Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 676 to 700 of 975 results

676. The Essence of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how It Is with you, but I can recall occasions when a text of scripture grabbed my imagination, gripped my mind, burrowed its way into my soul, and became a part of my being. In many instances, I can relive the setting when that happened, and it energizes my life. Our scripture for this is such a case. It was Senior Recognition Day at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, 1958. From the time I answered the call to preach as a seventeen- year-old country boy in Mississippi, I’ve always ...

677. Crucified with Christ

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some verses in the Bible are like beacons in the sea of scripture – buoys that mark the channel of God’s activity in history, God’s intervention in our lives, God’s relationship to persons. Genesis 1: 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Psalm 8: 4-5: “When I look at the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him a little less than ...

678. The Unforgivable Sin

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of my favorite preachers, Clarence Forsberg, tells a story about a man who realized his life-long ambition by going on a safari in Africa. “He took along his wife, even though she was not the outdoors type. They set up camp in a jungle cleaning, and as he prepared to go out the first day he presented his wife with a little silver bell. He explained, ‘There is really nothing to worry about. I’m not going to be very far away. If you have any trouble at all, just ring this bell, and I’ll come right back.’ ...

679. Unexpected Invasions

Isaiah 64:1-9

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

He looked me in the eye with deep intensity, as young adults tend to do, and then he said, “Do you believe in miracles?" “Indeed I do," I said with all the authority of my office and ordination. “Good," he replied. “I need an especially big one this week." With that he disappeared in the crowd and I never saw him again although I continue to pray for him often when his face comes into my mind's eye. Here we are in December. December is not so much another month as it is another state of mind. In December ...

680. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed, until he found where the real problem was and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the question of marriage. “Go call your husband,” Jesus said to her. He did that with the rich young ruler and landed on the question of money. “Go sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor,” He said to that man. He did that with Zacchaeus and landed on the ...

681. What Is the Future of United Methodism?

John 2:12-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

United Methodists gather this week across the United States in Jurisdictional Conferences to elect 20 new bishops. Since my name is no longer on the list of nominees, I have the freedom to talk candidly about this Church into which I was born and to which I have given my heart, my soul, and my deepest devotion. I am honored and deeply grateful to be a United Methodist pastor. Every week I get to do what I most enjoy doing—connect to people, preach the gospel, observe hearts being touched and lives being ...

682. Habakkuk: The Problem of Evil

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A young business executive sent this letter to this pastor: “I see so many people around the church who have such strong faith that I feel like I don't fit in. I would like to feel confident. I wish I didn't have doubts, but I've got more questions than answers. Sometimes I wonder if I am really a Christian. Can you help me with any of this? [Signed] Bob" Could you have written this letter? Whoever said that we should not question things surely never read the Bible. The Bible is full of questions. I hope ...

683. By Enduring

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sometimes in our lives we have great pain and deep sorrow. Life is hard. It is hard by the yard and it is no cinch by the inch. Suffering is not an option in the school of life. Last Friday night, Larry King assembled a panel of preachers and New Age proponents to discuss the nature of good and evil. It was an interesting discussion. But when you are down in the trenches, doubled over with some pain that won't go away, you are not very interested in a discussion. What you would like is some relief. And if ...

684. Loosening Up for Better Production

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Some unknown lover of nature wrote this little poem: The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, I'm closer to God in a garden, Than anywhere else on earth. For all of you nature lovers and garden growers, Jesus told a story just for you. In it He drove home a truth essential for the rest of us, too. We call it the Parable of the Sower, though Jesus interpreted it as an allegory of the soils, which poses no problem for ordinary readers, only for Biblical critics of the 20th Century. ...

685. The King on a Donkey

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you heard my story about the husband and the wife who had quarreled. It had been a high-pitch quarrel, each digging their heels in to preserve the position they had vehemently taken. Emotions ran high. Both were nursing their hurt feelings in defensive silence. As they were driving to attend a family wedding in a distant city — it was an uneasy and quiet trip, both of them starring straight ahead or out the window as the miles went by in icy silence. The angry tension between them was so thick you ...

686. Stay Awake! Routine Can Be a Blessing

Luke 12:32-40

Illustration

Wallace H. Kirby

One of the musicians who played many years for Toscanini said that the maestro had the ability to make the orchestra feel it was playing a well-known work for the first time. Each repeated playing of the score was done as if it were the premiere performance. After once recording the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Toscanini said he had been conducting the Beethoven Ninth for over fifty years. He continued, "Now I think I finally understand it." Routine can yield its blessings if we stay awake.

687. The Porch Light's On

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Tony Everett

All of us have heard various short, sarcastic sayings that describe people and groups who seem to lack plain, old common sense. These folks appear to understand what's happening in their lives. However, when it comes to coping with reality, they just don't seem to get it. Here are some examples: "One brick short of a load." "Just one French fry short of a Happy Meal." "His elevator's stuck on the first floor." A good phrase that can describe many Christians celebrating Epiphany might be, "Their porch light ...

688. Seeing God Work for Good

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Larry Lange

A wicked wind tore through our coats. Larry looked down from the highway across his neighbor's field squinting and frowning. The black clumps of earth overturned by the last plowing were infested with what appeared to be white mold. It looked like frost, but cold as it felt, it was too warm for frost to have remained on the ground. "It's not frost," Larry was saying. "It's chemicals. And salt. The standing water from the snowmelt and the rain last week brought them to the surface. When the wind blows and ...

689. Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

When a carnival came to town, the strong man was one of the most popular attractions. One of his tricks was to squeeze an orange dry with his bare hand. Then he would offer $1,000 to anyone in the audience who could manage to squeeze even one more drop from that orange. Having nothing to lose, people were always ready to accept the challenge to make an easy $1,000, but they always failed. They would squeeze and squeeze, but their efforts were fruitless. Then, an older man stepped up to try his strength. ...

690. Science And The Bible

Isaiah 40:1-31

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Object: Nine pieces of card stock printed with: Isaiah 40:22a printed out Job 26:7 printed out Genesis 1:1 — astrophysics Genesis 1:6 — meteorology Genesis 1:9 — oceanography and geology Genesis 1:11 — botany Genesis 1:20 — ichthyology (study of fish) and ornithology (study of birds) Genesis 1:24 — mammalogy (study of mammals) Genesis 1:24 — entomology (study of insects) Genesis 1:24 — herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians) Genesis 1:26 — anatomy, medicine, psychology Magnifying glasses, ...

691. Silly Putty, Play-Doh and Potter's Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Somebody once said: "We are all made of common clay and that is why we all have the same kinds of problems." But someone else said: "We're all created in the same mold, only some of us are moldier than others." (1) There is a place in India where their legends agree with the Bible that humankind was made from dust. But they think that the upper class (or caste) was made from the fertile soil and the lower class was made from ordinary clay. But even I know, if you are going to create pottery, you want ...

692. Proper 22, Pentecost 20, Ordinary Time 27

Psalm 80:7-15, Isaiah 5:1-7, Matthew 21:33-46, Philippians 3:4b-14

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Prayer Of Confession And Absolution Leader: O holy one of Israel, All: like stone laid upon stone, we are crushed by the weight of our sin. You give us everything we need to live, yet like greedy children we gorge ourselves because we do not trust you. We hoard, we bully, we try to take charge over everything and everyone in our path. We ask that you put to death all of our wretched schemes and give us hearts to love you alone. Silence for prayer Leader: As a steward in God’s vineyard, I declare to you the ...

693. Show Us a Sign

Matthew 24:36-44

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

One of the very first things we always ask for in the midst of uncertainty, disaster or trouble is: "Lord, show us a sign." In the movie Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, there's a scene where Bruce's life has fallen apart. He's gotten fired, beat up when he tried to help a homeless man holding a sign, and he's had a fight with his girlfriend whose name just happens to be Grace. He's driving along feeling sorry for himself, talking to and yelling at God. "OK, God. You want me to talk to you? Then talk ...

694. Time to Unpack

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Advent is an intentional season of “preparedness.” We think of Advent as a “journey,” to use Oprah Winfrey’s favorite word. We think of Advent as a progressive path we take in order to arrive at a destination — the sleepy village of Bethlehem. Preparing. Making plans. Charting a way. Scouting and scoping the landscape. Assessing and overcoming obstacles to avoid or override. Sounds like life as usual. Sounds like something we can get our heads and hands and hearts around. Sounds like something we can get ...

695. The Garden of Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman tells of joining a weight-loss organization. At one meeting the instructor held up an apple and a candy bar. “What are the attributes of this apple,” she asked, “and how do they relate to our diet?” Among the answers that came from the group: “Low in calories” and “lots of fiber.” She then detailed what was wrong with eating candy, and concluded, “Apples are not only more healthful but also less expensive. Do you know I paid seventy-five cents for this candy bar?” The group stared as she held aloft ...

696. What Kind of Pillar Are You?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who are the pillars of the church? If others look to you as a “pillar of the church,” what kind of pillar are you? Jesus answers that question in our gospel reading for this morning, but to get to his answer we’ve got to exercise the discipline of historical context. We’ve got to put his words and images in the context of the culture of his day. So here we go . . . Anyone who has ever had a class on Greek and Roman culture has had to recall and recognize the three distinctive types of architectural columns ...

697. John 10:1-10

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

“Write what you know.” That is the first advice every creative writing teacher gives to their students. Don’t write about high‑tech science fiction if you grew up in a fishing village. Don’t write about urban drug/gang culture if your experience is a farm in South Iowa. When you write about your environs and the types of people you know, that’s when you write reality. You are reproducing authentic images, conveying motives and emotions you’ve witnessed first-hand that lie behind the characters on the page ...

698. The Receptive Heart

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Life is a matter of attitude. All the great motivational speakers tell us that. To succeed in life, attitude is critical. Of course, not everyone has a great attitude. In fact, some people have a downright rotten attitude. The Internet carried an item recently that reflects a rotten attitude. It is called the “Cynic’s Guide to Life.” It’s a clever take-off on some of life’s familiar clichés. See if you recognize any of these: The journey of a thousand miles . . . begins with . . . a broken fan belt and a ...

699. Calling Out in the Darkness

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Steven Molin

He was an embarrassment; he had been ever since he went blind. He would sit there on that mat, tin cup in hand, begging for alms. "Gifts for the poor! Gifts for the poor!" he would cry out in his darkness. And people would step around him, though some would dare to place a coin in his coffer. "Thank you, kind sir! May the Lord bless you for your generosity!" And then his litany would resume again: "Gifts for the poor! Gifts for the poor!" It hadn't always been this way. The son of Timaeus was born a ...

700. A Four Word Memoir

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Human beings are a terrific source of creativity. Even at the time of death. For example, consider this epitaph on a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts: Under the sod and under the trees . . . Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there’s only the pod . . . Pease shelled out and went to God. Or this one from a more recent burial: Here lies my wife . . . Here let her lie. Now she’s at rest . . . And so am I. Or this one from the grave of a dentist named John Brown: Stranger! ...

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