Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2801 to 2825 of 5000 results

2801. Easter 6

Jn 14:15-31; Acts 15:22-29, 16:6-15; Rev 21:22--22:5

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 16:9-15 Paul responds to the Holy Spirit's call to go to Macedonia. Paul was on his second missionary journey. He was planning to preach in Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit prevented him from doing so. One night he received a call to go to Macedonia. Since Luke joined him, Luke could now say "we." They sailed from Troas to Philippi, a Roman province. Because the city was mainly a place for retired Roman soldiers, there were few Jews and the city had no synagogue. Consequently, Paul ...

2802. Epiphany 4

Lk 4:21-30 · 1 Cor 13:1-13 · Jer 1:4-10 · Ps 71

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10 Even before his birth Jeremiah was appointed a prophet. Jeremiah tells us of his call to preach. It came at the time Josiah was king of Judah (c. 627 B.C.). His call came as a dialogue with Yahweh who even before Jeremiah's birth knew that he was destined to be a prophet. In this dialogue he heard the voice of Yahweh and felt his hand on his lips. There was no human initiative in the call. The words he was to speak were totally the Lord's words. The message he was ...

2803. Lent 1

Lk 4:1-13 · Rom 10:8-13 · Deut 26:1-11 · Ps 91

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Upon entering the Promised Land the people are to present the first fruits and to rejoice in Yahweh's goodness. Deuteronomy deals with the time of King Josiah's reforms in 621 B.C. One of the reforms was the centralization of worship in Jerusalem's temple. One of the three compulsory pilgrimages to Jerusalem was the Feast of Weeks when a basket of first fruits was presented to the priest, placed before the altar, and the worshiper responded by re-telling the ...

2804. Proper 12

Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 85:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Hosea 1:2-10 God orders Hosea to marry a prostitute and have children. Hosea preached in the same eighth century to Israel (North) as did Amos. His ministry extended over a period of 38 years. Hosea lived in the final days of the northern kingdom during the reign of six kings following Jeroboam. Assyria captured Israel and deported the 10 tribes in 722 B.C. Hosea 1:2-10 is an allegory. His adulterous wife and three children symbolize the fate of Israel because of a broken relationship ...

2805. Proper 20

1 Timothy 2:1-15, Jeremiah 8:4--9:26, Luke 16:1-15

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 Jeremiah mourns for the people. Jeremiah was frank in exposing the sins of Judah and forecasting the consequences of the people's sins. Vividly he told of coming destruction and desolation caused by their sins. In this passage Jeremiah identifies with the suffering of the people. As the weeping prophet, he weeps for the plight of his people. Epistle: 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Prayers for all people are acceptable to God who desires all to be saved. Paul urges Timothy to ...

2806. Proper 21

1 Timothy 6:11-21, Jeremiah 32:1-44, Luke 16:19-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 Jeremiah buys a lot when Jerusalem is about to fall. Jeremiah was a prisoner of King Zedekiah for preaching that the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem along with the temple. While Jeremiah was a prisoner in the king's palace, Hanamel came to Jeremiah with an offer to sell his lot in Anathoth. Jeremiah bought the lot for 17 shekels of silver and had Baruch put the deed in an earthenware jar for safekeeping for a long time. The Lord assured Jeremiah that ...

2807. Transfiguration

2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Exodus 34:29-35, Luke 9:28-36

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 34:29-35 After 40 days on the mountain with Yahweh, Moses' face shone. In this passage Moses makes his final descent from Mount Sinai where in communing with God he receives the Decalogue on two tablets of stone. When Moses came back to his people, his face was still reflecting the glory of Yahweh to such an extent that Aaron and others were afraid of him. Moses had to urge the people to come near him. To reduce the brilliance, he put on a veil which he removed when he went ...

2808. I Bind Unto Myself Today

Job 19:1-29

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world; In the Name of God the Father Almighty who created you; In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you; In the Name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you. May your rest be this day in peace, and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God. (BCP p. 464). This prayer is most appropriate for today, as we just celebrated on Sunday what is known to Christians as Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday puts before us the mystery of the one God in three persons -- Father, Son, and ...

2809. Easter 6

John 14:15-31, Psalm 67:1-7

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Be glad and sing for joy, because God judges the peoples with justice and guides every nation on earth. May all people everywhere honor the judge unimpeachable. PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of law and love, your Son came preaching that the law was made for us and not that we were made for the law. Forgive us. We have made commandments for others to follow where you have not made any. Excuse any zeal that commands what he taught rather than teaching what he commands. Recall us from any ...

2810. Epiphany 7

Luke 6:27-36, Psalm 37:1-40

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Be still in God's presence and worship expectantly. Take delight in prayer, and you will receive your heart's desire. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Compassionate Parent, understanding Brother, loving and forgiving Spirit, you know how weak we are and how prone to retaliate when treated spitefully. We would rather return a curse with a curse and a blow with a blow. We refuse many who ask us for what we think we do not owe. We are ready to sue for the return of what is rightfully ours. How is it that ...

2811. Lent 5

Philippians 3:1-11, Psalm 126:1-6

Sermon Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Cease dwelling on days gone by and brooding over past history. Worship in expectation that God will do new things and that now they may break from the bud into flowers and fruit. PRAYER OF CONFESSION God for all seasons, we confess that we would rather live in the glorious days of the past than risk the uncertain outcome of the future. We would rather leap ahead to the day of resurrection than undergo our share of the sufferings of Christ. Forgive our zeal for honors and our reluctance to ...

2812. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Luke 14:25-35

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Come and speak to our Monarch, who listens to the prayers of the lowly and will give you courage. Prayer of Confession Supreme Being from whom our being comes, only God to whom our prayers should be raised, hear our confession. We find it easier to go along with Jesus when there is a crowd. We are not always ready to part company with family and friends when our call is to costly discipleship. We may begin bravely and lose our nerve, forgetting that you can give us courage in the face of ...

2813. Proper 22

Psalm 137:1-9, Lamentations 3:19-26, Luke 17:1-10

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Let us sing of mercy and justice as we give sincere praise to God. Invocation Unchanging God, your steadfast love never ceases and your mercies never come to an end. We appreciate your mercies that are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Receive our worship as we come to you through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession Universal Judge, we are appalled at the violence and devastation that is to be seen in our world. Does our pride and opinion contribute to ...

2814. Proper 7

Luke 8:26-39, Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:26--4:7, Psalm 43:1-5, Psalm 42:1-11, 1 Kings 19:1-8

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Come to God's dwelling as to a beacon on a holy hill. Let God's light and truth lead you. Come to the altar of God, to offer your joyful praise with heart and voice and instruments of music. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Living God, you hear as well as speak, you feel as well as act. We are sometimes aware of hurting the feelings of our closest friends, but rarely do we consider that our bad behavior breaks your heart. We are too often like thoughtless children whose actions bring disgrace to the ...

2815. Easter 4

John 10:22-42

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Behind all of the pastoral (sheep-shepherd) imagery here, reintroduced from earlier in the chapter, is the central point of the discourse, namely, the identity of Jesus. The famous "punch-line" about the unity of Jesus and the Father should be read, not through the Greek philosophical categories of the later creeds, which suggest ontological identity, but in a rabbinic-style assertion of God's redemptive activity in history in general and in Jesus' ministry in particular. Liturgical Color White ...

2816. Tenders Of The Sacred Fire

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Today is Pentecost, the day of the Sacred Fire. It was less than two months since the crucifixion of our Lord. The apostles and other followers of Jesus still spent most of their time in a borrowed room in Jerusalem. They were still too frightened to tell their story to the world. They were waiting for something to happen. They believed somehow God would give them a message of what to do and then give them the strength to do it. They sincerely believed Jesus was to return and usher in the Kingdom of God. ...

2817. What Do You Do When Life Ain't Fair?

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

Steve Burt

Life doesn't always hand us what we want when we want it. In those times there's the temptation to shortcut, or to do the unethical, or to run from the problem. It's then that we need to keep our eyes on our goals and keep plugging along, honestly and diligently. A farmer's crops failed one year because of the drought. The previous year there had been too much rain, and it had flooded everything. The year before that he'd suffered due to an influx of imports. Discouraged, the farmer went fishing far off ...

2818. As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Steve Burt

A man got out of the Navy and planned to attend college. Before departing for the college town, though, he and his wife stopped by his parents' house in their old hometown so they could pick up a few items he'd left there in the attic -- pictures from school days, bowling trophies, a high school letter sweater, and a coin collection. The trouble came when the man couldn't find the coin collection that had been his joy growing up. He had collected nearly every Lincoln Head penny from 1909 on, including a ...

2819. What Do You Say To A Burning Bush?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Steve Burt

The Moses I always pictured is the Charlton Heston Moses, the one who leads his people out of Egypt, who parts the Red Sea, gives commands. But the Moses we hear and see in today's scripture reading is different, not the heroic, bigger-than-life character. He's tending sheep, but to see how he got there we must look back to Exodus 2:11-15. A nutshell summary goes like this. Moses is standing around, observes a fight, and kills an Egyptian. We can't just write that Egyptian off as somebody who doesn't count ...

2820. Salt And Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Mark Radecke

I was on a bit of a tight schedule one day, so on my way from one hospital to another, I stopped off for lunch at a fast food restaurant, whose name I will not mention. After I got my Chicken McNuggets, I went over to do battle with the paper napkin dispenser. [What mean-minded person invented those things, anyway?] While I was engaged in mortal combat with this stainless steel contraption that parts with napkins as willingly as a mother bear parts with her cubs, and with just about the same amount of ...

2821. Bad Timing

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

Some people are masters of bad timing. These are the people who burst into a party wearing a lamp shade and a hula skirt just as the conversation has taken a serious turn, a turn, say, toward a discussion of human rights or world hunger. Masters of bad timing buy high and sell low. They are the folks who try to rouse the hayriding young people to one more chorus of "She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain" just as the mood has shifted to the romantic. They telephone with questions about corrections to the ...

2822. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Pentecost is the third great Christian festival. On Christmas we celebrated the birth of Christ, our Savior. On Easter we celebrated his victorious resurrection from death. And today we remember Christ's giving of the Holy Spirit. Our story from the gospel of John takes place on Easter evening, after the disciples had discovered that the tomb was empty and Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus told her to tell the disciples that he was risen, which she did, but they did not understand. So on that ...

2823. The Spreading Word

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Jesus told them a parable: Listen up, folks. A farmer went out to plant. This was many centuries ago, before modern machinery. He carried a large bag of seeds and threw them all around by hand. In those days, a farmer threw the seeds (or "sowed" them) before he plowed them under. He would come along later and turn ground over so that the seeds would be covered with soil and could grow. Therefore, he wasn't so worried where he sowed them at this point. But, of course, some of the seeds fell on the path and ...

2824. The Man From Galilee V: The Test Of His Courage

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

A man and his wife had their vacation interrupted by a terrible toothache. They knew no one in the little town by the interstate highway. But they drove into town and asked for directions to the nearest dentist. They went straight to the dentist's office and told the receptionist they had an emergency situation. They had to see the dentist immediately. The receptionist showed them into a little room, and in a minute the dentist came in. They stood up to greet him, and the wife said, "We are on a trip and ...

2825. Speak For Yourself!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

What do Richard Nixon and Shirley Temple have in common? While they may have shared many common interests and traits, isn't it true that neither one ever outlived their pasts? When Richard Nixon was buried behind the house that his father built, he went to his grave as the president that was forced to resign in the face of humiliation and scandal. Even amid his remarkable rehabilitation which included significant contributions to the world's conversation about public policy, Nixon may as well have had " ...

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