Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1001 to 1025 of 2273 results

1001. John Was not like Gene

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

As the people misunderstood the authentic John the Baptist of history ("What did you go into the forest to see?"), people may misunderstand him now. So suggests this sermon. Because John the Baptist may appear today in clothing other than that of camel’s hair, John’s message may appear in different forms. To illuminate a common distortion of the figure of John the Baptist, the sermon uses a childhood experience, which also captures the listener’s attention. The sermon refers to this experience throughout ...

1002. A King - A Kingdom

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world ..." (v.37) Who is this Jesus? Shakespeare said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."1 In Revelation we are told Jesus is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (19:16). Still we ask, "Who is he?" One of the essential, significant elements of our Christian faith is the concept of the Kingdom of God. We pray daily, "Thy kingdom come." As disciples we live in light of that kingdom as a reality. Indeed ...

1003. Work (Labor Day)

Genesis 1:1 - 2:25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A Christian Understanding of Work...an appropriate topic for a Labor Day weekend. If most Christians were asked for their understanding of work, they probably would say WE OUGHTA. Those words we just read from Genesis are clear in saying that, from the very beginning, God planned for us to work: work was a part of God's good creation. Martin Luther said, "God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest." Our society can buy that. Kennan Wilson, the founder of the Holiday Inn chain ...

1004. Tragedy and Triumph

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I am sure you have been hearing the reports coming from western India these past few days. Horrible earthquake, the worst in that nation in 50 years - 7.9 on the Richter scale, strong enough to be felt 1,200 miles away in Calcutta and Bangladesh, both well acquainted with tragedy themselves. Funeral pyres lit the night sky Saturday and officials said the rapidly rising death toll could reach 15,000.(1) Who knows how many more injured. It is terrible. In the midst of those reports you may have also heard a ...

1005. "If I But Touch..."

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Happy ending. Two wonderful healing stories, one sandwiched in the middle of the other. First, we hear about the little girl, Jairus' daughter. Word had spread that this itinerant rabbi from Nazareth who reportedly had incredible healing powers had arrived in town. Enter Jairus, one of the high muckety-mucks in the local synagogue who happens to be the father of a VERY sick child. Ordinarily, we would not expect Jairus to have anything to do with Jesus, period - after all, the leaders of other synagogues ...

1006. Preparing for the Unexpected

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

King Duncan

Joe Claro tells a great story about the making of one of Cecil B. DeMille's epic films. The film was a biblical extravaganza with a cast of thousands. Normally, movies are filmed in tiny pieces, but this day's scene was going to be shot live, with all six hundred or so actors and extras going into action at once. DeMille had stationed eleven cameras at various points to pick up the action. They had started work at six in the morning and the complete scene had been rehearsed four times. After each rehearsal ...

1007. Gambling On God

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a ridiculous story about a hunter named Ned who bet another hunter named Fred that he could leave the cabin, go out into the woods and come back within the hour with a bearskin. They bet $10, and Ned went off into the forest. The hour passed quickly. No Ned. Two hours went by ” nothing. Three hours later, a loud pounding on the door of the cabin was heard. Fred opened the door, and there was an enormous brown bear standing there. "Your name Fred?" asked the bear. "Why . . . yes," stammered the ...

1008. Peace

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite PEANUTS cartoons has Lucy coming to Charlie Brown and saying, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. Since it’s this time of the season, I think we ought to bury past differences and try to be kind." Charlie Brown asks, "Why does it just have to be this time of the season? Why can’t it be all year long?" Lucy looks at him and exclaims, "What are you, some kind of fanatic?" One more Peanuts bit of wisdom. Lucy has a score to settle with Charlie Brown. She chases him, shouting, "I’ll get you, ...

1009. The Deeper Meaning Of Christmas

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has said that the three phrases that best sum up the Christmas season are: "Peace on Earth," "Good will to men," and "Batteries not included." Some of you who are parents of small children know the meaning of this statement. I trust that you had a most joyous and meaningful Christmas at your house. Soon the lights and holiday greenery will be coming down and this Christmas will be simply a warm memory. Before it slips away from us, however, we need to spend a few moments savoring the deeper meaning ...

1010. What In The World Are We Doing Here?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

The story is told about a concert held in Philadelphia, PA. One of the pieces played by the orchestra featured a flute solo. This solo was to be played offstage so that it would sound as if coming from a great distance. The conductor had instructed the flutist to count the measures precisely in order to come in at the exact time. After all, with the flutist offstage, there could be no visual contact between the two of them. On the night of the performance, when the time came for the flute solo, the flutist ...

1011. Follow that Dream

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1872, at the age of 16, Booker T. Washington decided he wanted to go to school. For a boy, born a slave to a plantation cook in Virginia, who had no idea who his white father was, this was a huge step. He decided that he would enter the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. With nothing more than a small satchel of clothing, he started walking from Malden, West Virginia, 500 miles away. Eventually he made it to Richmond, about eighty miles from his destination. He worked there for a few days unloading ...

1012. A Strategy For Status Seekers

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus was a master psychologist. He knew that all of us crave recognition. He knew that the desire for status is an innate part of the human condition. Most of us don’t want to simply keep up with the Jones we want to be slightly ahead of the Jones, the Smiths and everyone else on the block. There is a popular joke about a fellow named Pat who always wanted a telephone in his car. Finally he got one. He couldn’t wait to tell his best friend Mike. Mike was green with envy. That very day he ordered a ...

1013. Strong Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

During the winter of 1940 Josephine Kuntz’ husband, a house painter and textile worker, was temporarily unemployed because of the weather and a seasonal lay-off. It was a difficult time for the family. They literally had no money. Their eighteen-month-old daughter, Rachel, was recovering from pneumonia and wasn’t doing well. The doctor insisted Rachel eat a boiled egg each day, but even that was beyond their means. "Why not pray for an egg?" suggested a young friend. They were a churchgoing family, but the ...

1014. A Star And A Dream

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Kuralt travels across the United States learning about people. Recently he visited the mountains of North Carolina. Kuralt claims that mountain people know a lot of things the rest of us have forgotten. For example, at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve the mountain people he visited open their windows. That's to let bad luck out and good luck in. On New Year's Day they eat black-eyed peas for dinner. That's also for good luck. Don't worry if you forgot. Simply look for a red-haired girl ...

1015. Where Are Your Chickens?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, a pastor named Harry told about an unusual mission from God. He always began his mornings with prayer. One morning during his prayer time, Harry felt that God was leading him to fulfill a very specific mission: to buy twelve barbecued chickens. Harry didn't know what God wanted him to do with the barbecued chickens, so he drove around town praying and asking God to lead him to people who needed food. He sensed God leading him to five different homes in different parts of town. In one home ...

1016. Tevye's Question

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Many of you are familiar with the Broadway musical, Fiddler On The Roof. It is a touching story about a deeply devout middle-aged Jewish man named Tevye and his wife Golde (pronounced Golda). They live in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their lives are hard, but filled with devotion. A complicating factor in their lives is that they have all daughters. Finding proper matches for their daughters is a major theme in the musical. This is in a community in which marriages are arranged by the ...

1017. Who's Your Daddy?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

(Father's Day) Comedian Johnny Carson said his son gave him a paper which read, "To the man who has inspired me with his fatherly wisdom." Carson said, "Son I didn't know you felt that way about me." His son said, "I don't, can you fax this to Bill Cosby?" Fathers have a hard times nowadays getting respect. Maybe there's a reason for that. Many Dads in our society disappear. And, sad to say, others stay around who perhaps should disappear. Actress Suzanne Sommers has earned a new reputation in the show biz ...

1018. Sympathizing With The One Talent Man

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A number of years ago many church youth groups across the country became enchanted with the idea of kissing frogs. Now, parents, don't be alarmed. This wasn't anything like rock star Ozzie Osborne's stunt of biting heads off of bats. In fact, kissing frogs was one of the healthiest ideas to come along in a long time. The idea, of course, was based on the ancient fairy tale of a handsome prince who had been turned into an ugly frog by a mean witch. The only way he could be turned back into himself was if a ...

1019. Only the Neighbors’ Kid

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In his excellent little book, How Can It be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?, Professor Lew Smedes says that one source of our salvation is to cultivate a sense of wonder. He reminds us that Jesus was a source of wonder to all who came into contact with Him, from the humble shepherds who were struck with wonder at the sight of blazing angels sashaying around the Judean hills to the Wise Men from the East who came and laid their gifts at Jesus’ feet and wondered. All His life Jesus made people wonder ...

1020. On Talking to Oneself

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Henri Nouwen, in his book “Reaching Out,” says: “While visiting the University of Notre Dame, where I had been a teacher for a few years, I met an older experienced professor who had spent most of his life there. And while we strolled over the beautiful campus, he said with a certain melancholy in his voice, ‘You know....my whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.’” (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out, Garden City., N.Y ...

1021. The Unfinished Story

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I am indebted to my son-in-law, the Rev. Frank Lyman, pastor of Lake Harbor United Methodist Church in Muskegon for my opening story. It seems that there was an unusual story on radio station WGN awhile back. A fellow sat down and ate 874 Walleye minnows at one sitting. That’s a lot of Walleye minnows! Why did he do such a strange thing? Because earlier in his life he had sat down and eaten 862 Walleye minnows and his accomplishment was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. So he set out to break ...

1022. Grace in the Midst of Unanswered Prayer

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

No one ever really prepares you for your first theological bull session. Usually it arrives without fanfare or advance warning. Usually it happens long before you enter the relative clear-headedness of your adult years, or before you take that philosophy course in college. Usually it happens when you're a junior high school student, up late with friends at a sleepover, or camping out in somebody's backyard. There's just something about a smoky fire and charred food and stars out overhead that turns twelve- ...

1023. Martyrs, Monsters, and Miracles

Acts 9:19b-31

Sermon

King Duncan

"Mr. Hoess was a loving husband and father, and a devout member of his church. His five children respected and adored him. He was also a business leader. He had grown prosperous as a farmer, largely because of his administrative skills. One of his acquaintances in the government took note of how he managed his farming business. He was offered a post in the government, where he proved himself very capable. This led to a series of promotions, and Mr. Hoess rose rapidly in a series of government offices. "Mr ...

1024. A Life Hidden With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I've told you this story before, but it's been a long time. And even if it had not been, it's the most appropriate story I know to introduce our theme for today. It's the story of one of my most meaningful experiences. I have a friend who is a Benedictine monk. The way we live out our lives is vastly different, but I feel a real kinship, a oneness of spirit with Brother Sam. One of the most meaningful memories, to which I return often in my mind, is an evening he and I spent together alone, sharing our ...

1025. Count It All Joy

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Today we begin a new series of sermons on the Epistle of James. If I were to give a subtitle to this epistle, I would call it "A Manual of Practical Christianity." All of us should be able to identify with the thought. We are always asking that everything be made practical. Speakers are admonished to use the "kiss principle": "Keep it simple, stupid." There is a sense in which the Epistle of James is a "how to" book, and any bookstore has a large section of such books, from How To Build a Patio to How to ...

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