Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 51 to 75 of 4489 results

51. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. — John 16:13 For some it is ancient history. But for others it is as fresh as yesterday. I speak of 1972 when the word "cover-up" came into our consciousness in a big way — the cover-up by then-President Richard Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Assured of a landslide victory in his election for a second term, Richard Nixon, overborne with anxiety, apparently felt that was not enough. So he authorized the so-called "Watergate ...

52. There's God In Them There Hills

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

On September 27, 1998, Philip Ozersky went to a baseball game and saw his life changed forever. With one swing of a bat, and in two twinklings of the eye, he caught not just a baseball, but a gold mine. Now a lot of fans have caught home runs, but this was no ordinary home run. A lot of batters have hit home runs, but this was no ordinary batter. On that day, Mark McGuire came to the plate and hit his record-breaking seventieth home run. The ball was launched over Ozersky's head, hit a wall and bounced ...

53. Can Two Become One?

Matthew 19:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

I recently came across a fascinating article called “The Top 10 Inventions That Changed The World.” Whenever I come across lists like these it is always fun to see how many of these I can guess. I am going to put 10 blanks up on the screen, beginning with number 10. Here are the top inventions in order from 10-to-1: 10. The Plow 9. The Wheel 8. The Printing Press 7. The Refrigerator 6. Communications (Telephone, TV, etc) 5. The Steam Engine 4. The Automobile 3. The Light Bulb 2. The Computer 1. The ...

54. When Imagination Replaces Memory

Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the fascinating aspects of being human is our ability to create time. We have memories and can literally sit in the present but remember and live in the past. On the other hand, we also have imaginations and can literally live in the future. We can sit here and imagine what we're going to do as soon as worship is over. Most of our problems in life don't come from our imaginations. They come from our memories. The past presents us with a paradox. On the one hand, a lot of good things have happened to ...

55. The Forgiving Christ

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sometimes a story in the Bible has me feeling like a kid in a candy shop. There are so many goodies in front of me that it's difficult to know which one to select. Such were my feelings as I prepared this sermon on the healing of the paralytic. I was tempted to entitle this sermon, “When Jesus Is There, The House Is Full," but, I doubted that would be true on a snowy Sunday. I considered a country music theme, “We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends." Of course, we do. I don't usually remember ...

56. Are You Able?

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Are you able? We've been asking that question this Holy Week. Are you able to drink the cup I am going to drink? asked Jesus as the disciples shuffled for position. Can we walk the road Jesus walked, the Via Delarosa, the way of sorrows? Can we eat the bread of brokenness? Can we take up the cross and follow Jesus? Sobering questions, serious questions, the kind of questions that crack open a hardened heart and lay bare the tendons of the spiritual life. The kind of questions to be asked on Maundy Thursday ...

57. The Door of Hospitality

John 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Two strangers attended the same church for several Sundays. No one spoke to either one of them, so one lady decided, “I’ll give this church one more chance. If nobody speaks to me next Sunday I’ll never go again.” The other lady said, “I don’t like this ‘no speak’ situation in church. If no one speaks to me next Sunday, I’ll break the ice and speak to someone myself.” The next Sunday the ushers happened to seat the two strangers on the same pew. Once more nobody spoke. But, as the first woman rose to stalk ...

58. Breaking The Cycle - God’s Answer In Forgiveness

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

People often mistake forgiveness for a feeling, but it goes much deeper. Basically it boils down to a choice, an act of free will. A prime example of forgiveness from the scriptures is Joseph. Joseph, the elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel, comes to the pages of the biblical account at age seventeen (Genesis 37). He is first seen tending his father's flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, Jacob's other wives. The biblical account does not go into detail about what ...

59. Breaking Loose

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Simpson of Mobile, Alabama tells of meeting a young man who dives for exotic fish for aquariums. This adventurous young man said that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay at a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. (1) Mother Nature is amazing. How does the shark know that it ...

60. Wanna Fight?

Mark 9:38-41

Sermon

King Duncan

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us . . .” What a message this is for our society: “whoever is not against us is for us . . .” That’s not the current theme in our society, is it? It’s us against them . . . Democrats against Republicans . . . Illegal ...

61. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Some of you here today are sitting in worship with a burden on your heart. Some of you are angry with God for that loss of job, or that sickness that has come upon you or your family. Some here today may have doubts that God truly cares about your life, truly cares about what happens to you or someone dear to you. Some of you may not be sure that God has heard you, or worse, that God exists to hear you. If you’ve been a lifelong church-goer, you’re probably afraid to ask those questions, just in case you ...

62. An Up-Close Nativity

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Heather Sugden

One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas is the decorations. Growing up, about mid-December, all these special decorations would come out of boxes and appear around the house. Ornaments for the trees, stockings for the mantle above the fireplace, pretty snow globes that sat on top of the book-shelves, and my mother’s nativity scenes. My mother owns several nativity scenes. They come in different sizes, are made of different materials, and show different interpretations of what the holy family ...

63. By Faith

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

One thing I have quit doing the last couple of years is cleaning gutters. Every time I mention it, Sandy immediately hires someone to do it and sends me the bill. Maybe she has heard me tell this story too many times. A certain husband was cleaning leaves off his roof when he slipped and fell. As he slid off the edge, he managed to grasp the gutter for dear life. Dangling there between the heavens above and earth below, the frightened homeowner cried out, “Can somebody up there help me?" Quick came the ...

64. By Humbly Doing Good

1 Peter 5:6-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The pastor of a congregation preached an unusually short sermon one Sunday. As he came to the conclusion, he offered this explanation for the brevity of it all. “We have a new dog at our house," explained the pastor. “The dog is prone to get into things and chew them up. Last night the dog got hold of my sermon and chewed up the last several pages." The congregation seemed to understand the plight of the pastor. In fact, one visitor to the church shook the preacher's hand after service and said, “If that ...

65. Sabotaging The Sabath

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Richard Patt

We wish the story here would have ended another way. Yes, it was the sabbath (always meant to be a beautiful day for God's people!). And even on the sabbath people become sick or continue to be sick. Jesus notices a woman, all hunched over, obviously one who had been ill for a long time. He is a merciful Lord, so he takes the initiative to call her over and lay his hands on her. In these gracious acts, the woman is healed on the spot. Her body is straightened again, and she praises God for God's goodness. ...

66. Why Do People Suffer?

John 9:1-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There is an old story about a construction worker who attempted to lower a barrel of brick by means of a rope and pulley. The bricks however, were heavier than the worker. The man went up as the brick came down. The two collided in mid-air, injuring the worker's shoulder. Upon impact, the bottom of the barrel ripped open. The brick spilled out. Now, the worker was heavier than the brick. As the man came down at high speed, he collided with the barrel coming up, causing injury to his shins. This time the ...

67. It Takes More than Sun to Grow

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

A father and his son went for a ride on a trolleycar. The boy seemed to be completely absorbed in the passing sights of San Francisco. His father, feeling a bit mischievous, lifted the boy’s cap from his head and pretended to throw it out the window. The boy began to cry, so his father whistled and placed the cap back on his son’s head. He made believe that he was able to bring the cap back by a mere whistle. The lad’s tears disappeared and he laughed. "That’s fun," he said, "let’s do it again" - and he ...

68. Don't Let the Parade Pass You By

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

America’s great child-philosopher, Dennis the Menace, offered this observation as his mother washed his dirty hands: "Margaret’s Mom must like me. I heard her say, ‘I just wish he was my child for five minutes.’" The people of Jerusalem had a similar kind of love/hate attitude toward Jesus. They cheered him on the first Palm Sunday as he entered Jerusalem, but then shouted "Crucify him" the following Friday. The Palm Sunday crowd was enthusiastic but fickle. As the politicians would say, Jesus’ support was ...

69. The Joy of Sorrow?

Matthew 5:4

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

As I walked down the hall of a hospital Thursday afternoon, I noticed coming toward me a young man maneuvering himself in a wheelchair. Because there was at least a minute before we passed each other, I saw that his left leg was missing, just below the knee. It was so heavily bandaged that I surmised he had recently had surgery. If I had stopped that young man and asked him if he knew what sorrow meant, he might have told me something of his grief over the loss of his leg. The telephone rang late the other ...

70. Soaring with Christ

Matthew 28:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

What an absolute joy to worship here, to be your pastor, to celebrate this Easter Sunday. Thank you for giving me the privilege to do that. What does Easter mean to you? I posed that with a preschooler yesterday and he said, “The Easter bunny is coming to bring me some candy." I asked a teenager, “What does Easter mean to you?" With a twinkle in her eye she said, “Fun in the sun. I'm on my way to spring break." If you happen to be employed with the church, Easter week is the busiest week of the entire ...

71. Worship

Hebrews 10:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

According to the Westminster Catechism, the chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Ten Commandments of Moses instructs us to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." I can still hear my mother say, “Get out of bed; it's time to go to church." I will never forget that command. Thousands of you have made a commitment to worship at least once a week these fifty days as disciples should and do. What is this thing we call worship? Why do nearly forty percent of Americans worship ...

72. The Power to Begin Again

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Being married to a public school teacher, I have always been fond of this old poem: He came to my desk with quivering lips, The lesson was done. Dear Teacher, “I want a new sheet," he said, “I spoiled this one." I took the old sheet, stained and blotted and gave him a new one, all unspotted, And into his sad eyes smiled, “Do better now my child." I came to God with a quivering soul The old life was done. Dear Father, “Have you a new life for me? I spoiled this one." He took the old life, stained and ...

73. Selling One’s Soul

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Allen

Universities in the Northeast take great delight in staging Elizabethan dramas. This is one of the cultural aspects which universities in the Northeast emphasize. It is a way of giving aspiring young actors and actresses some practical experience on the stage and it is a way of taking classical literature out of the boredom of the classroom and making it come alive in the minds of students as they watch it performed on the stage. Perhaps, one of the greatest of the Elizabethan dramas is Christopher Marlowe ...

74. The Holy Spirit and You

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the spring of 1998 Sandy and I bought our first home. After years of parsonage living, it was an absolute delight to have our own place, though the bank still owned the most of it. The Director of Christian Education asked if we would host a little Sunday School party on Pentecost Sunday. We immediately agreed to do so, even though the house was far from ready for “company." We thought about twenty people would come. Fifty showed up at our door. We prayed that the weather would be good and the sun would ...

75. Loving Our Enemies, Christian or Crazy?

Matthew 5:43-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In Bill Adler's popular book of letters from kids, an 8 year old boy from Nashville, Tennessee makes this contribution: “Dear Pastor, I know God wants us to love everybody, but he surely never met my sister." Sincerely, Arnold. There is an old jingle I learned as a child that puts it another way: To live above with those we love, well that will be glory. To live below, with those we know, well, that is a different story. In our Quest for Christian Values, we concluded last week that it boils down to loving ...

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