Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4508 results

3801. The Young Seminarian

Illustration

Peter J. Blackburn

A young seminary graduate came up to the lectern, very self-confident and immaculately dressed. He began to deliver his first sermon in his first church and the words simply would not come out. Finally he burst into tears and ended up leaving the platform obviously humbled. There were two older ladies sitting in the front row and one remarked to the other, "If he'd come in like he went out, he wo...

3802. Caught in the Fence

Illustration

Keith Wagner

Several years ago there was a newspaper cartoon that showed two fields separated by a fence. Each field was the same size and each had plenty of lush green grass. In each field there was a mule whose head stuck through the wire, eating grass from the pasture on the other side, even though it was hard to reach. In the process the mules' heads became caught in the fence. They panicked and brayed unc...

3803. The Weight of Titles

Illustration

Kenneth W. Collins

A well-known and respected priest has a doctorate degree, yet he dislikes being called ‘Reverend’ or ‘Father‘ or ‘Doctor.‘ He prefers being called just ‘Bill.‘ This man is a noted Hebrew scholar, he is a guest lecturer in German universities, he works on assignment for the Archbishop of Canterbury in matters of ecumenism, he translates the scripture readings in church from the Greek on the fly; ye...

3804. The Core of Hypocrisy

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

The entertainment industry is an ego-driven affair populated by throngs of people who are full of themselves. As even actor Marlon Brando once observed, "The greatest love affairs I have ever witnessed took place with one actor, unassisted." Yet there is even so a kind of unspoken "code" among these people that says if you are too obvious with this self-infatuation, you will be shunned. Some years...

3805. The Light Shines Through

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

A little boy attended Church with his Grandfather one Sunday. Grandpa's church had beautiful stained-glass windows. Grandpa told his grandson that the windows contained pictures of Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint John, Saint Paul, and whole lot of other saints. When he got home, the boy told Mom and Dad all about it. Dad, wanting to be funny and curious about what his son had learned...

3806. Designer Religion

Sermon

King Duncan

American Humorist Robert Benchley was leaving an elegant tavern one evening. As usual he had a little too much liquid refreshment and was a little tipsy. He found himself face to face with a uniformed man whom he took to be the doorman. “Would you get me a taxi, my good man?” Benchley asked. The uniformed man drew himself up proudly and said, “See here, I happen to be a rear admiral in the United...

3807. Faking It

Illustration

Andrea Miller

Some years ago there was a book entitled The Single Woman, written by Andrea Miller. I don't expect you to remember the book or the author but she wrote there an interesting confession that describes a modern day Pharisee. Looking back on her single days she realized that she was in reality living four lives. One was that of a young executive in a company, wearing professional clothes that made he...

3808. Moses’ Seat

Illustration

Brett Blair

The Jews had a tradition that stated that angels gave the law to Moses. Moses, in turn, passed it onto Joshua; Joshua passed it onto the elders; the elders passed it onto the prophets; and the prophets passed it onto those who led the synagogue, i.e., the Pharisees and the scribes. So, because the law originated with Moses, the position of being a teacher of God's law became known as Moses's eat. ...

3809. Electing Servants - Sermon Starter

Illustration

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 t...

3810. Uncovering Hypocrisy

Illustration

Brett Blair

A man, returning from a business trip, was met at the airport by his wife. They walked from the gate together and were standing waiting for the baggage to be unloaded. An extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the man came to life. Beaming, he said to the stewardess, "I hope we can fly together again, Miss Jones." On the way home his grew suspicious, "How come you knew the name of t...

3811. Leading by Example

Illustration

Michael P. Green

General Eisenhower would demonstrate the art of leadership with a piece of string. He'd put it on a table and say: "PULL it and it will follow wherever you wish. PUSH it and it will go nowhere at all. It's just that way when it comes to leading people. They need to follow a person who is leading by example."

3812. Practicing What We Preach

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. —Matthew 23:2-3 In today’s scripture from Matthew, Jesus accused the scribes and the Pharisees of hypocrisy. And he did not do it just once, but numerous times. Indeed, throughout Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke more often about ...

3813. Pastoring

Illustration

King Duncan

You will find proud people in every profession and in every faith. I was amused to read about Frank B. Vardeman a Presbyterian pastor in Tampa, Florida, who was using the word "pastoring" in something he was writing. He was using Word Perfect on his computer, and when he hit his computer's spellcheck key, it said the word "pastoring" was unknown. The checker suggested the following alternatives: ...

3814. Staying Open to God

Illustration

King Duncan

Dr. Carl Jung once said something that ought to cause every believer to reflect very carefully. What he said was this: "One of the main functions of formalized religion is to protect people against a direct experience of God." That hurts but it can happen. Theological and doctrinal pride can be buffers against a real experience of Christ's grace. F. Kefa Sempangi, a Ugandan pastor who barely esca...

3815. Funny You Should Mention It…

Illustration

King Duncan

A Jewish comedian tells about two men of his faith who met on the street. "Abe, why are you looking so sad?" asks Isaac. Abe answers: "It's my son. I sent him off to college, and now he has come back home all full of Gentile ideas. Where did I go wrong?" Isaac says: "Funny you should mention it! My son, too, has come home from college, with his head all messed up, filled with Gentile ideas. There ...

3816. Through Your Actions

Illustration

King Duncan

A young man from South Africa approached a minister who had just completed a lecture at a university seminar. The young man introduced himself by saying, "I am from South Africa, and I would like to ask you what for me is a very important question." The young man told the speaker of his experiences in South Africa. "I have lived in a land where my family and I have been persecuted, starved and to...

3817. True Vocation

Illustration

King Duncan

James Moore was invited to participate in a "Career Day on Campus" at one of the colleges in the Southwest. He was asked to be part of a panel discussion. Panelists were to discuss, "How Faith Influences Your Choice of a Career." First, panelists were asked to introduce themselves and mention their particular vocations. It was all rather routine. One woman gave her name and said, "I'm an attorney....

3818. The Uniformed Doorman

Illustration

King Duncan

American Humorist Robert Benchley was leaving an elegant salon one evening. As usual he had imbibed excessively. He found himself face to face with a uniformed man whom he took to be the doorman. "Would you get me a taxi, my good man?" he requested. The uniformed man drew himself up proudly. "See here, I happen to be a rear admiral in the United States Navy." Benchley said belligerently, "Just get...

3819. Making Your Mark

Illustration

King Duncan

A legend during the classic time of Greece tells of a terrible thing happened in one of the temples. One night the statue of Zeus was mysteriously smashed and desecrated. A tremendous uproar arose among the inhabitants. They feared the vengeance of the gods. The town crier walked the city streets commanding the criminal to appear without delay before the Elders to receive his just punishment. The...

3820. False Advertising

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Concept: Just as television and commercials can mislead us, our behavior can mislead others concerning our relationship with the Lord Preparation: Watch Saturday morning television geared toward children and familiarize yourself with some of the commercials with outlandish claims designed to entice youngsters. What is a commercial? (Children respond.) It's an advertisement about something that s...

3821. Step Seven - Humiltiy

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Psalm 51 is basic to the biblical foundation of this step. The introduction to this Psalm sets the context for its writing. Nathan, a prophet of God, went to David, the King of Israel, after David's affair with Bathsheba. David had gained fame and power and wealth. David had not only committed adultery with Bathsheba. When he discovered s...

3822. Proper 26

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Joshua 3:7-17 is the story of how Israel entered the promised land of Canaan by crossing the Jordan River on dry ground. Psalm 107:33-43 is both praise and reflection on the salvific power of God. Joshua 3:7-17 - "Crossing Over the Jordan" Setting. The primary story of the salvation history of Israel separates into three parts. It begins with the liberating experience of esc...

3823. (Don’t) Follow Me

Sermon

Steve Molin

It’s been a hard season for leaders; leaders of every stripe, strata, and profession. In 2017, a wave of allegations of sexual impropriety swept across our nation. The epicenter of what came to be known as #metoo movement, was Hollywood, but nearly every corner of our culture has been indicted. Women (but men, too!) would no longer be silent about the conduct of abusers, attackers, bullies and ser...

3824. The Rant

Sermon

Lori Wagner

All of Philadelphia mourned a week ago when the Phillies –the Fightin’ Phils—failed to win their last two games, forfeiting their chance to move on to the World Series. Philadelphia fans are passionate. Everybody knows it. They put themselves out there because they love their team. When teams from out of state come to Philadelphia, they experience a kind of culture shock. But what they soon realiz...

3825. Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Matthew the believer and theologian takes seriously the importance of Jesus' words to that first generation of disciples. But Matthew the Gospel writer and apologist to the second generation audience of Christians also takes seriously the needs and questions of his readers. To this end then we need to compare Jesus' words in Matthew 24:34 with his confession in 24:36. In verse 34 Jesus predicts th...

Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4508 results

3801. The Young Seminarian

Illustration

Peter J. Blackburn

3802. Caught in the Fence

Illustration

Keith Wagner

3803. The Weight of Titles

Illustration

Kenneth W. Collins

3804. The Core of Hypocrisy

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

3805. The Light Shines Through

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

3806. Designer Religion

Sermon

King Duncan

3807. Faking It

Illustration

Andrea Miller

3808. Moses’ Seat

Illustration

Brett Blair

3809. Electing Servants - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

3810. Uncovering Hypocrisy

Illustration

Brett Blair

3811. Leading by Example

Illustration

Michael P. Green

3812. Practicing What We Preach

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

3813. Pastoring

Illustration

King Duncan

3814. Staying Open to God

Illustration

King Duncan

3815. Funny You Should Mention It…

Illustration

King Duncan

3816. Through Your Actions

Illustration

King Duncan

3817. True Vocation

Illustration

King Duncan

3818. The Uniformed Doorman

Illustration

King Duncan

3819. Making Your Mark

Illustration

King Duncan

3820. False Advertising

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

3821. Step Seven - Humiltiy

Sermon

John A. Terry

3822. Proper 26

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

3823. (Don’t) Follow Me

Sermon

Steve Molin

3824. The Rant

Sermon

Lori Wagner

3825. Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4508 results