Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4576 to 4600 of 4937 results

4576. The Epiphany of Our Lord

Mt 2:1-12 · Isa 60:1-6 · Eph 3:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

Prayer of the Day: "Lord God, on this day you revealed your Son to the nations by the leading of a star. Lead us now by faith to know your presence in our lives and bring us at last to the full vision of your glory." Theme of the Day: Christ is for All People Gospel - The Gentile world worships the Christ. Lesson 1 - Nations come to the light of God's servant. Lesson 2 - Gentiles are included in God's plan of salvation. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 1. The sermon might focus on the Wise ...

4577. The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Lk 9:28-36 · 2 Cor 3:12--4:6 · Ex 34:29-35 · Deut 34:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Exodus 34:29-35 After forty days on the mountain with Yahweh, Moses' face shone. In this passage Moses makes his final descent from Mount Sinai where in communing with God he receives the Decalogue on two tables of stone. When Moses came back to his people, his face was still reflecting the glory of Yahweh to such an extent that Aaron and others were afraid of him. Moses had to urge the people to come near him. To reduce the brilliance, he put on a veil which he removed when he went to his tent ...

4578. Vines and Branches

John 15:5

Children's Sermon

Object: A piece of vine for each child. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to learn about another way that we belong to Jesus, and the way that Jesus cares for us. I know that all of you believe that Jesus cares for you, but I want to show you something that will help us to understand how he does it. How many of you have ever seen a vine like this? (Show them a vine.) I know that all of you have seen them at one time or another, but have you ever noticed how there is one main branch with a ...

4579. Pentecost 7

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 20:1-21, Psalm 19:1-14, Psalm 103:1-22, Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE September 29th marks the celebration of another minor festival, St. Michael and All Angels. The last line of the second reading, Revelation 12: 12, supports the eschatological perspective of Pentecost, because it announces that he (Satan) "knows that his time is short." Without the theological input of the readings for St. Michael and All Angels Day to supplement the readings of the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, the eschatological framework of the church year would be almost ...

4580. Born One Of Us

Drama

Production Notes This play, Born, One Of Us, is designed to be used in the church service at any time during the Christmas season; perhaps it is particularly appropriate for Christmas Eve. The play is preceded by three persons reading paraphrased portions of scripture (chapters and verses indicated) concerning Bethlehem. These readings should be read dramatically. The readers may sit in side or front pews. A music stand may be placed beside each one to be carried on and off for the readings. A litany, for ...

4581. "The Return"

Drama

A Worship Drama Characters In order of appearance The Woman The Man Average Man Bible Lady Liberal Lady Child Beggar Scientist Woman of Means First Teenager Second Teenager Politician Properties At one point during the drama, all characters except the Woman and the Man will pick up large stones to hurl at the Woman. These are prominently marked with labels such as: Ingratitude, Expediency, Envy, Pride, Scorn, Apathy, Gluttony. The Return (Scene: on a park bench is seated a good-looking, modest but sexily ...

4582. Leadership: the Moses Model

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

Christian unity cries out for leadership! Regardless of our affiliation, even if we place ourselves in the broad families of Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, leadership is a must to fulfill Christ’s call to be One. It can be many things and, in fact, be different for different situations. However, there are certain elements which seem to be present nearly all of the time. Interestingly, we look into the rich Judeo/Christian tradition and discover the needed blueprint. We look to the Old Testament ...

4583. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Brett Blair

We owe Luke a great debt. For in his Gospel alone is told a dramatic story that capsulizes for us what the mission of Jesus was all about, and in turn what the mission of the church is all about. The event happened while Jesus was passing through Jericho, the city of palms. Writes Luke: “And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.” In one sentence we are told the story of a human life. Here’s the background. Nothing in first century Judea was quite so hated and ...

4584. When You Follow A Star and Find A Stable

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Think of the disappointment these men must have experienced who through the night had traveled many miles by camel to discover that the star had come to rest over a stable. They had followed a star and found a stable. Surely they were expecting a palace. Or perhaps a stately mansion. Think how they must have felt. Their vast disappointment as they look down from some nearby Judean hill and came to the realization that their destination was a stable. Following stars and finding stables is a common ...

4585. Anne Sullivan

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

The name of Helen Keller is a familiar name; her story is a familiar story. Helen’s family was living in Tuscumbia, Alabama, when she was born on June 27, 1880. She was born to a distinguished family Swiss ancestry on her father’s side, and cousin to the revered General Robert E. Lee on her mother’s side. The family’s ancestry was enhanced by the birth of a beautiful daughter. At the age of eighteen months tragedy struck the family. Helen was stricken by an intensive fever of indefinite cause. Perhaps it ...

4586. "Two Men in White Suits"

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

This morning’s Gospel lesson is a very difficult one for me. The lesson is a story or a saying concerning the coming of the end - the judgment. Jesus is laying out before his disciples what will happen when he comes for the second time. He tells us the questions that are going to be asked of each of us: "Did you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, did you visit the sick, did you make the stranger welcome?" Basically what he is asking us is, how did we relate with each other? How did we relate with our ...

4587. 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 ...

4588. Holy Tares!

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said, to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us ...

4589. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

I believe we human beings have a perception problem. We often think we have the proper perspective on an issue when in fact we are way off. There's a charming story that Thomas Wheeler, one time CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (a.k.a. MassMutual), tells on himself: He and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. Wheeler got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the ...

4590. Passing the Easter Miracle On

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Donald Macleod

Three short illustrations fit aptly into the pattern of our thinking today: 1. Mark Antony, in his eulogy at the funeral of Julius Caesar, had just whipped up the emotions of the crowd to fever pitch, and as they broke out into a vengeful mob seeking Brutus and the other traitors, Antony stood by and remarked: "There let it work!" 2. A visitor to the City of Rome was being shown the wealth and riches of the Roman Church - its monuments, shrines, gilded altars and diamond studded chalices - and the guide ...

4591. Religion In A Nutshell

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Robert Allen

Mildred was a fine lady. She was 64 years old when the doctors discovered that she had terminal cancer. She was in and out of the hospital several times receiving her treatments, and each time she seemed to be a little weaker than the time before. Mildred was married to one of the roughest roughnecks in Oklahoma. He was a big, burly man, and one look at him told you that in his younger days, he was the kind of fellow who didn’t step aside for any man. However, around Mildred, he had become quiet and almost ...

4592. Augustine, Defender of the Faith

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

There is a way of looking at the personal stories of certain women and men to learn of the richness and the potential of human life lived by the grace of God. We are going to do that over the next weeks in this series of sermons we have chosen to name "Saints Who Shaped the Church." The people we will consider convey something of the breadth of Christian history. They are a rich assortment of young and old, learned and ignorant, people of action and people of thought, whose common denominator is simply ...

4593. The Discipline of Witnessing

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Today we talk about witnessing, or "TELLING OTHERS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST." This is even more difficult for most of us. For, quite frankly, we Presbyterians don’t like to think about witnessing. We leave it to the Mormons, or the Jehovah Witnesses, or some of the fringe groups; we much prefer to do things "decently and in order." Somehow witnessing sounds too fanatic! Someone has characterized us as being parallel to those men who belong to the military reserve. We go to drills once a week but we are not on ...

4594. "Why Belong to Church?"

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Text - John 14:31a ... "I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." Billy Graham, preaching in Australia, told the story of a Baptist who wandered into an Episcopalian church for worship. He was amazed at all the standing up, kneeling, and sitting down that went on during the service. But he was so pleased that the sermon was the same joyful gospel. Through a portion of the service the Baptist shouted out, "Amen Brother!" The usher came down the aisle and tapped ...

4595. BECAUSE HE LOVES ME

Drama

Gary C. Bratz

PRELUDE PROCESSIONAL HYMN: "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" Oh, come, all ye faithful, triumphantly sing; Come, see in the manger our Savior and King! To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord; Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! True Son of the Father, He comes from the skies; To be born of a virgin He doth not despise. To Bethlehem hasten with joyful accord; Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ ...

4596. God Isn’t Dead - Death Is Dead

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

"Do not be amazed ... He has risen, he is not here." So announced the angel to Mary Magdalene and Mary. Because of this, God isn’t dead, death is dead. Jesus Christ conquered it on a morning like today, almost 2,000 years ago. He himself said of this earthshaking event, "Because I live, you shall live also." His joyous and powerful message is the glorious assertion and truth of God’s promise to a troubled world and a sick people. It is God’s personal word of love to you. "Because I live, you shall live ...

4597. Who Needs a Shepherd These Days?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

Who needs a shepherd these days? That’s a good question. In our gospel text, Jesus asserts, "I am the good shepherd." However, in our modern and urbanized times and culture, how many of us have ever had opportunity to see an honest-to-goodness shepherd tending his sheep? Only once in my life have I seen such a sight, and that as a flock of sheep were crossing a highway in Montana. My first reaction was amazement, and then impatience, at what seemed to be a never-ending movement. Thousands upon thousands of ...

4598. The Seekers

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

It was January 6, "Three Kings Day," and our house was buzzing for this was a special day. It was the time when the final characters would be added to our scene of the Nativity. And it was also a time that we would observe by the giving of some very special gifts. Our "Three Kings" had waited patiently in their boxes filled with shredded paper until this important day and then they made their long journey from the closet to the appropriate positions of worship and homage about the figure of the Christ ...

4599. OUR LORD FORSAKEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

As the winds rose and the black sky threatened to unleash its wrath the crowd on the hillside began to melt away, small groups and pairs and an occasional individual hurried toward the dark, brooding buildings of the city. Even the morbid attraction of a crucifixion could not hold the fickle mob against the portent of the fury of a spring storm. At the last there were few to witness the deaths of the crucified or their laborious descent from the crosses. The four soldiers who had made up the crucifixion ...

4600. Do Children Like You?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Let the children come to me." (v. 14) What’s the test for human success? How do you measure good personality? When do we say that a person knows about interpersonal relations? In short, who is the attractive person - the one who draws the best out of people, and therefore draws others to himself? In our day we might look to the psychology books for answers. Maybe we would read the latest issues of Cosmopolitan or Redbook. They always seem to be having articles about personality-development and achieving ...

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