Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4301 to 4325 of 4934 results

4301. Grampa Noah And When The Flood Came

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 9:18-29

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: One of the difficulties of telling the Genesis stories is that they are a slushing together of variant religious traditions and stories of the Hebrew tribes. Some stories do not lend themselves to a singular telling. The story of Noah is an excellent example. To open it up to the variations within it, I imagined a family reunion many years after the flood and after Noah's grandchildren had heard the stories a hundred times from their own families. At the reunion, the children finally have a chance ...

4302. The Sponge And Wine

Mark 14:1--15:47

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 ...

4303. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Matthew 18:21-35

Drama

Jerry Eckert

[Author's Note: This particular drama was influenced by a story I vaguely remember from Sunday School told nearly a half century ago. I like situations which cross age lines, so I was glad when I had a chance to tell a story about Jesus as a boy. I think it would lend itself to having a young boy take part.] Characters: Commentator Joseph Jesus Stranger Commentator: It has been a hot day, as one might expect this time of year in the Holy Land. Joseph and his son Jesus are back from the gate where they have ...

4304. "Invisible" Milk

Proverbs 29:20

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Theme: Don't act in haste. Visual Aid: An opaque drinking glass. "I have a story to tell you this morning about something that happened when I was five. Is anyone here this morning five years old?" Several children raise their hands. I direct my next question to them. "Do you have trouble seeing what is on the table when you sit in your chair at mealtimes?" Their little faces look very serious as they bob their heads up and down indicating they do. "I did too, when I was your age. One evening I sat down at ...

4305. Jesus' Ministry Beyond Galilee

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

Both of the Markan stories appointed for this week take place in the land of the Gentiles. We have pointed out this Gentile ministry of Jesus in earlier chapters. His Gentile ministry will come to a climax in chapter 8 with the feeding of the Gentile multitude. Today's story of the healing of the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman is an incredible symbol of the breaking down of false barriers for the sake of mission. Jesus breaks all kinds of barriers in this story. He breaks down geographical barriers by ...

4306. Christmas 2

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Note: There is a time to sit listening and asking questions in our Father's house, and there is a time to go out and be obedient. Greeting Ldr: When Jesus was twelve years old, his parents could not find him. So Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem, and found Jesus in the temple. Cng: We still find you in the temple, Lord. Ldr: Though only twelve, Jesus sat talking with the teachers in the temple. They were all amazed at his understanding and his answers. Cng: We too are amazed at the simplicity and the ...

4307. The Healing Of Simon Peter's Mother-In-Law

Mark 1:29-34

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

WHAT'S HAPPENING The Gospel called Mark wants to set a tone of direct action and quick response in this story. Mark shows an absence of dragging feet and suggests a sense of urgency. Jesus gets things done. From Mark's perspective, whatever happens around Jesus, the response is always immediate. "Immediately" is a favorite action word in the first chapter of Mark. After the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit immediately drives him out into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). When Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be ...

4308. The Vanities Of Work

Ecc 2:1-26

Sermon

Erskine White

What do we gain from our labors under the sun? (Ecciesiastes 2:22) I want to introduce you to someone you may not know very well: the Preacher who. wrote Ecclesiastes. We ought to find him quite interesting; he is one of the most modern personalities in all the Bible. In fact, here is someone very much like you or me. He is a successful man by any measure of worldly achievement and he knows how to enjoy the pleasures of this world. But like many people today, he is also restless. He is looking for deeper ...

4309. Proper 19

Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7, Psalm 51:1-19, Exodus 32:1-33:6, Hosea 4:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, 1 Timothy 1:12-20

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary cycle followed and the calendar year the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost may be known and celebrated, in much of the Christian church as World-wide Communion Sunday. Most of the denominations of Christendom will be participating in the sacrament of holy communion on that Sunday, regardless of the other occasions on which the sacrament is observed. Actually, every Sunday is a worldwide communion Sunday; every Sunday calls for the celebration of the meal at ...

4310. The Problem With Finding The Kingdom

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

William J. Carl

I don’t know about you, but when I finished reading these parables of the kingdom, I wasn’t so sure whether I really wanted to find the kingdom, which may be an odd thing for a preacher to say, I admit. But think about it -- everybody always makes such a big deal about finding the kingdom. Even Jesus. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and… all these things shall be added unto you.” Even Peter Marshall’s mother said it when Peter left Scotland for good. “Dinna forget your verse my laddie, seek ye first the ...

4311. Marked At The Cross

Sermon

George Bass

“When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left.”Luke 23:33-46 Yes, “the cross is still there;” Jesus’ death on Good Friday on that little hill that looked like a skull tells us so. That cross will forever be a sign and symbol of the unmeasurable and undying love that God has for every human being. It really does declare that “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son” to die for all of us “… that ...

4312. When Is It Tolerable to Be Intolerant?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Donald Macleod

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be ...

4313. A Sign Of Divine Protection

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

There is an American insurance company whose advertisements seek to convince consumers that they are in good hands when insured by them. All companies, including insurance companies, are in business to make a profit, not to do the consumer a favor. They may receive a benefit as a result of your doing business, but if the company is not profitable, it ceases to exist. Capitalism is at the heart of the American society. The cost of protecting houses and contents, automobiles and boats as well as life itself ...

4314. Forgiving the Bully

Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

John Jamison

I like the first part of this story about Jesus. All those blessings, and that neat parable about the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. It makes me feel good inside. But now it gets difficult. Let me put this in terms that I can understand. The first time I ever remember hating anyone was in the third grade. The kid's name was Les. Les moved into town part way through the year and from the beginning we had trouble. On the first day, I received a note during spelling. The note read, "After ...

4315. Step Twelve - Responsibility

Lk 19:1-10 · Gal 6:1-10 · Is 61:1-4

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." This is not a step inward in our own journey of life and faith. It is a step outward which we take after we have recognized where God has led us in this journey. It is, in religious language, the call of the missionary. It is the call to share the good news. For some it is the good news found in sobriety. But it is a step for anyone caught ...

4316. God's Bag of Cookies

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Johnny Dean

Bertrand Russell once said, "It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly." Since Russell was an atheist, I’m very careful how and when to express agreement with his philosophy of life. But this is one area where I’m tempted to say the same thing when it comes to people’s possession of religion and politics (and I know I’m not supposed to use those two words in the same sentence from the pulpit, but its done now and I can’t take it back). We ...

4317. The Clanking of Coins

Matthew 27:1-10

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Suppose that I tingled a batch of coins in my pocket or dropped some quarters on a marble floor. If you were to close your eyes and listen to the sound that money makes, what would it remind you of? ... A bank teller spilling out a deposit for counting?... A child shaking a piggy bank in hopes that a coin will slip through the slot?... A clerk dropping the money from your purchase into a register?... An expectant gambler at the fair, trying to make a penny land between the lines?... A woman searching ...

4318. When The Cheering Stopped

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago a book was written by a noted American historian entitled “When The Cheering Stopped.” It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following WWI. When that war was over Wilson was an international hero, There was a great spirit of optimism abroad, and people actually believed that the last war had been fought and the world had been made safe for democracy. On his first visit to Paris after the war Wilson was greeted by cheering mobs. He was actually more ...

4319. The Sign in the Subway

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

On a subway platform in one of our Eastern states there was a large printed sign that said "God Answers Prayer." Some experienced person had scrawled across the bottom underneath the printed letters these words: "Sometimes the answer is NO!" This is what we have to deal with in any discussion of prayer. Someone says, "I felt the need of God. I prayed for something to happen, and it didn’t. Prayer failed." No, Sir. I suggest that you did not want God - you wanted God to do something, and that’s different. ...

4320. Seeking Hands

Psalm 141:1-10

Sermon

Hands are useful. They allow us to accomplish many things. Not only are they able to do, but they also help us communicate. All of us have probably been recipients of bad communications when people use their hands to make gestures that were less than complimentary. There are also good gestures - a gesture that says "hi," or a wave. In Brazil, if a mother beckons her child like this (palm up), the child understands that the mother is communicating for the child to come. But if she beckons the child like ...

4321. There’s Gotta Be a Day

Malachi 4:1-6

Sermon

We’ve heard that song before, haven’t we? We’ve heard it with some variations, but the theme is the same. Perhaps the same problems create the same theme - with some variations. Even the variations do not nuance the repetitions enough to make us pay attention, finally. If it were not for two things, Malachi’s oracle of God could be passed by as "just the same old thing." The oracle is from God. Secondly, it comes because God insists on keeping his covenant. He simply cares. There it is. Do we wish to ...

4322. And You Thought God Didn't Care!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Someone asked a man,"Do you think the biggest problem in the church is ignorance or apathy?" The man replied, "I don't know and I don't care!" Lots of folks believe that about God. He is either unaware of all that concerns us or is indifferent to it. For all those who suspect God of this detached inclination, who think God doesn't care, there is marvelous truth in the text to refute that notion forever. Let's lay a bit of groundwork and see how this is so. Moses, the emissary of God, born to deliver his ...

4323. Responding to What We Hear and See

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Joe Pennel

In the semantics of the church, doubt has been a negative word. It is rarely used in a favorable way. Faith, not doubt, is the great word of the church. As I stand here every Sunday morning and look into your up-lifted faces, you look so proper, so content, so believing. You seem to be so certain, so full of faith, and so free of doubt. But, I have a suspicion that the way you look is not the way you are. Beneath the skins of many of you there is planted the seed of honest doubt. Perhaps you do not share ...

4324. Lent 2

Genesis 12:1-8, Psalm 105:1-45, Matthew 17:1-13, John 3:1-21; 4:5-42, Romans 4:1-25

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Lent is structured so that those who keep it will go through devotional exercises designed to bring about conversion of the penitent to the life in Christ. Lent is really the altar (font) call of the church, at which the believers will find forgiveness of their sins and renewal of the gifts God gives in baptism to those who will have him as their God in Jesus Christ. Sunday is seen in the Roman Church, as always, from a sacramental perspective; some pastors in other churches approach Lent ...

4325. Who Do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

Jesus and his disciples ventured into the District of Caesarea Philippi, an area about 25 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The region had tremendous religious implications. The place was littered with the temples of the Syrian gods. Here also was the elaborate marble temple that had been erected by Herod the Great, father of the then ruling Herod Antipas. Here also was the influence of the Greek gods. Here also the worship of Caesar as a God himself. You might say that the world religions were on ...

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