Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 951 to 975 of 2844 results

951. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Let me ask you an odd question: If you died tomorrow, how hard would it be for your loved ones to sort through your belongings? I stole that question from Ashley Hamer, a science writer and podcaster, in an article she wrote about the practice of Swedish death cleaning. Have you heard about this? It sounds morbid, but it’s actually a good idea. Swedish death cleaning is the practice of going through your possessions every few years and getting rid of the things you no longer need or no longer feel ...

952. Raising Power

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Power fascinates us. The powers of nature both terrify us and intrigue us. Tsunamis, storms, lightning, hurricanes, the devastation of a tornado, the movement of glaciers. These and other events remind us that we humans are no match for nature’s power. But these are not the only powers that threaten to overwhelm us. The advent of technology has unleashed new realizations of how limited we are as human beings. AInow harbors the potential for power that we can’t really comprehend. We really have no idea what ...

953. “I Will Sing the Lord’s Praise, for He Has Been Good to Me”

Psalm 13:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Faith has its personae, from skepticism to personal conflict, but trust, its true persona, sings its way into the joy of God’s goodness. Understanding the Text Psalm 13 is an individual lament that leaves the cause of lament uncertain (see below) but calls attention to the joy of buoyant faith (13:5). The biblical laments always hover near words of trust and assurance, and such a question as we have in verses 1 and 2 should send us on a search for words of faith in the lament psalms. Also, it ...

954. Dancing in the Wind

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Lori Wagner

More than anything else in our lives, stress causes us the most serious hazards to our health, our peace, our relationships, and our ability to live life to the fullest. Stress inhibits our ability to handle the unexpected and closes us off in our interactions with others. It can keep us in a state of “fight or flight,” which means what it sounds like. Instead of engaging in life and loving, we will either “fight” it or we will “flee” from it. In doing so, we will make every situation worse, and will ...

955. Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

David Coffin

Imagine a high school student who was struggling with his math homework. His father was in a high-tech machine occupation in which he worked with much complicated math. He sat down at the table to help the student with the math homework. Unfortunately, the father was not a good instructor because he lacked patience in trying to help the student out who was not too savvy with numbers and figures. The child could not relate to his father as an instructor or teacher. He was the dad who worked around the house ...

956. Noah

Luke 12:22-34

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: The Son of Man is coming like the flood. Be ready as Noah was. Summary: A modern retelling of the Noah story. Playing Time: 13 minutes Setting: The world before the flood Props: Rain hat Umbrella Lunch pail Costumes: Contemporary with costume pieces Time: The time before the flood Cast: Noah Mrs. Noah Gerhon -- a neighbor Shem Mrs. Shem Ham Mrs. Ham Japheth Mrs. Japheth (NOAH, IN PANTOMIME, SEEN WORKING ON ARK. ON THE RADIO WE HEAR ...) Chorus: It's gonna rain and rain and rain some more and rain ...

957. Noah

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme\n The Son of Man is coming like the flood. Be ready as Noah \nwas. \nSummary\n A modern retelling of the Noah story.\nPlaying Time 13 minutes\nSetting The world before the flood\nProps Rain hat, umbrella, lunch pail\nCostumes Contemporary with costume pieces\nTime The time before the flood\nCast NOAH\n MRS. NOAH\n GERHON -- a neighbor\n NOAH'S SONS AND THEIR WIVES\n SHEM\n MRS. SHEM\n HAM\n MRS. HAM\n JAPHETH\n MRS. JAPHETH\n(NOAH, IN PANTOMIME, SEEN WORKING ON ARK. ON THE RADIO WE HEAR \n...) \n ...

958. Taking The Good With The Bad

Job 1:1-5

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Once upon a time in the land of Uz there was a man whose name was Job. He was a man of sterling character who always sought to do the right thing. Above all he had respect for God and hated evil with a passion. His family consisted of seven sons and three daughters. God had blessed Job not only with a large family but he possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and numerous servants who cared for his enormous amount of livestoc_esermonsk. He ...

959. Advent 1

Isaiah 63:7--64:12, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Psalm 80:1-19, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Fig Tree Lesson We were traveling in the dark. The route number told us to make a turn north as we merged with another major highway. Then we relaxed and in a very short time missed the sign that told us to turn east again. In the dark and not watching carefully on an unfamiliar road, we missed the sign. Sometime later we realized that we were not seeing signs for our route and the exit signs pointed toward unfamiliar towns. We realized that we had not read the signs carefully enough. It cost us an ...

960. Sometimes Goodbye Is Hello

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

Goodbye, even with someone you deeply care about, isn't always sad. At least it isn't only sad. Sometimes it can be like saying hello. Some of us have said goodbye to children. We bundled them up and coaxed their little eyes and hands to say "bye bye." Soon we waved them off to the neighbor's and school and camp. And at some point along the way we said goodbye to our children for the last time. And we miss our little boys and girls. But we know that had we not done so, we'd never have had the joy of ...

961. Risen And Recognized

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Robert Beringer

We have examined a number of "Turning Points" in the Gospel narrative, but perhaps none is as vivid as what happened to two despairing disciples who met the Living Christ on that first Easter day. Let us imagine that it is evening on that first Easter. Walking northward along the narrow road to the village of Emmaus are two of Jesus' followers. Their shoulders are slumped, their heads are bowed, and even a casual observer can read the dejection and the disillusionment on their faces. Utterly disheartened ...

962. Week Five Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week FiveDaniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62John 8:1-11 The God Of Forgiveness Humans love to tell stories about others. We tell many humorous stories which bring out the beauty of one's personality. We tell stories of heroism, bravery and significant accomplishments. Sometimes we even hear and tell stories of unconditional love and kindness shown to another. These are the types of stories we like to hear, ones that pick us up and make us feel good. Humans are far from perfect and thus there are ...

963. Recalling, Remembering, And Rejoicing

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

For all of his charisma as a leader, his skills as a diplomat, his savvy as a politician, Moses was not the sort for whom making speeches ever came easily. Rhetoric simply wasn't included on his resume, public speaking never being one of his fortes. And of course, back at Sinai before this improbable pilgrimage began, he had admitted as much to Yahweh: "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" ( ...

964. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction During Lent we are focusing our biblical attention almost exclusively on the passages from the psalms, allowing their themes and their spirit to rise up and identify themselves to us. Today we are continuing to gain a greater familiarity with these conversations from the heart. Through song and reading and spoken word the religiosity of the psalmists of old is speaking to us today. A For the first two Sundays in Lent our attention was on what Old Testament professor Walter Brueggeman called ...

965. Eighteen Years Is Long Enough

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

John N. Brittain

A few weeks ago the officers of Kappa Chi, our co-ed Christian service fraternity, had a planning retreat in a small town just east of Indianapolis. We took our Saturday afternoon Burger King and Taco Bell to a picturesque park where I spotted a little boy who looked to be about five years old. He was the spitting image of my son Tim as he looked eighteen years ago when he was five. A lot of water has passed over the dam in those years: Tim had grown a great deal and now towers over me. He is a cook at a ...

966. Pride: The Deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

Girolamo Savonarola was one of the great preachers of the fifteenth century. He preached in the great cathedral of Florence, Italy, which contained a magnificent marble statue of the blessed virgin Mary. When Savonarola started preaching at this great cathedral, he noticed one day an elderly woman praying before this statue of Mary. He then began to notice that it was her habit to come every day and pray before the statue. Savonarola remarked one day to an elderly priest who had been serving in the ...

967. Epiphany 3

Mt 4:12-23 · 1 Cor 1:10-18 · Is 9:1-4 · Amos 3:1-8 · Ps 27 · Ps 139

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 9:1-4 This passage is a portion of the First Lesson for Christmas Day. On that occasion it was employed as a fulfillment of the expectation of the birth of the Messiah. In the context of Epiphany it is used as a fulfillment of the promise that the Messiah would be a light for all the nations. This passage was written during a time of great darkness and gloom. The tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali had been subjugated by the Assyrians in 734 B.C. Yet, the prophet envisions a ...

968. Saul, The Tormented King

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

He was like a meteor. He blazed brightly and briefly across the skies of Israel before burning out and falling to the ground. You can sum up the life of the first king of Israel in just such words. The priests who wrote about him rejected him outright. But then, they had a special reason for doing that. Saul did not always see things their way. Most of the people he led followed him to the end. Perhaps theirs is the better testimony. You will find Saul's story in the first book of Samuel. It is quite a ...

969. Jesus: The Ultimate Ordinary

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Once again Jesus gives a curious, cryptic teaching that leaves us wondering. “I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” These remarks are hard to interpret. Yet, as with all he says, we are inclined to believe they hold great value for us. Not long ago in a study group a man asked me if Jesus were “ordinary.” The question was unusual. On the spur of the moment I replied, “Of course, Jesus is ordinary.” His reply, “Jesus is the ultimate ordinary ...

970. God’s Flowing and Our Ebbing

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

My family and I have spent several enjoyable vacations on the Atlantic Ocean, both at Cape Cod and along the rockbound coast of Maine. Always we have enjoyed the beaches and the pastimes attendant to them. One perennial pastime is the building of sand castles, and I well remember our children building them close to the sea’s edge and how, with tidal changes, the parameters of the ebbing and flowing would be altered, often allowing the ocean to become increasingly bold in assailing what the children had so ...

971. Proper 20

Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18; 4:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: A warning against selfish ambition, which fractures community. Rather, Jesus teaches us to receive the kingdom like a child and find our joy in Christ-like service. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-31 (C) This description of a more than capable wife contrasts with the position of women in most of the societies of the Middle East. In many cultures women were almost considered property. In this description, she is able to purchase property on her own and she has her own business. Four traits seem ...

972. A Fist and a Kiss

Luke 22:47-53

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

Once in Damascus years ago, when I was strolling along the street called Straight -- wondering whether it is truly the most ancient street in the world that has served continuously as a marketplace -- I watched as a man who was riding slowly through the crowd on a bicycle with a basket of oranges precariously balanced on the handlebars was bumped by a porter so bent with a heavy burden that he had not seen him. The burden dropped, the oranges were scattered and a bitter altercation broke out between the ...

973. Just Speak The Word

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Larry Powell

It is somewhere written down that many years ago a rider on horseback approached a group of soldiers attempting unsuccessfully to move a heavy piece of timber. A corporal was observed standing nearby, hands on hips, barking the order, "Heave. Heave." Despite repeated efforts, the soldiers were unable to accomplish the task. Apparently of the mind that the situation hinged upon his determined commands, the corporal persisted, "Heave. Heave." Addressing the corporal, the horseman asked, "Why don't you help ...

974. Mary Has Chosen The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

The Genesis creation narrative tells us that God created the world, and all that is in it, in six short days, a remarkable burst of energy even for God. Understandably, God was tired - an idea which has eluded learned theologians - but the author of the story insists that, "... on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work ... So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in ...

975. Obedience Is An Ugly Word!

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

A man, bragging on his dog, said, "He's a fine dog. He's so smart, and obedient, too. Why, all I have to do is tell him what to do and he either does it, or he doesn't!" The gospel's success or failure all hinges upon our acceptance or rejection of the word "Obedience." If we truly have faith, we will obey God. Obedience implies that we are not independent, that we are accountable to another, that we do have someone over us, that there is higher authority than ourselves. In a world where we are taught that ...

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