Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 726 to 750 of 4490 results

726. Out of Solitude

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

"HELP!!! I'VE LOST MY FOCUS!" That's the title of an article in the January Time Magazine with the subtitle: "E-mail and cell phones help us multitask, but they also drive us to distraction." The authors begin: "Spend a few hours with Hollywood producer Jennifer Klein and you might want to pop a valium. Or slip her one. From the moment she rises at 7:00 a.m., she's a fidgety, demanding, chattering whirling dervish of a task juggler. Motto: never do just two things at once if you can possibly do four or ...

727. If, Because, Regardless

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's a silly story going around about two factory workers, Joe and Lester, who were talking. "I know how to get some time off from work," said Joe. "How do you think you'll do that?" asked Lester. Joe proceeded to climb up to the rafters of the factory and hang upside down by his knees. The boss walked in, saw Joe hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing. "I'm a light bulb," Joe answered. "I think you need to take some time off," said the boss. So, Joe jumped down and walked ...

728. Design for Discipleship

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Dr. John Foster tells how an inquirer from Hinduism came to an Indian bishop. All alone, and unaided by any Christian teacher, this Indian had read the New Testament, the story had fascinated him. In the way that is always true, Christ had laid his spell upon him. “As he read on…and felt he had entered into a new world.” In the gospels, it was Jesus, his words and his suffering. In the book of Acts…what the disciples did and thought and taught had taken the place in the world that Christ had occupied. The ...

729. Who Does Jesus Belong to Anyway?

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

I don't know why but for the longest time I never thought of Jesus getting tired. Silly of me I suppose, but I kind of thought of him, in the brief time his ministry was going to last, going at it full tilt until the end. Stopping to pray, of course. But not going away, taking a break, not wanting anyone to know he was there. But now I get it. I was at Wendy's the other day. I was tired. I needed to get away from the phone and the other interruptions and just have some quiet time with this gospel text and ...

730. The Reckoning

Matthew 14:13-21, Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How many math wizards are out there today? Anyone? I’ve always been amazed at those phenomenal people who can compute sums and fractions in their heads in the matter of moments. Or how about accountants? Tax accountants! Hear me? Oh man! You have to have a certain personality I think to be a tax accountant, amen? Or what about statisticians? Or those who program AI! Rocket scientists? Physicists? Math wizards! When I was in school, we called these super amazing computational people “geeks.” Now, I’m ...

731. Passover Or Passalong?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

John B. Jamison

They had done this before. Some of their earliest memories were of their families celebrating the Passover Seder. It was a high point of the year. It was also a celebration that involved every member of the family, from youngest to eldest, they all played a role. The adults would read the important lines of the ritual, the younger would take turns asking the required questions, and the youngest would join in the search for the hidden matzo that represented desert. As they joined around the table tonight, ...

732. Proper 12

Psalm 85:1-13, Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

PERSISTENT PRAYING A special interest of Luke in both the Gospel and the Book of Acts is prayer. He frequently notes the prayer life of Jesus. Before every major crisis in his ministry Jesus spent time in prayer. The parables for today with their surrounding materials give an occasion for the preacher to deal with the whole subject of proper praying. It is an opportunity to deal with common misconceptions of prayer. It is also an opportunity to consider the whole discipline involved in praying. While Jesus ...

733. The Victory Of Faith

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

Planes drop out of the sky, killing all passengers. Mini-dictators initiate programs of genocide against neighbors. Forces of nature storm across the landscape, leaving devastation in their path. Bizarre individual behavior leaves heads shaking, "How can anyone do such things?" Accidents at home and on the highway steal loved ones away. All this gives credence to the sardonic line of a poem, which begins, "It's a wonderful world to be born into, if you don't mind a touch of hell now and then." How do we ...

734. What God Sees

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Salzburg is a splendid town, rolling in and out of the hills that dance about the Salzer River. In the town center sits a fortress topped with many castles. Below that hill Salzburg’s fairyland cathedral stretches its bulging roccoco arms this way and that to offer its praise to the Lord. I lived in Salzburg a few weeks one summer, studying German at the University. I loved to walk through the town, its narrow streets leading me up secret alleys to hidden surprises. Up one street stood Mozart’s birthplace ...

735. Mary of Bethany and Jesus’ Mother

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting Imagination - in the actresses and in the audience - is the only requirement for a setting for this drama. The scene is Jerusalem, a city crowded with pilgrims attending the Festival, not far from the Temple, which is the center of Festival activity. A bench or two shall be provided, stage left, for the women to sit upon during part of their conversation. You may wish to use extras to show the audience there is a crowd in the city, although the dialogue will tell them that. If you do use extras, ...

736. God's Design for Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I saw a cartoon somewhere which showed a preacher crouched in the pulpit area which was arranged like a fortress. He was peering through a crack in what looked like a machine gun nest. The preacher says to the congregation, "Today my text is Ephesians 5:22, 'wives, submit to your husbands." Yes, here is another one of those texts I have run from for quite a while; it is not on the top ten list of the feminist movement of America. I heard about a missionary in the depths of the Amazon who was talking to a ...

737. The Ten Commandments #3: God's Name

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Exodus 20:7 "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name." Or, as the venerable King James has it, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain..." On a bulletin board outside an Episcopal church recently was this message: "You say his name often enough on the highway. Why not try saying it in church? You'll feel much better using the Lord's name in prayer. Worship this Sunday."(1) Interesting. The Reuters news ...

738. One Thing Is Needful

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Arthur E. Dean Windhorn

This is the age of the half-read page; The quick hash and the mad dash. This is the age of the bright night with the nerves tight; And the plane hop with a brief stop. This is the age of the lamp tan in a short span. The brain strain and the heart pain; The catnaps till the spring snaps and the fun is done. I know, that sounds kind of cynical. But there's lots of truth in that poem. An article in the magazine, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, had this to say: "In the next 12 months, we will consume around 20,000 tons of ...

739. Three Words America Needs to Hear

Acts 24:1-27

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

I read about a woman who had lived out West somewhere, who looked out her window one day and saw a dead burro, on the sidewalk in front of her house. So she called the city sanitation department and they said they would come. They sent some men out to dispose of this dead burro, but when they got there they found that the woman had changed her mind. She didn't want them to cart it off. Instead, she wanted them to take it upstairs and put it in her bathtub. Well, they were mystified, but she said, "I''ll ...

740. What It Takes to Do the Job

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

What is Job #1 in your life? We know what it is for Ford, right? At least they say it's Quality. What is Job #1 in your life? That's not all that bad a question to be asking at the beginning of Lent. Of course we get a lot of answers from our parents, from our teachers, from our politicians, and even from our pastors. Job #1 is being home on time, keeping your room clean, not talking back, doing your homework, getting an A, paying your bills, being successful, supporting the party, staying off drugs, ...

741. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson for the message is found in Paul’s letter to the Church at Ephesus. The 1st chapter, the 15th through the 23rd verses. This is the word of the Lord. “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and a revelation in the knowledge of him. Having the eyes of your ...

742. Proper 15

Genesis 45:1-28, Matthew 15:21-28, Romans 11:1-10, Romans 11:25-32, Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS In Genesis 45, Joseph provides his brothers with a theological interpretation of the events that have befallen him, while Psalm 133 celebrates kinship. Genesis 45:4-20 - "The Power of the Promise" Setting. Scholars have long since noted how different in character the Joseph stories are from the other ancestral stories. The sharpest point of contrast is the absence of God as a central character in the Joseph stories. God does not appear as a visitor at mealtime, does not talk directly to ...

743. Weaving the Spirit’s Trail

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the arid southwest, two Native America tribes established themselves with their distinctive cultures and lifestyles: Pueblos and Navajos. The Pueblo’s were settled cliff-dwellers. The Navajo were essentially nomadic. Yet both tribes, both cultures, became known for their intricate and beautiful weaving traditions. Originally native cotton and grasses were the primary components of these blankets. But after the Spaniards introduced the long-fibered, silky-fleeced “churro” sheep with its exquisite wool, ...

744. A Voice in the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to give you a memory test. How many of you remember these chilling words? “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC and federal, state and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to tune to one of the broadcast stations in your area.” It’s been ten years since the Emergency Broadcast System broadcast ...

745. When the Winds Are Against Us

Mark 6:45-56

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’ve always been fond of the story of the two men in a boat in the midst of a severe storm. As the waves rose and the boat threatened to capsize, the men knew that they needed help. They were not religious men, but they decided that prayer was all that was left, so there in the teeth of the gale, one of them shouted the only prayer he could muster, “O God, you know that I haven’t bothered you for the past 15 years, and if you’ll just get us out of this mess, I promise you that I won’t bother you again for ...

746. Rich Man, Poor Man

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that in Hollywood there is an exclusive school attended by children of movie stars, producers and directors. One day a teacher in that school asked her very privileged pupils to write a composition on the subject of poverty. One little girl started her literary piece like this: “Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her nanny was poor, her chauffer was poor, her butler was poor. In fact, everybody in the house was very, very poor.” I don’t think that little ...

747. God’s Love for Israel

Hosea 11:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The Nature of God: The almost hidden note of hope with which chapter 10 ended is here sounded at full volume: God cannot give up this people! (Cf. my son v. 1; my people v. 7.) The principal theological question that this passage raises is, What finally will be the factor that determines the outcome of human history? And certainly the prophetic answer to that is “God.” As the Lord of all history, God will make the final decision as to what the recompense of human action and attitude will be. But then the ...

748. Riddles and Metaphors

Ezekiel 15:1-8, Ezekiel 16:1-63, Ezekiel 17:1-24

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

As a priest, Ezekiel was literate and well educated. His learned background is apparent in his imaginative use of a variety of literary forms and styles. The effect of this creativity on his original audience was evidently mixed; some contemporaries dismissed him as a teller of riddles (20:49; the NIV renders the Heb. meshalim “parables”) or “one who sings love songs” (33:32). Certainly, though, this variety makes Ezekiel one of the most interesting, as well as the most baffling, of the prophetic books. In ...

749. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Chapters 9–11, which correspond to the curses component of the covenant (chaps. 5–8 enunciate the blessings), answer the question “Have God’s promises to Israel failed?” Paul answers, “No!” In 9:1–5 he broaches the problem of Israel’s unbelief. Israel previously enjoyed the blessings of the covenant but is now under its curses for rejecting the Messiah. Understanding the Text In order to situate Romans 9:1–5 in its literary setting I must briefly make four points. First, what is the relationship ...

750. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sin Prompts Your Mouth The “second dialogue cycle” begins here as we return to the argument of Eliphaz, from whom we last heard in chapters 4 and 5. There Eliphaz operated from the assumption that humans are “born to trouble” (5:7) and therefore “reap” what they “sow” (4:8). It is impossible for “a mortal to be righteous before God.” Since even God’s servants, the angels, are untrustworthy, “how much more” are humans subject to “error” (4:18–19). As a result, Job must deserve his suffering. His only hope ...

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