Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3276 to 3300 of 5000 results

3276. Who Short-Circuited the Good News?

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

James Weekley

... to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them." So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them. Mark 6:7-13 (RSV) In his book, Why Not the Best? Jimmy Carter shares an observation. When he was campaigning for governor of Georgia in 1966, he figured he shook over 300,000 hands. He compared that with his personal campaign for God. "Three hundred thousand visits ...

3277. Keeping God First in the Polls

John 3:1-21

Sermon

James Weekley

... "me" to self-emptying "others." Once we journey that far with his microscopic truth, he releases us from the guilt closets of the past. Then he releases us for faith possibilities in the present, for hope possibilities of the future. Dag Hammarskjold writes in his Markings: "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. He who wills adventure will experience it -according to the measure of his courage." Are you ready to take on the highest challenge of your ...

3278. The Big Hand

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

James Weekley

... is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (RSV) Following the story of Jesus' feeding the five thousand, a little girl commented, "Jesus must have sliced that bread awfully thin!" Actually, Jesus never cut corners in dispensing his Father's resources. The supply was never shorter than the demand. Taking the ...

3279. Even God Called Time Out

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

James Weekley

... he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Mark 2:23--3:6 (RSV) Like a devouring machine, our society is fed by laws and regulations. We make laws out of laws and choke on them. We love to put them on the books but are slower in removing them. Here are some ancient regulations which ...

3280. How To Become What You Are

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Erskine White

... ? Redeemed and renewed? Perfect, even as our God in heaven is perfect? How can I do that? How can I become all of those things I'm already supposed to be?" How to become what you are. Like the man who said to Jesus, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24), so, too, can we say today, "Lord, we are Christian; how can we become Christian?" People try to do it in many ways. Some try to get closer to God and become more Christian by buying things. It's as if they want to prove their piety by ...

3281. Jesus, The Mad Man

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Erskine White

... they went out to seize Him, for they said, "He is beside Himself." (Mark 3:21) I'm not a big movie-goer and I hardly ever watch the same movie more than once, but there is one film I have seen five or six times, and I'd see it again if I could find it. Evidently, a lot of other people felt ...

3282. Two Thieves

Luke 23:32-43

Sermon

Erskine White

... all four gospels agree that they were there, two thieves who died with Jesus on that hill so far away, crucified with our Lord and sharing His fate on Rome’s cruel emblem of suffering and shame. John’s gospel just mentions their presence. Matthew and Mark only say that the two thieves joined the crowd in mocking Jesus. But our text in Luke’s gospel is different. Luke alone tells of the conversation which went on between these three prisoners as they hung on their crosses in the agony of crucifixion ...

3283. Who Is Your King?

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

... about very often, we who want to keep Jesus meek and mild and "apolitical!" He picks up a whip and drives out the moneychangers: "My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of thieves!" (Mark 11:17). Then, because of the uproar He has caused, Jesus slips out to Bethany for the night, a few miles outside of Jerusalem. But Jesus isn’t through. He comes back to the temple on Tuesday and Wednesday and provokes the authorities even further. Listen to what ...

3284. The Kindergarten Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Erskine White

Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it. (Mark 10:15) If I had preached on this text just six years ago, I would have extolled the virtues and sung the praises of children. Jesus said that we must be like children to receive the kingdom of God and I would have preached a sermon on how wonderful kids ...

3285. The Nearness Of A Faraway God

Isaiah 40:12-18

Sermon

Erskine White

... in much the same spirit to the people of Israel. He, too, stretched his imagination to the limit to try and put into words the incomparable, everlasting mystery of God which goes beyond all words: Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,and marked off the heavens a span,enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,and weighed the mountains in scales ...Whom did He consult for His enlightenment,and who taught Him the path of justice ...Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,and are ...

3286. Come The Judgment Day

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Erskine White

... ." On the other hand, if we say it is "judgment alone" at the end, again, why bother trying to be good in life? If we know we must inevitably "sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), why even try? "If Thou, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand" (Psalm 130:3)? No, we can't face the doom and gloom of judgment without also remembering the promises of grace, or we will be left hopeless and helpless, indeed. Sometimes, as we search for truth in life, the answer is not one statement, but ...

3287. Joseph's Story

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Erskine White

... my heritage and to pass on our family traditions of service to others and faith in God to my children. I tried my best to give them that legacy. In case you are wondering: yes, Mary and I did have other children - Jesus grew up with younger brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55). In fact, we had a rather large family. One of Jesus' brothers was named Judas, which was quite a popular name in Israel at the time. I thought it was ironic that years later another man named Judas would turn out to be my ...

3288. Unfinished Journeys

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

... and again. This is the art of living and it's important that we know it, because for most of us, life is more like a football game than a track meet. When you set out to drive across the country, you can sit down with a map and carefully mark out the route you intend to follow. If you want, you can plan to drive in a straight line on the interstate highways all the way from one coast to another. But before you have travelled too far, you will run into those ubiquitous signs by the side of the ...

3289. Wedding: The Bondage of Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... strange. After all, listen to what Paul says about marriage: "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21 Let's look at those words in the context of Jesus' commandment: "What therefore God has joined together let no man put asunder." Mark 10:9 The Greek word translated, "joined together," carries the meaning of being fused together, welded into one unit. In other words, God does not join a couple simply to go through life side by side as a mere mating of individuals. He says that ...

3290. Wedding: Grounds for Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

(Name) and (name), this ceremony marks the culmination of your courtship. If you are like most lovers, the road of romance was filled with doubts and hopes, with problems and disappointments, with moments of heart swelling joy and the wonder of blossoming love. Now you have come boldly to declare that love before God and your ...

3291. Two By Two

Mark 6:7-13

Children's Sermon

... disciples, each wearing a tunic, sandals and a staff. Your sign tells all who see that you welcome Jesus and his followers into your house. You might suggest wording to read: "(Name of child) Welcomes Jesus' Disciples," or "Jesus' Disciples Welcomed Here." As a Bible verse for the sign suggest Mark 6:7-13.

3292. Clean Heart Pledge

Mark 7:1-23

Children's Sermon

... God. The cards remind them of a pledge they made. Suggest that students make a greeting card centered around a theme of love and a heart. The outside might have a valentine-type heart look. The inside message could state: "I have a clean heart for God." Mark 7 (Signed by student here with the date) Let the children know that the card reminds them of the pledge they made to strive for a clean heart for God. Give the children an envelope. Help them address it to themselves. Provide a stamp. Either mail the ...

3293. Watch!

Mark 13:37

Children's Sermon

... them before? (Wait for show of hands.) They help us to see things really close that are really far away. (If you have Advent candles in your church you might want to let a few children look at them through the binoculars.) Our lesson today from the book of Mark is about Jesus telling his friends a story of a person leaving on a journey. While the person is gone, everyone has work to do. One person is standing at the door to watch for the person who is coming home. No one knows when the person will come ...

3294. Left Out

Mark 8:31

Children's Sermon

... of these coins worth? (Let them respond.) They're all worth one cent. The shiny ones are one cent and the old dirty one is one cent. But most of you would choose the shiny ones and not the old dirty ones. Our lesson today is from the book of Mark. Our verse says, "The Son of Man," that's Jesus, "must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law." Do you know what rejected means? (Let them respond.) It means left out or not chosen. When you were choosing pennies ...

3295. It's Really Me!

John 20:25

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: a scar or birthmark. Boys and girls, do you have any birthmarks? I have one, right here. You see, my skin has a different color and it makes a special design on my (arm). I'm the only person I know who has this mark, so when you see it you know I'm really me. Of course, there are other ways to know I'm really me, aren't there. Let's think of some of them. (Have them help you name some ways you are special, unlike anybody else.) And that's true ...

3296. Lent 1

Romans 9:30--10:21, Deuteronomy 26:1-15, Luke 4:1-13, Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... not Luke's turn to tell the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (Matthew's version supplied the traditional Gospel for the Day). His story is similar to Matthew's - almost identical - and goes into much more detail than the single paragraph that Mark devotes to the temptation of the Lord. Luke agrees with Matthew about the content of the three temptations Jesus experienced and survived, but he disagrees with Matthew on the order of the last two, the "mountain/world" temptation and the "peak of the ...

3297. Lent 4

Luke 15:1-7, Joshua 5:1-12, Isaiah 12:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... Gilgal, on the other side of the Jordan. 2. Despite the hardship of their wilderness travels, they, a new generation, celebrated the passover, according to the tradition. They remembered what God had done for them, regardless of what they went through! 3. The "Gilgal Passover" marked the end of the manna provided by God; now they were on their own and God gave them a new diet - "unleavened cakes and parched grain" - the "fruit of the land of Canaan." 4. They knew once and for all that God really is faithful ...

3298. Easter Sunday

John 20:1-9, Acts 10:23b-48, Isaiah 51:1-16, Exodus 15:1-21, Colossians 3:1-17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 24:1-12

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... , isn't it? 3. How can such a thing happen to us? Is there resurrection in our future? That's the promise of the gospel of our Lord, isn't it? Jesus said, "Because I live, you also shall live," eternally in the everlasting kingdom of God. Weren't we "marked with the cross forever" - the sign of resurrection and deliverance - in our baptism? 4. How can I believe in the message of the angels, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" How can I believe that Jesus is the Lord, whom God raised up on the third ...

3299. 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

... bring in Leviticus 19 at this point, if I were preaching from the lectionary of The Book Of Common Prayer. Jesus expands the commandment of God to Moses that people are to love one another; he gives it new meaning by his passion and death.) 4. Love marks people as faithful Christians; it tells the world that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. The cross calls for total commitment to Christ and sacrificial love for all people. 5. How much love? The cross says, "That much love." Acts 13:44-52 (E, L) This was ...

3300. Easter 6

John 14:15-31, Psalm 67:1-7, Acts 15:22-35, Joel 2:18-27, Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... place. The significance of this day (which goes uncelebrated in many of our congregations) is partly that the Lord returns to the Father after this period of time, but also that his ascension means that Jesus' resurrection is completed; the ascension marks the climax of the resurrection event. Therefore, this Sunday remembers Easter from one perspective, and it anticipates the conclusion of Easter from another point of view (although the Sunday following the Ascension is now known as the Seventh Sunday of ...

Showing results