Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3451 to 3475 of 4972 results

3451. Joseph's Story

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Erskine White

... in love's pure light. It was a night for the ages. I hope I've conveyed that to you. I hope I've touched your imaginations today and given you at least some sense of that first Noel - the way it was, in all its humble majesty. When you leave here this morning, and if you have a creche at home, take a close look at it. Take your figure of Joseph out from the background and place it a little closer to the Baby and His mother. Yes, it was certainly Jesus' story, and without a doubt, it was ...

3452. Blind Beggars All

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Erskine White

... , which is just fifteen miles away. He knew Jericho well and the people there knew Him well. The gospels record several occasions when huge crowds came out to greet Jesus as He passed through town. In this particular episode, our text says that Jesus was leaving Jericho for Jerusalem; in fact, He was on the way to His crucifixion, although no one but Jesus knew it at the time. A "great multitude" was standing alongside the road, waving and cheering Him as He walked by. We can easily imagine the scene ...

3453. Who Do You say He Is?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Erskine White

... prayer and our reading of Scriptures to call Jesus the Christ and to change our lives because He is the Christ. Take away the worldly distractions which make us part-time disciples. Convince us that giving up all to follow Him will gain us more than we could ever dream. Leave us unsatisfied until we are walking perfectly in His way, even as He walked in Your way for our sake. With thanks for His sacrifice and in gratitude for His love, we pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen

3454. Is It God's Will?

Hebrews 2:5-18

Sermon

Erskine White

... or afflictions of body or spirit which do not kill, but they suffer all their lives. Like Paul, the apostle, they live with a "thorn in the flesh," and though they pray for release from their pain, it does not come. Families break up - love lost now hurts and leaves a hole. People hurt the ones they love and feel more miserable for doing it. Why? Here and in the larger world, people are brutalized by every manner of evil under the sun. Why? Can anyone explain it? A lot of people think they can. They try to ...

3455. The Message In The Means

Sermon

Erskine White

... world went on about its business. It makes you wonder, as you think about the way in which Christ the Savior was born: I don't know what Caesar Augustus was doing that night ... but if an angel had come to him instead of to the shepherds and said, "Leave all this alone, nothing matters tonight except the fact that this poor woman has had a baby in a stable" - Caesar would have thought a lunatic was playing a practical joke on him. William Temple It also makes you realize how wise the wise men really were. I ...

3456. Good Soldiers, Bad Wars

Joshua 11:1-23, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Erskine White

... thousands of years ago. Israel plundered cities and burned them to the ground. When enemy soldiers ran for their lives, the Israelites tracked them down and slaughtered them. They killed every man, woman and child they could find. The Bible says that "they did not leave any that breathed" (11:14). General Sherman didn't say, "War is heck." He said, "War is hell" and so it is. Soldiers of every age have known it. War brings hell to the land, to innocent civilians and to the soldiers themselves. We Americans ...

3457. Together In Christ

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Erskine White

... watches over us as a mother watches her children; and whose Son, Jesus was given as a ransom for the world; we also pray today for the broken community beyond our doors. Let none of Your children be satisfied so long as any of Your children are hungry and leave no one content so long as anyone is oppressed. Pour upon us the blessings of peace and save us from the bitter scourge of war. Deliver this world from its wages of sin, O God, and hasten the day when every tear is wiped away, when Your new community ...

3458. Sing A New Song

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Erskine White

... Lord a new song ... Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare." We may resist, but it is God's prerogative to upset our status quo and send us off in new directions. God gave that message to Moses, when He told Moses to leave the life he had known and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses protested, but God had him do it anyway. God gave that message to Jonah, when He told Jonah to go to Nineveh and speak God's Word against the city. Jonah protested, but God had him to ...

3459. When Christians Disappoint

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

... down. Bless us with a forgiving heart when others trespass against us. Good Lord, who inspires us in our special calling as children of the Living God, help us to be less disappointing as Christians ourselves. Make us the kind, generous and loving people You mean for us to be. Leave us never boastful, arrogant or rude. O God, keep us from sullying Your sacred Name with our unworthy words and deeds, that others may see Your light in us and receive new life in You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

3460. The Key To Confident Living

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Erskine White

... to knock her down today. Some people have the confidence to defeat the negative circumstances of their lives and some people are defeated by them. Other people die a little bit inside with each setback and disappointment. Life hits them with some blows and leaves them a little weaker each time. Their confidence drains away until suddenly, they are just hanging on in life and going through the motions, a mere shell of what they might have been. Countless lives are truly affected by a lack of confidence and ...

3461. Wedding: An Offer from God

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... ." All that is sound advice, and if you want a meaningful life, you would be wise to follow it. But there is something more I hold before you today, and that is the offer God makes to you on this your wedding day. An offer. You can take it or leave it. But if you are sincere about wanting a warm, growing, and wonderful marriage, it is an offer too good to pass up. God's offer is simply this: he will give you all you really need if you give yourselves to him. St. Paul put it this way, "... but ...

3462. Wedding: Creating a Happy Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... are standing in your corner, cheering you on. Truly you are fortunate to have such a loving family and such faithful friends, supporting you during these awesome moments when you make sacred and lifelong promises to each other. We will stand by you as you leave this place as well, because we want you to be happy tomorrow and tomorrow. However, happiness is not something we find or just stumble upon. It is something which finds us when we create the conditions for it to happen. An anonymous clergyman put it ...

3463. Wedding: Together...Till Death Us Do Part

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... becomes a treacherous, anxiety-ridden experience and we develop throw away relationships. You see, we must always be careful that no one makes a fool of us. What then shall we say to this? Jesus said if anyone wants to become a follower of his, they need to leave self behind; they must take up their cross and come with him. Whoever puts one's self first is lost; but if anyone is willing to live humbly, like a servant, they will find their true self. Jesus is saying that a preoccupation with self can keep us ...

3464. Wedding: Old Enough to Know

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... precisely what makes it special. The home which has Jesus as its cornerstone is built on a strong foundation which can stand secure amid even the most perilous storms of life. You will need that kind of foundation for your marriage, ________ and ________. And so, as you leave to begin your life together, I remind you of these cheerful words: blessed you will be, ________ and ________, if you hold the Lord in awe and walk in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of labor of your hands. You shall be happy; and it ...

3465. Wedding: How God Blesses a Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... , "A song is not a song until you sing it. A bell is not a bell until you ring it. And love was not put in your heart to stay. For love isn't love until you give it away." ________ and ________, our prayers go with you as you leave this service to begin your labor of love together. Hold fast to this: unless Christ builds your home with you, you labor in vain. It is useless to rise early and go late to rest, just to attain a certain standard of living or reach a certain goal. For then ...

3466. The Beginning and the Ending

Revelation 1:8

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... means that it is God's plan that is occurring. We don't have to worry about someone else taking over the world and doing something with the world that is not good. It can't happen. As long as Jesus is in charge, convincing us that he will never leave us, we do not have to worry. Jesus is like a letter. He is there at the beginning, and he is also there at the end. Take a look at this letter I wrote to you. It says, "Dear Children of (.....) Church." It is signed at the end, "Love, Pastor ...

3467. New Creature In Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17

Children's Sermon

... Things were so bad that the grumpy tooth knew the only thing it could do to make things better was to completely change its way and start all over again. During the night, when all the teeth finally went to sleep the loose tooth decided that it was time to leave the other teeth and start life all over again. That's what it did. It loosened itself from the mouth and dropped out on boy's pillowcase. When morning came the grumpy tooth was gone. In its place was the tiny tip of a new tooth coming in. This tooth ...

3468. We Have Come To Believe

John 6:60

Children's Sermon

... the friends told the others the rules of the game. One of the children said, "This sounds difficult. I can't believe that these are really the rules." This child decided that these rules couldn't possibly be the right ones. He decided to quit the game and leave the group. One or two other children agreed with him and left also. The child who was trying to teach the others how to play the game asked the remaining friends, "Do you also wish to go away?" The remaining friends answered, "No. This is the game we ...

3469. God's Surprise Package

Mark 4:26-29

Children's Sermon

... garden soil. The seeds don't look very special when they are planted. When the seeds are planted it appears that you might never see them again. Then a surprising thing happens. The seeds begin to grow. Green stems come up from the ground. Soon branches and leaves appear. The plant that comes from the tiny seed is tall and beautiful. These seeds are a mystery. How can such tiny things like these (show the seeds) turn into something so beautiful as a green plant? Here's how each of us is like one of these ...

3470. Born and Raised

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

Children's Sermon

... older, you can pass out the paper and markers, along with a few sample birth certificates. Let them design their own, citing God as their parent. If you are working with younger children you might want to prepare blank "birth certificates" ahead of time, leaving large spaces under "father" and "child." Your students can then color pictures of themselves and God instead of writing the names in. You may want to provide frames for the certificates, or let the children make them out of cardboard. Then hang them ...

3471. Priorities

Mark 1:14-20

Children's Sermon

... your students an opportunity to reflect on both current and past priorities, as well as the encouragement to consciously shape future ones. Parents: Everyone in your family would profit from this exercise. You can put the envelopes wherever you normally keep your valuable papers, with strict instructions to everyone to leave them alone until next year.

3472. A Wonderful Treasure

Ephesians 1:18

Children's Sermon

... a lot of money, and big houses and big cars, and sometimes stores and factories and expensive paintings and all sorts of other rare and expensive things. That's the way it is with God and his children. Except, God does not give us things that we will have to leave behind when we die. God gives us the promise that we will live with him forever in heaven. And God promises that we will never be alone while we live our lives. Isn't that a wonderful treasure to have?

3473. Just Put It Away

1 Corinthians 8:12

Children's Sermon

... of their religion by doing it. Of course, you don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings. You are only eating your lunch! But you can see there is a problem. So now what do you do? (Talk about it.) Right. A good thing to do would be to just leave the can of soda pop inside your box or sack and drink it later when your friend is not around, or when you are home. That way you will not insult your friend, and you will still be able to do something that you know is okay for you to ...

3474. We'll Pay For It

Romans 8:34, 1 Peter 3:18

Children's Sermon

CSS

... them one of these cards and say, "Now if you still can't afford to call us, just use this card. We will pay for it at the end of the month." Isn't that a wonderful thing to do? God does something like that for you and me. We leave home by running away from God. We fall into sin and get into deep trouble. We can't fix what's wrong, but God gives us a credit card. He sends Jesus to die for our sins and pay all the bills we have. Jesus says to his Father, "Let ...

3475. Growing Straight and Strong

Luke 2:40

Children's Sermon

... his Spirit to get strong inside of us, so that we are his special children, always trusting him and doing what he made us to be doing. Sometimes people forget who they are. They forget they belong to God. They are like a plant that stops growing. Pretty soon the leaves get yellow, then brown, and then they fall off. Then the plant dies and we have to throw it away. God never wants that to happen to any of us. He wants us to grow up straight and strong, like Jesus did. Remember whose we are. We are not ...

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