Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 601 to 625 of 4490 results

601. Out Of The Whirlwind

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

John A. Stroman

God answers Job out of the whirlwind. There is no better word to explain what has taken place in Job's life than a whirlwind. Look at the events that have transpired in his life: all his children are dead; his home and business are lost; he lost his health, and his body is disfigured with open sores. It all happened in rapid-fire succession -- just like a whirlwind. Out of the whirlwind Job asks God, "Why?" He is so despondent that he wishes he was dead. "Let the day perish wherein I was born." Job reveals ...

602. Overcoming Loneliness

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

In the overcrowded conditions of our modern world loneliness has possessed us: "He’s a real Nowhere Man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his Nowhere Plans for nobody." Such emptiness, such frustration, such loneliness depresses us. What’s to be done about it? This feeling of hopelessness has been around a long time. The ancient writer of Psalm 22 cried out: Dear God, right now I feel like a worm, not a person. I feel so used by other people. And to make it worse, I feel resented by the very same ...

603. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the final form of Ezekiel, a collection of oracles against the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (26:1–28:19) interrupts a series of short oracles against the minor kingdoms surrounding Israel (beginning in 25:1). The pattern of short oracles resumes with a brief oracle against the second major Phoenician port city, Sidon (28:20–23), followed by a summary and conclusion to all the oracles against the nations (28:24) and a promise of salvation for Israel (28:25–26). It seems likely, then, that this series of ...

604. Easter 3

1 Peter 1:13-2:3, Acts 2:42-47, Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The risen Christ is revealed as believers gather together and break bread. The First Lesson describes the resurrection community in Jerusalem as having everything in common. They broke bread with glad and generous hearts, praising God. The Gospel tells how Christ was revealed to the two strollers on the way to Emmaus, when Christ blessed and broke bread with them. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 2:14a, 36-47 This is the ending of Peter's Pentecost sermon. He confronts his listeners head-on with their ...

605. Jesus' Ministry Beyond Galilee

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

Both of the Markan stories appointed for this week take place in the land of the Gentiles. We have pointed out this Gentile ministry of Jesus in earlier chapters. His Gentile ministry will come to a climax in chapter 8 with the feeding of the Gentile multitude. Today's story of the healing of the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman is an incredible symbol of the breaking down of false barriers for the sake of mission. Jesus breaks all kinds of barriers in this story. He breaks down geographical barriers by ...

606. “God Is Our Refuge and Strength, an Ever-Present Help in Trouble”

Psalm 46:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Human effort is necessary to build God’s kingdom, but the final word is that we should “be still” and recognize that God is the real Builder. Understanding the Text Psalm 46 is a type of poem that challenges form criticism’s assumptions. Gunkel has identified it as a subtype of the hymn, which he labels “Zion Songs.”1 Goldingay helpfully lays out the features of this psalm that overlap with other types and concludes that the psalm of trust is the best choice of categories.2 Indeed, the spirit of ...

607. A Love Feast

John 13:1-17, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

A: The Examination Service Call To Worship O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 117 KJV) Unison Prayer Lord God, this day we are gathered to share fellowship, service, and suffering. Let us be true to you, kneeling as Jesus knelt, girding ourselves with a towel, washing each other's feet, and coming to your table. We thank you for this invitation, and pray that we ...

608. Let Us Cross To The Other Side

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The sea - the turbulent, unpredictable, wild, stormy sea. Our story begins with Jesus, standing on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, saying to the apostles, "Let us cross to the other side." As they crossed, the wind began to blow, the waves began to rise, and Jesus began to sleep. Have you ever been in a storm at sea or on a wind-tossed lake? One sea captain describes a storm at Cape Horn at the tip of South America like this: This mighty swell of waters that giant forces seem to be pressing upon us, this ...

609. Twelve O'Clock Rock: When the Jailhouse is Rocked

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

The prisoners and the jailers had their world rocked one midnight 2,000 years ago. The report includes the following details: 1:00: Paul and Silas while on their way to a place of prayer see a slave girl who was popular for telling the fortunes of others. She made much money from this enterprise and a fortune for her owners. Each day she would go to the town square and as people passed by she would shout out her readings of their future. Some revered the slave girl for the accuracy of her predictions. ...

610. A Date With Destiny

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Some years ago an English journal ran a contest. A prize was offered for the best definition of a "friend." A friend. How would you define a friend? Thousands of replies poured in: A friend is someone "who multiplies joys, and divides grief!" said one. No, thought another; a friend is someone "who understands our silence." A third person suggested: "A friend is a volume of sympathy bound in cloth." But the publishers picked this one as the winning entry: A friend is "the one who comes in when the whole ...

611. The Revelation Code II: Crash, Crisis and Christ

Revelation 5:1--7:17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Ever been to a circus? I mean a big, super-duper, three-ring, Barnum and Bailey, Greatest Show on Earth-type circus? Under the big top, there is continuous activity, with performances in all three rings—bands and barters, jugglers and gymnasts, all going on at once. Let's say you go to the circus, then come home and try to describe it, or even better, try to write a letter to a friend sharing "the circus." The only way to talk about it or write about it is one ring at a time—"I looked and saw…then I looked ...

612. The Sign of the Servant

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: on screen images of the pictographs for shepherd’s staff, ox, and yoke (both together) What do you get when you cross a shepherd’s staff and an ox? A yoke, of course! At least, that’s what you get in Paleo-Hebrew, the pictographic forerunner of the Hebrew language and image-rich metaphorical roots of the Hebrew scriptures. [Put the symbols on screen if you can. Show people the symbols for staff and ox….together they mean "yoke."] So, a Yoke is something that "guides" and "harnesses" the ox –two oxen ...

613. Called To Pull Down; Called To Rebuild

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

This text is a narrative of the call of Jeremiah; but before the call narrative, we have a preface by the editor of the tradition, placing the call in its historical context (1:1-3). The word of the Lord does not exist in a vacuum and it does not work only in some spiritual realm. It is rooted in our history and related to our chronology. It came in all its specificity to Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah (1:1), during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah (1:2-3). In what seems to be a simple ...

614. A Good God and the Problem of Suffering

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

"I don’t know what to do about them, they won’t get out of the way." "Who?" said Stef. "There’s disaster rolling down the hill and they won’t move." "Who won’t? Whom are you talking about?" "I can’t make them pay attention, they just stand there ..." Steinbeck sounded as if he might break into tears. "They won’t heed me ..." Stef was growing irritable. "Who?" he repeated. "What are you lamenting? Who won’t move?" "My characters!" Steinbeck exploded. He was writing Of Mice and Men.1 This could be God ...

615. Dealing With The Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard about the young man who was an All-American football player in college? He went on to play professional football for a few years and then came back to his alma mater as an assistant coach. One of his main responsibilities in his new job would be to go out and scout and recruit players for his college team. Before he made his first recruiting trip, he went in to visit with the head coach, the same coach for whom he had played when he was there in college some years before. The head coach was ...

616. Harmony Within The Family

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

"The mayor of Zurich had arranged a dinner in my honor," writes silent film star Collen Moore in her autobiography. "We’d no sooner sat down than the mayor signaled the orchestra who started playing `My Country ˜Tis Of Thee.’ We all stood up. When we sat down, I said to the mayor, `That was the English national anthem.’ I should have kept my mouth shut. The mayor sent for the orchestra leader, spoke a few words to him in German, and the orchestra struck up again with `The Stars and Stripes Forever.’ We all ...

617. Elephants in the Room: Sexploitation

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

Sermon

Charley Reeb

One of the great things about preaching on sex is that I don’t have to work very hard getting your attention! I was in Leesburg this past week doing work for the Board of Ordained Ministry. A colleague asked me what I was preaching about today. I said, “Sex.” He replied, “Are you for or against it?” I said, “I am very much for it! I enjoy sex a lot!” You may be surprised to hear me say that, but it needs to be said from the pulpit. Why? Because over the years the church has done a pretty terrible job ...

618. Slow Burn

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. (Ephesians 1:18) “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50) Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:49) Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow? (Job 6:6) Prop: large salt ...

619. We Will Be Changed

Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What is in a name? Nothing defines us in our lives more than what we are named. We are given a name, but through our lives, we also take on other names. We know Jesus by many names: wonderful, counselor, almighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace, as Handel’s oratorio tells us. But we too have names that define us. In the scriptures, often the name that one is born with is not the name God bestows upon them. Jacob becomes Israel. Sarai becomes Sarah. Abram becomes Abraham. Simon becomes Peter. Adamh ...

620. An Easter Heart

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Easter is all about a four letter word — and Christians are full of it. Or at least we’re supposed to be full of it. The four letter word is LIFE. New life. Whole life. Abundant Life. Redeemed life. Resurrected life. The purpose of life is not death, Easter says. The purpose of life is life . . . a life that triumphs over death forever. Celebrating Easter is the best thing that the church can do because it is a celebration of all that is good, all that is true, and all that is beautiful. In fact, I would ...

621. Getting Down To The Local Issues

Sermon

Thomas Long

"The landscape of politics is changing," explained the political pundit on the television talk show. His hands were outstretched in front of him, palms up, as if to say, "We may as well face it." "It's the impact of the instant, electronic media," he continued. "Two generations ago, a presidential candidate could write one speech addressing the big issues facing the nation and whistle stop around the country giving it everywhere. But not today. The issues are hotter and more immediate. People don't care ...

622. Surprised On The Mountaintop

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Transfiguration of the Lord On one of his many travels across the United States Charles Kuralt unexpectedly spent a night on Mount McKinley. He had planned just a day visit, but the plane that carried him to the glacier was unable to bring him back. Since it was getting late Charles and Izzy, a photographer who worked with him would have to spend the night. Charles admits a feeling of fear swept over him in that strange deserted place. There was a cabin on the mountain not too far from where they were, ...

623. The Cross We Do Not Want To See

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Garbage truck driver Craig Randall sometimes brings his work home with him. There was that old-fashioned sewing machine he salvaged. There were some books he lifted from the trash. And then there was that Wendy's soft-drink cup that just happened to be worth $200,000. Neither Randall nor his fiancee believed it until Randall drove his garbage truck to a Wendy's restaurant and picked up his check. "I will probably still tell him not to bring stuff home from the trash," said his fiancee, Michelle Dacey, 25. ...

624. Internal Medicine

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Mussa Zoabi of Israel claims to be the oldest person alive. He says he's 160 years old. Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified. Mr. Zoabi is older than most recordskeeping systems will go. But here's the interesting thing! However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long. He'll tell the secret to anybody who wants to know. He says: Every day I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil! Doesn't ...

625. Flesh-eaters; Blood Drinkers

John 6:51-58

Sermon

King Duncan

Some people have weird eating habits. But none weirder than Michel Lotito. Lotito ate everything. I mean EVERYTHING. In Amarillo, Texas, he ate a queen-sized bed. In Quebec he ate a whole bicycle. "The chain," he was quoted as saying, "was the tastiest part." In Marseilles he ate a car. A small car, true--a Renault, I think--but still a car. As James Dent once noted in his humorous book, James Dent Strikes Again, Lotito was not an overgrown termite. He was a human-type person born 1950 in Grenoble, France ...

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