Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 76 to 100 of 341 results

76. The Impossibility of Neutrality

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Robert Allen

... store. As I drove by the large garbage canister, I saw some movement in the shadows. I slowed down and looked a little closer. There was a woman and two small children -- the oldest not more than 10 or 11 years old. They were scavenging for discarded canned goods in that garbage dumpster. These people were hungry and searching for food. These people did not live in some third world country. These people were right here in the state of Oklahoma. These people were right here in our own community. I believe ...

77. An Empty Tomb

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Robert Allen

... egg, Amy?" Amy looked at her teacher and said, "It's empty because the tomb of Jesus is empty." The message of that first Easter is a message that has echoed across the centuries -- the tomb is empty. There is nothing inside except the discarded grave clothes lying there, mute but eloquent evidence that a living organism had come out. The grave clothes lay like the shriveled, cracked shell of a cocoon, left behind when the butterfly had emerged and hoisted its beautiful wings to fly in the sunshine. Jesus ...

78. Let Me See Your Hands

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Robert Allen

... that you want, look at my hands, touch the wounds and stop your doubting." Thomas looked at the hands and knew that action was needed. Instead of touching the wounds, Thomas fell to the ground and said, "My Lord and my God." Sometimes, you have to discard your doubts and act on faith. You may have some lingering doubts. You may have some unanswered questions. You may have some things which will remain a mystery. But, like Thomas, we sometimes reach that point where we need to translate our doubts into acts ...

79. The Bridge

John 1:1-18, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

H. J. Hizer

... , failures, and flops. When will you get it wrong? It's not me you're to torment but the humans! Curse the day I was born -- I wish I were dead! Two: But you are dead, Lowliness. One: Ohhh -- that's bad. Two: No, -- no, that's good. [Discard comes sneaking in on hands and knees.] Five: By the bubbling Cauldrons of all that's unholy -- Discord -- where in hell have you been? Four: Warming myself by the eternal flames, you Lowliness -- it was cold on that hill over Bethlehem. Five: It will be an even colder ...

80. The Same New Jesus

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... . Perhaps, this is due to the fact that Ascension is tucked away on a weekday and we are Sunday-only worshipers. It may be that our neglect of the Ascension story is due to the fact that it is dependent on a world view which we have long ago discarded. The idea that Jesus ascended, like a rocket launched into outer space, and landed on a celestial satellite - a space station in the sky called heaven - and that Christ sits there in a chair at the right hand of God, is just too fantastic for us to believe. A ...

81. Faith Bridges the Gap

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

... out to the desert, sit down, and slowly slip away into death. The Arab children would run around them as they played in the sand, almost oblivious to the death that was soon to occur; they had seen it many times while they were young. And the old, discarded slaves would be swallowed up by the sands - almost naturally - as they ended their days of servitude and were finally released forever in death. It was not to be that way with the centurion’s slave in Capernaum. He was not going to be turned out, for ...

82. The Man Who Didn’t Care

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

... there by someone else. His name was Lazarus (in Hebrew, "Eleazar"), meaning "he whom God helps." Such was his poverty that his rags could not cover his ulcerated body. When dogs came and bothered him, he had no strength to drive them away. He begged for the discarded pieces of bread the diners had used as napkins to wipe their hands and mouths. Lazarus died. There is no mention of his burial; perhaps it was in some potter’s field. When Dives died, Jesus says he was "buried." Perhaps it was a first class ...

83. Formula for Life

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

... ? How vigorously have we been consciously seeking a meaningful relationship with God? At what points, and by what practices, do we deliberately try to bring God and his will into the focus of our attention? Are we, for example, using, or have we discarded, such traditional practices as Bible reading, prayer, grace at mealtime, and regular attendance at public worship? Without these, have we found new and better, or more helpful, ways to seek and know God? Or is God simply relegated to the shadowy boundaries ...

84. Counsel for Discouraged Disciples

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

... made a killer for World War II. Though he was not physically injured, he was effectively destroyed. Through all the years since he has been staring vacantly into unknowing nothingness within the walls of one of the institutions where we store our social discards. There was the little twelve-year-old black girl who hanged herself in the closet of a shabby home in the inner city. Unloved, abused, exploited, she had had enough years to explore the depths of despair. A disturbed Jewish university student also ...

85. If Only We Could Remember ...

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... that a more exciting life can be found elsewhere. So she seeks entertainment without discrimination. She grows tired of her obligations, her responsibilities, her promises. She gives her allegiance to other men, men who use her and who, when they have finished using her, discard her. She goes from lover to lover, from allegiance to allegiance. Hosea pleads with Gomer to give up her adulterous ways and come home. He sends the children to plead with their mother. But she sends word back to him: "I will go ...

86. The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... desert him now in this last hour of need, even when all the noble hopes were dashed. The little band of women made their way through the streets and out to the edge of the city to the public dump, where the dirty business of death was done and society discarded its social misfits, along with the rest of its garbage and waste. Her tears must have been not only of grief for Jesus, whom she had loved and served, but grief for all the fond hopes of the kingdom that would never be, a kingdom where her sons might ...

87. The Fourth Sunday of Easter

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Kendall K. McCabe

... know how to hold A sheep-hook, or have learned aught else the least That to the faithful herdman's art belongs! The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed ... If this is all we mean by "apostolic ministry," then we can discard it as another invasion of superstition into religion, but "apostolic succession" and "apostolic ministry" have a more profound meaning than simply a right to a branch on the clerical family tree. When the term "apostolic succession" was first used, it referred to the genuineness ...

88. Easter 5

Jn 13:31-35 · Acts 13:44-52; 14:8-18; 21-27 · Rev 21:1-5

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... on the second Sunday of May which is Mother's Day, the church year should take precedence over a secular observance. However, people expect the sermon to deal with Mother's Day in terms of the family. It would be as bad to ignore Mother's Day as to discard the lessons for Easter 5. Mother's Day gives the preacher an appropriate time to bring a message on the Christian home at a time when the home is fast disintegrating. The lections and theme of the day can happily be applied to Mother's Day without doing ...

89. Proper 15

Lk 12:49-56 · Jer 20:7-13; 23:23-29; 38:4-10

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... basis of a long list of people of faith in chapter 11, the author of Hebrews calls upon us to run the race of faith. The faithful of the past surround us as we persevere in the race to encourage us. Like runners who wear minimum clothing, we are to discard the clothing of sin. As athletes run toward a goal or finish line, we are to look to Jesus as our model of faith. This calls for self-discipline in order to attain holiness, for an immoral person, like Esau, has no chance to repent. Luke 12:49-56 Jesus ...

90. The Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1-20 · Isa 9:2-7 · Tit 2:11-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... for business, for fun, and for government, but not for Christ. 3. Joy (v. 10). Christmas is a happy time in terms of the world's happiness: parties, drinks, banquets, gifts, and friends. This is the happiness that withers with the Christmas tree which is discarded soon after Christmas day. Joy is different from happiness. It is deeper because it is based on good news: a Savior is born to save us from our sins. It is a joy that remains long after the Christmas celebration is over. For this reason people ...

91. The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Lk 9:28-36 · 2 Cor 3:12--4:6 · Ex 34:29-35 · Deut 34:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... the Spirit" when the Trinity has three persons, each distinct and separate from the other? 2. Open (v. 2). In applying the truth that there is no veil over the minds and hearts of those in Christ, Paul says that his preaching of the gospel is "open." He discarded all craftiness, underhandedness, and tampering with the Word of God. There is no hiddenness nor secretiveness. It is an open Bible for all to see and know the whole truth of God. Lesson 2: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 1. Veiled (v. 3). Even in our day many ...

92. Lent 5

Jn 8:1-11; 12:1-8 · Lk 20:9-19 · Isa 43:16-21 · Php 3:8-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... requirement. 2. Laws, within and without the church, can kill both people and the spirit oflife, love and creativity among us. 3. Laws are made for God's people, not people for God's laws. B. Laws Can Liberate Us 1. Having rescued the woman, Jesus did not discard the law: he asked her to "sin no more." 2. b. Once we have life in Christ, we need to "let die" that which rebels against God (lest the life in Christ itself die). 3. Laws, when rightly used and understood, uplift and enliven human life rather than ...

93. First Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4:1-11, Romans 5:12-21, Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25

Bulletin Aid

... by the redemptive forgiveness of God's love for his children! Collect O Loving Father, whose divine nature has come to man in the gift of your Son, redeeming our sinful nature: Clothe us with the nature of Christ; that we may grow in his likeness, and discard our likeness to Adam. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession There is a struggle within us, Father, and we need your help. We sin so easily with the nature of Adam; but we are not happy as sinners. Forgive us for our likeness ...

94. Pentecost’s Promises Judith Ann Cobb

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

... I am the last; Besides Me there is no god." (Isaiah 44:6) We are a people who love promises. We listen for them; we seek them out; and we save them up, but we do not trust them. We buy appliances with guarantees. Yet more often than not, we discard the guarantee with the box. We know that the appliance will not be permanent and that there will probably be a loophole in the guarantee. Our life is filled with implicit promises. If you work hard, you will be a success. Yet, many who work hard stand in food ...

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

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

... forest fire had swept the area and destroyed countless acres of forestland. One could hardly drive through the area without wondering, "What do you suppose started that terrible fire?" And we remember the repeated warnings we know so well - a single match, carelessly discarded, can start a forest fire. Sometimes we look at our lives and say, "My life doesn’t count for much." Then we remember the single match that wiped out a vast area of mountain beauty and valuable timberland. A Christian witness of "one ...

96. One Commandment is Enough!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... sharply honed it still retains a freshness and perfection that brooks no competition or amending. The Ten Commandments would not win a popularity contest today, but their intermingling of morality and religion is still the authoritative requirement of God. We have tried to discard them and ignore them, but they keep coming back. We decide to do our own thing and break these rules, only to find we are broken by our disobedience. Every game must have rules, and life is no exception. No one can escape controls ...

97. Miracle In the Bethlehem Inn

Drama

... miracle! Carol "Joy To The World" Benediction Costumes Joshua and his family are dressed as typical Hebrew peasants in the time of Jesus. Use bathrobes and towels for headdresses for the men and sheets or robes with shawls and scarves for the women. Headdress is discarded for scenes after they arrive at the inn except the last scene when they go to the stable. Aaron, the innkeeper can also have a bathrobe, but maybe a little fancier. No headdress is needed since he is mostly indoors. Marcus and his family ...

98. Growing in God's Freedom

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... human toe. Now and then you may see bigger crabs, in deeper, safer pools. With great majesty they wave their huge claws as a warning to stay clear. On the beach, shells of crabs lie washed up by the waves. Some are from crabs that died. Others are simply discarded, a dwelling too small for its growing occupant. That's how crabs grow bigger -- when their shells get too tight, they split the shell open and grow a new one.5 I've never talked to a crab. But I imagine the process of splitting open a shell must ...

99. The Life We Prize

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

Various Authors

... enrichment seminar at Covenant, I had accepted the assignment of putting the garbage out two nights a week. I went from bedroom to bedroom emptying the waste baskets and then dug the hair out of the bathroom sink drain, crawling under the kitchen table to get a discarded gum wrapper. Finally I got all that lovely stuff collected and out to the curb. By then the evening was over; I had not played a game of checkers or anything else that I wanted to do. It would have been easier to have worked in my office ...

100. Lent 5

Psalm 116:1-19, John 11:38-44, John 11:17-37, John 11:1-16, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon Aid

... bones." Some entire skeletons are vested in the habit of the Capuchins, seemingly keeping silent watch over the collection of bones; others are arranged in symmetrical patterns, and still others are placed in piles of skulls and other bones that seem almost to have been discarded. Their message: the bones will rise again, when God opens the graves of all people. 2. He will do this as certainly as he brought the children of Israel back from their captivity in Babylon. It is one thing to gain the release of a ...

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