Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 601 to 625 of 4937 results

601. That Heavenly Call

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Mary and Joseph -- Accepting God's Call This four-part drama may be presented as a unit or as individual scenes. Written to portray Mary and Joseph's calling as very personal and self-sacrificing, this wonderful story is placed in a setting to which a modern congregation can relate. This series may be utilized as a preparation for Christmas: one segment per Sunday during Advent, or sprinkled throughout the year and culminating near the holiday season. Scene I: Luke 1:26-33 Setting: Modern Nazareth ...

602. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR PENTECOST

Drama

Tom Eberle

Pentecost The Pentecost season accounts for approximately one-half of the church year. Because of its length, this portion of the liturgical calendar loses the conciseness of the other festival seasons. In one sense, though, the length of the Pentecost season is appropriate. Pentecost is the time of the church, living under the New Covenant. For approximately six months, then, the attention of the church is directed toward the living out of this new relationship. The church seeks to demonstrate the full ...

603. A Matter of Life and Breath

John 20:19-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost I On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If ...

604. A Higher Calling

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you football fans will remember when Bo Schembechler was the coach of the Michigan Wolverines. It’s said that Schembechler used to work his players especially hard during spring practice to see what kind of young men he had, winners or quitters. He made a sign with a slogan on it and hung it above the locker room door. The sign read like this: “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.” Of course, not everyone stayed. One morning Schembechler came to the office and looked at the sign. Underneath the words ...

605. Strategic Kindness

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman sued her husband for divorce. She told the judge she had nagged and nagged, but she couldn't get him to do right. The judge wondered if she had tried using kindness. Referring to the biblical passage, which says that when we show kindness to our enemy it is like heaping "burning coals on his head," he asked her if she had tried heaping coals on his head. She answered, "No, but I don't think it will work. I already tried scalding water and that didn't do any good." I'm not sure this woman understood ...

606. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This week’s epistle text is a long one: 19 verses. It faithfully follows the precise, prescribed unfolding of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, which in turn faithfully follows the niceities of proper letter composition in the first century Greco-Roman world. The genius of Paul is to work within formulaic frameworks while finding a way to add his own unique touches in order to preach the gospel. In his salutation (vv.1-3) Paul asserts his own apostolic identity, his “call,” and identifies the source ...

607. God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Even if you are not a “senior” whether you’re in prepubescence, adolescence, middlescence, elderescence, or senescence all of us experience “senior moments.” You intentionally set out on a mission to get something — forgotten car keys, replacement printer paper, a fresh cup of coffee — and suddenly you get waylaid by some wayward distraction. You encounter a co-worker with a sudden crisis. A kid has a meltdown. (These two “crises” can be eerily similar). Someone texts you, while another someone arrives at ...

608. A History Lesson: From Ephraim to Judah, from the Exodus to Zion

Psalm 78:1-72

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A History Lesson: From Ephraim to Judah, from the Exodus to Zion Like most psalms, Psalm 78 is explicitly meant for public performance (“O my people, hear,” and “things we have heard . . . we will tell,” vv. 1–4), but unlike most, which are either prayers (Hb. tepillâ) or praises (Hb. tehillâ), this one is explicitly teaching (Hb. tôrâ; only here in the Pss. does this term not denote God’s “teaching/law”). Like Psalm 49 (v. 4, cf. Prov. 1:6), it designates itself as a parable (or “comparison,” Hb. māšāl) ...

609. A Time to Get Angry

John 2:13-22

Sermon

King Duncan

In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play the Boston Beaneaters. Yes, that is what they were called back then--the Boston Beaneaters. The game heated up when Boston third baseman Tommy “Foghorn” Tucker slid into third base and the legendary third baseman John McGraw of the Orioles kicked Tucker in the face. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. ...

610. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The Faithful Followers Sunday School class at the Church of What’s Happening Now was discussing the upcoming season of Lent. The congregation had never had such a discussion. This congregation prided itself on their core value of relevance. Adhering to ancient seasons such as Advent and Lent simply did not rise to that standard. Their church calendar had a softball schedule but no mention of Lent. Their new pastor, however, had suggested the congregation might find the rhythm of a traditional church ...

611. THE JOURNEY

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Shortly after midnight; a grimy train station in a midwestern city. CAIN wearing a conductor’s hat, opens a thermos and pours a cup of coffee, adds to it from a flask he carries in his jacket. GRACE enters; opens a large handbag, her only luggage, takes out an apple, or some other fruit, and eats. As CAIN drinks, he turns to look at the woman. Finally she notices him, and she smiles. GRACE It’s a long night. CAIN Like usual. GRACE Are we waiting for the same train? CAIN I don’t know. Are we? GRACE I’m ...

612. Christian Liberty

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

Jesus died penniless. Roman soldiers cast lots to divide among themselves Jesus' only possessions--the clothes on his back. And he looked at his disciples and said, blessed are you who are poor. Jesus died hungry. There is no record that Jesus had anything to eat the day of his death. What we call The Last Supper on Thursday evening may very well have been Jesus' last meal. He died on the cross Friday at sunset with an empty stomach. Looking at his disciples he said, blessed are you who hunger now. Jesus ...

613. Ten Commandments of Trust

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Although our coins read "In God we trust," trust is a scarce commodity these days. Perhaps we have forgotten the Ten Commandments of Trust. The issue of trust is one of the most crucial question facing postmoderns today. - The catch phrase of the wildly popular "X Files" TV show declares, "Trust no one; fear everything." - The mistrust between Republicans and Democrats has led to multiple forced government shutdowns as the battle over who can be trusted to balance the federal budget rages. - Social " ...

614. The Son Superior to Angels

Hebrews 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

God’s Definitive Revelation The magnificent opening verses of this passage provide an immediate expression of the author’s theological perspective: he moves from past revelation to definitive revelation, from God’s word to the OT “fathers” to his final word through his Son, Jesus Christ. He gives first his doctrine of Christ in order to set the tone for the entire book. The introductory christological prologue in these verses is thus similar to the prologue of the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1–18) in its ...

615. Opportunism? Or Opportunity?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

A striking television commercial came into our living rooms not long ago. It showed a funeral procession of expensive vehicles, driving single file behind a hearse, toward a cemetery. As the camera focused on the passengers in the first one, and then the next and the next of the procession of luxurious automobiles, a voice could be heard. It was that of the lawyer, reading the will, which each would soon be hearing. "To my nephew," said the voice, "who didn’t know the value of a dollar - I leave one dollar ...

616. The Forbidden Anger

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

It was my most embarrassing moment in the sixth grade. At recess my friend Johnny had done something I did not like. After returning to class I decided to send a message to him. As Mrs. Ferguson wrote on the blackboard I scribbled a message on a piece of paper, folded it into a type of glider that would sail, then tossed it in the direction of Johnny. That aerial production must have been flawed. It made a left turn and headed toward the teacher's desk just as she turned away from the blackboard. Then with ...

617. All I Want for Christmas is a Savior

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard about the little boy who loved going to church? He enjoyed the music, the scriptures, the creeds, the sermon, and the fellowship. The only part about going to church that the little boy didn’t like, were those long pastoral prayers! He really liked his minister, but his minister prayed long, long pastoral prayers... and sometimes it seemed to the little boy that the prayer would never end. Then one Sunday, the little boy’s parents invited the minister home for Sunday lunch... and would you ...

618. Salvation

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"...the salvation of your souls." That IS what we are here about, isn't it? People come to churches, synagogues, temples and mosques because, in some sense this issue may be said to be the ultimate concern of all religion. Salvation. In a very real sense, our Bible is a book of salvation from beginning to end. Some simplify it by saying, "Jesus and I, bye and bye, in the sky, when I die." A minister was preaching and during the course of his sermon asked, "Who wants to go to heaven?" Everyone held up their ...

619. For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a story that has been around as long as I have been preaching, so the chances that you have heard it are right good. Even so, I share it. A speaker was scheduled to address some cattlemen. A terrible sleet storm struck on the day of the meeting. When the speaker arrived at the meeting place there were just three men present. The three were seated on the front row of seats — two younger cowmen with an old man between them. After waiting in vain for more people to arrive, the speaker said, “Frankly ...

620. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I am not a potter, and I do not play one on television! However, as a student of the scriptures and the life and times of the people in the biblical narrative, I can say with some certainty that crafting pottery is one of the world's oldest professions. Alongside bone and bricks, fragments of earthenware or pottery have long been gathered and studied by archeologists to understand something of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and nearly every other ancient culture throughout the world. Few of ...

621. A New Name for a New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A minister wrote in the church newsletter that he was setting goals for the New Year. One of his goals was to clean up his desk. Another of his goals was to find last year’s goals. Some of you probably keep desks like that. Some of you will remember the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip. In one strip, Calvin and Hobbes are talking about the New Year. Calvin says, “I’m getting disillusioned with these New Years. They don’t seem very new at all. Each New Year is just like the old year. Here another year has ...

622. A Workman Approved by God

2 Timothy 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Exhortation to Resist False Teachers The concern for the “salvation” of “God’s chosen people” expressed in verse 10, plus the exhortation to perseverance, with its warning against apostasy in verses 11–13, bring Paul—and Timothy—back to the hard realities of the situation on Ephesus, with the presence of the false teachers (cf. 1 Timothy). Apparently they continue to plague the church, as Onesiphorus had probably informed him, although clearly not all have capitulated. This concern dominates the appeal ...

623. Couldn’t Be Easier

Matthew 11:2-11 · Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

You’re not supposed to mess with holiday traditions, but we do. A couple of years ago a shock wave ran through the Facebook community. Peanuts specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and especially A Charlie Brown Christmas were purchased by one of those special platforms and would no longer be broadcast on network television. Even though the days are long past when the family gathered together on broadcast night and watched those specials together — nowadays it seems like there’s at least one ...

624. Give Thanks in All Circumstances

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

James W. Moore

When our grand-daughter Sarah was two years old, she was extremely active. She was always busy, always moving and always in a hurry… because at two years of age, she had already realized that there are so many exciting things to do and see and experience in this incredible world God has given us. One day Sarah interrupted her play-time just long enough to run into the kitchen in search of a mid-afternoon snack. Hurriedly, she said to her mother: “Banana, Momma, Banana!” Jodi, her mother, handed her a ...

625. The Paralysis of Analysis – The Fear of Failure

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Sermon

James Merritt

I am beginning a series of messages today that I am entitling - fear factor. I would say practically all of us today will remember this picture which has been shown thousands of times and is seared into our memory. If it is true that, "A picture is worth a thousand words" you will never see a more graphic picture of fear than this one. Psychologists and sociologists agree that since 9/11, fear has been at an all time high in America. Indeed, the entire world at times is paralyzed by fear. There is a word ...

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