Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4201 to 4225 of 4946 results

4201. Toward A More Sensuous Christianity

Sermon

John A. Stroman

In using the word "sensuous," I am not using the word in a carnal or bestial sense, but rather in a sensory sense. The experience of the Holy Spirit is sensuous in the sense that it is stimulating, inspiring, exciting and at times emotional. The apostle reminds us, "For the kingdom of God is ... joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). When electricity was first introduced some Frenchmen wanted to know how fast electricity moves, so the abbot of a large monastery volunteered his monks for an experiment. ...

4202. Seeing Light In Darkness

John 11:1-16

Sermon

David Belgum

As death drew near for a seventy-year-old man, a cousin was heard to say to his wife, "Don't worry, Agatha, it seems dark now, but in time you'll see the light at the end of this tunnel." Some use another cliche, "It's always darkest before the dawn." These are not helpful statements. And Agatha, about to become a widow, simply sighs and says to herself, "No one understands." It may have seemed to the sisters, Martha and Mary, that Jesus did not understand the seriousness of Lazarus' illness. Here their ...

4203. Preaching On Biblical Personalities

Sermon

John R. Bodo

4204. While This House Lies In Ruins

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house. Then the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn ...

4205. You Now Have Set Your Servant Free

Isaiah 25:1-12

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

Lord, you now have set your servant free,to go in peace as you have promised;For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,whom you have prepared for all the world to see:A light to enlighten the nations,and the glory of your people Israel. (BCP p. 120) There is a story in Holy Scripture about Jesus as a newborn infant, all of 40 days old. His parents, Mary and Joseph, took Jesus to the Temple to present him to God. According to an old Jewish custom, they offered an animal sacrifice of thanksgiving and ...

4206. What Do You Say To A Burning Bush?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Steve Burt

The Moses I always pictured is the Charlton Heston Moses, the one who leads his people out of Egypt, who parts the Red Sea, gives commands. But the Moses we hear and see in today's scripture reading is different, not the heroic, bigger-than-life character. He's tending sheep, but to see how he got there we must look back to Exodus 2:11-15. A nutshell summary goes like this. Moses is standing around, observes a fight, and kills an Egyptian. We can't just write that Egyptian off as somebody who doesn't count ...

4207. Why Not Walk On What Jesus Walked On When He Walked On Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

I wish Matthew, Mark and John had consulted me before they wrote their gospels. If they had only sent me their rough drafts, I could have put a big red "X" through this story about Jesus walking on the water. (Luke apparently had a good editor. He didn't include this story.) I would have written a note in the margin stating that I think it would be best not to include this story because it would cause two kinds of reactions in the twentieth century: some people would laugh at it, and others would take it ...

4208. Adam And Eve And God

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Narrative depends on imagination. Imagination can be triggered by vivid words, by the conversational tone that frees it to flow naturally, by dramatic intonations lending emotion to the intellectual content being offered, and by specific directions to the listeners. The following sermon was done using the device of directing the congregation to imagine a specific setting, a stage with scenery and props described. The device was reinforced by having the people in the congregation close their eyes ...

4209. Proper 13

Romans 8:28-39, Isaiah 55:1-13, Genesis 32:22-32, Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 32:22-31 Jacob returns home with his wives, children and flocks but, fearing the wrath of his brother Esau, he sends them on before him, remaining by himself. He wrestles with an angel of God until daybreak. The angel cannot overcome Jacob and asks to be let go. Jacob refuses until he receives a blessing. The heavenly visitor notes that Jacob has striven with God and man but has prevailed. Old Testament: Isaiah 55:1-5 Like a hawker on the street, God bids his people to ...

4210. The Wisemen

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

January 8, 1984 Comment: This was the first story sermon for adultsthat I wrote and dramatized during worship. I had written anumber of story sermons for children, but the breakthoughcame because an old sermon I had been revising every half-dozen years was not taking shape. I started to write.Usually, I have just outlined sermons and "talked" them tothe congregation. When I got started on this one, I found atext forming with which I decided to stay. There were two major problems that I had with this one. ...

4211. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: A month before, I had told this story at the church I was serving. A colleague at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came prepared. While I read the story, she translated spontaneously. Even I was more captivated with her rendition, ...

4212. With Our Heads In The Clouds

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Then a cloud overshadowed them... -- Mark 9:7 The crowds were gone. Jesus was alone with his disciples. They sat around the campfire enjoying its warmth as the evening lengthened. They were gazing at the fire in silence, occasionally poking a stick at the logs in order to turn them over, causing the flames to shoot up. Jesus broke the silence: "What are people saying about me?" The disciples looked at one another, waiting for someone to answer. Peter spoke up, "What do you mean?" "Who do the people say ...

4213. Help Wanted

Exodus 4:1-17

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: The "want ad" section of the newspaper. Lesson: Discipleship; trust; courage. Text: "Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak." But he said, "O, my Lord, please send someone else." "Have any of you ever gone to look for a job?" I ask the assembled children. My question brings looks of surprise to their faces, along with soft chuckles from the congregation. "Probably ...

4214. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Drama

Jerry Eckert

[Comment: A month before, I had told this story at the church I was serving. A colleague at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came prepared. While I read the story, she translated spontaneously. Even I was more captivated with her rendition ...

4215. An Untouchable God?

1 Samuel 6:1-7:1

Sermon

Robert Noblett

The story of the ark’s removal to Jerusalem is vintage Old Testament so far as most of us are concerned. It features a storm-and-battle God, fearful and yet rejoicing believers, and a great deal of religious uncertainty. Reading it from the vantage point of the latter years of the Twentieth Century, we are apt to question its relevance for our day. But let’s not write it off with undue haste. We are never quite as sophisticated as we think we are and, inversely, the pioneers of faith are never quite as ...

4216. Proper 16

John 6:25-59, John 6:60-71, 1 Kings 8:22-61, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The difficulty of discipleship and of keeping God's covenant. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43 (C) After completing the temple, Solomon has the ark of the covenant brought into the temple, accompanied by a solemn assembly of the people. The holy presence of the Lord appears as a cloud of smoke in the inner sanctuary. Solomon prays to Yahweh that he might listen to the prayers of his people which are offered in the temple, and that he might also heed the prayers which ...

4217. Out On A Limb

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

A friend told me of the hours he spent as a child in a large cherry tree in his grandmother's backyard. The tree was very large and high, at least as he remembered it. He remembered the very first time he climbed it. He had to jump to catch hold of the lowest branch, and then pull himself by sheer muscle power up onto it. Then he could work his way up the tree. The tree seemed so high, that he got dizzy looking down, and yet, scary as it was, he couldn't resist climbing higher and higher. Finally he got ...

4218. Made New By 180 Degrees

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

For those of you who have come here a mite tense today, I have good news for you. Without tension you cannot know the ultimate joy of Christmas. Without facing tension, Christmas is almost certainly missed. We have a tension between our texts today. We find tension between what John says and what Paul proclaims in Philippians. Two things emerge from the texts. First, the essential problem with John the Baptist. William Willimon, Chaplain at Duke University, says that John the Baptist reminds us of ...

4219. Show Us The Father

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

This morning, I would like to take you on a little journey with your imagination to meet someone who is a vital part of the Christian story of faith. He appears in this morning's Gospel lesson, and I believe that he offers us a unique perspective upon our Pentecost celebration. So, close your eyes and let this person tell you about what he experienced. "I didn't mean to get Jesus so mad at me that night. It had been an exhausting evening and I didn't mean to push. By the way, my name is Philip, and I am ...

4220. Just Speak The Word

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Larry Powell

It is somewhere written down that many years ago a rider on horseback approached a group of soldiers attempting unsuccessfully to move a heavy piece of timber. A corporal was observed standing nearby, hands on hips, barking the order, "Heave. Heave." Despite repeated efforts, the soldiers were unable to accomplish the task. Apparently of the mind that the situation hinged upon his determined commands, the corporal persisted, "Heave. Heave." Addressing the corporal, the horseman asked, "Why don't you help ...

4221. Proper 8

Luke 9:57-62, Galatians 5:16-26, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 16:1-11, Luke 9:51-56

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Three days from the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, in 1992, the minor festival of Mary Magdalene will be observed in many churches around the world. Some people will remember her as a woman who was converted from a sinful life of prostitution to a faithful and devout disciple of Jesus Christ. (Most Lutheran churches in the United States did not celebrate her "day" until the appearance of The Lutheran Book Of Worship, with a revised calendar, in 1978.) Others will remember her for her ...

4222. How Do You Spell Stress?

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

Topic: Tranquillity, serenity, marriage, work, children, bills, troubles Characters: 2 males, 2 females, 1 either Scene: Freeze frames. Each character performs lines then freezes in place Male 1: How do I spell stress? Just like everybody else: I spell it J-O-B. I go into work and my boss is on my case right away. He wants this report and that meeting has to be attended. It's insane in that office. They've been cutting back and several of the people under me were let go. The company calls it downsizing for ...

4223. The Road To Samaria

John 4:5-42

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

When I was growing up we had a joke in our family about my father's shortcuts. Whenever we were off on a trip somewhere he always knew a quicker way to get there, or back home. I remember one time when I was about 10 years old we were on the way home one night. My father decided to take one of his shortcuts. He made a turn to the left, went around a curve, took the first right, then back to the left, and we wound up in the middle of a cornfield. At one point in his ministry Jesus was in the area of Judea. ...

4224. One Flock, One Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

One of the vital signs of an alive Christ with us here is whether this live body out of the grave is seeking unity, oneness with other members and other denominations and other families of God. Because our Lord prayed for it, because it was so evident during his earthly ministry, and because it is the very heart of the gospel, we know a vital sign of an alive Christ is an aggressive seeking after unity. It is the very nature of an alive group of his disciples. Let’s check the vital sign in our own church. ...

4225. Big Changes

Luke 20:27-40

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: As we grow in life and as we grow with God, we will always have to deal with changes. Sometimes it means letting go of the old and accepting the new. Heaven will bring about the biggest of these changes. Props: A diaper, wipes, a baby bottle (or a jar of baby food and a baby spoon), and a pacifier. Lesson: I have something this morning I think you need. Hold up the diaper. Okay, who needs his diaper changed? (response) All right, don't be shy. Who needs his diaper changed? Anyone have wet ...

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