Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3851 to 3875 of 4936 results

3851. The Gospel for Labor Day

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

The parable of the workers in the vineyard is an appropriate text for meditation on Labor Day, not only because it speaks of labor and management but because it places everyday work in the perspective of the gospel of the kingdom of God. It helps us to bridge the gap that too often exists between Sunday and Monday, our worship and our work. The word of God is not limited to our Sunday worship. It is not confined within the four walls of the church and associated only with what we wear and what we eat on ...

3852. The Gifts of the Left Hand

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

JARED RARDIN is a local pastor with an extensive background in pastoral care and counseling. He serves on the staff of the well-known First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Pennsylvania, ministering to that particularly talented and dynamic congregation with duties in both care and counseling as well as social concerns and community involvement. The particular sermon in this volume was preached during the initial phase of his return to the Germantown parish after being gone for a period. In it he ...

3853. Someone Greater Than a Prophet

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

As our world gets smaller and smaller we become more and more aware of other cultures and religions, and we increasingly wonder about our own religion. If once we thought of them in rather exclusive terms, can we do so in a world which seems to have relative exclusive truth claims? If once we thought of Christianity as the final word in religion, can we do so in face of a vital and resurgent Islam in the world? In his recent, brilliant discussion of Islam, Dr. Charles Ryerson of Princeton reminded us that ...

3854. A Disaster of Biblical Proportions

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This place is still beautiful. Just a week ago we gathered here to sing and celebrate. We told stories about a baby - a baby whose birth was greeted by angels, a baby whose birth meant tidings of joy for all people everywhere, a baby who would save the world. We sang familiar songs, we enjoyed familiar company. We went home, drank egg nog, ate Christmas treats. God was in heaven and all was right with the world. Or so it seemed. But all was not right with the world. A pressure was building up deep beneath ...

3855. The Original "Average Joe"

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you know the name Melana Scantlin? She is a former NFL cheerleader, a former Miss Missouri. She is beautiful, she is blonde, she is brainy. Melana is the beauty who squared off against 16 "beasts" in television's latest surpassingly strange reality series, "Average Joe." The premise for the show was that, while it is a no-brainer to be attracted to a hunk with washboard abs and $50-million in mutual funds, it is something else to fall for someone who is plain and unexceptional, a toothy geek with a ...

3856. A Tale of Two Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

David E. Leininger

With a title like "A Tale of Two Sisters," I guess this should open with something like "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." But it was neither. Unusual, to be sure. Even a little exciting. After all, these were the days of an itinerant rabbi called Jesus of Nazareth who was attracting quite a bit of attention. At some point previous - we are never told when, where or how - these two sisters, Mary and Martha, along with their brother Lazarus, had been introduced to Jesus. They must have ...

3857. Did You Ask How Much It Was Going To Cost?

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that comedian Jay Leno, former host of the TONIGHT show, is a genuinely nice guy. When Leno returned from entertaining troops in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, he brought with him a list of two hundred telephone numbers of parents of troops in that war. Leno called all two hundred parents personally to say that he'd seen their sons and that they were fine. Leno will even stop on the freeway to help a stranded motorist. Recently, in fact, he pulled over for a group of men standing around an ...

3858. Stealth Christians

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

Since this is the beginning of football season I thought you might enjoy Harry N. Hollis, Jr.'s report on a most unusual game: A funny thing happened at the football stadium. After taking the opening kick- off, the home team went into a huddle as usual to get the formation from the quarterback and to encourage one another. Then came the unusual. The team did not break out of the huddle to move into action! Soon the red flag was dropped, and the referee stepped off a five-yard penalty for delay of game. ...

3859. Driven To Serve

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to turn to the world of business for some of our inspiration today. Someone has described their company like this: It is a beautiful summer day in corporate America. The sales people aren't back from lunch yet. The programmers are playing computer games. The executives are on the golf links. The secretaries are scheduling their weekends. And the Human Resources people are in another all day meeting, asking each other, "What is our Mission?" (1) Obviously such a description does not apply to most ...

3860. The Gift Has Arrived

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

I read recently about a woman who had waited till the last minute to send Christmas cards. She rushed into a store and bought a package of 50 cards without really looking at them. Still in a big hurry she addressed 49 of the 50 and signed them without reading the message inside. On Christmas Day, when things had quieted down somewhat she chanced to run upon the leftover card and finally read the message she had sent to 49 of her friends. Much to her dismay, it read like this: "This card is just to say A ...

3861. Flight To Egypt

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

One mother says that she is always sorry when Christmas is over because she knows that after her family has hung up their stockings on Christmas Eve it will be a whole year before any one of them will hang up anything again. (1) After Christmas, Lucy mutters, "Rats! Phooey! Everything is hopeless! Who cares?" Charlie Brown asks, "Lucy, what in the world is the matter with you?" Again she shouts, "Rats! Phooey!" The last cartoon shows her walking away only to turn and drop a casual comment to the puzzled ...

3862. The Lure Of The Easy Way

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

I like the story of the young man, eager to make it to the top, who went to a well-known millionaire businessman and asked him the first reason for his success. The businessman answered without hesitation, "Hard work." After a lengthy pause the young man asked, "What is the SECOND reason?" We want to deal this morning with the lure of the easy way. Jesus and His disciples were at Caesarea Philippi. Their ministry to this point had been a stunning success. Crowds pressed in on them everywhere they went. ...

3863. What Are You Working For?

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the questions men often ask men when they first meet is, "What do you do?" A smart aleck might answer by saying, "Oh, I snore," or "I mow my lawn once a week. Then I take a shower. Then I usually watch television an hour or so...." By then the other party is likely to intercede asking, "I mean, what do you do for a living?" This usually is a good ice breaker. Most of us are comfortable talking about our work. If things are going well it gives us a chance to boast a bit, tastefully, of course. If ...

3864. Victory on a Broken Knee

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Once there was a man who acquired a claim to a gold field in California. The claim was in a lonely spot in the mountains. When the man started to dig for gold, he found evidence that much work had been done on the claim a long while before. Far into the excavation he found an old rusted pick, its handle rotted off but its point sticking firmly in the rocky soil. He went to work and, to his amazement, just a few feet beyond where he had found the pick he came upon a rich vein of gold. Later he would learn ...

3865. United We Stand, Divided We Fall

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

"It all started long before I came," said the Reverend Jason Kirk. Kirk is the fictional pastor of the Clyde's Corner Church in a parable by Thomas H. Troeger. The founder of Clyde's Corner, Cedric Clyde was a successful farmer at the turn of the century. To show his thanks to God, he paid for the building of the local church. Just before Cedric died, he donated to the church a lot of furniture for the parlor and one item for the raised chancel behind the pulpit: "a giant red horsehair couch whose rich ...

3866. Waking To A World Upside Down

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

During Hollywood‘s golden years there were many people in the film industry who were known for their practical jokes. One of the best known and most creative of these was a fellow by the name of Jack McDermott. He was a writer and director of movies. McDermott‘s favorite gag was to take his guests for a ride in his Model-T Ford. Taking them into the mountains, he would careen around curves at perilous speeds. When a guest would complain about his recklessness, he would yank the steering wheel from its post ...

3867. When Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon

King Duncan

A construction crew was laying a drain line as part of a new building. While excavating, the workers uncovered a power cable directly in the path of their work. The excavation was halted. An electrician was called in. The electrician came and looked at the cable. He assured workers that the cable was dead. "Go ahead and cut it out of the way," the electrician told the workers. The foreman asked, "Are you sure there is no danger?" "Absolutely," was the reply. Then the foreman asked, "Well, then, will you ...

3868. Aren't You Glad?

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Anne-Rose Reeves

Pastor Jones, at St. Michaels Lutheran Church, wasn't quite sure just how to put his Easter sermon together. And believe me, it wasn't for lack of advice and study. At the last council meeting, the church president had jokingly told him he hoped that this year's Easter sermon would finally say something significant to all those "Christmas and Easter Christians" who show up only twice a year and only put a dollar in the plate. "Pastor, tell them how much money it takes to keep this building in good repair, ...

3869. Advice For Soldiers At The Front

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a humorous story about a young soldier who was experiencing his first battle. The frightened recruit inched his way backward, and backward and finally just turned and ran. He had gone quite a ways when he was abruptly stopped by an officer. The officer was pointing a revolver at the man's head. He threatened to execute the soldier if he took another step. The soldier pleaded with the officer, "Oh, please Captain, don't shoot me; please give me another chance to prove myself." The officer felt ...

3870. Humility You Can Be Proud Of

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Comedian Bob Hope was accepting a plaque at an honorary dinner. He listened as his many contributions to humanity were lauded. When it was his turn to speak, he said that he had stopped letting such honors go to his head. "I just got a call from a fellow who said I'd been named Man of the Year by his organization," Hope said, "because I was America's outstanding citizen, greatest humanitarian, and so forth. It was going to be the biggest dinner, biggest civil reception ever. I told him I was sorry, but I ...

3871. Does It Make A Difference Who Jesus Is?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Newsweek magazine carried an interesting article sometime back about a controversy that has been brewing down in Louisiana. Let me share it with you: "Even if it did double as a bug zapper (it doesn't), the big blue neon JESUS sign outside the Church of Abundant Life in Harvey, Louisiana, would have to go. So say Jefferson Parish officials, who claim they inadvertently approved installation of the five-foot-high, 21-foot-wide sign last November. Now they're fighting to unplug the $5,000 Savior, saying it ...

3872. Who Is Your Hero?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Much has been written since the death of Princess Diana about the burden of being a celebrity. Studies show that most Americans don't even want to be famous. The loss of personal freedom that celebrities must endure can be costly. Singer Olivia Newton-John wanted to buy her husband a birthday present while she was visiting an old friend named Faye in Portland, Oregon. They went to the mall, knowing that if the famous singer were recognized things could get really hectic. Olivia said, "Don't worry, we'll ...

3873. Making Relationships Work

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old legend about a New England town that was suffering through all manner of dissension and back-biting. The people were constantly involved in petty feuds pitting neighbor against neighbor. One day, the people came together and consulted a wise pastor as to how they could resolve their differences. The pastor agreed to think on the matter and send them a letter soon detailing his judgement. A few days later, the pastor sat down and wrote his letter to the people, full of advice on how to make ...

3874. Finding The Right People

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Someone has compiled a list of "intentionally ambiguous job recommendations." See if you recognize any of these. First the recommendation and then the translation: Recommendation: While he worked with us, he was given numerous citations. Translation: He was arrested several times. Recommendation: You simply won't believe this woman's credentials. Translation: She faked most of her resume. Recommendation: You will never catch him asleep on the job. Translation: He's too crafty to get caught. Recommendation ...

3875. Building A Church

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

The rest of the world must surely marvel at the nature of religion in America. For example, you may have read in the newspapers sometime back about the newly formed Positive Impact Church in South Centre, Pa. According to Associated Press reports this church advertised a raffle. Two thousand people signed up. Apparently they didn't read the fine print. They had to attend Sunday services to be eligible to win the prize of $1,000. Only about 30 showed up. "Where are all the people?" asked the minister, ...

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