Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3051 to 3075 of 4943 results

3051. Discerning the Way of God

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Hubert Beck

How do we know what God wants us to do? It must be assumed that anybody claiming in any way to be godly must ask oneself that question regularly. One need not be Christian to ask the question, for it is a larger question than what kind of activity can be called Christian. It has to do with what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil, and many people outside Christendom are concerned about the same kinds of questions. It is a bigger question than the everyday kinds of questions about ...

3052. A Thinking Person’s Thankful Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Dr. Wayne Dehoney, a Baptist pastor in Louisville, Kentucky, tells of a college freshman who attended his first dormitory prayer meeting. Rather unexpectedly he was called upon to pray a sentence prayer. The young man had a slight speech defect which became pronounced when he was under pressure, and thus he prayed: "Lord, make us more thinkful for all our blessings." That young man prayed a better prayer than he realized. Our English word thank stems from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "think," and certainly ...

3053. A SERMON DRAMA FOR CHRISTMASTIDE

Drama

Tom Eberle

Christmas The historical development of the Christmas festival in the late third and early fourth centuries had a distinctly theological intention. [Oscar E. Cullmann, The Early Church, edited by A.J.B. Higgins, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1956), p. 25] The nativity festival was celebrated in response to those heresies that did not accept the fullness of God’s presence in the humanity of Jesus. Through the festival of Christmas the orthodox branch of the church affirmed the fullness of ...

3054. Food for Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost XI Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to ...

3055. At the Door of the Church

Sermon

Harold Warlick

At the close of a worship service a minister was approached by a sincere young man. "Do you think I ought to come to church when I don’t feel like it?" he asked. "There are times when I want to come and really enjoy the service, but there are other times when I’ve no inclination at all. Am I a hypocrite to come then? In addition, sometimes I find worship quite boring. Why should I come to something that bores me?" The minister responded to the young man in this way: "Well, Bob, do you only pay your bills ...

3056. Something That Will Last Forever

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a father was leaving his house on the way to the shopping center. His three-year-old daughter said, "Daddy, bring me something." He asked, "Honey, what do you want?" She thought for a moment and then said, "Bring me something that will last forever." Even at the tender age of three, she knew that many things are nice for a little while, but their appeal doesn't last. She wanted something with staying power. Don't we all? Jesus' words in our scripture for today are about investments, good ones and ...

3057. The Bite of The Lying Tongue

Exodus 20:1-21, James 3:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

George Washington, father of our country, is honored as an example of honesty, dating back to his boyhood when he cut down that cherry tree and did not deny it. A recent theory has been circulated that George may have been born in Texas rather than Virginia; that his father gave him a bowie knife instead of a hatchet; and that little George cut down a mesquite tree rather than a cherry tree. When his father asked him about it, George said, "Papa, I cannot tell a lie. I cut it down with my bowie knife." His ...

3058. The Forbidden Anger

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

It was my most embarrassing moment in the sixth grade. At recess my friend Johnny had done something I did not like. After returning to class I decided to send a message to him. As Mrs. Ferguson wrote on the blackboard I scribbled a message on a piece of paper, folded it into a type of glider that would sail, then tossed it in the direction of Johnny. That aerial production must have been flawed. It made a left turn and headed toward the teacher's desk just as she turned away from the blackboard. Then with ...

3059. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Many years ago when I was a young preacher, I noticed that a new family had moved into a neighborhood not far from our church. So I dropped by late one afternoon. I noticed that one car was parked in the carport. I went to the side door, the one opening onto the carport. I had rung the door bell only once when I heard a deep, bass growl that sounded like the rolling of thunder. It was coming from the back of the carport and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. I glanced to my left and ...

3060. 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.’ ...

3061. OUR LORD SMITTEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

Nearly all the morning hours had been exhausted in the trial which left the centurion with the task of crucifying three condemned men. The sun was pressing toward its meridian, and the desert wind from the east which had prevailed during the night was quiet. A tense, hot stillness hung over Jerusalem, harsh as the dust that fogged the air, raised by the feet of thousands of pilgrims entering and leaving the temple compound. It clung to the skin and caked the nostrils, and the centurion longed for the day ...

3062. A Royal Lament

2 Samuel 1:1-16

Sermon

Roger Prescott

Introduction A bearer of news can be treated especially well, or, as in the case of the Amalekite who brought David the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan, quite badly. One of David’s greatest accomplishments was breaking the Philistines’ control over Canaan once and for all and shutting them up in the coastal plain (2 Samuel 5:17-25; 21:15-22). But at the time described in today’s text they were raising havoc with the Israelites - so much so, in fact, that Saul and Jonathan were both killed. When this ...

3063. The Remote

John 14:5-14

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: "Show us the Father." Summary: Susan is getting ready to watch television after a hard day's work. She is interrupted by a strange person who invites her to think instead of just accept all the world hands her. Playing Time: 9 minutes Setting: Susan's television room Props: Susan -- a small remote Fly -- a large remote Costumes: Susan -- contemporary, casual Fly -- fright wig, tutu, tennis shoes Cast: Susan -- a normal average person Fly-- an industrial-strength entity 11 voices on the television ( ...

3064. Praying for a Whole New World

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

William G. Carter

The door slammed. There was a rush upstairs. The man looked at the clock; it was time for his daughter to be home from school. Fourth grade was not going very well, and from the sound of the slam of the door, it had not improved. He went up to her room and asked about her day. “It was awful,” she said, and then she filled in the details. When she unzipped her backpack at school, her homework was nowhere to be found. Her normally charming teacher snarled at the class. The morning dragged on to lunch, when ...

3065. What Are Spiritual Gifts For?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

A most important discovery has been made about trees. Derl Keefer[1] states that scientists have found that when the roots of two trees touch, there is a substance present that reduces competition. An unknown fungus helps link roots of various trees, including dissimilar species. In this way a whole forest can be incorporated together. With certain trees having access to nutrients, other trees access to water, and still other trees access to sunlight, possessing the means to cooperate with one another is ...

3066. Box O' Jesus

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: As I mentioned earlier, you can alter many of my existing dramas to work with a new subject. With that in mind, I decided to alter 'The Attic' to focus on why how people know that we are Christians. When you hear the old song 'They will know we are Christians by our love...' what does that mean to you? How do we show others that we are Christians? Although no one has a literal 'Box O' Jesus' where they keep evidence of their faith, many people show their relationship with God based on ...

3067. Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Brett Blair

It is difficult to find anyone who has a kind word to say about hypocrites. Nobody likes a hypocrite; no one wants to be around one; the last thing one would want to be called is a hypocrite. Hypocrites are, by definition, deceptive, two-faced and treacherous. If discovered, hypocritical politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways ...

3068. You Do Have A Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago, when Leonard Griffith was pastor of the famous City Temple in London, he wrote a fascinating book entitled Barriers to Christian Belief. In that book he dealt with some problems that have over the years been real obstacles and stumbling blocks for people in their faith pilgrimage… specific problems that hinder people, that burden people, that disturb people… and keep them away from the Christian faith. One of the barriers he listed was…"unanswered prayer." It does seem to be a fact of our ...

3069. Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

They say, "There is no fool like an old fool." And I am afraid that is exactly what I have been. I have been so busy protecting our religion that I have been missing our God. I should explain. My name is Nicodemus. I am a member of the Sanhedrin, one of the seventy men charged with the oversight and defense of our historic and honorable faith, the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the faith of our fathers for hundreds and hundreds of years. Our task - one handed down from generation to generation since ...

3070. Civil War Isn't!

2 Samuel 18:1-18, 19--19:8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Civil War ISN'T! Of course! If it is CIVIL, it is not WAR. If it is WAR, it is anything but CIVIL. And every war that has ever been fought with that designation, from our own a century-and-a-half ago, to some of the horrific conflicts we see on the news from Africa and the Middle East. Our lesson tells the story of Israel's ancient Civil War, the attempted overthrow of King David by his son, Absalom. Absalom was David's third oldest son, the child of a union with the princess of a neighboring city-state,(1 ...

3071. The Pleasure of Your Company

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A little flight of fancy here.(1) You are stacking dishes in the kitchen of the restaurant where you work the evening shift when a well-dressed courier arrives at the back door. "The owner won't be back until tomorrow," you tell him. "I am not looking for the owner, I am looking for you." "Huh?" "I am from the White House," he says, which explains the dark suit and briefcase. "I came to deliver this letter." "Huh?" Part of you wonders what you have done wrong. Another part of you wonders if this isn't a ...

3072. Following Orders

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

These are special days around St. Paul Presbyterian. Our 40th Birthday celebration continues. We had that delightful HOMELAND concert last night; we look forward to the BBQ/Talent Show on the 21st, then Jerry McCann's return to this pulpit on the 22nd. Good times. Times such as these provide an opportunity for celebration but they offer a good incentive for reflection, for creative dreaming as well, days that the church needs every so often if we understand ourselves as people with a mission. To my mind, ...

3073. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A little girl came home from school and asked her mother if she knew Christopher Columbus was Italian. "Yes," said Mom. And the girl continued, "Did you know that Queen Isabella furnished the money to buy his ships?" "Yes, dear, I had heard that." The little girl thought for a moment and then said reflectively, "Well, really, Mother, if you already know the things I come home and tell you, I don't see any use in going to school." By the time we get done here this morning, you may feel the same about coming ...

3074. The Birdies

Luke 18:15-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Children. I love children. I am feeling a little sorry for myself at the moment because this week the first of my children leaves home - David goes off to college. For him, I am excited. For me, well... I love him more than I could ever put into words, and I am going to miss him. At some time or other, you may have heard me tell of his entrance into this world. The birth made use of the LaMaze method, so I was there during the whole experience. Following his arrival, as I stood admiring him in the warming ...

3075. On Fooling a Mafia Don

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

When Joseph Talese was an apprentice tailor in Maida, Italy he made a terrible mistake. His hand slipped and he accidentally cut a slit in the trouser leg of a Eastertide suit being made for the head of a Mafia crime family. Disaster loomed. The proud and vengeful Mafia chieftan might very well exact a terrible price for his disappointment and there was not enough material to craft new pants. As siesta time approached, the tailor for whom Talese worked closed the shop and ordered his assistants to pray for ...

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