Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 326 to 350 of 4508 results

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter--Psalms 148 First Lesson--The prophet speaks of a divine presence more immediate than messenger or angel. Isaiah 63:7-9 Second Lesson--The writer to the Hebrews explains the reason for the humanity of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 2:10-18 Gospel--Matthew closely links the childhood survival of Jesus with Old Testament prophecies. Matthew 2:13-23 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The gr...

327. Do you know exactly how I feel?

Illustration

Frank Luchsinger

A youth choir at a church was in rehearsal preparing a pageant which included some upbeat songs and choreography. One of the regulars in the group, Melissa, had brought a friend who was not catching on to the rhythm or the words. As sometimes happens, the regular had become focused on her own preparation and had forgotten about shepherding her friend. Also in the group was a boy named Cash Box bec...

328. A Power Higher Than I

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

After trying everything else, Shelly was present for her first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Skeptical and listening half-heartedly at first, the words of Martha caught her attention. Martha told the group, "I just knew that I could handle alcohol and my other problems on my own, but I couldn't. Seven years ago I came to my first A.A. meeting and since that time I have grown as a person beyond any...

329. Jesus' Flight to Egypt

Illustration

It was Christmas and the Pastor had planned a visit to a Pre-School Sunday School class. The teacher, wanting to impress the pastor had the each child draw a picture of some part of the Christmas story. The teacher put the art work on the wall; the preacher came and he was impressed as he identified each drawing's meaning. There was one with a barn and a man and a woman. It was obvious that this w...

330. A Sense of Wonder

Illustration

Eric Ritz

Jacob Needleman was an observer at the launch of Apollo 17 in 1975, and he describes what every NASA launch experience has been like in the observation area across the water from the launch pad. This one was a night launch, and there were hundreds of cynical reporters all over the lawn, drinking beer, wisecracking, and waiting for this 35-story-high rocket. The countdown came, and then the launch....

331. A Grim Anniversary

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

Suppose you had been a Christian believer in the mid-first century. Suppose you were observing Christmas and the birth of Jesus the Savior in whatever way the earliest church celebrated that season. But suppose that in the midst of marking Jesus' advent, you ran into a Jewish couple who trembled with rage at the very mention of this Jesus whose birth Christmas marks. Suppose further that upon inqu...

332. Christmas in a Sinful World

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

The late newspaper columnist Mike Royko once shared the other side of the Christmas Story in one of his columns; the sinful side that creeps through and ruins the joyful side of Christmas. He told about a stranger who put $1,600 in gold coins in a Salvation Army kettle. The person placed the gift there quietly and anonymously. This is exactly the kind of story the print media is looking for to dem...

333. He Moved Into the Ward With Us

Illustration

Mark Berg

Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day-to-day, he shares it. He loves them. If they don't talk, he doesn't talk either. It is as if he understands what i...

334. The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

John Thomas Randolph offers this modern story of running and returning to illustrate our Lord's circumstances. Here is the difference between cowardice and heroism. The coward runs away and stays away. The hero runs away but he always returns at the appropriate time. I have a biography of General Douglas MacArthur that was written by Bob Considine. The picture on the front cover shows the genera...

335. God on The Run!

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

My copy of the Bible entitles this sub-section of Scripture, "The Flight into Egypt." Cruel Herod the king had been threatened by the birth of Jesus, apparently fearing that Jesus would become a competitor for his own crown. Since that was an intolerable possibility to him, and since he could not be absolutely sure which baby boy was Jesus, he ordered that all the male children in and around Bethl...

336. The Work of Christmas Begins

Illustration

Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among brothers, To make music in the heart.

337. Last Christmas Letter

Illustration

Martin Luther King

A great way to end your sermon might be to read Dr. King's Last Christmas Letter. I have seldom seen it referenced, since King is most often cited for his "I Have a Dream" speech. But this Christmas Letter is also a dream speech. So here it is in its entirety. Greetings of the Season: When the horizons of man’s destiny loom ashen and somber; when the deafening report of weaponry stuns yearnings ...

338. How Could God Let This Happen?

Illustration

King Duncan

Life magazine set out to record what various kids thought about God. They handed out cameras to 56 kids between the ages of 8 and 13, and they asked each kid to go out and take pictures that reflect who God is. Anything that made them think of God was fair game for a photo. One nine-year-old took a picture of his social worker's office. She was nice to him, and that made him think of God. Other ch...

339. Post-Christmas Letdown

Illustration

King Duncan

After Christmas, Lucy mutters, "Rats! Phooey! Everything is hopeless! Who cares?" Charlie Brown asks, "Lucy, what in the world is the matter with you?" Again she shouts, "Rats! Phooey!" The last cartoon shows her walking away only to turn and drop a casual comment to the puzzled Charlie Brown. "Of course you realize," she says, "that I'm just experiencing my regular, post-Christmas letdown."

340. The Hope of the World

Illustration

King Duncan

All of us have seen those signs, "Keep Christ in Christmas." I hope you did that this year. There are many people who celebrate Christmas who have no idea at all that Christ is the hope of the world. It's like one family I read about. They were gathered to celebrate the holiday without much thought to its significance. Little Charlotte, gulping her milk, heaved a white mustached sigh. Then she po...

341. Christmas 2

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14 God proclaims through his prophet a message of hope, comfort, and national revival. The time of the Babylonian captivity would come to an end and the people would come back to Zion rejoicing. God lavishes comfort on this people, whom he allowed to be punished. Old Testament: Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3 The prophet exalts in the restoration of the nation and the...

342. Christmas 2

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14 Yahweh promises to rebuild the nation of Israel. God's word is one of hope through restoration of the exiles to their homeland. Previously Jeremiah had the unpleasant task of giving God's word as a message of doom, destruction, and exile. Now, God has him give a message for the period after the Babylonian captivity. Through Jeremiah, God has a word of ho...

343. Leadership Styles For A New Millennium

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: an ear of corn Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like corn? I sure do. I like corn-on-the-cob, popcorn, corn casserole, just about everything you can make that has corn in it. Corn is a very interesting plant. All during the day, the corn stalk soaks up sun, and nutrients from the soil, and fertilizer. The corn needs these things to grow. So all day the corn soaks in all this stuff tha...

344. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson for the First Sunday After Christmas explores the implications of what it means when we confess that God is actually with us in this world. Isaiah 63:7-9 states how God is able to suffer with us, while Psalm 111 is an extended celebration of this fact. Isaiah 63:7-9 - "A Savior for Hard Times" Setting. The lectionary has isolated the opening verses ...

345. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

I’d like to start this morning by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. I can’t think of a better way to start this New Year than gathering with other believers and worshiping God. Most of us try to go into the New Year with a positive attitude. Sometimes it helps if we get a little encouragement, maybe a “pep talk” to get us in the right mindset. If so, we’re in luck. There is a kindergarten c...

346. Back to Real Life

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s hard not to feel a little let down after Christmas. A few days after Christmas one year Presbyterian pastor Jon M. Walton was noticing that all the Christmas decorations at one of the local pharmacies had been removed. These decorations already had been replaced with Valentine’s Day trinkets and cards. Red boxes of candy, teddy bears with big hearts on them, red candles for romantic lighting...

347. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Sermon

John Jamison

It was over. The shepherds had gone back to their flocks. The three wise men had gone to wherever they were going, the other visitors that had come to see what was going on had drifted away to other things, and the animals had begun to settle back down in the straw. Mary was resting and the baby was sleeping soundly. Joseph looked around the room and let out a long, deep breath. “It was over.” He ...

348. What Power Fears Most

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The excitement and joy of Christmas leaves many people with a strange feeling of sadness in the days after the celebration ends. The frenzied preparations, the endless shopping, the events, the guests, the food, the presents –suddenly it all ends. Everything becomes quiet. Reality sets in. The work week approaches again. Suddenly “normal” seems so…ordinary. Yet, with that sense of ordinary also co...

349. New Year's Advice from Kids

Humor Illustration

Angela Akers

It’s a great idea to start the New Year with advice from children because they often see things with fresh eyes. A few years ago, Men’s Health magazine celebrated the New Year by publishing a list of advice from kids. Gavriella, age 7, had this advice for folks who wanted to get in good shape: “Run around the backyard like the dog does. He seems like he’s in pretty good shape.” For men who want to...

350. Text Message in the Desert

Illustration

Angela Akers

In November 2019, a woman named Beth Pottle signed up to run a very difficult, multiday relay race out in the California desert. Beth was 58 years old at the time. She had only started running a few years earlier. All her teammates on this relay race were much younger and were much more experienced runners. Beth was nervous about completing the race and afraid that she might fail her team. One nei...

Showing 326 to 350 of 4508 results

326. First Sunday after Christmas Day

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

327. Do you know exactly how I feel?

Illustration

Frank Luchsinger

328. A Power Higher Than I

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

329. Jesus' Flight to Egypt

Illustration

330. A Sense of Wonder

Illustration

Eric Ritz

331. A Grim Anniversary

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

332. Christmas in a Sinful World

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

333. He Moved Into the Ward With Us

Illustration

Mark Berg

334. The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

335. God on The Run!

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

336. The Work of Christmas Begins

Illustration

Howard Thurman

337. Last Christmas Letter

Illustration

Martin Luther King

338. How Could God Let This Happen?

Illustration

King Duncan

339. Post-Christmas Letdown

Illustration

King Duncan

340. The Hope of the World

Illustration

King Duncan

341. Christmas 2

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

342. Christmas 2

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

343. Leadership Styles For A New Millennium

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

344. Christmas 1

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

345. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

346. Back to Real Life

Sermon

King Duncan

347. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Sermon

John Jamison

348. What Power Fears Most

Sermon

Lori Wagner

349. New Year's Advice from Kids

Humor Illustration

Angela Akers

350. Text Message in the Desert

Illustration

Angela Akers

Showing 326 to 350 of 4508 results