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 2876 to 2900 of 4942 results

2876. The Drop Out

Drama

Sarah Walton Miller

The three male actors in this brief skit enter and take closed positions. That is, each stands upstage with his back to the audience. Props needed: three chairs scattered over the playing area, to be used at will. To begin, PHIL and DAVE come downstage. PHIL: Well, I don’t know, Dave. For two years now we’ve been planning this bike trip. We’ve both trained for it. You know it will be tough. DAVE: But, Phil, Danny is strong. He’s 18, he weighs 190 and he’s the best tackle his school ever had. PHIL: I know ...

2877. EUNUCH

Esther 1:12; Isaiah 39:7; Daniel 1:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Esther 1:12 - "But Queen Vashti refused to come to the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him." Isaiah 39:7 - "And some of your own sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." Daniel 1:9 - "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs." In earliest times, eunuchs were castrated males who watched over the king’s harem. From the employment of ...

2878. A Thanksgiving Question

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is an old story told about a farmer who received a visit from his pastor. The farmer had purchased the farm just three years earlier. Together they walked around and admired the healthy corn, rising as high as a basketball goal. The soybean crop was coming on strongly. The pastureland was knee-deep in good grazing for the cows. The pastor said, "My friend, God has certainly blessed you richly." The farmer nodded and replied, "Maybe so, but you should have seen this place when God had it all by ...

2879. When The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Here we are in the heart of the Advent season. Most churches are preparing for Christmas pageants of various kinds. Usually children are involved, and therefore things don't always go according to script. In one pageant I heard about, the innkeeper of Bethlehem was played by a boy named Ralph. He had very much wanted to play the part of Joseph, but that part was given to someone else. Ralph decided to take some revenge. On the day of the play, the fellowship hall was filled to capacity. Mary and Joseph ...

2880. Stand Up Straight

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One weekend in one of our contemporary services, we invited the worshippers in a time of prayer to say out loud what they were grateful for. There happened to be two young mothers sitting on the front row. One said, "For my healthy children." The other mother said, "For God's provision." I happened to know that that second mother has a child who has suffered recurring seizures throughout his young life. Both of these mothers offered legitimate praise to God. But somehow I feel the second mother had seen a ...

2881. Right on the Money!

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a mother was having a deep discussion with her 12- old daughter about values. She said, "Honey, What you need in order to survive in this world is faith in God and a good sense of humor." The daughter thought about that and then, with a twinkle her eye, said, "It also helps to have a credit card." How thoroughly American is that 12-year-old. We are a credit culture. Partly because of the credit cards, many of us have le irresponsible and undisciplined in our finances. If the average 65-year-old ...

2882. Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In Douglas Southall Freeman’s classic biography of the famous Southern commander, Robert E. Lee, he tells about a young mother who brought her baby to him to be blessed. General Lee took the infant in his arms, looked at it, and then said to the mother, “Teach him that he must deny himself.” Both of our scriptural texts for today agree wholeheartedly with General Lee. The prophet Joel declared, “Return to the Lord with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Jesus said, “If any want to become my ...

2883. Song of the Vineyard

Isaiah 5:1-7

Illustration

Larry Powell

Three observations about Isaiah’s "Song of the Vineyard": 1. It was a song. That is to say, it was a marked variation in the prophet’s manner of proclamation. Isaiah was an eloquent, forthright orator, not a balladeer. It has been suggested that the reason for this temporary departure in style may have been the circumstances at that particular time. Deuteronomy 16:13-16 describes the carnival-like atmosphere which occurred in the ancient Feast of Booths. Some commentators have surmised that Isaiah rendered ...

2884. Song of a Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

The author of the Twenty-third Psalm is quite possibly an old man who has lived the better part of a lifetime. In his day he may have been a shepherd. But now the years have siphoned his stamina. So he sits and reminisces on what used to be. And as he does so he observes another shepherd silhouetted against the sky leading a flock to a greener pasture. Instinctively, the sight turns the poet’s mind to the numberless days and nights he tended his own flocks under God’s watchful eye; and once again, as has ...

2885. Whatever Happened To Sanctification?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Let Us Pray: Almighty and Merciful God, help us to find our lives by offering them to you. Grant us wisdom to understand your will and the energy to bring your will into our daily lives. Amen. It has been said that the gospel of Jesus Christ has two sides: "a believing and a behaving side!" Followers of Christ are not only invited to be redeemed, but also to be responsible. The Christian faith is not only a way of believing, but a way of living. Years ago, I heard Dr. Alvin Rogness, long-time mentor and ...

2886. The Right Spirit Within Us ...

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Today, in our Old Testament journey to Easter, we make a significant adjustment both in time, geography, and attitude. We are at that momentous year of 587 B.C. (or slightly beyond) when the country of Judah is no more. The beautiful temple, built in the great days of King Solomon is no more. This holy, awesome temple has been sacked and its priceless art treasures carried off to the wicked country of Babylon. The monarchy, reaching back to the golden days of King David is no more. The holy city of ...

2887. Authenticity vs. Showmanship

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

Maybe both the best and the worst of us in humanity are far better preachers than we are doers and deliverers of what we preach and teach. And maybe maturity has everything to do with our genuine willingness to bring a greater congruity between our esteemed words and those actions compatible with, not contradictory of, those words. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, loved and valued not just the right deeds, but also the right motives and attitudes. We, being fully human and ever spiritually in need of ...

2888. Seven Words to Us - A Good Friday Tenebrae Service

Drama

Douglas W. Orbaker

Call to Worship (Lamentations 1:12 and Isaiah 53:5) Leader: Does this mean nothing to you, all you who pass by? People: Look, see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. Leader: He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. People: Upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. Hymn Part 1 Scripture: Luke 23:32-38 Prayer of Confession: Everlasting and Merciful God, you are always more ready to forgive than we are to repent. We remember this ...

2889. We Wish To See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

"Sir, we wish to see Jesus." That is the request that we heard at the beginning of the biblical reading for this message. The inquiry came from the Greeks. That is a fascinating detail. John’s Gospel is filled with a variety of groups of people. There are the Jews and the Pharisees and the disciples, for example. These groups appear many times in John’s Gospel. Not so the Greeks. This is their one and only appearance in John’s Gospel. Their appearance is surprising in a way. What are Greeks doing in ...

2890. Not of the World

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

The preacher urged his television congregation to tithe. "Give 10¼ of your income to the Lord," he said. "But why should I tithe?" someone asked him. "To get," the preacher replied. "We tithe in order to get. I want to get healed, I want to get well, I want to get money, I want to get prosperous." This popular form of Christianity was recently written up in Time magazine. The "prosperity Gospel." That is what it is called. There are many who peddle its wares. You might have heard some of them on radio or ...

2891. What Is God Like?

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Edward Chinn

When Harry Truman was President of the United States, his daughter Margaret gave a concert in Washington, D.C. The next day Paul Hume, music critic of the Washington Post, gave her performance a bad review. Characteristically, Harry Truman did not let that slight of his daughter’s singing pass without comment. He wrote a letter to Paul Hume. In that letter, Truman wrote: "I have read your lousy review of Margaret’s concert. I’ve come to the conclusion that you are an ‘eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay.’ ...

2892. Epiphany

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

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Isaiah 60:1-6 Theme: A glorious light for all nations Exegetical Note Speaking in a post-exilic context, Trito-Isaiah here strikes a note of universal salvation by declaring to Jerusalem that because the glorious light of Jahweh has risen to shine upon it, henceforth the nations of the world - and their riches - will be drawn to the holy city. Call to Worship Leader: Arise! Shine! For your light has come. People: AND THE GLORY OF GOD HAS RISEN UPON US. Leader: Though darkness cover the earth ...

2893. Proper 7

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 2 Samuel 5:6-16, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Mark 4:35-41

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 5:1-12 Theme: The God who establishes Kingdoms Exegetical Note This account of David’s becoming king over Israel as well as Judah, the latter of which he had ruled for more than seven years, is not entirely clear and seems to contradict some details of the version in 1 Chronicles 11. Nevertheless, the theological point is clear (and spelled out in verse 12): it is God who has established this Kingdom, against all odds and certainly counter to the expectations of the Jebusites, the ...

2894. THE WATCHERS

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

May I share with you one of my favorite Christmas memories? It took place several years ago when the children in our home were young and filled with all of the enchantment and enthusiasm of Christmas that captures young minds. It was the Sunday just after Christmas and we had packed the entire family in the car and driven several miles to a nursing home where I led a short devotional time for the residents each week. As we arrived, a number of this aged congregation had already gathered in our regular ...

2895. Waiting

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

As a child I remember that the most difficult part of Christmas was simply waiting for it to come. From Thanksgiving to December 25 seemed more like an eternity than a month. Days seemed like weeks. Weeks felt like seasons. Time seemed to stand still. Waiting is foreign to our society. It seems unnatural. We hunger for immediate gratification. The idea of delayed satisfaction is a stranger to our thinking. The symbols of our unwillingness to wait are all around us. Fast food chains boom because we don’t ...

2896. Everyone Is Searching For You

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Brett Blair

The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright was fond of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life. The winter he was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no- nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's tracks meandering all over the field. "Notice how your ...

2897. Confrontation in the Temple

John 2:12-25

Sermon

George Bass

Jesus laid claim to a special relationship with God the Father. He demonstrated an all-consuming love for the Temple (where formal business with God was done in worship and study) when, according to Saint Luke, he was twelve years old. Neither Matthew, Mark, nor John includes that account in their gospels. But Luke evidently considered the incident to be a true story that was important enough to be included in the gospel that bears his name; he was interested, as his Acts of the Apostles affirms, in ...

2898. 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 ...

2899. Man Of Sorrows

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Larry Powell

The fourth Servant Song of Isaiah, included in our text, preaches itself. Remarkably, it provides the prophecy, biography, and epilogue of Jesus of Nazareth. We will not engage here in the arguments of higher criticism which raise sophisticated questions as to whether Isaiah was speaking of an actual person, or of Israel as a whole, or of one yet to come. We consign those arguments to the scholars whose devotion to research leads them to search out those kinds of things. We shall proceed, rather, under the ...

2900. The Establishment of An Empire

2 Samuel 5:1-5

Sermon

Roger Prescott

Introduction Judged by any standards, the greatest king Israel ever had was David. He seemed destined for leadership even when he was a young boy watching his father’s sheep on the rocky Judean hills around Bethlehem. His ascent to Saul’s court, his military victories, his capture of Jerusalem - these and other events caused the people from the tribes of Israel to ensconce David as their King. In Israel a man’s right to lead was authenticated by divine inspiration. A leader did not hold his position ...

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