Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 326 to 350 of 4937 results

326. Getting Out Of Our Own Way

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

I'd like to ask you to relax for a moment about the clothes that you are wearing. Think about how your clothes say something about who you are: your gender, your age, your economic status, maybe even how you feel about yourself. As you think about that, imagine yourself in quite different clothes. Note that your real self would not change. Even if you were wearing Eskimo clothes or Arabian clothes, you would still be who you are, so your real self is not your clothes. Therefore, you are not your clothes." ...

327. The Easy Way Out

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

One of the responsibilities that parents often have with children is the supervision of musical lessons. Getting the kids to practice is never easy. The first problem is just getting them to sit down to do it. Then, the second problem begins. Did you ever notice how easy it is to re-play the familiar? When you listen to those practices, ever notice how often you hear the same pieces over and over again? The prospect of struggling through a new piece seems like torture, so the temptation is not to bother ...

328. Death: A Way of Life

Isaiah 52:13—53:12

Sermon

Bill Mosley

In 1933 Bishop Fulton J. Sheen published a little book on the seven words of Jesus from the cross. Sheen begins his Good Friday sermon with a story about Adam. When Adam had been driven from the Garden of Paradise, and the penalty of labor imposed upon him, he went out in quest of the bread he was to earn by the sweat of his brow. In the course of that search, he stumbled upon the limp form of his son, Abel, picked him up, carried him upon his shoulders, and laid him on the lap of Eve. They spoke to him, ...

329. On God's Side Or In God's Way?

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to go back for a few moments into TV history. Some of you grew up watching the hilarious Roadrunner cartoons. These cartoons featured a character named Wile E. Coyote. Wile E. Coyote’s virtually endless quest in life was to capture his nemesis, the Roadrunner. The coyote was stubbornly persistent in this quest despite the fact that, not only did he fail time after time after time, but meanwhile he repeatedly plummeted from high cliffs, was blown up, and was continually getting flattened by numerous ...

330. It's A Wonderful Life

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Every year about this time television stations bring out of their vaults an old black and white film that is still speaking to people's lives. It's a film titled It's a Wonderful Life. George Bailey, the lead character in this heartwarming film, never felt like he amounted to much in life. He had dreams of becoming a famous architect, of traveling the world. Instead he feels trapped in a humdrum job in a small town. Then a crisis occurs that strains his every resource. He is faced with unjust criminal ...

331. Four Ways To Defeat Stress

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Would anyone argue with me that stress is a significant killer in our society? Stress takes a terrible toll. Have you ever noticed how much presidents seem to age while they are in office? It is no illusion. Investigators at the University of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia compared the age at death of 162 presidents and prime ministers with their age when they came to power. Those who took office at a young age died about nine years earlier than leaders who seized the reins later in life. The same held true ...

332. The Peace That Christ Gives

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A couple was traveling out West. They stopped at a sign that said, "Echo Point." "Try it," the wife suggested. "I think it's silly," her husband said. Finally he agreed to try it. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Baloney!" After a moment, he said, "See, nothing happened." "Try it again," his wife said. This time he shouted, "I'm the best looking man in the world!" Then the echo came back ” "Baloney!" Is there anyone here this morning who is absolutely satisfied with everything you are and everything ...

333. Take Up Your Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Glenn Tinder, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, has written a book titled, The Political Meaning of Christianity. While the author acknowledges that what he offers is an interpretation, he also believes that he represents a view that could be common to many Christians. He unabashedly confesses that he is beholden to a unique point of view. What he sees as different is that his stance is less optimistic than some Christian perspectives. This is not to say that the ...

334. Good News about Thanksgiving

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, an American and a British journalist were discussing Thanksgiving on a British radio program. The American asked if Thanksgiving was celebrated in the United Kingdom. “Yes,” the British journalist replied, “but we celebrate it on the 6th of September.” “Why then?” asked the American. “That’s when you chaps left,” the Brit answered good-naturedly. Well, it is true that Thanksgiving is celebrated as a national holiday primarily in the U.S. and Canada, two former British colonies. ...

335. When Tradition Gets in the Way

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Do you remember the opening soliloquy which begins the musical “Fiddler on the Roof?” Tevye, the dairyman who is always carrying on lengthy conversations with God, says to the audience: “A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn’t easy. You may ask, why do we stay up here if it’s so dangerous? We stay because Anatevka is our home. And ...

336. Hope in the Shadows

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Darrick Acre

This is the season we celebrate Christmas. The shopping has begun. The countdown of days left to make purchases is underway. Jewelry commercials are dominating the airways. People are passing by the Salvation Army bell ringers as they go in and out of the mall looking for just the right gift. It’s Christmas! This is the time of year when we decorate with lights, greenery, and all the symbols of the season. We sing carols. We greet the people we pass with tidings of good cheer, “Merry Christmas!” We rejoice ...

337. Easter Joy

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A remarkable feature of Dwight D. Eisenhower's memoirs is the composure with which he greeted crises. He titled his autobiography At Ease, an appropriate description for not only his retirement, but the manner in which he appeared to be on top of life. Colleagues, of course, could recall how excited he could get in revealing his impatience with mediocrity and the failures of the people in his command. However, what was impressive was the way he took control in the European theater in World War II with no ...

338. Easter Power

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Storms that knock out electrical systems make us mindful of how dependent we are upon power. High winds deprive us of power. When we do not lose power in devastating storms we are most grateful, realizing how dependent we have become on the utility companies. However, it is significant that the primary definitions of power do not relate to the matter of energy or force. The first definitions of power have to do with the possession of control, authority, or influence over others. There is a whole battery of ...

339. Finding Our Way Back Home

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been accused of being a little absent-minded? Some of us have. We can take comfort in the fact that somewhere in Norway there is a young man named Jermund Skogstad who is worse off than we. Last year Jermund moved from the country to the city and rented an apartment. Thirty minutes after moving into his apartment, he stepped out for a bite to eat. By the time he found a cafe, he was hopelessly lost and had no idea how to get home. Further, he had forgotten the address of his new apartment. ...

340. Join in the Singing

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

The strangest thing happened on Christmas night last year. You may have heard about it on the news. In a small town in Pennsylvania, a man got into an armed standoff with police. Such events occur so often nowadays, we’re likely to forget the details of any particular episode. This episode, however, is different. This man was acting erratically and shooting at police officers. Members of the local SWAT team surrounded him and tried to talk him into surrendering, but he wouldn’t listen. This standoff lasted ...

341. A Protestant (And Catholic) Way To Confess

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Confession: Most Protestants are inclined to say that confession is Catholic and stop there. Or we hear it said, “Confession is good for the soul.” Even then, we are likely to hear it like Roman Catholics[1], to suppose it means that we are to recount our sins. We don’t need confession in our church! Or do we? Paul gives us a model for confession of the faith in the Book of Romans. Recall that this book is a letter of introduction to the church in Rome. How does he make his introduction? With a confession ...

342. Behold the Blood of the Covenant

Exodus 24:1-18

Sermon

Larry Powell

Jesus of Nazareth had his own agenda. From the beginning, it had confounded even those closest to him. * We think of Joseph and Mary searching anxiously up and down the caravan line for their twelve-year-old son, only to discover that he had remained in Jerusalem to sit among the teachers at the Temple (Luke 2:41-52). * We think of Jesus standing as a young man in the synagogue at Nazareth reading from the book of Isaiah, concluding the reading with the astonishing claim, "Today, this scripture has been ...

343. Don't Worry! Give Thanks!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Fresh out of business school, a young man answered a want ad for an accountant. Now he was being interviewed by a very nervous businessman who ran a small business that he had started himself. “I need someone with an accounting degree,” the businessman said. “But mainly, I’m looking for someone to do my worrying for me.” “Excuse me?” the accountant said. “I worry about a lot of things,” the business man said. “But I don’t want to have to worry about money. Your job will be to take all the money worries off ...

344. Just Who Does This Guy Think He Is?

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

"I think he's speaking in metaphors," Stephen said. "I don't care if he's speaking in Chicago, he's getting downright spooky," replied Andrew, not one of the twelve. Jesus had been speaking for what seemed to be days to a crowd made up of his disciples, hundreds of them, as well as his twelve nearest and dearest disciples. Bread, bread, and bread... it was all he seemed to be talking about. It was enough to make a person hungry. They all knew stories about how God provided for his people who had escaped ...

345. Excellence in Giving

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

In today’s lesson Paul talks about “excellence in giving.” It’s tough to talk about giving when the country is going through uncertain times. I don’t know how you felt as you watched the stock market meltdown last fall. For some people it was a very helpless feeling. Some of you watched the money in your retirement accounts slowly disappear. One guy said he took a kind of Zen attitude towards it all. He started off with $50,000 Zen he had $40,000, Zen he had $30,000, Zen he had... Another man said his ...

346. Give Me Jesus!

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life." (v. 68, TEV) Most of you are acquainted with that beautiful body of American musical literature called Spirituals, Christian songs created by African Americans. Who among us doesn’t like to sing the old spiritual at Christmas, "Go, tell it on the mountain"? Or how about another one that we used to sing at summer church camp, "We are climbing Jacob’s ladder"? Today I’d like to share with you the words of my favorite American spiritual ...

347. Proper 24

Genesis 32:22-32, Psalm 119:97-104, Jeremiah 31-27-34, Luke 18:1-8, 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: I’m glad today is Sunday and we are here together. People: We are grateful for sanctuary and for faithful friends. Leader: God is with us as usual. People: There’s a poem we like to remember: We lift our eyes to the hills; From where does our help come? Our help comes from God who made heaven and earth. God, our protector never dozes or sleeps; God guards us and is ever by our side. The sun will not hurt us during the day nor the moon during the night. God will protect us from ...

348. Do It the Right Way

Philemon 1:8-9

Children's Sermon

Object: A piece of wood, several screws, a hammer and a screw driver. Text: Yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you - I, Paul, an ambassador and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to learn about one of God's great disciples, Paul. He was put into prison for teaching about Jesus in a part of the world that thought it was wrong to talk about your God, when the people had a different god. Prison is not a good place to be, but because Paul was a special ...

349. The Best Way to Help Someone

Colossians 4:7-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Most of us want to be helpful to other people. But that may be as easy as it sounds. Let me illustrate. A man got on a train one Friday in London, bound for the town Rosedale. When the conductor came by and pick up his ticket, said, "Sir, this train doesn't stop in Rosedale on Fridays." ~ passenger protested, saying, "But I've got to get to Rosedale tonight." They had somewhat of an argument right there in the aisle. The beleaguered passenger said, "I wonder if you would go talk with the engineer and ask ...

350. Preparing the Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

The line at the Post Office was of a December length, too long really to wait for such a simple errand. But there he was. When he got to the window he asked for a sheet of Christmas stamps. The clerk proffered a brightly colored set showing lots of candles and emblazoned with the word “Kwanzaa.” “No,” he said, “I’d like some Christmas stamps.” The clerk did a sort of ‘oh-h-h yeah’ thing and rummaged around in the supply and pulled out some jolly snowmen and made ready to ring up the transaction. “No,” he ...

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