Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... upon this earth is to succeed, it will have to be through the likes of us. Not easy, but possible. And with all its admitted faults, the Church is the place where all of this is to happen. There's an old story, familiar, perhaps, but it illustrates what the church is all about. It concerns a newly ordained minister who arrived in a country parish somewhere in a mountainous state. After his first service, an older lady approached him and said, "My husband is a good man, but he refuses to attend church. Would ...

1177. Times Of Refreshing

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... I once attended a meeting of pastors, at which a well-known evangelist was scolding us in a friendly way for the fact that most preaching is phrased in generalities that laity often find confusing. He then asked: "Is there someone here who can give us a concrete illustration of grace?" An elderly pastor stood up, drew a coin from his pocket, offered it to the man seated next to him. That man, however, suspecting a trick of some kind, didn't take the coin. The first pastor tossed it in the air a couple times ...

1178. Jesus: The Only Way To God?

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... of love. He said he realized at an early age that if his earthly father loved him that much, how much more he was loved by his heavenly Father. It's probable that if Jesus was teaching today he'd use Mother as a figure as well as Father to illustrate the loving nature of God. But whatever he taught, it brought about a profound change in Peter and his friends, as it always does to those of us who receive Christ into our hearts. And that change, with all the new powers it sets free in us along with the ...

1179. Bread In Our Baskets

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... he has sent." There it is, clearly said, to all of us in front and center and fringe. He was not yet putting it all in words, all that he had agreed with his Father to do. He came to give life to the world. "Bread of life" was his illustration of all that he was offering to all of us. Bread must be consumed in order to give life. We must consume, we must believe, we must swallow, all that Jesus has told us, all that Jesus has done for us if we would have true life. This is the ...

1180. What Shall We Do With The New Wine?

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... message was different. In a sense it was startlingly new. He knew that his life was drastically different from that of the orthodox rabbinic teacher. He also knew that it was difficult for his hearers to entertain such new truth. Therefore, he gave them a vivid illustration to show them how important it was to have an open and adventurous mind. Jesus tells the story about the wine and the wineskins. In those days the wine was stored in animal skins. Since new wine gave off gases and expanded, it was placed ...

1181. I Want To Go South, Lord

Genesis 12:1-8

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... probably thought that those people had an easier time obeying God because God was able to speak to them directly. After watching Adam and Eve squabble and fall away from God, after agonizing over Cain's murderous act, we begin to know better. Let me further illustrate how God's graceful involvement with us is not easier just because we could have direct access. It was not easier for Abraham. In these verses of chapter 12, Abraham, known in those days as Abram, accepts God's promise of making of him a great ...

1182. Inextinguisable Light

Matthew 5:10

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... see the light," several children answer. "So, which is stronger, the light or the dark?" "The light!" comes their unanimous response. "Well," I continue, "that suggests to me that if hatred and meanness are darknesses, they can be overcome by the light of Jesus." To illustrate this idea of light being stronger than darkness, I ask one of the children to blow out the birthday candle. She does -- but it's a trick candle, and in a few seconds it is once again burning brightly. "Trick candle!" several of the ...

1183. Helping Hands

Matthew 14:16

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: None. The "aid" in this instance is action. Lesson: Discipleship; God's providence; sharing. It's one of those Sundays on which I have decided to risk doing something different with the children in order to illustrate the point of the message. So, after the youngsters have gathered on the chancel steps, I turn my back to them and begin speaking. "Well, I guess everyone's here. Good morning." Not surprisingly, none of them respond. Still facing away from the children, I continue, "Did none of you ...

1184. Called To Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... of the Judaizing party and a regular church member, representing those caught in the middle of the controversy that swirled around Paul at that time. For the purposes of this book, I decided to include only this one story sermon as an illustration. I included no introduction because I had already traced the stories of both Paul and Barnabas in previous sermons of the more normal variety. And I had pulled no punches about how Paul came across (untranslatable nasty language in Galatians, for example ...

1185. Coming Clean

Mark 7:1-23

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... write good intentions on these hearts that they then get to take home with them. Drama and Movement Recruit a family group (they do not have to be actually related to one another, just willing to act as if they are) to act out a modern illustration of the gospel lesson. Mom calls the family to the supper table. The television is on, and can be heard throughout the family's conversation. Mom is engrossed in the talk show guests arguing over one of the typical low-life sexual perversions that seem to fill ...

1186. October 2-8

Mark 10:1-12

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... ask an adult to gather one together for this Sunday. If your church does not have one, borrow or rent a video projector from a nearby university, video library, school, or business. Choose three or four clips from contemporary movies to illustrate the sermon. With this gospel lesson and the movie clips, the preacher could speak about divorce, or about husbands and wives becoming one. The pastor could even document society's changing attitudes about marriage by choosing films from different decades. (Because ...

1187. Only the Birth Pangs

Mark 13:1-31

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... of how people are being led astray in today's world. Give these descriptions to various people in the congregation. Have these people stand up and read these descriptions from their pews. These can be used either to introduce the sermon or to provide illustrations for the sermon. Visuals Gather your congregation's textile artists. Challenge them to make four banners depicting: (1) the Jerusalem temple broken into a heap of stones; (2) a war; (3) an earthquake; and (4) a famine. Ask the church's youth group ...

1188. Christmas 2

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... (or trace) Durer's wonderful interpretation portraying the wide variety of responses to the youthful Jesus. Other intrepretations have been portrayed by various artists, including Rembrandt. This sketch or tracing can be used for a worship bulletin cover and for a sermon illustration. Anthems and Special Music (Matthew 25:31-26) Before Him Come Ye Blessed Entreating Hands For the Fruit of All Creation Whatever You've Done (Luke 2:41-52) Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly My Son, Wherefore Hast Thou Done This ...

1189. Holy Arithmetic

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... word: multiply. Nothing was to be added, subtracted, or divided - all was to be multiplied - and the fragments filled twelve baskets (v. 13). Maybe it was a miracle. Maybe it was John's allegorizing an overture of faith. But, all in all, it is a telling illustration of what Jesus can do with the smallest capacity of human belief or the most meager talent you or I possess. Never was his strategy a matter of merely addition - attempting to satisfy us by giving us more and more bread. Nor was it by subtraction ...

1190. Bread for the Party (Bread of Life I)

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... five loaves and two fish were multiplied into substantial amounts of food so all could eat. Another view says, enough food was in the crowd that once it was uncovered it fed the people all they could eat and still had leftovers. This second view is illustrated by the mosaic an early artist made on the walls of a third century church in Israel, the Church of Multiplication. The logic is something like this: you wouldn’t expect all these people to come out unprepared! There must have been other loaves of ...

1191. Winners Losers

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... able to see the better way and are disciplined (that is, free) to be able to choose and do it. Like the cat who lands on its feet and walks away, so we, no matter what happens to us, walk away for another day. We are winners! How would we illustrate a loser? I suggest that he or she is a person who lies both to self and to others. In short, this person lies even if the truth would do better. The liar continues in his or her own word that is being faithful to avoid any self-correction, change ...

1192. A Thanksgiving Checklist

Luke 12:48

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... the correct question: “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” (Psalm 116:12) Having received, we give; having been blessed, we bless; having been forgiven, we forgive; having been liberated, we liberate. We all see this dynamic illustrated in many ways, but I remember hearing of a seminary professor in Rochester, New York, who funded an undergraduate program for several young people. It happened that a cousin of mine was helped by this man. I never heard the professor’s story, but ...

1193. Leading as Loving

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... , a police car pulled up behind me. The officer asked if he could help; I explained my problem and he not only told me where to find the address, but indicated he would lead me directly to it. That’s a very simple illustration of involved leadership. A good leader delegates, but delegation does not mean abandonment or withdrawal. Long before some of the creative Japanese managerial styles came to this country, I worked for a large corporation as a summer employee. In that company the pecking order ...

1194. A Sleeping Bag God

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... to get back to church.” Often implied is, “I’ve got to get back to God,” too. People do forget God. For a time, sometimes a long time, they don’t think about God, pray to God, or wonder about God. But the wonderful news of the Bible, illustrated by this story, is that God doesn’t forget us. God is always an establishing God, at work whether we acknowledge that work or not, tireless in his efforts to lead us through our wildernesses into lands of milk and honey. God is, we might say, a sleeping ...

1195. What Ever Happened to Wisdom?

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... lawn, you plant grass seed so thickly that there is no room for weeds to grow. It is wisdom to crowd our days with good deeds so that there is no room left for evil. To think and do only good is to be in the image of God. An illustration of how doing so much good can crowd out evil comes from the life of Robert Louis Stevenson. This nineteenth-century author of Treasure Island could not continue to live in England because its damp, cool climate was bad for his health. So he took his family to live in ...

1196. Adam’s Prime Rib

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... ,” might suggest to some a servant role for this newly created being, that she was created to wait on the man. Other translations give this wording; “a suitable partner for him.” A partner is not a servant; a partner is an equal. See how this concept is illustrated in what God did. For one thing, both Adam and his new partner were created by the same God and were made of the same flesh. This signals equality. When God presented this new being to Adam, he said, “This at last is bone of my bones and ...

1197. Here They Come, Singing

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... “proclaim” and “say” before the words, “The Lord has saved his people.” In other words, tell others about God’s saving love. Don’t just keep it to yourself. It’s too good just to keep. Here are two true “dog stories” for illustration. A young woman walked her dog every evening along the streets of her apartment complex. One evening she met another young woman from another apartment who was also out for a walk. They enjoyed their conversation. On following evenings they began to walk ...

1198. Learning The Basics

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... , of the time of Jesus, would have agreed and insisted upon it! The point is that we who express ourselves in different ways ought not to blame the writer of Ephesians for repeating what was a common and general assumption of his time and day. To illustrate, allow me to turn the tables! Suppose I explained to Paul that, "after church I need to hurry up and go to work at the office." Paul would probably respond, "Work on the Sabbath! Unheard of! How uncivilized!" Just as people during Jesus' day would not ...

1199. Wisdom In A Proverb

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

... folk wisdom, we find simple truths that are stated so aptly, that they become proverbs. These are insights into human behavior, norms, rules, right values, due proportions, patterns, that become proverbs when they are spoken again and again and again to illustrate a point, clinch an argument, lend authority to some admonition or provide a warning. Proverbs also have a teaching function.They are a great way to transmit knowledge, and teaching was the intention of those who compiled and edited the collection ...

1200. Pathway To God's Kingdom

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... of the Christian church, it is only noted six times. But the kingdom of God is a central part of the synoptic tradition, that collection of preaching found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus' preaching, as remembered in Matthew, Mark and Luke, is filled with illustrations of God's rule upon earth, God's kingdom. His teaching is understood as both something about to happen (imminent) and as something already arrived! God's kingdom is imminent as in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on ...

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