Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4801 to 4825 of 4915 results

4801. The Presence Of The Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Charles Curley

Occasionally, while flipping through the channels on my television, I pause for a moment at a network sponsored by a consortium of those churches called Pentecostal. They are a loosely related confederation of individual congregations and denominations held together by their belief in the active presence of the Holy Spirit in the church today, just as the active presence of the Holy Spirit was with the disciples of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem for the minor Jewish festival of Pentecost, little more ...

4802. Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Bulletin Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: A call to repentance and renewal. The people are called to return to the Lord with acts of worship, giving and devotion that spring from the heart. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 We know little about the writer of this book and there are no historical markers by which to judge the period in which it was composed. Many scholars believe that Joel lived in the Persian period (559-331 B.C.). We do know that he had a keen interest in the temple and can surmise that he hails from priestly ...

4803. The Gospel Of Our Calling

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

A friend related to me how, when he was a youngster, he spent a lot of time on the other side of the block all wrapped up in touch football and whiffle ball and hide-and-go-seek. But there were other important events going on for which his folks knew he needed to be present, like going to church, mealtime, bedtime. So, they blew a whistle to call him home from the other side of the block. God also calls, not with a whistle, but with his Word. Martin Luther in his Small Catechism explains the Third Article ...

4804. Easter 5

John 13:31-38, Revelation 21:1-27, Revelation 19:1-10, Acts 14:8-20, Leviticus 19:1-37, Acts 14:21-28, Psalm 145:1-21

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fourth Sunday after Easter, in the classic lectionary, carried the title of Cantate Sunday, from the introit, which began "O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things, alleluia (Psalm 98)." In parts of the church, it became known as Church Music Sunday, an occasion for special musical presentations, choir concerts, and the general promotion of the church music. This was not all bad, except that the singing of the "new Easter song" sometimes got lost in the ...

4805. Proper 19

Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7, Psalm 51:1-19, Exodus 32:1-33:6, Hosea 4:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, 1 Timothy 1:12-20

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary cycle followed and the calendar year the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost may be known and celebrated, in much of the Christian church as World-wide Communion Sunday. Most of the denominations of Christendom will be participating in the sacrament of holy communion on that Sunday, regardless of the other occasions on which the sacrament is observed. Actually, every Sunday is a worldwide communion Sunday; every Sunday calls for the celebration of the meal at ...

4806. Fatal Subtraction

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Today I want to revisit a sermon preached some years ago titled "Fatal Subtractibn." Based on the Acts 4 and 5 scriptures of Ananias and Sapphira, it centers on the story of a husband and wife who took away things from their lives and ended up dead. Theirs was a fatal subtraction because they subtracted where they were supposed to add and added where they were supposed to subtract. It is clear they had not mastered the basic principles of Christian arithmetic and died because they held back a vital portion ...

4807. Shake It Off!

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Adrenaline pulsed through our bodies as we nervously took our positions in the field. It was an important playoff game, and everyone was feeling the pressure. The second baseman dropped a routine fly in the bottom of the seventh, allowing three runs to score which tied the game. In the third inning the right fielder had uncharacteristically overrun a pop-up after losing it in the sun, permitting the first run. Now it was the bottom of the eight inning, the score tied, runners on first and third with two ...

4808. A Faith, A Farm And A Family

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John P. Rossing

John Denver wrote a song 20 years ago about wanting to get away from the big city to a place in the country - "somewhere to build me a faith, a farm and a family." The story of Ruth reminds me of that song, because it's about simple people living on the land, and about the strength they draw from faith and family. The story starts by telling us it took place "in the days when the judges ruled." Those were days of dreadful battles between God's people and their enemies, of mighty warriors and great heroes ...

4809. God's Way Of Doing Things

Ruth 3:1-18, 4:13-22

Sermon

John P. Rossing

I know a couple who have on their wall a framed piece of needlework that someone gave them for a wedding gift. It has their names and their wedding date, and it says, "God gave us each other." I think many Christian couples believe that they were brought together by God's providence. People often feel the same way about their vocations, believing they have been led into a particular life's work by God. As a church, we trust that our plans and decisions are guided by God's spirit. But why would we think ...

4810. He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Larry Powell

There is an old "preacher story" about the traveling evangelist who had a flair for the dramatic. His sermons were flamboyant and intensely theatrical. His ability to turn a phrase and masterfully create "word pictures" captivated his listeners almost to the point of hypnosis. He was a strong portion. After accepting an invitation to preach in a little country church, he went out early one afternoon to familiarize himself with the church and its appointments. Among other things, he observed that the ...

4811. A Sword and a Sacrament

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

It is Passion Sunday. It is Palm Sunday. Which is it? According to our church calendar, it is both. At first, it may sound that these two Sundays just do not belong together. Passion Sunday has to do with the cries of the crucified one hanging on a rough and splintery cross. Palm Sunday has to do with joyous "Alleluias" and palm branches raised in a salute to a king and to his victory. Suffering and salutes seem out of harmony with each other. Are we to cry out in terror; or, are we to shout out for joy? ...

4812. Take Up Your Cross

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

It'll make you undefeatable! In Luke 8:4-8, our Lord tells a parable about "the sower and the seed" to illustrate the proclaiming of the Word and human response. It is curious to note the audacious, almost reckless way in which the seed is sown. The sower must have been really throwing wildly, because we are told that some seed fell on the footpath, some on shallow rocky ground, some among thistles, and some in good soil. To many people the sower's haphazard way of sowing would appear wasteful. Couldn't he ...

4813. Lord, I Believe - Or Do I?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

In his ministry of teaching, Jesus was a master at the art of storytelling. Many of his stories, known as parables, have been our favorites through the years since first we heard them. They can be repeated many times, and we will never tire of them - the story of the Good Samaritan, the prodigal, the two men praying in the temple, the sower in the field. And the lessons that the Master taught in parables are pointed, holding up for our inspection virtues to be practiced, vices to avoid, relationships to be ...

4814. Submission

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Pete Maravich and Lily Laskin had something in common aside from the fact that they both died one day apart. They both gave themselves to that which they considered important. People who keep up with harps and harpists say that Lily Laskin, the French harpist, took the harp out of the living room and made it a featured solo instrument on concert stages all over the world. She died on January 4, 1988, at the age of ninety-four. Upon her death, she was credited with popularizing the harp and reviving many ...

4815. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." On a pastor’s desk was a sign, "Be patient with me, for God is not yet finished with me." It was a humorous way of telling his people that he was not yet perfect as a Christian. It is a fact that God is not finished creating his universe or his people. Contrary to popular opinion, God has not finished his creation, for scientists claim that our universe is expanding at the rate of twenty-six million miles per hour. Likewise, the creation of ...

4816. Old and New

Mk 2:22 · 2 Cor 5:17 · Is 43:19

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Something old, something new; Something borrowed, something blue. That’s what the old rhyme suggests every new bride ought to have on her person come the wedding day. We’re not going to spend any time talking about "borrowed" and "blue," but we do want to spend some time on "old" and "new." Those words have a way of cropping up more than just occasionally. Nearly every day we hear them used. They are used religiously. "As for me," says Carol, "you can give me that old-time religion." They are used ...

4817. Night Fighters

Sermon

James Bjorge

Night can be beautiful when dreams of sugar plums dance through your head. When worries have wandered away and left you relaxed, the descending darkness comes like a billowy blanket of down. God has washed behind your years and you feel clean and content as you slip into the freshly washed sheets for a long winter’s nap. No doubt about it, night can be nice. But it is not always that cozy and comfortable. Night can be blacker than a hundred midnights in a southern swamp. Anxiety, fear and pain become like ...

4818. My Soul Is Glad - Because of God

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

There is in this sermon a gentleness that belies what it asks us to see, "That life does not change, but the way I experience it does." Moving, as it does, through a revision of the popular picture of Mary, now seen in clearer light than that of positive or negative speculation, but rather in the light of faith and praise of God; through that of an unlikely contemporary, "Who also experienced hunger so that he knew only God could help him," the sermon reminds those who believe, and invites those who do not ...

4819. Christmas Every Day

John 1:1-18

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

In the midst of a crowd of people jostling one another during the Christmas rush at Upper Valley Mall, a man remarked to me, "I’m glad that Christmas comes only once a year. It leaves my pocketbook pretty thin." If all that Christmas means is a seasonal shopping spree, it leaves only a bitter taste in the mouth. To be sure, there is a sweet sentimentality about the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day itself is joyfully observed in our homes. But then what? Suddenly the long awaited ...

4820. Light of the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

William G. Carter

One of the striking features of the Gospel of John is the way it depicts the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The other gospels usually tell us stories about Jesus. Then, like the disciples, we are left to ask, “Who is this, that wind and sea obey him? Who is this who feeds the multitude on a couple of loaves and a few fish?” But in the Gospel of John, there’s never a doubt who Jesus is, because he tells us. Usually he does so with a statement that begins with the words, “I am.” Put him in a situation ...

4821. What If What They Say Is True?

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

John W. Wurster

Whether through the complicated process of socialization or good manners or simple maturity, somehow we learn how to respond appropriately to particular phrases in particular settings. “Paper or plastic?” “Cash or charge?” “Smoking or non-smoking?” We negotiate and navigate our lives by knowing what to say and when to say it: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” “And also with you.” “Excuse me.” “Please.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “I love you.” “I love you, too.” “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay.” ...

4822. Wise Leadership

1 Kings 2:1-12, 3:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Solomon. The third king of Israel. The son of David and Bathsheba. Solomon is remembered for a number of things: his building program which included Jerusalem's original magnificent Temple, his immense wealth generated through trade and administrative reorganization, his 700 wives and 300 concubines (or PORcupines, as some Sunday School students will tell you), and his legendary wisdom, the result of the prayer we read in our lesson. If there is any single story commonly remembered of King Solomon it is ...

4823. Who Are Those Strangers In White Robes?

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A couple of years back a movie came out that had phones ringing all over this nation. The movie was "Bruce Almighty." And the reason phones were ringing was that, for the first time, Hollywood published God's phone number. In the movie, a TV newsman played by Jim Carrey is endowed by God with divine powers, allowing him to perform such feats as parting a bowl of tomato soup like the Red Sea. God's phone number is repeatedly displayed on Carrey's pager whenever the Lord tries to summon him. Usually, movies ...

4824. Where Heaven And Earth Meet

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Darrell Davis wrote in to Reader's Digest with a funny story about his son Stephen. Stephen was a firm believer in a non-violent ethic of living, so it took the Davis' by surprise when their son chose to fulfill his college physical education credits with a course in tae kwon do. Stephen's partner in the class was a gentle young Japanese woman named Maki. Maki also believed in the non-violent ethic, so she and Stephen worked well together. They learned as little martial arts as was necessary to pass the ...

4825. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

I wonder if you have ever realized how the word "bedlam" entered our language? Here's how it came about. St. Mary of Bethlehem was founded as a hospital in England in 1247. Two centuries later it was restructured as an institution for the hopelessly insane. The noise and confusion of the hospital became widely known throughout the country. The cockney accent, over the years, contracted Bethlehem into Bed'lam. So "bedlam," which means "a place, scene, or state of uproar or confusion" is simply a contracted ...

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