Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3326 to 3350 of 4972 results

3326. Advent 2: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Promise of Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

James W. Moore

... for each other is unique and special. The Spirit is with her bringing a new life. The child is of God. It is God’s will that she will bear a Son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.” Now, when you stop to think about it, you can’t help but be inspired by the bold faith of this man called Joseph. As a matter of fact, I think way too little attention has been given to Joseph’s part in the gospel story. His faith, his sensitivity, his kindness, his bigness ...

3327. Advent 1: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Faith of Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... on the plane with us. Look around and see if you can spot who it is.” And Jean said, “Honey, they are all here for you! It’s you! This is all for you!” When his wife told him that, Tom Southerland started crying and he couldn’t stop. He sobbed like a little boy. He couldn’t believe it. He said, “I thought everybody had forgotten about me. I didn’t think anybody knew I was in captivity. I felt completely abandoned. I didn’t think anybody cared. Thank God I was wrong.” The shepherds at ...

3328. Prepare The Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Brett Blair

... is not negative or down faced. Rather, it looks up and looks forward. It breaks the chains of oppression and death that hold us back. Don’t get stuck in the notion that repentance means feeling sorry and miserable. It is simply this. It means you have stopped doing what is wrong and now you are going to do the right thing. And it means one more thing. True repentance means a willingness to confront sin. John the Baptist had this courage to challenge sin wherever he met it. King Herod had seduced his ...

3329. Making A Christian

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... in the highways and byways of life. Don't you listen to the sermons? BILL: Do I have to start doing that too? SAM: You certainly do. Where do you think I got all my knowledge? BILL: I never thought about it. SAM: And that's another thing. You must stop thinking. BILL: Maybe I could just cut down a little. SAM: Hey, do you want to ruin everything? Don't think. Just be moved to do things. That's the way I do it. BILL: I get it. SAM: Good. I think you're ready. BILL: Really? (WILL ENTERS) SAM ...

3330. Stand Up for Jesus

John 2:12-25

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... who are priests. We are the ones who must protect the purity of worship. We just can't let any crowd-pleaser mouth a few words of so-called wisdom and quote a few scriptures and then expect people to worship him. And you are the only people who can stop it. We priests can't do it alone. We can't do it all. You people have to help. You people have to wake up and take a stand against this man Jesus. You've heard what this man has told you about losing his life savings. And you heard ...

3331. Academics, Fanatics, and Other Disciples

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... . We want a Reader's Digest Bible where Adam and Eve goofed, Noah cruised on a rainy weekend, and God gave two or three suggestions. Ignorance will not lead the world of tomorrow, nor will fanatic devotion to memories of faded realities. If we Christians are going to stop retreating from the world with our tail between our legs, and turn around and lead, we are going to have to get smart. We are going to have to get a "thinking man's" religion again, to love God with our minds as well as our emotions and ...

3332. Out of the Wilderness Comes New Life

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

George Bass

... to a sermon preached by my bishop, Herbert Chilstrom, at the funeral of a 52-year-old pastor, Boyd C. Nelson, whom Bishop Chilstom called "one of the most self-effacing pastors in our church." Bishop Chilstrom told how once when he was early for an appointment, he stopped by Pastor Nelson’s church office to greet him. The secretary directed the bishop back to a room where he took the pastor by surprise; his face registered a "What-did-I-do-now?" kind of look when he saw the bishop. "Once over that hurdle ...

3333. Confrontation in the Temple

John 2:12-25

Sermon

George Bass

... from diabetes for twelve years. His body, according to columnist Jim Klobuchar, who tells the story in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune (June 3, 1983), had rejected several kidney transplants. For seven years he had been on an artificial kidney machine, and his heart stopped "and had to be pounded back into life" a few weeks before the story was told. Jim realized that his memory was deteriorating and, after a terrible period of pain brought on by hiccups which redamaged his ribs that had been badly hurt ...

3334. The Terrible Tree

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

George Bass

... for me to live, I shall live." He lived, because political pressure from the United States and other countries forced South Korean president Chun Doo Hwan to commute it to life imprisonment. God allowed Jesus to die, according to his will. There was no way to stop Jesus’ crucifixion and death if his purpose - humanity’s salvation - were to be accomplished. God, too, had to stand by and watch his Son die on that terrible tree. A tree was involved in the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and ...

3335. The Stranger at the Tomb

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

George Bass

... had their own plans for disposing of his body and making certain that he would never be heard of again? It might happen that way. Do you remember what happened in Lourdes, France, in 1983, just before the visit of Pope John Paul? An anti-clerical group, called "Stop the Priests," blew up a statue at the shrine; it was along the route that the Pope traveled on his way to the shrine. Had the bomb gone off prematurely? Was the Pope their target? Or were they merely protesting? Oddly enough, it was a statue of ...

3336. The Passing of the Peace

John 20:24-31

Sermon

George Bass

... student went back and looked at the cross for some time and the figure on it, and then he stammered it out: ‘Jesus died for me and I don’t care a damn.’ He returned to the priest and said, ‘I have done it; I am going now.’ The priest stopped him. ‘Once more,’ he said, ‘just once more and you can go.’ The young man walked up to the chancel and looked at that cross again, and at the Crucified. He stood there for a long time. Then he came back to the priest and said, ‘Father, can I make ...

3337. An Old Plan For New People

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Larry Powell

... On Saturday, he washed his most presentable shirt in ditch-water and stretched it across a tree limb to dry in the sun. Sunday morning, he carefully brushed the hand-me-down trousers with the palm of his hand and slipped into the clean shirt. Barefoot, he stopped along the way to wash his feet in water which had accumulated in a road-rut, and dried them with leaves. As we would suspect, he entered the church quietly and assumed an inconspicuous place on a back pew. It was a "white folks" church and Charles ...

3338. On His Way

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Larry Powell

... committed to Jesus may have shared his sense of urgency for getting on to Jerusalem, so that they sought to avoid delaying an appointment with destiny. We can only speculate as to the nature of the crowd, but whoever they were, they were overruled: "And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him" (Matthew 20:32-34). He was ...

3339. Advent: Lament, Repent

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... lobster is gourmet heaven, not hell. And the disease of leprosy arouses feelings of pity more than a theological judgment concerning cleanliness. But from time to time we do come across situations which immerse us in the unclean. On a vacation in an unfamiliar area, you stop at the only motel with a vacancy sign. After checking in, you get the car parked, collect the kids and wrestle the luggage to your room. As the door opens, that sense hits you ... that this is not right. That feeling is confirmed as you ...

3340. Come Celebrate! Send in the Light!

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... And we have rejoiced before God. There is a special kind of anticipation, too, in this service of praise. After the Advent time of waiting, the dam of expectation breaks and our voices flood the room with joy. "O Come, All Ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant." Every stop on the organ is out, the children’s choir is singing like the angels of that holy night, and when we finish singing one carol, we check our bulletin to see when we can sing again. Now we all know that our culture has been celebrating their ...

3341. Standing in Awe

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... laughter when the sheer surprise of something suddenly hits us. A recent cartoon illustrates it well. It shows an orchestra conductor standing on his podium, looking at the music stand. On that stand is a large hand-lettered note that reads, "Wave the stick until the music stops; then turn around and bow." The fact that my dad was a band leader much of his life made this even more delicious for me. My happiness was such that I found myself wondering, "Why am I allowed this precious moment of joy when I see ...

3342. God’s Choice

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... we listen to the Spirit of the universe - is really by God’s choice and permission. A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. - Proverbs 16:9 That was true for Samuel and David, and it can be true for us too. Prayer O God, stop our anxious minds from wandering, and our hearts from desiring anything but to know Your will.

3343. The Promise Of Life ("U" Turns Permitted)

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... made in less than an hour. There were huge drifts of snow and the wind was blowing so hard that visibility was almost zero. There was ice covering the highway and to make matters worse, his windshield wipers had broken. Finally he could go no farther. He stopped and just sat for a while in his marooned car, wondering what to do. Much to his surprise, someone tapped at his window. "I have been following you for the last several miles," the stranger began. "They told me in town that I couldn’t get through ...

3344. Paul of Tarsus

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... s hard to explain it, but there is something inside me that drives me to keep going, even when my enemies do their worst. When I became aware of the fact that Christ would give me strength to do what he had called me to, I realized nobody could stop his love working through me. You asked if I found my ministry exciting - or frightening. I must answer, honestly, some of both. If you decide to join me, you should expect the same. There’s much to be done. Those of us who know what treasure Christ has given ...

3345. Bonhoeffer of Berlin

Acts 5:17-42

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... for Christians. But Bonhoeffer believed he was obeying it in his own way. By killing one, he might have saved the lives of many. ANTAGONIST: Well, if you ask me, it’s an extremely dangerous game to play. Once you start killing people, where does it stop? PROTAGONIST: Certainly. You’re right. But I wonder if anybody ever asked Adolf Hitler that question? LECTOR: Dear Kurt - I’ll bet this is the first time you’ve ever gotten a letter from someone, written in pencil on a paper towel. It was the easiest ...

3346. King of Atlanta

Romans 8:28-39

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... back of buses and surrender their seats to whites if seats run short. On Thursday of last week, a black woman, Mrs. Rosa Parks, tired after a long day at work and running errands, remained seated when a standing white demanded her seat. The driver stopped the bus, called the police and had her arrested. This seemed to be the last straw for blacks in Montgomery. They rallied around several black pastors, one of whom, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, seems to have been ...

3347. Childs of Center Point

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... are supposed to be Christians seems to be that the people in North Flats will get some help - maybe - only after we’re sure we’re safe and secure ourselves. That’s really taking up your cross and following Christ, isn’t it! EVIE CHILDS: Well, just stop and think about what Janet said, though. How would you and I be acting now if our jobs were at stake? BILL CHILDS: (thoughtfully) I don’t know. I guess I honestly don’t know. ANNOUNCER: A citizens group went to court this morning to force Energy ...

3348. In Everything We Do

Romans 5:1-11

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

... . A young woman is in the car holding a bandage on her forehead. The front of the car is really smashed. Was God caring about that young woman as she was driving her car? Some people say that whenever we’re hurt in accidents, of any kind, God must have stopped caring about us. They say, if he had really loved us, he wouldn’t have let that accident happen to us. God doesn’t want us to be hurt, but sometimes accidents happen. Have you ever been hurt in some kind of an accident, such as bumping your head ...

3349. Big Light, Little Light

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

... shining, we can’t see the star shining. (Turn off small flashlight.) When the big one, the sun, isn’t shining (turn off big flashlight and turn on little flashlight), then we can see the little one, the star, shining. Sometime when you’re outside shortly after the sun has stopped shining, you’ll be able to see some stars shining. The darker the sky becomes, the more stars you’ll be able to see. When that happens, it may help you remember what the Bible says about God making the sun and the stars.

3350. Differences

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

... with them. I want you to draw a picture of anything on your card. You can draw a boat, a fish, a flower, a circle, a square, or whatever else you think you’d like to draw. I’ll give you about half a minute to do that. Now please stop drawing and put your pencils back in the box I’m passing around. Keep your picture. Please hold your picture up in front of you and then look at the pictures the other children have drawn. Are any of them just exactly like your picture? No, they’re all different ...

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