Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3926 to 3950 of 4944 results

3926. What Is A Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

A local businessman was teaching a Sunday School class of fourth grade boys, and he was really trying to impress the class because his son was a member. So during the lesson he asked the class this question: "Why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" Well, there was dead silence. Not one boy or girl spoke up. He asked the question again: "Boys and girls, why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" There was still no response. Finally, the man paused, scratched his chin, and said: "Now ...

3927. A Theology of Linguistic Linguini

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Let’s begin with a little survey. How many of you have you have taken down your Christmas tree and packed up all the festive decorations until next December? How many of you are still living with your Christmas bling-bling? I thought so. There are not too many of us who hold on and hold out until the passing of Epiphany to take down our Christmas décor. This year Epiphany, January 6, falls on Tuesday, a nondescript day of the week. We are back at work. Kids are back at school. Post-Christmas and New Year’s ...

3928. Your New Home

Joshua 24:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

For almost two months now, we have been together in an extreme home makeover. You are looking at pretty much the finished product. It does look much different from what we had when we first started. The process has taken us from nails, boards, screws, nuts and bolts to our new house. What you see behind me, represents what we want every family to experience - an extreme home makeover. That is why we spent the last eight weeks on it. A great Christian who lived over a century ago, named G. K. Chesterton, ...

3929. Christmas Eve at Angel School

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters Teacher Angel Lead Shepherd 1st Angel 2nd Angel 3rd Angel 4th Angel 5th Angel Joseph Mary Angel Choir Shepherd Shepherd 1 Shepherd 2 Shepherd 3 1st Child 2nd Child 3rd Child 4th Child 5th Child Props Chairs Blackboard with “Junior Angel Training” written on it Lectern or music stand Christmas tree Christmas tree decorations 4 Bibles Manger, with a baby “Christmas Eve At Angel School” offers a variety of speaking roles for children of all ages, making it a good choice for medium-sized Sunday ...

3930. The Upside Down Life

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I confuse “inversion therapy” with “aversion therapy.” The latter (“aversion therapy”) is where you train your dog not to leave your yard, or not dig, or not bark, with a collar that shocks the dog when it does run off, dig, or bark. “Inversion therapy” helps alleviate back and neck pain by taking the usual gravitational press we live with and literally “standing it on its head.” One method is to strap your feet into boots and hang upside down like a big bat. Rosie O’Donnell once did this on the Ellen ...

3931. Thanks, But No Thanks

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip in which Calvin is talking to his stuffed tiger Hobbes (whom he imagines to be real and his best friend). He says: "People are so self-centered." Then he adds philosophically, "The world would be a better place if people would stop thinking about themselves and focus on others for a change." Hobbes sort of rolls his eyes and thinks aloud, "Gee, I wonder who that might apply to." Calvin answers, "Me!. Everyone should focus on me!" (1) Bill Watterson's cartoon ...

3932. When Are We Most Like God?

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a man who worked downtown in one of our large cities. Each day he rode the commuter train from his lovely suburban home to the inner-city. The train went through the impoverished areas of the city, past decaying tenements, dilapidated public housing, and dingy streets! When the train slowed down, the fellow could see into the bleak apartments, and when it was especially slow, he could look into the even bleaker faces of those who lived in those drab apartments. He could see the unemployed ...

3933. How Can Jesus Save Me?

John 3:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On my way to an early morning hospital visit this week, today's sermon flashed before my eyes. On the bumper of an old pick up truck there was this sticker which said, “Jesus Saves." Perhaps only in Nashville, the buckle of the Bible belt, can we find such statements on bumper stickers. The words immediately brought responses in my mind. On the one hand I found myself singing. We have heard the joyful sound Jesus saves. Jesus saves. Spread the tidings all around. Jesus saves. Jesus saves. The song was ...

3934. Are You Able?

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Are you able? We've been asking that question this Holy Week. Are you able to drink the cup I am going to drink? asked Jesus as the disciples shuffled for position. Can we walk the road Jesus walked, the Via Delarosa, the way of sorrows? Can we eat the bread of brokenness? Can we take up the cross and follow Jesus? Sobering questions, serious questions, the kind of questions that crack open a hardened heart and lay bare the tendons of the spiritual life. The kind of questions to be asked on Maundy Thursday ...

3935. Ready for God’s Reign

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Chris Ewing

This parable has to be one of the least liked in the whole Bible. It speaks stern words to those who are not ready for the moment of truth — and it leaves uncomfortably vague just what "being ready" might entail. To understand what Matthew interprets Jesus to mean by readiness for the final judgment, we have to read his whole gospel, and in particular the final third of this chapter, that famous scene of the sheep and the goats, which we'll be reading in another two weeks. But already today there is an ...

3936. Rolling Thunder or Voice of God?

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

John 12:20-33 [20] Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. [21] They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." [22] Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. [23] Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit ...

3937. Come with Me to the Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Swindoll in his book Day By Day tells the story of a mysterious event that occurred several years ago to a group of young guys from the church he pastored in Southern California. They were on a mountain climbing excursion, along with their youth leader. While taking in the breathtaking sights, the leader realized he had lost the trail. A heavy snowfall had completely covered the path, and he didn’t have a clue where they were or how they could get back to the main camp. Sundown was not far away, ...

3938. A Voice Calls in the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

I guess everyone has his or her own concept of what is important in life. There’s a tombstone in Wisconsin that leaves no doubt about the priority of the person who lies in that particular grave. Under a certain man’s name and the dates of his birth and death is carved this inscription: “Bowled 300 in 1982.” Well, that was what was important to this man. He once bowled 300 and he wanted the world to know it. Some of you bowlers can relate to that. A woman was taking her time browsing through a yard sale. ...

3939. Jesus Takes the Initiative

Luke 21:5-38, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 20:41-47

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The pretentious religiousness of scribes and wealthy worshipers and of the magnificent temple buildings contrasts with the simple devotion of a poor widow. Understanding the Text In place of the question-and-answer scenario of the first part of Jesus’s public ministry in the temple (20:1–40), we now have a series of pronouncements by Jesus that bring that phase of the Jerusalem story to an end. They begin with a response to the leaders’ hostile questioning, in which Jesus raises the question of ...

3940. Then They Will Understand

Illustration

Doris Stickney

Down below the surface of a quiet pond lived a little colony of water bugs. They were a happy colony, living far away from the sun. For many months they were very busy, scurrying over the soft mud on the bottom of the pond. They did notice that every once in a while, one of their colony seemed to lose interest in going about with his friends. Clinging to the stem of a pond lily, he gradually moved out of sight and was seen no more. "Look!" said one of the water bugs to another. "One of our colony is ...

3941. Song of Promise

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I have a confession to make: I love Christmas carols. I mean, really LOVE Christmas carols. Can I get a witness? On the radio….on CDs….in the stores….in the car….they just uplift our spirits in this season, don’t they? There’s something about Christmas Carols that just seem to warm the heart and stir the soul. I know you’re not supposed to listen to them until after Advent, but I admit it before God and all of you: I cheat. I listen to Christmas carols before the 12 days of Christmas. Now I know how ...

3942. Metaphors Be with You

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

His name was John Davis, he was my neighbor, and he was a peculiar person. Don’t get me wrong. I liked him but even his wife said John was an “acquired taste.” I sometimes think that, had he been born thirty or forty years later, he would have been correctly diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome or some other condition associated with the higher functioning end of the Autism spectrum. He was a gifted man, to be sure, a tool designer and metallurgist who worked for a big corporation, very smart and very ...

3943. Welcome, Joe!

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome to worship this morning. I’m glad to see you here. And I’d like to offer a special welcome to all our Joes in the congregation this morning, since March 27 is officially “National Joe Day.” I’m not kidding. I don’t know who decides these things, like National Goof Off Day (March 22) or National Waffle Day (March 25), but March 27 is designated as National Joe Day. It’s a day for celebrating anyone with the name Joe. In fact, the founder of National Joe Day invites all people to change their name to ...

3944. As a Fire Exists by Burning

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:1-3) “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” Emil Brunner Groundhog Day In West Virginia Years ago, some other ...

3945. A Gift With YOUR Name On It

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

Heather Sugden

As Christmas inches closer, the excitement level seems to reach higher and higher each day. In a household with young children, the excitement level seems to inch higher and higher every minute! I grew up in a large family, as one of six children. Having six children in a house during the days leading up to Christmas meant an ever-growing level of chaos that seemed nearly impossible to contain! I remember lying awake in my bed at night, too excited to sleep, imagining what particular joys the upcoming ...

3946. Out Of The Whirlwind

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

John A. Stroman

God answers Job out of the whirlwind. There is no better word to explain what has taken place in Job's life than a whirlwind. Look at the events that have transpired in his life: all his children are dead; his home and business are lost; he lost his health, and his body is disfigured with open sores. It all happened in rapid-fire succession -- just like a whirlwind. Out of the whirlwind Job asks God, "Why?" He is so despondent that he wishes he was dead. "Let the day perish wherein I was born." Job reveals ...

3947. The Last Days

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Preacher and Congregation (three women and three men) Length: 7 minutes [Seven stools are arranged in a "V" shape leading away from the audience with the PREACHER's stool at the apex. The PREACHER takes his stool first and settles himself self-importantly. The members of the CONGREGATION file in slowly and take the remaining stools. The CONGREGATION will keep their eyes on the PREACHER throughout their time on stage but their stools should be arranged so that they will not have to turn their faces ...

3948. At The Right Place At The Right Time

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Sherry was struggling with some personal issues in her life. She would tell you that she was having a difficult time forgiving someone at work who purposely wronged her, leading to her eventual demotion. Sherry was upset with the person and could not even think of forgiving him. Her loss of income placed a financial hardship on her family. She was really struggling and trying to do what was best, but it certainly was not easy. Sherry and her family were in church one particular Sunday morning when during ...

3949. Proper 8

Romans 6:1-14, Romans 6:15-23, Jeremiah 28:1-17, Genesis 22:1-19, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 22:1-14 God tests Abraham's faith and loyalty by ordering him to sacrifice his son. Just as he is ready to plunge the knife into the child, God stops Abraham, commenting that now he has proven his obedience to the Lord. A ram caught in a thicket substitutes for Isaac as a sacrifice. Old Testament: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16 A woman from Shunem extends hospitality to Elisha the prophet by serving him meals and appointing a room in her house for the prophet to lodge whenever he ...

3950. The Great I AM

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever,and ...

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