Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4526 to 4550 of 4934 results

4526. Reaching Our Full Potential

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man was seen pedaling around a college campus with a T-shirt reading "I'm going to be a doctor." A sign on the back of his bicycle proclaimed: "I'm going to be a Mercedes." Roy L. Smith once told the odd case of an Australian youth who suffered a concussion while serving with the armed forces in Korea. At the time of his injury the young man was 5 feet 4 ½ inches tall. The blow started strange reactions within this soldier's body so that he began to grow. Today he stands 6 feet 3 ½ inches high! " ...

4527. "yes, And..."

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

King Duncan

Before television, there was vaudeville. Vaudeville was where many of our best old-time comics learned their trade. Entertainers in vaudeville had to face some pretty tough audiences. So, many of them ended their acts with show-stopping moves to ensure applause at the end. One performer named Eddie Leonard announced at every performance that this was his last show. He guessed (correctly) that very few people would be heartless enough to boo a man who was performing his last show. So, for 20 years, the ...

4528. The Forward Look

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

King Duncan

One secret to being successful in the world is to learn how to motivate yourself as well as others. A tough old cowboy counseled his grandson that if he wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a little gunpowder on his oatmeal every morning. The grandson did this and lived to be 93. When he died, he left 14 children, 28 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and a 15-foot hole in the ceiling of the funeral home. (1) So, I'm not going to suggest that you sprinkle a little gunpowder on your ...

4529. More Than "Turkey Day" (New) Thanksgiving

2 Chronicles 9:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Although many countries and cultures have some type of ceremony for celebrating their blessings, no one celebrates Thanksgiving quite the way we do in the U.S. And for good reason. Few people on earth have as much for which to be thankful. Nightline host Ted Koppel emigrated to the U.S. from England in his early teen years. The Koppels were originally from Germany, but moved to England at the start of World War II. They had lived through food rationing, and had known the scarcity and desperation that ...

4530. The Hillside and the Basket

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

There is a certain rock known as a geode. From the outside it is but a dull-looking stone. Yet crack it open and one discovers a breathtaking array of crystals in a hollow core. I feel like I'm holding an uncracked geode in my hands when I look at a Bible text. I know there is a powerful blessing in the passage. It must simply be opened to the light by preaching. So to the text, the story of the feeding of the multitudes, we now turn. There Was a Need! Our text begins with a human need. Jesus had been ...

4531. At Home In The Daylight

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Mrs. Adams was preparing an early supper for her 12-year-old son so he could get to football practice on time. Everything was ready when she discovered she was almost out of ketchup. She was thumping away at the end of the nearly empty bottle when the phone rang. You know how you do that -- when the ketchup is scarce and it's hard to get out, you turn the bottle upside down and you thump on the bottom of it. Well she was doing this when the phone rang. "Would you get that?", she called to her son. ...

4532. Ascension of Our Lord

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

As we all know, the book of the Acts of the Apostles forms the second volume, as it were, of Luke's writing. In the Gospel, he has told the account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection. Now he begins the account of the growth of the early church by the power of the Holy Spirit. To begin his second volume, however, Luke repeats some of the things he has said at the end of the Gospel story. Once again, the command to the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they receive God's promised "power from ...

4533. Get Up and Go

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Matthew borrowed heavily from the Old Testament, especially from the prophet, Isaiah. That may come as a word of comfort to writers, and especially to preachers, who borrow heavily from other sources and hope nobody finds out about it. You can get in trouble doing that. In some places it is called "plagiarism." It is at the least embarrassing, and perhaps even expensive, if the material you borrowed has been copyrighted. But in Matthew's case, borrowing is not felonious, it is felicitous. Matthew, along ...

4534. Always?

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Rick Brand

Now there is a greeting that will knock you back a moment. "We always give thanks to God for all of you." Other translations put it: "We give thanks to God always for all of you." And maybe Paul was pouring it on a little thick, but it is a greeting that will put one on the defensive, because if we are honest, we cannot reply that we have always been praying for Paul. If we are honest, we cannot say that we are always faithful in our prayers at all. Paul tells the church at Thessalonica that he is always ...

4535. Like None Other

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The epistle lesson read to us this morning is evidence of the importance of baptism in the early Church. It was Jesus' command to his disciples, "Go into all of the world, and baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The lesson read to you reveals that that is what they did, right from the beginning. What we heard this morning is the record of the first class of baptizands. They were there in Jerusalem, at the Jewish feast of the Pentecost, when the Spirit came upon the ...

4536. Speaking the S-word

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This week's texts give you the opportunity to address aloud the S-word - Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, Evil. The church's reluctance to even admit the existence of genuine evil has usually played right into the hands of this demonic side of existence, leaving people frightened and confused when confronted by these forces in themselves and others. "Equipping the saints" for good and evil encounters, the stuff of daily life, is the focus of this week's material. "Saint Anthony wrestled with him, Luther taunted ...

4537. How Do You Sell A Vacuum Cleaner?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is only one way to sell a vacuum cleaner turn it on and use it. There is only one way to evangelize turn on your faith and use it! Jesus used a variety of methods sometimes strange, sometimes plain, sometimes controversial to bring wholeness and wellness into people's lives. Jesus tailored his healing techniques to the needs of the person or community, but there was one unchangeable and unshakable foundation around which everything else revolved: He was what he said he was. He turned on his life to ...

4538. Proper 28

Psalm 98:1-9, Isaiah 12:1-6, Isaiah 65:17-25, Luke 21:5-19, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Isaiah 12 or Psalm 98 First Lesson—The prophet foresees the new heavens and the new earth as a place of joy and peace. Isaiah 65:17-25 Second Lesson—The apostle Paul gives the Thessalonians a strong recommendation that they be steadfast in their daily work as they anticipate the unknown day of the return of Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Gospel—Jesus encourages endurance under persecution that will surely come. Luke 21:5-19 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with ...

4539. Can't We All Just Get Along?

Mark 9:38-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Gordon Melton scours the country trying to count the number of major denominations in the United States. It has been estimated that there are more than 33,000 denominations of Christianity in the entire world. There are not nearly that many in the U.S., but some of the groups that Melton discovered are kind of interesting. For example, he discovered one group called, “The Church of the Kennedy Worshippers.” That’s a church which actually believes that it can pray to the late President John F. Kennedy, and ...

4540. You Fool!

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The incident stirring up this text is the request of someone in the crowd who asked Jesus to judge between on older brother and himself regarding an inheritance. The real problem isn't the request which Jesus refused, but the greed lying beneath the surface of the request which Jesus addressed with a parable about a rich fool who went to hell. In Jesus' day, the oldest brother got the inheritance when his father died. He was then expected to take care of the rest of the family. This procedure protected the ...

4541. Gideon: One Giant Leap

Judges 6:11-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I love to fly but I wonder, how many of you get nervous when flying? If you do you'd probably agree with George S. Kaufman who once said, "I like terra firma - the more firma, the less terra." One of the premier science-fiction writers Ray Bradbury of Los Angeles won a top award in 1968 from the Aviation-Space Writers Association for a Life magazine article he wrote in praise of space exploration. But Bradbury didn't attend the association's awards meeting in Florida. You know why? He won't fly. (1) I ...

4542. Stepping Into the Stream

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When it comes to water, I am fundamentally afraid. It’s my mother’s fault. She was so concerned that one of her children might wade into a pond or fall into a creek that she put the fear of water into our psyche. So I was an adult before I learned to swim. When the water is deep and the waves are fierce, I can still find myself getting anxious. Perhaps that is why I have never preached a sermon on this text about Peter walking on the water. It’s just too personally intimidating. But, here it is, in three ...

4543. How's Your Serve?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

My wife, Mary called Thursday morning and told me about two drivers she encountered on her way to work. One was coming onto the interstate, the other was trying to exit the interstate at the I35, I20 split. They both had on their blinkers signaling to the other their intent. The each wanted the other one to get out of their way. But rather than slowing down and letting the other guy pass, they both tried to race ahead of each other. Of course, by the time they both realized, that they couldn't get ahead of ...

4544. The God Who Is Always There

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

The always-there God? Do you wonder which God that might be? It could not possibly be the God of heaven ... our God, could it? Our God is on vacation ... someplace. So it seems ... sometimes. Where is God when life starts to crumble and the burdens begin to crush? Could Queen Esther have ever felt that way? She would have had every reason. Perhaps that is why, in the entire Old Testament book that bears her name, the name of God never appears ... not even once. The scene is ancient Persia during the reign ...

4545. What a Way to Start a Church!

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development. Where is the planning committee, the fund-raising, the arm twisting, the real estate deal acquiring the land, the faithful few who volunteer from other churches to give the whole thing its initial push? Not everyone has the personality to start a church from scratch, but Paul did. "I planted, Apollos watered," says Paul (1 Corinthians 3:6). Some preachers are just good at planting churches and getting them ...

4546. The Fig Tree

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An intriguing text. First, the reflection on an apparent atrocity perpetrated by the Roman governor — folks beaten and killed in the midst of their religious observance. Apparently, Pilate was flexing Roman muscle to make sure no Jewish Zealots would consider fomenting an insurrection. Too bad. But those Galileans should have kept to their own territory rather than coming down to Jerusalem to further their political schemes. As painful as it might be to admit, perhaps Pilate had to do what Pilate had to do ...

4547. Come Home

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“America’s Got Talent” is one of a dozen or more copy-cat “spin-offs” from the grand-daddy original “discover-unknown-talent” show “American Idol,” a franchise we copied from Great Britain’s “Pop Idol” franchise. This genre of television that includes “The Voice,” “X-Factor” and “America’s Got Talent” focus on finding that rare pearl of stardom embedded amidst the grit and gravel of everyday gifts. Ferreting out someone’s ability to excel at something, identifying an individual’s unique “talent,” has its ...

4548. Triumph of the Jews

Esther 9:1-19

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

The Victory of the Jews: The ninth chapter of Esther recounts the events that ensured Jewish victory. It begins with an emphasis on a particular day: On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar—a date that chillingly recalls the events in chapter 3 that led to this crisis. This chapter is about this day (and the next), about the victory the Jews achieved over those who hated them, and about the rest that followed. These events provide the etiology of the Jewish festival of Purim. Much of ...

4549. Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The temple discourse is over, but Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem continues with no discernible break in the narrative. Having escaped death by stoning, Jesus “slipped away from the temple grounds” (8:59), and, as he went along (apparently just outside the sacred precincts), he noticed a man blind from birth (v. 1). Despite the smooth transition, it is clear that a new chapter, indeed a new division in the structure of the Gospel, is under way. Jesus’ disciples, out of the picture since the end of chapter 6, ...

4550. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Binding of Isaac: In an episode repulsive to a contemporary audience, God commands Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a whole burnt offering. How could the God who created life and blessed humans with fertility require his faithful servant to offer up his only, beloved, son as a sacrifice? How could God ask Abraham to give up the son of promise for whom he had waited so long? On the other hand, how could Abraham obey God’s command without energetically entreating for Isaac’s life as he had done for ...

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