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Showing 4776 to 4800 of 4935 results

4776. Two Christmas Dinners

Luke 21:3-4

Drama

Matthew Powell

Cast Storyteller 1 Storyteller 2 Snuffy Pete Mr. Cabot Waitress Nurse (Waitress and Nurse could be played by the same actor) (The Storytellers are seated at stage left and stage right. In the center of the stage are two small benches. Mr. Cabot, Waitress, and Nurse sit upstage, facing away from the audience until they "enter." Snuffy Pete is seated on the right bench, with stomach extended, looking stuffed and uncomfortable) Storyteller 1: Snuffy Pete took his seat on the second bench as you enter Union ...

4777. Swept Away!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It's the same year after year. On this most somnolent of American weekends when it takes three days to recover from one day of gluttony, this lazy weekend when some people sleep in for four days in a row - it is this Sunday that the church decides to defy the culture and catapult us into a new year - smacking us first with judgment and then with demand. It is this weekend that the liturgical calendar tells us to "Wake Up!" Life as we know it will eventually end. Get up! The world as we experience it will ...

4778. A Guide to Christmas

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

If you talk about the blind and guides you are talking about seeing-eye dogs. If you discuss Alpine mountains and climbing, you must think of a Swiss guide. If you are ignorant and in college, your guide is a professor. So it is with foreign lands and tour guides, taxes and tax consultants. But what of Christmas? I think many of us feel that Christmas is so easy to find that we don't need a guide. Yet, let me remind you that there were few that found their way to the first nativity. In fact, most missed it ...

4779. The Servant Song

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

As we approach the story of our Lord’s suffering during what we call this Holy Week, and especially as we draw near to the remembrance of his crucifixion on Friday, we search the scriptures for clues to the interpretation of his passion — for guides to understand the deepest meaning of all that Jesus goes through. And surely, few passages in the Old Testament help us more to understand than do the four Servant Songs that are found in what we call the Second Isaiah book. Most scholars now agree that Isaiah ...

4780. Love Is for Nothing

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What does it mean to seek the bread of life only for the loaves and fishes? How often do we find ourselves thinking in terms of what Jesus can do for us instead of reflecting on what Jesus has already done for us? What are the implications of this kind of attitude for a church which is called to be a servant? Thomas Alva Edison, possibly the greatest inventor in history, lived in a large house with a huge fence around it. Visitors had to push open a heavy iron gate in order to enter the compound and then ...

4781. Life Is a Test

Mark 1:9-13

Illustration

Richard Carlson

One of my favorite posters says, "Life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been a real life you would have been instructed where to go and what to do." Whenever I think of this humorous bit of wisdom, it reminds me to not take my life so seriously. As an experiment, see if you can apply this idea to something you are forced to deal with. Perhaps you have a difficult teenager or a demanding boss. See if you can redefine the issue you face from being a "problem" to being a test. Rather than struggling ...

4782. Proper 10

2 Samuel 6:1-23, Ephesians 1:1-14, Mark 6:14-29

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 David is situated in Jerusalem with his government and he defeated the Philistines. It is time for David to make his capital also the religious center of the nation. With his people he arranges to bring the ark of the covenant which is 10 miles away in Kirjath-jearim. On the way the oxen stumble. To prevent the ark from falling from the new cart, Uzzah steadies the ark and is killed by God. David becomes angry with Yahweh for killing Uzzah, and in fear of ...

4783. Proper 13

2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a, John 6:25-59, Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a The deed was done. Uriah was killed in battle and Bathsheba with David's unborn child moves into David's palace. So what? It appeared to be a perfect crime. No one asked questions and no one protested. The catch was, "The thing that David had done displeased the Lord." (2 Samuel 11:27) Now God steps into the story by sending Nathan by use of a story to bring David to a realization of his sin: "You are the man." David confesses and hears the penalty: death of ...

4784. Proper 21

James 5:13-20, Esther 7:1-10, Esther 9:18-32, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 It is a wonder that the book of Esther, written about 460 B.C., was included in the Old Testament canon, for there is no mention of God, prayer, or worship. It is the story of how a wave of anti-Semitism was halted by a brave Jewish queen, Esther, and her adopted father, Mordecai. The outcome was the institution of the Feast of Purim. Epistle: James 5:13-20 In the concluding paragraph of the book of James, we deal with sickness, sin and prayer with oil ...

4785. Fruit with Feet

Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

There has rarely been a transformation from sinner to saint as dramatic as that of Paul, former persecutor of Christians, who became the apostle to the Gentiles. However, the story of Cain Lackey from PatrickCounty, Virginia, comes close. Cain Lackey was known as the Meanest Man in PatrickCounty. He was rough and tough. The year was 1892 and PatrickCounty, Virginia, was a place of dirt fields and mud roads. There wasn't always enough food. People died because there were no doctors. Some places were almost ...

4786. Is There Room For A Prophet?

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

After some last-minute Christmas shopping with her grandchildren, Grandma was rushing the kids into the car when four-year-old Jason said, "Grandma, Susie has something in her pocket." He reached in and pulled out a new red barrette. Though she was tired, Grandma knew it was important for Susie to take the barrette back to the store, tell manager what she'd done, apologize and then put the item back where she had found it. So, they did just that. Later, they stopped for a few quick groceries and at the ...

4787. Forty Days and Forever

Exodus 24:12-18

Sermon

Tony Everett

Here's a story that many church members have been telling for a while. Two seminary professors entered a local fast-food restaurant loudly chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Then they were joined by three more. Then five more gathered at their table, all chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Soon, the uproar had disrupted the entire restaurant and the manager came over to ask the professors to keep the noise down. "What's all the chanting about anyway?" asked the manager. "You are disturbing everybody ...

4788. The Armor of Light

Romans 13:8-14

Drama

Larry Lange

Characters Harry Christian Margaret Christian (Harry's wife) Fed-Up Express Man Accompanist (nonspeaking) Props Stuffed chair Newspaper Table Lamp Bible Dressing mirror Large box (containing the following items) Silver shirt Silver gloves Silver sunglasses Silver light saber Silver-wrapped instruction book Small box (containing the following item) Huge, foil-covered binoculars (Harry Christian is pacing. Margaret Christian is seated on the pulpit side of the sanctuary in a stuffed chair reading the ...

4789. It’s Anybody’s Guess

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

Several years ago, it was the week before Father's Day and the children and I were looking for a gift for their dad. As we strolled through the men's section of a department store our eyes spotted the perfect gift at the same moment. It was a bright, splashy Hawaiian style shirt with matching shorts. We giggled as we purchased it because Dan is a pretty conservative dresser. As I was handing the money to the woman at the cash register, I asked our oldest daughter, "But, do you think he will actually wear ...

4790. What Are You Proud Of?

Illustration

Dr. Dale E. Turner

John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, said it's a rare and high privilege to help people understand the difference they can make not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of others, simply by giving of themselves. Gardner tells of a cheerful old man who asked the same question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with: "What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?" He never asked conventional questions such as "What do you do for a living?" ...

4791. You Are Here

John 18:1—19:42

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

It is a sad commentary on the state of our world that we are far too familiar with those who have shed their blood ... for noble and ignoble causes. The media has been reminding us of the bloody sacrifice that thousands of our soldiers have made in the war in Iraq. Our country is still bitterly divided over whether that sacrifice has been worth it or not. The last two summers I have had the privilege of visiting two of our national cemeteries: Jefferson Barracks on the shore of the Mississippi south of St ...

4792. The Call of God

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

If you were to ask a group of people to take pencil and paper and sketch a portrait of an Old Testament prophet, many of them would come up with remarkably similar visions: an old gentleman of fierce demeanor with a long, unkempt, grey beard, dressed in flowing robes of coarse material, and perhaps with a gnarled wooden staff in his hand. It would probably look like Charlton Heston playing Moses in The Ten Commandments. That would not be a bad picture. It would be fairly representative, but only "fairly" ...

4793. Epiphany 6

Psalm 1:1-6, Jeremiah 17:5-10, Luke 6:17-26, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: Good morning! I’m glad we’re together again! The busy-ness of Christmas and New Year are behind us. But I see Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday right around the corner. People: All the holidays remind us that life is good. Leader: That’s true — for all the rituals that hold time and the challenges of living. People: We are grounded in faith, in the teachings of Jesus, and we are happy people. Leader: Or as the psalmist said, “We are happy because we are planted by streams of living ...

4794. A Bloody Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

4795. An Uncomplicated Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Dear John, I have decided that I can no longer see you. Our relationship has ended, and I wish you well in your future. Good-bye, Jane Whether you've ever written or received a "Dear John" or "Dear Jane" letter, the basic outline and intent is clear. It begins with a basic greeting — not "Dear Johnny" or "Sweetheart" or some other form of endearment, but simply "Dear John." There is a very brief and to-the-point body of the letter that makes it clear the relationship is over. Then the letter writer signs ...

4796. Hey, What’s that Sound?

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Tony Everett

Here’s a familiar story. Two large oak trees had fallen across Bob’s front lawn during a huge thunderstorm the previous evening. Deciding to cut them up for firewood, Bob went to the local hardware store to purchase a chain saw. “I need the best chain saw you have,” Bob told the store manager. “Yes sir,” said the manager. “This one here will cut up to ten cords of wood in an eight-hour work day.” “I’ll take it,” Bob replied, “I need to get those trees off my lawn and turn them into fireplace fuel for next ...

4797. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A father tells of taking his four-year-old son, Josh, out to McDonald’s for dinner one evening for a “guys’ night out.” As they were eating their hamburgers, Josh asked, “Daddy, what are these little things on the hamburger buns?” Dad explained that they were tiny seeds and that they were OK to eat. Josh was quiet for a couple of minutes and his Dad could tell Josh was in deep thought. Finally, Josh looked up and said, “Dad, if we go home and plant these seeds in our backyard, we will have enough ...

4798. The Israelites Oppressed

Exodus 1:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

The beginning of Exodus is closely linked with the ending of Genesis. In Joseph’s dying words he beseeched his brothers to believe that God would one day bring them out of Egypt: “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Gen. 50:24) The first chapter of Exodus sets the context and quickly establishes the crisis of the narrative: Jacob’s descendants prospered and multiplied in Egypt, which created ...

4799. The Passover

Exodus 12:1-30

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

Exodus 12 and 13 stand together as a single literary unit, describing the Passover (pesakh; lit., pass over). If we read this lengthy portion (12:1–13:16) in a simple linear fashion, it may seem oddly organized and redundant. The most we could say is that the length itself was part of what served to establish the exodus event and its perpetual observance in Israel’s memory and liturgical practice. It was indeed a primary formational event. We can understand the themes of this vital material even better, ...

4800. Haman's Plot to Destroy the Jews

Esther 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Haman’s Promotion and Plot against the Jews: Esther 1–2 describes the splendors of the Persian court as well as its dangers. One queen was banished and her replacement installed. An assassination attempt by two officials was uncovered and executions followed. Chapter 3 begins with echoes of these earlier chapters. Like the king, Haman is a person with great honor (and wealth, 5:11). He also has a very sensitive ego. Mordecai, like Vashti, refuses to comply with a simple command to perform a gesture of ...

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