Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4301 to 4325 of 4943 results

4301. The Mountain

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

John Jamison

Up in the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee, a mile or so past the village of Bethsaida, there is a mountain. Or, as near what you would call a mountain in that area. If you go there today, there is a parking lot nearby, and from there you walk a steep and rocky trail for about a mile and a half to get to the top of the mountain. Even with the trail, it is a tough trek. As Jesus, Peter, James, and John walked up the mountain that day there was no parking lot and no trail. It was an ideal place to go ...

4302. A Call To Community

Acts 16:6-10

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Years ago, this advertisement appeared in the classifieds of a local newspaper: "Husband says either he or puppies must go. Puppies are playful and cute. Husband is grouchy and unsympathetic. Your choice free." It just may be that our biggest challenge in life is relationships. At home and in the community, we struggle to make positive contributions to our relationship with others. Even within the community of faith, relationships require effort. In today's passage of scripture we see three states in our ...

4303. The Little Boat

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Picture Jesus and the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The day had started off well enough -- crowds clamoring to see Jesus, bringing their illnesses and troubles to him as they always did, seeking his help and healing. Jesus was in control. He helped them all. The disciples observed the power of the Lord as they had so many times before. A good day to be alive! A good day for a sail and a rest! As they moved onto the water, the waves lapped against the small boat. The boat gently rocked back ...

4304. Himself The Real Presence

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

Accustomed as we are to hearing the words, "This is my body" in the consecration of the sacrament and "The body of Christ" as we receive holy communion bread, do we still draw back in surprise at hearing our Lord say "flesh"? Accustomed as we are to hearing the words "The blood of Christ" when we take the chalice, do we still find a murmur rising in our minds as we hear this text: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"? The gospel for today seems very ...

4305. When All Is Said And Done

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

The Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their minds. After warning for decades that the world would end within this present generation, the leaders of the sect announced in December 1995 that they have softened their position. As a spokesman explained, "Jesus said that 'this generation will not pass away' until a number of signs have taken place (Mark 13:30). When we reflected on the scriptures, we decided that he was talking about his generation rather than ours." Ex-Witness James Fenton, professor emeritus ...

4306. Traveling Forgotten Mountains

Isaiah 49:8-26

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Larry Crabb has written a book called Moving Through Your Problems Toward Finding God. In the foreword the author writes, I have come to a place in my life where I need to know God better or I won't make it. Life at times has a way of throwing me into such blinding confusion and severe pain that I lose all hope. Joy is gone. Nothing encourages me ... The rhetoric we're all 4used to -- " just trust the Lord, pray more, get counseling, follow God's plan more carefully" -- must give way to the reality of ...

4307. Meeting Our Needs, Not Our Greeds

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

Steve Burt

Once upon a time there lived a farmer who raised chickens, wonderful, plump, juicy chickens that cooked up beautifully. But one summer a problem arose. It seemed that a fox had found a way to sneak into the pen where the chickens were kept, and it carried off a chicken every night. The farmer tried setting traps, but the fox was too smart to take the bait and get caught in the trap. The farmer tried staying awake and watching over the chicken pen, but he never did spot where it was that fox got in. No ...

4308. Behold The Man Who Trained Disciples

Luke 10:1-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

In March of 1860 an ad appeared in many newspapers of the West. It read, "Wanted. Men, sturdy, young, not under 18, good riders, willing to face death. $25 per week. Orphans preferred." Many young men answered the call, and the Pony Express was born. A new chapter opened up in the history of this country. A new chapter is always written in the life of the church whenever Christian people dare to reach out into some new frontier and carry the good news forward. It was for this reason that Jesus chose ...

4309. The Ugly Duckling

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Sharing Christ With Others This play may be presented as a unit, or divided up into Scene 1 and Scene 2 on consecutive Sundays. Small to moderate space is needed, and the setting may be as elaborate or as simple as one wishes to make it. No special lighting or sound effects are needed. Scene I Setting: Fitness center. Present; after Christmas (any holiday may be used). There is a bench front left, exercise bike sits to right of bench Characters:LINDA: Young Christian woman, pleasant, serious about ...

4310. Sometimes It's Simple

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

Do you ever feel religion is complicated beyond belief? A very pious chap was once explaining to a friend the difference between his denomination and another with which his had been at swordpoints for centuries. "One group believes you are baptized into Christ, and the other believes you are baptized in Christ," he said. "There have been strife, arguments and battles over the issue for as long as anyone can remember. I would bet my soul that my church is correct, and the other one is wrong! It is a matter ...

4311. Proper 13

Colossians 3:1-17, Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Hosea 11:1-11 Yahweh so loves his disobedient people that he cannot give them up to destruction. In one of the most moving passages in the Old Testament (Lesson 1), Israel is pictured as Yahweh's prodigal son. Hosea sees God and the nation as a loving father and his rebellious son. As a loving father Yahweh loves Israel when a child, brought him out of slavery in Egypt, and cared for him in the wilderness. He took his child in his arms, taught him to walk, and nurtured him. In ...

4312. Need Help Removing That Roadblock?

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Steve Burt

A middle-aged man lived in a small town. He was single and had lived there all his life. Employment opportunities were limited, so he plucked chickens, a job he'd always hated. He secretly longed to be an artist, a painter. The man prayed something might change to allow his dream of freedom to become realized -- freedom from poverty and freedom to create. He felt as if invisible chains bound the true person he suspected was inside him. One day a lawyer called from a nearby city and said the man was to ...

4313. How Unexpected Can Christmas Be?

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

The temptation is to dismiss these words from Matthew. After all, how do they pertain to us? Written at a time when the early church had bet its life on Jesus' return, these seem odd words to hear on the first Sunday of Advent. We are busy preparing the creche for a baby, but Matthew appears to be announcing Jesus' second coming. And it isn't just an odd lesson, but a frightening one. In a season when we seek assurance, Matthew's words are enough to scare us half to death. These words compare the coming of ...

4314. Easter 5

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, Acts 7:54--8:1a, Acts 17:1-9, 1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme For The Day: Come into me. In the Lutheran/Episcopal First Lesson, Paul has been secreted out of a couple of Greek towns. He leaves word that Paul and Silas are to come to him as soon as possible, so he can continue the work of building up the Body Of Christ. In the Second Lesson, Peter urges his readers to "Come to Him (Christ), a living stone ..." and become living building blocks in the church. In the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that no one can come to the Father but by him. Theme For Sermon ...

4315. Proper 27

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Hosea 11:1-11, Joshua 24:1-27, Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Living in readiness and anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Joshua is now an old man and so he gathers the tribes of Israel together at Shechem to renew the covenant. In the first part of the passage, Joshua recounts the origin of the covenant which the Lord initiated with Abraham. The second portion of the passage calls for a response from the people. Idolatry is still a problem because he calls on the people to cast off the foreign gods and ...

4316. Christmas 2

Mt 2:13-23 · Jn 1:1-18 · Eph 1:3-14 · Jer 31:7-14 · Is 61:10--62:3 · Ps 147

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14 God proclaims through his prophet a message of hope, comfort, and national revival. The time of the Babylonian captivity would come to an end and the people would come back to Zion rejoicing. God lavishes comfort on this people, whom he allowed to be punished. Old Testament: Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3 The prophet exalts in the restoration of the nation and the cult, which becomes also his personal salvation. The joy he feels is like that of the bride and the groom, as ...

4317. When All Is Said And Done

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

4318. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

A photocopied sign was posted inside a church office. It was one of those humorous full-page slogans that people in different offices duplicate and pass among themselves. Most of us have seen this particular message, I suppose, but posted in a church office, the words took on a new meaning. There it was, taped to the cinder blocks behind a secretary's desk. The sign read, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." At one level, why not put a sign like that in a church? Many churches are busy ...

4319. Proper 22

Hebrews 1:1-14, Hebrews 2:5-18, Job 2:1-10, Mark 10:13-16, Mark 10:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Remaining true to our covenants of faith. In the First Lesson, Job remained true to God in his trials. In the Second Lesson, the writer of Hebrews calls the Jewish Christians to keep from falling away from Christ. In the Gospel, Christ calls us to keep our marriage covenant. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Job 1:1; 2:1-10 (C) This lection comprises the first of four readings from the book of Job, one of the books of biblical wisdom literature. This reading is part of the introduction (1:1--2:13), which sets ...

4320. The Righteousness Of God

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

"Hardships ... beatings ... imprisonment ... sleepless nights ... hunger ... in dishonor ... in ill repute ... unknown ... sorrowful ... poor." It sounds like a street person being described. Wrong! These are word snapshots of the life of the apostle Paul that picture what a follower of Christ must be ready to bear. Paul was a "street person" of sorts, pounding the pavement in the first century from Jerusalem to Damascus to Rome. His task was not survival, but salvation. Paul preached the salvation from ...

4321. Uncle Hilbert

1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Psalm 19:1-14

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

Uncle Hilbert used to stand at the front door of the church every Sunday morning and greet everyone as they came into worship. He always had a big smile on his face as he called all of us by name, and he had a special handshake for us kids. It was a rare day when he wasn't there, and when he was absent church wasn't the same. You had the feeling that something essential was missing. I don't know why we called him uncle. He was nobody's uncle as far as I know. He had a couple of married sisters who lived in ...

4322. Liquid Hope

John 7:25-44

Sermon

James Weekley

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.' " Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive. John 7:37-39a (RSV) Our bodies contain the following percentages of water: muscles, 75%; blood, 92% ; bones, 22%; the enamel on our teeth, 2%. That liquid with two parts hydrogen and one part ...

4323. The Public Effect Of Private Living

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

It happens so often that it seems almost routine to our modern world. We read or listen to certain stories with interest and then we make little jokes about how the private morality of people becomes public information. A U.S. Congressman is found guilty of having sex with a 16-year-old and the story becomes headline news. Jim Wright becomes the first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives ever to resign his office over ethic violations. He was charged with 69 violations of House rules. The public ...

4324. The Interview

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

The young woman squirmed uncomfortably in the cushioned chair to which she had been directed by the receptionist. Not only was she nervous about the impending job interview, but the shuttle service which had provided transportation from the airport to this office building had been the worst of her life. The others who had been on the van seemed as upset as she was -- and just as captive. Now, because of the traffic, and because that driver had not known which building was hers, she was late for her ...

4325. The Road To Emmaus

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

A man and his little grandson were out walking down the beach one afternoon. They saw a crowd of people gathered around a man who had been overcome by the heat of the sun and had suffered a sunstroke. The grandfather was trying to explain this to the boy. The little fellow looked up at his grand father and said, "Grandpa, I hope you never suffer from a sunset." We have gathered today to celebrate the good news that even though we face many sunsets there is always a sunrise. There is a simple beauty in this ...

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