Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3701 to 3725 of 4986 results

3701. Belonging? Don’t Be Longing

John 17:6-19

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Live in the world. Be not of it. Love all in the world. Stay in it. God is here. We are here. All may share. Collect In your name we gather, Hearts and hopes we raise. Spirit, Son, and Father, Equally we praise. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord of glory, we come before you this day, patient in our waiting, but hopeful as well ...

3702. A Deserted Place

Mark 1:29-39

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Slow down. Slow ... down. Hear ... the ... Lord. Collect Deserted. Desert. Arrested. Arid. Spare. Bare. Stranger. Danger. Strife. Life Life? Life in deserted places and spaces. Retreat! And stay. Pray. In the midst of God's mission and the cares of the world we carve out a niche, kneel with our Lord, and pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession We gather together as sisters and brothers, Lord of all life, to pray for your presence. Speak to us and in ...

3703. Believe It Or Not!

Isaiah 52:13--53:12, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... 's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. (Based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25) Collect Beyond belief, beyond hope, beyond grief, beyond tears — how we desire to get beyond pain to resurrection. But we will bide together as God's people, staying awake, and watch with horror and amazement at what God has done for us. Amen.

3704. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Psalm 118:19-20, Isaiah 50:4-9a

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. (Psalm 118:19-20) Collect Lord, you knew. If you knew, how could you do? Yet you did. The disciples hid. Hear our prayer. Had we been there, what would we have done? Our prayer as one, that we should bide, stay at your side, from the waving of the palms, past our fears and our qualms, to the nailing of your palms. Save us, Lord. Amen. Prayer Of Confession God who sustains us, we reflect upon the words of your prophet and pray for your vindication. When the storms ...

3705. The True Gate Of Heaven

Acts 2:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... , but that all proved to be nothing but babble. You can't put down deep roots and claim to control God. The Spirit speaks with clarity through God's people, so that all might hear the great news in their own tongue. Gone is Babel, Babylon, babble, and here to stay is the Spirit and we'll never hold still again. Welcome. This is the gate of heaven, and it's time we know it! Collect I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Come Holy Spirit ...

3706. Living Church

Mark 2:23—3:6

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Decide — what is better? A quiet, orderly, sterile sabbath where everyone stays in line, nothing unexpected happens, and everyone is able to leave safe, sound, and untouched by mission — or a loud, child-filled, exuberant worship of the most high God, where anything could happen, including changed lives and commissioned slaves of the Lord. Decide. Which is better? Collect Lord, you have ...

3707. The Longest Shortest Half Of A Verse

Mark 6:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... happen. Let us take hold of the Ordinary Time, squeezed in between rejection and commission, and with God's help do great things! Collect Lord we may reject you. God, we may serve you. You have granted us the freedom to come to this place, or to stay away, to serve you with our hearts, hands, and feet, or to serve you with our lips only. Send us among the ones hurting in our neighborhoods. Send us further, beyond, to the four corners of the world! We would be your disciples, your apostles, your family ...

3708. Perfect Planning, Perfect Peace

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Amen. (Psalm 96:1-2) Prayer Of Confession Sharpen our hearing, Lord, so we can hear again the cry of the infant. Open our eyes so we might see the star. Rouse us, Lord that we might stay awake for the arrival of the angels. Loosen our fists that we might freeIy give as we have freely received. Let our holiday become a holy day. Amen. Hymns Angels We Have Heard On High Of The Father's Love Begotten Silent Night

3709. Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... eye evil because I am good?” The attitude of the “first-hired” towards the unexpected generosity bestowed upon the “last-hired” is often compared with that of the older “good” son in Luke’s “Prodigal Son” parable. There too the one who stayed and labored long and obediently is disgruntled at the extravagant care and even “unfair” treatment the father bestows on the son who finally returns home. In both parables justice is assured, the justice of the agreed upon payment of a day’s ...

3710. Generosity Is the Secret to Our Joy

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

John Claypool

... their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership. So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide equally what they had corporately produced. Across the years the elder brother never married, stayed an old bachelor. The younger brother did marry and had eight wonderful children. Some years later when they were having a wonderful harvest, the old bachelor brother thought to himself one night, "My brother has ten mouths to feed. I ...

3711. Christ’s Twin

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... through Grand Central isn’t going to a honeymoon, or a party. Many are going to funerals, the hospital, even to prison.” He ministered to the people whose bags he carried, and he affected many lives. Larson says that on this trip to England, they stayed in a home where Ralston had previously been a guest. Larson was surprised to find a Thom McAn shoehorn displayed prominently on a table in the bedroom. He asked his host where he got it. The host was a little embarrassed. “Ralston left that behind ...

3712. So Much Comes from Our Choices

Matthew 21:28-32

Illustration

Mike Baker

... close friends who were teammates on a football team. Friends who shared a view of a promising future in professional sports and also who looked forward to continued success during their collegiate career. These two friends made separate choices last November. One chose to stay at home while the other decided to go hunting with two other friends. The hunting wasn't all that was on the list of activities though. These three drank heavily up into the early morning hours at which time they decided to go driving ...

3713. Rebellion in the Vineyard - Sermon Starter

Mt 21:33-46

Illustration

King Duncan

... 't speak Japanese. How would he communicate with the people he came in contact with? Since most taxi drivers do not speak English, someone suggested that it might be a good idea to carry with him something bearing the name of the hotel at which he would be staying written in Japanese. That was exactly what he did. As soon as he arrived in Japan he picked up a box of matches bearing the name and address of his hotel. Then he went sight-seeing. Afterwards he got into a taxi and did as the friend suggested ...

3714. When What’s Holding You Up Lets You Down

2 Samuel 18:33-19:8

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... so rejected they would desert him. After all, they had put down the rebellion and now the business of government had to go on. Joab said, "now go at once and give your servants some encouragement; if you refuse, I swear by the Lord that not a man will stay with you tonight, and that would be a worse disaster than any you have suffered since your earliest days" (19:7). David looked at his options. He could allow his army to desert and let the kingdom revert to chaos, or he could get up and go forward. There ...

3715. The Parable of the Choices

Matthew 21:28-31

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... eternal life that is already ours? Christian convictions tell us who God is. Is God, "the force" "a psychological phenomenon"? Fate? No, said Jesus, God is our Heavenly Parent, who accepts us as we are. God gives us free choice in responding, forgives us when we repent, stays with us all the way. God loves us and chooses to redeem us through faith in Christ and his work on the cross. So, let's let go of confusion; take hold of conviction. I can't explain exactly how our conviction that the suffering love of ...

3716. When God Says No

2 Samuel 7:1-9; 16-18

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... , "Who said what?" So things change just because they do, but sometimes things change because God says No. Some of us would like to remain children, but God says No, you must grow and leave behind you one stage of life after another. Some would like to stay adolescents, but God says No, you must be adults and accept responsibility. We would like life to be comfortable and secure; but God says No, life is made real only by challenge, conflict and change. God said No, David, you can't be a shepherd, for I ...

3717. Ten Million Dollar Winners

Matthew 18:23-35

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... to receive the greatest gift in the world because only God can forgive without a trace. In the comic strip "For Better or For Worse," teenage Michael shoves his little sister Lizzie out of his room and slams the door. "I said get out of my room and stay out." But the slamming door catches Lizzie's finger and she is injured. In the next frame Lizzie, Michael and their mother are in the Emergency Room where Lizzie's broken finger is x-rayed and set. Leaving the hospital, a contrite Michael says to the tearful ...

3718. Mary, Did You Know?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... 15 or 20 stress points right now. A writer by the name of Bridget Kuhns took Dr. Holmes’ scale and applied it to Mary. Holmes calculated that any pregnancy earns 40 points: an unwanted pregnancy, add 20 more. A change in living conditions Mary stayed three months with Elizabeth earns 25 more. Marriage to Joseph: 50 points. A change in financial status: 38 points. Surely there must have been words between them when she discovered that he had not made reservations at the inn: score 35 points for an argument ...

3719. Don’t Fear the Wait

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... Caesar, we rode off to your home. Night fell before we finished the journey and as it grew dark I became more afraid. ‘Do you think she will go to bed before we get there?' I asked Caesar nervously. ‘Oh, no,' Caesar replied, ‘she will certainly be up to stay with you. When we get through these woods you will see her light shining in the window.' "We made it to the clearing and there was the light as he promised. I remember that you were waiting in the doorway. You put your arms around me and lifted me ...

3720. God Is Amazing

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... would want to know. They were odd people, troublesome, and difficult to understand. The way they lived their lives was a shame. These men all went to the same church, but most would not have wanted them as parishioners. Everybody went fishing on Sundays or stayed home and spoke with his friends. Anybody wanted to worship, but he was afraid that Somebody would speak with him. Thus, guess who went to church — that's right, Nobody. Actually, Nobody was the only decent one of the lot. Nobody did the parish ...

3721. Momentous Moment

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David T. Ball

... hadn’t come from such a good family. Because when he thought about the problems he was having with alcohol, he hated himself for it. He knew how disappointed his parents would be in him, if they knew how much he was drinking. And although he was managing to stay in school, and to keep his career goals on track, he had a bothersome sense that his ability to do so was slipping away, and it might all collapse in disaster. He resolved to quit drinking, but he just couldn’t stick with it. And every time he ...

3722. Do Politics and Religion Mix?

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

Stephen M. Crotts

... , do politics and religion mix? The first amendment of the United States Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibit the free exercise thereof." What the first amendment is saying is that government should stay out of religion, but religious people can exercise their faith in the influence of public policy. Over the past fifty years, lawmakers have misinterpreted the Constitution. We've majored in the first part of the amendment while abandoning the ...

3723. Time to Come Home

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... Ukraine, from China or the Philippines, there is a bond to the homeland that never dies. Sure, the new country is adopted. New customs and languages learned. There are new friends, and in many cases, spouses and families. But always, the soil of home stays a little bit between your toes. One thing, too, that's important to remember is that immigrants, most of them anyway, leave home by choice. There are millions of people around the globe who don't get a choice. Famine, disease, and advancing armies uproot ...

3724. Does Easter Make a Difference?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... boldly because they drew power from Christian community. These early Christians saw the church as a family of brothers and sisters with God as the Father. No one of them had it all together, but together they had it all. That's why they stayed together. Sunday by Sunday, through word, sacrament, and fellowship, these early followers of the risen Christ drew strength from one another. They saw their churches as mission stations from which to depart to witness and serve. The church was understood to be like a ...

3725. Final Instructions

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... group of Jews was left. Those who were left intermarried with pagans and forgot their devotion to the one true God. They became the hated Samaritans. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem and started to rebuild the walls and the temple, they insisted on staying away from those who had compromised Jewish monotheism and morality. The apostles were all Jews. In his final orders, Jesus told his followers to go to people who were their enemies. We have people around us who have turned away from God and become ...

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