Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 951 to 975 of 1533 results

Mark 14:1-2 · Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Will Willimon

“And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth, and kill him...” Only a few minutes from where we worship, nuclear warheads are pointed in our direction. All this could be obliterated in a nuclear moment. We don't think about that much. We can't think about it much. Robert J. Lifton named it "nuclear numbness." If you're exposed to violence or the threat of it for very long, eventually a kind of numbness sets in. I suppose it can be explained as a kind of psychic defense ...

952. The Power of Weakness

Mark 8:27-38 · Psalm 19

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

Our lessons this morning feels like an archery target. The psalm starts with the long view, the perspective of the psalmist marveling at the beauty of creation. “The heavens are telling the glory of God,” it begins, but that translation doesn’t quite capture the essence of what is to be expressed Psalm 19:1 (NRSV). It more closely means, “The heavens are continually telling the glory of God.” It’s always happening, without ceasing. All we have to do is look up, notice the beauty of the stars, feel the ...

953. Strength for The Journey

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14) Today is Trinity Sunday. Founded by Pope Pius X in 1911, it is the only feast day on the church calendar that does not celebrate a person or an event, but rather a doctrine, and some say, a reality. Trinity Sunday is ...

954. The Call to Encounter

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time, he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me…” Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. (Luke 8: 27-31) To ...

955. "No Contest"

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

When my husband and I play tennis it is a "no-contest" contest. He is a far better player than I. In fact, we have a deal that anytime I can beat him a whole set, he will take me out for a lobster dinner. He is perfectly safe from having to pay. This contest has been running for as long as we've been married, and in 21 years I've had lobster once! The match is a "no-contest" contest. He always wins! In this text we have another kind of competition. The contest takes place on Mount Carmel. There is a sharp ...

956. Deep Depression Or High Hope?

1 Kings 9:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Hope, for many, is as futile as the philosophy in a "Peanuts" comic strip which showed Linus and Charlie Brown leaning on a fence, talking. Linus says, "I guess it's wrong to be worrying about tomorrow, maybe we should think only about today." Charlie Brown interrupts him to say, "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get better!" A lot of people have no hope for today, and are sure that tomorrow will be just as hopeless. Indeed, in our time "hope" has become a bad word. When the ...

957. Walking On Our Hands

John 8:31-41

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

For weeks now the Gospel lectionary readings have come from the Gospel of Luke. But today we encounter an intruder. Our journey through the last chapter of Luke's story is interrupted by another Gospel writer, John, who drops us into the middle of a debate between Jesus and "the Jews." It is well known that the Gospel of John differs in many ways from the other three Gospels. Robert Kysar's book on the Gospel of John is called John: the Maverick Gospel. This is how his introduction begins: There is a ...

958. Gospel Grandmothers

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

United Church has a tradition. They were known for supporting their pastors very well. Any pastor who has ever served at United will verify the truth of this tradition. Pastors, for example, consider it a privilege to serve in this congregation deep in the heart of Texas. Pastor Mike Snyder surely did. Pastor Mike, as everyone called him, had had a kind of love affair with this congregation throughout his nine years of service at United. The feeling was mutual. The people of United felt uniquely blessed by ...

959. People With Power To Forgive

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

Jesus began his earthly ministry preaching, teaching, healing and forgiving sins. And now at the end of his earthly ministry in his post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, Jesus is passing on to his disciples the ministry of preaching, teaching, healing and forgiving sins. Through the gift of the Holy spirit they are to be empowered to continue the work he inaugurated. We often overlook in the gospels the connection between forgiveness and healing -- healing that is both physical and spiritual. ...

960. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Price Of Discipleship In the mid-1960s President Lyndon Johnson introduced a so-called war on poverty. At about the same time he got involved in escalating the American participation in the Vietnam war. It soon began to cost about two billion dollars per month. He was unwilling to raise taxes. The attempt to wage the wars on two fronts, domestic and international, soon affected the economy adversely. Through the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations the effects of deficits sent inflation rates up ...

961. Let Me Explain: A Sermon By Judas Iscariot

Matthew 26:1-5

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

For 2,000 years my name has been slandered by people who really don't understand me, especially by some preachers. But your kind pastor said that you were an understanding congregation. I've come here today to tell you about myself and about the reasons I did what I did. You will give me a fair hearing, won't you? My name is Judas Iscariot. Let me begin by telling you a little about my background. As you know I am a Jew. You have probably read some things about my ancestors: Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, ...

962. On The Road To The Cross

Luke 20:9-19

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

Some people never grasp a new thing; they simply don't know what to do when confronted with a new idea, concept or invention they have never been exposed to before. This may have been one of Jesus' main problems with the people of his day. A number of years ago, as the story goes, oil was discovered on some Oklahoma property that belonged to an old Native American. All of his life, the man had been poor, but the discovery of oil made him a very wealthy man. And one of the first things he did was buy ...

963. What It Takes To Be A Winner

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

This text for the fifth Sunday of Epiphany is probably the most sublime passage of Scripture in the Old Testament. It is the poetic description of the soaring of eagles. The Jewish people were in exile and it is likely that every one of them had looked up at the sky, seen eagles soaring, and cried out in their souls to the Lord to give them the freedom of the eagles. They were beginning to doubt that God cared for them. They desperately needed assurance that God was still in charge and that he cared about ...

964. Too Good To Be True

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

Jim was 16 years old. He'd only been driving for six months, but already his parents had paid the fines for two tickets that Jim had received for speeding. On the day that Jim's parents received a notice from their insurance company telling them that the cost of their automobile policy had been increased, they told Jim that they needed to talk. After supper, Jim and his parents sat at the kitchen table. It was a serious gathering. His mother began, "We seem to have a problem here. We know you want to be ...

965. Divine Naivet

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

If you ask a child for his favorite Christmas carol, you'd better be ready! He just might say, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Well, you do know it, don't you? You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, checking it twice, Gonna find out who's naughty or nice Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows when you've been sleepin' He knows when you're awake He knows when you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake. ...

966. When Life Doesn't Go According To Plan

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The letter came from a college senior working as a student counselor in a dormitory at a distant university. "Dear Mom," she began. "During my growing up years, few things irritated me as much as your attempts to quiet my righteous indignation by telling me that life is not fair. I swore I would never say that to my children. However, in my work with distressed college students, I find myself telling them the same thing. I still rail at life's inherent injustices, but I have learned I had best accept that ...

967. Called To Serve

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

A recent poll asked participants to describe themselves. Individuals were requested to list five ways in which they identify themselves. From Jesus' description of the scribes and Pharisees in our gospel lesson today, we can just about guess how those religious leaders would have answered such a poll. They probably would have described themselves by saying, "I'm a rabbi, a teacher, a father of the faith, a guardian of our traditions, and a scholar of God's word." Each of these titles demanded a great deal ...

968. Sowers Of The Seed

Psalm 119:1-176, Romans 8:1-17, Genesis 25:19-34, Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

This parable is titled "The Sower." That puts the emphasis on the person who preaches or teaches the word. Yet the parable does not do much in the way of describing the characteristics of the sower. In this particular instance one would suppose that Jesus implies that he is the sower. If we choose to emphasize this aspect of the parable, then we might concentrate on the question of how the contemporary sower corresponds to Jesus as the one who proclaims the message. We might also call this parable "The ...

969. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 13:17--14:31, Psalm 114:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Unlimited Forgiveness The parable uses the analogy of a reverse comparison. On the one hand a huge, almost inconceivable debt is forgiven. The amount of the debt of the first character in the parable is staggering. To the person hearing the parable it would be scarcely possible to imagine a debt so monumental, perhaps as hard as to try to imagine today the size of the national debt in the United States. The second character has a relatively trivial debt. It is more the size one might run up on a credit ...

970. Easter Sunday

John 20:1-9

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Glory and honor, dominion and power be to God for ever and ever. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Invocation God of life, the women came to the tomb on the first day of the week, hands laden with the spices of sadness. So we come this morning, hearts broken by the sin of the world. You met them in resurrection power, and sent them running down the path to tell others that the tomb was empty. Meet us this morning in our songs and story, in scripture and ...

971. Maundy Thursday Service

1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:1-17

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Bulletins For The Examination Service And The Love Feast (Agape Meal) The texts for two bulletins are provided. The first is for the Examination Service, which will take place in the sanctuary, and the Feetwashing, which will take place in a different room. Individuals may take this bulletin with them from one room to the other. The second bulletin for the Lord's Supper is to be laid out with the plates on the tables where the Agape Meal or Love Feast will take place. Most Christian book stores will have ...

972. Words, Words, Word

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Alex Gondola

Let me begin by reading a few announcements from church bulletins. These are actual announcements. I hasten to add that none of them appeared in our church bulletin. One read: "This being Easter, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar." Another: "Thursday night Pot Luck Supper. Prayer and medication to follow." Still another: "This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends." And: "Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ...

973. Wedding: Gift Of God (for a couple with a baby)

1 John 4:7-21

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

Listen to these words of Scripture from the First Letter of John, chapter 4, verses 7-12 (TEV): Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are ...

974. Every Shot I Ever Hit

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

Do this in remembrance of me. -- 1 Corinthians 11:24b Two old friends were playing a round together. One of them was taking an especially long time to tee off -- checking the wind, checking his grip, measuring the distance, changing his stance, fiddling around with the tee, looking up, looking down, looking all around, and then starting the routine all over again whenever distracted by a car, chirping bird, flowing stream, or his friend's breathing. Finally, his exasperated friend screamed, "What's taking ...

975. The Half Pencil Doctor

1 John 3:11-24

Sermon

David O. Bales

Since his dying father placed a hand on his and asked that his ashes be taken to Bloomfield, Iowa, and while there an envelope be delivered to a Doctor Francis Casparis, Roger decided that he had better do it. His father had said, "I have metastatic cancer, and I will be dead within a week." And his father insisted that the envelope go to Iowa with his remains. His father said that Doctor Casparis had saved his life and that the doctor would tell Roger about it, and would help him also. Roger Leeth stood ...

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