Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2926 to 2950 of 4914 results

2926. Out of the Barnyard

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." - John 11:43 Would it make any difference to the world if the churches were to shut their doors and never open them again? Many voices within and without the Church say no, it would make no difference. Soren Kierkegaard bemoaned the Church’s indifference to its mission. Frustrated, he wrote a little parable which tells of a flock of geese who lived together in a handsome and secure barnyard. From time to time one of them would climb up ...

2927. Manasseh

2 Kings 21:1-18

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem ... And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Here is a small hinge of truth upon which a tremendous door swings open to a profound question. Why is it that a merciful God one who is perfect goodness, absolute love, incarnate justice permits an evil man to live a long, successful life? At the same time, why do righteous individuals sometimes survive a few wretched years amid poverty and misery ...

2928. Abraham and the Meaning of Consecration

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

Don Yocom

If God has done His part, and we believe that He has, what then must we do to be fully consecrated Christians? The answer to this question is in God’s Word, and an illustration of it is the experience of Abraham on Mount Moriah with his son, Isaac. In the realm of spiritual living, we progress from the beginning works of faith to a deeper experience of surrender to God. We present ourselves, but God sanctifies. He is willing to give of His Spirit whenever we meet the test. Time and time again in the lives ...

2929. Chapter II

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; You will have no other gods before me. You will not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you will not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but ...

2930. MAGICIAN, SORCERER

Micah 5:12; Acts 8:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Micah 5:12 - "and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers;" Acts 8:9 - "But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the nation of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great." Throughout history man has been fascinated by the thought of defying or controlling the laws of nature. A man who can place his hand in a roaring fire and bring it out unharmed will attract as much attention today as he did 5,000 years ago. ...

2931. Judas

Luke 22:1-6

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

Remorse or Repentance? Were you there? Is that what you people were just singing? Is that what you’ve been thinking? Was I there? Of course I was. Do you have to ask that? My name is Judas, the son of Simon. There are not many people who know anything about Jesus Christ who do not know something about me, too. Yes, I was one of the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his apostles. Almost 2,000 years have passed since I lived and died, but people still remember me. They recall that I used a kiss as the sign to ...

2932. Partners in the Impossible

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" (v. 5b) A minister was making a home visit to one of the younger families in his parish. A five-year-old boy answered the front door and told the minister his mother would be there shortly. To make some conversation, the minister asked the little guy what he would like to be when he grows up. The boy immediately answered, "I’d like to be possible." "What do you mean by that?" the puzzled minister asked. "Well, you see," the boy replied, "just about ...

2933. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up. It is true for me. I was recently invited to preach in the church where I grew up. My mixed feelings about the invitation were justified. Before anybody heard a word I said, they remembered little Billy Carter, who made paper airplanes out of worship bulletins and dropped them from the balcony when nobody was looking. Even the newcomers who joined long after I moved ...

2934. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

On this last Sunday of the Church Year (we call it Christ the King Sunday) our attention is directed to the reign of Christ — to his glorious reign which has already begun with the resurrection on Easter. It is a Sunday to think about salvation, because where Christ reigns salvation is effected. These themes are especially evident in our First Lesson. Jeremiah conducted his ministry in Judah (the Southern Kingdom of the Hebrews ruled by David’s heirs and centered in the great capital of Jerusalem) in ...

2935. Reason for the Season

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: This drama is really aimed at the kids. It reminds them of the true meaning of Christmas. It's also good for the adults since it shows us how we can easily stress out and forget about God. The drama is divided into 3 parts. The first part is where everything is going wrong and the Christmas spirit is lost. The second part is where Teri asks the kids questions about what they heard and saw. The third part is where they 'turn back time' and do it all over again - same circumstances, ...

2936. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

It happened almost twenty years ago. I had been here at St. Luke’s for only a few months. It was a beautiful spring day. The phone rang in our home on a Sunday afternoon. I answered and a young man on the other end of the line said he needed to tell me something and then ask me a question. The words came in a rush of emotion. He told me that a month ago, he was in our church and he felt God touching his heart and urging him to come down front to be baptized and to join the church. “It was so powerful,” he ...

2937. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

2938. Two Parades

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever really failed at anything? Perhaps in your work or in your marriage or in school or some other endeavor? Do you lie awake at night and recount the things you wish you had not said and had not done? You are not alone. Did you know that the great American patriot, Paul Revere, was once courtmartialed for cowardice? In 1778 Paul Revere commanded a garrison of soldiers who attempted to take over a British stronghold in Maine. The invasion was a complete failure, costing lives and ships. Revere ...

2939. Prayers That Work

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Father Barry Foster, a priest in Dublin, Ireland, parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little cairn terrier was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. "Stay!" he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. "Stay!" An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, "Why don't you just try putting on the ...

2940. Are We On Speaking Terms With The Almighty?

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

TV evangelists have taken a beating in the media in recent years. You may have heard the story of the Hindu priest, the Jewish rabbi and the TV evangelist who were caught in the same area by a terrific thunderstorm. They sought shelter at a farmhouse. "That storm will be raging for hours," the farmer told them. "You'd better stay here for the night. The problem is, there's only room enough for two of you. One of you'll have to sleep in the barn." "I'll be the one," said the Hindu priest. "A little hardship ...

2941. More Than A Mannequin; Not Quite A Masterpiece

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite pieces of humor is the blooper. These unique manifestations of our humanness appear from time to time in newspapers, magazines and even church bulletins. Often they are typos that give a whole new meaning to a sentence or a phrase. Kathleen Hunzeker in Kimball, Nebraska noticed this item in the President's Report of the First English Lutheran Church of Kimball: "We as a congregation have achieved many accomplishments. We have been truly blessed in our missions and ministry. All of the ...

2942. Wrong About Christ

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Kuralt was driving up a mountain road in Peru one morning when a man appeared suddenly out of the trees by the road. He was wearing a black hood over his face, waving something in his hands, and shouting. Kuralt was terrified. He knew that the man must be a gun-wielding bandit. He was trying to decide whether it would be safer to plunge ahead, or drive back down the road, when the man shouted again, and began stumbling and running as fast as he could toward Kuralt's car. That settled it. Charles ...

2943. A Niche For Every Itch

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you noticed a growing trend in our society to classify people according to personality types as if we are trying to find a niche for every itch? For example, in the world of advertising, there is a theory that divides people into different groups based on their supposed lifestyles. For example, two of these groups are called the belongers and the achievers. Belongers are middle-class folks who want more than anything else to do the accepted thing. Therefore, to sell a product to people in this group ...

2944. A Church Fueled By Prayer

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Any of you who have ever tried speaking in front of people will appreciate the predicament that Dr. Ralph D. Nichols of the University of Minnesota once found himself in. He was addressing a high school commencement when suddenly a child began to cry. That was distracting, but not too much of a problem. But then another child added his loud voice. And then a couple of small boys started galloping up and down the aisle. With the sinking feeling only a public speaker knows, Nichols realized he had lost his ...

2945. The Tender Touch (Part 2)

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we complete our journey through the book of James by looking at chapter 5, verses 13 through 20. Here we found James urging us to pray when we are in trouble and sickness. Then he reminds us of the Biblical connection between sickness and sin. He reinforces the concept of healing involving both the body and the soul. I will share two more teachings that pulsate from this passage of scripture. First, we see the power of intercessory praying in verse 16. However, it clearly states, "the prayer of a ...

2946. This Is Eternal Life (Easter Message)

John 17:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old story about Noah Webster, who wrote the famous dictionary that bears his name. As you can imagine, he was a stickler for the precise use of language. He was also something of a womanizer. One day he was in the pantry kissing the maid when Mrs. Webster walked in on them. Mrs. Webster said, "Why, Noah, I'm surprised." Noah said, "No, my dear. We're surprised. You're amazed." (Mark Trotter, "Do You Amaze Anybody?", May 22, 1988) Noah was trying to divert attention from himself with an esoteric ...

2947. How Is It With Your Soul?

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere along the way I read a piece entitled "What is a Person" written by a little boy in West Virginia who was asked to write an essay on that subject. This is what he wrote. "When you are a person...your head is kind of round and hard and your brains are in it and your hair is on it. Your face is in the front of your head where you eat and make faces. Your neck is what keeps your head out of your collar, and it's hard to keep clean. Your shoulders are sort of shelves where you hook on your suspenders ...

2948. The Cross Question: Am I Not To Drink The Cup?

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

John Milton was one of the great English poets. In 1629, he wrote his ever lovely, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." A year later, he attempted to write a companion poem to it on "The Passion." After some eight toilsome verses had been written, he gave it up. Sometime later, he wrote these words about the unfinished poem: "The subject the author finding to be above the years he had when he wrote it, and nothing satisfied with what was begun, left it unfinished." Today, many Christians are also ...

2949. Why Being A Christian Has Worn You Down v1

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A mild little boy, not known for being ugly or mean, was being chastised and about to be punished for pulling a little girl’s hair. His mother asked him, “Son, why did you do it? That’s just not like you.” “Mama,” he responded, “I just got tired of being good all the time.” It happens to all of us, doesn’t it? We get tired of being good. But it’s not just a periodic getting tired now and then – the truth is we get worn out – being Christian and practicing ministry wears us out. We talk about fatigue in all ...

2950. Still Sinners, Still Forgiven

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

William G. Carter

I have an announcement to make. Today's sermon is not for everybody. It was not planned for a general audience. It was not written to whom it may concern. No, today's sermon is intended for people who have a hard time feeling forgiven. The rest of you can listen in. Once in a while, I run across somebody who has difficulty feeling that the good news of the gospel is for them. They don't have any problem believing all the outrageous things that church takes to be true, like God becoming a human or the ...

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