Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4901 to 4925 of 4937 results

4901. Proper 16

Lk 13:22-30 · Heb 12:5-7, 11-13, 18-29 · Jer 28:1-9 · Isa 66:18-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Jeremiah 28:1-9 Hananiah, a prophet, contradicts Jeremiah's prophecy of doom. Jeremiah is confronted by Hananiah, a prophet from Gibeon, in the temple. It is a dramatic scene with Jeremiah's wearing a yoke to symbolize the coming bondage of Judah to Babylon. To Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and people, Hananiah tells Jeremiah that Babylon will be defeated and within two years the king, exiles, and the temple treasures will be returned to Jerusalem. Sarcastically Jeremiah says "Amen" to ...

4902. A Faith To Live By John D. Mauney, Jr.

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

"Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in the heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." (Deuteronomy 4:39) We live in a land of plenty. A rich and sophisticated people, we are a nation of greater wealth and technological accomplishment than the world has ever known. But still there are those among us who are poverty-stricken. We are faced with the age-old problem of the "haves" and the "have-nots." And, of course, there are many different types of poverty ...

4903. Victory and Protest

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

Even by the time I was a teenager, I don't think that I had ever heard the word "eucharist." I was a baptized Christian who worshiped faithfully and who participated in the Lord's Supper whenever it was offered (which was once a month). I had almost perfect attendance in Sunday School, and I had three years of Saturday catechetical instruction to my credit. But I still don't think that I had ever heard of "The Eucharist." This fact does not mean that my education regarding the sacramental meal was ...

4904. An Intimate Conversation and an Exclusive Covenant

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

It was on the Richard Roberts television program, Expect a Miracle, that I learned about the vision which Oral Roberts had a few years ago. Richard Roberts told how his father’s vision had to do with evangelism and mission, that it involved sending missionaries to the ends of the earth - doctors, first, to treat and care for the sick, and then evangelists to preach the gospel to people in countries where Christ is not known at all. Oral Roberts also spoke of the revelation: "God told me I am on the last ...

4905. Epiphany 2

Psalm 40:1-17, John 1:29-34, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon Aid

CSS

THEOLOGICAL CLUE A careful examination of the readings appointed for this and the other Sundays of Epiphany in the three-year cycle reveals that something is different; a radical change has been made; the three lessons are not in harmony, because the Corinthian letters make up the Second Lessons for virtually all of the Sundays after the Baptism of Our Lord. This same pattern of readings is picked up again on the Second Sunday after Pentecost, so that in the other Sundays of Epiphany and Pentecost the ...

4906. The Blessing Of Bondage

Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

The Bible’s story of Creation and the Fall gives rise to all sorts of stories, like this one: Adam and Eve were walking near the Garden of Eden, showing it to their son, Abel. Abel saw that it was a very beautiful place, and asked, "Daddy, why don’t we live there?" "Well, son, we once did," Adam replied, "but your mother ate us out of house and home!" It is an old story, a story of trees, a man and a woman, a garden, a serpent, rules kept and rules broken, and of God. God formed a man, Adam, of the dust, ...

4907. The Danger of Being Religious

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord'; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Two young boys were close friends ...

4908. Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise

Romans 11:33-36

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

What happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? How far is up? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Impossible questions. Questions that have no answers. Questions about which philosophers philosophize and theologians theologize and simple folk wonder, all to no avail. Questions that boggle the mind and strain the brain and lead to endless argument. Useless questions - maybe. Why maybe? Why should there be any doubt? Why concern ...

4909. Running With Patience

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

In the book of Hebrews there is a fascinating phrase. The writer says, "... let us run with patience the race that is set before us, our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ..." There’s an interesting antithesis here: run with patience. Just exactly how do you do that? When we run a foot race, we don’t want to be hampered by anything. The competitor throws off all restraints and eagerly thrusts forward to the goal, unencumbered except with a burning passion to finish first. Is there ...

4910. Christianity Can Be Fun

Sermon

Harold Warlick

A man nervously sat in the chair in his doctor’s office. His bouncing feet indicated a certain anxiety concerning his fate. For months the man had been fatigued almost to the point of depression. At last his doctor looked up at him in a sympathetic gesture. The doctor looked him in the eye and rendered the verdict: "Boredom!" "Boredom!" retorted the man. "How do I deal with that? I came here expecting you to get at the roots of my depression and give me some medication." "I could give you antidepressants ...

4911. God Made Me Do It!

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

"God sent me," "God made me" - strange words for most people to say! We say instead, "The devil made me do it!" It is almost remarkable then, that in a few short verses in the text, Joseph says four times: "God sent me," "God made me." Joseph feels that all of his life is under the guiding hand of God. Since God is his master, Joseph feels that no matter what happens - of good or bad - sadness or joy - God is in it and nothing can touch him but that God will ultimately work it out for the best. Things did ...

4912. Hooray for Humility!

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

My husband John tells of attending a football game a few seasons back in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the battle was between Army and the University of Tennessee. Before the game started, there were some preliminary features. Each side showed off his mascot. UT proudly displayed a beautiful high-stepping horse. A pretty young girl, dressed in riding garb, rode it around the stadium. The horse’s tail was high, his head held high, he lifted his legs proudly as he trotted around the area to the applause of ...

4913. Last Ditch Stand

Drama

Sarah Walton Miller

This is actually a brief play. It is planned for discussion afterward, preferably in small groups so that all will share. It is a play about conviction. For more impact, let adults play the adults. The cast: Dr. John Whitney, a surgeon; Helen, his wife; Nancy, their fifteen-year-old daughter; Rod, her seventeen-year-old boyfriend. The play takes place in the living room of the Whitney home. However, all you really need is some folding chairs, two put together as a sofa. Props needed are an ashtray and a ...

4914. Well, What Did You Expect?

Acts 12:1-19a

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

I heard it just this past week from a lady in our congregation, and she said it with absolute and unshakable conviction. Her husband has just recovered from an illness which, very often, can be incurable. So she put it this way: "My husband was cured by the power of prayer. There’s no other way of explaining it. Hundreds of people I know were praying for him, and their prayers were answered. No one will ever change my mind about that." All right. That is one point of view. Let’s look at another. This week ...

4915. When The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Here we are in the heart of the Advent season. Most churches are preparing for Christmas pageants of various kinds. Usually children are involved, and therefore things don't always go according to script. In one pageant I heard about, the innkeeper of Bethlehem was played by a boy named Ralph. He had very much wanted to play the part of Joseph, but that part was given to someone else. Ralph decided to take some revenge. On the day of the play, the fellowship hall was filled to capacity. Mary and Joseph ...

4916. Surrender

Luke 23:44-49

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying in a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46 By this time, after hanging on the cross for over six hours, the pain Jesus experienced had progressed to the point of dull numbness. By now, the voices had grown faint in his ears. The light grew ...

4917. Why Don’t You Send Somebody?

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

In the entrance of the magnificent modern cathedral of St. Michael in Coventry, England, a most enigmatic statement is emblazoned upon the floor in large gleaming brass letters that demand to be read. There is no escaping it, for one has to walk over it to enter the nave. It says, "TO THE GLORY OF GOD THIS CHURCH BURNT, NOVEMBER 14, 1941." The incredible irony of that statement is what grabs the attention. "To the glory of God?" How can that be? That’s the kind of statement one inscribes under a stained ...

4918. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

In the middle 1960s, a seminary student interned in a Lutheran congregation in Berlin, Germany. This intern was much interested in the history of World War II, since he was born about the time his father was fighting in Germany. However, he soon discovered that most of the members of that congregation did not want to talk about the war. It was too painful. But one day, an uncle of one of the intern’s friends came to see him and shared this personal story.1 He was an engineer on the train from Amsterdam to ...

4919. Christian Courage

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

"You will go to prison for six months," said the Judge. So John Bunyan went to prison for nothing worse than preaching in the little Bedford Baptist Church. "Baptist" preaching was against the law. But Bunyan persisted in breaking the law. He told Justice Keeling, "If I was out of prison today, I would preach again tomorrow, by the help of God." So it was back to prison. This time for twelve years. And again for six months. John Bunyan, who gave us the great classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, spent one fifth of ...

4920. Not of the World

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

The preacher urged his television congregation to tithe. "Give 10¼ of your income to the Lord," he said. "But why should I tithe?" someone asked him. "To get," the preacher replied. "We tithe in order to get. I want to get healed, I want to get well, I want to get money, I want to get prosperous." This popular form of Christianity was recently written up in Time magazine. The "prosperity Gospel." That is what it is called. There are many who peddle its wares. You might have heard some of them on radio or ...

4921. Let’s Climb a Mountain

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James W. Robinson

How would you like to climb a mountain? Right now. Too tired? Completely exhausted after a week of commuting to the office or working around the house? What if you could take the hike without leaving your seat? Don’t scoff! It can be done. No leg work is required. All you need do is exercise your imagination. So, off we go, up the Sermon on the Mount, crossing the ridge to a lookout that offers us a view of the loftiest peaks of the Mount. Those peaks have a name. Collectively, they are known as the ...

4922. Happiness Is ... the Kingship of Jesus

John 18:28-40

Sermon

James W. Robinson

Events were chasing each other like chips in the churning rapids of a racing river. Jesus was helpless in the raging "current of events." He could scarcely keep his head above water. He was doomed to perish in cascading falls that crashed a short distance downstream. Or so it seemed to both bitter foe and disillusioned friend. The Last Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest, and the trial before the Sanhedrin had occurred so quickly that their recollection made the heads of the disciples ...

4923. Where Can We Find Wisdom?

Proverbs 2:1-22

Sermon

Edward Chinn

"Dad, have you cut all four of your wisdom teeth?" asked the teenager. "Yes, son," replied the father. "I have bought a used car, accepted a nomination, been chairman of the civic association, and married your mother." That man obviously thought that he had cut his "wisdom teeth" by chewing on four tough experiences. The four "third molars" have been given that name "wisdom teeth" because they usually appear during late adolescence or early adulthood. Wisdom, however, does not automatically come to us with ...

4924. Advent 2

Isaiah 40:1-31, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Mark 1:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Isaiah 40:1-11 Theme: Loving God of might, liberating God of right Exegetical Note In this beginning of the prophecies of Second Isaiah, the writer anticipates - in comforting, tender, yet triumphal language - the mighty return of God to liberate his still exiled people from Babylon, to return them to their own land, and to reestablish the covenant with them. Call to Worship Leader: Let us prepare a path for God in the wilderness of our hearts!} People: LET US CLEAR A HIGHWAY ACROSS THE ...

4925. A New Kind of Teaching

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

Teachers and teaching have existed as long as humankind. Early man taught his children how to survive -- how to hunt, how to plant and harvest, how to provide shelter and protection, how to fight, how to raise his family in the tribal ways. Learning and teaching took a great stride forward in classical Greece 450 years before Christ with the arrival of Socrates and his brilliant student, Plato. The radiant light of learning was passed on from Plato to Aristotle, and the world ever since has been their ...

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