Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1001 to 1025 of 1679 results

1001. Heart of a Pelican

Matthew 17:24-27, Exodus 30:11-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s football season! Whether or not you are a fan of the game of football, you can’t help getting swept up in some of the hype of this great American sport! We love the excitement on people’s faces, as they get ready to watch the game. We love the crowds, the food, the energy of the game. Many of you are rooting for one or the other of the teams on the ticket. Some of you will gather with friends in front of the television. Some of you may even go to the Super Bowl. Has anyone here this morning ever been ...

1002. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

The Shadow: Fixation Introduction In one of his classic comedy routines Victor Borge sits down at the piano and says to the audience: "Pardon my back. Pardon my front ... But that's the way I'm built!" Every coin has two sides. Our body has a front and a back. And every body casts a shadow. These facts are neither good nor bad in themselves. They are just facts of life. To say, with psychologist Carl Jung, that every person has a shadow side, a "not-so-nice" side to their personality, is not necessarily to ...

1003. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Patrick Greene was known by his neighbors in Henderson County, Texas as a professed atheist. He was notorious for threatening to sue Henderson County each year over the courthouse manger scene at Christmas time. The reason? Greene says his experience with Christians through the years was of narrow-minded individuals who treated him unkindly. “My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us,” Greene said. “Just the opposite.” That changed when the 63-year-old Greene learned he had a detached ...

1004. The Rabbi's Apprentice

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 1797, prominent German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a poem called “Der Zauberlehrling,” in which an apprentice of a master sorcerer is left alone with chores to do. Invoking magic that he was not yet properly trained to use, the apprentice commanded a bucket and broom to do his work. Because he could not properly control them, everything got quickly out of hand, and chaos ensued. Finally, the master returned and restored order to the mess. Walt Disney famously employed the plot of the poem in ...

1005. Abba! Father!

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

Ron Love

Joseph Mohr, a 24-year-old Austrian priest, believed he needed to instill peace and hope into the lives of his troubled and bewildered parishioners. The year was 1816, just a year after the army of Napoleon destroyed their city and countryside. The salt trade, on whose livelihood the town survived, was savagely disrupted from the fighting. The salt trade was so important to the economy that the regions capital was named Salzburg, which means “Salt City.” Mohr was an accomplished musician and he penned a ...

1006. Joy

Luke 2:1-11 · Isaiah 9:2-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

"I bring you good news of great joy for all people: to you is born this day...a Savior,..." Church doesn't get much more joyful than this; Christmas Day, and on a Sunday. All of today's scriptures speak of joy, as well as the hymns. "Joy To the World." Joy can be a challenge in church. On most Sundays, church tends to overdo the imperative, filling the air with "should," "ought," and "must." Do this, don't do that. You come to church feeling fairly good about yourself, about the world; we'll fix that. ...

1007. The Transformative Power of God

1 John 1:1--2:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The resident bishop at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, who was known to be a great evangelist, reaching out to cynics, unbelievers and scoffers, told the following story. It seems that years ago there was a young man who would daily stand outside the cathedral and shout terrible words and derogatory slogans against God, the church, and anyone who entered the cathedral. He would call these people fools and all sorts of other names. People tried to ignore the man, but it was rather difficult. One day ...

1008. The Sign of the Serpent’s Tree

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Signs of the Holy Spirit are not just stuff of Pentecost. God’s Spirit has been “with” God’s people since the beginning of human life when God breathed into us God’s spirit of awareness. From there, God has dwelled with patriarchs and prophets, kings and priests until God sent God’s only Son, God’s own Spirit, to move us and redeem us into restored relationship with God. Why restoration? It has to do with that blessed tree. The tree of Life. The serpent’s tree. Both and the same. The forbidden tree, the ...

1009. King of Nobody’s Castle

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“You are the King of nobody’s castle.” That’s what a woman named Delores used to say to her husband when he became demanding and moody. Ralph could be a nice enough guy sometimes, particularly to his buddies down at the shop or at the bar; but other times, particularly to Delores, he could be downright ornery and mean. Today was one of those days when he wasn’t happy with anything. Ralph was a guy who felt the world owed him something better. Although he had a job, a home, and a wife, he wasn’t happy with ...

1010. Feed My Sheep

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I used to have this great old guitar. It was a “Harmony F-Hole, which was a copy of a much more expensive model, and it was old. I liked it, a lot. It had accompanied me on my many excursions into cafés and coffeehouses. It thumped around in the back of my old Subaru to church outings and late night jam sessions. It was, well, familiar. The varnish was all worn off on the neck and it was scratched and well-used. Again, I liked it. I liked it a lot. Then one day, against my better judgment, I lent it to a ...

1011. How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Most of us choose to attend a church or a Bible study or a small group because we feel good there. We feel the presence of the Lord. We feel cared for. And yet, in almost every Christian gathering, there is a moment that strikes fear in every person’s heart. No, it’s not when we pass the offering plate. It’s when someone says, “Is there anyone who would like to pray? I’m just going to open us up with prayer, and then each one of you offer up a prayer as you feel led.” For some of us, it is terrifying! You ...

1012. No Other Gods

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever thrown something away and later regretted it? I read a news report recently about a grand piano that was going up for auction. This piano once belonged to John Lennon, the lead singer and songwriter for the Beatles. Before his death, he gave it to a friend. The friend loaned the piano to a local school. Someone at the school—who obviously didn’t know the piano’s famous first owner—sold it off with a bunch of old pianos for a grand total of $3,000. Fortunately, someone realized the piano’s ...

1013. “The Words of the Lord Are Flawless, Like Silver Purified in a Crucible”

Psalm 12:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In a society where lies and falsehood constitute the “ethical norm,” God’s flawless words reset the standard and are of a seamless piece with God’s character. Understanding the Text Psalm 12 has features of an individual lament (12:1–2), the cause of the lament clearly being the depletion of the righteous and the occupation of society by liars and deceivers. Psalm 12 fills out the picture of the scenario outlined in Psalm 11: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” ...

1014. Love Your Enemies--It Will Drive Them Crazy

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

It takes a steady hand to carry a full glass of water. It takes an even steadier heart to carry forgiveness to one who holds you in opposition. In the Old Testament I like the story of Joseph, particularly its outcome. Joseph is the favored one. The older brothers say, "Dad always liked you best." In this case it was true. The brothers go out and fake Joseph's death. They bring back some bloodied clothes and say to their father, "He is dead." In actuality they have sold him into slavery in Egypt. Time ...

1015. Proper 6

Luke 7:36-50, Galatians 2:11-21, 1 Kings 21:1-29, Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Forgiving Debts Two of the most difficult practices which emerge in Jesus' ministry are forgiveness and gratitude. A frequent charge against Jesus was that he preempted the prerogative of God when he presumed to forgive sins. It is difficult to know which is harder to do: to forgive another or to forgive oneself. Lavish expressions of gratitude for acts of forgiveness are rare. Persons do not like to admit their indebtedness. If we owe someone gratitude for something that he has done for us, we feel ...

1016. The Giver Becomes The Receiver

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The text for today lifts before us Yahweh's choice of the family of David as the vehicle for God's divine gift to humankind. Yet the message marked a transition in David's status. According to the passage, David wanted to build Yahweh a "house." He proposed to do what all self-serving rulers in that ancient world would have done. Much of Israel's worship life was well established at that point. The tent which housed the Ark of the Covenant was a recognized institution. A conviction began to emerge that God ...

1017. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Fruitful Vine What is a preacher to make of a parable or extended allegory about a vine in an urban and industrial culture? If you are living in a small town or a rural area, people might know something about growing grapes. They might know about the need to prune back old growth since the grapes only form on the new growth. But how many in a large city would know about cultivating a grape vine so that it produces a good crop? For them grapes are something you buy in the produce section of the ...

1018. Seeds And The Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

At this writing the U.S. House of Representatives has just completed its 100 days of legislation on the so-called Contract with America. It was an effort to change quickly a process which was at work through several decades. Some analysts criticize the legislation for having been put together too hastily. It was driven by a desire to demonstrate instant results. The probability is that the legislation will move through the Senate with more "deliberate speed." The Senate will look more closely to discern ...

1019. Week Four Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week FourIsaiah 65:17-21John 4:43-54 God Restores Hope In 1935 Bill W. and Dr. Bob lived on the fringes of society. They were drunks spending their nights and many days drinking away the cares of life. Both men needed someone who could help them to regain their dignity and self-worth. They found that special person in each other. The story of the sobriety and recovery to productivity of these two men is the story of the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an international organization which ...

1020. Week One Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week OneLeviticus 19:1-2, 11-18Matthew 25:31-46 Be Holy As Is God We all know that God is divine. This is how we define God. But how does one define divinity? One might say that divinity means omniscience and omnipotence. These are both proper descriptions, possibly even definitions of divinity, but how can a human relate to these things? We know so many things that are more powerful than we and so many people who are more intelligent than ourselves. Maybe we can imagine the divinity of God as all ...

1021. Second Thoughts

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Sooner or later the spiritual journey we make as followers of Jesus Christ leads us to a Jericho Road. The Jerusalem-Jericho Road of Jesus' day was the scene of one of the most compelling stories our Lord ever told. To this day, the actual road is little more than a strip of rocky terrain which leads us from Jerusalem south to the village of Jericho. What is remarkable is that in just 15 miles, the elevation drops from 2,400 feet above sea level to 1,400 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. (I will always ...

1022. The Potter Almighty

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

"I believe in God the potter almighty, maker of heaven and earth." That's the beginning of The Apostles' Creed, as Jeremiah might have written it: I believe in God who has created heaven and earth, and you, and me, like a potter at work at a potter's wheel. That's a biblical image that still makes sense for you and me. At craft shows, in art classes, in hobby shops, you can still find a potter's wheel. And you can take classes in making pottery. If you do, you'll find that these days the potter's wheel has ...

1023. Be Charitable In Your Judgment

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon

Richard Hasler

A few years ago fires ravaged hundreds of homes in the Oakland, California, area. Sometimes a single house would be spared, standing alone amidst the burned wreckage of homes surrounding it. In the front of one such house which had been saved the owners erected a huge sign: "Thank You, Jesus." Upon seeing the sign one child said to his parents, "Jesus must hate us. Our house got burned."1 Of course, we would be grateful if our house had been one of the fortunate ones in the midst of the raging fire, but ...

1024. Don't Sell Your Inheritance for Cabbage Soup

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Paul, the greatest missionary of the Christian era, once remarked that God doesn't always use the wisest, strongest and most moral people to bring his message. Instead God uses the foolish, the weak and the lowly -- just to prove a point (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). That truth certainly holds when it comes to those chosen by God as the patriarchs of ancient Israel. Consider our scripture lesson for this morning which concerns the brothers Jacob and Esau, children of Isaac. With very little reading between the ...

1025. Prayers for Epiphany

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

Epiphany We wonder, our heavenly Ruler, about the three wise men who brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child, some months or years after his birth. What a presence they must have made in Bethlehem. Did the commonplace appearance of the Holy Family's home cause them to think they might have come to the wrong place? Did they wonder about the plainness of the friends of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus? Perhaps they stepped outside their abode to recheck the position of the guiding star. Did these ...

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