Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4944 results

4126. Bittersweet

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh / Anointing Oil – Frankincense and Myrrh Animation: youtube of the Seinfeld clip on re-gifting The term “re-gifting” was coined by Jerry Seinfeld in an episode of the comedy show Seinfeld in 1995 called “The Label Maker.” Elaine is horrified to discover that Jerry has received a gift (a label maker) from someone. But it’s the same “label maker” that she originally gave to the guy who gifted Jerry. They uncovered a “re-gifter!” Anyone remember Seinfeld? [Pause to see how ...

4127. Turf Fights and Rewrites: That's What Stiff-Necked People Are Made Of

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails….that’s what little boys are made of.” (Nursery Rhyme) Anyone ever try to give a pill to a dog or cat? Dogs are especially astute at eating an entire bowl of food and leaving the small miniscule pellet still in the dish. Ever notice that? They’re masters at it! Try to mix the pill into their food, and phewy …you realize he just spat it out, and get this --it’s still whole! It’s a struggle to get Rover or Fido or Lola to take the medicine that you know will relieve them ...

4128. This Verse Says It All

John 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

In the late 1980s, artist Jim Sanborn was hired to create a piece of art to be displayed at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. This was a big commission! What an honor to create a unique piece of art for the CIA. Sanborn thought he would have a little fun with this project. He contacted Edward Scheidt, the retired chairman of the CIA’s Cryptographic Center. Scheidt is an expert in encryption and cryptology. Sanborn wanted Scheidt to help him create a message in code for his CIA art piece. On Nov. 3 ...

4129. Religious Rage

Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon

Will Willimon

Someday I may preach a series of sermons called "Bible Passages Too Hot to Handle." A preacher could get burned by getting too close to today's text. Those of you who are regulars here know that we believe it a good practice for preachers to take, as their texts, biblical passages assigned by the ecumenical lectionary. This links us with the practice of the majority of the church, it provides for continuity, and (usually) preserves you from exposure to the pet peeves and hobby horses of the preacher. But ...

4130. Selling the Cross

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that people love to make jokes about certain professions? Lawyers—there are a million jokes about them. Doctors. Pastors—for some reason, the clergy are popular targets for jokes. Don’t ask me why. I think we’re nice people. And salespeople. I think the reason these professions inspire so many jokes is that a small minority of people in these jobs are lazy or unprofessional or even downright unethical. Any job that offers the potential for gaining a lot of authority or a lot of money ...

4131. First World Problems

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever stopped to notice the things that you worry about? If you were to make a list of the last three things you worried about, what would be on it? I ask this question because most of us live fairly insulated lives. We have a place to live. We have enough food to eat. We are not in danger of starvation or homelessness or dying from a simple infection because we can’t afford antibiotics. We are insulated from the dangers of extreme poverty that afflict about 689 million people worldwide. That’s ...

4132. Have a Very Messy Christmas!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

I’ll tell you, this had to be something to see. The Jordan River is not a big river like many that we might think of. At its widest, you could still easily thrown a stone across it, and in many other places, you could just step from one side to the other. The wide and deeper spots usually became places where people would gather to fill their water jugs, wash clothes, bathe the children… or just escape from the heat and dryness of the land around the river. Most of the land was a wilderness; narrow paths ...

4133. Lose the Cape

Romans 13:11-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

When I was in college, I went to a friend’s house for a pool party. I remember it being pretty tame by college standards. The parents were home! However, the dad of the house had a great personality. We told jokes, laughed and carried on. Later in the evening, we were sitting by the pool and the father asked me what my major was. I told him it was religion. He laughed and said, “Yeah, right.” I said, “No, I’m serious. It is religion.” He asked, “Why religion?” I told him I planned on being a preacher. He ...

4134. Out On A Sycamore Limb

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Why do children love this story so much? Tom Wright offered one explanation: “Sunday schools love Zacchaeus. At least they love to act out his story and sing about him. The little man who climbs up a tree to see Jesus provides one of the most vivid short stories in the Bible. Children can identify with Zacchaeus; they often find themselves at the back of a crowd and can’t see what’s going on. Many adults too, can identify with, they like to get closer to Jesus, but find it embarrassing to do so, and ...

4135. John the Baptist and Mrs. Nolan

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Kelly LeDoux, Duluth, Minnesota tells about a time when she and her four-year-old son were putting out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve and she accidentally dropped one of the cookies. “No problem,” she said, picking it up and dusting it off before placing it back on the plate. “You can’t do that,” argued her four-year-old son. “Don’t worry,” Mom said, “Santa will never know.” Her son shot her a look. “So he knows if I’ve been bad or good,” her son said, “but he doesn’t know the cookie fell on the floor ...

4136. More Than a Bad Day?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mary Austin

The late Mike Yaconelli, who was a youth ministry guru and the pastor of a unique and small church, told a story about preaching at his church. He said that nearly every time he preached, a young woman named Maria raised her hand and asked, “Now, what exactly are you talking about?” After one sermon, Maria, who was about sixteen at the time, raised her hand, and this time she asked if she could pray for him. “Sure,” he said. She asked if she could come up to the front, and he agreed. In the middle of the ...

4137. The Body Of Christ, On Repeat

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

Mary Austin

Repetition is the key to success. Whether it’s learning a new soccer move, or a tennis swing, memorizing a poem, or learning a new language, we have to do it over and over again. We have to get the golf swing or the yoga move into our muscle memory. We have to learn just the right touch for sanding wood or kneading bread dough. We have to remember how to edit a video or play a song. It works with music, manners and art. Repetition is part of building faith, too. In this Easter season, one sighting of the ...

4138. The Call to Encounter

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time, he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me…” Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. (Luke 8: 27-31) To ...

4139. No Excuse

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant be- cause Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” Luke 13:14 When my brother, Brian’s kids were little, he used to coach football. Well, coaching may be too strong a word. These were nine and ten-year-olds and Brian used to say that what the league called coaching was really more like herding cats. The team practiced twice a week ...

4140. Beware Of Your Piety

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Whatever happened to Lent? It has been some time now since church attendance was swollen during this season. Congregations also conducted weekday services that were well attended. Lenten reading was popular, and people talked a great deal about their Lenten fasting. "What did you give up for Lent?" was a common question. Very often that was done with little thought. In the Chicago area in the '50s, where and when Lenten piety was quite prominent, a woman was shopping at the bakery. While she was waiting ...

4141. Milestones And Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

John G. Lynn

One bright day in March a young man awoke at 4:30 a.m. Crystal clear sunlight poured into Jack's room, like a great river leading him to a new day. He was too high up for any river to flow -- springs or small streams, yes, but no rivers. Kurseong, not far from Darjeeling, stood 8,000 feet above sea level, in the foothills of the Himalayas. As he rubbed his eyes in that radiant dawn, he looked out his window to the highest spot on the face of the earth. There, far in the distance, sparkling like a diamond ...

4142. Miracle Five: Healing A Withered Hand

Mark 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

Background Material Jesus and his disciples traveled about on foot. They would naturally take advantage of shortcuts. So this day they walked across some farmland that had been planted with wheat. As they were hungry, they reached out and plucked some of the kernels of wheat to satisfy their hunger. But they were seen doing so by some of Jesus' critics who immediately called him to account. But as they were stout defenders of the law, and of the scriptures, Jesus answered them out of their own religious ...

4143. Training Wheels For Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Another world, another day, another time. The bright sun cast its long dark shadows along streets filled with carts and animals, never once falling on automobile, trolley or McDonald's litter in the gutter. Another world, another day, another time. Yet the sounds of people were there, even more evident without the sound of motor cars. The shouting of a young man, the call of an elderly woman, the bawling of a young child. But in the darkness of an entryway to a home on that busy street we see a door open, ...

4144. Cultivating Our Garden

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

I remember a news program which showed the release of a number of wild turkeys into the wilderness of southwestern United States. They were seeking to reestablish a strain of turkeys in that area. In order to track them and understand how they were doing, a little radio was affixed to the back of each of the turkeys. Can you imagine being able to sit at a screen and follow the whereabouts of all those turkeys? How would you like to have a tracking device affixed to your back, so that your family, and your ...

4145. You Can Be Articulate

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

A quick look at any medical journal reveals thousands of phobias that afflict people ... not discomforts or unpleasantries, but full-blown, pulse-raising, sweat-inducing, emotionally debilitating phobias. They come in all shapes and sizes. We find arachnaphobia (the fear of spiders) and musophobia (the fear of mice). There are claustrophobia (the fear of confined spaces with no visible exit) and hydrophobia (the fear of water which prevents anyone from knowing the joys of swimming in summer or deep sea ...

4146. Divine Naivet

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

If you ask a child for his favorite Christmas carol, you'd better be ready! He just might say, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Well, you do know it, don't you? You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, checking it twice, Gonna find out who's naughty or nice Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows when you've been sleepin' He knows when you're awake He knows when you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake. ...

4147. Something To Hang On To

2 Corinthians 12:9

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Object: A pair of ski poles, if possible. If not, help the children understand what ski poles are and what they are used for. Lesson: When we start to fall, Jesus is there for us to hang on to. Have you ever seen any of these? (Display poles.) Do you know what they are used for? (Children respond.) These are ski poles and people use them when they go skiing down the mountain. They go swoosh! swoosh! and use these poles to help them keep their balance and to point them in the direction they want to go. ( ...

4148. Empowered By A Vision

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

If your mother taught you to say only nice things about other people, Jacob will push you to the outer limits of your imagination. This younger of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah has few redeeming qualities. He takes advantage of every available weakness in others. The older twin, Esau, must have had the common sense of a fence post. On two different occasions, Jacob cheats him of his birthright. Jacob's father Isaac was old, blind and on his death bed when Jacob exploits the situation to benefit ...

4149. The Oil For Squeaking People

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Let me remind you of two biblical narratives which concern the announcement of unexpected births. In each case, the husband and wife are beyond the age when pregnancy is expected -- yet the Lord tells them that a son will be born to them. In the New Testament book of Luke, we are informed of how an old priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were to become parents of the fellow we know as John the Baptist. Zechariah was at work in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem when an angel appeared to him. ...

4150. Recalling, Remembering, And Rejoicing

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

For all of his charisma as a leader, his skills as a diplomat, his savvy as a politician, Moses was not the sort for whom making speeches ever came easily. Rhetoric simply wasn't included on his resume, public speaking never being one of his fortes. And of course, back at Sinai before this improbable pilgrimage began, he had admitted as much to Yahweh: "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" ( ...

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