Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 351 to 375 of 612 results

351. Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Luke, the Gospel for the Year, wants the entire story of Jesus, as he knows it, to be told, not only to Theophilus, but to the larger audience who will read his gospel. This Sunday's theological task is to retell the story of John the Baptist's ministry, so as to show John's role in the advent of Jesus in his baptism and the beginning of his ministry here on earth. John might be called the "connector," because he "connected" the prophecies of the Old Testament to the coming of Christ as ...

352. A Lesson From Prayers Overheard

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

We Watched His Eyes! It was late New Year's Day when the showdown finally came. The number one and two college bowl teams in the nation were set to fight it out in the Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Arizona, deciding who would lay claim to being the "Beast of the East" and the best in the nation. Among those who predict such things, there was agreement that the nation's number one team would remain number one that night. Their passing attack had been unstoppable all season long, and it would remain so. A high- ...

353. Which Jesus Do You See?

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

There seems to be little connection between the Greek's request and Jesus' response until you begin to speculate about why this leap in logic. Something appears to be missing. Why does Jesus seemingly ignore the Greeks request for an audience with him? Jesus knows that the Greeks "Seek Wisdom" and are only interested in debate and dialogue on theological philosophical issues of the day. Even if they are God Fearers they are perhaps noncommittal. Jesus draws a line in the sand now that this is Passion Week ...

354. Proper 15 & Pentecost 13

Isaiah 56:1-8, Psalm 67:1-7, Psalm 78:1-72, Exodus 16:1-36, Romans 11:11-24, Romans 11:25-32, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The phrase used in the title for the day, "after Pentecost," reminds the church and its preachers that the journey to Christ the King Sunday is roughly half-completed. The Holy Spirit is still at work in the church, bringing people to the Lord, undergirding the faith of the believers, and inspiring the people of God to devote themselves to good works and loving service in the name of Jesus Christ. Of itself, the church year "theological framework" has little direct influence upon the ...

355. My God, My God, ... Why?

Mark 15:33-41

Drama

Setting: There is a cross in the front center stage. Only the backlights are on. See diagram on page 50 (in printed version of this book only) which shows actors’ paths across the stage. The centurion is standing holding a spear. Mary Magdalene is the least obvious and is standing or leaning against a far wall. Joseph of Arimathea is seated under the back lights which have cast the cross and the two other witnesses in silhouette. Each character speaks in turn, but oblivious to the others. Text: Mark 15:33- ...

356. An Unhappy Homecoming

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

It is customary for politicians to launch political campaigns in their hometowns. Hometown is supposedly where your most fervent supporters are. Jesus launched his public ministry in his hometown of Nazareth, a town of about 20,000. It was there he had grown up, played with friends, worshipped in the synagogue, and assisted his father around the carpenter shop. We think that father Joseph died when Jesus was perhaps in his late teens. Thereafter, Jesus as eldest son took over the carpenter shop and earned ...

357. Jesus Replaced Someone At Calvary

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a man called a church by mistake. The church receptionist happened to be distracted at the time, and did not answer the phone in the usual fashion. She just said "Hello." The man said, "I want to order one pound of Barbecue, two pints of cole slaw and a dozen hush puppies." The receptionist said, "Wait a minute, sir. We are not a food service operation. You must have the wrong number." The man hesitated a moment and then asked, "What do you sell? What business are you in?" That IS a fair question ...

358. Mary Magdalene, Stephanus, and Lucia

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting Night on a Jerusalem street. Properties may include background painting of a first century building in front of which Mary Magdalene is standing when she encounters Stephanus and Lucia. Normally, no properties are required other than the audience’s imagination. Costumes Mary: flowing robe of black and white. Veil of same material, white, to cover hair. Sandals. A sparkling ring or two on her hands. Stephanus: simple white toga, sandals. Lucia: long, simple dress of bright colors. She may wear ...

359. Good News For Parents And For Kids, Too!

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of you made New Year's resolutions this year? Hold up your hand. Now, how many of you have already broken at least one of those resolutions? Weight Watchers and Nutri-System and all the other diet plans have their biggest months in January. Did you hear about the notice that appeared in a church bulletin: "Weight Watchers will meet this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Please use the large double door at the side entrance." Some of us have resolved to pursue an exercise program. One fellow says that he doesn' ...

360. It's Not Nice To Call Someone A Dog

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the appealing characteristics of the historical Jesus is how open he was to people ” all kinds of people. Will Rogers once said he never met a man he didn’t like. Jesus never met a person he didn’t love. People from all kinds of situations found themselves comfortable in his presence. He didn’t come across as stuffy or pretentious. It reminds me of the story of a priest in the mountains of Kentucky who had come home with a family of new converts for dinner. He was received cordially by all but the ...

361. Teamwork

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Rev. Dr. Ward Williams

In the fifth century B.C., the Jewish people were captives in Persia. With the enthronement of a new Persian ruler, those who chose to return to Judah were allowed to do so. Many started life anew in the area of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a Jew who had held a high position at the Persian court. He received permission to return to his native land, where he was authorized to take charge of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a dynamic leader with a gift for organizing and directing the cooperative ...

362. What Would It Take?

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

One fellow was bragging to another about his grandfather: "My grandfather," he said, "knew the exact day of the exact year when he was going to die. Not only that, he knew the time he would die that day as well." His friend said, "Wow, that's incredible. How did he know all of that?" The first fellow said: "Because a judge told him." An old man looks out from prison bars. This is a view he's seen before. He's been arrested many times. He has suffered numerous beatings. Funny how life turns out. He was once ...

363. Like Parent, Like Child

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy was in church one Sunday morning with his grandmother. Everything went well until it was time for the offering. The grandmother began to frantically search through her purse, but she couldn’t find her offering envelope. Apparently she had left it at home. It was a most embarrassing moment for her as she kept looking through her purse for something to put in the collection plate. Her grandson sensed her dilemma. The little boy had a solution to her problem. “Here, Gramma,” he told her, “you ...

364. Let the Son Shine In

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I make no apology for the pun in the title of this sermon, for the author of the Fourth gospel delights in just such puns. Many of the words which he uses have double meanings, meanings which can only be understood fully against the background in which the words were originally spoken. That is what makes this Gospel so exciting. There are hidden depths of meaning which can be found beneath the surface John says specifically that Jesus spoke the words during the Jewish “Feast of Tabernacles” (7:2) in ...

365. Family Reunion

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT FAMILY REUNIONS? My son-in-law calls them “Family Rebellions.” Have you ever visited in a home where they have a photograph on the wall of a family reunion, where 30 or more people, from infants to the aged, are squeezed into an 8 x 10 photograph and frozen on film for all time? The patriarch of the family is usually positioned smack dab in the middle of the first row and is easily identified by that “Gee-did-I-start-all-this” look on his face. Family reunions are funny things. You ...

366. Palm Sunday (Prologue)

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Once upon a time, before television, there was radio. You know what radio is—television without pictures. Well, before television, one of the most popular daytime radio programs was called “Queen for a Day.” If I remember it correct-ly (and it was a long time ago!), each day four or five women from the studio audience would tell the host what they would like to have and do if they could be “Queen for a Day.” And then, on the basis of applause, one woman was chosen, and insofar as they were able, the ...

367. How to Recognize a Prophet

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

In his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington tells of being awakened every morning in the slave quarters long before daylight by an old rooster crowing. The sound of the crowing rooster was the sign for the slaves to hit the floor and move out to the field to begin a day of hard work. According to Washington, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and the slaves realized they had been freed, something changed in the Washington shanty. He recalls awakening the ...

368. God Shows No Partiality

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

We have a crowd here today on this Easter Sunday. Churches are always crowded on Easter. As the prophet Isaiah would say, the multitudes literally trample the courts of God. And we are glad you all have come. A lot of different reasons have led us here, of course. For those of us who worship regularly in this church, Easter Sunday is the crown and climax of the Christian year. For others, who do not come so often, Easter Sunday always brings with it special music, and some of you are music lovers. Others ...

369. The Book that Changes Lives

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

Every once in a while you will run across something in a secular magazine that feeds your spirit. There was an item in a recent Smithsonian magazine that speaks to our lesson for today. It was a story on the history of that legendary town of the Old West, Tombstone, Arizona. In the late 1870s, miners discovered silver in the DragoonMountains of Arizona. An area that had once been desert wasteland became the bustling mining town of Tombstone---so named because the first miner to explore the site had been ...

370. A Thousand Years Of Ashes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

When Pastor Derek Rust of Lakeville, Minnesota, preached a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, he decided to provide his congregation with a pro-active way to live out the lessons. For the eighth commandment—“Thou shalt not steal”—Rust placed large bins throughout the church and encouraged parishioners to drop off any items that they had stolen over the years. Rust was inspired by the example of British pastor J. John, who placed such bins in his own church. The response has been surprising. The week ...

371. God Never Gives Up

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Mark Trotter

“Amazing Grace” is always listed among the favorite hymns. It is an old one. It goes back to the 18th century, written by John Newton, who was on the sea from the time he was a little boy. When he was a young man he became the captain of his own ship, a ship that brought African slaves to the colonies to work the plantations. Back in England, between voyages, he went to hear George Whitefield preach and was converted. He realized the evil of his occupation, left it, and became a priest in the Church of ...

372. The Paraclete Is Not a Bird

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The reason the title of this sermon is, "The Paraclete Is Not a Bird," is because I never met a pun I didn't use. But it needs explanation. A parakeet, you know. It's a cute, little bird. But the word "paraclete" is probably a word you are not familiar with. It is a rather esoteric word. It is a technical term found mostly in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John. We read only a portion of that chapter this morning, but the word "paraclete" appears there several times. It is a Greek word. The New ...

373. While You Are Waiting

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

One of the prominent themes of the Advent season is the theme of waiting. One of the favorite lessons about waiting is found in Jesus' Parable of the Bridesmaids, which was read as our New Testament lesson for this morning, and was echoed in the anthem performed by the Contemporary Singers, "Keep Your Lamps!" Jesus' parables are often based on customs that were familiar to the audience to which he first addressed them. The Bridesmaids is no exception. I understand that the custom, which is reflected in the ...

374. Move Life from Duty to Destiny

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Theme: Here is all you and I need to know about the future: It will be filled with Christ’s Presences, and fulfilled with his Promises. This is our destiny as disciples of Jesus: filled presences, and fulfilled promises. Exegesis: “The Word-Made-Flesh . . .” The gospel text for this Sunday before Thanksgiving Sunday continues the theme of last week’s lectionary reading: predictions of impending destruction and the approach of the end times. Though it is not explicitly stated, the presumed audience here is ...

375. The Naked Christian

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Advertisers know that in marketing any product the right packaging is crucial. No matter what you are trying to sell soap or semi-conductors the image projected by the packaging is the first experience of the product for the potential consumer. So it had better be a great experience. One of the trendiest marketing ploys is intentionally dressing down the product. Lining my shower is a whole row of shampoos and bath gels that are encased in what look like the glassware from a nineteenth-century chemist's ...

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