Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3051 to 3075 of 4972 results

3051. Death Is Damned!

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... of new life. A third had a butterfly, also representing life. The fourth child had nothing in his egg, for, he explained, "The tomb of Jesus was EMPTY!" And that’s a glorious truth! The blessed body is no longer lying in Joseph’s new tomb. Have you ever stopped to think of the wonder that Joseph of Arimathea must have felt? He is, on Easter morning, now the possessor of one slightly used tomb. How many people do you know with an experience as unique as that? When you use a grave, you expect to use it ...

3052. "Hold Your Horses!"

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... to come, for the phone to ring, for results of an X-ray examination, for someone to come out of surgery, for a bus or plane or train, for the check-out line in the grocery store to move, the pot on the stove to boil, for the rain to stop, for the sun to shine, for the traffic light to change - and multitudes of other things make us wait and wait and wait! It was a big order that Jesus gave his disciples when he told them to wait. We don’t like it either - waiting. It’s Hard to ...

3053. Power to the Faint

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... of the joy of experiencing what he has given to us. Haste also robs us of thankfulness, because we don’t have the chance to experience the goodness of God in the rush of this aspirin-and-ulcer age where we fly from one thing to another. Did you ever stop just to take a long look at a cloud or go out and look at a tree? We are told it is good for the soul. A period of quiet time, reflection, and meditation on a regular basis is a helpful tonic. Another problem we face as moderns is that ...

3054. The Sin of Judging

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... asking the reason for the tardiness. One day the teacher disciplined a little boy who was late for the very first time, only to learn later the reason - that his brother had been in a coal mine explosion the night before, and on the way to school, the boy stopped at the mine head just as his brother’s dead body was brought up. He tearfully identified his brother and so went off to school late only to receive a whipping. Have we not often done the same in our judgments? Granted, the plea in the Parable of ...

3055. The Stiller of Storms

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... and rejection, but rather divine mercy, love and goodness. To every tempest-tossed mind Jesus says, "It is I, be not afraid." Jesus came into this world and overcame the storm of sin and its consequence which the devil had been waging for centuries. He put a stop to it when he cried on the cross, "It is finished." Jesus broke the power of evil and its consequence - death - when he arose from the grave victorious on Easter. That victory he wants to impart personally to each of us as he takes up residence, by ...

3056. A King Worth Having

Zechariah 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... Spirit. We are free from having to say, "I’ve got to do better, I’ve got to shape up, or I’ll never get to heaven." Having been freed from the necessity of obeying the Law to get God’s mercy, we are free to be ourselves. We can stop fretting about our failure to live up to God’s requirements and just be ourselves to live and love. Christ frees us from ourselves. Basking in his love and acceptance, we do not have to worry whether we made it with God. We did not make it; he made it ...

3057. Stuffed Bodies and Skinny Souls!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... to church on Christmas, but a church was too far away to walk to it. With some of his buddies, he walked toward the city and they came to an old grey stone building over whose door was the caption: "Queen Anne’s Orphanage." They decided to stop and see what Christmas celebration was taking place. A matron let them in and explained that the children were orphaned by the bombing of London. When the children got out of bed, the soldiers gave them Christmas gifts from whatever they happened to have in their ...

3058. Does God Give A Damn?

Exodus 5:22--6:12

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... freedom of a promised land. The exodus was one of God’s mighty acts of deliverance through an obedient person, Moses. This is the way God has always delivered his people. To free blacks in America, God delivered them through Abraham Lincoln. To stop the suffering of the slave trade in the British empire, God used Wilberforce. At a time when millions in America were suffering want and hunger from unemployment, God raised up Franklin Delano Roosevelt who ushered in a governmental program of social welfare ...

3059. Is Your Sin My Business?

Ezekiel 33:1-20

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... sex life, I consider it a moral obligation to give her all the information I can on birth control." Obviously, for her, pre-marital sex is not a sin. Moreover, if the wicked do not recognize their behavior as sin, they will not heed our warning to stop and repent. Many in today’s society see no wrong in what they do. They have no qualms of conscience in cheating, lying, stealing, or fornication. This is due to our loss of absolute moral standards. Because we have forgotten God and because he is not really ...

3060. The Danger of Being Religious

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... that he go with him to his church. Finally, the lad said, "I can’t go to your church." "Well, why can’t you?" asked the friend. "Because," he answered, "I belong to a different abomination." Religion can be an abomination. Have you ever stopped to think that the greatest and best people were victims of religion? The prophets, like Jeremiah who gave us our text, were persecuted by religious people. Jesus was crucified by the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, religious leaders of the day. John Hus was ...

3061. Christian The King

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... went for a walk on Christmas Eve. They saved the life of a young woman found unconscious and freezing in a snowdrift. The young king had gone for a walk after enjoying a holiday dinner with his queen and other members of the royal family. The dog stopped and sniffed at a snowdrift where they found a woman lightly dressed and showing faint signs of life. Lovingly, the king carried her into the royal palace where she was wrapped in blankets and brought back to life. This true story reminds us of a King born ...

3062. Your Money and Your Life

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... travelers as they came upon the beaten man. Now what do you suppose was in their minds? I imagine the priest and Levite passed by because their question was different from the Samaritan’s. The priest and Levite must have wondered: What will happen to me if I stop? Will I have to inconvenience myself? Might I even be in danger? The Samaritan, though, must have thought to himself: What will happen to this poor man if I do not help him? This, I think, is the mark of people who lay up treasure in heaven. They ...

3063. Free and Faithful

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... man, who came to Sodom, determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and the markets protesting against greed and theft, falsehood and indifference. In the beginning, people listened and smiled ironically; then they stopped listening, and he no longer even amused them. The killers went on killing; the wise kept silent, as if there were no just men in their midst. One day a child, moved by compassion for the unfortunate teacher, approached him with these ...

3064. Out of the Darkness

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... ." This does sound at first like a prescription for vengeance. But that is only because so many modern readers of the Bible do not understand the ancient historical context. Originally, the "eye for an eye" was not a green light for revenge, but it was a stop light to mark the limits of retaliation. This law of an eye for an eye actually showed great concern for the guilty party by limiting retaliation. You see in ancient times, a man who lost one eye might retaliate by poking out both eyes of the guilty ...

3065. Peter’s Net

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... the shallows at night as the fish fed! Every youngster in those villages knew that much, but Jesus says, "Out into the deep. Put down the nets." Peter still does not believe, but he doesn’t dare be disobedient. It’s one thing to doubt. It is yet another to stop acting on what one has been told to do by this Jesus. Peter says: "But at your word, I will let down the nets." He knew it wasn’t right to fish that way, but he also knew it wasn’t right to disobey. So Peter goes fishing. He has ...

3066. Elijah’s If

Mark 9:2-13, 2 Kings 2:1-18

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

... see the Lord. Only those who have ears to hear will really hear his message. Elisha and Peter. We are indebted to them. Neither one accepted the greatness of his experience as the last message to him from God. There is more. There is always more. None of us dares stop where we are now. We have not gone far enough. The pivot should not be set. We are his chosen, not only to listen and to see, but also to grow and to move. Our Lord has new disciplines for us, and greater discipleships to fill. There are new ...

3067. Jacob’s Jabbok

Genesis 32:22-32

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

... more fully. How many times he asked the questions: Why? What? How? How many times he struggled and squirmed and searched that night to find out more than childhood discoveries about God. Then, out of the dark he was seized by someone, something, that would not stop or let him go until the break of day. In that first moment of surprise perhaps he thought it was Esau come to fulfill his vow of death. But soon he began to realize that this contest was not between brothers, nor river gods, but between himself ...

3068. The Disciples’ Dumb Dream

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... is the greatest, God help all of us! The teachers? We’re getting closer. The students? The children? We’re almost there, but not yet. It wasn’t the child who was so great. It was Christ who was received through the child. And he didn’t stop there either. "Receive a child in my name," said Jesus, "and you receive me." And then he adds that marvelous promise: "Whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." That’s who’s the greatest among us, for Christ never pointed at himself, but ...

3069. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... ; you could not be both. And for those who were Christians there was no alternative but resistance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with other like-minded, troubled Christians, concluded that that resistance would have to be of an extreme nature. Adolf Hitler would not be stopped by any force less than that final, ultimate force ... death. In this decision Dietrich once more met the Master. It was a troubled meeting, for Bonhoeffer had to face the Master and seek to reconcile his actions with the teachings of a Master ...

3070. Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... sedan sped around the street corner, chased by two British Army Jeeps. The driver of the car lost control and swerved onto the sidewalk where Mrs. Maguire and Mrs. O’Connor strolled peacefully with their families. Before the car came to a stop it struck Mrs. Maguire and her family, inflicting grave and fatal injuries. Mrs. Maguire had both legs and her pelvis broken. Joanna, aged eight years, was killed instantly. Andrew, aged six weeks, was killed instantly. John, aged two and one half years, sustained ...

3071. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 1

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

... toward Magdala on a particular afternoon. Like all others who had sick loved ones, they immediately planned to take me to Jesus. I screamed curses when they prepared me for my journey, and I spat in their faces. Nothing of my usual demonish behavior would stop their insistance. They tied my hands and pulled me through the streets of Magdala, so anxious were they to take me to Jesus. Long ago my strange conduct ceased to draw crowds, so accustomed were the people to my demented outbursts. However, on this ...

3072. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 2

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

... by live organ background or a choral selection; thus, there was always time for the sound controller to prepare the tape for the next part of the program. The program should be directed so that the organist knows to fade in immediately when the tape stops. This way there are no silent moments, and the program runs quickly and smoothly into each new selection. In most churches, the tape recorder can he connected directly to the PA system so that the music and sound effects can permeate the auditorium more ...

3073. "At Beneficial You’re Good for More"

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

... you are good for more. That’s true. With God we have the fulfillment of a relationship, the fulfillment of forgiveness, the fulfillment of peace that no one else can offer. We are truly good for more. I would ask that the next time you see the Beneficial commercial you stop for a moment and remember what God offers to you, in the form of a son, this Christmas season. With God you are good for more.

3074. A Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

George Bass

... s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can - by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness," he said with a snarl. That’s Saul before he became Paul, stopping short of murder, perhaps, but very much a party to the killing of Stephen and other Christians. The risen Lord changed all of that. And isn’t there a little bit of both Peter and Saul in us? Aren’t we quick to say, "You are the Christ," only to ...

3075. An Almost Anonymous Apostle

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

George Bass

... the best wine; he was instructed to write "Est" (that is it) on the door of the inn with the best wine. When the steward entered the town of Montefiascone, he sampled the wine at the local inn and wrote on the door, "Est, Est, Est." The good bishop arrived, stopped at the inn, and was so enamoured of the delicious wine that he never left that town. He spread the word about the marvelous wine made in that place to any who would listen to him or read what he had to say. He was buried in Montefiascone and his ...

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