Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4276 to 4300 of 4944 results

4276. A Song, A Dance, A Savior

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

Simon Wiesenthal in his book, The Sunflower, relates a discussion that took place at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp when he was a young Jewish prisoner. Wiesenthal was sound asleep one night when Arthur, another young prisoner, a sort of dreamy skeptic, grabbed him by the shoulder and began to shake him awake. "Simon, do you hear?" "Yes," he stammered, "I hear." "I hope you are listening; you really must hear what the old woman said." "What could she have said?" "She said ...'God was on leave.' What do ...

4277. Sometimes It Is Okay to Be Absentminded

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

All of us have heard of the absent-minded professor. I have a friend who is the full embodiment of the absent-minded professor. On one occasion he became so absorbed in a chess game that he failed to show up for his Contemporary Theology class. This professor's wife told of asking him to get her a couple of aspirin because of a splitting headache. He left to go retrieve the aspirin and water so she could find relief. When he returned a few minutes later, she inquired as to the aspirin and water. According ...

4278. Participants In The Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

January 6, this past Wednesday, was the day of Epiphany - the day when the Wise Men brought their gifts to the baby Jesus. Vast sections of the Christian world celebrate Epiphany in a special way. For Eastern Christians especially, this day, not the day which we celebrate as the birth of Jesus, is the occasion for gift giving. More important than that, on the Christian calendar, the season of Epiphany is the season of evangelism and mission. The season when we put the emphasis upon the taking the light of ...

4279. Constantly Abiding

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

As I grow older, and hopefully wiser, I’m more convinced that despite the limitations of my early life, the soil in which my roots originally grew was rich and fertile. The richness of love in our home was more powerful than material poverty. The warm concern, the gentle care, the self-sacrificing for their five children gave us a heritage dollars can’t buy. Though glaringly limited, the faith we shared in the little country church had an expansive simplicity to which I return often. On a visit to that ...

4280. Count It All Joy

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Today we begin a new series of sermons on the Epistle of James. If I were to give a subtitle to this epistle, I would call it "A Manual of Practical Christianity." All of us should be able to identify with the thought. We are always asking that everything be made practical. Speakers are admonished to use the "kiss principle": "Keep it simple, stupid." There is a sense in which the Epistle of James is a "how to" book, and any bookstore has a large section of such books, from How To Build a Patio to How to ...

4281. A Long Obedience In The Same Direction

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a preacher- writer I have recently discovered. His name is Eugene H. Peterson, and he has served Christ the King United Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for 27 years. He has a book on the Psalms of Ascents -- Psalms 120 - 134 which he titled, A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION. He got that phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche. This was Nietzsche's word: "The essential thing in heaven and earth is...that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; thereby, ...

4282. Fair Weather Friends

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I'm not a music buff -- in fact, I take too little time to listen to music. But I like the Blues and I am fascinated with country music. One of my favorites in Blues is Mose Allison. He's a Mississippian who went to Ole Miss and is now singing all over the nation -- and I understand is becoming very popular abroad. In one of his songs he says, "I fooled around and got to feeling good, messed around and got humanized. You may think I'm ill advised, but I've gotten humanized." In another he says, "Well, I'm ...

4283. A Rod For The Back Of Fools

Proverbs 25:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom, a collection of pithy expressions of practical advise. As I am contending in the theme for this sermon series, it is a compendium of guidance for daily living. Because it is a book of wisdom, it shouldn't surprise us that a lot is said about fools and foolishness. The word fool as singular or plural appears at least fifty five times in the book, and foolish or foolishness at least twenty one times. In this 26th chapter from which we have read our text, fool and ...

4284. We Must Finish The Work God Has Given Us

Luke 13:31-35

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: O God, my Savior, you have been my help; don't leave me; don't abandon me. People: Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and lead me along a safe path. All: Praise be the Lord God, who is with us always. Amen. Collect Lord, when times are difficult and we are tempted to give up and run away, may we remember how Jesus refused to stop his work because Herod wanted to kill him. You have given each of us work to do in your kingdom; grant us the power to carry out our mission despite ...

4285. Forgiveness and Reconciliation at Last!

Genesis 45:1-15

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

It happened to a rural Lake County, South Dakota, Lutheran church in August of 2000. Vandals attacked the fieldstone St. Peter Lutheran Church building with vengeance -- breaking windows, smashing light fixtures, flipping over the baptismal font, slashing a large "Jesus the Good Shepherd" painting, scribbling, and carving obscenities into the sanctuary walls and fixtures. The golden altar cross had been swung like a bat to gouge pews and walls. In the basement, kitchen dishes were broken and objects flung ...

4286. Different

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

James L. Killen

The Christian faith is supposed to make a difference in our lives. If it doesn't, why should we bother with it? If the Christian faith is supposed to make a difference in our lives, then we should expect that Christians will be different. And, Christians are supposed to make a difference in the world. We know these things - and yet, we tend to want to minimize the difference. We want to be like everyone else - not to offend anyone - to make our faith more attractive to others. But it is the difference that ...

4287. A Tale of Two Dancers

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our lessons for this morning tell of two dancers: one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The one in the Old Testament is the king, David; the one in the New Testament is the step-daughter of the king, Herod. Both stories have to do with political intrigue. They are not commonly read as lessons in the Sunday worship, but during these dog days of summer, this is the kind of stuff they give us to read. So we will faithfully look for the word of God speaking to us in these two stories. Let us ...

4288. Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves

John 1:1-14

Drama

Matthew Powell

Cast Narrator Bird Birch Tree Oak Tree Willow Tree Juniper Tree Pine Tree Spruce Tree North Wind Voice Of God (The Narrator sits to one side of the stage or playing area. The actors playing the Birch, Oak, and Willow Trees stand on chairs at stage right; the actors playing the Juniper, Pine, and Spruce Trees stand on chairs at stage left. The Bird hobbles among them. It works better if the actor doing the Voice Of God looks upstage, away from the audience) Narrator: Winter was coming, and the birds had all ...

4289. Epiphany 6

Matthew 5:17-37, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; 3:1-23, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 119

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (C) Moses gives his people a choice of life and death. The scene is Moab where the Israelites have assembled prior to crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land. Our pericope is the conclusion to Moses' third address to his people in which he exhorts them to renew the Sinai covenant and warns them of disastrous consequences of their disobedience. The people are called upon to make a life or death decision. "This day" occurs three times to accent the urgency of the ...

4290. The True Definition of a Sanctuary

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Have you ever known anyone with agoraphobia? I encountered someone recently with the opposite of agoraphobia: claustrophobia. And guess where I met her? On an airplane. She climbed aboard the plane and at row 3 announced that she could go no further. She was claustrophobic and needed a first-class seat or she could go no further. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for her plight, or feel admiration for her ingenuity in trying to get a first-class seat. Where claustrophobia is fear of cramped places, ...

4291. How Can Religion Go Bad Doing Good?

Matthew 7:21-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Public art. If ever there were fight'n words, these two simple words, "public art" would certainly qualify. The moment the intention for any new public artistic display is announced, the public outcry begins - an outcry that only reaches its full volume when the new piece is unveiled. The opening of the new Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Berlin is no exception. From the moment the memorial first became a topic of discussion seventeen years ago, the fur began to fly. Battles began between the German ...

4292. How to Beat the Devil

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

(Note: I've chosen to wait until the end of the sermon to introduce the button images - EASY button versus REJECT and RESET buttons. You may choose to introduce them much earlier.) With the Super Bowl finally out of the way, we can now focus on something really important - basketball! In basketball things change so much more quickly than in football. Partly because there are three-point shots; partly because of the trumping effect of last second foul shots; partly because the basketball court is still the ...

4293. Unchained Melody

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We're in the midst of a war. It's a war whose progression we can chart with absolute confidence. What started out as undeclared skirmishes has steadily escalated into a head-to-head battle in the last few months. It's going to get worse. In the next three weeks there will be no holds barred, no holding back, as the warring forces focus all their weapons, all their resources, all their powers, upon each other. Thankfully this war has a definitive end-date. This is a war-of-words, a conflict-of-ideas, a ...

4294. Addiction Free

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"No! No! No! No! No!" Our three year old has no doubts about his opinion. Trouble is, he doesn't really know what he is holding this opinion about. But Egil is in de-tox. We are weaning him off two tough habits at once. First, although Egil is unaware of it, we have been gradually decreasing the Phenobarbital he has been on since he was seven months old and seizures began to rack his tiny body after a bout with encephalitis. After two heavily sedated years with a high-powered drug, it is time to see if he ...

4295. The Longest Running Parade in History

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who doesn't love a parade!? Okay, okay. Maybe a better question to ask is "Who in the world still likes parades?" Parades don't really fit the pace of our postmodern world anymore. They are intentionally slow-motion, repetitive, predictable, even (oh no!) historical. Face it. There are few of us over the age of ten who really look forward to going to see a parade. And be IN a parade? Don't even talk about it. How completely embarrassing. The trouble with being in a parade vs. being cast in a local play or ...

4296. The Crowd that Watched God Die

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Have you ever noticed how people are attracted to the scene of tragedy? There was a time in our country, when there was going to be a hanging, that people gathered with picnic baskets and children to watch a criminal die. Once a tornado cut a path of destruction through a town in North Georgia. When Sunday afternoon came, there was a huge traffic jam of curious tourists. And even here we are not so different. When there is a traffic accident we slow down to look, and we even return later to examine the ...

4297. Living Outside the Box

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the 1950s and 60s the five-and-dime market was invented and then dominated by two entrepreneurial giants Woolworth's and Newberry's. Like the giants Wal-mart and K-mart today, both these marketing geniuses broke ground for the megastores that have now asphalted forests and farmlands. The idea both Woolworth's and Newberry's sold was that you could get virtually anything and get it cheap at their stores. It did seem that they stocked everything from dishes to dresses to tools and toys; from a hundred ...

4298. Commentary for Matthew 4: 1-11

Matthew 4:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Can you believe how early Ash Wednesday was this year? Early February and the first Sunday of Lent? You are right to wonder. An Easter this early is more than a once in a lifetime event. It’s a once-in-a century event. The earliest Easter can fall is 22 March, which occurs only once every two centuries. A 23 March Easter is a once-a-century event . . .the next one is 2160. We are as unaccustomed to this early a Lenten season as we are accustomed to the temptations story beginning our Lenten journey. In ...

4299. That's What Jesus Does for Me

Psalm 139:7-12

Sermon

James W. Moore

Her name is Pascale. She is five years old. She is a very important part of our church family. She is here in the 8:30 service most every Sunday morning. One evening recently, Pascale was watching television with her mom and dad. Suddenly, a news flash showed President Bush walking to a meeting. The President was surrounded by a group of men in dark suits. Pascale asked her parents: “Who are those men with the President? Why are they with him?” Her parents answered: “They are members of the secret service ...

4300. EXEGESIS: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 6:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Participation in the right religion, being a member of the correct cult, was a key ingredient in the first century's recipe for success. Well-timed sacrifices to the proper deity ensured benevolence and blessing for the believer. Secret Gnostic sects relied on special "gnosis" ("knowledge") to give them a boost up in life. Conversely, displeasing the gods, disregarding their whims, disobeying their directives, invited disaster and destruction into one's life. Even within Judaism the hardships endured by ...

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