Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 351 to 375 of 388 results

351. The Passion Narrative

Luke 22:14-23:56

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: At the beginning of Jesus' last week, he entered Jerusalem as King of Jews. But within a few days, he was betrayed, denied, and crucified. People: We praise God for Jesus, the King of our lives! But we confess that we too, reject our King, abandoning him to suffer because of our sins. Pastor: We worship today to stir ourselves to a new commitment to Christ as Ruler of our lives. People: We ask for God's help to change our direction in life, that we may become committed followers of ...

352. I Love You But I Don't Like You

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A wife was in an automobile accident one day. She phoned her husband at the first opportunity. Now you know the very first thing he should have asked. Well, he didn't. Instead, he asked, "How much damage did it do to the car? Whose fault was it?" Then he issued this guidance: "Don't admit to anything. Tell the policeman that you have nothing to say until you talk with your attorney. I will call the insurance company." Then she asked rather testily, "Have you got anything else to say?" "No," he replied. " ...

353. Partners in the Impossible

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" (v. 5b) A minister was making a home visit to one of the younger families in his parish. A five-year-old boy answered the front door and told the minister his mother would be there shortly. To make some conversation, the minister asked the little guy what he would like to be when he grows up. The boy immediately answered, "I’d like to be possible." "What do you mean by that?" the puzzled minister asked. "Well, you see," the boy replied, "just about ...

354. On Picking Your Battles

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

There was a church where the pastor and the minister of music were not getting along. As time went by, this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the pastor preached on commitment and how we all should dedicate ourselves to the service of God. The music director led the song, "I Shall Not Be Moved." The second week the pastor preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The director led the song, "Jesus Paid it All." The third week the pastor ...

355. Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:1-11, Matthew 27:11-54, Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-7 Yahweh's servant faces suffering confident of his help. This pericope constitutes the third of the four servant songs in Isaiah. Yahweh's servant hears his voice and is therefore fortified with determination to suffer mental agony in terms of ridicule, false accusations, humiliation, and shame. He suffers confidently because Yahweh will vindicate, help, and pronounce him innocent. Epistle: Philippians 2:6-11 Jesus' humiliation and God's exaltation of him. Paul is ...

356. Addiction Free

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"No! No! No! No! No!" Our three year old has no doubts about his opinion. Trouble is, he doesn't really know what he is holding this opinion about. But Egil is in de-tox. We are weaning him off two tough habits at once. First, although Egil is unaware of it, we have been gradually decreasing the Phenobarbital he has been on since he was seven months old and seizures began to rack his tiny body after a bout with encephalitis. After two heavily sedated years with a high-powered drug, it is time to see if he ...

357. Why Join a Church?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At the tender age of 18, I accepted my first appointment as pastor of a local church. Almost every Sunday for the past 38 years, I have stepped into some pulpit to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. For a lifetime, the local Church has captured my heart, my mind, my strength, and my deepest devotion. Today, I believe in her mission more than ever before. The local Church, in my opinion, is still God’s best hope for humanity. What makes a church great is not its building and not its steeple. What makes a ...

358. When the Golden Rule Isn't Enough - Mother's Day

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Today we honor our moms. Not everybody can be a mom, but everyone at some time in their life has had a mom, and at that time our mom was the most important person in our world. Some of us had moms who made great sacrifices in our behalf. We are profoundly grateful for that. So today we honor our moms. It’s not easy being a mom. Here are some examples of some mothers and things they could have said: Mona Lisa’s mother: “After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that’s the biggest smile ...

359. Recognize that One Must Submit to the Government Despite Injustice

Ecclesiastes 8:2-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

8:1–17 Review · In chapter 8, Qoheleth takes up the topic of the role of government and judicial authority, especially in relationship to “evil” (the Hebrew root for “evil” occurs seven times in Ecclesiastes 8). This section is remarkably similar in some of its perspectives to Romans 13, though not necessarily Paul’s source. Both texts note the theological basis as well as the personal benefits of submission to authority, although Ecclesiastes 8 focuses more on the latter than Romans 13. Here the author ...

360. Job's Final Concession

Job 42:1-6

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Job’s final words provide a more satisfying response to the theophany than his earlier non-speech in 40:3–5. There Job essentially refused to say anything more than he had uttered in the dialogue section. We were left with no clue as to how the appearance of God had affected or changed him. Job is now apparently ready to say his piece in response to God, suggesting that the poetic discourses are reaching their conclusion. 42:1 Then Job replied to the LORD. The introduction to Job’s response employs the ...

361. Living Praise Versus Deathly Silence

Psalm 30:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 30 is among the thanksgiving psalms, which form the flip side to the prayer psalms of the individual. The prayer psalms generally close with a vow of praise that once Yahweh has delivered the supplicant, the supplicant will sing a thanksgiving psalm to Yahweh. The issue of Psalm 30 in particular is death and silence versus life and praise. It begins with a proclamation of praise and an introductory summary of Yahweh’s deliverance (v. 1) and of the worshiper’s calling and Yahweh’s responding (vv. 2–3 ...

362. The Main Business of the Church

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Alice Lee Humphreys in her book Angels in Pinafores tells about her experiences as a first grade teacher. She tells about one little girl who came to school one winter day wearing a beautiful white angora beret with white mittens and a matching muff. As she was coming through the door, a mischievous little boy grabbed the white muff and threw it in the mud. After disciplining the little boy, the teacher sought to comfort the little girl. Brushing the mud off of her soiled muff, the little girl looked up at ...

363. Being Good

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

Let's say that we're all here today because we want to be better people. We are here to be good, to become more righteous. After all, surely this is one of the main functions of religion, the Christian or any other, to make us better than we would have been if we had not gotten up on a cold February morning and gone to Chapel And let's agree that, even if we have not arrived, we are at least on our way toward goodness because we did get up and go to the Chapel, which in no way is meant to detract from ...

364. Love Without Demand

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

Sims Robert

“But Ruth said… where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay; your people will be my people and your God, my God; where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me severely if anything but death separates you and me (Ruth 1:16-17).” These beautiful words, with the possible exception of 1 Corinthians 13, have been quoted at more weddings than any other text. Even though they have nothing to do with romantic love, they seem right for the occasion because they reflect the ...

365. No Little Bit

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

There comes in the mail a rectangular piece. The envelop already warns, "DO NOT FOLD OR MUTILATE." The card inside has holes. Also an eleven digit number. Also the message, "If there is any question about your account, please be sure to give this number. Do not fold or tear or staple this card. Thank you." If we tender this holey document the proper respect and remit the amount it demands, it will go to an office and glide through a machine and register our eleven digit number as being paid up. The machine ...

366. The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

There's a true story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her. She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side ...

367. No Salt in the City?

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Last fall the phone rang in my study. It was a newspaper pollster doing a survey on church and society. His main question was, "What would your city be like without the church?" I was tempted to be funny in my reply. Like the cartoon that shows a pack of wolves howling at the moon. A wolf on the back row is looking worried and asks another fanged friend, "Do you think we're doing any good?" Sometimes I feel like that when the church seems to be ignored or irrelevant. Yet anytime one feels he is small and ...

368. Bread As A Weapon

John 6:25-59

Illustration

Brett Blair

200 years before Jesus arrived on the scene, the Roman Emperor Aurelian initiated something called the "bread dole." This meant that grain could be supplied to the poor for half price. The dole quickly became a political tool to be used by tribunes to buy voters. If Jesus were not careful, this whole thing of giving bread could quickly degenerate into a tool to win friends and influence people. He would become as just another demagogue. Bread can be used as a weapon. Indeed, there are those in our own ...

369. Living in a Plastic Bubble

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Mark Trotter

I feel as though I live in a plastic bubble. It surrounds me, but it cannot be seen. I see everyone around me, I hear them speak. Behind their words, they hide from me. They look at me and think they know me. But they don't see my bubble, they don't look long enough to see it. I try to talk with them, to share myself, but my words return, unlistened to. And nobody hears. I move through the days insulated in my protective bubble. I reach out to ones that I love, but they don't notice. They don't feel my ...

370. Christ, Incarnation of

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story is told of Shah Abbis, a Persian monarch who loved his people very much. To know and understand them better, he would mingle with his subjects in various disguises. One day he went as a poor man to the public baths and in a tiny cellar sat beside the fireman who tended the furnace. When it was mealtime the monarch shared his coarse food and talked to his lonely subject as a friend. Again and again he visited and the man grew to love him. One day the Shah told him he was the monarch, expecting the ...

371. Moses Intercedes for the People

Exodus 33:7-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

32:30–33:17 Review: Recognizing that the heinous sin still needs to be addressed, Moses continues his role as mediator, declaring his willingness to sacrifice himself (32:30–32). In response, God declares that the Israelites will go forward to the covenant land, but they have forfeited the fullness of God’s presence. Instead, God’s angel will accompany them (32:33–34; cf. 23:20–23). Paradoxically, God’s threat to withdraw his presence is for Israel’s protection. He knows their ongoing rebellion against him ...

372. Achan's Sin

Joshua 7:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

With such an auspicious start, one would naturally expect a string of victories to immediately follow. But as the Israelites move westward toward Ai, they experience a surprising defeat. To prepare the readers for this unexpected development, the author preemptively discloses in 7:1 the reason for defeat, namely, that Achan has secretly taken some of the devoted things for himself. Notice that although it is evident throughout the narrative that this violation is entirely Achan’s own, both the author in 7: ...

373. The Death of Samson

Judges 16:23-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Celebrating Samson’s capture, the Philistines gather to give credit to their god Dagon for this turn of events (16:23–30). To add insult to injury, they have Samson brought out to entertain them. Perhaps feigning tiredness, Samson requests to lean on the pillars supporting the temple, and there, prays for strength for one last time. As he pushes hard on the supporting pillars, the temple collapses, killing all who are in it, including himself. Note, however, that consistent with the portrayal of Samson in ...

374. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Luke 9:10-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The apostles return from their mission, withdrawing with Jesus to the area around Bethsaida for some rest; however, the multitudes learn of Jesus’s destination and follow him. The feeding of the five thousand (9:10–17) is probably an object lesson for the disciples. They do not have the resources to feed the multitudes, but by depending on God they will have more than enough to satisfy the crowds. The story also continues to raise the question, who is this? Peter answers that query in the next section (9: ...

375. Remembering Jerusalem by the Rivers of Babylon

Psalm 137:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Remembering Jerusalem by the Rivers of Babylon Most psalms are cherished by Christians; this one is not. Its closing verses strike us as unimaginable cruelty. This corporate prayer psalm is clearly set in the Babylonian exile. We must understand what was at stake here for the exiled people of Judah. Deportation by the Babylonians was cruel: Judah lost not only a homeland but also the temple where their God had revealed himself, the king through whom God exercised his rule, and the land through which God ...

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