Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 51 to 75 of 201 results

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good ...

52. God Is No Respecter Of Persons

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Do you like trivia questions? Try these: In what country of the world are the most Bic pens sold per capita? What has replaced the 44 revolver as the Great Equalizer in the West? What unique design appears on Sears, Roebuck's best-selling women's shirts? The answers: Bic pens are most popular in Zaire. In that African country, however, people don't write with most of the Bic pens - they wear them. Any man who can scrape together an extra $2.00 will buy a half dozen pens and stick them all in his shirt ...

53. God’s Safety Net

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

Political jargon over the last decade has given us a new understanding of an old term. The term is ‘safety net.’ My first recollection of a safety net was at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus when it was still performing under the big top. Who could forget those daring acrobats balanced on the trapeze or high wire and, under them, a net. When the act was finished they would fall gracefully from their lofty perch into the open arms of the net, a kind of tease, I suppose, a hint of the ...

54. Blessed among Women

Luke 1:39-45, 1 Samuel 2:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

"And Elizabeth ... exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’ " (Luke 1:42) No one knows what she looked like. European artists have made her look European. African artists have made her look African. Native American artists have drawn her in their image, as have artists from South America, the Far East and nearly every other part of the world as well. In a sense, she has become the universal woman, adapted in every generation to every race and culture ...

55. Mission Accomplished!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

"Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them." Possibly the most awesome and fantastic picture I have ever seen is the earth-moon shot taken by the Apollo astronauts. Emerging from behind the moon for the first time after entering lunar orbit, there in the foreground is the moon landscape. In the background, emerging from the blackness of space is the earth, 230,000 miles away. How insignificant we as individuals appear from ...

56. Birthing the Kingdom

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

I for one am heartily glad that the millennium (and its attendant madness) is well behind us. I'm glad that the millennium comes only once in a, well, millennium. The major reason for my relief is that I became sick of "Millennium Fever" and the doom-saying prophecies that (mercifully) did not come to pass. End of the world prophecies are nothing new, of course. They were around for centuries before our Lord was born. They exist in most major religions and cults. And every time a new disaster -- of natural ...

57. Justification By Grace Through Faith

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Now I’m aware of the fact that it is Mother’s day. But I’m not going to preach a traditional Mother’s Day sermon. In the early days of the Methodist Church, as a part of worship, the preacher not only preached a sermon, he usually exhorted the congregation. An exhortation is different from preaching, so just to let you know I know it is Mother’s Day before I preach I want to exhort you for a moment. There’s a marvelous verse of scripture in II Timothy, the 1st chapter, the 5th verse. Paul is writing to ...

58. Living Deliberately

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson is taken from the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, beginning with the 7th and reading through the 18th verses. I’m reading from the Revised Standard Version. This is the word of the Lord. “So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and ...

59. Proper 18

Psalm 149:1-9, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20, Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 12:1-14 is one of the central descriptions of how the Passover is to be celebrated and how it functions in the life of Israel. Psalm 149 is a two-sided hymn of praise in which God's ability to destroy and to save is acknowledged. Exodus 12:1-14 - "The Passover" Setting. The confusion of the present form of Exodus 11-13 confronts any reader with immediate obstacles to interpretation. At least three different traditions have been brought together in these chapters (by at least two ...

60. Proper 21

Exodus 17:1-7, Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:28-32, Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 78:1-72

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 17:1-7 is the first account of God providing Israel with water from a rock. Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 is a historical psalm that recounts God's merciful guidance during Israel's wilderness wandering. Exodus 17:1-7 - "Is the Lord in Our Midst or Not?" Setting. Exodus 17:1-7 is one of the early wilderness stories. The Lord has delivered Israel from Egypt in Exodus 15 and the once enslaved people now have the responsibility of political freedom without the benefit of a country, because ...

61. The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The True High Priest and His Ministry In this passage the author sums up his argument thus far but also brings it to a new stage. He continues to expound the definitive character of Christ’s work, now drawing the contrast in a new and fascinating manner by using the language of shadow and reality. 8:1 The point of the argument centers on the actual reality and sufficiency of our high priest. He has been able definitively to accomplish what the levitical priesthood pointed toward in anticipation. He now has ...

62. Service And Reward

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Social status may be determined by many factors. Some of these may be given by birth, genetics, or for reasons other than the achievement of the person. These include such things as color of skin and eyes, kind of hair, height, body build, gender, national origin, family's social position, inherited wealth, and age. Other factors may be determined by achievements through a person's efforts. These include such factors as level of education, employment, development of skills, hard work, wise investment, or ...

63. The Friend At Midnight

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered she had certain instructions for the little tike: "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask." She put him in the child's seat and off they went up and down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. Seeing the chocolate chip cookies he said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not ...

64. The Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

Visiting Mrs. Campbell was always great fun for a child in southern Maryland. Mrs. Campbell was from Scotland, and talked as no one else the child had ever heard. Besides that, she had had marvelous adventures and been to lands the child had only read about and seen pictures of. She had danced in the Vienna of Franz Joseph and crossed the Atlantic in the days of the great ocean liners. Her eyes would sparkle as she entertained the child with her reminiscences, and it was plain, as she talked, she was ...

65. The Dimensions of the Decalogue

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

God made it clear to Moses, and through him to the people of Israel, that those who would abide by his covenant are expected to live a different kind of life from people who do not believe in God. He did so by setting out the code of Old Testament law, which we call the Ten Commandments, or the Decalogue. Not only did God address this word to the ancient Israelites, expecting them to observe it, but modern Jews and Christians, too, are to respect God’s laws and live lives that are "holy and acceptable to ...

66. We Are Driven!

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; every one mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear ...

67. Where Can We Find Wisdom?

Proverbs 2:1-22

Sermon

Edward Chinn

"Dad, have you cut all four of your wisdom teeth?" asked the teenager. "Yes, son," replied the father. "I have bought a used car, accepted a nomination, been chairman of the civic association, and married your mother." That man obviously thought that he had cut his "wisdom teeth" by chewing on four tough experiences. The four "third molars" have been given that name "wisdom teeth" because they usually appear during late adolescence or early adulthood. Wisdom, however, does not automatically come to us with ...

68. You Can Depend on It

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

I was standing on a street corner. A man, slightly under the weather, came up and started talking, "Hey, buddy, you know that an alligator lays 10,000 eggs. And, you can depend on it." I didn’t reply, hoping he’d go away. But, "And, out of that, 9,000 float away. The fish eat ‘em." "So ..." I started. "And you can depend on it." He continued, "Out of the 1,000 left, other alligators eat up 900." Sarcastically I said, "And, I can depend on that, I suppose." "Yup, you sure can. Furthermore, of the 100 left, ...

69. Noise Is Anything That Corrupts the Integrity of a Message

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

Noise is anything that corrupts the integrity of a message. A message comes over the radio. Atmospheric conditions produce noise or faulty equipment causes interference, resulting in static. The message is corrupted. A message comes to us from the printed page. Mistakes, errors, typos, poor printing - all make it difficult for a reader to obtain the message as it was intended. It is corrupted. A message comes over the television. The wind blows very hard, the tube is wearing out, or the signal is poor - ...

70. When Someone Else Gets The Honor

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

We have been dealing the past couple of weeks with some of the most basic human emotions--anger, hatred, resentment. This morning we want to deal with another--envy. A popular form of humor recently has been light bulb jokes. For example, "How many Wall Street brokers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" The answer: "One, The broker holds the light bulb and the universe revolves around him." Or, "how many Exxon officials does it take to change a light bulb. Ten. One to turn the bulb and nine to handle ...

71. Biblical Insights for Being a Christian Father

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Bill Cosby has suggested that Father's Day is almost as exciting as Ground Hog Day. Among the many problems that he discloses about this observance is the issue of buying a present for Dad. Among the dumbest gifts that Cosby has received on this day of obligatory recognition is soap-on-a-rope-- a remembrance which ranks slightly higher than the time he received a thousand yards of dental floss. There have been other thoughtful gifts, such as a sweater in June (it was on sale), the hedge cutters, weed ...

72. Grace in the Midst of Limited Resources

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

Year after year Stumpy and Martha attended the fair in their home state, and every summer it was the same story: Stumpy was tantalized by the old-fashioned bi-plane in which anybody could take a ride for ten dollars, and Martha was disgusted by such an obvious waste of money. "Ten dollars is ten dollars," she would always say. And Stumpy would go home without his airplane ride. One year Stumpy said, "Martha, there's that bi-plane again. I am 81 years old and this year I want to go for a ride." Martha ...

73. Gratitude Takes Practice

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If any life was lifeless, it was the life of the lepers. Lepers were, in Jesus day, "the walking dead." They were considered outcasts. Their skin diseases were mistakenly considered contagious and, therefore, they were segregated in order to protect the healthy parts of society from their diseases. But something deeper than disease was also at work. Lepers generally were presumed to be people who were being punished for their sins. Their illness was evidence that God was punishing them. Can you feel just a ...

74. Rejected at Home

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Steven was a young man who felt the call of God on his life. He came from a really close family. He finished college and then went off to seminary. After finishing seminary he came back home before going to his first church. He visited with all of his relatives for about a week. He stopped by the church and talked to his hometown pastor. The pastor asked him if he would like to preach that upcoming Sunday. Steven felt honored and took the pastor up on the invitation. Sunday morning came and after hours, ...

75. The Four Marks of Failure

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When you're a kid there is nothing better than being on the winning team. Of course, when you're a kid there is nothing worse than being on the losing team. Notice that all those great, feel-good Disney-esque movies don't ever end with the hometown team losing the big championship game. No, the whole point of these happily-ever-after stories is that the under-dog, schlubby, gave-it-their-all losers are transformed into top-of-the-heap winners. For adults, except for those few who make their living playing ...

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