[This is an interactive sermon. In order to preach this well, you need to allow your congregants to take part, answer questions, imagine themselves as part of the story.] Prop: ostrich egg I have here an egg. [You can pass around the egg.] This egg belongs to an ostrich. Let me tell you a story about the ostrich, who one day took her eyes off of the place in the sand where she buried her eggs. Lo and behold, when she finally remembered where she had hid them, a predator had come in the night and stolen her ...
This message comes both to a rich young ruler and to the disciples. It comes to them after a teaching on becoming as little children in order to come into the kingdom of God. Right after this teaching, a rich young man runs up and we see the response of the disciples to Jesus’ teaching, and He has more to say. This morning Jesus has something to say to those who are seeking Him and want to have eternal life. But He also has something to say to those who have been found by God and have eternal life And as ...
Think about two words: options and decisions. One gives rise to the other. Options are diverse, decisions are difficult. An option only has power when it becomes a decision. The reason why I want you to understand these two words is because basically that is what life is all about. It is amazing to see how one decision can change a life, a family, a nation, and a world. Some unknown people through the years made a decision choosing among options that have radically changed your life to this very present ...
Our Creator, how we enjoy the arrival of spring. Lush green grass rises in our lawns decorating our streets with home to home carpeting. Bird songs, silent in winter, now fill the air with enchanting melodies. The brown loam of our gardens and fields warms in preparation for the coming seeds and plants. The brilliant colors of jonquils, tulips, and hyacinths edge our flower beds and ring our trees. Who are we that you lavish upon us such splendor? The air warms as the sun dispatches the winds of winter. ...
Jerry Eckles was one of those inspiring young people who just loved being at the church. He literally grew up at St. Luke's. Every time the church doors were open, he was here. Sunday School, youth fellowship, Pure Sound Youth Choir, acolyte practice, worship services, concerts, plays, Scouts, Vacation Bible School, missions trips, all-church events… whatever we were having or doing here at St. Luke's, Jerry was here celebrating, serving and helping us to be the Church. Not counting special moments he ...
It is not by strength that one prevails. (Hannah’s Prayer) Props: hiking boots or tricycle (you’ll need a child volunteer from the congregation for this) and matches (or one large match) to light a candle; oil Some of you have probably seen the movie Wild, based on the recent best-selling book. The story is about a young woman, Cheryl Strayed, who takes a long trek through the mountain trails of Washington State in order to deal with her “inner demons.” She is mourning the loss of her mother. She is trying ...
John 1:1-18, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Genesis 3:1-24
Drama
H. J. Hizer
Narrator: Opening: Genesis 3:8-15 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him "Where are you?" And he said "I heard the sound of thee in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat ...
Promises, Promises. Every time someone breaks a promise, they just blame it on the old saying "Promises were meant to be broken." It is very hard not to believe that and accept that as a way of life. The world's three most famous promises are promises that are never kept. Do you know what they are? The check is in the mail I'll love you in the morning I'm from the government and I'm here to help you Let's face it. Politicians are famous for making promises they don't keep. In the 20th century these are ...
[Open gift of stopwatch] Christmas is my favorite time of the year, but like many of us it is absolutely one of the busiest times of the year. If there is ever a season where you always feel like you are short on time, where you get frustrated and angry in having to wait in line, and where you almost feel like right up to the holiday you are trying to enjoy, you still can’t get it all done - it is Christmas! Christmas is so different when you are a child as to when you are an adult. When I was a child, it ...
There are two topics a pastor can talk about that are guaranteed to generate emails, letters, phone calls, discussion, and debate. Those topics are money and marriage. I knew that this series we are doing on marriage would generate a lot of interest, reveal a lot of anguish, and strike a lot of nerves. There is an old joke about marriage that goes like this: “Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond. At the end you wish you had a club and a spade!” ...
A little five-year-old girl was watching her mother in fascination as she was rubbing cold cream on her face. She said, "Mother, why do you do that?" The mother replied, "To make myself beautiful." Well, to the little girl's amazement, in just a minute the mother began removing the cream with a tissue she had just put on. The girl said, "What's the matter, giving up already?" I sometimes believe that God looks at our puny prayer lives and asks the question: "Are you giving up already?" Believe it or not, ...
"For the sake of His great name the LORD will not reject His people, because the LORD was pleased to make you His own." (1 Samuel 12:22) They call him (or her) “Benny” for the $100 bills that bear the photo of his namesake Benjamin Franklin. In Salem, Oregon, a mysterious philanthropist has been placing $100 bills (Bennys) inside of packages of diapers and cereal boxes, clothing and toilet paper. Each of the bills contains a simple signature –“Benny.” The unknown giver has been donating money well over the ...
It was an ad in Newsweek magazine that caught my attention because of the first two words: In bold print it said, SUNDAY MORNING; but listen to the ad in its entirety: "SUNDAY MORNING: Time to kick back, get comfortable, and perfect the art of doing absolutely nothing. The ideal companion? Pioneers new PD-M710, 6-disc CD player. Now you can enjoy up to six hours of your favorite music without lifting a finger...all of which means you can spend less time changing your music, and more time enjoying it, but ...
James Dobson tells the true story of a little toddler named Frankie. He was a handful to say the least. One day he pulled a chair over to the front window of his house, and carefully placed it inside the drapes. He was standing there staring out at the world when his mother came looking for him. She spied his little white legs protruding beneath the drapes, and quietly slipped in behind him to see what he was doing. She got there just to hear him say to himself in very somber terms, "I've got to get out of ...
“If you call the Sabbath a delight then you will find your joy in the Lord.” --Isaiah 58:13-14 “Happy is he who is aware of the mysteries of his Lord.” --Abraham Joshua Heschel Visuals: Have Hubbel Space Images scrolling on screen during your sermon / Psalm 92 may be spoken with a musical background or sung You may also opt during or after your sermon to have people sing the psalm (you can find tunes with words on youtube) https://youtu.be/1I_X2bxfAq8 (This version by James Block is particular beautiful.) ...
The Reverend Richard L. Pearson at one time served the Crescent Park United Methodist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. For several years that church had a living nativity scene. On one particular night it was Pastor Dick’s job, along with a man who had a pick‑up truck, to get a pregnant ewe, which was bedded down in the parsonage garage, to the church. They went to get her about a half hour before performance time. Due to her delicate condition they carefully lifted her into the bed of the truck, and Dick rode ...
Sometime ago Sydney Harris, the syndicated columnist, wrote a "fascinating piece about Anita Bryant that I would like to read to you this morning. As you know, Anita Bryant was a self-appointed crusader against gay rights a few years ago. Then she went through a divorce, and acquired a drug habit, and was hospitalized for a long time. And today, she's not the same person she was back then. This is what Sydney Harris wrote: He said, "Now that her world has come unstuck, and she is beginning to reglue it, I ...
Sometime ago Sydney Harris, the syndicated columnist, wrote a "fascinating piece about Anita Bryant that I would like to read to you this morning. As you know, Anita Bryant was a self-appointed crusader against gay rights a few years ago. Then she went through a divorce, and acquired a drug habit, and was hospitalized for a long time. And today, she's not the same person she was back then. This is what Sydney Harris wrote: He said, "Now that her world has come unstuck, and she is beginning to reglue it, I ...
People print all sorts of things on T-shirts, from advertisements to obscenities to affirmations of faith. One fellow was seen wearing a T-shirt with the words, "Christian Under Construction," printed on it. We can all appreciate what he meant by that. We can talk about the difference faith in Christ is supposed to make in our lives and about how it is supposed to work and even about the samples of the new life in Christ that we have already experienced. But, most of us know that we are not yet what God ...
The table is set, dealer at the center. The seated players are dressed in tuxedos. On one side the evil genius with a patch over one eye. On the other side the suave secret agent with a gadget for every occasion. And the first battle between these two blockbuster movie titans will of course be… a game of poker. Have you ever noticed that all of the dramatic scenes concerning a poker game that you see in the movies and especially the old westerns is when somebody goes “all in” and they put all their chips ...
I finally got a copy of the Rules of Life. We all want them because we think that having a set of rules for life will make life so much easier and less confusing. Just find the twelve rules and follow them and it will take away a lot of worry and agony out of life. So I was excited when I got them. I do not know who made them up, but I got them by e-mail off the Internet, so I know that makes them official. The Twelve Rules of Life: Never give yourself a haircut after three drinks. There are only two tools ...
A true story - an incident from the 1930's when the Tennessee Valley Authority was building its many dams on the Tennessee River.(1) To do that, they had to relocate a number of people who were living in the area that would be flooded when the dams were finished. One family in particular lived in an old, ramshackle cabin. The TVA built them a beautiful split-level ranch home on the hill overlooking the location of their former home. But when the Authority came to help the family move, they refused to go. ...
Men, when it comes to women, there is one thing that is absolutely true. Women, when it comes to men, there is one thing that is absolutely true. You’ve heard it before, “You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.” There is some truth in that old saying and here is why. Relationships are messy. Relationships are just like newborn babies. Every once in a while they mess on themselves and you have to clean them up. You would think that families would have it together. The people who are ...
It has been advised that we always approach God quietly because God speaks in a whisper. While we are busy getting more of what we have enough of, while we are so noisy as a society, we don't hear the voice of God because we've been too loud. We must learn to receive God's whispering voice. The season of silence is the season of Lent which begins this week, but we're not into that season yet. We're in a season of bright light, the end of Epiphany. In the Old Testament Moses goes up on the mountaintop, ...
One of the richest men in the United States is Warren Buffet, who is probably the most famous investor in modern times. He said that in his experience the high-ranking insiders and corporate leaders who do the best job in running their company are those people who invest heavily in their own stock. He said the higher up you go on the corporate ladder the more you ought to have “Skin In The Game.” If you are a college football fan, whatever your team might be, you probably at one time or another have or ...