Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2801 to 2825 of 4943 results

2801. A Brass Cross and a Barometer

Luke 6:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Did you read in the newspaper a few months ago about the little first-grade boy who kissed a little first-grade girl at school? We're not sure what got into him, but he gave her a little peck on the cheek. A teacher witnessed the incident and reported it. In a monumental display of bad judgment, the principal suspended the boy for three days for sexual harassment! When people think only of rules and eliminate common sense, bad things happen. Some people are incurable rule makers. Such were the Pharisees of ...

2802. For Christ’s Sake, What’s Going On?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

"There’s no fight like a church fight," someone once told me. Unhappily, that’s proven true time and again. Of all communities, you would think (or hope, at least) that congregations organized around the cross of Christ would be exemplars to the world. We have the promises, the hope, and the forgiveness God gives to his own select community. For heaven’s sake, it ought to make a difference in the way we live, at least within our own redeemed community. But someone else once pointed out to me that Satan isn ...

2803. Mary's Revolutionary Song (Sermon Series No. 3)

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In one of the world’s most revolutionary documents, is found these immortal words: “We hold these truths to be self—evident, that all men are created equal.” Of course, that document, the Declaration of Independence, is the charter of the American Revolution. Though we have not yet lived up to it, it has been the vision that inspires us. It's vision has also been the target of oppressive regimes around the world. Not least of which is Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The only document I know that is more ...

2804. A Glimpse of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

George Bass

Philip seems, according to St. John, to have more in common with Thomas than he does with James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, of whom we have precious little information as a disciple, an evangelist, or even - as tradition tells us - as a martyr. Not that much more is known about Philip! Circumstance linked Philip and James the Less together because their remains, or relics, were moved to the Church of the Apostles in Rome on May 1; their bodies still lie together in a crypt under the main altar of this ...

2805. Clouds and Son-Shine

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Hubert Beck

Motivation is the key to life. It is not only the key to getting work done, but it is the key to living itself! Once a person loses the will to live, health suffers and death is never more than a step or two away. Motivation is hard to sustain at times, though. The cloudy moments of life cause us to say, "What’s the use of it all?" We want to chuck everything and let come what may without care or concern. That’s when we need to see again the glory of the Lord revealed, for in God’s presence among us we ...

2806. Called to Be Saints

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Hubert Beck

Have you ever considered the power of Jesus’ simple statement, "You are the salt of the earth"? (Matthew 5:13) No matter how you say it, that statement shakes you to your boots. Try it on for size. "You are the salt of the earth." Me? Isn’t it astounding to hear Jesus say that you and I are the salt of the earth? Surely he must have meant a special group of people. He couldn’t have been talking to us, could he? The words are from the Sermon on the Mount, spoken in some ways peculiarly to his disciples ...

2807. IN THE BEGINNING ... THERE WAS LOVE ...

Drama

Marcia Millerf

This is a fantasy of one person becoming aware of another. It is considered biblical because at one time there was that first encounter. At the same time it must be remembered that each one of us has had that same first encounter; a time when we must admit there are other needs in the world beside our own personal needs, desires, and wants. The costuming for this play must be at the simplest level - black leotards and tights. The stage setting is also simple. On stage there are two tower-like structures ...

2808. EPISODE 4: THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

ACT II EPISODE 4: THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT JOHN MARTHA JESUS MARY SECOND CLERGYMAN LAZARUS (Non-speaking: PETER, THOMAS, JUDAS) [MARTHA is alone. JOHN enters to her.] JOHN: Martha! MARTHA: John ... you’ve finally come? JOHN: We didn’t know how bad things were. MARTHA: But we sent word to Jesus days ago. JOHN: I know. It’s very strange. He didn’t seem ... MARTHA: He didn’t seem to care? JOHN: No. Not that at all. I can’t explain it. MARTHA: Where is he now? JOHN: Just up the street. MARTHA: Isn’t he...? JOHN ...

2809. EPISODE 8: GOOD FRIDAY

Drama

Robert Clausen

EPISODE 8: GOOD FRIDAY GOVERNOR GOVERNOR’S WIFE CAPTAIN JESUS BISHOP MAN (Non-Speaking: SOLDIER) [The GOVERNOR is alone. His WIFE enters.] GOVERNOR’S WIFE: Husband! GOVERNOR: Wife! You shouldn’t be here. WIFE: I had to come. I want to know what’s happening. GOVERNOR: To the prisoner? WIFE: Yes. GOVERNOR: The examination isn’t over. WIFE: Have you decided...? GOVERNOR: I thought I had. Now I don’t know. WIFE: What will you do? GOVERNOR: Why do you care? WIFE: I fear him. GOVERNOR: Why? WIFE: I keep having a ...

2810. Much Obliged

Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalm 116:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is a quaint expression that you often hear in the rural sections of our country. Instead of saying "thank you," folks say, "Much obliged." It's really a beautiful expression. "Much obliged" means that I am much obligated to you for what you have done for me. I want to declare that we are a "much obliged" people this morning. I call us to do exactly what that old beloved hymn from the brown Cokesbury hymnal advised, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God ...

2811. Free to Be

Acts 4:23-31

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

INDEPENDENCE DAY For 197 years this country called America has attempted to provide the soil and the climate in which freedom and independence can grow. For almost two centuries the U. S. of A. has become a haven of refuge for immigrants seeking an escape from repression. Our country has been a mecca for persons interested in breathing the fresh air of freedom. This experiment in democracy, of course, has not yet completely succeeded. We still have the weeds of injustice. Repression and discrimination are ...

2812. Crossing the Great Divide

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

"It’s his fault. It’s her fault. It’s their fault." "It’s not my fault. The devil made me do it." Since the first bad trip in the Eden garden, humans have made it a regular practice to pass the buck. From the man who pointed to his questionable helpmate and said, "The woman you gave me, she made me eat that fruit," to the woman who could literally say, "the devil made me do it," to Herod who could make no decision but send Jesus back to Pilate, to Pilate who thought he could absolve himself by a little ...

2813. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

At home I have a yellow copy of one of the world's most revolutionary documents. In it are found these immortal words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Of course, that document, the Declaration of Independence, is the charter of the American Revolution. Though we have not yet lived up to it, it has been the vision that inspires us. The only document I know that is more revolutionary is in our Bible. It is called the Magnificat and is found in Luke, chapter 1, ...

2814. The Ten Commandments - Part 2

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

A little boy was once asked by his Sunday school teacher if he knew the Ten Commandments. "No ma'am," came the reply, "my dad said that I don't have to know them since they are doing away with them anyway." It is one thing to be ignorant of the Ten Commandments; it quite another to mock them with impunity. Millions dismiss them as mere platitudes fit for nothing more than a dusty old bookshelf. They disdain them because they are "religious." There are still others who want to do away with the Ten ...

2815. OUR LORD TORMENTED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

Cold, bright moonlight, spilling over Jerusalem transformed the temple area into what might have been a setting out of Roman mythology. Standing on the parapet high atop the Antonia, the Roman Procurator, Pilate, let his gaze drift from the white temple buildings almost directly beneath him to the city beyond, but his mind was seeing the grandeur of Rome and his heart was filled with bitter nostalgia. He did not turn at the sound of steps behind him, nor did he speak when the centurion moved to his side. ...

2816. The Shepherd Who Loved His Sheep

John 10:1-21

Sermon

George Bass

Nearly everybody who visits the Holy Land seems to buy an olivewood carving of the Shepherd with the little lamb upon his shoulder. It is one of the most beloved symbols portraying the nature of Christ to people. But that type of carving is radically different from the representation of the Good Shepherd which has graced the apses of Christian church buildings ever since they were first built. High on my tourist-agenda, when I first visited Rome, was the Church of Santa Costanza, mainly because I had heard ...

2817. When God Almighty Speaks ... Listen!

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

Hannah was among the barren women of Israel. She had no children. But Hannah was also among the faithful women of Israel. So one year, at the time of sacrifice, she made a vow to the Lord. In the midst of her distress, she uttered a tearful prayer: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look on the affliction of thy maidservant ... but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life. Later, after the worship and the sacrifice, the family returned home, "and in due time ...

2818. What If It Is True?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Much of this sermon’s appeal, though not all of it, lies in its close identification with the hearer’s experience - the thoughts, the pains, the fears, the objections. Acknowledging that there is "another way," other than that herein suggested, that which the text calls for may mean pain, certainly surprise, the sermon yet invites the hearers to move into the unknown - forgiving, loving - because, well, because "You have found favor with God." Is that all there is? Yes, that is all, but that "all" is ...

2819. No Huggies

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

This preacher recognizes how crucial are the beginning moments of a sermon. If listening does not happen at this moment of high anticipation, there will often be little opportunity for hoping that listeners will still be listening when the "goodies" are passed out. The preacher makes us look at the text beyond the first superficial reading. Scholarship does what it is supposed to do for preaching: illuminate. Humor is present. "Why should the snake have all the good lines?" someone quipped. The humor grows ...

2820. Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

There’s an amusing commercial on television in which a man is about to let go of his bowling ball as he eyes the pins at the end of the lane. Just as he is ready to release the ball, he gets lifted out of himself by two men in sparkling white suits and goes walking off across the lanes, through the walls of the building and onto a staircase surrounded by clouds. At first he doesn’t understand what in the world is going on but then it suddenly dawns on him. He has just died. He looks at the two white-suited ...

2821. Butterflies and Jesus

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

As I was working on my sermon this past week I toyed with the idea of bringing a live butterfly along with me to church this morning so I could let it go right about now, as an attention getter. I decided against doing that, however, because I was afraid it would get your attention so well that I might never get it back again. I had visions of all of you sitting out there spending the rest of the service distracted as you followed the butterfly around, your heads bobbing up and down after it. So I brought ...

2822. When the Word Comes to the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

You can tell Christmas is on the way when the catalogs start arriving in the mail. Long before the first snowflake falls, there is an avalanche of slick paper flyers. They come as gifts from merchants with toll-free phone numbers, all in the hope that we will buy what they have to offer. Last year the first catalog came from a company that specializes in Christian home decorations. Like other catalogs, there were smiling snowman doormats and weatherproof gift-wrap for covering the mailbox. On page three, ...

2823. The Kind of People Whom God Chooses

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

There are many stories in the New Testament about people who are called to serve God and follow Jesus. Of all those stories, this story makes the most sense. Remember the story about Paul? He was persecuting the church, dragging Christians out of their houses and condemning them to death. One day, he saw the Light, and it knocked him off his horse. It’s hard to relate to such a dramatic conversion, but there it is. Remember the story about Matthew? One day he was sitting at his tax collection table, ...

2824. The Promise of Sight

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

The Epiphany of our Lord never fails to arouse fascination for the story of the Visit of the Magi. The number, the identification, the homelands, and the occupations of the men from the East are not cited in the biblical account. That has allowed for all kinds of speculation as to who and what the Magi may have been. Some of that has been scholarly, some playful, some artful, some of it educational, and some worshipful. Carlos Menotti relates how fortunate it was for him that he could fall back on the ...

2825. A Man, A Woman, and the Test of Doom (A Drama about Marriage)

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: Pastor Ray asked me to write a light-hearted drama for this weekend centering around marriage. As I thought about what I would write, I asked myself how the world tells you if you have a healthy marriage or not. I quickly scanned the Internet until I found what I was looking for - a marriage cyber-test. I pulled some questions from it and added my own for the drama. Amazing... if we would only go to God's word, we could find out exactly what He has to say about a healthy marriage... Note ...

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