Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 751 to 775 of 4936 results

751. Getting to a Teachable Moment

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

I spent part of a recent Sunday talking with a public school teacher who was quickly coming to the end of her rope. Talented, dedicated, one of the good people, she found herself with the class from hell and her life coming apart at the seams. We were well beyond being a non-anxious, fully individuated, differentiated presence. In short, we were at critical mess rather than critical mass. I have taught enough confirmation classes and have had experiences in the classroom in other forums to identify with ...

752. Judgment Day

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Steven E. Albertin

Characters: Man and Woman Scene: The entrance to eternity. (A man sits at a desk, papers before him. Woman enters. She goes to the man and stands quietly. The man looks up.) Man: Heaven on your right -- hell on your left. Woman: (Looking at the doors, in awe) You mean that door leads to heaven ... and that one to hell? Man: That is correct. Please don't take too long. There are others waiting. Woman: But ... what do I do? Man: You go through one of them. Woman: You mean I have the choice? Man: That is ...

753. Deadly Sins - A Matter Of Sutton's Law

Romans 7:14-25

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

You have said it before and I have, too, to a friend, your husband or wife: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm just not myself today." And then maybe you have heard it said: "He's not really a bad boy; he's just trying to find himself." Or perhaps you have used this expression: "He's not human, he's an animal." Perhaps also you have said this about your boss: "He thinks he's God Almighty."1 All these expressions describe the contradiction that plagues all of us -- that I am not, you are not, what ...

754. God, The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: In Volume 2 of this set, there were two sermons on the Trinity: "God the Father," which was a telling of a meeting of two old friends; and "God, the Son," which was an interview with John the Baptist. These were done at Faith United Methodist Church in Milwaukee. The third in the series on the Trinity is this use of the "You Are There" format. After feeling successful using it two years earlier for the Tower of Babel story, the story that is the Old Testament antecedent to the story of Pentecost ...

755. The Road To The Wilderness

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

I have always enjoyed that CBS News segment, "On The Road With Charles Kuralt." He takes us to out-of-the-way places like Bethlehem, Georgia; Farmington, Iowa; and Old Town, Maine. He shows us a piece of Americana, and helps us understand ourselves. So, on the Sundays between now and Easter I want us to go on the road with Jesus of Nazareth be on the roads Jesus traveled in order that we would see him more clearly and understand more nearly what it is we are to do. The first road I want us to travel is the ...

756. The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

This morning we are going to be talking about a story that is so familiar to you that when I read to you the first line, most of you will immediately recognize it. The first line reads: And there was a father who had two sons. Immediately we recognize it as the parable of the Prodigal Son. Is there anything new that we can squeeze out of this familiar story? You remember the story as Jesus told it. There was a certain landowner who had two sons. As these boys grew up they began to show the difference in ...

757. The Suffering Servant

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

Characters: Caiaphas - High Priest in Jerusalem; an able person, perhaps a bit weak; not always sure that everything he is doing is correct. Annas - the ex-High Priest in Jerusalem; father-in-law of Caiaphas; seen as the real power "behind the throne." Temple Guard - very formal in his approach. Judas - he waivers between very sure of what he is doing and rather unsure. The play opens with Caiaphas, working alone at his desk in his office. After several moments he is joined by his father-in-law. Guard: ( ...

758. Passing The Test Of Faith

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

A juggler with a circus was pulled over for speeding. The officer was suspicious when he looked in the back seat and saw several large knives. "What are you doing with those?" he asked. "I'm a juggler with the circus," said the man. "To make it more exciting I juggle those large knives." "Well, show me," said the officer. So the juggler started juggling six of these large knives all at once. Knives were flying everywhere, though amazingly all of them were expertly under his control. While he was performing ...

759. The Preacher Was Caught by Surprise

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

King Duncan

I heard an amusing story recently about a Southern Baptist pastor who answered his telephone one day and heard a man's voice. "Please send six cases of whiskey to my house," said the voice. "We're having a party." To say the least, the pastor was surprised. Southern Baptist pastors are not in the habit of delivering cases of whiskey to people's homes. Even more surprising, he recognized the voice as being that of one of his deacons. Evidently the deacon had been calling a liquor store and dialed his pastor ...

760. It's Thanksgiving Time!

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James W. Moore

One of the great comedians of all time was Jack Benny. He was great because he made us laugh at ourselves… at our weaknesses, our foibles, our selfishness, our greed. You remember, of course, how attached Jack Benny was to his money. I love that routine where the hold-up man runs up to Jack Benny and shouts: "Your money or your life!" There is a long pause as Jack goes into that familiar pose with his hand on his cheek. Impatiently, the robber demands again: "I said your money or your life!" Jack Benny ...

761. Jonah: Run!

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old story that has any number of versions, but it seems while reading her Bible on a public bus, a belligerent man confronted a rather bashful Christian girl. With disdain he asked if she believed everything in the Bible. She said she did. The guy rolled his eyes and said, "If you believe EVERYTHING in the Bible, then explain to me how Jonah lived for three days in the belly of a whale!" The young woman answered, "I don't really know, but I believe he did." The guy became even more agitated. " ...

762. When It's Time For Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A Gallup Poll asked Americans what they try to do when they are wronged? Forty-eight percent said they try to forgive; eight percent said they try to get even. In our minds at least, forgiveness outdoes revenge six to one. Forgiveness—what a wonderful idea! Forgiveness is the oil that lubricates the human machine. Without it, all of life becomes hot and squeaky. Or as my favorite author on the subject Lewis Smedes says, “God has invented forgiveness as a remedy to the past that even He could not change.” ...

763. Be a Night Light

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you had “night lights” as a kid? Can you remember your “night light?” Do any of you still have your “night light?” What is it about the night that cuts us all down to size? Whatever you felt in the day loneliness, lostness, despair — is magnified in the night. Thank God for “night lights” – those calming, gleaming points of brightness in darkened rooms that helped muzzle monsters and banish the bodysnatchers. All you kids present — I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Adults still use “ ...

764. Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

13:17–22 These verses introduce the next major section (13:17–15:21) that takes the Israelites to the wilderness by way of the sea. We return to the story of the exit from Egypt with three brief notes. First, we look ahead to the geographical route. Next, we look back in history to an oath made about Joseph. Then we are brought up to date on a new manifestation of the Lord’s presence in cloud and fire. The first note (vv. 17–18) concerns the route to the sea. The name God occurs for the first time since ...

765. The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

32:1–34:35 · Crisis at Sinai: The Golden Calf - Exodus 32–34 forms an important watershed for understanding God’s relationship to the world. The Creator had sought to redeem, form, and live among the people. To this end God delivered them out of Egypt, brought them to Mt. Sinai by going with them in the fiery cloud, and provided for them in the wilderness. At Sinai God set about forming them into the sort of community originally intended: in trust and fidelity with the Lord, with each other, and with the ...

766. St. Jim, Your Halo Is Tipped

Sermon

Ron Lavin

1. The sermon for the festival of St. James, the Elder, Apostle is included in this volume for two reasons. First of all, a saint's day affords a good opportunity to look at the story of a person's life. Second, this sermon weaves together three stories: James, Elijah and Jimmy. It is a proclamatory sermon in a three-story mode. The same kind of approach can be taken on any saint's day. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "There is something we want you to do for ...

767. The Christian's Tears of Failure

Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75) "You win some and you lose some." This popular saying is a way of admitting that life has its failures. You can't win all the time. A serious failure is often accompanied with tears. One night two men went bowling. One of them was an excellent bowler. He got strike after strike and was headed for the perfect score of 300. On the last frame, something went wrong ...

768. The Importance of Unity

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Hubert Beck

Sometimes want to cry when hear non-Christians say that they have rejected the church because of its divisions. They may mean denominational divisions on occasion, and that is bad enough. But more frequently they mean the internal strife that characterizes all too many congregations. For it is, after all, on the local level that most people encounter the church, and when they see discord and argumentation marking a congregation, they want nothing to do with that. I want to cry because the very body of ...

769. Proper 17

Exodus 3:1-22, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 3:1-15 is the call of Moses, which ends with the revelation of the divine name, while Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b adds an alternative section (vv. 23-26) to the historical hymn of praise that was also the psalm for Proper Fourteen. The replacement section recounts Israel's oppression in Egypt and the calling of Moses and Aaron to save them. Exodus 3:1-15 - "Deciphering God's Call" Setting. Exodus 3:1-15 is best characterized as a call narrative. The call narrative is an established ...

770. It Is Right To Fight When You Fight For Right

Jude 1:3-4

Sermon

James Merritt

What do Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, William and Mary, Brown, and Princeton have in common? They were all founded by Christians for the primary purpose of propagating Christianity and training gospel ministers.1 Of the first one hundred colleges and universities built in the United States, eighty-eight were founded for the purpose of furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the cornerstone of Harvard University (which incidentally was named after the Reverend John Harvard) etched in bronze you will ...

771. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anybody here under pressure? Do you ever feel like you live in a pressure cooker? Did you know that it takes longer to cook food at high altitudes, because at high altitudes the air pressure is much lower than in the lower plains? Because of that the boiling point of water is lower, and therefore it takes much longer to cook food. But in a pressure cooker high pressures are built up within the vessel, which raises the boiling point of water, and food can be cooked within minutes. In fact, the ...

772. What'll You Have?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A woman went into a restaurant and ordered the breakfast special, "I want my pancakes well done," she said. "You need to cook them all the way through and golden brown on both sides. Use the light syrup because the regular syrup is too sweet. Make the bacon crisp and thin, not oily or soggy and put it on a separate plate. The eggs must be over-easy, not broken or runny." "And would you like butter or margarine?" asked the waitress. The woman answered, "Oh, it doesn't matter; I'm not that picky." (1) A ...

773. Do You Know How to Listen?

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you have anyone in your family who has a listening problem? Notice I did not say a hearing problem. Many people have ears that work quite well; nevertheless, they are very selective in what they hear. The story is told of King Edward VII. His grandson, Prince David, had a good relationship with his grandfather. Still David was a child, and adults in England during this period, particularly royalty, were not known to listen to children. At dinner on one occasion little David tried to get his grandfather’ ...

774. Warning Against False Teachers of the Law

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Salutation The letter begins with the standard form of salutation found in almost all the letters from the Greco-Roman period. Where such a letter in our time would have begun, “Dear Timothy,” and concluded something like, “Your affectionate father in Christ, Paul,” ancient letters began with the name of the writer, followed by the addressee and a greeting. Usually these were terse: “Paul, to Timothy, greetings.” Such a terse greeting may be found in Paul’s earliest existing letter (1 Thessalonians), but ...

775. How Deserted Lies the City

Lamentations 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Lament for and by Jerusalem: 1:1–2 Alef/Bet. The poet does not name Jerusalem at the start, but simply speaks of the city. The name of the city does not have to be spoken; poet and readers would know the identity of the now deserted city of Jerusalem. As today there is no doubt when a New Yorker refers to “the city,” so there is no secret concerning the identity of the city among Judeans. This once bustling place (a city “closely compacted together” [Ps. 122:3]) is now eerily deserted. The poet engages the ...

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