Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 776 to 800 of 4490 results

776. How to Love God

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

In the rock opera Jesus Christ: Superstar, Mary Magdalene sings, "I don't know how to love him." You see, Christ had saved Mary from prostitution and demonic possession, and now she wanted to live to please Jesus, to offer him her lifelong devotion. But how could she express her love? In her earlier years she had easily known how to please men. But Jesus was different. What did he want from her? How could she serve him? Isn't Mary like most of us? Here we are saved and wanting to be devoted to God, but not ...

777. The Seven Deadly Fears

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Probably all of us know someone who has a phobia of some kind or another. Someone who is afraid of small, enclosed areas - they're claustrophobic. Someone who is afraid of wide open, sweeping spaces - they're agoraphobic. There are phobias named for fearing heights, depths, snakes, spiders, clowns, dirt, cats, dogs. (You might want to make this a karaoke moment and get your people talking about their own fears.) In fact, almost everything, real or imagined, has rated a phobia listing. FDR even gave fear ...

778. Advent 1

Matthew 24:36-51, Romans 13:8-14, Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122:1-9

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson and the psalm inaugurate the Advent season with a powerful symbol of salvation: Zion. Isaiah 2:1-5 provides a utopian vision of Zion as an end-time reality, while the pilgrimage hymn in Psalm 122 encourages us to claim this salvation in our present lives through worship. Taken together these Old Testament texts provide a strong commentary on Advent. They underscore how Advent points us to a future reality that reaches backwards and embraces us in worship, even ...

779. The Revelation Code V: Cruisin' Toward the Dream

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

John E. Harnish

In just these few short weeks, there is really no way to grasp the expanse of images, the epic proportions of John's fantastic vision. It is filled with imagery and symbols, dream language and illusions, and written in a secret "Revelation Code" which is entirely foreign to us but would have been discernable by John's underground church. So the best way to approach it is through the use of fantasy and science fiction, wonder and imagination—the movies: Harry Potter and the Hobbits, The DaVinci Code and ...

780. Close the Loopholes

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is through life's cracks and loopholes that evil dynamics gain entrance. The church must close these loopholes. Today's epistle reading warns the Ephesian Christians against allowing "room for the devil." A more accessible translation of this text warns against allowing a "loophole for the Devil" (NEB). After all: To worm his way into our lives and minds, the Devil doesn't need much "room" at all a little slit of a loophole will work just fine. Washingtonstate's Puget Sound is a wet, rain-drenched area ...

781. Bound to Earth, Destined for Heaven

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Even if you’re not Irish, and the most Irish thing you’ve ever done is eat Lucky Charms, you know all about leprechauns. The thing everyone knows about leprechauns is they love gold. The thing everyone knows about gold is that in Irish tradition pots of it languish at the “end of the rainbow.” At the end of every rainbow, guarded by a leprechaun, is a legendary “pot of gold.” Sounds like easy pickings, no? Except for one teeny, tiny flaw in that equation no one can ever FIND the end of a rainbow. Ever try ...

782. CSI: Jerusalem

Luke 24:36-48

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Judy Meyers, of Johnston, Rhode Island writes that she always enjoys asking her children what they learned in their Sunday School class. When her oldest daughter was five years old, she came up to Mom after an Easter Sunday service and Mom began to quiz her. The little girl was excited and willing to tell Mom the whole story in great detail. She told of the death of Jesus on the cross and how he was buried in a tomb. Later an angel came and looked in the tomb and asked Jesus what He wanted. In the little ...

783. Sandbox First, Soapbox Second

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This sermon has a very simple, but very difficult, message: Faith is a social practice, but one that requires solitude. Genesis 2:18 reads: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Daniel 10:8 reads: “I was left alone, and saw the great vision.” Sometimes society, sometimes solitude. Sometimes it is not good to be alone. Sometimes we need to be left alone to see what God has for us to see. The most talked about movie at the time of this sermon’s composition is “The Artist,” a 2011 French comedy-drama film ...

784. Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

30:1–3 The Book of Consolation begins with a general statement of hope for the people of Judah who have so far heard a message predominantly of judgment. It is identified as a divine oracle to Jeremiah (This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD and This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says, vv. 1–2a). Jeremiah is further instructed not only to speak this message, but to write in a book all the words that God has spoken to him. Such a command underscores the importance of the message as well ...

785. When Your Life Is Put On Hold

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

An intriguing story appeared sometime back in USA Today. It seems that a Miss Candy Postlethwaite received a sizeable check from the Veteran’s Administration. That’s not the strange part. The strange part is that the check was not made out to her, nor did she know the person to whom the check was made out, nor had she ever been in the military. She put an envelope containing the check back outside for the postman to pick up on his next round. Five days later she got it back in a different envelope. She ...

786. Moving On

Luke 6:12-16, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: dusty bowl This bowl hasn’t been used in a long time. You can tell, because it’s covered in dust. It hasn’t been touched, cleaned, moved, because it’s been here in this church on this shelf a very long time. [You could also refer to something in a glass case or anything that has sat around for a while.] It’s not being used in ministry or worship. It isn’t something that is used in healing people or baptizing them. It’s here on the shelf, gathering dust. This is perhaps one of the best metaphors we ...

787. Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a broken piece of pottery I want to read to you this morning a translation of Ezekiel’s prophetic story, translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. This is the most vivid reading of this scripture that I have ever heard. You’ll see why when you hear it. [Read the scripture translation.] The imagery, the sensory experience of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision, the mystery and wonder of God’s creative breath, these are made so vivid in this reading. No? You get such a sense of the metaphor that God is ...

788. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

I am astonished that so many people should care to hear this story over again. Indeed, this lecture has become a study in psychology; it often breaks all rules of oratory, departs from the precepts of rhetoric, and yet remains the most popular of any lecture I have delivered in the fifty-seven years of my public life. I have sometimes studied for a year upon a lecture and made careful research, and then presented the lecture just once -- never delivered it again. I put too much work on it. But this had no ...

789. Run Away Bride

Exodus 24:1-18, Matthew 22:1-14, Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred. Proverbs 15:17 If you are a fan of Facebook, you know that by looking at someone’s “status,” you can find out some things about a person: whether they are male or female, where they live, and most intriguingly, their “relationship status.” That is, of course, if they have filled in those blanks and answered those questions when they set up the account. Some status indicators say: “In a relationship.” Others simply say “ ...

790. Finish the Drill

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to complete this sentence: ". It's not how you start, it's how you finish that counts." I am convinced that is true because of an article someone sent to me that said the best way to achieve inner peace is to always finish things that you start.ed. This person that sent me the article said "it is definitely working for me. I now make a point of always finishing what I start and I am well on my way toward finding inner peace. Here are the things I have finished today:" Two bags of potato chips A ...

791. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

A Protest and an Answer (ii): In a sense there was nothing surprising in Yahweh’s response to Habakkuk; it is entirely in keeping with Isaiah’s understanding of the role of Assyria and with Jeremiah’s understanding of Babylon. But Yahweh has given hostages to fortune in noting that the Babylonians are inclined to violence, that they seize homes that do not belong to them, that they make up their own rules for the conduct of relationships, that they worship themselves, their power, and their glory. How can ...

792. Table Manners

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

Perhaps it is the oddity that I am writing this on the Monday before Thanksgiving or it is my proclivity to identify food with each passing holiday that, as I approach these texts, I find myself thinking of another text from Psalm 23: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July and I am dreaming dreams of sugar plum fairies, turkey legs, chocolate bunnies, and barbecues. This is definitely a job hazard for clergy. Most congregations revel ...

793. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

Our Creator, how we enjoy the arrival of spring. Lush green grass rises in our lawns decorating our streets with home to home carpeting. Bird songs, silent in winter, now fill the air with enchanting melodies. The brown loam of our gardens and fields warms in preparation for the coming seeds and plants. The brilliant colors of jonquils, tulips, and hyacinths edge our flower beds and ring our trees. Who are we that you lavish upon us such splendor? The air warms as the sun dispatches the winds of winter. ...

794. Do you need a Pharisectomy?

Matthew 9:27-34, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them they have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10) Props: Coffee and rolls Every home gets to set their own rules. Some are strange. Some are stringent. Some are strident. Some are just plain goofy. Ever been in a home with a white carpet? I bet you were required to take off your shoes before entering. Ever been in a home with all the ...

795. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Gold Image and the Blazing Furnace: There are a couple of loose links between chapter 2 and chapter 3. First, when the astrologers (Chaldeans) accuse the three friends, they refer to them as “some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon” (3:12), alluding to their promotion in chapter 2 (2:49). Secondly, the term “image” generally connects chapter 2 to chapter 3. First, Nebuchadnezzar sees an image (2:31; NIV “statue”); then he erects one (3:1). It is unlikely, as some have ...

796. Sunday Dinner

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Alex Gondola

Remember Sunday when you were growing up? Maybe a lot of your families were like mine. Sunday was a special day. Sunday dinner was a special meal. It was almost always the best meal of the week. Mom put a roast of something (roast chicken, pork, lamb, beef) in the oven to cook all morning. Then the family went off to church. When we returned around noon, the roast whatever was still cooking. But the aroma pervaded the house. And we three children couldn't wait to eat! Around one o'clock, when my sisters ...

797. We All Sin So What?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

One day a young skeptic knocked on the door of a rectory. A priest opened the door. The visitor said, “Come out. I want to talk to you about a problem.” “No,” the priest replied, “You come in. I want to talk to you about your sins.” After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God came one evening and called to them, “Where are you?” Because they were afraid of what God might do to them for disobeying him, they hid themselves. At the end of the day God knocks on the garden door and says, “I ...

798. Eating Living Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Most Americans eat well. Three square meals a day is not uncommon. Indeed, many eat five or six times a day if coffee breaks, evening snacks, and other times of eating are counted in addition to breakfast, lunch, and supper. Drive through a town of any consequence and count the number of fast food places and restaurants that are found. At some corners of major roads or along a block or two of a busy thoroughfare you may find five to ten feeding establishments. It is not uncommon to find in close proximity ...

799. Proper 4

Mark 2:23-3:6, 1 Samuel 3:1--4:1, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The Lord sends his spokesmen to speak words of judgment against religious authorities. In the 1 Samuel text from the Revised Common Lectionary God speaks out against the corruption under Eli. In the Gospel Jesus challenges the common understanding of the Sabbath, which leads to Jesus' condemnation of the powers that be. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Samuel 3:1-20 This pericope continues the story of Samuel from 2:26. The text begins with a statement about the spiritual poverty of Israelites under the ...

800. The Sound of Weeping

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Have you ever conducted a private survey of the human ear? It is a fascinating experience. It's an interesting way to pass the time while waiting for your appointment in a doctor's office, or for your mate to finish some shopping, or for a plane to arrive at the terminal, or if you are sitting in a meeting that begins to drag. This exercise is more a comparison than a survey. It involves looking carefully at human ears to see their differences in size and shape, and in the ways they are attached to the ...

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