Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4226 to 4250 of 4939 results

4226. When Our Children Teach Us

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the “Stages of Aging.” In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this: “The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to ...

4227. Jerry's Christmas

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Clark D. Cowden

Once upon a time, there was a man named Jerry. Jerry was a builder. He had started off as a carpenter, and learned to build homes and construct small office buildings. He lived in a small, but growing town on the edge of a big city, so there was always a lot of work to be done. He gained a reputation as the best in his field; he was honest, hard-working, didn't rip people off, and did a high quality job. Jerry made a lot of money in his business. He was able to purchase ten acres of land, and built himself ...

4228. Where Is Your Home?

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Children say the most outrageous things. Laurie and her husband, Ralph, have a little ritual they go through with their kids when one of their pet goldfish dies. The whole family gathers in the bathroom and around the commode. Little Anthony, the 3-year-old, holds the "deceased" while his sister says a little prayer. Then Anthony drops the fish in the bowl and Lexy, the 5-year-old, flushes it to heaven. One day, during one of these rituals, Lexy asked her dad if "Wito," her Grandpa who passed away a few ...

4229. That's What Friends Are For

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The story's told that at a celebrity party, singer Stevie Wonder met golf champ, Tiger Woods. Wonder mentioned that he, too, is an excellent golfer. Tiger was a bit skeptical that the blind musician could play golf well, but he was too polite to say anything. "When I tee off," the singer explained, "I have a guy call to me from the green. My sharp sense of hearing lets me aim." Tiger was impressed, and Stevie suggested that they play a round. When Tiger agreed, Stevie asks, "How about if we play for $100, ...

4230. If Your Life Were A Movie

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that film maker Walt Disney was a ruthless film editor. He would cut any scene from a movie that interfered in any way with the flow of the story. No matter how beautiful, or funny, or brilliant a scene was, if it didn't fit, it was discarded. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, worked nearly eight months on a 4-1/2 minute sequence in which the dwarves made soup for Snow White. It was a humorous scene in which the dwarves wreaked havoc in the kitchen as they tried to make soup. ...

4231. The Competitor

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that when baseball legend Ty Cobb got on first base he had what appeared to be a nervous habit of kicking the bag. It wasn't until he retired from the game that the truth came out about why he did that. By kicking the bag hard enough Cobb found that he could move it a full two inches closer to second base. He figured that this improved his chances for a steal or for reaching second base safely on a hit. Cobb was an intense competitor. He was driven by the need to win. And sometimes he didn't ...

4232. At The Edge Of Broken-ness

Job 1:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

Series on the Book of Job, #1 This dramatic reading takes place in two seemingly different spheres. The Reader (most likely the pastor) stands behind the pulpit. The Reader needs to read these passages from the Bible, so that the congregation realizes that the scene has shifted back to the story of Job each time. The other readers Male 1, Male 2, Female 1, Female 2, and Female 3 are off to the side of the pulpit. They are seated in folding chairs placed in a semicircle facing the congregation. The ...

4233. When Tradition Gets in the Way

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Do you remember the opening soliloquy which begins the musical “Fiddler on the Roof?” Tevye, the dairyman who is always carrying on lengthy conversations with God, says to the audience: “A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn’t easy. You may ask, why do we stay up here if it’s so dangerous? We stay because Anatevka is our home. And ...

4234. The Servant Who Delivered the Mail

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today I want to share the story and testimony about one of God''s most faithful servants. His name is Epaphroditus. According to some scholars who share his name, it was common in the era and culture he lived in. It is certainly not a common name today. As Max Lucado shares: "`Epaphro-what-us?'' you say. Just ask the apostle Paul. He''ll give you the correct pronunciation. He''ll also give quite a character reference. To describe this fellow with the five-syllable name, Paul used more succinct words, like ...

4235. Who Are You Waiting For?

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

This is the second Sunday of Advent. The season of anticipation. Waiting, waiting and hoping. The question is, who is this God for whom we wait? Who is this Emmanuel, this God with us, for whom we long? Return to the words of the prophet Isaiah, sang so beautifully by the choir. “Comfort, comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sin. A voice cries, in the ...

4236. How to Look Foolish

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

None of us like to look foolish, but I confess that I continue to find ingenious ways to do that, usually by insisting that I am right about something, and it turns out that I am wrong. I feel there are certain areas where my experiences lend me some authority, so I speak out, giving my credentials, and then somebody comes along with the facts. Like the other day, two of our grandsons were visiting us with their mother. Their father was away at a meeting, and they came down and spent a couple of days with ...

4237. Like a Good Neighbor – Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

If you have ever watched the President of the United States deliver the State of the Union Address in recent years, you know that at some point in his speech he will point to the balcony and introduce an ordinary citizen as a real hero in this country. You may not know but that custom began when President Ronald Reagan introduced a man named Lenny Skutnik. To this day reporters will ask presidential aides the question: "Who are the ‘Skutniks' this year?'" Lenny Skutnik was a federal worker walking down the ...

4238. You Can Know What to Do With Your Life

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Two hundred years ago, banks invented checks so they could transfer money between company accounts and between banks themselves without actually having to risk moving large sums of cash. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of allowing individuals to use checks so they, too, could forego carrying large amounts of cash on their person that they could either lose or someone could rob. People began to learn that you could take a check from one person to a bank and then the bank would redeem the check and ...

4239. A Squirrely Holiday

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is a sign that we theologians have run out of ways to ponder the existence and being of God when we start naming our theologies after animals but here goes: "Dog Theology" goes like this: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God!" "Cat Theology" goes like this: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. I must be God." I would like to put forth a Squirrel theology. The way squirrels live their lives puts them on a different theological plane than dogs or cats? ...

4240. The Inheritance

Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

What are some of the things that get your heart racing and your blood pumping? What are some of the things that reach down into the very viscera of your being and touch your soul and stir your gut? What is it that gives wings to hope and excites your spirit? Is it edge of your seat action/adventure movies like National Treasure, Spiderman or The Day After Tomorrow? Is it fantasy books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia? Is it the actual adventure itself of Mountain Biking, ...

4241. The Power of a Helping Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Jokes about lawyers are about as plentiful as puns about preachers. With apologies to my lawyer friends, I want to tell you two or three of my favorite lawyer jokes: When lawyers die, why are they buried 600 feet underground? Because deep down they are really nice people. What’s the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? A good lawyer knows the law; a great lawyer knows the judge. What do you get when you cross a librarian with a lawyer? All the information you need but you can’t understand a ...

4242. Ruth: The Problem of Grief

Ruth 1:1-8, 16-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It's a love story that would make Danielle Steele blush. It's full of sex and seduction. It has dead ends and new beginnings. It deals with grief and explores commitment. It's the story of Ruth. It takes place during the period of Judges. You can read it in about 15 minutes. But before you dig in let me glean a lesson or two about life that is worth taking with you. The Book of Ruth teaches us that: I. LIFE IS FILLED WITH DETOURS DETOUR AHEAD—don't you hate that sign when you are traveling somewhere? They' ...

4243. Worry Not

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you have a worrier in your family? Kais Rayes writes that he and his wife found their whole life turned upside down when their first child was born. Every night, the baby seemed to be fussy, and many nights, it seemed that their baby cried far more than he slept. Says Rayes, “My wife would wake me up, saying, ‘Get up, honey! Go see why the baby is crying!’” As a result, Rayes found himself suffering from severe sleep deprivation. While complaining to his coworkers about his problem one day, one of his ...

4244. Screaming at the Television

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been so angry that it caused you to do something really stupid? I mean, really stupid! One guy said he saw two men literally pummeling each other over a parking spot. Both cars had nosed into this particular parking spot. Fortunately they stopped just before colliding. Now the owners of both cars were violently swinging at one another. What amused the man observing these fisticuffs was a sign over the intended parking spot. It said . . . you guessed it . . . “No parking.” (1) I wonder if the ...

4245. Made for Joy

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to give you some good news. It is good news anytime of the year, but especially so at Christmastime. Here is that good news: You were made for joy. You weren’t made to fret and worry and think dark thoughts. You were made for peace and love and light and joy. The story is told of a woman who dreamed of traveling to England and riding a train through the English countryside. One day her dream came true. She flew from the U.S. to London and after a good night’s sleep she boarded a train. However, ...

4246. Live the Lullaby

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every baby will keep every parent up all night, at least once. It’s a rule. Whether because they are teething or colicky, anxious or tummy-troubled, or just plain fussy, it’s part of a baby’s mission in life to keep its parents awake weeping and wailing. We parents are “hard-wired” to respond to an infant’s cries. What has kept us grieving all week, a grief that can’t be spoken? What has kept our hearts hurting all week, a pain that won’t go away? When an infant or child is in trouble, or hurt, or killed, ...

4247. Are You Part of the Scandal?

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In many local elementary schools, every few weeks the “Lost and Found” box is emptied out and the contents are scattered down the length of the main hall. Coats, mittens, shoes, sweatshirts, gym clothes, are all laid down and spread out in the hopes that their owners will spot them and take them home. But the scene of all those empty clothes creates an eerie sensation, as if it is not the clothes that had been left behind, but that the children themselves have somehow been “lost” — zapped out of their ...

4248. The Good Life

John 10:11-18

Sermon

James Merritt

I read a story the other day id never heard before about Abraham Lincoln. He was surprised one day when a rough looking man drew a revolver and put it right in his face. Trying to remain as calm as he could Lincoln simply asked the man, “What seems to be the matter?” The stranger replied, “Well some years ago I swore an oath that if I ever came across an uglier man than I am I’d shoot him right on the spot.” Lincoln smiled and said, “Well then please shoot me for if I’m an uglier man than you are I don't ...

4249. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 1:1-3, Zephaniah 1:4-13, Zephaniah 1:14--2:3

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

1:1 Whereas Nahum and Habakkuk have rather nonstandard introductions, the introduction to Zephaniah follows the pattern of other prophetic books; it is especially close to that of Hosea. First, its editors describe the book as a whole as The word of the LORD. The word dabar can signify a section of a discourse such as a sentence, but it commonly signifies a complete discourse of some kind, such as a message or command or promise or statement (cf. 2:5). Thus little stretch would be involved in describing a ...

4250. God and Mammon

Luke 16:16-18, Luke 16:1-15

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Our heavenly well-being depends on how we have handled the possessions entrusted to us here on earth. Understanding the Text Two more parables (16:1–8a, 19–31) follow the three in chapter 15. In the light of the interpretive comments on the first parable in 16:8b–9, both parables make a connection between life on earth and life in heaven, and the focus in both is on wealth and how we use it, a prominent theme in Luke that has already been given sustained attention in chapter 12 (summed up in the ...

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