Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3251 to 3275 of 5000 results

3251. The Yoke of Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

"Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light." (St. Matthew 11:29, 30 TEV) Life is full of questions. One we frequently ask, consciously sometimes and unconsciously other times, is this: how can I find some rest? Some people ask that question quite literally. They have trouble sleeping. They have insomnia. If Sominex can't do it, then how can I find some rest? they ...

3252. Called by Name

Ephesians 4:4

Children's Sermon

Object: Telephone, letter (addressed to someone) Good morning, boys and girls. It’s a fine morning, isn’t it? Have you noticed what is happening outside about this time of the year? Have you noticed anything beginning to change in God’s world? (Let them talk about the grass being brown, the days getting shorter, the trees getting new color, etc). It’s wonderful how God speaks to his world, isn’t it? I have something here that everyone knows about. (Hold up telephone). This telephone speaks too, doesn’t it ...

3253. Tending God's Garden

Galatians 6:9-10

Children's Sermon

Object: A hoe, hose, insect spray, etc. Good morning, boys and girls. How are you on this beautiful day? Did any of you work in your gardens this summer or did you watch what kind of work your mother and dad did in their gardens last summer? Do you remember how they planted their seeds and plants? Then what did they do? Do you remember how they hoed, and sprayed and hoed some more? Do you remember how hard they worked? And they didn’t get anything out of the garden during all that time? Do you remember ...

3254. Keep The Devil Out!

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Because of the book and movie, The Exorcist, there is probably more talk about the Devil than ever. The movie earned even more than The Godfather - $180 million. For blocks, people lined up waiting to enter the theaters. One theater operator reported that, at each showing, there were four blackouts, six vomiting spells, and many spontaneous leavings during the show. Today, we are pre-occupied with the Devil. In New Jersey, a twenty year old lad persuaded his two best friends to drown him because he ...

3255. Cross Purposes

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"In the cross of Christ I glory towering o'er ..." Is the cross today towering over the world? Atlanta is presently boasting of its newest hotel, seventy stories high, the highest hotel in the entire world. Just a couple of blocks from this hotel are a Methodist church and a Catholic church, each with a tower and a cross on top. There was a time when the highest point in a town was the church spire with a cross on its pinnacle. Now city skyscrapers dwarf the church with its cross. The cross is over-towered ...

3256. If Only We Would Hold On ...

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

"Staying in school is too much for me right now," Evelyn began. As her supervising pastor, I could understand the pressures she was under. She and her husband were both in their first year of seminary, and, on top of classes, he had just been appointed to serve a two-point charge. Bill and Evelyn were conscientious young people and wanted to give their best to their studies and to their church members. "I need some time to back away and get a new perspective on my life," she continued. "I still feel a call ...

3257. If Only We Would Accept Responsibility ...

Ezekiel 33:1-20

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

"Are you the minister?" he asked as I came through the courtyard toward the entrance of the church. I wanted to say no, because there were dozens of things that needed my attention that Monday morning when I got to work. With a bit of dumb resentment at the interruption of my planned agenda, I acknowledged that I was one of the pastors of that downtown church. He followed me into the office complex. "What can I do for you?" I asked, hoping that a meal ticket or perhaps a quick referral to another helping ...

3258. If Only We could Be Loyal ...

Hosea 4:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Jackie had been at our worship service on only two occasions, and when she came to me for counseling, I began by saying, "Tell me who you are." We spent over an hour talking about her, for my sole contact with her had been from the pulpit to the pew, an introduction, and a handshake. Jackie felt that her whole life was deteriorating. It began when her father abandoned his family and she watched her mother struggle for years to provide a home for her and her sister. Endowed with a brilliant mind, Jackie did ...

3259. If Only We Could Remember ...

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

On the back page of our capitol city’s daily newspaper there are two columns headed "Divorces Filed" and "Divorces Granted." Sometimes when I glance at that back page and see the lists, I read through the names, and I wonder what kind of stories lie behind them. What happened to John and Cathy, to Bill and Sue, to Joe and Betty? I can almost picture the high moments in their lives as they made plans for their weddings, almost sense all the expectations that they carried into their marriages. Now, because ...

3260. What Shall We Do With This Baby?

Drama

Babies The children of our congregation became involved in our theme. Many of the following ideas were their own. Others came from Sunday school teachers and parents. A Baby Tree - The children have their own small, live tree in our fellowship hall. They chose to decorate it with new and used baby rattles. A baby blanket served as a tree skirt and good, used stuffed animals were donated and placed underneath. Baby Shopping - The children earned and saved money for a shopping trip. Arrangements were made to ...

3261. The Bells Of Christmas Eve

Drama

The Cast (in order of speaking) Sebastiano Franco Sister Sophia Bruder Hans Antonio Francesca Mario Marchesi Pietro Vermelli Giuseppe Synopsis Scene The First in which Father Sebastiano Franco is bemoaning the non-ringing of the church bells on Christmas Eve and is visited by a panic-stricken nun and a strange monk from Germany. Scene The Second in which a girl and her brother stumble upon a man dying in the cold. Scene The Third in which a rich man and a poor man commit insufficient acts of love. Scene ...

3262. The Day of Pentecost

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

Deutero-Isaiah here emphasizes the grace of God. This seems contradictory because, in the previous chapter, his works would seem to have indicated the whole relationship between God and Israel had ended. Everything between them appeared to have come to a full stop because of the rebellion and the disloyalty of Israel. But, in these words, God's unending love and grace are highlighted, as the prophet resumes his picture of God's purpose which is still to be carried out through his chosen people. Grace is ...

3263. Estranged Hands

Psalm 143:1-12

Sermon

In the early spring and late fall of each year, the Ladies Aid of our congregation has a rummage sale. Shortly after the last sale, I received the following note, enclosed in a package with a small trinket. The writer says, "I write this to my shame. You may feel this is nothing, but to me I've made myself lower than Judas who received thirty pieces of silver for his soul. I must make this right to please my Lord. One sin is as great as another, none is big or small, all is sin. To explain: I was at your ...

3264. Prayer: Our Crosses into Victories

Mark 8:31--9:1

Bulletin Aid

At first the words Our Lord speaks to us seem like very hard words: we must pick up our cross for His sake, and follow after Him. If we are at all normal human beings, our first objection would be this: no one wants a cross; none of us wants to suffer; none of us wants to carry burdens; none of us wants to struggle. And yet the strange truth of our lives is this: all of us in this life have a cross. At times in our lives these crosses may vary: for some it may mean living with a drunken spouse; for others ...

3265. In the Cross

Zechariah 9:9-13

Sermon

A Poetic Homily The adulation of the crowd - and with shouts of hosannas, greeting Christ as their king. "Hail, Son of David," and, "Blessed is he in the name of the Lord," and waving palms in the air, the crowd goes wild. "The Romans will be crushed; the government overthrown; our country will be free!" Visions of revolution - but not the message that Christ will bring them. And in the days ahead, the message is clear: "The Kingdom that is coming is the Kingdom of God." "The Kingdom that is present, is ...

3266. Parable of the Two Ships

Mark 10:37, 43, 44

Illustration

Unknown

The first ship was a mighty man of war carrying its cargo of manpower and ammunition. It was a thrilling sight to see and a devastating power. On occasion the ship moved with mighty purpose and more often flexed its guns in peacetime pageantry. The second ship was a fishing boat manned by a few hands and eternally engaged in the procuring of food for hungry men. "Wouldn't you like to be a great battleship," spoke the trawling boat to its mother fishing craft. "Then all the other boats would make way for ...

3267. Good News for the Multitudes

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Thomas C. Short

Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of yon, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid afoundation, and is not able to finish ...

3268. The Confessions of a Younger Brother

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

"There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father ...

3269. Parable of the Weight of Happiness

Psalm 34:1-22

Illustration

"Let's get weighed and have our fortunes told," said Jean. "Let me get weighed first," said Marie. "I've got four pennies," said the mother, "so, all of you can get weighed." "Let John be first. He weighs the most." said Dick. "I weigh 145 pounds. That's wonderful. I bet I'll weigh 155 by football season," said John. "You get on next, Dick." "Gosh, I still only weigh 137 pounds and I've been that weight for over a year." Dick responded. "Gee, I weigh 122 pounds," said Marie. "I'll have to reduce." "And I ...

3270. New Help on an Old Question

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

There came to him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children, and the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, ...

3271. Whoever Would Be King

2 Samuel 5:1-5

Sermon

The path to David’s coronation did not run as smoothly as this passage may indicate. His succession was nothing like the transition from King George VI to the present Queen Elizabeth. Despite the fact that God had anointed David king, that anointing preceded this one of the text by quite some time. Blood was shed, more than we like to remember - some by David, though he was careful never to lay his hand on God’s anointed, his predecessor Saul, but much of the slaughter was by David’s lieutenants. Despite ...

3272. The Time Is Coming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

This prophecy does not have the sound and fury of many another. Here is a sweet, gentle breeze, refreshing, invigorating. Jeremiah in his own person is much like the tone of this prophecy. If you’ve read much of Jeremiah, it may surprise you to learn that he was of a shy, gentle disposition. He wanted people about him. He was affectionate. In this prophecy he is talking about a new law God will write in the heart. Spontaneity of obedience will come from deep inside rather than being imposed from the ...

3273. The First Sunday In Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

The old songs may be the best songs, but you can't always believe them. I have in mind, particularly, that mountain spiritual, "Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley." The first part of it is true enough. Jesus walked this lonesome valley, Had to walk it by himself. Oh, nobody else could walk it for him; He had to walk it by himself. Those lines could almost describe what we heard in the Gospel reading for today - the story of Jesus alone in the wilderness, enduring the temptations of the devil. It is with the ...

3274. The Second Sunday in Lent

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

There are moments magnified in memory and they give meaning to all that comes after them. They didn't seem too important at the time, or else they were important in a way we never understood until later. It must have been like that for Peter and James and John as they thought back on their experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was a significant moment, all right, no doubt about that. Jesus, radiating with that pulsating glow like something from a Spielberg movie. Moses and Elijah, back from the ...

3275. Good Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

After this solemn reading of the passion narrative, one stands uncertainly to preach, because surely the power of the story itself moves us by its very rehearsal. It touches each of us at a point unique to ourselves, in this hour of our particular need as we hear it again. But someone may be asking why do we do this twice in one week. It was only this past Sunday we heard the whole passion narrative according to Matthew, and now today we come to hear John tell it all over again! But it isn't the same story ...

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