Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4076 to 4100 of 4490 results

4076. Mary Of Nazareth

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ephesians 1:15-23

Drama

Lynda Pujad

A Monologue For Easter Part One I had always lived in the village of Nazareth. I am Mary. (bows slightly) It was a common place. Certainly, there has never been anything special about Nazareth but it was my home and I loved it. My parents lived there and also my fiancé, Joseph, who was a reputable carpenter. He was a righteous man and came from the lineage of the family of King David. I knew he was a good man and one that would be a fine husband. Our families had arranged the marriage and soon I would be ...

4077. Monologue: Naomi And Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Drama

Lynda Pujad

Naomi I said before to the people of Bethlehem to call me Mara, meaning a bitter woman. I was not always bitter. Once, I had a wonderful husband and two fine sons. They were the pride of my life. They meant everything to me. They married two nice girls in the land of Moab where we had gone to find food. I am Naomi. (Bows) In our home in Bethlehem, there was a famine and my good husband Elimelech decided we should move to Moab where there was no famine. It was a difficult decision for him to make because we ...

4078. Jesus, Mary, Gustav Mahler, Brother Martin, and the Magi

Luke 20:9-19

Sermon

Carl Jech

The scribes and the chief priests ... perceived that he had told this parable against them. (Luke 20:19) No doubt you are wondering what Jesus, his mother, Mary, the composer, Gustav Mahler, Martin Luther and the three Wise Men (the Magi) have in common. The list sounds like it comes from one of Johnny Carson's "Carnak" bits, doesn't it? The simple answer is that all of these people were willing to take a new look at the traditions they had inherited. Like Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, they could celebrate ...

4079. A Holy Hunger

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

Tonight we come to the altar-table to celebrate Holy Communion. Why do we say, "Holy Communion"? Is there such a thing as "unholy communion"? Yes, there is. When one comes to the Lord's table with a hardened heart and with a life that is turned in upon itself; when one comes with a proud and an arrogant attitude; and when one comes thinking that he or she is worthy of what is about to be received; then, that person will receive communion, but it will not be holy. Jeremiah, who speaks to us in our First ...

4080. The Body Illustrates Our Relation to Each Other

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Christ's Church is most effective when it functions like the human body. People: The body is made up of many different parts, and yet all belong to the same body. Pastor: No one part can replace the other part, and no one part is unimportant to the whole body. People: We offer ourselves to be a part of the church he is creating with our many different personalities and abilities. Collect Gracious Father, who has created each of us to be different, and yet to be a part of each other ...

4081. Life in the Sunbelt

Malachi 4:1-6

Sermon

Remember the song: "That’s what I like about the South"? There appears to be something special about the southern area of our nation. People who live there seem to love it. They say its good for your health. Industry is shifting in that direction. Flocks of snowbirds flee there from winter’s drabness in the North. People like me dream of someday owning a place in Florida. The sunbelt draws us. There is promise in thoughts of it. It must have been a southerner who wrote the old song that says, "Cheer up, my ...

4082. What Color is God?

1 John 4:20

Children's Sermon

Object: Ball point pens or construction paper with the colors being black, brown, red, white, and yellow. Today, my friends, we are going to learn a lesson from a question, and it is the kind of question that is troubling a lot of people. I am going to ask you a question that I want you to think about for a minute. What color is God? What color do you think God is? That is a good question. What color do you think God is? (Ask several of the children; I think you will get some surprising answers and it may ...

4083. Table For Talkers

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

The success of a dinner depends as much on fellowship as on food. This fellowship takes place through conversation. A banquet of friends buzzes like a beehive. Did you notice it or maybe you were too busy talking to have heard it? A dinner is a miserable occasion when two or more people sit down and eat their meal in a cold, bitter silence, because there is nothing for them to communicate. This dinner conversation need not be pleasantries or chit-chat, but it can be talk of substance. This was the case ...

4084. Proper 9

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

The Hebrews who went down to Egypt settled there as guests of the Pharaoh. To those semi-nomadic people, the land, even though passing through a period of exceptional famine, must have seemed lush and green compared with droughtstricken Canaan and the desert which they had crossed. They were there as resident aliens, but at the time it was easy to forget that fact, because they were accorded special privileges, thanks to Joseph's position at the Pharaoh's court. However, the time came when this favorable ...

4085. Estranged Hands

Psalm 143:1-12

Sermon

In the early spring and late fall of each year, the Ladies Aid of our congregation has a rummage sale. Shortly after the last sale, I received the following note, enclosed in a package with a small trinket. The writer says, "I write this to my shame. You may feel this is nothing, but to me I've made myself lower than Judas who received thirty pieces of silver for his soul. I must make this right to please my Lord. One sin is as great as another, none is big or small, all is sin. To explain: I was at your ...

4086. Serving Hands

Psalm 92:1-15

Sermon

Being a servant to others is not a role that is generally sought after in our society today. We tend to be a people who seek to be served, rather than offering to serve. However, Jesus said of himself that he came to serve, not to be served. He elevated for us the servant's position as he said to us, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." The entire message of salvation can be summed up by saying, "Jesus came to serve us in our needs." That is no more clearly seen than in these ...

4087. There’s Gotta Be a Day

Malachi 4:1-6

Sermon

We’ve heard that song before, haven’t we? We’ve heard it with some variations, but the theme is the same. Perhaps the same problems create the same theme - with some variations. Even the variations do not nuance the repetitions enough to make us pay attention, finally. If it were not for two things, Malachi’s oracle of God could be passed by as "just the same old thing." The oracle is from God. Secondly, it comes because God insists on keeping his covenant. He simply cares. There it is. Do we wish to ...

4088. Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

A popular form of education in the lower grades, for many years, has been the procedure called "Show and Tell." It has invaded some pulpits as well and preachers will do object-centered sermons; they hold or employ some particular item easily seen and understood by the congregation in order to gain attention and, hopefully, make a point that will be remembered. It was something of that nature Jesus was doing on the night of the Last Supper, as it is recorded for us by the evangelist John. In some ways, it ...

4089. God's Passion

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

There is a short ditty, hardly good enough to be called a poem, but fun nevertheless. Death reigns; With furrowed brows and sad eyes, All men live under darkened skies. Cold and lonely the days crawl by; In depression and doubt we all lie. Then the wind picks up, the sun breaks out; Come laughter and joy of which all men shout. In only days Winter dies, And in its wake Spring arrives. Such a flirtation with spring is upon us now. And with it comes an amazing transformation of spirits - spring fever. The ...

4090. He Who Vindicates is Near

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Israel was a nation who knew what it meant to be defeated in their own land. Their people had been exiled to another land. They had seen their land occupied by another people and their harvest reaped by others. They feared for their identity. Their sense of national pride was gone. They wondered if they would finally become a dying race and a lost people. Where was their God? Where was the God who had called and chosen them to be his people - who had promised them this land? They knew they needed a ...

4091. Proper 16

Lk 13:22-30 · Heb 12:5-7, 11-13, 18-29 · Jer 28:1-9 · Isa 66:18-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Jeremiah 28:1-9 Hananiah, a prophet, contradicts Jeremiah's prophecy of doom. Jeremiah is confronted by Hananiah, a prophet from Gibeon, in the temple. It is a dramatic scene with Jeremiah's wearing a yoke to symbolize the coming bondage of Judah to Babylon. To Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and people, Hananiah tells Jeremiah that Babylon will be defeated and within two years the king, exiles, and the temple treasures will be returned to Jerusalem. Sarcastically Jeremiah says "Amen" to ...

4092. 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 ...

4093. The Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1-20 · Isa 9:2-7 · Tit 2:11-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Isaiah 9:2-7 A child is born whose name is wonderful and whose government is characterized by permanence, justice and righteousness. The people of Isaiah's day were in darkness. Assyria had just taken Zebulon and Naphtali to captivity in 734 B.C. Out of this darkness the people see a light of God's promise of a messianic king, a son of God. This produces great rejoicing. His royal names define his character: wisdom, courage, fatherly concern and peace. His government will be characterized by ...

4094. Christmas 1

Lk 2:41-52 · Col 3:12-17 · 1 Sam 2:18-20, 26

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 Hannah gives her first child, Samuel, to the service of Yahweh under the high priest, Eli, at Shiloh where Samuel grew physically and spiritually. Samuel was the answer to Hannah's prayer for a child. When she weaned him, she took him to Eli at Shiloh to serve Yahweh permanently. Each year when Hannah came to worship, she brought Samuel a handmade robe. The little lad, wearing a linen apron-like vestment, an ephod, ministered to Yahweh. In this service Samuel grew physically ...

4095. Lent 3

John 4:1-26

Sermon Aid

COMMENTARY Exodus 3:1-15 (C), Exodus 3:1-8b, 10-15 (L). Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 (RC) Moses is called to deliver God's people from bondage in Egypt. While tending his father-in-law's sheep, Moses is called by Yahweh to return to Egypt to lead out his oppressed people. First Yahweh must get Moses' attention by having a bush burn without burning up. Because God is present, Moses is ordered to remove his sandals, for he is on holy ground. Wherever God exists, the place becomes sacred. Yahweh tells Moses that he is ...

4096. Boundaries or Frontiers?

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

In his marvelous account, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer notes how in 1942 Hitler had stretched his frontiers so wide in Russia that he simply could not defend them anymore. Ignoring Field General Franz Halder’s advice, the Fuhrer dismissed him saying, "We need National Socialist ardor now, not professional ability. I cannot expect this of an officer of the old school such as you." Halder later described the Furhrer as "no longer a responsible warlord, but a political fanatic." The ...

4097. The Promise of Peace

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

he Irish seem constantly at war, seeking to kill each other for religious goals. Arabs and Jews wage war, both hot and cold, of hatred and survival. The Russians and Afghans are engaged in mortal conflict for oppression and freedom. In Central America there is fighting and killing for control of land and destinies. In South Africa there is a race war of horrendous proportions being waged, that destroys and imprisons people. In our own country we continue to expend billions upon billions of dollars to fuel ...

4098. The Freedom of Necessity

John 8:31-41

Sermon

"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Like most teenagers I looked forward to my sixteenth birthday as a day of liberation. Being sixteen meant that I could get a driver’s license, and the open road of freedom and self-determination would be mine for the taking. At last, I thought, I could be my own person, no longer dependent on parents or older friends to take me where I wanted to go. My sixteenth birthday would be " ...

4099. What the End Will Be Like

Zephaniah 1:4-13

Sermon

To speak about the end of the world sounds rather oldfashioned, but admittedly not as old-fashioned as it once was. Israel never kept its part of the covenant with God very long. The people always sinned and turned their backs upon the God who had not only delivered them from slavery, but also had led them to the Promised Land and saw to it that they were established there as an independent nation. The message, which Zephaniah had received from God and had spoken to the Israelites, was that a day of ...

4100. The Church Fellowship

Acts 2:42-47

Bulletin Aid

Leader: In the New Testament church, believers devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Men: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and their goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Women: Today we are scattered and do well to meet at the church twice a week. Men: Every day they met in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, Women: ...

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