Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4851 to 4875 of 4943 results

4851. Recollections of Reuben, Uncle of a Young Bethlehem Shepherd

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Robert A. Morgan

A Dramatic Monologue It's a great time for you to be asking questions now, after all the blood your soldiers spilled and all the pain and misery they brought to nearly every home in Bethlehem! Yes, I understand what you've said - you wouldn't have allowed such widespread killings if you had been King Herod, and not just a captain of his soldiers. You would have asked some questions first, and tried to narrow down the possibilities of which baby it might be that you had to kill. But, of course, if you had ...

4852. Coping When It Seems Impossible

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

No problem! No sweat! My life is under control. My family is under control. My business is under control. My Nation is under control. My world is under control. No sweat! How stupid can we get? Help! I need help! Our world is not coping well. We tremble on the brink of suicide. Self-trust dismisses God’s authority. In some cases entire nations fail the most fundamental test of helping their own citizens cope with materialism run amok. Perhaps the most complete expression of a totally materialistic ...

4853. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a ...

4854. The God Of The Living

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Jewelry salesman Alexander Makowski was devastated. Just three weeks before, in Phoenix, his sample case had been stolen. Now he had returned to the parking lot of the San Diego hotel where he was staying to find that his car and jewelry worth $100,000 were missing. Alexander could take no more. He climbed to the balcony over the hotel atrium lobby, lifted himself over the railing, and plunged five floors. Mr. Makowski ended his life at fifty-nine years. The real tragedy was that if he had looked in the ...

4855. What Would Bill Do?

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to tell you a simple, but moving story about a man named Bill. When Bill was born in the 1930s he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The doctor predicted that he would be mentally retarded and urged Bill’s parents to have him institutionalized. Fortunately, they ignored the doctor’s advice. At first, Bill attended a school for children with disabilities. Later he gained entrance to a mainstream high school. This was an unusual accomplishment for a physically challenged person of that era. Then, with ...

4856. By Right Paths

Psalm 23:3

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Rev. Dicky Love tells the story of an overworked mother of three active young boys who was playing in the yard with her boys one afternoon when her neighbor came by to borrow a cup of sugar. One of her boys aimed his play pistol at his mother and yelled, "Bang! You're dead!" Mom acted the part perfectly. She took the shot, groaned, "You got me." Then she spun and fell to the ground. When she fell to the ground, she didn't get up. Her neighbor waited for her to get up. But Mom didn't get up, so the ...

4857. Instructions to Timothy

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

The False Teachings Censured Because of the content of 3:14–16—the statement of purpose climaxed by the hymn—it is easy to think of chapter 3 as bringing us to some kind of conclusion, or major break, in the middle of the letter. But to view 3:14–16 that way is to miss the very close tie between chapter 4 and what has preceded. Paul is about to elaborate in some detail upon the two matters expressed in the charge in chapter 1: the nature of the errors of the false teachers (4:1–5; cf. 1:3–11, 19–20) and ...

4858. Gratitude and Coping

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Tom Garrison

Nothing in recent years has been more upsetting than the sharp increase in the use of drugs among young. People have become so traumatized by the subject that any reasonable discussion of it has become well-nigh impossible. This is why I was particularly impressed with a speech made not long ago by a public health official at a large university, for he wisely avoided histrionics and went straight to the heart of the problem. He openly acknowledged that "the jury was still out" as to all of the physical ...

4859. Mimosa Pudica

Luke 10:1-10, 16-24

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

Have you ever seen a mimosa plant? When touched, the fern-like leaves of the mimosa pudica fold inward and droop downward. This action has a domino effect: the touched leaf folds and droops, and then the next, and the next. It looks like the plant is literally shriveling up and dying right in front of you. Mimosa is a Greek word meaning to mimic. Pudica is Latin for “shy,” “bashful,” or “shrinking.” So, I guess you could say that the mimosa pudica is mimicking shyness. The mimosa pudica is known by many ...

4860. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: Instead of the whale song suggested, you can use as your opening image a dandelion (aka “lion’s teeth” in spore stage), a horn (trumpet or actual shofar–which you can find on amazon for about $30), or a balloon (and some helium if you dare). You may also want to scroll some Hubbel space photos on the screen along with some cosmic music if you begin your sermon with “creation.” We are not the only creatures that sing. Has anyone heard the voice of an Orca whale? It sounds a lot like an erratic ...

4861. Dancing in the Wind

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We live in an embattled time. Conflicts in politics, problems with economics, and a global pandemic have put the icing on the proverbial cake of usual issues. Most of us already feel we are up to our necks in alligators. Now we have entered hurricane season to boot. How much more can we take? How much longer can we fight? Let’s face it. We are a tired, fatigued, tense, and nervous bunch right now. Just when we think we’ve ridden the final wave another rises up and heads right toward us. What shall we do? ...

4862. R.S.V.P.

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

"At Duke," she said, ''we work hard, we play hard." A visitor here on campus, Friday noon through Sunday evening, might get the impression that we are one of those infamous "Party Schools." Late one Sunday night last winter, I was awakened in the middle of the night and asked to deliver a sad message to a Duke freshman. I got up, put on clothes, stumbled out into the night, drove through deserted Durham streets, wondering if I needed aid from Public Safety to get in the sleeping dorm. I stumbled into a ...

4863. Put On Your Apocalypse Jacket

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Let me see your hand if you are you a fan of disaster movies. [Well, somebody must be.] Disaster movies tend to do well at the box office, whether they feature frightened people battling floods or volcanos or Godzilla or zombies invading major cities. Speaking of zombies, there is a company in London called Vollebak that manufactures what they call an “Apocalypse Jacket.” The Apocalypse generally refers to the ultimate disaster drama—the complete final destruction of the world, as described in the biblical ...

4864. Topsy-turvy Christianity

Luke 6:17-26, Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

Do you know anyone who is financially well off and secure, who has an abundance of things and often dines in the best restaurants, who enjoys life and has a good time, and who is well thought of in the community? You may be such a person yourself, but if not, wouldn't you like to be? In such a situation we could declare that life is good, that we are content, and that the future looks bright. Do you know anyone who is poor, hungry, grieving, hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed? I sincerely hope you are ...

4865. Love And Money

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

A seminary professor named Stanley Hauerwas has a novel idea about how churches should receive new members. A teacher of Christian ethics at Duke University, he has written about the church's need for honesty and has called us to tell the truth as a "community of character." To this end, he has a modest proposal. Whenever people join the church, Hauerwas thinks they should stand and answer four questions: Who is your Lord and Savior? The response: "Jesus Christ." Do you trust in him and seek to be his ...

4866. Advent 1

Luke 21:5-38, 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Jeremiah 33:1-26, Psalm 25:1-22

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Sprouting Fig Tree The season of Advent prepares us for the coming of the birth of Christ. While our celebration is usually associated with expectation, hope, and joy, the events themselves have an underlying tone of tragedy and sorrow. Tragedy and sorrow are most explicit in the account of the slaughter of the innocent children at Herod's orders in his attempt to eliminate a potential rival to his throne. A less evident underlying theme of sorrow is the injustice existing in the world when babies have ...

4867. What To Do With A Self-willed Child

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

Rearing children is never easy. My worst nightmare is having to go back and do it again. Grandchildren are super. We love to have them visit. We can spoil them rotten, and in two or three days they go home! I spend a considerable part of my week listening to parents worry about their children. Either they are lazy, or they are into heaven knows what. They are stupid, or too smart for their own good. They have no initiative and are couch potatoes, or you never know what they are going to do next. They are ...

4868. Miracle Ten: Healing A Blind Beggar

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

Background Material This is the last miracle which Mark records. It concludes Mark's thrilling reports of the wondrous blessing which Christ bestowed upon the blind, the sick, the deaf, and even the dead. This particular miracle was reported by other Evangelists, who do not name the beggar. It is Mark alone who furnishes the name of Bartimaeus, which means son of Timaeus. It is somewhat curious how Mark had this information. Did he ask the man's name at the time of the miracle? Was the man a familiar ...

4869. Shameless Passion

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

Today is Palm Sunday. Some of you wonder why our text is not highlighting the trek into Jerusalem on a donkey, but rather this coming Friday's story of Jesus' suffering as found prophesied in the Old Testament. Why is this the chosen lesson? Too many people move from Palm Sunday's jubilation to Easter's victory and never take the excruciating walk through the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trials, and Mount Calvary. But you must go through it all really to know the joy of the Open Tomb! I like ...

4870. The Burdens Of The Past

Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

Recently a young man who participates in Civil War reenactments was giving a talk about his hobby. He shared with the group how a soldier in that war carried his own food supply with him. A bag of food weighed about seven pounds. The rifle he carried weighed ten pounds. The blanket and backpack weighed another forty pounds. This means the typical soldier in the Civil War carried over fifty pounds of material and weaponry with him all the time. Carrying that much weight must have been a heavy burden that ...

4871. The Darkest Hour

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: NARRATOR (the only speaking part), JESUS, two SOLDIERS, PILATE, a PRIEST, three WOMEN, and a MAN Length: 8 minutes NOTE: Due to the scope of the Passion Readings and the fact that the readings are the same for all cycles, the Good Friday skits have been arranged as a series. Cycle "A" covers John 18:1-12, Cycle "B" covers John 18:13-40, and Cycle "C" covers John 19:1-30. Each skit is complete in itself, but the three may be strung together to cover the entire Passion in one presentation. Or they may ...

4872. When Life Doesn't Go According To Plan

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The letter came from a college senior working as a student counselor in a dormitory at a distant university. "Dear Mom," she began. "During my growing up years, few things irritated me as much as your attempts to quiet my righteous indignation by telling me that life is not fair. I swore I would never say that to my children. However, in my work with distressed college students, I find myself telling them the same thing. I still rail at life's inherent injustices, but I have learned I had best accept that ...

4873. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

It is difficult to find anyone who has a kind word to say about hypocrites. Nobody likes a hypocrite; no one wants to be around one; the last thing one would want to be called is a hypocrite. Hypocrites are, by definition, deceptive, two-faced and treacherous. If discovered, hypocritical politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways ...

4874. Responding In Anger

Job 7:11-21 · Matthew 21:12-13

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

A 75-year-old man went to his doctor for a physical examination. The doctor went through all the procedures and found everything to be perfect. "It's amazing," the doctor said to the patient. "You have the body of a man 25 years younger. What's your secret?" The patient replied: "Well, when my wife and I were married fifty years ago, we made an agreement. We decided never to fuss or to argue with one another. Whenever we have a difference of opinion that causes friction and we can see a fight coming on, ...

4875. When God Has Other Plans

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Surrendering To God's Plan For Our Lives Yielding to the plan of God for one's life is often difficult. This play takes an "almost humerous" but powerful approach to an individual's decision to decide his/her own destiny. (Designed for small spaces and easy production, this drama also adapts to younger actors. Props and costuming are minimal. No special lighting is needed.) Setting: Inside two caterpillar cocoons Characters:1ST CATERPILLAR: Male or female, impatient, wants complete control over his/ ...

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