Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1151 to 1175 of 4936 results

1151. What to Do With Human Failing

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

As with most employment, pastoral ministry has occupational hazards. I don’t want to overstate the case. Ministry is not potentially lethal as it is for police, firefighters, or combat infantry. By comparison, ministry’s hazards are irritations, mere inconveniences. For instance, simply being a minister is an obstacle to making new friends. Let us say you are the new pastor in town. Probably by accident, you receive an invitation to a rip-roaring Neighborhood Association New Year’s Eve party. At that ...

1152. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Story Lectionary: Hebrew Scriptures for Post Resurrection Week Two: The Book of Jonah (you will find a complete image exegesis of the Story of Jonah in Giving Blood by Leonard Sweet. Reading this exegesis first will help in your image exegesis of the post resurrection text for this week regarding Peter known as Simon bar Jonah) The Song of Jonah Psalm 51 Psalm 139 Acts Chapter 10: The Story of Peter’s Conversion of the Gentiles The Gospel of John: Jesus’ Seaside Appearance and the Call of Peter Jesus ...

1153. Chapter VII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14 If I had my "druthers" I would skip this Commandment and go on to the next one, because this "word" speaking about sex is a difficult one to deal with frankly and directly. What makes it so hard to do that without beating around the bush is the fact that most people are still skitterish about the subject. Oh, most of us are able to talk about sex with a few choice friends, or in some small groups, but a lot of us still start to get up tight when the subject comes ...

1154. When God Does A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

The woman whose heart is broken because her husband cheated on her cannot get past that experience and has vowed never to love again. Two brothers have not spoken to each other in years because a business they built together failed due to the skimming of profits by the older brother. The young man who has not visited or spoken to his mother and father in ten years because of an abusive childhood cannot bring himself to forget the past, forgive his parents, and move on with his life. These are just a few ...

1155. Obeying God Rather Than Men

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

How many times have we borne witness to this scene? Men and women of the Gospel attacked by their enemies for preaching the resurrected Christ? How many times have we seen this inevitable and inimitable skirmish between the horizontal and the vertical, the spiritual and the carnal, the things of man and the things of God? How many times have we seen this scene within and without the church, where servants of the Lord who have confessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that ...

1156. Who Needs a Doctor?

Mark 2:13-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Sometime ago Sydney Harris, the syndicated columnist, wrote a "fascinating piece about Anita Bryant that I would like to read to you this morning. As you know, Anita Bryant was a self-appointed crusader against gay rights a few years ago. Then she went through a divorce, and acquired a drug habit, and was hospitalized for a long time. And today, she's not the same person she was back then. This is what Sydney Harris wrote: He said, "Now that her world has come unstuck, and she is beginning to reglue it, I ...

1157. Who Needs A Doctor?

Luke 5:27-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1158. What Will They Think Up Next?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Noah Webster, for whom the dictionary was named, was a lexicographer. He is responsible for the standardizing of American English at the beginning of the 19th century. As you might imagine, he was a stickler for the proper definition of words. One day his wife opened the kitchen door and discovered Noah kissing the maid. Mrs. Webster exclaimed, "Why Noah, I'm surprised!" He said, "No, my dear. We're surprised. You are amazed." A surprise refers to the unexpected. Amazement refers to being made speechless, ...

1159. Comfort for God's People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

The Gifts of Comfort and Energy: So Isaiah 39, set in Isaiah’s own day, envisages the future deportation of Judeans to Babylon. Isaiah 40–55, however, is set in the time after this deportation has happened. It does not say “In days to come God will send a message of comfort to people who have been punished,” in the manner of a passage such as 30:19–26. It says, rather, “God is now comforting you who have been punished.” The traditional view is that these chapters were written by Isaiah ben Amoz, and we may ...

1160. Trust in Me

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Youtube video of Kaa’s Song from the original Jungle Book There are so many impossibilities that become realities in the Christmas story that one hardly knows where to begin. But here’s one that you may not have thought of before. Mary is too young, and Elizabeth is too old, to have a child. The word we translate as “virgin” really means pre-pubescent maiden. So here we have a post-menopausal woman, Elizabeth, and a pre-pubescent woman, Mary, that God chooses to use to bless the world with good ...

1161. God Doesn’t Always Behave Like We Think He Should

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

In some ways life hasn’t treated you like you wish it had, right? All the childhood dreams have not been fulfilled, have they? Some friends have been lost along the way. Beloved family members are gone. Maybe family life hasn’t been quite what we’d hoped. The job’s not all we thought it would be. You name it. For all of us life hasn’t turned out just the way we had planned. Life is not like the prosperity gospel preachers have promised.[1] God has not delivered on what they promised. He has not seemed to ...

1162. You Can Be Intelligent

2 Chronicles 1:1-17

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

When I say "You Can Be Intelligent," I am not talking about I.Q. There are all kinds of smart people around. Many have very high I.Q.s whereas some are barely more than border-line on the test scales. Intelligence cannot be confined to I.Q. tests. Some people are street smart. I know a man who is clothes smart. He can sniff out bargains on men's wear the way hunting dogs find a fox. He also knows the considerable difference between quality and mere appearance. Another man was never known to be much of an ...

1163. Week Two Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Reflections:Week Two Of Lent Monday Week TwoDaniel 9:4-10Luke 6:36-38 The Compassion Of God Joseph Girzone, the popular author, tells the following story in his parable Joshua And The Children.1 Over a hundred years ago in France, a butler attached to a wealthy family knew where the family kept all their money, hidden in a vault underneath their chateau. The butler methodically plotted to kill everyone in the family and steal the money. One night when everyone was asleep, he crept into the house and first ...

1164. Advent 3

Zephaniah 3:1-20, Philippians 4:2-9, Luke 3:1-20, Isaiah 12:1-6

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE It should be remembered by the preacher that the church year is not simply a framework which surrounds the liturgy of the church, but it is also a skeleton which needs to be fleshed out with readings from the Old and New Testaments. This becomes manifestly clear by the Third Sunday in Advent, because the world is pulling in one direction while the Christian year orients and points us to the past, the present, and the future. When filled out by the various sets of propers, including the ...

1165. The Ten Commandments For Today

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Erskine White

And the Lord spoke all these words, saying "I am the Lord your God ..." (Exodus 20:1-2) Imagine that your job in life is to get up each morning and prepare an egg for someone else to eat. There are many different ways to prepare an egg: hardboiled, soft-boiled, poached, fried, baked, scrambled, benedict, souffled, and so on. Now, if you didn't want to get bored and were willing to take a risk, you could constantly be striving for new ways to prepare an egg. If you wanted to play it safe, and you knew that ...

1166. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Johnny Dean

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense." Hopefully none of you have actually heard these words spoken to you directly but maybe you've heard them on a TV show or in a movie. They are called the Miranda Rights. A police officer will recite these magical words ...

1167. Life's Third Dimension

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

"... Whatever is right I will give ..." - Matthew 20:4 Sometimes some of the parables of Jesus appear, at first glance, to make no sense. Such a parable may be read in Matthew 20:1-16. This is the story of a "householder," a land-owner, a farmer, who needed harvesters to work in his vineyard. Early one morning this man went out and hired some laborers to work for him that day, promising to pay each man one denarius for his day's work. Later, about nine o'clock, he went out and hired others, saying, " ...

1168. At Table With The Lord

Drama

Production Notes The drama may be presented either as a reader's theater presentation, with all parts read, or as a dramatic presentation with parts memorized. If produced as reader's theater, be certain that all parts are read with animation, in a mood appropriate in each case to capture the character of the person and the part. If offered as a dramatic presentation, characters may want to consider costumes and some simple props and staging. At those places where action is suggested (such as Jesus washing ...

1169. Same Question, Same Answer

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

“Preacher, why don’t you tell me what you want me to do?” She stood with a frown on her face, while the rest of the churchgoers shuffled out the door. The preacher was taken aback. The sermon had seemed to go well. For once, he hadn’t tripped over his tongue or turned down an obscure alley. Yet the woman wouldn’t let him off the hook. “I’ve wanted to ask that question for some time,” she said. “As you know, I come to church just about every week. I have heard a lot of interesting sermons, and learned some ...

1170. Money Matters

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

With the war in Iraq having been successfully concluded, Americans are beginning to focus once again on the economy. Corporate scandals, a sagging stock market and rising unemployment seem to be on everyone's mind. I can sympathize with that. It's like the pollster who was taking a survey of how much of people's income goes to different kinds of spending. The person being interviewed said, "I spend 40 percent of my income on housing, 20 percent on clothing, 40 percent on food, and 20 percent on ...

1171. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Linus is building castles in the sand. He tells Charlie Brown: "Working with your hands is good therapy . . . It takes your mind off your troubles . . . Whenever I feel depressed, I build sand castles . . . I've been feeling pretty depressed lately!" Behind him we see a dozen or so sandcastles. In baseball they tell the story about the rookie who faced the great pitcher Walter Johnson for the first time. Johnson was in his prime. The batter took two quick strikes and headed for the dugout. He told the ...

1172. MONEY MATTERS

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

A pollster was taking a survey of how much of people''s income goes to different kinds of spending. The person being interviewed said, "I spend 40 percent of my income on housing, 20 percent on clothing, 40 percent on food, and 20 percent on transportation and amusement." The pollster said, "But sir, that adds up to 120 percent." The reply was, "I know it!" Some of us, when the credit card bills come due, are probably discovering that we are spending at least 100 percent of our income. As one man put it, " ...

1173. In the Hot Seat

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

Everybody who thinks you could have done better than James or John, raise your hands. "If I worked up the nerve to ask Jesus to do anything I ask him to," most of us probably think, "I'd have done a lot better than their lame-brained request. Sitting next to Jesus when he comes into his glory -- what nerve! I'd have asked for something much more worthy -- an end to war, or a cure for cancer, or at least for wisdom. Good grief, what was Jesus thinking when he recruited those two?" Maybe we should call it ...

1174. East Of Eden And The City Of Beginning

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Persons are always asking impossible questions of the Bible. Questions like "Where did God come from?" "Did God create the Devil?" "Where did Cain get his wife?" Well you know how the question derives. Adam and Eve were the first persons in the world. They had two sons, Cain and Abel. And when you get to the 17th verse of Chapter 4 of the Genesis story, you have this word:"Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, ...

1175. When You Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

“Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.” It is the prayer of the Christian Church, prayed more often in public worship than any other prayer, and known personally by heart by more individuals than perhaps any other passage of Scripture. So, what will I do with a sermon on such a familiar text? I could take the easy way out and do as a young man who had come to a monastery and asked for admission to the order. “He told the abbot that he would accept any task, no matter how menial, if only he ...

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