Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3376 to 3400 of 4511 results

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I confess that I have been struggling on how to approach this sermon this morning. We are coming into the season where we talk about stewardship and ask that you consider what your support to the Church will be in the next year. My instinct on these matters is always to be non-direct. But the gospel lesson for this morning, you heard it, makes it hard to do that. It is anything but non-direct. It...

3377. Good Intentions

Sermon

King Duncan

Here is something you might find interesting. It is from the Guinness Book of Records 1995. The record for an unreturned and overdue library book was set when a book published in 1609 was borrowed from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Great Britain by Colonel Robert Walpole in 1667. It was found by Professor Sir John Plumb in a library at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, Great Britain and returned 288 yea...

3378. It’s How It Ends That Matters

Sermon

If you don’t know or care where you’re headed, any road will get you there. That’s a well-worn saying we can all affirm. Yet, have we thought about a similar, but almost contradictory-sounding maxim? People come to know the truth by different highways. The second saying is as true as is the first. Imagine that you have a roadmap of our country. In your mind’s eye, right now, as you’re sitting her...

3379. Beyond Good Intentions

Sermon

What do you think of people who change their minds? You could surprise me, I suppose, but often, as I see it, people who change their minds are looked upon as having a flaw in their character. "She changed her mind," they say, "What's wrong with her anyway?" Today I want to challenge that way of thinking. I will do it by beginning this sermon by saying: if you never have to change your mind, it i...

3380. The Obedient and Disobedient Sons

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Pastor: The obedience God requires is not just what we say with our mouths, but what we do with our lives. People: Faith expressed through prayer must also be expressed through the way we live. Pastor: God's word is clear: Sinners who repent will find God's mercy before praying people who do as they please. People: We desire to put our faith into practice by living in obedience to ...

3381. Proper 21

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Green Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32 Theme: A Matter of Obedience. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Suggested: Begin with Paul Vieth's statement, "Awareness of the Presence of God is the heart of worship." (source unknown) Such an awareness causes us to recognize that we live all of life on holy ground. You may wish to follow with this litany between pastor and ministers: Pas...

3382. Proper 21

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes RSV and NEB give two very different versions of this passage, reversing, in effect, the sons' responses and accordingly, changing the crowd's reply to Jesus' question. The point, however, remains the same: outcasts are far more ready to accept God's coming Reign than are the overtly religious, ostensibly because the latter's self-righteousness prevents them from responding to God's gr...

3383. Proper 21 & Pentecost 19

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE As the church enters the last week of Sundays in the church year, the theological framework - eschatology - is renewed by the readings, particularly by the Gospel for the Day with its emphasis upon divine authority and repentance. The Gospel-context for this week's worship and preaching is the events that occurred after Jesus entered the Holy City to the day now called the Sunday...

3384. Knock, Knock!

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: What if the people in the Kingdom of God are not like us? Will we welcome them, help them, love them? Summary: A couple are surprised to have guests, an IRS man and a prostitute, who are seeking information about the Kingdom of God. The couple are unwilling to help them and finally kick them out of their home. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: A normal Christian home Props: A cellular ph...

3385. When the Best People Were Left Out

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: None or make a #1 out of Fun foam or card stock for each child. Sometimes you can find a "#1" as a key ring or novelty. Once upon a time there was a man who asked his son to mow the yard. His son said, "Sure, Dad, I'll be happy to do that for you." The man went to work and the son got involved in video games and completely forgot his promise to his Dad. The next day the same father asked ...

3386. The Good Son

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: One pair of unlaced shoes Good morning, boys and girls. (Sit down with the kids and begin lacing up the pair of shoes. Only lace them up halfway) Let me ask you something: have you ever done a job halfway? I mean, your mommy told you to clean your room and you only halfway cleaned it. You didn't do a great job on it. Maybe you pushed everything under the bed instead of putting it away. Wh...

3387. Jesus Fulfills God's Plans

Children's Sermon

Object: A record player and a record. Good morning, boys and girls, and welcome to Advent. That's right, it is only four weeks until Christmas. Advent is a wonderful time of the year for all of us because we take the time to think about what it is going to be like when Jesus comes back to earth to live as God has promised. But we are not here today to talk about seasons like Advent or Christmas o...

3388. Who'll Do the Dishes?

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some dirty dishes. Good morning, boys and girls. Did all of you know that Jesus was a super storyteller? (Let them answer.) Of course you did, and I have one of those stories to tell this morning, only I am going to change the objects so that you will understand it better. How many of you have ever done the dishes at home? (Let them answer.) This is the story about a brother and sister wh...

3389. A Tale Of Two Brothers

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A broom Good morning, boys and girls. I brought this broom to remind us of what we call household chores. Hopefully all of us help around the house with sweeping, clearing the table, filling the dishwasher, etc. Jesus told about two brothers who were asked by their father to do some chores. One of them said, "Sure," but he never got around to doing them. The other put up a big fuss, but l...

3390. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Materials Needed: Miniature candy bars, one per child; Full-sized candy bar; Card stock printed with scripture reference and verses; Assistant (Speaker approaches children and calls to Assistant.) Speaker: Hey, Assistant, stand right here. I’m going to give you a present. (Speaker ignores Assistant and comments to the children about the weather, a current event in the news, a new outfit someone...

3391. Broken Promises

Sermon

King Duncan

That creative writer Father Andrew Greeley tells a story--a parable, really--about two sisters who worked as babysitters in their community. A young couple had recently moved into the neighborhood. They hired the younger of the two sisters to sit with their children. Imagine their surprise when they came home to find their home a complete mess, with their kids looking haggard, and the babysitter ...

3392. Get a Charge

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The news media is turning its attention now to the 2000 elections, which means that for the next year we are going to be preoccupied with politics. I think if you asked someone in our society what they expect of a politician, they would say leadership. If you asked them to define that, I think they would say it means selflessness, giving oneself to the common good of the nation, standing for what ...

3393. The Gift of Failure

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

When I was an eighth grader, there was a day that was so painful I still remember it clearly. I was to give a speech about New York in an English class. I was so nervous, I decided to try my speech out on a group of friends the day before. My fear made me cocky. I delivered the whole speech to my friends calling the city Yew Nork and acting like a clown. You can guess what happened. During my spee...

3394. A Tale Of Two Brothers

Sermon

King Duncan

Americans are amazingly law-abiding folk. We obey the rules. If you don't think so, travel to other countries. Watch people in countries we normally think of as civilized push in front of one another while waiting in line. Try driving in many of the great cities of the world. Those who travel greatly have horror stories to report. People drive through stop signs as if they were not there. And traf...

3395. The Good Son

Sermon

Frank Lyman

Kevin, that irascible scamp of the Home Alone movies, is one of Hollywood's beloved characters. As portrayed by Macaulay Culkin, he is mischievous, playful, innovative and just as cute as could be! But what really made Kevin such a fine character was how he taught us the value of family. We learned that even if we're not always that crazy about the folks we live with, when we're separated from the...

3396. When the Best People Were Left Out

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a wonderful story about a group of military leaders who succeeded in building a super computer that was able to solve any problem large or small, strategic or tactical. These military leaders assembled in front of the new machine for a demonstration. The engineer conducting the demonstration instructed these officers to feed a difficult tactical problem into it. The military leaders proce...

3397. It's Your Funeral

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

Today people in our society are less and less willing to completely leave things to the "experts." Patients insist that their doctors talk to them about the options for treatment and include the patient as a full partner in making the final decision. The computer software stores are full of programs that allow people to draft simple legal documents like wills and to keep financial records and fill...

3398. A Change of Direction

Sermon

"... but afterward he repented and went." - Matthew 21:29 In Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus tells a story about afterthoughts. In this story two young men had second thoughts about choices they had made. Each had made up his mind to go in a certain direction, but later reconsidered and went another. Here is the story as Jesus told it: "A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and w...

3399. OK Boomer

Sermon

King Duncan

(Pastor, if you use Youtube clips in your service, you might consider this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYo9QgVqAW8 for this sermon) OK boomers, we’ve got some things we need to talk about today. Of course, we’re not all boomers. I realize that. How many boomers do we have in the congregation today? To qualify as a boomer you had to be born roughly between 1946 and 1965. [That didn’t soun...

3400. THE VINEDRESSER

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Isaiah 5:4 - "What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" Matthew 21:28 - "Aman had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ " Fossilized grape leaves, stem pieces and seeds unearthed from prehistoric deposits indicate the long existence and wide distribution of the grape vine. We know, for example, that it was grown in an...

Showing 3376 to 3400 of 4511 results