Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3126 to 3150 of 4914 results

3126. Harmony and Humor: The Ties That Bind Christianity’s Many Christianities

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Let’s begin this morning with a song. Please stand. Most of you know the song “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” If you don’t, you are hearing our organist/pianist/keyboardist play it right now as I’m talking. On the PC-USA webpage, there was posted a hymn written a week ago by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. It addresses in song the Haitian disaster where, according to the most recent estimates, between 100,000 and 200,000 Haitians perished. The words are sung to the tune of “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” I invite ...

3127. Discover the Surprise of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Like that Santa, some of us have been desperately trying to grasp the allusive feeling of Christmas. The feelings we remember from younger days and simpler days. Like that Santa Ornament, determined to get those cookies, we go through all sorts of gyrations and antics trying to resurrect Christmases Past because in our memories they feel perfect and unencumbered. But the past is the past, and we're called to live in the present. But Christmas isn't really about the present (or the presents under the tree. ...

3128. Guard the Good Treasure

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Do you like Optical Illusions? I do. I think we're probably all familiar with the work of M.C. Escher and his pencil drawings like "Relativity" and "Waterfall." There are any number of famous optical illusions. So, I've picked a few to show you this morning. I hope they don't make your head hurt or your eyes go bonkers on you. These are some of the more interesting ones I've found. So, what's with the optical illusions? Well, there are a lot of people who live their faith like optical illusions. They aren' ...

3129. Where Do We Grow from Here?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are some writers and some speakers who pack every sentence to the brim. If you miss a sentence you miss something significant. Others of us would like to think that true, but it really isn’t. You can miss a sentence here and there, unfortunately, maybe a number of sentences - and still not be poor for what you didn’t get. Samuel Miller is one of those people who packs every sentence to the brim, and you need to get every word. Listen to him. “A man’s birth is not ended with the first gasp of his ...

3130. The Wise Men: Going Home Another Way

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a story told about two men sitting together on an airplane. As some are wont to do, when strapped together 30,000 feet above where they ought to be, they begin to get acquainted. One man was an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while, each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be summed up in the phrase, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The theologian, somewhat miffed at this simplistic ...

3131. The Blood Shall Be a Token

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Bible students and teachers have always connected the Old and the New Testaments by using types. That is, seeing in the Old Testament a type of what really is fully revealed in the New. This began with those who wrote the New Testament. Paul saw Jesus as the new Adam. Matthew saw him as a Moses. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews interpreted the tabernacle of the Old Testament as a type for the ministry and mission of Jesus. When we began this preaching journey through Exodus, we talked about Exodus ...

3132. When Nature Says No

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

You, who keep account of crises and transition in this life, sit down the first time nature says plain “No” to some “Yes” in you, and walks over you, in gorgeous sweeps of scorn. We all begin by singing with the birds and running fast with June days, hand in hand; but once, for all, the birds must sing against us, and the sun strike down upon us like a friend’s sword caught by an enemy to slay us, while we read the dear name on the blade which bites at us! That’s bitter and convincing: after that we seldom ...

3133. In the House of the Lord

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If you saw the “Places in the Heart,” starring Sally Field, you will probably never forget the closing scene. Many in the audience and most critics could not believe what they were seeing. The scene is set in a small and simple sanctuary lit Texas. Everyone who figures in the movie drama is seated there in the pews. The camera moves in on the preacher at the pulpit, and he reads the moving cadences of the apostle Paul’s great hymn on love from 1 Corinthians 13.-We hear again how faith, hope and love ...

3134. Crying Out of the Depths

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown is sitting at Lucy's psychiatric desk getting absolutely no help from Lucy. With a forlorn look on his face Charlie laments, “Where do I go to give up?" One great value of the Psalms is that they put into words what we find difficult to express. Most scriptures speak to us. The Psalms speak for us. They enable us to articulate and bring before God our deepest feelings, our greatest fears, the lingering longings of our hearts, the troubled sorrows of our lives. So Jesus ...

3135. What Were You Thinking?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Tony Everett

Late one night, Pastor Bill was driving home after spending the past 23 hours in the hospital with his wife, celebrating the birth of their son. It had been a glorious day. His wife was peacefully resting. His extended family was ecstatic. His son was healthy. Surely God was in heaven and all was right with the world. As he drove through the city streets, Pastor Bill began to think about all the plans he had to increase parish worship attendance and multiply its Sunday offerings. He reflected upon the ...

3136. Full Body Scans or Re-spect Spectacles

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you have had the experience of being stripped naked before a room full of strangers? Anyone here this morning ever been strip-searched? You have if you’re a frequent flier. You have if you’ve recently flown through any of the sixty-plus airports that now use “full body scans” as part of their security procedures. Just as the “shoe bomber” made it a requirement for all of us to pad around barefoot on grungy airport floors, the “underwear bomber” has led to the use of these virtual strip-down ...

3137. The Serpent

John 3:14-21

Sermon

John Smylie

Growing up in the northeast, I didn't have a lot of exposure to snakes. There may have been a small garter snake or the threat of a dangerous serpent down at a local pond near our neighborhood. But honestly, there wasn't much of a threat of snakes that I was aware of to be found in northern New Jersey. Wyoming, where I presently reside, is a different story. While serving as a consultant for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming, I had the opportunity to visit the northeastern part of the state. There was a new ...

3138. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Someone who grew up in Europe immediately after the devastation of World War II writes about the two staples that were not on ration and that could be home produced; one was potatoes and the other was bread. "We could grow our own potatoes and we could make our own bread," he writes. "And sometimes we would even make bread out of the potatoes. So, while we may have lacked many things we always had sufficient potatoes and bread." Earlier in John chapter 6, we read about food rationing of another kind. Then ...

3139. The Width and Depth of God’s Grace

Romans 6:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the number one wilderness boxing event of all time. In this corner, the self-avowed ruler of the world, known for his cunning and deception, the embodiment of all evil, Satan! And in this corner, the recently baptized carpenter turned preacher, God's own beloved Son, Jesus! Every year we begin the season of Lent by hearing the story of how Jesus dukes it out with the devil. For each punch that the devil throws, Jesus returns with a counterpunch and it becomes clear that the ...

3140. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Has anything ever gotten you into more trouble than your tongue? Have you ever wished you could take something back after you had said it? Oh, let me confess, I only ask this rhetorical question because it has happened to me. I know the sense of shame and regret at having spoken too soon before I could stop myself. Someone has said, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold it. One of the quotable sayings, which I try to live by, is a statement made by Socrates: "It is better to ...

3141. No Litmus Test for Jesus

2 Kings 5:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

United States society in 1917 was one filled with much fear and misunderstanding. The end of the Progressive Era and its Social Gospel message of reform, the onset of World War I, and the Bolshevik Revolution raised anxieties in the minds of many Americans. One significant manifestation of this fear was the rise of xenophobia; Americans grew wary of outsiders. The nation, which was built on the sweat and blood of immigrants, now turned its back on these very same people. Beginning as early as 1882, ideas ...

3142. The Sound of a Mighty Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

On April 27, 2011 the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded hit parts of the southern U. S. causing catastrophic destruction in five states Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. Four of the tornadoes which swept through the South on that terrible day were destructive enough to be rated EF5 tornadoes, which is the highest ranking possible. EF5 tornadoes are extremely rare and yet on this day alone there were four EF5 tornadoes killing an estimated 346 people. Tornadoes, ...

3143. Don’t Touch Me With That Water!

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

"Fill the glasses with water, honey. Daddy's guests will be here soon," Mother said. Her young son carefully filled the fragile, crystal goblets. "How's it look, Mom?" Surveying the elegantly set table, she smiled and ruffled his hair. "You did great work, honey. Daddy will be so pleased." The boy grinned in anticipation of his father's approval. The door bell rang. "Our guests have arrived. Let's go greet them. We're done in here." Opening the door, the boy took his father's hand. "Come and see! Come and ...

3144. All Saints

Psalm 149:1-9, Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Luke 6:27-36, Ephesians 1:11-23

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It’s a good day to praise God! It’s a good time to remember how God has been with us. People: It’s the right time to be grateful for the women and men who have blessed us through the years — whose faith has been an example for us. Leader: We thank God for the Holy Spirit in us and revealed in others. People: How powerful are the blessings God gives us! Leader: The power working in us is the same power that raised Jesus to life. People: Hallelujah! Prayer Of Thanksgiving Great God — ...

3145. Lent 3

Psalm 63:1-8, Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: Good morning! This is the place to be if you are seeking the Holy One. This is the place to be if you long to be “at home.” This is the place to praise the living God! People: Thank God for this faith family and for this place of safety and inspiration. Leader: Thank God for the scriptures that encourage our journey together: Come, everyone who is thirsty — here is water! People: We are here to honor the Creator of the universe and to listen again for guidance for our days and ...

3146. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to make my annual public service announcement to the men in our congregation. Guys, it’s time to do your Christmas shopping. I hope our men have this task already out of the way. But just in case, please heed my announcement. I understand that a [certain couple in our church] slipped off to [a nearby city] to do their Christmas shopping and somehow they got separated for several hours. Fortunately they had their cell phones with them. “Honey, where are you!?” [the woman] asked. “Darling,” [he] says ...

3147. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In ancient times, a king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of wealth and property was singled out. Another was praised for his healing powers and a third for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult. Finally the last candidate stood before the king. This woman had white hair and her eyes ...

3148. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

3149. The Call of God

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Jeremiah had a task, a vision, and a promise from God. The prophet Jeremiah had a call from God to preach his word to a people needing to hear from God. His call has been duplicated multiple times over the centuries. Moses, Samuel, Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel could point to a precise moment in their journey when God called them to be prophets ... ones who announced God's actions and words. Preaching, announcing God's presence, word, direction comes first from a person who has a passion for what matters in ...

3150. Oh, By the Way…

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

The book of Daniel presents us with the words and visions of the prophet Daniel, who lived and worked in the Babylonian empire during the exile of the Jewish people there in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Obviously, that was a difficult time for God's people, but, oh, by the way, the book of Daniel itself was probably put in its final form perhaps 300 years later during the persecution of the Jewish people under Antiochus IV Epiphanes circa 165 BC. So the book is probably best understood to be ...

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