Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 4251 to 4275 of 4942 results

4251. Blind Beggars All

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Erskine White

... he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 21:28) The town of Jericho was already 8,000 years old by the time Jesus and John the Baptist walked its streets. Think of it! Here in America, we were all excited a few years ago about our nation's bicentennial, our two hundredth birthday. Jericho was already 8,000 years old by the time of Jesus Christ. It remains today the oldest continually-inhabited city in the world. Jericho was built by the Canaanites as a fortified city ...

4252. Your Spiritual Check up

2 Corinthians 13:1-10

Sermon

Erskine White

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith ... Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Corinthians 13:5) We all know that having a physical checkup is important for our health and well-being. We're supposed to get one every year. But what about a spiritual checkup? Why shouldn't they be even more important and when was the last time you had one? "Examine yourselves," says Paul, "to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus ...

4253. Sing A New Song

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Erskine White

What are the seven deadliest words in the whole history of the Christian church? Not the Seven Deadly Sins, mind you, I'm asking about words. Which seven words have been the most destructive to Christian faith, and have set the church back most consistently over the years? What are those seven words? They are: "We've never done it that way before." That single sentence has shot down more new ideas and murdered more enthusiasm in cold blood than any other words ever spoken: "No, that's a terrible idea and ...

4254. The Key To Confident Living

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Erskine White

Galatians 2:17-21 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) Have you ever noticed how some people go through life full of confidence and vigor, no matter what happens to them? When disaster strikes, they survive. When obstacles are placed in their path, they persevere. In the tumult of life's arena they are knocked down but never out, and they always have the internal fortitude to get up and get going again. Have you ever noticed how such people are at their best when things ...

4255. Wedding: An Offer from God

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

(Name) and (name), you haven't exactly had what would be called a whirlwind romance. Now all those years of courtship and months and months of preparation are being distilled into these brief but precious moments, which comprise your wedding day. What do you say to a young couple who are deeply in love but who are still largely innocent of the demands of love? What do you say to two dear young people who know the joy of a close relationship, but who have yet to deal with the frictions which the intimacy of ...

4256. Wedding: Marriage as Gift-giving

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

(Name) and (name), as you stand here in the front of the church, it may feel like you're onstage, and indeed you are. All eyes are upon you, and all hearts are beating with yours in the excitement of this much-anticipated event. But in truth. we are all on stage. We are participants in the Service of Worship you have created to honor our Lord, as he comes to bless your new life together. You designed this worship experience to praise God for all he has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is your ...

4257. Loaves And Fishes Book

John 6:1-15

Children's Sermon

Sharing this week's Gospel theme at Sunday School and at home. Teachers or Parents: This is the story of the boy who shared his loaves and fishes. Here are two projects for this lesson. Younger children: Talk with them about things that they can share with others: toys, books, snacks and similar things. Have them draw a picture showing them sharing something with someone else. Older Children: Take two sheets of 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper. Fold them from the 8 1/2 side to form an eight-page booklet. Tell the ...

4258. Sharing Your Lunch

John 6:9

Children's Sermon

Object: a loaf of bread Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever packed a lunch for school or day care and shared some of it with a friend? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you a story about a boy about your age who shared this lunch with more than 5,000 people! (Compare 5,000 to the population of your town, if it is comparable.) That's more people than live in (your town name). Once Jesus and his disciples were preaching and healing people in a large crowd. The Bible says there were 5,000 people in ...

4259. We Have Come To Believe

John 6:60

Children's Sermon

Object: a playing piece from a children's board game Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever played (hold up the playing piece and name the game?) I love to play games like this. What are some of the games that you play at home? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you a story about some friends about your age who were playing this game. The friends enjoyed playing games. They each went to one friend's backyard and decided they would play this game on a summer afternoon like today. This was a ...

4260. A Special Birth Announcement

Luke 1:26-38

Children's Sermon

Sharing This Week's Gospel Theme at Sunday School Teachers: Before the children arrive, copy the following birth announcement or something familiar on the inside of a 9- by 12-inch piece of construction paper folded in half. Copy just the left side; the right will be filled in by the children later. WE HAVE A NEW BABY! Name: Jesus Nickname: Son of the Most High God Parents: Joseph and Mary Address: Bethlehem Date of Birth: December 25 Time: Christmas Day Spend some time with the children looking in the ...

4261. Share The Loaf

1 Corinthians 10:17

Children's Sermon

Object: a loaf of bread Good evening, boys and girls. This is a special night. It's called Maundy Thursday. Maundy is a funny word, isn't it? (Let them respond.) Maundy sounds a little like another day of the week. What day does it sound like? (Let them respond.) It sounds like Monday. So if you heard that this was Maundy Thursday and thought they said Monday Thursday, it wouldn't be strange at all. It does sound a little like that. The word Maundy comes from a Latin word that means command. A command is a ...

4262. Lent 1

Romans 9:30--10:21, Deuteronomy 26:1-15, Luke 4:1-13, Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The church year combines the two seasons of Lent and Easter within a cycle, the Easter Cycle, which puts the observation of Lent, as well as Easter, in proper perspective. The church keeps the Lenten pilgrimage as a journey to the to and beyond the cross to the tomb of the risen Christ, and the annual celebration of the Feast of Feasts, Easter. When Lent began as the quadrigesima, this was quite clear, because Quadrigesima announced that there were now 40 days until Easter. The same thing ...

4263. Lent 3

1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Exodus 3:1-22, Psalm 126:1-6, Psalm 103:1-22, Luke 13:1-9

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Third Sunday in Lent had the quality of "looking toward God" in trust, as the introit put it, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" (Psalm 25:6, 2b, 22, 1, 2a), in the classic set of propers. The other readings and parts of the propers concentrated on the preparation of the catechumens for baptism at Easter; this Sunday was known as dominica exorcismi - exorcism Sunday - when the lectionary and the church year were beginning to develop. It also had the title of renunciation Sunday ( ...

4264. Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Luke, the Gospel for the Year, wants the entire story of Jesus, as he knows it, to be told, not only to Theophilus, but to the larger audience who will read his gospel. This Sunday's theological task is to retell the story of John the Baptist's ministry, so as to show John's role in the advent of Jesus in his baptism and the beginning of his ministry here on earth. John might be called the "connector," because he "connected" the prophecies of the Old Testament to the coming of Christ as ...

4265. Proper 11

Colossians 1:15-23, Luke 10:38-42, Genesis 18:16-33, Colossians 1:24--2:5, Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year used in this cycle, this Sun-day could very well fall near August 6. Liturgical "old-timers" in some churches will remember that August 6 is, or was, the date for celebrating the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The Book of Common Prayer continues a practice formerly followed by Lutheran books of worship: Namely, that the Transfiguration is observed on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany by the use of the readings for the ...

4266. The Season of the Nativity

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

Liturgical Color: White Theme: Birth of the World's Savior - Include the themes of crucifixion, resurrection, Pentecost. Suggestion Use the following themes to identify each section of the order of worship: I. The Community Awaits Christ's Coming. "For whom are we waiting, anyway?" II. The Community Celebrates Christ's Birth "God so loves the world that God gave the only forgotten son. Remember?" III. The Community Responds to Christ's Presence. "Why do we call ourselves after Christ's Name and refuse to ...

4267. The Highway to Peace

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

Christmas Eve/Day • Christmas Eve/Day Only the bleat of a lamb could be heard through the quiet of the night. Across the treeless grazing land a soft breeze kissed the warm earth. Within a secluded nook a herd of sheep were dozing while on a mound only a few feet away a group of men slumbered calmly. The ruddy faces, hands and sandaled feet of those men betrayed the fact that they had long been exposed to the elements. Their garments covered rugged bodies which in turn housed rugged minds carved by a ...

4268. Who Holds the Keys to the Kingdom?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Steven Burt

Not long ago I met with a student pastor whom I was supervising. He was serving a church in a nearby town. In our conversation we got to talking about who ought to be allowed to come up to the rail for Communion. It seems he had gotten into a disagreement with another pastor in that same town. The other pastor said that no children should be allowed to receive Communion. The pastor I supervised thought it was OK. I, being an astute supervisor, and knowing my supervisee was coming up for ordination ...

4269. The Kingdom of God Is Like… a Joke!

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Steven Burt

The story of the good Samaritan is perhaps the most misunderstood of all Jesus’ parables. We’ve lost sight, over the nineteen centuries since Jesus told it, of its real impact. Since we’re not familiar with the original context in which its hearers heard it, we’ve seen it reduced to a good neighbor story, a Boy Scout doing a good deed a day, a driver stopping to help a little old lady change a flat tire. The emphasis is on the good Samaritan, the one who stops to help. Although that’s a wonderful value to ...

4270. Home And Temple

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

James Garrett

Columnist Erma Bombeck tells of a Supermom who is perfection itself. She did everything right: kept a perfect home; kept her husband happy. Always had a copy of Bishop Fulton Sheen’s latest book on the coffee table, and answered the door pregnant when the priest came by. One day, I asked her how she did it, and she said, “I emulate the Blessed Virgin Mary,” and I said, “Marge, it’s a little bit late for that.” She said, “Very well, I’ll tell you. Every evening, when the children are bathed and tucked into ...

4271. Jesus Said: “Try Again”

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

James Garrett

Here is the good news for today from Luke 5:1-11. This is the Word of God! A word of great encouragement and hope. Hope is the unique signature of the Christian gospel. What makes a Christian a Christian is this inability to quit hoping. A new gift from God is at work on our behalf, at all times in all circumstances. The crowds had pressed Jesus right up to the edge of the water at the Sea of Galilee to hear the Word of God. There he came upon three defeated men. They had fished all night and had only an ...

4272. You Must Become As A Child

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Brett Blair

One day Jesus was in Judea, when a great crowd came to hear him preach. The children came also in great numbers. The disciples, perhaps caught up in their own self-importance, saw them as a nuisance and an annoyance and ordered them away. There position doubtless was: This is serious business; we don't have time for this; don't bother the man. It is hard to imagine the disciples taking such a position. It strikes us today as rather uncaring and cold. I can assure you, however, that I have been in churches ...

4273. The Pitfalls Of Practicing Piety

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

John M. Braaten

I have never liked the word "beware." It always seems to be written in intimidating block letters which suggest life-threatening consequences. The word brings to mind an experience I had as a 12-year-old paperboy. Entering a customer's yard I encountered a collie which, without provocation, charged me with fangs bared, knocking off my glasses and hurling me to the ground. I still remember its moist, rancid breath in my face. Hearing my screams, neighbors came and rescued me. That event not only changed my ...

4274. Act III, Scene 2

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John M. Braaten

Each year we in the church are involved in a great drama. Although the script is ancient, thousands of years old, its message is as new as today and as hopeful as tomorrow. It has been played out on countless stages throughout the world, and the story is so incredible that in spite of its constant retelling, it never grows stale, is never irrelevant. It is always fresh, always worth hearing and it always brings healing and strength. Act I, Scene 1 of this churchwide drama began with the season of Advent as ...

4275. The Greatest Wonder Of All!

John 14:5-14

Sermon

John M. Braaten

The celebration of Pentecost, with its mighty demonstration of power by the Holy Spirit, is a good time to reflect on some of the mighty deeds of God, because God’s awe-inspiring acts aren’t all locked back there in the memory banks of Bible history buffs; they are still happening all around us. Discovering them is a real adventure because we all, young and old, tend to be impressed by that which is uncommon, unusual or extraordinary. I recall seeing a youngster holding a popcorn kernel in his fingers; he ...

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