Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 501 to 525 of 1409 results

501. The Gospel of the Little Man

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Children of all ages quickly recognize Zacchaeus as the little man who shimmied up a sycamore in Jericho to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed through town. His story has long been a favorite with the children of the church schools, especially those who have experience in climbing trees. His image is imprinted on the mental screen of everyone familiar with the story, for when pilgrims tour the Holy Land and come to Jericho, to see a sycamore rates high in their priorities, and travel guides who find ...

502. Are There Any Questions?

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Today our good year in the company of Dr. Luke, the author of the Gospel that had been in focus through these months, begins to wind down toward the end. Are there any questions? If you have a question, and I suspect we have a few in mind, line up in the center aisle and wait your turn. Jesus has been teaching in the temple at Jerusalem, his disciples are at hand, and in the crowd his enemies as well. The question-answer period begins. One by one those who oppose him for one reason or another challenge him ...

503. The Nearest Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

Two women were sitting in church. One woman said to the other, "I’ve always wished that God would touch me, but I suppose that’s too much to ask." The other woman replied, "That sounds like a reasonable desire. Have you prayed about it?" "Well, no. Of course not." "Why not? There’s certainly nothing wrong with a prayer like that. You should pray about it." "All right. Maybe I will sometime." "Not sometime. Now. What better place to pray than here in the Lord’s house?" Thus persuaded, the woman reluctantly ...

504. The Way He Taught

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

"Jesus finished saying these things, and the crowds were amazed at the way he taught. He wasn't like their teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with buthority." (St. Matthew 7:28, 29 TEV) Our precious Christian faith is first of all and foremost the good news that God loves us and forgives us in Chrst, his son. It is the story of our salvation, the story of the cross and the open tomb. But along with that also goes the challenge of Christianity - the scintilating invitation to carry out God's will in ...

505. Don't Try So Hard!

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

"For the man who wants to save his own life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (St. Mark 8:35 TEV) "We're only number two; we try harder!" I'm sure you've all seen the magazine ad of the car rental agency that uses this slogan. In a way the slogan strongly reflects some of our national thinking. One of the key doctrines of our American enterprise is hard work. If a person's going to succeed in life, we say, he will have to exert himself. It is often ...

506. Making Our Way Bright

James 1:19-21

Children's Sermon

Object: Flashlight, some good and some dead batteries and a light bulb to put in to replace a burned out one or simply a flashlight without a bulb. Good morning to you, boys and girls. How are you today? This is a wonderful Sunday for it is one of great joy. Do you know what we call this Sunday? It is called Cantate and it is a Latin word that means "Sing Ye" or "Sing You". We like to sing because it makes us happy. When I hear boys and girls sing I know they are happy. Do you know how I can tell when boys ...

507. Empty Images

James 1:23

Children's Sermon

Object: A mirror (small ones for each child, otherwise, one large face mirror). Good morning to you and to your images. Did you know that you had an image? What is your image? Have you ever seen it? Some of you have and some of you have never seen your image. (Select a child who says that he has seen his image). How many of you have ever had your picture taken by a camera? All of you have. Did you see the picture? You did? Well, then you have seen your image. It’s something that looks like you, but it isn’ ...

508. Fixing The Fox!

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

The Bible says that there is no peace for the wicked. It is also true that there is no peace for the righteous, for the two are ever in conflict with each other. For this reason we refer to the church on earth as the church militant. It is ever at war with evil in the world. Jesus once said, "I have not come to bring peace but a sword ..." Paul thinks of a Christian as a soldier who is to put on "the whole armor of God" that he may stand up against the principalities and powers of the world. Among our ...

509. You Can Trust God

Galatians 5:16-26

Children's Sermon

Object: a walking stick or cane. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to let one of our friends help us learn something about God. This is not a brand new friend. I imagine you have seen him many times before. As many times as you have seen him, though, you have probably never used him. His name is Kerry Cane. Good old Kerry has been a lot of help to a lot of people. Why, I can remember when Kerry helped my next door neighbor learn to walk again after he broke his leg. My neighbor used to lean ...

510. Prayer

Matthew 20:1-16

Bulletin Aid

It's not fair! "He got more than I did!" "Mom always liked you best!" Sound familiar? Not just among kids - Who value fairness highly - As they understand it; Being fair is important to me too! Being treated fairly is even more important. If I earn a reward Praise A raise A promotion I want to get it - Right away! If I earn a punishment A reprimand A demotion I'll accept that (Not as readily, of course) Especially, if everyone's treated the same! Unfairness In reward or punishment Makes me angry! ( ...

511. Being Wealthy, Religious and Powerful

Micah 2:1-5

Sermon

That’s like the blast from the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, who had the furnaces heated to seven times their usual intensity in order to consume Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It’s the outpouring of a man or woman with a short fuse, a fuse which has been short for a long time. One wonders whether or not it would have been wise to have a committee check this language before it was uttered in public, especially for a church public. That lacerating language may have its place in other places, but the church is ...

512. God Is No Respecter Of Persons

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Do you like trivia questions? Try these: In what country of the world are the most Bic pens sold per capita? What has replaced the 44 revolver as the Great Equalizer in the West? What unique design appears on Sears, Roebuck's best-selling women's shirts? The answers: Bic pens are most popular in Zaire. In that African country, however, people don't write with most of the Bic pens - they wear them. Any man who can scrape together an extra $2.00 will buy a half dozen pens and stick them all in his shirt ...

513. Parable of the Tree Brace

Psalm 1:1-6

Illustration

"Why are you putting that big stick next to that little tree?" said Richard. "Someone ran over the curb with their car and knocked it down. So I'm bracing it to make it grow straight." said the father. "Gosh, if it's that weak," said the boy, "how can it ever grow to be a beautiful tree?' "Watch and see," said the father. "If it is guided and fed long enough it can become a tall, strong and beautiful shade tree for it is the right kind of tree." Human beings are like trees in many ways. In the early years ...

514. Proper 9

Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 · Gal 6:7-18 · 1 Ki 21:1-3, 17-21 · Isa 66:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY 1 Kings 21:1-3, 17-21 For refusing to sell his lot to King Ahab, Naboth is falsely accused and murdered so Ahab can take possession of the land. Here we have only the beginning and ending of a dramatic story involving a king, a subject, and a prophet. To understand it, one must know and tell what happens between the first and last verses of the pericope. King Ahab offers to buy or trade the lot of Naboth whose land is next to the palace for his vegetable garden. Because he received it as an ...

515. Proper 10

Lk 10:25-37 · Col 1:1-20 · 2 Ki 2:1, 6-14 · Deut 30:9-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY 2 Kings 2:1, 6-14 Elisha succeeds Elijah as prophet of Israel. We have just completed a series of Lessons on Elijah and now we start a series of four Lessons from 2 Kings on his successor, Elisha. This first in the series appropriately deals with the transfer from Elijah to Elisha as prophet of Israel. Elisha was a faithful and devout disciple of Elijah. So loyal was he that he would not let Elijah out of his sight. Knowing that he was soon going to depart this world, Elijah asked Elisha what he ...

516. Proper 24

Lk 18:1-8 · 2 Tim 3:14--4:5 · Gen 32:22-30 · Ex 17:8-13 · Hab 1:1-3, 2:1-4

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Habakkuk 1:1-3, 2:1-4 In a world of adversity the righteous live by faith. Habbakuk and Yahweh are engaged in a dialogue. The prophet, a contemporary of Jeremiah, served during the reign of King Jehoiakim (608-597 BC) and during the last days before the Babylonian conquest. Under Jehoiakim conditions in Judah were horrible - lawlessness and oppression. In the light of these conditions Habbakuk goes to Yahweh with a complaint: Where is he? Why does he not answer? Why doesn't he do something about ...

517. Given as Light

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

A young man sat near a small river, his feet cooling in the gently rippling water. He had walked many miles that day through the desert dust. The river soothed him and calmed the restless longing in his soul. He was almost thirty years old. As he grew up in his father’s carpenter shop, his kinsfolk thought he would be a carpenter, too. But he left one day, never to return, to become a teacher, a wandering rabbi calling men and women to follow him. As he sat there on the banks of the shallow river, another ...

518. Hid in God

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

One hot day in August I was sitting in the chaplain’s office at the Georgia Regional Hospital outside of Atlanta, watching the sun’s long, warm rays crawl across the hospital grounds, when the phone rang. I picked it up. A nurse from the admissions unit told me, "Chaplain, Nancy has run away again, can you come down here?" "Sure," I said, "I’ll be right down." "Please hurry," she said. "All the male attendants have left and we don’t think any of us can catch her." I drove quickly to the admissions building ...

519. Communion Is Repentance

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Whoever, therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. A young soldier, who had just been promoted to the rank of sergeant, wanted to impress a private who came into his new office. The private saluted the officer and was about to speak when the sergeant said, "Just a minute soldier. I have to return an important phone call to the General." He ...

520. Death of a Blacksnake

Luke 17:11-19, Genesis 1:1-2:3

Illustration

Staff

I was driving along a rural road recently when the car in front of me swerved off the shoulder and came to a sudden stop. The driver jumped out of the car and ran up a small bank, grabbing a large stick with which he immediately began to flail wildly at the ground. I stopped and rushed up to the man, certain that he had encountered some vicious threat to human life. But I was wrong. "Why did you kill it?" I asked. "It was only a blacksnake." "Blacksnake or rattlesnake, it makes no difference to me," the ...

521. If the Son Makes You Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

"We have never been in bondage to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be made free’?" "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." Two butterflies - colorful and majestic monarchs - sat side by side on a tree limb. Beside them was the ruptured cocoon from which they’d just emerged. "Come, fly with me," said the one. "Caterpillars can’t fly," said the other. "But we’re not caterpillars anymore," said the first, flexing his new wings, stretching them their full span till they looked like ...

522. Who is Greatest Among You ...

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

How quickly we learn the desire to be great. The quest to become "number one" is a given in our competitive society. To some degree it is what fosters achievement and causes people to strive for excellence. Few people succeed without a fairly strong motivation to be foremost in their field. That’s the positive side. The negative side has to do with the absence of compassion and the undue pride that can go along with ambition. We can feel sorry for losers, but we prefer to associate with winners. Nothing ...

523. Power

2 Corinthians 6:7

Sermon

Harold Warlick

For generations many people have told us that the driving force behind us human beings is the will to power. Power is everything. In fact, God has often been viewed as one who gives power to God's special people. Ancient people prayed for God to give them power over the antelope and the buffalo, whose pictures they drew on the walls of caves. The ancient mariners prayed to Proteus for power over the sea. In our day and time, money is power. So we have prayed for that power and tried to help God along by ...

524. On Jesus' Team

Mark 3:24

Children's Sermon

Object: Fold some paper so that it has two legs on which to stand. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about how important it is to stick together as Christians. We probably don't think about this very often, but as Jesus said, it is important that we stand up for each other. Let me show you what I mean. I have with me some stiff paper that we can fold and make legs so that the paper can stand up. We can do this with a lot of pieces if we want to and have them standing up all over the ...

525. The Nearest Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

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