Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1051 to 1075 of 3852 results

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... . I had read his War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Resurrection. Knowing of his Christian faith as well as his literary ability, I was drawn to all things Tolstoy. You can imagine my joy in visiting Bright Glenn, Tolstoy's country estate. Some of his original manuscripts were stacked in a corner. One, then, could leaf the pages, scrutinize his penmanship, observe his strike overs. I sat at his desk, in his chair, even held his quill pen in my hand. I even fantasized that Leo himself walked into the room ...

1052. Miracle Nine: Healing A Deaf-Mute

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... who was responsible for his ability. The pages of his musical compositions could well have been used to satisfy a personal pride as his name appeared on them. But he was determined to give glory to God for his accomplishments. So he always concluded his original compositions with the three letters INS. They stood for the Latin words meaning "In the name of Christ." At other times Bach began his score with the letters JJ, meaning "Jesus help," and then ended his composition with the letters SDG for the Latin ...

1053. Have I Got News For You!

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

William L. Self

... it, and what we are trying to do the world needs to hear. We need more than a little Christmas right now; we need a lot of Christmas right now. Celebration is a necessary part of living. The ancient coronation hymn in Isaiah 9:2-7, used originally at the coronation of King Hezekiah, has been picked up by the Christian community as the coronation hymn for the Messiah. This coronation hymn is a theme for trumpets declaring the good news for all humankind, but it has been lost in the shuffle of our celebration ...

1054. In The Beginning God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

William L. Self

... created the world. This passage is a gift to us as beautiful as any diamond we have ever seen. Let's hold it up and examine the different facets of it as a jeweler would examine a beautiful stone, hoping to unlock its incomparable beauty. The original text employs a term for the word create which is never used to denote any human activity. It is reserved only for the prerogative of God. The biblical writer is clearly attempting to express something specific. He is saying that what God is creating and making ...

1055. The Giver Becomes The Receiver

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... housed the Ark of the Covenant was a recognized institution. A conviction began to emerge that God dwelt within this tent in its Holy of Holies. King David wanted to build a divine residence of cedar which would contain the Holy of Holies. Nathan originally blessed this idea. But God changed God's mind and offered a second opinion. The temple would be built by David's son, Solomon. Instead, Yahweh would make David himself the "house" of God by guaranteeing his embodiment concretely in this man's family ...

1056. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... nor agitated tempest was evident to bear Christ heavenward. Christ's whole life had evidenced a power unlike the world recognizes power. his silent gentleness marked him even in his hour of lofty triumph. He moved slowly upward through quiet air. The origin of his ascent was his own will and his own power. Another striking contrast concerns the transition of authority. Elisha receives a falling mantle, the transference of unfinished business, so he can be fitted for continuing the work which Elijah left ...

1057. Possession Is Nine-tenths Of The Law

Daniel 7:1-14, Daniel 7:15-28

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... of scripture. Apocalyptic literature is much easier to understand, and more helpful to us in our daily living, if we avoid trying to use it as a detailed outline of future events and simply try to understand what it was intended to say to its original audience. Biblical scholars disagree concerning the date and authorship of the book of Daniel. The setting in the story is the Babylonian exile, and some consider that period to be the time of authorship. Others think Daniel was written during the time of the ...

1058. Standing and Understanding with the Apostles

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... on your palm, held flat, as if standing. When I first learned some signing years ago, the father of a deaf boy in my parish was amused to point out that even signing has its slang. There's a proper sign for "understanding," which derives its origin from the learning process it describes. But he noted that there is also a slang equivalent. You take the sign for stand, and turn it upside down. How very appropriate that sign is for the Spirit's gift of understanding! This spiritual understanding defies gravity ...

1059. You Can Be A Livesaver

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... sake and others, the same shall find it." Luke was getting at something like that when he told the story of a scribe who asked Jesus about finding life. Most translations interpret his question to mean: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" but the original Greek may indicate something of a bit broader scope. The scribe's question may have been about life in general, not just life on the other side of dying. He may well have been inquiring about life that is full and satisfying and worth having. "What ...

1060. Share Your Unique Story

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... apostle Peter had a unique story to tell. We have a summary of that story in our lectionary text today. But before we hear the main elements of the story, let us examine briefly the events leading up to the telling of the story. Peter, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, extends his missionary work to the Mediterranean coast in Palestine. He resides at the home of Simon the tanner. One day Peter goes up on the roof of the house for his noon prayers and while there he has a vision that changes his ...

1061. A Ransom Paid

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... heard by all, "God loves you. Pass it on." The message was passed through about one-third of the circle when a lady turned to her neighbor and said, "Jesus loves you," rather than "God loves you." Her neighbor caught the error and passed on the original message: "God loves you. Pass it on." But two people later, a man again said to his neighbor, "Jesus loves you. Pass it on." And so the message continued back to the evangelist. This visiting preacher had a point to make, however, so with an expression ...

1062. Signed, Sealed And Delivered

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... . And at this point in the epistle narratives, we share with Paul a basic link: We are all talking about an event we did not witness with our own eyes, but a tradition that has been handed on to us. Paul, remember, was not one of the original disciples. While those twelve who are named in the gospels gathered around a table in an upper room, borrowed for the occasion, Paul was likewise sitting down to the paschal feast, but in another room, gathered with his family, perhaps -- just as Jesus was sharing with ...

1063. Mother's Day

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Brett Blair

... created that person along with God—their parents. III Third, I would salute mothers because where they are that is where home is. A minister was visiting a family who had just moved to Memphis from Baltimore, Maryland. The minister asked the man if he was originally from Baltimore and he said: No, family transferred around quite frequently and there is really no one place that I can say was home. The he said something I shall never forget. He said: I suppose that wherever mother was that is where home was ...

1064. A Salute to Mothers

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Brett Blair

1065. Week Two Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... more harmonious relationships between those who exercise authority and responsibility and those who are cared for through that same responsibility. In our readings today we hear of two different stories of the abuse of responsibility which was originally delegated for beneficial reasons. Additionally, the readings speak of the misunderstanding in describing right versus privilege. In the first reading Israel, most often referred to as Jacob in the Hebrew Scriptures, delegates responsibility for the welfare ...

1066. Broadway

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... the center of the theater district; Broadway in San Francisco is the center of the tenderloin; and Philadelphia has its "Broad Street" in center city. But I wonder how many people realize where that term, "Broadway," came from? Many might be very surprised that it came originally from the lips of Jesus Christ. For it was Jesus who put "Broadway" in contrast to the narrow roads that were familiar to the travelers of his day when he said, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction." Now ...

1067. Week Three Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... is that which we seek. In order for things to be united there must be a binding force that keeps them together. Ancient peoples learned the usefulness of combining two metals to produce a third which was more durable and longer lasting than its original component metals. Only recently, however, did scientists discover that the binding force for this third alloy metal was energy. In a unique way energy binds the various atoms together so that the metal which they compose will be the useful product which we ...

1068. Week Five Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... with each other. Each promises fealty, love and presence with the other until death. Unfortunately, as we know, this type of contract is having great difficulty these days. There are many reasons, many of which have nothing to do with the commitment which was originally made. The contract was made, however, and needs to be honored as best one can. In our readings we hear about covenants of fealty which have been unfulfilled. In the Book of Genesis we hear about the contract between God and Abraham. God on ...

1069. Pentecost -- A Wild, Weird, Wonderful Day

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... the church today? 6. What is the significance of the Ascension of Jesus in Acts 1? What does it mean to say "that Jesus has never been as present to us as he is in his absence"? Permission to photoc_esermonsopy Reflection and Study questions for local congregational use granted to original purchaser by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

1070. Climbing Rainbows Through The Rain

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... from this account of Noah and the flood. Over 110 years ago a blind Scottish minister named George Matheson published a poem in a church magazine. Later it was put to music and has become the familiar hymn, "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go." The original third verse had the line: "I climb the rainbow through the rain." Matheson struggled sufficiently to feel as though he was trying to climb a rainbow. Like Noah's rainbow, Matheson's was a sign of the eternal promise that God is still in control and refuses ...

1071. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... still another group sitting in front of yet another curtain. People begin to grow restless and uncertain, as if they had just been invited to bring sand to the beach. Finally, the third curtain rises, only to reveal a fourth -- prompting a few in the original audience to turn around in their seats to see whether, without realizing it, they too are sitting on a stage somewhere.1 So it is, I think, with many of the stories of Scripture. We watch with fascination as the narratives unfold -- intrigued by the ...

1072. Life's Loose Threads and The Tie That Binds

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... published the first installment of his Dogmatics, confidently declaring, "I know where I mean to come out, if the Lord will."1 Evidently, the Lord's will entailed a revised set of blueprints, for the project proved more ambitious than even Barth had originally anticipated. Thirty years and 13 volumes later, he continued to labor over it: clearing the Protestant landscape as if operating a bulldozer, building from the ground up, and sparing no expense -- least of all, it would seem, in his economy of words ...

1073. Expecting the Unexpected

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... . 59. 2. Thomas G. Long, from a sermon delivered at the 203rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Baltimore, Maryland, June 8, 1991. 3. As cited in William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Preaching to Strangers (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992), pp. 73-74. The story was originally told by Fred B. Craddock in "Vision as Memory," Newscope Lecture Series, 1991 Louisiana Conference.

1074. Be Ready!

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... Christians have lost the sense of urgency. Many of us seldom even think about the return of Christ. That urgency felt by the early Christians turned into disappointment and even disillusionment when they began seeing persecution and death, even of Jesus' original disciples. They had understood Jesus to say that his followers would not die before he returned. So urgency turned into disappointment, which gave way to doubt, which finally gave way to indifference. The second coming of Christ seems to be taking ...

1075. The Shepherd And His Flock

John 10:1-21

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... needed to gather his followers together in community. They would consider the images of the sheep and the shepherd in chapter 10 the beginning of the church. The events in Acts where the church formally gathered and eventually became separate from Judaism have their origins here in the life of Jesus. Context of the Lectionary. The First Lesson. (Acts 2:42-47) This reading gives us the picture of the early church as it still gathered and attempted to stay within Judaism. While it continued in temple worship ...

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