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 4501 to 4525 of 4943 results

4501. Sinners Anonymous

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and ...

4502. Suffering for Christ

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who ...

4503. Scenes From a Marriage

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Craig Erickson

How incongruous to talk about marriage on this solemn Day of Ashes. Marriage evokes images of life and joy and growth, perhaps even of youthful, starry-eyed wonder. But this is a day about dying. It’s a day of sober realism and human limitations. It’s a day that begins a season of denial, of fasting, and repentance. How incongruous to bring up marriage on this day. But then, every marriage has its moments. There’s not one that doesn’t have its darker side, when the "union made in heaven" is all-too- ...

4504. Victim or Visionary

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

And again another scripture says, "They shall look upon him whom they have pierced." - John 19:37 On the cross, our Lord must have looked at the faces of his executioners and experienced the sharp frustration which comes from being subject to principalities and powers beyond one’s capacity to shape or control. For a time, he must have felt like a helpless victim of cruel, cosmic circumstance. You and I, then, should not have too much trouble empathizing with the crucified Jesus. We, too, are beset by ...

4505. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 2

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

PROVIDING MUSICAL BACKGROUND This program is most effective if all the narrations, dialogues, readings, and drama are given with background music. We used a combination of two types of musical background: (1) various record selections, which we recorded on a high-quality tape, and (2) live organ music. Taped Background In this area of the production, creativity can be unlimited. Simple music from records may be taped, or more complicated music that requires timing of appropriate words. For example, the ...

4506. A Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

George Bass

This week, falling as it does between two minor festivals - the Confession of St. Peter and the Conversion of St. Paul - might best be observed by a pilgrimage to one of the ancient "station" churches common to the liturgical heritage of Rome, the Church of St. Sebastian. It is located south of Rome on the Appian Way, not too far from where the Apostle Paul was supposed to have been beheaded, and it is situated over an ancient catacomb which bears Sebastian’s name. Tradition has it that both Peter and Paul ...

4507. A Person Approved by Christ

John 1:43-51

Sermon

George Bass

Jesus, according to the information that John gives us in the beginning of his Gospel, had a strange system of recruiting his disciples. Two of John’s disciples left the Baptizer when he identified Jesus for them as "the lamb of God" and spent the rest of the day with Jesus. Andrew was one of the two, and he recruited his brother, Simon, whom Jesus immediately labeled "the Rock." The next day Jesus encountered Philip and said to him, "Follow me!" - and he did. Philip went out and found Nathanael, or ...

4508. Do I Dare Be Different?

Matthew 5:10; 10:1-42

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

William Inge was one of England’s most outstanding preachers. At the beginning of this century, because of his insight and forthrightness, he was either greatly admired or bitterly disliked. After the First World War he was speaking at a public gathering, and in his speech, he urged that realism instead of revenge be his country’s guide in its treatment of a defeated Germany. Three days later, Dr. Inge received a letter which rebuked him for what he had said, and then added: "I have been praying for your ...

4509. Christ My Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

If someone were to suggest the term most descriptive of life today, a very possible reply might be that of "darkness." Such a response would fit not only our physical and environmental condition following the initial energy crisis announced in the early 1970s, but also our present economic situation, our international tensions, and our domestic relationships. However, most noticeably it characterizes the current moral and spiritual malaise evidenced across our nation and throughout society. Individuals ...

4510. The New Covenant

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

The meal which we celebrate here tonight has not simply been celebrated annually on this Maundy Thursday for the past twenty or fifty years, like many church customs. In fact, unlike even the more stable of church traditions, it has not simply been observed since the beginning of the Christian Era - but it has been celebrated far back into the distant reaches of history, back even further than Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. In a sense, the celebration of this meal, which is linked to the blood covenants ...

4511. Facing Up to a Power Problem

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Today we have a power problem. Before Pentecost the disciples had a power problem; they were helpless. There’s all the difference in the world when the power is turned on. Jesus said to his ineffective disciples: "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you." Then it happened. The air was charged with change. Against their souls in strain A furious wind was hurled. Down some invisible wire, Exploding into fire, God’s lightning came; And their night Was burned away. (a parody on ...

4512. Amazing Grace

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Before his conversion, Paul had fought passionately to be perfect, according to the Law, but he had found no peace, and now we hear him saying, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). Paul had found his peace as a gift and not as something earned. Many people are confused about "grace and works." Someone came to me recently asking, "Are we saved by grace, by works, or by both? Help me ...

4513. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Death pervaded the whole human race, inasmuch as all men have sinned. But, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12, 15 NEB). Paul puts it more succinctly in 1 Corinthians 15:21: "As by man came death, by man comes also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." William Barclay explains: "Sin had man in its power. There was no hope. Into this situation there came ...

4514. Life - The Womb of the Eternal

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

In Romans 8:22 Paul declares: "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now," waiting for "the manifestation of the sons of God." This life with all of its struggle is the womb of the Eternal, wherein receiving the grace of God, and working with him in human relationships, we develop eternal dimensions and are ready to be received into heaven, or we reject grace and miss heaven. Paul, in Romans 12, puts it another way. "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the ...

4515. THE ART OF EXPRESSING LOVE

Illustration

John H. Krahn

The sharing of human warmth and affection is something which we all desire and need. Loving and being loved is one of the staples of human existence. Although love and physical affection enhance each other, too often the concept of love is too narrowly defined and even misconstrued when one makes physical affection synonymous with love. It simply is not! The art of expressing love is a very broad, inclusive, endeavor. To discover how to be really good at expressing love, we must look to God - the greatest ...

4516. What Are You Going to Do About Death?

Mt 10:28 · Lk 12:4

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Emerson once wrote words that sound almost like an invitation to death: And now my chains are to be broken; I shall mount above these clouds and opaque airs in which I live ... Life will no more be a noise; this day shall be better than my birthday; for then I became an animal; now I am invited into the (experience) of the real. - The Poet Recently a college student wrote me, "I think it is probable that the death of the body implies the total cessation of being." This fear is not only a problem for ...

4517. Magnify Your Ministry!

Romans 11:11-24

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

A very important group in any United Methodist Church is the Committee on Pastor-Parish Relations. The Book of Discipline of our denomination says that one of the primary functions of that body is "to counsel with the minister and staff pertaining to their relationship with the congregation, including priorities to be given in the use of their time and skill in relation to the goals and objectives set for the congregation’s mission and demands upon the ministry." When this sentence was read to the newly- ...

4518. Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise

Romans 11:33-36

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

What happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? How far is up? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Impossible questions. Questions that have no answers. Questions about which philosophers philosophize and theologians theologize and simple folk wonder, all to no avail. Questions that boggle the mind and strain the brain and lead to endless argument. Useless questions - maybe. Why maybe? Why should there be any doubt? Why concern ...

4519. What Form of Church Does God Want for the Furture?

Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

A farmer who had never been to the city was chosen by his grange to represent them at a national convention, and thus he found himself in New York. After checking in at the hotel, he approached an elevator, something he had never seen. He watched as a very large woman walked into the elevator. The door closed, what appeared to be a single hand on a large clock made a revolution, and the door opened again, this time discharging an attractive, curvaceous young lady. The astonished farmer ran to the nearest ...

4520. Forever His

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? I do, and it was a wonderful experience, both exhilarating and painful. I was fourteen years old and a high school freshman when it happened. The young lady’s name was Joyce. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and I was quite certain she was one of God’s own angels. I fell in love with Joyce the first time she let me carry her books home from school. I bought her a Pepsi Cola that day, and when she accepted it, I felt like a knight of the Round ...

4521. One Thing

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

If you could accomplish but one significant deed in your life, what would you want it to be? If you wanted to be remembered for one act of your life more than all others, what would that act be? All want to be remembered, all of us. No one wants to be forgotten. Even our Lord Jesus wanted to be remembered. Surely that was one of the reasons he shared bread and wine with his closest friends on the night of his betrayal, saying, "Do this in remembrance of me." That certainly was a beautiful and memorable ...

4522. Genuine Imitations

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

In the fantastically successful movie, "The Empire Strikes Back," the viewers are invited to continue their involvement in the adventures of the heroes and villains of the first movie, "Star Wars." Once again we find ourselves engaged with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and the robots Artoo Detoo and See Threepio as they battle Darth Vader and the Dark Empire legions. One of the most fascinating new characters of "The Empire Strikes Back" is a strange little fellow named Yoda, who ...

4523. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EPIPHANY

Drama

Tom Eberle

Epiphany In the observance of Epiphany we confront the choice of following the historical pattern set by the church at Rome in making it a missionary festival of the gospel’s being carried to the Gentiles; or observing the Eastern Orthodox practice of celebrating Epiphany as the manifestation of God in Christ to the world. The differing emphases were a result of a complex historical development. The festival of Epiphany predated the observance of Christmas. It was originally not a festival of the birth of ...

4524. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR LENT

Drama

Tom Eberle

Lent In its historical development, Lent was an outgrowth of the fasting prior to the annual observance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. In addition, those who were to be baptized into the Christian faith on Easter Sunday underwent a period of disciplined training before their baptism. With the ascendancy of the Christian Church in major areas of the Roman Empire during the fourth century, a new problem was encountered. Discipline was no longer imposed upon the church from the outside in the ...

4525. Are You Exercising Your Faith?

Mt 4:1-11 · Phil 3:12 · Gen 32:3

Sermon

Robert Noblett

There was once a woman who had faith. When asked the origins of that faith, she supposed they were many. For one thing her mother and father were, in the best sense of the term, religious people. Prayers in their home were regular and natural, and this woman, together with her siblings, were involved as children in this prayer life. What’s more, this woman’s parents were members of a local congregation. In this context, she learned many of the famous stories of the Bible. She also became familiar with a ...

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