Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4276 to 4300 of 4934 results

4276. The Gibeonites Avenged

2 Samuel 21:1-14

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

The Famine, Its Cause, and Its Remedy: Chapters 21–24 form an appendix to 2 Samuel. They are distinct from the preceding narrative, which continues in 1 Kings chapter 1. They contain six independent sections only marginally related to each other. Each section includes information and incidents relating to David that the writers thought was helpful or important for their readers to be aware of but that did not fit in with the natural flow of the main narratives. A. F. Kirkpatrick (The Second Book of Samuel ...

4277. A Prayer to a Good, Good Father

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Tom Rietveld tells an interesting true story about prayer. He says that when he was pastoring in Missouri his church needed approximately $10,000 beyond what they were able to give to close out the year. And so, Pastor Rietveld asked the church family and their church leaders to pray for that amount, specifically—$10,000. Unexpectantly, a few weeks before the end of the year, a gift came in the mail. It was for several shares of stock worth $5,000. Pastor Rietveld put out the word that God had ...

4278. Loving Made Real

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

The lectionary gives us two types of traditional texts for our Maundy Thursday services over the span of the three cycles. One type is before us tonight: the text of the foot washing, the text of Jesus clearly demonstrating the importance of his love for us and our call to love others. The other is what you and I call the “last supper”: how the ritual, the practice, of our meal together, whether the celebration of a Seder reordered and meaning changed, the gift of the sacrament, or remembrance proclaimed ...

4279. The Prophet of Locusts and Honey

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: locusts in a small aquarium or a plastic locust / honeycomb or bowl of honey We call him “John the Baptist.” Some prefer to call him “John the Baptizer” just to be clear that John isn’t seen as baptizing Jesus into the Baptist church, making Jesus a Baptist. Some of you Baptist may disagree on this. But when we think of “John the Baptist,” or “John the Baptizer,” the first thing that comes to mind is not water, but probably something else: strange clothing and weird eating habits. At least they seem ...

4280. Dangerous

John 12:12-19, Zechariah 9:9-13, Zechariah 9:14-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Are you dangerous? Are you sure? Today, I want to ask you, what does it mean to be a “dangerous” follower of Jesus? What does it mean to live “dangerously” in this world as a follower of Jesus? Would Jesus want us to live dangerously, or to be dangerous? Let’s put it another way…. How many of you feel that your faith is a dangerous force that can disrupt the powers and principalities of this world? How many of you believe that Jesus is a dangerous force? That the Holy Spirit is a dangerous force that can ...

4281. Now is the Day of Salvation

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Sermon

King Duncan

There was an article on the Reader’s Digest website recently that I thought was quite interesting. The column was titled “The 15 Most Bizarre Perks of the Royal Family.” It was written by someone named Morgan Cutolo. According to this article, once Queen Elizabeth II dies, the people of Britain are banned from being funny on public television. The BBC is serious about the death of their monarch. “The BBC isn’t allowed to air anything humorous for the 12 days between [the queen’s] death and her funeral,” ...

4282. The Mighty Mustard Seed

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

King Duncan

I have a question for our retirees this morning. Did you pick up any new hobbies when you retired from your job? Most people I know say they are busier in retirement than they were in their working years, so taking up a new hobby may be difficult. So, let me ask our non-retirees, what hobby do you hope to adopt in your retirement years? I ask this because I was inspired by reading about a retired Canadian man named Young S. New. New picked up an interesting new hobby when he retired. His new hobby was ...

4283. Victorious, Victims

Luke 6:20-36

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh." Imagine a sermon which begins, "Blessed are you poor. Blessed are you that hunger. Oh how lucky are you who weep. How fortunate are those of you whom people hate, exclude, revile. Leap for joy those of you who have cancer. How lucky are you unemployed. How blessed are those going through marital crises." The congregation does a double-take. What? Blessed? Lucky? Those who are hungry? Unemployed? Sick? What is this? Thus begins Jesus' Sermon on the Mount ...

4284. Silent Sinning

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In our culture today, particularly post-pandemic, a new word has entered into our cultural vocabulary: “Silent Quitting” or “Quiet Quitting.”The term refers to an employee who does the bare minimum in his/her job or workplace. He or she will stay exactly within the job description, will work exactly the required hours, and will fulfill the minimum of what needs to be done without being fired but will never go above and beyond, shows no passion or incentive, and skates by with the least of effort. This is ...

4285. People of the Rolled Stone

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A three-year-old little girl was just as anxious for Easter to come as she had been for Christmas to come. Mom and Dad took her shopping. They picked out a new dress and a new white bonnet and then stopped to buy her a new pair of shoes to go with her outfit. When they got home and laid out all the new things, the little girl said, "I can't wait for Easter, Daddy!" Dad asked her, "Well, do you know what Easter means, honey?" The little girl replied, "Yes." "Well, what does Easter mean?" In her own sweet ...

4286. Count the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

''Whoever of you does not renounce all that he or she has cannot be my disciple." How many of you were here last Sunday? Don't raise your hands. Well, even if you were not here, I can give you a quick summary of the sermon. We were at a party at a Pharisee's house with Jesus. Jesus, we noted, just loves to party. The gospel he brings is good news that God wants to invite everyone to a great party. And, because many of you are party animals yourselves, this all sounded great. Forget your petty, moralistic ...

4287. God's Plan for a New Year

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Bill called his parents to wish them a happy New Year, and his dad answered the phone. “Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?” Bill asked him. “To make your mother as happy as I can all year,” Dad answered. When mom got on the phone, Bill said, “What’s your resolution, Mom?” She answered, “To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution.” I don’t know if you have given any thought to making resolutions as we say good-bye to this year and hello to the next. However, our text from Paul’s letter ...

4288. The Propriety of Praise

Psalm 84:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

A few months ago, I preached a sermon here. My text was from· the book of Revelation, as I recall. All went well until the end of the sermon when I came to my last sentence. Without warning, someone seated somewhere over there, shouted out “Amen!” Well, he was probably a tourist I thought; first time in Duke Chapel. Probably someone from California. At first, I thought I would ignore his, “Amen!” But upon further reflection I asked the ushers to make a discreet search during the offering, and tell the man ...

4289. Words and Deeds

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Will Willimon

I was leading a discussion about preaching among a group of laypersons in an affluent Washington, D.C. parish. "What do you look for in a sermon?" I asked. "I like a sermon which makes me think about things in a new way," said one. Widespread agreement. Yes, I thought, that's preaching. Helping us to think about things in a new way. And, particularly around here, we love to think about things. There was a time when I took this as high complement for my preaching. You emerge at the end of the Sunday service ...

4290. Investing Our Inheritance

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

A friend once told me of an experience he had as a child. When he was eight years old he went with his family to visit an uncle who lived on a farm. He always looked forward to these visits because his uncle had horses that he let the children ride. When it was his turn to go for a ride, he rode the horse until he was out of view of the house. Then he slipped to the ground. He wanted to try mounting the horse as he had seen cowboys on television do it. So he got behind the horse and took a running start ...

4291. Witnesses For The Lord

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Hear these powerful words of Erasmus.How much more wonderful the work of redemption is, in comparison with creation. It is more marvelous that God was made man than that He created the angels; that He wailed in a stable than that He reigns in the heavens. The creation of the world was a work of power, but the redemption of the world was a work of mercy.1 So we gather on this glorious Easter morning to celebrate God's wonderful work of mercy. As we celebrate Easter today, we seek to make it a celebration ...

4292. Whom Shall We Obey?

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

A three-year-old girl had not felt well for close to a week. She had a runny nose and a cough. Her mother took her to the doctor. The doctor asked her if her throat hurt. The little girl said, "Yes, it's been hurting all week!" The doctor then asked, "Can you point to where it hurts for me?" The little girl emphatically said, "Right here." Then she proceeded to rub her stomach. It is easy to get confused in life, isn't it? I wonder how many of us fully understand Christ's expectations of us. Even the parts ...

4293. God On His Knees

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

The scene is the upper room. Jesus and his 12 close followers are gathered for this, the last time. Only two of them know that fact. The meal begins. Small talk flows, but then the volume and intensity of feeling rise. John tells us that a dispute has broken out among the disciples. The question surfaces: "Who is the greatest disciple?" All join in, "I am the greatest." You can bet that Peter has his say and Matthew, for he is vocal also, and Bartholomew and John. Each in turn extols his own virtue, ...

4294. The Sponge And Wine

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Our age has been called a drug culture. Offhand, it would be impossible to estimate the amount of drug abuse in our society. At times we believe that our intense efforts and huge expenditures to curtail drug abuse are successful only to discover otherwise. However, today we are also engaged in a national debate about the medicinal use of drugs as an important part of the health care delivery system. The drug industry is under scrutiny, because of the high cost of the society's reliance upon their products ...

4295. Lighting A Fire In A Cold Room

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Harold Warlick

His name was Father Dominic. He spoke English fluently and he was on a sabbatical leave from his post in France to study in America. He was old beyond his years, a man whose physical resemblance was that of an eighty-year-old instead of his rightful age of 58. At once you knew something was not quite right about him. Father Dominic's teeth ground together when he talked. His eyes were like a monkey's eyes, much too large for the small face that housed them. He appeared to stare right through things and ...

4296. Till Death Do Us -- Unite

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

Praise be to the Death Conqueror! God had done miraculous things for the widow and her family through the Prophet Elijah. Enough flour and oil to live on through a drought. Then this widow's son became sick. He eventually died. "Why, O prophet, have you let this happen?" she asked. But God wasn't done bestowing miracles on this family. Elijah, harboring the same question for God, stretched himself on the boy three times -- and he became a fence-climbing, dog-chasing son again! A second widow had heard ...

4297. Gifts of Lent II: Mary Gives Her Perfume

Matthew 26:6-13

Drama

Donald Neidigk

Dramatic Monologue You're here to speak with the friends of Jesus, are you? Well then, by all means, let's talk! Shall we sit here in my garden? It's the perfect place. The morning air is still cool and each gentle breeze brings with it the scent of my flowers. How I love my flowers, especially the lilies! Their sweetness always reminds me of that evening so long ago when I poured out an entire flask of treasured perfume on the head and feet of Jesus. It was the week of Passover. Our village of Bethany was ...

4298. Moving At The Speed Of Light: Nazareth: Family Ties

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

When I was a child and my mother started thinking out loud about "going home," she meant driving to Grandma's house a thousand miles away. This trip from Ohio to Nebraska with two parents, five children, and sometimes a dog did not happen in our unairconditioned family sedan without considerable planning and effort. Just packing the car strained family cordiality and tested my father's training as an engineer. His plan was always the same: Be on the road shortly after midnight and drive all night so that ...

4299. The Easy Way Out

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

One of the responsibilities that parents often have with children is the supervision of musical lessons. Getting the kids to practice is never easy. The first problem is just getting them to sit down to do it. Then, the second problem begins. Did you ever notice how easy it is to re-play the familiar? When you listen to those practices, ever notice how often you hear the same pieces over and over again? The prospect of struggling through a new piece seems like torture, so the temptation is not to bother ...

4300. Priest Without Peer

Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

We are about to behold a priest without peer. Just to say the word priest or preacher brings to mind all kinds of stories where the clergy became the laughing stock of the joke. Such as: A bus driver and a priest died at the same time. Although the bus driver was sent directly to heaven, the priest's case was apparently harder to decide. "I don't mind that you sent a bus driver to heaven," the priest complained, "but, after all, I was a priest, so why should I be kept waiting?" He was answered by a voice ...

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