Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4076 to 4100 of 4936 results

4076. You Will Never Walk Alone

Luke 24:13-20, 25-26, 28-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Summer is not far away now. It is a time when many people travel. If you are going abroad, I am sure you have already made plans to do so. If you have told anybody about your plans, I am sure you have gotten a lot of advice on where to stay, where to eat, and what to see. Through the generosity of many of you in this church, Jean and I were able to take a trip to Germany last summer. We had a wonderful time, made so in large part because of the advice that some of you gave us who had been there. The best ...

4077. Proper 17

Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21, Jeremiah 14:1--15:21, Jeremiah 20:7-18, Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 3:1-15 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 concerned about his people in slavery and ...

4078. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 The Ten Commandments. While assembled at Mount Sinai, the Israelites are given the Decalogue by Yahweh through Moses. These ten absolutes are not independent. They are related to the Mosaic covenant. First came grace in terms of God's deliverance from Egypt and by his promise to take them to a Promised Land. The laws are given for the people's part or response to the covenant. Old Testament: Isaiah 5:1-7 God's judgment upon his people for their failure to ...

4079. Worship Wars!

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

We pastors call it The Worship Wars. One can see the frowning battlements in the faces seated in pews, hear the rumble of its artillery in negative comments, and feel the white heat of its lethal shrapnel in board meetings. "It's boring!" "Why, those songs are so old, every time I sing them I get a backache!" "Worship is becoming a nightclub act! What will we do next?" "Choruses are 7-11 worship. Seven words repeated eleven times!" Any pastor, any active church member alive today is in the trenches of this ...

4080. But Wait! There's More!

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Recently I heard about a man who had spent his life in the Air Force. One of his friends suggested that the family play the Air Force theme song at his funeral. His wife vetoed that idea. With a laugh, she said, “At your father’s funeral, we are not going to play a song that begins, ‘Off we go into the wild blue yonder!’” Arthur Schiff died last year at the age of 66. You may not recognize the name, but I guarantee you’ve heard his voice. Arthur was a TV pitchman extraordinaire. He sold everything you can ...

4081. Thanks Be to God

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once upon a time there was a woodcutter who spent the majority of every day in the woods. He knew every trail and basically every inch of the forest. One day the woodcutter was preparing to fell a tree when he heard a cooing sound not far away. He followed the sound and found two white doves that were caught in a wooden trap. He felt sorry for the birds and thus opened the trap door and allowed them to fly to freedom. He then returned to his job of felling the tree and forgot all about the birds. As the ...

4082. Being Christian in the Family

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

James McCormick

When the Empire State building was being planned, there were cynics who said that you can’t build a building out of concrete and steel 102 stories high. It is impossible. The whole thing will come crashing down! However, engineers said that there is virtually no limit to how high you can build, providing the foundation is deep enough and strong enough. Jesus was a builder. He understood the importance of foundations. That is why he painted the vivid picture contrasting sand and rock as foundation materials ...

4083. All Saints

Psalm 34:1-22, Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

AN APOCALYPTIC LESSON AND THE PSALM Revelation 7:9-17 is the description of all the saints singing before the throne of God in Heaven. Psalm 34:1-10, 22 is a psalm of thanksgiving. Revelation 7:9-17 - "Red Makes White" Setting. The larger context of Revelation 7:9-17 is the opening of the seven seals (Revelation 6:1-8:5), which describe apocalyptic catastrophes that will accompany the close of this age. Revelation 7 is often described as an interlude between the sixth (Revelation 6:12-17) and seventh ( ...

4084. Christmas Gifts That Always Fit

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you ever had a “Reality Check?” I had one last Sunday morning. Right after the 8:30 service in our Sanctuary, I rushed up to the second floor to get something I needed for the 9:45 service. I went up the stairs in the Commons to the long corridor that leads down to the Youth Chapel. About 50 yards up ahead of me our young people were gathered together out in the hallway (as they do every Sunday morning) visiting and waiting for Sunday School to start. When I was about 40 yards away from them, I saw ...

4085. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Many years ago when I was a young preacher, I noticed one day that a new family had moved into a neighborhood not far from my church. So I dropped by late one afternoon. I noticed that one car was parked in the carport. I went to the side door, the one opening onto the carport. I had rung the door bell only once when I heard a deep, bass growl that sounded like the rolling of thunder. It was coming from the back of the carport and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. I glanced to my ...

4086. Jesus Is the Recipe for Eternal Life

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Scientists tell us that if you take six molecules of carbon dioxide and combine it with twelve molecules of water, then add light, the result will be one molecule of glucose sugar, six molecules of oxygen, and six molecules of water. This process, known as photosynthesis, makes the world as we know it possible. Carbon dioxide, which is exhaled by all mammals, is converted into oxygen which allows us to breathe. Plants, which use this photosynthesis process, make our world possible. But, photosynthesis ...

4087. Perceiving the Presence of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Three sisters lived in the forest. The oldest was named Bean Plant, the middle sister was named Marigold, and the youngest was called Lily. It was summer; the weather was beautiful and all who lived in the forest were happy and gay. The two older sisters thought themselves to be rather important. Bean Plant attracted lots of attention through the lush and rich beans which she produced so abundantly. All the squirrels, rabbits, and other animals came and ate their meals at Bean Plant's house. Bean Plant was ...

4088. Back to the Real World

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

There is always a letdown the week after Christmas. How could it be otherwise? Christmas demands so much of us. Now it’s back to the humdrum of ordinary living. Plus a few extra bills to pay and a few extra pounds to work off. Some unknown author spoke for many of us: Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse. The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste. All the holiday parties had gone to my waist. When I got on the scales there arose such a number ...

4089. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The so-called "Jesus Seminars" have caused controversy among biblical scholars of all stars and stripes for many reasons. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of these studies is the method they use to make a final determination about the probable authenticity of a "Jesus saying." They assign a color to the text based on the probability that it is genuine: "red" for sayings that appear to be indisputably Jesus'; "black" for those almost certainly not. Of course, there are also "pink" and "gray" ...

4090. Where a Cross Should Be Worn

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. Mietlowski took Eric in his arms and traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using a special anointing oil. Following worship, Eric’s family celebrated with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being ...

4091. Mind Games

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Sermon

James Merritt

(After a video of Hershel Walker) Oh, those were the glory days! Now there is something most of you probably missed in seeing that video. You thought the focus was on Hershel Walker, but the key to what you just saw was the offensive line. Not even Hershel Walker, the greatest college running back who ever lived, who happened to play for the greatest college football team, at the greatest university in history, cannot run one yard unless he has an offensive line opening the holes. There is an old football ...

4092. Being a Woman of God

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

James Merritt

I am at a distinct disadvantage here for one simple reason. I believe it is easier for a woman to address a group of men than it is for men to address a group of women. The reason is simple. Women at least think they understand men; men know they don't understand women. One of the reasons for this problem is there are undeniably tremendous differences between men and women. For example: Women have many faults Men have only two; Everything they say and everything they do. I told Teresa the other day in a ...

4093. Smooth Out Your Day

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

James Merritt

Do you ever feel tired? Do you ever feel weary? If you don't, you would be rather unusual. You see if you are an adult of average weight, here is what you accomplish in 24 hours. The heart beats 103, 689 times. Your blood travels 168 million miles. You breathe 23,040 times. You inhale 438 cubic feet of air. You eat 3 1/4 qtr. lbs of food. You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids. You lose 7/8 lbs of waste. You speak 25,000 words. You move 750 muscles. Your nails grow .000046th inches. Your hair grows .01714 inches ...

4094. A Clear and Present Danger

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Sermon

James Merritt

There are always two sources of conflict any leader or any organization faces - external and internal. Believe it or not, by far and away the most dangerous type of conflict is internal. We have already seen how the enemy tries to attack from the outside and one of his primary weapons is criticism, but when he attacks from the inside, he uses an even more powerful weapon – selfishness. In the first four chapters of Nehemiah we saw how the enemy tried several things to stop the rebuilding of the wall. First ...

4095. The Bible: Head and Heart

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

"With Jesus in your heart, you just can't hate anybody." That is our destination, but sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination. I want to take you on a journey through the text for today. As we continue to preach on the life of our Lord Jesus, we will basically arrive at the same destination: "With Jesus in your heart, you just can't hate anybody." This is a wonderful text, a dense text that is chock full. It's almost like a good hamburger with all that good stuff hanging over the ...

4096. Living the Vision

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

In most congregational settings, the name Habakkuk does not bring people to their feet. He is not considered famous biblically speaking, like the more recognized names of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. In point of fact, most people do not know who Habakkuk is or what he did. Habakkuk was a prophet who undertook to sustain the faith of the nation through one of the most hopeless periods of Hebrew history. The question that he raises is a question that oftentimes seems to find a time and place within each ...

4097. Miracles? No Problem!

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters (in order of appearance) Elizabeth Mary Gabriel King 1 King 2 King 3 Mary’s Mother Joseph Mary 2 Shepherd 1 Shepherd 2 Shepherd 3 2nd Angel 3rd Angel Angel Choir Props Stool/chair Bowl Star Broom Sack Carrots and veggies Knife Handkerchief Bundle Notes This play puts the viewer in Mary’s home the day she received the news that she was to have a special child, and is based on Luke 1:26-38. It envisions Gabriel arriving in Mary’s kitchen and Mary’s reaction to the news. As he talks with Mary and ...

4098. The Wisdom of the Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I heard a story recently about this negative barber that had a customer in his chair and he said to him, “I hear you’re going to Europe; you shouldn’t do that. The weather is going to be bad in Rome, there is bombing and there’s strife and strikes in London. You think you’re going to get to see the Pope, but he won’t give you an audience, you just shouldn’t go.” About a month later, the same man was in the chair, and the barber said to him, “You didn’t take my advice; you went to Europe after all. And I ...

4099. Beware of Cute

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Beware of Cute. This is the time of year when we need to be on high alert for cute. We love cuteness. This is a cute-driven culture. And this season of year turns everything it touches into glitz and cuteness. But the story of Jesus’ birth wasn’t cute. The Annunciation wasn’t cute. The virgin birth wasn’t cute. The Magnificat wasn’t cute. The little town of Bethlehem wasn’t cute. The killing of the innocents wasn’t cute. The nativity genealogy puts Mary in the lineage of Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheeba, and Ruth ...

4100. Living By The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

When I was a boy, back in the Stone Age when we rode dinosaurs to school, one of the things my brothers and I looked forward to was when my Mom bought fruit cocktail. That might seem odd for some of our young people because today, in our global economy, we can walk into the store and buy almost any fruit or vegetable any time we want. But back then, we were dependent upon fruit and vegetables being in season. Besides, fresh fruit (other than apples) was seen as a luxury of sorts. That why having fruit ...

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