Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2876 to 2900 of 4934 results

2876. Lighten Up

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have selected the hymn you have just sung to bring back memories of Sunday School. Imagine this image: a little girl in a white Sunday School dress, in a church pageant, holding a little candle, singing, "This Little Light of Mine." That is the image that most of us, I imagine, have in mind when we think of this hymn, "This Little Light of Mine." It is so sentimental, and cute, even. Which is the danger of using diminutives like "little,"...."This Little Light of Mine." It is like "dear" or "sweet." It ...

2877. Proper 12

1 Kings 3:1-15, Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 29:15-28 (C) Jacob's uncle, Laban, tricks him into working fourteen years to marry Rachel. Jacob arrived at Haran and met Rachel, a daughter of Laban, at a watering place for sheep. Because of his love for Rachel, he offered to work seven years without wages for the hand of Rachel. On the wedding night Jacob learned he was tricked. Upon a promise to work another seven years, Jacob took Rachel for his second wife. Lesson 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 (RC); 1 Kings 3:5-12 (E) Solomon asks ...

2878. Take On Something for Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

An increasing number of responsible pet owners have now “micro-chipped” their dogs and cats. A small “chip” is injected under the skin and when a special scanner is run over the chip, the creature’s whole history is made available—-pet’s name, owner’s name, home address, home phone, vet’s name, vet’s phone, medications taken. It’s all there. Most animal shelters now have these scanners. When a lost or wandering animal is brought in, “scanning” is the first procedure. Often the “lost” is “found,” ...

2879. What Church Is All About

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

A U.S.A. Today poll asked people why they went to church. 45% said they went "because it was good for them." "Worship" didn't even rate in the survey.[1] There are all kinds of reasons to go to church, and I would say good reasons. Some people go to church for the fellowship; some go for service; some go for Bible study; some go for the music; some go for the atmosphere; some go for the preaching. But if you come to church for any other primary reason than to worship God, you are coming for the wrong ...

2880. You Had Better Get It Right

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

James Merritt

Even little children understand that there are some things you had better get right and understand to be true, or you can get yourself into big trouble. For example: I came across a little document entitled "Great truths about life that little children have learned." Here are some of them: No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats. When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair. If your sister hits you don't hit her back; they always catch the second person. Never ask your three- ...

2881. Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Psalm 112:1-10, Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12), Matthew 5:13-20, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter--Psalms 112:1-9 (10) First Lesson--Ritual fasting does not gain us the divine favor as brightly as benevolent social action. Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) Second Lesson--Paul specifies that the gospel of the cross is more persuasive than "wisdom" and oratory. 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) Gospel--The light of good deeds should point to the goodness of God. Matthew 5:13-20 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: O praise the ...

2882. Lean on Me

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

One of the tangible benefits of reading the Bible is that we discover that God calls people to service in areas they may not have thought possible. People often discover that with God's help they are able to reach deep within themselves and find strength they did not know existed. Back in the '60s, Bill Withers sang, "Lean on me when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on." For most of us, it is not until we find ourselves unable to carry on that we discover that with God we can ...

2883. Generous Hearts

1 Timothy 6:11-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Have you all heard about the Preacher who stood up one morning and told his congregation. "This morning we'll have an interactive service. I've prepared 3 different sermons for today. First I've prepared a fifty dollar fire and brimstone sermon which is about two hours long." "Second I've prepared a hundred dollar sermon on the evils of sin that should take about an hour to deliver. And finally I have a $500 fifty dollar sermon on love and generosity, it will only take about 10 or fifteen minutes. We'll ...

2884. A Match Made in Heaven

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

David J. Kalas

One of the great privileges of being a parish pastor is the opportunity to officiate at weddings. Most folks only know how beautiful a wedding is from the pews. I want to tell you, though, that a wedding is even more beautiful from the vantage point at which I get to see it. I get to stand here in the front. And from here, I get to see the faces. I am always touched as I watch the faces of the bridesmaids and the groomsmen while their best friends — or, often, their siblings — come to this long-awaited ...

2885. Duuuh!

John 14:15-31

Sermon

David O. Bales

If you’ve been around the Christian faith for a while, you’ve noticed how people pick what they like from the Bible. Like a giant magnet at a wrecking yard we each reach down into the material of the Bible and pick up only what we want — get the iron, leave the wood, paper, and plastics. We’re not convincing if we say, “I don’t do it but everyone else does.” We all do. It’s just that some are so obvious about it. I’ve dealt with two main types of Bible-selectors. One brand of Christian Bible-selector is ...

2886. Last Encouragement and Final Greeting

1 Corinthians 16:19-24, 1 Corinthians 16:5-18

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: When strong, Christ-devoted Christians visit or join a fellowship, churches must receive these with love and submit to their ministry. As the strong believers come to encourage others’ faith, they themselves should receive encouragement and be strengthened. Understanding the Text Albeit concise, Paul’s concluding chapter functions as weighty pastoral guidance on practical community matters. He ends his letter by speaking to the relationship between individual communities, between a community and ...

2887. Be Careful What You Ask For

1 Samuel 10:9-27

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord decides the form of leadership for his covenant community, yet he sometimes gives his people a taste of what they want as a form of discipline. Understanding the Text In response to the people’s request, the Lord decided to give them a king, but he reserved the right to set the pattern for kingship. Recognizing the people’s need for security, he chose and commissioned a ruler to deliver them from their enemies. The plot tension of chapter 8 appears to be resolved, but new plot tensions ...

2888. Eliphaz Condemns and Counsels Job

Job 22:1-30

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Eliphaz accuses Job of sins he has not committed and gives Job advice that does not apply to him. Understanding the Text Job 22 begins the third and final cycle of speeches, and it is evident that Job and his friends are rapidly reaching an impasse. In the third round, the speeches are much shorter than before, and eventually the dialogue disintegrates completely when Zophar’s turn comes but he does not speak (after chapter 26). In addition, the speakers are increasingly frustrated and caustic ...

2889. Does Prayer Make Any Diﬀerence?

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I want to address a subject that many of us struggle with — prayer. Deep inside many of us want to know if prayer makes a difference. And if it does make a difference, what difference does it make? Does prayer really work? If it does work, how does it work? Those of us who are Christians know that prayer is something we ought to do. If we need something — if we are confused about something — if we need guidance or direction — we have been taught to pray about it. In fact, most of us have heard well-meaning ...

2890. What's in Your Wheelhouse...That You Can Offer Jesus?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Father Jerry Fuller once told a story about a young couple in North Carolina who were set to open their own restaurant. All that was needed was the final health inspection and the issuing of their business permit. They were scheduled to receive the permit the next day. This occurred in September, 1989. The couple named their little restaurant “Our Place” and they were excited--as you might imagine--that they were finally ready to open. But that morning the winds and rains of Hurricane Hugo hit the Atlantic ...

2891. Deep Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Dig deeper!” the prospector cried. Imagine digging a hole in the earth only 4 ft wide, being lowered on a ladder into a dark, narrow passageway down to nearly 1285 ft. That’s a quarter of a mile deep –with only a candle for light. That’s deeper than the height of the Empire State Building and 850 feet below sea level. And imagine using only hand tools to chip away at stone and earth, piling it all into buckets to be raised to the top, one bucket at a time. Now imagine doing that for 24 hours a day for ...

2892. The Best Gifts

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Mary Austin

Our Christmas Eve reading takes a different turn this year, as we read from the letter to Titus. This is one of the shortest books in the Bible, and is almost never read in worship. But the writer has an unusual take on the gifts of Christmas. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the ...

2893. The Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Rudyard Kipling was a best selling English author at the turn of the century. He wrote one of the best books for children of all time, entitled, The Jungle Book as well as the poem "Gunga Den." He made a tremendous amount of money with his writings. A newspaper reporter came up to him one time and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word." Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, "Really, I certainly was not aware of that ...

2894. A New Beginning for Everyone

Exodus 35:4-29

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to take you back 3,500 years to the very first capital campaign found in the Bible. The Lord does not even wait to get the children of Israel to the promise land until He asks them to do two things: (1) Take an offering; (2) Build a building. Now there are two parts to this campaign that are extremely important. Notice who they were to give their offering to: "Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and ...

2895. Open Grave, Open Hearts

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

As the Cadillac owner walked to his car, he saw a boy about ten years old staring intently through the windows. Wondering what he was up to, the man put his hands on the youngster's shoulders, pulled gently and asked him what he was doing. The boy said he was interested in cars and had read a lot about different models. The owner talked with the boy for a while explaining to him details about this particular model and style. After a little while, the boy asked, "Mister, how much did you pay for this car?" ...

2896. Thanksgiving Day, North America

Luke 17:11-19, Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Psalm 65:1-13, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Deuteronomy 8:7-18 is a sermon by Moses calling Israel to remember that their good life in the land is a gift from God. Psalm 65 is a hymn. Deuteronomy 8:7-18 - "Giving Thanks" Setting. Deuteronomy 8 is part of a larger section of literature that includes chapters 6-8, in which Moses exhorts Israel to keep the law. This section looks at law from a number of different perspectives. Law is introduced with the promise of blessing in 6:1-3, and it is equated with love in 6:4-9 ("Love the ...

2897. Year-Round Christmas

1 Kings 17:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"When elephants fight, the grass suffers." So goes an old African proverb.(1) The elephants in question here, Yahweh and Baal - gods competing for a nation's allegiance with the original weapons of mass destruction: drought and disaster; the grass, this widow and her son, caught in this cosmic struggle between fertility and famine. We meet one of faith's greatest heroes as this story begins. Elijah - no question whose side he is on; his name means YAHWEH IS MY GOD. He gets no introduction other than the ...

2898. Why A Cross?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Why A Cross? Some years ago the motion picture industry did a great service to the cause of Christianity with its epic production of Lew Wallace's Ben Hur. The crucifixion scene in that film is unforgettable, and recreates a truer picture of our Lord's death than almost any other dramatic production I have ever seen. Looking at that movie, you can feel the injustice, the callousness, and the sheer brutality of Calvary. Executioners pound home huge spikes into quivering hands and feet. Rivulets of blood ...

2899. Getting Ready for The Coming Messiah

Mark 1:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

Liturgical Color: Purple/Blue Theme: Preparing the Way; John Announces the Coming of Jesus. John paved the way for Jesus, who then paved the way for us. Choral Invitation Have the two choirs move toward each other. The chancel choir will move one third of the way toward the rear; and the second choir will move one third of the way to the front. The chancel choir will sing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" with less vigor; and the second choir will sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" with more vigor than last ...

2900. Lust - To Discipline The Eye And The Heart

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

Jesus and his disciples were in a foreign land, the land of Samaria. It had once been recognized as the birthplace and capital of the Jewish faith. It was in Samaria and at Shechem that God told Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants. But later the Israelites were defeated by the Assyrians, who then settled in the land and mixed with the population. So in Jesus' day the people of Israel viewed the Samaritans as half-breeds and false worshipers. Jesus' parable of the "good Samaritan" was a ...

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