Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3076 to 3100 of 4933 results

3076. The Hike (A Drama about Following God)

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: When we become Christians, we say "Take my life, Lord." We then enter an exciting journey, walking down the narrow road. Unfortunately, it's easy to become comfortable at some bend in that road and decide that this is far enough for now. I wrote this drama to make a point that we need to finish this hike we're on - like we said we would. Why do we settle for the base of the mountain when it's far more wonderful above the treeline? Cast: John: A hiker that wants to follow God for the long ...

3077. Answers To Life's Three Critical Questions

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Darden K. Caylor, a pastor in Cedar Rapids, IA, says that the day he decided to become a minister is still clearly etched in his brain. He was sitting at his Grandma Rula's house when he heard a voice speak to him from a distance. At first it was muffled, but then it became clearer. It said, "You should become a minister." Caylor couldn't believe it. Was this divine intervention? Was God really speaking to him? Did God really want him to become a minister? He was so shocked he couldn't move. The voice ...

3078. The Divine Balance

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

A banker called in a certain man to talk to him about his account. "Your financial affairs are in a mess," he said to the poor man. "Your wife constantly overdraws your account. She is behind in her charge accounts at the department store, and her check stubs are all added wrong. Why don't you talk to her about it?" "Because," said the man, "I would rather argue with you than with her." There's a man whose marriage is badly out of balance. Balance. We are all trying to find it, aren't we? Balance between ...

3079. Hanging the Law on Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

Compared to some of the pericopes from Mark's Gospel, this one seems a piece of cake. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (vv. 29-31). That's straightforward enough! In fact, we might stumble over only four little words: Love. God. Neighbor. Self. Love God with your whole self. Love your neighbor as yourself. Words ...

3080. Thank You for Coming

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

It was Christmas Eve the one night in the year when 7-year-old Bobby was in a hurry to go to bed. His stocking was tacked to the mantel; the beautiful tree stood in the corner. He kissed his mother and father good night. Then he raced upstairs and leaped into bed. It seemed to Bobby that he hadn’t been asleep any time when a harsh voice shouted “Get up!” He opened his eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight. Then he remembered what day it was. With a joyful shout he hurried into his clothes and bounded down ...

3081. The End

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: The end times -- will we recognize them? Summary: The King of a Mideastern country hears from his advisors that there is turmoil in his country, that his assets are liquidated and that his subjects are rioting. There is no course of action, so he is advised to pray, which he decides to do. Playing Time: 3 1/2 minutes Setting: A conference room in the palace Props: Weather maps Costumes: Military uniform Business suit Time: The end times Cast: The King -- a ruler of Mideastern Nation The Prime ...

3082. I Am The Real Vine

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every barren branch of mine he cuts away; and every fruiting branch he cleans, to make it more fruitful still. You have already been cleansed by the word that I spoke to you. Dwell in me, as I in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, but only if it remains united with the vine; no more can you bear fruit, unless you remain united with me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who dwells in me, as I dwell in him, bears much fruit; for apart from me ...

3083. Proper 4

Luke 7:1-10, Psalm 117:1-2, 1 Kings 8:22-61, Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Roman Catholic Church alone has a specific theological clue for this Sunday in the feast of Corpus Christi, which always occurs the Sunday after Trinity Sunday - no exceptions. The church year framework really does supply a couple of clues for observing this Sunday in the other churches, however, one implicit and the other more or less explicit. Every Sunday is a "little Easter," and this is true for the entire year including the Sundays of Pentecost. It would be proper each Sunday of ...

3084. Proper 5

Luke 7:11-17, 1 Kings 17:7-24, Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE In this long cycle/season of Pentecost, the church year theological clues tend to disappear and become almost imperceptible. The title Pentecost should be a constant reminder of what the church should be about, as well as what the church is expecting from God. The church, during Pentecost, should be getting on with the business of Christ in the world; Pentecost reminds the church what its mission is, and suggests that the necessary resources are readily available to those who are repentant ...

3085. The Day You Were Healed

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

That was a good day, wasn’t it, the day you were healed, when your physician wrote your exit visa from the hospital, when the nurses wheeled you to the front door where your spouse was waiting in the family limo, and you were on your way? Almost forgotten now is the pain, the apprehension, and the helplessness that you had felt when the paramedics brought you in with siren screaming, the intravenous feedings, the wires and the tubes that made you feel like an electrical appliance. Almost forgotten, too is ...

3086. Power to Forgive

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive ...

3087. The Mission of Christ Church

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I am so proud of the way you have mastered our mission statement. If I met you on the street and asked you about the mission of Christ Church, I believe almost all of you could tell me that we are here to make, mature, and mobilize disciples. Most successful organizations have a concise and clear mission statement. The next time you're in a McDonald's Restaurant, ask an employee what the mission of his restaurant is. If he is on the ball, he will be able to tell you that the purpose of McDonalds ...

3088. One-Fired Up Preacher!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Norval Christy was fifteen years old when he agreed with the Lord that everything he possessed was a gift and that he was willing to use it in God’s service however, whenever, and wherever God chose. After attending Westminster College in Pennsylvania, Norval applied to Harvard Medical School and was accepted in spite of long odds. He was in the process of doing his medical residency when a call came to help the thousands of refugees who were flooding into Pakistan from India. Norval agreed to interrupt ...

3089. Not Your Leftovers But Your First Fruits

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

In the text, Moses exhorts the people to offer unto God their first fruits in remembrance and thanksgiving for their inheritance of the new land. They have toiled and struggled in the wilderness for many years and have come at long last to the place of divine promise. God has been good to them. God has kept his promises and has brought them to a place of great wealth and prosperity. The soil is ripe for planting and harvesting. The hills and valleys are rich with minerals. The water flows like milk and ...

3090. Light from the Word

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

In the Sundays of the Epiphany we are reminded in our worship how God continually reveals God’s Person. That, of course, is done most clearly in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to be one of us. Today the emphasis of the Lessons is on how God is revealed in the Word. In the Holy Gospel, Jesus himself points out how he is revealed in the word, or the word is revealed in him, but the people do not seem to understand. That is always a problem in communication. The words can be ever so clear, but ...

3091. David and Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11:1-27, 12:1-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Sexy story, eh? We get lots of them these days. Parental Discretion Advised. In the comics Blondie and Dagwood are watching television. Dagwood remarks, "Boy, there sure is a lot of nudity on TV lately!" "I'll say," Blondie replies. They continue to stare at the TV, eyes wide open. Says Dagwood, "Darnedest tire commercial I've ever seen."(1) Uh-huh. If it is any consolation, as our lessons this morning indicate, a preoccupation with sex is nothing new, especially in high places. And if you were either ...

3092. I Am Sombody!!!

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I suspect that, having made it to mid-January, you would say that you have successfully survived the holidays. True? The celebration of our Savior's birth - Christmas; then the New Year; finally the Feast of the Three Kings on January 6th - Epiphany (which for many has become the Feast of Taking Down the Decorations!). This morning I want to suggest that there is one more holiday we should be observing - THIS day, the one the liturgical calendar designates to remember the Baptism of the Lord. If the ...

3093. Light For Our Lives

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Maxwell Maltz has gained quite notable fame through his popular self-help book entitled "Psycho-Cybernetics." The theory of psycho-cybernetics is based on Dr. Maltz's work as a plastic surgeon. Listen as he describes how he became interested in the human personality: "One day many years ago a woman in her mid-twenties came to my offices. She had a deep indented scar on her left cheek, a constant reminder of an automobile accident she'd been in. She looked unhappy, with herself and her life." "'Who ...

3094. Thanksgiving: Where Are You Looking For It?

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

A little girl whose father was a disc jockey, a radio announcer, was invited to a friend's house for dinner. When she arrived, the mother asked the little girl if she would honor them by saying the blessing. It delighted the little girl. She cleared her throat, looked at her wristwatch, and said, "This food, friends, is coming to you through the courtesy of almighty God." Well, she was right, all food that we eat comes through the courtesy of almighty God. (1) Thanksgiving is a special time of year. Can't ...

3095. What Love Looks Like

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

People do some really strange things to get their names into the Guinness Book of World Records. Every year, the Guinness organization publishes a book that lists the latest world records for such feats as walking the greatest distance on stilts, or eating the most M&Ms with chopsticks. Very few of us aspire to setting records like that. One particularly noteworthy entry in the 2004 edition of Guinness World Records was set on August 3, 2001, when 4,703 people participated in the world's biggest hug--that' ...

3096. About Work

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

There's a silly story going around about two factory workers, Joe and Lester, who were talking. "I know how to get some time off from work, " said Joe. "How do you think you'll do that? " asked Lester. At this, Joe climbed up to the rafters of the factory and hung upside down by his knees. The boss walked in, saw Joe hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing. "I'm a light bulb," Joe answered. "I think you need some time off," said the boss. So Joe jumped down and walked out of the ...

3097. We Who Are Many Are One Body

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Though it was written four decades ago, most of us remember Alex Haley’s novel Roots. That book and the TV miniseries produced from it was read and seen by millions and millions of people on every continent of the world. It was a moving presentation of a two-century epic of Kunta Kinte and the six generations who came after him. You may recall that Kunta Kinte was the great-great-great-great-great- grandfather of Alex Haley, the author. One of the most significant episodes captured in the television drama ...

3098. Where's Your Spirit?

Acts 19:1-7

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I love that story read to us this morning as our epistle lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, telling of Paul's visit to Ephesus. The first people that he happens to run into are Christians. He asks them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit?" They said, "We never even heard of the Holy Spirit." Paul must have slapped his forehead in despair, saying, "Do I have to do everything myself to get it right." Then he asks, "What about when you were baptized?" Which is the clue that in the early Church, receiving the ...

3099. The Ministry of Unbinding

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Listen! We cannot raise people from the dead as Jesus did, but we share in the deliverance of those he has raised! Death and what is done about that — is in Jesus’ hand. It is He who can say with power: “Come forth! Come forth from your tomb.” But deliverance — that’s in our hands. “Unbind him” Jesus said, “unbind him that he might live.” So, we talk today about the ministry of unbinding. I Rehearse the story, so that our focus will be clear and we will not be questioning something that we think has been ...

3100. Mystery of the Unlikely

Luke 1:39-55

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the year 1870 the Methodists in Indiana were having their Annual Conference. At one point, the president of the college where they were meeting said, "I think we live in a very exciting age." The presiding bishop said "What do you see in our future?" The college president responded, "I believe we are coming into a time of great inventions. I believe, for example, that men will fly through the air like birds." The Bishop was indignant and said, "That's heresy! The Bible says that flight is reserved for ...

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