Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 626 to 650 of 975 results

626. Singing at the Table

Joel 2:21-29

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Joel. One of what are called the "Minor Prophets," not because they are the "minor league," less important, but simply because of their size. The Major Prophets are the heavy-hitters—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. It took up a full scroll to record them. But these little guys played shortstop. They were the quick-read, the USA Today version—short enough for all of them to be recorded on one scroll. So they came to be known as "The Twelve" or the Minor Prophets. In Joel's day, it seems the worst had come to ...

627. Looking in All the Wrong Places

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

The song has long been relegated to the "Golden Oldies" category, but occasionally it can be heard on the airwaves. Long before one-name singers like Cher, Blondie, or Madonna made their mark in pop music, a little-known and even less-remembered singer named "Charlene" topped the charts. The song was addressed within the lyrics to the "frustrated mother" and "unappreciated wife" from the perspective of a woman who has been everywhere and "seen a thousand things a woman ain't s'posed to see." Yet for all ...

628. Why We Need to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A certain married couple had many sharp disagreements. Yet somehow the wife always stayed calm and collected. One day her husband commented on his wife’s restraint. “When I get mad at you,” he said, “you never fight back. How do you control your anger?” The wife said: “I work it off by cleaning the toilet.” The husband asked: “How does that help?” She said: “I use your toothbrush!” A motorcycle patrolman suffered a minor accident that put him in the hospital for a couple of days. His injuries had been to ...

629. Advent 2

Mk 1:1-8; 2 Pet 3:8-15a; Is 40:1-11; Ps 85:8-13

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship The Lord is not slow. A thousand years is like a day in his sight. Let our day in his sight be filled with 1,000 praises! Collect One: Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Two: Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Women: Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Men: Faithfulness will ...

630. With One Hand Tied Behind Her Back

Psalm 1:1-6, Proverbs 31:10-31

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Rejoice and be glad in God! Collect God of great deeds, you are like the single mothers in our midst, who without credit, or without any backup, work, raise families, pray, and play. You have sent your servants into our midst and we have not seen you in the mirror you have provided! Challenge us to serve each other, praise each other, while serving and praising you. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or ...

631. Our Hope, Our Terror

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

Several summers ago I spent three days on a barrier island where loggerhead turtles were laying their eggs. One night while the tide was out, I watched a huge female heave herself up on the beach to dig her nest and empty her eggs into it. Afraid of disturbing her, I left before she had finished. The next morning I returned to see if I could find the spot where her eggs lay hidden in the sand. What I found were her tracks leading in the wrong direction. Instead of heading back out to sea, she had wandered ...

632. The Long Haul

Matthew 25:14-30

Illustration

David Beckett

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor in America, started her practice in New York in 1851. Not only was she unable to find patients no one would even rent her a room once she mentioned that she was a doctor. After weeks of trudging the streets, she finally rented rooms from a landlady who asked no questions about what Elizabeth planned to do with them. Quaker women, who had always been receptive to the goal of equal rights, became Elizabeth's first patients. But no hospital would allow her on its ...

633. John 6:24-35

John 6:24-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Immediately following John's rendition of the feeding the 5000, Jesus withdraws from both the crowd and his disciples for a time of peace and prayer. Considering his next encounter with the crowds following him, as related in this week's gospel text, it is a good thing he did! Seldom has a more ungrateful, obstreperous, and pathetically ignorant lot been more clearly portrayed than by John in this chapter. On the day after the miracle of the loaves, the throng wakes to find Jesus and his disciples had ...

634. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Although this text from James has often been viewed as a later insertion into the text, it ties together easily and logically the author's emphasis on teachers (3:1ff) and his material on disputes (4:1ff). James is anxious to emphasize the crucial role of those with special gifts of teaching and leading in determining the prevailing beliefs and behaviors of communities. Those in prominent positions shoulder a great responsibility. Whether the community will savor the sweetness of spiritual harmony, ...

635. Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul's letter to the Romans immediately conjures up "justification by faith through grace," the catch-phrase of the Reformation, the cornerstone of our postmodern confidence. While it is true that Paul's most eloquent, powerful declarations of this truth are in Romans, that is not the sum total of the letter. In fact, this week's epistle lesson is the transitional point between the two foci of Paul's letter. Paul's first four chapters discuss this miraculous justification we have received through the gift ...

636. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul continues to offer his view of essential Christian unity amid myriad claims to the exclusivity of certain groups and their ideas. While verses 10-16 dismissed any special claims that Corinthians might make based upon their loyalty to any one individual leader, Paul now turns to the even more insidious divisiveness suggested by those who touted one form of theological knowledge or insight over another. Corinth was an extremely Greek Roman city. Its Greek heritage was long; its ...

637. John 6:24-35

John 6:24-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

638. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

639. Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

640. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This reading from John's gospel introduces one of his most intriguing, enigmatic figures Nicodemus. At first glance it appears that Nicodemus will be one of the more well-defined figures of John's text. Elsewhere many anonymous individuals appear and disappear before Jesus without revealing any of their personal biography. But here, John cites Nicodemus' history immediately. His name is clearly stated, and his religious authority is clearly defined: a Pharisee, a "leader of the Jews." But after this ...

641. James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

It is evident to many scholars that the epistle of James owes much of its style and focus to Jewish wisdom tradition. In fact, some would term James not as an epistle so much as a unique form of Christian wisdom literature. James' affinity for wisdom sayings and emphasis on the role of wisdom in the Christian life is certainly evident in today's text. Not only is defining wisdom itself the subject of the text, but James' advice focuses on everyday matters and applications yet another sign of traditional ...

642. Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Luke's version of Simon Peter's call relates it to an experience of both the words and works of Jesus. This unique combination of events is found only in Luke's text. Of course, Luke knew of and was influenced by the exceedingly abrupt "call" passage Mark relates in 1:16-20. With little fanfare, no miracles and few words, Jesus extends an invitation to "fish for people" to Simon and his brother Andrew, as well as James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Luke is not one to miss an opportunity to create as ...

643. Luke 6:17-26

Luke 6:17-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

644. Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The well-known story of Zacchaeus in today's text is so familiar that one might be tempted to give it a quick rereading and move on. The interpreters of this passage, however, are by no means unanimous in their opinion, and a close examination yields several possibilities for sermonic treatment. The setting for this last incident in the travel narrative Luke has been providing is the wealthy Greco-Roman city of Herodian Jericho. This city, nothing like the Old Testament Jericho, was a beautiful ...

645. The Most Stubborn Man in the Bible

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A Sunday school teacher was proud of her lesson for the day. She thought she had presented the material quite nicely. Summing up, she asked the class, “And what do we learn from the story of Jonah and the big fish?” Eight-year-old Suzy thought for a moment and answered, “Always travel by air.” Well, I hope that’s not the only thing we learn from the story of Jonah. Most of you know at least part of the story of the prophet Jonah. It is one of the most colorful and memorable stories in the Hebrew Bible. ...

646. The Call to Downward Mobility

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Mike Ripski

I. What are you looking for? Two of John the Baptist’s disciples are with him when Jesus passes by. John declares to them, “Look, here is the Lamb of God.” The two leave John and follow Jesus. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus doesn’t call disciples to him. The Baptist points them to Jesus. And then they point others to him. Jesus is aware of the two, stops, and turns around. He asks, “What are you looking for? What do you want?” It catches the two off guard. “What are you looking for?” Jesus asks. These are the ...

647. I Am No Longer My Own

Mark 8:31-38; Rom 7:7-25

Illustration

Philip W. McLarty

In his covenant prayer, which he offered every year at midnight on New Year's Eve, John Wesley prayed, "I am no longer my own but Thine, put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt, put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee; let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal." As disciples of Jesus Christ, we'd do ...

648. Easter 5

Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 8:26-40 The treasurer of an Ethiopian queen was on his way home after worshiping in Jerusalem. His chariot was on a main road from Jerusalem to Egypt. The Spirit directed Philip, one of the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-5), to meet the chariot at Gaza. The eunuch was probably a proselyte or God-fearer of Judaism. Philip found him reading Isaiah 53 but not understanding it. After Philip's explanation, the Ethiopian asked to be baptized. He accepted Christ and according to tradition, he ...

649. Devout of this World

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Elizabeth Gilbert

The devout of this world perform their rituals without guarantee that anything good will ever come of it. Of course there are plenty of scriptures and plenty of priests who make plenty of promises as to what your good works will yield (or threats as to the punishments awaiting you if you lapse), but to even believe all this is an act of faith, because nobody amongst us is shown the endgame. Devotion is diligence without assurance. Faith is a way of saying, 'Yes, I pre-accept the terms of the universe and I ...

650. Trust and Obey

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It was a PR nightmare for Domino’s Pizza. Two employees recorded themselves as they carefully concocted a “special treat” for their customers. They ceremoniously dropped pizza toppings on the floor, mashed them around, scraped them up, and daintily arranged them on the pie. They stuck cheese strands up their own noses, extracted them, and giddily sprinkled them over the sauce. They squished and spit the condiments over the top. Then, they uploaded their creativity onto the internet for all to see. As my ...

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