Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 501 to 525 of 4508 results

501. What Will You Do with Your Gift?

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

There is a folk tale from India that summarizes our thoughts this morning. It seems that there was a good king who ruled wisely and who ruled well. One day the king called his three daughters together and told them he was leaving on a long journey. "I wish to learn about God, so I will need to go away and spend a long time in prayer. In my absence I will leave the three of you in charge. Before I ...

502. Reasons for Jesus Submitting to Baptism

Illustration

Brett Blair

At first blush it seems odd that the student is baptizing the master. But John is a conduit. He is simply performing the ritual. The reasons for Jesus' submission are far deeper and to the heart of overall mission. He is baptized for these reasons: To fulfill all Righteousness: To be consecrated to God and approved by God. The public announcement of the arrival of the Messiah and the inception of...

503. Jesus' Consecration

Illustration

Brett Blair

Some years ago, a Scottish minister told his congregation about dreaming he had died. When he came to the pearly gates, to his dismay, he would be denied entrance until he presented his credentials. Proudly the Pastor articulated the number of sermons preached and the prominent pulpits occupied. But Saint Peter said no one had heard them in heaven. The discouraged servant enumerated his community ...

504. We Draw the Circle Too Small

Illustration

Brett Blair

Roy Lloyd, a Lutheran minister, once interviewed Mother Teresa. He said that one of his questions and one of her answers stands out in his mind as "a bright sun burning in my mind." He asked her, "What's the biggest problem in the world today?" And she answered, without hesitation, "The biggest problem in the world today is that we draw the circle of our family too small. We need to draw it larger...

505. Messages From God

Illustration

Brett Blair

A few years ago there were billboards scattered throughout the United States with messages from God. Some guy had purchased the space and conducted an advertising campaign for God. Actually, the person responsible for these "Messages from God" chose to remain anonymous. The Smith Agency in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, launched the advertising campaign in September 1998. Andrew Smith, the agency's pre...

506. Water That Brings a New Beginning - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

Water has been in the news a lot recently, at least in the forms of snow and ice. Winter storms and snow literally stopped traffic in many parts of the country. And as much as we try to forge through to get to work or school, sometimes we have to stop and respect what the water around us is doing. Water is part of the drama of our life. It brings life, but not enough or too much can bring destr...

507. The Unbaptized Arm

Illustration

Staff

Ivan the Great was the tsar of all of Russia during the Fifteenth Century. He brought together the warring tribes into one vast empire--the Soviet Union. As a fighting man he was courageous. As a general he was brilliant. He drove out the Tartars and established peace across the nation. However, Ivan was so busy waging his campaigns that he did not have a family. His friends and advisers were qui...

508. A Call to Improve

Illustration

King Duncan

In a Peanut's comic strip, Lucy is walking along the road with Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown asks her: "Lucy, are you going to make any New Year's resolutions?" Lucy hollers back at him, knocking him off his feet: "What? What for? What's wrong with me now? I like myself the way I am! Why should I change? What in the world is the matter with you, Charlie Brown? I'm all right the way I am! I don't ha...

509. Lost Hope

Illustration

King Duncan

Do you know how the great composer Tchaikovsky died? There is more than one version of the story but according to one reliable source the end of Tchaikovsky's life is said to have occurred four days after one of his symphonies received an unfavorable reception in St. Petersburg. The great composer, despondent some said, already feeling ill according to others, deliberately drank a glass of unboile...

510. A Humble Servant

Illustration

King Duncan

The story is told of Dr. Charles Mayo who, with his father and brother, founded the world-famous Mayo Clinic. A group of European medical experts was visiting the clinic and were staying as guests of Dr. Mayo at his home. In their own countries it was the custom of these gentlemen to place their shoes outside the bedroom doors for a servant to polish. As Dr. Mayo was retiring he noticed shoes lin...

511. Baptism of The Lord

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Is 42:1-9 · Acts 10:34-43 · Mt 3:13-17 Roman Catholic: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Episcopal: Is 42:1-9 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Lutheran: Is 42:1-7 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Seasonal Theme: The Holy Spirit is prominently featured in the Epiphany Season pericopes. The Spirit does not act in isolation but works to create and sustain the spir...

512. The Voice Of The Lord

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: None When your mom or dad call you in from play, why do you come? What if they tell you to stay away from something because it is dangerous (like putting your finger in a light socket!), do you believe them? Why? You believe them because you trust them. Now, I have another question. We trust our parents so we believe what they say. Can we trust Jesus? Why? Today's scripture tells us we c...

513. The Waters of Death & Life

Illustration

Paul Peterson

Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They have already attained new life through dying with Christ. But they do need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few grew into maturity. The r...

514. Baptism of the Lord

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The central focus of the First Sunday After Epiphany is the baptism of Jesus. Isaiah 42:1-9 provides commentary for interpreting the significance of the baptism of Jesus for Christians, while Psalm 29 is a hymn of praise that can be used liturgically to celebrate the event. Isaiah 42:1-9 - "The Commissioning of the Servant" Setting. Isaiah 42:1-4 (and perhaps vv. 5-9) is o...

515. Imagine This

Sermon

John Jamison

We’re going to start the story today some 400 miles away from the Jordan River. The city of Tarsus was a major business center in what is now Turkey and a place where many Jewish families had settled who had fled the harsh Roman rule around Jerusalem. We’re going to start by looking at one particular Jewish family in Tarsus. It was a devout Jewish family. A son in that family would later refer to ...

516. Beloved

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How do you know that someone loves you? Whether it’s your spouse, partner, parent, friend, or someone you’ve been dating, relationship therapists tell us to look for certain “signs” that you are feeling love toward that person, or that that person loves you.[1] Those signs are pretty straightforward, and I’m guessing every one of us has encountered at least some of them. If you’ve been fortunate e...

517. Who Am I?

Sermon

Will Willimon

"And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending ....a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." As a pastor on a university campus, I spend a good deal of time with people who are trying to figure out who they are and what they ought to be doing. Behind ninety-pe...

518. The Baptism of Jesus

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

When Jesus comes to be baptized by John (3:13–17), John demurs, indicating that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus’s reply is intriguing: he must be baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15). Of all the Gospel writers, Matthew uses the noun “righteousness” (Greek dikaiosynē) most frequently (seven times in Matthew as compared with once in Luke and twice in John). The use of “righteousness” here ...

519. Finding Oneself in the Wilderness

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

In the narrative of the temptations, Jesus is seen in the wilderness, where he attempts to answer difficult questions regarding the shape and substance of his future ministry. The temptations of Jesus occurred in the wilderness following his baptism. Is that not true to all human experience? In our best moments evil stalks our trail. He was alone. Is that not true to experience, too? People face m...

520. The Temptations Of Christ And Our Temptations

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil ... And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to becomes loaves of bread (Matthew 4:1-3)." Some of the worst temptations seem to come when you are alone, do they not? Of course we are tempted by individuals and sometimes by the crowd. But even in those instances the strug...

521. Dealing with the Devil

Sermon

Johnny Dean

I used to believe that children were born pure and innocent. Then I became a parent. Now I believe in original sin. When my oldest son was about three years old, I was outside doing some yard work one afternoon. I took Kevin outside to play while I trimmed the hedges. Holding his hand, I knelt down beside him so that we could look at each other face to face. Slowly and carefully I said, "Now, Kevi...

522. Life Beyond Bread

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: Life does not consist in bread alone. Prop: A loaf of bread, a folded shirt, and a toy model house. Lesson: I have three things with me this morning. What are they? (response) These three things are each very important. Hold up the food. Why is food important? (response) What would happen if we didn't have food? (response) Clothes are also important. What would happen if we didn't ...

523. Tempter and Tempted

Sermon

Dean Lueking

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "The...

524. Free and Faithful

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted ... - Matthew 4:1 In Huxley’s Brave New World, Savage is contending with Mustapha Mond, the world controller. Savage’s sensibility has been shaped by the Bible and Shakespeare, readings no longer allowed to the public. He complains to Mond about the antiseptic quality of life in the new society. The controller says to him: "We ...

525. Decisive Battles With Temptation

Sermon

Robert Allen

It happens so often that it seems almost routine in our modern world. We read or listen to certain stories with interest and then make little jokes about how public figures shoot themselves in the foot when they yield to temptation and it becomes public knowledge. In recent years, we have become privy to the temptations which have seduced several public figures. Not long ago, Gary Hart was the lea...

Showing 501 to 525 of 4508 results