Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... death." Saul restrained them, was crowned at a tribal gathering at Gilgal, and as his first act established a standing army of three thousand soldiers. His kingship would be no easy task. His reign would never know a day free from war, death, or harassment of one sort or another. Some things would go right. Many things would go wrong. From the start, dark clouds hung over his reign. Relations with Samuel would have much to do with Saul's life. He revered Samuel almost to the point of making an idol of him ...

802. Acquaintances Or Friends?

2 Samuel 16:15--17:29

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... over Jonathan comes upon a honeycomb and takes a taste that at once energizes him and creates a problem for him. The troops inform him that Saul has issued an order forbidding the troops to eat anything before sundown. Saul's head was filled with all sorts of religious quirks. Jonathan is nonplussed and states in public his disagreement, "My father has troubled the land." Meanwhile, Saul is trying to get some advice from God about the next step in the campaign. When he can't get through to God he concludes ...

803. Lyrics For The Centuries

2 Samuel 1:1-16

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... of music. They can't take that away from you. It makes you remember places in the world that are not made of stone. There is something inside that they cannot touch. It's yours." When a friend asked what he was talking about, Andy said simply, "Hope!" One sort of music that abides for many is jazz. I recently had occasion to ask a friend what he intended to do on vacation. "Listen to my jazz albums," he replied. Those of you who find similar nourishment in jazz may remember the film story of Dale Turner, a ...

804. Lasting Impressions

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... notice the man sweeping and picking up trash. Apparently no one recognized him as one of the most brilliant persons in the world at the time. On another occasion Schweitzer shared his personal philosophy of life, "Only a person who can find value in every sort of activity, and can devote himself to each one with full consciousness of duty, has the inward right to undertake some out-of-the-ordinary activity instead of that which falls naturally to his lot." Albert Schweitzer is remembered as a human being of ...

805. Resist Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... of as a place to evoke faith and piety, it also brought out the worst in people and caused them to lose faith. For that reason alone the wilderness could be regarded as a place to be feared. If God was there, so were the wild beasts and all sorts of demons. The wilderness was the arena where one could sense dramatically the presence of both. The wilderness was a huge set where the desert storm of the battle of the godly and the demonic could take place. That is precisely why Jesus was driven by the Spirit ...

806. Christ the King

John 18:28-40

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... the freedom to rely on his or her own inspiration to guide the content of the work. Every year people provide big money to create flower-covered floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade and other such events. If people are willing to put this sort of money and work into celebrating a football game, then should the people of God not be willing to provide the money and work necessary to celebrate the rule of Christ? Many churches have large displays of poinsettias or lilies. Why not create a large flower ...

807. Gifts of Love

John 3:16

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... affirmatively, some serious, some grinning as their imaginations spill over onto their faces. "What do you think I have in my pocket to make such a lump?" "A ball?" one little girl asks. "No, it's not a ball, but that's a good guess. You can see it's sort of round." "An apple!" states a boy in the center, with no trace of uncertainty. "Yes, it's an apple. Why do you suppose I would have an apple in my pocket?" "To eat it!" "That's one thing I might do." "To give it to your teacher!" "Yes, that ...

808. Cats, And Mice, And Mercy

Matthew 5:7

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... , "No!" "You don't expect a cat to let a mouse go free. But that's the nature of mercy; it's an unexpected kindness. Mercy can mean kindness, forgiveness, or, as Andrew suggested, not being as hard on someone as you could be. Mercy is the sort of kindness that comes as a surprise because the one who receives it really doesn't expect it. Jesus said, 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' " I turn my attention back to the little girl who is angry with her grandmother. "Brittany, I think ...

809. Help!

Acts 16:9

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... pleading with Paul, saying, 'Come, help us.' And Paul, trusting that his dream was important, went to Macedonia. This could not have been easy. He had to go by boat, and he wasn't sure who or what he would find when he arrived. He wasn't sure just what sort of help the people of Macedonia might need from him. But he was sure of the love of Christ which he carried in his heart. And it was out of that love that he made the trip to Macedonia. "When he arrived, he met a woman named Lydia at a ...

810. In Praise Of God

Psalm 95:1-11

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... of the almost ingrained instructions to "sit STILL and shut up!" So, I whistle a few bars of "Jesus Loves Me" and indicate they can try whistling too, right now, right here in church, if they want to. And, much to my delight, some do. "What other sorts of noises do you sometimes make, noises that are filled with joy? What do you do when something seems funny?" "Oh!" they say as if surprised they had not thought of it sooner, "we laugh!" "Yes!" I agree. "Laughter is a noise that bubbles with joy. "Why ...

811. Light

John 12:35

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... of the older children to come up with the answer I'm seeking. "The light of the world!" they tell me. "Yes, 'the light of the world.' We've talked about how difficult it is to do things in the dark because we cannot see. Sometimes we experience the same sort of thing mentally when we have to make a tough decision. We feel like we are walking through darkness and can't find the right path or don't know which way to turn. It's at those times that it is important to remember we don't have to ...

812. World Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... for the church?" A five-year-old tentatively raises her hand. When I nod to her, she replies softly, "It's World Communion Sunday." "That's right. Today is World Communion Sunday. That means that Christians all over the world will celebrate communion today. That sort of bonds all of us together. In fact, that's one of the meanings of communion: bonding together, sharing." As I continue talking with the children, I begin to uncover the bread and small ceramic glass I have brought, wrapped together in a white ...

813. Christmas Presence

John 1:1

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... with the toys, or read the books. You see, part of a present is the presence of the person who gives it." "Almost 2,000 years ago all of humanity got the first Christmas present. Does anyone know what that present was?" "Jesus ..." comes the hushed response, in sort of an awed but certain unison. "And who gave us such a wonderful present?" I ask. "God!" some of the older children reply. "Yes, God. God gave us his son, Jesus. And Jesus never asked much of us in return. "He did say, 'Follow me.' And he said ...

814. Least Coins

1 Corinthians 12:12

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... , if I want to buy something that costs a whole dollar, can I buy it without this penny I took out of the jar?" Again, the children shake their heads. "No, I can't, can I? So this penny is very important, isn't it? You know, the church is sort of like that dollar. It's made up of many members and together we all form one group. But each of us is an individual part of the whole. Like the pennies that are part of the dollar, we are of different ages and colors, but even the least of ...

815. Only The Messiah

Mark 8:27-30

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... his friend. His heart told him only the Messiah could so love the world. "You know, we still meet Jesus in our world. Whenever we help someone who needs assistance, when we offer food to someone who is hungry, when we visit people who are sick or in some sort of trouble and offer them our love and support, we are bringing the presence of Jesus to them through our action. And whenever we receive such blessing from another, when we are the one who is fed, or visited, or given the help we require, then we meet ...

816. Help Wanted

Exodus 4:1-17

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... .' "I hold up the results of my work; the children note that nearly everything on the two exposed pages is circled. "Looking at this, I realized that most available jobs require a person who applies to have some experience. That caused me to wonder what sorts of jobs required no experience, and suddenly I thought of Moses. All of you have heard of Moses, haven't you?" The children respond affirmatively to this question which I ask only to keep them involved. "Well, God had a special job for Moses and ...

817. Grapes And Donuts

John 6:1-15

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... or they have gone away on vacation?" Numerous hands go up. "Did you miss your friend a lot?" I ask one of the older kids. "Yes," she answers; "I was glad to get back so we could play together again." "It's tough to be separated from good friends. It sort of makes your heart hungry when you're apart, just as our bodies get hungry when we need to eat. I brought these grapes and this donut to try to help us understand something Jesus said. He was speaking to a big crowd of people and told them, 'I am ...

818. Don't Lose Your Marbles!

2 Timothy 1:7

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... someone," Timothy answers. "That's a good thing to do, Tim. And a lot safer than hitting the person back. What did Jesus say to do if someone hit you on the cheek?" "He said to turn the other cheek, too," John replies. "That's right, John. And that seems sort of crazy, doesn't it? But it reminds us that we have a choice, and while it is easy to respond to anger with anger, to violence with violence, to hatred with hatred, Jesus asks us to keep our cool, to make a choice to do the right thing -- to ...

819. God Was A Child Too

Luke 2:41-52

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... is that, believe it or not, your parents were children once. Now, because your parents used to be children, they used to be in school, and they had problems from time to time just like you do. That's why most of the time when you have some sort of trouble they are able to understand -- because they remember how it was for them. "Well, for you, whether you are struggling with homework or even if you have gotten in trouble for doing something you really shouldn't have (like not listening when someone else is ...

820. Snow Forts

Ephesians 4:32

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... to play in snow! Snow is FUN! "Okay!" I interrupt. "I'm convinced! Now, I have another question for you. Who here has ever made a snow fort?" Several hands, all belonging to boys, shoot up. I find myself wondering if I'm the only girl who ever did that sort of thing. "Making a snow fort is a lot of work, isn't it?" I continue. The children who are experienced in the fine art of snow fort-making agree. "Well, then, why do you go to all that trouble?" I ask. "So we can play in them ..." "... and have ...

821. Costumed Christians

Colossians 3:14

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . I begin to ask what costumes they have chosen. "A dancer!" "An alligator!" "A butterfly!" These answers come along with acknowledgments from other children that they have not yet decided what to "be." I had expected answers like "Ninja Turtle!" and all sorts of monsters. I find it refreshing to have such delightful choices as these children have made. Perhaps it is only older children who gravitate toward the heroes and the hideous. I continue with a reminiscence from my own childhood, of the costume ...

822. Serving Our Purpose

2 Corinthians 3:18

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... the tablet to me with an accusatory, "Funny!" "What's wrong, Mark?" I ask with mock innocence. "You need to sharpen this! It doesn't have a point," he complains. "Would this one work better?" I ask reaching into my sleeve and producing a freshly sharpened pencil. "Yeah!" he sort of growls. "You still want me to write my name?" "Yes, please," I reply. "That was rather a dirty trick, wasn't it, Mark?" His grin returns as he agrees that it was. "Well, I didn't do that to be mean," I assure him. "I did it to ...

823. Cutting Teeth

Ephesians 4:1-16

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... puppet. Lesson: Community; working together; discipleship. "Good morning, everyone. I've brought a guest this morning to help us with our discussion." As I speak, I hold up the puppet beaver so all the children can see. "His name is 'Buckley,' and he's obviously some sort of animal. Does anyone know what kind of animal he is?" "He's a beaver!" Tommy volunteers. "Yes," I agree, "Buckley is a beaver. How did you know that, Tommy?" "Because his tail is flat and he has buck teeth," Tommy replies. "Well," I ask ...

824. What's Inside

1 Corinthians 1:28-31

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . "Yes, people sometimes brag for both of those reasons," I reply. "Sometimes people think they won't be accepted just as they are so they brag or boast about themselves hoping to make themselves more likable, or to make themselves seem better than someone else. That sort of boasting is like putting on a false front or a mask almost." As I pronounce the last few words, I pick up the book John did not think sounded interesting and draw it again to the children's attention as I say, "In some ways boasting ...

825. The Righteous

Psalm 107:1-43

Sermon

John A. Terry

... and just, as often and as intently as we crave food and drink. This is a challenge to examine that for which we hunger and thirst. John Stuart Mill said his life was changed by his suddenly asking himself this question: "Suppose I attain what I am now pursuing. What sort of man shall I be at the end?" Jesus promised that there is a way of satisfying the hunger of the soul just as we crave to satisfy the hunger of the body. We try to satisfy ourselves with what we can see and smell and taste, but Saint Paul ...

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