Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 826 to 850 of 1185 results

826. Epiphany

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12, Ephesians 3:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... in the offering plates. But whatever your gift is, it is acceptable. Doxology While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks (v. 6), tune: CHRISTMAS All glory be to God on high and to the earth be peace; Good will to all from highest heaven begin and never cease! Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader) For all the gifts that are ours, for the strength to make a difference in our community, we thank you. Amen. Intercessory Prayer (Leader or Readers) God of Dreamers — look at this world. See the messes we have made with our ...

827. Lent 1

Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16, Luke 4:1-13, Romans 10:8b-13

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... words and silences, with relationships and fresh opportunities. We walk the human path Jesus walked; grant us insight to be faithful. Amen. Congregational Choral Response Dear God And Father Of Mankind (v. 4) Drop thy still dews of quietness Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of thy peace. Sermon Idea We know who our ancestors were and we know that some of them were not particularly nice. The patriarchal stories have plots ...

828. Proper 5

1 Kings 17:8-24, Psalm 30:1-12; 146:1-10, Luke 7:11-17, Galatians 1:11-24

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... spirits day by day. God of Thinkers — we read the stories of return to life and wish that death only came to all creatures when it was “appropriate.” Like men and women before us, we long for security, health, and peace. We want wars to cease and sons and daughters in every nation to live wholesome and neighborly lives. Guide our thoughts so that peace is deep in our behaviors and decisions. Integrator of Mind and Body — we are grateful for the knowledge science has accumulated. We pray for the next ...

829. Christmas 2

Psalm 147:12-20, Jeremiah 31:7-14, John 1:(1-9), 10-18, Ephesians 1:3-14

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... of homelessness. It takes money, creative planning, talents, and skills. Let us give as we can. Doxology "While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks" All glory be to God on high And to the earth be peace; Good will to all from highest heaven Begin and never cease! Thanksgiving Prayer God of then and now — we are thankful people, blessed with enough for today and probably for tomorrow. We sing our gratitude; we marvel at the natural world; we enjoy one another. Thank you for what we have and for your empowering ...

830. Joshua's New Diet

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... eating manna from the desert floor now gazes over the land flowing with milk and honey. There, at that sacred moment on the other side of the Jordan, the Bible reports, "On that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year" (vv. 11-12). See the old man as he bows his head to pray. His face and hands are weathered by ...

831. A Tale Of Two Peters

Acts 5:27-32

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... , were not always in agreement with one another. But they were the ones who drew the lines of dogma, and so when they were unanimous in calling something foul, that was the final word. They were insistent that Peter and John should cease to preach and teach in Jesus' name. In addition to the theological dynamic, there was also the legal reality that these ordinary and previously unimportant men found themselves in serious trouble with the authorities. And this was no trivial matter. For they were not ...

832. When The Fruit Is Spoiled

Amos 8:1-12

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?" — Amos 8:4-5 You know that the sabbath and the service of the new moon were religious festivals. Both were times when people were to cease work and refocus on their connection with God in whose image they derived the meaning of their lives. They were doing that, but Amos detected a restlessness as if their bodies were in worship but their minds were already making business plans for when the sabbath was ...

833. The ABC's of Grief

Lamentations 1:1-6

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... all the children the attention, let alone the love, they needed. Within a few weeks, the caregivers began to realize that some of the babies were crying less and some had stopped crying all together. Because their cries had gone unheeded for so long, the infants ceased to trust that their cries would bring someone to them, and so they stopped. We cry because we believe someone will hear us. We reach out in our grief because we want someone to join us. Our lament may be an expectation that someone can or ...

834. When Your Parents Don't Understand

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... . There is nothing she would take in exchange for her children. Children may bring all kinds of heartaches, particularly during adolescent years, but they need to know that your love is a constant in their lives. They need to know they will never cease being your son or daughter. Writer Richard Foster tells about a father who was walking through a shopping mall with his two-year-old son. The child was in a particularly cantankerous mood, fussing and fuming. The frustrated father tried everything to quiet ...

835. Extreme Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I ...

836. When We're Estranged from God

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies. “Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful . . . Let the ear fast . . . by not listening to evil talk and gossip . . . Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism. For what good is it if we abstain ...

837. What the Trinity Does

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... animals lack awareness of who they are. They don’t realize they are seeing themselves in the mirror. If you go higher on the evolutionary chain to monkeys, elephants, dolphins, and some birds they quickly realize that the image in the mirror represents themselves and they cease to attack it. (4) But why do these male animals go into a fighting mode in the first place? It’s in their DNA. It is a survival tool. Some of that same drive is within every human being, especially males. The most natural thing ...

838. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... togethers and the caroling. However her celebration of Christmas has changed over the years. Over a short period of time both her parents died, she lost contact with her three siblings, and her only son moved across the country. “Christmas get-togethers ceased,” she explains, “caroling was just another part of a church service.” Christmas became a lonely season for her. “My discomfort forced me to realize that I had allowed my family’s traditions to take the focus away from Christ,” she writes ...

839. The Church Is the Place

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... . Even though they were experiencing some differences of opinion Paul was reminding them that they needed to continue working together to accomplish God’s desire and purpose. They needed to pause to see the bigger picture of what God was calling them to do and cease their petty disputes. We today are part of the body of Christ. We too are called by Jesus, to be the church. The church is the extension of the ministry that Jesus began. We became the hands and feet of Jesus going places and doing ministry ...

840. God Cares

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Argile Smith

... who have not taken him seriously. For the people being judged, such a perspective is correct. But for the people who have been victimized by the injustices of predators, God’s judgment becomes an act of mercy. They see it as a time when injustices cease and predators are held accountable for what they have done to hurt God’s people. In that way, judgment shows that God cares. Ron and Melinda saw judgment in that way when they walked through the ordeal of a trial. Their daughter, Samantha, had been ...

841. Hope from a Stump

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... with no regard for anyone else’s life, they came like a scorpion plague, devouring everything and everyone in their path. Over and over and over, the people of . . . Judah had been ravaged. The horrid sounds of war were ever familiar. The cries of pain seldom ceased. Who could plant a field and have any hope that it would survive to the harvest? Who could bear a child with a confidence that it would reach maturity? It was a horrible forty years, those years in which Isaiah lived.” (2) But Isaiah refused ...

842. O Holy Night

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... stamps for Christmas cards. She said to the clerk, “May I have 50 Christmas stamps?” The clerk said, “What denomination?” The woman said, “God help us. Has it come to this? Give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptist.” It never ceases to amaze me that around this world on this night among Christians of every nation, and yes, every denomination, people of every age and race and language are bowing and giving thanks for a babe born long ago in Bethlehem of Judea. Christmas Eve ...

843. A Faith that Leaves a Legacy

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

... it is probable that he foresaw he must die a violent bloody death, yet he calls it his departure, or his release. Death, to a good man, is his release from the imprisonment of this world and his departure to the enjoyments of another world; he does not cease to be, but is only removed from one world to another.” (4) Paul begins by describing his death as an offering. Then he describes his life. The way Paul describes his life is also full of meaning. He quickly glances back over his life and uses three ...

844. A Prayer for Persecuted Christians Everywhere

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the same battles. We keep committing the same sins. We keep being horrified by the same actions. But we have had an answer for the last 2000 years. It is not new. It is not fancy. It is Jesus: “Jesus, the name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; 'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace!” (Charles Wesley) Let us pray: Father, Help me to see myself as you see me. Help me to accept myself as you accept me; Help me to forgive myself as you forgive me; Help me to love ...

845. Hemlock and Hyssop

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Do you get it? For Christians, what appears to be a “death” ritual is actually a life affirming action. Baptism is the symbol of our transition from frailty to fullness, from cease and desist to live and let live, from burial to birth. There are hundreds of online companies that are ready and willing to step up and step in to protect your “private life.” Keeping you safe from “identity theft,” from online fraud schemes, from ...

846. Up Close & Personal: Open the Doors

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

... three - even if I did and I could I wouldn’t know how to act or what to say. You may be sitting out there saying, “Well I never got to meet anybody famous at all.” If you are a follower of Jesus Christ I beg to differ. It never ceases to amaze me that at any time, day or night, you have a standing invitation to walk into the very throne room of the King of all Kings who created and runs this universe. You can go in anytime you want to. You don’t have to have an appointment ...

847. Supernatural: Taken By Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... part of the story which tells us one last comforting truth when we are in the storm and that is we should… III. Rely On The Power Of Jesus “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”(Mark 4:39, ESV) That is so cool to me! The word “rebuke” can mean “get out and sit down.” The words “Peace! Be still!” literally means “to muzzle or silence.” What Jesus literally said to that storm was, “Sit down ...

848. Five Mission Killers

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... two groups: the skulls and the lobsters. First, the skulls. At a certain point early in life, the skull gets as big as it’s going to get. The skull freezes in the form it’s in for the rest of its life. There are some people who cease being learners and instead become learned. Skull people, once they learn something, stick with what they’ve learned for the remainder of their life, doing the same thing over and over while trying to get better at it. Second, the lobsters. In spite of their hard shells ...

849. We Are Not The Light

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... of personal growth. All this may seem to be nothing more than looking on the bright side or for the silver lining. Yet, it is more than that when you exercise the discipline of looking for the ways that God might turn stumbling blocks into stepping-stones. Praying without ceasing seems beyond our reach. Do I have that much to say? However, I find that I don’t have much worthwhile to say if it is not in some sense a prayer. I pray until I find my voice. When the light is flickering, test everything, but do ...

850. Dust Off The Throne

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king” ... “And the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing, for the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king” ... “Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown him again, king forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.” The promise that God had made to David in our Old Testament lesson must have seemed like a cruel joke for so many intervening years. Then the promise was renewed to Mary in the gospel lesson. In the hymn “Come ...

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