Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 851 to 875 of 2844 results

851. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Having just concluded a biting debate with the Pharisees on the issue of what defiles a person (Matthew 15:1-9), Jesus travels to a region that is suspiciously unclean in Jewish eyes. Tyre and Sidon, or Phoenicia - what today is part of Lebanon - was outside the established boundaries of Israel, God's chosen nation and people. It was an area rife with pagans and other suspect characters. Yet Jesus walks smack into it. Matthew's text suggests that it doesn't take long for one of the locals to discover the ...

852. Proper 5

Mark 3:20-30, 1 Samuel 8:1-22, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Mark 3:31-35

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20; (11:14-15) Samuel became the religious and political leader of Israel. He cleared the country of pagan gods and defeated the Philistines. When Samuel became old and was not expected to live much longer, the elders came to Samuel and requested a king in order to be like other nations who had a king. Samuel took the request to Yahweh in prayer and he told Samuel to listen to the people but to warn them that a king would make them slaves. In spite of ...

853. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-14, Psalm 106:1-48, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:2-9

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter - Psalms 106:1-6, 19-23 First Lesson - Aaron and the people succumb to idolatry in the absence of Moses, who is communing with God on the mountain. Exodus 32:1-14 Second Lesson - Paul urges the Philippians not to get bogged down in petty quarrels but to find joy in the appreciation of good qualities in people and in themselves. Philippians 4:1-9 Gospel - Jesus continues speaking in parables to stimulate human readiness for divine judgment. Matthew 22:1-14 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace ...

854. God Where Are You? - The Problem of Evil

Genesis 3:1-6, Judges 6:13

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether it is the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, a tsunami that wipes out 150,000 people in a day, or the massive starvation of millions of children around the world, you cannot deny the reality of evil. On the other hand, we saw last week how science itself has proved with certainty that the world is not eternal. The universe had a beginning. The only feasible option to explain the origin of the universe is a transcendent creator. DNA itself is a compelling ...

855. Minding the Store of Our Lives

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

A man lived in an old stone cottage that was badly in need of repair. He made do, day-by-day, and got on with his life, struggling to wrench a living from the meager land. Eventually the rain that leaked in on him got too heavy and the wind around his ears was too cold. He had to do something about the gap in his wall. Up on the hillside there was an ancient Celtic cross. It had stood there since time immemorial. It was silent and uncomplaining in the Atlantic gales that swept over it, but its very silence ...

856. Listening for the "Ching-ching"

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

When television producer, Dick Wolf, introduced a new "cop show" in the early 1990s, he could hardly have predicted it would lead to one of the biggest television sensations of its time. In the fifteen years or so since its first episode, the familiar "ching-ching" sound and opening credits of Law And Order have become cultural icons equivalent to Archie Bunker's All In The Family living room or the scrambling medical staff of M*A*S*H. Since the original Law and Order debut Special Victims Unit, Criminal ...

857. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

Jeremiah was the last of the great prophets to minister to the Hebrew people during the days of their political independence. His book is the longest prophetic book in the Hebrew Scripture. Because of the incredibly profound concepts which it contains, and because of the great spiritual advances which Jeremiah charted, he has been called by some the "greatest figure between Moses and Jesus." In chapter 29, the prophet is writing to the exiles in Babylon. It is a message of hope, a message that contains ...

858. Room For A Savior?

Luke 2:22-33

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Years ago a young man was riding a bus from Chicago to Miami. He had a stop-over in Atlanta. While he was sitting at the lunch counter, a woman came out of the ladies' rest room carrying a tiny baby. She walked up to this man and asked, "Would you hold my baby for me, I left my purse in the rest room." He did. But as the woman neared the front door of the bus station, she darted out into the crowded street and was immediately lost in the crowd. This guy couldn't believe his eyes. He rushed to the door to ...

859. Joshua People: Remember, Remind and Recommit

Joshua 24:14-18, 2 Peter 1:10-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The older I get the more I realize that memory is tricky. I can remember the address and phone number of the house I lived in when I was 5 (2470 Highway 66, Zone 2, St. Louis, MO. Harrison 8;7378) but I can't remember which of my kids or Grandkids I'm talking to. I seem to start at the oldest child and work my way down, including the names of all the pets we've ever had, too. But it's nice to know I'm not the only one with this affliction. A number of years ago, the church I was serving received a memorial ...

860. More Than We Are

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In Cabeza De Vaca’s account of his journey from Florida to the Pacific, between the years of. 1528 and 1536, he tells how the Indians came to him and his companion asking them to cure their sick. The two white men were themselves half-starved, lost and filled with blank despair. Yet, the Indians felt that they, being white men, had super-human power. De Vaca felt that they had no such power. “But we had to heal them or die,” he wrote. Now listen to De Vaca: “So we prayed for strength. We prayed on bended ...

861. Barriers to Grace

Exodus 6:28--7:7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Winston Churchill once described the Soviet Union as “an enigma wrapped in riddle.” Chapters 7-12 of Exodus is that an enigma wrapped in a riddle. It’s the story of God through Moses dealing with Pharaoh, seeking to convince Pharaoh to let the people go. It’s a graphic presentation of the plagues. The Nile River turns to blood and becomes foul; the fish of the river die; swarms of frogs overrun the land filling the houses, even the bedchambers (how would you like to go to bed with a hundred bullfrogs under ...

862. Let God Be God - As if It Could Be Otherwise

Exodus 7:14-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

John Newton once wrote, “If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your own head.” (Gerald Kennedy, Fresh Every Morning p. 8). Now I don’t expect you to understand the richness of that statement at this point —- but I hope it gets your attention. If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your head.” Today, I’m going to talk about God. No what’s new about that, you ask. There’s nothing ...

863. Characteristics of the Church, Part 2

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere I read of a Seminary professor whose last years were spent in and out of hospitals, suffering from a debilitating, incurable disease. As he reflected on his ministry, he said that when he began, he thought of himself as the expert, standing upon the bank of the stream of life, shouting instructions to the swimmers down below. In the second stage of his ministry, if he saw someone going down for the third time, he would plunge into the water, get the person started in the right direction again, ...

864. What Is the Future of United Methodism?

John 2:12-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

United Methodists gather this week across the United States in Jurisdictional Conferences to elect 20 new bishops. Since my name is no longer on the list of nominees, I have the freedom to talk candidly about this Church into which I was born and to which I have given my heart, my soul, and my deepest devotion. I am honored and deeply grateful to be a United Methodist pastor. Every week I get to do what I most enjoy doing—connect to people, preach the gospel, observe hearts being touched and lives being ...

865. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Thomas Lane Butts tells about a World Series baseball game that took place on October 13, 1963, between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sandy Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers before a record crowd of 69,000 in Yankee Stadium. It was a crucial game, and Koufax was one strike-out short of breaking the record of 14 strike-outs in a World Series game. Koufax later said it was not only a challenge but an inspiration to know that among the spectators that day was former Dodger pitcher ...

866. Life’s Purpose Is Often Hidden!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Life is a messy affair. Our purpose is often hidden. We have a parable today that originally may have tried to explore these mysteries — the parable of the weeds in the field. But once again the explanation that Mathew provided of this parable is probably not original, not something Jesus himself taught. No, it is more likely, New Testament scholars increasingly agree, that Jesus' original point in the parable was to affirm the messiness, hiddenness, of life in a context where sectarian sentiments were ...

867. The Porch Light's On

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Tony Everett

All of us have heard various short, sarcastic sayings that describe people and groups who seem to lack plain, old common sense. These folks appear to understand what's happening in their lives. However, when it comes to coping with reality, they just don't seem to get it. Here are some examples: "One brick short of a load." "Just one French fry short of a Happy Meal." "His elevator's stuck on the first floor." A good phrase that can describe many Christians celebrating Epiphany might be, "Their porch light ...

868. Endless Line of Blunder

Exodus 1:8

Sermon

David J. Kalas

Turn the page, and the story is suddenly different. When we close the book of Genesis, the descendants of Jacob — that is, the children of Israel — are comfortably situated as honored guests in the land of Egypt. And the very best part of the land of Egypt, at that. Jacob's son, Joseph, is a local hero, having navigated the nation (and much of the region) through a devastating period of famine. The Egyptians, along with his own kin, mourn his passing. But turn the page, and the story is suddenly different ...

869. Living on the Edge

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

The long journey was finally nearing its conclusion. Forty years wandering around the hot desert must have been physically as well as emotionally exhausting. It had not always been pleasant living like nomads for so long. As Moses climbed the mountain for what would be the last time, he must have felt a clear sense that his life was not lived in vain. All of his struggles had been worth it as he sought to communicate once again with God on the mountain. He could look back over his long life and realize ...

870. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer the silver or the bronze? The answer appears obvious, doesn’t it? The silver is for second place; the bronze is for third. Or is it as simple as it sounds? Kent Crockett, in his book I Once Was Blind but Now I Squint tells about a surprising study of Olympic medal winners. You would assume that the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that isn’t always the case. The bronze medalists ...

871. What the Future Holds

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple and one of them remarks what a magnificent edifice it is. This was the third go-round for the Jerusalem temple: The first had been planned by King David and constructed by his son, Solomon, and was exquisite in every way. Sadly, that structure had been leveled by Nebuchadnezzar when the nation was carried off into exile in Babylon. Once God's people were allowed to return to their homeland, a second temple was built, but it paled in comparison to the original ...

872. Jesus Would Do What?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman named Naomi Magdanz in Lodi, California tells about her 6-year-old grandson, Joshua. Joshua attended a Vacation Bible School with the theme, “What Would Jesus Do?” To remind the children of the theme, they made little armbands with WWJD on the band. One evening Joshua’s mother asked him to change his clothes. Joshua looked at his armband and said, “WWJD - What would Jesus do?” His mother replied that she thought Jesus would do what his mother asked him to do and change his clothes. Joshua thought ...

873. It’s a New Year: Take 7 Steps Forward

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many parents have blessed the invention of the “Swing’N’Sway?” Can I get a witness?! There are actually two versions of this battery operated baby care gizmo. For newborns there is a Swing’N’Sway bassinet that gently rocks from side-to-side and back-to-front to simulate the infant being held and walked and rocked. This enables new Moms and Dads to catch some desperately needed shut-eye. For babies old enough to sit up there is a Swing’N’Sway rocker — an infant seat secured in a kind of swing-set stand ...

874. Acts 8:26 40

Acts 8:26-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The content of Luke’s second volume of work — The Acts of the Apostles — is summed up in Acts 1:8: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Embracing and embodying that directive is the continuous theme of Acts. Today’s text is the first of three startling conversion stories that demonstrate just how all encompassing is this directive. The conversions of the Ethiopian eunuch (8:26‑40), Saul of Tarsus (9:1‑19), and Cornelius and his family (10:30‑48), ...

875. Practicing the Presence

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Practice what you preach.” That old saw is usually trotted out when some high profile “holier‑than‑thou” type has their wings clipped and their reputation riddled with holes. Or a “sterling” character is revealed to have feet of crumbling clay. But there is one big problem with “practice what you preach.” It all depends on what it is you are “preaching.” When some convictions are put into action the results can be catastrophic or cruel, insidious or just plain evil. Mother Teresa practiced what she ...

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