Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3251 to 3275 of 4972 results

3251. Wonderful Story

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... he ruled. The woman must be set free since she did survive. Judson would be forgiven because he was a foreigner, unfamiliar with the law. His friend was to be immediately put to death for interferring with the process of justice. As the old magistrate rose to leave, Adoniram asked if he might address the court. The old man hesitated, then returned to his presiding chair. He granted that Adoniram might say a few words, but only a few. "Your honor," Adoniram said, "My friend here did what he did because of my ...

3252. Wind -- Word -- Spirit -- Community

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... . Talk radio has birthed a host of strident and angry voices. Rap music has become a significant part of the verbal cacophony. Questions about the influence of words are resurfacing in our midst. Are words dead? Or do words just begin to live once they leave our lips? In this twentieth century we have certainly had examples of the way words carry an influence that can stir the winds. Think of Adolf Hitler whose words mesmerized his listeners and seduced them with a vision of power and superiority. Think of ...

3253. A Habitat For Humanity

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... . The bequest had one stipulation. To receive possession of the house they had to live in it harmoniously and purposefully. That's quite a stipulation. Living together in harmony is no easy task in any house large or small. The testator in Fitzgerald's proposed plot doesn't leave any margin for error. It's simply get along or get out! Fortunately for us and our larger human family on this earth, God has not given us an eviction notice, at least, not yet. That in part is what grace is all about. It also says ...

3254. Saul, The Tormented King

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... an idol of him. Yet Samuel was autocratic and often severe in his religious outlook. One day, for example, when people had come from far and wide for a ceremony at Gilgal, Samuel was late in arriving and people began to drift away. Saul, afraid they would all leave, took it upon himself to preside over the burnt offering. Samuel was infuriated by this assumption of the priestly role. In a fit of anger he announced to Saul the end of his reign, "The Lord has picked out a new man after his own heart." Did the ...

3255. Lyrics For The Centuries

2 Samuel 1:1-16

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... 's story and David's story, but also to ours. Grace reigns and that's what our hymns and anthems are all about. Here are lyrics that span the centuries, lyrics for life, lyrics for the times of sunrise and times when it's 'round midnight. I leave with you these lines from an ancient hymn of the church, "Jerusalem, My Happy Home." There David stands with harp in hand As master of the choir; Ten thousand times that one were blest That might this music hear. There Mary sings Magnificat With tune surpassing ...

3256. No Particular Place To Go

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... round of golf, the boys noticed some soft drinks stored in a shed. It was obvious that the soft drinks were intended for the vending machine and that someone must have been refilling the machine when he was called to another task. Certainly he didn't want to leave soft drinks out in the open. With no one watching, the boys stole several bottles, stashing them in their golf bags. They left the golf course without being caught. In the cool of the evening the boys sat in the shade drinking their soda pop in a ...

3257. Invitation To Community

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... elsewhere, God welcomes every person here. Regardless of how broken we may be, God's table is the banquet of mercy. We do not deserve the invitation, if only for our hardness of heart, yet we are gathered by a grace that covers us all. And when we leave, we are under obligation to extend the hospitality of God to all people, as they are, wherever they are. So let us learn from a gracious God whose love embraces every one of us. Gathered by God's hospitality, we can discover how to live together and love ...

3258. Something To Do While The World Falls Apart

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

... to print a few rumors about Nicolet's pastoral care. None are true, but the damage is done. Nicolet returns home, reunites the woman with her husband, and does what he can to set the record straight. Irma speaks up for him. "He's a good man. Leave him alone." Irma dies shortly thereafter. A few teenagers are caught up in the public spectacle, and decide to pull a prank on her. Her house catches fire and she dies. So, at the end of the book, the whole town gathers around the grave of Irma Reinwasser ...

3259. It Is Blessed To Receive

Sermon

William G. Carter

... priests, for that would hasten his return to society and his reunion with loved ones.2 Why did he turn back? Luke says the man was singing from the top of his lungs; maybe the other nine wanted some peace and quiet, and asked him to leave. Since all ten lepers were healed, perhaps the ugly divisions returned between Jews and Samaritans when they were no longer bound together by a common illness. Perhaps, as a foreigner, the tenth leper discovered on the road he did not have a priest like the others. Where ...

3260. Choose To Be Chosen

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... before? And surely they must have felt discouraged afterwards. Here Jesus sent them out two by two into the villages to proclaim that all should repent. But our Lord allowed for discouragement -- "If any will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." Certainly a help -- permission to vent one's spleen. But what is back of that is the reminder, "You are chosen. I chose you. Who are these people who reject those whom I ...

3261. A Breeze In The Dark

John 3:1-21

Sermon

William G. Carter

... There had been no emotional upheaval, no great insight, certainly no proper grasp of theological issues; just a sense of history and the fittingness of things. Something impossible to explain. Teilhard de Chardin says, 'The incommunicable part of us is the pasture of God.' I must leave it at that."3 Out in a dark world, if you listen, you can hear the Wind of God's Spirit groaning with the sound of grace, blowing wild and free. If you look, really look, sometimes you'll notice that wherever the Spirit blows ...

3262. When We Feel God Has Moved And Left No Forwarding Address

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

... ? What is God doing? Well, God may be giving us the freedom and honor of having a part in determining the final outcome. Or God may be allowing us to experience God's absence so that we can grow and mature in our human responsibility. One evening when I was leaving a meeting at a church I pastored, I saw one of my members acting very strangely. As he moved along a tree-lined sidewalk he was darting around and behind the trees as if he were hiding from someone. He would pause for a moment behind each tree or ...

3263. A Voice Crying In The Wilderness

John 1:1-18, John 1:19-28

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... to see them. The nursing home staff is their entire family. What an important role care givers provide in today's society. What about those partners in marriage who best describe their relationship as a "cold war"? Feeling, love, and emotion have evaporated, leaving merely a skeleton of an existence. What about that sobbing suicidal teenager who is making that last desperate call on a telephone hotline to a counseling center? The message of Advent is one of hope. Hope, because it reminds us that we are ...

3264. Drop-Everything-Discipleship

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... They felt that what he said was true and trustworthy. Belief always involves action on our part. The disciples left their nets, boats, hired servants, and family to follow Jesus. The same is true for us. Our belief involves action on our part also. We can leave the old behind and begin again as new "creatures in Jesus Christ" because we too can take Jesus at his word. His word is trustworthy. Now Jesus begins his public ministry. He comes preaching the gospel in Galilee, "Repent and believe in the good news ...

3265. By What Authority?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... about. Relating Belief To Practice At church we sing "O how I love Jesus." We go home and discover the stewardship commitment card has arrived in the mail. It is then that we change our tune to "Jesus paid it all." No sooner do you leave church than you are confronted with the very things that church is all about -- love, generosity, forgiveness, acceptance. Wham! There you are confronting these things right before your very eyes. Someone has said this is where the rubber hits the road. Jesus is interrupted ...

3266. A Hands-on Religion

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... statue of Christ in a church in Europe that was hit by a bomb during World War II. They dug up the statue and discovered that it was undamaged except for the hands that had been broken off. They hired a sculptor to replace the hands. Finally, they decided to leave it like it was as a reminder to the people that Christ has no hands but ours to do his work. "Jesus stretched out his hands and touched him."

3267. With Our Heads In The Clouds

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... God mean? It means that they were now aware of God's splendor, grandeur, and magnificence. Things were now in a different light. When we awaken to the glory of God, then our homes, our relationships, and our lives become transfigured and radiant. They would leave the mountaintop with many of their questions unanswered. The most difficult moments of their lives were still ahead of them. This, for the most part, is our story. The disciples did not know where all of this was going to lead them. Peter confessed ...

3268. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... he had prepared for his special, anticipated guest. She ate with relish, for she was hungry. Refreshed, she went on her way. As night came a lost child, crying bitterly, into his shop. The cobbler was annoyed by the child's presence, because he felt it necessary to leave his shop and take the child to his home. As he returned to his shop he was convinced that he had missed his Lord. Sadly, he sat down, and in his imagination he lived through the moments with Jesus as he imagined they might have been. He ...

3269. Jesus Transfigured

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... and we can pray and avoid all the trouble." Besides who can understand the resurrection? No doubt you have read in newspapers, books, and journals that people believe in the immortality of the soul. Who needs the resurrection? We do not like to believe that Jesus had to leave that most beautiful scene of glorification to come down into the world of sin and death and die for us sinners. We do not like to believe that the only way possible for God to make it clear and plain to us that we should die for our ...

3270. The Inner Demands of God's Law

Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:21-26

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... the true limits of acceptable behavior? How much do you really expect from us? What is the "bottom line"? GRACE is the "bottom line"! GRACE means that our sincere repentance is accepted. GRACE means that you love us the way we are but you also love us too much to leave us that way! GRACE means that our desire to improve is encouraged and supported by God's Holy Spirit. GRACE means that God has crossed over all of the lines and, through Jesus Christ, has written our names into the Book of Life. Amen.

3271. The Inspiring Power of the Cross

John 3:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... . Jesus came to show us the true pattern for life. Jesus lived and died to make it possible for us to achieve life through giving it away. This new life begins at the foot of the cross. Remind us to visit the foot of the cross each day and to leave our self-centered desires there. Enable us to let go of our desire for attention and grant us the courage to act upon your will, following the lead of our Servant King. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

3272. God's Medicine of Mercy

Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:9-13

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... he heard you say, "Follow me," he did! He left his former life behind him. We have heard those same words spoken today. "Follow me." We want to, but we are afraid. What will it mean for us? What will we have to give up? The truth is, whatever we leave behind was never needed in the first place. So, it is up to us. Lead us, Lord, for we are ready to follow! Amen.

3273. On Sacrificing Others - Dramatic Monologue

Genesis 22:1-19

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... their God doesn't want them to do it. To me that says we don't have to be afraid of the Hebrews. If they can't let their kids do their dying for them, you can bet they aren't going to die for anything. Just as he was leaving, Abraham said, "You are willing to lay down the life of others for you. But are you willing to lay down your life for others?" He seemed very serious when he said it. I didn't quite know what to do with that. But I thought I'd better pass ...

3274. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Matthew 18:21-35

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... tower has fallen on. Stranger: What did you say? I missed that. Joseph: It will cost about forty shekels. Stranger: That much? Hmmm. Joseph: You can try my friend Abner. He does good work. You need to know what you are getting into. Commentator: The customer leaves. Joseph turns to his son. Joseph: What was that all about? Jesus: He said God caused accidents to kill bad workers. God's not like that, is He? I always thought God was forgiving. Joseph: How do you know that? Jesus: Remember the farmer you built ...

3275. Masks

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . If we go through life that way, we even risk forgetting who we really are; we may start to believe the 'mask' is the real us, and so does everyone else since our false face is the only one we ever let anyone else see. "Well, the thought I would leave you with this week is that it is important to be yourself; it is important not to go through life with a mask; it is important to be who God made you to be. So this week, whatever you do, dare to be yourself. God loves you because you are ...

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