Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 51 to 75 of 341 results

51. Proper 12

Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 · Rom 8:26-39 · 1 Ki 3:5-12 · Ps 105

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... place. This parable of judgment would fit better with the parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. However, there is a connection. Jesus teaches that at the end of time God will gather his treasure to himself, by receiving those who are his own and discarding the rest. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Old Testament: Genesis 29:15-28 1. Sermon Title: Keeping Your Focus. Sermon Angle: When Jacob woke up on his wedding morning with Leah rather than Rachel, he must have been more than a little surprised and upset. Some men ...

52. The Poor In Spirit

Sermon

John A. Terry

... and their accomplishments who will inherit the kingdom, but those who rely on God. To be poor in spirit, we empty ourselves of all desire to exercise self-will. We let go of preconceived ideas of God's will and way. To be poor in spirit, we discard ideas of our own goodness and spiritual self-sufficiency, or any other thing that stands between us and God. This is entrance into a life where God eliminates the need and pressure for seeking and gaining fame and fortune. To be poor in spirit frees us from ...

53. What Shall We Do With The New Wine?

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... be placed in new winesskins that will have the elasticity and flexibility needed. Hard to Give Up Old Ways Each generation must pour the new wine from one perishable vessel to another while preserving the wine (the message) and the old wineskins must be discarded. The message of God's love in Christ remains the same while the forms and structures that communicate that message are ever changing. If not, Christianity becomes merely a creed, a polity, a form, instead of spirit and new life in Christ. It is ...

54. Ragman

John 13:34

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... some rags in my attic the other day, and noticed how pretty some of them were. So, I cut them into strips and sewed the strips together to make this quilt square. "Rags and remnants are very valuable to quilters who make beautiful covers from discarded, seemingly useless bits of material. As I was piecing this square together, I realized there was another 'ragman' whom we all know -- only the rags he collected weren't material; they were people! "You know, we are often afraid of people who are different ...

55. The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John A. Terry

56. Mission Ready!

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... we kept getting messages that people were not cooperating with the water rationing programs. A few years ago my wife and I moved from a large, spacious home into a significantly smaller home. You who have made such a move know how painful it is to discard favorite pieces that have taken on the character of personal collector’s items’ for you. And the problem is bigger when two of you have your own favorite items. But the fact remains, you have to jettison all items that the smaller space cannot contain ...

57. Would That God. . .

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... to see the difference. It is we who need to be putting to work the faith we claim to possess. Freed from fantasies, our faith gets down into the everyday concerns of our lives and starts to work. Facing these insights, we know that the old self must be discarded and a new one dared. When the faith we have gets to work, it becomes “worked into” everyday matters and decisions. We see ourselves in the best possible light. We know, at last, that we are able to do and can do for ourselves. Our faith makes us ...

58. What Do You Mean, "Repent"?

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Thomas Long

... we cope with life and make our key decisions. This is, of course, a kind of repentance, but only a mild form. It is really more like growth, or maturation, since, in most such experiences, we do not draw a new hand, but only make a few discards and rearrange the cards we have. We adjust, but do not fundamentally change. This is not the kind of repentance preached by John the Baptist. There are others for whom repentance is a larger, more profound, and more theological version of a New Year's resolution. The ...

59. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... are not truly connected to him as living branches are connected to the vine. If we fail to bring forth the fruits because of the life of Christ flowing into us through the activity of the Holy Spirit, we are as dead wood that is to be discarded. 4. Pruning the Vine. The church has usually found discipline a difficult problem. This parable with its image of the pruning of the vine and the cutting away of dead branches suggests the need for some discipline. The issue is not whether discipline is needed, but ...

60. Easter 4

John 10:1-21, Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... as Lord. In the first instance he is the rock in name only. He behaved more like a quavering bowl of jello. After the resurrection Peter is reborn and preaches Jesus as the main rock (cornerstone) in the edifice of God's kingdom. Christ, the rock discarded by the Jewish leaders, is the building block that gives the kingdom its shape and form. The difference between the former and the latter Peter derives from the power of Jesus' resurrection and the Holy Spirit. Epistle: 1 John 3:16-24 1. Sermon Title: How ...

61. Proper 19

James 3:1-12, Proverbs 1:20-33, Mark 8:31--9:1, Mark 8:27-30

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... kindergarten when it comes to the issues of justice, love and just getting along with our neighbors. With the torrent of new knowledge we have rejected the voice of wisdom, distilled in the hearts and minds of our elders through time and experience. We foolishly discard wisdom in favor of new knowledge but in so doing, we also cut ourselves off from the mind of God. Outline: 1. We live in a world of exploding knowledge. 2. Wisdom (understanding the purpose of life) cries out to be heard in the marketplace ...

62. Proper 7

Mk 4:35-41 (5:1-20) · 2 Cor 5:14-21; 6:1-13 · 1 Sam 1:32-49 · Job 38:1-11, 16-18 · Ps 9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... Your Weapons. Sermon Angle: When Saul consented to let David face Goliath, he had him clad in the king's armor, carrying the king's sword. But Saul's weapons were too heavy and cumbersome for the shepherd boy. Besides, he wasn't accustomed to them. David discarded these weapons in favor of the one that he had mastered, the sling. Selecting five smooth stones from the brook, he stood before the foe. Goliath was deeply offended that Saul had sent such an unworthy opponent. "Am I a dog, that you come to me ...

63. Memory And Hope

Sermon

Deborah D. Steed

... or teenagers, as our brother and sister, our parents and the spouses of our parents. And today those memories all come together for us. We are not quite certain what to do with those memories, for they are dear to us still. We are not ready to discard them and yet we are loath to cling to them too closely, lest they hold us back from participating in your future. Fortunately, we can look to the Bible for help. It is the biblical word that gives us permission to cherish those memories and to use them ...

64. Useful Junk

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

... life and receive a number of hard blows and knocks and soon they feel like this old pin looks. (Reword to fit your object.) After a while, they begin to think that they are not good for anything anymore and in their own thinking they feel like a discarded pin in the game of life. But other people, like this second pin, have learned that even after many hard blows, life can be made into something useful and beautiful. However, they had to learn that you cannot do it alone. The second pin, that looked like ...

65. Sweet Smells

Mark 14:1-11

Children's Sermon

Sharing This Week's Gospel Theme at Sunday Church School Object: flowered wallpaper book, glue, potpourri, swabs, paper punch, yarn Teachers: You will need a discarded flowered wallpaper book, glue, potpourri, swabs, paper punch and yarn. The children will be making potpourri hangers for a closet. Before the children arrive cut two six inch circles of wallpaper for each child. Measure out two tablespoons of potpourri in the center of the wrong side of one of ...

66. The Pitfalls Of Practicing Piety

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... . She will impress everyone, she decides, by presenting only the face of humility and courage and gentle good will. She carefully connives to make herself look good. Of course she is being dishonest, but "Oh, what was honesty, anyway? She could discard honest intentions to make this day come true. "Anything, anything," she had said to herself ... "anything at all." Anything that people should know Helen Loftis was a good mother, a successful mother. Anything that people should know: it was Helen Loftis ...

67. The King Who Came To Die

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.' Then he handed him over to them to be crucified (John 19:15-16)." So they took the deposed king and led him to Golgotha, the place of the skull, a garbage dump where lives were discarded without the usual funeral formalities. And there he hung, our Lord, suspended between heaven and earth as though unacceptable to either. Hung there naked as a peeled grape! Some king. Some king. Then he died. God died! The elements of the universe cried out with the ...

68. Paradoxes Of The Christian Faith

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... gold, more CD's - Christian determination - more power and joy than all the Federal Reserves put together. I know a man who turns everything he touches to gold; a junk man who doesn't sell junk bonds, but will take the junk of your life, the old discarded, unwanted, dilapidated, misused and abused parts of your soul and turn them into blue chip, hallelujah, better than Wall Street, Dow Jones, Nikkei averages; a man who is chairman of my board; a man who will turn the least that you have into the best and ...

69. Take Off The Grave Clothes!

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... are you doing?" she says, "I'm blessed." When asked, "How long?" she says, "Not long." When asked, "How far?" she says, "God has brought me a mighty long way." She has not only experienced the resurrecting love of Christ, but has gone further by discarding the grave clothes of despair and doubt. Despite a life-threatening disease, she has found the strength to stand up and shed the grave clothes of defeat and despair which could result from breast cancer! Finally, those of us who would experience this new ...

70. Hang Time: A Good Friday Sermon

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Lent is a season for recalling the suffering and triumph of our Lord, Savior and Liberator, Jesus Christ. It is a time where all Christians should take spiritual inventory in their lives; a time of discarding those things which hurt us and holding on to those things which help us. Lent is a time of remembering the passion, suffering, and resurrection of Christ. As heirs of his kingdom, we become co-participants in the struggle for love, justice, and truth as we are crucified and resurrected ...

71. A Road Map to the Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... what the obstacles that face us. The obstacles evaporate, and we find ourselves on the other side, moving on. As children, we let go of grudges. Disagreements from the past do not prevent us from being free to move ahead. Excess baggage is discarded. We can put our energy into constructive efforts. We move past a threatening intersection and approach the Kingdom. The priceless gift of other persons and of fresh possibilities become ours once we are free to be vulnerable. Finally, as children we are able ...

72. The Majesty Of God's Love

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... , has always been a real challenge to the church. We have not usually done a very good job. And we have not been very successful in making the Trinity a crucial aspect in the everyday life of the faithful. Seriously folks, if the Trinity doctrine were discarded next week by an ecumenical council (kind of like the council that drew up the Nicene Creed), would your faith really be affected? Would it make that much of a differnce to you in your daily Monday through Saturday life? I think that we all know ...

73. Are You Asking The Right Questions?

Zechariah 7:1-14

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... the abbot persuades Ashworth to unload the unnecessary baggage he is carrying. But, he can only go so far: “My function is simply to offer you the chance to get rid of any bags which you don’t want to carry any more, but the decision to keep or discard each bag must be yours and yours alone.”2 Confession of sin is essential to our spiritual well-being. We cannot be the vibrant people we want to be until we find liberation from the burdens that press upon us. In our inner being we know that something ...

74. WHAT IS MAN?

Sermon

Larry Powell

... with the command, "Thou shalt tend to this." Having learned from our abuse and mis-management of the Paradise, now we are having to hustle to save even the caves. What is more, we have now left our trail in outer space, strewing and discarding hardware from the space program which sometimes comes crashing down upon us. One wonders, should the moon one day actually become a colony, how long it would be before it became necessary to erect a sign; "NO LITTERING PLEASE." Something is wrong when the environment ...

75. Encounters With Christ IV: Jesus and the Woman at the Well

Sermon

James W. Moore

... that she was the promiscuous town harlot) and others to surmise that she had been a victim of society because in those days in that Patriarchal Society, it was the husband who got the divorce… meaning that this woman in one way or another had been discarded five times. · Whatever the case, one thing is clear. She was an outcast and she had a bad reputation. · And still Jesus reached out to her with love and compassion. Remember the story with me. The Bible tells us that it was about noon. This means ...

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