Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 576 to 600 of 4914 results

576. Superman: More Than A Super Hero

John 1:1-5, 9-14; John 13:31-32; John 20:30-31

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

John 1:1-5 (NRSV) [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being [4] in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:9-14 (NRSV) [9] The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. [10] He was in the ...

577. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: Ring (engagement ring preferably) or letter from a prior wartime soldier (if you can find such) Have you heard the riddle? Question: In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, what's the difference between the Chicken and the Pig? Answer: The Chicken is involved, but the Pig is committed! Commitment is sometimes a “dirty word” in our culture today. People are wary of making commitments that may not last. Our marriage rates are going down. More people are renting homes than buying. Many are buying gold, fearing ...

578. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Music: To God Be the Glory [You can have it playing just before the sermon. There are a lot of good versions, both old and new. You can also play a YouTube for your people.] To God be the glory! Say it with me: To God be the glory! Now I want you to repeat that phrase after me, like a refrain. Each time I speak a line, I want you to respond with: To God be the glory! Ok? Let’s try it! “The weather is beautiful today!” [To God be the glory!] The beginning of the season of advent has come upon us ...

579. The Glory of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Hubert Beck

If someone said they would "glorify" you, what would you expect? Honor? Wealth? Power? Fame? Although some of you - perhaps most of you, for that matter - will immediately recognize the words and know their context, play a little guessing game with me for a moment. In what context would you expect these words of Jesus to have been spoken? "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified." Stress the "now" in the sentence so that your guessing is almost pinpointed to an instant in time, for the ...

580. Turmoil Brewing, Herod Stewing, Prophecy, and Porridge

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: mustard seeds, brew pot [Optional beginning: stew.... adding one small anise seed, or garlic flower, or mustard seed can radically change the taste of your stew, can transform it in fact.] As we come into the new year, many of us have plans stewing, ideas brewing, and we mean to go forward with resolutions in hand and resolve in order. We want to change our lives. We want to alter our behavior. We want to make things happen. We want to move mountains. And yet, our scriptures for today would challenge ...

581. The Vision of the Great Prostitute

Revelation 17:1-18

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: John is astonished when he receives the vision of Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes, in all her power, opulence, and adulterous depravity. Understanding the Text At the conclusion of the bowl judgments, Babylon the Great is split into three parts and is made to drink the full cup of God’s wrath (16:19). Now one of the seven angels from chapter 16 invites John to witness in greater detail the judgment God will bring on the harlot. As a result, the judgment of Babylon the Great in 17 ...

582. Dorcas, Dinah, or Delilah (Who are You?)

Genesis 34:1-31, Judges 16:1-22, Acts 9:32-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Names are fun. We all like to play with names. We get excited about naming our babies. We give each other nicknames. We call each other names –sometimes for fun, sometimes not in the best spirit! We give our children ancestral names, biblical names, and sometimes, off-the-wall names! We name our animals according to what they look like, or what they mean to us. Names are identity markers. They reveal something about how we see the world around us and the people in it. They reveal something about our ...

583. Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

The Opening Greeting 1:1 Except for the omission of Timothy, the opening of this greeting is quite similar to Colossians 1:1. The letter claims to be from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. This term was one that Paul used frequently to indicate that he was “one who was sent” (apostellō, “to send”) as a missionary or special envoy of God. It is used of the twelve disciples as well as for others who fulfill an apostolic function, such as Andronicus and Junias (Rom. 16:7). At times, it is applied to ...

584. Praise to God for a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Greetings to Readers 1:1 The writer introduces himself in a brief and modest manner. The Gospels all agree on the prominence of Peter, a born leader, impulsive, yet burning with love and enthusiasm. It was to him that Jesus said both the toughest and the choicest things. Whatever Peter’s faults, a cold heart was not one of them. His warm pastoral concern for others glows in his letters. Peter succinctly states his credentials by describing himself simply as an apostle, an accredited messenger, of Jesus ...

585. Jacob's Well

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3) My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13) Props: a fountain of water (you can find small fountains at most greenhouses or online) running; large pot made of pottery or clay; bottle of spring water; baptismal font or other large bowl of water with nearby towel; fishbowl; glasses of water that look ...

586. What It Takes To Be A Winner

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

This text for the fifth Sunday of Epiphany is probably the most sublime passage of Scripture in the Old Testament. It is the poetic description of the soaring of eagles. The Jewish people were in exile and it is likely that every one of them had looked up at the sky, seen eagles soaring, and cried out in their souls to the Lord to give them the freedom of the eagles. They were beginning to doubt that God cared for them. They desperately needed assurance that God was still in charge and that he cared about ...

587. What If

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don't know when the question became so central in my thinking. It didn't emerge full-blown. At first it was at the edge of my consciousness, but now it's at the very center pressing for attention. It became even more clamoring, even more demanding, even more piercing during these past two weeks as we have shared with people behind the Iron Curtain; as we have shared with Christians who have to ask the question and who have to make a response. It's one of those what-if questions -- you know the kind I am ...

588. The Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

The Hymn to Christ Scholars are virtually unanimous in their opinion that verses 15–20 constitute a hymn. Since the existence of hymns in the early church was common (Phil. 2:5–11; Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19), it is not difficult to believe that this is a carefully written poem intended to convey a specific self-contained message about Christ to the readers at Colossae. Paul has already alluded to the work of Christ with respect to deliverance and the forgiveness of sins (1:13, 14). In the hymn he continues to ...

589. Making One's Calling and Election Sure

2 Peter 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Greeting 1:1 The opening of 2 Peter is along the conventional lines of a NT letter, giving sender, addressees, greeting (see commentary on Jude 1 and Additional Notes on Jude 1–2). The sender identifies himself as Simon Peter. Most Greek MSS of 2 Peter transliterate the sender’s first name as Symeōn, the Hebrew form applied to Simon Peter elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 15:14, in the appropriate Jewish-Christian setting of the Council of Jerusalem. The author further calls himself a servant and apostle of ...

590. Easter 2

Jn 20:19-31 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Acts 2:14a, 22-32 · Ps 16 · Ps 111

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31 Roman Catholic: Acts 2:42-47 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31 Episcopal: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 or 1 Pet 1:3-9 or Jn 20:19-31 · Gen 8:6-16; 9:8-16 · Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Lutheran: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31 Theme For The Day: The theme of faith and doubt runs through the lessons for today. In the First Lesson, Peter attempts to elicit faith on the part of his hearers in the risen Christ. In the Second Lesson, Peter points ...

591. Forgiveness: Human and Divine

Matthew 6:12-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Today we are concerned about the matter of forgiveness, God''s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. According to the Bible, the two go together and can never really be separated. James Knight is a Professor of Psychiatry, an Associate Dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Lately, he has been speaking and writing about some of the horrendous and overwhelming social and emotional problems people face today. He speaks from his own experience when he says, "I confess that ...

592. The Eyes of Your Heart

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

John Edward believes that people don't just die, but that they "cross over." That's nothing earth shattering to Christians because we believe that, too. We believe Jesus taught it and promised it. We believe scripture tells us that is what happens to us when we die. Before Jesus left his disciples he told them he was going to his Father's house to prepare a room for them. He told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise." When Peter asked Jesus where he was going, Jesus told him, " ...

593. The Word that Changed the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this first Sunday of the New Year. I won’t ask you to raise your hand if you are still keeping the resolutions you made 2 days ago. Andy Simmons, the Senior Editor for Readers Digest says that he keeps all of his New Year’s resolutions, every single one. How does he do it? Quite simple, really. After years of introspection he says he has developed a healthy understanding of what he can and cannot do. Therefore, he keeps his resolutions realistic. For example, a few years ago he resolved to gain ...

594. Practicing the Presence

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Practice what you preach.” That old saw is usually trotted out when some high profile “holier‑than‑thou” type has their wings clipped and their reputation riddled with holes. Or a “sterling” character is revealed to have feet of crumbling clay. But there is one big problem with “practice what you preach.” It all depends on what it is you are “preaching.” When some convictions are put into action the results can be catastrophic or cruel, insidious or just plain evil. Mother Teresa practiced what she ...

595. One Stone Faith

1 Sam. Chapters 16-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The story of David is the story of a Shepherd defending the holy flock of the Lord. But it is the Lord who saves them. For God is the true Shepherd of Israel. The boomer generation may well be the last generation that has significant memories of growing up on a farm. Anyone here a farmer? Anyone lived either on a farm, or a ranch, or know someone who does? If you live on the land, particularly in undeveloped areas or frontier regions, one of your major concerns are predators. Today, your threat may be as ...

596. God Outwits Us

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many of you know the name, Brother Lawrence. If you have not read his book The Practice of the Presence of God, you have probably heard a preacher or teacher speak of Brother Lawrence. He served in the kitchen of his monastery and said he experienced the presence of God as clearly in washing pots and pans as in the Blessed Sacrament. Though known as Brother Lawrence, his name was Nicholas Herman. He was born into a peasant family in Lorraine, France, in 1611. At the age of eighteen, he awakened to the ...

597. Why We Need the Pledge of Allegiance

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When I was in high school, a new music teacher came to town. He was fresh out of college and full of ambition. But here he was, stuck in a very rural community where people didn't put up with (as they called it) "long-haired music," either from the Beatles or Beethoven. Still, he was determined to teach us good music. We were going to sing selections from Handel's Messiah for our Christmas concert. Most of us had never heard of George Frideric Handel, and when we first tried to sight-read through the ...

598. Seeing with Eyes Closed

Exodus 34:1-28, Exodus 34:29-35, John 1:1-18, Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Lori Wagner

When Joe Campos left for work on Long Island during heavy rains Monday a week ago, he never imagined he would return home entirely changed. Joe worked for Ramon Stone Construction Company. He had just lifted a heavy metal chain when he saw lightning hit the ground about 20 feet in front of him. It took less than a second to travel from there to him, knocking him to the ground. Joe described the experience as numbing his entire body at first, so that he couldn’t move. Eventually, he got up, went inside, and ...

599. Justification and Reconciliation

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Two fundamental and interrelated concepts in Paul’s message of salvation are justification and reconciliation. When the apostle speaks of salvation in terms of vicarious sacrifice and redemption, he is describing salvation as a purely objective salvation-occurrence. The saving sacrifice has already been made. The redemptive deed has already been done. The victory over the forces of evil has already been won. Justification and reconciliation, on the other hand, show how what Christ has done can become for ...

600. The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

A clear break in John’s book of visions is indicated by the events of 4:1. The seer sees an open door, and he hears the angel’s trumpetlike voice summoning him to enter through heaven’s portal. This passage into the visionary world will lead John to understand what will take place on earth. This is not to say that what follows in this chapter is unrelated to what precedes it; in fact, the various visions of this book are interrelated according to the seer’s own commission (cf. 1:19). In our view, it is ...

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