Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 576 to 600 of 1232 results

576. Follow That Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome to this celebration of the twelfth day of Christmas. I hope you ladies are enjoying your partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, and particularly your five golden rings. This, of course, is Epiphany, the day we celebrate the arrival of the three magi offering their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh before the newborn king. You may have heard about the three six-year-old boys who were playing the wise men in their church Christmas program. As they came ...

577. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Even though it happened years ago, many of us here this morning can still recall the tragedy as if it were yesterday. Remember the way a whole country held its breath, prayed its prayers, and sat glued to the television set? We watched, spellbound, as the Herculean efforts of hundreds of firefighters, engineers, mining experts, and emergency services specialists, labored to save the life of one trapped child. As we watched and prayed, this little girl became everyone's child. This child was Baby Jessica, ...

578. Saved by the Bell

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It's one of the most powerful images in the history of Christianity: Jesus on the cross, flanked on either side by two thieves. Or if you were a first-century gawker at Golgotha, here are three criminals lifted up for humiliation on three crosses. In the final hours of their lives, these three criminals formed a community of the dying. They entered into relationships with each other, shared intimacies, and conversed with each other about matters of life and death. If you listen carefully to this dialog of ...

579. The Crowd that Watched God Die

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Have you ever noticed how people are attracted to the scene of tragedy? There was a time in our country, when there was going to be a hanging, that people gathered with picnic baskets and children to watch a criminal die. Once a tornado cut a path of destruction through a town in North Georgia. When Sunday afternoon came, there was a huge traffic jam of curious tourists. And even here we are not so different. When there is a traffic accident we slow down to look, and we even return later to examine the ...

580. Prison Break

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Christ is alive! Can I get a witness? Hallelujah! Or as some of us learned in Sunday School, “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah . . . Praise Ye The Lord.” If Christ is alive, why aren’t we more alive? Why don’t we feel more alive this morning? One word: agoraphobia. Ever heard of it? Every know of anyone who had it? Of all the dozens of phobias people can suffer from, one of the most debilitating is the fear of open spaces. Agoraphobia. A friend born and raised in the Midwest described how she felt ...

581. What a Way to Start a Church!

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development. Where is the planning committee, the fund-raising, the arm twisting, the real estate deal acquiring the land, the faithful few who volunteer from other churches to give the whole thing its initial push? Not everyone has the personality to start a church from scratch, but Paul did. "I planted, Apollos watered," says Paul (1 Corinthians 3:6). Some preachers are just good at planting churches and getting them ...

582. God’s Story Time

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Do you remember loving “story time” as a child? You got to put aside pencil and paper, gather together in a circle, and listen to an unfolding story about someone and somewhere else. Story time invited all of us to enter into the worlds of other people, to involve ourselves in their trials and triumphs, to encounter new cultures and challenges through others. Fairy tales gave us stories that included dragons and giants, noble knights and not-so-noble connivers and conspirators. But for those raised in the ...

583. Pet Rocks and the Big Reveal

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Palm Sunday) Does anybody remember when pet rocks became a big fad in this country? In April 1975, Gary Dahl was in a bar listening to his friends complain about their pets. This gave him the idea for the perfect “pet” -- a rock. Think about it. A rock would not need to be fed, walked, bathed, or groomed; furthermore, pet rocks would not die, become sick, or be disobedient. He said they would be perfect as pets, and joked about it with his friends. But Dahl later took ...

584. God Has Gone Up

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book, ON A WILD AND WINDY MOUNTAIN, William H. Willimon tells of being in New Haven, Connecticut as a student at Yale in l970 during the famous Black Panther Trial. Those of you who remember that turbulent era recall the strife, discord and agony that tormented our society. During the week that the crisis at New Haven reached its peak, Willimon attended a choral mass at a nearby Catholic Parish. A boy's choir was singing, "Deus Ascendit, "God Has Gone Up." Willimon mused, "Just as I thought. God Has ...

585. Going, Going, Gone

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

Recently, a friend of mine went to Wrigley Field in Chicago to watch an afternoon baseball game. For my friend, an afternoon at Wrigley Field is the ultimate in baseball. Those who attend an afternoon game at Wrigley Field still sing enthusiastically during the seventh inning stretch, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." When a player drives a ball deep into left field towards the bleachers, and it looks as if the ball will make it into the bleachers, you will hear a familiar cry from the faithful at Wrigley, " ...

586. A New Attitude

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you? Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled, Falling into Greatness. In it he tells about an old friend who ...

587. Our God Is an Awesome God

Psalm 139:1-18

Sermon

James Merritt

Robert Wells wrote a book entitled: Is A Blue Whale The Biggest Thing There Is? It is a children's book to help little ones see just how big the universe really is. The largest animal on earth is the blue whale. Just the flippers on its tail are bigger than most animals on earth. But a blue whale isn't anywhere near as big as a mountain. If you could put one hundred blue whales inside of a huge jar, you could put millions of those whale jars inside a Hallowed-Out Mount Everest. But Mount Everest isn't ...

588. Culture Shock

1 Kings 18:21-40

Sermon

James Merritt

The term "culture shock" was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place. Even though I have never moved away from this country and lived in a different place altogether, I do have to tell you that over the last twenty years, I have experienced various degrees of culture shock right here in my own country. Let me tell you what I ...

589. Forty Days and Forever

Exodus 24:12-18

Sermon

Tony Everett

Here's a story that many church members have been telling for a while. Two seminary professors entered a local fast-food restaurant loudly chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Then they were joined by three more. Then five more gathered at their table, all chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Soon, the uproar had disrupted the entire restaurant and the manager came over to ask the professors to keep the noise down. "What's all the chanting about anyway?" asked the manager. "You are disturbing everybody ...

590. At Points of Dispair

1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

It seems almost inevitable that people who experience the highs of life are also going to experience the lows in life. No one lives on a perpetual high. There are always peaks and valleys. The disciples accompanied Jesus to the mount to witness his transfiguration, but after that they descended into the valley below. Have you ever noticed how often the low comes right after the peaks? As a Christian you aren't called upon to always be on a high. Rather, you are called on to look for the presence of God in ...

591. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958, the team was in dismal shape. A single win in season play the year before had socked the club solidly into the basement of the NFL, and sportscasters everywhere used it as the butt of loser jokes. But Lombardi picked and pulled and prodded and trained and disciplined the players into becoming a winning team. They were NFL champions in three consecutive seasons, and took the game honors for the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi was ...

592. The Time Is Now!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Unlike John or Peter, the gospel writer Luke was a cool-headed intellect. Luke was a physician. As a physician, he was trained to keep his emotional distance from the events he saw. Nobody wants a physician who lets emotion run ahead of intellect. We want our medical doctors to be able to confront the most remarkable experiences and stay calm; to analyze, decide the best course of action, and prescribe whatever it takes to get the patient well again. Above all else, "Keep calm and carry on." That is, do ...

593. Pop Verses: Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Today I continue our series “Pop Verses.” We are taking a closer look at some of the most popular Bible verses. We are finding out why they are so popular and how they apply to our lives. Quite often our favorite verses are just that – they’re verses. They’re not read in context. This can lead to a misunderstanding about the meaning of the verse. I believe this series is giving us a lot of food for thought about these popular verses. Today our pop verses come from the prophet Isaiah. It is a beautiful ...

594. Who Owns the Cloud: Google or God?

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this First Sunday of Advent. Today’s lesson from Luke’s Gospel is a little unsettling. In it Christ seems to be describing the end of the world. Listen to his words: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken . . .” That’s vivid imagery. “Signs in the sun, moon and stars . . . ...

595. Driven to Their Knees

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s interesting. In the church, today is the day we celebrate the Transfiguration of Christ. In the world outside, however, this is better known as Valentine’s Day. Transfiguration Day is by far the more important of the two, but I certainly hope all the men in the church remembered it is Valentine’s Day. You’re in trouble if you didn’t. It’s so important that someone has prepared a list of ways, “How to Tell You Forgot Valentine’s Day.” Here are three of those ways: Hallmark calls, offering discounts on ...

596. The Captain's Voice

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

I was walking through a building on a college campus when I spied a student lounging in an overstuffed chair, feet propped against a wall, reading a book that I had written. “That’s my book!” I said too loudly and suddenly, amazed to find someone eyeballing my words. With a start, she glared at me as if I were crazy. “This is mine!” she said. “I just bought it at the bookstore.” I apologized, and then explained to her that I was the author of the volume she held. She was amazed and my ego was stroked, and ...

597. Ephphatha...Be Opened

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

More than a generation of preachers at Princeton Seminary were schooled in their homiletical skills by Dr. Donald Macleod. Among the points Dr. Macleod would make during the semester was the importance of choosing a compelling sermon title. In fact, he asked students to give their sermon title before beginning each sermon. He used to tell of Mrs. O'Leary who would hop on the Fifth Avenue bus on Sunday morning in Manhattan and pass the great churches along that thoroughfare. As the bus would approach each ...

598. Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The best thing to say to a pastor after you hear a sermon that moves you is not, "That was a good sermon." That's a little better than saying, "That was a lousy sermon," but in saying, "That was a good sermon," you may be missing the point of preaching. The point of preaching is for the listeners to put the Word of God into action. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian, says that the role of listeners in a devotional address is not that of an audience at a play. The pastor's role, he says, is not that ...

599. The Way Things Are

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

John N. Brittain

The other day I stumbled onto a Discovery Channel show about underwater archaeology (not basket weaving). The archaeologist described the process of identifying the probable location of an underwater wreck site, the grueling work involved in beginning the process, and the same kind of methodical work that characterizes all scientific archaeology. But then her eyes twinkled as she described the joy of uncovering the first artifact, or recognizing a significant discovery. And that of course is what it is all ...

600. The Sermon Title

Mark 7:31-37

Illustration

David E. Leininger

Jesus started to get people's attention when he healed the deaf and mute man. Getting people's attention is important. Dr. Donald Macleod understood this. Generations of preachers at Princeton Seminary were schooled in their homiletical skills by Dr. Macleod. Among the points Dr. Macleod would make during the semester was the importance of choosing a compelling sermon title. In fact, he asked students to give their sermon title before beginning each sermon. He used to tell of Mrs. O'Leary who would hop on ...

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