Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3976 to 4000 of 4508 results

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

With the familiar parable which forms the text for this day, we draw very near to the close of the church year. Since the Middle Ages, Christians have used the closing days of the old church year to focus on "last things": the end of the world, the end of life, the promise of things to come, the thought of the return of Christ (one of the themes celebrated during Advent, the next season on the chu...

3977. Terminally Distracted Or Decisively Prepared

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

Case one: One can be diligent about meeting tasks in an orderly, thoughtful manner and yet be unthoughtful and a procrastinator in matters spiritual. Case two: One can be a bit too laid-back regarding tasks and professional development, yet be truly thoughtful and an initiative-taker regarding the spiritual side of his/her life. In case one, such a person will excel professionally, but will more...

3978. Ten Pounds of Mercy, One Pound of Faith

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In the early days of WWII, Navy pilots were so afraid of crashing in shark infested waters that it became a prime cause of pilot error. The Navy’s response was to issue shark repellent, which the Navy knew had no impact on sharks, but enabled frightened pilots to fly with greater confidence. Sometimes you hand people some shark repellent rather than argue with them about their fears. Fear. It’s...

3979. Proper 27

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 78:1-7 First Lesson - Joshua must reiterate the insistence of Yaweh to be worshiped solely and not as just one among many gods. Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Second Lesson - Paul reaffirms his faith that there is to be either personal resurrection or ascension for us as for Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Gospel - Jesus tells a parable about ten bridesmaids, five of whom were wise...

3980. Proper 27, Pentecost 25, Ordinary Time 32

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Gathering Begin with a choir anthem this morning, as an element of surprise, creating a sense that things will not always be the same. If possible, have the choir sing from a different place in the sanctuary. Prayer Of The Day Leader: O God of mercy, our hope is in you. Open our ears, that the proclamation of your coming kingdom may rouse us from our complacency, so that we would be ready to gree...

3981. Would We Be Ready?

Illustration

Michael L. Sherer

In our day, it's more likely than ever that some folks who live around us will raise eyebrows to think that we look for something on the other side of death. So what! Some folks have always raised their eyebrows about anything which called for taking a faith leap. But consider the alternative! I'd rather be prepared to go to dinner with a host who might forget to come, than sleep through everythin...

3982. Second Coming

Illustration

John G. McFayden

We decided to let our three-year-old son record the message for our home answering machine. The rehearsals went smoothly: "Mommy and Daddy can't come to the phone right now. If you'll leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, they'll get back to you as soon as possible." Then came the test. I pressed the record button and our son said sweetly, "Mommy and Daddy can't come to the phone ri...

3983. I'd Hurry If I Were You

Illustration

Johnny Dean

The late Lewis Grizzard, a humorist and author of many columns and books, was by his minister in the hospital. Grizzard was scheduled to have open-heart surgery the next morning. He confessed to his minister that he had not exactly been a paragon of virtue and asked if there were still time to repent. The minister looked at his watch and replied, "Yes, but I'd hurry if I were you."

3984. You Are Not My Students

Illustration

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten students waiting for a professor to return to his office. They needed his signature to add his course, and the forms were due early the next day. Five were wise and five were foolish. The wise ones brought something to eat while they waited, but the foolish ones did not. The professor was a long time in coming, and as they waited all afternoon, t...

3985. Will You Be Ready?

Illustration

Olin Robison happened to be with Senator Sam Erwin on the night before the Watergate hearing began. Olin Robison said, "Senator, we all look for a great deal from you tomorrow, it must be a tremendous weight." Robison reports that with no arrogance whatsoever, Sam Erwin looked at him and said: "Son, all my life I've been preparing for this moment. I am ready." Graham Greene once observed. "There ...

3986. Ten Best Things to Say if You Get Caught Sleeping

Illustration

These are the ten best things to say if you get caught sleeping at your desk: 10. They told me at the blood bank this might happen. 9. This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in that time management course you sent me to. 8. Whew! Guess I left the top off the White-Out. You probably got here just in time! 7. I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisio...

3987. Preparedness

Illustration

John Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return at that time the next day. He said in effect, "I would go to bed and go to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would want Him to find me doing what he had appointed."

3988. Doomsday Prophets

Illustration

Steven A. Peay

In the early part of the nineteenth century a farmer by the name of William Miller began reading his Bible with an eye to the book of Revelation. He came to the conclusion in 1818 that in 25 years or so, probably in March, the second advent of the Lord would come. He got ordained, started preaching, and many followed him especially in the area of upstate New York he came from which was dubbed the ...

3989. Just in Case

Illustration

Fred Park

In the little book, Laughter in Appalachia, Fred Park of Berea, Kentucky tells a story about a man named Quill. Quill lived way back in the woods where he hunted and fished all the time. Quill didn't pay any attention to the hunting seasons or laws or anything, and he knew the woods better than the game warden. The game warden had been trying to catch Quill for a long time. Today was the day. He ...

3990. Second Coming

Illustration

R. Geoffrey Brown

I would like to take you, if I could, to a graphic portrayal of the Word of God in a great cathedral in Milan. Come in out of the glare of the Italian sunshine, pass through the cathedral doors, and suddenly see stretching out before you, Europe's third largest cathedral where fifty-two marbled columns hold up the lofty, octagonal dome, with over 4,400 turrets and pinnacles. Statues of angels rise...

3991. What's Your Purpose in Life?

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

Josh McDowell tells about an executive "headhunter" who recruits corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. "I offer him a drink," said the headhunter, "take off my coat, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed. Then, when I think I've got hi...

3992. Homeland Security and Watchfulness

Illustration

Phil Gunther

The unofficial creed in the American homeland war on terrorism is this: ‘Be vigilant, be watchful, be prepared'. Be vigilant in matters of security, whether at an airport, a government institution or in the back sorting room of the post office. Be watchful for signs of terrorism: a back-pack left unattended, a strange request for chemicals at a fertilizer plant, a white powder in the mail or unusu...

3993. There Is a Deadline

Illustration

Stephen M. Crotts

Did you hear about the Christmas parade in central North Carolina? Many elaborate floats passed by when suddenly a simple hay wagon pulled by a tractor starts by. On the wagon are several fraternity boys from the university. They are madly sawing boards and nailing things together. The puzzled expressions of the onlooker's faces changed to laughter when they read the sign on the back of the wagon....

3994. Commentary: Historical Background

Illustration

Richard A. Todd

In order to catch the impact of this story, we need to know some historical background of a first-century Jewish wedding. Eastern and Western cultures are very different. In an Eastern culture the bridegroom is often a more important figure than the bride and frequently paid for all the expenses of the wedding. A Jewish wedding had three parts or stages to it. First, there was the formal engagemen...

3995. Late, Late, so Late!

Illustration

John MacArthur

Don't be caught unprepared. That's the message in the parable of the ten maidens. Nineteenth century English poet Alfred Tennyson, in his Idylls of the King, adapted that parable to write this for Queen Guinevere, who learned too late the cost of sin: Late, late, so late! and dark the night and chill! Late, late so late! but we can enter still. Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. No light ...

3996. Second Coming Nonsense

Illustration

Staff

The first perversion of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is perpetrated by those I'm going to call "prophecy mongers." You know these people. They come with their charts and graphs, with their predictions and projections, claiming to have special insight into the workings of God in the world, so that they're able to cue us in on just where we are in the divine timetable. And somehow, ev...

3997. Inevitable Delays

Illustration

William R. Ellis

One of the universals of human experience is the frustration that arises when extended delays keep us from getting where we want to go, doing what we want to do. A plane full of people sat on the tarmac at O'Hare airport in Chicago for over three hours while the folks in charge pondered whether or not to cancel the flight, reroute it, or just wait for the huge Midwestern thunderstorm that had com...

3998. The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life - Sermon Starter

Illustration

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 s...

3999. Prepared The Moment

Illustration

Brett Blair

In 1998 the four time Governor of Alabama George Wallace died, but before he died, he openly admitted that when he stood at the door of the University of Alabama and denied entrance to blacks that he was wrong. He even apologized for that action and became something of a hero for repenting of his intolerance and recanting those views. I affirm that change of mind in him. Yet, when his great moment...

4000. Always Practiced

Illustration

King Duncan

Liu Chi Kung, who placed second to Van Cliburn in the 1958 Tchaikovsky competition, was imprisoned a year later during the Cultural Revolution in China. During the entire seven years he was held, he was denied the use of a piano. Soon after his release, however, he was back on tour. Critics wrote in astonishment that his musicianship was better than ever. "How did you do this?" a critic asked. "...

Showing 3976 to 4000 of 4508 results

3976. Let’s Face It

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

3977. Terminally Distracted Or Decisively Prepared

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

3978. Ten Pounds of Mercy, One Pound of Faith

Sermon

Lori Wagner

3979. Proper 27

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

3980. Proper 27, Pentecost 25, Ordinary Time 32

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

3981. Would We Be Ready?

Illustration

Michael L. Sherer

3982. Second Coming

Illustration

John G. McFayden

3983. I'd Hurry If I Were You

Illustration

Johnny Dean

3984. You Are Not My Students

Illustration

3985. Will You Be Ready?

Illustration

3986. Ten Best Things to Say if You Get Caught Sleeping

Illustration

3987. Preparedness

Illustration

3988. Doomsday Prophets

Illustration

Steven A. Peay

3989. Just in Case

Illustration

Fred Park

3990. Second Coming

Illustration

R. Geoffrey Brown

3991. What's Your Purpose in Life?

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

3992. Homeland Security and Watchfulness

Illustration

Phil Gunther

3993. There Is a Deadline

Illustration

Stephen M. Crotts

3994. Commentary: Historical Background

Illustration

Richard A. Todd

3995. Late, Late, so Late!

Illustration

John MacArthur

3996. Second Coming Nonsense

Illustration

Staff

3997. Inevitable Delays

Illustration

William R. Ellis

3998. The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

3999. Prepared The Moment

Illustration

Brett Blair

4000. Always Practiced

Illustration

King Duncan

Showing 3976 to 4000 of 4508 results