Sermon and Worship Resources

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Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Shortly after midnight; a grimy train station in a midwestern city. CAIN wearing a conductor’s hat, opens a thermos and pours a cup of coffee, adds to it from a flask he carries in his jacket. GRACE enters; opens a large handbag, her only luggage, takes out an apple, or some other fruit, and eats. As CAIN drinks, he turns to look at the woman. Finally she notices him, and she smiles. GRACE It’s a long night. CAIN Like usual. GRACE Are we waiting for the same train? CAIN I don’t know. Are we? GRACE I’m ...

802. Advertised Goodness

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Children and adults, listen as I tell you the legend of the proud frog. This frog wanted to visit his cousins in a pond several miles away, but that's a long journey for a slow moving frog. But in the pond where he resided, there were some Canadian geese. The observant frog noted how much they liked corn. This enterprising frog found a flat, strong stick about four feet long. He approached the geese with a proposition: "If two of you will take the two ends of this stick in your mouths, I will clamp my ...

803. Tell God When You Are Happy

Luke 1:46-47

Children's Sermon

Erskine White

Object: None Have you had any complaints lately at home, any situations in which you told your parents you didn’t like something? Have you had to do something or eat something you didn’t like lately? (Let them answer.) That’s right, you let your parents know what you thought of the creamed asparagus they made you eat, or how your bedtime is unfair because your friend down the street gets to stay up later. You may have mentioned once or twice (perhaps in a rather loud and insistent voice) that you didn’t ...

804. Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 19:17-27, John 19:28-37

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Isaiah 52:13--53:12 Theme: Man of sorrows for the sins of many Exegetical Note In this fourth and final Servant Song, the description of the innocent servant’s vicarious and redemptive sufferings is "sandwiched" between the triumphant assurances of his ultimate vindication. The correspondence with the role and fate of Jesus has made this passage a favorite for Christological interpretation since the early church. Call to Worship Leader: Surely Christ has borne our griefs; truly he has carried ...

805. Unwavering Light

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

The Apostle Paul is seen by many as having a dismal view of marriage. He is even suspected by some as having had an unhappy marriage himself which sadly colored his regard for matrimony itself. A few wonder if his references to his "thorn in his flesh" is his personal description of his nagging wife. But, in all fairness, let us put his comments about marriage and families into historic context before we draw any conclusions or make any deductions about the apostle himself. Christians were expecting the ...

806. This Is Water

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Ron Lavin

What comes to your mind when you think about water? The seashore? A beautiful lake? Swimming? Fishing? A cool drink on a scorching day? If we could ask Helen Keller that question, she would probably say, "a water pump," because it was at a pump that this blind and deaf woman learned that things have names. "W-A-T-E-R," her teacher, Anne Sullivan, spelled into her hand for what seemed like the millionth time. "The thing has a name - W-A-T-E-R." And young Helen sprung to life, understanding for the first ...

807. Lessons From A Girl In Trouble

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

Mary was "in trouble." A married woman gets pregnant and we say that she "is in a family way," or "expecting." But when an unmarried girl gets pregnant, we say she is "in trouble." And Mary was definitely "in trouble." She was going to have a baby and she wasn’t married. One day, out of the clear blue sky, with no warning or advance preparation whatsoever, an angel from God came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. The news was understandably frightening and startling. Mary wondered what in ...

808. What Can We Count On From God?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

James W. Moore

Recently I received an e-mail message that was entitled “Things I Really Don’t Understand.” It had a list of questions for which there seems to be no clear-cut answer. Here are a few of them: Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice? Why is abbreviation such a long word? Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio? Why is a boxing ring square? What was the best thing before sliced bread? How do they get the deer to cross the highway at ...

809. All I Want for Christmas is Hope

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

James W. Moore

A friend of mine who is a psychologist told me once that he has found the perfect formula for getting through Christmas. He says, “You just put your mind in neutral... and go where you are shoved!” Of course, he was just kidding around... but we know full well what he was talking about. The Christmas rush, the hectic pace, the heavy traffic, the long lines, the frayed nerves, the bills, the deadlines, the pressures... all combine to cause some people to give up and give in and just stonewall through the ...

810. I've Got a Strong Case of the 'Can't Help Its'

John 1:35-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

One of the great celebrative anthems that comes to us out of African-American culture is the powerful spiritual “Ain’t Got Time To Die.” It was written by Hall Johnson and it has these joyfully dramatic words: “Been so busy praising my Jesus, Been so busy working for the Kingdom, Been so busy serving my Master… Ain’t got time to die. If I don’t praise him, If I don’t serve him, The rocks gonna cry out Glory and honor, glory and honor… Ain’t got time to die.” In this inspiring and wonderful spiritual song, ...

811. God Cares About Justice!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

The Gallup organization regularly conducts polls to determine the religious beliefs and practices of modern Americans. Despite new attitudes about morality, fluctuations in church membership, higher levels of education, and so on, there have been remarkably few changes in responses in recent years. The polls generally show that about 95% of us believe in a God of some sort. People may call God by different names, if indeed they believe that God is callable at all, but they do believe that a God exists. In ...

812. The Ten Commandments #6: No Murder

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

["This is the word of the Lord..."] And the word of the sheriff...and the police chief...and the governor...and the president...and MOTHER. EVERYBODY! "You shall not murder," (and, by the way, "murder" IS a more accurate translation of the commandment from the Hebrew than simply "kill" - the word means "violent, unauthorized" killing). No problem with that. And that is why there is such national revulsion at the horrible death of Matthew Shepherd in Wyoming. No matter what anyone thinks of his sexual ...

813. Are You the One?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A few years ago in Reader's Digest a lady reported searching for the perfect birthday card for her husband. She came across a promising one. On the outside it read: "Sweetheart, you're the answer to my prayers." Then she turned to the inside, which was inscribed like this: "You're not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently you are the answer."(1) OK. In a strange way, I will bet that something like that was running through John's mind as he sat there in that prison. He and his people had hoped and ...

814. The Ultimate Question

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Many years ago, in my seminary days, our first course in Systematic Theology dealt with basically the same question as that which the Lord posed here to his disciples. Our professor described Jesus as "the proleptic, salvific, hidden appearance of the eschatological kingdom of God." Did you get that? "The proleptic, salvific, hidden appearance of the eschatological kingdom of God." On our way out of class that morning, we chuckled at the whole thing: "Jesus said to them, `Who do YOU say that I am?' Simon ...

815. Behold The Lamb

John 1:29-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Last week we dealt with Jesus’ baptism at the hands of by John the Baptist. I read an amusing story concerning John the Baptist recently that is simply too good not to tell. It’s about a Bible scholar from this country who travels to Jerusalem every few years where he enjoys walking the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City. Once he was walking down a quiet alley when he was waved into a small shop. Within a few minutes he found himself with a glass of tea in his hand, sitting in the back room of a rug merchant’ ...

816. Vive La Difference

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Yankee magazine ran a fascinating article recently entitled "Sensitive Specialists." It described men who make their living making extraordinary use of their natural senses. They cited the practiced eye of a diamond inspector, the sense of feel of a wool inspector, the developed ear of a cymbal tester, the sense of smell of a fresh fish inspector, and the sense of taste of a milktaster. All the men acknowledged that they had no special gift in the area of their senses. They had simply trained themselves to ...

817. Opening Up Heaven

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

This morning's lesson from the Gospel deals with the baptism of Jesus. It is a good time for us to affirm the meaning of our own baptism. William P. Barker tells about a machinist with the Ford motor company in Detroit who had, over a period of years, "borrowed" various parts and tools from the company which he had not bothered to return.. While this practice was not condoned, it was more or less accepted by management, and nothing was done about it. The machinist, however, experienced a Christian ...

818. A Tragic Waste

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1977 Patrick Bissel was a fastrising star with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. Critic Clive Barnes had nothing but praise for Bissell. In his column Barnes hailed "the emergence of a major new star." Bissel, however, never fulfilled that prophecy. He died earlier this year from an overdose of cocaine. Bissel's story made the headlines because all who knew him recognized the tragedy of such vast potential wasted. At age 20 Patrick Bissell had been drafted from the ranks to perform roles normally ...

819. The One Thing That Matters

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

An old story comes to us from Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire. In that conquest Alexander's soldiers overran the palace of Darius the king. Looking for things to steal, one soldier came upon a leather bag containing the crown jewels of Persia. The stones were worth millions. However, the ignorant soldier dumped them on a rubbish heap, saving only the leather bag. He ran around the camp telling the other men about the marvelous bag he'd found to carry his food. How often in life we ...

820. Mentor, Mediator, Master

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

When Karen Morse of Henniker, New Hampshire was about to graduate from high school in 1984, she revealed a startling fact she could not read or write at even the most basic level! Karen was in the National Honor Society, in "Who ™s Who in American High Schools," was class president, and was student council president. She was known as a superb orator and a model student. Yet, Karen-a severe dyslexic had developed elaborate ruses through 12 years of school to cover the fact that she couldn ™t even read ...

821. Battle With The Law

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

King Duncan

How's your blood pressure today? I want to read you some very interesting results from some extraordinary legal cases. In 1964 a California woman was driving a Porsche after having had several drinks. While driving 60 in a 25-mph zone, she had an accident in which her passenger was killed. Porsche was ordered to pay $2.5 million for having designed a car that was too high-performance for the average driver. In 1985 an overweight man with a heart condition bought a lawnmower from Sears. Later he had a heart ...

822. Bridges Over The River Kwai

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

The movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, chronicles the work of a group of soldiers, imprisoned by the Japanese during the Second World War. These soldiers were forced to build a railway across a very difficult section of mountains between Burma and Siam. Eric Lomax, a British soldier, is a reallife survivor of that group of prisoners. Throughout his imprisonment, Eric and thousands of other British soldiers were starved and tortured, and many died. When the Japanese officers suspected Eric of having a ...

823. Please Use The Servants' Entrance

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Dr. M. Scott Peck is a respected Christian psychiatrist and noted author. You may have read his best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled. Peck is not a theologian, but listen for a moment to his comments regarding our scripture lesson for the day: What a strange way for the guest of honor to act during a final meal with his friends. What incomprehensible behavior from a ruler who would momentarily announce, "I confer on you a kingdom." In those days, foot washing was considered so degrading that a master ...

824. The Secret Of A Great New Year

Luke 3:1-20, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

It's a classic Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown says to Lucy, “Someone has said that we should live each day as if it were the last day of our life." "Aaugh!" cries Lucy. "This is the last day! This is it!" She dashes away screaming, “I only have 24 hours left! Help me! Help me! This is the last day! Aaugh!" “Some philosophies," says Charlie Brown, “aren't for all people." Living each day as if it were the last day of our life is not a bad philosophy. Living each day as if it were the first day of our life ...

825. Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Movie producer William Castle was known in the 1950s for his low-quality horror films. In 1961, Castle did something totally unique in movie history: he let the audience choose the ending to his movie. Castle's movie, Mr. Sardonicus, was about a crazed, reclusive killer. Near the end of the film, ushers stopped the film and allowed audiences to vote on whether the killer should live or die. Then, the ushers ran the ending that the audience chose. The audience always chose death for the bad guy. It's a good ...

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