Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3001 to 3025 of 4935 results

3001. Adultery, Cure and Prevention

Proverbs 7:1-27, John 8:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sometime ago a lady wrote to the famous advice columnist Ann Landers and asked this question, "Do all men cheat on their wives? I have been suspicious of my husband for some time. I even hired a private detective to trail him, but he couldn't come up with a thing. I went to a lawyer. He told me to grow up and accept the fact that all husbands fool around. Do they?" Ann Landers very wisely replied, "No. There are plenty of married men who never cheat, and your husband could be one of them. The only thing ...

3002. An Identity Crisis

Sermon

James Bjorge

It all started like this: "Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26-27). But Satan came ambling along one day and propositioned man. Man was flattered by his proposals and ...

3003. Chapter VIII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not steal" Exodus 20:15 A long time ago, when the broadcasting of baseball games was just beginning, a sports announcer was describing one of the contests over a local station. In the late innings a Detroit Tiger runner got on base, representing the game’s tying run. With two outs, and no order from the bench to do such a thing, the runner took off for second base, only to be thrown out, ending his team’s chances for victory. To defend the player and soothe the hometown fans, the announcer tried ...

3004. Advertised Goodness

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Children and adults, listen as I tell you the legend of the proud frog. This frog wanted to visit his cousins in a pond several miles away, but that's a long journey for a slow moving frog. But in the pond where he resided, there were some Canadian geese. The observant frog noted how much they liked corn. This enterprising frog found a flat, strong stick about four feet long. He approached the geese with a proposition: "If two of you will take the two ends of this stick in your mouths, I will clamp my ...

3005. Waiting With Anticipation

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

David M. Oliver

Bells have been used in many ways over the years. Bells have been used to sound an alarm, and to call children to school, people to worship, and families to meals. Bells mark the beginning and end of the work day, classes, and sporting events. Sometimes bells mark the passing of the hours in a day. On this first Sunday of Advent we will be using the bells we have brought to call us to a time of waiting that is filled with anticipation. The Old Testament lesson for this first Sunday of Advent looks forward ...

3006. Reinforced With Joy

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

Last fall I was invited to a luncheon to hear an outstanding leader in the business world. I sat next to the president of one of our local industries. While we were visiting, stillness fell about our table as everyone there stopped talking and listened to our conversation. When the industrial leader realized this, he looked at the other men at the table and said, "I want to ask the pastor a question which I think we all want to know." Turning to me, he said, "Dr. Gar, why is it that there is so little joy ...

3007. Advent 1: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Faith of Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

This sermon is based on Luke 2:15-20: You may not remember Tom Southerland but you know his story. Several years ago Shiite Muslims in the Middle East held Tom Sutherland captive for four years… much of his time was spent solitary confinement. In his speech after his captivity he asked an unforgettable question. He asked, “Do you know what it’s like to be in prison? To be held hostage? To be a captive? It’s very lonely and you worry that people will forget you. I felt abandoned. I didn’t think anybody even ...

3008. Academics, Fanatics, and Other Disciples

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

I must confess that for years I have tried my hand at fishing, but the Izaak Walton League would be sure to look the other way if I applied for membership. To be sure, growing up in Wisconsin I did try my luck at some of those beautiful trout streams. But you would have been unwise to wait with a hearty appetite while I tried to catch our dinner. And, yes, my friends and I did go fishing on the nearby Mississippi River. And, yes, we did throw in a line from time to time, but at that age -- our teenage ...

3009. The Holy Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

Trinity Sunday focuses our attention on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the distinctive Christian teaching on God. The Athanasian Creed, in which this doctrine was first set forth in detail, declares that no one can be saved unless he believes it. But it places a severe burden on our understanding. It is not easy to believe that God can be one and three at the same time. A contemporary theologian has said of the Trinity, "While one may be in danger of losing his soul by denying it, he is in danger of ...

3010. What Can We Count On From God?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

James W. Moore

Recently I received an e-mail message that was entitled “Things I Really Don’t Understand.” It had a list of questions for which there seems to be no clear-cut answer. Here are a few of them: Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice? Why is abbreviation such a long word? Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio? Why is a boxing ring square? What was the best thing before sliced bread? How do they get the deer to cross the highway at ...

3011. Family Feud

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An old story. A classic car lover was perusing the classifieds and saw an ad that seemed impossible to believe. A 1966 candy-apple red Corvette, a dream car, and offered for $100. What? $100...for a classic? No way, José. Was it a wreck? Or maybe the price was a misprint. Still, he had to find out, so he called. A woman answered the phone and assured him that the car was in excellent shape and that there was no mistake about the price. He dashed over. To his delight the car proved to be everything the ...

3012. Have You Checked On Your Investments Lately?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Approaching 40, Bill yearned for a boat. Frugality won out until the day he came across the obituary of an old high-school classmate named Ted. Ted had been the same age as Bill and now he was dead. Bill was certain this was a sign that life was too short. So he went out and purchased a boat that very weekend. Days later, a former classmate called Bill. "Sure was a sad thing, wasn't it?" the classmate said. "You know, Ted's boating accident and all." (1) Experts tell us that the baby boom generation is ...

3013. The Pearl Of Great Price

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

There are some things in life that are worth any price. How much would you take for your health? For one of your children? For your good mind? Many of us do not appreciate the really important things in life until we lose them. But there are some things that are priceless, though we may not realize their worth at the time. When Joseph Haydn worked for years as a composer for a certain Prince Paul in Germany, the Prince's advisors constantly advised him that the money could better be spent on fortifications ...

3014. You Are Not Yourself!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

The Gospel more than anything else is good news! We all know that, but how often we forget. A news story that appeared recently in USA Today might serve as a helpful parable. It seems that many McDonald’s restaurants, rather than using bank bags and armored trucks, move their daily cash intake by putting the money in regular carry-out paper bags and handing the bag to a drive-thru courier. The plan conceals the fact that a large amount of money is leaving the store. In Euclid, Ohio, though, one McDonald’s ...

3015. Where God Can Be Seen

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

It was almost Mother's Day, and Mavis still hadn't found a card. She had a hard time finding something appropriate because she and her mother had never had a close relationship. Mavis shared her dilemma with a friend at work. Her friend told her that it was only natural to have mixed feelings about people that we're close to. We have such high expectations of our mothers that they're bound to let us down sometimes. Mavis merely snorted at that. Her mother let her down all the time. Then Jenna saw that ...

3016. The Gift Of Freedom

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

Landon Winstead

In the movie, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, you get an idea of what it might be like to spend the rest of your life behind bars; forever watched, hardly ever time to be alone, except in the rare instance that you might have a small individual cell to yourself in the evening, where when the lights are turned out for sleep, you cannot even turn on a light. You have plenty of time to think; prisoners have a difficult time sleeping. Life becomes routine; you are told when to rise and when to lie down; when your ...

3017. One Life To Live

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In the movie The Truman Show, Truman Burbank believes his life is no different from anyone else's. He has one life to live, just like the rest of us. But one day he begins to notice peculiar things happening. For example he notices things that happen exactly the same way every day. This causes him to get suspicious that something strange is going on. What he doesn't realize is that every second of his life from the day he was born has been telecast live to the entire planet. He is the star of The Truman ...

3018. The Coat Of Many Colors

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A man wrote in to the "Clean Laughs" online board with this story: "I was in my wills and trusts course when the professor posed this question to the students: Why do people choose to have their children, rather than their siblings, inherit their estate? "After students offered various theories, one fellow raised his hand. "˜This may be a bit off the point,' he said, "˜but when I was little, when my brother and sister finished playing with me, they would put me into a drawer.'" (1) Most of us can relate to ...

3019. Childish or Child-like?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me...’” (Mark 9:36) I feel sorry for the poor kid who happened to be there the day Jesus decided to use him as an “object lesson.” No child likes being used in this way. Some of us can remember being stood up before a group of adults and having our parents ask us to recite something we’d just learned in school. Or being made to sit down at the piano and ...

3020. Leave Your Stuff Behind

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Loren Isley is one of my favorite writers. He is a distinguished anthropologist and essayist. What makes his writing so gripping to me is that he has the eye of an artist and the soul of a poet. He sees beyond the surface and he has that rare double gift which enables him to enter deeply into an experience and then share that experience with us in the kind of way that enables us to vicariously experience what he himself has experienced. In one of his poignant vignettes from boyhood, he shared a moment of ...

3021. The Life Question: What Are You Looking For?

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Listen to two questions. One, if you get to where you're going, will you be where you want to be? Two, if you find what you're looking for, what else will you need to make you happy? Let those questions tumble around in your mind for a moment. If you get to where you're going, will you be where you want to be? If you find what you're looking for, what else will you need to make you happy? These are life questions. They force us to examine the direction of our life, our priorities, what we think will make ...

3022. A Thousand Years Of Ashes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

When Pastor Derek Rust of Lakeville, Minnesota, preached a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, he decided to provide his congregation with a pro-active way to live out the lessons. For the eighth commandment—“Thou shalt not steal”—Rust placed large bins throughout the church and encouraged parishioners to drop off any items that they had stolen over the years. Rust was inspired by the example of British pastor J. John, who placed such bins in his own church. The response has been surprising. The week ...

3023. Jesus' Most Perplexing Parable

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

In the scripture lesson for today Jesus tells a perplexing parable about a thoroughly dishonest employee who was praised for his dishonesty. In this story Jesus not only seems comfortable suggesting that it is acceptable to compromise with moral failings, but our Lord appears to commend his disciples to "go and do likewise." For centuries, preachers, commentators, and scholars have struggled to make sense of this outrageous tale. Let me give some context. The fifteenth chapter of Luke opens by telling us ...

3024. Now Stand Up Straight!

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Some of you give me books that you would like me to read, which I am very happy to do. It usually takes me some time to get to them, so sometimes I save them to take on planes with me. If it is near the summertime, I save them to take with me on my summer vacation. Sometimes, I am embarrassed to confess, by the time I get around to reading the book, I can't remember who it was who gave it to me. That has happened with enough frequency lately that I have thought of putting a table out on the patio, pile all ...

3025. Proper 4

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19 We begin today a series of twelve readings from Genesis. It is a story of the Patriarchs from Noah to Joseph. The series lends itself to narrative and biographical sermons. The disadvantage is the length of the series. It may be difficult to maintain interest over twelve weeks. Old Testament: Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 Life or death depends on obedience to God's laws. Epistle: Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28 (29-31) The righteousness of God is not received ...

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