Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2801 to 2825 of 4942 results

2801. Take Up Your Cross

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

It'll make you undefeatable! In Luke 8:4-8, our Lord tells a parable about "the sower and the seed" to illustrate the proclaiming of the Word and human response. It is curious to note the audacious, almost reckless way in which the seed is sown. The sower must have been really throwing wildly, because we are told that some seed fell on the footpath, some on shallow rocky ground, some among thistles, and some in good soil. To many people the sower's haphazard way of sowing would appear wasteful. Couldn't he ...

2802. God, The Enemy

Luke 12:1-12

Sermon

This week began with the execution of Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. A USA Today poll taken in April of this year showed that 81 percent of Americans wanted McVeigh to be executed -- and 28 percent of that support was from people who are normally against the death penalty. No matter where you stand on the issue of capital punishment, this particular execution has forced itself on our consciousness. One thing that particularly caught my ...

2803. Master of My Fate; Captain of My Soul

Luke 8:26-39

Illustration

Years ago this country witnessed the execution of Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. A USA Today poll taken in April showed that 81 percent of Americans wanted McVeigh to be executed -- and 28 percent of that support was from people who are normally against the death penalty. No matter where you stand on the issue of capital punishment, this particular execution has forced itself on our consciousness. One thing that particularly caught my attention ...

2804. Time to Get Ready

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Jesus said: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they’ may open to ...

2805. Our Splintered World

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

We live in a splintered world. Each week Time magazine has a section on "The World" - revealing revolution, apartheid, violence and cruelty, along with occasional good news. There is also a section on "The Nation," frequently revealing these same things closer to home. There is evidence of splintered families all around us and among us. A cartoon strip showed a young woman talking to a minister. She said, "John and I are having a terrible time, and we need your advice. We are trying to decide how to divide ...

2806. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

An idea keeps echoing through the Book of Deuteronomy: "Remember!" "Beware, lest you forget." The writer of Deuteronomy knew it isn't always easy to "remember," but also recognized its importance, so he kept emphasizing it. He knew how vital it is to recall our origins, to be aware of where we came from, to remember how we got where we are, and to keep, consciously, before us the recognition of vital things that allowed us to get here. J. Wallace Hamilton tells of a sensitive Jew who wrote a book called, " ...

2807. The Focus of Fitness

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

"Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings." (v. 11) Prayer: Lord, you have made it plain that you care what we do with our lives. You are pleased when we seek to do your will, and you grieve for us when we ignore it. Speak to us in this time of worship and enable us to re-discover the joy and the blessing of doing it your way. Amen Has there been a more popular pastime in recent years, than that of "getting in shape"? One magazine called it "America’s Health and Fitness ...

2808. Our Best Example

Luke 2:41-52

Children's Sermon

Object: A box of "Wheaties," a loaf of Wonder Bread, a Bible, a philosophy book. Good morning, boys and girls. I want to begin today by looking for some pretty special volunteers. They must be tall and strong. How many tall and strong people do we have? [Pick several from the group.] That's fine. I brought along a box of Wheaties and some Wonder Bread that builds bodies twelve ways in case any of you think that you may need something to be extra strong for our experiment today. Why don't you hold these ...

2809. Proper 18

Lk 14:25-33 · Eze 33:1-11 · Phm 1-20 · Prov 9:8-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Ezekiel 33:1-11 The watchman saves his life by giving God's warning to the wicked in the hope that the wicked will repent and live. The setting for this pericope is the defense alarm system of Ezekiel's day. A watchman was posted on a hill to warn the city by blowing a trumpet when an enemy approached. This gave the people in the fields an opportunity to come into the walled city for protection. If the watchman failed to warn, he was responsible for the death of those killed by the invaders. On ...

2810. Epiphany 7

Lk 6:27-38 · 1 Cor 15:45-49 · 1 Sam 26:1-25 · Gen 45:3-11, 15

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Genesis 45:3-11, 15 Joseph discloses his identity to his brothers. How does a person who has reached the zenith of success in terms of prestige, power, and authority deal with those who put him down to nothing but a slave and a prisoner falsely accused? In the story of Joseph, we have the dramatic moment when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers who sold him into slavery. One could expect retaliation and revenge, but Joseph returns good for evil, loves his enemies, and does good to them by ...

2811. Lent 1

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

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY 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 account of the ...

2812. EPIPHANY

Isaiah 60:1-22, Matthew 2:1-12, Ephesians 3:1-13

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson: Isaiah 60:1-6 Theme: God's glory is seen as a light Call to Worship Pastor: We have seen God's glory revealed in his only. begotten Son, our Savior. People: God's revelation in Christ is indeed a light that shines in our darkness. Pastor: What a marvelous gift God has given to our world. Let us rejoice and sing his praises! People: Our hearts thrill and rejoice as we come to worship our Lord! Collect Father of all nations: You have given yourself through your only begotten Son, as a radiant ...

2813. A Faith-Life To Emulate John W. Cobb

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

The Christian’s story really does not begin with the saga of Abraham. Remember, Jesus said, "Before Abraham was I am." Yet, as a practical matter Chapter 12 of Genesis is about the first episode that can be dated with fair accuracy and so may be considered a "beginning" that would cause this name to be remembered henceforth as "father of the faithful." In recent years genealogical studies have become very popular. Some from very noble motives, others merely as an expression of family pride or an ego trip. ...

2814. But Where is the Lamb? John W. Cobb

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

As one stands to the West of the temple area in the old city of Jerusalem and gazes upon the remains of the Temple of Herod now spoken of as the "wailing wall," then looks beyond to the domineering Dome of the Rock, it is to recall the great epochs of history and tradition associated with the place called "Mount Moriah." How much of human history and the traditions of the "people of God" is linked to that spot! One of the most moving and poignant of those traditions is the story of Abraham’s ultimate ...

2815. Remember Toward the Future John M. Cobb

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

... "This day shall be for you a memorial day,2 and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generation you shall observe it as an ordinance forever." (v. 14) Dear friends, Today, beginning this week, we here in Canada have a most special week, and that is because tomorrow is a special holiday, namely "Heritage Day." And by that is meant that day, or week, where one remembers especially his or her national or ethnic heritage.... It is, indeed, interesting the way that we have these ...

2816. God Is Into Birds!

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

John and I are getting into birds! We work out of the mountains of western North Carolina during the summer months. One of our favorite pastimes, when we are at home, is to watch the birds that come to our deck which overlooks the mountains. There are ruby-throated hummingbirds (sometimes as many as sixteen of them), which come to guzzle the red-colored, sugar-water that I keep in feeders for them under the eave of the house. At another feeder, filled with sunflower seeds, we are visited by the white- ...

2817. Miracle In the Bethlehem Inn

Drama

Program for Worship Bulletin "And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7) Welcome Prayer Carol "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" Scene I Joshua, Miriam, and their children Adam, Lela, Lydia and Susanna arrive in Bethlehem where they expect Joshua's brother, Aaron, to put them up in his inn. They, like most people in town at that time, are there to be enrolled for the census. They arrive outside ...

2818. For Those On The Outside

Luke 8:40-56

Sermon

Let us pray: O Lord, as I seek to preach the word, and as your people struggle to know who you are, let our minds in these moments be illuminated with understanding from your Holy Spirit. Now may my words be thy words, as I seek to preach the gospel. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. The New Testament lesson this morning is about a woman on the periphery; it is the story of one who stood on the outside of the life and ministry of Jesus. She plays only a minor role in the New Testament and preachers do not ...

2819. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Everyone has a cracking point. There comes a certain point in our relationships with others or in our feelings about ourselves when everything snaps. You and I are emotionally and physiologically structured so that we can withstand only so much. There is only so much garbage, so much heat we can take. Then, like the valve on a pressure cooker, we simply blow off. Perhaps the six most dramatic words in the English language are these: "I just can't take it anymore." Every person has a cracking point. It ...

2820. The World's Best Kept Secret

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Our society often paints a very dull picture of being good. It's almost as if wickedness is more interesting than righteousness. We continue to be interested in the Hitler era. Hardly a night passes that two or three cable stations don't have a documentary or a movie about the Adolph Hitler era. Many a theater owner and video store manager have found that the movies rated G and PG certainly do not attract the large audiences that R-rated movies attract. Certainly our medias have found that goodness is not ...

2821. Our Splintered World

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

2822. The Rite of Remembrance

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Edward Chinn

[Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." "We are what we remember," wrote Dr. Ernest T. Campbell, the late pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. The word remember came from two Latin words: "re" (back, again) and "memor" (mindful). To remember is to call an event, person, or thing back to mind again. It is to reassemble the members of a past event. The act of remembering ...

2823. Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-16, Psalm 72:1-20, Romans 14:1--15:13, Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Second Sunday in Advent is clearly oriented toward preparation for the coming of the Lord. This preparation has two dimensions: to prepare "our hearts" - which God is constantly attempting to do through his Word and Spirit - for the Second Coming of the Lord; and, to "prepare our hearts" for his incarnation, as he comes to us through Word and Spirit at Christmas and every day of our lives. This much ought to be evident to us; that if our hearts are prepared for his eschatological ...

2824. Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The title of this day, Ash Wednesday - the rite for the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the penitents and the central proclamation of the day, "You are dust, and unto dust you will return" provide the theological clue for preaching during Lent and Easter. Every person who is born here on the earth will, sooner or later, be claimed by death. The Genesis 3 story is certainly true in this respect; no one is exempt from death - even Jesus, the very Son of God, had to die, partly ...

2825. Lent 1

Genesis 3:1-24, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 4:1-11, Genesis 2:4-25, Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The structure of the church year determines, in all three years of the lectionary, that this Sunday is, in part, a "pattern" Sunday; it shows that Lent is a forty-day retreat by the faithful, "patterned" after Jesus' solitary sojourn in the wilderness immediately after he had been baptized in the Jordan. As a spiritual journey, Lent is observed in public and in private, in corporate worship and in individual devotions and actions. But, in the use of the Gospel for the Day, again in all ...

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