Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 676 to 700 of 3160 results

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... she seemed to be floating, drifting down gently toward the ground. Was she dreaming? No, she was falling. And, much to her surprise, she wasn't afraid. She had come to the woods to find some space away from the city, to walk, think, sort things out. The forest had beckoned, inviting her into its secret hidden spaces filled with noises that were gentle to the soul. Birds, insects, small scurrying creatures, each added their soothing sounds to the forest's melody. The satisfying crunch of leaves beneath her ...

677. The Tale Of Three Women

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... the streets, people wandering aimlessly begging for food. Elimelech and his wife pack up all of their earthly possessions and head for Moab, because he had heard that things were better there. Why would anyone want to travel to Moab? It is a rough, out-of-the-way sort of place. Back in Genesis after Abraham and Lot departed company and after Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, Lot was on his own, so he went up and lived in a cave with his two daughters. His daughters were unmarried. Since they were ...

678. Expanding The Boundaries

Ruth 3:1-18

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... story about a family in trouble. Let me briefly summarize the story. Elimelech flees with his wife and two sons from the famine in Israel and heads for Moab because they heard that things were better there. In desperation they move to Moab, an out-of-the-way sort of place. You would have to be desperate, really hungry to move your family to Moab. Soon after their arrival Naomi's husband dies and she is left with two sons in a foreign land. Her sons, Mahon and Chilion, took Moabite wives, Orpah and Ruth. Ten ...

679. All Mine To Give!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... to Jesus Christ's work and he made an astute observation, saying, "I've found that it is harder to give money away benevolently than it is to earn it." And it is certainly true. In ministry there is so much waste, ineffectiveness, duplication, and misrepresentation. Trying to sort it all out and be involved in the genuine work of Christ is no easy task. But we mustn't quit. And we must not lose the zeal and joy and privilege of giving. I remind you that in the early church, as with this church, when a ...

680. The Channel Between The Buoys

Proverbs 1:20-33

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... to men at city gates (v. 21) was unthinkable. Yet one sees here how very serious God is about making himself known among beggars, sellers, farm hands, criminals, and the well-to-do of every town. Notice that Lady Wisdom walks among us and sees three sorts of people. She spies the "simple" (v. 22). These are the untutored youths of society. Proverbs 1:4 says the entire book was written "that prudence may be given to the simple; knowledge and discretion to the youth." Dame Wisdom also sees the scoffer on city ...

681. Queen Of Hearts!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... Don't be intimidated by her. Simply imitate her. True, the Proverbs 31 woman never really existed except in the mind of a queen. This Bible chapter is the childhood memory of Lemuel, a young prince. It was the wisdom his mother put there, a sort of composite ideal. Attitude First, consider the attitude this feminine role model has. Likely she is not a beauty queen. In verse 30 her husband praised her character not her body. He minimized beauty and charm, saying, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but ...

682. Telling The Truth

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... and has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, at first no one is going to want to face this truth. The family is going to deny it. The doctor isn't going to want to tell the patient. The patient is going to refuse to believe it. "There must be some sort of mistake! Doctor, you must have confused my diagnosis with someone else's! This can't be true! I feel fine." No one wants to tell this kind of truth. No one wants to be a bearer of news this bad. But if the patient who has been diagnosed with ...

683. Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory!

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... their lives for the faith. It was not, however, until the eighth century in the Celtic lands of Great Britain that November 1 became associated with a day to commemorate the saints. In that part of the world, this day seemed to be natural for this sort of thing. This was a time of the year when the late autumn frost thickly blanketed the ground with an eerie white cover and suggested to many that the spirits of the dead had made a visit. From this Christian holiday came our modern secularized holiday ...

684. Having The Last Word

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... heated argument with someone and couldn't let the matter drop? You just had to continue making your point. Why? Because you had to have the last word. If you have ever been in a classroom discussion, you have discovered the importance of that class reaching some sort of resolution and conclusion to the discussion. Students will often look to the teacher to settle the matter. The teacher has the last word. The last one to speak always seems to have the most lasting impact. To have the last word is to be the ...

685. Miracle Three: Healing A Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... understanding for those whom the world would reject. An advertisement once headlined the words: "There are no bad children." It aimed to turn criticism from the action, which was unjustifiable and replace it with consideration of the child who deserved our love. This sort of mind-set evolves from Christian love. We learn to love the unlovable. This is the motivation for congregations to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, reach out to society's unfortunate, and in so doing break down the false barriers of ...

686. Miracle Four: Healing A Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... pitiful young man had simply wanted to find out if his family would accept him in this condition. Persistence Pays · The men carrying their sick friend did not let the crowd which blocked their way deter them from getting their friend to Christ. Persistence of this sort is a well-known custom in the East. If a favor cannot be obtained in any other way, then the person or persons seeking it will set to crying and making a disturbing noise around the person whose attention they are seeking. It is hoped that ...

687. Miracle Five: Healing A Withered Hand

Mark 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... activity by pointing out how practical his hearers were in meeting the requirements of Sabbath observance. They would make an exception, for instance, if one of their cows fell into a pit on the Sabbath; they would rescue the unfortunate animal. So, to do a kind act of any sort on the Sabbath was not to be condemned. The intent of the day was to bless humankind. It was to serve to bring one closer to God as a day of worship, and help one by observing a day of rest. To legalize about it to the point of ...

688. When God Steps Out Of Shadows

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

William L. Self

Our daughter-in-law designs stage sets for the German theatre. I had always taken this sort of thing for granted until she came into our family. Through Birgit, I was exposed to the subtleties of mood and nuance, of color and properties, of fabric and dimension, and how it all blends with the writer and director to bring the audience to a special point. After seeing ...

689. Lighting A Fire In A Cold Room

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... golden censer filled with incense, he went into the Holy Place, where only the priest had a right to go. Well, the officiating priest told King Uzziah that wasn't how things were done. Uzziah became red with rage. He never attended worship after that. He sort of retired from religion and kept his son, Jotham, at home. And young Jotham never forgot that. He never formed the habit of worship attendance in his childhood since his father had quit. In his young and tender years, he never sat down and thought the ...

690. Our Jealous Husband

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... a year ago? Oops, looks like you won't fit all those pennies in that roll! A thief in New Jersey stole 7,000 dollars in jewelry, old coins, and cash from a widow. The items taken were all she had left from her husband's estate. In sorting through his loot, the thief came across several church envelopes containing money the woman intended to give to the Lord. Leaving their contents inside, he put them in another envelope, addressed it to the woman's church, and then dropped it in the mail. Hmmm. It's okay ...

691. How Odd Of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... , she is an example, a model of the Christian faith. Her faith felt both the sword of scandal, dissension, and contradiction. Notice the words of the text, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. -- Luke 1:28-29 After Jesus' birth in Bethlehem Mary returned to Nazareth. These were long, hard years of survival in the back hill country of Judea. Mary's baby would grow into manhood in Nazareth and face a life of ...

692. Remembering Who We Are

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... are partly an attempt to remind us of our democratic heritage. The family reunions that are so prevalent in our communities are an attempt to keep our ethnic and family identities alive. Even the political elections that take place is this country are an attempt to sort out and reinforce who we are as a people. We always want to remember who we are. Remembering who we are is what worship is all about for the Christian community. One of the main purposes of worship is to clearly identify, clarify, and recall ...

693. The Chain Of Command

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... all they could, there wasn't really anywhere I could turn except for some miraculous cure. "This Jesus fellow has been making quite a stir in these parts. I know that some of the people in power dislike him, but the common people are attracted to him. There are all sorts of claims that this Jesus has done miracles. Some even say he walks on water, but I know that some of Rome's enemies think that the Legion walks on water. I haven't seen anything with my own eyes to tell you one way or the other. "I figured ...

694. The Voice From Heaven

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... line between being the supporter of someone else or becoming the object of notice? Clergy sometimes tell so many "I" stories that instead of using the "I" as an analogy, parishioners focus on the "I" of the clergy. What about the temptation to succumb to this sort of attention, to be Jesus? John: I have tried to clarify from the beginning that I am only intermediary. I prepare the way for Jesus. One more powerful than I is coming. Asker: What a powerful statement. You must have a sturdy internal strength to ...

695. Training Wheels For Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). It is true, one does not have life simply by obeying commandments. That is what Peter told the gathering at the Council of Jerusalem as the new Christian church was sorting out what Jewish laws and customs new Christians had to obey. In Acts 15:10, in speaking specifically of the custom of circumcision, Peter said these words: "Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples ...

696. The New Life

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

... are going to see what no one has ever seen before -- these particular peanuts. Look! (Crack and open shell.) Aren't they nice looking? Ummm! Good, too! You know, the Bible talks about people becoming brand new on the inside when they become Christians. In a way that's sort of like seeing something new. God makes people new inside and they begin to show this newness in the way they live on the outside. We can't break people open to see what they look like inside to see if they have God in their hearts, but ...

697. Obedience And Grace

Hebrews 10:1-18

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

... a very old custom which is associated with Christmas Eve. We always did it in our family even when we didn't have a proper fireplace. Can you think of what custom this is? (Response -- hanging stockings.) Do you do that in your home? And what sort of things do you find in your stocking on Christmas morning? (Response -- Allow some freedom of expression.) I always had trouble getting to sleep on Christmas Eve because I was so excited about the little treasures that I would find in my stocking in the morning ...

698. Accepting The Call

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... will be. There's a story told that a couple of recovered alcoholics were called to try to talk to a guy who had rented a room in a real dive and seemed intent on drinking himself to death then and there. They went to the place together as a sort of protection, climbed a staircase that was half in the dark, went down a hallway that reeked, and found this guy's room. They went in, despite receiving no reply to their knock, and found the guy half passed out on the bed. They tried talking to him, telling him ...

699. Working In The Family Business

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... their babies, they must, or suffer severe pain. Baby needs that milk, because it cannot grow without it. After all, babies are expected to grow up, and if we find this baby six months later, unable to hold its head up, not responding, not even moving away from the mewling sort of cry she had at birth, we begin to understand that something is wrong. And if a child gets to be 3 or 4 or 5, and still acts the same as when he was born, we know for certain that he will never be anything more than he is ...

700. Down A Garden Path

Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... in a garden or a wilderness we could resist temptation. Give us a chance to try it in a space set apart from the routines of our daily lives -- to mark the tree, to identify the enemy and gather grace to resist. How much more difficult it is to sort it all out -- what's faithful and what's not -- in the complex web of routines and crises of our daily lives! Seldom do our temptations seem so specific, so frightening, so sudden or so foreign, as the temptations in the garden or the desert. We find ourselves ...

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