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 1026 to 1050 of 2273 results

1026. A Rod For The Back Of Fools

Proverbs 25:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom, a collection of pithy expressions of practical advise. As I am contending in the theme for this sermon series, it is a compendium of guidance for daily living. Because it is a book of wisdom, it shouldn't surprise us that a lot is said about fools and foolishness. The word fool as singular or plural appears at least fifty five times in the book, and foolish or foolishness at least twenty one times. In this 26th chapter from which we have read our text, fool and ...

1027. We Can't Afford It! Oh, Really?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

One Saturday Ken Erickson’s wife cleaned out leftovers from the refrigerator. She gave the one remaining portion of tortellini to their 6-year-old son, Jeremy. Their 8-year-old son, Matthew, also wanted some, so bickering ensued. After several unsuccessful attempts to mediate the dispute, Ken decided on a theological approach. Hoping to convince Jeremy to share his portion with Matthew, he said, “Jeremy, what would Jesus do in this situation?” Jeremy immediately responded, “Oh, Dad, He would just make more ...

1028. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

A young woman named Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona. She saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little ...

1029. All Your Facilities Intact

Acts 17:16-34, Colossians 1:15-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The text for this sermon is from the lectionary, but the inspiration comes from Peru. As many of you know, Jean and I have returned from a visit to the ancient civilization of the Incas, which continues to haunt us with wonderful memories. We visited Machu Picchu, high up in the Andes, as well as other Inca ruins. But Machu Picchu is unique. The other ruins in Peru have been vandalized. The precisely hewn stone that the Incas are famous for has been appropriated by subsequent generations to use as ...

1030. Blind Ambition

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

There's a story about a man whose great ambition was to become a general in the army. He imagined all the attention he would get, everybody saluting him, somebody to drive him around, all the perquisites of that high rank. One day he reached his goal. He was promoted to Brigadier General. The next day he moved into his new office, sat behind his new, big desk. He could just feel the power emanating from that office. His aide walked in, said, "There's a man here to see you." The general said, "Send him ...

1031. Joy to the World

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The mass suicide up in Rancho Santa Fe provides a grim backdrop for the celebration of Easter this year. The breaking of the story during Holy Week invited comparison with the Christian celebration of Easter and its message of resurrection. But in my understanding of the event, its occurrence during Holy Week was a coincidence. The real precipitating cause was not the celebration of Easter, but the arrival of the comet that many of us saw during the last days of this week. My understanding is that they did ...

1032. Proper 4

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19 We begin today a series of twelve readings from Genesis. It is a story of the Patriarchs from Noah to Joseph. The series lends itself to narrative and biographical sermons. The disadvantage is the length of the series. It may be difficult to maintain interest over twelve weeks. Old Testament: Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 Life or death depends on obedience to God's laws. Epistle: Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28 (29-31) The righteousness of God is not received ...

1033. Influence!

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

If you think a mosquito is small and has little influence, try sleeping in a hot room at night with but a single blood-sucking insect. Its high-pitched whine and sharp proboscis can leave you sleepy, itchy, and whelped. On the other hand, consider the lowly honeybee. One single winged creature lurching flower to flower can make the heart leap for joy as it brightens your day, spreads pollen about, and makes honey in the hive. We mortals, not unlike mosquitoes and honeybees, have our own influence. We can ...

1034. Live and Learn

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Is anyone's memory of study hall a fun one? Either you were the studious type, who really wanted to use that hour of enforced peace and quiet to get some work done, or you were the kid that was bored, trying to think of ways to sneak out, send notes, shoot spit-wads, or otherwise somehow liven up that deadly hour. But the shushings of study hall monitors and librarians aren't common to all cultures. At traditional Orthodox yeshivas, the bais midrash, the study hall, is filled with noise. Not just noise, ...

1035. Why Are Christians Such Bad Tippers?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anyone here this morning who once worked in a service industry? (You can make this question rhetorical, or you can make this a karaoke moment and get your people to talk about what they did and where they worked.) If you worked in food service you know from experience there are two distinct parts of your income: the hourly wage and your tips. In fact, generous tips are about all that makes it possible to live on many service-industry jobs. Some of the more expensive establishments automatically add on a ...

1036. Trash Cans or Treasure Chests

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Grace and peace, sisters and brothers, and the One who is, from the One who was, and from the One who is to come. Good evening, saints. Good evening, sinners. We are all here. And all that we are is here. I am delighted to be here. Have you had a good summer? How many of you had guests this summer? Quite a few of you. Do you know what the three most beautiful lights are in the world? Sunlight, moonlight, and taillights. I am about "guested" out. I have had a great summer. I have been writing at home. I ...

1037. You've Got Mail!

John 10:22-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Our extremely elderly American Eskimo dog Signe knows her family and their movements better than she knows what dogs do. Lying at her master's feet she knows whether to get up and follow Elizabeth when she rises or to stay put because Elizabeth is just getting a cup of tea and will be right back. · She's right at the door even before we can grab the car keys, but doesn't budge if we head for the laundry room. · The sound of the refrigerator door opening coupled with the crinkling sound of something being ...

1038. All God's Children Can Dance

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you out there today have "Baptist feet?" I'm not asking how many of you were or are Baptists (though I confess: the Methodists raised me, but the Baptists saved me). I'm asking this: When you find yourself in a social situation which involves music and moving people, do you suddenly freeze to your chair? Wish yourself invisible? Get a sudden urge to go out for fresh air? Remember you are nursing an old football/tennis/gardening injury? If so, then you (like me) have "Baptist feet," a handy ...

1039. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's gospel reading begins on what is, according to John's text, the fourth in a series of days that mark the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. After the meeting with John the Baptist on the first day, the gospel writer notes three subsequent days (verses 29, 35, 43) in which familiar characteristics of Jesus' mission are introduced and his identity is further revealed. It's in the conclusion of today's text, the fourth day that Jesus makes his first definitive self-revelation. As potentially ...

1040. Proper 13

Psalm 17:1-15, Romans 9:1-29, Matthew 14:13-21, Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Genesis 32:22-31 is the account of Jacob's fight with God at the Jabbok River, while Psalm 17:1-9, 15 is a psalm of lament that ends with words of confidence. Genesis 32:22-31 - "A Story of Transformation" Setting. An interpretation of Jacob's struggle with God at the Jabbok River requires that we look briefly at the larger context of the Jacob cycle and return to a topic that was introduced in the opening lesson on the Jacob cycle—namely, the power of names in the shaping of the ...

1041. Proper 20

Exodus 16:1-36, Matthew 20:1-16, Philippians 1:12-30, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 16:2-15 is the account of how Israel was miraculously fed manna by God in the wilderness. Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 is a hymn that praises God who cares for Israel on the wilderness journey. Exodus 16:2-15 - "Grace Cannot Be Stored Up" Setting. We observe two background features when interpreting the miracle of manna in Exodus 16:2-15. First, it is important to see that the larger literary setting of this story is a journey. The motif of journeying with God links all of the wilderness ...

1042. God Knows Exactly How You Feel

John 19:28

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the most powerful pieces of prose that I have read in a long time is a little playlet entitled: "The Long Silence." Listen to it: "At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them, but some groups near the front talked heatedly not with cringing shame, but with belligerence. ‘Can God judge us? How can He know about suffering?' snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed ...

1043. There's God In Them There Hills

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

On September 27, 1998, Philip Ozersky went to a baseball game and saw his life changed forever. With one swing of a bat, and in two twinklings of the eye, he caught not just a baseball, but a gold mine. Now a lot of fans have caught home runs, but this was no ordinary home run. A lot of batters have hit home runs, but this was no ordinary batter. On that day, Mark McGuire came to the plate and hit his record-breaking seventieth home run. The ball was launched over Ozersky's head, hit a wall and bounced ...

1044. Guilt: How to Keep Your Conscience Clear

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Ogden Nash once wrote this little couplet: There’s only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, And that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.1 Perhaps the most powerful and poisonous of all human emotions is the emotion of guilt. Guilt can make a person afraid of their own shadow. There is a story told of the time when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the English writer, who created the character Sherlock Holmes, decided to play a practical joke on twelve of his best friends. He sent ...

1045. The Grasshopper Mentality

Numbers 13:26-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Bob Biehl, in his book “Masterplanning,” tells about a conversation he had with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. He asked him, “How is it that you can stake down a ten-ton elephant with the same size stake that you use to restrain this baby elephant?” “It’s easy,” said the trainer. “When they are babies, we stake them down. They try to tug away from the stake countless times before they realize that they can’t get away. At that point the elephant memory takes over and for the remainder of ...

1046. Work

Matthew 18:15-20

Illustration

David E. Leininger

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." Kennan Wilson, the founder of the Holiday Inn chain said, "I believe to be successful, that you have to work at least half a day - it doesn't make any difference which half, the first twelve hours or the last twelve hours!" As someone has wisely noted, the only place success comes before work is the dictionary.

1047. Back to the Real World

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

There is always a letdown the week after Christmas. How could it be otherwise? Christmas demands so much of us. Now it’s back to the humdrum of ordinary living. Plus a few extra bills to pay and a few extra pounds to work off. Some unknown author spoke for many of us: Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse. The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste. All the holiday parties had gone to my waist. When I got on the scales there arose such a number ...

1048. Remember Your Baptism

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

A new way of measuring the body’s “health” is being touted as the next “big thing.” It’s still not in use yet. But they tell us it’s coming soon to your home. Instead of taking your body’s temperature, the doctor or pretend-doctor “takes your breath away”— and then analyzes it. You exhale deeply into a device that measures every component of your breath, and that one breath reveals the health of your whole body. “The breath is a window into the blood,” says Joachim D. Pleill. Pretty soon we’ll be able to ...

1049. Rainbows and Roses

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the best known stories in all literature is the story of Noah and the Ark. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the more modern version of that story. Let me give you an abbreviated version as posted by somebody on the Internet: The Lord spoke to Noah and said, “Noah, in six months I’m going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water. But I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. So I am ordering you to build an Ark.” “OK,” Noah said, trembling ...

1050. Where There's Death, There's Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Robert Deffinbaugh

One woman in the crowd is singled out by the gospel writers. She was a woman who had suffered from some kind of hemorrhage for twelve years. Her suffering was much more than physical, though that would have been enough. She suffered as much from her ‘cures' as she did from her case of bleeding. From various sources we are informed as to the nature of some of these ‘cures.' Pliny's Natural History reveals the generally low condition of medical science in the world at that time. Physicians were accustomed to ...

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