Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4051 to 4075 of 4943 results

4051. In the Wilderness with the Devil

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Paul Grobman in his book Vital Statistics tells about incident that occurred on January 21, 1996. This incident--which might be every child’s fantasy and every parent’s nightmare--involved two brothers, Antony and Jerome who live in Quebec, Canada. It seems that the two boys wandered off from their backyard and went to a nearby Toys R Us, the now defunct toy store chain. While amusing themselves in the gigantic toy store Antony and Jerome slipped into a playhouse where they promptly fell asleep. When they ...

4052. Precocious

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: mouth tape / songbird (if you can bring a real bird…it’s best) [Come into the aisle wearing a tape across your mouth. Pull it off before speaking.] Silence. Sometimes after a day of screaming co-workers, or busy shopping, or upset children, or loud music, you name it, all we crave is….silence. In fact, how many times have you wished your partner, or child, or friend….would just be….silent. There’s something called “noise fatigue.” In fact, studies say that emotional exhaustion can also make you ...

4053. Lady of the House / The Practice of Joy

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 12:7) “Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. ...

4054. Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a broken piece of pottery I want to read to you this morning a translation of Ezekiel’s prophetic story, translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. This is the most vivid reading of this scripture that I have ever heard. You’ll see why when you hear it. [Read the scripture translation.] The imagery, the sensory experience of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision, the mystery and wonder of God’s creative breath, these are made so vivid in this reading. No? You get such a sense of the metaphor that God is ...

4055. Dorcas, Dinah, or Delilah (Who are You?)

Genesis 34:1-31, Judges 16:1-22, Acts 9:32-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Names are fun. We all like to play with names. We get excited about naming our babies. We give each other nicknames. We call each other names –sometimes for fun, sometimes not in the best spirit! We give our children ancestral names, biblical names, and sometimes, off-the-wall names! We name our animals according to what they look like, or what they mean to us. Names are identity markers. They reveal something about how we see the world around us and the people in it. They reveal something about our ...

4056. Beautiful

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be cut off.” (Isaiah 55:13) God created you beautiful. God created you to bloom with kindness, to be myrtle-white pure of heart. God created you to love with the fragrance of patience and grace, to be hardy and loyal even when the road is rocky, and to wait for the promises of God. If any of you have planted a garden or ...

4057. The Olfactory Sense of Prayer

Exodus 30:34-38, Exodus 30:22-33, John 12:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all God’s people on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.” Revelation 8:3 Props: Several strong-smelling ingredients (such as onion, garlic, cilantro, horseradish, ramps), incense or anointing oils and/or candles Those of you who love cooking know how important your sense ...

4058. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

"If I speak in human tongues or even the speech of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal," Strong words to one who makes his living trying hard to speak in the tongues of angels, or at least of Billy Graham. I could pass peacefully if, after one of my sermons, I overheard someone on the third row say to her boyfriend, "Dr. Willimon sounded just like an angel today." I'm in the "tongues of men and of angels" business. And yet, says Paul in this thirteenth chapter of Corinthians, ...

4059. Seeking Jesus

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to get lost in a strange city, then you can appreciate the great sense of relief you feel when you finally make it back to someplace familiar. There are few experiences more satisfying than finding your way back to the place you want to be. A few years back, an Asian woman was on a sightseeing tour in Iceland. After spending an afternoon exploring a volcanic canyon, the woman changed into fresh clothes and rejoined the rest of her tour group. Sadly, a member of their ...

4060. For Us Or Against Us?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

There’s a scrap of papyrus (a form of paper made from reeds that grew in the Nile) that has survived the centuries until it was found in the Egyptian desert over a century ago. Although there are gaps in the piece, enough has survived to make it clear what it is. It’s a list of Olympic champions. The Greek Olympic games were held every four years for a thousand years. The list includes champions for all the events including the 200 yard dash which was the oldest event in the games. This list included ...

4061. By D Grace of God

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

I have a pop quiz for you this morning. How much money would you say Americans lost to Internet scams and online crime in 2020? Would you believe $4.2 billion? That’s billion—with a “b”! And that’s just in one year’s time. Internet scams are an increasing problem all over the world. (1) If I were to ask for a quick show of hands, how many of you have gotten an email or message on social media that you suspected was a scam? It’s a pretty common occurrence. I read an excellent story on the blog Now I Know! ...

4062. Why Doesn’t God Prove Himself To Doubters?

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

Charley Reeb

If you’ve ever doubted God’s existence or know someone who has, this message is for you. If you are afraid to express your struggles with faith, this message is for you. The truth is, 99% of us are in one of those categories, and 1% is lying. So this message is for everyone! I have gone through seasons of doubt. It’s called being human. It is normal. I wouldn’t be much of preacher if I didn’t struggle with doubt. I wouldn’t have much to offer. I believe with Frederick Buechner that “doubts are the ants in ...

4063. When You Are Weary

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

One of the amazing facts about the human race is how alike we all are. We share most of the same hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes. Even in a world of almost 8 billion people, there are certain universal things that most people agree on. To prove this, I’m going to read a series of statements. If you agree that a statement is true in your life, raise your hand. Here’s the first one: I’m a really good singer in the shower or in my car. Here’s the second: My pet understands me when I talk to it. Or: my ...

4064. More Than Just Image

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Would you agree that we are an image-conscious society? Appearances are important to us. And not just our personal appearances. We want the things in our environment—our homes and cars and sneakers and even our lunches—to look Instagram-ready. The problem with living in an image-conscious society is that we are easy to deceive. Too often, appearance wins out over substance. If something looks good on the outside, we don’t question its authenticity or integrity. Author Mark D. Roberts tells of meeting a man ...

4065. Who Is This Jesus?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

John B. Jamison

Let’s begin by remembering the story together. Jesus was attending a wedding in the village of Cana, about eight miles north of Nazareth. His mother and disciples were there too. At some point, Jesus’ mother came to him and told him they had run out of wine. Jesus took some jugs of water and performed his first miracle by turning the water into wine. That is the quick version of the story, and on its own it creates a lot of questions. The obvious question is why did Jesus do it? Why did he use his powers ...

4066. What’s In a Word?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Do you know what I mean when I use the term “bathrobe biblical”? I’m talking about the way we dress the kids for the Christmas pageant at church — old bathrobes become robes for Joseph, Grandpa’s cane becomes a shepherd’s crook, and a cigar box gets decorated with gold-painted macaroni so the kings have a treasure to bring. If you remember cigar boxes, you’re dating yourself. The traces of that deep, pungent smell were every bit as mysterious as frankincense and myrrh. These images created in our pageants ...

4067. Who's the Real Leader?

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Sermon

Argile Smith

At an office meeting, Ben got the official news that he would become the manager of one of the most influential departments in the company. His colleagues admired him because of his tireless work, and they respected him as a dependable person in whom they could place their trust. They were glad when they found out that he had gotten the promotion. In order to celebrate the news with him, they bought him a gift. Well, it was actually more like a gag-gift, the kind that he would place on his shelf and ...

4068. The Ascension Announces a Triumph

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Introduction Roller coasters are becoming more and more popular in America; they are being built taller, and longer, and faster - and nearly every major theme and play park seems to have one. In a world that keeps us as dizzy as being on a roller coaster, or at best we have a suspicion that we are being used as a yo-yo, trying to meet the demands of all the strident voices about us. So, when a church event that has its anniversary on a certain Thursday every year - not even a Sunday - we find it a bit ...

4069. No Cleansing, No Refreshment

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Do you realize how much you pay to get “roughed up?” You heard me right. You even pay big bucks to get roughed up on a daily basis. To be sure, you don’t think about this activity as getting “roughed up.” You probably think of it as your morning shower or your evening bath. But consider what you do as you go about your daily cleansing rituals. Whether you use a washcloth, a loofah, or one of those “buff-puff” thingies, as you rub and scrub in the bathtub or shower you are roughing up and sloughing off dead ...

4070. Pillars of the Church

Exodus 17:8-16, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A young woman named Linda was driving alone through the lonely area from Alberta, Canada to the Yukon. She spent one night in one of the rare hotels in the area. The next morning in the breakfast area she was seated near two truckers. They asked where she was going. She said "Whitehorse." "In that little Civic?" they asked. "It's dangerous this time of year in this kind of weather." Linda replied, "Well, I'm determined to try." "In that case," one of the truckers said, "We're just going to have to hug you ...

4071. Investing Our Inheritance

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

A friend once told me of an experience he had as a child. When he was eight years old he went with his family to visit an uncle who lived on a farm. He always looked forward to these visits because his uncle had horses that he let the children ride. When it was his turn to go for a ride, he rode the horse until he was out of view of the house. Then he slipped to the ground. He wanted to try mounting the horse as he had seen cowboys on television do it. So he got behind the horse and took a running start ...

4072. Flatliners

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

What would happen if on this Sunday we were to come to Jesus and ask, "Tell us flat-out what you're about?" Jesus might, on this particular day, say, "I have come to give comfort to the uncomfortable and to make uncomfortable those who have comfort." He has a way of flattening things out. Jesus is a flatliner. What if we were to ask that question of the entire Bible? "Don't give me the six-week course. Just give me a compendium of that battered and complex book. What does it look like?" He would have to ...

4073. The Christmas Cactus

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Christmas has a way of bringing back memories. One that came to my mind as I was preparing this message was when my family would be driving home at night in the car and my father would lead us in singing a song. To all of us family members who remember those fun, cozy journeys toward home, there are many layers of meaning to the words. The song goes like this: There's a long, long trail awinding, Into the land of my dreams, Where the nightingales are singing And the white moon beams. There's a long, long ...

4074. Week Of Ash Wednesday

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Ash WednesdayJoel 2:12-182 Corinthians 5:20--6:2Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Spring Training As all those who follow baseball know, this is the time of spring training. Although in many areas of the country it is snowing and bitter cold still lingers, in Florida, Arizona and California the best baseball players in the country are working hard to prepare themselves for the coming season. All the players come to their respective training camps with one goal in mind -- to make it to the World Series in October. The ...

4075. Everyman And Woman

John 17:6-19, John 17:1-5

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: The church as the body of Christ is "in the world" and needs to relate to spiritual things but keep its feet firmly planted on solid ground. How does it do that? Confession leads to forgiveness. Summary: A rehearsal for the medieval play Everyman erupts into an argument when the actor playing Everyman cannot confess. Playing Time: 7 minutes Place: Your church Props: None Costumes: Mideval Time: The present Cast: Everyman Conscience -- a woman Confession -- a woman (A REHEARSAL FOR EVERYMAN) EVERYMAN ...

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