Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 276 to 300 of 4508 results

Sermon

Lori Wagner

By the time we get to Epiphany Sunday, for most people, the season of “gift giving” is over. The sea of presents from Christmas has been mostly put away, the decorative trees and lights are coming down, and, having celebrated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, people are moving on to resume their lives, hoping for a positive year. Stores, no longer selling Christmas, are already focused on St. Val...

277. Boxing Day

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

According to that great source for all Christmas holiday knowledge - Bon-Macy Department Stores - this thing is the be-all-and-end-all of the holiday season. "It holds emotion. It holds expectation. It holds what might be the most memorable holiday ever. THIS is the shape of the holiday season." OKAY. I give up. What's this all-powerful shaper of the season? What's this ultimate shape of the holid...

278. Get Up and Go

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A primary Sunday school class invited their pastor to view their Christmas art work. On the bulletin board were posted pictures of the Holy Family at the manger, angels singing to shepherds in the field, and wise men bringing their gifts to the Christ child. One drawing, however, puzzled the pastor. It was a picture of the Holy Family boarding a jet plane with the pilot already in the cockpit...

279. Matthew 2:13-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Whenever you are arguing a point, it adds power to your position if you can cite other sources that support your view. This is Matthew’s method as he presents his case for the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew’s first chapter was devoted to the “who” revealing the “who” of Jesus and providing the child’s human genealogy and the truth about his divine conception by the Holy Spirit. Matthew’s se...

280. What If Joseph Were the Patron Saint of 2014?

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The sentimental Christmas carol “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” may be the theme song for December 24 and 25. But by the 26th, many of us have changed our tune. It’s now “On The Road Again.” Whether traveling back from a family Christmas gathering, setting off on a snowy or sunny Christmas week vacation, or just returning to the routine of work and daily travel, journeying is a big part of season we...

281. Holy Love and Herod's Love

Sermon

Mark Radecke

You must understand something about Herod the Great before you can understand what caused him to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. In the thousand years that lay between King David in Old Testament times and King Herod, no king of Israel wanted to be loved by his people more than Herod the Great. It was a consuming passion for him. He played the political game withh co...

282. Light In Darkness, Speech From Silence

Sermon

Mark Radecke

This season, the boundaries of darkness are pushed back. A light shines in the darkness and the darkness is powerless to extinguish it. Darkness has always been a potent metaphor for those things in life that oppress and enthrall us, frighten and intimidate us, cause us worry and anxiety and leech the joy from our lives. We know darkness in our physical lives when illness is close at hand, when ...

283. I'm Afraid

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: Fears are normal but we must also face our fears. Props: None Lesson: Good morning! Allow some discussion on the following questions: Have any of you ever been afraid? (response) What are you afraid of? (response) You know what I am afraid of? I am afraid of name something you are afraid of. What do you do when you are afraid? (response) What about at night when you go to sleep and...

284. The Escape to Egypt

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The Magi are a part of Matthew’s literary landscape for only twelve verses, but their presence has had an influence that exceeds Matthew’s brief reference to them. Church traditions have cast them as three kings. Yet no indication of their number is provided, and they were most likely royal servants or astrologers who came from the East, possibly Persia or Babylon (Powell 2001, 146–47). Matthew pr...

285. Weeping at Christmastime

Sermon

James L. Killen

The scripture lesson we read today is certainly not our favorite part of the Christmas story. But I suppose we really need for it to be in there. We have surrounded our Christmas traditions with such beauty and serenity that we may sometimes wonder if those traditions have anything to do with the real world in which we live. Sometimes, as we stand gazing at the baby in the center of the manger sce...

286. The Escape to Egypt

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2:13–15 As soon as the Magi left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. This is the third time thus far in the Gospel that God communicates by means of a dream (in 1:20, to encourage Joseph to go ahead and take Mary as his wife; in 2:12, to warn the Magi to return to their country by a different route). On two subsequent occasions in chapter 2 Joseph will be instructed by means of a ...

287. Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The journey of the Magi is recounted in Matthew 2:1-12 and demonstrates the trustworthy nature of these three powerful figures. The Magi take the signs and portents of the Lord very seriously. They go to great lengths and some risk to remain obedient to the visions they are given. First they seek the child by going on a kind of pilgrimage journey. When they find Jesus, these stately, royal persona...

288. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Sermon

King Duncan

This is the season for returns is it not? . . . Especially for returning unwanted or impractical Christmas gifts. I was reading something interesting recently about Costco, the giant members-only warehouse store. Costco is the second largest retailer in the world after Walmart. What you may not know is that Costco has one of the most generous return policies in the retail world. They will allow cu...

289. Today Can Be the First Day of Your New Life!

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s said that in Rome, on New Year’s Eve, there is a tradition of literally throwing old things right out the window, to start the New Year free from the past. I guess the moral of that is, if you are fortunate enough to be in Rome, Italy some New Year’s Eve, you best keep an eye skyward. Somebody might be throwing out a heavy piece of furniture just as you are passing by. That’s their tradition...

290. Leadership Styles For A New Millennium

Sermon

King Duncan

Leaders are always difficult to find. I thought you might enjoy a few excerpts from actual military fitness reports taken from the files of the British Royal Navy and Marine Corps. Here is how they evaluated some of their recruits: "His men would follow him anywhere," says one evaluation, "but only out of curiosity." "He would be out of his depth in a . . . puddle," says another. "He is technic...

291. Prayer

Bulletin Aid

"He's a dreamer!" Usually a criticism Of someone who's "spacey" Ineffectual Lost in their own world. But Joseph dreamed - And then he acted on his dreams! Three times in this passage alone! (Four, if you count when he first heard the news!) God spoke to him in dreams, And he trusted God - And acted! Swallowing his pride Denying his own inclinations Doing the unusual The inconvenient Without ques...

292. Faithful Servants of the Lord

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, let all who serve the Lord gather this day for worship. People: The Lord our God is great and all who would serve shall be blessed. Leader: Yet God's call can mean times of stress and great danger. People: We are willing to follow the Lord however we are called to serve. Leader: So let us prepare to follow Christ as we sing and give praise to God. All: Blessed be the ...

293. The Flight to Egypt and Return to Nazareth

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Even as an infant, Jesus was faced with rejection because of man's sinfulness. People: King Herod felt threatened by Jesus' birth, and wanted to kill him. Pastor: But God protected him by telling Joseph in a dream to take Jesus to Egypt. People: Praise be to God for his divine protection of the infant Jesus! Collect Almighty God, whose divine providence enabled Jesus to pe...

294. CHRISTMAS 1

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson Isaiah 63:7-9 Theme: God gives his people mercy and love Call to Worship Pastor: God has called us to be his children, offering forgiveness through his Son, Jesus. People: We are unworthy to be called his children, because through sin, we deny he is our Father. Pastor: God has not forgotten his people. By grace, he reclaims us as his children. People: God has made us his own through...

295. First Sunday after Christmas

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's road to freedom Exegetical note Everything about this uniquely Matthewan account suggests that his purpose is not to recount actual history, but to depict Jesus as (1) the fulfillment of the Davidic-messianic expectations of the prophets, (2) Moses redivivus, and (3) the new Israel itself, called out of Egypt. In this context, the sojourn and eventual departure of the Holy Family for...

296. God's Road to Freedom

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes Everything about this uniquely Matthean account suggests that his purpose is not to recount actual history, but to depict Jesus as (1) the fulfillment of the Davidic-messianic expectations of the prophets, (2) Moses redivivus, and (3) the new Israel itself, called out of Egypt. In this context, the sojourn and eventual departure of the Holy Family for Galilee (under angelic orders!) s...

297. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 63:7-9 The prophet recalls the goodness of God when the nation was being born. He harkens back to the covenant God made with his people at Sinai and his guiding them through the wilderness. Though God punishes his people for their sins, he continues to love them, care for them, and guide them. God carries on his gracious work of salvation. Lesson 1: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-1...

298. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 Theme: The birth of the world's savior - its mystery and message Bulletin Heading Suggestion: Revise the heading to reflect the church season, as for example, What is Worship but A Celebration of Who we are Whose We Are The Joy and Challenge of Being Christian in God's Way This Christmastide Season, Pastoral Invitation One pastor began this way: For several weeks...

299. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 63:7-9 (C); Isaiah 61:10-62:3 (E) The prophet counts Israel's many blessings. When the Exiles returned to Jerusalem, conditions were far from good. In today's Lesson 1, the prophet recalls God's blessings on Israel in the past and asks, "Why not now?" On the basis of past "steadfast love," the nation should take courage and hope that Yahweh's blessings will continue. T...

300. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The liturgical function of this Sunday is that, practically, it becomes a kind of Octave of Christmas. As the first Sunday in the twelve days of the Christmas season, it continues the celebration of Jesus' incarnation with more of the details of the Christmas story, and encourages the church to worship the Messiah who has come in the name of the Lord. The homiletical clue, from t...

Showing 276 to 300 of 4508 results