Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1076 to 1100 of 4508 results

Sermon

King Duncan

An Italian newspaper recently carried a story about a young couple in Milan who seemed particularly devoted in their worship. The priest at a cathedral there reported that the pair spent an hour or more on a regular basis sitting before a statue of the Virgin Mary. Naturally, he assumed they were praying. Turns out, this young couple was recharging their cell phone. They had noticed a stray elect...

1077. Are You in the Right Place?

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you recall Ash Wednesday, 2018? Ironically, last year Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. I said at the time that it seemed to be a strange juxtaposition--Valentine’s and Ash Wednesday. But Valentine’s Day 2018 was different for another reason. It was the day when a shooting took place at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen students and staff wer...

1078. Pretenders

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy had just returned home from an Ash Wednesday church service. The little girl from next door asked him what the smudge was on his forehead. He replied, "It's Ash Wednesday." "What's Ash Wednesday?" she asked. "Oh," he replied, "It's when Christians begin their diet." Ash Wednesday is about more than giving up chocolate for Lent. It is about examining ourselves in the light of Christ's...

1079. A Heartening Treasure

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Nothing and everything. Nothing from the world. Everything from God. We take nothing with us. We gain everything through the cross. Nothing and everything. Loss is gain. Welcome to the upside down Kingdom of Christ. Collect Lord, with bowed heads we humbly offer up to you our brokenness, so that in our weakness your undeniable strength will shine before the world, leading others t...

1080. Amen!

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. (based on Matthew 6:28-29) Collect Lord Jesus, we desire now not only to listen to your words, but to learn from your wisdom - and live! Amen. Prayer Of Confession Not in the frantic gathering of the world's illusions, nor i...

1081. Prayer

Bulletin Aid

Give anonymously Pray privately Fast secretly That's advice I can take to heart! In fact, Much of my religious practice is so secret That I don't even see it! I certainly don't do it for show, - Often, I don't do it at all! Lent is a special time A time to be more "religious" More conscious of observances To give a little more To pray a little more Even to fast a little (Something I wouldn't even...

1082. Treasure Map

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Take time to still your hearts. All that was on your mind as you entered does not matter now. Come to this quiet place, come to your Heavenly Father who is waiting for you. Come. Collect Lord, with bowed heads we humbly offer up to you our brokenness, so that in our weakness your undeniable strength will shine before the world, leading others to the Savior during this season of Le...

1083. Don’t Worry. Be Happy

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! All: Let those who fear the Lord say, "His steadfast love endures forever." (based on Psalm 118:1 and 4) Collect Lord, we lay the burden of time and trouble upon you, and give thanks for your presence in our midst this day. Amen. Prayer Of Confession We give you thanks, Heavenly Father, for the bo...

1084. Personal Repentance

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Come, let all who would follow Christ gather this day and repent. People: Let us weigh the goals in our lives and know our innermost hearts. Leader: The Lord has called us to be true and in all things to be faithful. People: Then let us set our hearts upon the ways of the Lord. Leader: And let our hearts be filled with joy for God's redeeming grace. All: Blessed be the name...

1085. Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Note: What reward do we seek from God? Financial security? Respect of others? Success in achieving our goals? What Jesus offers is eternal life in God's kingdom, starting now. Greeting Leader: Shhhhh. Don't attract attention from others. Come quietly before your Father in heaven, who sees in secret and will reward you. Congregation: We are here, Father, not to be praised by people but to praise y...

1086. The Problem with "Fawneys"

Sermon

King Duncan

Webb Garrison tells us about a common ruse among con artists in Ireland many years ago. These con artists would place a ring which looked expensive, but was in effect virtually worthless, in a public place where someone was sure to find it. This ring in the Irish dialect was called a “fawney.” Sure enough, sooner or later someone would come along and discover the ring thinking they had found some...

1087. Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17a Theme: A call to repentance Call to Worship| Pastor: We stand before a very holy God who calls us into a life of holiness. People: But we are unholy. Even our religious ceremonies do not cleanse us of our sins. Pastor: God wants us to be truly penitent in our hearts, more than he wants our religious ceremonies. Then he will cleanse us of our sins. People: May our...

1088. Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Christian penance as closet piety Exegetical note Jesus' (or Matthew's!) criticism here is directed, not at the three types of piety specified (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting), but at what must have been (and probably still is) the irresistible tendency to make these public spectacles for popular approval. The sayings recorded here, therefore, commend a kind of "closet penance," built on ...

1089. Right Rituals for the Wrong Reasons

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note In these sayings Jesus uses three common rituals almsgiving, prayer and fasting as examples of rituals that can be done publicly for the wrong reasons (e.g., human approval, self-aggrandizement) rather than privately, in sincere devotion to God. The verses that punctuate and frame these examples (6:1, 4, 6, 18, 19-21) suggest that there are heavenly rewards for rituals rightly done. L...

1090. Reading for Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

Craig M. Sweet

Reader 1: Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. Reader 2: But when you give alms, do not let yo...

1091. The Season Of Renewal

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

After everyone leaves the sanctuary on Fat Tuesday, and before anyone enters the sanctuary on Ash Wednesday, cover the cross and communion table with the daily newspaper. (You may want to get permission from the worship committee, though I can assure you that you will create more excitement if you tell no one ahead of time. On Ash Wednesday, leave the sanctuary open all day, and all night, if poss...

1092. Piety as Private, Not Public

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note The emphasis on the inward dimensions of the three types of piety commended here -- almsgiving, prayer, and fasting -- is also common in Jewish wisdom and rabbinic teachings, and may reflect a particular concern of the church in Matthew's day more than a burning issue for Jesus. In any case, this part of the Sermon on the Mount is an important reminder that acts of repentance are betwe...

1093. Prayers for Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Take joy in your salvation and be willing to obey God as the Spirit prompts you. Prayer of Confession God above all, you have created us from the ground up and in Christ came to our turf, to show us again that the earth is yours and you have made all things to be good. Your own Spirit infused life into the lifeless so that the human race should be distinct not in its physical prop...

1094. Christian Penance as Closet Piety

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes Jesus' (or Matthew's!) criticism here is directed, not at the three types of piety specified (almsgiving, prayer and fasting), but at what must have been (and probably still is) the irresistible tendency to make these public spectacles for popular approval. The sayings recorded here, therefore, commend a kind of "closet penance," built on the conviction that acts of repentance should ...

1095. Ash Wednesday

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The very title of the first day of Lent - Ash Wednesday, with its opening word, "Remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return" - has the theological clue for its observation embedded in it; Lent has to do with the human predicament of sin and death and points to the action God takes in the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, to resolve this situation. The c...

1096. Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Take joy in your salvation and be willing to obey God as the Spirit prompts you. PRAYER OF CONFESSION God above all, you have created us from the ground up and in Christ came to our turf, to show us again that the earth is yours and you have made all things to be good. Your own Spirit infused life into the lifeless so that the human race should be distinct not in its physical prop...

1097. Ash Wednesday

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17a Theme: Real repentance versus ritualized regret Exegetical Note Prophesying during a plague of locusts and a drought, both of which he takes as signs of divine judgment ("the day of the Lord"), Joel here calls the people to a repentance that, though connected with standard ritual acts (e.g., fasting, weeping, and mourning), is not just a superficial expression of...

1098. Ash Wednesday

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The title of this day, Ash Wednesday - the rite for the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the penitents and the central proclamation of the day, "You are dust, and unto dust you will return" provide the theological clue for preaching during Lent and Easter. Every person who is born here on the earth will, sooner or later, be claimed by death. The Genesis 3 story is certainl...

1099. What's A Savior Worth?

Drama

Joe Barone

Narrator: We don't often talk about money in the church, but the scripture talks about it all the time. Now don't panic! This is not going to be a sermon about money. It's going to be about just what the sermon topic says -- "What's A Savior Worth?" If you listened to the scripture, you heard two different stories, one story of a young woman who poured a flask of expensive oil on Jesus' head, and ...

1100. Reward

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two people, Sarah and Simon Length: 5 minutes Simon and Sarah are seated on their stools. Sarah: (Pointing out over the heads of the audience) Look, Simon! There goes the Head Pharisee with his entourage. Isn't he a wonderful man? Simon: He certainly is, Sarah! I must admit I really admire him. Sarah: He gives so much of his money to the poor. Simon: Yes. I don't think there's a more g...

Showing 1076 to 1100 of 4508 results