Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 526 to 550 of 4944 results

526. The Power of the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It is not by strength that one prevails. (Hannah’s Prayer) Props: hiking boots or tricycle (you’ll need a child volunteer from the congregation for this) and matches (or one large match) to light a candle; oil Some of you have probably seen the movie Wild, based on the recent best-selling book. The story is about a young woman, Cheryl Strayed, who takes a long trek through the mountain trails of Washington State in order to deal with her “inner demons.” She is mourning the loss of her mother. She is trying ...

527. Divorce-Proofing Your Marriage

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him." So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him. Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one ...

528. Going Hard against the Grain

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Perhaps you have heard the story of the star-thrower, first published by Loren Eiseley in his 1969 book The Unexpected Universe. He tells of walking along a beach "littered with the debris of life.... Along the strip of wet sand that marks the ebbing and flowing of the tide, death walks hugely and in many forms. In the end the sea rejects its offspring. They cannot fight their way home through the surf which casts them repeatedly back upon the shore. The tiny breathing spores of starfish are stuffed with ...

529. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Preface Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Whom we, that have not seen thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace, Believing where we cannot prove; Thine are these orbs of light and shade; Thou madest Life in man and brute; Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot Is on the skull which thou hast made. Thou wilt not leave us in the dust: Thou madest man, he knows not why, He thinks he was not made to die; And thou hast made him: thou art just. Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, thou. ...

530. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

There are many things about your life which I do not know. But one thing I do know: you are living in an interim. And so am I. We are in time-in-between; we are between what has happened and what will happen. We know a great deal about the former and very little about the latter. What has been is past, and we are moving away from it, going on to what is to be. How we make this journey is very important, the attitudes with which we travel, the guiding stars we follow. So I want to speak with you about The ...

531. Refusing to Quit

2 Timothy 4:5-8

Sermon

James McCormick

Years ago, a Midwestern University unveiled a plaque honoring an undistinguished alumnus. During his college years, this alumnus had participated in a variety of campus activities, but he had never been president of any organization. For four years he had gone out for football, but he had never made the first team or played in an important game. His scholastic average was in the B’s. When World War I came, he served in a minor capacity in a medical unit, and one day met his death trying to help a wounded ...

532. Parabola

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

[This is an interactive sermon. In order to preach this well, you need to allow your congregants to take part, answer questions, imagine themselves as part of the story.] Prop: ostrich egg I have here an egg. [You can pass around the egg.] This egg belongs to an ostrich. Let me tell you a story about the ostrich, who one day took her eyes off of the place in the sand where she buried her eggs. Lo and behold, when she finally remembered where she had hid them, a predator had come in the night and stolen her ...

533. Living With The Nitty Gritty

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson is from the first epistle of Peter, the 1st chapter, beginning at the 13th and reading through the 21st verses. This is the word of the Lord. Therefore, gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is Holy, be Holy yourselves in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be Holy for I am Holy. And ...

534. The Knot: Tied

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

There are two topics a pastor can talk about that are guaranteed to generate emails, letters, phone calls, discussion, and debate. Those topics are money and marriage. I knew that this series we are doing on marriage would generate a lot of interest, reveal a lot of anguish, and strike a lot of nerves. There is an old joke about marriage that goes like this: “Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond. At the end you wish you had a club and a spade!” ...

535. Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 7:18-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“If you call the Sabbath a delight then you will find your joy in the Lord.” --Isaiah 58:13-14 “Happy is he who is aware of the mysteries of his Lord.” --Abraham Joshua Heschel Visuals: Have Hubbel Space Images scrolling on screen during your sermon / Psalm 92 may be spoken with a musical background or sung You may also opt during or after your sermon to have people sing the psalm (you can find tunes with words on youtube) https://youtu.be/1I_X2bxfAq8 (This version by James Block is particular beautiful.) ...

536. The Play's Playbook for the Game of Life

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is known simply as “The Play.” “The Play” is the name of the greatest game of football ever played--anywhere, anytime. Can anyone here this morning tell me who played in “The Play?” Right: California vs. Stanford. Can anyone tell me the year of “The Play.?” Right: 1982. Can anyone tell me what was so special about “The Play?” Right: With 53 seconds left in the game, Stanford was down 17-19, stuck in their own backfield. It was fourth down, 17 yards to go. But miraculously the Stanford QB (anyone? . . . ...

537. Day-Timers or Begging Bowls

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When Christ comes to us, he often appears in unrecognizable form. You may be the only face of Christ some people will ever see. I'm a slow learner. For most of my Day-timer, life I began each day making a list I list; therefore I am - and then spent the rest of the day checking it off, counting it twice, seeing if I'd been naughty or nice. After decades of trying to govern my life by lists, it finally hit me one day that if I can't get even one day according to plan, what am I doing trying to get months ...

538. Reveille

Mark 6:7-13, Matthew 10:1-42, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: video of the introduction to “Star Trek” (you may want to put a space / stars backdrop up during the sermon) We recently saw the return to theatres yet another “Star Trek” movie. Trekkies are everywhere. There are trekkie conferences, and trekkie clubs. And still millions flock to the movies to see the new generation of “Jim” and “Spock,” “Bones,” and “Scotty” venture into unknown space. Star Trek was one of the first shows to have a diverse cast and to ask questions about what it means to love, to ...

539. Focus on the Finish

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

It was Mexico City 1968. John Steven Akhwari of Tanzania had started the Olympic marathon with all the other runners hours before, but he finished it alone. When he finally arrived at the stadium there were only a few spectators remaining in the stands. The winner of the marathon had crossed the finish line over an hour earlier. It was getting dark; his right leg was bandaged and heavily bleeding. He was obviously in great pain, but he crossed the finish line suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration ...

540. Ignite: Fire Extinguishers

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Five words and regardless of where you are on the political spectrum you would agree they became one of the most famous political slogans of any political candidate in the last 50 years, “Change We Can Believe In.” Regardless of what you think about the slogan or even the man, one thing we all can agree on is that change is difficult. The older you get the harder change is. There are a lot of people I know who are more comfortable with putting up with old problems than they are finding new solutions. They ...

541. The Proof is in the Roof

Luke 5:17-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” (Isaiah 61) Prop: Big Box (Bigger the Better) I have here a box. If I were to step inside of it and close it up, not only can’t we see each other, but my life will become very limited and very narrow. And yet, this is the way many of us live our lives today –closed off, ...

542. An Announcement about Our Future

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The Reverend Richard L. Pearson at one time served the Crescent Park United Methodist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. For several years that church had a living nativity scene. On one particular night it was Pastor Dick’s job, along with a man who had a pick‑up truck, to get a pregnant ewe, which was bedded down in the parsonage garage, to the church. They went to get her about a half hour before performance time. Due to her delicate condition they carefully lifted her into the bed of the truck, and Dick rode ...

543. Cross Eyed: Focus

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Wasn't the rain last week great? It did so much to refresh the parched ground. It was great but I've got to tell you that it almost caused me to be in an accident. You see, the rain made me lose my focus. You know how it is when you're driving and the first drops hit your windshield. It's not enough to really turn on the wipers but just enough to make it hard to see. And you know if you turn on the wipers all you're going to do is smear all the dirt around. Well, I waited for a little bit for the rain to ...

544. The Bridge

John 1:1-18, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

H. J. Hizer

Narrator: Opening: Genesis 3:8-15 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him "Where are you?" And he said "I heard the sound of thee in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat ...

545. Chapter IV

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"Remember the sabbath day, to set it apart for holy purposes. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh (day) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. In it you will not do any work, you or your son, your daghter, your male servant or your female servant, or your beast of burden, or the resident alien who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh (day). Therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath ...

546. I’m At the End of My Rope

2 Kings 4:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

James Dobson tells the true story of a little toddler named Frankie. He was a handful to say the least. One day he pulled a chair over to the front window of his house, and carefully placed it inside the drapes. He was standing there staring out at the world when his mother came looking for him. She spied his little white legs protruding beneath the drapes, and quietly slipped in behind him to see what he was doing. She got there just to hear him say to himself in very somber terms, "I've got to get out of ...

547. Dolphin Drops

Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anybody here speak Italian? You all do. You all know more Italian words than you think you do. Rigatoni, marinara, al dente, alfredo, pasta, grande (both Italian and Spanish for large). Anybody here speak Spanish? You all do. You all know more Spanish words than you think you do. Taco, con carne, burrito, grande burrito, quesadilla, margarita. There are certain Greek and Hebrew words every Christian should know. Let's see how good your Greek is. Feta, baklava. Logos (Word), Christos (Christ), Kyrios (Lord ...

548. Skull Hill

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What kid doesn’t love to splash in a mud puddle? Do you remember the squeal of delight as the wet, dirt-filled explosion splattered all over you? For how many of us was our first “culinary” experience creating mud pies — artfully decorated mud balls, frosted and festooned with leaves, grass, and weeds? But for most of us the love of mud quickly fades as we grow up. The biggest “tell” for this dirt aversion have you ever gotten invited by a friend to come and spend an evening at their “pottery class?” Have ...

549. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Prejudice and the Poor In chapter 2 James expands upon the theme of worldliness and the care of widows. Worldliness shows up not only as personal ambition but also in a church’s paying regard to someone’s worldly power and position rather than dealing only on the basis of that person’s spiritual position in Christ. This issue, in turn, leads to the statement of the need for generosity and to a warning against a complacent orthodoxy that stops short of gospel obedience (2:14–26). 2:1 My brothers recognizes ...

550. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

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