Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 551 to 575 of 4977 results

551. Proper 22

Luke 17:1-10, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13, Lamentations 1:1-22, Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... mustard seed is so small that it is difficult to plant just one, it packs enough genetic material to produce a large, substantial plant when it is full grown. 2. "Mulberry Tree." (v. 6) A mulberry tree has a deep root. It is difficult to pull up. It would be quite a feat to remove it simply by an act of faith. The contrast between the size of a mustard seed and the immensity of the task in pulling up a mulberry tree is the point made. 3. "Your Slave." (v. 7) A slave is expected to carry out orders without ...

552. Mary Ponders

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... real live infant -- no longer the play doll of girlhood -- must have been overwhelming. But Mary had been no ordinary child and her baby no ordinary infant. Hadn't the angel told her he would be called the Son of the Most High God? It had been quite a year. Back in friendly, gracious, dusty Nazareth there had first been the messenger informing her that she would have a child. Mary knew that someday she and Joseph would be parents, but their marriage had to wait until Joseph was able to provide for a family ...

553. The Limits Of Love

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... Testament stories to make his point, but they were not the popular stories -- the good-old-boy tales -- people love to hear. We all want our preachers to tell us how much God loves us and our kind. Have you sung "God Bless America" recently? We are not quite as enamored of hearing about how much God loves our enemies. It was not that long ago anybody returning from a visit to the Soviet Union might be snarled at just for suggesting that faith in that communist cesspool might be alive and well, or that God ...

554. On Golf, Swimming, Gardening and Lent?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... a game I find frustrating, challenging and fun all at the same time. This last fall, I was playing a round with someone who is quite good at the game. I am always open to tips and pointers and we were having a very good time, until we ended up behind ... owner of the vineyard comes seeking fruit for the third time on that tree and finds none. The owner wants to cut it down and quit wasting time on it. It is a barren tree. But the gardener, the one who has the responsibility for the tree, begs for mercy. "Let ...

555. Taking The Good With The Bad

Job 1:1-5

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... again, "What do you think of my man Job? Just like I said, he is unique; there is no one quite like him. He is honest and trustworthy, and he's still loyal to me and hates evil. He is still a man of integrity even though you tried to destroy him. Like ... I said, there is no one quite like Job on earth." Then Satan challenged God. "Anyone would be loyal to you to save his life. They would be a fool to do otherwise. If ...

556. Mirror, Mirror ON The Wall . . .!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... a breakdown. A mechanic showed me an odd-shaped cog covered with grease. "This is the culprit," he said. "It cracked and ruined the whole system." After finding an exact replacement, the machinery began to run once more. But all it took was one ugly and dirty little part that quit doing its job and the entire plant was shut down! Creation is like that, too. It takes all kinds! Each of us is designed by God to fill a job here on earth. And the Lord, seeing how he wants us to fit in, designed us with all we ...

557. Point Of Origin

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... an exam, they gave the professor a stamped, self-addressed postcard. The professor would mail the grade. The day before this student was to leave for home, he received the postcard in his dormitory mailbox. It said A. He was an A student. Well, actually he wasn't quite. You see, all the others had departed on their trips. As the dormitory proctor, he had to stay there and lock up. There wasn't anyone for him to show his postcard. He was not recognized yet. All he was was a guy from South Carolina standing ...

558. To Have And To Hold (Your Tongue)

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... hurts others, but it will eventually hurt you, too. An elderly grandfather was growing deaf, so he decided to buy a hearing aid. Two weeks later he stopped at the store where he had bought it and told the manager he could now pick up conversation quite easily, even in the next room. "Your relatives must be happy to know that you can hear so much better," beamed the delighted storeowner. "Oh, I haven't told them yet," the man chuckled. "I've just been sitting around listening -- and you know what? I changed ...

559. The Burdens Of The Past

Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... packs. It can be a special problem if the students carry the load on just one shoulder, but even if balanced equally, it can be quite a load. Burdens that we carry can cause all kinds of problems. They slow us down, they cause pain and discomfort, and they make ... hat, And the first thing we knew, he'd begun it. With a lift of his chin, and a bit of a grin Without any doubting or "quit it," He started to sing, as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done, and he did it!2 Our attitude is perhaps the most ...

560. Live Together In Harmony

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... can we ever get all these people to live in harmony and work together? We must keep in mind that unity does not imply uniformity. Sameness has been the fear of many people when they are confronted with the ecumenical challenge. Pentecostal worship is quite different from Lutheran worship; yet both can exalt the same Christ. We are not called to deny our rich diversity of thinking, feeling and action but rather to center everything in Christ. In our rightful quest for oneness among the followers of Christ we ...

561. Learn To Wait Creatively

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... numerous leading businesses and industries in America, tells of a friend of his who learned the hard way how impatient some people can be. She was an older woman who found it necessary to return to the office after her husband of 28 years left her. She quite naturally was unsure of herself in her new employment. Her first day on the job was a nightmare. She had to face all the new technological equipment that had become a part of the 1990s business office. But most disconcerting of all was the impatience of ...

562. You Can Be Like Children

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... of children. The author obviously understood that to be like Jesus we must somehow become like children again. There's something quite nice about children. Every family should have one or two They're such a fine race When they're kept in their place: Say, the playground, ... the park or the zoo. In his place, a child's quite delightful, Full of fun, a most interesting buddy. But his yearning for action Can cause a distraction When he has invaded the study. ...

563. Memorial Day

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Sermon

Brett Blair

... you to John Thompson of New York City, born to James and Ellen Thompson in the year 1844. There was a certain gentleness, perhaps even a naivety about the country at that time. Still, life was hard. At age 15 John's father died and he was forced to quite school and go to work to support his widowed mother and his younger sister, Elizabeth. At a salary of $4 a week, he became an apprentice bricklayer. Then came the war, and nothing would ever be the same again. On August 25, 1861, at the age of 19, John ...

564. Crackpots

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... insane." As an adjective "crackpot" means: "eccentric, impractical, insane, crackpot ideas." All of that might apply but it's still not quite what I'm getting at. It's the derivation of the word that relates to what God says about life ... just dribbling away through the cracks, but a full existence, full of living water which is God himself. One simple way to get at that, and I'll quit. Ask yourself: What are the assumptions I live by? If I get out of bed in the morning it's a good bet that my feet will hit ...

565. Summer Fruit

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... . a famine ... not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). Not a hunger for food but a hunger for God that goes unsatisfied. A famine of the spirit. Amos doesn't say that God quits speaking, but that we quit hearing after a while. That "amid all the changing words of our generation," we may not hear God's eternal word that does not change. The only word which speaks of life and of hope. A word spoken most clearly to us in the life, death, and resurrection ...

566. Living Our Lives On The Edge

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... the meetings were always at meal time. I'm talking about The Clean Plate Club! Now just in case there is someone here who missed out on membership in this exclusive club and therefore is uninformed as to its nature, let me explain. The club is really quite easy to describe and the rules are supremely easy to understand. The Clean Plate Club is composed of those proper boys and girls who eat everything that is dished up on their plate. It was always assumed, whether true or not, that every boy and girl would ...

567. Our Big Brother

Romans 8:27

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... Brother was very sorry for what he had done, but he also knew that now his mom wouldn't be quite so angry with him since Big Brother had talked to her first. Sometimes when Little Brother wants to ask his parents for something special like a new bike or some money ... to go to the show, he doesn't quite know what to say. So Big Brother helps him figure out how to ask for what he wants. Sometimes Big Brother even does the asking for ...

568. Week Three Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and person. In the first reading from 2 Kings, Naaman has convinced himself that the action needed to cure his leprosy must be miraculous in some manner. Certainly no ordinary action could cure such a dreaded disease. Moreover, since the prophet of Israel is quite famous, the actions he performs must be grand so that all can see and, therefore, believe. Naaman is disappointed with Elisha to the point of anger. The prophet did not even come out to Naaman. He only sent word that Naaman should plunge seven ...

569. When The Saints Come Marching In

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... the ones who came, as if John is leading his congregations in a moment of remembrance for all those brave souls gone on before. Nor even, the ones who will come, as if the prophet has somehow taken a peek at the roll soon to be called up yonder. Quite the contrary. In the Greek, the phrase is in the present tense. And thus, a better rendering might be: "These are they who come through the great ordeal ..." The saints are constantly marching in, and no doubt shall do so until all have arrived safely home. In ...

570. A Misguided Game of Hide-and-Seek

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... Frustrated of searching for anything familiar, he sat down in the middle of the floor, removed his blindfold, and began to cry. We quickly apologized, of course, and tried to make it up to him in different ways. However, his relationship with us was never quite the same. The furniture was moved back, but Jonathan's trust would not be as easily restored. I'm told that the only inborn fear humans have is that of falling, of having the supports suddenly withdrawn from beneath us, and the underpinnings removed ...

571. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... , I decided I could use the experience as a way of encountering God at work in the world. Every Wednesday, I made my way over to the small Episcopal Church which ran the clothing locker -- always hoping that I would see the Lord's glory, but never being quite sure where to look. There was one morning, though, that I will never forget. It was a bone-chilling day in February, and when I pulled into the parking lot, there was already a line of people at the door. I had barely gotten myself organized, when down ...

572. Expecting the Unexpected

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... it mildly, it's difficult to accept a story like this, because it's difficult to accept the kind of God who would instigate a story like this. But then again, this isn't the first time the Almighty has acted in a way we didn't quite anticipate. In fact, "expecting the unexpected" seems to be a common refrain in the storyline of Scripture. Take Abraham and Sarah, for example. Here they are in their golden years, when suddenly three strangers announce that they'd better strap a child-safety seat on the camels ...

573. To All Those Who Have, More Will Be Given

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... that Jesus uses to illustrate the kingdom of heaven. It is a story about a shrewd businessman who rewards the slaves that double his money and punishes the worker who faithfully returns what the master had entrusted to him. This image of the kingdom of God may be quite different from what we would expect to read in the scriptures. When Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God we don't expect him to talk about a crafty investor. We don't think of God as a harsh man who reaps where he does not sow and gathers ...

574. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

... , and to put the story into dramatic motion. It is one thing, for example, to hear the story of Zacchaeus; it is quite another actually to see him -- this tiny man swallowed by the always-taller crowd; this lilliputian tax collector lost in a sea ... skirts and shinnying immodestly up the nearest sycamore tree. Or again, it is one thing to read Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, but quite another to experience it in the theater of the absurd. In the *Sermon emphasis John 18:28--19:22 ear it all sounds rather ...

575. Love Without Limits

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... an addiction. If you have, you know something about the limits this woman's love had to break through to shout this at Jesus. You know how, first of all, you have to love your child enough to admit to yourself that something isn't right. You have to quit saying to yourself, "This is something he'll grow out of. This is just a stage she's going through." If you think that is easy, you haven't done it, because it may mean that there is something wrong with you: your genes, your parenting, your own emotional ...

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