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 1126 to 1150 of 1232 results

1126. The Cross: God's Answer To Our Deepest Needs

Colossians 2:8-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A popular monk in the Middle Ages announced that in the cathedral that evening he would preach a sermon on the love of God. The people gathered and stood in silence waiting for the service while the sunlight streamed through the beautiful windows. When the last glint of color had faded from the windows, the old monk took a candle from the altar. Walking to the life-size figure of Christ on the cross, he held the light beneath the wounds of the feet, then His hands, then His side. Still without a word, he ...

1127. The Gift Of Sleep

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I think I've told you the story of the mother who was trying desperately to get her son out of bed, to get him up and ready for church on Sunday morning. None of you parents have that problem with your children, do you? The mother threatened, begged, cajoled -- but to no avail. "Come on, Son, she pleaded. Why don't you want to go?" "I'll give you three reasons, he said. One, the people down there aren't friendly. Two -- they don't like me, and three, they don't listen to what I have to say." Parents, have ...

1128. Can You Hear The Rooster Crow?

Luke 22:54-62

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"The noted writer, Thomas Carlyle, once built a soundproof room in his home in London. He did it so he could do his work without interference from outside noises. His neighbor had a rooster that crowed and the crowing bothered Carlyle. Carlyle protested to the neighbor, but the neighbor answered that his rooster crowed only three times a day...and surely that was not a great annoyance. "But," Carlyle said to him, "If you only knew what I suffer just waiting for that rooster to crow!!" (Dr. Jim Moore, "How ...

1129. Let Me Say That Again

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Preaching is an awesome responsibility - to mount a pulpit and proclaim God’s word. I remember my first visit to China in 1979. The Bamboo Curtain was just being drawn a bit. Miraculous things have happened since then, as you very well know. But back then you couldn’t meet publicly with Christians - so, on my trip we met in secret. I remember being with three couples in a hotel room in Beijing. It was as near to what I think it must have been in the early church when Christians gathered in the catacombs to ...

1130. Proper 14

Genesis 37:1-11, Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Jonah 2:1-10, Romans 9:1-29, Romans 9:30--10:21, Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-18 Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery. Jacob sent his favorite son, Joseph, to check on his brothers who were tending sheep. Because Jacob loved Joseph more than the other sons and made him a coat of many colors, the brothers hated Joseph. As he approached, they conspired to kill him. Their plan changed when traders on the way to Egypt came by. They sold Joseph to them for twenty pieces of silver. Old Testament: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 A discouraged Elijah ...

1131. Easter 3

Psalm 116:1-19, Acts 2:14-41, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Aid

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

TEXTS FROM ACTS AND PSALMS In bringing these readings together, the lectionary focuses our attention on making our vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. The psalm meditates on fulfilling such a vow as an act of thanksgiving for all God's bountiful provisions for us, and the account from Acts shows us certain penitent persons at Pentecost publicly professing repentance and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ in reaction to Peter's proclamation, "God has made him both Lord and Christ, ...

1132. Proper 15

Genesis 45:1-28, Matthew 15:21-28, Romans 11:1-10, Romans 11:25-32, Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS In Genesis 45, Joseph provides his brothers with a theological interpretation of the events that have befallen him, while Psalm 133 celebrates kinship. Genesis 45:4-20 - "The Power of the Promise" Setting. Scholars have long since noted how different in character the Joseph stories are from the other ancestral stories. The sharpest point of contrast is the absence of God as a central character in the Joseph stories. God does not appear as a visitor at mealtime, does not talk directly to ...

1133. The Lord Needs You

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God chooses the weak and unlikely people of this world to do God's work. The Bible is filled to bursting with the most astounding, incredible, powerful demonstrations of God's involvement in this world and in human lives. But perhaps the most amazing miracle that Scripture reveals to its readers is not that God created everything in the cosmos, or that God brought a tremendous flood to the earth, or that God helped the Hebrews escape from Pharaoh, or that God rescued Israel through feats of supernatural ...

1134. The Narrow Door

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you remember George Foreman. Foreman is a two-time former heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He is also an Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and entrepreneur. Foreman is a colorful character who is probably better known today for his George Foreman Grill. When he won his second heavyweight world championship, at age 45, he became the oldest man in the world to win the heavyweight title. It’s quite a remarkable story. In his book, God in My Corner, he tells about that ...

1135. The Risen Jesus Revealed

Luke 24:13-35

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Luke’s first record of an appearance by the risen Jesus is to two otherwise unknown disciples outside Jerusalem who do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them. Understanding the Text Following the discovery of the empty tomb, Luke’s Gospel records only two occasions (and hints at another one [24:34]) when the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples, both on the evening of Easter day itself, and chapter 24 taken alone would suggest that Jesus’s ascension followed immediately that same ...

1136. “Show Me Your Ways, Lord”

Psalm 25:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: As students in the school of faith, we have the Lord as our Teacher, and his ways (and will) are our curriculum. Understanding the Text This psalm is another example of reflective prayer (see Ps. 16), in which the suppliant talks to God and then reflects on the subject of the prayer (see “Outline/Structure” below), either alone or in company with others. Goldingay proposes that it has an instructional purpose, to teach people to pray.[1] Generically, Psalm 25 is generally typed as an individual ...

1137. The Scroll and the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

Chapter 5 marks the beginning of the third section in John’s apocalyptic letter (see outline), shifting the reader’s attention from epistolary thanksgiving to the main body of his composition. The study of the main body of religious letters has received little attention from scholars. They agree, however, that the importance of the body segment is substantive and rhetorical (see introduction). In this section of his letter, the writer deals with and seeks to resolve the crisis that threatens his audience’s ...

1138. The Garden of Betrayal and the Garden of His Burial

John 18:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Recently I read something interesting about the deaths of royalty. It seems that when the current queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II dies, the people of Britain are banned from being funny on public television. This is true. According to this report the BBC isn’t allowed to air anything humorous for the 12 days between Queen Elizabeth’s death and funeral. In the event of the queen’s passing, the BBC will immediately stop what they’re doing, make the announcement of her death, and start airing ...

1139. Grounds for Blessing

Matthew 13:1-23, Luke 8:1-15, Mark 4:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.” (Proverbs 8:19-21) Prop: Mustard seeds / soil [Have someone hand out some small black mustard seeds to everyone at the start of the sermon.] In your hand, you have some mustard seeds. These are seeds from the black mustard plant that grows still today in Israel. [Note to pastors: you can ...

1140. Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide

1 Kings 9:1-9

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

After predicting a drought, raising the widow's son at Zarephath, challenging and slaying the prophets of Baal, Elijah the prophet is now on the run for his life from Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. Buoyant, strong, and confident, he has stood toe to toe with the powers that be, denouncing every evil. He has bravely articulated divine intentions, but now we find him fleeing for his life to Mount Horeb. See him now cowering in a cave hewn in the mountain's side, depressed and weary, afraid for his life. Elijah ...

1141. With All The Saints

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Isaiah 25 is a remarkable passage for All Saints' Sunday. It begins with an outburst of praise for what God has done and for what God will do. An unidentified city -- strong, oppressive and hostile -- will be destroyed and never rebuilt. Amid the destruction God protects and cares for the poor and the needy. Once this evil city and its ruthless inhabitants have been destroyed and vanish, another city will rise on Mount Zion where God will invite all people to a magnificent feast. God will wipe away all ...

1142. The Heart Of The Matter

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

A number of years ago a man owned a red Ford Pinto station wagon. He bought it when he was going to college, and kept it for quite some time. In its last few years of service, the car had several thousand dollars put into it. The owner had to replace the engine; he had to put in a new transmission; and he had the whole body repainted. It looked good on the outside, but it had some serious problems on the inside. The heart of the matter was that it was really on its last legs. When he finally bought a new ...

1143. Life's Loose Threads and The Tie That Binds

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

In 1481 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the chapel of a nearby monastery. He devoted an inordinate amount of time and energy to the depiction, compiling countless preparatory sketches and carefully attending to each intricate detail. The result was revolutionary: one of the most dramatic and innovative renderings of the Renaissance, before which succeeding generations of artists would later stand awestruck in absolute wonder. Mysteriously, though, just seven months into the ...

1144. For I Have Chosen You!

Haggai 2:20-23

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

When I was a kid the night before Christmas was the longest night in the world. There were only one or two clocks in our house as a general rule, and eventually eight of us kids. To forestall endless repetition of the question "What time is it?" our parents loaned us one of the clocks, and many times we'd sleep in only one or two rooms, waiting together. Each in turn would wake, and quietly, so quietly, attempt to turn the luminescent dial towards ourselves, believing it possible that we would not rouse ...

1145. The Easy Way Out

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

One of the responsibilities that parents often have with children is the supervision of musical lessons. Getting the kids to practice is never easy. The first problem is just getting them to sit down to do it. Then, the second problem begins. Did you ever notice how easy it is to re-play the familiar? When you listen to those practices, ever notice how often you hear the same pieces over and over again? The prospect of struggling through a new piece seems like torture, so the temptation is not to bother ...

1146. Anger - Eleven Ways To Blow Up, Seven Ways To Cool Off

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

What is your AQ? Not your IQ, which is your so-called intelligence quotient, but your AQ, your Anger Quota? Everyone has an AQ. Everyone has a point, a threshold, whatever you call it. If the right buttons are hit, you will get angry and start to growl, and that's your AQ, your Anger Quota. Of course, you and the people sitting around you don't look like you could be angry. As far as you and I can tell, everyone here looks calm, relaxed, quiet, and composed. But under that cool composure there's the ...

1147. Understanding The Holy Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

Christians of all denominations love to sing Reginald Heber's "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ... God in three persons, blessed Trinity." All may like to sing it, but how many understand what they are singing about -- the blessed Trinity? We need to understand it because it is the central doctrine of the Christian faith, for all Christian teachings find their center in the Trinity. This one unique doctrine identifies Christianity from all other religions. Jews and Moslems see the Trinity as a ...

1148. The Strange Tactics Of God

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

Some of you will remember Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark, a film released several years ago but still showing up from time to time on cable and satellite television movie channels. Today we are going to trace a bit of the history of the ark as reported in 1 Samuel 4-6. We will not experience any of the dangers faced by Indiana Jones. We will encounter some marvelous Hebrew satire as well as some profound insight into the strange ways of God. But before starting I want to lift up two ...

1149. A Taste Of Life

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

William G. Carter

The workshop was winding up. About 25 pleasant church people had gathered in central Pennsylvania to take part in a workshop on worship. The better part of a Saturday morning had dealt with a variety of topics, such as the order of worship, the role of music, the place of preaching, and whether or not children should come to the Lord's table. A few stomachs were growling for lunch when I asked, "Does anybody have any questions?" Most people smiled and sat in that circle of metal folding chairs. One woman, ...

1150. Bread of the Eucharist (Bread of Life IV)

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

I enjoy watching comedians we all can name our favorites doing monologues. I’m sure you’ve seen this happen. In the middle of a monologue when the mood is mounting, what is supposed to be the punch line falls flat. The comedian does a back-up motion, possibly a turn-around on the floor, and says, “Oh! I thought that one would go over big!” At that point he may try to explain it. When the audience gives no more applause, he re-adjusts and goes on. You know what it is like telling a story or joke and have it ...

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