Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 951 to 975 of 4946 results

951. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

An idea keeps echoing through the Book of Deuteronomy: "Remember!" "Beware, lest you forget." The writer of Deuteronomy knew it isn't always easy to "remember," but also recognized its importance, so he kept emphasizing it. He knew how vital it is to recall our origins, to be aware of where we came from, to remember how we got where we are, and to keep, consciously, before us the recognition of vital things that allowed us to get here. J. Wallace Hamilton tells of a sensitive Jew who wrote a book called, " ...

952. A Faith To Live By John D. Mauney, Jr.

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

"Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in the heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." (Deuteronomy 4:39) We live in a land of plenty. A rich and sophisticated people, we are a nation of greater wealth and technological accomplishment than the world has ever known. But still there are those among us who are poverty-stricken. We are faced with the age-old problem of the "haves" and the "have-nots." And, of course, there are many different types of poverty ...

953. THE WITCH OF ENDOR

Drama

Marcia Miller

This is a play about necromancy, the art of communicating with the dead to predict the future. The actual story appears in 1 Samuel 28:7-25. But the period of history is not important, in that witchcraft has remained more constant than other religions throughout the ages. Costuming should be simple. The Witches should be in the traditional dark (black) colors, whereas Saul and his aides should be in bright reds, purples, and blues. Saul is not dressed as a king or a soldier, but as a peasant. When Samuel ...

954. Good News For Tough Times

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Recently, three men were nervously waiting in the Father's room at the Good Samaritan Hospital as their wives prepared to give births to their first children. The men were too scared to go in. Soon the head nurse arrived with good news from the birthing rooms. She said to the first father-to-be, "Sir, you are a father of twins!" "That's great," he said. "I'm a baseball player and I am going to sign a contract with the Minnesota Twins. This will be good press." Soon, the nurse arrived and said to the second ...

955. A Service the Church Will Never Forget

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

Churches are funny places. Have you ever noticed that? Burt Kettinger tells about a small church in Rocky River, Ohio, just west of Cleveland where he grew up. This church had a small restroom behind the pulpit with a door right behind the pulpit for the convenience of the pastor. There was also a door on the other side of the restroom that led out to the church parking lot. One day the pastor was waxing eloquent on Rev. 3:20. With great pathos he exclaimed that the Lord is standing at the door of our ...

956. Good News for Tough Times - Encouragment for the Soul

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Recently, three men were nervously waiting in the Father''s room at the Good Samaritan Hospital as their wives prepared for the births of their first children. They were too scared to go in. Soon the head nurse arrived with good news from the birthing rooms. She said to the first father-to-be, "Sir, you are a father of twins!" "That''s great," he said. "I am going to sign a contract with the Minnesota Twins. This will be good press." Soon, the nurse arrived and shared with the second father-to-be, "Sir, ...

957. Getting It All Together Inside

Psalm 51:1-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

R.D. Lange is an imminent philosopher, and one of the most perceptive observers and discerning describers of the human situation. He has said this, what we think is less than what we know. What we know is less than what we love. What we love is so much less than there is, and to this precise extent we are much less than what we are. What a challenging assessment. We are much less than what we are. Now that’s a needed perspective, but unfortunately our perspective is poisoned. We are confused about what is ...

958. The Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

Rick Brand

For a man who claims that he does not know much about the coming day of the Lord, Paul has certainly written us a vivid description of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks with authority when he says that when the day of the Lord comes, those who are dead and in the grave will be awakened by the trumpets of the angels and they will rise up and meet the Lord first. Those who are still alive when this happens will have to wait until all the dead are welcomed before they get to enter into the joy of ...

959. Breathe on Me, Breath of God

Acts 2:1-4

Sermon

James W. Moore

Let me begin with three quick stories. See if you can find the common thread that runs through them. The First Story is about a woman who lives in Texas. She is a motivational speaker who is often asked to give the key-note address at conventions and convocations. Recently she returned home after speaking five nights in a row. Her husband said: “Honey, I know you must be really tired. Why don’t you “sleep in” in the morning?” That sounded good to her, so she did stay in bed longer than usual. When she ...

960. Don't Worry, The Light Is Still Burning

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Don’t worry, the light is still burning.” Is there any more reassuring line than that one: “Don’t worry, the light is still burning.” But the light that is still burning is not beckoning you back from the window of your home, sweet home. The light that is still burning is in a fire station in Livermore, California. “Don’t worry, the light is still burning” is the headline that greets visitors to the homepage of this one light bulb. WWW.centennialbulb.org is the web site dedicated to keeping track of the ...

961. The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

There are people who speak to us more powerfully out of their weakness than out of their strength. Brian Piccolo was a powerful, professional football player who entertained thousands with his feats of muscular strength and stamina. But cancer attacked, and out of weakness he spoke more powerfully than before. Whenever they show the movie, Brian's Song, we think of him and his faith and courage. Paul experienced a similar fall from glory. He had seen powerful visions of God, had entered into the third ...

962. Barking Dogs and Daily Bread

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every year thousands of tourists clog the country roads in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to admire the lush, neat farmlands nurtured by the Amish farmers of that region. The Amish sell their beautiful quilts, home-grown/home-preserved foods, hand made furniture. Driving down the roads in their black horse-drawn rigs, wearing their eighteenth century “plain” clothes, rejecting all modern conveniences, the Amish have become icons of a simple, devout, community-based lifestyle. But Amish country is home to ...

963. The Promise that Won’t Be Broken

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

Paul was sitting in prison with every reason to be discouraged. He was just days away from his execution at the hands of Emperor Nero. He was isolated and treated like a man to be scorned, unlike his earlier stints in jail. The Emperor Nero had blamed the Christians for the great fire that destroyed the city of Rome. For the first time they were subjected to terrible persecution and citizens from every corner of the empire turned against them. Christians were burned as living torches to light the emperor's ...

964. LOST? Looking For Peace

Matthew 18:21-22, Colossians 3:8-15, Hebrews 11:1

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old story, and it's a groaner but I'm going tell it anyway. It's about three flies buzzing around a messy kitchen table where somebody had just made a bologna sandwich. The knife used to slice the bologna was covered with little particles of the meat and so was the cutting board. Two of the flies decided to work on the cutting board, while the third fly went to work on the knife. He started at the tip of the knife and ate his way all the way to the end of the handle. Then he decided to fly over ...

965. Doing What Disciples Do

John 15:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The new pastor of a congregation preached his first sermon from the text, “Love one another.” The people were pleased. The next Sunday the pastor preached the exact same sermon from the exact same text, “Love one another.” The people were surprised. When the pastor preached the same sermon the third week from the same text , the people were angry. The Staff Parish Relations chairperson confronted the new pastor with the obvious question, “Why do you preach the same sermon every week?” The pastor replied, “ ...

966. Holy Waste

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a man who bought his fiancée a diamond ring, and showed it to his friend. His friend asked, “Is it a real diamond?’ He said, “If it isn’t, I’m out five bucks.” Then there was the fellow who wanted to buy his sweetheart some perfume. He went to the counter of an exclusive store, and the saleswoman recommended a perfume called “Perhaps” that sold for $100 an ounce. $100!” cried the young fellow. “For $100, I don’t want “Perhaps”, I want “For Sure!” Behind the hint of humor is the suggestion that if ...

967. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for Life’s Tests 1:1 The letter from James opens with a simple and direct greeting. The writer identifies himself simply as James, a servant of God. There was only one James so well known in the early church that he would need no other form of identification, and that was James the Just, brother of Jesus, leader of the church in Jerusalem. The readers are expected to recognize the name. Yet for all his prominence and important position in the church (so important that the letter from Jude begins, “ ...

968. Job’s Hope against Hope

Job 19:1-29

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: In a situation that seems hopeless, Job maintains a ray of hope in God. Understanding the Text In chapter 19, Job responds to Bildad’s second speech. Job uses a mixture of lament and legal language to express how abandoned he feels by his friends (19:1–6), by God (19:7–12), and by the full range of people in his community (19:13–19). In the final verses of the chapter, Job pleads with his friends for compassion (19:20–22), he articulates his hope for a redeemer to take up his cause (19:23–27), ...

969. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

970. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

John Jamison

It was over. The shepherds had gone back to their flocks. The three wise men had gone to wherever they were going, the other visitors that had come to see what was going on had drifted away to other things, and the animals had begun to settle back down in the straw. Mary was resting and the baby was sleeping soundly. Joseph looked around the room and let out a long, deep breath. “It was over.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, looking forward to a much-needed long night’s sleep. Then the ...

971. One Tough Master?

Matthew 25:14-28

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid,...I hid your talent in the ground. " You know with whom we identify in this story of the Parable of the Talents. We are on the side of the little one-talent man. Perhaps because few of us are overburdened with talent, perhaps because we love stories of the little guy who makes good. The woman who stood up to the powers of the IRS and won. Toe worker who fought the great ...

972. Bold Faith

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

To speak up, to speak loudly and boldly about who you are and what you need can be challenging, especially for those with a history of trauma or who have been raised in households in which being quiet and staying out of the way was your best form of survival. But Jesus’ message in the scriptures seems to indicate that in his presence, we are encouraged to “speak up!” In fact, throughout the scriptures, God has encouraged those who felt they had no voice or an inadequate voice to speak boldly and loudly, ...

973. No, We're Not There Yet

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Over the years, many people have speculated about the end of the world and the end of time. Will there be a great war? A great earthquake? Will there be a sudden rapture where the faithful suddenly vanish as Hal Lindsay once predicted in The Late Great Planet Earth? Will it be as Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye describe in their best-selling Left Behind series? Would the end come in 2011 as American broadcaster Harold Camping predicted? We know now that he was wrong. Would the end come in 2012 as some ...

974. Not Yet Quitting Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

You may remember reading or hearing of the Korean Christian group who predicted that Christ was going to return on October 28, 1992, all Christians would be taken to heaven, and the rest of the world would enter the terrible catastrophes of the end times. Well, we're still here, and unless you count the presidential election which was held a month later as a terrible apocalyptic catastrophe, I don't see that the ordinary catastrophes were much worse than usual. There's nothing new in this miscalculation of ...

975. A Road Map to the Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

I hope for each of you that your journey on planet earth has been a good one and will continue to be so. One of the conditions that determines the worth of a journey is its destination. I keep on my shelf an old axiom: No wind blows good to a ship which has no destined harbor. It is true of our lives; if we don’t know where we’re going the starts and stops do not make a difference. Good or bad breaks mean little, for they do not move us along to a destined goal. Life is just one big distraction. We can ...

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