Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 376 to 400 of 4944 results

376. How Do You Remain Religious?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald Macleod

Second Series Questions Jesus Provokes Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and ...

377. Get Ready

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But know this: If the owner of ...

378. He Lights Up My Life!

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

When this narrative begins, it is about as lacking in optimism and hope as the story my brother, B. J., tells about a farmer in southern Missouri who hired a man to split some post oak for his farm. Post oak is notoriously hard to work with, but it makes excellent fence posts and rail fences. It is so tough, that it's like trying to split rock. The farmer hired a man who was not too fast at thinking, and told him he'd pay him three dollars a dozen for the posts. After two or three days the farmer came to ...

379. Keeping Company with the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Invitations: They grab our attention every day. Somebody is getting married, a friend is having a party, a business is hosting a luncheon and we are invited. What would our lives be like without invitations? The greatest invitation ever offered came from the heart of Jesus Christ addressed to pilgrims like you and me. It is printed in your bulletin. Will you read it with me because it is Jesus' invitation to you? “Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ...

380. Fighting Wars and Keeping a Promise: David Establishes an Ideal of Kingship

2 Sam 8:1–10:19

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord blesses his chosen servants when they rely on his protection and seek to reflect his character in their dealings with others. Understanding the Text The narrator’s positive portrayal of King David continues in these chapters. Once David became king over all Israel, he conquered the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem and then turned the tables on the Philistines. He brought the ark to Jerusalem and intended to build a house (temple) for it. But then the Lord surprised David by announcing ...

381. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you like snakes? Not many do. No other creature on the face of the planet so universally brings forth a sense of revulsion and disgust. True or not, we think of snakes as icky, slimy, nasty, and as our text reminds, dangerous. It seems that the children of Israel, in the midst of their wilderness wandering after the escape from slavery in Egypt, had stumbled on to a location south of the Dead Sea that is infamous for its lethal snakes. "Big deal," they no doubt thought. "Why should we expect anything ...

382. Glowing Network

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

During World War II, many members of the Lutheran church in Germany lost their faith because Hitler seduced them into ways of living that kept them from practicing their faith. But there was one man whom Hitler could not compromise. His name was Martin Niemöller. During World War I, Niemöller had been a great hero in the German military but when the Second World War came, he refused to bow to the authorities. He was marching to a different drumbeat. And march he did. When Hitler could not make him change ...

383. Is He Really Coming?

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:2-3). In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!" (2 Peter ...

384. Opening Up to Jesus

Mark 2:1-12

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Jesus fulfills all our needs. Summary: At the home of Joash a crowd gathers because Jesus is going there to teach. Joash has his house ready -- even a new roof. During the evening friends bring a lame man but can't get to Jesus. What to do? They tear off the roof, of course. Jesus heals the man and the roof gets fixed too. Playing Time: 8 minutes Setting: The home of Joash Props: Wine and cups Litter for lame man Pallet Costumes: Peasants of Jesus' Time Time: The Time of Jesus Cast: Joash -- the ...

385. The Problem With Keeping All The Rules

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Photographer Wendy Ewald travels around the world teaching children to use photography to express their thoughts and feelings. Take a child who is relatively powerless and give him a camera, and suddenly that child is empowered by the chance to express himself. Ewald recalls a little Indian boy named Pratap. When Ewald handed him a camera, Pratap began to shake all over. He explained that he was a Harijan, a member of the lowest, untouchable caste in India. Harijans aren't allowed to hold cameras. Pratap ...

386. Holy Living

John 6:51-65

Sermon

Donald Macleod

Years ago, Harry Emerson Fosdick, then at the height of his influence as minister of the Riverside Church, New York City, was making a tour of Palestine and other countries of the Near and Middle East. He was invited to give an address at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, where the student body comprised citizens of many countries and representatives from sixteen different religions. What could one say that would be relevant or of interest to so mixed and varied a group? This is how Fosdick began ...

387. Keep Striving

Philippians 3:1-11

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: As we gather to worship, let us clear our minds of former things. People: We will not dwell on things of old. Leader: The Lord is doing a new thing; do you not perceive it? People: We will press on to make God's goal our own. Amen. Collect O God, our Father, we gather to worship you not because we believe our ceremonies will gain righteousness for us, but because we would draw nearer to you. We seek the strengthening of our faith in Christ, that we might experience the power of his ...

388. I'll Keep Curling the Radishes

Illustration

Jeanette Clift George

Many years ago Jeanette Clift George, the actress who played Corrie Ten Boom in the movie The Hiding Place, was speaking at a luncheon held in the civic auditorium of a city in Oklahoma. She says: I settled myself at my place at the head table. I picked up my fork and noticed that two rose-petaled radishes adorned my salad plate. Someone had take the time to pretty up two radishes, just for me. Then I noticed that each salad at the head table had two neatly curled radishes. I turned to the lady sitting to ...

389. The Messed Up

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

In 2006, Alitalia Airlines, the official airline of Italy, made a slight mistake on its website regarding international airfare from Toronto, Canada, to the island of Cyprus. They advertised business-class seats for $39. It was supposed to be $3900, but somebody left two zeros. Two thousand tickets were immediately snapped up and it cost the airline $7.7 million. Somebody messed up. In 1990, 75 million phone calls across the United States went unanswered after a single switch at one of AT&T’s Switching ...

390. Let This Be Your Prayer: That Your Love Will Keep Growing

Philippians 1:1-11

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: Children of God, why have you come here? People: We come seeking the One who will give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Leader: You have come to the right place, for Jesus is the Light of the world. People: We need that Light and his direction to guide our feet into the way of peace. All: Praise be to God! Collect Lord, you have taught us the meaning and the power of true love. May that love keep on growing, as our faith and understanding of you ...

391. Give It Up

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes it seems like there are only two types of films being made today in Hollywood. There are “chick flicks” and there are “man movies.” Coming off Valentine’s date weekend, the cinema hormone level is heavy with estrogen. But don’t worry, gentlemen. With the approach of “March Madness” and the full court press of basketball, the testosterone level will climb steadily over the next month. These movie “types” are actually less about male vs. female, Mars vs. Venus than they are about the different ways ...

392. Are Greatness and Christianity Compatible?

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald Macleod

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Malvolio comments: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." There is a large measure of truth in this observation, but it falls short in any discussion of greatness from the Christian point of view. True greatness is neither born in you, nor achieved by you, nor imposed upon you. It is caught, for it is the byproduct of the deeper qualities of our human nature. Our text is from a tiny, yet significant, vignette from the course ...

393. Keep on Praying

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anyone here this morning trying to housebreak a new puppy? If you've ever tried to housebreak a new puppy, you know that the key to success is consistency. You must always take the puppy out the moment it wakes. You must never let it whine and look like it needs to go without whisking the little creature outside. And if you let the puppy get away with any indoor accidents, you can bet that it will return to the scene of the crime for a repeat version of its indiscretion. The same absolute consistency is ...

394. The Unwanted Christmas Gift: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Survivor” is a reality tv game show that has proven to be one of the most successful franchises in television history. Starting in 1992 as the brainchild of a British tv producer, Survivor has spread throughout the world to play in over 50 countries as diverse as Chile and China. If you’ve watched CBS’ “Survivor” with its $1,000,000 prize, you notice how quickly the sixteen to twenty strangers separate out into two groups, no matter how many “tribes” there are. In one group are those who, in the face of ...

395. Keep Your Antenna Up

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

The Steamship California was only ten miles from the Titanic when it sunk, but its radio was turned off. The S.S. Carpathia was a far greater distance away, but its radio was turned on. The distress signal was heard, and this vessel arrived in time to save hundreds of lives. The California, however, only ten miles away, became aware of the tragic loss only after it was too late. I've seen that happen in families and among friends. We can be side-by-side with people and never be aware that they're torn up ...

396. Which End Is Up?

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Exegesis: Ephesians 3:1-12 The epistle text for this week can be read with two different agendas in mind. On one hand the focus is on establishing apostolic tradition. In the first century there was a necessary concern with creating a continuity of tradition and authority for the fledgling Christian church. Hence Paul’s apostolic authority, his priority of leadership, is part of these verses’ testimony. Especially since these Ephesians probably had not known Paul’s preaching personally, it is an imperative ...

397. When I Grow Up

Ephesians 4:15

Sermon

James Merritt

A man took his young daughter to a carnival and she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for some cotton candy. As she got this huge ball of cotton candy that was almost as big as she was, her father looked down at her and said, "Honey, are you sure you can eat all of that?" She looked up at him and said, "Don't worry Daddy. I'm a lot bigger on the inside than I am on the outside." That story captures perfectly God's third purpose for your life. We are in the middle of a tremendous forty days that we ...

398. Feeling Down And Looking Up

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

The scripture for today is from the portion of Isaiah which scholars know as Deutero-Isaiah, or Second Isaiah - chapters 40 to 55. Those chapters certainly were not written by the eighth century B.C.E. prophet whose name it bears, but rather by an anonymous observer of the events in the closing years of Babylonian rule, and who interpreted the meaning of those events to the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. A momentous event stirred him to prophesy to the captives, and that event was the rise to power of Cyrus, ...

399. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed, until he found where the real problem was and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the question of marriage. “Go call your husband,” Jesus said to her. He did that with the rich young ruler and landed on the question of money. “Go sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor,” He said to that man. He did that with Zacchaeus and landed on the ...

400. Loving Close-up

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I was with Bishop Bevel Jones recently, and he told me about a funny experience that happened to him recently. He was preaching at a camp meeting down in South Georgia. The tabernacle was packed with people and Bev was really getting with it. He had preached longer than normal – but still had about 10 minutes to go. He was in the midst of a dramatic point of sharing, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a little boy get up from the front row and start toward him. Well he didn't know what was going on. ...

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