Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4251 to 4275 of 4944 results

4251. Be At Peace With One Another

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Brett Blair

One person armed with the Gospel of peace can change the world. Telemachus did. Who was Telemachus? He was a monk who lived in the 5th century. And his story is a story of courage. He felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome." He was in a cloistered monastery but he put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting in the coliseum, the day ...

4252. In, But Not Of, The World

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

“What’s important to me in my walk of faith is my relationship with God. Next comes my family. Christianity is about things of the spirit, not about the ways of the world.” Many American Christians (perhaps some in this parish) feel this way. How about you? Does a Christian have a responsibility for society? Should the Church play a role in trying to turn American society around? Let me try to answer those questions by asking you a question. Do you believe what the Bible teaches? If so, let’s see what our ...

4253. Why Earthly Powers Need No Longer Enslave

Daniel 7:15-28, Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

This is a story written for people who had been or were about to be persecuted, if not enslaved. (The book of Daniel was probably written in the mid-second century B.C. during a period of Seleucid [Syrian] domination in Palestine.) It tells them and us how their ancestors had once faced a similar slavery under the oppression of the Babylonians centuries earlier. The implication was that if these ancestors could endure and overcome such bondage, so could they and so can we. Our lesson for this morning is ...

4254. Days of Promise

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Without a doubt the most troubling time in the history of the United Sates was the Civil War era. Devastated by the ruins of war, the country was drained emotionally and spiritually. The hostility had developed not only between regions of the country, but it spilled over into families and institutions. At given moments of the war, people questioned whether they would ever be able to recover from the debacle that had been wrought upon the nation. The future was in grave doubt. People lost their perspective ...

4255. A Town of Promise

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Sometimes little towns, ordinarily only dots on the map, achieve great fame. Green Bay, a rural Wisconsin town, is notable because it sponsors a National League Football team. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was settled by Moravian Christians in 1735 to be a peaceful town of the simple life. The Moravians were descendants of John Hus, who suffered martyrdom for his faith in Bohemia before the Lutheran Reformation. The Moravians in Pennsylvania chose the name “Bethlehem” for their village, because they wanted to ...

4256. The Fruit of One's Doing

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A biography of Humphrey Bogart by Sperber and Lax portrays the star of the golden era of Hollywood as a troubled man. Bogart reached stardom in Hollywood as only a limited number have. He was the leading male box office attraction. He was financially secure. He married Lauren Bacall. Yet his discomfort with what he did was obvious always to those who knew him. He worked intensely at his craft. Yet one day while on the set making a new film, he remarked, “What a way to make a living!” On one occasion a ...

4257. The Cross: A Gift Of Life

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

King Duncan

Good Friday For Chester Szuber, it was the gift of life. The cost, however, was so dear he almost didn't accept it. The youngest of his 6 children an exuberant 22-year-old nursing student had been killed in a car accident and it quickly became clear her heart could be transplanted into his chest. According to an Associated Press story, the family had little time to decide. Patti's death on a mountain road in Tennessee came while she was on a trip with a friend before her return to nursing school. The car ...

4258. Ready Or Not

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Remember as a child when you played hide and seek? Remember how you would cover your eyes and count? Then you would speak those immortal words: "Ready or not, here I come." Do you get the feeling this time of year that you can hear the voice of Christmas like Marley's ghost saying to us, "Ready or not, here I come." The next few weeks will be filled with so much activity, all the parties, the shopping, the visits to Santa. I like the story about the grandmother who took little Anne along on a shopping trip ...

4259. Love

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

When one little fellow was told about his new baby sister, he was not impressed. At school the following day, his teacher remarked, "I hear you have a new member of your family." "Oh, yeah," he replied. "What's the matter?" his teacher asked. "Aren't you happy to have a new sister?" He answered, "Yes, I guess. But there were a lot of things we needed more." I am certain that when people hear the Christmas story for the first time, their initial reaction is that what the world needs most is not another baby ...

4260. Why Do You Believe What You Believe?

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

You may have heard about the pilot for one of our major airlines. He's blind. I won't tell you which airline. People get nervous enough nowadays about flying. I know I do. I sympathize with the old fellow who says there are two things he will not dofly or swim. "I'm not going to do anything," he says, "that when you stop, you die." Someone asked the blind airplane pilot how he did it. He said, "No big dealjust a little help from my friends and the Good Lord." Then he explained. "A friend comes by my house ...

4261. Marriage: Agony Or Ecstasy

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

King Duncan

In a newspaper cartoon recently a woman with folded arms and a superior expression on her face says to her husband, "A good husband needs to be strong, caring and sensitive. You have all but three of those qualities." Then there is that classic story of the woman who hired a medium to bring back the spirit of her dead husband. When he appeared in a ghostly form, she asked, "Honey, is it really better up there?" Without hesitation he answered, "Oh, yes, it is much better. But I'm not up there!" Some of us ...

4262. Visioning Or Vanishing?

Proverbs 29:1-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Off the coast of Maine lies an island so small that the surrounding ocean can be seen from any point on the island. A visitor had the impulse to start a Sunday school class on the island, so he gathered the children around him for their first lesson. "How many of you," he asked, "have ever seen the Atlantic Ocean?" To his surprise, not a single hand went up. There is such a thing as being so much a part of one's environment that we're simply not aware of it. It's the old story of not seeing the forest for ...

4263. Sister Act

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The headline on the cover of a Sports Illustrated sometime back read: "Sportswoman of the Year." One of the pictures on the cover showed Mary Decker pressing the tape as she defeated by inches the Soviet champion, Zamira Zaitseva, in a 1500 meter world championship race. The article went on to describe Decker's phenomenal performances in San Diego, Los Angeles, Gateshead (England), Stockholm, Paris, and Oslo. One comment was made about Mary Decker by the writer of the article that is relevant to our ...

4264. The Guiding Light for a New Year

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this first Sunday of a New Year. I trust that one of your resolutions for this year is to be in worship every week. Good for you. That's one resolution you've kept for at least one week. I heard about one poor fellow who decided to make only resolutions this year he could keep. He resolved to gain weight, to stop exercising, to read less and watch more TV, to procrastinate more, to quit giving money and time to charity, to not date any member of the cast of Baywatch, and to never make New Year's ...

4265. The Edge Of Night

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Gloria Swanson was one of Hollywood's top actresses from the 1920s to the 1950s. She was quite ambitious. Early in her career, Swanson was quoted as saying, "I have gone through enough of being a nobody. I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star! Everybody from the studio gate man to the highest executive will know it." And Swanson made sure of that. Before returning from a trip to France, Gloria Swanson sent a telegram to her film studio informing them that she ...

4266. Aging Is Mandatory; Maturity Is Optional

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that grown men can act like little children at times? Every woman in the house is nodding her head. Notice our lesson from the Gospel for today. It begins with some words with which we have become familiar: "They went on from there and passed through Galilee. [Jesus] did not want anyone to know it . . ." There it is again. The stealth Messiah, quietly going about his business, trying to stay out of the public eye. This time Mark provides us with an explanation: ". . . for he was ...

4267. First, Last And Always--god!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

I am always thrilled and uplifted by the faith of little children. Maybe that is why when anyone sends me a list of CHILDREN'S LETTERS TO GOD, I read them not only with a smile, but also with a sigh: Oh, to have faith like that. Here are a few that are circulating right now: God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? --Norma Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't You just keep the ones You have now? -- Jane Dear God, Who draws the ...

4268. Another Great Love Story

Genesis 29:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that men like to make jokes about marriage? For example, there's a story about a man sitting at the bar in his local tavern, furiously imbibing shots of whiskey. One of his friends happens to come into the bar and sees him. "Lou," says the shocked friend, "what are you doing? I've known you for over fifteen years, and I've never seen you take a drink before. What's going on?" Without even taking his eyes off his newly filled shot glass, the man replies, "My wife just ran off with my ...

4269. Transforming Tragedy into Triumph

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

In a certain city in Romania is a burying ground called the "Mary Cemetery." The crosses that serve as tombstones are ornamented with carvings, paintings in bright colors and even amusing epitaphs. They express, of course, the Christian''s belief in the resurrected life. The Communist government, which wrote the travel folders describing this cemetery and its unique tombstones, until recently described the Christian hope expressed on the tombstones as merely "the expression of a certain philosophy ...

4270. Things That Cannot be Taken Away

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Most days give us a measure of security. And then suddenly tragedy shatters the familiar. Sorrow comes with its almost unbearable pain. Most people in their anguish almost instinctively turn their thoughts to God for help. If we are Christians, we do so with the assurance that He who has been faithful in the past will now be faithful in our great need. We believe He can be trusted who said, "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." So let us turn to Him and His Word for strength and help. ...

4271. WHERE DO I GO FOR A REFILL?

Drama

Angela Akers

SUBJECT: Exhaustion, spiritual nourishment, church CHARACTERS: Waiter, Man SETTING: Diner PROPS: Table and chairs, coffee pot and coffee cup, plate with some food, apron for waiter Waiter: "Hey, what can I get you?" Man: "Burger and a cup of coffee, please." Waiter: "You got it." Man: "Oh, and keep the refills coming." Waiter: "Whatever you say." (Waiter brings him burger and coffee. Man gulps down the coffee and motions for more) Man: "Refill, please." Waiter: "You must have a late ...

4272. The Power of a God-Shaped Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I have a potential gift for you this morning. There are two marvelous readings shared from the sacred scriptures, and the truth they both profess is the POWER OF A GOD-SHAPED ATTITUDE! Do you remember the lyrics we learned as children which went like this: "Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been? I''ve been to London to see the queen. Pussycat, Pussycat, what saw you there? I saw a wee mouse under her chair." Now London is a splendid and enchanting place to visit. Imagine a city which includes places like ...

4273. Together, But Not Enmeshed

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Jesus describes the community gathered in his name -- and that would be all of us -- using the imagery of the vine. We, individually, are the various branches of the vine. Jesus is, as John describes him, "the true vine." And God is the vinegrower. Jesus is shaped and empowered by God, and we -- as branches -- are shaped, empowered, and nourished by the presence of the risen Christ. We are strongly impacted by images; no surprise here. Early in the Bush administration when Vice President Cheney left the ...

4274. If You Are Willing

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

You can never tell what people are going to do. I was reading recently about some of the wacky moments on the popular TV game show “The Price Is Right.” The wackiest moments were not scripted. They came as a total surprise. One time, a model was sitting at the wheel of a car being offered as a prize. Since the car was inside, on the production set, crew members were to manually push it to where it would be displayed for the winner. Unfortunately, as the crew pushed it from behind, the car smashed through ...

4275. The Amazing Holy Week Equation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

One of the typical difficulties of days like today is connecting the ritual and annual stories of Palm Sunday with the stuff you came in here today worrying about! Okay, so Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey 2,000 years ago. Hey, that's cool. But, you say, I'm worried about paying for repairs to my Chevy so I can ride into Buffalo to go to work! Okay, so the people were all excited about Jesus and waved palm branches at him. That's a neat image, you say, but I'm more concerned about whether the ...

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