Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4051 to 4075 of 4934 results

4051. Mary Has Chosen The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

The Genesis creation narrative tells us that God created the world, and all that is in it, in six short days, a remarkable burst of energy even for God. Understandably, God was tired - an idea which has eluded learned theologians - but the author of the story insists that, "... on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work ... So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in ...

4052. A Whale Of A Tale

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Erskine White

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, "Arise and go to Nineveh." (Jonah 3:12) I'd be willing to bet a nickel (maybe even a dime) that if ten people were asked what they know about the Jonah story, most of them would say, "the whale." (Of course, the Bible never says that Jonah was swallowed by a whale - all the Bible says is "a great fish" - but everyone calls it a whale, anyway). Everyone remembers the whale, but in point of fact, the whale is the least important part of this ...

4053. Proper 11

Colossians 1:15-23, Luke 10:38-42, Genesis 18:16-33, Colossians 1:24--2:5, Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year used in this cycle, this Sun-day could very well fall near August 6. Liturgical "old-timers" in some churches will remember that August 6 is, or was, the date for celebrating the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The Book of Common Prayer continues a practice formerly followed by Lutheran books of worship: Namely, that the Transfiguration is observed on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany by the use of the readings for the ...

4054. Bold Talk Of Faith

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

John P. Rossing

One of Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons is called "God at his computer." It shows God with long white hair and beard watching a computer screen where an unlucky-looking fellow is walking down a sidewalk with a piano suspended by a cable over his head. God's hand is on the computer keyboard, and his finger is hovering over a key labeled "SMITE."3 The cartoon suggests two things about God's way of determining a person's fate: first, that God is impersonal and inaccessible. God with his finger on the smite ...

4055. But I Don't Wanna!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Joann Hary

"I don't wanna." "I just don't want to ..." How many times have we responded to God in this way? Let's do some supposing for just a minute. Suppose Abraham had said, "No, God, I don't wanna do that ... I want to stay right where I am. I like it here. The soil is good and my family is happy. No, God, I don't want to be your Father of the Nations." Suppose Moses had said, "No, God, I don't want to help those people out of Egypt. They got themselves into the mess. They can get themselves out." Or just suppose ...

4056. Sacrifice - Hannah and Mary, the Mother of Christ

Luke 2:41-52

Drama

Martha L. Leach

Characters: Hannah Mary, the Mother of Christ Narrator: This week the second attribute of Lent - sacrifice - will be highlighted in the dialogue. There are many in the Scriptures who made sacrifices for God and his purposes. Two women Hannah and Mary, the mother of Christ - are tonight's examples of sacrifice each in her own way. The setting is a garden. (Mary is weeping. Hannah approaches.) Hannah: Greetings! What a beautiful garden! My name is Hannah. May I come in? Oh! Why are you weeping? Mary: Come in ...

4057. Proper 17

Lk 14:1, 7-14 · Heb 12:18-19, 22-24; 13:1-8 · Eze 18:1-9, 25-29 · Prov 25:6-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Ezekiel 18:1-9, 25-29 Each person is responsible for his/her life. Ezekiel here stresses individual responsibility for sin. Heretofore the emphasis was upon community, the nation. Now Judah is in bondage and the community (nation) exists no more. The old proverb said that the children suffer for the sins of their parents. Those now in exile holding to this view could feel no responsibility for their plight and could accept the situation as fate. Ezekiel corrects this one-sided view by preaching ...

4058. A Claim to a Crown

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

George Bass

A science-fiction story, Transit of Earth, written by Arthur C. Clarke many years ago, was reprinted in OMNI magazine in 1984, simply because the basic premise of the story occurred; the story could have happened. The astronomical part of the story is fact; once every century, Mars, Earth, and the Sun are perfectly aligned in a transit that is predictable. The transit took place in 1984, right on time; that part of the story is true, but the rest of it is fiction, which could have happened, but did not. ...

4059. Lazarus Rising

John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Sermon

John 11:1-46 (suggested reading of only 32-44) The story for this morning begins with a certain sense of urgency. It is easy to stand here now and talk about it with some sense of calm, but I can assure you that there was no calm for Martha and Mary. They were beginning to panic. Lazarus, their brother, was slipping fast. Indeed, it looked as though he would not make it. Now, I want you to envision a person in your mind. I want a face to appear in your mind’s eye. Who would you turn to if you faced a ...

4060. Mary Magdalene, Stephanus, and Lucia

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting Night on a Jerusalem street. Properties may include background painting of a first century building in front of which Mary Magdalene is standing when she encounters Stephanus and Lucia. Normally, no properties are required other than the audience’s imagination. Costumes Mary: flowing robe of black and white. Veil of same material, white, to cover hair. Sandals. A sparkling ring or two on her hands. Stephanus: simple white toga, sandals. Lucia: long, simple dress of bright colors. She may wear ...

4061. Balaam and His Talking Donkey

Numbers 22:21-41

Sermon

Don Yocom

How plain does God have to make something before we get the point? Balaam was a self-made prophet for the King of Moab. A Far Easterner and smooth talker, he had worked his way into high places. This story, in an Old Testament book usually considered too dry to read, deals with sin: S-I-N. Here was a person easily tempted to sin, who, for pay, was willing to prophesy anything that the King wanted, as if it were God speaking. Payola is nothing new, after all. There was constant war between the Israelites ...

4062. What Is God Like?

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Edward Chinn

When Harry Truman was President of the United States, his daughter Margaret gave a concert in Washington, D.C. The next day Paul Hume, music critic of the Washington Post, gave her performance a bad review. Characteristically, Harry Truman did not let that slight of his daughter’s singing pass without comment. He wrote a letter to Paul Hume. In that letter, Truman wrote: "I have read your lousy review of Margaret’s concert. I’ve come to the conclusion that you are an ‘eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay.’ ...

4063. The Crowd That Hated Him

Matthew 27:11-26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Bowl of water We have already found out the different kinds of crowds there are during the last three times that we have gotten together. Do you remember how it was to love Jesus and then to be afraid of him? How did you feel when you were part of the crowd that betrayed Jesus? That was an awful feeling wasn’t it? It is not going to get much better today because the crowds are not very friendly toward Jesus at this time. The leaders of the people were afraid of Jesus and they wanted to get rid of ...

4064. OUR LORD TORMENTED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

Cold, bright moonlight, spilling over Jerusalem transformed the temple area into what might have been a setting out of Roman mythology. Standing on the parapet high atop the Antonia, the Roman Procurator, Pilate, let his gaze drift from the white temple buildings almost directly beneath him to the city beyond, but his mind was seeing the grandeur of Rome and his heart was filled with bitter nostalgia. He did not turn at the sound of steps behind him, nor did he speak when the centurion moved to his side. ...

4065. House-Building Time

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

The angel was quite clear to Mary. There was no mistaking the meaning of Gabriel’s words. Mary had found favor with God and would conceive a child. She was to have a son and call his name Jesus. But this thing which would come to pass became incredibly significant when the angel announced that this child would be given the throne of David. "He will be called the Son of the Most High," and would reign over Israel forever. This son of hers would inherit David’s throne. And what is interesting is that Gabriel ...

4066. Creeds or Deeds

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Brett Blair

Rev. David Chadwell posed a rather interesting question: Which would you prefer for a next-door neighbor: a person of excellent habits or a person with a good heart? Which would you prefer for a good friend: a person of excellent habits, or a person with a good heart? Which would you prefer for a husband or a wife: a person of excellent habits, or a person with a good heart? Which would you prefer for a child: a child with excellent habits, or a child with a good heart? It is wonderful to have a neighbor ...

4067. Beating Babel

Acts 2:1-13, Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Once upon a time, in the dim and distant past, a little Jewish child asked, "Mommy, Daddy, why do people from different countries talk funny?" And the response came from an even dimmer and more distant past - the story of the Tower of Babel that we find in the 11th chapter of Genesis. Human pride had decided it would make a name for itself and would build a city and a tower that would be a gateway to heaven; God would not allow such presumption so the speech of the workers was confused, they fell to ...

4068. A Gospel for Losers

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A fellow is standing at a bar, just looking at his drink.(1) For a solid half-hour, he just stares at it. Suddenly, a big trouble-making truck driver steps up next to him, takes the drink and chugs it down. The poor schlemiel starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I can't stand to see a man cry." "You don't understand," says the first fellow. "This day is the worst day of my life. First, I sleep through the alarm this morning and get into ...

4069. Rejoice

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

William Everett, a Congressman from Massachusetts in the late 1800s, told the story of a congregation in England that needed new hymn books but lacked the money to pay for them. The churchgoers learned that a large company, a maker of patent medicines, would furnish hymn books at a penny each if the books could carry some advertising. The congregation saw no harm in making that concession, and so they ordered the books. The new hymnals arrived at the church on the day before Christmas. On Christmas morning ...

4070. Be Careful How You Walk

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

A prosperous executive whose work required frequent travel decided to buy his own plane. He took flying lessons and was soon quite comfortable with his more convenient transportation. After a few years he decided to purchase a pontoon plane so he could fly back and forth from his beautiful summer home on the lake. On his first flight in his new plane, he forgetfully started to head for the airport landing strip, just as he had always done. Luckily, his wife was with him and when she saw what he was doing, ...

4071. The Waiting Father

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

A teenager came to his pastor for advice: "I left home," said the boy, "and did something that will make my dad furious when he finds out. What should I do?" The minister thought for a moment and replied, "Go home and confess your sin to your father, and he'll probably forgive you and treat you like the prodigal son." Sometime later the boy reported to the minister, "Well, I told Dad what I did." "And did he kill the fatted calf for you?" asked the minister. "No," said the boy, "but he nearly killed the ...

4072. Getting Your Attention

John 2:12-25

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] A famous news anchor tells about attending a revival as a boy in his home town of Bloomington, Texas. It was a spectacular extravaganza the whole town attended. The tent was open, the floor was sawdust ...

4073. I Was There

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Gary Whitbeck

If I told you my name you wouldn't know me. There's not enough room in historical documents to record everything and everybody. History merely tries to capture the important events that chronicle our progression as a people. Individuals who are on the scene are rarely known (much like the background characters who fill in your movies). However, I have been allowed, by the grace of the Almighty, to come to you during this special season of the year, to remind you of THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN HUMAN HISTORY ...

4074. Come Home For New Year's

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

"Phil, I heard you flew to California on vacation," said Irlene. "I'll bet that was great!" "No, Irlene," Phil replied, "that was bad. When I got there, I missed the bus from the airport to my hotel." "Oh," said Irlene, "that's bad." "No," Phil replied, "that wasn't bad. I got a taxi, and the driver was very friendly." Irlene: "That's good." "No," said Phil, "that's bad. The transmission in the taxi broke before we even got away from the airport." "Oh," said Irlene, "that's bad!" "No," Phil replied, "that ...

4075. The Voice Of The Lord

Psalm 29:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you recognize the name Elwood Edwards? Many of you hear his voice every day, and yet you don't know his name. Actually, Elwood's voice is heard more than 27 million times a day. This equals more than 18,000 times each minute of the day. Elwood Edwards is the man behind those three special words (No, not "I love you") but three words that are dear to the hearts of computer users, "You've got mail!" In 1989, Edwards' wife Karen was working in customer service for a little-known outfit in Vienna, Virginia ...

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