Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3101 to 3125 of 4944 results

3101. The Eighth Commandment: Why We Need the Police

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The story is told of a parking lot sale that took place in Long Island, New York. Everyone brought his or her wares or craft items to buy, trade, and sell. One of the area farmers brought in a whole string of game birds. He had tied a string around one leg of each of the birds. The birds were all tied in such a way that all were controlled by a central stick held by the farmer. He had trained the birds to walk very dutifully in a circle so the buyers could see them before they became lunch or dinner. ...

3102. Looks Like We're in for Stormy Weather

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Eric Ritz

There is a story in the Bible that, for some of you, happened yesterday, and for others will take place tomorrow; for a few it may be lived out today. It is the story of a boat ride across a beautiful lake. As Mark, the Gospel writer, tells it, it was on the lake of Galilee toward the end of the day. It was late afternoon and the scene was very soothing and pastoral as they cruised across the lake. The followers of Jesus were full of friendly chatter on the events of the day that Jesus had already done. ...

3103. Blank Walls or Filled Lives (Part V)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

G. W. Target wrote a short story titled "The Window," which tells of two men, both seriously ill, who occupied the same small hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the only window in the room. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they ...

3104. Great Feast or Sad Fast

Luke 14:1-14, Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

As we open God''s word from Luke 14, we find that a grand invitation has been extended by a king to invite persons to a delicious and festive banquet. Our God is a God who invites. One of the things that we notice about this parable is that it instructs us in what gets us into the kingdom and what keeps us out. The kingdom of God or the reign of God is often compared to a grand feast rather than a sad supper. As we open our scripture lesson, we see that Jesus is having dinner at the home of a distinguished ...

3105. The Ministry of Fading

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Robert Noblett

We could spend our sermon time talking with you about John's Christology and how our text indicates Jesus' understanding of his impending death, but after a brief period, I would begin to see in some of your eyes that glazed look that would tell me you had gone off to a faraway place. It's true; this text is about Christology, but a Christology that comes with our names on it too. Says Jesus, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also" (v. 26). Read this to mean: "What ...

3106. A Landmark Event!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

During World War II allied armies marched into Germany on their way to Berlin. Retreating German soldiers switched road signs and destroyed landmarks in an effort to confuse their enemy. And, to an extent, it worked, for many a G.I. followed a false marker only to end up in the wrong place. That just goes to show the need for landmarks, the importance of reliable signposts by which to steer. Here locally, landmarks like the courthouse, the river, the college, or the bridge are important in helping us find ...

3107. Is Your Love Shy?

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

When I was in college my post office box was right next to a pretty little blonde's. She was a tanned Florida Freshman, if you know what I mean. And her name was Sally. Now John, a fellow on my hall, was secretly in love with Sally. And he kept trying to get me to switch post office boxes with him. That way he could be close to Sally. You see, John was painfully shy. Though he longed to know Sally, he couldn't muster the nerve to ask her out. So, he secretly loved her at a distance. Once he rode a bus four ...

3108. Grace in the Midst of Limited Resources

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

Year after year Stumpy and Martha attended the fair in their home state, and every summer it was the same story: Stumpy was tantalized by the old-fashioned bi-plane in which anybody could take a ride for ten dollars, and Martha was disgusted by such an obvious waste of money. "Ten dollars is ten dollars," she would always say. And Stumpy would go home without his airplane ride. One year Stumpy said, "Martha, there's that bi-plane again. I am 81 years old and this year I want to go for a ride." Martha ...

3109. Working Out Our Salvation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

William Muil describes a time he visited one of those old colonial houses up in New England. The house still retained the furniture and the atmosphere of the 18th Century. The guide was the last descendent of the original owner of the house. As Muil was walking through the house, he noticed a beautiful old rifle over the fireplace, and reached up to examine it. The old lady pulled his arm down and said, “Please don’t touch it, it’s loaded and it may go off.” Then she explained, “My great, great grandfather ...

3110. 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 ...

3111. A Love For All Seasons (ii) (communion Meditation)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Picture this scene. "It is dusk, and a couple is sitting on an ocean beach. The sand is warm to the touch. The sun is just about to set, kissing the surface of the ocean. A spirit of romance comes over the young woman. Without taking her eyes off of the ocean and sun she says, "Isn't that sunset gorgeous?" The fellow replies, "Well, strictly speaking, the sun is not setting. Nor for that matter, does it ever do so. The sun, you see, is in a relatively fixed position in relation to the earth. So, to speak ...

3112. The Ministry Of Making Many Rich

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of the most effective and colorful congressmen to ever go to Washington was a crusty old gentlemen from Texas named Sam Rayburn. He served Congress for over 50 years — during the last ten of those years, he was Speaker of the House. But the real greatness of Sam Rayburn was not in the public positions he held. It was in his common touch. One day he heard that the teenage daughter of a Washington reporter had died. Early the next morning he went over to the reporter’s house and knocked on the door. “I ...

3113. Don't Mess With Mr. In-between

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Harold and Maud is a fascinatingly different, but warmly convincing novel. It's by Colin Higgins, and is the story of two persons who not only affirm each other's existence, but also cherish the mutual meanings they share. A young man in his 20's and an enchanting woman in her 70's become real friends. Maud cares for Harold, not because he is useful or ornamental. He is neither. Not because of anything he does or has, but just because he is himself. Harold is thus better able, when he is with Maud, to ...

3114. The Easter Question: Why Are You Weeping? Whom Do You Seek?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Have you ever stopped to think how many important things in scripture take place in a garden? It all began in a garden, really, in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve rebelled and through self-will they alienated themselves from the love of God. It was in the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus fought the greatest battle of his life there in the garden, the struggle was so intense that he sweat drops of blood. He knew what was before him, and undoubtedly He was talking about the Cross when he anguished, "If it be ...

3115. Naming And Being Named

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

...Comes from the 15th chapter of John's Gospel. I'm going to read verses 12-17. Let's share now this Word of the Lord. "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard ...

3116. Through God's Breathed Word

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

George Gallop has been studying American opinions and attitudes for more than 55 years. Increasingly, of late, he has been exploring the inner life of people. His recent book is a study of what it is that makes a saint. A couple of years ago, Gallop cited six basic spiritual needs of Americans. Number five in that list was this: the need to know that one is growing in his or her faith. Last Sunday we began our series of sermons on the general theme of growth. We're building on the Scriptural admonition, " ...

3117. If I Have Not Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a time when Indians communicated by drums and smoke signals. There may be places in the world where that sort of thing still goes on. Years ago when the atomic bomb was being tested out on the desert flats of Nevada, a cartoon pictured two Indians. They were looking across the barren wastes – the spacious flats – when on the horizon the mushroom smoke cloud of an atomic explosion rose dramatically. As these Indians looked at that in wonder – never having seen such smoke – one Indian said to the ...

3118. Let's Get Serious

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I confess that I have been struggling on how to approach this sermon this morning. We are coming into the season where we talk about stewardship and ask that you consider what your support to the Church will be in the next year. My instinct on these matters is always to be non-direct. But the gospel lesson for this morning, you heard it, makes it hard to do that. It is anything but non-direct. It is one of Jesus' shorter parables, just a few lines. It begins with the question, "What do you think? A man had ...

3119. The Seeing Eye

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Bill Mosley

An airplane flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles had a 45-minute delay and everybody on board was ticked. Unexpectedly, they stopped in Sacramento on the way. The flight attendant explained there would be another delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft to stretch, they would reboard in thirty minutes. Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. He had flown before, and his Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire ...

3120. Experiencing the Reality of God

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

James L. Killen

The story of the Day of Pentecost tells of a pivotal event in the history of God's work in the world. It tells of the emerging of a very important aspect of the Christian faith and of the birth of the church. It is a story that is exciting to some people. But, quite frankly, it is a story that scares some other people and makes them want to back away. All of this talk about wind and fire and speaking in foreign tongues excites some people but it turns some off. It may be that we have focused our attention ...

3121. Rejoicing in Reality

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Our text says that Jesus "went up to the mountain" and, oh, what a beautiful mountain it is! The Mount of the Beatitudes is not all that high, but in Galilee it is the equivalent of Mount Everest. Stretched out below is the most fertile agricultural land in Israel, intricately laid out next to the jeweled sea, that breathtaking, blue prism reflecting the hot beauty of the Middle Eastern sun. A few years ago, after wandering around on the hilltop for a while, our pilgrim group decided that this was the ...

3122. A High FLOSS Church

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It's one of those dreaded moments. One that exposes all our inadequacies and inconsistencies. The dentist, poking around your molars and bicuspids, simultaneously scrapes plaque and your conscience with the pointed question, "And have you been flossing everyday?" Despite all the flavored, waxed, stringless improvements, despite all the high-tech, low-tech gadgets and gizmos, flossing is still an unloved and unlovely chore. Nobody likes to do it. Nobody likes to see it being done. And--dentists will look ...

3123. The Insight of Eyesight

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the northeast February is still winter. Regardless whether that scruffy little groundhog gets a glimpse of his shadow or not on February 2nd, the rest of the month is distinctly dark and dreary. It's too early for any but the most foolhardy of crocuses, and yet really too late for any long lasting deep snowfalls. What snow there is comes and goes, and so always appears in that grimy, mud-spattered, grey incarnation, not the bright glistening pristine white of January. But this February in New York City ...

3124. Come Back

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Just when I think that all this talk about A.I. or Artificial Intelligence is a bunch of artificial air, something happens to show me that maybe we're further along the AI path than we think. Maybe the worlds of the born and the words of the made are coming together faster than we ever imagined. In researching this week's theme of betrayal, I undertook a Google search to reference a disturbing news story I remembered hearing the last week of October. Here's the Associated Press news release: TACOMA, Wash ...

3125. From Ha-Ha's to Ah-ha's

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The teacher kept saying it would suddenly dawn on me. That there would be a cloud-clearing, sun-streaming moment of revelation and I would miraculously get it. I [Elizabeth] was in the ninth grade and the "it" was working out proofs in geometry. For months I had been struggling to understand why the teacher and some of my friends could look at a problem and immediately visualize, then verbalize, how to get from A to B to C. No matter how many proofs I worked through with the teacher the moment I sat in ...

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