Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4151 to 4175 of 4936 results

4151. Without the Mask

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Sermon

Mary Austin

This Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, comes to us as the end of the Epiphany season, and as the doorway to the season of Lent. We have another piece of Paul’s writing to the people of Corinth. Listen for God speaking. Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old ...

4152. Show Us the Father

John 14:8-17, 25-27

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

Philip put forth what seemed like a really good request. “Show us the Father.” He added, “That will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Yes, that would be great. If we can just see the Father, we’ll be cool. We’ll have all the inspiration we need to keep plugging away. We’ll be set for life. We’ll be good. This reminds me of the old Steve Martin movie, “The Jerk.” There’s a scene in which Navin (Steve Martin) is breaking up with his wife, Marie (Bernadette Peters). She tells him to leave, so he begins to walk ...

4153. We Have Waited

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isa. 25:9). About the best that can be said of the church in the past days of Lent is that we have waited. Lent is the church waiting. Questions were raised that had no ready answers—questions of sin, injustice, evil, suffering, the demonic power of Pilate's state, the limitations of the howling, democratic mob, the ...

4154. Watch This!

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

The first verse of this chapter in Luke is fascinating all on its own. Luke indicated that Jesus was being “carefully watched.” It almost sounds like a spy novel. Better yet, it sounds like Big Brother keeping an eye on unwary citizens. Jesus, of course, knew all this was happening. He warned us to be alert, and I’m sure he was vigilant as well. As a congregation, we’ve gotten access to the demographics of our surrounding area. It’s amazing what we know about the people we call neighbors. We are located in ...

4155. Persistence And Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Richard Hasler

“Abraham Lincoln once told a story about a blacksmith who stuck an iron bar in the coals until it was red hot. Then on the anvil, he pulled at the iron intending to make a sword. He was dissatisfied with the end product and put it back into the hot coals determined this time to make a garden tool. Once again, he was not pleased with what he had; therefore he tried making a horse shoe. That too did not please his fancy. “As a last resort, he put the iron bar in the hot coals one more time. He removed it ...

4156. Paradise Promise

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Outside of a well-known town, an old, Victorian house stood on the corner of a busy intersection. It hadn’t always been a busy intersection. When the home was built, it was one of only a few in the area, marked by farmland. A small, dirt road ran nearby but with plenty of space in the yard out front. However, as we all know, times change. As the years went by and macadam streets were built, traffic increased, and the town grew, the road inched closer and closer to the front door of the home, which had long ...

4157. The Most Important Question

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Have you ever heard a golfer miss a three-foot putt and say, “Thomas Jefferson!?” What about a plumber mash his thumb and scream, “Robert E. Lee!?” I haven’t either, but many shout the name of a man who was born two thousand years ago in a backwoods town to a poor unwed teenage mother. Many exclaim the name of a man who was shamefully executed as a criminal at the age of thirty and died homeless and poor. Ironic, isn’t it? For some mysterious reason, Jesus is the most famous figure in all of history. More ...

4158. What About Me?

John 1:29-42

Sermon

John Jamison

The scripture today is another one of those interesting passages from John, this time giving us John’s version of the story about Jesus being baptized. The other gospel writers tell the story in fairly clear ways, describing what Jesus and John said and did. After reading their stories, we can close our eyes and see what it must have been like. And then John writes his version and instead of telling us about the river, he says things like, “This is the man I told you about who comes after me and would end ...

4159. Sharing God's Vision

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

When was the last time you had trouble communicating with someone? It happens to all of us at some time. Maybe it’s because you didn’t understand the other person’s language or culture. Maybe it’s because a word can mean different things to different people. There’s an old joke that used to be popular around the Pentagon that the different branches of the Armed Forces have trouble operating jointly because they don’t speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to “secure a building,” ...

4160. Growing Into Our Scars

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Mary Austin

There’s something about a scar that begs for a story. When I see someone with an intriguing scar, I always want to know how they got it. It would be rude to ask, and so I don’t, but I keep hoping it will come up in conversation. I wonder what lesson is behind the stitches on the knee …what adventure brought the scar on the forehead…what happened right before the mark on the arm? Sometimes it’s a story of challenge and triumph. Other times it’s a painful reminder of a past hurt. But there’s always a story. ...

4161. Judgment on Israel

Amos 2:6-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Oracles against the Foreign Nations: In the prophetic corpora, oracles of judgment against the foreign nations usually follow a prophet’s oracles to his own people (Jer. 46–51; Ezek. 25–32). Here in Amos, however, the prophet begins with the announcement of judgment on the foreign peoples immediately surrounding Israel, and his purpose in doing so is entirely theological. These foreign nations posed no serious threat to Israel’s life in the time of Jeroboam II, although that king may have carried on ...

4162. In Those Days: The Voice Of The Time Keeper

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

A second is a second is a second, right? But if you’re at the big game it’s amazing what a difference it makes once there’s less than a minute left. Suddenly the scoreboard screams those seconds in fractions. Suddenly the clock moves maddeningly fast if you’re behind and agonizingly slow if you’re ahead. But that’s a product of our digital technology. Sundials, or solar clocks, in the time of Jesus measured time slowly, imperceptivity, even majestically. Complicating things further, the hours weren’t the ...

4163. Calculated Christianity

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Grit is trending these days. Have you heard of it? There was a viral TED talk by Angela Duckworth in 2013 and then she published a book of the same title in 2018 ― Grit: The Power Of Passion And Perseverance. In a nutshell, “grit” is mental toughness, the ability to persevere and keep at it in order to achieve a long- term goal. Like calculating what it is going to take to build that big tower and then keeping after it, no matter that a storm knocked it down or that the permit got delayed or that thieves ...

4164. Give Me Your Word

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

I am telling the truth. I am not lying. Believe me. It seems every newscast contains a story about truth telling these days. We are in the throes of the election season and talk of “fact checking” abounds. Politifact has the “Truth-O-Meter” (a term that they have trademarked, by the way) that ranks candidates’ statements anywhere from true to half-truth to pants on fire. There is talk of “transparency” ad nauseam, not only in the government but in the church. The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board just ...

4165. Citizenship

Philippians 3:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two people of either gender, TERRY and CHRIS Length: 8 minutes CHRIS is seated on a stool, holding a coffee cup. There is an empty stool on one side and a table on the other holding coffee cups, cream, sugar, etc. TERRY enters, looking a bit bewildered. CHRIS: (Extending a hand) Hi, there! You must be new to our church. It's great having you here. Won't you have a seat? TERRY: (Tentatively taking a stool) Thank you, it's nice to be here. CHRIS: Can I get you a cup of coffee? (CHRIS hands TERRY a cup ...

4166. Lent 1

1 Peter 3:8-22, Genesis 9:1-17, Mark 1:9-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God's good news. God shows his graciousness through the covenant he established through Noah. God would never again destroy the world through flood. In the Gospel Jesus announces the kingdom of God. All we have to do is repent and believe the good news. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 9:8-17 Humans become so corrupt that Yahweh drowns them all in a great flood, except for Noah and his family. Noah, his family and various animals are kept safe on the ark which the Lord told Noah to construct. ...

4167. Pruning Season

Luke 13:1-9

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Landowner Head Gardener Tree (The Head Gardener, representing Jesus, should be male. The others can be of either gender.) Length: 9 minutes [The TREE is seated on the middle of three stools, wearing some sort of "tree costume, "perhaps leaves or branches in the hair. The TREE is staring placidly into space. The LANDOWNER and the HEAD GARDENER enter and walk slowly around the TREE staring at it thoughtfully. The HEAD GARDENER is carrying pruning shears. After a moment, they take their stools.] OWNER: ...

4168. A Senior Servant

2 Samuel 19:9-43

Sermon

Freshman servants are as easy to find as the circus-escaping elephant hiding behind a fire hydrant. Scores of fraternities and sororities are transformed into animal houses on every September day. Freshmen are turned into obedient coolies as they bow and scrape before upper classmen. Like a faithful Fido, the freshmen must minister to every need of their senior masters. It is part of the initiation process whose goal is to turn beanie-wearing frosh into proud-as-punch alumni, as they return in glory to ...

4169. Who's the Judge?

Luke 6:37-42

Drama

Note: The ages and sexes of these characters are unimportant. What is important is that the lines be spoken quickly and aggressively, almost overlapping one another. Those who are speaking are on the attack and must sound that way. 1: [Enters quietly. Suddenly three people from the audience jump up and begin to close in on 1] 2: Don’t do that! 3: Don’t say that! 4: Stop that! 2: Who do you think you are? 3: What right do you have ... 4: You can’t get away with that! 2: That’s hardly proper. 3: Don’t just ...

4170. A Diminishing Benediction

Illustration

William Goodin

A seminary president told me this story: When candidates are ordained into the ministry, they have one thing to do in the service. At the conclusion of the worship, the candidate stands, walks up the steps into the chancel, turns and gives the benediction. That is their first official act as an ordained pastor. One candidate stood, approached the steps, and ascended. But on the first step, he stepped inside the hem of his robe. Now, the obvious thing to do would be to step back out of the robe, but he didn ...

4171. A Man, A Woman, and the Test of Doom (A Drama about Marriage)

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: Pastor Ray asked me to write a light-hearted drama for this weekend centering around marriage. As I thought about what I would write, I asked myself how the world tells you if you have a healthy marriage or not. I quickly scanned the Internet until I found what I was looking for - a marriage cyber-test. I pulled some questions from it and added my own for the drama. Amazing... if we would only go to God's word, we could find out exactly what He has to say about a healthy marriage... Note ...

4172. Security Concerns

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Security has become big business in our world. Burglar and smoke alarms are wired directly from private homes to police and fire stations. Automobiles give forth major noises in the parking lots of shopping malls because some owner has inadvertently pushed the wrong button on a key pad. High school students walk through metal detectors to enter their school buildings. Even business phones and credit cards are "protected" by a user's password or "PIN" number. So pervasive is the concern for security that a ...

4173. Acts 16:9-15

Acts 16:9-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's text from Acts actually begins in the middle of a travelogue text that appears to be having difficulty getting started. Indecision and doubt are characteristics that rarely come to mind when discussing the apostle Paul. But here he is searching for a new direction in his mission, and for the moment, at least, is going nowhere. Paul's first inclination had been to turn toward Asia, to spread the gospel to a region yet wholly untouched by the gospel. But 16:6 declares that his first road was ...

4174. Mark 15: 1-39 (40-47)

Mark 15:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The lectionary text assigned for this week covers a lot of ground. The sixth Sunday of Lent has two monikers. It is “Palm Sunday” and thus we have a “Liturgy of the Palms” that focuses on Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16). But this Sunday is also “Passion Sunday,” the beginning of the “Liturgy of the Passion” (Mark 14:1-15, 47, or Mark 15:1-39 [40-47]), which encompasses Jesus’ arrest, trial, abandonment by all his supporters, the abuse and ridicule he suffered, and ...

4175. Backsliding - Sermon Starter

John 6:56-69

Illustration

Brett Blair

There was once a term frequently used in the church. In the old days it was used often. You rarely ever hear it today. Indeed, in all my years in the ministry I have never preached a sermon on the topic until now. Despite the infrequency with which it is mentioned, the concept, I think, is still valid. It is backsliding. The term backsliding, I discovered in my research, was popularized in the 1600's by John Bunyan in his very famous allegory Pilgrim's Progress. In the story, you may recall, the character ...

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