Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4176 to 4200 of 4977 results

4176. Star-spangled Justice

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... spirits: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, temptest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door. But our immigration laws bespeak quite another message: "Only the employed and educated from certain regions of the globe that are favorable to our way of life need apply." Practical national security perhaps, but not too brave. Anyone listening to Isaiah's words to his nation can't help ...

4177. The Hard Task of Truth-telling

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... she, in any number of other places, are daily forced into these kinds of hard decisions — finding the courage to seek out help and to speak the truth about alcohol and drug use, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence in their homes and families. Youth, like adults, quite often don't know what they are able to do until the moment comes when their "metal" is tested. Most are terrified by uncertainty and a sense of inadequacy to live into what must be done or to speak what must be told. But when they ...

4178. What a Deal: Investing in Hope

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... , when a kinsman fell on hard times and was forced to sell his family property, the responsibility fell on the nearest relative to purchase the property and thus keep it in the family. Jeremiah got first option to invest in property that was quite possibly already under foreign domination. What a deal! Kind of like trying to sell oceanfront property just before the hurricane hits. Good strategy if only you can find somebody foolish enough to buy it. Somehow, Jeremiah sees more than meets the eye. Like ...

4179. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... Moses and Jesus." In chapter 29, the prophet is writing to the exiles in Babylon. It is a message of hope, a message that contains within it something that had almost been forgotten, that is a message of having a future. This section of Jeremiah is quite literally a letter of instruction. It is outlining for the captives in Babylon how to move ahead with their lives. The prophet here reminds the people that life cannot come to a halt during troubled times. They are to face the cold, hard fact that they ...

4180. New Covenant, New Testament

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... they broke, though I was their husband says the Lord" (31:32). You see, do you not, that the people broke the covenant, not God? And one of the main reasons the covenant was constantly broken was because the covenant was not personal, it was quite literally written in stone. It was the cold, hard facts. Those of you who remember the television series, Dragnet, will remember that Sergeant Friday always prefaced his remarks by asking for "just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." He was always stone-faced, cold ...

4181. Living the Vision

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

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... The question is, "Why is God silent while the wicked succeed?" There has been some debate about when he wrote. Until recently it was generally agreed that he preached against Babylon, about 600 B.C. But that date and the place of his writing has met with quite a bit of debate. What is not in question, however, is the significance of this book. As our text indicates, the question of why God allows bad things to happen to good people is a question that remains timeless. And, it is the answer to that question ...

4182. Building the Temple of God

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... of Ezra. His name is usually associated with that of his better known and younger contemporary, Zechariah. In order to appreciate Haggai's message we need to time travel in reverse. We need to go back to the destruction of Solomon's temple. The Bible is quite clear that Solomon's temple was the pride and joy of the Israelite nation. The temple itself was one of the world's most spectacular structures. It was built with the best of everything that the world had to offer at that time. It was an extravagant ...

4183. Saintly Visions!

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... all of this doom and gloom, they had begun to live in the hope that with the overthrow of the Babylonian empire looming at the hands of the Persians, they would once again gain their freedom and that life would be good. Enter Daniel, who was not quite so optimistic. Early in Daniel's book there is a dream in which Nebuchadnezzar has a vision that things will get worse before they get better. It is easy for us to understand that the Hebrew people wanted freedom. What they got instead was release from exile ...

4184. A Day of Singing

Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... a mother hovering over a crib singing quietly to her newborn infant. Can you imagine God singing over us? Can you hear God singing? Gavin Ellis says that growing up he had a piano teacher who belonged to a musical society. This society did something quite interesting. They would make a point of listening for the song of angels on Christmas Eve. They believed that the angels rejoiced and celebrated each Christmas in honor of Christ . . . and so they would listen very closely at night on Christmas Eve. They ...

4185. Family Matters

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... there, especially as young people approach their teen years. So, let’s start here: it is natural for there to be tension between young people and their parents. If it could happen in Jesus’ family, it can happen in any family. And Jesus wasn’t even quite a teenager yet. Some of you remember that great joke: Why did God have Abraham take his only son Isaac to the mountain supposedly to sacrifice him when Isaac was only 12? And the answer is, of course, if Isaac had been 15, Abraham may have actually ...

4186. Simeon and Anna: The Quiet of the Country

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , we look at Simeon and Anna. Barclay called them “The quiet of the land.” It will help to see them in that perspective. “There was no Jew in that day who did not regard his own nation as the chosen people. But the Jews saw quite clearly that by human means their nation could never attain the position of the supreme world greatness which they believed was their destiny. By far, the greater number of them believed that because the Jews were the chosen people they were bound someday to become masters ...

4187. Angels and Shepherds: Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... (in the garden of that retreat house) in tears, my ears and my hair full of autumn leaves, I knew that this was the end of the chase. I had chosen to come to this place and I had invited God to speak and He had. Of course, I was quite free to say, ‘No, I don’t want to,’ but this would be a clear and deliberate refusal. I thought about it, and I knew that I did not want to say no and that, however much it hurt, I could only humbly accept, so as hundreds of men and ...

4188. Mary and Joseph: His Obedient Servants

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is saying ‘Stay with it!’ (“Let it be to me according to your Word.”) You’re ready to give up on one of your children. You’ve done everything, given everything – he has spurned it all – walked all over you, used you – you want to call it quits – let him go, but God is saying ‘not yet.’ (“Let it be to me according to your Word.”) You’ve been blessed materially. You are making money and things are going your way. Now you feel the call clearly “10% of that belongs to me.” Do ...

4189. Jesus: What's in a Name?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Well, I was in line yesterday, when the door opened and in walked a lady with a big smile on her face weighted down with boxes for mailing. She held the door open for her three little girls who filed in, each carrying a package. It was quite obvious that they had never seen the inside of a Post Office. “She bounded over to a man standing over a counter pasting stamps and asked, ‘Are you a carrier?’ “Of what?” he snapped. “Another one in line growled, “To the back of the line, lady!” Her ...

4190. Wouldn’t It Be Great?

Mark 12:28-34

Illustration

David Beckett

... and I wish that I were back in Manhattan." Poof! He was back in Manhattan with his papers, his telephones, his clients and his computers. The third fellow was somewhat more relaxed about life and actually had rather enjoyed life there on the island. He said, "Well, I am quite happy here. I just wish my two friends were back." Poof! Poof! Everybody's idea of a "great time" isn't the same! So is it true? Are many Americans sitting around wishing, "Now wouldn't it be great ...if I won the lottery...if I had my ...

4191. Muggeridge Encounters Mother Teresa

Mark 12:41-44

Illustration

Brett Blair

... . "You've been working here in these streets for eighteen years?" "Yes," she said simply and yet joyfully. "It is my privilege to be here. These are my people. These are the ones my Lord has given me to love." "Do you ever get tired? Do you ever feel like quitting and letting someone else take over your ministry? After all, you are beginning to get older." "Oh, no," she replied, "this is where the Lord wants me, and this is where I am happy to be. I feel young when I am here. The Lord is so good to me ...

4192. The Good News about the Future

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... the future. That One is our Loving Parent. God is in control. This brings us to the final thing we need to say: The scout motto, but also the Christian’s motto for confronting the future is, “Be prepared.” One of the tasks of life that many of us take quite seriously is to be prepared. We watch our savings, our 401(k)s, our stocks, our mutual funds. We want to have the funds we need for our old age. And we take care to make sure we are part of a good health plan, just in case. And that ...

4193. Don't Panic

Mark 13:3-4

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... . They are anxious. It seems like the world is caving in on them. They feel lonely and afraid. They can't see anyway out of their predicament. It has been my experience over the years as a pastor that when folks are desperate they tend to run, quit or act in haste. I am not discounting their pain or minimizing the crisis, rather I am merely helping them to see that their perceptions have exaggerated the crisis. Or, they have a distorted perception of reality. This was the case with the disciples. They were ...

4194. It Wasn’t The Hilton, You Know

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... play. Director: (picking up the box) Look, it’s not that bad. We’ll cover it with some brown paper. Assistant Director: Maybe we could get some hay to put inside. Child 4: It will still be a box. And, if I have to wear that dish towel again, I quit. Child 5: Me, too. Let’s go. Director: Hang on a second. Is that what you think this is all about? Who has the best costume? What church can smell the most like a stable? Have any of you actually read your scripts? Child 3: I did. Do you want ...

4195. Journey To The Heart Of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... been watching. Now chasing after a star doesn’t seem very wise to me, but he said this particular star had been foretold centuries ago, and that when the star stopped, we would find a new king who would set the world free. We have been on the road for quite some time now, but something tells me we’ve still got a long way to go. But, not today. My feet are killing me. (sits stage left, puts down the jug of frankincense, then rubs his feet) Narrator: Hamid still had miles to go. He watched the night sky ...

4196. Christmas: Before And After

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... at the table.) Narrator: We start before the birth. The Gospel of Luke tells us that, shortly before the angel visited Mary, her cousin, Elizabeth, found she was going to have a baby. This was something of a miracle in its own right, because Elizabeth was quite elderly, at least by biblical life spans. In this scene, we imagine the meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, after Mary just received the news that she was to bear a son. Elizabeth: I’m glad you came over. I haven’t been getting out much since ...

4197. Home By Another Way

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... to share some of their food. (Shepherds will enter from stage left and join the Servants.) Shepherd 1: Thank you so much for sharing your dinner. We’ve had to take the sheep further and further out these days to find grass, so we haven’t been home for quite some time. Shepherd 2: And it’s nice to have someone to talk to ... besides the sheep. Servant 1: Tell me, what do you know about this King Herod? Shepherd 1: Can we talk about something else? He’s a mean old thing. Shepherd 2: All he cares about ...

4198. A Squirrely Holiday

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... concern. The comfort of prayer, communion and communication with the divine, is a daily discipline. It builds up a repository of peace and purposefulness for those days when we are faced with hurts or horrors that challenge and chill us. Squirrels methodically (but quite oblivious to worry) squirrel away nuts over the fall, so that they won't have to worry in the winter.....and they don't.Because they know exactly where their “food source” is hidden. If we were to as methodically approach our spiritual ...

4199. Good News about Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... but to save the world through him.” To hear many Christians talk, the chief reason Christ came was to condemn people. And if Christ won’t condemn certain people, then these Christians certainly will. They have their list of those who don’t quite measure up. Sadly the world thinks they speak for Christ. They do not. Christ even forgave those who crucified him. There is a humorous story about a community that held an Easter pageant. Different people in the community played the various characters. Jesus ...

4200. What Kind of a Kingdom has Jesus?

John 18:33-37

Illustration

Andrew Daughters

... To obey them is all that is needed, as all of the saintly can tell. He has neither army nor navy, no air force to guard the frontiers to keep out the strangers unwanted and maintain the enemy's fears. Immigration he seems to encourage, of some quite disreputable, like fishermen, publicans, sinners. To such he is hospitable. It seems there's no revenue service or taxes we must calculate. He surely cannot run a kingdom on what we put into the plate! No 1040 form comes in April to fill out before the fifteenth ...

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