Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3526 to 3550 of 4946 results

3526. A Happy Ending

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six: When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly Me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as ever. So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.[1] This is a cute poem, but beneath its adorable rhyme lies a very sensitive issue for all of us: resistance to change. The truth is that most ...

3527. Re-Gifted but not Returned

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

A few years ago the New York Times city room editor, James Barron, asked readers to recall the worst Christmas gifts they had ever received. I thought I’d share a couple with you. I’d tell you the worst Christmas gift I ever got, but I don’t, to this day, know what it was. It was a secret Santa gift from someone at a company I do consulting work for. I can’t describe it. It was something like a plastic, brown mushroom/toadstool thing, with things glued on it, in a box with clear plastic over it.... I ...

3528. Higher Ground

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) A 2016 film called “Everest” re-captured the fascination and fear of our highest mountains. Based on the true story of a double expedition up the Himalayan slopes in 1996, the film chronicles the deaths of all but two when a fierce blizzard swirls in, thwarting their safe descent. Despite the wisdom and experience of ...

3529. Gratitude

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

"…be filled with the Spirit,...always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." I didn't care for him when we first met. He's not the sort of person that you warm up to at first. It takes time, and life, before he becomes part of you. Don't ever think that he comes naturally. You have to work at getting along with him. When we first met, I was young, very young, maybe two or three. My mother never tired, during those early years, of trying to get us together ...

3530. Missional Discontinuity

Mark 6:30-44, Mark 6:45-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

What is it with Americans and work? We work, on average, 1,836 hours a year, more than just about anyone else in the industrialized world, and we take less vacation. 42% of working Americans don’t take any vacation at all and, of those who do, 61% report that they were working when they should have been playing!1 Paid time off makes up, on average, 7% of an American workers’ compensation package but most workers don’t collect all that they are entitled to. In fact, according to Fortune magazine, the ...

3531. Ordinary People

Ruth 1:1-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

It's Parents' Weekend here and, through some act of divine serendipity, the lectionary has assigned as our first reading a passage from the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth is a family story, an ancient novella which may be three thousand years old. It's an old story, but I'm claiming that it's a true story because it's a story about a family in trouble. Here is a middle-class family that's hit on hard times and has to move, a father who dies leaving his wife and sons poorly provided for, two sons who marry ...

3532. Preachers, All!

Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Will Willimon

Someone has said the church is somewhat like a football huddle, the huddle that players go into at a football game. ''You know that something important is being said there, but you can't understand a word of it, and all you can see is their rear-ends." But in fairness to the church, we must admit that it isn't easy to be understood by the world, after all, what we are talking about, in this huddle called church, is God. That's hard to talk about. I vividly remember as a pastor, sitting with a group of lay- ...

3533. Will God Be With Us?

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever felt desperate for just a few minutes of time by yourself? We all need “alone time” occasionally to clear our head and relieve a little stress. So it is hard to imagine what it is like for prominent people, like the President of the United States, who never get a single moment alone. There are approximately 1,300 Secret Service agents who serve as the security detail for the President, the Vice President, and their family members. It is their job to ensure that our nation’s most powerful ...

3534. For Someone Who Led an Extraordinary Life

2 Timothy 4:1-2; 6-8 · 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 · Luke 24:13-35

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

A Marvelous Life [List the qualities of their life one can marvel about.] I recently read as to how many years ago our ancestors would go out walking, usually on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes alone, sometimes with a spouse, sometimes with the whole family. And they called it going marveling. They would look for unusual rocks, unusual wildflowers, seashells or even four-leaf clovers, whatever could be labeled as marvelous things. They would collect them, bring them home and then show off the marvelous ...

3535. The Spirit Of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

It was one of the most wonderful and exciting moments in the history of the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit had fallen fresh on the lives of believers. People were filled with the passion and fires of the Holy Ghost. They were shouting joy from all directions. They were gathered from every persuasion and city, every nation and province, all glorifying God, speaking in foreign tongues but understanding each other, expressing different voices but still in one accord. This was the time of Pentecost, when God ...

3536. One Good Man

Romans 5:17

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Cowboy hats, play guns and holsters, marshal's badge Lesson: For if the many died through one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. Good morning, boys and girls. Today I have with me some cowboy hats and some other things that men might have worn in the days of the wild west. People still wear cowboy hats today, don't they, boys and girls? But a long time ago, when the western part of our country was ...

3537. Troubled By A Talking Whirlwind

Job 38:1-7 · Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

I will never forget that Saturday morning. I can still see, in my mind's eye, the spring sunshine rushing through all the windows on the east side of the house. And I can hear, in my mind's ear, the enthusiastic jabbering of that college freshman who had come by the house to get me to listen to a new record album. That was over 35 years ago, but I can still remember it as if it were yesterday morning. Mike was at East Carolina University. He had been introduced to opera -- rock opera. Now he was ...

3538. Proper 14

Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Jonah 2:1-10, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:1-5; 10:5-15

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favor, was deeply resented by his brothers. One day, Jacob sent Joseph out in the field to find his brothers and they ...

3539. When Something Is About To Happen

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Long

"I'll tell you what keeps me coming to this church." The man who spoke was punching the air with his finger, pronouncing every word with force, and the dozen or so other people in the room turned to listen. The group called themselves the "Searchers Class," and had done so since the time, more than ten years before, when, as young adults, they had formed an alternative church school class. As the "Searchers" crept into middle age, the act of searching itself seemed to take more and more energy. Indeed, the ...

3540. The TV Revolution

Sermon

Michael Rogness

As the dominant medium of social expression, television is pervasive in a profound way that we seldom recognize fully. Because most of us get most of our information about the society most of the time from television, it becomes the primary social fact of our lives.2 -- James Monaco Preaching Today While visiting many congregations I am constantly astonished to hear how much complaining there is about preaching. Faithful churchgoers find themselves wondering, "What's happened to good preaching?" "Where ...

3541. Praying To Win

John 14:5-14

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

Ithaca High School has been known over the years for its championship wrestling teams. I wrestled on some of those teams in the late 1960s when Steve Waterman was our coach. Steve encouraged us to give our best for the school and the team, but he also made it very clear that church, family and relationships with friends came first. His supportive style of coaching and his caring personality fostered a team spirit that, for many of us, resulted in great individual achievements. We knew that he cared about ...

3542. With Unwavering Trust

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon Aid

Clement E. Lewis

Instrumental Meditation The Call To Worship (By the leader) "The Lord is in his holy temple; Let all the earth keep silence before him." Amen. The Instrumental Prelude (People reverently silent) Scripture: Romans 4:13-25 (NRSV) The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is ...

3543. Electric Drlls and Self-Control

1 Corinthians 9:25

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: A drill, a board, and some circles drawn on the board with the drill. Good morning, boys and girls, Is everything under control? That's a funny thing to say. I wonder if you know what "under control" means. Can anyone tell me what it means? [Wait for reply.] St. Paul teaches us that athletes must have good self-control. When you control something, it means that you must be able to handle it in just the right way so that it never gets out of hand. Do you remember that I said that St. Paul talked ...

3544. For The Love Of What?

Psalm 137:1-9, John 2:12-25

Sermon

Erskine White

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? (Psalm 137:4) I want you to try and picture the ancient Israelites in this 137th Psalm. They have been captured and taken against their will to exile in Babylon. They are cut off from the familiar places and familiar faces of home. Worse than that, they are surrounded by false gods and pagan values. Somehow, they must try to keep the faith and pass it on the midst of a hostile culture. The Israelites in exile are broken-hearted. We're told in the Psalm ...

3545. Who'll Do the Dishes?

Matthew 21:28-32

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 who lived at home with their mother and father. The mother had worked very hard one day and was so tired when she ...

3546. A Second-place Finish

John 1:29-34

Sermon

John Jamison

When his parents died he was still too young to be on his own. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been very old when John was born, so it was no surpirse that it happened, but apparently nothing had been done to prepare for it just the same. The rest of the family had gone north to Nazareth because of political problems, and John was alone. According to tradition, he was taken in by a group of old men who lived in a little village down by tahe Dead Sea. The place was called Qumran, and the men were known as the ...

3547. Monologue: A Slave, A Jailer, A Child Of God

Acts 16:16-40

Drama

Robert F. Scott

We have only a bare-bones mention of the Philippian jailer. He received Paul and Silas, beaten and bleeding; he fastened them in the painful stocks; after his conversion, he personally dressed their wounds and then fed them at his own table. What other changes grew from the jailer's new Christian faith? Let us attempt to stretch some living flesh over those bare bones. Call me Quintus, but my name doesn't matter. Most people just see me as a slave, a piece of the house furniture, nothing more. My master is ...

3548. Prayer

John 17:1-5

Bulletin Aid

Promises! Easy to make! Hard to keep! Promises made for me as a baby - To grow in wisdom To learn about the church To go to Sunday School To be faithful in attendance - Promises I make for myself - To follow Christ To live a good life To be faithful to God and his Church (Attendance, support, all that stuff) Is it OK if I keep my fingers crossed? That's a tall order! What if I can't do it? Can't live up to those promises? Does God - Or the congregation - Or the minister Expect me to be perfect? Will they ...

3549. Let God Be God

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Dean Lueking

What an Immense Privilege is Ours! Today it is with an especially deep sense of gratitude and humility that I preach the text chosen for this sermon. Think of it - we come together in faith, health, and freedom to worship the living God. He welcomes us. He knows us by name. He invites us to know him by name. These are all wondrous and momentous gifts. Just to be able to know God and to proclaim the truth of his being here among us and his being for us is the first privilege of life. At times we are tempted ...

3550. Straight Talk With A Young Adult

Matthew 19:16-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One of my favorite stories concerns a young man who was working in a grocery store. A lady came in and asked for half a grapefruit. Thinking that request rather strange, the young man went to the back of the store and said to the manager, “There is some nut out front who wants to buy half a grapefruit.” Just then he glanced over his shoulder and noticed that the lady had followed him to the back of the store, so he added immediately, “And this gracious lady is willing to buy the other half. I hope that is ...

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