Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4901 to 4925 of 4946 results

4901. A Dreadful Declaration

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

George Bass

When a person makes a radical statement about his or her purpose in life, most people react with equally radical answers and actions. They may express incredulity, even shock, by vocal opposition or, perhaps, even by laughter. Years ago a college friend, after two years of "just getting by in a business course," announced that he was changing to a pre-medical course of study. When he said, "I’m going to be a doctor," his friends almost laughed in his face. He had never been a good student; in high school, ...

4902. Man Of Sorrows

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Larry Powell

The fourth Servant Song of Isaiah, included in our text, preaches itself. Remarkably, it provides the prophecy, biography, and epilogue of Jesus of Nazareth. We will not engage here in the arguments of higher criticism which raise sophisticated questions as to whether Isaiah was speaking of an actual person, or of Israel as a whole, or of one yet to come. We consign those arguments to the scholars whose devotion to research leads them to search out those kinds of things. We shall proceed, rather, under the ...

4903. The Jamie Farr Connection

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

A vivid introduction marks this sermon, using a popular TV personality, local color, and the hint of grace that is in it all. The introductory material keeps surfacing throughout the sermon, giving it a unifying force. Biblical examples do their work economically, not permitting the listeners to go their own way because the instances have been needlessly stretched out in the telling. The vision and the memory and the presence of the crucified and risen Christ enkindle the desire to choose a better way. Go ...

4904. Lessons From A Girl In Trouble

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

Mary was "in trouble." A married woman gets pregnant and we say that she "is in a family way," or "expecting." But when an unmarried girl gets pregnant, we say she is "in trouble." And Mary was definitely "in trouble." She was going to have a baby and she wasn’t married. One day, out of the clear blue sky, with no warning or advance preparation whatsoever, an angel from God came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. The news was understandably frightening and startling. Mary wondered what in ...

4905. Smart, Wise, and Foolish

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

The current President of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors is DONALD C. HOUTS. Formerly a local pastor, a chaplain-supervisor, and professor of pastoral care and counseling at St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri, he is presently Director of Pastoral Care and Counseling for the Illinois Area of the United Methodist Church. His sermons offered here were directed to the congregation of Wesley United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois, where he sometimes is asked to preach for ...

4906. A Voice to be Heard

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

It had been a long time. History seemed more moribund and leaden than ever. Hope was either frozen or fanatic. Cynicism was the daily fare and optimism the dream of fools. So it was in those days of long ago. But now there was a stirring in history's corridors -- not in the throne rooms of Rome or Alexandria, not in the libraries of Athens or the armies of Caesar -- but in little backwater towns of a troublesome, rebellious, backwater country. The first of the stirrings began in Jerusalem with a tired old ...

4907. The Inner Galaxy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

Christmas Eve is the night for midnight blue skies, cloudless and serene; a night for stars dazzling and tantalizingly close to earth in all their silent glory; the night for galaxies vast and mysterious, drawing us away in time and space to worlds beyond the fringes of sense and imagination. Increasingly urban as we are, we often lose the appreciation for the sky's nighttime splendor so spectacular to dwellers in the more arid climes. As a very young child in Wisconsin, on our way to the school Christmas ...

4908. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Paul’s letter to the Colossians has a rhythm to it, “put out ... put on.” It’s a rhythm with which we contemporary Christians can resonate. There is a certain throwing away of past practices that eventuates in every productive life. One year I decided to use the time after Christmas to rid myself of my old clothes. With great zeal I threw the old, out-of-style ties, shirts, sweaters, and pants into the trash. Right there, amid the mangled and torn Christmas wrappings, the faded, dry greenery, and the ...

4909. Even Our Business Belongs to God!

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

The weekend is shot (almost). Tomorrow it is back to the “real” world, back to the grind, at least for most of us. Where will God be in all that? Be honest with me: Do you feel God’s Presence on the job, as you go through the usual Monday routine? Is God directing you as you attend to your e-mail, run through your voice mail, review the reports, or check your assignment? Let us be frank with each other. The businesses which employ most of us are part of the “secular” realm, not of the “sacred” realm that ...

4910. God Notices

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

John W. Wurster

It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time. In such a time, among such a people, naysayers are hardly welcome. Who wants to hear about the bad that could be coming in the future when what’s going on in the present looks so good? Who wants to hear protests when the prevailing winds of prosperity are blowing so strongly? Who ...

4911. The Greatest Show on Earth

Matthew 24:36-51, Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: Why is it that the idea of meeting or knowing a celebrity (actor, musician, writer, etc.) something that we as people find so compelling? While they may have talents or money that we may not possess, they are still just like us, human beings. If I were to tell you that Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts were going to come visit you for a month, declare their undying friendship to you, shower you with gifts and always love you, chances are you might just faint or die of a heart attack, overcome ...

4912. Don't Be A Grumbler

Luke 9:57-62

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A picture of Moses. Good morning, boys and girls! I have with me a picture of a gentleman who lived many, many years ago -- even before Jesus. Who do you think this is? (Show them the picture. Let them guess.) Those are good guesses. This man is Moses. What do you know about Moses? (Let them give some answers.) Those are pretty good answers. Moses was a great leader of his people. God called him to help get the chosen people out of Egypt where they were slaves to the Pharaoh. Do you know what a ...

4913. Yes or No?

Matthew 5:1-12

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us to let your "'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Jesus is bringing up an issue of integrity. Where do you stand on this issue? Is your word as good as gold? Can people rely on you if you tell them that you will do something? This drama shows that anywhere, even within our family, if we say we will do something, we need to do it. Cast Dan: A husband Jackie: A wife Skip: Dan's friend Props 2 phones A wrapped present ...

4914. Hope for Hurting Hearts

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"...Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." Sure does sound like Christmas, doesn't it? I wish everyone could feel it. But the war in Afghanistan goes on. Families that lost loved ones on September 11th are preparing for a holiday that, a year ago, they could have never imagined. There is a certain dissonance to the season. Trips to malls and stores with the sacred Muzak in the air singing of "Joy to the World" or "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" mock the harsh realities ...

4915. Regis and Jesus

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you been caught up in the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" frenzy? For one-million dollars, what insect got into the works of the world's first computer causing it to short out and in the process started use of the phrase "computer bug?" A) Moth, B) Roach, C) Fly, D) Japanese Beetle. Dee-doo-dee-doo, dee-doo-dee-doo. A 25-year-old California man sat in the "hot seat" on Thursday night and agonized over the answer as millions of Americans looked on, and those who knew the answer in their living rooms ...

4916. Ask the Average Person...

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Are you an "average person?" Not in terms of ability or common sense or something that might be quantifiable, but in the sense that your opinions would be more or less typical? What I mean is, if someone began a statement with that phrase, "Ask the average person," would the rest of the sentence sound like something you might say? For example, "Ask the average person, and he would say the sky is blue." Or "Ask the average person and she would say she does not have quite enough money (no matter how much she ...

4917. The Discipline of Discipleship

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

DISCIPLINE. Dirty word these days. DISCIPLESHIP. Not so dirty a word, but obviously related to the other. Discipline, discipleship, disciple...all come from the same Latin root which has to do with LEARNING. In fact, the Greek word which we translate in the English New Testament as "disciple" is mathetes, a LEARNER. What brings this subject to mind is our continuing national fascination with the just-completed Olympic games and grows out of that wonderful biblical imagery used so regularly by the apostle ...

4918. Homecoming

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Homecoming. There is something so special about HOME. 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.(1) The Bible is full of homecoming stories that would be perfect for a day like today - Jacob's homecoming to meet brother Esau, the return of the nation of Israel from exile, and this one we just read, the return of the Prodigal Son, in what has been called the greatest short story ever written. "Father, I want RIGHT NOW what's coming to me." My inheritance ...

4919. Building a World

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Geoff Burch is a sales trainer in England. He tells about a man named Fred he met in the course of his research into sales methods. Back in the 1950s Fred had been a traveling salesman hawking washing machines. This job was on commission only, but included a valuable and unusual perk: the then almost unheard of luxury of a vehicle. At the beginning of each week Fred was sent off in his van with five washing machines; so long as all five were sold each week, Fred could keep the van. This he succeeded in ...

4920. Different From A Camel's Hair Sport Coat

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Frank Lyman

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was moving toward a fevered climax. NBC had shown marching bands and recording artists who casually paused in the middle of Fifth Avenue to "lip-synch" their latest recording! Massive balloons of "Bullwinkle" and "Underdog" and the excitement in the announcer's voice made it obvious that Santa and his Reindeer were just around the corner. It was then that a small float came wheeling down the street with the wise men, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. The NBC ...

4921. The Pitcher Is Not Alone In This

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A bright yellow highway department truck creeps along a quiet, city street. A worker slowly climbs out of the truck and laboriously digs a large hole between the sidewalk and the street. A few minutes later, a second worker gets out, fills in the hole, and tamps down the dirt. A few yards down the street they repeat the same procedure, then again and again. An elderly lady has been watching. She walks over and asks, "What in the world are you doing?" One of the workers says, "We're on an urban ...

4922. A Fishing Trip To Remember

John 21:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A man showed up at church with his ears painfully blistered. After the service, his concerned pastor asked "What in the world happened to you?" The man replied, "I was lying on the couch yesterday afternoon watching a ball game on TV and my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she left the room, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang and keeping my eyes glued to the television, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear." "So how did the other ear get burned?" the ...

4923. Prayers That Work

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Father Barry Foster, a priest in Dublin, Ireland, parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little cairn terrier was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. "Stay!" he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. "Stay!" An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, "Why don't you just try putting on the ...

4924. Come To The Feast

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The Academy Award winning movie, BABETTE'S FEAST, is based on a book by Isak Dinesen. Dineson wrote the book on which the movie, OUT OF AFRICA, was based. In BABETTE'S FEAST the author very creatively weaves the story of Phillipa and Martina, two daughters of a well-known Lutheran pastor in a village in the north of Denmark in the late 1870s. Their father's very rigid and strict religious discipline has shaped the entire community~s approach to life and to the expression of their Christian faith. The ...

4925. When The Waters Begin To Rise

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

We are all familiar with MURPHY'S LAW, "If anything can go wrong it will." Murphy's Law is the inspiration for a new book by Paul Dickson, titled THE OFFICIAL RULES AT HOME. Here is a sample of laws, rules, and observations collected by Dickson: Rabbe's Rule of the Bedroom: The spouse who snores louder always falls asleep first. Dickson's Gardening Discovery: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it ...

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