Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2876 to 2900 of 4945 results

2876. No Room for Jesus

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

After some last-minute Christmas shopping, Clara Null was rushing her grandkids into the car. As she was closing the door, four-year-old Jason said, “Grandma, Susie has something in her pocket.” He reached into Susie’s pocket and pulled out a new red barrette. Though she was tired, Clara knew it was important for Susie to take the barrette back to the store, apologize to the manager, and put the item back where she had found it. So, they did just that. Later, they stopped for a few quick groceries. At the ...

2877. In You and Through You

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the book, How To Find Out Who You Are, Nelson Price reports that 15 prominent college professors took this challenge: "If all the books on the art of moving human beings into action were condensed into one brief statement, what would that statement be?" The result of their deliberations were four statements: What the mind attends to, it considers; What the mind does not attend it to, it dismisses. What the mind attends to continually, it believes. What the mind believes, it eventually does. If you ...

2878. Not a Servant, but a Son

Galatians 4:6-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few weeks ago, my son Kevin asked me to make some suggestions for his reading. I thought about that only for a moment - immediately I suggested that he read one of my favorite writers, Loren Eiseley. I went back and reread some of his marvelous stuff myself. In his book, All The Strange Hours, he talks about the experience he had at his father’s death. During the last days of his father’s illness, there had been no sign of consciousness. His father on his death-bed. Then, Leo came. Leo was his half- ...

2879. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How can a person express their love of basketball, chocolate, their children, God, and their spouse with a single four-letter word - love? That's what I would like us to consider today. In the early part of the 20th century a Jewish philosopher by the name of Martin Buber tried to distinguish between human connections that are mainly "I-It" relationships and those interactions which are primarily "I-Thou" relationships. In "I-It" relationships we seek to acquire and possess. In "I-Thou" relationships we ...

2880. Reaching Up—Reaching Out

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

An elderly man was critically ill when he asked to see his doctor, his minister, and his closest business associate. As the three of them gathered around the man's bed, he said to them, "I know they say you can't take it with you, but who knows for sure? So, I'm giving each of you an envelope with a $100,000 in cash, in case I need a little spending money on the other side." A few days later the old man died. On the day of the funeral, the doctor, the minister and the business man all slipped an envelope ...

2881. Living in Gratitude

Philippians 4:4-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Have you heard the old story about the young man who enthusiastically joined the monastery? Wanting the highest and the best, the young monk immediately took the vow of silence. The solemn vow meant the monk could only speak two words a year and those were reserved for his annual evaluation with the Abbott. The first year passed and the Abbot asked the monk how he was doing. Without hesitation the monk replied, “Food Bad." Another year passed and the Abbott again asked the monk how he was doing. The monk ...

2882. Mulliganeers, All

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Way back in cold old February, fourth grader Patrick Timoney came face-to-face with what “zero degrees” really mean. Not “zero degrees” Fahrenheit, but “zero degrees” of tolerance. It seems Patrick had taken some of his favorite Lego toys to school to show off to his buddies. Any parent of young children can tell you those little, tiny Lego guys are natural born killers. They hide in the couch to poke you when you sit down. They stab you in the foot as you cross the floor. They can single-handedly destroy ...

2883. Behind Closed Doors

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lee Griess

There are some jokes that are just too terrible to tell from the pulpit. A pastor would have to be nuts to try to slip such a story by his congregation. For example, there is a story of a man who went to a psychiatrist one time with a sleep disorder. "Doc," he says, "I've been having trouble sleeping because of weird dreams. For example, last night I dreamed that I was a wigwam." "Oh yes," the psychiatrist said. "That is terrible. Yes, yes indeed ... Please try very carefully to remember more and come back ...

2884. In Whose Likeness?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Okay, teacher, you think you're so smart — is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor? Talk about your loaded question! If we're talking about the law of Rome, the law of the imperial government, the law of this part of the world, of course it's legal to pay taxes to the emperor — it's illegal not to! And just in case Jesus was hoping to fudge a bit on the answer, there are among his questioners members of the Herodian party, supporters of the puppet king, toadies to the Roman government, here listening to ...

2885. Big "J" and Little "j"

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Drive down almost any rural road that runs alongside a waterway and you are likely to see a bright yellow road sign with silhouettes of ducklings warning you “Slow. Duck Crossing.” Nothing says spring so sweetly as a line-up of little fuzzy yellow ducklings waddling or swimming behind their mother. The babies look so devoted, and are so completely lock-stepped on their parent, that they will blindly follow-the-leader right into traffic or over the edge of a waterfall. It isn’t love that keeps those baby ...

2886. The Receptive Heart

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Life is a matter of attitude. All the great motivational speakers tell us that. To succeed in life, attitude is critical. Of course, not everyone has a great attitude. In fact, some people have a downright rotten attitude. The Internet carried an item recently that reflects a rotten attitude. It is called the “Cynic’s Guide to Life.” It’s a clever take-off on some of life’s familiar clichés. See if you recognize any of these: The journey of a thousand miles . . . begins with . . . a broken fan belt and a ...

2887. A Winsome Witness

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

He was an Ethiopian bigwig. Apparently, he was what was called a "God-fearer" — the designation given by Jews to those who were not Jewish but who had expressed faith in their God. No matter how devout this fellow might have been, he would never have been welcomed as a convert — he was a eunuch. Hebrew law was explicit: "No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 23:1). Very graphic. Very explicit. Very harsh, and especially ...

2888. Curiosity and Questions

John 3:1-7

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

When I was sorting through household items in Minnesota, preparing for a move to Florida, I came across my old Nancy Drew mysteries. The pages were worn, some had my childhood scribbles on them, the pictures on the covers had started to fade. The question was, "Should I keep them or not?" Reluctantly, I decided not to keep them. I took the books to an antiquarian bookstore where a man offered me $30 for the 25 books. I took the money and walked out the door. When I got to the corner, I turned around and ...

2889. What Is Our City?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ken Lentz

In the text from Acts 4, we get a glimpse of life in the Christian community after the resurrection event. The text offers some answers to the question of T. S. Eliot: When the Stranger says: "What is the meaning of this city? Do you huddle close together because you love each other? What will you answer? "We all dwell together To make money from each other"? or "This is a community"?1 What makes the church community different from other communities? In the first place, we read that "... the apostles gave ...

2890. Low-Carb Christians

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

It was over thirty years ago that someone handed me a book that seemed to have the answer to the greatest problem facing people like me — how to lose weight. The book promised a miracle cure with no pain. Eat all you want and lose more than you can imagine. The best thing was that this was secret knowledge. Those who read the book were right and everyone else was wrong, wrong, wrong. There was a special delight in being one of the elite, in knowing something no one else knew. Let me emphasize right off the ...

2891. God as a Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Every pastor sees the damage that is done to people by too heavy an emphasis on God's judgment. The damage often begins in childhood. Because children can be rambunctious, adults too often try to frighten them into obedience. The church is no exception to this practice. Parents sometimes report that their children have come home from Sunday school or vacation Bible school in tears and trembling because some misguided adult had tried to frighten them into faith with horrifying images of the punishment that ...

2892. Not Another Rerun!

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

Not another rerun! Many of us probably expressed that sentiment at some point during the past summer when we sat down in front of the television for an hour or so of relaxation after a hard day's work. Disappointment then set in as we surfed our favorite channels only to discover that overly hyped unreal "reality" shows and reruns of programs we had already seen were all that was being shown. By the time fall came around we were eager for something new. Our desire for something new extends to more ...

2893. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Excitement is building on this the third Sunday of Advent knowing that Christmas will soon be here. Children have made their Christmas wish lists of all the wonderful things they desire. Some might have had long lists while others might have subtracted an item or two, still others might have added a few more gifts during the past weeks. We have heard people ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” Most of us, young and old alike, have no problem sharing our wish list with anyone who asks. On our mad rush to ...

2894. Soiled Faith and Watered-Down Churches

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Some of us are born with green thumbs — able to water and plant barren landscapes into lush gardens. Some of us are born with gangrene thumbs — unable even to grow a “Chia Pet.” Some people are born with the ability to take things apart and put things back together. They are handy-dandy, fixer-uppers from the get go. But in the most shallow part of the wading area of that “fixer-upper” gene pool, there are those of us who should never be allowed to handle hammers, screwdrivers, or saws. There are those ( ...

2895. How to Hug

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

King Duncan

The world has changed so much that even certain jokes don’t work anymore. For example, there is a time-honored story of a man who was in love with love that is, romantic love. He bought every book he could find on the subject. One day he was in a book store when he spied a book titled How to Hug. He didn’t have time to thumb through it and find out what it was about, but from its title, he knew he had to have it. He paid for it quickly and took it proudly out of the store. It wasn’t until he got home that ...

2896. Getting to a Teachable Moment

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

I spent part of a recent Sunday talking with a public school teacher who was quickly coming to the end of her rope. Talented, dedicated, one of the good people, she found herself with the class from hell and her life coming apart at the seams. We were well beyond being a non-anxious, fully individuated, differentiated presence. In short, we were at critical mess rather than critical mass. I have taught enough confirmation classes and have had experiences in the classroom in other forums to identify with ...

2897. Let's Take This from the Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

James Merritt

The world of information is now connected through the Internet, but in 1860 the fastest way to send a message was by a newly developed innovation called “The Pony Express.” Young men who loved adventure were hired to ride 8 hours and 80 miles a day on horseback. The 1,946 miles between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California were linked together by 190 stations so that mail delivery could be reduced from 25 days to just 10. These riders rode 6 days a week, for that time, at a very high salary of $ ...

2898. Waiting Is So Hard to Do

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

(Ascension of the Lord) It is said that Americans are the most time-conscious people in the world. We are always in a hurry. We invented fast food, instant coffee, instant messenger, express mail, express oil changes and expressways. We are people constantly on the move. As one man put it, we’re people who shout at our microwave ovens to hurry up. I’m not going to ask you to hold up your hand if you enjoy waiting . . . for anything. That would hold up my sermon too much. And that would be a cardinal sin. ...

2899. Are You a Polar Bear?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

A piece of humor has been circulating on the Internet for some time about a young polar bear cub that approached his mother one day and asked, “Mom, am I a polar bear?” “Of course you are,” she replied with a smile. “OK,” said the cub, and padded off. Later, he found his dad out by the iceberg. “Dad, am I a polar bear?” he asked. “Sure you are, son!” said his dad, wondering why his son would ask such a silly thing. The next day, the cub asked the question again and again. “Are you and mom polar bears?” he ...

2900. The Apostles Persecuted

Acts 5:17-42

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Such was the impact of the Christians on the city (they were not necessarily numerous, but they were in the public eye; see note on 4:4), that the city fathers, chiefly the Sadducees, decided again on overt action against them, or at least against their leaders. The broad similarity between the arrest and trial of the apostles described here and the earlier arraignment of Peter and John has already been noted, as has the parallel between their escape and Peter’s escape in 12:6–19 (see disc. on 3:1–11). ...

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