Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4490 results

3601. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

A woman who worked in a high level job for a major corporation experienced a grueling schedule and a lot of pressure. So when she was offered the opportunity to attend a stress reduction seminar, she quickly accepted. However, she soon realized the seminar might not be as helpful as she first thought. The instructor arrived late, out of breath, and announced, "In order to accommodate everyone's busy schedules, this five-day seminar will be speeded up and completed in two days!" In our study of turning ...

3602. Recalling, Remembering, And Rejoicing

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

For all of his charisma as a leader, his skills as a diplomat, his savvy as a politician, Moses was not the sort for whom making speeches ever came easily. Rhetoric simply wasn't included on his resume, public speaking never being one of his fortes. And of course, back at Sinai before this improbable pilgrimage began, he had admitted as much to Yahweh: "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" ( ...

3603. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Salt is very important to life. If a person lacks salt, the hunger for it is one of the strongest desires we have. Any farmer knows how cattle will find a salt block and lick it to maintain the proper balance in its body. Salt is so valuable that in some societies it has been used as a medium of exchange, a substitute for money. In the scripture, light is often used as a symbol for the existence of God. It is frequently used in a variety of ways throughout the Bible. In some cultures the sun was worshiped ...

3604. The King's Wedding Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Exodus 32:1-14) The passage recounts the experience of the people of Israel in the wilderness when Moses had gone up the mountain of Sinai. They assumed that he was not returning. They appealed to Aaron for a god to lead them. He got from the people all the gold of their jewelry and from that produced the golden calf. The people proceeded with an orgy of worship. Moses came down and discovered what was happening. In his anger he shattered the tablets which ...

3605. Toward A More Sensuous Christianity

Sermon

John A. Stroman

In using the word "sensuous," I am not using the word in a carnal or bestial sense, but rather in a sensory sense. The experience of the Holy Spirit is sensuous in the sense that it is stimulating, inspiring, exciting and at times emotional. The apostle reminds us, "For the kingdom of God is ... joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). When electricity was first introduced some Frenchmen wanted to know how fast electricity moves, so the abbot of a large monastery volunteered his monks for an experiment. ...

3606. Confidence To Spare

Psalm 27:1-6, 13-14

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction A year and a half ago as I was greeting people at the rear door of the sanctuary following worship one Sunday, I talked with a visitor to worship that day. Standing behind this visitor was Mabel Yark. Mabel is one of my favorite people; she's a favorite with many people. Now you need to know that I have the kind of relationship with Mabel that I could say this to the visitor that day. I introduced him to Mabel and I invited him to guess Mabel's age. I know Mabel would not be offended. He ...

3607. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Pentecost is the third great Christian festival. On Christmas we celebrated the birth of Christ, our Savior. On Easter we celebrated his victorious resurrection from death. And today we remember Christ's giving of the Holy Spirit. Our story from the gospel of John takes place on Easter evening, after the disciples had discovered that the tomb was empty and Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus told her to tell the disciples that he was risen, which she did, but they did not understand. So on that ...

3608. Words, Words, Word

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Alex Gondola

Let me begin by reading a few announcements from church bulletins. These are actual announcements. I hasten to add that none of them appeared in our church bulletin. One read: "This being Easter, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar." Another: "Thursday night Pot Luck Supper. Prayer and medication to follow." Still another: "This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends." And: "Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ...

3609. Tell Them

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

There is no day in the Christian church that holds more joy than Easter. The women arrived at the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus and were startled to find that the stone had been rolled away. Entering the tomb they discovered the body of Jesus missing and standing near where the body had been laid to rest were two messengers from God. Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed ...

3610. A Living Witness

Acts 9:32-43

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

Miracles don't really happen anymore, do they? Our text today would certainly suggest that miracles were once common in the religious community. Today, when we hear people use the word miracles we become suspicious and doubt creeps in. Our text today not only addresses the subject of miracles, but suggests that many miracles take place in the ordinary events of our daily lives. Our text today would make a perfect made-for-television movie. There's a story line that involves the larger community; there is a ...

3611. God's Gift Is For All

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

"Jesus Loves Me This I Know, For The Bible Tells Me So." What ever happened to those words in our understanding of sharing God's gift with others? Our society today, much like the society in the time of Peter, has some very strong feelings regarding not only what is right and what is wrong, but who is right and who is wrong. Many of our religious crusades are rooted in a zealous interpretation of what we think the gospel says from our viewpoint. Sometimes in our zealousness we miss opportunities to hear ...

3612. Membership Has Its Privileges

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

Our text today is one of those passages in the New Testament that is well known in the Christian community. The story of Paul and Silas and their dynamic escape from prison has for many years been a favorite among preachers. Many talented and gifted sermon crafters have taken the images of midnight, earthquake, and open doors and painted a picture in the hearts and minds of the faithful. The images of ridicule, imprisonment and deliverance become images of witness, prayer, and the power of God's ...

3613. The Glory Of The Lord

Matthew 25:31-46

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: To God be the glory. Summary: The voices of all creatures praise the Lord. A reader's theatre production. Playing Time: 7 minutes Setting: Eternity Props: Folders from which to read Costumes: Black Time: Eternity Cast: EIGHT READERS (READERS ENTER AND TAKE THEIR PLACES) FIRST MAN: On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ... I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands ...

3614. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:1-27, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-16 If our purpose here were teaching rather than preaching, we could spin a wonderful tale of the rise of King David, and of his transformation of the Israelites. We could relate how David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, which was to become known as the city of David, and how David wished to build a splendid tabernacle to house the ark. But more conservative voices prevailed for the time being, and David seems to have conceded for the time. The prophet ...

3615. Gifts of Lent, Ash Wednesday: A Man Gives His Donkey

Matthew 21:1-11

Drama

Donald Neidigk

Dramatic Monologue Come in! Come in! Do come in! Far be it from me that I should deny a visitor the hospitality of my little home. After all, it isn't really my home. I'm just a tenant. It belongs to the Lord, as does everything else you see around here, although I admit it isn't much. If I have an extra mat for a bed, or loaf of bread, or skin of wine, and you have need of it, consider it a gift from God to you. Now why is it you dropped by? Oh, yes! You want me to tell you about the time I let that ...

3616. Just In Time

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

A plane flies through the night. A winter storm howls as the pilot radios for meteorological information, trying to steer clear of the worst of it. All has gone well apart from the weather. The news that a heart was coming had reached the airport in plenty of time for the pilot to ready her plane for take off. By the time the ambulance arrived with sheriff escort, the engines were warm and ready to taxi onto the runway. The controller held air traffic as the two-engine craft sped down the runway and lifted ...

3617. Proper 24

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Luke 18:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:27-34 The promise of a new covenant. Because of their sins, Yahweh sent Judah into captivity. Now in Babylon they are without a nation, homes, and temple. The time is coming for re-building the nation. This, too, is God's work. As the first step in re-building the nation, Yahweh promises a new covenant (testament). The old Mosaic covenant was broken by the people's sins. The new covenant is to replace the old one. It will be a covenant of spirit rather than of law, ...

3618. Who Can Be Saved?

Luke 19:1-10, Luke 18:18-30

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

"Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he ...." Many people have learned that song in Sunday school. We might be tempted to think, therefore, that this is a story "for children only." Nothing could be further from the truth. The story of Zacchaeus is one of the most important stories for children and adults in the entire Gospel of Luke. It's important because it tells us how Christians can live with wealth. It's important because the story of Zacchaeus tells how it is that we can be saved. ...

3619. Praying To The Congregation

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Thomas Long

According to legend, a certain West Coast radio evangelist would customarily close his broadcasts by praying over the air, "O God, we ask that today you would touch the hearts of those in 'Radioland' to support this worldwide ministry. We pray that you would move them mightily to send offerings of love, and to send them to Post Office Box 345, Pasadena, California." Though he was particularly crass about it, this minister was actually committing a fairly common mistake in worship leadership -- praying to ...

3620. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

3621. Lust - To Discipline The Eye And The Heart

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

Jesus and his disciples were in a foreign land, the land of Samaria. It had once been recognized as the birthplace and capital of the Jewish faith. It was in Samaria and at Shechem that God told Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants. But later the Israelites were defeated by the Assyrians, who then settled in the land and mixed with the population. So in Jesus' day the people of Israel viewed the Samaritans as half-breeds and false worshipers. Jesus' parable of the "good Samaritan" was a ...

3622. Been There, Done That

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

"Been there, done that" is a popular, and often overused, phrase that excuses us from having to endure anything a second time. It doesn't matter if we have skateboarded up Mt. Everest, or walked from New York to London, or stood on our heads and gargled peanut butter, we are entirely too cool to do any of that stuff again. "Been there, done that" asks other people not to bore us by requesting that we repeat past experiences. We are too hip for that. Those experiences generated excitement that pumped ...

3623. Salvaging Our Lives

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

If you have ever made an in-depth investigation of your family history, a genealogy, then you probably came across some ancestors who would qualify as so-called "black sheep of the family." Among my own ancestors my father came across a family will dating back to shortly before the Civil War. In that will it speaks of my great-great-great-grandmother selling off slaves. In fact, the will indicates that the slave family she owned was to be divided up at her death. When I first heard about this I was shocked ...

3624. Written On The Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

A place to start with this passage is the use of the word "husband" by Jeremiah to describe the message God has given him. But let's jump, for a moment, to the Old Testament book of Hosea. It's a metaphorical story about a man, Hosea, whose wife was unfaithful. Ancient law would have permitted all sorts of dire punishment for that, but Hosea loved his wife too much to think in terms of punishment. Instead, he wanted her back, hopefully as things had been before her adultery. Thereafter, the story tells of ...

3625. By What Authority?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Two remarkable things happened. Jesus' words in the synagogue left the people amazed. His confronting of the man with the unclean spirit left them dumbfounded. Jesus' world was a demon-haunted world. Men and women in the ancient world believed in demons. Demons for them were intensely real. The first century world was one of pain and suffering. There was no relief from pain. It was a world of natural disasters that took a heavy toll on life. Disease, even the slightest illness, could be fatal. There was a ...

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