Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 301 to 325 of 3160 results

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... maybe his love. Anyway, it worked; I got the money, nothing happened, I spent the money, on the customary things that easy money is spent on ... GRACE Wine, women and song. I’ve heard all about those things. SETH That pretty well sums it up. GRACE It was sort of a matter of sinning boldly, wasn’t it? SETH I like to think of it as sinning uproariously, if you don’t mind. GRACE Either way it has certain very religious overtones. SETH Actually I’m one of those people whose calling is to make the saints ...

302. SALLY JANE

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... ’t it? I didn’t notice. CAIN People who know me well seem to get used to it. JAREL I thought it would be a sort of family reunion. A little sadness when he dies. But then we’d all sit around and eat and drink together - and read the will. ... like you to go into town. To the Courthouse. See the County Clerk. And find out what Father has registered in his name. Property, that sort of thing. SALLY JANE He’ll wonder what’s happened to me. I usually stick pretty close to him. CAIN We’ll be here. We’ ...

303. Just Common People?

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... reasonable thing you can do with your life. Do not be conformed to this world - don’t be a common person - but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Perfect! That sort of yanks us out of our common herd, doesn’t it? Don’t be conformed! You are chosen people! Let’s remember that. You didn’t sit back smugly and decide that you were going to choose Christ - you were going to become a Christian - wasn’t God ...

304. Chapter I

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19). Rather than wipe out these guides for life recorded in the Old Testament, Jesus stressed the need for the same sort of relationship to exist between man and man, and man and God, that God had in mind when he revealed the Commandments. The relationship based on love and loyalty, mutual concern and regard, the idea of a covenant of fidelity binding two partners together, was to ...

305. Chapter II

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... because of some inbuilt defect. Because it is by choice that man often rejects him, God at times raps us for what we do, and holds us accountable for our actions. Too often we take one another off the hook for our behavior by blaming what we do on some sort of pre-determinism. Man, therefore, is not capable of a positive response to God or his wishes for us. Since that is the case, what right does God have to line out these guides for living and expect us to live by them? What right does he have to thunder ...

306. Chapter III

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... those who run to high-rise apartments with doormen to keep unsolicited "guests" away, and with neatly separated living boxes so arranged that they gave us a good view of the city, but cut off any neighbor’s glimpse of us, or ours of them. It happens in all sorts of places where we come into physical proximity to people but still are able to put up our invisible shields that keep them from touching us. So, be it at the office where we work, or the school we attend, or with the people whose back yard butts ...

307. Chapter VII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... to feel their sexuality awaken, are trying it out, often disastrously. It is not surprising anymore to meet up with thirteen-year-old mothers, as I did twice in the last four months of my parish ministry. As a result of the so called "new freedom" all sorts of problems have been cropping up in our midst. The number of children born to unmarried parents has been rocketing upward. In one major city last year four out of every ten babies delivered were born to unwed mothers. It is not unusual nowadays to find ...

308. SPY

Gen. 42:11; 1 Sam. 26:4

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... presumably to assess the conditions in Canaan. Spies also had another use, which today we can also appreciate. They were used to spread rumors to undermine the enemy’s morale. Read the story of Absalom’s revolt in 2 Samuel 15:10 for a fine example of this sort of activity. Maybe today we don’t think of the CIA or FBI or whatever as being rumor-mongers, and, as loyal citizens, we would have to say that this is never a prime purpose. But there are many instances in which it is necessary to spread false ...

309. Reconciling Palms and Thorns

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... more needful because our world is full of people who are all too ready to tell Jesus what his job is. That is, for example, the "peace of mind" group who think of Christianity as being merely a prescription to assure us of tranquility or to provide a sort of emotional neutrality in which our harried souls can relax. Would not Jesus make short shrift of this point by saying, "I came not to bring peace but a sword"? Or, there is the "idealism" group who say, "Well, after all, Jesus gave us a great ideal to ...

310. Get Up and Finish the Race

Illustration

Gordon MacDonald

... in the stadium and on television watched, Ryun made his way around the track in a pack of finely conditioned runners. And then he crashed to the ground. In a race of that sort, a fall virtually guarantees that it will be impossible to win. And Jim Ryun must have known that as he lay there on the track. What were the options Ryun sorted through his mind in that moment? Quitting and heading for the locker room and a hot shower? Anger at having trained for so long for this event and now missing the chance for ...

311. A Prophet Like Me

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... by were disturbed. There were no things to look at in the window. There were no lights and decorations and trees, only this wall of painted boxes proclaiming peace on earth. Letters came to the corporate office from people and nearby businesses wondering what sort of political message might be intended. And a letter came to the college art department from the corporation’s head office saying exactly what many people on the streets of New York had been asking, "What does that have to do with Christmas ...

312. Feeling Down And Looking Up

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... . He could come and go as he chose. And possibly because he had spent so many years locked up, he would often ride for miles in the open country on his motorcycle. But Paul, like those to whom the message of Deutero-Isaiah was addressed, was still a prisoner of sorts. He was sure nobody would want to know him if they really knew about his past. He was afraid nobody would trust him, even though he had been a law-abiding citizen for years. He was haunted by his past - that part of his life he had wasted, and ...

313. Egypt: Unlikely Refuge

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... his brother Aaron, the high priest, or even through young Joshua, who would someday be his successor. Instead, God gave Moses the crucial advice he needed through his father-in-law. Some of you will think that it’s miracle enough that God could use any sort of father-in-law, but this instance was especially impressive, for Moses’ father-in-law was a pagan - or at best, a new convert. God chose to provide Moses with refuge in an unlikely place; not in divine revelation, nor through a seasoned saint, but ...

314. Resurrection: From Brokenness to Wholeness

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... grass. Jahmai knew that his leg would always limit him. He knew that forever he would be not quite right, hindered from the sort of completeness that other children knew. His mother had simply raised her eyes heavenward when asked about it. There was no answer. The ... the nets. With the first light of day, the boats would head for the rocky shore line. The whole village would meet them to sort the fish, to mend the nets, and to listen to the men tell of the night’s adventure upon that sea so easily roughed ...

315. Proper 20

Job 26:1--31:40, James 3:13-18, Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:33-37

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... assistance of your Spirit, we shall grow in knowledge and awe of you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen Second Lesson: James 3:13-18 Theme: There is wisdom and there is Wisdom Exegetical Note The author here makes the same sort of connection between wisdom and piety that Old Testament Wisdom literature does. In the process, he distinguishes between earthly wisdom, which is unspiritual and "devilish," and leads to such negative affections as jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder and general vileness and wisdom ...

316. Proper 25

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, Mark 10:46-52

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... Worship Leader: Praise God, who cares for the oppressed and frees them from their captivity! People: THANKS TO GOD, WHO RESTORES THE NEEDIEST OF THE NEEDY TO THEIR RIGHTFUL AND JUST PLACES! Leader: For ours is a God who cares for those in every sort of bondage, who never leaves them, and finally saves them. People: LET US THEREFORE WORSHIP THE GOD OF ISRAEL FOR THE DIVINE LIBERATION THAT IS OURS! Collect Liberating God, who freed the children of Israel from Egyptian and Babylonian captivity, help us to see ...

317. The Snake

Drama

Robert Clausen

... I can’t believe it, Harry. HARRY: It’s true, George. GEORGE: No more than a foot long? HARRY: That’s right, George; GEORGE: This ... thing ... was no more than a foot long when you picked it up? HARRY: I didn’t say I picked it up, George. It sort of picked me up. GEORGE: What do you mean, Harry? HARRY: It just came into the house and made friends. GEORGE: Made friends? HARRY: Crawled into my lap and looked right at me. George, you never saw such an intelligent look. GEORGE: Why didn’t you throw it ...

318. The Miracle of Salvation

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... dimly but without relation to other memories of events. And ,the sense of guilt which lay dormant in the back of his mind was brought to the front. This was how an American pilot could be induced to confess germ warfare even though he had never participated in that sort of operation. His memory was confused; he knew he felt guilty about something; his captors kept hammering away at germ warfare until he was sure that was the thing he felt guilty about. You see, guilt is a reality to each one of us. It is an ...

319. The Crowd That Hated Him

Matthew 27:11-26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... , to be questioned. The governor asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews. Jesus told him that he, the governor, was the one that said it and did not answer any other questions. But the priests and the other leaders began to accuse Jesus of all sorts of things. Jesus did not try to defend himself but just kept quiet. Pilate wanted Jesus to speak and he told him to answer the people who were speaking against him but Jesus still remained quiet. Pilate was worried. He did not think Jesus was guilty, but he ...

320. A New Kind of Teaching

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... plus the 365,000 books written each year, and you have an absolutely overwhelming amount of information. Furthermore, the information, the amount of knowledge, doubles every ten to fourteen years! (cf. Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, p. 30 ff.) Who on earth is going to sort all that out? How are they going to decide what to leave out? Who will teach it and how? Furthermore, what possible relevance does Jesus, a somewhat archaic Galilean teacher of over 1,900 years ago, have for us today amidst all our new ...

321. "Job" Is Our Name Too

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... different than most everybody when it comes to this solidarity with Job’s friends. It’s rare when some other explanation of suffering is given! A mother looks down at her child lying sick in bed. The fever is high, cheeks are flushed ... there is some sort of infection. And in the midst of the other feelings at that moment, the mother bumps into a guilt problem. "If only I had done this ... or that ... then my baby wouldn’t be in this condition." The mother has accepted the thinking of Job’s friends ...

322. Behold! Chariots of Fire!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... , a crossing from death to new life. So the Jordan is for God’s people a boundary, a boundary and a place of passing. Joshua and the people, Elijah and Elisha, John and Jesus ... all making a passage, led by God. Those sorts of "crossings" happen to us sometimes. There is a glimpse of what that sort of passage is like. A young couple leaves the little church college out in the sticks and heads off for their first jobs in the city. There is a scary feeling to the move, and they know they can’t go back ...

323. An Unusual Legacy

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... , nor the torrential and violent rains which come sporadically, but rather the gentle, nourishing effects of warmth and water. Sun and rain together work the miracle of natural growth. They are gifts of God for all. This is the sort of leadership David’s legacy is talking about. This is the sort of leadership the world always needs. True leaders are true to themselves, basically honest and open. We ought not aspire to leadership, but if it comes, we need to accept it - "being ourselves" as we do lead. One ...

324. Do Children Like You?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Richard Patt

... we live in have much to offer us in ways to make use of our time - any of us can find ourselves in a situation where we can’t possibly do everything that might be done. The opportunities become a blur; we find ourselves in a maze. Sorting out the minutes and hours becomes an awesome task. And in the process, people - those people around us who are dearest - escape our notice. Their needs go unmet, unserved. Many times those people are the little people - our children. Some argue that our children do not ...

325. Power

Mark 10:35-45

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... : It is. But as you're listening to the ideas of your workers you have to evaluate those ideas and put those that are worthy into practice. Then you have to give them everything they need to see their idea come into being. TIM: Sort of like a doctor helping a mother birth a child. CARL: Yes. Sort of. If they need it -- you get it for them. TIM: That's easy enough. CARL: Well, it's sure easier to talk about than it is to do. TIM: You did that for me when you were my boss. CARL: And how did ...

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