Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3351 to 3375 of 5000 results

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David Coffin

... Deuteronomy 15:1-6, she could file for bankruptcy once every seven years. Nobody wanted to be seen around a person like this. They are viewed as a loser, leech, and lackey of the society. She could identify with the woman in the opening illustration who was ambushed on late Friday afternoon by her employer. She did touch Jesus’ robe. The text says she was healed “immediately.” Mark’s gospel used this Greek word of euthos 42 times. Mark was writing to a small town, rural, working population. They ...

3352. Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

David Coffin

... continue on with the mission God calls us. There are people that even Jesus Christ himself could not reach with his message. Possibly we can view this as a “seed planted,” and somebody else must nurture it in other ways. In the opening illustration, the high school student did take advantage of their school’s tutoring services. These are professionals who are extremely patient with slower learners. The math grades did go up significantly! The father was able to take some boys out to his machine shop ...

3353. Which Kingdom Do We Serve?

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David Coffin

... of God that John and Jesus preached. In modern terms being told, “You’re fired!” need not be the final chapter in our lives. Mark’s gospel allows us to write our own endings to the book in our lives. The fired person in the opening illustration went on to find other employment in another community as a manager. Now he comes to work with his head held high. There is integrity in standing up for what one believes in and taking both the positive and negative consequences for such a thought out position ...

3354. Belonging at the Table

John 6:51-58

Sermon

David Coffin

... right relationship with this Jesus as Messiah who is God in the flesh? John 1:1-14 (RSV). “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” John 6:56 (RSV). When I was turned away from the communion table in the opening illustration, I felt as if I no longer belonged to this larger body in Jesus Christ. I felt as if I was not part of the vine in John 15. I had been baptized, attended church, even been ordained as a pastor, but was refused at the communion table. The time ...

3355. When the Rules Change

7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

David Coffin

... , if they were offered a reasonable cost arrangement? Another example might be a resume section with community activities that show organizational and people skills that may be more beneficial in the job market than another academic degree. The couple in the opening illustration might also take in a paying boarder to help with the financial burdens of raising money for a wedding. The unemployed state employee might want to seek a position as a lobbyist for one of the private sector companies who seeks to ...

3356. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Mark 9:30-37 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Psalm 1

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... myself!” “Okay. What’s your second greatest fear as preacher?” A voice from the other side of the room shouted, “Repeating myself!” Preachers live in fear of repeating ourselves. I keep a log on my desk and I record in it stories and illustrations I use to make a particular point, lest I repeat one. When I’m teaching Bible classes, I watch people’s faces carefully, because I often forget which session I have given the speech about digging biblical manuscripts out of the ground, scribal ...

3357. Into the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... the restaurant to replace. Pastor Stedman knew he could slip the shakers into his briefcase and nobody would be the wiser. Still, being the man and the pastor he was, Reverend Stedman resisted temptation. Instead, he used the story as an illustration in his sermon the next Sunday morning, back in his California church. Yield not to temptation! Everyone smiled and nodded. Four days later, however, a package was on Pastor Stedman’s desk. Someone in his congregation decided to contact the restaurant, find ...

3358. Terms Of Endearment

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... expected. All this was because of the silent testimony made by a strong man toward his buddy facing death. Only those who have been loved much can express it to others. Like Mary. Lost And Lonely Dr. E. Stanley Jones related an incident from his missionary days that illustrated Jesus’ point. A young girl got tired of things at home. She longed for the freedom of the streets and the excitement of the nightlife. She ran away to a large city. It wasn’t long before she fell under the spell of a pimp and was ...

3359. Is This Any Way for a King to Behave?

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 · Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Will Willimon

... expectations for the way things work, get rearranged, refocused, changed. After the emissary of the King showed up in Nazareth, get ready for him to show up anywhere, here! saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." Peter Heinrichs tells a story which illustrates how Christ's Advent overturns our expectations of who is important and who is not: “It was Fathers' Day at school, a day when fathers were invited to come to see their children in the classroom. Sadly, the world being what it is ...

3360. The Art Of Transition

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... that which lies ahead, upon the vision God has given to us and the goals that have arisen from that vision. And perhaps a quick, but important word should be said, here, about parents. There is no getting around the fact that in two of the illustrations Luke provided, the biggest obstacles to living the life of discipleship were parents. It is we parents who constantly remind our children that they really do owe it to us to be safe and happy. We sometimes fail to remember that what God calls us to, often ...

3361. For Someone Who Led A Magnificent Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 · 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 · 2 Corinthians 4:6-11 · Luke 24:13-35

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... the places, the organizations, the committees, the individuals who would be bereft and impoverished had he or she not graced the stage of life.] This very day draws to a close the Christmas season and so I’m given the liberty of referencing a yuletide illustration, in particular, the Frank Capra’s movie classic: It’s a Wonderful Life. We all know the story. George Bailey, played by James Stewart, lives in the fictional town of Bedford Falls N.Y. where he marries a beautiful girl, starts a family, and ...

3362. The Main Thing

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... it down. I’ll say it again: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. It’s one of those seemingly self-evident rules that is absolutely essential if you want to succeed at anything. My Uncle John had a colorful way of illustrating the essential truth of it. Uncle John, my mother’s youngest brother, was sort of the bad egg of our family, the prodigal, the miscreant, and a man about whom will you probably hear many stories in my sermons. He was an alcoholic and a roustabout. He bragged ...

3363. God Is Like...a Name

Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

... believers have given to Jesus: Savior, Master, Lily of the Valley, Prince of Peace, Bright and Morning Star. Very little commentary was in his sermon, just a list of names for Jesus. It went on and on and finally got kind of boring, but it illustrated how much Christians have loved Jesus and how many names they have known him by. The name of Jesus is precious to Christians. But everything in creation has a name. Psalm 147 includes this lovely verse: “The Lord telleth the number of the stars; he calleth ...

3364. Keep Doing Your Job

Luke 17:1-10

Illustration

By 1989, baseball player Nolan Ryan reached an incredible 5,000 strike outs, and all those no hitters. Ryan is a phenomenal baseball player. In his rookie year, 18 years earlier, Gil Hodges was the manager of the Mets, and was impatient with Ryan. Although Ryan could consistently throw the ball over ninety miles an hour, most of the time it didn't go over the plate. He was walking everybody, hitting a lot of people, too. Hodges told Ryan at the beginning of a particular game that he was to pitch better in ...

3365. Life-Long Relationships Take Work

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

King Duncan

We need to face the fact that a satisfying life-long relationship requires work. An old Persian philosopher was sipping tea one day when a friend came to speak with him. "I am about to get married!" his friend said. "I am very excited!" Then he asked the philosopher, "Tell me, have you ever thought about getting married yourself?" "When I was younger," the philosopher said. "I used to think about it all the time. I very much wanted to get married; but I decided to wait for the perfect woman. I searched all ...

God's world can be experienced only in wonder. The Christian should be struck by wonder about his own being. We ought to have a sense of wonder about the world, about one another, about all of humanity.

Karl Barth

3367. Politicians: The Oldest Profession

Illustration

Brett Blair

A surgeon, an engineer, and a politician were arguing which profession was the oldest. "Eve was made from Adam's rib," said the surgeon, "and that, of course, was a surgical procedure." "Yes," countered the engineer, "but before that, order was created out of chaos, and that most certainly was an engineering job." "Ah-ha!" exclaimed the politician triumphantly. "And just who do you think created the chaos?"

3368. Sealed by God

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Props: A warranty for a small appliance, the small appliance, an electric receptacle if possible. For purposes of the children's sermon, I will refer to a hand mixer. You may adapt the children's sermon to the type of appliance you can bring. Lesson: Good morning. Do any of you know what this is? (Hold up the mixer) Yes, it's an electric mixer. Have you ever seen your Mommy or Daddy use this? (Responses) What sort of things do they use the mixer for? (Responses) Do you know how it works? Plug it in, if ...

3369. Watered-down Versions of the Faith

Mark 16:1-20

Illustration

William A. Ritter

Somewhere on God's green earth lives a lady named Runa Ware, who has written a book entitled All Those in Favor, Say Something. I have not read her book. Here's a little slice of her story. She begins: I once gave detailed instructions on making a crab casserole to a friend who had often praised the dish when enjoying it in my home. Not long afterward, at a luncheon in her home, she greeted me enthusiastically. "Runa, guess what? I'm serving your gorgeous casserole today." As we entered the dining room, ...

3370. Did Jesus Die?

Lk 23:26-43; 24:36-49

Illustration

Brett Blair

It is interesting to note that included in Jesus' very last instructions to his disciples is an emphases on his suffering, his death, and subsequent resurrection. These three are the ABC's and 123's of the Christian faith. In puzzles me, therefore, that some men, even Christian men, can rise on Easter morning and deny it ever happened. The Magazine Christianity Today has an anonymous advice columnist who goes by the name Eutychus. A lay person wrote in rather distraught about their pastor's Easter sermon: ...

3371. Sermon Outline on Prayer

Lk 11:1-13; Mt 6:5-15

Illustration

Brett Blair

Prayer forces us to consider our principle need: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done. Prayer forces us to consider our physical need: Give us this day our daily bread. Prayer forces us to consider our personal need: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Prayer forces us to consider our pious need: Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

3372. Keeping God Alive in Our Hearts

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

Jesus prayed: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. In the novel "The Great Hunger," a newcomer comes to a farm community. He refuses all friendship with his neighbors and puts out the no trespassing sign. One day a little child from the town climbs underneath his fence to pet his dog. The vicious animal leaps on her and kills her. Hostility spreads throughout the community. When the newcomer comes to town no one will speak to him. Clerks refuse to wait on him. Spring comes ...

3373. Free From Worry

Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48

Illustration

Donald Trump, the famous businessman, has a net worth of 3 billion dollars. There is a story about Trump's generosity with a stranger. It is said that Trump's limousine broke down on the Garden State Parkway on the way home from Atlantic City during a weekend excursion. An unemployed auto mechanic stopped to help, succeeded in getting the limo running and then refused to accept any payment for his services. Trump was so impressed that the next day he sent flowers to the mechanic's wife and a certified ...

3374. If I Should Die Before I Wake

Lk 11:1-13; 12:22-34; Mt 6:5-15

Illustration

Brett Blair

You're are familiar with the childhood prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep, " but I was little surprised to learn that it is a shortened version of an Old English prayer, which goes like this: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, bless the bed that I lie on. Before I lay me down to sleep, I give my soul to Christ to keep. Four corners to my bed, four angels there aspread, two to foot, and two to head, and two to carry me when I'm dead. I go by sea, I go by land, the Lord made me by his right hand. If any danger ...

3375. Is Jesus Safe?

Luke 12:35-53

Illustration

Brett Blair

C. S. Lewis wrote one of the most endearing Christian books titled The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe. It was adapted into a movie by Disney. If you have half an imagination you need to read it. You will never forget the story. In the book Jesus is represented by a Lion by the name of Aslan. The four children who are finally introduced to Aslan by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are not quite sure they want to met him. Mr. Beaver says to them: Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, ...

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