Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4801 to 4825 of 4946 results

4801. Everyman And Woman

John 17:6-19, John 17:1-5

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: The church as the body of Christ is "in the world" and needs to relate to spiritual things but keep its feet firmly planted on solid ground. How does it do that? Confession leads to forgiveness. Summary: A rehearsal for the medieval play Everyman erupts into an argument when the actor playing Everyman cannot confess. Playing Time: 7 minutes Place: Your church Props: None Costumes: Mideval Time: The present Cast: Everyman Conscience -- a woman Confession -- a woman (A REHEARSAL FOR EVERYMAN) EVERYMAN ...

4802. Gifts of Lent, Ash Wednesday: A Man Gives His Donkey

Matthew 21:1-11

Drama

Donald Neidigk

Dramatic Monologue Come in! Come in! Do come in! Far be it from me that I should deny a visitor the hospitality of my little home. After all, it isn't really my home. I'm just a tenant. It belongs to the Lord, as does everything else you see around here, although I admit it isn't much. If I have an extra mat for a bed, or loaf of bread, or skin of wine, and you have need of it, consider it a gift from God to you. Now why is it you dropped by? Oh, yes! You want me to tell you about the time I let that ...

4803. Defining The Mission

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

One of the marvelous gifts I have been given is the capacity to tell at a glance what somebody is like. I have no trouble seeing a person for the first time and identifying all her faults. What is more, in a split second I can tell you what she ought to be doing. Like one of Gilbert and Sullivan's characters: Of everybody's weaknesses I know a thing or two, I can tell a woman's age in half a minute; and I do! But you know, sometimes I'm wrong! Two businessmen were traveling by train to an important ...

4804. Just In Time

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

A plane flies through the night. A winter storm howls as the pilot radios for meteorological information, trying to steer clear of the worst of it. All has gone well apart from the weather. The news that a heart was coming had reached the airport in plenty of time for the pilot to ready her plane for take off. By the time the ambulance arrived with sheriff escort, the engines were warm and ready to taxi onto the runway. The controller held air traffic as the two-engine craft sped down the runway and lifted ...

4805. Epiphany 3

Lk 4:14-21 · 1 Cor 12:12-31a · Isa 61:1-6 · Neh 8:1-10 · Ps 19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the returned Exiles. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of the return of the Exiles under Governor Nehemiah during the reign of Artaxerxes. Under Nehemiah the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and various reforms were introduced. He is known for his relationship with Yahweh and his frequent prayers. Today's pericope tells us of the gathering of the people for the reading of the Mosaic law by Ezra, the priest and scribe. ...

4806. Lent 2

Philippians 3:12-4:1, Genesis 15:1-18, Luke 13:31-35, Jeremiah 26:1-24

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Yahweh makes a covenant with Abraham who is promised a son and a land. This passage is one of several accounts of Yahweh's covenant with Abraham. It is noteworthy that Yahweh came to Abraham with a covenant proposal. Yahweh comes to Abraham as a shield (v. 1) and thus Abraham has no need to fear being in Yahweh's holy presence. In this account, Yahweh promises Abraham three tremendous blessings: a son, a nation, and a country. The covenant is made legal and ...

4807. Proper 23

Luke 17:11-19, Jeremiah 29:1-23, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon. The first wave of deportees have arrived in Babylon. They are now held as hostages so that the remaining Jews in Jerusalem would obey and pay their taxes to Babylon. False prophets were among the exiles who were admonished to rebel. They predicted a downfall of Babylonia and a return to Jerusalem in the near future. In opposition to this Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles urging them to settle down for a stay ...

4808. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Pentecost is the third great Christian festival. On Christmas we celebrated the birth of Christ, our Savior. On Easter we celebrated his victorious resurrection from death. And today we remember Christ's giving of the Holy Spirit. Our story from the gospel of John takes place on Easter evening, after the disciples had discovered that the tomb was empty and Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus told her to tell the disciples that he was risen, which she did, but they did not understand. So on that ...

4809. The Lamb of God

John 1:29-34

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the ...

4810. Been There, Done That

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

"Been there, done that" is a popular, and often overused, phrase that excuses us from having to endure anything a second time. It doesn't matter if we have skateboarded up Mt. Everest, or walked from New York to London, or stood on our heads and gargled peanut butter, we are entirely too cool to do any of that stuff again. "Been there, done that" asks other people not to bore us by requesting that we repeat past experiences. We are too hip for that. Those experiences generated excitement that pumped ...

4811. Growing No Feathers

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

When Imelda Marcos was criticized for having 3,000 pairs of shoes in her closet, her excuse was: "Everybody kept their shoes there. The maids ... everybody."1 When Zsa Zsa Gabor slapped a Beverly Hills policeman, her excuse was: "I am from Hungary. We are descendants of Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun. We are Hungarian freedom fighters."2 Moses balked when God spoke directly to him, asking him to go liberate a nation of slaves. Moses' excuse was, "I'm not very good with words." None of these excuses worked ...

4812. Proper 12

Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 · Rom 8:26-39 · 1 Ki 3:5-12 · Ps 105

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 29:15-28 Jacob the trickster gets tricked. He is smitten with Rachel and agrees with her father, Laban, to work seven years to obtain her hand in marriage. On the wedding night, he gets an unexpected wedding present, Rachel's sister, Leah. Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Rachel because she is the true treasure of his heart. Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:5-12 God appears to Solomon in a dream, telling him to ask for his heart's desire. Solomon recounts a litany of ...

4813. Proper 5

Genesis 12:1-8, Hosea 5:1-15, Hosea 6:1-6, Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26, Romans 4:1-25

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The call. The book of Hosea is one long plea for the people to turn their hearts to God. The Genesis 12 text and the Second Lesson present the call of Abraham. The Gospel lifts up the call of Matthew, a tax collector regarded as a notorious sinner. When criticized for dining with sinners, Jesus responds: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1-9 (C) God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and go to the country that God had promised him. God pledged Abraham ...

4814. Any FAX, Or E-Mail From God Today?

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Harold Warlick

You and I live in a world of communication. Analysts tell us that most of us will spend two years of our lives on the telephone. Most likely they will not be the best two years. Future generations could spend more than five years of their lives "talking" with people around the globe as they come home from work or school, download their computers, and get out on the information highway. Calling a college student has changed dramatically in the past decade. Over two-thirds of American college students now ...

4815. Hard Steps

John 6:60

Children's Sermon

Object: A blackboard with a complicated math problem on it. Lesson: This teaching is difficult; who can accept it? Good morning, boys and girls. It's almost time for school to begin again. How many of you will be glad to get back to school? (Wait for show of hands.) Some of you will be glad and some of you won't. Some of you go to school all day and some only a half day and some of you go to preschool. Some of you don't go to school at all yet. Since it's almost time for school, I brought my blackboard ...

4816. Celebrating Eucharistic Time

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

Time is an asset and a liability. Call your attorney, physician, or clergy, and the first thing they do is block out a space on their calendar for you. Go to church or a meeting and you see people looking at their watches or waiting for the hourly chime. You take time off to be with the family or to golf and, before you know it, it’s time to do the next thing. Time keeps rolling like the waters in a stream. Time is an asset and a liability. We have the choice of taking it for granted letting it pass ...

4817. Renewal of the New

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

“What’s new?” is the question we often ask of a person whom we haven’t seen for some time. We seem to have an obsession with the new. We’ll try anything new. We want to be the first to wear new fashions. To sell their wares, merchants advertize the new: a new book, a new look, a new model, a new taste. If it is “new,” we reason, it must also be “improved.” The preacher of Ecclesiastes does not agree. He wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” There is an old saying, “The more things change, the more ...

4818. Where The Lord Dwells

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Charles Curley

Life had settled down for David. The battles, the struggles, the rushing from one end of his land to another, trouble wherever he looked, these were all behind him, at least for the present. For, "the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him." (2 Samuel 7:1) In his unaccustomed leisure, David had time to build himself a house. A grand house. A house made of cedar. A house fit for a king. Then David, still having time on his hands, hada brilliant idea: he would build a house for God. "See now ...

4819. Proper 8

Mark 5:21-43

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

WHAT'S HAPPENING? By interjecting the story of the woman who suffered from hemorrhages into the middle of the story of Jairus' sick daughter, the writers suggest these two miracles are designed to be studied together. First Point Of Action As a crowd gathers around Jesus, who had just crossed the water, Jairus, a synagogue official, comes to Jesus and begs him to save his sick daughter. Jesus goes with him, the crowd following and pressing in on him as he goes. Second Point Of Action In the middle of this ...

4820. Trinity Sunday

Jn 3:1-17 · Mt 28:16-21 · Rom 8:12-17 · Isa 6:1-8 · Ps 29

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Isaiah 6:1-8 · Romans 8:12-17 · John 3:1-17 Roman Catholic: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 · Romans 8:14-17 · Matthew 28:16-21 Episcopal: Exodus 3:1-6 · Romans 8:12-17 · John 3:1-16 COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8 The story of Isaiah's call by God in the temple, 742 B.C., probably while he was officiating at worship. As Isaiah is viewing the Ark of the Covenant, enshrined in the Most Holy Place, he sees the Lord in all of his majestic glory on his throne, attended by the ...

4821. Two Are Better Than One

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

Sermon

Sandra Herrmann

Well, here we are -- despite whatever trepidation you may have felt over the last few weeks or days, the time has finally arrived for you two to stand up before your family and friends and to announce your vows for everyone to hear. This is no small thing. In a world of change and uncertainty, when people move and change every aspect of their lives not once but three or four times in their lives, where the bonds of matrimony are easily severed when things go wrong, and every other marriage ends in divorce ...

4822. Compassion

Luke 7:13

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A nurse's cap. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been hurt so badly that you had to go to the hospital to be cared for by the doctors and nurses? (Let them answer.) Some of you have been there. Do you remember how afraid you were? (Let them answer.) First of all, you hurt pretty badly, and second you were not sure what was going to happen to you. That would make anyone afraid. Do you remember how nice the nurses were to you that day and every day that you were in the hospital ...

4823. Two Shoes

Romans 8:18

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: An old scuffed-up work shoe and a brand new shiny dress shoe. Good morning, boys and girls. Today is a big day for all of us. How many of you celebrated the 4th of July? (Let them answer.) Did you go on a picnic or do anything that was extra special on the 4th? (Let them answer.) I just love the summer when you can have those special days and enjoy them outside in the sunshine with your friends and family. Life is really good on days like the 4th of July. The 4th of July is a special day. There are ...

4824. Turning the Corner on the Very End

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James Weekley

The greatest of all human mysteries is death. Its sphinx-like profile casts a mysterious shadow upon the light of our progress. It becomes a riddle even to us today because, we, too, are unable to comprehend it. There is very little we can document about death. We do know that death is the unwelcome stranger who comes without invitation. This dark angel is no respector of age and social status. The rich and young die alike. Alexander and Jesus died at age thirty-three; Keats succumbed at twenty-six; ...

4825. Redemption Near And Dear

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Erskine White

Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28) A few years ago, a rather well-known preacher wrote a book called Shaping a Successful Life, and as is customary in the book business, his publisher arranged a series of interviews on radio and television as a way of promoting sales of the book. Now, amid everything he had written on being successful, he also included one chapter on coping with troubles and tragedies in life, and to this man’s surprise, everyone who ...

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