Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 576 to 600 of 1967 results

576. Peace In the Midst of the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Suppose for a few minutes that you are one of them. There is no indication in scripture that you or any of your compatriots have any inkling as you set out in your boats that there might be anything amiss. To be sure, since a number of you are fishermen, you are aware that things like this can happen. After all, the Sea of Galilee is set in a deep gorge between two mountain ranges. The winds sometimes force themselves through the passes around Mount Hermon in the north and virtually explode on the quiet ...

577. Fire! Fire!

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

After this second Sunday of Christmas, the church will enter the season of Epiphany. Epiphany officially begins on January 6. Epiphany is the time the church commemorates the coming of the magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The magi, traditionally called the wise men, had discovered a new star shining in the heavens. They believed it announced the birth of a divine being. After traveling thousands of miles using the light of the star as their compass, they stopped in Jerusalem, ...

578. The Old Testament Ritual Described

Hebrews 9:1-10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

We are now at the beginning of a lengthy section (9:1–10:18) that many regard as the heart of the epistle’s argument. In this section the author draws out parallels and contrasts between the old levitical ritual and the priestly work of Christ in considerable detail. Much of the argumentation up to this point has had precisely this goal in view. Indeed, the argument of this major section has already been anticipated (e.g., 7:23–27). The first task the author undertakes is to describe the physical setting ...

579. Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

1 Kings 22:1-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Ahab Dispatched: The house of Ahab stands under the prophetic curse. The full outworking of God’s wrath is to be delayed until the reign of Ahab’s son, because of the king’s response to Elijah (21:27–29). Ahab’s own death, however, has now been foretold by two different prophets, with no delay in prospect (20:41–42; 21:19), and we thus anticipate an early fulfillment of their prophecy. The appearance now of a third prophet brings us to that fulfillment, as Ahab marches out to meet the Arameans at Ramoth ...

580. Unclean Animals

Leviticus 11:1-47

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: The food laws helped Israel to be a holy people. Understanding the Text Ritual purity must be maintained not only at the sanctuary but also in the whole camp. The death of Aaron’s two sons in Leviticus 10 and the allusion to it in Leviticus 16:1–2 bracket Leviticus 11–15 on Israel’s purity system. That system serves to maintain purity among all Israelites. Nadab and Abihu have failed to maintain purity in the sanctuary. Now the Israelites are taught various other ways that they can become impure ...

581. John Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:1–4:16 Review · Matthew moves from narrating the infancy stories to two preparatory events for the ministry of Jesus—his baptism and temptation. Both narratives are set in the wilderness (“desert”), tying Jesus’s preparation for his ministry to the identity of the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the land promised to them. Both stories are also marked by the Spirit, signaling that the time of eschatological promise has begun. John the Baptist is introduced in Matthew 3 as the forerunner who ...

582. Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead

1 Kings 22:29-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

583. Clean Hands

Psalm 26:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

Here is someone whom you would not want for a roommate. Here is someone whom your mother might pick for your roommate, but even your mother wouldn't want to live next door to the person who wrote Psalm 26. Hell would be an entire Saturday night in the presence of this person. Would you listen to him pray? "I have walked in my integrity, I have trusted in the LORD without wavering… I walk in faithfulness to thee. I do not sit with false men, nor do I consort with dissemblers; I hate the company of evildoers ...

584. No Forks Or Napkins

John 13:1-17 · Philippians 2:5-11 · 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

A Sermon On Feetwashing Recently I had two messy experiences that were nevertheless great fun. I attended the Feast of Will at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. A meal was prepared based on foods which would have been eaten in Shakespeare's England. There was rabbit and bread and vegetables and candies that were half soap called comfits and soup served in cups. And there was no silverware. You got greasy fingers while you ate. And there were no napkins, so you licked them to get them clean. The same thing ...

585. A Maturing Faith

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

In today's passage of scripture we see clearly that there are different levels of maturity represented in faith. Each level requires greater depth and a greater level of trust. For those who can attain the highest level of faith, though, the impact of their witness for Jesus Christ is greatly enhanced. A Superficial Faith The first level of faith is superficial faith. This is faith that deals with people and teachings only on the surface level. There is no depth of understanding or application or ...

586. The Second Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

Simon: Dinner With PassionLuke 7:36-50 Worship Focus A cosmetic jar (perhaps one of the large plastic jars that hold shampoo or hand lotion). A wig with long black hair (can be a cheap Halloween costume wig). A Litany For The Second Meal Leader: We praise you, Almighty God, for your wondrous power and glory. People: Praise be to you, our God Almighty! Leader: We praise you, God of love, for revealing yourself through Christ our Lord. People: Praise be to you, our God of love! Leader: We praise you, for in ...

587. The Sixth Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

A Strange InvitationLuke 14:1-6 Worship Focus A toy animal and a doll. One of the fake sheep made for yard decorations would be ideal; the doll should be of comparable size. Or a challah, the large braided loaf of white bread that is often part of a Jewish Sabbath meal. A Litany For The Sixth Meal Leader: O God, we thank you for your matchless love, by which you sent Christ to be our savior. People: In love you call us to yourself and hold us in your hands. Leader: We confess that too often our hearts are ...

588. Do The Dishes?

1 Peter 4:13

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Dirty dishes. Good morning, boys and girls. I want to talk to you about a very popular subject, doing the dishes. How many of you like to do the dishes? (Let them answer.) Not one of you likes to do the dishes. That's hard to believe. Isn't there one of you that would like to do the dishes? Think about sticking your hands down in the hot, greasy water. Don't you like to scrape the plates and fill up the garbage bags? Or what about the way you get to wipe each knife, fork, and spoon with your damp ...

589. How To Be A Saint In A Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

How do you act in a storm? A friend, who is terribly afraid to fly, was invited to speak at a special gathering of the religious body of which he was a part, in Frankfurt, Germany. As he approached the airport in New York a terrific storm was taking place. He dreaded the trip, and now that the storm increased in velocity, he was sure that the flight would be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously ...

590. Naaman, the Leper

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Don Yocom

The Old Testament gives us many illustrations for evangelistic purposes. The story of Naaman is an excellent analogy for us. Leprosy in his day was considered incurable and we can compare it to sin. Leprosy was not confined just to the poorer class of people either. Both Naaman of the Old Testament and a man known as Simon the Leper in the New Testament had the dread disease; and neither of them was from the poorer or lower classes of society. It was so much like sin. St. Paul said we are all in need of ...

591. Marks Of A Champion

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the first things many young women have to do when embarking on a career in corporate America is to learn a new language--the language of metaphors from the world of sports--metaphors like "swing for the fences," "full-court press," "knock-out punch," etc. Let's face it. Men, for the most part, talk about sports. Surely you've read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Men talk about sports; women talk about relationships. At least, that's what the experts say. The Apostle Paul was a man. And so ...

592. Son-burned, Wind-blown, Earth-Stained

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Do you remember as a child how you dressed to take trips? (You can either begin your sermon with an interactive time at this point, inviting the congregation to remember how they were dressed for trips, or you can make it personal and tell your own recollections of what kind of clothes your parents made you wear when it was time to travel.) As a child I remember having to get dressed up whenever we'd go on a family trip. If we were going in our own car, we could be more casual, but still had to look good ...

593. The Good Life vs. The God Life

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

At our kids' school there's only one day a week that offers a hot lunch (prepared by parent volunteers). That means four out of five mornings each week we confront the dreaded "what will we eat for lunch?" dilemma. How do you face down that morning-monster with your kids? I confess: we inevitably succumb to the supermarket temptations of convenience and individual packaging. The differences in sales receipt totals for a cart full of cold-lunch necessities versus a cart full of real food is atrocious. We ...

594. Dare to Be Different, Not Just Better

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This sermon needs popcorn and popcorn smells. You may want to distribute little bags of popcorn with the bulletins. Or during the sermon you may want to have someone making popcorn so that the smell can percolate through the sanctuary. But in some way, your parishioners need to have a popcorn experience to go along with the sermon. Maybe even give each person an uncooked popcorn kernel so that the contrast between one that has undergone fire and one that hasn't can be felt and tasted.] The New Year always ...

595. What God Expects From Worship

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I heard it again at a meeting last week ... a comment about the length of the worship service. Somewhere along the way, people in our Christian tradition came up with the idea that worship should last about no more than sixty minutes. The comment was innocent enough and was being made in reference to recommendations our ministry team would be making regarding the Sunday morning schedule of worship and learning. How much time should there be between the close of the first worship service and the learning ...

596. The Water of Cleansing

Numbers 19:1-22

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

The Red Heifer: Death has been prominent in the last three chapters, with the deaths in the rebellions in chapter 16, the fear of death at the end of chapter 17, and the assurance of protection against death in chapter 18. Indeed, death has been an ominous presence in this middle section of Numbers beginning with chapter 11. Since a concern with purity permeates the book, and since death, as an enemy of God, is unclean (Num. 5:2), it is appropriate that the Priestly tradents deal in chapter 19 with the ...

597. Is God Invited?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

We could always count on it. Every year, on the second Sunday of January, my dad would preach his drinking sermon — or, I should say his anti-drinking sermon. Having seen firsthand in my mother’s family the deathly cost of drunkenness, having spent more nights than he could remember offering pastoral support to families dealing with the fall-out of alcohol, Dad was convinced that alcohol was a demon. It was all too often the destroyer of the abundant life which God gives us to cherish. His message was ...

598. Holy House

Eph 2:11-22, Rev 3:1-22, Heb 9:1-28, Jn 14:15-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Today’s health food awareness has reached an all-time high. More and more people, especially generations X, Y, Z, are rejecting the fast food, calorie-laden, manufactured filler infused foods of the prior generations and are embracing healthier choices. Awareness is up. People are being educated by media and messaging, advertising and health companies, through info-medicine and culture. We are learning that good, nutritious, healthy eating habits can stave off disease, lower death rates, ward off cancers, ...

599. All Wrapped Up

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

He is risen! [He is risen indeed!] This must have been the exclamation that followed Simon Peter and John’s visit to the tomb after hearing from Mary Magdalene that early, dark morning that we call resurrection day. Sometime in the night, something miraculous had occurred. Something had changed. When Mary came to the tomb and found the stone removed, she also found that Jesus was missing. And yet, there was evidence left behind. And that evidence is extremely important to the telling of the resurrection ...

600. Obstructions of the Heart

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” --Isaiah 57:14 (ESV) Obstructions of the Heart. Sounds like something from a medical manual, doesn’t it? Yet, removing obstructions of the heart was an important part of ...

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