Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4801 to 4825 of 4943 results

4801. REJOICE!

Drama

The End of the Church Year 1: [A prophet, standing on a street corner] Rejoice! Rejoice! [People walk by him, not paying any attention, but he continues to shout] Rejoice! Rejoice! [Finally, a woman walks by and stops. She watches the prophet for a moment, then asks] 2: What did you say? 1: Rejoice! Rejoice! 2: Oh, O.K. What are we rejoicing about? 1: The end of the world is at hand. 2: The end of ...

4802. HEAR OUR PRAYER, O LORD

Drama

... around the person] Hear our prayer, O Lord. Person: Hear our prayer, O Lord. Tape: Hear my prayer, O Lord. My prayer! I’m important, too! Group: Hear our prayer, O Lord. Tape: My prayer! My prayer! My prayer! Group: Hear our prayer - Person: My prayer! [Stops. Afraid, but must continue] Hear my prayer, O Lord! Hear my prayer, all of you. Can’t you listen to me, too - can’t you try? Group: [Pause; look at the person; bow their heads - very quietly] Hear our prayers, O Lord!

4803. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Daniel 2:24-49, Daniel 2:1-23

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ; they were at their wits end." Haven't you been at your wits end occasionally? Can you identify with St. Paul and his associates who were caught in a storm at sea? This is how Luke described it: "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved." Some of us have been in a kind of crisis where hope was hard to find. I'm amazed sometimes by things that some folks think are in the Bible but are not. Somebody will say, "Well, like the ...

4804. In The Lion's Den

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... in Daniel as his best government official. Nevertheless, a king’s decree in writing could not be changed. Verse 16 tells us that the king very reluctantly gave the order to toss Daniel into the lions’ den. He said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you." Verse 18 tells us that the king was so distressed that he could not sleep that night. At the first light of dawn he hurried to the lions’ den. He called out, "O Daniel, has your God been able to save you?" Back came Daniel ...

4805. "Gone Fishing!"

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Mars. Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. It swung past Jupiter in November, 1973, then passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever ...

4806. Do You Believe In Easter?

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... was literally, physically revived! The tomb of Confucius is occupied. The tomb of Buddha is occupied. The tomb of Mohammed is occupied. But the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty! Our scriptural accounts of resurrection show us the four-step process by which the Easter good news continues to spread. I want you to ask yourself, "Where am I in the process? Am I at step one or perhaps step four. Here is step one: SOMEONE TELLS US ABOUT JESUS. I can’t remember how young I was when my mother or grandparents first ...

4807. A Fool’s Tools

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... to corrode and waste away. Other players misused their gifts, keeping them only to themselves or investing most of their time in back-biting envy of some other player’s gifts. So Act II was needed to describe this erosion. Then as neglect and misuse of tools continued, a kind of stifling calm set in - no one could either find his tools or knew how to use them. It was almost as though the tools never really had existed. Now all that was left was the gray, shapeless uniformity of Act III. The tools that ...

4808. I ... Oh ... U

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

... acoustics were good and we could hear their whispers - very different whispers. That whisper up front seemed strong on the pronoun "I". In fact, it’s the only one we could hear him use. "God, ‘I’ thank thee that ‘I’ am not like other men." And he continued on in this vein: " 'I' fast twice a week, ‘I’ give tithes of all that ‘I’ get." The most bothersome part of his whole prayer, though, was his giving thanks that he wasn’t like this tax collector. I kept wishing he hadn’t said that ...

4809. The Wizard of Yoj

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

Edward L. Palmer

... He could go when he pleased and could come when he pleased. He could fly wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted. And even better yet, he could do all these things whenever he wanted. His kingdom was rich and all riches were his. But as this vision continued further, its beauty soon faded, too. Yes, he could have whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He could go when he pleased and could come when he pleased. But he was lonely. No one could trust him, and he could trust no one. Respect was a mask, and ...

4810. Advance into Europe

Acts 15:36-41

Sermon Aid

CSS

... husbands. Lydia then opened her home to the missionaries. They were invited to stay there and also probably to preach and teach there. Christian worship thus moved from the streets and synagogues to the home, not only in Philippi, but as a continuing pattern in communities where Jewish influence was weak and where a house was the most practical meeting place. Though the church at Philippi got off to this modest start, it showed the growing cosmopolitan nature of the fellowship. Most important, the gospel ...

4811. Revival at Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Sermon Aid

CSS

... . In the year A.D. 49, Claudius tried to expel all the Jews from Rome. Jews were not popular among the Romans for various reasons. Jews have been persecuted throughout all of history, so the action of Claudius constituted only a small incident in this continuing saga. The Roman historian Suetonius says that the reason for the expulsion of the Jews was that disorders had been stirred up by "Chrestus." It is quite possible that this is a misspelling of "Christus" and that the disorders at Rome had been caused ...

4812. Faith, Love, and Fakers at Ephesus

Acts 18:18-28

Sermon Aid

CSS

... Jew and Gentile. Although the decision reached by the first council at Jerusalem had presumably healed the breach with a compromise acceptable to all, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." In Jerusalem, the Hebrew faction continued its efforts to discredit the Gentiles, claiming that they were second-class Christians unless they embraced Jewish law and traditions. In some distant places, the two sides seemed either unaware of or unmoved by the council’s edict. The divisive ...

4813. Return to Jerusalem

Acts 20:7-12

Sermon Aid

CSS

... had been brought back to Jerusalem by Jewish pilgrims, accusing Paul of witchcraft, blasphemy, corruption of Jewish traditions and almost everything else. Nobody seemed to question whether such rumors were true. They were spread about and stirred up hatred against Paul. Continuing down the coast, Paul’s party came to Ptolemais and then to Caesarea, from where they were to complete the journey overland. At Caesarea, Paul stayed in the home of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the original elders of ...

4814. I Want a Raise

Illustration

Several months ago, from the pulpit, I announced to the congregation that I wanted a raise. They thought me rather forward and concluded this was no place to speak of salary. Then I continued. I told them I wanted a raise in their devotion to Jesus, a raise in their prayers for others, a raise in their praise to God. Our Lord desires and deserves a raise in our commitment to Him.

4815. Model Employee

Illustration

The boss called the new stenographer into his office. "Miss Allen," he said, "you’re the prettiest lady we ever had working here." A pleased look came over her face. "You dress well," the boss went on, "you have a nice voice, you make a good impression on the public, and your deportment is very fine." "Oh, thank you," she said. "Your compliments are appreciated." "That’s fine," the boss continued. "Enjoy them. For we’re now going to discuss your spelling, your punctuation, and your typing."

4816. A Gift to Admire

Illustration

... a catch to my gift." "What’s that?" "You must give it to the first person who admires it." Under that condition, the man took the cross. The woman later said she had no idea where the cross was but that she knew it had blessed many and that it continues to bless her.

4817. Which Way?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

... choose the latter every time. Simon Peter chose plan B even after Jesus gave him all the clues he needed to reject it. It should not surprise us that humanity, through the centuries since, both in the church and outside it, has chosen as Peter did. But God continues to assail us with the shocking news that, of the two clear options facing us, one way brings life, the other death. The cruciform of Jesus still has power to haunt us, terrify us when we turn our back on it, send tremors through us when we face ...

4818. For Freedom!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

... words, if I were God, I probably would not be fit to live with. Fortunately, God is better than we have a right to hope. He could, in fact, keep tight hooks into us, but he does not. We could have been placed here conditionally, that is, permitted to continue only as long as we use the gifts we’re given to accomplish what God wants accomplished, only as long as we use all things for their intended purpose. Additionally, we could have been placed here on the condition that we will have to repay God for his ...

4819. Let’s Face It

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... a Jewish Christian in Jesus’ time, when weddings were celebrated first at the bride’s parents’ home and then at the groom’s. The whole party would move from one house to the other, very possibly in the middle of the night, and the festivities begun at one location would continue at the other. That is not a bad symbol for what God holds in store for us. We celebrate his presence with us here. But if it has been good to know God in this life, it is to be still better in the life to come. Much as one ...

4820. God's Best Gift In The Worst Times (Sermon Series No. 2)

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... as we enter this Advent season? You do if your marriage is less than solid. You do if your job is at risk. You might if you have medical problems. If you have lost a loved-one in the last year, insecurity could be part of your grief. Or the continuing threat of terror and war. James Moore, pastor at the Houston Texas St Luke’s UMC, tells a story about a young man whose wife had died, leaving him with a small son. Back home from the cemetery, they went to bed early because there was nothing else he could ...

4821. Living in the Past

Matthew 3:1-12

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

... years. It's one thing to be proud of certain things, but it is possible to lean too heavily on a good past and live too scantily in the precious present. That's what John the Baptist was dealing with in this lesson. In scripture's continuing assault on the religious people of the day, John the Baptist was completely unimpressed with the very thing that the Jewish people had built their lives upon. They were the "children of Abraham." That was their birthright and, they felt, it would never be taken from ...

4822. Authentic Christianity

Matthew 3:1-12

Illustration

... hay crop or this cotton crop, not about literature." You see Faulkner was already friends with real people, unpretentious people. He was friends with people who were honest about their lives and about living. He chose, even after his success, to continue to surround himself with those who populated his stories and actually lived his intensely human fiction, rather than those who simply talked about the South, or wrote about the South. Authenticity!! It is the ingredient that will make your Christian life ...

4823. Returning: Real or Ruse?

Hosea 5:1-15

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... faith. He said: "I hear you got religion?" "Yes, I did," the new convert responded. "So now you are a Christian?" the trouble-maker persisted. "That’s right," the new Christian affirmed. "I suppose you now believe the Bible?" "Yes, sir, I do." The man continued to test the new convert by asking, "That means you believe all that stuff about Jesus walking on water, healing sick people, and what about turning all that water into wine? Can you believe that?" The man said, "Yes, sir, I believe all that. I ...

4824. No Longer Spectators - But Participants!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... to reply, "Yes, sir," pointing to the man on the middle cross, "That’s our Savior." He was so surprised that that the man seemed not to know about him, and with a bit of pity in his voice, the boy eagerly told him the story of Jesus. "So," he continued, "them’s the soldiers," pointing to the Romans who had nailed Christ to the cross. Then, pointing to a woman near the edge of the crowd, he said, "That’s his mother, see. The woman who is crying." He pushed his hands deep into his pockets, as if waiting ...

4825. Are There Two Baptisms?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... baptized in water," immediately I come under a barrage of further questions like, "But have you spoken in tongues?" or "Have you had a ‘special’ experience?" or "Do you have a true baptism and infilling of the Spirit?" Then the questioner will often continue, "You know there are two baptisms, don’t you; Water Baptism and Spirit Baptism?" This is the misinformation of a lot of people who have not had proper instruction in this matter. The Holy Spirit Comes at Your Baptism The text says, "Repent, and ...

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