Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3601 to 3625 of 4938 results

3601. Moving At The Speed Of Light: At The Jordan

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

Peter had long practiced a religion which required the separation of Jews and Gentiles, and following Christ's ascension Peter continued to be a practicing Jew. Through the example of Christ, Peter began to think differently about those who were considered ritually unclean and unacceptable to God. Earlier in Acts 10, Peter has been staying in Joppa in the home of one who practiced an "unclean" profession, Simon the Tanner. From there he receives the call from God to travel to Ceasarea to the home of ...

3602. Moving At The Speed Of Light: Unknown Apostles

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

How many people are helpful to us in a given stretch of time? How many are helpful to you in a given stretch of time? Folks whose names you may not know who go out of their way to help you out. A while back a mother was driving home, and an eruption of discontent came from the back seat -- two little boys who could not get along. She pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. Sensing there might be a mechanical failure, a police cruiser with two officers pulled up next to her inquiring if she needed ...

3603. Epiphany 7

Mt 5:38-48 · 1 Cor 3:10-11, 16-23 · Lev 19:1-2, 9-18 · Ps 119:33-40 · Ps 71 · Ps 62

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 A preeminent characteristic of God, according to the Pentateuch, is holiness. The Lord is in a class by himself; God is righteous, just, loving, and forgiving. God's people are likewise holy the Lord's. Their behavior must reflect this reality. They must love their neighbor as themselves because all belong to the Lord. Unfortunately, this love was constricted by a narrow definition of the neighbor a fellow Hebrew. Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Paul ...

3604. The Name Of Names

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

Mark -- warlike Shirley -- bright meadow Jennifer -- fair lady Jeffrey -- God's peace Jesus -- God saves What's in a name? Ever since God gave Adam the privilege of naming all the creatures, humankind has had a fascination with names. Names are important. Parents take great care when they select a name for their baby. They know the name will be with this new person for a lifetime and will identify him or her to other people. We look at the panorama of history and give different names to the ages: Ice Age, ...

3605. Know What Time It Is!

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

While reading the Bible, Mark Twain once quipped, "It is not the parts of the Scripture that I don't understand that bother me. It's the parts that I do understand." There are plenty of passages of Scripture that speak to us and trouble us. But, alas! for me, this is not one of them. Bernard Anderson referred to the Bible as a special delivery letter with our address on it. That may be true, but this particular bit of Scripture had best be marked, "return to Sender; no one at this address!" This is simply ...

3606. Obedience Is An Ugly Word!

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

A man, bragging on his dog, said, "He's a fine dog. He's so smart, and obedient, too. Why, all I have to do is tell him what to do and he either does it, or he doesn't!" The gospel's success or failure all hinges upon our acceptance or rejection of the word "Obedience." If we truly have faith, we will obey God. Obedience implies that we are not independent, that we are accountable to another, that we do have someone over us, that there is higher authority than ourselves. In a world where we are taught that ...

3607. Dealing with the Devil

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Johnny Dean

I used to believe that children were born pure and innocent. Then I became a parent. Now I believe in original sin. When my oldest son was about three years old, I was outside doing some yard work one afternoon. I took Kevin outside to play while I trimmed the hedges. Holding his hand, I knelt down beside him so that we could look at each other face to face. Slowly and carefully I said, "Now, Kevin, you can play here in our front yard. You can go next door and play in your friend’s front yard. You can ride ...

3608. A Night of Farewell - Peter

Sermon

Ron Lavin

"Tonight we will forget all of this ungodly talk about death. Tonight is a happy time of remembering our heritage. Tonight we shall eat lamb, bitter herbs, wine and bread. It will be good to remember Moses and the journey tonight." "Tonight we are at John Mark's house. No one will find us here. No crowds. No Pharisees. No sick people." "Tonight we will celebrate the Passover." These were my thoughts as we began that Thursday evening meal. Jesus began with prayer: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of the ...

3609. Cross Purposes

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"In the cross of Christ I glory towering o'er ..." Is the cross today towering over the world? Atlanta is presently boasting of its newest hotel, seventy stories high, the highest hotel in the entire world. Just a couple of blocks from this hotel are a Methodist church and a Catholic church, each with a tower and a cross on top. There was a time when the highest point in a town was the church spire with a cross on its pinnacle. Now city skyscrapers dwarf the church with its cross. The cross is over-towered ...

3610. "Hold Your Horses!"

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

"... wait for the Promise of the Father." When you were a child, did your parents ever say to you, as mine said to me, "Hold your horses!" I must have heard that phrase literally hundreds of times as I was growing up: when I wanted school to be out for the summer, when I fretted because a meal was not ready, when I wanted to do something exciting "now," when I spoke too hastily, when I demanded something be done immediately, when I couldn’t stand still while mother measured a hem in a skirt - I can hear it ...

3611. "Preference by L’oreal"

Lk 17:11-19 · Mt 6:25-33 · Jn 6:25-35

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

There is an ad on television about hair coloring. It’s called "Preference" by L’oreal. At the beginning of that ad, you see a very beautiful young lady. There is a face on the screen. Then you get a close-up of the hair, and it is beautiful. The hair is bouncy and in control. There are no split ends. The young woman is very, very happy as she shows you what this hair coloring can do. After about twenty seconds of telling you all of the marvelous things that can happen, she tells you that L’oreal is just no ...

3612. The Prodigal Daughter

Drama

Maxine Dudley

To Prepare: As the audience enters the church each participant is given half a red paper heart. On one side is written the name Jesus and the other side Father. (See page 18. Only found in the printed material.) Reflective music may be sung as participants enter. When all are seated, the Narrator introduces the service. Narrator no. 1: To begin our reconciliation service we will have a short play The Prodigal Daughter. This drama is taken from the parable "The Prodigal Son" and is adapted to include our ...

3613. It Might Have Been ...

Luke 22:1-6, Matthew 26:14-16, Matthew 27:1-10, Matthew 26:47-56

Sermon

He was born in Judea, in the town of Kerioth. His parents were devout; they probably spent more time in the temple (if only because of proximity) than the parents of any other disciple. They must have been acquainted with Scripture ... and I’ve often wondered if they mused over the Proverbs as they chose a name for their young son: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." In any case, they chose a good name. They chose a name that had been held by one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and as such ...

3614. The Ten Commandments #9: No False Witness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you been watching the impeachment hearings? I spent much of Thursday afternoon and evening glued to the tube. Not because the testimony and questioning were so scintillating or riveting, but because this was historic. This process is only occurring for the third time in our nation's history, and as a history buff, I wanted to watch. As we all know (and better than any of us is happy with), for the past four years, the Office of Independent Counsel has been investigating the President - first it was ...

3615. A Family Celebration

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Bob Morely was a counselor for a senior high summer camp in California. One summer Bob was between regular jobs, and was therefore rather short of cash. Word of his situation spread around camp, and the campers took up a special collection and raised a hundred dollars which they presented to him. Now the camp had a tradition of having a farewell party on the last day, Friday night. The youth would usually pool their money together, and one of the counselors would go to town and purchase snack food for them ...

3616. Let My Little Light Shine

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton hadn't won a game in eight weeks. A critical member of the press was suggesting that he be dropped from the starting rotation. The future looked bleak, and Sutton felt terrible. Then, before a game, Dodgers manager Walter Alston tapped him on the shoulder. "I'd like to speak with you, Don," he said. Sutton prepared himself for the worst. "Don," said Alston, "I know how the past couple of months have been ...

3617. One Life To Live

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In the movie The Truman Show, Truman Burbank believes his life is no different from anyone else's. He has one life to live, just like the rest of us. But one day he begins to notice peculiar things happening. For example he notices things that happen exactly the same way every day. This causes him to get suspicious that something strange is going on. What he doesn't realize is that every second of his life from the day he was born has been telecast live to the entire planet. He is the star of The Truman ...

3618. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.” (John 15:22) What strange words are these! Especially the part where Jesus says, “If I had not come...” What would it be like, I wonder, if Christ had not come? Would it really make that much difference? Are we right in dating all human history from the birth of Christ, so that everything that has happened before He came is called “B.C.” (before Christ) and everything that has happened since then is ...

3619. The Chicken or the Egg

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In his book Dateline America, Charles Kuralt tells of a sign he saw on the door of a cafe in Indiana. It said, Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Closed Thursday. (Dateline America, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979, p. 223) Now, that’s what is known as sending out mixed signals. I. THE CHURCH HAS BEEN KNOWN TO SEND OUT MIXED SIGNALS, TOO. For instance, one minister relates that during one summer vacation he and his family visited a church in Ohio where he was moved by the worship experience: the ...

3620. What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I find it strange that, in a time when we are becoming more and more sensitive toward persons with handicapping conditions, our nation’s State Department would adopt a policy which effectively eliminates blind persons from foreign service positions. As the editorial in the Ann Arbor News put it, “It’s probably a good thing Helen Keller isn’t alive today to apply for a job with the U.S. foreign services, They’d turn her down, flat.” (Thursday, December 1, 1988) I can understand that blindness would ...

3621. God Who Is Mighty Has Done Great Things

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Sometime ago a woman from Houston was out in Los Angeles visiting some relatives. While there, she went to an ice cream shop and ordered an ice cream cone. As she was sitting there at the counter, waiting for her cone, she happened to glance to her right. Who should be there, right next to her, but Paul Newman! She couldn't believe it! He had been her heart throb and dream boat for years. She was crazy about him. And there he was, sitting on the stool right next to her, close enough to touch. But she didn' ...

3622. The Church Of Our Dreams

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One day a couple by the name of Herman and Mary were riding along in their shiny new car. Mary spoke up and said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this wonderful new car." And Herman just sat there and didn't say anything at all. As they pulled into the driveway, Herman turned off the motor and they quietly admired their new home. Then Mary said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this new house." And again, Herman just sat there ...

3623. The Need To Pay Attention

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of the tough problems in preaching from the book of Proverbs is settling on a focus. You can put your dipper down into this flowing stream at any point and come up with a refreshing drink of bracing inspiration, searching wisdom, probing questions, or challenging direction. Where would you have stopped to spend some time in reflection as you read this 20th chapter of Proverbs? How long would it take you to get through it if you stopped at every point that begged your attention? I invite you to spend ...

3624. The Church: An Enclave of Resistance v2

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In September of 1997 there was a groundbreaking service for a Catholic cathedral that is going to be constructed in Los Angeles. The Diocese of Los Angeles commissioned the famous Spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneo to design the building. Their hope is that the cathedral will be completed by the beginning of the millennium. It’s to be a peculiar witness to the glory of God. There were models of the cathedral at the groundbreaking service and on the basis of the models a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote a ...

3625. News from the Flood

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

We have all heard the news of the floods in the Pacific Northwest, and in Northern California. Some of you, I know, were up there and saw them. Floods can be terrible, dangerous and devastating, sweeping away houses and other structures. I understand that Sacramento, which is built at the confluence of two rivers, the Sacramento and the American, almost flooded this time. People anticipated what a terrible devastation that would be. If the American River had risen a few more feet, that would have happened ...

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