Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3201 to 3225 of 4490 results

3201. Discovering The Unexpected

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Have you ever looked forward to something and when it happened, it was so much more than you anticipated? Maybe this was your experience at the time of your marriage or the birth of your first child. This was somewhat like the experience of David Livingstone, the explorer and missionary to central Africa in the mid-1800s. In his journal he tells about his discovery of the great falls, which he named the Victoria Falls, and what that experience meant to him. He had heard from the natives that there was ...

3202. Ascension Day

Luke 24:44-53

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting Leader: Jesus opens minds. Congregation: Open our minds to resurrection-thinking, O Lord. Leader: Jesus blesses believers. Congregation: Bless our witness with ascension-living, O Lord. Prayer Father, like the first disciples, our understanding is in part and too shallow to sustain us. Our strength fails, and our witness falls silent. Jesus said he would send what you promised. Let it be so. Clothe us with power from on high. Open our minds to understanding, and empower us to be your witnesses, ...

3203. Amazing Grace

1 Peter 3:15

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Theme: Grace. Visual Aid: A blank piece of paper and a box of crayons. As the children note the blank sheet of white paper I have placed on the floor in front of them I ask, "Does anyone here like to draw?" Grins break out on their faces, heads nod affirmatively, and some hands go up. "I see some of you raising your hands. What about the rest of you? If you like to draw, raise your hand." Immediately every child on the chancel steps has a hand raised, some of them flailing rather wildly to indicate the ...

3204. John Prepares the Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

Seven of the Lectionary B pericopes from Mark's Gospel come from the first chapter of Mark! Several of these pericopes overlap each other. Where there is overlapping you may wish to consult other sections of this work for additional comments. For the Baptism of our Lord Sunday, for example, the appointed text is Mark 1:4-11, which overlaps with the final four verses of the pericope for the Second Sunday in Advent. The title or heading of Mark's Gospel is stated simply: "The beginning of the good news of ...

3205. Holy Thursday / Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting: Ldr: The glory of Jesus is seen as he gives himself on the cross. Cng: And the glory of God is seen in the glory of God's gift to humankind. Ldr: "Little children," Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another." Cng: Just as Jesus has loved us, we also should love one another. Ldr: By this everyone will know that you are Jesus' disciples. Cng: Glorious God, let the love of Jesus be our gift to others. This will be our glory. Add this line to the beginning of the hymn, "Let ...

3206. Feeding The 5000

John 6:1-15, John 6:16-24

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Theme: If the miracles are only signs pointing to Christ, how much greater he must be than these astounding miracles. Truly, the one before whom we bow is beyond human comprehension. GREETING Leader: With just five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus fed the crowd of five thousand people. Congregation: O God, feeding five thousand was nothing. Every day Jesus feeds millions with the living bread of his body. Leader: After the five thousand ate, the disciples gathered up more fragments than there were loaves ...

3207. First Sunday After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Note: Our rising or falling is determined by our response to the one whom Simeon and Anna saw presented in the temple as a child. Greeting Leader: Simeon saw Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple, and he prayed to God saying, "My eyes have seen your salvation." People: We too, Lord, have seen with our eyes, have heard with our ears, and know with our hearts and minds that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, our salvation from death. Leader: Anna saw Mary and Joseph's child, and she began praising God, ...

3208. Bread of Another Kind (Bread of Life II)

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

“I am the Bread of Life,” says Jesus. “Do not work for food that spoils ... work for food that lasts for eternal life.” I invite you to consider three questions: To whom were these words spoken? Who spoke them? What do they mean? First, to whom were these words spoken? They were spoken to the people whom Jesus fed the day before, the 5,000 who ate so generously from the little boy’s lunch bag. A quick mental walk through some of the events just prior to this will get us in perspective: One, it was the ...

3209. What Can I Do for You?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Knowing James and John wanted something of him Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The modern equivalent of this question is “What can I do for you?” We hear it on all sides; for many it is a routine way to answer the phone. “Hello, this is Frank.” “Yea, what can I do for you?” After a weekend together on retreat, a participant and I were at a dinner party. Looking at me seriously he said, “You do for a lot of people. I’m wondering if there is anything I can do for you. Just let me know, no ...

3210. Leading as Loving

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Leadership is constantly being sought. The issue is neither academic nor boring because leadership is almost always pivotal. For this reason, schools, families, corporations, service clubs, governmental bodies are all perpetually in a search for capable leadership. So is the church. Every year nominating committees in churches sit down and attempt to identify and enlist potential leaders. And that is a crucial task. The decisions they make can mean dynamic movement or inertia. I have been in churches where ...

3211. Love And Friendship

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

A boy was asked about his family, when he enrolled for church school. The teacher responded with a quizzical, "Oh," after the boy revealed that he had no brothers or sisters. To which the youngster piped, "But I've got friends!" It is so good to have friends. But, what is a friend? Satirist Ambrose Bierce defines friendship as a ship big enough to carry two in fair weather, but only one in foul. This is a rather negative portrayal compared to an Arabian explanation that characterizes a friend as "one to ...

3212. Counting The Cost - Sacrifice

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: O God of love and glory, on this day we come to you asking that your Spirit might be with us as we consider the important decisions in life that we all must make. Lord, in these moments, may we feel your presence among us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. The major issue of the 1992 presidential campaign was the state of the American economy. Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot all offered different solutions to the problems of stalled economic growth and unemployment. It was the American ...

3213. Lent 4

Luke 13:18-22 · Joel 2:12-19

Bulletin Aid

Jack Brownlee

ORDER OF SERVICE Opening Words L: Let us worship our Creator, the God of Love. P: God continually preserves and sustains us. L: We have been loved with an everlasting love. P: Through Jesus Christ we have been given complete knowledge of God's glory. Hymn "Are Ye Able" Prayer Of Confession (Unison) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. According unto thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my ...

3214. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

I understand the stories the pastor told and thought they were interesting, but I couldn't see how the sermon fit together. -- A 15-year-old's comment during the writing of this book Many sermons with good material fall flat simply because the audience doesn't follow the flow of the message. With today's audience listening superficially with a short attention span, there are some basic principles one can use so that the sermon will be (a) heard, (b) understood and (c) remembered. Our View And Their View ...

3215. Living The Alternatives

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

"Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah or King. To believe in Jesus Christ, therefore, is to affirm more than certain doctrinal statements about his divinity or the assurance of eternal life. To believe in Christ is to refuse to acknowledge anyone else in this life as King. It is to insist that the powers and principalities of this world do not have authority over us, even when they appear to be in charge. The New Testament writers boldly portray Jesus meeting the powers of this world head on in a showdown ...

3216. Let Us Pray!

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

In James Baldwin's Blues For Mister Charlie, there is an arresting scene in which a young boy announces before his grandmother and the world that he no longer believes in God. The wise and unperturbed woman replies, "Ain't no way you can't believe in God, boy. You just try holding your breath long enough to die." No less than breathing or the sucking of a newborn infant, prayer is instinctive human behavior. The disciples' plea, "Lord, teach us to pray," arises from a primal urge deep within the human ...

3217. Death Of A Dream - Birth Of A Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Genesis 11:1-9 This Old Testament lesson is a story of failure, but there is a great truth for all of us in it. I had a dear friend who used to say, "Every man is my teacher. I either learn what to do from him, or what not to do." It reminds me of a cartoon, which showed a bum sitting on a park bench; his clothes were tattered and torn, his toes were coming out of his shoes - the stereotypical hobo. Beneath the picture was the caption, "No man is completely worthless - he can always serve as a horrible ...

3218. God's Descending Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Even in the room's darkness Rachel's face was seen streaked with tears. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Rachel had been an un-named disciple since Jesus had first visited her village. They had already celebrated two passovers. It had been that long ago. She was not important in the way that Simon and his brothers were important. She could not speak eloquently, nor command evil spirits to disappear. Nor could she carry her side of debate about the religious law. Also, she was a woman. But ...

3219. Friendship Arms or Cold Shoulders

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

James Weekley

A man began buttering his wife with romantic talk. "My dear, let me feast my eyes upon your lovely face, and I'll buy you a sable muff. Let me hold your hand, and I'll buy you a silverfox scarf. Let me kiss you, and I'll give you a mink cape. Let me ..." "Stop!" she pleaded. "that's fur enough!" Like two porcupines, some people will never get too close for comfort. The poets and theologians have reminded us, perhaps too often, that the real problem of our generation is loneliness. Is our current craze for ...

3220. What Have You Got To Lose?

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Erskine White

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25) Years ago, when the Betty Crocker company first began selling their cake mixes, they offered a product which only needed water. All you had to do was add water to the mix which came in the box, and you would get a perfect, delicious cake every time. It bombed. No one bought it and the company couldn’t understand why, so they commissioned a study which brought back a surprising answer. ...

3221. When God Is Silent

Psalm 35:1-28

Sermon

Erskine White

But [Jesus] did not answer her a word. (Matthew 15:23a) The Canaanite woman came to Jesus for the best of reasons, asking for His mercy; she was praying that Jesus would heal her afflicted daughter. She was determined and who wouldn't be in that same situation? Who among us wouldn't move heaven and earth to reach someone who could cure our ailing child? She came to Jesus begging for help, but at first, He did not reply. Our text says that "He did not answer her a word." Have you ever had that experience, ...

3222. Forgiveness Freely Given

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Erskine White

As a minister, I am continually reminded of the many burdens people bear in this life - the emotional scars, the painful memories, the gut-wrenching guilt and feelings of regret. Sometimes the stories I hear are staggering. Really, there are three kinds of people in this world: those who need to be forgiven, those who need to be forgiving of someone else, and the largest group is those who need to be both forgiven and forgiving. Forgiveness must come before healing. That's why, in our New Testament story ...

3223. The Faith of the Cannanite Woman

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph--an enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert pianist the four words: He was a failure, you could always say: That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, “He was a genius,” then you are apt to take the ...

3224. Lent 5

John 7:45--8:11, Psalm 126:1-6, Isaiah 43:14-28, Philippians 3:1-11, Luke 20:9-19, John 12:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fifth Sunday in Lent floods the mind with memories of when it was the beginning of the two-week celebration of the Passion of our Lord. Passiontide was the third period in the progression from Septuagesima Sunday to Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord. (The three "gesima" Sundays were the first period, the first four and a half weeks of Lent comprised the second part; Passiontide was the third section of Lent; Holy Week was the fourth part; and the Triduum, which originally was Good ...

3225. Easter 5

John 13:31-38, Revelation 21:1-27, Revelation 19:1-10, Acts 14:8-20, Leviticus 19:1-37, Acts 14:21-28, Psalm 145:1-21

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fourth Sunday after Easter, in the classic lectionary, carried the title of Cantate Sunday, from the introit, which began "O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things, alleluia (Psalm 98)." In parts of the church, it became known as Church Music Sunday, an occasion for special musical presentations, choir concerts, and the general promotion of the church music. This was not all bad, except that the singing of the "new Easter song" sometimes got lost in the ...

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