Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3676 to 3700 of 5000 results

3676. Epiphany 6

2 Kings 5:1-27, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Mark 1:40-45

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: 2 Kings 5:1-14 Theme: The universal scope of God’s concern Exegetical Note This account of Elisha’s healing of a foreigner, Naaman - and an unclean (leprous) and uncooperative one at that - suggests that God’s concern and care extend beyond the confines of Israel and toward the Gentiles. Luke 4:27 records Jesus himself as referring to this incident in order to justify to his fellow Nazarites his own early miracles in Capernaum rather than his home town. Call to Worship Leader: Rejoice in God ...

3677. Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 19:17-27, John 19:28-37

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Isaiah 52:13--53:12 Theme: Man of sorrows for the sins of many Exegetical Note In this fourth and final Servant Song, the description of the innocent servant’s vicarious and redemptive sufferings is "sandwiched" between the triumphant assurances of his ultimate vindication. The correspondence with the role and fate of Jesus has made this passage a favorite for Christological interpretation since the early church. Call to Worship Leader: Surely Christ has borne our griefs; truly he has carried ...

3678. Be Prepared for Christ's Return

Matthew 25:1-13

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: We are each one messengers sent to tell the world of God's love. People: We are each one called to share the news of God's mercy and grace. Leader: For indeed each of us has fallen short and chosen our own ways. People: Yet Christ will return one day and we are each called to be prepared. Leader: Then let us proclaim to all the world, the glory of God is at hand. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, eternal and everlasting Lord, You have set before us the promise of ...

3679. Confronting Hypocrisy With Humility (I)

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Brett Blair

With Election Day upon us, I thought this text about hypocrisy was appropriate. I am reminded of a story about Theodore Roosevelt. During one of his political campaigns, a delegation called on him at his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island. The President met them with his coat off and his sleeves rolled up. "Ah, gentlemen," he said, "come down to the barn and we will talk while I do some work." At the barn, Roosevelt picked up a pitchfork and looked around for the hay. Then he called out, "John, where's all ...

3680. Jesus Our Lord Is Coming

Matthew 3:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: tambourine Good morning, boys and girls. Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent and the fourth time for us to use one of the ancient, but still-used instruments. Who can remember the names of the instruments that we talked about the last three Sundays? (Let the children try to name them with some hints if necessary.) Just think, Jesus might have played one of these instruments when He was a boy. Today, I brought a special instrument that I know Jesus listened to, but I am quite sure that He never ...

3681. The Nativity

Drama

Dory Younger

Director’s Notes CAST: Narrator (1 or 2) Town Crier Star Carrier Mary Joseph Shepherds (2 or 3) Angel of the Lord Angels (3 or 5 or 7) Kings (3) Drummer boy CHOIR: Remaining available children COSTUMES: Simple gowns for cast. White for angels and star carrier, blue for Mary, brown or gray for Joseph. Tinsel halos for angels, head coverings for Mary and Joseph. Shabby robes for shepherds, colorful gowns for kings, paper crowns trimmed with glitter for kings. Short trousers and ragged jacket for drummer boy ...

3682. "The Sawdust and the Circus"

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

This being Evangelism Sunday in our church, I made the flip remark to someone last week that I was going to preach about the "sawdust trail." And the answer I received really stopped me. "Oh," this person said, "going to talk about the circus, huh? What’s so theological about that?" I had thought that the "sawdust trail" was an expression that was so much of a cliche that everyone knew just what it meant - but apparently that was not the case. The sawdust trail, of course, got its name from the old tent ...

3683. The Discipline of Witnessing

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Today we talk about witnessing, or "TELLING OTHERS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST." This is even more difficult for most of us. For, quite frankly, we Presbyterians don’t like to think about witnessing. We leave it to the Mormons, or the Jehovah Witnesses, or some of the fringe groups; we much prefer to do things "decently and in order." Somehow witnessing sounds too fanatic! Someone has characterized us as being parallel to those men who belong to the military reserve. We go to drills once a week but we are not on ...

3684. 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 ...

3685. I Affirm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

TEXT: "Wherefore, sirs, be of good courage, for I believe in God." Acts 27:25 There are two ways to interpret the extraordinary story of adventure at sea which is described in chapter 27 of Acts. We can look at the courage and the faith of Paul. He had been arrested after preaching for several years as a Christian evangel. When he was threatened with death he appealed as a Roman citizen for his trial to be held in the city of Rome which was his right as a citizen. Escorted by heavy guard, he was taken from ...

3686. Which Self Are You?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

You no doubt have heard the old story of the three inmates of a mental hospital who were having a discussion. The first insisted that he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The second asked how he knew he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The first replied, "God told me!" And the third chimed in, "I did not!" And then there was the patient who appeared unexpectedly at his psychiatrist’s office, and asked what was wrong by the doctor, he replied, "I just HAD to come today, Doctor. For some reason, I just feel myself." Well, ...

3687. God of the Weekday

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

You say that we are a sophisticated, civilized, and intellectually mature people, that certainly in the climb of human progress, we have risen above such primitive things as, for instance, superstition? Well, let us think again, dear friends. Whether we like it or not, the old superstitions persist, the old fetishes still cling to us, the old fantasies still control us. A case in point: I remember a public hearing on open housing in our city, and I was discussing the matter with the owner of large real ...

3688. Facing the Glory Road

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Tell me, how would you like to have life served up to you? The newest neophyte among the Madison Avenue ad men will tell you. Every word of copy that they write promises to fulfill what they consider your deepest yearnings. You want it soft, just as soft as Puff facial tissues. You want it comfortable. You want it secure. You want to live in a kind of bovine, cud-chewing complacency, comfort, and contentment. You want to be born without labor pain to your mother, to live in a computerized, automated Utopia ...

3689. If You Had Been Here

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Have you ever felt as if God had let you down, had withdrawn His protecting arm from you? Even the question seems foolish, because we know the answer before we ask it. We pastors who have walked hospital corridors with loved ones have seen the prayers of so many people seemingly go unanswered. We have seen parents pray earnestly for a sick baby, and then have gone to the cemetery to bury the much-prayed-for child. We have sought to comfort men whose wives have slipped from them just when their families ...

3690.

Drama

David E. Ullery

CAST (in order of appearance) Claudia: The wife of Pontius Pilate, Procurator of Palestine. She has been influenced by Jesus. Rachel: A Jewish servant-girl in Pilate’s household. Joanna: Wife of the chief steward in Herod’s household. She is a follower of Jesus. Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the strong-willed Procurator, symbol of the hated Roman conquerors. Sergius: A Roman soldier, personal body-guard of Pontius Pilate. Caiaphas: Chief Priest and leader of the Jewish Sanhedrin, an evil and crafty man - a ...

3691. A WALL OF ROCK AND THE EVERYBODY GAP

Drama

William McKee Aber

A Dialogue - Drama for presentation in the church chancel This dialogue-drama was written by Dr. William Aber and the Rev. William Myers and was adapted from a presentation given at the First Congregational Church of Downers Grove, Illinois. It was first presented in this form at the Hiland Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the conclusion of a series of sermons on "The Gaps of our Age." The theme of this dialogue-drama is that people build walls between themselves in everyday life. They ...

3692. Mission Accomplished!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

"Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them." Possibly the most awesome and fantastic picture I have ever seen is the earth-moon shot taken by the Apollo astronauts. Emerging from behind the moon for the first time after entering lunar orbit, there in the foreground is the moon landscape. In the background, emerging from the blackness of space is the earth, 230,000 miles away. How insignificant we as individuals appear from ...

3693. Feed My Sheep

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Ewart E. Turner

There are times when honesty demands that we "spiritualize" a teaching of Jesus. He did not mean steel swords when in those last hours he told his disciples, "let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one" (Luke 22:36). He meant, as Paul meant in Ephesians 6, "the sword of the Spirit." His dazed disciples did not translate the striking figure that he used into the Master’s intended meaning. Witness what they did: they brought him two steel swords, maybe blood flecked. Anticipating a kind of "good ...

3694. The Thief

Luke 23:26-43

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: a mask I want to introduce you today to a man whom we would not want for a friend. That’s different, isn't it? I do not introduce you to people like this very often, but today we are going to pretend that we are listening to a thief. This is not an ordinary thief, but a very special thief. This is the thief who died on a cross beside Jesus when Jesus was crucified. I don’t know his name, but that is not very important for our story. Will you now please pretend that the thief is here, and that he is ...

3695. The Crowd That Mocked Him

Matthew 27:27-31

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some reeds Jesus has been found guilty by Pilate because of the crowd of hate. If was an awful scene and one that a lot of us will want to forget. It will be a little hard to get over the words that we shouted, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him." But we must begin today to think like another crowd. I want you to be soldiers today and to act like soldiers. Soldiers are different kinds of people at different times. They are supposed to do what they are told and to follow the orders that are given to them. ...

3696. The Testing Law Man

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

I am not a Christian. This Jesus was properly crucified. It was the just conclusion to his questionable actions, his inciting to riot, his disloyal remarks. I realize that your bias is to see this Nazarene as a fine man, even the Christ, the Son of God. But you are misguided - and very likely, by your profession, you are undermining the whole fabric of our common life. First, my credentials: I am a graduate of one of the finest law schools in Jerusalem. My training - as with all lawyers of this age - is in ...

3697. Toward Health With Confidence

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Our town is midway between nowhere and nothing. It is set on the side of a hill that is not steep enough to be called a hill. The sun bakes it during the day, and the evening wind brings dust and chill to our doors. Our town has existed as long as anyone can remember - rooted here in the same way and size, and with the same bleakness. Our life was stirred only when an occasional camel caravan passed by, or when the Roman legions moved through on some unknown mission. Birth and death settled in our town and ...

3698. Broken Bread, Shared Cup

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

The word is from the third chapter of Mark’s Gospel, the 16, 17, and 18th verses: "So he appointed the Twelve: to Simon he gave the name Peter; then came the sons of Zebedee, James and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Sons of Thunder; then Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus ..." Thaddaeus. That is my name. And I want you to hear me for while my name to you is but an ancient word upon the dusty scrolls of distant time, I would talk ...

3699. OUR LORD BETRAYED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

It was a spring evening. The hot summer sun later would burn off the green and leave the hills barren, but now the grey-tan of their rocky slopes was mottled with sparse vegetation and bright patches of spring flowers. There was a cool edge in the air as the sun drifted toward the far horizon and the company of men walked briskly along the trait that wound northwestward from Bethany to Jerusalem. There were eleven in the group, two having gone earlier in the day to arrange for a room where the Passover ...

3700. OUR LORD RISEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

For those who grieve, time is a burden. It moves through emptiness with excruciating slowness, its spiritual malaise aggravated by fleeting memories of joys that never again will be. From sundown Friday when she watched as they placed her Lord in the stone vault until sundown Saturday, the world had stood still for Mary of Magdala. These were the holy hours of the Sabbath when the faithful praised God for the goodness of life, but for Mary they were an eternity of sorrow. The widow Mary of Jerusalem and ...

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