actually started a year early, but I was always physically one year behind the rest of my class. I made up for being one of the smaller kids by focusing on academics. I really enjoyed reading and became a voracious reader and I had a burning passion to make good grades. For the most part, I liked my teachers. There was one type of teacher I absolutely could not stand. Believe it or not, it was not the strict ...

2747. A Chance To Help

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered she had certain instructions for the little boy: "Now you're not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, today, so don't even ask." She put him in the cart and off they went up and down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. Seeing all those chocolate chip cookies was just too much and he said, "Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?" Mom said, "I told you not ...

2748. On the Road with the Little Children

Luke 18:15-17

Sermon

James W. Moore

Let me begin this morning with three quick stories. Story #1: We took our two youngest grandsons to lunch in a local Italian Restaurant. As the waiters brought the food to the table I asked Dawson (age 6) and Daniel (age 4) if either one of them would like to offer our prayer of thanks for the meal… or if they would like for me to do it. They both pointed to me, so I prayed a brief prayer of gratitude for our meal and for our family. When I finished the prayer and said “Amen,” four-year-old Daniel opened ...

2749. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Exalted"

Luke 19:28-40, John 19:14-30

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One Palm Sunday, a mother took her three-year-old nephew to Church. When the ushers walked down the aisle with armloads of palms, the little boy cried out, "Oh boy, corn on the cob!" (1) At another Palm Sunday service, a woman was holding her 5-year-old niece on her lap while they listened to the pastor's sermon. The preacher described Jesus' approach to Jerusalem and how the crowds cried, "Hosanna, Hosanna!" At that, the little girl perked up and began to singing, "Oh, Hosanna, now don't you cry for me, I ...

2750. How Can I Keep From Singing?

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is a story of a Vermont farmer who was sitting with his wife one evening on the porch, looking at the beautiful valley laid out before them. Everything about the moment was filled with peace. At last the farmer spoke quietly, as if reluctant to break the spell. “Sarah,” he said, “we’ve had a lot of ups and downs together during these forty years, and when I’ve thought of all you’ve meant to me, sometimes it’s been almost more than I could do to keep from telling you.” Sometimes things just “leak” out ...

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