Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 51 to 75 of 1089 results

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

William L. Self

... the Hebrew word for peace means not only the cessation of war but a condition of rich, harmonious, and positive well-being. It is living in harmony with ourselves, with others, and with God. This is what Christ brings. Two artists were commissioned to paint their conception of peace. A panel of distinguished judges would determine which artist had best captured the idea. The winner would get a rich commission. After they had been painting for a long time, the judges assembled to view their works. The first ...

52. In The Beginning God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

William L. Self

... . The biblical writer is clearly attempting to express something specific. He is saying that what God is creating and making here possesses a quality fundamentally different from anything created and made by human artists or architects. The human artist must wrest the image from the material, which itself sets limits to the freedom that the artist has with it. Near Clarkesville, Georgia, on the banks of a river there is an old mill and the workshop and gallery of a very gifted potter. He takes the raw clay ...

53. Why A Cross?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... , our Lord chose the path that led to the cross. His whole life had a beauty and purity that exposed the ugliness and the brokenness of life about him. It was because his enemies could not stand that exposure that they were driven to take his life. The artist, Holman Hunt, has captured this sense of the cross as the logical outcome of our Lord's whole life in a painting that is titled, The Shadow Of Death.1 The picture shows Jesus as the village carpenter in Nazareth, earning his bread by the sweat of his ...

54. Five Thousand For Lunch In Galilee

Luke 9:10-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... among the poor than among the rich. Everyone, no matter how poor, has something to share. Of course, sometimes people are not always ready for what we want to share. Newscaster Walter Cronkite and his wife, Betsy, were going to entertain a popular artist who was also a well-known gourmet. The Cronkites worried about what to serve such an educated palate. "Let's serve him family style," said Cronkite. So Mrs. Cronkite, a good Southern cook, decided to serve her favorite fried chicken, black-eyed peas ...

55. The Man From Galilee III: The Touch Of His Hand

Matthew 8:14-17

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... become hands used for giving. Hands which could be used for hoarding become hands used for sharing. Hands which could be used for holding down become hands used for lifting up. How will you use your hands? There were two young men who wanted to become artists. Neither of them had the money to go to school. While both of them wanted to paint, one of them knew the other clearly had more talent. So he offered to work while his friend went to school. The student studied and learned, while the other worked ...

56. Christmas Eve / Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... Jesus a chance to raise their hands in testimony of their own belief and acceptance. Follow with another hymn of celebration. Drama and Movement Use mimes to interpret the reading of the gospel lesson. Visuals Recruit one or two of the congregation's textile artists to create banners and/or paraments. Use bright yellows, oranges, golds, and silvers to portray the words, "The light shines in the darkness," and "We have seen his glory." These might be like a sunburst or explosion of light on a patchwork of ...

57. The Name Of Names

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father." We name Jesus as the Lord of life in whose power we dare to face the challenges of each day. We name his name and we are named by his name. Among the artists of Japan it was common for the master artist to give a new name to an exceptional student, forming this name by using a portion of his own name in the new name for the student. Genyemon Ando received the name Hiroshige from his master instructor Toyohiro. Hiroshige's woodblock prints are world ...

58. Deep Joy For A Shallow World

Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... says, "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning." The long night for many people is the night they are demanding justice in the world, when all along what the world needs, and what God gives, is mercy. There was a woman who hired an expensive artist to do her portrait. The artist had her sit several times with him and then he went off and finished the work. He came with the portrait and presented it. The woman looked at it and said, "This portrait does not do my face justice." The ...

59. The Song in Search of a Voice

John 20:19-23

Sermon

James Weekley

... 's-eye, a target of hope. With life at its worst, the promise of his peace continues to sift our way. The story is told by Henry Drummond of two artists who were assigned to paint a picture portraying a scene of tranquil peace. The first artist painted a picture with a calm mountain lake surrounded by rollins green hills. By contrast the second artist painted a rugged landscape with a violent waterfall roaring down upon a pile of rugged rocks. But to one side of the waterfall stood a slender tree with its ...

60. The Cost of Being Christian

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

What is the dominant image you have in your mind of Jesus? In reality, these are the only true pictures we have. All of the others are simply portraits or caricatures, which the artist has painted from the image the artist has in mind of the same Jesus. Very often the artist also reflects something of the art style of the period in which the picture was drawn. So your picture, at least in terms of your own faith and development, is as important to you as any other picture you might see. How then do you see ...

61. Come and Find Rest

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

... I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jesus challenged his hearers to come and work with him, be yoked with him and then the labor would grow easier. A budding artist once painted a picture of the Last Supper. He took it to the famous writer Tolstoy for his opinion. Carefully and understandingly the Russian master of words studied the canvas. Then pointed to the central figure, he declared: "You do not love Him." "Why that is the ...

62. A Most Amazing Night

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

... Are they offering her their blessings or their sympathy? We have no pictures of Mary, so we don’t know what she looked like. But she has become a universal woman these last 2,000 years. European artists have made her look European. African artists have made her look African. In Japan, she is Japanese. Yet, every artist has made her look thoughtful and serene. What we do know about Mary is that she kept all the things she saw that night and pondered them in her heart. What a magnificent description of Mary ...

63. When You Follow A Star and Find A Stable

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The wise men knelt before the babe and offered him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The central problem with our lives is not that we have experienced more than our share of disappointments, but that we have not done the best that we could with what we have. Renoir, the French artist, was afflicted with acute rheumatism, and suffered most of his life with that incurable malady. For many years he was forced to paint while sitting in a chair. A friend noticed one day that the ...

64. The Circus and My Faith

Ps 139 · Mt 22:37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... as they view it. What I am going to describe has to be one of the most annoying moments in life. You’re tired and your mind turns to music. Up you get, saunter over to your record collection, pick up a recording of one of your favorite artists, carefully place the needle on the record and then make your way back to your favorite chair. There you are, all set for the delicacy of a long playing album, when about three minutes into the performance, the needle hits one of those scratch spots that causes it ...

65. Bezaleel

Exodus 35:30--36:7

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... . Existence continues, but humankind - not made for existence only - was created for life. Obviously, a pig or an ox does not care about the color scheme of pen or barn. But why are so many barns painted bright red? I have never been told by a sociologist or artist, but I think red barns give a lift to the eye and soul of a tired farmer. Red breaks the dullness of a cold winter afternoon. When Martha Berry was building her school near Rome, Georgia, she insisted a steeple be placed on the barn. Many thought ...

66. What Kind of Cross?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Illustration

Larry Powell

... take up his cross and follow me." A cross of adornment or embellishment was not what Jesus had in mind. Self-denial and risking the consequences of following the way of Christ are at the heart of the call to discipleship. In the eighteenth century, a German artist, Stenberg, was walking through the market place of his home town when he was attracted to the face of a dancing gypsy girl. He invited her to sit for him in his studio as a model. Accepting his invitation, she enabled Stenberg to paint his famous ...

67. FOLLOW TO THE JUDGMENT HALL

John 8:48-59

Sermon Aid

John W. Rilling

... giving a foremost place to a penniless teacher from Nazareth ... By the historian’s test of greatness, ‘What did he leave to grow?’ Jesus stands first," said H. G. Wells. 3. THIRD WITNESS - THE ARTIST. And a very impressive witness it is. Every nation brings him it’s finest tributes. Every genre of artistic expression offers him impressive witness. Pick up the "Oxford Book of Christian Verse" and read what the poets have to say about him. Walk the halls of the Metropolitan Museum and see what the ...

68. The Ultimate Question

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Jesus as very human with a good sense of humor and appreciation of fun, something I have long insisted is true. I do not know if he actually started any water fights with the disciples, but I would not rule it out either. Call that scene artistic licence. That certainly came into play with the depiction of Satan. The Evil One is portrayed alternately by a man in a twentieth century designer suit with slicked back hair, looking for all the world like a wizard of Wall Street, and a beautiful woman dressed ...

69. Put Out Your Nets

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... , but into the scene stepped Jesus. Instead of being bitter or frightened, she learned to thank God for her confinement. "Now I can be alone with the Lord Jesus," she explains. According to a legend, some lads were visiting that famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci. One of them knocked over a stack of canvases. This upset the artist because he was working very quietly and sensitively. He became angry, threw his brush, and hurled some harsh words at the hapless little fellow, who ran crying from the studio. The ...

70. The Deeper Meaning Of Christmas

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... to enter a new world of salvation. If we are to be better people for celebrating Christmas this year, it will be because the Christ of Christmas has come into our hearts. There is no other avenue that leads into the Kingdom of God. In 1924, an English artist named William Wolcott came to New York City to record his impressions of that great metropolis. One morning he was visiting in the office of a former colleague when the urge to sketch came over him. Seeing some paper on his friend's desk he asked, "May ...

71. What Gets Into People?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... which he lived. After Paul Gauguin joined him, however, his dreams for a new religion among the sensitive crashed. He and Gauguin quarreled violently. Many believe that Van Gogh committed suicide because he was mentally ill, or because he lost his lover to fellow artist Gauguin. But there was a deeper reason. Van Gogh died from disillusionment and loss of hope. He found that there is no human substitute for the authority of the Master. Deep within the soul of every person is a longing for hope and purpose ...

72. From Coping To Conquering

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... by a long, hair-like scratch. The king was heartbroken. He sent out word throughout the kingdom that he would give an enormous reward to anyone who could repair his diamond. No one came forward. All the best diamond cutters feared failure. Then an artist offered to rescue the diamond. "Its greatest flaw shall be its most splendid glory," he announced confidently. Taking the diamond, he kept it in his possession for many weeks. Then he returned it to the king. As the king unveiled his precious stone, he ...

73. A Cup Of Cold Water

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Baron De Rothschild was one of the richest men who ever lived. Legend has it that the Baron once posed before an artist as a beggar. While the artist, Ary Scheffer, was painting him, the financier sat before him in rags and tatters holding a tin cup. A friend of the artist entered, and the baron was so well disguised that he was not recognized. Thinking he was really a beggar, the visitor dropped a coin into the cup. Ten years later, the man who gave the coin to Rothschild received a letter containing a ...

74. What's Really Important

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... consider trying them. 1. Dirty hair. One of the pageant's hairstylists admits, "Dirty hair is more manageable. I can make a style fuller and stay better." 2. Face Putty. Used to cover up lines, scars, and pockmarks, and to create "porcelain" complexions. One makeup artist says: "I've even gone so far as to use mortician's wax mixed with the makeup." 3. Vaseline. Smeared on the teeth so that contestants can smile easily--even if their mouthsdry up from nervousness. 4. Preparation H. (Hey, I'm not making this ...

75. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... in terms of Christ, acts long enough in terms of Christ, lives long enough in terms of Christ will in the end become like Christ. Our text again, "Live lives that are self-controlled, upright and godly -- or Christ-like." Noble behavior attributes, indeed. May the Divine Artist paint them boldly on the canvass of your life and mine. In the third, and final, of our ABC's we remove bedlam from Bethlehem when we realize who is coming one day to usher in the final act in the Eternal Christmas Pageant. Verse 13 ...

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