Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3201 to 3225 of 4938 results

3201. Breaking The Tabboo

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

"Taboo." It's a strange, mysterious, ancient-sounding word that we don't use much any more in our modern, scientifically enlightened world. A taboo is something that is forbidden. A taboo is a prohibition. It is usually associated with something sacred and mysterious. Something that is taboo is set aside, never to be touched and desecrated by human hands. We are usually afraid of the taboo. We are in awe of its power. Taboos control us. In the ancient world certain places or things may have been considered ...

3202. A New Beginning for Everyone

Exodus 35:4-29

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to take you back 3,500 years to the very first capital campaign found in the Bible. The Lord does not even wait to get the children of Israel to the promise land until He asks them to do two things: (1) Take an offering; (2) Build a building. Now there are two parts to this campaign that are extremely important. Notice who they were to give their offering to: "Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and ...

3203. SALLY JANE

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Dusk; JAREL is sitting on the front steps of an old farmhouse, a building once almost elegant, now genteelly collapsing, its midwestern rococo gingerbread hanging in many places by a single, disinterested, rusty nail. The porch behind JAREL is small; its only piece of furniture is an ancient, unravelling wicker table, also seedy, with several wine bottles on it. JAREL is wearing funeral black - but she has not at all muted her makeup, and she wears plenteous beads and bracelets. JAREL (Calling into the ...

3204. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

A. E. Housman, in a brief verse, uncovers the awfulness of hate: I see In many an eye that measures me The mortal sickness of a mind Too unhappy to be kind. Undone with misery, all they can Is to hate their fellow man; And till they drop need must still they Look at you and wish you ill. That is a plague I would hope to escape. E. Stanley Jones shares his keen insight into the self-destruction of hate. He reminds us that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That ...

3205. Am I a Real Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

I'm reminded of the story of a local businessman who was a fourth grade Sunday School teacher. He was really trying to impress the class because his son was a member of the class. So he asked the class this question, "Why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" Well, there was dead silence. Nobody spoke up. He asked the question again: "Now kids, why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" Still no response. Finally, the man with an exasperated look said, "Now come on, think about it, ...

3206. The Character Of Christmas; Herod: The Not So Great

Matthew 2:13-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I don't remember where I gleaned this story, but it was in some of my readings this week in sermon prep. But Brenda Roberts of Stone Mountain, Georgia is a Sunday School teacher. She was reading the story of Jesus' birth to her day-care children one morning. As usual, she stopped to see if they were paying attention and understood. "What do we call the three wise men?" she asked. "The three maggots," replied a bright 5-year-old. "What gifts did the Magi bring baby Jesus?" the teacher corrected. That the ...

3207. A New Point of View

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

In 2000, Mel Gibson appeared in the comedy, What Women Want. The film was fairly successful at the box office because it built on a fantasy that I think all of us have indulged in at one time or another. He plays an executive who works at an advertising agency in Chicago. His life dramatically changes when he is jolted by electricity and develops the ability to read women's minds. It leads to some absolutely hilarious and humorous situations. Sure enough, it transforms him into a great lover who knows ...

3208. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Paul’s Present Situation The Christians of Philippi were deeply concerned about Paul. They cherished a warm affection for him; they knew that he was now in custody awaiting trial and that his case was due to come up for hearing soon before the supreme tribunal of the empire. How was he faring right now? And what would be the outcome of the hearing when once it took place? How, moreover, would its outcome serve to advance the gospel throughout the Roman world? Paul knows what is in their minds, and he ...

3209. “The Earth Is the Lord’s, and Everything in It”

Psalm 24:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Entering the King’s presence is an awesome privilege, and in worship we join the psalmist in preparation for that tremendous experience. Understanding the Text Psalm 24 is titled “Of David. A psalm [mizmor].” First occurring in Psalm 3, the term mizmor is generally understood to mean a poem that is sung to musical accompaniment (see comments on the title for Ps. 3). While the order of the words is reversed here (not “A psalm of David,” as it usually is), the order does not seem to have much ...

3210. The New Moses

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Two Christmas Stories The Bible gives us two Christmas stories — one in Matthew and one in Luke. We tend to think of Christmas as one seamless narrative but that’s because we have all grown up in churches where, every Christmas Eve, we take the two stories and “harmonize” them into one. We take bits and pieces from each gospel and we leave out other parts and we flip back and forth between them so that they sound like one smooth, uninterrupted story. And that’s fine. It’s a nice way to read the story on ...

3211. Are You a Lemming or a Lassie?

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: red scarves or pieces of red material to pass out during the altar call Some stories just tug at our hearts and warm our toes. Stories about animals seem to do that a bit more than not. In a particular story written in 1859 by Elizabeth Gaskell, two brothers venture out together along with their loyal and beautiful collie dog. Soon, they are lost as a vicious snowstorm whips up around them. Cold and dying, they struggle to survive. Knowing all is lost and desperate to save his younger brother, the ...

3212. The Challenge Of Simplicity

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

The crowds had grown. Jesus had been in Galilee for a while now, speaking, healing, and calling his disciples to follow him. The leaders from Jerusalem certainly had their spies keeping an eye on him, but with the crowds he was gathering, all they could do right now was watch and listen. Wherever Jesus went, there were always a few Pharisees and Sadducees in the crowd looking for things he might do or say they could use against him when they did finally get the chance. His disciples occasionally reminded ...

3213. Secret Savior

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

"For the sake of His great name the LORD will not reject His people, because the LORD was pleased to make you His own." (1 Samuel 12:22) They call him (or her) “Benny” for the $100 bills that bear the photo of his namesake Benjamin Franklin. In Salem, Oregon, a mysterious philanthropist has been placing $100 bills (Bennys) inside of packages of diapers and cereal boxes, clothing and toilet paper. Each of the bills contains a simple signature –“Benny.” The unknown giver has been donating money well over the ...

3214. How To Treat Your Enemies

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Did you hear about the man who went into the preaching ministry, worked for seven years, then resigned to go back to medical school and become a doctor? "People," he explained, "don't want spiritual health. They just want to feel good." But after working as a physician for seven years, he again resigned, this time to go back to school. "I'm going to become a lawyer," he explained, "because, in the end, people don't want spiritual health. They don't even want physical health. They just want to get even." I ...

3215. Lent

Sermon

Betty Lynn Schwab

Lent 1 Reader 1: God spoke to Moses saying: "You shall keep the Festival of Shavuot for the Lord your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the Lord." Reader 2: In Jesus' day, the Festival of Shavuot required every male in Israel to travel to the Temple of Jerusalem. There he offered God the first ripe fruits of this land. It was a time of thanksgiving for the goodness of the land. On Shavuot, it was said, Heaven decided the fate of the trees and ...

3216. Chosen as Witnesses

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his great power we have been born anew to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ..." "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory ..." "The Lord God omnipotent reigns and he shall reign for ever and ever. Hallelujah!" It is a glorious day. It is a day which celebrates the pivotal experience in the Christian faith. It is the day on which we celebrate the power of the Living God, not only to give life, but to sustain it ...

3217. Family Feud

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An old story. A classic car lover was perusing the classifieds and saw an ad that seemed impossible to believe. A 1966 candy-apple red Corvette, a dream car, and offered for $100. What? $100...for a classic? No way, José. Was it a wreck? Or maybe the price was a misprint. Still, he had to find out, so he called. A woman answered the phone and assured him that the car was in excellent shape and that there was no mistake about the price. He dashed over. To his delight the car proved to be everything the ...

3218. 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 ...

3219. You Will Not Leave My Soul In Hell

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

There are some people who never let anything get them down. They are like the little boy who kept bragging to his father about what a great batter he was. Finally the father said, "All right, son, show me what you can do!" So the little boy got his softball and bat and they went out to the backyard. The father stood over to the side while the boy tossed the ball up into the air and then swung the bat with all his might. "Strike one," said the little fellow after he had missed the ball completely. "Strike ...

3220. The Dark Didn't Catch Me!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Remember how it was in grade school when your class went out on the playground during recess? Doug and Sam, the two big guys, started choosing up sides to play kickball. And the rest of us just sort of stood around and hoped one of them would pick us for their team. And how affirming, how exciting it was to hear your name called and know that you were wanted. And it's the same in this big lonesome world that doesn't seem to need us very much. It's easy to feel left out, unchosen. But the Good News of the ...

3221. You Will Never Walk Alone

Luke 24:13-20, 25-26, 28-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Summer is not far away now. It is a time when many people travel. If you are going abroad, I am sure you have already made plans to do so. If you have told anybody about your plans, I am sure you have gotten a lot of advice on where to stay, where to eat, and what to see. Through the generosity of many of you in this church, Jean and I were able to take a trip to Germany last summer. We had a wonderful time, made so in large part because of the advice that some of you gave us who had been there. The best ...

3222. The Problem Is Not Faith

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Christians are funny people. In one of his books, Chuck Swindoll tells about a lady who wanted desperately to go on a tour to Israel. But she wanted a sign to confirm that it was God’s will. The morning after she began planning the trip, she woke up at 7:47 a. m. The tour group to Israel was planning on flying over on a 747 jet. That was her “sign” that confirmed God was going to bless this trip. Another young man needed to buy a car. But he wanted to know that whatever car he bought was in God’s will for ...

3223. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This week’s epistle text is a long one: 19 verses. It faithfully follows the precise, prescribed unfolding of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, which in turn faithfully follows the niceities of proper letter composition in the first century Greco-Roman world. The genius of Paul is to work within formulaic frameworks while finding a way to add his own unique touches in order to preach the gospel. In his salutation (vv.1-3) Paul asserts his own apostolic identity, his “call,” and identifies the source ...

3224. God Loves a Cheerful Giver

II Corinthians 9:6-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

One of the things I love most about St. Luke’s is the way our church members give of themselves so quickly, so graciously, so willingly, so sacrificially, so generously… always, but especially, when there is a problem. Let me show you what I mean with a four-minute video that beautifully and powerfully summarizes the work of St. Luke’s as we reached out to help the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. (The video was shown.) (Members of our church rushed to the Astrodome to help and we ...

3225. How to Live the Good Life (Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

The French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, once said, "Happiness is a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion." That is what he would call today "the good life." There are many today who would agree with him. There are some who say that the good life is physical. They believe it just doesn't get any better than a hot tub, a back rub, and a drink at the pub. But then there are others who say the good life is material. They think that if you've got the mansion, the Mercedes, and the money, ...

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